Out Like a Lion

It's twenty degrees today. I don't know why people are surprised. This is Chicago after all. We won't be out of the woods as far as winter goes for a few more weeks. I think we got spoiled because we didn't get much snow this year. Mother Nature faked us out. But honestly, we should know better. This isn't our first rodeo!

I'm actually hoping that it stays cold long enough for me to finish my Aftur and get at least one wearing before the weather changes. Especially since I'm knitting the yoke for the second time. I had it completely finished a couple of weeks ago but when I tried it on it had bracelet length sleeves 

I'm not a huge fan of bracelet length for myself. I'm six feet tall and I always feel like bracelet length just looks too short. It's as though I bought the jacket/blouse/whatever too small. I'm sure much of my psychosis comes from a youth of wearing high water jeans and all the ridicule that accompanied it. For years, I checked hem allowances on pants before I tried them on. There just wasn't any point otherwise. 

I know there are gazillions of people who have the opposite problem. They have to take everything up. But at least they have the option. You can't create length if the fabric isn't there. I realize there are some proportion issues but for the most part it's easier to make things shorter. 

I've finished the first of the three fair isle motifs on the yoke. There are two more to go and then the collar. Evenings aren't looking too busy this week, so I should be able to get through it pretty quickly. 

Please don't be mad at me when I tell you that I'm hoping that March goes out like a lion. Then I might even get a second wearing. 

New Colors, New Yarn

March 15, 2013

We're on a newsletter roll these days! This time it's about the new yarns and new colors. We're pretty excited about it all.

First up, the new yarn. It's called Haymarket. It's a single ply 100% Bluefaced Leicester. Super yummy, super soft. It has a gentle sheen and halo. It's a worsted weight yarn, 210 yards to 100 grams. We named it Haymarket because we thought that it was interesting that there are Haymarkets in both Leicester and Chicago. Ours hosted a labor riot in 1886 and theirs is a shopping center.

While we were researching our 127 year old labor incident, we got to thinking about Chicago history and thought it would be fun to name the colors this season after significant mayors. Without further ado:

113 Byrne. Named after Jane Byrne, our first femal mayor. Chicago is the largest city in the US to have a female mayor. Kate Oates has a super new design in this colorway called Morning Coffee. There's even a KAL going on.

213 Daley. While we've had other mayors, the Daley family kind of had a lock on it for a long time. Between the "Richards", father and son held the office for 42 years.

313 Harrison. Carter Harrison was the mayor during the aforementioned Haymarket incident.

413 Mason. Roswell Mason held office during the Great Chicago Fire.

513 Medill. Joseph Medill was the owner of the Chicago Tribune in the 1870s. He was also the great great father-in-law of our first female Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. Check out Lindsey Stephens darling crocheted Divette pattern. Swoon!

613 Ogden. William Ogden was the first mayor of Chicago.

61ns Washington. Harold Washington was our first African American mayor. Amy Christoffers Love and Happiness uses Haymarket in Washington.

713 Christmas at Downton. Not a mayor at all, but a wildly popular color that we did as an exclusive for one of our customers that we decided to make available to everyone.

And if you're in the market for a MKAL, there's one going on over here that you might find fun.

Let us know what you think! We hope you love what we've done this season as much as we do!
   

Those Parkes Kids

I've been making my best effort this year to support the Parkes family. Let me tell you about it. 

I'm lucky enough to have gotten in on Clara Parkes' Great White Bale at the Explorer level. Here's how Clara described it.

I am the proud owner of a very special 676-pound bale of superfine Saxon Merino from upstate New York, and over the next few months I’ll be walking through the process of turning that bale into yarn. Not one, not two, but four different kinds of yarn. And I’m taking you with me!

Not only do I get to follow along with Clara on her journey making yarn, I get to enjoy the fruit of her labor. One point seven pounds of the fruit of that labor to be exact. This is gonna be some spectacular yarn. (No pressure Clara.)

It started in January and goes through June, so we're just over a third of the way through our little adventure. I tell you what, I'd still sign up as a Armchair Traveler in a New York minute. Watching the progression of this yarn-to-be through essays and videos so far has been fascinating and I'm sure it's just going to get better.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't know all that much about yarn. Sure, I know a little about dyeing it, and I know what I like, and I do a fair amount of reading about it, but when I run across someone like Clara, I feel like a nincompoop. (And I always jump at the chance to type nincompoop.) I'm learning so much here and getting to see it all happen is such a treat. It's almost as good as going to a mill in person. 

The next part of my Parkes family support system is that I joined Clara's brother,Eric's, chocolate CSA. That's right, Clara's brother is the captain of a different sort of expedition. With this one, I'm receiving 10 three-bar shipments of chocolate in which only one variable has been altered. For example one type of chocolate roasted three different ways. Or one bean with three different levels of cocoa butter. It's been fun (and tasty) so far. Today's delivery was what prompted this blog post. 

The package on the left is Bolivian chocolate that has different levels of refinement. The ones on the right are bonus bars from Hawaiian beans. Any guesses about what I'm having for dessert tonight? 

Dang, I'm starting to sound like an advertisement. That really wasn't my intent. I'm just having such a good time with both of these endeavors. I love to see people reach out and share something that they have a passion for. They are taking the risk that others won't see it quite the same way. They are allowing themselves to be vulnerable in a new way. That's good for us all. 

Now, if we can just get one of the clan to start making wine we'll all be set. 

Charity Auction, Part Two

Wow, the first part of our charity sample auction was a huge success! Because of your generosity, we've raised over $2300 for Between Friends and the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research.  Thank you so much.

I finally got the rest of the items listed. There's a broader variety of items this time around. In addition to sweaters and shawls, you'll find more kid's stuff, some toys and home decor items.

I can't imagine you won't be able to find something that would like to come live with you! Please, come take a look. Tell your friends. Share with the world!

P.S. We also have a bunch of single socks that need a good home. Does anyone have any ideas of where they might go?

Knit a Monster Nursery

That Rebecca Danger comes up with the cutest stuff. This time around it's all about decorating a nursery. Her son, Presley, is one lucky baby. Can you imagine living with a room full of monsters all lovingly created by your mom?

She sent me a copy of her latest book, Knit a Monster Nursery, and I curled up with it last night. It couldn't have been any more fun!

It opens with a pretty substantial discussion of special tricks and tips for knitting monsters. It tells you about gauge, yardage, cast ons, sewing up, stuffing, eyes, mouths....all specific to monsters. If you love knitting them, this section alone is worth the price of the book. Trust me, it's going to make your life so much easier.

The next section talks about more than just knitting. It's a peek behind the curtain at Rebecca's thought process when it came to decorating the nursery for her kiddo. She discusses her starting point (a piece of fabric) creating wall art, her choices for accessories and furniture. Since her background is in design, she is able to bring far more to the table than only knits and monsters.

But, at the end of the day, the book is call Knit a Monster Nursery, and there are going to be lots of knits and lots of monsters. I think my favorite thing in the whole book is the Monster Pocket Sweater.

The first thing I like about it is the stripes. More often than not, I'm in a striped shirt of some sort. (Just ask around.) The other thing that I really like is the fact that it has a pocket that is big enough to hold a tiny monster. Perhaps one that you will find on the Monster Mobile?

There's also these super cute tissue and wipe covers. You know, I always made fun of the crochet tissue cover in my aunt's house when I was growing up, but somehow when you add a zigzag mouth and some safety eyes, the concept takes on a whole new life.

The last photo I'm going to share is the Monster Chair. I just love this. That Presley has it made

The book has tons more stuff. There are more than 25 projects in all. Swings, bookends, pillows, blocks, rattles... The list goes on and on.

This one is a keeper. There's plenty of great stuff for you if you are planning nursery, but it's also great for showers and gifts and just cute stuff that we all can use to brighten our lives. Honestly, who couldn't use a monster or two?

Rebecca and Martingale were nice enough to send a copy for me to give away. So leave a comment telling me what monster you remember most vividly from growing up. (We'll close the comments Sunday at midnight and we'll pick a winner on Monday.) I'll start. The monsters that I remember are the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. They scared the pants off me. Kudos to Mrs. Danger for creating happy fun monsters. That is how it should be!

KnitScene Spring 2013

KnitScene Spring is live!

OK... I'm having just the tiniest bit of trouble thinking about Spring right now. It's January 8th for goodness sake. Show of hands, who still has their Christmas tree up? Yeah, I didn't think I'd be alone.

But, there's no shame in dreaming of green shoots and sunny skies, is there? This is Jessica Bolof's Lightning Shrug. I'm digging that wide ribbing at the bottom. I don't have a photo of the front but I'm intrigued enough by what I'm seeing here in terms of the angles of the knitting to want to take a closer look.

This is knit from our Honor yarn in 611 Magnificent Mile. It takes 2-3 skeins. That's a nice size project.

Vogue Winter 2013

Vogue's Winter issue has a whole section of red garments. The models are going to be part of a silent auction at the upcoming VK Live event in New York. The proceeds will benefit The Heart Truth. We're proud to have donated the yarn to help make it possible. 

This lovely Shawl Collared Vest, designed by Yoko Hatta, is made from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky in 11ns Bold Red. It's sized all the way up to 3x and takes between 6 and 10 skeins. (Photo: Rose Callahan)