Where Are They Now?

Welcome Back for Day 4 of the 2nd Annual Knit & Crochet Blog Week.

Today is all about where are your knits now?

Rather than telling you about who has my handknits and whatever happened to them, I thought it would be fun to look back on something that was long forgotten.

Remember this post about my Katherine Hepburn Cardigan?

Um, yeah. So 3 years ago I blog about how I really want this Katherine Hepburn Cardigan. I even showed off my progress (pictured above).

That's about as far as I ever got with the sweater. When we moved to our house in the summer of 2009, I moved it with me. Last summer though, I ripped it out, and sold the unused yarn. I was never going to finish that sweater, as much as I loved it and wanted it. I think in the last year I have come to realize that I am just not a sweater knitter.

Got any good frogging stories? Did your handknits end up anywhere cool?

Come back tomorrow for more. Tomorrow is a challenging one. :)

Tidy mind, Tidy Stitches

Welcome to Day Three of the 2nd Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week.



Today's post theme is Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches. Today is all about talking about getting organized: "Blog about an aspect of that organization process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organized stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry."

I would say that I am pretty organized when it comes to my knitting. I am very good about keeping my Ravelry page updated. I really think that is because I had been blogging for awhile before Ravelry. I was used to photographing my projects. Now, my stash, that is something that has recently gotten quite unorganized. I seem to have yarn all over the house. I rarely photo it for Ravelry these days, which is something I plan on getting a handle on soon. Although, living in a house filled with yarn in random places really isn't a bad thing.

Finally, I thought I would show off how I keep all my WIPs organized: Each WIP gets its own project bag. Really, it's one of my favorite things about knitting! I love me some project bags. And ZigZag Stitches? Well, she is my fav fav fav. Why? Because you can get knitting witches: Or knitting cats:

Or even knitting chickens:

So, that's how I keep things organized. What about you? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: Where are they now?

Skill + 1UP

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Today is all about skill. The website tells me to "look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year."

I can say that a year ago, I didn't think I would be in the place I am with designing. Last January I took a Design Your Own Shawl class online with Stefanie Japel, and that really got the ball rolling for me. It was in that class that I designed the Moor Shawl.

From that class I caught the designing bug, and managed to score myself some charting software. I figured out how to use it and started designing more. I was able to start working with yarn companies, including Kollage and had my Geneva Sock pattern published by them:

And most recently, I had my Snuggery Shawl published through the KnitPicks IDP, which I think is my favorite design to date (and only $2.99 - tempt, tempt):

I have learned so much over the last year about designing, the process, and how to get those patterns published. This is a skill that I look forward to developing more this year and can't wait to see where it takes me!

Stay tuned for tomorrow: Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches.

Happy knitting!

A Tale of Two Yarns

I this on a couple of blogs this morning, and I thought it would be fun to play along!

Each day this week I will posting about the topic listed for the day on the website. Today's post: A Tale of Two Yarns.

I have decided to talk about my favorite sock yarn, and one that I was not crazy about. First up, my favorite sock yarn:

Duh. It's Socks That Rock. I love all weights of this yarn. I love that it's tightly spun, and I love the colorways. The only drawback on this yarn for me is I wish the yardarge was a little more. I would knit a lot more shawls with it if it was!

Some other sock yarns I like: Kollage Sockalicious, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, and Malabrigo. Yum. Malabrigo.

And, here is a sock yarn I am not so crazy about:

Collinette Jitterbug. I know lots of people like it and I really thought I would too. The colors are amazing and it is also tightly spun. When I first tried it I thought it would become a standby for me, a fav that I would often turn to. I don't know. I just didn't like it that much. Haven't bought some in years. Maybe I should give it another try!

What are your fav and not so fav sock yarns?

Happy knitting. Hope you enjoy all my blogging this week! :)

Cause Jenni She Knows Me. . . . .

My knitting BFF, Jenni, was very lucky to go to Vogue Knitting Live in January. She was very nice and brought me home some of my fave yarn, Socks That Rock!

The colorway is Femmebot.

I am so in love with this color combo. It is going to make some awesome socks. I am thinking I may need another pair of Charade socks. This yarn just screams that pattern to me.

I have been very strong in the yarn buying department this year, so it was nice that Jenni is helping to enhance my stash while I am not. What a good egg!

Happy knitting!

It was the jealousy that made me do it. . . . .

A few weeks ago, I was reading Carrie's blog as I like to do, and she posted her Stitches West Recap. In it, she showed off her Romi shawl pin.

I became jealous of her shawl pin. I just had to have one of my own! A few days later, this arrived:

I caved and ordered one. After scouring the pages of Romi's website looking for my favorite, I ended up buying the first one on the first page. It was my fave!

I look forward to wearing it with my shawls.

Happy knitting!

There's Still Time. . . .

Just popping in to remind everyone that my buy one, get one pattern sale is still going on!


From now until 3/27, if you buy one pattern in my Ravelry shop, you get one pattern (of equal or lesser value) for free.


All you need to do is use the coupon code "freebie" during check out and the discount will be applied. It's good for any of my patterns in the Ravelry shop.

Thanks for everyone's support! I hope you are enjoying the patterns. There are more to come soon so stay tuned. :)

Note: Discount is applied for Ravelry shop purchases only. There is no coupon code available for the KP website. Just FYI. :)

Still Spinning

Even though my spinning wheel mostly sits around and collects dust these days, every once and awhile I bust it out and give it a little love.


I finally finished spinning the Miss Babs roving I acquired at Stitches Midwest last year. It's 4oz of pure merino loveliness.


It's 2-ply and I ended up with about 325 yards in the end. Not bad for me! I usually end up with something in the 250 yard range, and I am always trying to spin thinner.

I think I may try to design something for it. Another handspun shawlette of some kind, I think.

I really how the colors came out in this yarn. I think at Stitches Midwest this year, I may need to acquire some more. :)

Happy knitting (and spinning)!

It's Voting Time

Everyone seemed to enjoy the last KAL so much, I think we should do it again!

I have put up a poll in the Ravelry group so you can vote for the next KAL.

Here is what we are voting on:

Poll: Next Knitting Like Crazy KAL

• Pick any Knitting Like Crazy Sock Pattern
  
• New Sock Pattern
  
• New Shawl Pattern
  
• Mystery Sock - New Pattern

Vote between now and April 1st. I have patterns I am working on, but I would need time to get them ready if we are going with a new pattern.

You can hop on over to this thread to vote, or you can leave a comment on this blog post.

And, if you have an idea not in the list, then I would like to hear that too!

Happy knitting and have a great weekend!

Irish Hiking Mittens

I was determined to get these mittens finished for a St. Patrick's Day post. It's the Irish Hiking Mittens!A great, easy and free pattern by iknit2purl2. These mittens whip up in a snap!
I used just one skein of Cascade 220 Heathers and some US Size 6 dpns.
I knit them over the coarse of a month, but really I think it took about one day per mitten.

While I finished them yesterday and it was 60F here, at least they will be ready for next winter. :)

Happy knitting and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I will be partying it up at my parent's house, eating corned beef and cabbage, as is the tradition in the Hansen household.

It's a Buy One Get One Free Sale!

I think it's time to have another pattern sale. You know, in celebration of my new Snuggery Shawl pattern through the KnitPicks Independent Designer Program.

Plus, I don't know about you, but I love me some free stuff. So from now until 3/27, if you buy one pattern in my Ravelry shop, you get one pattern (of equal or lesser value) for free.

All you need to do is use the coupon code "freebie" during check out and the discount will be applied.

There are shawl patterns, and sock patterns, and even a cowl pattern now. So, check it out and don't forget to use that coupon code!

Happy knitting (and shopping)!

Note: Discount is applied for Ravelry shop purchases only. There is no coupon code available for the KP website. Just FYI. :)

Another Freebie Update

I updated another one of my free patterns over the weekend. The iPod Nano Cozy!
Lots of people have knit this wee little cozy. Over 100! I love looking at all the FO pages for this cozy. All that leftover sock yarn being put to good use. I just love it!

Like the Mock Cable Rib Socks pattern, I changed the formatting for the pattern. I also added finished dimensions, because I thought people would want to know that too.

Again, the pattern is free. So if your iPod Nano is in need of a cozy, download the pattern today.

Happy knitting! :)

The Snuggery Shawl

I am so very pleased to show off my latest shawl design. It's the Snuggery Shawl!
Here's the description from Ravelry:

The shawl is named for my friend, Jenni. She loves to knit lace shawls, especially ones with allover lace patterns. This one I can see her whipping this up in no time!

The shawl starts at the top center and is worked outward. The shawl is knit following two charts, one for the body of the shawl and one for the lace edging. All the action happens on the right side of the shawl, the wrong side only contains knits and purls.

I love the allover lace in the shawl. It's easy to memorize and looks impressive.
This shawl is knit out of 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss (shown here in the Masala colorway).

This is my first shawl designed out of a Knit Picks yarn. Why? Because it is available on the Knit Picks Website!!
I am really excited to have my first design out with the Independent Designer Program (IDP). I had been thinking about it since I first heard about it, and I am glad to be working with them.
You can purchase the pattern on the Knit Picks website here, or as a Ravelry download.

The cost of the pattern both on Knit Picks and on Ravelry is only $2.99. A great deal for a pattern!

Just want to mention that the pattern is chart based. There are not written directions for the chart. But don't let that shy you away from the pattern. Why no give charts a try!? :)

C'mon, you know you want to knit one! Happy knitting!

Updating an Oldie But Goodie. . . .

A couple weeks ago I decided that I wanted to start updating my free patterns that are out there. My pattern writing style has started to change (hopefully for the better!) and I thought the free pattern probably should reflect that too.

So, I started with one of the easier ones, the Mock Cable Rib Socks:
I didn't make any changes to the actual instructions on how to knit these socks, just added some notes and abbreviations that I think will make the pattern more clear.
And, I added my pretty banner (the same one at the top of my blog). Because, you know, that makes me happy.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the new look to the pattern. You can download it for free by clicking here.

Watch here in coming weeks for updates to all the patterns. Enjoy and happy knitting!

It had to end sometime. . . .

Almost four years ago, I opened my etsy shop with a wee bit of yarn I had dyed myself. Here is one of those skeins:Over the years I dyed lots of sports yarn:

And dyed lots of random color combos that made me so happy I would squee with delight, first in my apartment kitchen and then in the basement of our house:

Over the last few months I have been thinking long and hard about the yarn dyeing. As I have been starting my life with Alex and dipping my toes into knitwear design, it's the one thing that doesn't really have a place anymore. So, with that, I am closing up shop.

The doors to the Knitting Like Crazy Etsy shop are closing on March 31, 2011. I'm not saying that they will never open again, but for the forseeable future, they will be closed.

I will be listing any remaining colorways up in the shop in the next week or two. And, it's possible that I am hoarding a skein or two for a little giveaway at the end of March. :)

Thanks to everyone for being so wonderful and supportive over the years. I have met some of the most wonderful people from having my little store on Etsy.

Hopefully you will enjoy my future knitty shenanigans. I may have a few up my sleeve! :)

Happy knitting!

Note: if you have a gift certificate, I will still honor it. Just contact me via email about your order! I think there's only one or two floating around out there. :)

Carefree KAL - The Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone for knitting along! I did finish one Carefree during the KAL:The other one that I was working on I will be using to do the math to update the pattern to make the Carefree bigger, so I will be showing that one off later in the month.

Now, onto what you have all been waiting for....the prizes!

According to my research, there were five people that finished their shawls:

KristyR

Crookedknits

nanaknits

coffeeyarn

purliegurlie

Nice work, ladies! You can see them all in the the Carefree Kal thread on Ravelry (except purliegurlie, she texted me a pic of hers, so I know it is done!) And, I am happy to say, you are ALL winners!!!!! (I pulled the names out of a hat to determine the order)

So, here is what you have won. KristyR, you have won this:

Crookedknits, you have won this (hopefully it won't be lost for weeks when I mail it to you!):

nanaknits, you have won this:

So, that takes care of the prizes that I had already revealed. What do coffeeyarn and purliegurlie win? Something delicious from my stash. It will be a surprise. But trust me, it will be good!

In addition to everyone winning yarn, I will also be sending you patterns. What patterns you ask? You all be winning a sock pattern from the IrishGirlieKnits!!! I will be sending those to you through Ravelry tomorrow!

Thanks everyone for playing along. We will have to do another KAL soon. :)

Happy knitting!

Oh, for the love of Cookie A.

I could help it. When Cookie A. said she was coming out with a sock club, I just had to join. I don't even know how it happened. One minute I am reading her website about it, the next thing I am running through the house to grab my wallet.

Cookie A. makes you act crazy like that.

Anyway, I thought I would share my yarn acquisition from the club this month.

It arrived all wrapped up like this:
And when I opened it, this beauty was inside:It's Sting Theory Caper Yarn in the exclusive Solas colorway. I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty much the perfect color for a Cookie A. pattern!

The club included two patterns, and a cookie recipe. This part came in a 25-page pdf document. It was like getting your very own Cookie A. magazine or something. I can't believe how well it was all put together . I had a great time pouring over those pages. And, I think I may need to make me some cookies!

I'm not sure which pattern I am going to knit with this yarn, but I am definitely going to be knitting one of them!

Anyone else join the club? How did you feel about the first installment? I am already getting excited for the next shipment in April!

Happy knitting!

Stitches WEST!

Stitches West ended a week or so ago, but I just had to share this. I was so very excited when Erica at Kollage Yarns sent me a message saying my Candlelight Shawl for Kollage Yarns had been in the Stitches West Fashion Show:

Photo courtesy of Kollage Yarns (via Flickr)

Photo by Pam.

I just can't believe that my shawl made it into a Stitches fashion show. I may have jumped up and down repeatedly in my living room when I saw the pic. :)

The shawl pictured here was knit by the lovely Sarah, of Rainloverknits.

Happy knitting!