Two New Patterns!

Hi Knitters,

I finally have my Summer Camp Cloth Series 2 up and available! I am pretty excited about this grouping. These beautifully crafted cloths make a lovely gift set for anyone in your life. The cloths are named after places in beautiful Northern Wisconsin.

Click here for the Summer Camp Cloth Series 2 pattern for purchase in my Ravelry Pattern Shop!

Click here for my online shop to purchase the Summer Camp Cloth Series 2 pattern! Remember if you order through my online shop I personally send out all pdf patterns via email with as an attachment. Please be patient as I try to get all orders sent as quickly as possible.
Here is some information you might like to know about this next installment of cloths:

Finished measurements:

All 4 of the cloths measure as squares between 7 ¼ and 8-inches

Needles: US size 5 or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch (exact gauge is not necessary, just measure to make a square)

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton (100% organically grown cotton; 65 grams/150 yards), 1 skein each in Glacier #301, Clay #31, Birch #30 and Sprout #303

Materials:

Yarn needle

Scissors

Tape Measure or ruler

Click here to see the information for the Summer Camp Cloth Series 1!

The second pattern is one that TC helped design. This sweet little baby hat is called the Chunky Mochi Baby Hat and it is a really quick knit for sizes 0-6 months. The hat only takes one skein of the Chunky Mochi (48 yards) and is knit up at 3.5 stitches per inch on size 9 needles. You can whip this up in no time at all and have an adorable baby gift at the ready.

Click here for the Ravelry link and to purchase the pattern in my pattern shop on Ravelry!

Click here to purchase the pattern in my online shop! The pattern is sent by me via email as an attached pdf.

Oh, and if you are interested here is the link for my Ravelry pattern shop in general.

Thanks! If you order I hope you enjoy these fun and new little knits.

best, susie

An Apple a Day

Hi Knitters,

An apple picking trip was taken a week or so ago. This is one of my favorite fall rituals. We will go back to get pumpkins soon. Here are some highlights.
The polka band was grand but the baby dancing on the side was the BEST. We watched that baby dance for a long time. It was awesome.
The colors and shapes are too good to be true.
TC pulled out her special apple cardigan. Love that.
Don't you love a big pile of sticks? I do. These sticks were bundled up with twine for fire wood at $5 a bunch.
I love the colors of Indian corn but I also love the handwritten cardboard sign.
Pumpkins with warts.... and a goat with a toupee made the day memorable.

There was a lot of apple tasting along the way. I mean a lot. My husband takes the lead in this activity. He always acts like he is checking for flavor and texture, like it is a science. Funny.

I love TC's bun so much:) It's so good.
It was a warm fall day and unfortunately Peachy had to miss this outing as she had a swim team activity the same day. We missed her but she will be there for pumpkin picking.
The trees were bursting.
I'd love to know her thoughts.
We filled two large bags with an assortment of types of apples. I have been making cinnamon baked applesauce and apple crisp ever since. Literally, almost every other day I have been peeling and baking apples in some manner or other. I have even been giving applesauce away.
Technique is everything.
Lovely.

best, susie

Hello Bunny

Hi Knitters,

I have some home photos of the new mini-collection I made for Knit Simple last spring and early summer. I happen to love seeing designers' home photos of projects because often they are shot from all angles and can also give you an idea about the size of a project. Here you can see that this little friend can sit in the palms of your hands.

With that being, I'd like to share some home photos and the basic information about my newest bunny design.
Pattern: Knit Simple Holiday 2010 (hitting the stands on Oct. 5, 2010)

Yarn: Spud & Chloë Sweater in Toast, Watermelon and Ice Cream (only tiny bits of Watermelon and Ice Cream are needed and 1 skein of Toast)

The project is worked in the round on double-pointed needles. The only sewing together is to attach the head, ears and feet to the body using some basic whipstitch. This is a simple and quick toy to whip up in no time at all.

Ravelry project page link for Bunny is here.

Knit Simple Holiday 2010 Ravelry link is here.

In the background you can see that TC brought down some woodland wall stickers on a large sheet to help inspire me as I made the toys for Knit Simple. I love that.
The bunny is sitting on my partially finished Tea Leaves Cardigan from last spring. It is fun to look back at that. It's strange how long ago the making of that sweater seems.
I love the curve of the ears and how the ears are kind of folded back. It is sweet.
This is a helpful angle so you can see how I positioned the legs.
The tail is always the finishing touch when making a toy, especially a bunny's tail.

Have a good Monday everyone!

best, susie

Around the House

Hi Knitters,

Lately I have been feeling the crunch of time in a big way. You would not believe the number of posts I want to get up on this blog and simply haven't had the time to get done. I have stacks of books and patterns to giveaway, great photos of family adventures and knitting adventures, patterns to get up in my little online pattern shop... the list goes on and on. With that being said I just have to remind myself that all I can do is the best I can do. I'll keep plugging along. Thank you for the constant support and kind emails and comments and photos of your projects and babies wearing your knits. You, the readers and knitters, make all of the hard work worthwhile.

I want to take a quick side journey today to share some of the crafting and knitting that has been going on around my house lately. In the photo above you can see TC's new creative endeavor, the French Horn. She has been "playing" for hours everyday this week. The problem is that she doesn't really know how to play yet. It has been a little LOUD and also a little funny and sweet.

She is wearing the Easy Top-Down Raglan sweater I just completed for a ginormous knitalong on my other blog, Spud says! Please click here for all of the information on this stripey hooded version and a plain adult size version as well.
Our sweet neighbor and knitting enthusiast has completed her first pair of knee socks! She is amazing. At the same time she has knitted a couple of pairs of baby socks, the free pattern is right here, and a couple of hats. Both of the girls finished stitching together their charity blanket (I'll post a finished photo soon). These girls are both amazing crafters but just look at those socks! She did an incredible job. I love how she slaps them right on, too. She wore the one finished sock by itself for weeks, even to school.
TC worked for a long time creating these little critters with a kit she got for her birthday. She twirled long paper strips around with a little tool and glued them together to make these tiny friends. The kit is put out by Klutz and is called, Twirled Paper. TC recommends this one and I love all of the Klutz kits. They are top-notch and include quality materials.
TC is really on a roll. She started home economics at school and got to sew a laundry bag for her first project. We picked out the cutest fabric ever over at Stitchers Crossing. It is a cotton print but the base fabric looks like a natural muslin-type fabric. It is a completely awesome print. It has a hand-printed look to it. If you want a yard or two just give them a call at 800-232-1500 and they will promptly send it to you. I would love a skirt or a bag out of this fabric! I may have to drop by and pick up a little more of it.888
TC is so proud.
Here is a fun back shot of her newly custom designed raglan hoodie sweater. I love the hood.

Here is the Ravelry page for the Easy Top-Down Raglan.
She loves the new French Horn, even as a hat! Goofy girl.

Can you believe it is Friday again? I can't. Have a great and joy-filled fall weekend, Knitters.

best, susie

p.s. Yesterday I was contacted by HK Anderson, the pretzel company, because a long time ago I mentioned how their peanut butter filled pretzels are a favorite around here. Now they want to send me a big sample pack of all of their different pretzels. Of course I said sure! Isn't that funny?

p.p.s. This week I submitted 4 different craft projects on request to Parents magazine, I'll keep you posted. Oh, and I have worked out the details for my next book. That's book #5. I am a tired girl today.

Knit Simple Holiday Winners!

Hi Knitters,

I am happy to present the 10 winners of the Knit Simple Holiday Issue 2010, all randomly selected this morning:

nutmegknitter

ktmay12

amyknit40

betz white

mellypea

mbridget

pattytrish

DreWKnits

sarahsparkle

knitpurlmama

Congrats to all of the winners! A special congratulations to mellypea as she is the winner of the Spud & Chloë Sweater, 1 skein each in Toast, Watermelon and Ice Cream, to make the Bunny! I have already messaged on Ravelry or emailed all 10 winners. You have a couple of days to get back to me with your mailing address. If I don't hear from you I will be selecting a new winner from the comment pool.

Thanks to all of you for entering. Wow, that response was totally unexpected. My head is still spinning.

I love to share a little bit of the behind the scenes action. That's the stuff I always love the most. I mentioned that I had a lunch with Carla Scott, Renee Lorion, and Faith Hale where I was presented with this project. As soon as I heard about the Woodland Animals story I couldn't wait to get started. The first thing we needed to do was pick the projects I would be designing. There are so many woodland creatures to choose from. We had initially talked about making three bears using the same pattern but differing weights of yarn to change the size of the finished bear.
You can see that my sketch started with the three bears idea. Next, I moved on with a fuzzy-tailed squirrel with a couple of acorns thrown in. At this point I didn't plan on a reversible toy for the squirrel but later added the hedgehog to make a reversible or flip toy. Carla Scott wanted some sort of a toy with a twist for the mini-collection. Following my leaf path, I've always wanted to make a red fox and here was my chance.
You know I love the bunnies. I always think of a woodland bunny scurrying away as you walk on a forest path. I really wanted to include a different bunny than I had done before. I have designed so many bunnies, probably dozens, but I can't ever get enough it seems. The little owls ended up being my three-part project instead of the bears. The owls use the same pattern only with color variations that include stripes, simple fair isle and two-toned color work.

I wanted to do something teeny-tiny so I threw in the snail at the bottom of my sketch. Forests are filled with tiny creatures crawling under leaves and fallen tree branches. Snails also remind me of woodland fairy scenes. The snail didn't make the final cut along with the bears. I'll save those for another time.

These are the actual photos of my sketchbook that I sent off to the Soho Publishing/Knit Simple offices for review. I don't have a working scanner so I often just take photos and send those on when I need approval for projects or whatnot.

When I look back at my scratchy initial sketches I am always surprised at how much my drawings look like the actual finished projects. I don't really refer too much or at all to the sketches once I start knitting and pattern writing. The sketches must become embedded in my head somehow.

The shots of the animals in a row are so adorable. The one I showed on the last post included the reversible Hedgehog to Squirrel with the Squirrel showing so this one shows the Hedgehog at the end of the line.

I have some fun links for you to end this post. I have been gathering and gathering.

First, here are the ravelry project page links for the Knit Simple Holiday Issue 2010 Woodland Animal Story:

Hedgehog/Squirrel

Little Owls

Red Fox

Bunny

Here are some miscellaneous links:

Are you watching this blog? I am and it's worth mentioning again. Mila's Daydreams. I want to see her setting up these scenes on video while the baby is sleeping.

Jasmine from Knitmore Girls is in this documentary. You can only watch a bit at this point but it looks really fun. I want to see the whole thing.

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac on YouTube, makes me sad every time. (Annoying short ad at the start but keep watching.)

Gorgeous Cowl with a Twist on the Purl Bee. I love the yarn used.

I have to make a batch of these very soon. I think I got this link from another favorite, Hello Yarn.

I was saddened to hear of Melissa Matthay's passing at the Madison Knitters Guild meeting earlier this month. A gasp went through the crowd as it was announced. Here is a cool after-thought pocket video tutorial from her. She was a very talented knitter.

Check out this beautiful use of applied I-cord. Wow.

Did you know that the fabulous knitter, Erika Knight, designed the Vancouver Olympic parade wear for the British Olympic Team? I think that is incredibly cool! Check it out here.

That's it for now.

best, susie

Huge Knit Simple Giveaway!

Edited to add on Sept. 29, 2010: The contest is now closed! No more entries are being accepted.

Hi Knitters,

First off, I want to tell you something exciting. Yesterday I asked Renee Lorion, an editor and designer for Soho Publishing, if I could host a magazine giveaway for the holiday issue Knit Simple on my blog. She quickly wrote back that I could giveaway 10 issues to my blog readers! If you are interested, see the end of the post to enter. I have an added surprise I am throwing into the prize pot to make it even juicier.

I am so excited to finally see a project I worked on hard and long last spring and summer in print. When I was in NYC last March I had the honor of going out for lunch with Carla Scott (editor in chief), Faith Hale (associate editor) and Renee Lorion (yarn editor), Knit Simple magazine. At lunch Carla asked if I would be interested in working on a woodland animal story for their holiday issue. I immediately said yes. I wanted to start working on it right there and then. The extra cool thing is that I was also asked to write an article for magazine and I have an interview included as well and I worked on a tutorial for the Little Owls project. All of this covers 8 beautifully shot and presented pages in the magazine.

I will show more about this project from my perspective and the inside pages of the magazine in a few upcoming posts but today I want to share with you the magazine photos of the projects first.
Bunny is a sweet little friend who can sit in your hands. He is made out of Spud & Chloë Sweater in Toast, Watermelon and a tiny bit of Ice Cream for the tail.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Bunny!
I moved on to the Hedgehog to Squirrel reversible or flip toy. Here is side one with a sweet little hedghog....
which turns inside out to become this fancy gray squirrel. This is one of the best reversibles I have made. The little acorns are made separately and they are just as cute on their own. This project is made out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Hedgehog/Squirrel!
I have always wanted to make a fox and here was my chance. I love how he turned out, especially the skinny legs and round little paws. This friend is made out of Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Red Fox!
Little Owls is a tiny project with the body and head and ears being worked up in one piece. Then the extra are added on. This is a quick knit as the owls are quite small. These hoots are knit up in Blue Sky Worsted Cotton.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Little Owls!
These are my favorite photos. The Woodland Animals from the front!
This shot is the best, the Woodland Animals from the back! I don't know why but I love seeing them all lined up like this.
Group shot!

The entire magazine is packed full of fantastic projects for everyone in your family or your group of friends. Men, women, children, home... it's all included. This issue is huge. There are 45 projects included. There are sweaters, pillows, hats, mittens, vests, toys, scarves. I love so many of the projects. Knit Simple is the best at pulling together a collection of completely fun and fashionable knits that are at the same time practical and do-able! I really mean that.

Click here for a preview of all of the projects in Knit Simple Holiday 2010!

I will be randomly selecting 10 winners to receive a copy of Knit Simple Holiday 2010!

Here is an added bonus, one of the winners will receive the yarn for the for the Bunny project made out of Spud & Chloë Sweater!

It is a huge giveaway and I am incredibly happy to be able to share this with all of you. To enter please leave a comment on this blog post. Leave some sort of identifying something, most preferably your email address or your Ravelry name! This makes it easy for me to contact you to collect your mailing address. Please only enter one time.

Okay friends, I will close out the giveaway in a short while so go to it! Be sure to check back as I will be posting my behind the scenes photos and insight into these new patterns over the next days.

best, susie