Mandy Moore's Blog, page 115

Royal Wedding Winners

Congratulations to Carolyn and Jen winners of the  Fyberspates Royal Wedding shawl kit!

All you need is love and yarn

You can order your own kit here. As a special bonus offer for Knitty readers, anyone that buys Royal Wedding lace yarn gets a 15% discount voucher for their next Fyberspates purchase. The yarn retails for £25 per 100g hank, and the pattern for £3.

Obsession: Knitting & Television

All prepped for a long (and early) morning of TV viewing.

Many serious knitters are inveterate television watchers; I certainly am.

Knitting makes me feel less guilty about sitting on the couch watching TV; watching TV help pass the time when you're knitting.

What I watch is very much affected by what I'm knitting, and what I'm knitting is very much affected by what I'm watching.

If I'm knitting something challenging – something that requires focus and attention – I'll watch something that I'm either not very interested in, or that doesn't require much attention. I know a lot of knitters who wholeheartedly embrace their partners' sports addictions for this reason; if you're not that into hockey, you can get a lot of good knitting done during the season. Me, I watch a lot of procedural mystery shows – they have a comfortably predictable structure, and if you miss a few minutes, chances are you'll be able to figure out what's going on. In addition, I find that I can usually get by just listening to the dialog, and therefore can look at my knitting instead of the screen.

But if I really want to look at – and enjoy – what's going on on the screen, I need knitting that doesn't require any attention at all.

A plain and simple stocking stitch sock works brilliantly for me for these situations. And that's precisely what I'll be knitting in front of the TV tomorrow morning.

After all, I believe there's something good on…

 

WWW: Giveaway, Corgis and Sock Summit

Regal and beautiful

Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to invite you to participate in a Royal Wedding giveaway. We don't have the budget to send you to the wedding, but we can send a bit of the wedding to you…

Fyberspates have created a kit for a fabulous shawl, including a hank of a unique Limited Edition lace yarn and shawl pattern to commemorate the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The Sparkle Lace yarn, in a stunning sapphire colorway to match the engagement ring, comes in a 1000m/100g hank is a magnificent blend of 65% Extra fine merino, 10% Royal Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk and 5% Sparkle (stellina, a non-metal fiber).

We have two kits to give away! Two! Leave a comment on this post by midnight Thursday EST and we'll draw on Friday morning.

You can order your own kit here. As a special bonus offer for Knitty readers, anyone that buys Royal Wedding lace yarn gets a 15% discount voucher for their next Fyberspates purchase. The yarn retails for £25 per 100g hank, and the pattern for £3.

And they don't need to be walked, either.

Last week the Guardian published an excerpt from the popular Knit Your Own Royal Wedding book – the corgi pattern! —>

And if all the Royal Wedding sweetness is too much for you, consider Brutal Knitting – custom knits inspired by horror and science fiction.

Knitters in Fernie, B.C., Canada, have knitted a 32-foot scarf as a fundraiser for the Canadian Avalanche Centre. $1500 was raised for the organization that educates residents and visitors on backcountry safety.

Sweet!

Easter-themed display on a bridge in West Seattle this past weekend.

The long-anticipated teachers and class list for Sock Summit has been announced. You might recognize a few names.

We'll have more on that early next week.

Although the focus of this article from BoingBoing isn't necessarily of interest, I thoroughly enjoyed the insight into one of the knitter's favorite beasties, the alpaca.

Spinning Tuesdays: Merino and Clun Forest

This week's entries in my spin along with Deb Robson's lists are Merino and Clun Forest. I know that Merino isn't next on the spinning list, but I'm waiting for some Southdown (yay!) so I skipped ahead.

Merino has a reputation among spinners. They either  love it or don't. I will admit to loving it, and also admit that Merino is the Diva of fibers, touchy and can be difficult to work with, but it completely worth it.

Merino: clean and dirty fiber, worsted and woolen spun yarn and swatches

My merino was gooey and sticky, with little to no VM. It took 3 good soaks with Power Scour to get it spinnably clean. Even in it's prewashed state it was soft and just got softer as I worked.

Cushy, cushy worsted and woolen

I will not lie, it was hard for me to spin. The worsted yarn I combed and spun in a class with Anne Field this past weekend. We learned about spinning to the crimp, and with this Merino that was fine and highly twisted. The woolen yarn I hand carded and spun in a style I like to call lumpy longdraw. I couldn't get either yarn consistent, but I don't mind. I know Merino takes patience and practice. It needs both high twist and a light hand. Both of my swatches were buttery soft, but I know the woolen yarn, used in a garment would pill like crazy. I'm willing to spend time working on my Merino skills, I think the fiber and resulting yarn is beautiful.

Commercially prepped Merino top is a much easier spin, but never as soft.

Two fun facts about Merino from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Most Merinos are white because of the amount of fiber needed to dye for the fashion industry.
Merino fleeces can weigh up to 40 pounds

 

Next up Clun Forest:

Clun Forest: clean and dirty fiber, woolen and worsted-ish yarn

A springy fiber, easy to spin into an elastic, but soft yarn. The dirty fiber above took only one go round with Power Scour to go from dingy beige to nearly sparkly white. The washed fiber was softer than I expected, somewhere between Corriedale and BFL.

Springy and soft semi worsted and woolen yarn

I hand carded the fiber and spun half woolen and half worsted. I wish I had given the fiber a few more passes with my cards or just used my drum carder, there were a few lumps and bumps in my yarn that were from just sheer laziness in my prep. Both yarns were elastic and soft, I was surprised a little by both. The semi worsted stayed softer than I expected, and would be pretty hard wearing; I'd love to have socks knit from it. The woolen yarn really bloomed and became lofty when I steamed it, just asking to be knit into a cardigan.

Two fun facts about Clun Forest from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Current North American Clun Forest herds are all descended from a herd brought in North America in the 1970s
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists Clun Forest as a recovering breed.

When I finished working with the Clun Forest I immediately started looking for a Clun Forest fleece. I think I better get better organized about storing and processing fleeces since I doubt this will be the last breed I need more of.

Thanks to Beth Smith of The Spinning Loft for providing the fibers for this week.

Indigo Moon Winner

Our winner of 1 skein of Indigo Moon Ultimate Sock Yarn is Pilaar.

Congratulations and happy knitting to you!

 

If you didn't win, but still want Indigo Moon yarn. Don't forget  Trish Moon has given us a special discount to share with you: 10% off through April 30, 2011, if you mention KnittyBlog when you place your order.

Spring & Summer 2011 Issue WIPS

We've found some great projects inspired by our Spring & Summer issue.

Pushkin3's No-Sew Baby Blankie…

The cat clearly approves

Emygination's Cross-Eyed Flounder

Flappy!

Froschkoenigin's very sunny Rivercat socks

So cheerful!

Charlie52 has started a Verdant shawl in a wonderful autumnal colorway.

Can't wait to see this grow!

NessaJ's lovely Make Up Your Mind tank

Elegant and feminine!

Tricotonrideu's cobalt blueAmiga

Just plain great.

Minyaliel's Omelet shawl in progress…

Great color choice

WWW: Art & Theft

"A labour of love."

Knitterly royal wedding fever continues unabated… a knitter in the UK has knitted a cake with Prince Wills and Kate cake toppers.

I'm sure there are at least a few knitters on the invite list for the big event – think anyone will be bold enough to take out their needles during the ceremony?

Speaking of labors of love, fiber artist Lauren Porter is seeking a permanent home for her knitted Ferrari. She created it as part of her university degree program, and it's been touring the world for the past 5 years.

Steam blocked, presumably.

And on the topic of transportation, news of a knitted model of the Flying Scotsman train entered into a competition being held by the UK's National Railway Museum. More pictures here.

 

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Brings new meaning to "ribbing"...

Another fiber artist has completed a remarkable work "Just One More Row". A fully knitted skeleton that is itself (herself?) knitting, it was exhibited at the recent "Beyond the Fringe" fiber art exhibition in Taos, New Mexico.

For kids & knitters to enjoy together.

Joanna Johnson's blog features a charming time-elapse video of her knitting Phoebe's Sweater, the pattern featured in her book of the same name.

An excellent story about one of the largest knitting graffiti projects you're likely to see… adding a ball & chain to the giant bear statue outside the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

It wasn't in place long, but there are some great pictures to preserve the feat for posterity.

Good for nest lining?

Lucy Neatby reports on Twitter that she was recently the victim of a yarn heist… perpetrated by very cheeky seagulls.

 

Spinning Tuesdays: Cotswold and Black Welsh Mountain

I've decided how to spin Deb Robson's Must Spin Lists. I'm tackling it in order – one fiber from the Animal Fiber list and one breed from the Rare and Endangered list. Neat and tidy, no?

First up Cotswold:

Cotswold: raw and washed fiber, yarn and knitted swatch

I tend to shy away from longwools because they're long fibers which means the dreaded (for me) worsted spinning.

Cotswold fiber dirty and clean

I barely washed the fiber in Power Scour and was pleased at how easily it cleaned, and how happy those locks were after a bath, bouncy and shiny. I combed the fiber and yes, spun it worsted.

Cotswold yarn and swatch

I spun it a little thick-ish (14 WPI). It was fairly easy to spin worsted, though I did have to keep reminding myself to keep my hands way far apart. The yarn had both weight and luster. It's too prickly to wear next to the skin, but would wear like iron – an outer garment, jacket or shawl.

Two fun facts about Cotswold from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

It felts, unusual for a longwool.
The Romans brought this breed to England

Next up Black Welsh Mountain:

Black Welsh Mountain fiber and yarn

These photos will be a little underexposed because this fiber is black, beautiful deep matte black, and that was the only way to get any detail in my photos.

I washed the fiber in fiber wash, since it felt grease free. It actually felt dry, if I had an oil and water spray handy I would have sprayed the fiber. I carded the fiber, made rolags and spun woolen from the end.

Black Welsh Mountain yarn and swatch

This is a dense and spongy fiber. It spun woolen easily and made a lofty yet durable yarn. My yarn is 10 WPI. It is scratchy, not for skin contact. The color is so beautiful I would love to have a blanket made out of it.

Two fun facts about Black Welsh Mountain from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

These sheep don't gray as they age.
Listed as a Recovering breed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

I can already see how this spinning fun is going to gently coax me out of my reluctance to prep my own fibers.

Thanks to Beth Smith of The Spinning Loft for providing the fibers for this week.

What are you spinning?

It's Monday – We Need a Giveaway!

When I woke up this Monday morning and looked out the window I saw 2 inches of snow, in April.

I decided right then the Knittyblog world needs a giveaway.

What goodness do we have for you today?

Springy! Gabriola Green

1 skein of Indigo Moon Ultimate Sock Yarn

75% superwash wool and 25% nylon

color: Gabriola Green

430yds/100gm

28sts-32rows/4″ on US 3 (2.25-3.25mm)

Can't wait to see if you're the lucky winner and want yarn right now? Trish Moon has given us a special discount to share with you: 10% off through April 30, 2011, if you mention KnittyBlog when you place your order.

Here's how to win: leave a comment to this post by Wednesday, April 20th at midnight eastern time, and you could win! We'll choose a winner at random, make them answer a terrifically difficult [cough] skill-testing question, and post the results next week.

Good luck and happy spring knitting!

Watching a pattern go viral: Lanesplitter

where the inspiration started

hotness.

We blogged a couple of weeks ago about our friend Lynne's amazing Lanesplitter skirt, and how two of the Knitty team were immediately inspired to knit it.

And knit it we did.

I finished mine (in Kureyon color 242) last week, and I absolutely love it.

Very happy with it!

Jillian's is well on its way, too.

Halfway there!

Something interesting seems to happen with this skirt: it's contagious. I wore mine to teach a class at The Purple Purl last Friday, and by the end of the day two more knitters had started the project, including Jennifer, one of the shop owners.

In Silk Garden.

And by Sunday, Jennifer had inspired Lynn W. to start one, too.

Lynn W's in Silk Garden color 323

Jillian reports that even just carrying the project around, she's caused a couple of knitters to cast on for their own.

Lynne tells me that aside from Jillian and I, she knows of four or five other knitters who have started the project after seeing hers, including ScarpeGrosse's rather marvelously named "If the stripes are diagonal, they'll make my hips look smaller, right?"  (It's a definite yes, honey!)

Tracking the progression...

And it's not just our little corner of the world that has fallen prey to the virus: all three staff members of another Toronto yarn shop, PassionKnit, have knitted one.

New staff uniform at Toronto's PassionKnit?

The Lanesplitter virus also flared up among Bodensee-Strick-und-Spinntreffen, an international group of knitters from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Photo courtesy Annie/stricknetz.

And it's a virus that doesn't seem to go away: many knitters have made more than one.

The secret is not only that it's a fun knit, but it looks amazing on anyone – any body shape or size.  And it's so very adaptable.  I'm a petite sort who owns a lot of pairs of black tights, so I made mine a fitted mini.  Lynne's is just above the knee, and a little looser, but still with some negative ease.  Other knitters have made longer versions – knee length and below. This is the genuine article: a knit that looks good on everyone! Have you knit one? Post a link to it in the comments! Does this post make you want to knit one? Tell us!

Props to Tina Whitmore for such an amazing design.