Isn't it amazing how much knitting one can accomplish when one unplugs for a day? As I mentioned last week I needed a day to reboot myself. I had felt like I had been playing catch up since October and I needed a day to just "be". Mission accomplished and I once again feel on track. It was nice reading about how I am not alone in my occasional need for recharge.
Pattern~ Simple Skyp socks Yarn~ Cosy Posy Yarn Co. in the color Pocket Full of Posies.
Many hours of an audio book happened, in addition to reading a physical book. Do you know that somehow the day felt longer? This seems entirely possible as there have been many times when I have been cruising Raverly or blog reading and before knowing it, a couple of hours have gone by.
This has me thinking I am right on track with this partial unplug Sundays. :) Enough about all my blissful "me time", as I know for many with kids and such that is nearly impossible. If I could, I would send you an extra couple hours to the day.
Now will you take a look at this lovely package that my friend Lynn sent me? Out of the blue and just because. Truly yarnies are the most generous and amazing people. Lynn, if you read this...you have a wonderful heart and thank you many times over.
I am going to get on with my Sunday. Hope today provides you with endless hours of knitting and the things you love.
Today I find myself craving bit of quiet and squishy yarn for company. I've talked about it before, but silent time is a sort of fuel for me. Do you ever feel that the world get's too loud?
Pattern~ Simply Ginny socks Yarn~ Wee Chickadee Woolery Smooshy sock in Rose Moss
I would love to hear what you do in order to quiet the noisy world around you. For me, soft music playing the background, a cup of chamomile and my knitting serve up the most beneficial regrouping medicine. Sometimes I will mix it up and read a bit and when I do read and knit for me it is almost always...Harry Potter.
For many our lives consist of getting things done right away, multitasking and not taking a moment to really breath until the job is done. We are focused so much on getting from point A to Z in the quickest way possible. All this caused noise in my mind as well as a baby head on my right shoulder ( baby head is what I call the knot that happens on my right shoulder). While I am sure a massage could rub out that stress but for me it is a temporary solution. Listening to my breathing and concentrating on the flow of the beautiful yarn between my fingers, proves to be a cheaper and reminds me to think about my breathing.
On Sundays I take the focus away from "deadline" knitting projects and dedicate my day to an easy knit that allows me to not think. During cooler months it was my scrappy blanket and now while the heat it on it is all about the Fade. :)
Do you use your knitting to help you to "just be"? If so, I would love to hear what works for you. Is it about setting a stage (like total silence and some tea) or do you take your knitting with you on a walk, or something else?
Enjoy a video about being in a Knititative state and have the best day today!
Hello there! How was your week? Did it feel like eternity like mine or was it just right? Maybe mine felt like eternity because everything I have done in the last week has felt like it has been going at a snail's pace. Then again, I can just say that I was focusing on slow living. ;) Also, really what is the rush? Life goes by fast enough.
We hit s record 107 degrees this week and today the high should only hit 71. Maybe that is the reason for the rush to the weekend. Right now the windows are open and the coolest of breezes is passing through my home...ahhhhhhh, that is what I am talking about. Now today, I pray the day drags at the slowest pace possible. Despite the fact that I am dying to get to the next color change in my Fade shawl, I need to remember that slow motion knitting is not a bad thing.
I have started some new socks that are part of a review for an exciting May Indie Dyer of the month feature coming next Sunday. Everything about this yarn color sings Spring, does it now? I am very pumped about sharing all the wonderful things about May's feature dyer.
Mail this week has been off the charts good. My tea shelf is now restocked...and honestly it didn't need to be restocked. I had a gift card that from a friend that was due to expire so I leaped at the change to stock up on some of my always favorites (forever nuts, cold 911, Buddha's blend) as well as try some new to me ones.
Me and my dear friend Julia (in Australia), have been suffering through an epic cold for weeks on end. Luckily mine already passed but Julia thought she would send me a lovely care package because she is absolutely stunning like that. Seriously I wish I could hug her.
Thanks to a beautiful Sunday and wonderful friends, my angst about the long hot week has ended on a magical note. I hope your week and now weekend has been especially kind to you.
I will end this post with a fun video brought to you from Michael Stone (Out of Hand's Youtube channel). I love seeing men knit and the fact that they are handsome doesn't hurt either. ;)
**This giveaway is now closed- thank you for all who commented.**
Happy Sunday! Can I just tell you that these monthly indie dyer features have been one of the best ideas I have had in a long time? It has been so amazing to get to know these artists on a personal and business level.
March I get the privilege of introducing you to the talented, Kirsten of Knitting a Love Song. Before I got to know her yarn, I watched her wonderful podcast and fell in love with her infectious personality. Her projects and yarn all speak to my heart. I have no doubt that after meeting Kirsten you will fall in love with her as well.
I am 29 years old and for the first 20 years of my life, I lived in New York. When I moved to New Orleans, I barely knew anyone and didn't have a job right away. I taught myself to knit through youtube and soon found Ravelry.com Knitting A Love Song officially opened in February of 2016, but my love for dyeing yarn came long before that. I started dyeing my own yarn in 2012 with kool-aid, food coloring and vinegar. Before I knew it, I was over-dyeing skeins of yarn I had bought years earlier and coming up with new, rich color combinations.
In 2015, I found myself feeling burnt out at my full time job and uninspired with my knitting. I struggled with depression my entire life and it seemed like it was only getting worse. I mentioned to my boyfriend that I wished I could just dye yarn all day for a living and he said, "why not?" The prospect of opening Knitting A Love Song and being able to dye yarn seemed like a dream come true. When I get to play with the dye pots, all my stress and anxiety seems to melt away. I dye colors that I love, in hopes that my customers will love them, too.
My inspiration comes from things and places in New York and New Orleans, as well as my mood at the time. I started my podcast in 2016 and while my episodes were sporadic, I feel that it gave me more motivation to knit. I have made the resolution to record at least 26 episodes this year. I have made so many amazing friends through knitting, podcasting and dyeing yarn.
I feel so lucky to be part of a community that values generosity, creativity, kindness and love. I hope that with the continued support of my customers and other fellow indie dyers, that within the next five years, I could make Knitting A Love Song my full-time job. There is nothing more relaxing and fun to me than dyeing yarn for my shop.
Kirsten has an wonderful group on Ravelry and is currently hosting a Stash Down KAL. Here is a bit more about it:
Stashdown KAL:
Towards the end of 2016, I realized that I had enough yarn to probably last the rest of my life. I had yarn in stash that I had bought in the beginning of my journey through the fiber arts;, things that I was keeping for sentimental reasons. But keeping yarn in boxes wasn't going to bring me happiness;...what would bring me happiness is turning that yarn into something beautiful, which helped propel the Stashdown 2017 make-a-long. The idea of Stashdown 2017 is to use the beautiful things that you bought and turn them into something even better. We all have excess somewhere in our lives and for a lot of us crafters, that excess is in our stashes. The focus is on using up some of the things you’re hoarding because you think
they’re too nice to use, and/or to find uses for
things you are still searching for the perfect project for. I'm hoping that through Stashdown 2017, we can all motivate each other to be more creative and to think of our stash in different ways. I've encouraged anyone who wants to participate to make some goals for the year and let them know that these goals do not have to be set in stone. The purpose isn't to force yourself to do anything but to challenge yourself throughout the year.
What a brilliant love Kirsten is right? Not only is she talented but also extremely generous and has offered up a skein to one lucky winner from her Etsy shop. The giveaway is open worldwide and the winner will get to choose the yarn- I know right?! If that weren't enough Kirsten is also offering up a 15% discount code to her shop- MSKLOVE.
The giveaway will be open until Saturday March 25th at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random number generator and announced via a blog post on the 26th. To enter please leave a comment (make sure to include your email address when prompted- no need to enter it into the comment itself) and tell me your favorite colorway in the Knitting a Love Song shop or what color would you like to see.
Thank you Kirsten for allowing me to feature you and your beautiful yarn on my blog. I feel like I have gained a new friend in the process-lucky me.
I will leave you with an episode of the Knitting a Love Song podcast and wish you the very best day today!
Hello! Happy Sunday. :) With February being a short month my loves post is a few days late.
Before we go visiting, a little update on happenings here at my casa. The test knitting that I spoke about for WOODS is happening. The pattern is secret for right now, but I can tell you that it is being knit up in some beautiful, Hey Mama Wolf Yarns.
Isn't it beautiful? The yarn is 100% organic wool from a small farm in Germany. It is Merino land race and black face sheep.
On the topic of beautiful, check out the colors of stripes in this Night Owl Fibers yarn. I am knitting up some vanilla socks in this fabulous colorway, Astronomy Tower.
Not a lot to share because that it how it is when you have a secret test knit on the needles. :) But hopefully I will have more to share in the coming months. What I can tell you is that next week I will our March indie dyer feature, Knitting a Love Song along with a giveaway!
Now...let's go visiting blogland and there about.
It is no surprise that I enjoy linking loves as my dear friend Julie is often featured in my Love posts and now Katherine has brought back her Friday Favs list. So much goodness!
Juliann has taken to stitching in this wonderful post and talks about other bloggers inspiring her Stitch Stories.
There are some of us who avoid knitting with mohair. Whatever the reason, you may want to reconsider after seeing Alina's mohair flor- I know I have.
Kelbourne Woolens introduced The Fiber Co.'s new yarn-Luma. While the yarn looks amazing the patterns are also stunning. My favorite pattern changes with every photo.
This simple cabled heart from We are Knitters captured my attention in the month of February. Wouldn't it make for a sweet love banner?
I love it when you all share your travel pics with us and I can tell you that I spent a good amount of time drooling over Woollenwild's snapshots of Riga. After I upload this post I may just go back to stare at them some more.
Being a sucker for all things cozy, is it any wonder that I enjoy visiting Kristen's blog?
So many wonderful knits can be found in this post as Jennifer catches us up.
There are always those bloggers that you desire more blog posts from, right? I can't seem to get enough of Patricia's photos, knits and words.
Lastly, Karen introduces us to short films from Alun Callender. Mesmerizing! Thank you- Karen.
Of course I couldn't leave you without sharing on of my favorite video's from Alun's series.
Good morning to you! Maybe I should say good afternoon at this point, as this Sunday I am seeming to take things a bit slower. Then again, isn't that how all Sundays should be?
Morning tea, David's Breakfast blend from my dear friend Antonella and some seriously gorgeous yarn that will make the pink lovers amongst us a bit faint. The yarn is from Fondant Fibre in the color Geisha. Isn't it just everything?
New socks are on the needles because I finished these beauties. This pattern is Pillars and the yarn is one I reviewed last month from Long Dog Yarn in the color Champagne Toast. I am so excited to where these, but they will be going into my box of socks for the year and will have to wait till the end of the year before they get worn.
Some of you our there may be thinking that there is a lot of sock knitting going on and you would be right. This year I am really trying to focus on knitting as many beautiful socks for myself and of course others as possible. Also, I am getting ready to start a test knit for a garment for WOODS, which is due to be released in November 2017, so my sock knitting may be on hold for a little while.
I am sure you have heard about this beautiful collaboration from Hanna Lisa Haferkamp and Verena Cohrs.
"WOODS is a new knitting book that we created to share our passion for local, breed-specific European yarns, beautiful knitwear design and helping people expand their knitting knowledge. The book includes 11 minimalistic modern knitwear designs, profiles and interviews with amazing makers and lots of tutorials. Our goal is to bring people together through our craft and business ethos, and celebrate the creative talent and passion of hard-working fiber folks."
If you are interested in supporting this wonderful book, there is a crowd funding page here.
Exciting stuff, right? Let's hit repeat here when I say, " This community we live, love and create in is amazing!".
Other happenings, my blanket is getting it's usual Sunday love. Don't let the fact that this blanket has been in progress for over 3 years give you the idea that this is a project I do not love. I do love this blanket because as I have mentioned before it is made up of yarns from so many friends near and far. Maybe it is taking me so long because I don't want it to end?
More mini loves from my friend Kirsten. They are being added into the blanket as we speak. Maybe next week I will share my blanket progress with you? Till then I will leave you to enjoy your day.
Pattern~ My own vanilla Yarn~ Opal Garn Fantasie in color 1917
It is Sunday and I feel good. Thank you for all the well wishes you sent my way in regards to my tummy bug. It got the message and packed it's bags and left me alone by midweek, I think that is in large part due to you all. :)
This week included all the good things to help me feel the cheer. Elf one of my mandatory Christmas movies and some Miso soup with Kale and Udon noodles. The soup was made simply with some Miso broth, fresh kale, a bit of grated ginger and some cooked Udon noodles. Nothing else- Isn't the best thing about soups?
Then we had more merry making. I have settled on mini socks for ornaments this year. I say sometimes you have to go with what you know and I know how to knits socks...so there you go. I feel behind as usual in my knitting this month. Do you ever feel that when you set or have a deadline that you start to knit in slow motion?
I have been checking out and being inspired by holiday knitting around blogland.
Mary Lee displays all the adorable ornaments she has made over the years.
Rebecca has created the most adorable mini mittens for an advents calendar for her girls.
The Yarn Harlot is all about merry making as well despite running into some snags.
Felicia is surrounded by many talents at the Sweet Georgia Yarn studio who are decorating their first tree.
Jane is creating the sweetest colorwork mitten ornaments.
Just a few inspirations in case you were in need of some ideas. Now the only thing that could make these posts better is if all of you could have started these sooner, then I could have copied the heck out of you all. ;)
I will leave you with a wonderful video that reminds me and others that knit matters especially when it is combined with love.
This last week felt a bit long, right? One way of looking at it is that we earned our weekend. :) How was your week?
Yarn~ Miss Babs Hot Shot color~ Biker Chick
It was a brilliant mail week, as I received my swap package for the My Sister's Knitter All About Fall swap on Ravelry. These beauties came from a longtime friend and member Peggy. Does she not have wonderful taste? Obviously everything excites me but the Miss Babs as it is the first time I will be trying it.
Yarn~ Zwerger Garn Opal Smile color# 7933
Sock knitter continues and despite casting on all the socks I am really trying to get a pair finished. I dove into the WIP basket and pulled out these fun socks , realized they didn't have too much more to go and figured why not finish these. Do you ever do that?
Yarn~ Dream in Color Baby color~ Funky Fuchsia
And then even more projects have been added to the WIP basket. That is what happens when one comes out-one goes in. Heh, who am I kidding even if the WIP basket is overflowing a new WIP gets adding and I blame it on Fall. The reason for casting on this lovely new pink wrap came from a dream. I dreamt that I had a huge pink shawl and lost it. I took it as a sign that I needed one as I seemed to have loved it immensely in my dream. Do you ever dream of knitting or knits?
That is my week and weekend in a nutshell. Lots of yarny goodness happening. Later today I will be making a favorite soup, potsticker soup. So easy and good. I have not made it yet but here is a picture of it from when I made it previously. To put this simple soup over the top...add freshly grated ginger.
Now on to my Sunday. I will leave you with this fun video tutorial on how to make these fun knitted pumpkins!
Knitting is going on...or is it? I feel like stitches are being squeezed in whenever possible but still nothing is getting completed. I refer to it as my Summer knitting lull. I refuse to say I have lost my knitting mojo because nothing could be further from the truth.
My reading has increased. It tends to do that during the warmer months, as I avoid the sunlight like a vampire. Could that be the reason for the decline in knitting progress? Quite possible.
Non-knitting related and absolutely nothing to do with this post, I tried my first Pluot yesterday. It was good, but I was expecting pure bliss. Have you ever tried one?
Anyhow, much like my knitting I seem to be on a slow roll with most things. Once again I blame the heat and humidity. Cooking is a amiss and simple salads have taken over the menu. Speaking of cooking or lack thereof, I looking for some healthy work lunch ideas from you all. I know I can scan the internet, but I find that I reply on your opinions more than random people on the web.
It would seem I am in search of inspiration in all areas. Does that sound about right? One lovely readers Barbys, shared her inspiration in the form of the video.
Hoping you find inspiration in all things and have the best day today!
Hello! Here we are at the end of July and before you know it Fall will be here...one can dream right?
After skipping June loves it was nice to get back into the swing of things this post. It gives me such joy to go visiting blogland and thereabouts in search of all the wonderful things. Speaking of wonderful things above is some of my very favorite tea from Australia that my dearest Aussie friend Julia sent me. Also, I know a couple of you noticed the tea bag holder in last weeks post. Isn't it brilliant? It is from Stash tea and a little heads up I am going to have a couple to give away in the coming weeks!
Linebreak shawl in MTL in Charcoal Gray
Before getting to the loves, I have a bit of knitting to show you. Most of my progress is due in large part to all of your lovely words of wisdom in last weeks post. I remembered the importance of taking advantage of the small windows of time and that every stitch counts. So thank you!
Plain Vanilla socks in yarn from LYNAI yarns in Ginny.
Despite feeling a tad behind in my sock knitting progress this year, they are still coming along. That is what really matters right? It is not a race, Andi! :)
A couple of swap packages have been received. The above one was a casual friend swap from dear Julia who I mentioned above. All things Aussie including these yarns!
Then I got the most sweetest of packages from kind Sheri in a love swap that was going on in the My Sister's Knitter Ravelry group. All matches have been made, but if you are interested we will be having a Fall swap coming soon.
I am spoiled, right? Have you ever participated in a swap before? If not you really should as it is a wonderful way to connect and share with others in the US or even around the world. I can say for certain that through swaps and this community in general the friends I have made are priceless.
Alright enough about me...let's get talking about June loves! Warning there are many. :)
The addiction to sock knitting is continually fueled by Tahnee. Check out these Spring Fern Socks!
Always one to give us a new way to look at knitting, the Pattern Duchess is having a feature on her blog called, Patterns from History. Brilliant!
Wonderful video tutorial on Afterthought knitting from Pom Pom Magazine.
Love everything about this post from Green Triangle Girl, Return to the Wild.
I adore Raincloud & Sage. Her post about "everything I should have said" is beautiful.
My dreams of traveling, camping and backpacking are never ending, so it's no wonder Wooly Venture's blog speaks to my soul.
Hannah's Making Yarn Series have been an amazing read.
You can feel the excitement Kristen has over her beautiful stole and once you see it you will understand why. I need to make one!
Wei Siew's blog is like reading a really good book. I think if she wrote one, I would read it over and over again.
This shawl by Kahrine is stunning. Most definitely going on my "to make" list this year.
Some window shopping~ Beautiful Mess Yarns, yep I want everything. I am having a case of grabby hands over this yarn from Peach Queen Yarns. A bag with teacups courtesy of Molly Klein Designs=need.
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