Little (and Mini) Dragon ~ Now Available for Download!

Hi, Knitters,

Remember this little guy? Well, the rights have just reverted back to me from Unicorn Books and I have just added the downloadable pattern for Little Dragon to my Ravelry Pattern Shop!

Click here to see the Ravelry pattern page for more information or to purchase!

Little Dragon is knit in an interesting way, all in one piece from the bottom up to the tip of the nose. Then the arms, feet, tail, ears and wings are all picked up and added on. I used safety eyes but you could embroider on eyes just as easily.

Little Dragon is knit with 2 strands of Opal sock yarn held doubled throughout the project. This makes the yarn close to a worsted weight so you could use a worsted weight yarn as well.

The fun thing is that I can imagine dragons in all sorts of colors, red, purple, blue, multi, striped, handspun.... 

Here is some information you might like to know about Little Dragon:

Size: 6 1/4 inches tall

Needles: US size 5 dpns

Gauge: 6 sts per inch in stockinette stitch

Yarn: sock or fingering weight held doubled, about 40 grams needed

6mm safety eyes (optional)

Click here to see Little Dragon on Ravelry (you don't need to be a member to purchase patterns on Ravelry)!

The Little Dragon pattern is a pint-sized knitting adventure. You get to use all sorts of fun techniques and the construction may surprise you. I came up with an unusual way to get the head to turn that is very simple and effective. It keeps the head slightly mobile which gives the dragon loads of personality.

One thing I don't have a photo of is something cute you can do with Little Dragon. He looks sort of baby-ish and young already but when I was at TNNA at the Unicorn booth they showed me that you could put the arms up and tuck the nose in so it looks like the dragon is covering his eyes. I loved this and didn't even think of it. Then the dragon becomes sort of bashful and shy. I think kids would really like this.

Okay, and now for the Mini-Little Dragon! I made a much smaller version of the Little Dragon, so the Mini-Little Dragon it is. This tiny blue dragon measures about 3 3/4 inches tall and sits easily in the palm of your hand. It couldn't be any sweeter. 

Friends forever, these two! I know there are so many dragon-themed books for children, teens, and adults. This little dragon would make such a sweet gift for any dragon fans out there. Little Dragon has so much personality. I just love this little guy so much.

Now for the Mini-Little Dragon! Yes, I made a mini! I am teaching the Little Dragon as a vehicle for some fantastic knitting techniques and toy knitting technique workshops all over the place. I decided to add a mini-version for the class.

I am posting the simple modifications to make a mini-version of Little Dragon here on this post only. I will put the link to this blog post on the Ravelry Project Page for the Little Dragon pattern for your reference.

Here are the modifications (to the purchased pattern) you need to make a perfect Mini-Little Dragon:

To make a Mini-Little Dragon:

Needles: US size 1 set of 4 dpns

Gauge: 7.5 sts per inch

Yarn: Opal Sock Yarn Solids Series or any other fingering weight or sock yarn (yarn is worked with 1 strand instead of 2 strands held together for the original Little Dragon)

·      You will need approximately 15 grams of fingering weight to make the mini-dragon.

Work the pattern exactly the same (using 1 strand of fingering weight on US size 1 dpns) as for the original Little Dragon except for these places:

Snout:

Rnds 8-12: knit

Arms:

Knit every round until the arm measures 1 ¼ inches from the picked up sts.

Left Wing:

Row 12: knit (leave out rows 13 and 14)

Right Wing:

Row 12: knit (leave out rows 13 and 14)

And there you go!

I hope you have a great weekend ahead. It is supposed to warm up a bit around here which I'm looking forward to.
best, susie

First Sock Report of 2014

Hi, Knitters,

Well, I'm off to a fun start for 2014. I just reviewed an almost final draft of an exciting new project I have been working on for some time now. It is adorable and will be released, hopefully, later this month. My hope is that you are going to love it as much as I do. I think you will.

Over the next few days I am releasing the Prairie Ridge Shawl and the Little Dragon and Mini-Little Dragon (all in one pattern) patterns in my Ravelry Pattern Store! I will post about each on the blog to let you know when those become available. I'm very excited about both of these patterns becoming available for download for you!

I am getting organized, mostly in my head, for Vogue Knitting Live in New York City at the end of next week. Who wouldn't be excited for that? I love the VK Live events so much. The staff is excellent and the whole thing is run so well. Next up is Vogue Knitting live in Seattle in March! I hope to see some of you in New York and in Seattle. I just found out that I am having a book signing in the Knitty City booth in the market at VK Live on Saturday, Jan. 18th from 5:30 to 6:30! I will sign any and all books or book plates, whatever you'd like to bring or purchase in the booth. It would be great if you could pop on by.

Okay, enough of all of that business talk. Let's talk socks!

I want to give you a quick sock report today. I can't stop knitting tons of socks at the same time. It doesn't bother me at all. I pick them up and put them down like nobody's business. They all get finished eventually. I love the process as much as the wearing. So here we go with my many socks in progress.

Above in the photo:

Yarn: My own handspun, Dyeabolical Roving purchased at the Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival

Pattern: How I make my socks (a free pattern by me!)

Progress: This is the second sock. I wear the first sock all of the time, mismatched style. I'm getting close to the heel flap on the second sock.

The Yarn Buddy, that the cake is sitting on, is wonderful. It is from my buddies Jeanette and George of Sun Valley Fibers. I leave it sitting in my living room and knit a round or two or three whenever it moves me.

Needles: Knit Picks US size 1dpns

This reminds me, I have a hat and mitt set that I designed for Sun Valley Fibers for the Thaw Retreat coming up toward the end of January. I am teaching at the retreat along with Amy Detjen. I will be releasing that pattern shortly after the retreat. It is really cute and the MCN Worsted by Sun Valley is like heaven. Jeanette dyed a special colorway just for the retreat. It is gorgeous and icy, you'll see.

Yarn: Knit Circus Matching Gradient Sock Set ~ I purchased this set from my friend Jaala, the dyer and founder of Knit Circus. I love this yarn.

Pattern: How I make my socks

Needles: Addi Sock Rocket US size 1, 32-inch circs (I like these very much.) My first ever attempt at Magic Looping socks. Eh, it's okay. Dpns are much faster for me, much more efficient because there is not as much movement and sliding things around. Dpns are so compact and quick. It's cool though. I like trying new things and techniques. I will probably do Magic Loop socks again at some point just for kicks.

Progress: This is the first sock, the gusset is done and I've got a couple of inches on the foot.  

Project bag: My own sewn bag (first ever zippered pouch for me). Fabric by Julianna Horner purchased at JoAnns. Bag Pattern: Open-wide bag tutorial.

Yarn: Opal Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night (discontinued)

Pattern: Hermione's Everyday Socks

Needles: Knit Picks US size 1 dpns

Progress: I'm on the heel flap of the second sock! I can't wait to wear these. 

Project bag: Sew Bendy on Etsy I love these little bags, simple, pretty, no fuss.

Yarn: Watermelon Stripes by Abbi Grasso on Etsy! This one is an amazing dyer and I love her yarn.

Needles: Knit Picks US size 1 dpns

Pattern: How I make my socks

Progress: I've just started the ribbing on the second sock. The first sock was completed at my senior daughter's last and final high school swim meet. This memory will be tied to these socks forever.

Project bag: Sew Bendy on Etsy

Yarn: Vesper Mini Skein Halloween Set (I love Vesper Yarn!)

Needles: Knitters Pride Karbonz US size 1 dpns

Needle holder: Jelby on Etsy (purchased at the SSK market last summer)

Pattern: How I make my socks

Progress: This is the second sock. I wear the first sock mismatched right now. I'm almost to the heel flap, maybe a couple more inches.

Project bag: Windy Prairie on Etsy This is the shop with the journal covers, too.

Yarn: Patons Kroy in the Blue Striped Ragg colorway purchased at the Wisconsin Craft Market (the most amazing craft/yarn shop you will ever see!)

Pattern: How I make my socks

Progress: First sock ~ loving the yarn!

Needles: Knit Picks US size 1 dpns

Project Bag: Sew Bendy on Etsy

Yarn: Cakewalk Yarns (discontinued) in the Peppermint Bark colorway

Needles: Knit Picks US size 1 dpns 

Pattern: How I make my socks

Progress: First sock. Gusset complete and I'm cruising along on the foot enjoying every minute of this yarn.

Project bag: Sew Bendy on Etsy

On an unrelated to socks topic, I am still not finished with my Agnes sweater/now cardigan. I'll tell you the story quickly. This started as a pullover, just like in the pattern. 

Click here to see the original version of my Agnes!

I realized that, after it was finished, I would like it better as a cozy cardigan. So I steeked it as an afterthought, as you do, and I liked it much better. I had these great cut branch buttons from Wooden Treasures on Etsy and they look perfect on the Bark colorway of Quince & Co. Puffin. It's all tree-like.

Click here to see the next steeked version of Agnes!

Here is the continued issue, the neckline in the front runs too high on my neck. I get fidgety about things bothering me on my neck. It is a top-down cardigan without any shaping at the neckline. The high neck bothered me in pullover form and it continued to bother me in cardigan form. I thought that it would be better in cardigan form because I could leave the top button open but it never sits right, flopping around or something. I am a no-fuss clothing wearer. I can't have any fussing whatsoever or I won't wear it. Not wearing this lovely, cozy cardigan just can't be left that way.

The other day I was wearing a knit hoodie cardigan and another day I was wearing my Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. What I realized from these two cardigans is that I needed to add onto the collar so that it would flop open onto my shoulders, stay there, and then it would not hit too high on my neck. I looked and sure enough I have a leftover ball of the Quince & Co. Puffin in Bark just waiting to become a collar. It's not enough for a hood but it is enough for an added ribbed collar!

Away I went. I picked up stitches around the neckline. I couldn't pull out the edge to get live stitches due to the steeking action but I think it will look fine. I picked up so the ridge would be on the right side and you won't see it at all when the collar lays open. 

The photo above shows the remedy in progress. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this cardigan and the yarn. I won't quit on a sweater until I get it just right for me. It's basically never over. I am sure by the popularity of the Agnes pattern that most don't mind the neckline. It is just something that bothers me and that I can fix that pretty easily.

I'll keep you posted to see if it works, it looks pretty promising. My fingers are crossed.

And to finish off the day here, a big, gigantic THANK YOU goes out to all of you for participating in my Great Stash Sale on eBay! It is now over, for the time being, although I may make a few more Magic Cakes in the future sometime.... you never know. It was great fun and it is feeling much lighter around here now. You are a speedy bunch. The last group of orders is shipping out today. 

I'll be back with new pattern information on those downloads and more! I hope you are all off to a good start this new year.

best, susie

The Great Stash Sale Continues...

Hi, Knitters,

We have now been to the post office four times, each time with a bin filled with packed orders of yarn and surprises. My eBay shop, yarnsale, is stocked up again tonight. There will only probably be a couple more updates.

Click here to see what's up for purchase right now! 

I set up my winder today and went to town making some Magic Cakes (different yarns joined with the Magic Knot and wound into one cake) that you could use to make Paula Emons-Fuessle's Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl pattern. Remember my Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl? I added in some extra special fingering weight yarns that I thought you would enjoy. You don't have to make this shawl, you could make a different shawl, a cowl, a hat, socks, a scarf, etc.

The Magic Cake above is filled with all sorts of indie-dyed yarns like Cakewalk, and Koigu (the purple on the outside is leftover from the Hippo in Itty-Bitty Toys) and some commercial sock yarns, too. Much of the yarn I have in the shop is leftover from various design projects and book projects.

Things are flying out so fast! Here are a couple of the other Magic Cakes (the ones with the extra cake is for the ruffle for the Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl):

There are other yarns in the shop. Some of the yarns are discontinued, some are not, some are unique, some are standard. All are beautiful, well-kept and loved. It feels so good to know that this lovely yarn is going to knitterly homes.

This unusual skein is lace weight wool with strung felt balls in autumnal colors! I bought this at a Madison Knitters Guild meeting from a local vendor. It's beautiful! Free shipping on this item.

Check it out if you are interested. My stash is depleting quickly. I am only going to be posting a few more groups of listings over the next few days and then it will be over!

Click here to see what's still in the eBay shop, yarnsale!

Thanks for the wonderful support. You are always such a fun group, game for anything! I appreciate you all.
best, susie

Winners All Around

Edited to Add: I have an Ebay listing for more fantastic yarn from my stash!! It's going fast. 

Click here! Click here! Click here!

Hi, Knitters,

The winner of the Mary Jane Mucklestone Muckle Toque pattern and 150 Scandinavian Motifs book is.....

jillpickle (rav id)!

Congratulations to jillpickle! Thank you to everyone for entering. What a great response for Mary Jane's book and pattern. I'll have another giveaway very soon.

The winner of successful knitting for a 20 year-old son is..... me! I'm just kidding about the winning but I really do feel like a winner of some sort. Knitting for men is tricky at times, at least for me. Not the hats so much but sweaters are difficult to gauge as far as size goes. I'm way out of my league. 

First, here is the information about the sweater:

Pattern: Chesterfield by Julie Hoover

Yarn: Donegal Tweed by Tahki

I had a sweater's amount for me of the gray tweed and a skein of the natural. I just added on and ordered a few extra skeins in gray and one more of the natural tweed so I was sure to have enough. 

As I worked I was so concerned that the sweater was too big. I had taken my son's measurements and I had a sweater that he likes to compare for size as I knit but I still had concerns. When I held up the sweater while it was on the needles and then off, it seemed enormous. 

I tried to remain confident until he tried it on but doubts were definitely creeping in. It was so much knitting and I was not looking forward to ripping it out to fix the size but I would have if needed.

In the end, no worry was needed because it fits exactly as planned and better yet he just loves it! Isn't it great? The sweater is designed to have a very relaxed 4-5 inches of positive ease and that is exactly how it fits him. I think the sleeves are a little long but he likes them that way and won't let me shorten them. I guess when you are walking around on campus in the winter in Minnesota you can use extra length on your sleeves. I get that.

He has been wearing the sweater non-stop since Christmas which makes me feel so good. It has been bitter cold outside and this has been the perfect gift for the cold winter season. 

He wanted to hold a piece of bread in the photo. He even took a bite out of it for the photo. I don't know.... he is funny and always entertaining to say the least.

Right before Christmas I decided to whip him up this new hat as well. He loves the new hat just as much as the new sweater and the hat has rarely left his head since Christmas. This is good because someone around here really needs a shave and a haircut two bits (sorry, couldn't resist). Don't even ask about the mustache.... 

What are you going to do but laugh. This one likes to experiment with hair. You just never know what's going to walk through that door. It's pretty funny actually and I really don't mind. I'm always just happy to have him home whatever the state of his hair.

Hat information:

Windschief by Stephen West  I knit it longer by an inch or two than the pattern recommends before the decreases. There is no way it would have been long enough otherwise. For men's hats I always go to at least 7-inches from the cast on edge before starting to decrease for the crown. That's my rule of thumb.

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Worsted   I can't remember the color name and can't find the tag. This is wonderful yarn! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Cozy guy! Goofball, too.

What fun to succeed at this man-size knit! I don't know if you remember but a few years ago I started knitting another sweater for this son, he's been asking for awhile. It was too small. I discovered the size problem after finishing the back and part of the front. I was pretty discouraged and didn't try again until this fall.

The second time's a charm. Hooray for winning!

I hope you are staying warm. The high here on Monday is supposed to be 14 degrees below zero and that's the temperature without windchill. It will feel even colder. Yeah. That's even hard for me to take and I love winter. It will pass. Oh, and I just got an email that the schools are closed on Monday due to extreme cold weather and possibly on Tuesday as well. 

Another win is extended vacation for my girls! We still have vacation stuff left to do so we'll take an extra day or two. We won!

Take care of yourselves out there and let's knit the cold away together.

best, susie

Here's what you do...

Edited to Add: This morning at 6am there are only 3 skeins of the Cotton Classic left (out of 96 skeins) in my Ebay listing! Wow! Thank you! We are listing lots of new yarns for sale today, Jan. 1st, 2014, so please check back for more GREAT yarn at discounted prices. Click here to keep checking!

Hi, Knitters,

Be sure to read to the end of the post to find out about today's fantastic giveaway!

Before I jump into today's giveaway, I want to quickly tell you that I have listed 96 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic for sale on Ebay. I am selling the skeins at a very low price, $3.50 per skein. The going retail price is $6.50 per skein. This is beautiful, vibrantly colored cotton that can be used for child and baby knits (I used a lot of this yarn in Itty-Bitty Hats!). Also, it is great yarn for washcloths, crochet, garments, toys, hats, any charity knitting, etc. It's very versatile and machine wash and dry. 

The yarn is in brand-new condition, never used or opened, and every skein has the label.

Click here for my Ebay listing called, Yarn Sale!  Please use the Add to Cart feature to purchase multiple colors. $6.00 total shipping in the U.S. for any number of skeins. Contact me through Ebay for international shipping costs. 

Special offer: If you include a message with your purchase that says you learned about the Ebay Yarn Sale here on the blog or subscription email, I will throw a surprise in the package for you! It could be more yarn, a tape measure, a pattern..... you never know!

I will be adding much more yarn for sale at discounted prices so if you are interested in getting some yarn from my stash be sure to check back.

(photo provided by Mary Jane Mucklestone)

Now for more fun! I have wanted a reindeer hat since last winter when I spotted two young women at a local outdoor skating rink wearing the most charming reindeer hats I had ever seen. I even made up my own colorwork chart with a reindeer but I never got around to it. All of a sudden last week I saw the cutest hat pattern by one of my favorite designers, Mary Jane Mucklestone. The pattern is aptly called, Muckle Toque.  

And what a great photo from Mary Jane! Doesn't the photo make you want to knit one, too?

(photo provided by Mary Jane Mucklestone)

I knew right away what to do.

I bought the Muckle Toque pattern from Mary Jane and I pulled out her beautiful new book, 150 Scandinavian Motifs. I just adore this book and have owned it since it came out. It is like a treasure chest of colorwork stitch patterns. I have looked through this book so many times, more than I could count. I knew there were a few reindeer motifs I could insert right into Mary Jane's hat pattern. By combining the two I would have a complete Mary Jane masterpiece! My reindeer hat dreams were finally coming true.

Here are a few links for you:

Mary Jane Mucklestone's website! Please go visit Mary Jane's website. You will be blown away by her knitting and designing and photography. She is someone I really admire in the industry. What a talent!

The Muckle Toque pattern on Ravelry!

150 Scandinavian Motifs!

(Jacket Art from Interweave/F+W Media)

This amazing book is one that every knitter should have in their library. The stitch patterns are wonderful, diverse, interesting and downright beautiful. You should run out and get this book if you have any interest in colorwork knitting.

Now, after making a very slight stitch number variation so the motif would fit into the hat pattern, here is what I came up with.......

I used the reindeer motif #140 on page 128 in 150 Scandinavian Motifs. I knit the hat in some Cascade 220 Superwash I had in my stash. The hat pattern offers different sizes and has yarn suggestions. You can knit the hat in different weight yarns, too. Mary Jane tells you how to do it all in the pattern.

Thank you to my little TC for modeling today.

I love this new hat! Seriously, it is now my favorite hat for warmth and cuteness, of course.

I got some new snowshoes for Christmas and I have been hitting the great snowy outdoors with my reindeer Muckle Toque and my new snowshoes. I have been out a bunch of times already. I have to tell you, this hat just makes me feel good. My entire family likes my new hat, too.

I am making a second Muckle Toque in turquoise and white with a snowflake motif. I am well into the long 1x1 ribbed brim. I even love it a second time through. I will keep you posted on my progress. I have a feeling there will be many more. The hat is the perfect stash buster.

One new thing I learned in the pattern is how to make a spotted pom-pom. I love this idea and will use it again. I will add more spots on the next one now that I have it figured out. How cute is that?

So here's what you do......

First, get Mary Jane's new Muckle Toque pattern. Next, get Mary Jane's new colorwork motif book. Combine the two and come up with your very own spectacularly adorable winter hat! It's so cheerful, charming and fun. What great gift hats, too. 

Now here's the good part. One of you will win a copy of the book, 150 Scandinavian Motifs AND a copy of the Muckle Toque pattern! I am so excited to be able to offer this to you. Thank you to Interweave/F+W Media for the book and to Mary Jane for the pattern. 

Please leave a comment on this blog post to enter to win. Leave only one comment and be patient for your comment to appear. Please leave your Rav ID or your email address so I can contact you if you should win.

I'll be back in a few days to randomly select a winner!

If you are buying yarn from me on Ebay don't forget to leave me a note so you get your surprise!

Happy New Year to you all, dearest Knitters! May we all have the best upcoming year ever.

best, susie

Oh, darn.

(after)

Hi, Knitters,

Oh, darn.

 (before)

My first darning. I watched Paula Emons-Fuessle demonstrate darning socks at the Knitting Pipeline Retreat last spring and remembered what she shared with us in a small group.

Here is a very short 15 second Flipagram of some of my favorite Instagram photos from 2013:

That's all.

best, susie

p.s. I love visible patches so I used a contrasting sock yarn. The original is my own handspun.

The Day After

Hi, Knitters,
I hope you had a great Christmas yesterday if you celebrate. It was a wonderful day around here. We had Christmas Eve and morning with our own little family. After that we headed over to my sister's house for a delicious Christmas feast. A great time was had by all.

I am happy to report that the sweater I knit for my son fit beautifully. He wore it the rest of the day and it looked fantastic on him. I actually got a bit teary-eyed when he tried it on and it fit, such a relief. I will get some photos later with him in the sweater to share with you. It looks good!

I also knit this same son the Windschief Hat. He loved his new hat as well and he wore it much of Christmas day along with his sweater. I did add length to the Windschief Hat to make sure it covered his ears and I am glad because as written it would have been too short. He got a new apron (he is a cooker) as a gift and was wearing the new hat while doing some chopping in the kitchen so I quickly snapped his photo.

On another making front, TC went to town on ornament making this year. She spent hours and hours at the kitchen table making her ornaments. Every night we had to clear the table to eat our dinner together, and then she would load it right back up with her ornaments in progress. I loved that she was so absorbed and had so much fun.

After her flurry of ornament making was done, she packed up little gift sets full of ornaments for a few relatives. We got to keep a bunch for our own tree, too. Most of these ornaments were kits we purchased at the Wisconsin Craft Market, one of our favorite craft supply shops in town. She just loved the kits and started making the ornaments right after Thanksgiving. Some of the ornaments were quite complicated, others were easier. She packed the sets up in brown hexagon shaped boxes and I helped her tie a big Christmas-themed ribbon on each. They were impressive looking.

My favorite thing about her making the ornaments was when she said to me, "It makes you feel good to make things, doesn't it." Well, she was speaking to the right person. Yes!

Below is a series of photos of her beautiful creations:

I will leave you today with my freshly washed and stacked wool socks. I did a second round of sock washing after these so I have a couple more stacks to put back in my sock drawers. I hand wash my socks and lay them flat to dry whether or not the wool is superwash. Every once in awhile I will throw a pair in the dryer for a few minutes, with superwash wool only, right at the end of the drying. This just tightens up the stitches a bit more.

There is nothing much better than freshly washed socks. They feel and look like new again. I finished another colorwork hat I'll share with you next. I think you'll really love it and may want to knit one for yourself or a loved one.

It's good to be back on the other side.
best, susie