Hi Everyone:

Karen our Store Manager brought in the first critter I highlight below this morning.  As we were pulling up the pattern I came across our second furry friend and then our third feature is very special and someone I’ve been remiss in sharing with you!  So let’s have some fun on this Friday, shall we?

First up is Harry Rabbit:

Harry is created from a new line of patterns/kits from Frog Tree Alpacas.  For $8.00 you get the pattern you get all the parts and pieces you need to create your critter.  Harry comes with his eyes, pink felt and wire which allow his arms and legs to be poseable.  The yarn needs to be purchased separately.  Harry is knit with Frog Tree Sport Weight Alpaca – he takes 3 colors.  Frog Tree Sport Weight has 130 yards for $6.80 per skein.  For Harry’s main color approximately 80 yards are used so if you purchased 2 skeins of color A and 1 each of color B and C for a total of 4 skeins ($27.20) you would be able to create THREE Harrys!  There are seven patterns in all and each one is adorable!

Next up is a super cuddly puppy:

He’s made from Plymouth Pattern 1782 and is knit using one of Plymouth’s newer yarns, Nazca Wind.   He only takes one hank, his eyes and nose are needle felted and his collar is created from scrap yarn.

Nazca Wind is $14.95 per skein and at 3 1/2 sts = 1″ this pup will knit up in no time!

Last, but far from least is our very own Green Monster:

I’m sure by now most of you have met Iris the Gourmet Monster from Lorna’s Laces & Danger Crafts:

When we met Iris at TNNA back in January we were smitten.  Steve came up idea to create one in a custom “green” colorway.  Beth was game and our Green Monster was born!

Of course red socks were a requirement!  Iris the Green Monster is a WEBS Exclusive.  The kit comes with the pattern and the yarn for Iris.  The pattern for the red socks is available free on our website.  The kit itself is $30.00.

Regular Iris the Gourmet Monster Kits are available in three different Lorna’s Laces yarns – Shepherd Bulky ($50.00) , Greenline DK ($30.00) and Revelation ($50.00).

Enjoy!

Kathy

I am so tickled with myself that it almost makes the foot injury worthwhile:

All that’s left is making and attaching the pom-pom, which I will do as soon as I track down my pom-pom maker.  I know it’s here somewhere. . .

I Twittered on Sunday night that I had come to a standstill on this hat because I was ready to switch to dpns and didn’t have a set of #10’s at home.  That really freaked some folks out.  I don’t use dpns very frequently but #10’s is a size that I should have on hand.  If I were looking for 00’s or something like that, it would be totally reasonable to discover that I don’t own any of those.

The delay wasn’t a total loss.  It gave me time work on the Blue Sky Alpacas scarf:

This is now 1/2 way done, which is good and bad news.  The good news – it’s 1/2 way done.  The bad news?  It’s not going to be a very long scarf.  I only took 2 skeins of yarn for it back in the day.  It’s currently measuring in at just over 21″ long which means the finished scarf will be about 42″.  Not terrible but not ideal. 

What I love about the scarf is how pretty it has knit up for such a simple 2-row repeat:

Look at the selveges:

I was also reminded why this project has languished for so long.  It’s a bit of a slow knit.  I knit and knit and knit and it just doesn’t seem to get any longer, although it certainly is getting longer.   We’ll see how this scarf fares over the next two weeks.

Lastly, I want to give out a little crochet love.  Deb who works in the store recently whipped up this little beauty:

This is Ponte Vecchio and it’s a free pattern from Berroco.  It was originally knit in Boho but Deb created this lovely version using Lumina.  She guesstimates one skein would easily be enough for two, possibly three.

How are you all doing with your Olympic Knitting?  Updates please!

Kathy

I know my post from earlier today was a bit on the dry side, but it was a necessity.  Fortunately before I left the office this afternoon, I wandered by Mary’s desk and discovered these:

Can you say adorable?  At first they just struck me as pretty colorwork mittens.

Then I focused a bit more on them and THAT’s when the ah-hah moment happened.  That isn’t just any ordinary colorwork – that is colorwork cupcakes:

I was so smitten with these mittens.  (Sorry ’bout that – I just couldn’t resist).   I tried them on and I have to tell you – they felt magical.  It had nothing to do with the yarn and everything to do with the motif.

Supposedly this is Mary’s first colorwork project that she has seen through to the end.  That may be true but her work is exquisite.    I flipped the mittens inside out to see how things looked on the dark side and it was equally exquisite – that is the true sign of beautiful colorwork, imho.

The pattern is the aptly named Cupcake Mitten and it was designed by SpillyJane Knits and can be found on Ravelry for $6.00.  Mary used Brown Sheep Nature Spun because it had the exact colors she wanted.  Madeline Tosh Sock is also a good option as is our Valley Yarns Huntington.

Another option is to dye your yarn.  You don’t need a ton of yardage and this is a great little project to test out the process of dyeing.

Unfortunately that darn groundhog says we have 6 more weeks of winter.  These mittens will defintely make that time much more cheerful!

Enjoy!

Kathy

Hi Everyone

I’m sure some of you might remember the crocheted flower I did back in December:

At the time, I mentioned we were all working on flowers for a long-time team member who is battling a very difficult illness.  We thought rather than send her flowers that would only last a week or so, we would create a boquet for her that could go with her as she transitioned from the hospital to rehab and eventually (hopefully) home.  Here is our finished creation:

Didn’t it turn out beautifully?  I know Miss Barbara was very touched and it makes all of us happy to know that at least a little part of all of us and WEBS is with her each day.

Kathy

I know – a rare title from me!  Now let’s not get ourselves too excited – we’re not talking a mind blowing project.  Just the same I started and finished it and that my dear readers makes me very happy.

I was recently having a conversation with someone about my inability to finish projects and how I had pledged that this year would be different.  Well – with only 3 weeks left to 2009 I think I may have to admit defeat.  Especially since I keep adding project and not finishing.  Just now I”ve added a new project to the list that is a gift and has to be done by next week.  I”ve narrowed my yarn choice and I’ll finalize that tomorrow.

One thing that was determined is that I have to finish my Chicken – which continues to sit unfinished on my desk here at home.  Even the boys are tired of looking at my half baked chicken.

So backed to my FO.  We have a long-time staff member who is dealing with a pretty serious illness.  Lise who works in the store along with a million other things has the biggest heart of anyone I know so she has organized the troops to create a project for our friend.  We are knitting/crocheting flowers and will create a bouquet for her.  Here’s my contribution:

We are utilizing Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Flowers and Crochet Flowers books.  My flower is Rosey from the crochet book.  I went with a slightly different leaf design as the one that was included with the pattern was being persnickety and created the stem using i-cord.  My flower is crocheted using Valley Yarns Sugarloaf.  It was fun and easy and one or two in a small bud vase would make a lovely gift for someone – we all have plenty of stash that would work up into beautiful flowers.  The books have lots of options – some simple like my flower and others more intricate.

I hope to have the chance to photograph the completed project and will post it here.

One small win for me – but I’ll take it!

Kathy

Well, despite my best efforts involving avoidance and denial, the holidays are nearly upon us.  I love the holiday season, but this year everything is moving so fast I’m worried I’m just going to miss it all as it flies by in a blur.  I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed with all that needs to be done and I’m not even talking about knitting projects.

This morning, our Store Manager Karen came in with a new project that lifted my spirits:

Isn’t he adorable?  Karen made him from one of the Woolpets kits that we stock.  These needle felting kits come with everything you need to make the Woolpet shown on the package.  Karen simply added a loop of Plymouth Goldrush to Sock Monkey’s head and voila – a tree ornament!

I think these would make a great gift either as a completed project or just the kit itself!   Here are a couple of other options to consider (we have 27 different Woolpets to choose from):

The holiday inspiration did not end with Sock Monkey.  When Steve & I returned from recording this week’s episode of Ready, Set, Knit, Karen came back into my office to show me this:

Isn’t it beautiful?  The pattern is Nancy Lindberg’s  “Christmas Socks” and the yarn is Valley Yarns Amherst.   It only took 5 balls which works out to just under $25 for a stocking that will last a life time.

Ready or not the holidays are coming.  I hope these projects awaken your holiday spirit!

Kathy

I must make apologies for not posting Pixie’s Babette photos sooner. For those of you who have emailed, left comments on the blog and on Ravelry, here, at long last is what I have of Pixie’s Babette:

The squares are truly breathtaking.

A couple of points I’d like to make about this project:

1. Pixie used our Valley Yarns Northampton. At $4.99/ball for 240 yards, it’s a “bahgain” as us native Bostonians would say.

2. She used a “G” hook – be sure to swatch! For worsted weight yarn such as Northampton a “G” or “H” is usually recommended, but you can’t be sure without a swatch.

3. Pixie did follow the schematic exactly, which means that because she was using a heavier weight yarn than called for, her finished blanket came out to be 56″ x 64″, much larger than the finished measurements in the pattern state.

4. Pixie used a total of 17 colors, just like the pattern calls for. She used 2 balls of Lizard Green, Eggplant and Laguna Blue (her favorites) and one of 15 other colors. Pixie went a little crazy on this project and rather than follow a “formula” for the creation of the squares, she selected randomly. Knowing Pixie like I do, this must have been a little tough for her! Like me, Pixie likes to have a plan and stick to it!

5. The pattern is from Interweave Crochet, Spring 2006 and is now also available at http://www.knittingdaily.com/.

The color in this finished shot is off and appears much brighter than it actually is – the photos above are much more accurate. I think something was lost in the translation from our professional photographer’s system to importing it here:

For those of you working on your Babette’s, please let me know how it’s coming along and email pictures to readysetknit@yarn.com – Pixie and I would love to see them!

Kathy

NOTE: Tuesday, 6/17 – the full photo of Babette on the bed has been fixed! Thanks to our most faboo photographer for fixing the CMYK conversion!