Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Good News Tuesday

Hi, Knitters,

I have randomly selected 6 lucky winners from hundreds of entries from the Pete hat pattern purchasers this morning. Each winner is receiving 5 balls of the beautiful Rowan Fine Tweed in Pete-like colorways. Thank you to Rowan Yarns for the generous prizes. The lucky winners are (rav usernames): Margostitches, tinkbell, kentuckygirl1961, Murphknits, Charr, and thecraftypetite! Congratulations to all. I've contacted all of the winners via Ravelry with instructions to receive their prizes.

Thank you to all involved. The Pete hat has been a huge hit of a pattern and I hope you all enjoy knitting your understated man-hats this season and in the future. Very fun!

As a little side note, I was interviewed for the Yorkshire, UK-based shop Baa Ram Ewe's newsletter. It is a very sweet interview and photos. The photo of me teaching was taken by Gale Zucker (the credit was omitted). Click here to read the short interview!

Okay, there is so much going on around here concerning knitting, as always. I have a lot of fun stuff to share. I'll start with some book news. My new book, Susan B. Anderson's Kids' Knitting Workshop, is being released in a matter of days and there are some fun promotions going on to celebrate.

Click here to see a few of the new book projects already on Ravelry! More projects will be added soon....

First off, one of my favorite shops, StevenBe's in Minneapolis, MN, has pulled together a fantastic kit as part of a gift bundle idea. It is fantastic. They've thought of everything you need to make a beautifully fun and inspiring gift for any new knitter! You even get to choose your hat and pom-pom color! I love it. It's a great deal and a simple gift idea for any new or aspiring knitter you have on your gift list and a great way to support a terrific local yarn shop.

Click here to find out more about the Kids' Knitting Workshop Gift Bundle at StevenBe's!

Here are some details about the gift bundle:

SUSAN B. ANDERSON'S KIDS' KNITTING WORKSHOP GIFT BUNDLE

$46.95

Beloved knitting instructor Susan B. Anderson presents her first book targeted at a young audience. This accessible introduction to knitting in the round includes easy-to-follow illustrated tutorials on techniques from casting on and binding off to joining colors to make stripes, and 17 progressively challenging knitting projects—beginning with simple infinity scarves and hats and building to supersweet toys and decor. Step-by-step text and photographs that kids can read and follow on their own mean they will be knitting independently in no time! Also included is a chapter on stocking your toolbox and sourcing yarn; plus advice on starting a knitting group, connecting with local knitting communities, charity knitting, and more.

Your gift wrapped bundle includes everything your recipient needs to create theHat with a Rib in Susan's book.

- Susan B. Anderson's Kids' Knitting Workshop book

- 1 ball of reflective super bulky Lumio from Schachenmayr in your choice of color

- 1 decorative pom-pom in your choice of color

- US13 16" bamboo circular needle

- A special note from StevenBe to encourage your new knitter.

I was informed by my publicist that Amazon selected Susan B. Anderson's Kids' Knitting Workshop for their Best Books of the Month in 2 categories: Nonfiction for Kids, and in Crafts, Hobbies, and Home. What an honor. It is such a good feeling to get such positive feedback as the book is coming out.

Also, my publisher has selected Kids' Knitting Workshop as part of their holiday promotion! Here is the information on that:

Artisan’s parent company, Workman, has selected SUSAN B. ANDERSON’S KIDS’ KNITTING WORKSHOP for the company’s digital holiday promotion.

This means that from now through December 15, anyone who orders books through the following link (http://goo.gl/RD4bFA) can use the promo code HOLIDAY to receive 20% off the list price. As an added bonus, anyone who places their order specifically on December 8 (today) will ALSO receive free shipping.

In other book news, I am thrilled that Topsy-Turvy, Inside-Out Knit Toys has been released in paperback in Korean! I received a copy and I have enjoyed looking through it and marveling at the beautiful letters and writing of this language.

In teaching news, I have a couple of classes left that aren't sold out for Vogue Knitting Live in NYC! I'll be there from January 15-17th, 2016. My other four classes have already sold out but you can always contact them to see if things have shifted at all, you never know!

Click here for Vogue Knitting Live NYC information!

I'll be teaching at A Good Yarn in Sarasota, Florida from March 19-21st, 2016. Click here to contact the store for more information!

The DFW Fiber Fest in Dallas, Texas, has its registration open. I'm teaching a bunch of workshops at this event. This is on April 1-3rd, 2016. Click here for more info!

Yarnover in Minneapolis is coming up! I'll be there on April 24th, 2016. Click here for the information! Last year my 2 workshops sold out so fast so be sure to jump in if you are interested in attending.

I am going to Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia, from May 19th-21st where I'll be teaching workshops and having a book signing. Please contact the shop, Fibre Space, to find out more!

I am doing some new filming for a couple of different things coming up this late winter/spring, too. I'm so excited about this! New online things are coming to the internets soon which I haven't done for a few years now.

It's going to be a whirlwind of knitting coming up! I hope to see you at my classes and events. I would really love that. Let me know if you can attend anything.

Now for a couple of quick knitting projects I have been working on......

The talented yarn designer/owner Amy from Knit Collage sent me some lovely skeins of her art yarn to play with recently. I quickly dove in because these yarns are irresistible. I just made up the pattern for the hat using the Daisy Chain yarn in the Chili Pepper colorway. I used US size 11 needles and cast on 56 stitches and went to town. It is an adult-sized hat and used 2 skeins of Daisy Chain yarn. I love it.

I put a Bernat Faux Fur pompom on the top. It works! The yarn not only has little fabric daisies but also there are bits of lace and fabric spun into the wool. The yarn is handspun in India and you can read all about it on the Knit Collage website.

Click here to go to Knit Collage!

Next up, I will knit mittens out of two skeins of Knit Collage's Castaway in the Prism colorway. I can't wait to see how these work up. I have been eyeing Amy's mittens (click here to look!) and they are incredibly fun. Amy's mitts look like they are purl side out. I think I'll knit mine and then turn them inside out. That's the plan Stan! I'll keep you posted on my progress.

My shoes are Birkenstock Berns in wool. And the yarn for my socks is String Theory in the Kinetic Energy colorway. Click here for the sock yarn.

I hope you are all doing well. We are having a mild December here in Madison without a stitch of snow or even any cold weather. It's very strange.

I'll be back soon with more....

xo ~ susan

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Pete

Hi, Knitters,

There is so much going on around here that I can barely keep up. Don't we all feel like that sometimes, especially at this time of year? I wholeheartedly sympathize if this applies to you.

Please make sure to read to the end of the post, there is a really awesome and generous yarn kit giveaway for the Pete hat, and I get to randomly select 6 lucky winners! Thank you to Rowan yarns and Westminster Fibers for the yarn kits for Pete. I'll tell you how to enter at the end.

Well, I have a sweet story to tell you about the hat I am simply calling Pete.

And here it is.....

Pete

~ A perfectly simple man’s hat ~

Susan B. Anderson

My brother, Peter, is one who never asks for anything. Quite a few years ago he let me knit him a simple hat with a few stripes and he loved it. I jotted down the pattern on a scrap of paper and pinned it to my studio bulletin board just in case he ever wanted another. This past weekend at Thanksgiving Pete asked if I would knit him a new hat just like the one from years ago. I jumped at the chance, quickly unpinned that waiting scrap of paper from my bulletin board and got to knitting. His only request was that the hat be a smidgen longer in length to cover his ears better which I did on this version.

My brother is an understated guy. He’s handsome, kind, quiet and humble. I feel like this hat suits him to a tee. I bet you might have some men just like my beloved Peter in your life so I decided to share this simple pattern with you.

Enjoy!

Here is some information you might like to know about this pattern:

Click here to find out more or purchase the pattern for Pete on Ravelry!

Pattern Note: The sample hat is knit holding two strands of fingering weight yarn together throughout, which is about the same as a worsted weight yarn. You could easily substitute with a worsted weight yarn.

Finished size at ribbed brim: 20-inch circumference, sized to fit a 21 to 23-inch head circumference.

Pete’s head measures 23 inches.

The model’s head measures 22.5 inches.

Yarn: Any sock or fingering weight yarn, two strands held together throughout OR a worsted weight yarn.

Yarn Requirements: One 100 gram skein/ball fingering weight for the Main Color or one generous skein of worsted weight (for example, Cascade 220). Two contrasting colors, small amounts needed (use leftovers if possible!).

Yarn needed in grams:

Finished sample hat weighs 72 grams in total.

Main Color (MC): 63 grams used

Contrast Color 1 (CC1): 12 grams were used

Contrast Color 2 (CC2): 7 grams were used

Sample Hat Yarn:

Fingering weight (2-strands held double), 70% Superwash Wool, 25% Polymide, 5% Viscose, 100 grams per skein/438 yards/400 meters.

Main Color: Schachenmayr Regia 4-fadig Tweed in color #00010 (brown)

Contrast Color 1: Schachenmayr Regia Trend & Classic Tweed in color #09066 (gold)

Contrast Color 2: Schachenmayr Regia Tweed Trend & Classic in color #00002 (natural)

The original hat mentioned in the introduction (not photographed here) was made using Cascade 220, a worsted weight 100% wool.

Needles:

US size 5/3.75mm 16-inch circular needle for brim

US size 6/4mm 16-inch circular needle for body of the hat

US size 6/4mm double-pointed needles for the top of the hat or preferred method for working on a small number of stitches in the round

As always, use the correct size to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 5.25 sts per inch in stockinette stitch on the larger needles

Abbreviations:

K knit

P purl

K2tog knit two stitches together

Kfb knit in the front and back of the same stitch

Rnd(s) round(s)

St(s) stitch(es)

MC main color

CC1 contrast color 1

CC2 contrast color 2

Materials:

Yarn needle

Detachable stitch marker

Ruler or tape measure

Scissors

The pattern for Pete is available on my Ravelry Pattern Shop for only $2.00 right now. The discounted price is good from today, Dec. 2nd and will go through Sunday, Dec. 6th, 2015. No code is necessary. Starting Dec. 7th, the regular price for the pattern will be set at $3.00.

Now for the giveaway details. Westminster Fibers is the US distributor of Rowan Yarns and together we have come up with a beautiful yarn kit for my Pete hat.

The kit for the hat includes 5 balls of Rowan Fine Tweed in the following colors:

3 balls of #363 Keld (brown tweed)

1 ball of #383 Leyburn (gold tweed)

1 ball of #364 Buckden (natural tweed)

Click here to see the yarn details and colors on the Webs website!

Click here for the Pete pattern information or to purchase the pattern on Ravelry!

I want to offer this giveaway yarn kit prize to the pattern purchasers this time around. By purchasing the pattern you are automatically entered into the giveaway. I really appreciate you all so much.

I will be randomly selecting 6 winners next Monday, Dec. 7th, 2015 from the Ravelry names of those who purchased the pattern. I'll contact the 6 winners via Ravelry to gather mailing addresses.

Again, a gigantic thank you goes to Westminster Fibers for the fun and generous yarn giveaway opportunity.

Thank you for considering Pete and good luck if you are entered to win!

I'll be back soon with more....

xo ~ susan

Friday, November 20, 2015

A Tiny Flock of Sweaters for Good

Important Update Dec. 2018: Juniper Moon has a new shop for the wooden cutout animals you can find right here: https://juniper-moon-yarns.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage

Hi, Knitters,

Today I am publishing four free and tiny animal sweaters as a small contribution of added fun for the Heifer International fundraiser being driven by Susan Gibbs and family of Juniper Moon Farm. Susan's husband is the one cutting out the animals and I have a feeling he is going to be a very busy guy!

A portion from each sale of the wooden animals is being donated to Heifer International. The cut-outs can be ordered until December 15th, 2015 (of course check with Susan Gibbs for any new or different information on this sale). Their goal is to raise $5,000 for the organization through this fundraiser.

To make your own adorable sweater-ed flock the first thing you'll need to do is order your wooden animal cut-outs, and the stands if you'd like, from Juniper Moon Farm. The stands are optional, of course, but I love them and they give you more options for displaying the animals. The animals would make great ornaments with an added hook or string or they could be used as little gift-toppers or stocking stuffers as well.

Click here for the Juniper Moon Sheep Shop on Etsy!

Click here for the Juniper Moon Website and blog! The blog shows different ideas for decorating the animals, which is fun to see.

The following patterns will remain only as a blog post right here on the blog and they will remain free. Please feel free to copy the text and paste it into your word program to create your own documents or pdfs if you'd prefer that.

The pattern for A Tiny Flock of Sweaters for Good is on Ravelry! Click here!

The animal cut-outs and stands were gifted to me from Susan of Juniper Moon Farm. I created the tiny sweater patterns to boost interest and to hopefully bring more attention to Susan's creative fundraising idea. Thank you, Susan Gibbs, for including me in your amazing and creative idea to support Heifer International's fantastic charity work all over the world.

Click here for the Heifer International website! This one is so cool it will bring a tear to your eye.

Click here for the Heifer International Instagram account!

I've added A Tiny Flock of Sweaters for Good to Ravelry! Click here for the project page!

Yarn: Bits and bobs of sock or fingering weight yarn. Mini-skeins will work. 2-3 grams will be enough per animal.

Needles: US size 2 dpns or circular for magic loop or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 7 stitches per inch in stockinette

Materials:

Scissors

Ruler or tape measure

Stitch Marker

Yarn needle

Please read the pattern notes before starting!

Pattern Notes:

~ All sweaters are started at the bottom edge.

~ All sweaters are worked in the round starting at the bottom up to the front leg.

~ Once you reach the front leg you will be working back and forth or flat up to the bound-off neck edge.

~ After knitting the sweater, the wooden animal is put into the sweater by putting the head and front leg through the cast-on bottom end and then arranging the sweater on the body.

~ You will be sewing your animal into the sweater.

~ The cut yarn end from the bound-off stitches on the neck is placed on a yarn needle and the ribbed neck is held in place together around the animal and is whipstitched together down to the front leg.

~ All ends are pulled to the inside and trimmed to stay inside, no weaving in of ends is necessary.

Lamb Sweater

Cast on 16 sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.

Rnds 1-4: (K1, p1) repeat to the end of the round.

Knit every round until the body measures 1-inch from the cast on edge.

Now begin to work back and forth or flat. You will begin with a purl row.

Tip: I placed all of the stitches on 1 needles for this part. The first couple of rows are a little tight this way but it loosens up after working a few rows. It's up to you! You can continue working on all of the needles back and forth, too.

Work back and forth for 5 rows, beginning with a purl row.

Rib neck:

Rows 1-6: (K1, p1) repeat to the end of the row.

Bind off. Cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch.

Follow the instructions in Pattern Notes (at the start of the pattern) for finishing.

Yearling Sweater

Cast on 18 sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.

Rnds 1-4: (K1, p1) repeat to the end of the round.

Knit every round until the body measures 1 1/2-inches from the cast on edge.

Now begin to work back and forth or flat. You will begin with a purl row.

Work back and forth for 7 rows, beginning with a purl row.

Rib neck:

Rows 1-8: (K1, p1) repeat to the end of the row.

Bind off. Cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch.

Follow the instructions in Pattern Notes (at the start of the pattern) for finishing. Note that for this sheep I cuffed the neckline.

Ewe Sweater:

Cast on 20 sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.

Rnds 1-3: (K2, p2) repeat to the end of the round.

Knit every round until the body measures 2-inches from the cast on edge.

Now begin to work back and forth or flat. You will begin with a purl row.

Work back and forth for 8 rows, beginning with a purl row.

Rib neck:

Rows 1-11: (K2, p2) repeat to the end of the row.

Bind off. Cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch.

Now follow the instructions in Pattern Notes (at the start of the pattern) for finishing.

Alpaca Sweater:

Cast on 24 sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.

Rnds 1-4: (K2, p2) repeat to the end of the round.

Knit every round until the body measures 2-inches above the cast on edge.

Now begin to work back and forth or flat. You will begin with a purl row.

Work back and forth for 9 rows, beginning with a purl row.

Decrease Rows:

Row 1: Ssk, knit to the last 3 sts, k2tog. 22 sts.

Row 2: Purl.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 once more. 20 sts.

Rib neck:

Row 1: (K2, p2) repeat to the end of the row.

Repeat Row 1 until the rib section measures 1 1/2 inches.

Bind off. Cut the yarn leaving an 8-inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch.

Now follow the instructions in Pattern Notes (at the start of the pattern) for finishing. Note that I cuffed both the hem and the neckline for the alpaca's sweater.

Please let me know if you make a flock with sweaters! I would love to see what you do. Post on Instagram and tag me, #susanbanderson, if you think of it. That would be wonderful.

Click here for a link to my Instagram account if you're interested.

The pattern for the sweaters is in Ravelry right here.

Enjoy, dear friends! We are heading fast and furiously into the holiday season. Let's all hang onto our hats and needles together.

xo ~ susan