I Have a Shawlette Obsession

Well, I'm just about to finish my second Hitchhiker using stash sock yarn, and decided I would knit another of Martina Behm's shawlette patterns. The pattern is Trillian and again calls for sock yarn and garter stitch (mindless, right?!), but this one has a simple lace edge on it. Simple enough to not take too much of the mindless part away! I'm also planning to knit Asking for Roses designed by Amy Swenson. It would be the perfect pattern for my Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Nostalgia colorway that is a gorgeous lavender like this Sterling Silver rose!

Sterling Silver Rose

My big question: Will I wear any of my small shawls?! I've knit plenty of them, but don't seem to wear them very often. Kind of fancy for my sweats ... although perfect for my denim wardrobe!

Keep on knitting!

Nancy

Daybreak KAL

We had a fantastic time last night starting the Daybreak shawlette/scarf by Stephen West. Our first KAL of 2012!  It started off by most of us getting to KT just in time to see Suzanne E. finish up her very first knitting project.  It was the Noro Striped Scarf and she did an amazing job considering she just finished Nancy's Beginning Knitting Class on December 10th! Then everyone pulled their color choices out and we spent some time helping each other decide which color to start with.  We all cast on and were able to get our 'Make One's' under control by evening's end. 

I brought a couple bottles of wine and a new recipe called Robert's Corn Dip featured in Where Women Cook magazine.

Robert's Corn Dip (Makes about 6 cups)

• 3 (11-oz) cans sweet corn & diced peppers, drained
• 1 (7-oz) can chopped green chilies
• 1 (6-oz) can chopped jalapenos, drained & liquid added to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 (16 oz) pkg shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Scoop-style corn chips

Mix all ingredients except corn chips together and refrigerate. Serve with corn chips.

It's not too late to join us for the Daybreak KAL  - Tuesdays in January from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  Most, but not all of us are using two skeins of tosh sock - many beautiful and vibrant colors are left to choose from.

Renee

EASTER SHAWL CONTEST WINNERS!

This week we wrapped up the voting for the Easter Shawl Contest and are excited to announce the winners.  Once again, the turnout was great and we loved having the beautiful shawls around the shop.  Without further ado,  the winner of the Easter Shawl contest is..............................

#6, knit by Renee Petrie

Keffiyeh Wrap

by Kristina McGowan

But, don't forget that we also have a prize for a voter, drawn at random.  For every vote, your name was put into the "hat" and because of her In-Store Vote, the winner of the "Voter's Drawing" is Deb Hendricks.

Renee won 3 skeins of Noro Kochoran yarn that we've selected for her, perfect to knit "The Simple Yet Effective Shawl" or "The Basic Entrelac Scarf" and Deb won an Instructional Class of her choice.  You may come into the store to receive your prize.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!  We look forward to seeing more of your projects as we continue our Holiday Path to Knits & Purls.  Check out our website to read more about our current Summer Sweater contest.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE SHAWL!

The second leg of our contest journey is almost complete.  The shawls have been knit, now they just need your vote!  We have posted a picture of each shawl here on the blog (although we highly recommend coming into the store to see the shawls up close and personal, they are so beautiful and the pictures don't always due them justice).  To cast your vote, just leave a comment on this post with your full name and the number of the shawl you want to win!  Voting ends Wednesday June 1st, 2010.

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VOTE NOW BY COMMENTING ON THIS POST WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND NUMBER OF THE SHAWL YOU WANT TO WIN!  Don't forget there is a "Voter's Drawing" as well! Check out all of the detail and rules on our website.

Also, remember that there are other ways to vote! You can vote once on the Knitted Together facebook page and once in the store.  Although you can earn an additional vote for every purchase you make during the voting period! 

I Finished My Shawl for Spring

If you are a customer at Knitted Together, you've gotten an invitation to knit a shawl for our shawl contest. I have been busily knitting a shawl, so I could join in on the fun (minus the chance to win a prize of course). 

Yesterday I finished and blocked my Appalachian Shawl. I added 36 stitches (equivalent of two repeats of the Feather and Fan pattern) to my cast on, so that I could get more length to my shawl. I also ended up working the Framed Star Stitch pattern nine times, rather than the eight times called for, since I had to buy a second skein of Alpaca Sox in Nor' Easter which is my main color. The shawl is so soft and airy; it's just plain lovely! It will be fun to throw on over a blouse or T-shirt this summer. I have lots of leftover yarn of both colors, so I can now make two pairs of socks for next winter... no, I don't wear socks much in the summer.

Keep on knitting!

Easter Shawl Contest

It's time for the Easter Shawl/Wrap Contest and Nancy and Megan have another message for you, to help get you started.  Once again, be sure to follow all the links and directions, because there are some great prizes awaiting the winners and you don't want to miss out.





We hope you enjoyed the message ... now click on the picture of Nancy's Truly Tasha Shawl to get all the details and a set of rules for the "Easter Shawl/Wrap Contest". We've got a bunch of fun lined up for you, so keep checking the blog and read those Knitted Together Webmails.

Want to Help Japan?

Our hearts have been broken for the people of Japan. We can only imagine the pain and fear that they are living through right now with the earthquake, tsunami, and escalating nuclear disaster. Tim and I always say knitting has health benefits that can help knitters through stress and crisis. Well, in this case our good friend, Hey Jen Renee, has knitted this gorgeous wrap from Noro Taiyo that she bought at Knitted Together. She placed her wrap on ebay to auction it off to raise money for the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami disaster relief efforts. Her beautiful gift of knitting will help the people of Japan in their time of crisis!

Be sure to check out Hey Jen Renee's blog and click on the ebay link to the auction. And if you are so led, please bid on her wrap, so that her small knitted act of kindness can give to Japan in a big way!

Keep on knitting, with a prayer for Japan in your heart!

Knitting Winter into Spring

The groundhog recently predicted an early Spring, and we've definitely seen weather changes here! I like to knit smaller projects when it gets really warm, but in the last days of Winter and the first days of Spring, I still love to knit socks (for my small-size projects) and shawlettes (for my medium-size projects). I just finished two pairs of socks, and I'm in the process of helping a couple of ladies learn to knit socks by the magic loop method, so I'll probably be knitting at least one or two more pairs before Spring is actually here by the calendar.

Yesterday we got a good-size shipment of Regia sock yarn at the shop, so I think I'll try one of them for my next pair. Regia is well known for it's easy care and sturdiness. We also got 6 colorways of Regia Lace (100 gram ball with approximately 659 yards). It's a beautiful yarn with long color changes (kind of like Noro only more subtle). It would be lovely for so many of the shawlette patterns that are so abundant on Ravelry. How about Annis from Knitty? Don't forget about our class for the Annis shawlette that starts tomorrow evening! We still have a couple of openings.

So if Spring is just around the corner, what are you planning to knit?

The Wrap Group -- July/Aug #5

It's been a little while since I blogged. This is mainly due to being super busy unpacking and shelving lots of lovely new yarns! I'm sure you can forgive me for that one good reason.

It's looking like fall in the shop, but still feeling a whole lot like summer. We've had record heat and record rains that have caused flooding in Iowa. My heart goes out to all the poor people in Ames, Colfax, and other parts of Iowa that have lost so many things in their really soggy homes. I keep hoping that the rain is over, but it sounds like there's more coming today and tonight and that it could affect the Des Moines River and in the long run affect the people here in my hometown.

As for the Simple Yet Effective Shawl, we are close to winding down. I wanted to talk about the blocking process for this triangle shaped shawl. If your shawl made from a wool or a wool blend yarn, you can totally wet the shawl; then you need to roll it in towels and gently squeeze out most of the water before shaping it. You don't want to stretch it as that can cause it to be misshapen. Lay out the shawl on several large towels and gently spread it out making sure that there aren't any lumps and bumps in the shawl. Check the edges to make sure that they are smooth and straight. You can use T-pins to hold the final shape of the shawl in place, but make sure that the pins don't pull bumps out along the edge. Since this shawl is a combination of stockinette stitch and garter stitch you need to push the garter edges in and gently pull the stockinette edges out so they are all even. Allow the shawl to dry completely before you remove the pins. Depending on the yarn, you can sometimes merely steam the shawl, shape it, and allow it to dry on a towel. The Rowan Colourscape Chunky yarn that I used is perfect for the steaming method. That yarn shapes easily with steaming. Other yarns may require a total dunk in water or else you'll still have curling of the edges.

If you're in our neighborhood, be sure to stop in and check out the new yarns. We still have lots to come, but for now I know you'll love what you see.

Keep on knitting!

The Wrap Group - - July/August #3

Hi Wrappers!

This past week I've spent time working on another new wrap, plus working on a kit for our Friday Night Knit club, so I've been really busy. The new wrap I'm working to complete is called Opal and is from a book called Winter Blooms by Kim Hargreaves. It's basically a very quick knit, requiring only 4 skeins of Kid Silk Aura (so less than 400 yards). It's just so soft and super light. I think it will be wonderful to wear this fall and winter. It's triangular and has a really pretty picot edge along the two sides.

Several of our newer Knitted Together knitters are working away on the Simple Yet Effective Shawl. It's a nice transition project for new knitters that want to make something that isn't straight. The good thing about that pattern is that you really can do any number of rows of garter stitch and stockinette stitch. It's just a matter of looking at it once in a while to see if you need to vary your rows again.

As a bonus project I'd like to suggest Coquille a shawlette from the new issue of Knitty. It requires 3 skeins of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi to complete it. We have 3 colors in stock now with more on back order. Lots of new colors will be coming!

Next Friday is the Friday Night Knit Club and I want to invite you all to come. We are feeling a little like a fiesta, so watch for our newsletter soon. You may want to get one of the kits this time, since the project would make a great gift. (And no, it's not a scarf this time!

Keep on knitting,
Nancy

A rainy Fourth makes way for knitting!

We've had so much rain in June that we nearly flooded. Then we had one week of no rain. Of course that wasn't going to last, nor would we want it too! But, we had rain on July 4th and it was tropical for temps and moisture. Just plain gross out...

With all the rain and gross weather, I did a whole lot of knitting. I finished my Damson, but nearly wasn't able to. I could tell I would run out of the Ella Rae Lace Merino yarn I chose to use when I got to my bind-off, so I cut it and used some Malabrigo Sock (which is the same yardage) that looked similar in color to my shawl to bind off. I've heard that yarn companies are allowed a certain percentage for shrinkage in the amount of yarn on a skein, but I think that there was more shrinkage than should be allowed. That or designer Ysolda Teague used every yard of the skein of Malabrigo Sock that she used for her sample. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has had trouble completing Damson with 440 yards. I think it could be an issue with Ella Rae Lace Merino ... someone else at our shop had to buy more yarn to finish the Damson she was making with ERLM yarn in a different color. She was even shorter than I was. We both got gauge, so that wasn't the issue.

I also worked hard on finishing my Simple Yet Effective Shawl for the Wrap Group. I will end up using about 2 1/2 skeins, so if I have enough I may add a simple edging.

Yesterday I pulled out my Swallowtail Lace Shawl from Evelyn Clark. I was happy to get back to it! Maybe I'll knock another WIP out.

We look forward to seeing you in the shop whenever you can make it. I know it's hard when everyone is so busy in the summer. Have a good one, and keep on knitting!

My Spring challenge!

Spring presents challenges for my hiberbnating knitting projects. I'm making an attempt to rectify my collection of unfinished knits.

Well, I finished my Truly Tasha's Shawl right after I started the Travel Shawl. It's fabulous and I will

probably make another one someday! As for the Travel Shawl, I really love the texture of it (shown above right). I'm moving along with it, but since I know myself really well, I knew that I needed to do some spring clean-up with my hibernating knitting projects or else! For me it only takes a moment to start a knitting project, but it can take forever to finish it. Since finishing Truly Tasha, I decided I would use that simple lace pattern to finish off the Pinwheel Baby Blanket that I started months and months ago!

That reminds me of a conversation I had with my daughter, Katie, last weekend. We were talking about her working at the shop so she could possibly make some money this summer. She told me that knitting is "sooo borrring" and you "can't ever finish anything!" I told her that a project doesn't knit itself, you actually have to spend time working on it.

I may search out a few more of my hibernating projects and get them done this spring/summer. If I can do that I'll feel so accomplished ... and I'll feel like I can start something new!

I haven't added any new recipes here lately, mainly since Tim's been doing most of the cooking (YES!). So this morning when I was looking through my knitting bag I found a recipe for really good cookies that my friend Kelly brought into the shop. Kelly is a fantastic baker by the way! If I remember correctly, this recipe is from an Amish cookbook. You may want to half this recipe (especially when you see the quantities that are called for). I think as written this recipe makes about 12 dozen cookies or more!

Honey Sugar Snaps

• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 6 tsp. soda
• 9 cups flour
• 2 cups softened margarine
• 1 cup pre-creamed shortening (you can find them in the baking aisle)
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar *
• 2 tsp. cinnamon *

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine sugars and shortenings. Add eggs and beat well. Add honey and dry ingredients. *In a small bowl combine the 1 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Shape dough into balls and roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown (Kelly bakes them 8.5 minutes to be exact!). When done cookie will be a deep golden brown and crinkly on top.

My Truly Tasha's Shawl Update

I got the body of my Truly Tasha's Shawl (TTS) done this weekend and have completed nearly half of the lace that encircles the body. The instructions for the first corner were difficult to understand, but I finished it. The rest is downhill from here!

Tomorrow night I can get everyone started at the Knit Together, knowing they will be able to do the lace when they come to it. I certainly didn't want to lead anyone down the wrong path ... anyway the end is in sight for my TTS.

It's a good thing I'm almost done, since I found the Travel Shawl in Veronik Avery's new book Knitting 24/7. I'm going to actually start it tonight. (I know I'm not done with my TTS yet, but I think I work better when there's something I'm really excited to work on calling out to me.) I decided I'm going to use Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds DK for the Travel Shawl. It's a scrumptious undyed blend of Suffolk, Jacob, and Bluefaced Leicester.

Remember to print off your Truly Tasha's Shawl pattern for the Knit Together tomorrow night. I hope to see some of you here for some mindless knitting that we can chatter to!

Too, too busy!

Sorry about my lack of blogging lately. I've been busy planning and writing up classes and Knit-Togethers for the shop. We've also had a bad flu at our house. Thankfully so far I've stayed well, even if poor Tim and Katie had it. I hope you all are washing your hands and using hand sanitizer. You don't want this bad virus ...

I recently finished my Feather & Fan scarf using gift yarn that was really lovely! Now I'm knitting Truly Tasha's Shawl from Nancy Bush and I'm also making the French Press Felted Slippers. Both of which we will be doing here at the shop. Check out our class list for June for the slippers (it will go up next week after I finish the slippers) and check out our event list for the May Knit-Together on Thursday nights. The shawl is a mindless knit so far. I'm not on the lace edging yet, but hope to be there very soon. As for the slippers, I cast them on this morning and will plan to felt them this weekend. They are a really quick knit, that's for sure!

Happy knitting!

Calling all followers and followers-to-be!

I would love to have everyone that reads or occasionally reads my blog to become a "follower." We will be having prize drawings and they will be for followers only. The more followers we get the more often we will be able to give prizes away. Sign up to follow me soon if not today!

I'm really close to finishing my first toe-up sock. It was a stretch for me since I have always done cuff down. The heel was my biggest issue, because I like a slip-stitch heel flap and a lot of patterns that I looked at had short-row heels. Anyway, thanks to Jean who works for me and also teaches our Toe-Up Sock Class, I got through the heel and I'm nearly done with the cuff.

I've picked out a couple of WIPs in my collection to work on, too. I've made it halfway through on my Stork's Nest Scarf and it's looking really nice. I also am working on my Revontuli out of Zauberball Crazy. I think It's going to be really beautiful, too. I put it away about 5 months ago and basically forgot about it... The other day someone reminded me about it, so I got it out today and will dive in and try to finish the remaining 20 rows!

My friend, Kelly recently had surgery and has been off of work. She's been getting out more and more and everytime she comes into the shop she has baked something delicious. I told her she's going to kill me! Last week she brought in Dutch Letter Bars. They are wonderful! I asked Kelly for the recipe, and if I could share it. She gave me the recipe and I made them this weekend and now I'm going to share the recipe with all of you. I hope you enjoy them as much as we all did.

Dutch Letter Bars

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 stick margarine, softened (do not substitute either of them, you need one of each)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can Solo Almond Paste
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream the butter, margarine and sugar together. Add eggs to mixture, then *almond paste, and finally flour, mixing well after each addition. Spread the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle with white sugar. Bake at 350-degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Cut into bars and share with your knitting friends!

*pinch off small pieces of almond paste and add in to the batter or it is hard to mix well! Using a stand mixer works really well!

FYI: You can find the Solo Almond Paste in the baking aisle near the pie fillings.

I've got this shawl thing going on!

Lately I've been intrigued with shawls and shawl patterns. I'm not sure if I'll wear any of them, but they're so much fun to knit.

This weekend I was super busy and for the most part that didn't seem to include knitting. You might have heard me groaning about that! Finally on Monday (and instead of blogging) I dug out a skein of Schaefer Anne that I had intended to make socks with. I grabbed an Addi Lace Size 6 needle and started a triangle shawl using the Gull Lace pattern that Elizabeth Zimmermann used for her baby sweater for the February project in her book, Knitter's Almanac. I haven't made the baby sweater, but I made the February Lady Sweater this past February for one of our Knit Togethers. I liked that simple 4-row lace pattern and had an idea that it would be fun to use again. Carol, who works at the shop, used the Gull Lace pattern on a pair of socks, so I got to thinking it might be fun for a shawl.

I'm also working on Ysolda Teague's Damson with the Ella Rae Lace Merino that I was going to use to make the leaf scarf I blogged about awhile back. Another shawl I'm close to finishing is the Revontuli, using 2 balls of Zauberball Crazy. I think there's at least one or two more shawls in my WIP pile!

Here's the Gull Lace pattern just in case you would like to play with it. If you want to make a shawl with it, you can easily make a rectangular one by casting on multiples of 7 stitches (plus you may want to add on a garter stitch border of 5 to 8 stitches on each side and a garter stitch edge at the bottom and top). If you want to try to make a triangular shawl, talk to me about how to work your 7-stitch pattern repeats into the triangle.

Gull Lace pattern (multiple of 7 stitches)
Row 1: *K1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1; rep from * across.
Rows 2 & 4: Purl across.
Row 3: *K2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk; rep from * across.

Now if you get hooked on shawls and lace like I have, you won't have a lot of time to cook! I thought that with cooler fall nights you might like to try my sloppy joe recipe. It's simple and would make quite a few sandwiches. Of course you could always double the amounts if you need to feed an extra hungry crowd!

Nancy's Sloppy Joes

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
• 2 T. cider vinegar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef and onion; drain off fat. Add other ingredients; let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
Enjoy!