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Saturday, June 30, 2007
AAAhhhh, all recovered from a few days of lifted deadline pressure and some fun in the hot Okanagan sun. Been open again since Tuesday, actually, but my fabulous webguy, Alan, who does all of my posting, has been having his chance at holidays, too. I think I last spoke of a Knits sweater that I was having trouble getting dried…here’s your sneak peek: 
Unfortunately, even though I’ve been very lucky for the last five years with all my shipping to magazines and customers, I paid big money for this package to arrive within a week…and it took a full TWO. It sat in the U.S. from the 18th to the 29th…yipes! Still waiting to hear if I missed a photo shoot or anything as a result of its tardiness. I did do some knitting on my vacation…finished both of these socks…one in Austermann STEP (with aloe and jojoba in the yarn), and the lighter colored one in the yummy Online Beach Socks…very nice feeling with the cotton in the mix. Now for the other two… 
Ooops, blurry photo…sorry about that. Then I came back and whipped up a funky hat for the Winter issue of Interweave Crochet in a lovely merino and silk yarn. Sneak peek: 
And now, so far as I know, I’m free from design deadlines until closer to the end of summer, unless something comes up in the next couple of weeks. Time to focus on spring cleaning (the house has been severely neglected these past three months or so), finishing a little girl’s pink birthday sweater (that was given over a month ago as a gift…unfinished), a leaflet or two for the Woollen Earth line, and some actual summer activities. We’ve had so much flooding around here, I don’t think we’ll even have our wonderful lake beach this year at all…sob, sob. It’s five minutes away and has been our salvation in summer time for the past 6 years. Currently underwater, though. Speaking of summer activities, have you heard of the Summer of Socks KAL? What a great way to spend the summer! Get a few pairs of my Breeze anklets whipped up in a flash and be well on your way! Oh, I almost forgot…the Early Fall 2007 Knitscene is here, along with my pasty white face inside. (Bright late winter sunlight never did anyone’s looks any good.) Here’s one of the alternate shots I had sent in that doesn’t make me look quite so “arctic” (as a friend of mine so kindly put it): 
And here’s my little ultra easy tank/vest, “Two-Over-Two Vest”, which was so much fun to knit: 
Lots of great projects inside…let me know if you’d like a copy! I think next week I’ll do some clearing out of the shop to make way for fall stuff…stay tuned for some great deals on Hemp and Wool, Schoeller/Stahl Wonderwool, and various other things I find that need to go…stock up while the deals are on! Have a great Canada Day! |
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Friday, June 15, 2007 It’s official. I’m burnt out. I’ve been under a constant design deadline since the beginning of April, with no breaks between projects, and I’m a basket case. (I don’t think my family likes me much, either right now…besides being constantly busy, I ain’t in the best of moods lately.) The last one before I take a few days off will be going in the mail as this is being posted (I hope…I’m writing this ahead of time and currently it shows no signs of EVER drying)…no sneak peeks till later, I’m afraid. I’m closing shop today until the 25th…and will only MAYBE be checking emails in the meantime, so I appreciate your patience ahead of time in awaiting a response from me! Enjoy the weather and your knitting! Monday, June 11, 2007 Yup, that’s right, this is my surprise…I have a pattern in the Summer ’07 issue of Knitty 
“Breeze” is a great little anklet sock pattern…nice n’ quick (with a teeny little cuff), but still an interesting (tangy) knit with it’s lacy stitches…sporty and classy all at once. And of course the pattern is FREE, FREE, FREE! I hope you’ll enjoy making several pairs. The yarn I used for the prototypes (which I knit in the midst of my very scary cat bite this February) is Mandarin Petit 100% cotton…a skein will do the small, ALL of a skein will make the medium, and you’ll need a second to knit the large. At $5.99 CDN/skein, that’s a nice price for a pair of socks…stock up for gifts! Here’s the shadecard (still not nicely fine-tuned and up on the yarn page): New Shades: 
#2406 Yellow/Green/Orange/Red and #5200 Blue/Green/Purple/Turquoise Original Shade Selection: MANDARIN PETIT by SANDNESGARN (Norway) 100% Egyptian Cotton 180 metres/50 grams Tension: approx. 27 sts = 4 inches on 3.0 mm needles 
#4418 Red and #6705 Turquoise. I’d love to see your finished Breeze anklets…send me a photo! (Just please remember I’m on dial-up…ugh…so please size ‘em down.) Happy Knitting! Friday, June 8, 2007 Well, this wasn’t exactly the surprise I was hinting at in my last entry, but the preview is up for the “Early Fall 2007” issue of Knitscene Magazine. Head here to their website to see a small photo of each project and the materials required. My vest is particularly hard to get a good glimpse of because of the light colored yarn, but you can see some detail in my “sneak peek” on my February 13th entry… The magazine will be out on newsstands on June 26 (that means here at The Woollen Earth, too…let me know if you’ll be needing a copy). I wasn’t expecting it out so early in the season, but there’s a Felt issue of Interweave Knits coming out this summer, and then the regular Fall issue in August, so they have to stagger them all in somehow! I’ll be interested to read the “profile” on yours truly in this particular Knitscene (and to see how my face looks plastered in a magazine). Off to knit away…the rest of my yarn for this sweater arrived today, so I can breathe easy that I’ll have enough yardage to get this baby done. Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Help! Knitter permanently attached to chair! After having spent an extra TWO WEEKS on a sweater than I’d planned, it was sent to New York last Thursday afternoon with an exuberant kick. Sneak peek: 
On to the next one, which has to be done by next Thursday. SHOULD be lots of time, but there are other things to work on, too…pink sweater, what pink sweater? (Actually, it’s all finished but for the side and sleeve seams…if only I could get to it. “Mama, haven’t you finished my sweater yet?”…imagine puppy dog eyes and a sad little voice.) Luckily, we had some smokin’ hot weather this weekend, and with a little pressure off on the design scene, I did get outside for awhile, but wouldn’t you know it, both the mosquitoes AND the blackflies decided to make their debut in droves this weekend, too. You pretty much have to dress like a beekeeper just to hang the laundry. (Thank goodness for bug hats…how did I live before them? If you can just stand the noise of the little devils all around you…oh, and the heatstroke from wearing all the additional gortex [bugproof] clothing.) We tried to go to “our beach”, which is usually bug-free compared to our place (even though we knew the water would still be a little on the cold side), but we little imagined how high the lake is from all the snow we’ve had this year! The place was flooded, and add to that a bunch of broken cottonwood trees from our big storm last October (which haven’t been cleaned up, yet), it felt like we were in an eerie bayou…and the bugs were just as bad as up on our mountain...both places sans beach! Can’t wait till the blackflies have backed off for the season. My oldest got a bite right next to her eye and looks like a miniature Rocky. Should be a little surprise here in the next few days…I’ll keep you posted! In the meantime, I need to stretch numb butt cheeks and sit back down to work. Friday, May 25, 2007 Briggs and Little Woolen Mills, one of my favorite companies with which to do business and Canada’s oldest woollen mill, is celebrating 150 years of business this year. And they’ve come up with a special deal: a lovely new shade in Heritage (100 % wool aran weight)…a nice two tone denim blue ragg called “Anniversary Twist” with a special price tag. The deal is this: for every 2 skeins of any type of Briggs and Little yarn purchased at regular price (that would include Regal worsted 100% wool, Tuffy worsted/aran 80% wool/20% nylon, and Atlantic chunky 100% wool…please let me know if you would like more info and/or shadecards for any of these), you are eligible to purchase one skein of the Anniversary Twist at only $1.50!!!!!!!! Briggs and Little is already one of the most economical yarns on the market, but this is absolutely phenomenal! Grab some while the price is right…a couple of skeins will make a nice pair of woolly socks or use a single skein for most mitt or hat patterns. (Have a look at their great work sock pattern and standard mitt pattern down below.) Or mix it up with other Briggs and Little…making heels and toes in the Twist and the main part of a sock with Tuffy (or vice versa), for example. If you’d like enough to make a sweater, stock up on enough other B&L for a different sweater or for lots of socks and accessories for Christmas knitting and it can be done! I’ve laid in a pretty good stock of the Anniversary Twist (I have to purchase it under the same conditions…2 skeins other reg. priced B&L yarns makes me eligible to purchase a skein of the Twist at the anniversary price), and the yarn/deal is good for the entire year of 2007, so as long as I have it in stock this year, the deal is there for you! Now, I’ve had a few questions arise about the deal. The Anniversary Twist is only available to purchase under the conditions listed above. That is, I can’t sell it for regular Heritage pricing and I can only sell a single skein for every 2 of other reg. priced B&L yarn sold. So, for instance, a person couldn’t buy 2 skeins of the Twist at reg. price to get a third at $1.50. This is Briggs and Little’s way of saying “thank you” for 150 years of business, while at the same time moving some of their regular stock. It’s still a wonderful deal…let’s all celebrate 150 years of Briggs and Little! Briggs and Little Heritage 100 % wool, special shade: Anniversary Twist Tension: 17 sts = 4” on 5.0 mm needles 113 g/196 metres 
Try using the heritage with the following two patterns: This is my husband’s favorite sock pattern…a nice thick work sock with “narrow” heel shaping, knit on a small needle for a tight weave. Pattern is only $2.99 and takes 2 skeins of either Tuffy or Heritage. Sizes older child to adult. 
Or try some mitts for the family…knit in the round on double-pointed needles. Takes 1 skein for all 3 sizes, S (Child), M (Ladies), L (Men). Pattern also $2.99. 
Call toll-free (North America) 1-866-690-WOOL or email to order or request more info. Oh, and don’t forget…the deal is still on until June 2 for the Beach Socks yarn (see my last post!) |
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THE WOOLLEN EARTH, PO Box 2530, Vanderhoof BC V0J 3A0 Canada Phone: (250) 690-7777 1-866-690-9665(WOOL) Email: |