Digging through the stash for so many amazing patterns!

Ok, around my birthday...I tend to splurge on yarn and patterns. I had been pretty good and then...there is an awesome brown or an amazing coral yarn...or there is a fabulous pattern (yes, I do pay for patterns). My birthday funds were spent on yarn. In the end it means that there won't be new clothes in my closet or more activities aside from a fun run in March. The splurges stop now...then a pattern or two later...stop!  Here are the paid patterns that I tempted me too much:

Breaking Plaid by Carissa Browning...I've been seeing pictures of these cowls popping up on Instagram. I'm excited to employ the stitch in some lovely scarves to send to family.

Hands Entwined by Xandy Peters...isn't this gorgeous! I love Xandy's stitch techniques and being a fan of her other patterns, I can't help but fall in love with this one too.Purchase of this pattern in the first year supports Handspun Hope, which employs marginalized women in Rwanda. Here is a picture of Xandy's sample.

Twin Peaks Cowl by Xandy Peters...for the love of stripes and contrast!
Huldra Swater by Tatsiana Kypryianchyk of Lilla Bjorn Crochet...I'm in love with the yoke and the fabulous drape of the short sleeve version. I have some whirl waiting to be used :). Here is a picture of the short sleeve for Tatsiana's sample.

All You Need is Love by Swift Yarns...such an adorable hat and once again the profits go to charity. The proceeds go to Girl Up, a UN Foundation that focuses on empowering girls, fighting gender inequality, and social injustices.

The main reason that I'm attempting to curtail my spending is that my hubby and I are putting our funds this year aside for a down payment. We're paying off debt and trying to get solid feet on the ground. It's the down payment that makes the process difficult. Tapping retirement to buy a home really scares me.  At least, there is still hope and that feels good in itself.

With the yarn splurge, my four year old fell in love with some red alpaca. The yarn is set aside for a specific project and there isn't enough for what he really wants...a big blanket. I've been looking around for scrap happy projects. I have an awesome corner to corner crochet pattern with an Incredibles theme, but I definitely don't have enough red. Maybe a vintage style chevron/wavy blanket would be nice. Strips or modular pieces would be best to eat up my stash. Any recommendations?

I'm feverishly working on a test sweater. I need to make a hat and a puppy dog too! Also there's 55+ hours of work, paying attention to my kids, and regular household stuff each week. The fun never stops :)

Have a great week and happy crafting!

Creative Juices and Beautiful Patterns/Yarns

During my work busy season, there are all of these amazing ideas that pop up in my mind. I want to have time to put that all into action, but if I'm lucky, I jot down the idea in a notebook and move on.

Also, I've been so inspired by so many lovely patterns and yarns. Some are brand new and others that I'm so very excited about again!!!

Check out these pretty skeins from Salt River Mills Suri Textures (http://www.nasurico.com/). The North American Suri Company has some interesting information and it's great to know that local alpaca enthusiasts can participate in this group.

Anne Lange's Fish and Seaweed Socks. Such a fun sock pattern and the colors Anne picked are fabulous.

Rowan Yarns' Hildis:

PomPom Mag has two lovely sweaters that I'd love to make from their recent spring publication:

Carolyn Carter's Water Clover and Emily Greene's Ginkophyte:

I'm so inspired by Yarn of New York's new brown and teal yarn colors!!! So gorgeous.













After finishing another test, I'm already into another. I chose to use the pattern yarn and it is so lovely!!! I generally don't buy luxury yarns. For some of these tests, it's a real treat.


The one for the test is in Cranberry Harvest, and then I'm hoping to make one for myself in Fiesta Red. Aren't they lovely?

Ok, this is a very short post. I hope have a great week and happy crafting.

Addressing it...

First, I want to address the big discussion around the fiber community. Racism is real and everyone deserves to have their voice heard.

One step I can take is to share some resources to increase you're awareness of the diverse community to help you find more voices. Please share in the comments if there are additional avenues for learning more and supporting diversity in the knitting community.

• Listen Episode 4 of the Fiber Muse Podcast from Aroha Knits
• Read the recent New Yorker article "All Knit Up in Sweater Instagram"
• Follow #diverknitty on Instagram (I've found so many creative people to follow and support)
• After finding ways to follow the diverse community, financially support the talented individual (consider supportive comments on posts, sharing the awesomeness with friends, purchasing patterns, purchasing yarn, supporting via Patreon, researching the designers and magazines for inclusive policies, etc.)

These are merely positive first steps to learn, share love, and support. Inclusion is critical and diversity brings beauty. Be self aware and start the change in yourself. What's always difficult is to feel like you're doing enough, but if you take the time to stand up for what's right in your circle and community, you can shape change an influence others.

One thing I found super cool about the submission process for PomPom Magazine is that there is a place to indicate your unique background because they support diversity.

I submitted a second design last weekend as I had indicated, and now I'm already to get my testing game on. I'm finishing my sweater for IrmianDesign and yarn is on the way for a new test from Francois Danoy of Aroha Knits. I'm so excited for the yarn (yes, I bought some...oopsy). I'm hoping the yarn arrives today because I don't know if I'll be patient if I have to wait until Monday to swatch.

Snowmageddon has hit the Pacific Northwest. While Seattle is being battered, Portland seems to be hit with modest snow and ice (in some parts...none!). I went on a walk today, took it slow, and enjoyed how quiet things seemed. We'll see what becomes of the rest of the weekend.

 Stay safe and warm. Happy crafting!

Submitting a Pattern Design Concept

Did I do it? Yes, I did! Also, this is my 100th post! Such an exciting time for me :). Only a few weeks until my two year anniversary of this blog...

I started writing this post before I hit send on the pattern design concept. I thought this would be helpful motivation. From last week's post, you might have gathered that I'm going through waves of feeling capable and then waves of feelings that I should shift to something else. I'm trying to propose three patterns to PomPom Magazine, but I think sticking with two is realistic. I know that my chances are slim, but why not shoot for something awesome.

Once I know for sure about the pattern selection and assuming it's a "no," I'll post my sketches and samples. It will be time to do a bit of hustling and test knitting. Maybe I'll even sell a pattern.

I received my comments from my tech editor on my hat design, and let me tell you...there were a ton!!! She has very helpful comments and things to explore.  Check out Lisa Beth, my helpful tech editor, at Meanest Mommy Knits. I made the majority of my fixes today, but plan to rework things more tomorrow morning to have simpler instructions and stitch counts added. I also found a few of my own errors that I plan to fix as well.

I have about a third of a skein left from knitting two samples of my hat idea in Potion Yarns' lovely "Inconceivable" colorway (check out Johanna's awesome 50's inspired colorways she recently released). There is still enough yarn for another hat if that was my desire. Having it as an accent color for knitting seems more fun for now.

The next hat I want to knit is Madness by Leslie Anne Robinson. I want to knit one for a very kind colleague who loves 1920's style and one for myself too. I keep reading that it's a very speedy knit. I'll plan to make the first one for me, so that I can work out the pattern on random yarn and then make hers second when I've mastered the techniques. Here is one of Leslie's well styled photos of the sample.

I'm frantically knitting my test for Irmian Design and am finally onto the sleeves. I'm excited because the sleeves should be pretty quick compared to the body. The tubular cast off was a good reminder of how much I don't enjoy doing the technique, but the results are great. I've never been a big fan of the Kitchener stitch, which is essentially what you do in this bind off. What do you think of the Kitchener stitch?

I'm drawing up ideas for a summer/fall top, and I feel super excited to get that moving. I still am stuck on the lovely herringbone stitch, but I also want to have an option for a different stitch. Texture is something a truly love. Maybe some brioche or something else that will create interest in a lovely tee. Some color blocking would be fabulous. Possibly, some coral is necessary too...since it's the 2019 Pantone color of the year!!! I'm also excited to use some summer yarn blends. Linen on deck!

Happy crafting, and be sure to check out the #fiberuarychallenge and #yarnlovechallenge2019 on Instagram for lots of fun this month.