My Sister's Knitter

The pink post...

Be prepared. If you are not a fan of the color pink, look away now. This will indeed be a pink post.

Some fantastically pink socks have come off the needles. 

For me, these are happy makers. As you may know I adore this color. Everything about it screams girl to me. I have had this yarn in my stash for a while. It was one of those skeins of yarn that you don't want to use because once you do, it is gone forever. So glad I didn't listen to myself.

Since this is a pink post, I found some more lovely pink items for you on Flickr.

 

1)Bethany's new yarn 2) Raindrop in Pink  3) Jesse's socks 4) Lakeshore shawl

This year I have been exploring new colors and learning to appreciate them, but my heart will always find love with the color pink.

 

"Almost all words do have color and nothing is more pleasant than to utter a pink word and see

someone's eyes light up and know it is a pink word for him or her too."- Gladys Tabor

 

Wishing you happiness with your favorite color this weekend!

XO

Andi

Keeps on giving...

Happy Sunday everyone! Happy Mother's day to you if you are a mom! I hope you  have been spoiled much. Since I am not a mom, this day if no different for me. That means typical Sunday stuff. Getting ready for the work week and spending some time with my yarn.

As I may have mentioned a million times, I am working on WIPs. This one has been on the hook for a while. I know it is a project that will take some time to complete. But I figured I need to work on it at least once a week if it is ever going to get completed in my lifetime.

As I am working on these grannies, I am reminded of each project that was completed with them. Not only did these balls of yarn at one time produce a project, they are now helping me to create another one. How cool is that?

Not sure why the pink and green ones look so washed out, but they were as bright and colorful as the picture of the granny. Anyhoo...it is kind of like the memory lane of knitting. What do you do with your scrap yarns? Do you want to see some fabulous projects that other did with their scraps?

• This baby blanket is adorable. Add the baby and it makes it super adorable!
• I may have mentioned this one before but now that it is completed, it so deserves another shout-out. Ivy is lucky she doesn't live close to me because that blanket would go missing!  
• These scrappy socks are just fab! (Not sure why I have been saying fab lately)
• The usual suspect...the sock yarn blanket. This one is wonderful!
• Of course the hexipuff craze needs to be included. These puffs make me happy!
• This scarf not only made me really excited but introduced me to someone even more obsessed with sock knitting than me. Don't believe me...take a look at her blog. She has knit like 47 pairs of socks in 2012 so far!

Since that last blog has me reeling, I am going to go back to my socks scraps and create, before I get seriously side-tracked. 

Happy yarning today and I will see you later this week!

XO

Andi

 

Let's give yarn some love...

Why not? It gives us so much pleasure. So how about a shout out to some new to me Indies?

First up Phydeaux Designs. When I opened my mail and saw this beautiful packaging, I knew what was inside was going to be brilliant. Was I ever right?

This lovely is Mocha Creme Camel in a fingering weight. The yardage is 490 yards! That means this will probably become a shawl.

Hello green! This is another fingering weight with generous yardage in the color Green Teal Golden Amber. I'll say. Brenda is the owner of Phydeaux Designs and is a true artist. Her shop not only carries beautiful yarns but also wonderful buttons, shawl pins, and patterns. her customer service was excellent and super fast. I will be a repeat customer, so you better get there before I do!

Next up stripey goodness. I enjoy knitting with self-striping sock yarn because it feels like most of the work is done for you. All you need to do is knit a simple vanilla sock and you end up with a fabulous pair of fun socks.

Wicked fun! Seriously how happy would you be sporting one of these striped socks?  The top one is Groovy Garden Party (heck yeah) and the bottom one is Carousel. Another great shop on Etsy. Again the packaging and goodies, (candy and a cute lady bug stitch marker) makes me  stoked. Ladybug Fiber Company  is having another shop update on May 10th...seriously you should get there before me. :)

My last yarn addiction can easily be blamed on Maryse. She gifted me my first Biscotte & Cie and now I fear there is no turning back!

This bad boy is self striping in the color Melon D'eau. Do think she designed this sock yarn color for me or what? The best part about this new addiction is that The Loopy Ewe started carrying this yarn! I have my eyes on Uniforme du sorcier and Cupcake.

A whole lot of fun bright colors for some great summer socks. Whew! Enough eye candy for you?  And you wonder why I have nine projects on the needles. I haven't cast on, I promise.

I will leave you all now so I can get some sleep and dream of the next Indie dyer's shop I want to raid. As always if you have any shops you would like to pimp, let me know. Hope you are all having a lovely week. It is almost the weekend, hope there is yarn shopping in your weekend plans!

XO

Andi

 

Let me..enable you!

Lately I have been spoiling myself. So I feel it is only fair that I share with you some of the goodies  I have treated myself to, in hopes that you treat yourself.

What is not to love about this coffee cup? I purchased my owl man from Danmade at Etsy. I had my eye on Octomug, but this guy won in the end.

I am a sucker for themes...therefore, I needed  this Bazinga (Big Bang Theory), self striping sock yarn from SpinningFates.

Continuing my theme addiction, GnomeAcres sock yarn-color Hermione (Harry Potter)

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you must have these. 

All the Etsy shops provided excellent customer service, but Knitcubby was brilliant. Brittany sent me  emails saying they enjoyed making these for me. Nothing feels better about purchasing items from small businesses than comments like that.

Now I wouldn't be me if I didn't also enable you will some beautiful projects around blogland!

• Kate's Mizzle Shawl.
• Always beautiful stitches, Chawne's latest is a new fav.
• Jesse's afghan in progress is tempting me.
• I think Claudia's Hootie would go well with my new coffee mug.

Enough enabling? I know, sometimes I have to just walk away from blogland or else I will never finish anything.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my most recent giveaway. We all have so much to be grateful for, your comments confirmed that. I will be back to announce the two winners on Saturday. Till then, have a great rest of your week. Don't forget to spoil yourself!

XO

Andi

 

Happy Birthday Blog...Giveaway!

Someone is two this month. Doesn't she look great for two?  Because it is my blogiversary...I will torture you with my favorite video ever. Who's that at the door?

 

 

Oh and I just may have something to give away....

 

 

How about some yarn? As a thank you for visiting me, commenting , and just putting up with me. I would like to gift someone with four skeins of  beautiful squishy Berroco Vintage  yarn in  Aquae and... 

 

flower stitch markers, a project bag, and little bags for whatever floats your boat. So what does one do to be entered?  Just answer this simple question;

What would you knit/crochet with this yarn if you won it?

That wasn't so bad was it?  You must leave a comment by  April 5th at midnight Pacific Standard time. I will draw the winner  April 6th.

Good luck and thank you for being a wonderful part of my blog!

XO

Andi

 P.S. I will ship international!

Need To Be Enabled?

No problem...how about some lovely yarn from an Indie dyer?

I know, right? One of my goals this year was to purchase sock yarn from only Indie Dyers. I saw this yarn knit up into some wonderful Monkeys by Gail, and it didn't take long before I had some of my own. While I was visiting See Jayne Knit'sshop, some stitch markers jumped into my cart, not sure how that happened but I am glad they did. heh!

I just love me some cute stitch markers. If you decide to take a look at See Jayne Knit Yarn, all I have to say is good luck. You will want everything!

Oh, look what else I got. I have been waiting for these to come out for a couple of months.

Hiya Hiya Sharps! Most of my needles are Hiya Hiya, I am glad to add these to my collection. They are perfectly lightweight and the joins are  smooth.  Within minutes of receipt, these were holding a new scarf pattern.

As if all the lovelies above are not enough, how about some enabling links?

• I want one of these tote bags. How cute would they be carrying my knitting projects?
• I think these salts would be perfect for seasoning a nice piece of fish or veggies.
• Swooning over these socks!
• Enjoying meeting a new sweet friend and enjoying her blog.
• In awe over the talents of someone so young.
• New scarf pattern from an inspiring designer.

 

It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Pour yourself a glass of wine and go visit. You will be glad you did.

Have a great rest of your week!

XO

Andi

Yarnies make the best friends....

They really do. Since I started my blog only a couple short years ago, I have had the opportunity to "meet" some amazing people. Some have become really good friends. Maryse is one of them. I found her after she commented on my blog in 2010, (feels like a long time ago). That comment gave me the opportunity to check out hers . I became instantly smitten with Maryse and we have been friends ever since.

After a long tough week (not bad, just one of those) , I received a package in the mail from Canada.

Look what I got !

This yarn is made in Quebec and it could not have received a happier home  here in the states. Sometimes I think Yarnies have a sixth sense of when you need a pick me up.

To all the friends I have made here on my blog, Flickr or Ravelry,  I treasure you. Thank you for taking the time to visit me. Your words of support and love make my days all the better!

XO

Andi

Shout out...Indie dyer!

Do you remember that one of my New Year's resolutions was to purchase sock yarn from only Indie dyers this year? This is already turning out to be a win-win for me. I get to support a small business, which feels good. I also walk away with some incredible yarn, which feels  good.

Before I show you the lovely yarn I got. Will you take a look at the packaging?

This had me at hello! Who wouldn't want to receive a lovely package like this? Heck at this point the yarn could have been crap and I would have still loved Sweet Basil Fibre Works. Thankfully what was inside was just as incredible.

Details:

• 80/10/10 Merino Cashmere Nylon
• Fingering 375 yards
• Color-Godric's Hollow (confession I am a sucker for anything Harry Potter related) Greys-yellows

 

I know! As if that weren't enough that smart girl Genevieve included small samples of her yarns. She is one brilliant enabler. They are more gorgeous in person. Her plan worked and I will be buying a lot more of her yarn this year!

So,what am I going to knit with my new yarn? I went back and forth between a shawlette and a pair of socks. I settled on a pair of socks. Not sure on the pattern, but I am sure that I will be casting on this yarn very soon.

Check out herEtsy shop. Genevieve is wonderful and talented. Do you want to know what sold me on her yarn (other than the beauty)? It was her profile comment on Ravelry.

Pets? Kids? One incredible, inspiring daughter.

 

 

XO

Andi

 

New Yarn?

I have been thinking of doing this for a while. Now that I have, I want to do it again. It begins with the thrill of the hunt. You have to find just the right one. Boy, did I find the right one.

Went to GoodWill to search for a sweater. Score this was a beauty. It was a man's sweater. That means a lot of yardage. Check out the fiber content!

The most amazing part was that the precious owner did not felt it! I wouldn't be surprised if they never wore it. For a man's sweater it was insanely cabled. I do not know a lot of men that would have gone for that much texture.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and dug right in.

Note the cute coffee cup. It was a gift from my friend Melly and is easily one of my new favorite cups this year. The image is of ALOT. I sure do love that ALOT. :)

Back to the upcycling of yarn. It took a while, just to ensure that I was cutting the right yarns, but the results were fantastic.

These puppies need a bath and to be reskeined. Oh by the way, the yarn was held double through out. That means double the yardage! I did loose one panel due to cutting the wrong seam, but overall I did very well. The actual color is a lovely brown-grey. The bowl that is holding my new yarn, also a thrift store score!

It was fun and I definitely will be doing it again some time in the future. Maybe I will find a nice cashmere sweater to frog. Here is to trying new things in 2012!

XO

Andi

**Kelly at Psycheknits, just did a wonderful tutorial on "upcycling" yarn***
 

Treasures...

I went off my unofficial yarn diet. I had a good reason...

 

When Ruth announced that she had some hand-dyed sock yarn up on her Etsy site, I could not resist. Out of all the many lovelies, these two secretly told me they wanted to come live with me. May have something to do with the fact they are pink? Within hours of receipt I had the top one (Cranberry Over Slate), wound into a nice pretty cake and was casting on a sock.

 

 

I mean seriously, wouldn't you? The yarn is knitting up like a dream and the colors-mwah! No pooling what-so-ever. You should take yourself over to her Etsy shop and buy some yarn, because if you don't I will probably buy the lot. Then you will all be jealous of me. :)

 

Even though I have yet another pair of socks on the needles, I am still working away on the Swan. She is still a bit of a lump, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Can you see it? 

 

Fingers crossed that I will have a FO to show soon. Especially since blogland, Flickr, and Ravelry are all  tempting my needles!

Latest temptations:

• Bethany and her latest socks. She is killing me with these!
• This hat! What is not to love? Hmmm, it has been a while since I have completed a hat.
• Any and all shawl patterns from Rose Beck. I have already bought one of her EBook patterns, seriously contemplating the rest.
• Chawne's new true love , is now mine as well. I want to take a pile of all her blankets and build a blanket fort and never come out.
• As if I didn't already have a million socks on the needles, Maryse's Jaywalkers are beckoning.
• I want to knit beautiful shawls and wraps like Monika! (On a side note I seem to have a small obsession with her dog Denny. All of her four-legged family members are fantastic, but something about Denny gets me every time. Could be because I  have a thing for bad boys.)

 

Any new temptations in your world?

XO

Andi

 Oh gosh...I want to add a video that I just found on Grace's blog. It is too amazing not to share!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.