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by Alison on May 25, 2010
It’s that time of year again! We have some great new cotton and lace yarn coming in for Spring 2010. Diedre handles all of our yarn orders, and she places a separate order for an early air shipment of samples so we don’t have to wait until the container of yarn arrives by boat. This system lets us keep the shipping costs for the bulk of the yarn low, but we get to use the samples ahead of time for catalog samples, kit development, and other projects. Here’s a quick video I took of the newest shipment to arrive – Simply Cotton Heathers! The dyes used for Simply Cotton Heathers aren’t organic, since we were trying to get some really specific bright colors, but the base yarn is the same organic cotton used in the undyed line of Simply Cotton. Also, I love grey. I am unapologetic. 🙂 ... |
Category Archives: Inspiration
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
KILT HOSE! (what did you think I was gonna say? This is a family show!) I have to admit I love kilt hose. I even wrote a paper in college about the phantom bagpiper on my campus, who I’d see walking around piping with his stockings gleaming in the midday sun. There’s just something so regal about a pair of elegant hose. As handknit or even fine kilt hose is quite expensive to order these days, now you can make your own! What’s really cool about both of the patterns in this kit, besides the fact that you can make both pair, is that they’re totally unisex and customizable for size. And, because they’re just awesome anyway, you don’t even have to wear a kilt or be a piper to wear them. But you will want to show them off! When Nina and I were ... |
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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
Diana has been with us since the beginning of IDP & has a whopping 9 patterns in the program (including 3 new ones this week!) & more on the way! She been such a fantastic supporter of the program & it’s been great to get to know her over the past couple of months. How long have you been knitting? I learned to knit when I was a pre-teen, but I kept forgetting how to bind off. I learned again when I lived in Japan to make a ‘boyfriend sweater’ and if his arms had only been a few feet longer it would have fit just fine! Several years ago when my sister-in-law (Lynn H of Colorjoy Designs) asked me to test knit a pattern from a beginner’s perspective, I learned I had been knitting Eastern-style with twisted stitches. I re-learned to knit continental, and was hooked. ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
If you want to snatch up a skein or two of our brand new Simply Cotton Heathers, but you’re not sure what you’d knit with them, may I suggest a cute and cuddly Cheezombie toy…or three? Like Stacey, Cheezombie’s quirky IDP toy patterns make my heart go pitter pat, but the idea of dyeing my own organic Simply Cotton or using another yarn did not. So when samples of the new Simply Cotton Heathers showed up in Alison’s office a couple of weeks ago, I knew exactly what I wanted to knit first. Stacey and I were first in line to scoop up a skein or two of the worsted weight and take it for a test run. Stacey knit another Weiner Dog in Mandarin Heather to add to her growing menagerie. She named him Santa’s Little Helper (any other Simpson’s fans out there?). Alison ... |
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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
Have you checked out our IDP patterns lately? We have a whopping 165 patterns up from over 80 designers so far in the program! It’s been really fantastic seeing these beautiful designs & getting to know all of the designers – I only wish I could knit & crochet faster so I could make them all! One of the more fun parts of my job is doing a photo shoot – while we love our designers to take their own shots (often they are even better than the ones we could set up!), sometimes they do not have the means & access to the kinds of photos we need. Being in charge of a photo shoot is something I have not had any experience with, but with help from our art director Christina & our photo gurus Sarah & Kerry, I somehow muddle through & have a lot of fun with ... |
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by Stacey on May 25, 2010
I have a lot of sock yarn – between working here, my dyer friends who have sock clubs, our local yarny festivals (not least of which included Sock Summit!) and my local yarn store that stocks lots of indie sock yarn dyers (also where IDP designers Starr & Alex work!), I can’t seem to stop getting my hands on it! So when we received our new Stroll Tonal samples, I was in absolute heaven – even the fact I couldn’t buy them yet did not diminish my enthusiasm. I can’t even choose a favorite. I want a rainbow of these socks! We’ve started getting in our samples from designers for their new patterns in too – so I grabbed Kate & Sarah & had a little bit of fun! We even wore matching jeans! I think what I love most about this yarn is how fantastic it ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Betsy McCarthy, an author (“Knitted Socks”) and avid sock knitter… Last month Betsy was interviewed by Jane Pauley for The Today Show, which aired this morning… the cameras followed her around her home, her neighborhood and all the way to Tacoma, WA for the Madrona Fiber Festival. (this in turn caused me to follow her to Madrona as well). Betsy gave up the corporate world for a more relaxed knitting world. There’s additional information on the AARP website as well. I’ve had the pleasure to get to know Betsy through a local knit group. She’s a soft-spoken, wise lady with a wonderful love for knitting… Well going to Madrona was another story in itself… I had a blast, spent a lot of money and met some wonderful knitters from around the Northwest.. (big shout out to the ladies in ... |
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by Alison on May 25, 2010
The Bad News: the kettle dyed versions of Stroll and Shadow are being discontinued. The Good News: they’re being replaced with a new tonal hand dyed yarn that I find incredibly beautiful. More Good News: Shadow Kettle Dyed Lace Yarn is on sale! I had some Shadow Kettle Dyed in Bordeaux in my stash, and I wanted a quick knit for a flight I was taking. The free Citron shawlette pattern by Hilary Smith Callis (who also has a beautiful cardigan pattern in our Independent Designer Partnership Program) had been showing up in my Ravelry friends activity feed, so I downloaded it and got to work! It’s a clever little pattern, and each ruched stripe is created by knitting a series of M1 increases, knitting plain for a few rows, then decreasing across the row. I like how it broke up ... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2010
Well, it’s 16 days to the official start of spring. And what does spring mean? Cute little baby things everywhere! Baby birds, baby squirrels, baby horsies – we’ve already spotted some adorable baby animals here at KnitPicks HQ! These are our two Barnyard Buddies kits – Springtime Sweeties and On the Farm. Each kit contains the pattern for two sets of a diaper cover and bonnet in two characters – a Duckie and Bunny in Springtime Sweeties and a Cow and Piggy in On the Farm. They come in sizes 0-3 months, 3-6 mos., 6-12 mos. and 12-18 mos. These little costumes are just the thing to get oohs and aahhs from your family and friends. Worked in Swish Worsted, they’re an easy-care addition to dress-up day. In fact, they’re really just the thing for those photos that you ... |
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by Kelley on May 25, 2010
It’s time for you to finish off the hand section of your mitten. Easy, peasy. < |
