New Yarn! - Lion Brand Martha Stewart Crafts Yarn

This just in!

Received my Weekly Stitch email email from Lion this morning and they are rolling out some new yarns by Martha Stewart!

Some of these look great!  I'm excited about the Alpaca Blend and the Extra Soft Wool Blend.  Even though it bums me out that they both contain acrylic, at least it's not almost all acrylic.

"Glitter Eyelash"... I dunno why but that makes me laugh.  I'd never make anything with that.  :)

 

I'm happy to see that the "Lofty Wool Blend" is more wool than acrylic.

The two that excite me the most are the Merino and Roving Wool.  Both are 100% wool each and they look super chunky & cozy!  I like the colors too!

Soft muted greens (think sea foam & sage), soft pinks and light lilacs.

Nice!

Price point doesn't seem to be too bad either!

These average about $5.00 bucks a skein, which is about normal for a Lion yarn.

Can't wait to try these!

Lion Dobbs Ferry Cowl

 

 Do we look alike?

Kidding!!!

That's a bit better, right?

This whipped up so quickly and easily that I finished this cowl in about 2.5 hours!

I will say tho, this one is quite stiff!

So, this cowl pattern's from the Lion site and it calls for THREE strands of the Wool-Ease Thick & Quick.

That's alotta yarn there...

Lion Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in "Spice"

ooh!  Spicy!

(without flash):

It is just incredibly stiff...

It will stand up by itself!

I like this and I'd like to make one for myself (since this is a Christmas gift) but I'm thinking I'd like to try it again with only TWO strands held together. 

See what happens...

UPDATE: We had the wonderful Guinness over today (we dog-sat) and tonight we all went for a walk at about 7:30p in the freezing cold (well, for California, anyway...)

I wore this cowl as a test to see how it wore and how warm it really would be.

I will say, it was really really warm!

Maybe I will make another one with THREE strands...?

:)

Purlbee Page's Soft Cotton Knit Dishtowels

Here they are!!!

The first set of my three dishtowels set (for Christmas presents)!

This pattern is from the PurlBee site, which I love and check religiously!!!

I know this pattern calls for 100% cotton but I used the Vanna's Choice Yarn

(100% Acrylic) from Lion Brand.

I'm curious to see how these wear so I'm gonna throw 'em in the washer and dryer to see if they hold up well.

I mixed and matched from four colors:

Espresso

Taupe

Linen

Beige

 You know I love my taupe-y neutrals!

I was telling the knitting oracle (mom) last night about this project and she confirmed that I should have made these outta Cotton (as opposed to Acrylic), cause the cotton yarn will absorb better and more importantly, not stretch out!

Oh well! 

Maybe I'll keep these for myself and get some cotton yarn!

And, we're back...

Have been off travelling for the past few weeks...

As a result, haven't been knitting too much. :-(

I did get to see the LB Yarn Studio in New York, which was very exciting!

I didn't take pics inside but it's just as it looks on the website!

This charming and cozy store is not far from Union Square on a beautiful tree-lined street on 15th Street between 5th & 6th Ave.

(I love how the door handles have been knit!)

They were very nice inside and they were preparing for a knitting group!

They have a "learning bar" for gosh sakes! (Tho, I didn't see cocktails and that would be even better!)

It's knitter's paradise in there with everything from needles to needle bags and pattern books!

And yarn o' plenty!

I wanted soooo much to buy a skein of something!!!

but I think el jefe (el hubby) would flip considering the existing crate of yarn in our spare room just waiting to be used...

:)

I heart NY!

(sigh...)

Lion - Ed's Hat (pattern 80200AD)

Ed's Hat

This hat is a (belated) birthday gift for BFF's brother, who goes camping & hunting a lot.

But like, for real... like in the real mountains with bears and animals & stuff...

He and his hunting buddies were stuck in the zero degree wilderness once, and he needed a good hat!

Well hopefully here it is!

So, this is Ed's Hat from the Lion site (Free Patterns! YAY!)

This hat pattern comes from the little story "Ed's Hat: Form, Function and Ultimate Winter Warmth" (By: Michelle Edwards)

With that title, I thought this hat would be perfect for him!

It's a cute story and hopefully perfect for his next camping/hunting trip!

There are no specifications for end measurements but here's how this one came out!

(That's my pink Nordie's measuring tape from the Lingerie dept! )


I used the Lion Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in True Black and my Circular size 13 - 16" needles.

I don't have double-pointed needles (and don't intend to buy any 'cause they intimidate my pants off...)

The circular needles worked just fine. It was a bit tight at the end but it worked, and tight is good for me since my tension tends to be a bit loose anyway!

;-)

Twinkle Big City Knits - Tuxedo Jacket

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finished this Tuxedo Jacket and it came out great!!!!

I promise I will get hubby to take pics of me wearing it so you can see what it looks like on!

First off... sorry this took so long. It's not that this pattern is hard or that it takes forever to work...

It's that I am in school and school is kicking my butt!

But my time there is (hopefully) almost done and then I can get back to my knitting!

So, I used Lion's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Cranberry.

I was hoping it would be ok enough even though it's only 20% wool (80% acrylic) instead of the full 100% wool.

One skein of Lion T&Q is 6oz/170g... After doing some research, it seems the Twinkle yarn is 7oz/200g.

Not that I'm avoiding buying the Twinkle yarn... just that I'm an "instant gratification" girl...

I don't wanna order yarn to sit and wait for it to come...

I wanna just have it! :-P

Anyway, overall, it came out great and it fits well! YAY!

Again, thanks to the great folks on the KnittingHelp.com forum. I wasn't figuring out the whole yo, k1, yo mess til I went to them for help! :)

I sewed up those holes which really bum me out. If I do make this again (and I totally would) I'm not sure how I'd get around the holes. But sewing 'em up works just as well.

No more holes! Yay!

Looks better, right?

Always a cable with Twinkle! ;-)

Twinkle Big City Knits - Tuxedo Jacket

Third time's a charm?

Have you ever had a pattern just fall into place? Like, one day, it just makes sense and works out fine.

I've finally reached that day with this pattern. This is literally the third time I've re-worked this sweater.

I'm not sure if it's that my skill has improved or what, but all of a sudden I get it!

And thanks to my new friends over at KnittingHelp.com, I have gotten past that ridiculous (yo, k1, yo) into next st that was giving me such grief!

I still dunno why they included the words 'into next st' but feel free to ignore it!

It is just as simple as yo, k1, yo... twice! That's it!

Anyway, I can't even tell you how happy I am with this sweater. It's looking sooooo good!

Now my only beef with it is... how do I get rid of those holes created by the yo, k1, yo? Is there a different/better way to increase 2 sts without getting those holes?

See these holes... they really bum me out...

Happy Ash Wednesday!

Is this the cutest little face you've ever seen?

Today is Ash Wednesday and it kicks off 40 days until Easter!

It has been ages since I've crocheted anything but this little Lion Amigurumi Egg Cozy might just pull me outta my crocheting hiatus.

OMG... I think it just winked at me... ;-)

Lion - More Valentine's Day Patterns!

More cute Valentine's Day patterns from Lion!

These are probably easy to whip up and they can be done in either knit or crochet.

They fall under Lion's BK4K (By Kids, 4 Kids) section/newsletter, which always has the cutest stuff!

Lion Brand Amigurumi Love Birds

I love Valentine's Day! Love it! I get so into it!

And I'm glad to see that Lion gets so into it too.

I have no idea what you'd do with these weird little thingys but should you want to make them, the pattern is on the Lion site.

They are soooooo cute!

:)

Vogue Knitting Winter 2008/2009 Issue

Yay!!!

The new Vogue Knitting is out!

Love, love, love the cover and am always excited to see anything with "Twinkle" or 'chunky'!

As you know, I love my Twinkle and that sweater below looks like fun.

I'm also particularly excited about this Tom Scott!

He was featured in the Vogue Knitting before (in the Holiday 2007 issue iwth Paulina Porizkova) and I was curious back then!

Am excited now and will definitely be trying that sweater below.

I have a bag full of gorgeous taupe yarn (Lion Thick & Quick in "Taupe") just waiting to meet it's perfect project!

Lion Brand Lavish Booties

Well... as usual, I started another project in the middle of trying to power through the Berroco sweater wrap.

Two friends have recently had lil girls and another friend is due in a couple of months...

And since I have a ton of Lion Babysoft in Baby Pink Pompadour, I thought I'd bust out a few of these baby booties.

This pattern is soooooo easy and it works pretty fast since these are teeny-tiny!

And I'm always glad to learn somethin' new.

I had no idea how to cast-on after an existing row and I learned by learnin' how to "Cable Cast on".

Video here:

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-cast-on-with-work-in-progress-when-knitting-250835/

Anyway...

Berroco Bayu Pattern (from Booklet # 271)

So this is my current project...
I know... I know...

I'm sooooo close to finishing the Twinkle Hoodie but since we are in between residences and this is much easier to carry around than the bulky hoodie project, this has become my focus.

Plus, I think it's really cute and I really wanna wear it!

So this is from the Berroco booklet # 271 which consists of patterns for their Bonsai yarn.
I've decided to use the Lion Microspun in Mocha (my new favorite color in the whole wide world!).

I have to admit I picked this yarn, not for gauge closeness or weight closeness, but because I love this color!

There are Lion yarns that are comparable to the Berroco Bonsai of 1.75 oz. and 50g (Lion Cupcake, Lion Organic Cotton).

If I were to make this again, I'd definitely make it with the Lion Cupcake.

In the meantime, I've adjusted my gauge and am hoping this will come out fairly close to the correct measurements!

So far, so easy. Started a border with seed stitch (or Moss stitch) and now am just working up the Stockinette stitch.

October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I LOVE October...Not only is it my Birthday (which means about a week or two of non-stop partying) but it's also BCA Month!!! Which means EVERYTHING is Think Pink! From pink cosmetics to pink clothes, it's all about pink!

Years ago, I'd randomly bought myself a Lion Brand Crochet for the Cure kit, which wasn't very pricey and included: a skein of pretty pink yarn, a cute pink crochet hook, a cute pink yarn needle and the pattern for a scarf.

I made that scarf for everyone! It was soooo easy and so cute!

That kit is now tucked away somewhere in storage but here are some other ideas for BCA Month!

Lion Learn to Knit for a Cause Kit

From Knitty... The special Mini-Issue to support BCA (4 patters in the PDF)

Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf (crochet)

Lion Ribbon-Trimmed Scarf