It’s CLiC Tuesday!

Even though I’ve missed a couple of Tuesdays, I am pleased with the results of setting aside one day a week to share my Classic Lines Progress with you. It usually inspires a burst of knitting on Sunday or Monday night. But, I believe you will see a surprising amount of progress over the next two weeks. Bob is on a long business trip which translates into evenings with audio books as I knit and knit and knit. It may not always be my CLiC sweater but it will be one of the “projects of choice” over the next couple of weeks.
I have a few more inches to go on the second sleeve. I know that joining the sleeves with the body will be energizing. It will feel like a sweater even though there will be a lot more work still left.
Tonight I …

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Finished my Classic Lines Cardigan!

I’m done! I’m done! I calculate that my Classic Lines Cardigan is the most stitches I’ve ever knit for one project–coming in around 76,000 stitches (38 size). Eeep! I’m glad I didn’t make that calculation before I started! I squeeked this one in under the 6 month mark, and it fits like a dream, so I’m quite proud.
Angela helped me take some photos. It’s very windy outside, so it was quite the challenge to get the lightweight sweater to lay flat.

It’s supposed to be 90 degrees today, but our office is always chilly, so I’m wearing my cardigan now. The only modification I made to Alison’s great pattern is to knit the sleeves longer for my monkey arms (mine are 20″ instead of 17″), and to finish the bottom hems while I knit instead of at the end. My favorite part about this pattern is how …

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Contest for Portland Metro knitters!

A lot of components go into creating great photos for our catalog and web site, and one important component is location. (It’s not just true for real estate!) We like to get out of the studio as much as we can to capture the natural lighting and inspiring backdrops of the area in which we live. Since we’re headquartered in Vancouver, WA, we do a lot of shooting in Portland, the gorge, Camas, and Vancouver. It really brings that “Pacific Northwest” feeling to our photos I think. Anyway, remember my blog post a while back about our October photoshoot at Hopworks Urban Brewery? Well, now that the October catalog is out, I can show you some of my favorite shots from that location shoot.

Line-by-Line Mittens to Gloves Kit

Biker’s Silk Scarf Pattern from Knitting and Tea

Twisted Rib “Reversi” Socks …

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Stash Organization

I’m on vacation this week, but I thought I’d share a video I took last week while I was home during the photoshoot day. I recently reorganized my yarn stash (and frankly am rather embarrassed by the meagerness of my stash, but now that I can see it all, I’ll be much more inspired to start projects!).
I got those great tubs at Target. And, here are links to some other knitting supplies I find indispensable:
Jacquard Acid Dyes and Sock Yarn Dye Blanks
Yarn Swift
Yarn Ball Winder
Needle Binder Cases
Knitting Needle Coil Wraps – you can see these holding my DPN sets together in the binder pockets – I love these little things!
Yarn Scale <

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New Feature – Designer Interviews


Hey everybody! I don’t know if you’ve seen this feature on the website yet, but we’ve started adding video interviews for each of the new kits. I sit Nina or Kerin down in a locked room with nothing but the kits they’ve designed, then I don’t let them out until they’ve spilled all their secrets about the design process, pattern features, and tips for knitting the project. Each video is added to the product page for the kit under the “Video” tab, and you can watch the video without even leaving the page you’re on. Spiffy!
Here are a couple of my favorites:

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Every Way Wrap


I was so excited about the Every Way Wrap when it came out in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. I had never knit reversible cables before (unlike regular cables, this cable pattern looks good on both sides; there isn’t an obvious front and back – which means you’re crossing stitches over while purling as well as while knitting), so I thought it would be a good knitting challenge. And, I love the scarf/wrap’s versatility – you can wear it so many different ways.
I’m knitting the wrap in the Mahogany color of Gloss HW. This yarn has excellent stitch definition and the shine of the silk in the blend makes the cables reflect the light so prettily. I’m really glad for the Zephyr needles I’m using for this project. Some of the cable crosses are kind of tight for me, probably because I’m new at reversible …

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I love autumn!!

My friend, Elizabeth, spied on me during Sock Summit and kept notes on the colors I enjoy wearing. When she got back home she made me this lovely wet-felt, silk scarf. I have been waiting for it to be cold enough to wear it! Well, please notice the turtleneck I’m wearing as well as the scarf. I am even wearing my lovely Imagination socks. It’s definitely cold!

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A-Hem!

This week’s podcast featured Nina talking with Kelley about hems. Nina was kind enough to allow me to film her explaining three different hem types that you can use on your knitted sweaters. Also, I love her scarf. 🙂
(If you’re interested in knitting any of these sweaters, check out our Design Your First Sweater kit. You just choose your color, and then you get to make all sorts of design decisions – hem type, neckline, all sorts of details that allow you to make a custom sweater.) <

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Know anyone who wants to learn to knit socks?

In an attempt to justify my current sock knitting I’ve decided to recruit more sock knitters. If everyone knits socks then my behavior will become the norm.

This is the first of five videos in the first segment of the sock knitting videos. These five videos will get a new sock knitter up to casting on and working the leg. My plan is to follow up with the second segment to work the heel flap, heel turn, picking up the heel flap stitches and starting to work on the gusset decreases.
To finish off, the third segment will show toe decreasing, Kitchener stitch and fun ways to continue with sock knitting.
To make it easy to reference the videos, I’m going to start a Discussion topic for each video with the knitters in our Sock Knitting KAL. That way we can talk about each step in its own Discussion forum.
I have structured these …

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