Hi everyone, I had to take a little hiatus from clubKnit and think about the structure, layout and purpose of my business, Knitting Today, and how clubKnit fits in. I’m debating about whether my business is too broad trying to teach hand and lk or USM knitters. Strictly hand knitters vote yes, hand only. But my roots have always been getting hand knitted things done on the machine that are possible so I can focus on the hand that is not possible. I’m sticking with my purpose of teaching both. It’s does create a level of dimension to the website though as I’m building it so I can be sure it’s navigable by both hand and machine knitters. So, there we go.
In the past week, the website for knittingtoday.com has been relocated in order to save me money. So, for the immediate future, I need to work on setting it back up and getting information on there that is now missing. I have to find other ways to cut out overhead because I want my business to be about the education, not the revenue.
I’m also working on a sweater project I’d like to host as a KAL here in clubKnit. While I’m doing that, I’m shipping out the first mystery yarn club delivery from Zombie Yarns. And, I’m thinking of what our July project will be as well as making plans for attending TNNA which is in D.C. next month and for Launch Out in St Louis in July. Both of those events inspire me and educate me. But my dream is to make it back to Meg Swansen’s oft-timers knitting camp once again. That’s where the knitting minds really gather.
And, I’m thinking about all those UFOs in my cubes and whether I want to do then our gift them to someone else (the magic art if tidying up, anyone?). I just blogged about that at knittingtoday.com
I’m also working on being a healthy me…stretching with a tv show called sit and be fit, walking with my fitbit (trying to reach 5000 steps a day), eating regular meals, and drinking more water daily.
My days are packed!! And it’s not with knitting time. What are you building, dreaming, our knitting?
[wlm_nonmember]Testing, testing. This post is for Mystery Yarn Club members only. If you are not a member of the MYC2016, you should not be able to see anything below this post. Sorry!! [/wlm_nonmember]
[wlm_private “CLUB-Mystery032016”]
Hello [wlm_firstname], comment below if you see this picture!
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
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.
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!!!
Today we gathered to honor the memory of my step-father-in-law, Richard Lee. From the get go, he was definitely dad. He loved us unconditionally, he encouraged us in our faith and prayed with and for us. You knew where you stood with dad, because he made sure he told you straight up what he believed and what the Bible said. I know I will see him in Heaven some day. I can see him dancing and shouting praises. As I take a couple days to be with family, I focus on prayer and praise and thank you all so much for being alongside us. I’ll be back to working on schedule as soon as possible. — Lea-Ann
Today is Throwback Thursday, so I dug through the archives to find some pictures for inspiration. It made me kind of sad looking at the store all full of products and displays, but that’s a story for another time. Today, let’s harken back to the days of my son, Trent, hanging out at the store with me when he’s supposed to be doing his homeschooling and instead is knitting….procrastination at its finest because he knew I would let him get away with it.
Trent, set up to make his own afghan on the Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine.
Looks like we had a gathering coming up since there were some other machines, chairs and tables. He’s coming along nicely.
Such a hard worker. Don’t get too cocky though, Trent!
See! I told you. With the Bond machines, you have to be careful that the yarn doesn’t come out of the carriage or wrap around the bottom of the green plates that hold the knitting pushed back. Frankly, it’s one of the reasons I prefer knitting on the lk-150 now. Do you have a Bond Incredible Sweater Machine or Ultimate Sweater Machine? Have you added other machines to your “collection?”
Many of you know my hubby is a UPS man. I’m real proud of him. He’s worked there almost 30 years and its about time for him to retire. He is currently doing my shipping and receiving, so many of you actually get to see his notes on your invoices. Some days, we talk on his bluetooth while he is delivering and I can tell how much he cares for his customers and treats them well. As do they treat him well. That being said, I was really pleased to see UPS highlight something near and dear to my heart, supporting charity gift knitting. Watch . . . .
So what do you think? Did UPS do a good thing delivering this wish?
Charity Gift Knitting
Do you do charity or gift knitting? Tell me a little about it. Do you use a particular pattern and yarn every time? Or is it more eclectic and you knit whatever comes to mind and in whatever yarn presents itself? Do you have a link to the pattern you can share in the comments?
Pattern Ideas
If you would like to tackle some projects for charity knitting, here is a couple patterns to get you started.
Basic Drop Stitch Tube Scarf pattern by Mary Anne Oger suitable for Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine or LK-150 knitting.
Judi Gibson’s basic ribbed hat pattern for hand knitters, but could be knit flat and seams for machine knitting.
In the future, we’ll have a place for you to upload these projects. But in the meantime, why not register for the Basic (free) version of ClubKnit and upload your pictures in the Community/Forum area??
Hi everyone, thank you to those who have registered as beta-subscribers for all access to everything behind the scenes. I have so much I want to share with you. If you are not a beta-subscriber and would like to help us out by contributing your time, experience, and save some money, check out the info page here.
I’m in the process of gathering questions to put in the Library. What do you frequently look up on the internet? What question would you like answered? Put your question in the comments.
I’m setting up a page for the Pathways knitalong project. What I have to figure out is how to not only put the forum for the project on that page, but to have my post containing hints & tips filter automatically onto that page. anyone have experience with that? I’m told by a professional it has to do something with a loop and meta info {ugh} — confusion reigns!!! Once I get this working, anyone who bought the kit project will have a link on their dashboard to easily get to the information. Then, I’ll go back and do the Marseille Tee and Stormy Weather.
One year ago, I thought the direction I was taking was a full blown support site for Bond knitting machine owners. When I found out Spinrite had stopped production it was like I’d lost a job. After 24 years of supporting Bond knitters, I no longer had a purpose. But, time and introspection took care of that.
Introducing ClubKnit.KnittingToday.com
Inspiration, Education, and Community for hand and machine knitters. Join the Basic (Free) level here.
Now if I can just get all the bits and pieces of various programs to do their part. The forums, yarn clubs, online classes, and knitalongs. Plus blogging daily. Right now I’m working on the next yarn club, a Sock Yarn Mystery Club. Stayed tuned!!!
Questions? Suggestions? Encouragement? Post a comment.
What’s happening inside the ClubKnit community pages:
As I progress through the building of this community website, i’m first concentrating on two things:
free content and discussion, and
Knitalong (KAL) content and discussion
I actually have three hand knitting projects that I’m knitting on the LK-150 (Stormy Weather, Marseille and Pathways). Initially the discussion and KAL area will reflect these projects.
Free content access:
The free content consists of blog posts as well as a community discussion area in the Forums. It will require you to join ClubKnit and be logged in to see and respond to forum posts. The purpose of doing this is so we can keep as much spam and riff raff out as possible.
Interested? Join here: [register_Basic (free)]
KAL Members content access:
Once you purchase a project from Knitting Today, we’ll add you to the members-only area where you can ask questions and respond to not only blog posts related to the project, but the KAL-specific discussion area in the forum. Once you log in, you’ll have a specialized dashboard that has links specifically to the areas available to you. Of course, you’ll also have access to the general free content areas of the site.
Subscribers (Future) content:
Plans include offering different blog posts such as Monday Motivation, Technique Tuesday, WWW Wednesday, Throwback Thursday and FO Friday. This is an aggressive blog posting schedule for someone (Me, Lea-Ann) who really doesn’t have a history of writing. Bear with me as I work on setting up my work schedule so I can best support you and your knitting projects.
As we develop content, we’ll add classes. For example,
Knitting Today News Cable Newsletter
Get It Out of the Box for the new and returning LK-150 owner
Hints, tips and tricks for the Ultimate Sweater Machine owner
basic sweater techniques for hand and machine knitters
Cast on Methods for hand and machine knitters
Your feedback is super important so I spend my time and effort on those things most beneficial to you. Please feel free to comment below or in the Free forums once you join. These classes will have a Per Class fee, but we’ll also offer an annual membership option (Subscriber) for extended access and reduced registration costs. There are other goodies we’ll be implementing for those Subscribers like coupons to use when shopping at Knitting Today, in-person events, and additional content access.
I’m really excited to be offering this community to you, my knitters and customers, and hope you’ll look forward as much as I am to joining us online for all of your technical knitting needs.
