When I got the new Angora yarn from Bijou Bain Ranch called Seraphim I was giddy with excitement.  Not only are the colors right up my ally but it is an angora yarn that I can actually use without sneezing every five minutes.  See, this angora yarn doesn’t get super fuzzy like other yarns I have used in the past.  It has the perfect hand while knitting and the finished project has a soft halo.  Not a lot of fuzz at all but a nice classy look.  So what should I make?

Should I make a garment?  Should I make an accessory?  Yes, and accessory…that’s the ticket.  But what kind of accessory; hat, scarf, gloves, cowl…YES, a COWL!!!  Oversized–definitely!  It will really show off the yarn.  I knew I wanted a fairly easy lace stitch so I went to my trusty stitch dictionaries and picked a few that I thought would be a great fit with this yarn.

The end result is the Fir Trees Cowl, named after the stitch I used.  It is an oversized cowl that combines two of my favorite elements: openwork/lacy patterning and an angora yarn. Seraphim is perfect at showing off stitch definition and is amazingly soft against the skin. Make with only one ball of yarn it’s the perfect pattern to try something new.

NOTE: Pattern written to be knit flat but can easily be made to be knit in the round by eliminating 2 stitches at the ends.

It is available for purchase from Bijou Basin Ranch for 6.00

The cowl was debuted at STITCHES West along side the new yarn.  It was very well received!  But, you have to know that since I got the yarn at the end of January  that meant that I had little time to actually design a piece, get the piece made and then photograph it before I had to leave for STITCHES!

Call in the cavalry!  I thank GOD everyday for my outstanding team of contract knitters and crocheters.  I called one of them and she got it done in three days.  Then it was on to one of my most beautiful friends to model the piece.  Again, I thank GOD everyday for my best friend.

On the day we were able to do the photo shoot s it was a SUPER WINDY!  But we did it!  With all 7 kids (my 3 and her 4) we met up and I did a photo shoot.  Thinking back, we are lucky that her son wasn’t blown away with the reflector as he held it for me while I took photos.  However, I was so happy he was there because he was a HUGE HELP!  

At the end of the day we did finally get a good shot but it took a lot of not-so-great shots to get there.  Totally not Jenni’s fault…since I am totally new to this whole photography thing I didn’t exactly get the right shots but hey, I am learning

I am leaving you with a LOT of shots from the photo shoot.  Take a look and tell me which one you like!

In fact, I was so out of it that when I did finally pack my clothes to leave I had packed LOTS of undergarments, my pi’s and  7 pairs of jeans and only 4 shirts…for a 6 day trip!!!  The really funny thing is that out of those 7 pairs of jeans only 3 fit!!!  What was I thinking?!?  The answer is that I wasn’t.  I was in a medicine haze when I packed and I am just really glad I had at lease 4 shirts!

Usually, when I get to a STITCHES event I have to spend all Thursday morning helping set up the Bijou Basin Ranch booth in the market.  Well, thank God for my friend Kristin Omdahl because she told me to just sleep and she would do the set up for me.  I was so very grateful especially since I had my first class at 1:30 that same day.  It is amazing how getting a few extra hours of sleep can really make a difference.  I can’t thank Kristin enough.

Well, all of you know I had a very busy weekend planed and I wasn’t going to disappoint.  So, I did teach my 3 classes, I did work on the market floor, and I did host the PJ Party!!  Sure, I was exhausted at all the events and I am certain that I didn’t really act like my happy go lucky self but I WAS THERE!  LOL.

The PJ Party.  It was my first time I had hosted such an event and I gotta say…I think it really kicked ass  So many people were there (I wish I had a head count) and we had a plethora of prizes to give out to the guest.

Since I had lost my voice by Friday Night, XRX was thoughtful enough to have gotten me a couple microphones so I didn’t have to yell.  Also, Shannon gave me the BEST tea from Peru and it soothed my throat so much.

Well, instead of getting packed or even planning to pack for the trip  I usually get a urge to totally clean my office and clear out anything that I absolutely don’t need.  Why do I do this?  I don’t know…is it because I want to feel like I am coming home to at least one room in my house that will be clean after I have left my husband and three kids and three dogs alone for 6 days?  Or, is it that I want to make sure that if something should happen to me I have made it easier for my fiber friends to clean out my office?  Or is it that I am just a procrastinator and of course spending the night before I leave on a big trip cleaning out my office, unraveling my long time WIP’s and purging unwanted yarn (yes, I said unwanted) is the best way to really capitalize the P in PROCRASTINATION!?!

Really, I am not sure what it is but it happens to me every time.  The night before I left for STITCHES West I decided that I couldn’t sleep and that I should get my office picked up.  What was supposed to be an hour of my time turned into me spending 6 hours putting unwanted yarn in bags to give away, seeking out WIP’s that have been on the needles longer than I care to admit then unraveling them, and organizing my future projects that I have to send to contractors.

What projects you ask?  Um…one is the Pea Pod Baby Set.  I had cast on for this puppy in 2007 and it was still on the needles!  This is when I was first starting to knit and I had read the pattern wrong so instead of ripping it out I just let it sit in my knitting bag for nearly 5 years.  So, I pulled the needle out (which was a really BAD needle) and threw it away, attached the end of the yarn to my ball winder and way it went!!  Must say, it did feel good to let that thing go!  I took pictures to prove it

Not only did I spend these hours working on the office but my body decided that it was a good time to get a tickle in my throat which caused me to start coughing.  NOT GOOD…can you see where this is going?  Yep, I finally went to bed around 1 am and when I got up the next morning that little cough had become a full body ache, fever, chills and a bad ‘OMG, I can’t get sick I have to teach 3 classes this weekend and host a PJ Party’!!

My flight didn’t leave until 7 pm so I spent most of the day in bed until I finally had to get up and pack my bags around 3 pm.

You are going to have to wait until my next post to find out how my weekend went!

xoxo

Marly

So many things to prepare before I leave but there is so little time to do it all.  I have the demonstrations for the Bijou Basin Ranch booth and the Craftsy booth, the three classes I am teaching, and the PJ Party.  Yes, I am hosting the PJ Party at STITCHES West!!!

This will be the first time I have ever hosted the party and I want it to be a blast!  It has kept me up at night…literally.  Just last week I got up at 2am to put together my PJ Party Plan.  So, now I have a fully written out plan for the party.  Every minute for 2 hours and 15 minutes is scheduled with games, prizes and fun! I can’t wait.

One of the things I thought might be fun is to have everybody (the people who want to anyway) to wear the same thing.  I mean, something other than PJ’s.  While I was thinking about it I happened to be looking at my Ravelry designer page and saw my Ratatouille pattern.  I thought that it looked a little like an old night cap so I posted the pattern at 50% off for anybody who wanted to get it and make one to wear at the party.  .  If you are interested in getting the pattern for yourself please enjoy the discount!  Code is pjparty.  

I don’t have any pictures to share for the party right now but my camera will be in hand so there will be a lot of pictures of the party  and the Ratatouille Gang when I get back.

What I do have pictures of is my a IN PROGRESS Stitch Sampler Blanket.  One of my contract crocheters (and best friend) is making it so I have a sample for my classes.  Must say, I am in LOVE with it!!

DETAILS

Yarn: Stitch Nation Washable Ewe

Hook: G and H

Pattern: Crochet Stitch Sampler (available soon on Ravelry)

Okay, I might be going out on a limb here but I think this might be the meca for all crafting.  No really, there are so many wonderful inspiring places to derive design ideas, many wonderful and famous designers to rub shoulders with, world class publishers all around me, leaders in the online crafting community just down the road, yarn companies and yarn shops that are at the top of their game.  But one of the best parts of living here in Colorado is that I get to go to the workroom at JHB buttons and browse all of their buttons new and old to find that right one for my projects.

Yes, the leader in the button industry is located right here in Denver, Colorado!

JHB is a family owned business that began in the basement of the family home.  The owner, son of the founder Jean Barr, and his wife are as delightful and colorful in person as the buttons they sell.  They have taken this wonderful company from a small beginning to a internationally known company in just 40+ years.  JHB has the best buttons around including some designed by our very own knitting goddess, Nicky Epstien!  Supplying buttons to all fields of the crafting world JHB especially cares about and support the knitting and crochet community.

They were a contributor to the wildly successful Yarn Thing Designers’ Dinner last June at TNNA.  To which many of my designer friends remarked that they LOVED the buttons that were included in the gift package and couldn’t wait to order more.  Since the dinner I have had several of my designer friends contact me thanking me for introducing them to JHB.

Why am I telling you all about this company?  So happy you asked!  I had a chance to take a trip to JHB Buttons just yesterday to choose the perfect buttons for over 10 projects.  You read that correctly, 10 PROJECTS!  The scary thing is that I have more that I need buttons for but I didn’t have the yarn yet to choose them!  CRAZY BUSY around here at Yarnsports llc.

Why did I pick all my buttons before I made the projects?  Well usually, I wait until the project is finished before I choose a button however, with so many projects heading out the door to contract knitters and crocheters I thought it would be good to have the buttons ready to go with the yarn so the contractor can make sure button holes are the correct size.  Nothing worse than having a button in mind to use for a project only to find out you made a button hole too small or too big!

Anyway, wouldn’t you know that my camera battery died as I was getting ready to take some pictures.  So there are no action shots of me and my fellow contractors looking at, sorting through and combining buttons with yarn.  It was a sight to be seen and I must say that it did take some time.  It was about an hour and 15 min worth of choosing the right button for each project.  Hardly anytime at all when you consider that the button is that one detail that can make or break a piece.

A button is that one detail that can really make your garment POP or your accessory look really finished.  Buttons are not something that you should rush though choosing.  And trust me…we did not rush!  LOL.

You can learn more about JHB Buttons soon on the podcast as they will be a guest.  But in the meantime, go check out their website (conveniently www.buttons.com) or better yet Fav them on Facebook!

Well, now I have the sketches, yarn, and the buttons…now I need to write the patterns and get these boxes of projects out the door to my contractors. Wish me luck!