Wendy Bernard's Blog, page 6

De-Stash, Part THREE

Here is the third installment of the Fancy Nancy Destash. Not everything has sold, so scroll to other destash posts to see what is still available.

As a reminder, this is how it works:

I will post pictures with a description of the yarn and the asking price.
All prices INCLUDE domestic Priority Mail Shipping. These yarn lots are big, so I will have to use Priority Flat Rate Shipping in some cases.
I will ship to U.S. addresses only.
First person to email me at knit and tonic at gmail dot com (don't want to put the address in its real form for obvious reasons) and say they want the yarn, and then after my confirmation, send funds via Paypal, the yarn will be popped in the mail and you'll have it in your hot little hands within a few days.
Sorry, I can't accept checks.
Even though these are large lots in most cases, I cannot split them up.
All yarn has been kept in pristine condition.
All the money collected will be given to Nancy.

The first lot today is five skeins of Classic Elite Sand. This is 100% cotton and each 100g skein contains 154 yards. The ball band says it knits up to 4 sts per inch on US #8 needles. This would make a nice kids' sweater, a little baby blanket or even some monster-y toys.

I will sell all five skeins for $22.00, including priority shipping.

Here are 15 skiens of Berroco Cha Cha, 10 of which are in their original, unopened bag. This is a combo of cotton and acrylic and knits up to 16 sts to 4 inches on US #8 needles. There are 92 yards in each 50g skein. I could see this knit up into a nice cardigan or pullover. It'll also be really spectacular in a baby blanket.

Nancy spent $5.95 a skein for this yarn. I will sell it for much, much less. How does $45.00 for the entire lot, including priority shipping sound? 

Here are 9 skeins of Jaeger Shetland Aran in a gorgeous deep forest green. It is a blend of wool and alpaca. Each 100g skein has 182 yards, so there is over 1,600 yards total in this lot. My guess is, Nancy bought enough for either a sweater or a pullover based on the size she said she usually knits.

Nancy spent $10.00 for each skein. I will sell the lot for $55.00, including priority shipping. SOLD!

This next lot is special. It took me a little bit of detective work to figure out what it was because it was already wound. Nancy being Nancy, though, did hang onto a couple of the ball bands but they were separated from the yarn. I did a bit of searching but brought them back together! These were in the same bin, so I think she may have bought them as a kit or intended to make a particular item. There are 5 cakes of Colinette Hand-Dyed Fandango, which is 100% cotton, and 3 balls of Colinette Hand Dyed Byzantine (Silk and Wool). I weighed them and they are 100g each, so she didn't yet use any of it. These are both pretty bulky yarns. The ball band doesn't state what size needles or gauge.

I can't believe she did this, but she actually paid $25.00 for each of the balls of Byzantine (Yes, I'm a cheapskate). I don't know what whe paid for the Fandango. I could see this as a funky banket, to tell you the truth. Or, if you're fancy like Nancy, something like a vest. All I know is that it is super pretty in person. 

I will sell the entire lot for $60.00, including priority shipping.

Any Noro lovers out there? Here's about 700g of already-balled Noro and 3 skeins of Classic Elite Lush, which is a combo of Angora and Wool that knits up to 4 sts per inch on Size US #8 needles. About the Noro: I've read online that some people, when they ball it up, separate the colors to avoid certain bits. Looks like Nancy may have done that. I can tell that there are two types of balls: One that has the darker colors and one that has the lighter colors. I can tell that they all came from the same original skeins (in terms of colorway), but I don't know which colorway it was because there isn't a ball band that I can find. It is unmistakenly Noro, though.

I will sell this lot for $35.00, including priority shipping. SOLD!

Here are 7 balls of Sinfonie (I can't read the company name because the price tag hides it). It's a blend of mohair, wool and a tiny bit of nylon. It looks like Nancy may have planned to make a vest or a short-sleeved pullover. I've knit with stuff like this and it really makes a beautiful garment. It is just like Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Each 50g ball has a little over 100 yards. One ball looks short so my guess is Nancy made a gauge swatch. Again, US #8 needles yeilds about 13 sts to 4 inches.

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I will sell all 7 balls for $25.00, including shipping.

Stay tuned. There is a LOT more yarn to come.

 

 

De-Stash, Second Installment of a Gazillion

The De-stash continues! The lots of yarn are moving even more quickly than I thought. For details on how the Fancy Nancy De-stash works, see this post. You might also browse through it to see if there is any yarn remaining that you'd like. Once the buyers send me the funds, I mark it as "sold." (Send inquires to knit and tonic at gmail dot com)

Okay, three more for today:

First, here are 16 hanks of Classic Elite Yarns Imagine. It's a gorgeous, glossy yarn made of cotton and rayon. There are 98 yards in each hank and the ball band says it knits up to 21 sts to four inches on US #6 (4.25mm) needles. Since there are so many hanks, my guess is Nancy had a pullover in mind. This would be great for that, or for a warmer-weather cardigan or even a lacy baby blanket. Most of this yarn was in a never-opened bag so I don't know what she spent on it.

I did see a hank of this on Amazon for $6.20 but I will let all 16 skeins go for $55.95, including shipping.

This next yarn is what made me give Nancy the Fancy part of her name. It's called "Refletos" and it is by Katia. She told me that she was going to make a pullover for this--and even showed me the book that she wanted to hang onto--and to tell you the truth, the pullover didn't look half as fancy as I'd expect based on what the yarn looks like in the ball. Any rate, it's a blend of mohair, polyester and nylon. There are bits of bronze metallic as well as eyelashes of black. The base color (mohair) is best described as copper. There are 11 balls and each 50 grams yields 88 yards. I can see this made into a bolero-type vest, or mixed with some plainer yarn. I've seen people use this type yarn in felted projects. Knits up to 18 sts on US Size #8 (5mm) needles.

Nancy paid $12.00 for each of the 11 balls in this lot ($132). I will sell it for $50.00, including priority shipping.

This last lot of the day will go quickly. Nancy told me she was going to make a striped "grandpa" cardigan for her husband (who is a grandpa) with this yarn. Just look at the colors! I'm not familiar with the yarn and there are no prices on it. But, it is a soft and squishy blend of cotton and acrylic and knits to 22 sts to 4  inches on US size #3-6 (3 - 4mm) needles. There are 10 gray balls, 2 red and 4 white. Each ball has 145 meters, or just under 160 yards.

I will let these 16 balls go for $55.80, including priority shipping.

That's it for today! Make sure you scroll down to see if there are any unsold lots from previous posts that you might want.

Let the De-stash for Fancy Nancy Begin!

There is a TON of yarn that needs to go. Most of it is discontinued so you may come upon some yarn that you wish you had bought. I am going to post the de-stash in bits and pieces to keep it manageable, so if you don't see something you like, keep checking back here at Knit and Tonic every few days. This is likely to go on for a month or more.

This is how it will work:

I will post pictures with a description of the yarn and the asking price.
All prices INCLUDE domestic Priority Mail Shipping. These yarn lots are big, so I will have to use Priority Flat Rate Shipping in some cases.
I will ship to U.S. addresses only.
First person to email me at knit and tonic at gmail dot com (don't want to put the address in its real form for obvious reasons) and say they want the yarn, and then after my confirmation, send funds via Paypal, the yarn will be popped in the mail and you'll have it in your hot little hands within a few days.
Sorry, I can't accept checks.
Even though these are large lots in most cases, I cannot split them up.
All yarn has been kept in pristine condition.
All the money collected will be given to Nancy.

So here we go!

The first lot is 16 balls of Berroco Celeste. This is a blend of mohair, acrylic, nylon and polyester. There are 119 yards in each ball. Suggested needle size is US #7 (4.5mm). Ball band says it knits to 20 sts per four inches. There is enough here to make a poncho, shawl or even a sweater. It'd make a nice lap blanket, too. You can see that is is a blend of grey, white, and a tiny bit of muted gold (very small amount).

Nancy paid $7.95 for each ball ($127 bucks in total!). I will ask for $55.00, including shipping. SOLD!

The next lot is 20 balls of Adrienne Vittadini Daniella in a gorgeous scarlet. This is a blend of merino and cashmere. Each 50g ball has 96 yards and is a worsted weight (19 sts per four inches). Suggested needle size is US #8 (5mm). These 20 balls will definitely yield you a size large or larger cardigan or pullover.

Nancy paid $12.90 for each ball (imagine forking out $258 all at once!). Red is her favorite color. She told me that she had planned on a cardigan for herself. I will sell these 20 balls for $95.50 including Priority Mail Shipping. SOLD!

The next lot is more Adrienne Vittadini yarn. It's called Teresa and it's a black and white blend of cotton and nylon. There are 125 yards in each 50g ball. There are a total of 14 balls, enough to make a cardigan, pullover or tweedy looking summer tank. The suggested needle size is US #6 (4.25mm) and knits up to 21 sts per four inches.

Nancy paid $9.95 a ball. I will sell all 14 balls for $55.00, including Priority Mail Shipping.

Here are 6 hanks of white Tahki Cotton Classic. I just love this stuff. I don't see any price tags but I do know that this yarn sells for about $6.25 a hank these days. And, this looks to be a recent purchase. There are 108 yards in each 50g hank and it knits up to about 5 sts per inch on size US #6 (4.25mm) needles. I LOVE this stuff. There isn't enough to knit a cardigan, but you could definitely make one for a little kid or make a tank for yourself. People also use this yarn for market bags and such. It has a lovely sheen.

I will sell the 6 hanks for $20.00, including shipping.  SOLD!

The last lot for today is a group of 8 smushy hanks of Classic Elite Yarns Sand. This is 100% cotton and it is soft yet nubby. There are 154 yards in each 100g hank and it knits to about 4 sts per inch on size #8 (5mm) needles. There is enough here to make a short-sleeve top or cardigan, a tank, or a baby blanket. I'd describe the color to be a creamy off-white. Almost a buttery off-white. Yeah, this is definitely baby blanket material.

Nancy paid $9.95 per hank, or $79.60 for the lot. I will sell it for $40.00, including shipping.

Stay tuned for updates and more de-stash posts!

Have You Ever Wondered

How you look from behind?

I never wondered how I looked from behind.

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I noticed when HWWV took this picture that I have a cow lick on the back of my head. But, I don't care, actually. What I care about more is that I like the blend of colors in this picture. And it reminds me of that scene in The Shining. I was grumbling "Redrum! Redrum!" when he took this picture. And, when Girlfriend and I got to that fish tank there on the right she asked me what Redrum was all about and I just told her that I will explain it at a later date. 

I feel old.

I read The Shining in High School.

My cousin Chris got married at the Stanley Hotel.

I also had an 8-track tape of Bread. And Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I also wore out two double albums of Peter Framptom Comes Alive. Oh well.

Which brings me to my friend, Fancy Nancy. I will call her that. That is not her name, but based on her yarn stash, she may as well be Fancy Nancy. She likes her mohair. She likes a little eyelash. She also has a great yarn stash that is so overwhelming that when I offered to help her sort it and sell it, that I had a panic attack. This panic attack was so bad that I had to ask if I could go outside and take a look at her garden for awhile, so I could talk myself down. It was horribly embarassing for me, but I couldn't take it. It wasn't because of the yarn. It was because I know that when she bought all this yarn that she had high hopes. That she looked at it and had a plan for it. When we went through it, she'd tell me why she bought it and what she meant it to become.

Everyone who knits does this to a certain extent. But Nancy is 80 this year. She's had a lot of years to dream about yarn and make plans for her yarn. I had that panic attack because I knew that her dreams would not come true.

I guess this is the way things go.

At any rate, I promised her that I would take it away and photograph the lots and sell it here on my blog. I will give her whatever I collect.

She bought large lots of yarn. Each lot will make a large sweater. A few lots are smaller, but not many. Some of the lots will come with the original pattern books. Some of them even have a swatch that she started. All of it was kept in a Rubbermaid container in a home without pets. (Yes, Rocko was there on the stairs with me for this picture, but only for a minute. Loretta was there for a minute too. Chuck is gone now, but I can guarantee that some of his spirt is now with Nancy's yarn.

Stay tuned. I will begin posting yarn pictures. Due to the nature of this sale, I will only accept offers from US residents. The post office is just too crazy these days. I wonder if there is a way that we can fix that.

New Normal and What I Did the Past Two Weeks

Things that I have been doing/done in the last two weeks:

I took Lisa Congdon's class at Creativebug focusing on line drawing. I'm a drawing fool. I highly recommend taking her four-week class. If you subscribe to Creativebug (I think it is just under ten bucks a month), you can take as many classes as you want. Highly recommend.

The thing that I really enjoyed about this class is that Lisa makes it all so simple. You truly don't have to be an artist to come up with something fun. It's not life drawing or anything. It's just straightforward principles of doodling. I'm no artist but I kinda like what I did with that picture of Rocko.

I also did some sewing. I used to sew almost all of my clothes. I remember when I was in high school, by then, I was sewing up a storm, and in home economics class I told the teacher that I wanted to sew a bathing suit as my first project. She laughed at me. But about three days later when I held up that bad boy she let me do whatever I wanted. I remember my then boyfriend's mom giving me the evil eye while I wore it in their backyard pool. Now that I'm nearly her age, I believe I'd give a 16-yr old girl the same side eye if she wore a bathing suit like that in my backyard. Olivia Newton-John in her "Let's Get Physical" video, anyone? Yeah, it was cut like that, except the top had a bit less . . . fabric.

Alas, my taste has changed. So I made a simple shift-type blouse out of some wonderful cotton lawn. It has the same hand as Liberty London for those of you who know. There are three little black buttons down the center but I'm going to remove them. They don't make sense to me. If you want the pattern, it's a free one and totally wonderful and has a nice size range. It is by Collette and called Sorbetto. And, if you're like me and love to make home-made bias tape, you'll love it even more. Although the pattern calls for a regular hem at the bottom, I had enough leftover that I used it there as well as the armholes and neckline.

I sprained my back.

I didn't know that one could sprain their back.

The old(er) people I volunteer with at the museum tell me that yes, you can sprain your back. "You can sprain all sorts of body parts!," was all I heard when I told them.

I have almost finished a second Shady Cove Cape Cowl. I love this color. According to the folks at Pantone, this is the color of the season. Me? I just happen to like it anyway.

The next thing on my list is to release a neat and easy cable cap that is totally unisex and top-down. I'm going to call it Cable Down Easy. I will post pictures soon.

Life has been an adjustment.

The pictures are blurry.

My resident photographer is away.

We still miss our Chuck.

BTW: More sorta-sadness. A dear friend of mine has been ill. She is a life-long knitter. And we all know, that as fellow knitters, we have stashes. A month or two ago, she mentioned that she had a stash to behold, but knew that there was no way that she'd ever be able to knit from her stash--except for maybe a few things. I went to her house for lunch to check it all out.

Friends: You have no idea.

I helped her make decisions on what she could concievably knit and what she might want to sell. I told her that I would take her yarn and photograph it and do some de-stashing for her here on Knit and Tonic. Every lot of yarn has been kept in a plastic tub. Every lot of yarn is enough to make a large sweater or vest. It is amazing. It is all nice (although I will say that Fancy Nancy likes her mohair, ribbon and fiddly). There's a LOT of it. Stay tuned. I will collect any money from the sales and give it back to her to help pay medical expenses. I have been given clearance to price yarn so that it will sell.

Chuck

Rest in peace. You were the best dog ever.

Shady Cove Cape-Cowl

Every once in a while, you happen upon a project or pattern or design and something about it just speaks to you. It might have something to do with how much fun it was to knit, or it might be that there was a perfect marriage of yarn to needles or of yarn to pattern.

At any rate, this Shady Cove Cape-Cowl is one of those projects.

I never worked entrelac before, but I did know that I could work the pattern in all one color and have a nice texture, or I could alternate tiers and colors, or that I could find either an ombre effect yarn or one with long color changes so that the blocks gradually turn from one shade to another, or each block has it's own color.

I chose to use Friea Fine Handpaints in a lace weight, but used much larger needles than what the ball band calls for. This resulted in a stretchy cape-cowl thingy that is versatile and can be worn year round: You could either wear it as a cowl under a coat or sweater in cold weather, or as a shoulder cover over a simple top, tank or summer dress during warmer times.

Upsizing is realtively simple. Just add extra units to make the circumference larger, and to make it longer, just add a pair of right- and left-leaning rectangles before binding off. If you are making the smallest size, but longer, be sure to buy two skeins of yarn instead of one.

Three sizes are offered in this pattern.

This pattern assumes that you know the basics of entrelac, but if you haven't done it before, I will post links to some online tutorials that will help you out.

This is a beginner entrelac project if you have already worked entrelac and know how it works. If you haven't yet been introduced to the technique, I'd consider this an intermediate project with the help of tutorials or a willing buddy who can show you the ropes.

I plan on building a tutorial of my own to offer you because I plan on knitting another one and taking lots of pictures and notes. Once that is complete, I will place a pdf somewhere on this blog so you can take a look.

Here are the particulars:

SIZES

Small (Medium, Large)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

36 (39, 42)” circumference at widest point, unstretched

Make circumference larger by adding extra  entrelac units. Can be made longer by adding extra tiers of entrelac.

YARN

Friea Fine Handpaints Lace (75% wool, 25% nylon / 645 yds / 75g); Denim, 1 (2, 2) skeins

NEEDLES

One 29” long or longer circular (circ) needle US 5 (3.75mm)

One 20” long circular (circ) needle US 3 (3mm)

Change needle size if necessary to obtain correct gauge.

NOTIONS

Removable stitch marker (opt.), tapestry needle

GAUGE

Each entrelac rectangle measures 3” on the diagonal, after blocking

28 sts and 40 rows = 4” in St st on larger needles, unstretched, after blocking

SIZE SHOWN

Size small is shown on my 35.5" bust. Size small shown on Girlfriend as a funky poncho (youth; size 10-12).

 Click on the button below to buy a pdf copy. It will be sent to you in a zipped PDF file via email when payment is made or eCheck clears. Thanks!

$5.99

 

Some helpful entrelac tutorials and resources:

http://www.interweavestore.com/about-entrelac-knitting-pa... 

http://www.craftsy.com/search?query=entrelac&type=&am...= 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJKl-hYJzr8 

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-basics-of-entre..

New Pattern Coming Soon

Just to break up the monotony of knitting a tiny sweater for a 4-lb country singer of a dog, I thought I'd post a picture of a new pattern that you all know about but hasn't, until now, been photographed properly.

Of course, I mean "properly" in the sense that there is perfect lighting, a fantastic photographer, tons of makeup and a tiny bit of help from a tight undershirt.

But anyway: If you're so inclined to learn entrelac, and I won't call it "not your grandmother's or mother's," because I find it oddly insulting, this might be a fun try. I used the most fantastic ombre yarn, Friea Fine Handpaints, and it is a lot of fun. Girlfriend actually tried it on and rocked it as a poncho. Two pictures for you:

\

1 skein lace weight for this size (about 36") or 2 for larger sizes.

 

LoL-Retta Gets a New Sweater, Part 2

As you've seen in Part 1 of the series, LoL-Retta Gets a New Sweater, cutting a color-work tube with a steek is completely and totally drama free. You'll note that Chuck didn't budge when the scissors went through the steek, that there wasn't a thunderclap (not that you could hear anything based on the pictures, but you can tell that the sun was out and the lights didn't go out or anything), and that, ta-Dah! the yarn didn't unravel. Pictures like my high-tech ones taken with my i-Pad don't lie.

So, we'll carry on:

Stay tuned for the last installment. Should be coming soon. By the way: if you have some wool (the real stuff), there's nothing stopping you from casting on a tube with steeks and knitting some color work in the round for a few inches, binding off, and cutting right through it to test it out... Just sayin'!

In the last installment, I'll try to show you different ways of doing steeks.

LOL-Retta Gets a New Sweater, Part 1

I was sitting there stitching balls with a buddy of mine a couple weeks ago and we started talking knitting. I said Loretta was one dog who really needs a sweater now and then and that I thought a new sweater might be in order. So I showed her a picture of her wearing the last one I knit and my buddy said: "Oh, but there are steeks. I would never ever cut my knitting."

I'll be bold here and declare that there are too many knitters who think this way.

Yesterday, I cast on for Loretta's new sweater. I won't go into all the details about CO numbers and all that here because every dog has their own measurements, but I want to prove to you that steeking is no big deal, provided you use WOOL. Untreated (except for dye) WOOL. Just regular old wool. (In theory, you could also steek blends of wool and other types of fiber but that's a whole other ball of wax. You'd need to reinforce it before cutting...)

So here is the first installment of LOL-Retta Gets a New Sweater.

Stay tuned for the next installment.