Knit Stars!

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all having a good spring season so far. It's been going well around here and we are all plugging along. I am popping in here today to let you know about a couple of fun things that are happening right now. 

First, I have some exciting news about a teaching opportunity coming up. I am teaching an online workshop in the upcoming Knit Stars 4.0! This is kind of a group online teaching experience, when you purchase Knit Stars 4.0 you not only get my workshop you get a bunch of other teachers' classes and other experiences, as well. Caitlin Hunter and Lucy Neatby are two of the other teachers in the group this time around!

If you sign up now you get a discounted Early Bird deal!

Click here for my Knit Stars 4.0 link to find out more information about Early Bird registration! I want to be sure to let you knit that this is an affiliate link. 

Anyway, I am designing a brand new exclusive toy pattern for Knit Stars 4.0 and it's something I have never done before so I am really excited about it.

Also, we have just released my newest Spring Charm Set! We have kits available that include the Ravelry pattern! 

Click here for the Kit and pattern information for the Spring Charm Set! 

Bunnies!

Chicks!

Flowers!

The pattern includes an exclusive video tutorial link for how to make the flowers!

And Carrots!

Thanks for stopping by today. I am sending love to you all and I hope your knitting is going well!

xo ~ susan

Love & Hearts Hat for Good and Sweet Bees!

Hi, Knitters, I hope you are doing well this February! I have a few fun things to share today. One is a new pattern for good. And at the end of the post I talk about this but on Barrett Wool Co. we are having FREE U.S. shipping this weekend using the code HOME at checkout for all orders of 3 or more skeins of yarn or any purchase over $54! I want to mention that right away. On to the new hat pattern... Hearts are a favorite motif of mine and in my book, every month of the year is a good time to celebrate everything that hearts represent. The Love & Hearts Hat is written in four sizes from baby to child, and the largest size fits a large child, teen or even an adult. The hat is worked from the brim up with skinny stripes with a simple heart motif in stranded colorwork. The crown decreases are worked to create a small point that is topped off with a tiny heart. The heart is picked up and knit on. The hat is worked up in our Home Worsted Weight and would be adorable in so many different colorways. Pinks and reds yes, but what about blues and greens or purple? Be creative with your choices. All proceeds from the sales of the Love & Hearts Hat from Feb. 14th to Feb. 17th, 2019, are going to be donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Click here to read more about the BGCA! The pattern is on discount from Feb. 14th to Feb. 17th, 2019. The discount price is $3.50 (no code needed). After Feb. 17th the pattern price will be set at $5.00. We will keep you posted on the donation information. I'm so excited about it! Thank you.

Click Here for Love & Hearts Hat Pattern on Ravelry

The Sweet Bee & Flower pattern is finally available for individual purchase on Ravelry. The pattern originally appeared in Making Magazine No. 5. To celebrate the pattern release we are putting the pattern on discount for the first week for only $3.50, no code needed. After that, it will be priced at $5.50. We have also brought back the adorable Sweet Bee & Flower Kits! You have the choice of three different flower colors to go along with your Sweet Bee and the option of including our new BWC Ring Stitch Markers (small size) with your kit. These kits use Home Fingering Weight. The Sweet Bee & Flower Kits will begin shipping on Wednesday, Feb. 20th, 2019. Click Here for Sweet Bee and Flower Kits Click Here for Sweet Bee and Flower Pattern Here's a photo of the Sweet Bee and Flower Kit!

Home Worsted & Fingering Weight is back in stock! Our Home Worsted and Fingering Weight has been restocked! All of our beautifully spun and dyed 100% American Wool skeins are ready to be shipped and we are so excited to have it available in the shop. Without getting into too much detail, our new squishy full skeins of the Home Yarn lines arrived without the tags strung onto the skeins. We have the correct tags and we are getting the issue remedied. We hope you will understand if we tuck the tags for your skeins into the Barrett Wool Co. bag for the time being. Thank you for your patience on this and we will be getting the tags strung on the skeins very soon. To celebrate the Home yarns today we are offering FREE shipping for U.S. orders only on all purchases of 3 or more skeins of any of our yarns, including Wisconsin Woolen Spun, or any purchase over $54.00!  Click Here for Home Worsted & Fingering Weight Have a great weekend, everyone! I hope you are staying warm and cozy if you are in a colder climate right now. Our knitting helps with that for sure. I'll be back soon with more. xo ~ susan

New Gnome Pattern!

Gnome Hi, Knitters, I hope you are having a wonderful December. It is going so fast. I still have so much to do and many handmade gifts to finish. My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to do it all! I have one last little seasonal knit for you today and I’m pretty excited about it. The new pattern is called Gnome and here is some information about the pattern and how it came to be. Click here for the discounted Gnome pattern on Ravelry!  Only $3.00 right now, no code needed.  I’m throwing my needles into the knitted gnome ring! I’ve loved gnomes since I was little. My grandma, Millie Barrett, loved garden gnomes. She always had many a gnome sprinkled throughout her yard and as a child, I’ll never forget how much I loved finding them when we visited. These tiny knitted gnomes are only 4-inches tall which makes them both the perfect ornament size or stand-alone toy size. The gnomes are knit completely in one piece starting from the bottom to the top of the hat. The beard, ears, arms and pointy feet are picked up and knitted directly on. There is no stitching together of tiny parts required. Note that the ears and feet are totally optional so if you feel your gnome is good to go without, it’s just as cute that way. To celebrate the season all of our holiday patterns are now set at the big discount price of $3.00 per pattern! No code is needed. After the holidays all of these patterns will go back to their regular prices. The discounted patterns include (Ravelry links): Holiday Charm Set Holiday Charm Set No. 2 Little Long Johns Click here for the discounted Gnome pattern on Ravelry! The yarn used is Barrett Wool Co. Home Fingering Weight in Red Flannel, Picket Fence, Bear, Scout and Big Woods.  Click here for Barrett Wool Co.! Have fun with your Gnome knitting!

New Gift Cards -The kind you hold in your hand! We have just received our newly designed Barrett Wool Co. Gift Cards and we absolutely love them. I drew some little red yoked sweaters to decorate the cards and they are really cute. But best of all, these make the perfect gift for any knitter in your life! The BWC Gift Cards will be enclosed in a small hand-stamped craft-paper envelope and sent via USPS to the recipient. Our digital Gift Cards are always available, too, and these have immediate delivery, of course!

Click Here for Gift Cards

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and holiday season ahead! I'll be back soon with more. xo ~ susan

December Sunday

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all doing well. I have a couple of fun things to share with you on this cold December Sunday. I thought I would start today with a quick follow-up from my last post, which was quite a few weeks ago. In that post, I talked about my son Ben's new venture in teaching cooking classes. I got to attend one of his classes last week and it was so much fun. 

I haven't been to a cooking class before and I learned a lot. The class was called One Pot, One dinner and Ben demonstrated how to make four different vegetarian meals in two short hours. We got to eat so much good healthy farm-fresh food all while picking up lots of tips along the way. I learned about several new spices, cutting techniques and mainly how to have fun with your cooking. We got all four dinner recipes, too. The farm setting is completely charming and the class was a big hit! 

If you are ever in the area or are interested, the organic produce farm is called Sprouting Acres and it is located about 15-20 minutes outside of Madison. They are offering cooking and baking classes, CSA boxes and pizza oven gatherings (starting in the spring). Sprouting Acres also has a booth at the farmers market on the square and other locations.

Later today we are attending Ben's Holiday Baking Bonanza at Sprouting Acres. It is going to be a cookie-baking extravaganza with cookie decorating and making, recipe sharing, cookie eating, hot chocolate drinking time. We can't wait.  

Click here for the Sprouting Acres website for more information!

Click here for Sprouting Acres on Instagram!

Next up, I have a new pattern and kit that was released a short while ago. It is called Little Long Johns and it is an ornament pattern. 

Click here to find out more about the Little Long Johns Mini-Kit and pattern!

The idea of the long johns ornament has been a long time coming. I've had it on my list for quite awhile and I'm so glad it finally came to be. I used Barrett Wool Co.'s Wisconsin Woolen Spun Fingering weight yarn because I wanted that woolen spun rustic kind of old-fashioned look to the fabric. It worked out well.

The mini-kit is so cute. It comes with a small cake of the red yarn, enough to make one ornament. 

Click here for the Little Long Johns Mini-Kit information!

Click here for the Little Long Johns pattern on Ravelry!

The back flap is my favorite part. In addition to the yarn to make one pair of Long Johns, the kit also includes baker's twine for loops or for a garland, 10 little black beads for the buttons, and two tiny clothespins for another hanging option. It's all super cute and fun and affordable!

Have a great Sunday and week ahead. I have a few new holiday charm pattern patterns coming out this week ahead and I'll be sure to post about those as soon as they are available. I'm having so much fun creating these little ornaments this year. Thanks for checking them out.

Thanks for joining me today, Knitters. I always love popping in here to connect.

xo ~ susan

Breadmaking & a Pizza Oven

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all having a great October. It's flying by so fast, as always. I am popping in today to tell you some exciting news about my son, Ben Anderson. He has been working at an organic produce farm called Sprouting Acres for a while now and it's been really interesting for him. After baking and cooking for several local bakeries and restaurants, including cooking at many local events, he is starting to teach some classes at Sprouting Acres farm. The farm is located right outside of Madison in Cambridge, Wisconsin. It is a really beautiful location. Ben and the owner and others built the class facility from the ground up. The building includes a professional kitchen, class/meeting/restaurant space and it's really pretty amazing. 

Ben is teaching several classes with more to be listed very soon. He is teaching a Sourdough Bread class, a class called Breads from Around the World (I'm taking this class on Nov. 20th!), and an appetizer class. 

Click here to find out more and to register for the classes!

I'd love to see you in class so I hope you'll join me or sign up for any of the classes being offered at Sprouting Acres if you are in the area. Let me know if you sign up!

Ben has been cooking and baking and studying all things about food for years and years. He is really talented if I do say so myself! He is adding a Holiday Baking class that will be held on a weekend day coming up, too, and I'm definitely attending this one when it gets listed. 

Click here to see Sprouting Acres on Facebook!

I know firsthand how good Ben's breads taste. They are delicious and beautiful with an artisan quality. For his sourdough class you will leave with your own starter to take with you! 

I want to share some photos from Sprouting Acres with you. It is a special place with so much potential because the people who work and live there really care about what they are doing and the produce and food they provide to local restaurants and sell at their own farmers market booths. You may have seen the Sprouting Acres booth on the market on the square if you go on Saturdays.

This is the building that Ben helped build. One inside wall is covered with old barn wood and it looks so cool. Last weekend we went to the first-ever pizza day at the farm and that's where I took these photos. They had a trio of string instrument musicians playing inside the building and it was lovely. 

That's Ben in the white t-shirt. He helped build and design the new wood-burning pizza oven. It was a super fun event and the fall weather was perfect. The pizza was so good, incredibly tasty. What an achievement. They just added the roof/shelter structure. They all worked so hard.  

This is Ben and his girlfriend Laura. Laura helped with the pizza event by running orders and making the pizzas. She is a trooper. I think she was all pizza-ed out by the end after making dozens and dozens of pizzas over the afternoon hours. 

By the way, Ben is wearing his Baker's Hat I designed and knit for him last winter. 

Click here for the pattern and yarn information for the Baker's Hat!

Here is the barn wood I was mentioning!

Andy is the owner of Sprouting Acres. Ben met Andy when he was buying local produce for the restaurant where he was cooking. They really hit it off and Ben has enjoyed working at Andy's farm.

The pizza oven in action! 

He's so at home and in his element when surrounded by the farm and cooking. 

Anyway, have a great Friday and weekend ahead and maybe I'll see you at Sprouting Acres or in Minneapolis or NYC Vogue Knitting Live events coming up. I hope so!

xo ~ susan

Apple Picking and Fall Knitting

Hi, Knitters, I hope you are doing well this weekend. It's been fun around here. I got to spend a lot of time with good old Peachy yesterday running errands and going out for dinner. I loved the one-on-one time which is always a treat when you have a big family. Now for a little bit of exciting news! I have a new pattern that's just been released. Here is the description:  Crisp chilly days, colorful leaves, hot apple cider and pumpkins! The fall season is a favorite amongst many for obvious reasons and I wanted to capture a little bit of this autumnal magic with the Fall Harvest Charm Set. The pattern includes four patterns for a pumpkin, acorn, pinecone and a leaf. All of the charms are worked up in our Home Fingering Weight yarn and you only need a small amount for each. The charms are perfect for making a garland, an ornament, to top a gift, to gift to a special teacher, or to put in a bowl on a coffee table.  Included in the pattern are 4 video tutorial links that are exclusive, meaning they are only available when you purchase the pattern! I help guide you right through as you work. I hope you’ll enjoy knitting a little bit of fall this year! Special Discount Price: The pattern is priced at $3.50 starting today October 12th through October 19th, 2018. Then the price will be set at $6.00. No code necessary! Click here for the Fall Harvest Charm Set Pattern on Ravelry! Click here for Home Fingering Weight Yarn!

Black Sheep, White Sheep + Making No. 6 / Black & White Pre-Order

Thank you so much for the enormous response to my new project and kit in the upcoming issue of Making No. 6 / Black & White. The small and clever Black Sheep, White Sheep project is really a sweet knockout of a project. We still have kits available for pre-order along with the magazine. Jump on over to check it out while it lasts. Important Note: Due to shipping, please note that if you pre-order the kit and/or magazine, it needs to be a separate order if you are ordering other items as well. Click here for the Black Sheep, White Sheep Kits and Making No. 6 pre-order.

Vogue Knitting Live New York! Once again I’m teaching at one of my favorite events, Vogue Knitting Live New York, coming up on January 25-27, 2019! VIP sign-ups have already started and open registration begins soon, and I want to make sure that I get to see you in class if you are coming to the event. Everything sells out fast and I’m teaching on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is an event not to miss. It’s really an incredible experience. I hope to see you in class in NYC! Click here to check out and sign up for Vogue Knitting Live NYC 2019!

Today I am leaving you with a few photos from our apple picking excursion from a couple of weeks ago. This year we went to Sutter’s Ridge Farm in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. So far I’ve made applesauce and apple crisp, my old standby recipes. My son is wearing The Baker's Hat in a couple of the photos. Click here if interested!

I hope you are able to get out there and enjoy this beautiful season and I hope your knitting is going well. It is getting downright cold outside and I am enjoying bundling up in my woolens once again.

xo ~ susan

Making No. 6 & Black Sheep, White Sheep Pre-orders!

Photo credit: Carrie Bostick Hoge

Pre-Order Making No. 6 and Black Sheep, White Sheep Kits Hi, Knitters, I hope you are all doing well. I celebrated a birthday this weekend and we enjoyed a fun family dinner last night. I'm still feeling warm and toasty about our time together this morning, feeling pretty grateful. I have some big new things happening in the knitting universe and I'd like to share those with you this morning. Today is a big day! For the first time we are taking pre-orders for both Making No. 6 / Black & White and kits for my project in the magazine called Black Sheep, White Sheep, which is an adorable pint-size REVERSIBLE toy! The sheep turns inside out to reveal the other sheep in the opposite color. These little sheep are fun to knit, quick and super clever. Perfect for gifting to knitters, sheep-lovers and kids! Making No. 6 and Black Sheep, White Sheep kits will begin shipping around October 30th, 2018. Making is an exquisite magazine full of all sorts of inspiring projects, not just knitting. The issues are collector’s items, like treasured books with timeless projects. We will have all 6 issues of Making restocked in the Mercantile very soon. I have a toy design in each of these issues. Click here for the Ravelry pattern page. Black Sheep, White Sheep is exclusive to Making right now, meaning the pattern can only be found in Making No. 6 / Black & White. The pattern will be available for individual purchase in April 2019. The Black Sheep, White Sheep Pre-order Kit will include:   Wisconsin Woolen Spun Worsted in Birch (creamy white) and Inkwell (black), enough to make at least one reversible toy (most likely two). An optional copy of Making No. 6 / Black & White A tin of 20 stitch markers in assorted colors.  An optional pair of our primitive (black) Sheep Scissors. A small amount of fiberfill. A hand stamped natural cotton project bag.

Click Here for Black Sheep, White Sheep Kits

Click Here for Making No. 6 / Black & White

Photo credit: Carrie Bostick Hoge

Tecumseh Sweater Kits

Last week I worked on re-vamping my Tecumseh sweater by steeking the front and making it into a cardigan. I also cut in afterthought pockets edged with an I-cord bind off. It turned out great and I love it. In the process, I removed several inches of fabric to make it a little smaller. As I was working I took photos to document the changes in my Instagram stories and this is now saved on my profile page if you are interested in seeing the steps in action. This is one of the best and most beautiful sweaters I have ever knitted. Click here to go to @susanbanderson on Instagram! We still have a very limited number of Tecumseh Sweater Kits available in both the Rain Shower and Birch colorways. Grab one quick if you are interested. The design and pattern is by the talented Caitlin Hunter of @boylandknitworks on Instagram.

Click Here for Tecumseh Sweater Kits

Snap-On Poms! Don’t forget that we have an ongoing deal on our new Snap-On Faux Fur poms! We love them and so do you apparently. The deal is that you get two poms for $10 with code POM at checkout. I have two videos available for these poms. -One shows how to attach the snap to the top of your hat. Click here for the video! -The other video shows how you need to give the pom a quick blow dry to fluff it up after removing it from the mailing packaging. You don’t want to miss this step. Click here for the video! You will love our poms, they are the perfect size to top any hat. We still have the Wild Dandelion Hat and Mountain Side Hat in the Kit section! Both of these hats are perfect to top off with a fluffy pom.

Click Here Snap-On Poms

More Stock Added for Wisconsin Woolen Spun We have been quietly building up our stock of Wisconsin Woolen Spun over the last few weeks. If you are interested in getting a sweater’s worth or just a skein or two for a smaller project I suggest you hop on over to check out the options. This yarn is nothing short of beautiful and it comes in big, generous, squishy skeins. You will fall in love with this soulful yarn. I guarantee it.

Click Here for Wisconsin Woolen Spun

Have a great weekend, Knitters! I'll be back soon with much more.