Aloha!
I’ve been working on a few projects though knitting has been on the back burner as I’m nursing tendonitis in my left thumb. I am itching to get back to my needles! In the meantime, I thought I’d share some fun images.
First, the Winter 2015/2016 edition of Addicted to Sock Knitting eZine came out yesterday! Debra Garner is in charge of the magazine and asked if I was interested in being the featured designer for this edition – gasp. So, not only am I interviewed but she used my image as the cover – double gasp. These are my YIN YANG socks and the pattern is included in the eZine.
This is one of my favorite dresses and thought it would be a fun accent to the sock photo. Here is a photo of me in the dress back in 2006 . I can still fit into it so long as I don’t try to breathe, sit or move – otherwise, I’m good!
My interview starts on page 108 and is 8 pages long (lots of photos of my knitted socks). So honored to be a part of this publication again. Last year I was interviewed as an indie dyer, so I’m thrilled to be back as a designer!
Onto the colors!
January was a sad month as we lost some really amazing artists. One of them was the legendary icon David Bowie. Yarn friend, Kloie, suggested I come up with a colorway to honor Mr. Bowie – so I researched and found two images that would look great in yarn, but also showed different sides of the great man. Here are two colorways for the renegade and the gentleman: REBEL BOWIE RED and BODACIOUS BOWIE BLU.
I then went back to some of my inspirational photos and found this one taken at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. These are LION’S MANE JELLYFISH!
Yarn friends have been asking me for mini skeins, and after doing the set for the Sock Yarn Swappers group on Ravelry last year, I started dyeing some for the shoppe. These are 10gram “Menehune Mini Skeins” that I’ve wound into balls, so all you have to do is pull the yarn on the top of the ball to starting using. In Hawaiian mythology, the MENEHUNE were people of smaller sized who lived in the hidden parts of the islands in the forests and valleys. They were known to be very crafty people so I thought the title to be fitting.
The first set:
And the second:
These were so popular that I’m working on another set to be posted soon.
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Two SPIN THIS BOX editions have been released since my last posting.
February had a sweet theme and I used sw merino/nylon roving:
and I even dyed up some yarn to match . . .
The March box was just released and has a bit of a lucky feel to it. I was even able to spin up a skein myself in wonderful Mixed BFL roving!
I’m starting on April’s submission soon and will be using Merino/Silk roving – swoon!
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And, I promised last time I would show some weaving projects that I’ve done. Our friend, Nghia, gave me this amazing 32″ Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom for Christmas. He was aware of my yarn obsession and thought a loom would be a nice addition. I was completely surprised by the gift. I mean, I own an Ashford Joy wheel, Ashford hand carders and generally am a fan of the brand (almost got an Ashford Drum Carder but opted for a Patrick Green instead) – but he didn’t know this when he got my loom! Aren’t supportive friends the greatest?
Ok, so I put together the loom which is as wide as my dining table . . .
and started on my first project, a scarf, in Minnesota Vikings colors, of course!
After finishing that one, I wanted to make something for Nghia. I bought some darker colors and decided I needed to try the clasp weft technique. Here are my first two weaving projects!
I just acquired a 12 dent reed so I can use sock yarn for weaving, so stay tuned for more fun images in the next post!
Much Aloha!
AlohaBlu 