Monthly Archives: December 2010

I’ve finished my Tic Tac Toes Socks!

Just to remind you, I used Gloss in Kenai and Imagination in Fairy Princess. And, the pattern came from one of our Independent Designers – Camille Chang.

Of course, I had to make a couple of individual changes. I used my favorite ribbing, K1b, P1. I prefer my legs to go up to my knees. I used Camille’s instructions for only gloss for the ribbing and the toe segment. Also for the heel but I chose to knit the heel holding both the Imagination and Gloss together because I wanted a nice thick heel.

The colorwork pattern is absolutely memorizable – is that a word? Well, it made them lovely Take Along projects. They are warm, comforting, thick, lovely, etc. Reminders of why I love wearing hand-knit socks. There is nothing better! A simple indulgence!

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Festival of Lights

Just a couple of weeks ago, Bob and I were in Philadelphia to celebrate his nieces’s wedding. Over the years, I have enjoyed attending family celebrations and learning about Jewish traditions.

We’ve never been able to celebrate Hanukkah with Bob’s family. It’s a long way to travel in the middle of the winter. But, I’ve done some reading and there are a few things that I admire about Hanukkah.

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A Dangerously Cute IDP Pattern!

So on December 1, 2009, we launched the Independent Designer Partnership Program …which means it’s one year old this week!  I’ve been so excited
to see this program grow & grow – as of today, there are over 700
patterns now in the program. It looks like it’s been a big hit with both
designers & customers, as each month we get over 100 pattern
submissions and the pattern sales are going through the roof (we sold
over 11,000 IDP patterns in November alone!).

And not only that, we added our 300th designer to the program this
week and I’m thrilled because she is has been one of my favorite
deisgners for a long time – Rebecca Danger!

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Inspiration from J. Peterman

A few years ago I was absolutely devastated when the J. Peterman Company stopped sending out their catalogs. I had been collecting them for years and even made an occassional purchase of something special.

When I received a new catalog a couple of years ago I was absolutely thrilled! The same romantic stories accompanied each item. I vowed that I would treat myself to a couple more treasures each year to help keep those catalogs coming to me. They also send out e-mails. The last one reminded me that I also find a lot of knitting inspiration in the J. Peterman catalogs.

There has got to be a way to design a knit version of these Scalloped Gloves. Maybe a narrow band of ribbing at the wrist and then a sideways border like on a lace shawl. Or, even something as simple as a shale lace pattern?

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Some Sort of Bread

I have absolutely no explanation for my current mania for bread baking. It isn’t something new. I’ve known how to bake bread since I was a teenager. But, I have a sourdough started happily stewing in my refrigerator. I made two loaves of sourdough on Monday. Then, I decided to make Some Sort of Raisin Bread. Right now I’m thinking of starting a plain dough to use for making Some Sort of Cinnamon Bread.

 

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EZ Anniversary Shawl Update

EZ’s shawl hasn’t been the focus of all of my knitting attention but it hasn’t been neglected. Each section has only a four-round repeat pattern. That means no chart and just a 3 x 5 index card to keep track of the rounds. I’m at the 576 stitch segment. It’s still lace knitting so you have to pay attention, but I’ve actually been dragging it around with me as my “social” knitting – dinner with friends, parties, etc. I also think that the ethereal quality of Smoke Heather in Alpaca Cloud is irresistable. I just can’t wait to see it finished.

 

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