Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Problem Solved

Last night I was happily knitting away on one of my secret color TNNA projects when I came upon an error in my copy of the pattern and had to stop. It was getting close to the time when I needed to put the needles away for the evening anyway, but I don't like finishing my day on that kind of a note.

So, as soon as I got to work this morning, I headed straight to the the computer to figure out what was what. Just about the time I got the file open, the phone rang. It was a woman from Dallas who'd gotten stumped by this pattern last night too.

I was able to find the errata and get us both straightened away. We had a nice chuckle about what a coincidence it was that we both ran into the same issue right about the same time yesterday evening. Small world.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Secrets

I'm not very good at keeping secrets. I like to think it has more to do with the fact that I am generous and less to do with the idea that I am not trustworthy. I just want to share!

This personality trait isn't new. I was a tattle-tale when I was a kid. That is, until my older brother made it very clear that it was in my best interest to keep my mouth shut about some of his escapades. Once the bruises faded, I realized that he'd taught me a good life lesson. Discretion is important.

These days the kinds of secrets I deal with aren't earth shattering. There are the new colors that we're keeping under wraps. And the dates of a certain knitting convention that will happen in 2011. Maybe even the launch of a new Color Commentary colorway.

I'm glad that my secrets aren't critical to national security. It's nice to have a few things to keep close to the vest while still knowing that spilling the beans won't mean the end to life as we know it.

This is all a very long winded way to say that I can't show you the socks I started yesterday because they are in one of our five new colors and we aren't sharing those until TNNA.

But, we might have something in the way of a surprise come Friday. Assuming that all remains right in the world of international air travel.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Bitterroot

I finished up Bitterroot over the weekend. I'm really happy with it! The last few projects I've done have been small lace shawls that I've knit with one of our 'nearly solid' colors. I'd been itching to do something with a little more pizazz but worried that a multi color would overwhelm the lace pattern. On this one, I threw caution to the wind and cast on with Verve. I think it worked out beautifully.














I pretty much followed the pattern as written. It's from knitty.com and designed by Rosemary Hill of Romi Designs. It calls for hand spun, but I substituted our Shepherd Sock. I also skipped the beads. I am intrigued by beads, but haven't taken the leap yet.















The finished product is just a little bigger than some of the other ones I've done lately. It's 26.5" x 55.5" after blocking.














There wasn't much drama with Bitterroot. Except for the suspense of whether or not I was going to have enough yarn to finish. I got about 10 rows from the end and had a ball that just didn't seem like it was going to go the distance. I started doing all sorts of mental gymnastics of the "There are x stitches per row and I have y rows left. If every stitch requires one inch of yarn and the cow jumps over the moon, I will have enough to finish" variety.

It turns out I was in great shape. Ten yards to spare. Easy peasy.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

How 'Bout a Contest?

We're in naming mode around here. We finally picked the new colors that we're bringing to TNNA in June and gave them all names today. But, we have one last thing to name, a brand spanking new alpaca/silk blend yarn, and we decided it would be fun to let one of you name it for us. So why not host a little naming contest?!?!

Here are the details. Send your entry to yarn AT lornaslaces DOT net with the subject line reading "New Yarn Name". We'll narrow the choices down to our three favorites by April 30. We'll post the top three on May 1 and let you vote for the winner. Voting will close at 5:00PM central time on May 15th.

In case of multiple entries for the same name, we'll use a number generator to pick the ultimate winner.

What's the prize, you ask? How does $500 of Lorna's Laces yarn sound? You heard right boys and girls, five hundred bucks at retail pricing.

Now that that’ s out of the way, let me tell you a little about it to get you started!















"Yarn X" is a 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk blend. It's a DK four ply. I like it knit up on US size 5's and I'm getting 22 sts/4 inches. This yarn is uber soft. Squishy too. Cuddly even.

It's nekkid in this picture, but rest assured we'll be painting it in all of Lorna's Laces glorious colorways. I wanted you to see it this way so the color didn't influence your creative genius.

Please keep in mind that we're not Publisher's Clearinghouse. Contests and giveaways aren't what we do every day. I'm trying to make things as simple and fair as I can. You could probably find a loophole to exploit, but let's try and play nice and just let this all unfold for what it is...fun, fun, fun!

Monday, April 12, 2010

KnitScene Easy

There's a new magazine out in the world today, KnitScene Easy. It's a special issue from the folks at KnitScene and Interweave. The projects are designed to be extra easy. Just right if you are a new knitter but also perfect for a more experienced knitter that is looking for a nice simple project to put into rotation. After all, we all have plenty of challenges in our lives....our knitting doesn't have to be one of them.

These classic mitts by Amy Polcyn are made from just one skein of our Green Line Worsted in colorway 501 Argyle. And around here, there's still enough chill in the air that fingerless mitts will still be welcome for a few more weeks.