New Yarnahoy sock yarns at Yarn4socks!

New colorways of Yarnahoy sock yarns can be found at Donna & Valerie's online store Yarn4socks!!

Check them out here .

Knitting Class & the "Rockingness of Knitting".

I'm taking a knitting class at Knit Happens - a lovely knitting store in Old Town Alexandria.
We have a cool teacher who jumps up & down & says "I made knitters! I made knitters!" and also uses terms such as "crocodile thing" in reference to casting on. Totally the kind of attitude that makes learning fun :)

Of course I don't remember her name & it didn't help that her name tag said "The awesome Rockingness of Knitting".

And it's bliss to be surrounded by all that yarn as well.
Below are pictures of the venerated teacher & colorful shop.

For those of you who live in Alexandria & haven't been to Knit Happens - do! It's a lively, cheerful place, the owners are very helpful & fun & they have a cozy little corner where you can snuggle up to knit over the weekend. Their shop is also close to lots of interesting places to eat & food features a lot in the conversations there, i'm told.

I can't wait for the next class!

AND THE WINNERS ARE....!

The winners of the Yarn Ahoy competition are:
TASHA - First place. Tasha would like to share her prize with Rosi since she liked her entry very much. Here's a sport!
Sonia P - Runner up.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Art on the Avenue 2007

For those of you who live in the Alexandria/ Del Ray area in NOVA, Art on the Avenue is no stranger.
Same time last year it was freezing! The hot chocolate stands did very well. However the weather didn't completely dissuade visitors & shoppers.
But this year it was great (huge attendance). I was so impressed!
All the pictures taken were of artists & objects at the festival. The photos of articrafts are not at all representative of what I saw there. There were lots of potters, jewellers, soap makers, musicians, chefs, weavers, sculptors, knitters and others. And many many people.
For those of you who can set up shop at 'A on the A' or are thinking about it, give it a shot!

I also met a lot of artists who had heard about Etsy through the "Crafty Bastard".


Above: Etsy's own Tasha McKelvey! I've purchased beautiful earrings from her tashamck shop. It was good to see in person an artist I admire.


Above: Photographer Steve Miller. Her was selling his prints. His portrait work was impressive. I'm hoping to take his class soon.


Above: The chicken juggler. He was very popular with the kids. "And don't forget to give me some money".

Above: The soapmaker. I bought a ton of stuff from him. He & his mother make lotions & soaps. I was impressed at the subtlety of the essenses they used. Just look at that smile.

Above: An artist in her stall.

Above: A basket & gourd stall. Sorry about the picture. It was really crowded here.

Above: A Bonsai stall. I saw many people walk away with these. My mother has a zillion Bonsais & only the truly obsessed can care for them regularly.

Above: There was a lot of pottery being sold here.

Above & below: A jewelry artist & her husband.


Above: Musicians playing. They were good - had drawn a huge crowd. There were at least 3 separate bands playing here.

Above & below: Young musicians trying out instruments for sale.


Above & below: Very original printed Ts.

Below: A weaver & her work.

Semi solids & crazy colors - sock yarns ahoy!

New sock yarns at Yarn Ahoy's shop. Some of my best yet!

Click on image for larger view.

Feel like Silk?

Silk/Merino lace yarn freshly dyed.

The YARN AHOY competition!

Thanks to all the knitters who sent in beautiful pictures & descriptions!

Voters: Please use the grey vote box titled "YARN AHOY Competiton" to vote. Only one vote is allowed. Please choose carefully.
Please take the time to read the competition details/rules here.

Mozilla Firefox users will find the vote box immediately to the right of the post.
Internet Explorer users will have to scroll down to the end of the page to find the vote box (sorry, Internet Explorer doesn't like the blogger format).

Every entry has it's own special post. Voters/visitors can comment on these post. Comments will be moderated & may take a little while to appear.

Below are the entries. Please click on them to view or just keep scrolling down.

1. Grapevine socks by ISOBEL

2. Fuego socks by THE SOAPY KNITTER

3. Beaded bag by KNITTEREVANS

4. Jaywalker socks by KNITTINGB

5. Jaywalker socks by JULIE HENTZ

6. Wee Tiny Sock by JULIE HENTZ

7. Autumn Jewels scarf by SONIA P

8. Lacy Mock Cable socks by TASHA

9. Lightweight socks by TIA

10. Anastasia socks by PEACHY

Grapevine socks by ISOBEL

1. Name or preferred handle: Isobel

2. Name of colorway used: Indigg

3. Pattern used or name of your project: The pattern is Grapevine from More Sensational Knitted Socks

4. Inspirations & what drew you to the color: The indigo and purples made me think of full ripe grapes on the vine.

5. Problems encountered (and creative solutions for the same): None: The yarn is a self-striping and using a slip stitch toe decrease creates a faux fair isle effect. I like the pooling around the ankle bone; it creates a definite right and left foot. Eye of Partridge heel, creates the faux fair isle heel, the fit well and the wonderful merino creates a slight springy stretch for comfort

6. Optional: I loved this yarn, it was great to work with, super soft, and the colours were amazing.

Fuego Socks by THE SOAPY KNITTER

1. Name: Rosi G. aka The Soapy Knitter.

2. Colorway: Ablaze Superwash Sock Yarn

3. Pattern: Fuego Socks by ME!

4. Inspiration: I love the vividness of the color on this yarn. The picture of it in your store is spot on to what it looks like in real life but I have not been able to duplicate the beauty of the yarn in pictures. (you take GREAT pictures!)

5. Problems encountered: I didn't encounter any problems. I loved how the yarn knit up and it wears wonderfully, too. And I WEAR my socks ALOT!

6. Optional: I tried to find a pattern to fit the Ablaze yarn, one that would set off it's color. When I wasn't successful, I decided to design my own. This is my first sock pattern design and I'm PROUD of it!

Feel free to share the pattern with everyone! :)

Beaded bag by KNITTEREVANS

1. Name or preferred handle: KnitterEvans

2. Name of colorway used: Sour Berry

3. Pattern used or name of your project: Knitting Pattern-a-day calendar, Koigu beaded bag May 25, 2007

4. Inspirations & what drew you to the color: Reminded me of Sweettarts! I love them!

5. Problems encountered (and creative solutions for the same):
None! I love this yarn!

6. Optional: I did not add as many beads as the pattern calls for.(ex. K1, bead, K1, bead, etc) I actually K3, bead, K3, bead.

Jaywalker socks by KNITTINGB

1. Name - knittingb

2. Colorway - Chocolate and Sour Berry

3. Pattern used - jaywalkers by grumperina

4. Inspirations - I'm a pretty new knitter, and it seems that everyone and their mother has knit this pattern. As for the colorway, I've been drawn to pinks and browns and I loved the vibrancy of yours.

5. Problems - I did not check my gauge, and my first attempt was waaaay too small. Luckily, when it was small was when the pooling was its worst; when I changed needle sizes I liked the striping much more.

6. Anything else - I guess I just haven't been too scared to try new patterns, no matter how much experience I have so far. I've learned a lot in the short time I've been knitting and continue to be excited to learn more!

Jaywalker Socks by JULIE HENTZ

1. Name: Julie Hentz

2. Colorway: OF MY LOVE superwash hand painted Merino Tencel sock yarn

3. Pattern: Jaywalker Socks

4. Inspiration: I was drawn to this colorway because the socks were for a February
swap (KH Sockintine Swap) and I was sooo tired of winter at that
point! The colors were so nice and springy!

5. Problems encountered: No problems! I had originally started to write a lace sock pattern
with this yarn, but ended up with Jaywalkers because I was so busy at
the time that I needed a simple pattern I could take on the run and
knit during stolen moments!

Wee Tiny Sock by JULIE HENTZ

1. Name: Julie Hentz

2. Colorway: OF MY LOVE superwash hand painted Merino Tencel sock yarn

3. Entry: Wee Tiny Sock

4. Inspiration: I thought this yarn would be perfect for the Wee Tiny Sock
Exchange...it didn't pool when I made my Jaywalkers, and I definitely
needed a solid or a multi that wouldn't pool!

5. Problems encountered: It took me three tries to get the proportions right...other than
that, no problems. :)

Autumn Jewels scarf by SONIA P

1. Your name or preferred handle.
- Sonia P

2. Name of colorway used:
Rajasthan (No photograph available)

3. Pattern used or name of your project
- “Autumn Jewels” – The pattern is my own and it is a simple garter stitch, instead of using complex knit patterns for the scarf, thick and thin knitting needles were used to create the pattern. In order to emphasize the color and texture of the beautiful yarn, I decided to underplay the pattern. The yarn was thick & thin and so were the knitting needles.

4. Inspirations & what drew you to the color:
- Mina Kari (enameling on gold jewelry) and the colorful attire of women folk in Rajasthan was what drew me to this eye catching warm colored yarn.

5. Problems encountered (and creative solutions for the same):
- The yarn was a little too thin at certain places and broke, but I used the simple trick of overlapping and it looks great.

6. Optional:
- I am not a knitter, just learned this back in high school. The varicolored exquisite yarn compelled me to pick the needles and just start…and the result is here.

Lacy Mock Cable Socks by TASHA - "bijouxmaster"

1. Name: Tasha - "bijouxmaster"

2. Colorway: Berry Beautiful - I think. This was a gift from a secret pal

3. Pattern: This is the pattern I used (great pattern, btw) - Lacy Mock Cable Socks
http://scarlettknits.livejournal.com/796.html

4. Inspiration: Secret pal gift but she bought it for me because pink & green are my favorite colors. Honestly, this pair of socks made me fall in love with socks (my 3rd pair)

5. Problems encountered: No problems. They are fraternal twins which I LOVE & the slight pooling that I encountered was welcome

6. Optional: Um, I really don't wing it. I'm a follow-a-pattern kind of girl. The only rules I have in sock knitting is no stockinette plain jane socks & no solid socks. I'll pair a varigated / striped yarn with a busy pattern & that doesn't bother me in the least. No boring socks for me please!

Lightweight Socks by TIA

Name: Tia

The colourway is Mt Vernon Ave.

The pattern I used was from a book by Sandi Rosner (Not Just Socks) and is named *Lightweight Socks*

These socks have only just been finished this minute, and at my daughters request. She is travelling to another city here in NZ to represent her High School in the Basketball Nationals, and wanted a pair of hand knitted socks to show off to her friends!

She chose this yarn out of my stash, and I must admit, as I was knitting it, I wish I hadn't shown it to her. I really want to keep them for myself.

I chose a basic pattern, as I love the stripes to be visible, and not blurred by a pattern.

I did not really encounter any problems while knitting these socks, but as I am fairly new to sock knitting, managing to finish them in time for my daughters trip (this weekend) was a feat in itself.

Anastasia Socks by PEACHY

1. Your name or preferred handle: Peachy

2. Name of colorway used: Old Earth

3. Pattern used or name of your project: Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh ( http://www.pepperknit.com/patterns/anastasia.html)

4. Inspirations & what drew you to the color: Both the color itself, and the description, and the colorway name - old earth just sang to me!

5. Problems encountered (and creative solutions for the same): I didn't have any problems, pattern and color worked together perfectly.

6. Optional: well, I varied the tension in knitting until the pooling color patches (red or blue) were pooling a bit, but nothing serious!

Yarn4socks now has Yarnahoy!

My recently completely wholesale order for Yarn4socks is up & selling.
Check them out!

Colorways are:
Gerbera Patch, Streets of Rajasthan, Mount Vernon Avenue, Nouveau Bleu & more.

Thanks Donna & Valerie!

NEW YARNS IN THE SHOP!

New sock yarns have been added to the Yarnahoy shop! Both semi solids and solids.

Also check out the Kvik Sock section. The Kvik socks are slightly heavier fingering weight & knit "Kviker"! More colors will be added to this section in the coming days.

The dye pot runneth over.

After close to a 2 month hiatus, my apartment has been seeing some dye activity.
Much clanging rang out last weekend as I dyed up colors I've never dyed before - some variegated & some semi-solids.
I've also been getting a few wholesale orders ready to ship out, so the place has been a sea of yarn lately.
Below are pictures. Sometime this week (or the next) I should be loading pictures onto the Yarnahoy shop. I shall be sending out a mailing list update when I do that.
Meanwhile, below are pictures...