she makes hats

My dear knitting friend Robyn has written a book and today is the official release day! Robyn has been a friend of mine for awhile now, and she blogs about the hats she knits for charity. She was our guest speaker at knitXmidwest last fall and she inspired us all to do more, make more and give our hand-knits to charity. She makes hats. She gives them away. (Hundreds of them a year.) She's remarkable. 

"Moved by creative planning and life challenges, Robyn Devine found meaning in her life by . . . knitting hats? 

She Makes Hats is one woman's story of finding meaning, purpose, and passion by way of an old-fashioned yet rediscovered craft. With a push from a friend, Robyn Devine, a thirty-something wife and mother, moved past her apprehension and began expressing herself through texture, color, and design, turning knitting into her hobby, her meditation, and a functional product that helps people all around the world. 

Now, in an effort to knit 10,000 hats for people all around the world, Robyn contributes to a number of programs, aiding sick children, traveling artists, and newborns in other countries. Knitting remains a steadfast companion and leaves her blessed with worldwide friends, support, and the encouragement to continue her mission: to bring comfort, warmth, and the “sweet spot” fit of a knit hat to everyone." 

If you'd like to read more about Robyn's hat knitting adventures, you can pick up a copy of her new book in both print and Kindle editions through Amazon. Starting today. Just in time for Mother's Day! I've already had the chance to read it and trust me when I tell you that any and every knitter would love a copy of this inspirational book.

If you'd like to get a signed copy and you live here in Des Moines, you're in luck because Robyn will be speaking at Hill Vintage and Knits during their Friday Night Knitting event on May 16th! It's sure to be a fun evening so I hope you'll be there to say hello. (And if you don't live in Des Moines, check out more info about the book tour here.)

kool-eggs 2014

It's that time of year again! We dyed our Kool-Eggs yesterday and had some serious fun. Lo experimented more this year with making some lighter pastels; a quick dip in Berry Blue and then Lemon Lime made an awesome mint green. Mixing Strawberry with a little Orange ended up with a lovely shade of coral. And Strawberry Limeade makes a sweet pink. So much fun. If you haven't checked out my original Kool-Eggs post, look here and see how fun and easy it is to dye your Easter eggs with Kool-Aid. (No vinegar necessary - the citric acid does the trick!)

Happy weekend to you and your family.

Yarn Love: Zealana Air

I recently had the opportunity to knit with a yarn I've never tried before – Zealana Air chunky weight, part of Zealana's Luxuria Series. And it truly is light as air! It feels special. Extra soft, pill-resistant, durable and it's lighter and warmer than 100% cashmere. And it's made in New Zealand.

 

Zealana Air is made of 40% cashmere, 20% mulberry silk and 40% brushtail possum down. Possum down, you say!? Yes. But not your typical North American possum. 

 

Since its introduction to New Zealand by fur traders in the late 19th century, the non-native brushtail possum population has reached staggering proportions largely due to the lack of natural predators that would otherwise maintain an ecological balance. The consequences of their rapidly increasing numbers are many, including damaging impacts on New Zealand’s native plant and animal life. Zealana is committed to the responsible management of the brushtail possum in New Zealand, and when you knit with Zealana you are choosing to be a part of their sustainability story. Read more about Zealana's conservation efforts here.

 

You've probably seen Zealana's gorgeous patterns everywhere, from luxury designer pattern books to Vogue Knitting magazine. (They also offer free patterns on their website – scroll down to check them out here.) 

I decided to knit a quick one-skein cowl with the ball of Zealana Air in L09/Emerald, which is the perfect shade of teal/green for spring. The stitches are soft, it's lovely to hold while you knit and the drape is perfection. 

 

I'm so glad I decided to knit something I'll wear around my neck with Zealana Air because the softness is unbelievable. Even if you have sensitive skin like me. There is absolutely zero scratchiness with this yarn. I'd love to knit an entire sweater with Zealana – their yarns are something extraordinary.

Check out all of Zealana's yarn offerings on their website. Beautiful.

45 pep talks

My friend Kara wrote herself a pep talk each day for 45 days. And then made them into a book. You most definitely need her perfect words in your life. I just bought my copy. Get yours here.

Music Monday: Warpaint

I haven't posted about music in awhile, but I had to share this double feature video by the girls of Warpaint. Here's 8 minutes of "Disco/Very" and "Keep It Healthy." I'm loving their style. Loving the skateboarding, too. Enjoy.

Project Life: tackling vacation photos

Last October, I went on an amazing trip with friends to NYC. We try to get together every year if we can, and our adventures almost always seem to happen in the fall. I actually have three piles of photos from our other NYC trips from various years going back to 2010. Piles of gorgeous photos + ephemera that are begging to be displayed somehow. They're honestly too pretty to be sitting in a box.

Last weekend, my whole family was sick. Everyone except for me. So late one night after everyone was finally in bed, I grabbed a stack of NYC photos and boom. I busted out 10 scrapbook pages. It felt so good!

And let me tell you – the way I go about putting these pages together is 100% non-stressful. I laid out my favorite photos in front of me. Vertical and horizontal, big and small. I grabbed photos that went together (either chronologically or subject-wise) and threw the pics in the photo pockets. I cut some photos in half to make best use of the smaller pockets. I threw in maps and postcards and matchbooks and coasters from the places we visited. I jotted down quick notes and memories on journaling cards.

 

I encourage you not to be intimidated or discouraged about tackling a project from a few months ago or many years ago. Project Life honestly makes it simple and doable to get an entire vacation into a scrapbook in a day or two. I finished 10 pages in one night ... which is approximately half an album. I covered a lot of ground with the photos on these pages. (And you definitely don't have to use every single photo that you take. Pick your very favorites!) If I spend just one more night making a few more pages, I'll have this trip completely documented. Two nights is so worth it.

What's better than photos sitting in a box? THIS. I will look back on these pages with a smile on my face for years to come. Memory keeping = done.





Products + supplies I use:

12 X 12 D-ring Album - Classic Faux Leather - Grey

Project Life Core Kit-Sunshine Edition

Becky Higgins Amy Tangerine Plus One Mini Kit

Photo Pocket Pages - Big Variety Pack 3 (60 Pages)

Project Life Corner Rounder

Canon SELPHY CP910 White Portable Wireless Compact Photo Color Printer

Canon Selphy Color Ink Paper Set

Fresh off the needles

Welcome to my wardrobe, new chunky oversized sweater! I just finished knitting this guy over the weekend. This pattern is called 'Ranch' and was designed by the wonderful Martin Storey. I used my favorite bulky yarn, Rowan Big Wool in color 17/Smoky. It's one of those colors that sometimes looks gray and sometimes looks kind of navy. I love it.

I have a weird tendency to accidentally knit things that are a little bit too large for me, and I made this in a size medium. The sleeves are pretty long and the fit is definitely loose. I love big comfy sweaters, so I'm cool with it ... but I can't help thinking about ripping back and knitting a small instead. We will see.

I absolutely love this sweater and pattern in every way; the fit and shaping is really well done. I'm just wondering if I'd wear it more if it was a size smaller. It's such a fast knit that I know I could re-knit it relatively quickly! 

(What do you think? Leave it as-is or re-knit?) 

Also ... photo creds go to Lotus. Isn't she a great photographer? I think she's pretty great. :)

knitXmidwest in 'Mingle' magazine

Hey friends! Check out the Spring 2014 issue of 'Mingle' magazine, which is all about sharing creative ideas for unique gatherings. Inside there's a great feature about knitXmidwest, the knitting retreat I organized with my friends Erica and Jessica from Hill Vintage & Knits last November.



Super cool! And such a great magazine. There are a zillion cool party ideas for weddings, baby showers, outdoor dinner parties and even a Vespa-themed engagement party in this issue. You must grab a copy for yourself.

Silverspun winner!!

It's Friday, which is the perfect day to choose a winner for the Silverspun kit + pattern giveaway. Random.org picked #1 (yay, does that ever happen?!) which means Kayanna Nelson is the lucky knitter who will be getting her hands on some Silverspun and a pattern to make some adorable Mary Jane Slippers. I know she'll have lots of fun with this yarn!

Congrats, Kayanna! Please be sure to send me your contact info so I can pass it along to the kind people at Feel Good Yarn Company. Thank you to everyone who took time to enter this awesome giveaway!

Happy weekend, happy knitting. xx.

Silverspun texting mittens (and a giveaway!)

I have just finished knitting one of the coolest projects I've ever made. What you see here are hand-knit texting mittens that actually work with a touch-screen smartphone. (I know you want to know more!)

 

The kind people at Feel Good Yarn Company sent me a skein of LanaMundi Yarns Silverspun to try out. And, let me tell you ... I was super excited to get my hands on this. Silverspun has been a hot item; it completely sold out at Vogue Knitting Live in New York earlier this year and a Kickstarter campaign was formed so Feel Good could make more Silverspun to keep up with demand. Luckily, they reached their goal quickly and Silverspun is available for purchase again. So ... what makes this yarn so special? Well, it's spun with pure silver.

 

Silver is a conductive agent, which allows you to used smartphones and tablets with touch screens while wearing anything made from this yarn. So I can actually use my iPhone while wearing the hand-knit mittens I just made. No more frozen fingers!

 

For this project, I only used Silverspun on the fingertips of these texting mittens (the dark gray portion is Spud and Chloe 'Fine') but I definitely could have used Silverspun for the entire mitten ... and I think I would have if I'd had two skeins. (Don't worry ... I'm buying more asap.) You can find this texting mitten pattern right here. It was designed by Laurie Gonyea from Feel Good Yarn Company with Silverspun in mind, so you know it will be perfect.

 

Another thing I love about this yarn: Silverspun is American made. It is wonderfully soft, comprised of 11% pure silver, 87% combed cotton (grown in North Carolina) and 2% Lycra. If you're thinking this yarn is comparable to dishcloth cotton, it's not. Silverspun is lush. It's squishy and soft with zero stiffness. It's a beautiful neutral color and even though it contains silver, it's not metallic whatsoever. The silver is permanently adhered to the yarn and won't wash out.  It is perhaps the softest yarn I've ever knit with. It feels good in your hands, which makes a lot of sense.

There are a lot of other benefits to knitting with silver. Silver is therapeutic and kills a number of bacteria, including those that cause odor. It has excellent thermal properties, is nontoxic and is perfect for those suffering from diabetes, arthritis and sensitive skin.

So ... I'm guessing you'd really love to get your hands on some Silverspun. Right? Well, lucky you!

Just leave a comment below to enter to win a free Silverspun kit + pattern to make these fantastic Mary Jane Slippers. I can promise that they will feel soft and wonderful your feet!

I will choose a winner at random on Friday, March 28th at 12:00 p.m. CST.

Thanks for reading and good luck!