Teaching!

Hi, Knitters,

I am so excited to announce that I am teaching at Vogue Knitting Live in Minneapolis, Minnesota from November 9-11th, 2018! I'd love to see you at the event which is in one of my favorite cities. 

Here is the list for my class options:

Seamless Dolls (using the Mary, Millie & Morgan pattern) click here to see!

Little Hedgie (using the Hedgie pattern) click here to see!

Fair Isle Hat (in class exclusive pattern and handouts)

Shawl Shapes ~ shawl design (in class exclusive handouts including tons of tips and guidelines and 11 shawl formulas)

Sheep! (using the Sheep! pattern) click here to see!

Smooth Operator Socks (using the SOS pattern) click here to see!

Anyway, let me know if you are coming to the event. I love the Vogue Knitting events so much and I think you would, too. 

Have a great day!

xo ~ susan

Mermaids ~ new pattern release!

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are doing well. We are having a rainshower-filled weekend, very off and on. We had dinner at Evan and Molly's house last night. Along with his brother and dad, he built a new deck on the side of his 100-year-old house and we tested it out with a cookout. They strung white lights and he found a small picnic table for free and he built two benches to go along with it. It is all kind of cozy and perfect. We enjoyed each other, as always, and shared a delicious meal and fun stories. The rain held off until right after dinner where we went inside to chat more and some watched the last inning of the Brewer's game. All in all, it was a successful summer night.

Well, I have a new pattern for you. I have been thinking about knitting a mermaid pattern for a long time, years in fact. I don't know why I didn't ever get around to it until now but I am glad I finally did. I really like the results!

There are Mermaids Kits available on Barrett Wool Co. with lots of options to make one or all three and there is a Mystery Item that can be added to your kit, as well. This item is a useful tool that goes along with the kit. I think you will love it. 

Click here to check out the Mermaids Kits on Barrett Wool Co.!

The Ravelry pattern for Mermaids is on discount right now through July 27th, 2018. The pattern price is set at $3.50, no code needed. After that it will be priced at $5.00. 

Click here for the Mermaids pattern on Ravelry!

The Mermaids are knit with our Home Fingering Weight yarn.

Here is the Mermaids pattern information that might be of interest:

Beaches, waves, warm sunshine and of course, Mermaids! In these warm beachy months of summer it seemed the right time to create an adorable trio of Mermaids. These little mermaid dolls are knit seamlessly from the bottom-up with the arms, fins, ears and crown being picked up and knit on. The instructions provide exact placement for all of the appendages and eyes and instructional photos are included to help along the way. There is a necklace of pearls (or maybe French knots!) embroidered on afterward and there is a video tutorial link for this technique included in the pattern.

Instructions include simple guidelines for making a Merman, if interested.

I hope you enjoy knitting these lovely little Mermaids. They make for a joyful set!

Finished measurements 
9-inches tall

Yarn 
Barrett Wool Co.’s Home Fingering Weight (100% American Wool; 370 yards 338m / 100 grams). Samples use the following colors:

Mermaid #1: 
Hair color: Wishing Well (blue)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Priscilla 
Skin Color: Bear 
Tail Color: Wood Violet

Mermaid #2: 
Hair color: Priscilla (pink)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Wood Violet 
Skin Color: James 
Tail Color: Wishing Well

Mermaid #3: 
Hair color: Wood Violet (purple)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Wishing Well 
Skin Color: Tattersall 
Tail Color: Priscilla

Needles 
US size 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles

Materials 
6mm safety eyes (2) 
Dark pink embroidery floss for mouth 
Polyester fiberfill

Gauge 
7.5 sts per inch /9 rows per inch in stockinette stitch

My favorite part of seamless toy knitting is working that final stitch and having the toy be completed in that instant! That is a satisfying moment. 

The Mermaids Kit is really adorable! If you give the kit a try, I hope you really enjoy it. 

One last thing I want to mention is the necklace in the photo above. My longtime friend Sheri and her daughter Whitnie are making these necklaces called We Are One. Part of the profits is donated to Global Giving. You can get We Are One stamped in your language of choice. I have purchased several of these for family members and I have my own. I chose Spanish as the language, Somos Uno. I loved it because at that family dinner last night we were all wearing our We Are One necklaces and I felt the sentiment was true, near and far. 

Click here to find out more about We Are One necklaces!

Have a great week ahead. I appreciate you all so much, Knitters.

xo ~ susan

Hammock Time + Molly Socks

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all doing well and that your knitting has been satisfying this summer so far. Yesterday I spent some time in the backyard hammock. I grabbed my favorite book from childhood, Mandy by Julie Edwards who is actually the great actress/singer Julie Andrews. As a child this book Mandy drew me in and gave me comfort somehow. It is the sweetest story of an orphan who discovers a tiny run-down cottage next to the orphanage. She steals away to the cottage every spare moment and creates a home for herself through her hard work, determination and ingenuity. There are some harrowing moments along the way and the ending could not be better. 

I have my original copy of Mandy from 1971. It is tattered, taped together and the pages are yellowed but the words are as good as they were 47 years ago. You might like to have a copy to read and share.

Click here to see the book Mandy on Amazon! (I don't have any affiliation here.)  

photo from Devin Ventre

Yesterday we released a new kit for the Molly Socks over on Barrett Wool Co. Aren't they so cute? The pattern is by Devin Ventre (click here for Devin's website).  Devin is the designer of the Gigi Cardigan and the Cabled Gigi Sweater. She is new and upcoming and I love working with her. 

Devin has a way of making a simple project special with little details that entertain along the way. This is more difficult than it may seem. She has done it again with the Molly Socks. I love the way they look and knit up. 

Click here for the Cabled Gigi Sweater Kit!

Click here for the Gigi Cardigan Kit!

photo from Devin Ventre

We have pulled together the sweetest kit for you to make your own Molly Socks in six different color choices that I paired with a contrasting mini-skein for the heels and toes if you like. I cast on my own pair and I have to say the super simple lace panel is one of the easiest lace stitch patterns I have done. This would be the perfect first lace project. 

Click here for information on the Molly Socks Kit!

Devin used the Strawflower colorway of our Home Fingering Weight and it is a pretty perfect match. 

I cast on my own pair in the Field colorway and I am going to do a contrast heel in the Strawflower colorway. I am really enjoying this pattern so much and I think you will, too. This is one of the Molly Socks Kit combinations that is available.

The Home Fingering Weight is a slightly heavier fingering weight wool that has crisp stitch definition and a lot of squish and bounce. For my size I only cast on 56 stitches so it is going really fast.

I am also excited to introduce The Sock Ruler to Barrett Wool Co. I love this tool for my sock knitting. I did a quick demonstration video on The Sock Ruler for the BWC newsletter.

This handy tool can be included in your Molly Socks Kit or it is available for individual purchase as well.

Click here for more information or to purchase The Sock Ruler!

Here is the kit in the Strawflower and Field colorway. The kit includes a Ravelry download code for the pattern. 

And just to let you know there are only FIVE Sleepy Kitten Kits left in the shop this morning. You can purchase it with or without the Making Magazine. If you get the magazine we are throwing in a Ravelry download code for the pattern as well. Or you can just add the pattern to your kit. 

We probably won't have this kit available again for quite awhile so if interested be sure to check it out. 

Click here for the Sleepy Kitten Set Kit!

Have a beautiful Sunday, friends. I'll be back soon with more.

xo ~ susan

Sleepy Summer + a giveaway!

Hi, Knitters,

How are you? It's been a little while. I hope you are having an excellent summer so far. June flew by as expected and it was a month full of family and a bustling house around here. Today happens to be my 29th wedding anniversary which seems impossible but time flies when you are having fun, right?

Today I have a couple of things to share with you. Over on Barrett Wool Co. we have brought one of our most popular kits back to the shop. It's the Sleepy Kitten Set Kit! These kittens are endlessly sweet and will bring loads of adoration from any recipient. And it is a fun knit to boot!

Click here to check out the kit on Barrett Wool Co.!

The pattern originally appeared in Making Magazine No. 4 / Lines.

Click here to check out Making No. 4 / Lines!

The pattern is now also available on Ravelry for individual download. Click here for the pattern!

The pattern in both the magazine and the individual download includes the instructions for the super simple sewn sleeping bags.

The Sleepy Kitten Set includes all of the yarn to complete both kittens and the nightie, and some thread for the face embroidery and whiskers. 

The kittens are worked almost seamlessly (the only seam is stitching the head to the body) and there is a clever construction. All of the appendages, legs, arms, ears, and tail, are knit first and set aside with live stitches. Then as you work the body and head the appendages are knit in as you go. I really like this construction because it eliminates any guesswork for placement and it is good to get those smaller pieces done right away, too.

The kit can be purchased with or without the magazine or pattern, in case you already own the pattern.

These kits are selling quickly and we have a limited number so if you are interested jump on over to check it out. The yarn is our coveted Wisconsin Woolen Spun. It is a special kit to say the least.

Click here for more information about the Sleepy Kitten Set Kits on Barrett Wool Co.!

Another sleepy and snuggly Giveaway is going on right now! If you are a subscriber to my Barrett Wool Co. weekly newsletter you are automatically included in a giveaway for the fantastic Wrap-Me-Up Toys Kit! These are some of the cutest toys I have ever designed. I love them so much, especially when they are wrapped up in their blankies. 

Click here to check out the Wrap-Me-Up Toys Kit! It is also available for purchase right now.

It is a prize worth over $50 and any worldwide location is eligible to win. All you have to do is be a subscriber to enter to win. I am announcing the randomly selected winner in next Friday's newsletter.

You can subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of any page on the Barrett Wool Co. website by simply entering your email address in the box.

Click here for Barrett Wool Co.!

Good luck if you are entered to win this adorable kit.

One last thing here to share is that Patricia, @pkyk61 on Ravelry (that's her photo above) was a student of mine in Edmonton last fall for my Sock Yarn Bunny Workshop. Patricia posted her fantastic finished bunny and I just had to share. It's so cute!

I put the pattern for the Sock Yarn Bunny on discount this week. It is priced at only $3.50 for a few more days. No code is needed. Then the price will go back to the original $5.00. I thought I'd let you know in case you have some lingering sock yarn that might like to become a bunny.

Click here for the Opal Sock Yarn Bunny pattern on Ravelry!

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a great week ahead and I'll be back soon with more.

xo ~ susan