Storied Yarns

Meet My Characters: Haymitch Abernathy

2012-02-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

Hello, and Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Today I'm going to introduce you to one of my "characters" and explain the back-story of the creation of that character.

May I introduce you to Haymitch Abernathy?

Haymitch is one of the leading characters in Suzanne Collins's "Hunger Games" trilogy, and this colorway was inspired by him.

Haymitch serves as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta, but in the beginning of the series he isn't much of one. He's the town drunk, and a bit of a joke. There are times when he pulls off being lucid, but you just never quite know which version of Haymitch you're going to get in any situation.

As the books go on we learn that there's a lot more to Haymitch than meets the eye. After all, he wouldn't be a mentor if he hadn't won the games in his youth; this is a fact it can be easy to forget during one of his drunken episodes.

For this colorway, I chose to play up Haymitch's strength and his unpredictability. This is a kettle dyed colorway, so no two skeins will be identical (though they will of course be as similar as possible). Haymitch is a blend of grey, rust, olive green and purple. I love the way the different colors work together; this is definitely one of those colorways where I think we'll all be surprised by how it knits up, too!

Knit Haymitch when you need some sage advice or someone to lean on in a tough situation. Knit this colorway for someone who has been a mentor to you or supported you on a hard day.

In the film version of the first book, Woody Harrelson will play Haymitch, and I'm really excited to see how that turns out! I think he will be great.

Haymitch is only one of my many Hunger Games inspired colorways; you'll see more later this month when I debut them after my Hunger Games KAL/SAL ends. If you want to get in on the action, I have listings available for roving, yarn, batts and mini skeins!

Thanks for visiting for Fiber Arts Friday everyone! Now head on over to Andrea's place and check out the rest of the fun!

Meet My Characters: Peeta Mellark

2012-02-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome back for another edition of "Meet My Characters" here at Storied Yarns Central! This is the type of blog post where I showcase one of the colorways I have created and explain the back-story behind my inspiration for that colorway.

Today I want to introduce you to Peeta Mellark, the male lead in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy.

I should warn you that there may be some SPOILERS for the whole series in this post. I will try to be somewhat vague, but I don't want to totally gloss over anything, either.

Anyway, here is Peeta:

In the novels, Peeta has blonde hair, which separates him from Katniss and Gale because the kids from town are blonde whereas kids from "The Seam" have darker hair. As a younger boy, Peeta's blonde head sticks out in Katniss's memory because of an act of kindness he shows to her after her father dies.

The blue in this colorway comes from the mental image I have of Peeta's culinary talents. During one scene in the third book, Peeta decorates a cake to look like an ocean scene, and his beautiful icing decoration shows Katniss that the Peeta she knows is still inside of him somewhere.

The orange is there because it's Peeta's favorite color; not bright orange, but darker like the sunset.

I wanted the overall feel of this colorway to be one of bright colors, like the camouflage paintings that mark one of Peeta's many skills as a Tribute. Over the top of that, though, I have added a grey overdye to symbolize Peeta's experiences in The Capitol and the ways he changes between the books. Though he's still Peeta underneath, he's not that boy with the bread any longer.

I hope you like my tribute to Peeta in colorway form! Come back next time and I'll introduce you to the third member in the pseudo-love triangle from The Hunger Games: Gale! :)

In the meantime, check out my Hunger Games Spin-Along and Knit-Along on Ravelry! I'm offering packages for yarn, roving, batts or mini skein sets so you can stitch and spin along with us! We'll have competitions amongst the participants and the final Victor will win a prize! :)

It's Finished!! My Handspun Shrug

2012-02-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

If you've been following along with my handspun sweater project this year, then you know I spun three sets of batts to make a gorgeous yarn and then wanted to knit it into a sweater.

Except that it turned out to be fewer than 300 yards total, even though it weighs in at nearly a pound, so I didn't quite have enough for a full-sized sweater.

It's all good, though. My motto around here is "Keep Moving Forward," remember?!?

So, I settled on a sweater-like project instead: Shrug This. I made a few mods to the pattern - namely, I went up to a size 11 needles since my yarn is a little bit more than worsted weight, and I added 2 stitches per sweater section (10 stitches total) to the cast-on. I knit as directed until closing up the arm holes and then I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn.

The result? Awesome:

I haven't blocked it yet, so right now it still kind of curls in at the front edges. I'm thinking a little bit of good blocking will help it not do that and also maybe even it out a little, and after that it will be pretty great!

Thanks for following along with my sweater knitting and spinning adventures! I'm sure this will NOT be the first sweater I make this year, so stay tuned for more fun!

In the meantime, though, I'm taking a break to knit my first pair of socks. Wahoo! I'll report more on that project later. :)

Tutorial: Valentine Gift Bag/Card Holder

2012-02-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hello, and welcome to the blog! Here at Storied Yarns Central things got a bit hectic recently as I realized that my older two children were going to have their Valentine's Day parties at school today. Yep, that's right, today. No, your calendar isn't wrong - apparently it was a unanimous decision at their school to celebrate a full four days early. Fantastic ...

Anyway, we busied ourselves with filling out Valentine cards earlier in the week, and to be honest I was feeling a bit of a crafty let-down. Valentine's Day has been a DIY holiday for me since, well, forever. When I was a little girl I used to LOOOOVE buying construction paper, doilies and glitter at this time of the year and making my own Valentines instead of buying the pre-packaged ones. My own children, however, just want to buy the Fun Dip that comes with a place to write the recipient's name on the front and call it a (holi)day. Ugh.

To appease myself and my need to craft up this holiday properly, I whipped up these little bags yesterday:

Want to see how I did it? Follow this tutorial for an easy DIY gift bag. My eldest will be using his for holding Valentine cards at school (more durable than a shoe box and more fun than a paper bag), but my younger two can just enjoy using them to tote around their valuables. Use these bags for reusable gift bags, lunch bags or anything else your heart desires! Only basic sewing skills required. :)

First up, gather your materials.

You'll need the following items:
1. Felt fabric - two 9x12 sheets will make one tote.
2. Ruler or measuring tape
3. Rotary cutter and mat (optional)
4. Scissors
5. Scrap of decorative/fun fabric
6. Coordinating thread
7. Sewing machine
8. Guard cat to make sure you're doing it right:

Don't have one of those? Ok, you can probably get by without one. In fact, it'll make the job a LOT easier. ;)

Moving on. Here's what you need to do to make these DIY felt tote bags:

1. Cut your felt fabric; the first sheet can be cut down in half so you get two pieces that are each 9x6.

2. The second sheet needs to be cut into four even pieces that are each 9x3:

3. Cut one of those strips in half so that you get two pieces that are each 1.5x9 and then cut one piece down so it is only 6x9 and you'll have this:

(You may be noticing that my colors aren't very Valentine-y. Well, that's because I'm a mom on a budget so I'm using the felt I have lying around, which happens to be NOT red. Plus, I figure that makes the totes more versatile for using at other times of the year, right? It also worked out well that my felt coordinates with my cotton printed fabric. See? I did it on purpose. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

4. Anyway, moving along. Take your scrap of cotton printed fabric and cut it into a heart shape. I just free-handed it with the old fold-it-in-half trick and it worked out just fine:

5. Pin this scrap onto one of your larger felt pieces, centered near the top, and sew around the edges of the heart with a zigzag stitch to hold it in place:

6. Sew around the edges of the heart again, but this time increase the width of your stitch to 5 (or super wide) and the length to 1. Now your heart will look like this:

7. Trace your kid's name under the heart and embroider it on there, if you like. You'll see mine in a minute.

8. Take two of the 9x3 strips and sew them, one at a time, along the 9-inch edges of the front piece. Use a straight stitch and sew with wrong sides together; these strips will become the sides of your bag. When you finish it will look like this:

What you can't see in this photo is that the front of my bag is face-down, so these are sewn to the back side of the bag. See the stitch lines on the right and left? I'm leaving my seams "exposed" because this is felt and it's not going to fray, plus I think it helps the bag stand up on its own.

9. Sew the back panel of the bag onto the other long edges of the side pieces so that you have a bag that stands up on its own and has no bottom. I forgot to take a photo of that step, sorry about that!

10. Sew the bottom strip onto the bag - this is the piece that measures 3x6. I found it was easier to sew one 3-inch seam, then the opposite 3-inch seam, then the 6-inch seams one at a time. Again, keep your seams exposed to the outside of the bag as you do this. When you finish your bag will look like this:

Here's a side view:

and an aerial view:

11. Pin one of the thin strips to the front of the bag like so to make the front handle:

12. Repeat this with the remaining thin strip and the back panel to make the back handle. Sew across the entire top front and top back of the bag with a zigzag stitch to secure the handles. (Note: I didn't feel the need to make the handles super secure because these bags only have to hold Valentine cards. If you want yours to be sturdier, sew a few extra back and forth stitches across the place where the handles physically attach to the body of the bag.) Your finished bag will look like this:

13. Make a few more for your other kids, improving your embroidering skills as you go:

Stand them up by the front door and wait for the kids to come home ...

... and find the Valentine cards they got in the mail!

I hope you enjoyed my simple sewing tutorial today! If you make one of these bags, I'd love it if you pop back in here and show me a picture! :)

This has been a presentation for Fiber Arts Friday, so head on over to Andrea's blog and check out the rest of the fun.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Meet My Characters: Cinna

2012-02-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

As you probably already know if you're reading this, I believe very strongly that when we create something with our hands we tell a story through that item. That's why I do what I do - when I dye yarns inspired by the stories I love, I believe it brings depth to the finished knitted or crocheted item as the layers of the story come together.

Today I'm introducing Cinna, a colorway inspired by The Hunger Games. Here he is, one of my all-time favorite colorways:

Cinna is a black base with splashes of silver grey, bright violet purple, electric blue and bold periwinkle.

Most people ask me why I chose these colors for Cinna; as a result of the fact that he wears metallic gold eyeshadow in the first book, most people picture the color gold when they think of Cinna. I can't deny that association, of course, but after reading the final book in the trilogy I was more inspired by these colors than gold. I don't want to give too much away to those who haven't read the books, but to me Cinna's role in the final book will always be his lasting legacy as a character and this colorway was inspired by that role.

When you make something with this colorway, what kind of story do you stitch? Well, in my opinion, you stitch a story with style. I chose these colors to epitomize Cinna's cool factor. Knit Cinna when you need a dose of cool in your own wardrobe, or when you want to tell someone else how cool you think he/she is. Alternately, since Cinna was a mentor figure to Katniss and an inspiration for her, you could choose this colorway for a special project made for someone who inspires and guides you in your own life.

Thanks for visiting with me today, and getting to know Cinna! Leave me a comment if you feel like it and tell me what stories you're stitching today!

Meet my Characters: Katniss Everdeen

2012-02-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I like to share the back-story and inspiration involved in creating my colorways. This month I'm going to be doing a little character bio for each of my Hunger Games colorways, in preparation for my Hunger Games Knit-Along/Spin-Along and the movie debut.

Today, meet Katniss Everdeen: The Girl Who Was On Fire.

Katniss is the lead character in Suzanne Collins's YA series that begins with The Hunger Games. I fell in love with these books, and Katniss herself, from the first minute I read them. Katniss was actually one of the first colorways I ever created; she has been with me for the long haul.

I don't want to spoil too much for people who haven't read the books (Why haven't you read the books?!? Do it!), but I will say that a main part of the novel series is the idea that Katniss comes out of nowhere to become a symbol and a leader for a revolution. The novels are set in a dreary dystopian, post-World War III future and Katniss lives in a community known for mining. When she participates in the Hunger Games she shows what happens when you light coal on fire: you get a flame.

For Katniss's colorway, I started with a base of charcoal grey for District 12, her home. I then added splashes of flame colors: red, yellow and blue (which sometimes blend together to give a rainbow effect; an added bonus/side effect). This colorway reminds me of a phoenix rising from the ashes, much like Katniss does in the novels.

I once sent a skein of this colorway to a friend of mine who had survived a house fire that destroyed, among many other things, her entire stash of yarn. I think this is a great colorway for representing our ability to survive hardship and come out stronger and brighter on the other side, don't you?

I have crocheted this colorway once before into a spiraling scarf:

I definitely love this colorway as a scarf, but I think it would make an amazing shawl, too. I hope someone knits one in the KAL! :)

Thanks for visiting me today and getting to know Katniss. I hope you love her as much as I do, and that you'll stop by later in the week as I introduce more of my characters!

Fiber Arts Friday: The Countdown is ON!

2012-02-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!!

Ok, so this week I don't have much to show off. I did spin a few yarns, but I'm lazy so I haven't taken photos. I've been knitting, but there isn't much to show for it and for now it's a big secret project anyway.

So instead, let's talk about what I'm gearing up for next: a new

Storied Yarns Spin-Along/Knit-Along!!

This time we're going to count down to the film premiere of The Hunger Games. Dun Dun Duuuuuuunnnnnn!

Don't know what this is? Have you been living under a rock? It's okay, let me teach you. Go here and read all about this amazing book, the start of an amazing trilogy. Then get thee to a library or bookstore, STAT! (Here's a tip: you're going to want to have a copy of the second book immediately upon finishing the first, and ditto with the third, so it's best to get all three at once.)

Once you're finished reading all that awesome, or perhaps you already HAVE read all the awesome, now it's time to join me over at Storied Yarns Ravelry Central for a Hunger Games themed KAL/SAL!

Just like my other KAL/SAL packages, this one will be lots of fun! You'll get yarn or fiber in your choice of Hunger Games inspirations and extra goodies. I'm going to hold little contests amongst the participants, too, and award mini prizes along the way. Then at the end there will be a larger prize package for one big winner!

If you want to see my Hunger Games colorways, visit my Facebook photo album. For this SAL/KAL you can choose one of these colorways or a new inspiration from the series.

I hope you'll join in or follow along with the fun. And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Now go visit Andrea and say hello for Fiber Arts Friday.

Fun with Free Motion Quilting

2012-02-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

Let's take a break from yarn for a while, shall we?

This month I have made the resolution that I will become better at free motion quilting. Basically, for me, "better" means that I'll do it at all; in the past when I have made quilts I have either used "stitch in the ditch" or tying to finish them. That's all well and good, but I really wanted to be able to do the pretty quilted designs I see from other quilters out there.

How hard could it be, right?

;)

Yeah, it's pretty hard. However, with the help of the Sew Inspired Blog's Focus on Free Motion Quilting Month, I felt brave enough to tackle a few projects last week.

I should start, I suppose, by telling you that I sew with a fairly basic (but very nice) Singer sewing machine. It does not come equipped with any kind of long arm quilting mechanisms, and it doesn't even have a walking foot (though I may invest in one in the very near future). It's a good little machine, and so far it has done everything I ever asked it to do. I should have known it would continue to stand by me through this adventure. :)

For my machine, the manual only tells me to remove the presser foot and drop the feed dogs in order to free motion quilt. I found I also had to mess around with a few things like tension and stitch length to get the motion of quilting to be comfortable for me, too.

I made a special project first, but I won't be showing that off until later when it arrives at its new home. After that special project I made two baby quilts for Project Linus:

I'm not sure if I ever really talked about it before, but for a part-time day job I work for Candice at Wee Essentials. As part of our work, we use quite a bit of fabric, resulting in quite a lot of left-over scraps that aren't quite big enough to make any of the Wee Essentials products. We just can't stand the thought of throwing them all away, so we came up with the idea to make them into baby blankets to donate to Project Linus. I made these for that project; they're 18-inch preemie quilts for the NICU at Vanderbilt Hospital.

These little quilts were the perfect size to practice free motion quilting, because they were small enough to maneuver easily. I imagine the king-sized quilt I eventually want to make will be a much bigger challenge, ha ha.

Anyway, here are some close-up shots. The first blanket I did a sort of loopy-loop line along the straight stitching lines from the quilt:

I like the way this turned out because the quilting doesn't take away from the fabric at all, but it just adds a cute little feminine design to the quilt body itself. Plus, it was fairly easy to do since I could still follow the stitching lines as I quilted.

For the second quilt I did a sort of big scallop for a few rows of quilting and then a big figure-8 sort of a design. I don't like how this worked out as well, but it still works:

This little crafty adventure wasn't 100% easy. First off, I think I broke my top thread about a million times. I also had some tension issues, where the underside of the quilt ended up with loopy sections like this:

Luckily, after washing, most of these are barely noticeable and there's really only one or two on each quilt.

Here are some Things I Learned About Free Motion Quilting through my practice on these quilts:

It's best to use a quilting design that is small in scale. It was easier to keep my stitches even and to make the design look nice when I made small movements with the fabric and needle.
At some places my tension was off; I think this is because I moved with inconsistent speed. Sometimes I really got into it and I sped up my fabric moving and I think that was too fast for my machine. I'm trying to keep in mind that my machine has a basic speed level for straight stitching and I should probably try to match that with my quilting movements.
I broke my thread, a LOT. I think this is a combination of problems including using cheap thread and moving too erratically with my stitching. I'm going to try to slow down the stitching a little but also invest in some nicer thread the next time I make a quilt.

Well, that's it for me today! I hope you feel inspired by this post to get adventurous and try something new in your own crafty adventures. If you do, leave me a comment and tell me about it!

The Sweater Project: Keep Moving Forward

2012-01-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

This week as I worked on the yarn for my handspun sweater project, I was reminded of a quote from Walt Disney (as featured in one of my favorite Disney movies, "Meet the Robinsons"):

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
–Walt Disney

I often think of this quote in terms of my business and my crafting. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to, and we just have to keep going. That's what has happened with my sweater project.

I spun my first skein of yarn and I got this:

It's a really pretty skein, and I like it a lot. Unfortunately, though, after using up approximately 20% of my singles this skein was only 55 yards bulky weight. I was worried I wouldn't have enough yarn to make any kind of a sweater at that rate.

Turns out, I was right. I finished spinning all the singles and I got this:

It looks like a lot of yarn, and it is, depending on the perspective. It's about 15oz of bulky weight yarn, but it comes in at only 268 yards. Not enough for a full-sized sweater.

I was pretty bummed about that for a little while, but then I remembered that I still had this yarn in my stash:

This is 880 yards of worsted/aran yarn that I dyed myself to use for a capelet. I decided instead that I'm going to make it into a sweater. I'm planning to knit Rusted Root with this yarn.

The other yarn will still have a purpose, never fear! I think I'm going to knit Shrug This with it or maybe the smaller version of Liesl. If I don't get around to it for a while there may even be another pattern that speaks to me even more. So I'm not at all worried about it.

I'm just going to keep moving forward - you never know what fun adventures you might find when you do that! :)

Saturday Sweater Update: Handspun, Round 2

2012-01-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I spun another set of batts for my sweater! Remember this post, when I spun the green batts? Well, now I've got some blue/purple yarn to go with the green!

I took a shot of the two colors side by side, too. I think they look nice together, don't you?

I've still got one final set of batts to add; this one will have a little bit of purple, blue and green in it. Hopefully I'll have that done within a week and then I can start the plying, hooray!!!

The Great Sweater Project is coming along nicely!!

How are your knitting and spinning projects going lately?

Zack Attack: Easy DIY Superhero Costume

2012-01-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a little story.

I am the mother of three children - my oldest son, Will, is 8; Jillian is 6 and the youngest is Zack, 2. Through the years, my older two have collected a few Halloween costumes and we keep them around as dress-up clothes. Zack, on the other hand, has only had three Halloweens total; for the first two he only wore Halloween pajamas and this past year he was Plex the Robot:

Jillian has the most dress-up clothing of all because, well, she's a girl. She likes that sort of thing. Zack also enjoys playing dress-up, but he only has the one outfit to wear that's actually his. The rest of the time, he has to borrow from his big sister, like so:

I asked my oldest son if I could cut down the arms and legs of some of his old costumes for Zack, but Will wasn't super on board with that idea, so my husband suggested I make good use of my sewing talents.

Fast forward about a month, and I started thinking of what to make. I told Zack I could give him a superhero costume, figuring a cape and a felt mask would be pretty easy to sew. If that went well I figured I could move on to a cape for a prince with a felt crown and maybe some animal or monster hats and sweatsuits.

Initially, Zack was pretty excited about the idea of being a superhero. He even told me he wanted to be a BLUE superhero (so much for the old red sheet I was planning to use for the cape, HA!), and he went around the house telling his older siblings, "Mommy's going to make me a superhero costume!"

What crafty mama could resist such enthusiasm, right?

So, today I got to work. I dug out an old blue pillowcase from the linen closet and I grabbed my collection of felt and made up a costume. I also used the mask template from the Living Locurto blog. Easy peasy! In under an hour I had this:

Voila! One DIY pillowcase superhero costume. Perfect, right?

Nope.

You see, remember when I told you that Zack is two years old? Yeah, about that. He's not just two years old; he's TWO YEARS OLD. As in, he's a two-year-old. The terrible twos? Yeah, we've got that. He's fickle and argumentative and sometimes very sweet. But today, not so much on the sweet part.

Today, he doesn't LIKE his superhero costume, mommy!

Oy, vey.

Here's hoping that my older two kids will come home from school and fuss over how cool it is so he'll start liking it. Maybe then I'll be able to get a shot of him actually wearing the darn thing. But I'm not holding my breath.

I always believe that if you can learn from something then it was a worthwhile experience, at least in part.

Let's see, what did I learn from THIS project?

- It's not super hard to make costumes for your kids. I should do it more often; maybe they'd play more and zone out less.
- If I make the mask again I should cut the template twice and sew them together; after Zack pulled on it a lot the eye holes are kind of stretched out and wonky.
- Next time I get it into my head that Zack needs a cape, I'm going to give him a PLAIN pillowcase first. If he wears that he can get his own special superhero logo later on.

Thanks for letting me share my crafty story with you today! I hope your DIY adventures have happier endings.

Up, up, and away!!!!

The Ups and Downs of Knitting: Remind me why we do this again?

2012-01-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend I've been teaching my 6-year-old daughter, Jillian, how to loom knit. My awesome friend Carrie sent her a set of knitting looms; I thought it would be relatively simple for Jilly to master because she already knew how to finger knit and the steps involved in both forms of alternative knitting are pretty similar.

Yeah, about that. It seems they're not THAT similar.

First off, I should start by saying that most of us acknowledge that it's harder to teach your own kid how to do something than it is to teach someone else or someone else's kid. That is definitely the case for Jillian and I; there are many times a week when I think that the Universe gave me this child in order to teach me patience. In addition to that little issue, Jilly's apple didn't fall too far from my frustrated tree; she has a hard time persevering with something if it's hard for her. Much like her dear mother.

So anyway, this weekend I've been hearing a lot of,

"Knitting is really frustrating/hard/tricky!"

and

"Finger knitting was a lot easier and faster than this!"

and even,

"Are you going to finish that hat you're working on? Maybe I can do your project instead of mine."

As a seasoned knitter, of course I'm highly amused by these comments. Ahh, those were the days, right?

Knitting still frustrates me from time to time, of course. For the most part, though, I'm lucky to have moved beyond frustration into enjoyment of the craft. This whole situation with Jilly leaves me wondering how that happened. What made me keep on picking up those bleeping needles when they were frustrating me? What made me work through my tears, my endless array of expletives and my first several crappy projects?

One of my first knitting projects, a shawl with a lace heart pattern. What was I thinking?!?

I think, for me, it was the desire to win. I wanted to master this craft, come Hell or high water. I was going to BEAT knitting into submission or die trying.

I don't like to lose.

I don't like to give up.

I don't like to feel stupid, like I can't do something.

So I kept going, and eventually my brain clicked and my needles clicked and now I can make pretty things.

See? I designed AND knitted this particular pretty thing. I even spun the yarn!

I want Jillian to get to this point, eventually. I'm not quite ready to teach her how to use the actual needles yet, as I've tried teaching other children around her age and it's really hard for those little hands (plus, you know, the aforementioned head-butting that happens every time I try to teach her ANYthing). I see this loom knitting as a stepping stone for her. If she can learn the steps involved, practice and hone her skills until she gets good at it, and demonstrate the patience required to finish a handful of projects then maybe she'll be ready for the challenge of traditional knitting or crocheting.

So how do I help her get over that mountain of frustration and enter the Valley of Peaceful Knitting? The Forest of Friendly FOs awaits her, I'm sure of it, but first we have to get past the anger and negativity to a place of positive happiness. I'll try teaching her that it feels good to figure something out, to finish something and to make a gift with love and your own hands. But what else is there?

This is where I need help from all of you, dear readers! What made you get beyond the initial frustration phase of learning a new skill and into the enjoyment phase? Whether it was knitting, crocheting, sewing, weaving or something else entirely, I'm sure you all experienced that initial frustration and then the eventual "Aha!" moment. How do I get Jillian to push ahead to the "Aha!" of her own experience? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

Thank you in advance for helping me help my child. I love to enable future generations of crafters! May all your crafting be frustration-free this week!

Fiber Arts Friday: What's Happening?

2012-01-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hello, fellow fiber lovers! It's Friday, and you know what that means - Fiber Arts Friday time, yay!!!!!!

Anyway, today is sort of a random post with the things that are going on here at Storied Yarns Central and in general. :)

This week I'm knitting away on the Shinkan Zen shawl by Susan Ashcroft. I'm super close to doing the pleated section; hoping to get to that today.

Here's an in-progress shot of the shawl - sorry it can't be a better idea of the shape, but I'm in the middle of a row:

The yarn is from Mulberry Fibers; it's the Carolina Beach colorway on Superwash Basic Sock.

Ok, let's see. I'm also spinning for my big Sweater Project. So far this is what I've done:

I've still got two more sets of batts to spin, then I'm going to ply them as a 3ply, so I've got a ways to go. But progress is progress, right? :)

I'm following along with some interesting things right now so I thought I'd share those.
- There's a group on Ravelry called Fantasia; each month they select books and they make knit/crochet/weaving/spinning/dyeing projects inspired by those books. I'm really loving the idea of it! Right now, for instance, we're exploring new skills as inspired by Snoopy and the Red Baron and completing projects about friendship inspired by The Burning Bridge. It's lots of fun to see what everyone makes!
- The Sexy Knitter Group on Ravelry is voting on their next KAL from the Sexy Knitter Patterns collection. I happen to know that the prizes this time around are going to be fabulous! ;)
- I'm reading along with the Focus on Free Motion Quilting Month on Sew Inspired. I really want to learn how to free motion quilt, because so far my quilts have been limited to "stitch in the ditch," and I want to explore beyond that. These posts are all about how to use a regular sewing machine, not a long-arm, so I'm excited to practice!

Ok, I think that's about it. Head on over to Andrea's blog now and check in with the rest of the group. :)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Sew Awesome: A Skirt for a Knitter

2012-01-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Hello! Today is a day to show off my recent sewing project.

My dad got me a gift certificate to a quilt shop for Christmas, and with it I purchased 1.5 yards of this Do Ewe Knit knitting-inspired fabric by Timeless Treasures.

I went browsing on the Internet and found this awesome skirt tutorial by Ruffles and Roses.

Then I read the pattern and chickened out about the zipper, so I perused her blog a little bit more and found this super simple skirt tutorial. I went with that one.

Here's my finished skirt:

It's possible I had a little fun with the photo shoot, LOL. I figured it'd be good for my profile pages. ;)

Here's some more fun I had with my photo editing program:

I'm a work of art. Hahahahahahahahaha!

Anyway, this type of skirt couldn't be easier. Sew a tube, hem it, add a channel at the top, thread in some elastic and BOOM. Skirt.

As I think of it, I wish I would've gone with the more difficult skirt, as I think I would have liked it better (more fitted = more flattering). But that's okay; I'm planning to try that with an old bed sheet I have lying around here. Maybe I'll be able to report on that progress next week.

What about you? Have you been sewing anything lately? Leave me a comment and let me know about it!

Last Day to Join the Sweater-Along!

2012-01-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

It's January 10, and that means it's the last day to purchase a Sweater-Along package in the Storied Yarns shop!

I am unlikely to be giving away free yarn and fiber any time in the near future, so you should seriously get in on this deal while you can. ;)

Here are your options:
- 4 skeins of yarn for the price of 3
- 5 skeins of yarn for the price of 4
- 16oz of fiber for the price of 12oz
- 20oz of fiber for the price of 16oz

There are several people knitting and crocheting along with us. If you don't want to buy new yarn or fiber right now, that's okay, too! Come and knit or crochet along using any yarn you choose. Visit the Storied Yarns Ravelry Group to lend support, advice and cheering to the people knitting sweaters and of course post progress on your own sweater project!

Stay tuned for more fun on the blog this week. I'll be sewing a knitting skirt (are you confused yet? LOL), taking some progress photos of my own sweater project (right now still in the spinning phase) and updating you on the shawl I'm knitting right now.

I'd love to hear what your knitting projects and goals are for the month, too! Leave me a comment below. :)

Thanks for visiting!!

Free Knitting Pattern: Dragonrider Cuff or Bookmark

2012-01-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, and Happy Thursday!

Today I have a gift for you - it's a simple little knitted item that won't take much of your time to complete. Make one for yourself so you have a pretty new accessory (for your wrist or your favorite book) to start the New Year on a positive note.

This free knitting pattern is a great way to use up left-over skeins of sock yarn, sample-sized skeins you might get in your orders from awesome fiber artists, or the small skeins you receive in the Phat Fiber box.

So, without further ado, I present to you:

The Dragonrider Bracelet/Bookmark

by Jessica Cook

Sample bracelet knit in Storied Yarns "Dragonriders of Pern" colorway.

Materials Needed:
- 15 yards of fingering weight yarn
- Size US 1 knitting needles (I used two DPNs)
- Embroidery needle for weaving in ends/connecting the bracelet
- Iron or water/blocking pins/blocking mat
- Optional: Starch for the bookmark

Abbreviations Used:
(THANK YOU to the anonymous commenter; I totally forgot to put these in!)
CO - Cast On
K - Knit
P - Purl
YO - Yarn Over
DD - Double Decrease (Slip two stitches together knitwise; knit one; pass two slipped stitches over this one.)

Directions:
CO 13.

Knit 4 rows.

Row 5 and ALL odd rows) K2, P9, K2
6) K2, YO, K3, DD, K3, YO, K2
8) K2, K1, YO, K2, DD, K2, YO, K1, K2
10) K2, K2, YO, K1, DD, K1, YO, K2, K2
12) K2, K3, YO, DD, YO, K3, K2

Repeat rows 5-12 until you’re about out of yarn or it is long enough to stretch around your wrist. I did it until I had about 9 “scales.”

K last 4 rows, bind off.

Finishing options:
1)Block gently to stretch out the lace pattern and reduce curling. Tie extra yarn to the top like a tassel and use it as a bookmark. To make it stiff and sturdy, dip the bookmark in liquid starch and then block it.
2) Block gently to stretch out the lace pattern and reduce curling. Sew two short ends together and slip it on your wrist like a wide bracelet/cuff.
3) Fold under the sides of the bracelet so the scales show on top. Sew the two short ends together with folds secured so it will wear like a thicker, narrower bracelet. (This was sort of an accidental discovery on my part but I kinda like it.)

Remember, our Sweater-Along is about to begin! Visit the Storied Yarns Ravelry group for all the details, or purchase your Sweater Kit in the Storied Yarns Shop!

I hope you enjoy this pattern, and have a very Happy Thursday!!

New Year, New Sweater, New Skill(s)!

2012-01-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

I hope you had a wonderful New Year! Mine was tame, which is just how I like it.

Lots of bloggers are writing posts about resolutions and goals. I'll leave that to them. For today I just have ONE goal I'm thinking about, and that is:

In 2012 I will knit myself a sweater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew. Okay. I'm glad we got that settled.

Ok, so this year I'm knitting a sweater. I'm going to spin the yarn for it, so I don't want to spend too much time obsessing over potential patterns, because I will become very disappointed if the yarn I spin isn't enough to make one of those sweaters.

However, I do have plenty of sweaters I've been ogling, so I thought I'd give them a shout-out here in this post. Maybe one of them will be just the thing you needed to see in order to commit to your OWN sweater-knitting goal this year!

First up, let me just say that I would knit virtually ANY sweater designed by Wendy Bernard. I love her designs! In particular I've had Somewhat Cowl (a lovely, drapey-necked short sleeved, fitted option) and Something Red (a cute, smallish cardigan) in my queue for quite some time. I think I would do well with either of these patterns for my sweater because it's going to be a very colorful yarn, so having a simple stitch pattern in the sweater will help the yarn steal the show. However, both of these use fairly thin yarns so I probably won't be able to spin that weight out of a 3ply yarn from batts. Ugh.

Since my yarn will likely be bulky, I love Jane Richmond's Cozy Bolero. Honestly, though it's called a bolero, it counts as a sweater in my book (Give me a little break, will you? It's my first sweater!). I love pretty much all of Jane Richmond's patterns, too, so if I'm very lucky my yardage and gauge will work out for me to knit at least one of them. I figure at the very least I'll have enough yarn to knit Bazan, right?!?

If I have a lot of yardage, I really like the structure and comfortable style of Grown-Up Hoodie by fellow Phat Fiber Artist Kira Dulaney. That project would also give me a chance to practice with cables, YAY for new skills! I also really love the style of the Military Cardigan by Jessika Ava; I'm hoping that the double-breasted style of it might also help me hide those extra pounds that I haven't managed to shed yet this year, LOL! She also has an awesome faux cardigan pattern - yay for not bunching open around "the girls," huzzah!

In case I don't get much yardage, I really like the Vine Lace Vest pattern (which, again, is more of a sweater than a vest in my book). It has a pretty lace pattern and would be good for most of our seasons down here in the South. I also like $5 in Paris, because it's simple and I can probably knit it shorter if need be in case I don't get a lot of yardage.

My final pattern option, for now at least, is Abalone. I really love the interesting structure of this open cardigan; I think of it like knitting a shawl that will actually stay on and keep your shoulders warm! Plus, it was designed for handspun and I'm going to KNIT with handspun, so it very well could be Sweater Kismet for me!

I hope you'll follow along with me on my sweater knitting adventures this month. I plan to start spinning the yarn very soon, so I'll keep you updated with my progress on that and then of course final pattern selection and actual knitting.

The lovely fiber that will eventually be a sweater. And it's all MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

Would YOU like to knit a sweater with me? Visit my Ravelry Group to find a whole bunch of knitters who will be knitting AND crocheting sweaters of all shapes and sizes; newbies and veterans alike!

Don't have the yarn for a sweater? I can help you with that:

- 4 skeins of yarn
- 5 skeins of yarn
- 1 pound of roving/top
- 20 oz of roving top
Each of these options comes with FREE yarn or fiber with the purchase! Who can pass up on a deal like that?!?

I'm going to keep the sweater-along going for a while, but the option to purchase your sweater yarn or fiber from me ends on January 10th. That's ONE WEEK from today. So get shopping! You deserve something nice for yourself this year!

Fiber Arts Friday: FREE Baby Ear Flap Hat Crochet Pattern

2011-12-30T05:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!

The year may be almost over, but I'm still really busy - how did that happen? Oh well, it's a good kind of busy! I've been updating the Storied Yarns Shop with exciting goodies like small and large yarn/fiber surprise packages, new batts and yarns and rovings! The sale section is full of great deals for year-end fiber stocking, too. I've also added listings for an awesome sweater knit/crochet-along. We'd love for you to join us on Ravelry to knit or crochet a sweater in the New Year!

Today for Fiber Arts Friday I thought I'd move another of my previously-published patterns to its new home here on the blog. As with all of my patterns, feel free to use this for your personal use or to make gifts or even make hats to sell. Please just do not sell, distribute or copy the pattern itself. Thank you!

Cover Those Ears: Baby Ear Flap Hat
by Jessica Cook

Materials and Abbreviations
To crochet this hat you will need:

Crochet hook size US G
Worsted weight yarn in two colors
Two safety pins or removeable stitch markers

Abbreviations used in this pattern:

ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
hdc = half double crochet (US terminology)
BLO = crochet in the back loops only of these stitches
sts = stitches
hdc2tog = half double crochet two stitches together; makes one decrease

Directions for the Hat Body
NOTE: This hat fit my son when he was a newborn. For a larger hat, increase the size of your starting chain and add rounds after round 13.
Using Main Color, Ch 60. Join with a sl st to form a circle, being careful not to twist the chain.
Round 1: Ch 2, hdc in 2^nd ch from hook and every ch around. Join with a sl st.
R2 – R13: Ch 1, hdc in BLO of every st around. Join w/ sl st to beg. Ch-2. Fasten off.
Turn the hat inside out, fold it flat and whipstitch the starting chain edge together to make a flat top. Fold the hat right side out again.

Directions for the Ear Flaps

Hold the hat so that the back seam is in front of you and the open end of the hat is facing up. Fold the hat flat and find the end stitch on either side of the fold. Put a safety pin or removeable stitch marker in each of these stitches.
R1: Open up the hat and count four stitches to the right of one of your safety pinned stitches (to the right as you are looking at the hat with the open end up). Join your Main Color yarn in this stitch, chain one, and make 9 hdc sts across; the 5th stitch you make will be in the stitch holding the marker or safety pin. Remove your marker or safety pin as you go.
R2-R4: Ch 2, hdc in each hdc across.
R5: Ch 1, hdc2tog across 1^st 2 sts, 5 hdc, hdc2tog over last 2 sts.
R6: Ch 2, hdc in each hdc across.
R7: Ch 1, hdc2tog across 1^st 2 sts, 3 hdc, hdc2tog over last 2 sts. Fasten off. Repeat on opposite side of the hat for the 2^nd ear flap.

Finishing

Contrast Edging.
Join contrasting color yarn with a sl st. on the back of the hat. Ch 1 and sc all the way around the edge of the hat, including around each ear flap. When you get to the center st on the bottom edge of the ear flap, ch 36 for a tie closure, then make 35 sc back down the ch sts and continue to sc around the ear flap and the front of the hat. Repeat this for the other ear flap as well and continue around the back of the hat. Join with a sl st. into your first sc.
Toppers.
Join CC yarn with a sl st to one top corner of the hat. Ch 6, then sc in the 2^nd ch from hook and each ch back toward the hat. Sl st to the hat itself. Repeat this until you have made a total of 5 sc toppers. Fasten off and repeat on the opposite corner of the hat.
Weave in all loose ends using a large eye blunt needle.

I hope you enjoyed the pattern! Now head on over to Andrea's Blog for the rest of Fiber Arts Friday!

FREE Crochet Pattern: Puff Stitch Wristwarmers

2011-12-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

Here's another of my patterns that I published on another site in the past, and now it is moving to its permanent home here on the blog.

Enjoy!

Puff Stitch Wristwarmers
by Jessica Cook

Pattern Inspiration

Last year I crocheted a slouchy hat pattern as a gift for my son's teacher. I wanted to round out the gift a little more, so I whipped up a set of wristwarmers to coordinate with the puff stitch pattern in the hat. This pattern is the result of that moment of inspiration.
I should warn you of a few things before you jump right on into crocheting this pattern:

I am not a professional crochet designer, though I like to think my patterns are easy to understand. If you have any trouble with this pattern you can PLEASE send me a message here or on Ravelry.com (I'm Jessecreations there).
I wrote this pattern based on the single pair of these mitts I have made. I made them to fit my hands, which I think are pretty average, but they may not fit your hands. If you find that you crochet the first few rows and these are too big or too small, you may have to adjust the pattern to suit your needs.
This pattern is untested. Crochet at your own risk.

Materials, Notes and Abbreviations

Here's what I used to make these mitts for myself:

Worsted weight yarn. It was Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn!" in a solid light grey color. This is close to an Aran weight, really. Feel free to substitute other yarns, just know that it might change the pattern slightly.
Crochet hook, size US H.
Large eye blunt needle for weaving in ends.

If you find the pattern doesn't fit you as it is written, consider using a thicker or thinner yarn combined with a larger or smaller hook to make it work. That way you can still follow the pattern without altering it but you don't have to make fingerless mitts that don't fit.

Some notes about the pattern:

When you get to round 10, you will start working the thumb hole. You leave a few sts unworked and turn your work instead of crocheting in the round. Then you will re-join your work later, creating a small gap for your thumb.

Stitch abbreviations used in the pattern:

CH = chain
Sts = stitches
DC = double crochet (American terminology)
SC = single crochet (American terminology)
Sl st = slip stitch
Puff st = (YO, insert hook in next st, YO, pull up a loop) 4 times, YO, and draw through all loops on hook.

Pattern Instructions for First Mitt

This pattern contains directions for crocheting each mitt separately, so please pay attention to that. You will need to know how to crochet in the round in order to make this pattern work for you.
Using your H hook and your worsted/aran weight yarn:
Ch 26.
Round 1: DC in 4th ch from the hook and each ch across. Join with a slip stitch. (Note: This makes a nice little notched opening in the base of the wrist so it will be easier to get the mitts on and off.)
Round 2: Ch 3, DC in every stitch around. Join with a slip stitch.
Rounds 3 - 5: Ch 3, DC in every stitch around. Join with a slip stitch.
Round 6: Ch 3, 2 DC in next DC, DC in each DC around, 2 DC in last DC. Join with a slip stitch.
Round 7: Ch 3, DC around, join with a slip stitch.
Round 8: CH 3, DC in each of the next 2 sts, *Puff st in next st, DC in following st;* Repeat * to * 6 times. DC in each of the remaining sts. Join with a slip stitch.
Round 9: CH 1, sc in each st around. Join with a slip stitch.
Round 10: Slip stitch in each of the first 3 sts, *Puff st in next st, DC in following st;* Repeat * to * 6 times, Dc in each stitch to the last two stitches. Leave last two sts unworked. DO NOT JOIN.
Round 11: Ch 1, TURN. Sc in each dc and puff st around, ch 5 over the slip stitches and skipped stitches, join to the first sc of the round.
Round 12: Ch 3, turn. DC in each of the next 5 sts, *Puff st in next st, DC in following st;* repeat * to * 6 times. DC in each of the remaining sts, join with a slip stitch.
Round 13: Ch 1, sc in each st around, join with a slip stitch.
Round 14: Ch 3, DC in each st around, join with a slip stitch.
Round 15: Ch 1, [Sl st in the next st, ch 1, sl st in the same st] in each st around, join with a slip stitch. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.

Pattern Instructions for Second Mitt

To crochet the second mitt, follow the instructions for Rounds 1 through 7 of the first mitt.
Round 8: CH 3, Dc in next 13 DC sts, *puff st in next st, DC in following st;* repeat from * to * 6 times. Join with slip stitch.
Round 9: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join with a slip stitch.
Round 10: Slip stitch in the first four sts. DC in each of the next 10 sts. *Puff st in the next st, DC in the following st;* repeat from * to * 6 times. DO NOT JOIN.
Round 11: Ch 1, TURN. Sc in each DC and puff st around, ch 5 over sl sts and skipped sts, join to the first st of the round.
Round 12: CH 3, TURN. DC in each of the 5 ch sts, DC in next 9 DC sts. *Puff st in the next st, DC in the following st;* repeat from * to * 6 times. Attach to top of Ch 3 with a slip st.
Round 13: Ch 1, sc in each st around, join with a slip stitch.
Round 14: CH 3, DC in each st around, join with a slip stitch.
Round 15: Ch 1, [sl st in the next st, ch 1, sl st in the same st] in each st around, join with a slip stitch. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.

As with all of my patterns, please feel free to use this pattern to make any number of items you want. You are more than welcome to sell the finished items; please just do not sell the pattern itself or copy it anywhere else. Thanks!

2012: A Sweater Odyssey

2011-12-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hahahahaha, I crack myself up. ;)

Anyway, seriously. In 2012 I WILL KNIT A SWEATER!!!!!!

There, I've said it. All bold and stuff, and even with all caps. That means I have to do it!

Sometimes, I need accountability for things. I have wanted to knit myself a sweater for, well, pretty much as long as I've been a knitter. And yet I've never done it! This must be remedied.

This year I'm going to knit a sweater. I'm even going to spin the fiber to make into yarn to knit the sweater! See? I've got the fiber right here:

Those lovely batts will become a 3ply yarn (another first for me, believe it or not) which will become a sweater. Of some kind. I refuse to go too far into pattern browsing until I know the yardage.

Anyway, would you like to join me? Maybe 2012 can be the year YOU knit or crochet a sweater, too! Whether it's your first sweater or your 100th, I'd love for us to share our sweater stitching progress together. I've started a thread in my Ravelry group for just this type of purpose, and there are already several people joining in and planning their sweater projects. Come join us!

There is NO requirement that you use my yarns/fibers to make your sweater. However, I am offering some pretty sweet deals if you choose to do so. For instance:
- Get 16oz of fiber for the price of 12oz
- Get 20oz of fiber for the price of 16oz
- Get 4 skeins of yarn for the price of 3 skeins
- Get 5 skeins of yarn for the price of 4 skeins

I really hope you'll stitch along with us in 2012!

Before you leave, leave me a comment! What are some of YOUR yarn-related goals for the new year?

Free Knitting Pattern: Braided Cowl

2011-12-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

I published this pattern a while ago, but now I'm moving it to its new forever home on the blog. I hope you enjoy it! I will tell you that it is un-tested and it's written with the assumption that you know a little bit about knitting; in that way it's more of a tutorial than an explicit pattern.

I've been wanting to knit one of these in super bulky yarn; I bet it would make a really fast knit that way if you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift!

Anyway, here's the pattern - enjoy!

Braided Cowl
by Jessica Cook

Pattern Notes and Materials:
This particular cowl looks complicated but is really very simple. It comes with several finishing options and is easily customized using a different stitch pattern or yarn type than specified. Make this project your own in several ways and you'll be hooked on cowls in no time.

Materials Needed:

Yarn - I used worsted weight for the sample and it took approximately 185-195 yards. This pattern could be made with any type of yarn but I don't have guarantees on yardage if you change the yarn you use.
Knitting needles - I used size US 6 straights; again, if you use a different type of yarn you'll need to go up or down in needle size to make this work.
Tape measure
3 stitch holders or scrap yarn
6 stitch markers (optional)
Buttons (optional)

Gauge isn't overly important for this pattern, as you're going to use your own gauge to determine the finished product. This cowl is knit flat and seamed together at the end.

Directions:

There are three options for finishing this cowl. The finishing option you choose will determine your cast-on method as well.
- Option 1: Grafting with Kitchener Stitch. For this method, use a provisional cast-on.
- Option 2: Fake grafting or whip stitching. For this method, use any cast-on you like; I used the cabled cast-on.
- Option 3: Button closure. For this method, cast on any way you like; you'll make button holes in the last few rows.

Knit the Cowl:

For any option, you need to cast on a number of stitches that's divisible by three. Your cast-on edge will be the width, or height, of your cowl. For my sample, I cast on 60 stitches. Remember to match your cast-on method to the type of closure you want. If you're using thicker yarn, you'll need fewer cast-on stitches; for thinner yarn you'll need more.
If you plan to make the cowl with a button closure, knit an inch of garter stitch (Knit every stitch of every row) and half an inch of stockinette. If you plan to do grafting or fake grafting, knit all stockinette. For your stockinette rows, knit like this:
R1: Knit all
R2: Knit 2, pm (sm in all subsequent repeats), Purl 56, pm (sm), Knit 2
Repeat R1 and R2 for 1.5 inches. End your stitches on a purl row.
For the next RS row, knit only the first 20 stitches. Put the next 20 stitches on a stitch holder and the final 20 stitches on another stitch holder (or scrap/waste yarn).
Knit back and forth across the first 20 stitches only. Knit the following pattern rows:
R1: Knit all
R2: K2, sm, P16, sm, K2.
Continue knitting until your first strip is approximately 18 inches long, measured from the cast-on edge to the live stitches on your needles. End on a purl row and put these stitches on a stitch holder or scrap yarn and cut your yarn, leaving a 4-inch tail.
Take the center stitches off the stitch holder and put them on your needles. Knit back and forth on these stitches as you did in step four. Repeat this with the third set of stitches as well so that you have three strips of stockinette stitches, all on holders. Do not cut the yarn on the last strip.
If your work has curled up, block the strips individually using steam or water. If not, keep going.
Braid the three sections as you would braid hair. When you finish braiding, thread one knitting needle through all three sets of stitches in order from left to right with the RS facing you.
Knit across all three sets of stitches, mirroring what you did with the setup rows. If you’re using grafting or fake grafting, knit stockinette (repeating R1 and R2) for 1.5 more inches.
If you’re using the buttonhole method, you need to make the holes. So knit your stockinette, then switch to garter stitch and knit for two rows. On the third row make YO or Bind-off/ Cast-on button holes in the garter stitching. Keep garter stitching until your last section measures 1.5 inches total.
Bind off for button holes and fake grafting. Stitch fake grafting together. For Kitchener, follow those instructions to seam the short ends together.

Finishing:

I should say that I have knit this only once myself, and it was a work in progress. For mine, I knit only a one-stitch garter stitch border and it curled a LOT, so the back was actually much wider than the braided front. If yours does this, do what I did and curl the back in on itself and sew a few stitches to even it out. If yours doesn't, then that's a good thing.
To make this cowl your own, try knitting the whole thing in garter, seed, or moss stitch. Put a cable down the center of each section or add a lace pattern. Make each strip longer for a more looped infinity scarf. There are a million ways to change the basic formula to make it suit your needs.

As with all of my patterns, feel free to knit this cowl for any purpose, including selling the finished items. Please feel free to link to this pattern online, but please do not copy the pattern itself and publish it elsewhere or sell the pattern as your own. Thank you!

Handmade Holidays: Love Bots

2011-12-19T05:18:00.000-08:00

Two more handmade holiday gifts finished, wahoo!!!

If you're a new reader to the blog, you may not know that I have three children: Will is 8, Jillian is 6 and Zack is 2. This year I'm making at least one handmade gift for each of them.

Will and Zack are getting ...

ROBOTS!!!!!

I sewed these lovable little bots from a sewing pattern by Rebecca Danger. (If you're a knitter you may recognize her name as the creator of all those adorable monster knitting patterns.)

In the pattern, Ms. Danger is honest about the fact that there are some spots in this project that may be tricky. She was right, but even as someone who normally only sews straight lines, I managed to figure it out twice! So I guess that's the mark of a good pattern.

There are a few wonky spots here and there, like an arm that only got 1/2 stuffed or another arm that's a different fabric than the rest of the bot. I like to think this just adds to the charm of the project, LOL.

These little bots are a really nice size, too. They're about 12-14 inches high in the torso alone. I'm too lazy to measure them right now, but here they are for size comparison with one of my husband's DVDs:


No, you can't watch South Park. Naughty robots.

Here's a closeup of their faces and chests. I used an awesome fabric for the hearts that looks like circuitry, and for the eyes I embroidered them on with felt since I didn't have safety eyes that were large enough for my liking.

Two more handmade gifts to go, plus two other custom projects for trades/customers. Back to crafting!!!

Handmade Holidays: My first "Real" Quilt!

2011-12-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us! I admit that I'm totally freaking out on the inside, but trying to keep it cool on the inside. Today I'm hoping to finish at least two of my holiday projects; if I succeed I will feel much better at the end of the day, that's for sure.

So, without further ado, I present

Finished Project #1!

I made a quilt for my sister:

Earlier this year, my sister went to the Knit Picks/Connecting Threads warehouse sale and bought me a TON of batik fabric remnants. I took all the purples and greens from that plus a few from my fabric stash to make her this quilt. I used this pattern as a guide, though I only used two colors instead of three so I just made equal numbers of purple and green blocks. In the end the quilt is a good size for snuggling on the couch or taking to a picnic or a stadium. It's not really bed-sized but it was large enough for me to snuggle up underneath it with plenty of room to spare, and that works for me!

I'm off to sew more squares for my dad's quilt now; I'm tying his instead of actually quilting it and it's just a simple patchwork pattern so I'm hoping to finish it within a few days. For today, finished project #2 will hopefully be one of the toys I'm making for my children.

Ok, back to crafting!!!

Fiber Arts Friday: December Phat Fiber Contribution

2011-12-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!!! It's almost Christmas, which of course keeps all of us makers busy, doesn't it?

If you're looking for the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway post, CLICK HERE! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out - it's an amazing bundle of giveaways, including mine!)

Ok, back to Fiber Arts Friday. Today's post is brought to you by the new colorway I created for the December Phat Fiber Sampler Box:

Dragonriders of Pern!!!!!!!!!

This colorway was inspired by the dragonriders in the late, great Anne McCaffrey's novel series of the same name.

From the Weyr and from the Bowl,
Bronze and brown and blue and green,
Rise the dragonmen of Pern,
Aloft, on wing, seen, then unseen. (from the Dragonriders of Pern series)

This month the theme for the Phat Fiber boxes is "Childhood Favorites." After the recent death of Anne McCaffrey, I had several customers contact me to tell me that she had been a favorite author during their youth and ask if I would create a colorway (or several) inspired by her works.

This colorway, a combination of bronze, brown, blue and green, is going to be the first in what I hope will be a whole series of Dragonrider colorways available in the Storied Yarns shop. Just give me time to read the rest of the books!

The holidays are approaching! I hope you take time from all the work you're doing to make them special for others to actually do something for yourself. Buy yourself a lovely skein of yarn (gee, if only I knew a fiber artist who was having a HUGE SALE), pour yourself a cup of cocoa (or a cocktail, depending on the type of day it has been and your personal preferences, HA!), give YOURSELF the gift of handmade love. You deserve it.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule, and all the rest!

Now head on over to Andrea's blog and visit the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday participants. :)

Infinitely Simple Lace Infinity Scarf: Free Knitting Pattern

2011-12-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

Looking for the Giveaway post? Check it out HERE!

Hi there!

This pattern used to be published elsewhere, but I have re-obtained the full copyrights to it so I'm publishing it here. Use it for personal uses, sell the finished scarves or whatever you like - please just don't sell or copy the pattern itself. Thanks!!

View the Ravelry page for this pattern here.

This is my preferred way to wear it, but you can also loop it more or fewer times.

Materials and Abbreviations

This pattern will work with any combination of yarn and a circular needle, depending on how long or wide you want your infinity scarf to be. For the sample pattern I used a 2ply handspun yarn; it was approximately DK to worsted weight and I had 180 yards. So you can make yours exactly like I did with an equivalent amount of yarn, or go up or down in needle and yarn sizes to customize this project however you like.
I also used a size 10.5 US knitting needle, with a circular cable of about 16-19 inches. Again, you can change this; the important thing here is to use a needle that is a size or two bigger (or more) than what you'd normally use with the yarn you've chosen. This gives it that nice lacy, open look and also helps you knit faster.
You will also need a large eye blunt needle for weaving in the ends of your finished scarf and a stitch marker to keep track of the beginning of your rounds.

The abbreviations used in this pattern are:
K - knit
P - purl
YO - yarn over (increase)
SKP - Slip, Knit, Pass slipped stitch over - slip the first stitch knitwise, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch to drop it. (decrease)
K2tog - knit two together (decrease)

This is the yarn I used for the project. A 2ply from a batt by EverImprovingMe.

Directions

Cast on your stitches; you need a multiple of five for the pattern. For my sample, I cast on 180.

Note: The lace pattern in this scarf came from the "Lace ZigZag stitch number 146" from the book Knitting: The Complete Guide, by Jane Davis.

Place a stitch marker between your first and last stitches, join to work in the round and proceed with your knitting!

Round 1: K all stitches.
Round 2: P all stitches.
Round 3: K2, (YO, SKP, k3); repeat ( ) around, ending with k1 instead of k3.
Round 4 and all even rounds of pattern: K all.
Round 5: (K3, YO, SKP); rep ( ) around.
Round 7: K1, (K2tog, YO, K3); rep ( ) around, ending with K2 instead of K3.
Round 9: (K2tog, YO, K3); rep ( ) around.
Repeat rounds 3-10 (round 10 is K all like the other even pattern rounds) to repeat the pattern as many times as you want or until you're almost out of yarn. For my sample I knit this pattern until my zigzags went back and forth about five times. If you have more yarn you can just keep knitting, even if you have to stop early; just make sure to end the pattern on an even-numbered round.

Finishing rounds:
Almost Final Round 1: P all
Final Round: K all.
Bind off, block, and weave in ends.

Scarf Style

Long and loose


All looped up

Like this scarf? Join my Ravelry group to be updated any time I publish a new pattern or add yarns to my Etsy shop!

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day!

2011-12-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who entered! This giveaway is now CLOSED. The winner was ...

Andria said...
I love homespun, and would like to learn to spin and dye myself one day. I like to get the yarn in my hands before I decide what it will be, so I'm not sure just yet what I would make.

Congratulations, Andria! I'm off to e-mail you for details. :)

For everyone else, use code Giveaway to save 10% in my Storied Yarns shop now through the end of the year!

Hi there! Welcome to my little corner of the world! It's the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day (week, really) - one of my favorite times of the year! Visit the SMS blog for more fabulous giveaways when you leave here.

My name is Jess, and I make yarn for a living. It's a great life! Give me a minute to introduce myself and show you around; then I've got a lovely skein of yarn to give away.

I'm an indie dyer, which basically just means that I dye yarn and wool in a one-woman operation known as Storied Yarns. You can find me here on the blog, on Etsy, Facebook, Ravelry and Twitter. I hope you'll follow along with me on my many adventures! The best way to do that is to join my Ravelry group or sign up for my newsletter so you can stay up to date on crafty tutorials, giveaways, and coupon codes!

While you're here, I know you're probably just going to enter the giveaway and move on to the other great giveaway posts, and that's totally fine! I hope you'll bookmark this page and come back to it later, though, because I love having visitors! My blog is the place where I post a lot of crafty information, book reviews and more!

Find a list of free knitting patterns I offer on the right-hand sidebar. You'll also see my free crochet patterns and other crafty tutorials.

Today, the item I'm giving away is a skein of handspun yarn; this means that I literally took a bunch of wool and other fibers and I spun them on my spinning wheel (Sleeping Beauty style) to make this yarn. Here it is:

For some of you, knitting with handspun may be a regular occurrence. For those of you who are new to handspun, let me tell you why it's wonderful!

I believe that when you make something with your hands, you tell a story with that item. You carefully choose the yarn and the pattern to work together to make a gift of beauty and utility. I think that knitting with handspun yarn only adds to that story, enriching it with the tale of what the yarn used to be and what it has become. Quite literally, when you make something with this skein of yarn, it will have been made by hand every step of the way (hand dyed, hand carded, hand spun, hand knit/crocheted/woven). Isn't that amazing?!? I think it is.

In case you're new to using handspun, here's a blog post I wrote on my previous blog about the various types of handspun yarn (there are plenty more but it's a good beginning spot). Here's another post I wrote on knitting and crocheting with handspun yarn.

Would YOU like a chance to knit/crochet/weave with this lovely skein?

The Details:
"Flower Ball" handspun 2ply yarn
Colors: pinks, burgundy, light blue, light green
3.3 oz, 196 yards, worsted to bulky weight
Fiber from Jane's Urban Cottage on Etsy

If you would like to enter to win this giveaway, please answer any or all of the following questions in a comment below:

- Have you used handspun yarn before?
- What are your thoughts on using handspun yarn?
- What do you think you might make with this yarn?

Only ONE entry per person, please! I will leave the giveaway post open until 5pm PST on December 16. Please leave your e-mail address in your comment so I can contact you if you win! I will open this contest to anyone in the US or around the world.

Thanks for visiting my blog - I hope you'll come back again soon!

Visit Storied Yarns today for all your yarn and fiber needs - wool and yarn inspired by YOUR favorite characters stitch the best stories!

Handmade Holidays: Garland Kids Can Make!

2011-12-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took my daughter to her Daisy Scout troop meeting, and while I was there I taught her troop members how to finger knit. I used this tutorial from Knitty.com to refresh my own memory on how to do it, practiced with my eldest two kids on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday I had four little 6-year-old girls and their mothers finger knitting along with me!

During the time we spent together each girl made a chain that was at least long enough to wear as a necklace or a bracelet. Some of them chose to keep on knitting away, so they took theirs home with them to make them longer.

I'm not sure if the other girls will continue their finger knitting adventures or not, but my daughter is definitely hooked! She came home and went to town on some red yarn after I told her she could use the resulting finger-knitted chain as holiday garland. Here's what she made:

She used up the entire left-over skein of that particular red yarn, and it only covers about the top 1/3 of our tree. So today she's starting over with a new ball of some left-over red acrylic from my stash (I knew that would come in handy one day!) and she's going to make enough to fill the whole tree with festive garland!

Here's a close-up so you can see the cute little chain:

I think this would be fun to do with handspun, too. It would be great for art yarn necklaces!

Since my daughter loves this so much, I'm thinking of getting her a knitting loom. The process for finger knitting and loom knitting is almost the same thing, so she should be able to pick it up quickly. Maybe she can make hats for babies and donate them to local hospitals!

Have a Yarny Christmas!

2011-12-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, and Happy December! I'm starting to count down the holidays with my kiddos as of tonight, and I'm super excited for all of our activities this month! We'll be making paper snowflakes, reading holiday stories and of course chugging down plenty of hot chocolate!

There's plenty of yarn here at Storied Yarns Central on any given day, but I try to showcase it during the holidays, too! This year, for me, it's all about yarn garlands. I thought I'd share my yarn decorations with you today to celebrate the first of December. :)

Here's the garland I have hanging near the cornice in my living room:

I'm sorry for the not-so-great lighting; I took this photo this morning when the sun was still shining through that window.

I used the Grandma Twinkle pattern to crochet several red and green stars out of kitchen cotton last year. This year I strung them onto an evergreen garland along with some bead garland we had in our decorating supplies, hung it over the window and voila! Instant yarny decor! :)

I've also got some garland that's made entirely from yarn. I took wool fleece and dyed some of it red and some green, leaving the rest its natural white and grey colors. Then I spun it up into a single with some holiday tinsel and knitted it into an i-cord with a few jingle bells here and there. Now it hangs over the doorway between my dining room and my kitchen like so:

This is the time of the year when I'm glad I know how to crochet. I like to pull out my leftover yarn balls from other projects and hook them into shape as crocheted motifs that become ornaments:

I get my motif patterns out of this book, but you can make up your own, too!

Today is the last day to incorporate a Storied Yarns yarny surprise for yourself or someone you love under the tree - tomorrow I'm taking down the listings for my Small and Large holiday surprise gift boxes! I've got to order a bunch of goodies, load them up and ship them out so I can't keep the listing up after today. Get 'em while you can!! :)

So what about you - what are some of the ways YOU incorporate yarn into your holiday?

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend SALE!

2011-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Cyber Weekend is here! Shop Storied Yarns for all your fiber arts needs! This weekend, you have TWO amazing ways to save!

First, use the coupon code NUEVO to get FREE SHIPPING worldwide! Put this code in the coupon code box at checkout for automatic savings.

Next, use code THANKSGIVING to get even more savings! Put this code in the Notes to the Seller at checkout to receive:

    10% off fiber/yarn clubs, holiday surprise gift packages, kits, KAL/SAL listings and custom orders.
    20% off in-stock yarn, rovings and batts.
    30% off in-stock handspun yarns.
    FREE Spinning service - you buy my fiber (at 20% off) and I will spin it for you for FREE!

Use the THANKSGIVING code in your notes to seller so you can combine it with the NUEVO code in the coupon box. You can either pay with PayPal at checkout and I will refund the THANKSGIVING discount or choose "Other" as your payment method and I will send you a PayPal invoice that reflects your total including the savings.

Remember, December 1 is the last day to purchase a holiday surprise yarn or fiber package, so get them while you can!!

I will also be including a small gift with every purchase made this weekend - just my way of saying thank you to YOU!

You can use the THANKSGIVING code to save on as much or as little as you want! If you buy one skein of yarn you will save 20%. If you buy a batt and a club to go with it you will save 20% and 10% on those purchases, respectively, too!

THANK YOU for shopping with me. I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!!

XOXO,
Jess

[1]: http://storiedyarns.etsy.com

What's Cookin'? Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie Recipe

2011-11-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, the Quaker Oats company made this amazing concoction: breakfast cookies. They had oatmeal raisin and oatmeal chocolate chip, and they were delish. They don't make them any more (now they have a similar product called Oatmeal to Go or something like that), but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy something similar!

Today I baked up a batch of regular oatmeal cookies for my kids, using the same recipe I always use - it's in my Betty Crocker cookbook. Then I made another batch where I tweaked that recipe and cooked up some breakfast snacks. I figure I can give them to the kids in the morning as an alternative to regular oatmeal or pancakes; they're full of whole grain and protein (and fruit for some of them) and they'll save me some time.

In case you'd like to make them for yourself, here's my basic recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts (baker's choice on the nut variety; mine were mixed)

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium/high speed with an electric mixer for about 20 seconds. Add in the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Beat until combined.
2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined, then add the flour and continue to beat until you have to stop and use a spoon. Stir in the rolled oats, then stir in the nuts.
3. Drop in heaping tablespoon portions onto a cookie sheet; I can fit 9 to 12 cookies on one of my standard cookie sheets if that helps you with size proportions. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges. Allow to cool.

Alternatives:
- For my cookies, I made half the batch as described above. Then I beat a banana with my mixer in a separate bowl and stirred that in with the rest of the batch and baked a banana version. My daughter, who's 6, pronounces both pretty good but she prefers the banana-free option. This banana version would also be great with some nutmeg thrown in, but we were out.
- I think this would be awesome with chocolate chips, though since it's for an everyday breakfast in our house I left them out.
- My friend Candice suggested adding raisins or dried fruits. If I do that my kids won't eat them, but maybe yours will.
- I considered adding some applesauce or finely chopped/diced apple pieces, too.

Happy baking! If you make these, I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions for improvement. Mine turned out pretty good but I'm definitely NOT a professional baker (just ask my sister, who still laughs at me b/c I didn't know the ingredients for making buttercream icing), so I'm open to ideas! :)

Handmade for the Holidays

2011-11-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

So, some of my husband's co-workers wanted to know what types of things I can make. Rather than try to send all that in an e-mail I thought I would make it into a blog post. For the rest of you readers who are also crafty, maybe it will help you get ideas for your own handmade holiday gifts as well!

Let's start with knitted/crocheted items.

For gifts, I love hats, cowls and fingerless gloves. They're fast, almost anyone can use them, and you can drastically alter the cost of the project by careful selection of the yarn you use. Here are some of the items I've made in the past:

These are the Lovisa Armwarmers, made in one color instead of doing the colorwork suggested in the pattern. I used handspun I received in a swap, and I wear these things ALLLLLLL the time!

For another simple armwarmer pattern that looks great in handspun, I love Toast and Toasty!

For a budget-friendly, masculine option, I made these mitts for my dad out of a wool/acrylic blend chunky yarn:

The pattern for these is Scrummy mitts. I also made a hat for him that matches:

Another super simple pattern, the Brangelina hat!

A few more hats I've made recently -

This one I made out of handspun 2ply Polwarth. It was a real dream to knit!

This pattern is the Lotus Hat and it's probably better suited for solid colored yarns but I still like how the texture shows through the colors I used.

I also crocheted this lacy beret for a swap partner using my own hand dyed sock yarn:

The pattern for that one is The Columbia Beret and I like how it's lightweight and feminine, which works well down here in the South where we don't always need a super warm, bulky hat.

How about those cowls? I love cowls because you can make them long and loopy or short and close-fitting. Either way they look great and they're a fabulous addition to any winter wardrobe. Here are a few of my favorites:

I made this one for my sister last Christmas from some silvery handspun. I love how you can loop it up to three times and it's lacy but also warm:

The pattern is my own design - the Infinitely Simple Lace Infinity Scarf pattern.

Here is one I knit up using some handspun that I got in a swap. I just did a garter stitch border and stockinette for the middle section, so there's no real pattern. For extra warmth you can wrap it up around your head or loop it twice around your neck and head area.

I can also make baby items! Baby items are great for any time of the year; they're always being born, after all!

Here are a few baby items I have knit - I especially love hats and blankets because every baby needs plenty of those.

This one is the Big Wool, Little Hat that I knit for my son a little over a year ago. I love the pointy top and the braided tassels!

I made one of these Beth's Little Star Afghan blankets for each of my children -

I also made one for a friend's baby using the colors of her family's favorite football team. That one was a hit!

In addition to hand-knits, I also like to sew gifts for people. I made this blanket for my sister to give to her friend (the baby's last name is Martini, so you don't have to be too disturbed by the fabric choice, ha!):

I also love to sew toys. I made this pink dinosaur (with a bad boy's heart, LOL!) for my son, whose favorite color is pink!

And I made these patchwork pillows to match the futon in my kids' play room:

There's really no limit to handmade gifts if you just use a little creative thought and put in the time. I'm happy to take custom order requests for any handmade (knit, crochet, sew, quilt) gifts for your loved ones this holiday season or any time! Just leave me a comment on this post and I'll get back to you!

Happy Holidays to YOU!

2011-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

I've added a few holiday listings to the Storied Yarns shop!

Do you want to be sure you'll get something you really love this holiday season? Buy yourself a fibery surprise package! Choose either the small surprise box or the large surprise box and I will send you full-sized yarn or fiber offerings PLUS extra goodies - everything from handmade products from Etsy to items from my local gift shops and even edible treats! I will send you a survey after purchase to be sure you get a box full of GOOD surprises you're sure to enjoy!

Also, if you want to send this as a hint for someone you love who will be shopping for YOU this holiday season, sign up for my newsletter! I will be sending out information about these packages in the next issue (coming out at the end of this week, so sign up now!) and you can forward it to your loved ones!

Drive-By Book Review: Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

2011-11-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

My friend Steph recently sent me a box full of books to read (a great little swap we've arranged between the two of us), and in it was Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. I devoured that one pretty quickly so she brought me the sequel the next time she saw me - Sapphique.

If you know my reading preferences at all, you won't be remotely surprised that I was instantly intrigued by the premise of Incarceron - it's a Young Adult novel set in a dystopian future. In other words, it's right up my alley!

With Incarceron, Catherine Fisher grabs you right from the start and sucks you into her story and her characters. Immediately you meet Finn, a prisoner; eventually the story unfolds to reveal what's going on in Finn's world and Outside the prison.

Essentially, Incarceron is set in a fictional future where we have destroyed our planet with war. As a solution to this a king has created a system where everyone lives in a sort of historical re-enactment. Trapped by the protocol of the past the people are left without sufficient technology and freedom, therefore they aren't able to destroy the earth or each other again.

Oh, and as an added bonus, they stuck all the criminals in a living, breathing prison known as Incarceron. Built to be a Utopia where all the undesirables of society can start over and rebuild their lives, Incarceron is instead a Hell for its inhabitants. It is full of mysteries and monsters and humans with darkness inside their hearts. Finn is trapped in this world, but somehow he senses it isn't where he belongs.

Anyway, eventually Finn contacts Claudia, a girl who lives Outside as the daughter of Incarceron's Warden. Together they form a plan to free Finn from Incarceron and overthrow the dictatorial leadership of the Realm where Claudia lives. But, of course, they also unleash an awful lot of chaos and danger.

Sapphique finishes the story, revealing what happens to Finn and Claudia as they find themselves holding onto way more than they can handle in terms of plot twists. In Sapphique we learn more about the history of Incarceron and the Realm and the people who made it what it is. We also learn that nothing is as it seems, Inside or Out.

I'd give this series 3 out of 4 stars. It was very compelling in the first novel, slightly less so in the second but it still kept me turning pages, wanting to know what would happen in the end. I will say, too, that I never would have predicted how it turned out, and that's always a good thing!

Fiber Arts Friday: Spinning Locks!

2011-11-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

As part of my offerings at the fiber festival, I sold hand dyed merino locks. A few customers asked me if they had to be carded or if you can spin them straight out of the bag. Of course you CAN card locks or fleece before spinning, but my preferred method is to spin straight from the locks.

Here's why:
1. Spinning from fleece is cheap and fast. You can just grab the fleece (clean or dirty, technically, though I prefer to spin clean wool so as to avoid dirt in my lap) and start spinning. You don't have to pay for all the extra fiber preparation steps and you don't have to wait to do those steps either. Instant gratification at its best!
2. Spinning locks sort of forces you to relinquish control. This can be especially fun once in a while for spinners who like to force the yarn into submission or who stress out when a yarn doesn't turn out the way it was "supposed to." Spinning locks/fleece is like controlled chaos, and you pretty much have to let the locks be in charge, which can be fun (I swear)!
3. Spinning locks gives you instant texture. I love to corespin locks, but they look equally well as singles, tail-spun or a plied yarn. It's so much fun, and it gives you the chunky funky texture of a commercial "fun fur" yarn but without all the plastic. Bonus!

So I thought I'd do a little post today about spinning locks. It's also kind of a lesson in learning from the fiber while you spin and also in how to improvise to create art yarn when you can't afford the wheel of your dreams, so stay tuned! It's a good one. :)

This time I started off with some hand dyed (by me) merino locks and some hand dyed Wensleydale locks that I got as a gift. I tossed the two fiber groups together, like tossing a salad, and I held it in my lap as I spun. Here's what it looked like at that point:

Super fun, right?!?!?

Anyway, as I spun the singles I just grabbed a handful at a time, drafting slightly but still retaining that lock formation and shape as I went. I tried to grab handfuls of each fiber type in proportionate amounts as I spun. Here's a close-up of the singles as I spun them:

You can see here how much I drafted and how the curly locks are still taking center stage, so to speak.

Here's the part where I learned a lesson. I started spinning these singles and I realized that since merino has something of a short staple, it's hard to hold the locks together as a strong single-ply yarn. I started wishing I would have corespun the yarn, but at this point I had already spun so much that I didn't want to waste what I'd used so far, so I kept going. At times the singles broke, either during the merino sections or as I joined merino to Wensleydale, so I ended up having to wind it back out the orifice and re-join in several spots.

As I considered knitting with this yarn, I figured the singles would break in that process, too, and that's just no good. So I figured I'd better ply them to make them more sturdy. The problem with that is that my wheel has a standard orifice, flyer and bobbin. As you can see in the last photo, those locks were barely fitting onto my darling Babe as singles; they were never going to fit through there once I plied them.

What was an art yarnista to do, without an art yarn friendly wheel at her service?

Well, this art yarnista went out to the laundry room where she keeps the Storied Yarns shop inventory. She grabbed her Rule of Thirds spindle and took it for a test spin (product testing is very important, after all!). She loaded that puppy up with a super bulky, 2ply locks-only yarn until it looked like this:

That's almost 3 ounces of super bulky 2ply locks on ONE spindle! Pretty awesome, eh? So, lesson learned: as I save up to buy my dream wheel, I can at least still make art yarns on a heavy spindle. Handy!

Here's the finished skein - sorry the photo is a little dark, I took this picture in the wee hours of the morning:

Pretty awesome, huh? I got about 25 yards of super duper bulky texture out of this little exercise, and it's super soft and gorgeous!!! I'll be putting this baby in the shop soon, but if it doesn't sell my sister might get a new scarf for her birthday out of it. :)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!! Head on over to Andrea's blog and join in on the fun!

Fiber Festival Recap

2011-10-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

My first-ever fiber festival - Fiber in the Boro - went really well! I'm very pleased with my sales and also it was a big bunch of fun to meet so many local and semi-local fibery friends!!

Here's a shot of my booth:

Since not ALL of my fibery friends could attend the festival, I'm also hosting a little "Virtual Fiber Festival" in my Ravelry group! Come on over and check out what I have left of my inventory. Everything is on SALE and I'm also offering FREE shipping (worldwide!) of all the items until I put them back in my Etsy shop later this week. Also, anyone who makes a purchase from the virtual festival can enter to WIN a door prize (I will select it based on the winner's tastes)!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Blogs I Love

2011-10-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

So, all of my fiber arts stuff is packed up in suitcases right now in preparation to travel with me to Fiber in the Boro tomorrow. I'm vending at my first-ever fiber festival, wahoo!!

Since I don't have anything fiber artsy to show you, I thought I'd take a minute to share some blog love today instead.

I read a lot of blogs. I find it really inspiring to read blogs about what other people are crafting. I've discovered in the past few years that you can learn how to do virtually anything if you Google it, and blogs are a great resource for tutorials, patterns and general crafty inspiration. Here are some of the crafty blogs I love and why:

- Sew, Mama, Sew!
This blog is full of sewing inspiration, as the name implies. Right now I'm participating in a holiday decor sew-along through this blog, where I'm horribly behind in making a table runner and a Christmas tree skirt. I'm hoping to get back on track with those projects after the festival. In addition to sew-alongs, the SMS blog features links to sewing patterns and tutorials as well as a wealth of in-house tutorials and guest posts. It's a really great blog for beginning to advanced seamstresses.

- Pink Chalk Fabric Studio
I first discovered this blog because of Fat Quarter Tuesday; every Tuesday the ladies at the studio put together two sets of fat quarters and give them away, which is pretty awesome, right?!? They also do sew-alongs; right now they're sewing through all of the projects in One-Yard Wonders, which is great for me because I own that book so it can be really helpful to see a more experienced seamstress tackle the projects before I try them. There are also tutorials and posts about new fabric trends and patterns, which I love.

- Made (aka Dana Made It)
This blog is full of great tutorials, too, especially ones for kids' clothing and projects. I really love the clean look of the blog and even though I've only been reading it for a little while, I really enjoy it.

- I Still Love You
This is another mostly new blog for me, but I really enjoy the crafty tips and tutorials. She includes great refashion/upcycled fashion projects, too, which is something that's right up my alley.

- What I Made
Um, wow. This guy is amazing. I mostly don't try to re-create his projects because they seem really complicated, though I know usually they're not. I just love to see what he comes up with, because it's always really individual and amazing.

- Prudent Baby
I love Jaime and Jacinda over at Prudent Baby! They're two moms who admit that sometimes life feels like a hot mess, but that doesn't mean you have to LOOK like it! They have great tutorials for sewing projects and patterns, kids' crafts, gift ideas, recipes and more. They link to other amazing blogs and projects and they really connect well with today's modern mommies.

- Wee Essentials
This blog is owned by Candice, the owner of Wee Essentials and also my friend. She has some great information about eco-friendly living, taking care of your home/family and green products.

As for fiber arts blogs, here are a few I enjoy:

- Liberty's Yarn
I first "met" Liberty through Twitter, where she posted a call to fiber artists to join her for a series of interviews. I enjoyed my interview with her immensely, and if you're a regular visitor here then you know I interviewed her as well. This week she interviewed our very own Andrea of Wonder Why Alpacas, so that was awesome! I also love following Liberty on Twitter because she posts some really awesome and helpful links for crafty business owners.

- Who Needs Gauge
This blog belongs to my friend Steph, who comes up with really creative and fun projects for her kids. The posts she creates aren't exclusively related to fiber arts but it fits in well with her title and she does post plenty of things about knitting, too!

- Adventures in Wool
This is the blog of Johanna, aka Ever Improving Me on Etsy/Artfire/Ravelry. Johanna posts her shop updates here and other information that can be helpful for fiber artists!

- KnitFiber
This is my friend Carrie, who uses her blog to showcase her great fiber arts projects.

- Wonder Why Alpaca Farm
Of course! Our fearless Fiber Arts Friday leader always has something fun and interesting to share with us, doesn't she? I'm so glad I found Fiber Arts Friday and Andrea's blog, because I really enjoy sharing her creative journey through the blog.

I feel like I should have more fiber arts-related blogs that I read regularly. If you have a fiber arts blog or a favorite blog you read, please leave me a comment so I can come and visit! I regularly visit the other FAF contributors but I don't often remember to check their blogs the other days of the week. Leave me a comment to tell me why I should make a note of that! :)

When you're finished, head on over to Andrea's place and link up with the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday fun!

Gift Ideas for Book Lovers: Five Hot Tips

2011-10-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Searching for the perfect gift for the book lover in your life? Look no further! Whether your bookish friend is a fan of mystery, science fiction, or literary classics, you can put together an amazing gift that is sure to please. Order your gift online or put it together from locally available items; gifts for book lovers come in as many varieties as there are literary genres. Whether you want a serious, cherished gift or a fun and whimsical option, you're sure to find one here that fits your style AND your budget.

1. Boxed Set

If your book-loving friend has a favorite author, consider purchasing a boxed set of books from that author. A boxed set will contain books in high quality hardback editions; that way, your friend can have a full matched set of his favorite books to display on his book shelf. Try the Harry Potter Boxed Set, available from amazon.com for $122.85. Fans of mystery might enjoy a Sherlock Holmes Boxed Set for just over $38.

2. Books and Movies

Buy your book lover the book and DVD version of her favorite story, then put it together with some microwave popcorn and movie theater style boxed candies. Add a 20-ounce bottle of soda and a memento from the movie, such as a movie poster or movie t-shirt, and your gift is ready to give.

3. Wear Your Book On Your Sleeve

Visit Cafepress.com to see a selection of tshirts, bags, coffee mugs, and other printable items inspired by favorite books. Check out this Shakespeare Insults T-shirt for $28 or this Mark Twain Rectangle Magnet for $5. If you don't see something inspired by your friend's favorite book or author, you can create your own custom items using quotes and graphics of your own choosing.

4. Boxes and Baskets

Try this selection of book lover's gift baskets, which include a variety of snacks and an option to choose a paperback novel for inclusion with the package. Or check out this Book Lovers Gift Basket for $44.50; it includes an option to add a Barnes & Noble gift card for an additional price, and comes in a book end chest for a reusable packaging option. You can always put together your own basket, too - include a signed or first-edition copy of a favorite book along with foods inspired by that book (Harry Potter candies and pumpkin juice, for instance).

5. Handmade Marketplace

Etsy.com offers gifts for book lovers in mass quantities. Try these colorful author matchbook notebooks for $6.50 or this custom made charm bracelet for $21.99. Don't forget to browse Etsy's selection of handmade bookmarks while you're there. (Of course, there's always yarn and spinning fiber for book lovers, too!) If you haven't found anything you like yet, contact one of your favorite Etsy artisans and ask for a custom order option. Now that's a one-of-a-kind gift!

Whatever you choose, make your gift memorable by personalizing it for the book lover in your life.

Free Crochet Pattern: Sock Yarn Goddess

2011-10-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

I first created this little goddess some time last year for the Phat Fiber Sampler box recipients. It worked well with our theme of the elements at the time.

I wrote this originally as a pendant or key chain. I also think it would be a nice gift for a woman you know, to thank her for sharing her inner goddess with the world. I'm thinking of making several out of my own sock yarns and using it as a garland to display my colorways!

Now I'm offering her up for free to all of you, my lovely blog readers! Here we go ...

Materials:
- Approx. 15 yds fingering/sock yarn

- Crochet hook, size US F (3.75 mm)
- Jump ring or plain stitch marker

- Large eye blunt needle
- Liquid starch

NOTE: All stitches and abbreviations are in US terminology.

Directions:

Start by making a magic circle or whatever method you use to crochet in the round.

Round 1: Make 8 sc stitches in the circle, and join with a sl st.
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in 1^st stitch and every stitch around. Join with a sl st. (16 sc)
Round 3: Ch 1, TURN, make 1 sc stitch in the next 2 sc stitches. (2 sc)
From here on out you will work back and forth in rows.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn, make 2 sc in each sc across. (4 sc)
Row 5: Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn, 1 dc in 1^st sc, 1 dc in each of next 2 sc, 2 dc in last sc. (6 dc)
Row 6: Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn, 1 dc in each stitch across. (6 dc)
Row 7: Ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc in each of next 2 dc, sc2tog. (4 sc)
Row 8: Ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc2tog. (2 sc)
Row 9: Ch 1, turn, hdc2tog. (1 hdc)
Row 10: Ch 1, turn, sc around edge of body up toward the head. When you reach the upper portion of the body, approximately row 5, ch 15. Sl st in 2^nd ch from hook and each ch after that and reconnect to the body with a sc. Continue to sc around neck and head, then make 15 ch on the other side of the body to parallel the first arm. Sl st down these sts and join to the body with a sc. Sc around to the bottom of the body. Make 1 dc stitch in the bottom of the body, then sc up this stitch and join with a sl st to a single crochet on the other side where you started the edging. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Finishing:

Bring the goddess’s arms up over her head as if she is clapping. Hold the jump ring between her hands and use needle and spare length of the yarn to stitch the two hands together with the jump ring in between. You will hang a ribbon or chain from this jump ring for wearing. Weave in ends, dip in liquid starch, and block. Let dry and hang her on a ribbon or chain to wear.

Gonna Have a Good Day

2011-10-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about a lot of things lately - some good, some not so much. My day job has mostly fizzled, leaving me worried about finances a lot. I've been trying to focus on the power of positive thinking and the idea that we get back the energy that we put out, so we should probably try to put out good energy.

Am I worried about money? Yes. Am I worried about my business? Yes. Am I anxious that my business won't ever be enough to sustain me? Yes. Can I do anything about that situation? Yes. I can focus on the positive, take action to improve my business every day, and I can try to have a good day.

Let's face it - if you want to have a bad day, you're going to have one. If you want to wallow, you're going to do it. If you don't let yourself do those things, something surprisingly good could come out of it. You never know unless you try.

So in the spirit of that, here's a little song for you. Give yourself a minute to dance in your seat and let's all try to have a good day today!!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Meet Liberty!

2011-10-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today for Fiber Arts Friday I have a special treat to share with all of you - an interview with Liberty of Liberty's Yarn!

Liberty is an amazing fiber artist and blogger extraordinaire. I was lucky enough to "meet" her when she interviewed me for her blog series, Better Know a Fiber Artist. After that I started following her blog and her tweets and I realized that she is an amazing source of inspiration and information, so I asked her to come and share some of that with us today!

Lady Liberty! (Photo from Liberty's Yarn site.)

Here we go! (Bold sections are the questions I asked.)

1. Tell us a little bit about the nitty gritty details – name, location, family:

My name is Liberty of Liberty’s Yarn. I live at the foot of Mt. Rainier in the beautiful Puget Sound. (That’s Seattle/Tacoma for all you non-PNW’ers.) I live with my darling hubster, one teen girl, the boy-beast child, and one rambunctious pup. When I am not chasing the kids, juggling their specialists, making dinner, (trying to convince the hubby to add more yarn to his newest book series) and avoiding housework – I dye yarn, make soap and try to sell it.

2. Having read the About section of your blog, I know that you have moved around a LOT and held a LOT of jobs. Which location/job was the wackiest? Which one will stay in your heart the most?

I love them all for different reasons. Alaska will always be home. It was a real challenge to go from Alaskan island fishing town to subtropical big city. And yet, if I had to get culture-shocked I am so grateful it happened in New Orleans. It was such a divinely magical city. My greatest hope is for its return to splendor. New Orleans was probably the wackiest town I’ve lived in the totally awesome way. It still inspires and enchants me.

Jobs…I have had some weird ones. Some that were just boring, and some I don’t talk about. Staying home with my kids has always steered my job choices. I have not always been able to be a SAHM, but I have taken some odd jobs trying too. The yarn shop was born from a love of fiber and the need to be flexible enough to stay home and manage my kids’ special needs.

3. When it comes to making yarn, what inspires you? What’s the process you go through when you create a new colorway?
That’s a tough one. Nature, movies, stories, beautiful produce (Farmers Markets are like porn LOL). My interest change from moment to moment – so it is usually whatever I am interested in at the time. I tend to be drawn to the fiber artists like Kathryn Alexander and Kristin Nicholas. Their unabashed use of colors teases me out from my all-black-all-the-time wardrobe and inspires crazy things like wearing bright orange boots to the grocery store. (gasp)

When I create a color it always goes one of two ways. Either Option #1: I plan, measure out, plan some more, test samples, worry, hem, haw ... and then end up unhappy and overdyeing the whole mess. OR Option #2: I heat up the pots, grab a dye whose name strikes me, and just play. Little of this - lots of that. My colors almost always end up more vibrant than I had planned - sometimes WAY too intense - but I am always happier in the end when I play. I try not to compare my colors to anyone else's. It can be a challenge when I walk into a yarn store and see an amazing colorway. My first reaction is almost always, "I can make that”. And sometimes I do. But it never feels right. And it always takes Option #1 to achieve.

4. You dye yarn, you make soap, you care for a family and you support causes like the Special Olympics. How do you balance all of those things and still find time for yourself?

Short answer is…I don’t. But I am working on it. On good days - I practice yoga, meditate, and take time to cook vegetarian yummies for myself. But usually that is abbreviated down to 5 minutes alone in the shower and a nice cup of tea. It’s a work in progress. LOL

I am learning to do the things that need to be done when I am in the mood to do them. That way it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like fun. I have gobs of stuff that needs to be done all the time. Chances are I am in the mood to do at least one of them at any given time. (fingers crossed) And I am getting really really good at using the word, “no’. This is a brand new and strange concept for me. But I like it.

5. What motivates you and gets you excited?

Learning new things. Being around people excited to learn something new. Exploring new places. Negativity and drama are my kryptonite.

In fiber it is the magic of metamorphosis. There is nothing like taking a fleece through processing, dyeing, spinning, knitting or crochet or weaving. How that grungy hunk of stinky wool can morph at every stage into something more beautiful than the last is truly magic. Watching a hand painted yarn’s color take a stitch this way or that. Seeing an argyle pattern appear where one was never intended. I know its super nerdy – I don’t care. It is true awesome-hood-ness!

6. If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?

Other than what I do now? Hmmm…Some days I think I was meant to be a librarian. I love books, learning, (quiet time)…but I would need some travel added. Could I be an action-librarian? Oh oh could I be a librarian on the starship Enterprise?! Replicators, no money, endless travel, interesting people – that would be awesome!

7. Your blog is both entertaining and educational, which I love. What advice do you have for other bloggers or would-be bloggers to make their blogs more inviting?

Thank you! There are gazillions of people out there who want to tell you how to do it ‘right’. There is no one ‘right’ way to knit, and there is no one ‘right’ way to blog. My favorite tips have been:
1)look at blogs you love, take note of what they have/are doing that you love, and try to integrate it into your blog

2)figure out a focus and try to stick to it
3)write in your own voice and don’t let anybody tell you different
4)keep your blog simple – easy to navigate, not too busy – let your content be what jumps out at the reader.
5)and everyone loves a list post. Ha ha

Play with confidence! Have fun boldly!

Liberty's Logo - photo from her site.

8. You write a lot about Crafty Biz, both in your blog posts and in your tweets. If you could give just one or two pieces of advice to crafty businesspeople, what would you say?

Own your ‘why’. Why do you do what you do? Why are you different? Why should I spend money with you? People don’t buy what you do; they buy into why you do it. So fly that freak flag and get noticed.

Another thing I had to learn the hard way was to delegate. There is so much that goes into running a business. I just can’t be good at everything. It is often cheaper to pay someone else to do the things I suck at. (And if I’m really lucky – they will trade me services for yarn. Hee hee)

9. How did you grow your own crafty business to bring it to the place it is today (wholesale accounts, your own web site, fame and fortune)?

Not a lot of fame or fortune – just yarn. Lots and lots of yarn. Oh, and soap. If the zombies come, I will be very clean. LOL

I started out super small on Etsy. A few months later, I worked up to my own site complimented by my existing blog. I was a vendor at Sock Summit 09 (next to the beer – prime real estate). I now wholesale to a handful of shops and host a monthly yarn club on my website. I do my best to keep my tribe in what they love while staying true to what I love to make. It can be a tough balance.

I find the most success and feel the most growth when I reach out to other crafters/artist. I am a huge supporter of the notion of coopetition. When we support each other, everyone wins.

It wouldn’t be the Storied Yarns blog if I didn’t ask these questions:

10. What’s your favorite book? Soup Makes the Meal by Ken Haedrich (every recipe works, delicious, sanity saver)…oh, did you mean fiction? (Did I mention I have a book ‘collecting’ ‘issue’?) Would have to be Sense and Sensibility by the marvelous Jane Austen.

11. What’s your favorite TV show/series? Lost/Eureka/Castle/Miss Marple (I think I am going to be very bad at these.)

12. What’s your favorite movie? Big Fat Greek Wedding/A-Team/Pride and Prejudice

13. If you could knit your own freak flag, what would it look like? What yarn would you use? I would use my yarn – cause its here and easy to get too. It would probably begin as a dizzying array of overcomplicated stitches with wild urban primary colors and then transition to dominos, entrelac, chevrons, and finally stripes.

14. If you could create a skein of yarn inspired by your life, what would it be like? It would be rustic, simple with many layers of water color. It would be wool – probably Shetland – with a smidge of tweed flecks. It would have many plies, but probably only be about DK weight. It would probably be deep dyed pewter with specks of pumpkin, aubergine, and cranberry.

My personal fave - Liberty's Empyrean colorway on her Aran of Green Gables (LOVE, ha!) base.

15. Is there anything else you want to share with our readers? Thank you Jessica for having me. This was fun! I am getting into all sorts of fun on the blog/shop – just posted the Poison Rose Mystery Mitten pattern, collecting interviews for BNAFA, and the Yarn Co_Op is going strong.

Thanks so much, Liberty!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday to the rest of you fiber artists out there. Head on over to Andrea's Blog and check out the rest of the adventures!!

Free Crochet Pattern: Vine Garland Accessory

2011-10-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

This one's for Miki of Funhouse Fibers, who wants to know how to crochet a vine. ;)

Materials Needed:
- Yarn (I used worsted weight)
- Crochet hook (I used size US J)
- Scissors
- Embroidery needle for weaving in ends.

A note about yarn and hook choices:
I used worsted weight yarn (specifically some leftover "I Love This Cotton" from Hobby Lobby that I had in my stash) and a size US J crochet hook. As a result, my vine is kind of loosey/goosey/drapey. This works for me because I'm planning to use it as the foundation for my pumpkin and leaf garland. If you want your vine to stand on its own a little more, use a hook that gives you a good, tight gauge. If it curls up on itself while you work you can always block it later, depending on the yarn you use.

Abbreviations used:
- CH = chain
- SC = single crochet
- SL ST = slip stitch

Note for Spinners: When I made this, my starting chain weighed 4g and my finished vine weighed about 38g. So basically, if you have art yarn or handspun and you want to use it for this project, keep chaining until you have used up about 1/10th of the yarn you have, then get going on the rest of the instructions. That way you won't run out of yarn that you can't replicate or pick up at your local craft store. :)

Let's get started, shall we?

1. Begin with a starting chain that is a multiple of 7 stitches plus 12. (Note: I have NO idea what my starting chain is - let's go with "longish." I wanted this to be long enough to go over the doorway where my garland currently hangs on a boring old strand of yarn, so I kept on chaining until it looked long enough. That's how I roll. I don't count the multiple of 7, I just count to 7 over and over again until it looks good, then I add 12 more.)
2. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 4 ch stitches.
3. Ch 12 (this is the start of a branch).
4. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 4 ch stitches (branch fork side one).
5. Ch 4. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 2 stitches (branch fork side two).
6. Sl St in the same ch stitch where you started this fork. SC in the next ch and in each ch back down the branch.
7. Sl St in the same ch stitch from the foundation ch where you started this branch.
8. SC in each of the next 14 ch stitches.
9. Repeat steps 3 through 8 all down the length of the starting chain. When you have fewer than 14 stitches left in the chain, just single crochet in each of them.
10. In the last Ch stitch, make a total of 3 SC stitches to turn your work around. You will now be working back up the starting chain on the opposite side.
11. SC in every stitch until you reach the Ch where you started a branch on the opposite side. Keep making SC for 7 more CH stitches.
12. Repeat steps 3 through 8. Keep on repeating steps 3 through 8 until you hit the end of this chain, again finishing with single crochet stitches at the end of the row.
13. Make two extra single crochets in the last chain on this side, then Sl St in the first SC you made. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Uses for this project:
- Use it as garland by itself. Hang it on your wall or wrap it around a wreath or a holiday tree.
- Use it as garland in combination with other things. I'm going to hang pumpkins and leaves (knitted and crocheted out of handspun) from mine. I'm probably going to make another one in gothy colors with bats and witches for Halloween and then maybe make a holiday looking one as well. It'd be fun to crochet it in green and add little red balls for holly berries, wouldn't it?
- Wear it as a scarf, as seen here:

- Dress as Medusa for Halloween and wrap it around your head like a wig.

I hope you enjoy the pattern! Feel free to use it as you like and make or sell as many vines as you want. Please just don't re-publish the pattern anywhere or sell it to other people. Thank you!

Shop Update!

2011-10-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

I updated the Storied Yarns Shop last night with a pound of Polwarth and some merino, too! :)

Here are the items I added:

Artemis Fowl on Polwarth

Jack and Sally on Polwarth - there are 2 of these sets in stock!

Nobody Owens on Polwarth. This one is graduated from dark charcoal/black to grey to white!

Sarah Sanderson on Merino (Hocus Pocus)


Nucky Thompson on Merino (Boardwalk Empire)

Remember, use coupon code Pumpkin to save 15% in the shop this month! I will be heading to my first ever fiber festival at the end of October, so if you have a favorite item you'd better snag it now before it sells out! :)

Fiber Arts Friday: Character to Colorway - Edward Cullen

2011-10-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone!! I hope you've had a fabulous week playing with string. I know I have, mostly the kind of playing where I get dye all over my hands and my clothes.

(Have I considered changing my T-shirt before playing with dye? Yes I have. Have I actually done it? No, I have not. Gimme a break, my kids are home from school for two weeks.)

Anyway, I dyed up a new colorway this week in response to a request from one of my favorite customers, Chris of GHL Designs. Chris is participating in my Halloween Knit-Along and she wanted Edward Cullen sock yarn.

Hmm, I get to spend the week ~~obsessing~~ thinking logically about a sexy, sparkly vampire? I love my job!

Anyway, this week for Fiber Arts Friday I thought I'd take you on a little journey with me about how I take a character and turn him into a colorway. In this case, Mr. Cullen.

With Edward, I thought about the book and movie versions of his character. I loved the books when I read them, but I also think Robert Pattinson is a hottie, so for me there was no way to separate the two versions of Edward in this colorway creation.

When I think of Edward Cullen, I think of him as being an old soul, since he's actually a really old vampire in the body of a young hottie. So I wanted his colorway to be sophisticated and distinguished rather than loud/bold. Here are the main points that came to mind:
- I thought of how Bella's first impression of Edward was that he was a "stupid shiny Volvo owner," so I added gray to the colorway.

Hello, sexy. (Photo from GraphicsHunt.com)

- I thought of how hot Robert Pattinson looks in that slate blue color from the movies, so I added slate blue to the colorway.

- I thought about how Edward's eyes change colors as he goes from satisfied to hungry (mmmmm), so I added topaz and black to the colorway.

Here's the finished result, in all his glory:

Now I just need to dye this up on my Starlet Sock base so it can sparkle! ;)

This isn't the way I always do my colorways. Sometimes I have more of an emotional connection with a character and I use the colors that bring out those emotions (like my Eric Northman colorway that's all sexy reds). Sometimes there's an actual color description in a book and I use that (like Octarine, which is a greenish purple color b/c that's how Terry Pratchett describes the color of magic). Sometimes I use the images from a film to come up with the whole colorway, and other times I take my customer's input. In any case, I like to think I have a pretty good system for putting color onto yarn and making it work, and I thought it would be fun to share at least part of that system with you!

I didn't put Edward in the shop, but I did add six other skeins today! Check it out:

Now it's time for you to share with me! What have you been up to this week? What has inspired you? Why don't you blog about your fibery adventures and then share them at Wonder Why Gal's blog so the rest of us can enjoy sharing your creative journey? Have an awesome, yarn-filled weekend everyone!!

Book Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

2011-10-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been reading much lately, mostly because my Nook is currently misbehaving and I need to get it repaired or replaced. In the meantime, however, my friend Steph loaned me a few books to read, which was awesome of her! One of those books was Catherine Fisher's Incarceron.


Image from Amazon.com

If you know me and my reading preferences then you know that I love dystopian literature. I guess it's kind of a weird thing to love, when you think about it. I enjoy reading books about what could happen in the future if things go horribly wrong. Ha! Anyway, Incarceron is a dystopian novel so you should know I loved it before I even read the first page.

Synopsis
Incarceron introduces us first to Finn, a boy trapped inside a living, breathing prison. The prison is like a giant society all its own, housing countless prisoners in a variety of landscapes. It has metal forests, dark tombs, and giant caverns. It's full of bullies and heroes, just like life on the outside. Except that very few in the prison even believe in the idea of Outside, because no one has ever been there.

Next we meet Claudia, a girl who lives on the Outside. She is the prison warden's daughter, and she's trapped in her own kind of prison. She lives in a futuristic version of Earth where a long-since-dead dictator decided to re-create the past in order to save the future. Everyone lives in a sort of a play, pretending that they are from an era before technology and modern conveniences. The ruling class take their liberties with this situation and they keep everyone else in line through strict punishments. Meanwhile, very few people ever even think about Incarceron or the people inside it.

In this situation, Incarceron was built as a way to rid the world of all the evil-doers at one time. The rulers who built Incarceron sent all the criminals away to live there, along with several of the best and brightest people from that generation. The idea was to create a Utopia inside the prison, a perfect society with no problems. They would always be comfortable, always have food and shelter, and never have any disease or crime. Then the rest of society would move ahead by living in the past.

As the reader soon discovers, nothing ever works out the way you plan it. When Finn and Claudia connect with one another through a secret key, they will put in motion events that can change the future for everyone.

Review
Ok, enough teasers. I'm hoping I've enticed you to read this book, all my ramblings aside. They're making it into a movie, but that won't be out for another year and a half so in the meantime you've got plenty of time to read the book. The plot sucks you in from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until the very end. Even after reading it I'm left wanting more, and patiently waiting for Steph to send me the sequel, Sapphique. In the meantime, I'll have to busy myself with the creation of some Incarceron colorways for my shop, I suppose!

So, what have you been reading lately? Any recommendations for me?

Sewing Along for the Holidays

2011-10-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately that I want to have more decorations for my home, but it's kind of overwhelming to know where to start. Sometimes I think that I will only have the supplies for something if I go buy it, or I know I have certain items on hand but I'm not sure how to use them.

Enter the Sew, Mama Sew! No Excuses Holiday Sew-Alongs to the rescue! Every week the blog will feature three different projects for holiday home decor - a set of place mats, an Advent calendar and a tree skirt (well, really, tree pants, ha!). I'm hoping to do all three, with possibly a few modifications.

Today I gathered up the fabrics to make my place mats. I'm actually going to sew mine together in one long strip to make a table runner instead of mats, so we'll see how that goes. I want it to be reversible, too, so I can use the same thing for two seasons without putting it away. So I'm going with general fall-inspired colors on one side and winter colors on the other. Neither is a GREAT match for my home decor, but that's okay. I might put it near the front door instead of on my dining table, we'll see.

Anyway, here are the fabrics I pulled from my stash for the fall side:

Here are the fabrics for the winter side:

If I run out of fabric for one side before cutting all the pieces I'll either stash-dive again, shorten the length of the finished project or go to the fabric store. Probably one of the first two, though, as I'm trying to beautify my home this holiday season without breaking the budget to do it.

Stay tuned for my progress on this project and updates on the other two projects as well!

Go Goth: Tutorial for a Funky Halloween Hair Fascinator

2011-10-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

This one is a tutorial I have published in the past, but I thought I'd dig it up for the start of the Halloween season and print it here for a permanent home. Enjoy!

The finished fascinator in all its gothy glory.

Simply Fascinating
A fascinator is a hair clip with flair. Traditionally, a fascinator contains feathers and other decorative items like jewels or buttons. Make your own feathered fascinator hair clip to add a major fashion statement to any outfit. Pair this fascinator with an evening gown or a pair of jeans and it's destined to make your wardrobe more interesting.

Materials Needed
Gather the following materials to make your feathered hair fascinator:

Supplies at the ready!

Hair clip. I used the large snap-style clip for mine, but any hair clip or barette that has some substance to it will work. A bobbi pin will not be suitable for this project.
Felt. One standard sized sheet of felt is more than enough to make a few of these.
Craft glue. This is good for a no-sew option, or to help you hold things together. You could also use hot glue, or you can skip the glue altogether.
Feathers. One package of feathers was enough for me to make two fascinators and have plenty left over.
Needle and thread. You could probably skip this and use glue to do the whole project; I just prefer the sewn option myself.
Cameo, button, or other glue-on or sew-on embellishments. You could use several smaller pieces or one large one, depending on your taste. I used a small scrap of sparkly fabric to accent my fascinator.
Scissors. You could also use a rotary cutting tool if you wanted, but plain old craft scissors work just fine.

Step by Step Instructions

Ok, after all that, let's make a feathered hair fascinator, shall we?

Start by cutting a rectangle of felt that is long enough and wide enough to cover your hair clip with a little extra space.

My hair clip and the felt I cut for size comparison.

Place a line of glue on the felt strip, then lay out your feathers onto this rectangle. Fan them out with all the tips at the bottom short end of the felt and let the tops spread out over the felt piece. The feathers should cover the felt piece entirely on the top, so you may need to layer them well. If they hang over the sides then you've done your job.


Glue the felt strip and add the feathers.

The feathers on top of the first felt piece.

Cut a smaller rectangle of felt. This one needs to be the same width as the first rectangle or slightly wider, and it needs to be just tall enough to cover the tips of the feathers. You will glue your centerpiece or embellishments onto this piece of felt, so make sure it is large enough for that purpose as well.

The new piece of felt, cut to size.

Layer the new piece of felt on top of the feathers and sew through all three layers - felt, feathers, felt. If you want to use craft glue, glue the feathers onto the larger piece of felt and then glue the smaller piece of felt on top of the feathers. Add stitches to supplement this or leave the glue alone to do its job. For my first fascinator, I used glue and stitching; for the second I used stitching alone.

The second piece of felt in position, with feathers sandwiched between the two pieces of felt.

Sew the felt and feathers together. I made running horizontal lines across the bottom felt piece, sewing a backstitch through all three layers. I made approximately four lines across the fascinator, enough so that when I tugged on the feathers they stayed in place.
Glue a gothic cameo onto the felt, and add sequins around the corners. For the second option, I took a small swatch of fabric and gathered it with a running stitch, then sewed a button on top of that to attach the whole thing together. You could also glue or sew several smaller sequins, jewels or buttons to the top felt piece.

The finished fascinator, ready to be sewn onto the hair clip.

Sew the fascinator onto the hair clip. I used a needle and thread to sew through the bottom layer of felt only, and I sewed near the top and bottom of the hair clip. You could also sew the bottom piece of felt first before doing the other steps, but it might be harder to sew the three layers together if the hair clip was already attached.

Allow your fascinator to dry if you have used glue, and it will be ready to wear.

You can also use other, less gothy, embellishments for your fascinator. Try a flower, a button or a brooch!

Fiber Arts Friday: Knitting and Crocheting with Handspun Yarn

2011-09-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! It's my favorite day of the week because I get to remind myself to sit down and write about something fibery and amazing. :)

Recently I've been knitting and crocheting with a lot of handspun yarn. Truth be told, I rarely use commercial yarns at all any more. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, it's just that I enjoy using handspun so much that I don't get around to the non-handspun projects as frequently.

Awesome arm warmers I knit with gifted handspun.

I've been trying to figure out what it is that I find so amazing about knitting or crocheting with handspun. I think it comes down to the idea of the knitting and crocheting as an art form. When you knit or crochet, you put a little bit of yourself into the project; you weave your energy and emotion into every stitch (at least, I think you do). When you spin a yarn, I feel that you do the same thing. You create beauty and art with every yard you spin. So knitting with yarn that was created by an artist only adds to the beauty and wonder of the finished item.

Citron I knit for my grandmother using 2 handspun skeins.

Even if you feel like your handspun isn't "good enough," or you wouldn't ever consider yourself an artist just because you spin yarn or knit, let me tell you: it IS good enough - more than good enough! - and you ARE an artist. You are creating a little bit more beauty in the world every time you spin a yarn or knit/crochet an item, and I think that's amazing. If that's not art, I don't know what is.

Anyway, I know people who are knitters/crocheters who have never knit with handspun before. I used to be one of them! And I think that's sad. :( I feel like if everyone could knit or crochet just ONE thing with handspun, they'd be hooked for life! Sometimes I think people are just not sure what to do with handspun, either because the texture is so different from commercial yarns, or the yardage is low, or it seems "too pretty to mess up," or whatever. I'm here to tell you to just put all those doubts aside, pick up a skein and start knitting!

Neck Warmer I knit with only about 40-50 yards of bulky corespun.

Here are some tips for knitting with handspun yarn:
- Let the yarn determine the finished product. I believe handspun will "speak" to you and tell you what it wants to be. It may not happen right away, but eventually that right project will come along for every skein.
- Keep your stitches simple if the handspun yarn has a lot going on. Art yarns, in particular, look fabulous in a simple garter or stockinette stitch pattern because then the yarn gets to be the star of the show in the finished garment.
- Don't be afraid of thick and thin textures, add-ins or artsy effects. Just start knitting! These qualities will enhance the texture of your finished project and make it look amazing.
- If the yardage is low, never fear! Use a larger set of needles and an open stitch pattern and you'll get a lot further with that skein than you ever thought possible.

Here are some examples of things I knit with handspun yarn:

I knit this baby hat just recently, using a skein of single-ply thick n' thin (exaggerated, with some fairly thin parts and some big floofy parts) yarn. It was only a 2-oz skein to begin with, and it was over-twisted in parts. See?

I didn't let that worry me, though! I used a top-down pattern formula for a pixie hat (in case you run out of yarn, that way you can add a different yarn to the brim instead of the crown) and size 10.5 DPNs and went for it. I love the result:

I also had a gorgeous skein of corespun yarn in my stash. I got it in the handspun swap from Julieeeeee (Ravelry ID), and I fell in love with it! In this photo it's the skein on the far left. (Remember this photo, we'll be back to it later.)

I really wanted all that color and texture to show through in the finished project, so I knit it into a big, soft cowl. I just cast on until I figured it was wide/long enough for my liking, and I kept knitting until I had just enough yarn left for the bind-off. I used a plain stockinette stitch for the body with a few rounds of garter stitch at the beginning and ending, and I love it!

Using that same photo above, I crocheted the giant chunky skein in the middle into this hat - I only had 58 yards or so to begin with, and I got one heck of a hat out of it using a size US N hook:

Sometimes you just love the yarn so much you want to display it as it is. I did that recently, too! Go back to that photo above and check out the awesome skein of purple super-coiled handspun. It's a work of art in and of itself. I immediately draped it around my neck when I got it, and I loved how it looked that way so I wrapped a little yarn around one section to secure it and voila! I had a new accessory:

Anyway, I could go on and on, but you have things to do today I'm sure! I hope I've shown at least one person that knitting and crocheting with handspun is an adventure all to itself. As a special bonus, I'm offering a sale on the handspun sections in my Etsy and Artfire shops! Use code handspunisfun to save 20% off handspun yarns for one week only!

While you're at it, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for my Trick or Treat SAL/KAL! More information can be found in this blog post.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world! Head on over to Wonder Why Gal's blog and check out the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday fun!

An Interview with Lady Liberty

2011-09-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I'm famous - in my own mind at least, haha! I was interviewed by the lovely Liberty of Liberty's Yarn.

Head on over to Liberty's blog and check out the interview!

Decorate for Fall: Handmade Garland Ideas

2011-09-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

So, I should probably confess that I may be slightly addicted to garland. I don't know what it is about garland that I love so much, though I guess it might be that it's so simple and easy to make and yet makes your home feel automatically more festive when you hang it up.

This fall I plan to add to the garland collection I already own in order to really pretty up my house for the various upcoming holidays. Won't you join me in my garland-making adventures?

Last year I made this garland:

Here is a close-up shot of one leaf and one pumpkin:

I used all my own handspun to make the garland and then strung it on some commercial brown cotton yarn. I used the crochet leaf pattern from Crochet Memories and the knitted pumpkin pattern from Natural Suburbia. I love this garland and it fits perfectly over a doorway in my dining room. This year I may add some more to it, maybe some silk flowers and leaves, to fill it out a little.

Today I came across this crochet lacy leaf garland from Goodknits. Um, yes please! I love it. Lucky for me I have a big window in the front of my living room with a wooden cornice over it which is perfect for displaying garland. I'll be diving through my stash today to find some more handspun and possibly fiber to spin in fall colors so I can make this garland soon!

Stay tuned to this blog for more ideas to decorate your home with a handmade and frugal flair this fall and winter holiday season!

Fiber Arts Friday: Blog-Warming Party

2011-09-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hi there, and welcome to my new blog! I had a lot of fun blogging at my old location, but it was time for a change and some positive moves in a new direction. So, here I am!

In celebration of Fiber Arts Friday, allow me to welcome you to my little corner of the blogosphere! Here at the new Storied Yarns blog you will find updates on my Etsy shop, new colorways, progress on my knitting and crocheting and spinning projects, and other crafty tutorials and fun. Check out the side bar - you'll find links to my free knitting patterns, free crochet patterns and my Storied Yarns shop.

While you're thinking about my Etsy shop, I want to invite you to join me and some of my friends in spinning and knitting to celebrate Halloween this year! I'm hosting a Trick-or-Treat Spin-Along and Knit-Along.

You can read more about it in my last blog post or in my Ravelry group. Then head over to the shop and purchase your listing for roving or batts or yarn! I will dye up a Halloween colorway inspired by your favorite things about the holiday and send it to you along with other fun seasonal goodies. Then you can spin or knit up the contents of your package and post in the Ravelry group to enter to win prizes!

As an extra special "thank you" for visiting my new blog, use the code Blogwarming to earn 15% off in my Etsy shop! This code will be good for ONE week only and will work on anything in the shop, including this SAL/KAL, my fiber and yarn clubs and any in-stock or custom order listings!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone! I hope you'll add my new blog to all of your blog readers, RSS feeds and e-mail lists so you can join me on my crafty adventures from now on! When you're finished with all of that, visit Andrea's blog and say hello to the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday participants!

Halloween SAL/KAL Packages Available Now!

2011-09-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat!

I'm having a Halloween themed Spin-Along and Knit-Along! Come join in on the fun!

Purchase your package now in my Storied Yarns Etsy Shop. Choose from yarn, batts and roving options!

With this listing, you will receive:
- One full-sized yarn or fiber item (yarn, roving or batts) dyed to match your choice of Halloween inspiration.
- Extra Halloween themed goodies from me!

After purchase, come on over to my Storied Yarns Ravelry group and share what you receive in your package. Spin your fiber or knit with your yarn and enter in the group to win a special Halloween goodie package!

After all the work you're doing to make the holidays special for other people, isn't it time you gave YOURSELF a Halloween treat?

Free Knitting Pattern: Reversible Fingerless Gloves

2011-09-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks for checking out my tutorial for knitting fingerless mitts! Some people call them arm warmers, wrist warmers or even gauntlets; whatever you call them, I love them, so I make them a LOT. This is one pattern that I really enjoy because it's simple enough to show off a really awesome skein of yarn, and it's cozy and textural all at the same time. I would say the pattern is good for an adventurous beginner; if you're able to work in the round and you're not afraid to change something here and there to make a pattern work for you, then dig in! Find this pattern on Ravelry here.

This is a free pattern for knitting fingerless gloves, so it hasn't been fully tested. If you find a problem or have a question about the pattern, please feel free to leave it as a comment on this post.

I don't care what you do with the items you knit from this pattern; please feel free to knit these mitts for yourself or friends, or sell the finished mitts however you please. I only ask that you give me credit for the pattern if you sell the mitts online and that you link back to this pattern instead of re-posting or publishing it elsewhere. Also, please don't try to sell this pattern as your own.

Here's a shot of my adorable daughter modeling these mitts. Please note that they fit me, at 31, and they also fit her at 6. So there's a double bonus for you! :)

Materials:

I designed this pattern for handspun yarn because I love handspun yarn and in my humble opinion the world can never have too many free knitting patterns for handspun yarns. This doesn't mean you have to USE handspun yarn for this pattern, though, so just bear with me here.
For Handspun Users:
The yarn I used for my sample (rainbow) mitts is yarn that I spun myself from Australian Merino. I had a 4-ounce braid of the fiber, and I divided that braid lengthwise into two strips. I spun each strip as an individual single, from red to purple, and then I wound those singles into balls and knit them into my mitts. My singles were approximately sport weight, but your single gauge doesn't really matter as long as you choose needles that will coordinate with the yarn you use.
For Commercial Yarn Users:
I used sport-weight yarn for this project, give or take. If you want to follow my instructions exactly, you should use sport weight yarn, too. If not, read the section on gauge and figure out how to make this pattern work for the yarn you want to use. You will have to change the size of the needles you use and the number of stitches you cast on if you do this, but that's okay! Good knitters improvise all the time.
Other Materials:

You'll need to knit this project in the round, so use your favorite method for that. I used DPNs (double pointed needles), but you can do magic loop if you prefer. Choose needles that will keep your stitches relatively close together; in other words, whatever is recommended for that weight, give or take a size or two. For my sport weight yarn I used size US 6 DPNs.

Above is an image of the yarn I spun for this project. These mitts look particularly great in self-striping or graduated colors.

Gauge:

I don't love knitting gauge swatches. But I also don't love ripping out a project halfway through because it's too big or too small. I leave it up to you to decide the to-gauge-or-not-to-gauge question for yourself, but here are my suggestions for it.
For my own mitts, I got 6 stitches per inch for my horizontal gauge; vertical gauge is entirely unimportant here, but in case you care I got about 7 to 8 rounds in one inch.
Cast on a few stitches in the yarn you want to use and knit in stockinette stitch for a while to see if your gauge matches mine. I knit my mitts to fit my arms; the widest part of my hand measures about 3.5 inches across (this is just across my knuckles). If your hand is a lot different than mine then you'll need to add or take away from your cast-on count to accommodate that.
Before you knit these mitts, take whatever yarn you're using and divide it in half. If you spun it yourself this is easy, because you already have two skeins; use the shorter skein to knit your first mitt so you know for sure you can knit the second mitt to match it. If you're using a full-sized skein of commercial yarn or handspun, divide it in half so you have two equal balls of yarn, one per mitt.

A Note on Pattern Construction:

I designed this pattern to be worked from the top down, so that way you can make the thumb hole early on and just keep knitting the body of the mitts until you run out of yarn or they are as long as you want. Since you divide the yarn in half before you start, you will be able to accomplish this without saving the yarn for the second mitt.
I wear these mitts pushed up toward my wrist slightly. Because of this, I was able to knit one big tube with the same circumference from my palm to my forearm. However, if I wanted to pull these mitts toward my elbow they'd be a little tight. Keep that in mind as you knit; if you want to stretch out your mitts then you should make them a little shorter so they'll "land" on your arm before the widest part.
Otherwise, a more experienced knitter could just add a few increases to the last section or two and make them wider at the base than they are at the start. If you're worried about not BEING that type of experienced knitter, just push up your mitts like I do with mine; trust me, they look awesome that way.
You may notice these don't have a formal thumb gusset. I designed them that way for two reasons: one, I find a thumb gusset to be unnecessary, as long as there's a hole; two, I didn't want the thumb gusset to be knit in a different color than the section it's in, and it would have been tricky to hold out some yarn to go back and pick up the gusset and knit it later. So I skipped it, taking the easy way out. If you want a thumb gusset on your mitts, you'll either need to reserve yarn to knit it after the fact or you'll have to knit it in the yarn you have left over at the end of your project.

Pattern Instructions (Finally, right?):
Cast on 40 stitches using your preferred method.
Join to work in the round, placing a marker at the start of the round if you need it. (I didn't, I just remember by the placement of my yarn tail.)
Rounds 1 through 5: Knit all.
Rounds 6 through 8: Purl all.
Rounds 9 through 15: Knit all.
Repeat rounds 6 through 15 two more times. This is where I paused to make my thumb hole; if your mitts look like they're too short, repeat 6 through 15 as many more times as you want in order to get the height you want for the top of your mitts. When you're ready, keep going with the pattern.
Thumb Hole Round 1: Bind off 8 stitches in purl; purl the remaining stitches in the round (if your gauge is different than mine, just eye-ball it to figure out how many stitches across you need to bind off to fit your thumb in there).
Thumb Hole Round 2: Cast on 8 stitches on the right-side needle using the backward loop method. Purl remaining stitches in the round.
Thumb Hole Round 3: Purl all.
From here on out you are going to knit your mitts in the following fashion: Knit all stitches in the round for 7 rounds, Purl all stitches in the round for 3 rounds.
Continue in this fashion until you are almost out of yarn in your first skein. For your last rounds, knit 5 rounds and then bind off all stitches.
For my mitts, I knit a total of 17 knit sections and 16 purl sections. You may have more or fewer depending on how much yarn you've got and how long or short you want your mitts to end up.
Repeat this pattern once more to make the second mitt. Wear them this side out or turn them the other way for a different look!

Here are some more shots of the mitts I knitted:

Happy Stitching!