Dyeabolical Yarn for You!

Edited to add on July 17th, 2012: The giveaway is now over and the winner has been selected. No further entries are being taken. Thanks to those who entered and there will be another giveaway soon.

(photo from Rachel of Dyeabolical Yarns)
Hi Knitters,
I have an opportunity for you to win this whopping hank (440 yards) of Dyeabolical Super Ego Yarn in the Themyscira colorway! I am so in love with this colorway that I unknowingly bought both the yarn and the roving from Rachel of Dyeabolical Yarns in her booth at the Kentucky Fiber Festival in 2011. There is something about this colorway that absolutely glows. It is so saturated and rich. I think it is difficult to capture the glow of this skein in a photo.

I recently worked both my skein of Themyscira in Sporty and spun my 4oz. roving. Rachel saw my shawl on the blog and contacted me to see if I would like to give away a hank in the same colorway, Themyscira, in her Super Ego base. I jumped at the chance! I would love for one of you to have this yarn.

Here is what you have the opportunity to win:

1 hank of Themyscira (photo above) in the Super Ego base (100% superwash wool,  440 yards/150 grams). Technically this yarn is a sport weight but it can be used as a heavy fingering to a light worsted weight. It has range. The generous hank has huge yardage so one skein could make a pair of socks or a good sized shawl.

In case you are wondering what Themyscira means, it is Wonder Woman's secret paradise island, which I love. Isn't that fun?

To refresh your memory, here is the Little Shells Shawlette I just finished in the Dyeabolical  Themyscira.

It is a sweet little shawlette with great pops of color.  I can't wait until it cools down so I can wear it. 

Now this I haven't shared yet. I recently spun up a bouncy, soft, squishy bulky weight yarn in the Themyscira colorway in Falkland Wool. It is gorgeous and I can't keep my hands off of it. I got 150 yards of squooshy, yummy double-marled yarn. I will share a little more information and my plans for this one later. You can see the rich colors pouring out of this yarn.

Here are the links for today:
Dyeabolical Yarns
Little Shells Shawlette (free pattern)

To win the gigantic skein of squooshy, yummy Themyscira in the Super Ego base, please leave one comment on this blog post. Please leave your rav id or email address so I can easily get in touch if you win. I will be back soon to randomly select a winner. This is a great chance to try some fantastic yarn from a talented independent dyer!

Thank you, Rachel, for your generosity.

Good luck and let the comments begin. Good weekend to you all.
best, susie

Thin Ice Shawl by LaLa

Hi Knitters,
Yesterday, in the early morning, I wore my freshly blocked Thin Ice Shawl, designed by LaLa's Knits or Laura Linneman, around my house until it became too warm. I took these quick photos with the Instagram app on my iPhone. You can follow me on Instagram under susanbanderson if you'd like (although I can't seem to find how to link that right now). I have been using Instagram more and more to quickly document things throughout the day and then putting the photos up on my Twitter account.

Click here to see the evolution of the handspun yarn by Dyeabolical.

Click here for the fantastic Thin Ice Shawl pattern by Laura Linneman. 

Click here for the terrific Dyeabolical yarns and fibers website. 

Click here for more on Laura Linneman of The Knit Girllls podcast.

There really is nothing better than taking out the pins and wires from a newly blocked shawl and wrapping it right around your neck to wear. Oh, the joy.....

This shawl is so pretty and sweet. I love everything about it. The Thin Ice Shawl pattern is wonderfully written, so clear and easy. I highly recommend it. It is a row by row knit, which I am finding is really fun. It is simple but interesting at the same time and for some reason this type of row by row pattern goes incredibly fast.

I made my shawl much smaller than the one in the pattern. You can easily adjust the size, no problem at all. I knit this on US size 6 and 7, 32-inch circular needles as suggested in the pattern.

I have so much of the handspun leftover that I might even get a pair of socks out of it, too. That idea makes me really happy, I might even cast on later today. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Wednesday, Knitters!
best, susie

Patchwork Wrap-Up & Video Product Review

Hi Knitters,

I have a fun video product review and prize winners for you today from the Patchwork Sockalong. Even if you didn't participate in the knitalong, the video is a good review of many of my favorite products. The video is how I announced the winners of the Patchwork Sockalong that just finished up on the Itty-Bitty Knits Ravelry group, which is my group if you'd like join us. I will be hosting another knitalong soon over there. We had so much fun and produced almost 100 pairs of brand new Patchwork socks.

The prizes are incredibly exciting and generous. I contacted some of my most favorite companies, designers, independent yarn/fiber sellers and Etsy shop owners and everyone said yes. I couldn't believe it. Please go and visit their sites and shops (click on the links below) and tell them I sent you their way. Thank you a million times over to everyone who donated.

Here is the list and links of prizes and winners by ravelry id:
Vesper Mini-Skein Kit of sock yarn! Winner - lizardknits
Cakewalk Yarns, 1 skein of sock yarn! Winner - pinkdaisy
Kristin Nicholas' Garden Effects Regia sock yarn, 2 balls! Winner - plashus
Knitpurlgurl, Abi Grasso, 1 skein of Rainbow and Clouds striping sock yarn! Winner - iluvalpacas
Sewbendy Bag! Winner - vanillamilkshake
Sun Valley Yarn, 1 skein each for 4 winners! Winners - armida21, melissabear, Kally, savannahgal
Sunshine Yarns, 1 skein of sock yarn! Winner - pattytrish
Signature Needle Arts, 1 set of 4, US size 1, double-pointed needles! Winner - JennFM

In the video I repeatedly said sunvalleyyarns.com instead of sunvalleyfibers.com, so please take note of this correction. Jeanette, the owner, donated 4 prizes!

I was so appreciative of Signature Needle Arts for donating the set of their exquisite dpns as they rarely donate prizes. I thank them for sharing so generously. These needles are beyond beautiful and luxurious.

Click here to see the finished pairs of Patchwork Socks!

Here are a few randomly selected photos of some of the finished pairs (photos are from ravelry project posts and owners are identified underneath):

 sewsable (rav id)

 cehermanator (rav id)

 melissabear (rav id)

 aimeed (rav id)

 pattytrish (rav id)

 saucyjill (rav id)

 eelopez (rav id)

 pinkdaisy (rav id)

 MsGonzie (rav id)

 renee-ellen (rav id)

 Johnston4Kids (rav id)

 JConklin (rav id)

 twistedinstitches (rav id)

cpeezers (rav id)

Aren't those all fantastic socks? To see all of the finished Patchwork socks, click here.

What a great start to the week. I'll be back soon with more.
best, susie

Sweetest 16

Hi Knitters,
I hope you are doing well this busy week of July. We have been having record breaking heat, in the hundreds, and very, very humid. It is a little tough outside but we are making the best of it. Yesterday we had our annual 4th of July gathering at my sister's house on the lake here in Madison. It is a summer highlight for our families. On top of that celebration we always tack on Peachy's birthday which is on July 5th.

Everyone enjoyed some time down by the lake after we ate a delicious dinner. It was sweltering and still in the 90's even as the sun went down. That's my boy on the left and his buddy, who is actually Miss Molly's brother, on the right. They have known each other for years now.

This is my sister's house from the pier. It is so beautiful and old. I love the terraces and the tiny old cement stairway to her yard. That's her pink shed at the top there, too.

There were parties to the right and to the left of us when we were down on the pier. It is city living where the neighbors are very close.

Our kids had so much fun on a raft and the water level is so low from lack of rain that the kids could stand way out in the water.

Well, here she is, Peachy surrounded by love and her family. We love Peachy so much and she is a funny, fun,  hard working, earnest and determined girl. She keeps us laughing and has been such a total joy to watch through the years. Peachy is 16 today and it is all true when people say it goes fast. Sadly, it does. She has been an easy, fun and interesting child to raise. Peachy has taught me so much. I couldn't dream of a better daughter. I'm so proud of her.

Happy Birthday, my Peachy!

Now for a little knitting content. Yesterday I decided to call it quits on the knitting of my Thin Ice Shawl by the lovely Laura Linneman of The Knit Girllls. I love this pattern so much. I just decided it was big enough for me at this point and so I modified a couple sections to make them shorter and then bound off. The actual shawl in the pattern is gigantic and lovely but the size I stopped at is the perfect for me. The pattern is well-written and easy to follow. I love Laura's patterns so much. She is an excellent pattern writer.

Click here for the Thin Ice pattern on Ravelry!

Click here to see the next shawl I'm making designed by Laura!

Oh, and then this one, too!

Thin Ice has turned out beautifully. It is so light and airy and lacy. I love the way I can wrap it around my neck or wear it around my shoulders. I will share more photos later. The shape of this shawl is conical while you are knitting it. It looks like it won't ever block out to a straight edge across the top but miraculously it does. That was fun to see and do.

The yarn is my handspun from some Dyeabolical roving I got in.... you guessed it, Kentucky! Where else have I ever shopped? Oh, and I just remembered that I was with Laura Linneman in Kentucky when I bought this fiber. That makes it an even better pairing.

Okay, I'll be back with more tomorrow.
best, susie

Little Shells

Hi Knitters,
I finished and blocked a really quick and fun little shawl yesterday. It is called, Little Shells.

Click here for the free pattern for Little Shells!

The yarn is one I purchased at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival a little over a year ago. Yes, I am still knitting and spinning from things I bought while at that festival. I guess it's a good thing I don't go to many festivals or I'd be in trouble.

The yarn is a sport weight from one of my faves, Dyeabolical Yarns and Fiber. I can't find the tag but I think the yarn is called Sporty. It is superwash wool and the colors are vibrant and fun. I don't work with a lot of variegated yarns but this one caught my eye.

Click here for the Dyeabolical website!

Little Shells, by Holly and Ella (click here for the website), is a lovely and clearly written pattern that includes charts for the lace as well as the written instructions. The only thing I changed was that I added a few extra rows of garter stitch before binding off. Beads would be a pretty addition, too, but I didn't have any on hand that would go with this yarn.

The shawl is pretty small so I really wanted to stretch it out in the blocking. I stretched and stretched the  washed and soaked shawl to no end. It literally couldn't be stretched any further.

It took quite a bit of effort and pinning and repinning to get it to look right. For a small shawl I think this was the longest I have ever spent on pinning something out for blocking.

The effort was worth it in the end and the final result is really pretty and perfect. I would knit this shawl again in a heartbeat. The dk weight yarn makes it go so fast.

The drape is quite nice and the points along the edging turned out just as I had envisioned. I think for a variegated yarn the lace looks pretty and doesn't get too lost. I knit this using my US size 8, 24-inch circular needles from Signature Needle Arts. Boy, are those ever a treat. I only have a few pairs of these luxurious needles but I plan on slowly adding to my tiny collection. I love these needles so much.

Ahhhhh, finishing a project is so satisfying. There is nothing like it, especially if the project turns out to your liking and this one definitely does. I highly recommend Little Shells if you are looking for a dk weight shawlette to knit this summer.

Happy Monday, Knitters. I'll be back with the prizes, drawings and details on the now over Patchwork Sockalong. It is all pretty incredible.
best, susie

Pretzel-Making at Home

Hi Knitters,
My son has been cooking up a storm lately. He suddenly told me he wanted to work on his bread-making skills. Who can say no to that?

For his first project he decided on pretzels, the big, chewy kind you get at the mall, or frozen at Costco which are never as good. The recipe he used is simply called, Mall Pretzels. Click here for the recipe. I couldn't believe how easy it is to make warm, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, pretzels.

Here is a pictorial view of our pretzel-making adventure (I helped roll some of the pretzels but that's all I contributed). Check at the bottom of the post for a few links I want to share.

Oh, they were good, and let me tell you, the entire plate of pretzels was gone in a flash. Can't you just taste those? The pretzels melted in your mouth. We're definitely making these again. I love it when my son tries new recipes. He loves to cook and is always ambitious and creative in his choices. He also made a tasty and cheesy focaccia bread the other night that was delicious.

I want to share with you a new knitting videocast I am enjoying called, Snappy Stitches. Click here for the show information!  It's short and sweet and Chrissy (formerly of the Manic Purl audio podcast), the host, is a fantastic and talented knitter. This is a fun one to watch, she turns out sweaters and shawls and socks like it is nothing.

I just ordered the pattern and yarn to make Paula, of the Knitting Pipeline's, new shawl design. It is called, Hyla Brook, and is from the always wonderful, Quince & Co. It is a charming little shawl and I can't wait to dig in.

Click here for the pattern information for Hyla Brook!

Click here for the Quince & Co. yarn I ordered! You need only 2 skeins of Tern to make the shawl. It is a good deal.

I'll keep you posted on my progress when I get the yarn.

Take care, Knitters, and have a lovely weekend.
best, susie

Loop Love

Hi Knitters,
I have gotten a tiny bit of spinning done lately. I started a Loop Bullseye Bump quite a long while ago and didn't touch my wheel for weeks and weeks. As a break from the work knitting it is fun to sit down and spin, even if only for a few minutes here and there.

I bought the center-pull, self-striping bump of roving quite awhile ago. These bumps fly so fast out of the Loop Etsy shop and they are all so unusual and beautiful that I am happy just to get my hands on one.

The bump of roving is called Mediterranean Sun and that is the perfect name for the colors. This roving, now yarn, is 100% merino wool and it spun like butter. It was smooth and fun and the colors are brilliant.

Above, the freshly washed yarn is still pretty wet. I love it when I can dry handspun outside in the warmer months. I Navajo plied, which is a 3-ply chain, in order to keep the same color stripes together. Since the roving weighed in at a hefty 5.4 oz. I was able to get 404 yards for a total. 

I am definitely making a shawl of some sort out of this gorgeous hank of yarn. I think it is a sport weight or so. Wouldn't that make a gorgeous shawl?

(photo from Loop on Etsy)

Here is the bump before it was spun. They are all one-of-a-kind and many include sparkle and all sorts of different fiber content blended together. This particular roving looked so much brighter in the bump compared to after I spun it. It became more muted which I love.

Click here for the link to the Loop Etsy shop! 

Also, an important announcement about my classes at Vogue Knitting Live:

Click here to register: The Vogue Knitting Live class registration is now open. I'd love to see you in Chicago on Oct. 28th.

One last important thing, I received an email about a fundraiser for the fires in Colorado from Dani of Sunshine Yarns. She lives in Colorado and is trying to help through the fiber community. Dani is a great and talented member of our fiber community and I love that she is doing something good for her wonderful state in need.

Here is her note to me:
Hi Susan,

I'm sure you've seen on the news, but Colorado is practically on fire, and I've started a fundraiser/prize giveaway!! For every $10 anyone donates, they get entered in our giveaway once... we are going to have a ton of prizes and hope to raise lots of money. Day 1 we did almost $1,000.

Thank you, thank you!
Dani

Here is a link to the newsletter I sent out with all the info: Colorado Wildfire Fundraiser

--
Dani Frisbie
Sunshine Yarns

Find us on:
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Quick share today. I'll be back soon with more.
best, susie

Fun with Cousins

Hi Knitters,
Here are a few more photos of TC's 13th birthday celebration. We had lots of family over for a cookout. My son who just graduated made pulled pork that was a two-day process. He is really into cooking and trying new things. I helped him make homemade pretzels yesterday which was really fun. I took photos of that so I'll share it soon. For the party, we had pulled pork sandwiches, watermelon, corn on the cob, salad, and of course, birthday cake.

Now, these boys, the cousins, are such goofballs when they get together. You never know what they will come up with. Do you have teenage boys, anyone? You see my son thought it was funny to make a weird expression in the photo above and....

... this next photo as well. Both of my sons think that is really funny for some reason.

The girls on the other hand do their best to look pleasant. That's my Miss Molly upper left, we love her, and my niece is lower right. You already know TC and Peachy.

Here they are thwacking the cupcake pinata that was strung up somehow to a big tree in our yard. I didn't even see how that was done but I heard something about a string being tied to a big rock that was thrown over a branch. I thought that showed some ingenuity.

I have to tell you a little story about something my boys and the cousins like to do together. They love making silly videos. About 4 years ago on a vacation together, the boys made a video called, Basketball Master, and it stars my sister's son. The boys think this video is hilarious, every time.

Here is the video from 2008 below:

The next video (below) was made just this summer and it again stars my nephew. My oldest son played and recorded the music and he does all of the filming and editing on these videos. You can see my second son in the lifeguard chair for part of the video at the pool.

I just love this video, it starts with a flashback from the first Basketball Master:

Now, below, is another video starring my brother's son, who is 9-years-old. My second son is the crazy guy in the video, my oldest son did the taping and editing. If you have teenage boys or even younger boys, you may understand this video a little better. The boys think this is so funny and my little nephew came up with the storyline on his own pretty much. This was all filmed at the birthday party and it was a big production.

I think it is funny because I can hear my nephew cracking up while he is supposed to be talking. He had a blast making this video. It is supposed to be cartoon-like. It was all done in good humor and no one was hurt in any way so don't worry. The boys think this is hilarious. 

Oh, and my nephew's name isn't really Carl, he just made that up. 

Okay, next up I'll have some knitting and spinning to share. I've already taken some great photos of a few things I have brewing.

Also, the Patchwork Sockalong is coming to a close this coming weekend (June 30th at midnight to be exact) and I have gathered some spectacular prizes for the participants who will be entered in prize drawings if they completed a pair of socks. I will be posting about the prizes coming up. It is a prize grouping of some of my most favorite knitting items out there. Even if you aren't in the sockalong, these are products you'll be interested in.

I hope you enjoy the videos.

See you back here very soon.

best, susie