Weekend Cast On:: Sonora

Hi, Knitters,

The gorgeous new Sonora shawl by Kirsten Kapur has captured my attention and all I can think about is casting one on for myself. Kirsten graciously accepted my invitation to design a shawl for Barrett Wool Co. and when the finished shawl arrived in the mail I could not get enough of it. It is my favorite shawl. The shawl takes 3 skeins of Home Fingering Weight. Two skeins of a main color and one skein of a contrasting color.

The Sonora pattern is on sale for $4.00 right now with the code: SONORA

The code is good on Ravelry and Barrett Wool Co.

The sale is on now through Sunday, April 30, 2017! On May 1, 2017, the pattern price will be set at $5.50. 

Click here for more information or to purchase the Sonora shawl pattern on Ravelry!

Click here for more information or to purchase the Sonora Shawl pattern on Barrett Wool Co.!

Click here for the Home Fingering Weight yarn! Free U.S. Shipping for the purchase of any 3 skeins of yarn on Barrett Wool Co. through Sunday, April 30, 2017! 

Click here to see different Sonora color combinations I pulled together!

We took the shawl to the Grand Canyon with us in hopes of getting a couple good photos to use for the pattern. We got more than a few. The shawl seemed so at home in the setting. It was a blustery day but when we took the photos the wind didn't affect us at all. My son's girlfriend modeled the shawl and she really is a natural in front of the camera. How lucky am I to be surrounded by such wonderful young women in my family? I absolutely love it.

The day was sun-kissed and the beautifully scenic photos only added to the happy mood. 

Kirsten Kapur has some of the most beautiful designs. If you aren't following her you really should. Here are some of her links:

Kirsten's Website, Through the Loops

Kirsten's designs on Ravelry

Kirsten's Instagram

Drop Dead Easy Knits (Kirsten's first book! I have a project in here, too.)

The shawl is worked completely in garter stitch, not a purl to be found. The diamond pattern is done with slipped stitches and uses only one color at a time. I can't wait to try this stitch pattern! It looks like so much fun. Even the lace border is done in garter stitch. Kirsten Kapur is one of my favorite designers because her work is beautiful, fun to knit, and the end result is always stunning and wearable.

Click here to read more about the shawl on the BWC Journal!

This is the perfect spring knitting project! I'm casting on this weekend.... now for what colors to use.

The shawl in the photos is knit in the color Bluff for the main color and Morning Sky for the contrast color. 

Over at Barrett Wool Co., we are so excited to be fully stocked again with our Home Yarn Collection. All of our 100% American Wool in fingering and worsted weight are back in stock.

And just a reminder, we are celebrating by offering free U.S. shipping for any purchase of 3 or more skeins starting now and running through the end of the day on Sunday, April 30, 2017. You don't need a coupon code, the free shipping will be automatically calculated into your order.

Click here for all of the yarns on Barrett Wool Co.!

I'll leave you with this gorgeous photo of the Grand Canyon taken by my son. Indescribable.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Happy knitting and happy spring to you all.

xo ~ susan

Sunshine & 2 More for the Drawer!

Hi, Knitters,
My family has been enjoying some warm sunshine and beach time together this past week. I have been knitting a little bit here and there but mainly we are just hanging out together, walking, swimming, reading, running on the beach and eating!

This one has a real love for the beach and hot weather.

I grabbed a couple of almost finished pairs of socks to bring on the trip with me. I want to keep adding to my sock drawers as much as possible and I have been off my regular pace lately. Click here to read about The Drawer. 

These finished socks are knit in Opal Vincent Van Gogh in the Starry Night color way (this line has been discontinued). I love this Opal sock yarn and the Van Gogh prints. The stitch pattern I used is in the free Hermione Everyday Socks pattern (click here!) but I used my regular How I Make My Socks recipe. It was fun and simple and a bit of a change of scenery. I most often knit easy stockinette stitch socks but every once in awhile it is good to throw a purl stitch in here and there.

 These fit great and I am excited to have another pair finished for The Drawer and off the needles. I have so many pairs of partially finished socks. I need to work on getting more socks done.

 I finished a second pair to add to my sock drawers. I have shared these before in progress.

This pair is knit in the Regia Super Jacquard sock yarn in the Kolibri color way. I think this can be found on Etsy if you search for it. I'm not sure if it is still available.

 Buddies on the beach.

The lovely Joanna Johnson of Slate Falls Press knit a pair of socks in this Opal color way and posted a photo of them. I asked her about the yarn and she gifted me a ball! What a surprise. Thank you Joanna! I love the yarn, it is so whimsical and different.

I never am quite sure what the name and numbers mean on the Opal bands so here is what I see:

Opal in Variation nach Hundertwassers Werk 956 Seeschlange. Farbe 1436  Partie 178.

I hope this helps if you are interested. I don't know where Joanna purchased the yarn.

Here is the start. I love the colorful little band of checkers.

And I love the black lines randomly placed.

 Here I am on the heel flap. I did 6-inch cuffs. Sometimes I do 7-inch cuffs but not usually longer than that. Those are 6-inch Signature Needles double-pointed needles, US size 1, 2.25 mm.

As I was rearranging the stitches for the start of the heel I noticed I had dropped a stitch quite a few rounds back. I hooked it on my stitch marker to hold it until I could fix it.

After I finished the heel flap and heel turn I worked the dropped stitch back up to the needle and it's as good as new. I am hoping to get this one sock finished up on the trip. Maybe it will happen, maybe not.

I hope you are all doing well. It feels good to have a brief break with my family. I will be back to the grind as usual next week. I am traveling to the Dayton Ohio Knitting Guild Retreat to teach all weekend as soon as I get back.

Take care and have a good holiday if you celebrate this weekend.
best, susie

Impromptu Vacay

Hi, Knitters,

Thank you for the wonderful response to the Talking Clay shawl pin giveaway! How exciting for Nancy to get such positive feedback for her new venture. Within the last few days Nancy has sold well over 100 shawl pins and I've heard there are some shops placing wholesale orders! 

I have randomly selected a winner for the Talking Sheep pin. Susan (nuts4crafting - rav id) won the shawl pin!! 

Here is the winning comment:

 Anonymous said...

These pins are wonderful! Thanks for introducing them to us, and giving us the chance to win one. :-)

Susan (nuts4crafting on Rav)

August 05, 2013

 

Congrats to Susan. Thanks to everyone for entering. 

Well, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may have gathered that I am on a last minute vacation with my family, very impromptu. Everyone is together and we are enjoying each other so much before the summer ends. I can't get enough of these kids. I'm soaking them up.

I will see you when I get back. If you want to see where I am and some vacation knitting over the next week or so hop on over to my Instagram. I love posting photos there.

best, susie

Vacation Knitting

Hi, Knitters,
I am off enjoying a lovely vacation with my family and my sister and her family this week so I am only briefly checking in today.

At the same time I am enjoying my family I am enjoying a bit of fun vacation knitting as well. I will fill you in on all of the details when I get back. In the meantime the sock yarn is Opal Vincent Van Gogh in Schlafzimmer in Arles and the shawl is called Pop Spots. The shawl is knit in Madeline Tosh Sock Yarn in Tart and Madeline Tosh Feather in  Tidal Basin. The shawl is incredibly fun and the spots are super easy and addicting. I am making the large size which is huge! I'm so excited about that.

I have made a decision while on vacation this spring. It is quite serious. I am going to commit to always having a pair of plain stockinette socks (How I Make My Socks Pattern on rav) on the needles in Opal Sock Yarn at all times from now on. I adore Opal sock yarn to no end and the patterning and the finished socks are simply divine. So while I love the indie dyers and other companies and will continue to knit socks in these yarns, Opal is appealing to me on so many levels. It deserves constant attention and time on my needles. Maybe you'll join me.

That is my vacation update. I'll be back soon next week as I prepare to leave for Seattle.

I hope you are all well. Love and miss you knitters!
best, susie

This Week So Far

Hi Knitters,
This week has been a productive one. I finished editing book proofs yesterday which took hours on the phone with my trusty editor. With that off of my plate for a couple of weeks (the book pages will return to me again one more time for further work) I worked on a few projects needing to get finished.

Many months have passed since I started my first shawl design. I set it aside to work on more pressing projects. Last weekend I picked it up again to work on in the car as we drove to Chicago for a day of fun. I am calling this shawl the Quaker Ridge Shawlette due to the stitch pattern inspired by Barbara Walker's Quaker Ridging stitch pattern in a Treasury of Stitch Patterns.

This is honestly a super easy shawl and is perfect for first-timers or someone wanting a simple, generous shawl to work on. I absolutely am in love with this semi-circular shawl. The shawl is clean-lined and the perfect way to show off some gorgeous yarn in a clear and easy way.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette!

When we got home all I had left to do was add a ruffle and complete a beaded bind off which was no small feat. The ruffle and beaded bind off are completely optional. You could just do a few rows of garter stitch and bind off. This would look great, too.

It took many hours of ruffle knitting and bead placing, but I finally finished binding off and I even blocked the shawl yesterday. Voila! The finished Quaker Ridge Shawlette has now been wrapped around my shoulders early this morning.

Here you can see the beaded bind off close up. I used a flosser to place the beads. Click here for a great tutorial on how to place beads with a flosser.

Anyway, I am in love with my new shawl. It is so beautiful and drapey. The beads add so much. The pattern is coming soon. Plus, I am going to have a knitalong for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette early this fall. More details will be coming up!

The pattern calls for a sport weight yarn. I used 2 hanks of Madelinetosh Pashmina, which is 720 yards. I had 47 grams leftover at the end. The colorway is Forestry which is rich and gorgeous. I knit on US size 7 needles, 32-inch circular, at 5 stitches per inch in stockinette before blocking. The blocked shawl is about 70 inches across the top edge and about 22 inches deep including the ruffle. It is a semi-circle shape.

Let me know if you are interested in the pattern and/or the Quaker Ridge Shawlette knitalong!

Click here to see Pashmina!

This cardigan is my Ravellenic project so I am glad I finished it in time. It is a sample for my Vogue Knitting Live class coming up in Chicago on Oct. 28th. I just checked in with Vogue and my toy class is sold out and this baby cardigan class is almost sold out! Click here to find out more about signing up for the class and other classes.

I've already cast on another baby cardigan for the class in a heathered gray color that will have a hood, plus a different edging and closure. I have some yellow buttons that I may use for this gray hoodie.

I am using Quince & Co. Lark, which is a wool worsted weight, for all of these cardigans. I am in love with this yarn and company. Click here for Quince & Co. All of these patterns I am working on will be available to everyone in the future, not just students in the VK Live class.

I dug through my buttons to see if anything would work on the tiny striped cardigan but I am not seeing anything that clicks. I need 6 tiny buttons for this one. I may have to search for some new buttons somewhere.

I have just a few spinning photos to finish out the day. I have this hank of 270 yards of a bulky weight merino in the photo above. This is a very playful hank that I finished awhile ago. I can't remember  where the fiber is from. I started a scarf with it but then ripped it out. It wasn't quite right and now I am not sure what this will become.

I am also working on spinning up singles to make a 3-ply out of 8oz. of Sunshine Yarns superwash merino roving in the Desert Cactus colorway. It is very pretty with lots of shades of gray and purple and even splashes of rust and green here and there. It's really interesting because it looks so different in the braid compared to the singles on the bobbin. That makes it fun to spin. I have the roving divided into thirds and I am on the second bobbin now. I am trying to spin very thin since it will be a 3-ply in the end. We'll see what happens.

I'll leave you with a photo of TC and me in Chicago. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe, shopped and walked around the city. It was a fun-filled, and hot sunny day in the windy city.

Well, those are some of my happenings this week. Have you gotten any knitting or spinning done this week?
best, susie

Knit Nest & I finished something!

Hi Knitters,
Well, I am taking you back to Key West today to share the little knit shop we found there. First though, I have to share another message I received from Rose at Cakewalk Yarns. Apparently, you all love the Cherry Blossom colorway as much as I do but I also have noticed other colorways flying out of Rose's shop. I have wanted the Smirk colorway in sock yarn for a long time. I saw it pop up in the shop and came back a short while later to purchase it and it was gone! I'll keep my eye out for the next batch. The other colorway/yarn I have been eyeing is called Brooklyn in the worsted weight, that could make a fun knit, too.

Anyway, you can see that I am still not over Cakewalk Yarns yet. Click here for her Etsy shop! Here is Rose's message from last Monday where she is thanking me but really she should be thanking all of you for ordering.

Another even BIGGER Thank You

Sent at 3:13 PM April 15, 2012

Hi Susan!

Whew!! I had to send my husband out for more printer toner so I could keep churning out mailing labels….the orders just keep coming! Let’s just say, your readers are loving your Cherry Blossom socks.

I want to thank you again for being so kind to share your socks & the yarns in your stash with your readers. I’m very grateful for your kind words & your willingness to help along a little business like mine. Its true, knitters ARE nice.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! -- Rose

Now onto to the tropical yarn shop adventure. I didn't even think about finding a yarn shop on our trip to Key West but we stumbled upon the sign in the photo above. Then I had to check it out with TC in hand.

To get to the shop you had to climb some steps where there was a raised row of shops. The shop is called Knit Nest. TC and I asked the owner, Curtis Noon, for permission to take photos. He was very friendly and didn't mind a bit.

The spacious shop had these black shelves with the yarn organized by color. It was pretty and an interesting way to sort through the yarns.

The pattern rack shown here contains the owner's patterns I believe. He was knitting while we were in the shop and from what I gathered he creates a lot of shawls and accessories.

There was some interesting yarn in the shop including this multi-colored hank of yarn. This is actually a kit to make the Bias Shawl. This one big hank is 600 yards of separate skeins creatively put together.

There were different colorways for the kit. I guess you get the pattern included when you purchase the yarn. I didn't see the actual shawl or pattern but I like the idea of this kit.

There was a lot of art yarn and novelty yarn including quite a bit of sequins and beads and fringe but along with that there was plenty of wool, alpaca and even sock yarn.  The art yarns totally make sense in this climate. You would never wear a full-on wool sweater here but light shawls and scarves with sparkle would be perfect year round.

These adorable handmade bags propped up on a ledge caught my eye.

TC enjoyed browsing around. She is one who really enjoys sparkly yarns (hence the sequin butterfly on the back of her shirt) so she was in the right place. We had lots of fun and spent a good chunk of time perusing the shelves.

I ended up bringing home this sweet gray and yellow bag, one of my favorite color combinations. Is this Amy Butler fabric? I recognize it but can't quite place it. I love this new project bag so much. I also picked up a gorgeous hank of variegated green Colinette Jitterbug as a gift for Miss Molly. TC and I debated a long time on what to get her until we found the perfect skein. I don't have a photo of that one since Miss Molly already has her yarn.

I love the inside of the bag and the sturdiness of the sides and the straps. It sits open so well. It is beautifully and meticulously made. I think it could hold a shawl, scarf, baby project, socks... you could fill this one up with a medium-sized project for sure.

The bag is made by Noreen Emmel from Stewartstown, PA. She doesn't have a website listed on the tag but her email is: nwemmel@yahoo.com. You could email her if you are interested in a bag or contact the Knit Nest in Key West.

For the Knit Nest here is the contact information:
Click here for the website!
Knit Nest
Owner: Curtis Noon
218 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida, 33040
Phone: 305.295.7565
Email: info@nestkeywest.com

Knit Nest was a fun little knitterly discovery. While we were in the shop there was a group of British ladies perusing the yarns. They were really fun and quite chatty and kept the owner busy. I think they came off a cruise ship and headed straight for the yarn shop, which I admire. They were into the baby knits mainly.

I was going to post about the Knit Nest yesterday but I became completely obsessed with finishing the project you see above. The project is the Piper's Journey shawl, designed by the lovely Paula of the Knitting Pipeline, knit in the completely endearing sweetness of Quince & Co.'s Chickadee (even the yarn name is sweeter than sweet). I used the Icelandic colorway, a pretty heathered gray.

I kept kidding myself that I was almost done with the applied lace edging when I really wasn't even close to being done. I was maybe a quarter or an eighth of the way through when I picked it up later on Sunday. Really I had the entire edging to complete. It took me hours to finish the edging on Sunday and Monday but I was on a mission to finish. I could not put it down and I enjoyed every stitch along the way. I was so excited to bind off yesterday, I can't even tell you.

I will have lots more about the Piper's Journey coming up, including blocking and final product photos. It is one of the best projects I have ever knit. You may just want one for yourself.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone.
best, susie

Vacation Sock Madness and More News...

Hi Knitters,
I am going to quickly talk about a couple of the news items first. I am teaching one class on Saturday, April 14th, 2012, in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Knit Circus Retreat. There are still a couple of spots available if you'd like to join me. There are a few other classes with openings, too. Hope to see you there.

Click here for the Knit Circus Retreat Class information!  

One more quick thing I want to mention is that I noticed yesterday that my YouTube Channel has just gone over 1,000,000 viewings! That is so incredible and hard to believe. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love doing tutorials and whatnot so I will continue to post videos over there. You can subscribe if you want notices of updates. I don't mention my stuff on YouTube very often so the number of viewings is pretty surprising.

My channel has 42 videos which are mainly tutorials. I started filming at my kitchen table in 2007 with my 15 year old son (he's now 20!) behind the camera. I have had two new camera updates since I started so the picture is little clearer now.

Click here for SusanBAnderson's YouTube Channel!

There is one more news-type item but I'll save it until the end.

Now let's move onto the sock madness of last week. While on vacation, I posted a quick photo of a sock I was working on. I linked the Etsy shop, Cakewalk Yarns. A couple of days later I received a message on Ravelry from the owner of Cakewalk Yarns, Rose, and I asked her if I could share it with you. She said yes, so here it is:

Thank You!!

Sent at 10:29 AM April 7, 2012

Hi Susan!

Well, I’ve hardly had a second to sit down to the computer & thank you properly for mentioning my shop on your blog this week. Droves (and I mean droves!) of your readers have hopped on over to check out my shop - I can’t dye Cherry Blossom fast enough for them :) I am so grateful. I appreciate your kind words & taking the time to show off your socks!

Enjoy the rest of your vacation. --Rose

How fun is that? Yay, Rose! I am so glad to send business your way. For those of you who are keeping Rose busy with your orders, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. I finished the first sock in Cherry Blossom and started the second sock.

Click here for Rose's Cakewalk Yarns shop!

I am crazy over this splattered yarn. It knits up like a dream and the colors come in and out of play in the most pleasing way. Above is the Cherry Blossom colorway which is incredibly sweet and fun.

I used US size 1 Signature Needle Arts double-pointed needles (in the top photo). I used my regular old How I Make My Socks pattern, which I store right in my noggin. That way it is always available.

I have two more skeins waiting to be knit into sock-y madness, one is called, Hero Squad (click here to see it better), and the other is called, Sudden Valley (click here to see the color better). My girls are in love with this yarn so I think I will end up knitting a pair for each of us.

Isn't it the coolest ever? Cakewalk Yarns are so unusual and different. The base is lovely and really thin, kind of a light fingering weight. I love it! Rose has great customer service and she is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Remember the Vesper Candy Corn sock? I made great progress on the second sock on the way home. I finished the gusset decreases and now it will be easy and fast going to the toe. I'll show you when I finish the pair. I have loved this yarn for years and years. It is wonderful.

It is hard to get this yarn and there is some available in the shop right now so jump over if you are interested!

Click here for Vesper Self-Striping Sock yarn! 

Okay, one last sock and sock yarn for today! After I shared my love of self-striping watermelon yarn, I was sent over by a lovely friend of mine, Wendy on Facebook, to this fantastic Etsy shop called, Knitpurlgurl.

Unbelievably so, there is some yarn available in her shop for pre-order right now! Run! This is another difficult to get your hands on yarn.

Click here for the Knitpurlgurl shop on Etsy!

I am absolutely loving this squishy, hearty, rainbow sock yarn. You get a cute themed stitch marker with your order which is a fun touch. You will love this yarn, too. Abi Grasso is an insanely amazing dying talent, I can't understand how she dyes her yarn. It must be so intense. She puts stripes, hearts, gnomes, mushrooms or toadstools, stars and stripes, watermelon stripes, Christmas themes, bunnies..... and more into her patterning sock yarn. I have never seen anything like it.

I have a skein of her heart yarn I got around Valentine's Day (I haven't started those yet) and a skein of her watermelon striping yarn but I really want her snowman yarn.... wish me luck!

Don't miss this shop if you like fun striping and patterning sock yarn like I do!

I finished one sock in the Rainbows and Clouds colorway on vacation. I have had a love of rainbows since childhood so this one is right up my alley.

Click here to see the Rainbows and Clouds sock yarn in the shop!

TC wants these socks for herself in the worst way. We'll see. We may have to share.

If you order from Knitpurlgurl tell Abi I said hi!

Now I'll end with one book and one magazine.

Instead of buying new books for the trip, I went to my book shelf and pulled out a couple of books that I've had for a long time but haven't read. I ended up reading, The Secret Between Us, by Barbara Delinsky on my vacation.

Barbara is a knitter and she so sweetly came to a book signing I had in Boston a few years back in 2007. It was so strange because I had just finished her book, Family Tree, which involves knitting and Madison. I didn't know this before I started reading the book. Also, I had never read a Barbara Delinsky book before Family Tree (which I highly recommend). Then a couple of weeks later I met her. Isn't that strange coincidence?

Anyway, The Secret Between Us, is an intense read that keeps you wondering what will happen next right from the first page on. I could not put it down. It is a riveting story about a single mother trying to cover up a horrible mistake her daughter made. As a mother I immediately could relate to the main character's urge to protect her daughter from harm. It wasn't light reading, it was slightly angst-filled, but very entertaining. There is no swearing or racy-ness, just good character development and story-telling, which is Barbara's clear talent.

I enjoyed the book very much. I read that Barbara has over 25 million books in print. She is doing something right!

I was at Barnes & Noble with TC a couple of days ago. We had a Hunger Games book 3 emergency! I saw the spring issue of Your Knitting Life on the stands. I had heard I was featured in this issue so I picked up a copy.

I did the interview with them way last fall so I had kind of forgotten about it. The brief one-page article is really well-written and good. I had to just share the article title and sub-title with you. I don't know why but I think it is funny. I never imagined myself being known as a "Critter Knitter" but I am good with that.

You just never know where you're going to end up in life, right?

Click here for the Your Knitting Life website!

I know that was really a long post and if you can believe it, I actually took stuff out. I have too much to tell you I guess. Thanks for staying with me to the end.

I'll be back soon with the tropical yarn shop I visited in Key West.
best, susie