Month: March 2016

Stellanti, March, and Mystery Yarn Club

Stellanti and Balance

I’m trying to wrap up the details and pages for the new mystery yarn club 2016, and decided I needed to sit back and take a break. This project, Stellanti, is my go-to for letting the rhythm of knitting refresh my focus and is my featured Throwback Thursday post today,  plus I’ve found the Balance essential oil, helps keep me there.

Stellanti

Stellanti
Pattern is Stellanti from Nelkin Designs and can be knit with or without the beads. There are a few copies left at Knitting  Today. We will be taking the store offline within the next couple of weeks so we can move it and re-sync with actual inventory, so please shop and get anything you want now!!!

 

The yarn was a specialty club project we contracted with FibroFibers for this special order project way back when (2013?). Haley started this project for her last year in 4-h, but ended up knitting a moebius instead as this was pretty ambitious for a few month (week?) timeframe. She did complete it through a few border rows though until she put it away and when I was reorganizing my office space, I picked it up.

UFO Restart

Starting over, I had to count and re-count stitches, drop back and fix some yarn overs that were placed on the wrong side of the markers, and figure out generally where she had left off. It was FUN!!  I love stuff like that! I even wrote a draft blog post about the process and will probably share that with you some day.  Anyways, what you see in the featured image is border row 13 (122-155-122) and it’s only 22 deep, so the end is in sight. Did you remember I called it my rhythmic work? Yes, it is. The row is repetitive with yo, P2tog, K1, p2tog, yo, P1, k1, p1. And placing beads on top of beads. I recognize immediately if I’ve done something wrong two rows before and can fix it. My kind of knitting. Anyways, the final row count, row 22, has a final stitch count of 169-215-169, so it does take a while to get across one row, but I will finish the knitting. Notice, I said the knitting. It’s me, and to truly finish it means I would have to weave in ends and block too!!

Balance Essential Oil

I have to get moving along here though, because I have an essential oil 101 class I’m hosting at the Knitting Today store this evening and I want to serve Peppermint flavored brownies. I’m going to be diffusing an apple pie combination as well. Yum!! I started using essential oils about a year ago to help our bodies get through winter and spring ailments. It has worked, we’ve all been healthier and I can’t be more excited to share what I use and how I use it in person. If you are interested in more information, get in touch with me at my McGregor Oils email.

March ClubKnit Meetups

Mark your calendar for some spring frolic fun — Friday, March 18, 2-5 and 6-9; Saturday, March 19, 10-4 —- JOIN US in person at the Knitting Today ClubRoom, 8040 E 500 S, Wolcottville, IN 46795 — Knitting, friends, and Food (not necessarily in that order!) NOTE: there will be no April meetup so Lea-Ann can go on spring break! Fee for non-clubmembers is $5. Free if you join the club.

MYC Logo

Mystery Yarn Club 2016

And last, but not least, enrollment in the Mystery Yarn Club 2016 [MYC2016] starts today and ends March 31 or until 30 clubs are sold, whichever comes first. What is MYC2016 you ask? Its three new-to-me wonderful skeins of Yarn! I have had these three yarns on my “want” list for a couple years now and its finally time. Once you buy in, you can expect a new skein to arrive by mail once per month in May, June and July. I can tell you this, its lightweight because it’ll be summer knitting time! I’ll include a one-skein project idea with each shipment, but you can also purchase the book (ebook or soft back or both) Sock Yarn Accessories direct from the publisher with a 10% off coupon available only to MYC2016 members. Once you have that book, you may decide you want two skeins, so watch your email for the limited time frame to order extra. Subscriber-level club members will get additional discounts and freebies, so click the Join the Club button and complete that first while its still half off!!!

Visit the Mystery Yarn Club 2016 Page to join and get in on this deliciousness of yarn.

 

See you in the clubs!! — Lea-Ann

Stormy Weather fronts and Periscope Experiment

Woohoo!  I took advantage of Tom’s being on vacation and we got busy on the Stormy Weather fronts and Periscope Experiment. Sooooo, a stumbling block has been surpassed. Two blocks, actually . . .

  1. Stormy Weather progress is being made, I knit the Stormy Weather fronts after knitting the back in September 2014!
  2. Videotaping has commenced, and we live broadcasted as a periscope experiment. I haven’t watched the replays, but Tom said he stuck his head in there a few times while I was busy. That Guy!

What is Stormy Weather?

Published in Knit ‘N Style February 2014 – #189, the Stormy Weather Tunic Hoodie is designed by Mary Anne Oger. It is knit in Linen Concerto, which has the appearance of being hand-dyed. What makes the design unique is it is knit sideways.  Mary Anne takes special care when designing so the colors match up at the shoulder seam. In other words, when Mary Anne says to do something, there is a reason to do it and don’t ignore her advice like I did. You may want to take a moment and read through Mary Anne’s hints on her blog, Needles To Say. So much good machine knitting info and inspiration there.

My colors don’t match at the shoulder seam. I didn’t care when I started knitting it, but now? Back in September 2014 when I started this project and knit a size too small, I blogged about a group knitting session and I asked the question:  Do you find you have to tear out after group knitting session, hand or machine?

The Yarn — Linen Concerto

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Contents: 48% Rayon, 42% Linen, 10% Cotton / Machine Wash & Dry
Gauge: 5.5 sts = 1″/US 5 needle
Yardage: 101 yards
Weight(s): DK
Put Up: 10 x 50g ball
Collection/Brand: Plymouth Brand Italian Collection

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 If you would like to knit this project, please email me directly and we’ll get you set up.

What is Periscope

Periscope is a way to video stream something immediately and it is saved for 24 hours viewing in the app for later. It was so much fun!! The problem I found that I want to use it as a streaming class mechanism and it is a two-man operation. Here’s the Katch.me Collection for the right front, left front, and shoulder seam [which I’m going to redo, the shoulder seam only, not the knitting]. But I’m debating: mattress stitch by hand or seam on the machine?? I LOVE mattress stitching by hand!!! What would you do?

ClubKnit Update

Finally, I’m moving along on the clubknit.knittingtoday.com knitalong pages. And the subscriber dashboards are coming together in my head. We’re going to go ahead and launch a new knitalong, the Mystery Yarn Club, within the next couple of days. Let me just suggest, if you haven’t already, that you join as a Beta-Subscriber. It is only $50 and they will get not only first dibs on the club, but they will get no less than $32.75 value by already being a part of that exclusive Subscriber membership. That’s a huge savings over the course of the year and a couple of projects.

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Back to knitting . . . Lea-Ann

P.S. Don’t forget to reply and let me know what you think about tearing back or not after group knitting sessions!!!