mmmmmmmmmalabrigo, and new patterns

Posted by Shannon in the shop, yarn, patterns

the dhl guy is our new best friend, because he brought us FOUR BOXES OF MALABRIGO TODAY!!!

yeah, you read that right - 4 boxes filled with mostly worsted malabrigo. come on in, fondle, stare, cast on something soft and lovely, like one of the new zephyr patterns we received today

juliet in bulky or 28thirty in the worsted. or, use some of the new smooshy we have recently stocked up on to make cookie a’s mingus or marlinda, her newest (we also have all of her published patterns, including some of the ones she wrote for blue moon fiber arts)

so much knitting, so little time…

Another bear mitten

Posted by Emily in patterns, knitting, charity

A quick update to share an adorable photo that my mom sent me. She knit up a bear mitten! And, appropriately, this photo shows it being modeled by my parents’ lovely and talented Golden Retriever, Ozzie Bear. He’s a gentle giant himself at over 100lbs, but still swims in this mitten. Thanks, Mom!

If you’re interested in the bear mitten pattern, you can find all the details on our bear mitten page.

More mittens

Posted by Emily in patterns, knitting, charity

We’ve been receiving a lot of calls and emails regarding the bear mitten story on KGW that aired on Monday evening. While several had to do with my outstanding hair, most were inquiries about the mitten pattern and where to send finished booties. So, we’ve created a bear mittens page, and it should answer all your questions. Enjoy!

Bear bear toes

Posted by Emily in the shop, patterns, knitting, charity

So a few weeks ago, I got a very strange phone call one morning. I can’t exactly recreate it, but it was from Linda, Public Relations Specialist at the Oregon Zoo. What did she need? Well, help writing a knitting pattern. So far so good. What kind of pattern? Well, mittens. Again reasonable. Then the odd part. Mittens… for bears… in Asia.

It definitely crossed my mind that this was a prank call. In fact, my college roommate way back when was a master prank caller and this is exactly the sort of brilliantly edge-of-the-plausible thing that she would have crafted. But, no, Linda from the Zoo is totally legit (and incredibly nice) and the real story of the cold-toed Asian bears is just as sad as it at first seems odd.

The organization directing the bear mitten effort is the Animals Asia Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity dedicated to ending cruelty and restoring respect for all animals in Asia. The images in this post are from their blog. Right now, they need mittens for the Malayan Sun Bear.

Any zoo folks reading this are welcome to correct me, but my understanding is that bears are rescued from inhumane conditions where they are destined to become parts for traditional medicinal remedies, snacks, and the like. The AAF’s blog goes into more detail about the stories of the bears - be warned it is not for the squeamish. As you might imagine, the bears usually need veterinary care and (also not a big stretch here to imagine) they must be anaesthetized to receive this care. It’s important that they stay warm and comfortable during the process but, just as for humans, bears’ extremities are the first things to chill. What they need is HUGE mittens to help their paws stay warm while they’re asleep.

So, I did my best to write up a pattern, and a few days later a whole group of Oregon Zoo volunteers came and started knitting bear mittens. What fun! Tracy Barry from KGW 8 came and interviewed everyone and the story is going to be on Monday’s evening news.


The first finished mitten is below, thanks to Jennie!



So to recap:
1. Knit a mitten for bears in need! Check out our bear mitten page
for the pattern and where to take finished mittens.
2. Watch us on KGW 8 tomorrow evening!

last minute holiday knitting, commence

Posted by Shannon in patterns, knitting

if you are still looking for a quick-ish last minute gift, and have already purchased the interweave holiday knits magazine (which is sold out, like, everywhere! if you see this issue, snag it, cuz interweave has NO MORE), we’ve got a great one-skein project for you: koolhaas, by our blog-crush brooklyn tweed, aka jared flood.

this is a fabulous hat pattern - not too futzie, not too simple, just the right amount of zesty, cable-y goodness, and a great excuse to use some super-soft yarn, too! i used dream in color classy in nightwatch, and our buddies nk and jules are working on twinnie-koolhaases in the same colorway.

and to that nagging little voice whispering “isn’t it too late to cast on for a holiday gift??? for goodness sake, woman, it’s december-freaking-thirteenth!” we say, shut-up nagging little voice - cast on, cast on, cast on! we sure are!

Gems worsted is here!

Posted by Emily in yarn, patterns

Around Twisted-ville it’s no secret that I heart Louet Gems.

It’s tightly plied, machine washable (and, they claim, dryable), and soft enough to merit its own series of TV commercials with a cartoon bear wandering the woods… In any event, given all the great things about the Gems Fingering and Sport we already carry, we figured it was time to expand our offerings to include Gems Worsted as well.

Right now we have ten colors, with more to be added as time goes on. We’ve also printed out copies of a free pattern
from Louet that uses Gems Worsted to help get you started (photo at right).

Gems Worsted is great for sweaters, but it would also be perfect yarn to use to make a first pair of socks if you’re not quiet brave enough to go down to sport weight yet. So, whatever worsted weight project you’ve been plotting, we’ve now got you covered.

open crafting tonight

Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, events, patterns

come on over to twisted tonight and craft with us. with the holidays quickly approaching, it’s really time to buckle down and get those handmade gifts DONE. or at least started, right?

we’ve got tons of great gift ideas. the ever-crafty michelle from mimoknits has graciously shared some free, one-skein knitting patterns with us. make a kureyon coffee cozy for that special someone who ALWAYS has a to-go coffee in his or her hand, or some gorgeous fingerless mitts for that freeze-baby on your holiday list. we have hard copies of the patterns, and the yarn in many beautiful colors. michelle has a noro problem, and is itching to share her obsession with all of you!

michelle is the creative force behind the pattern for the japanese vines scarf (which we have for sale in the shop, as well as the yarn to make one (or two) of your very own), so you know these patterns rock!

we also have a quick-and-dirty one-skein cowl pattern in the shop, and books and loose patterns galore to inspire some frantic holiday cast-on-itis. not to mention all the sock yarn - we have received some new ones (which we will visit in detail in later posts), but just to whet your appetite:

*lavender sheep - local dye-maven yvonne has blown us away with her use of colors
*even more dream in color smooshy - all 24 colors
*new-to-us trekking colors
*a cotton sock yarn! (sockina cotton)

and more sock yarns to come in the next few months - keep checking back!

Fun with felting

Posted by Emily in patterns, felting

I made up a little felted pumpkin to celebrate autumn!

It’s actually crocheted, using about half a skein of Ella Rae Classic, a worsted weight wool. Here’s the pattern as I remember doing it… in case anyone else is bored and in an autumnal mood.

Pumpkin (crocheted):
Rnd 1: Ch 1, 8 sc into ring, pm in last st to mark end of rnd. Do not join in first st. 8 sts total.
Rnd 2: Work 2 sc in each st around, replace marker in last st throughout pattern. 16 sts.
Rnd 3: *Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 24 sts.
Rnd 4: *Sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 32 sts.
Rnd 5: *Sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 40 sts.
Rnd 6: *Sc in each of next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 48 sts.
Rnd 7: Sc all the way around to marker.
Continue sc all sts until straight part of work measures about 5” or what looks right to you. Begin decrease rounds.
Rnd 1: *Dec, sc in each of next 4 sts.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 40 sts.
Rnd 2: *Dec, sc in each of next 3 sts.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 32 sts.
Rnd 3: *Dec, sc in each of next 2 sts.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 24 sts.
Rnd 4: *Dec, sc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around to marker. 16 sts.
Rnd 5: Decrease all the way around. 8 sts.
Change to green yarn. Work sc until stem measures 2″ or desired length. Break tail and weave in end. Stuff with polyfill through opening in stem.

Vine (knit): CO 30 sts.
Rnd 1: Kfb of every st. 60 sts.
Rnd 2: Kfb of every st. 120 sts.
Cast off all sts.

Then felt the whole kit and kaboodle in your washer. I also threw mine in the dryer to get the stuffing dry faster. (Impatient? Who? ME?!) Finally, attach the vine to the stem.

interweave rocks

Posted by Shannon in the shop, books, patterns

we have two, count ‘em, TWO new interweave mags in the shop.

the first is the always-popular holiday issue, with patterns by local designer (and twisted teacher) chrissy gardiner and twisted-gal blog-crush jarod flood (aka brooklyn tweed). it’s a great issue, with loads of projects large and small, easy and ambitious. in my own personal pre-holiday casting-on frenzy, i began jarod’s koolhaas hat last night. in dream in color classy. yummy.

(on left, the koolhaas hat, at right, chrissy’s sweetheart sox)

we also have the anticipated winter 2007 knits in stock. and, no, the cover model is NOT jennifer garner (threw me for a loop, too). the insanely talented chrissy gardiner has a pattern in this issue, too! yaay for local talent! as usual, the mag is also full of gorgeous sweater patterns, a wicked-cool celtic-knot tote, and awesome socks from the afore-mentioned chrissy.

done.

Posted by Shannon in yarn, patterns, knitting

this one’s for donee, and chris, and all of the other folks who have been asking and asking, “shannon, when in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks are you going to FINISH that sweater?????” well, let me tell you, my fears of finishing were completely and totally unfounded, because, and brace yourselves, folks, it wasn’t that bad (or difficult).

armed with my trusty copy of ’stitch ‘n bitch,’

a tapestry needle,

and my new favorite notions,

i spent two evenings seaming away, and she is finished.

the donegal tweed chunky was a pleasure to work with - it’s not the softest yarn in the shop, but it shore is purty. working on size 10.5’s ain’t half bad. after primarily knitting socks or shawls for the past two years, handling a big ole needle like that is quite a change, and sure does hurry up the knitting. i tell you, the actual knitting on this puppy was done at least a month ago. washing and blocking this behemoth gave me quite a work-out, not to mention soaking my kitchen floor, and it’s been ‘drying’ since friday night. oh, and she still needs buttons, but for all intents and purposes, she is done.

so, without further ado, let me introduce ya’ll to kilcar, the BIGGGGGGest sweater coat EVA:

i’m hoping she’ll be completely dry by tomorrow, so she can come in to twisted with me. i’ve tried her on, and she’s big, folks - a big ole, comfy sweater coat perfect for the coming winter.

yaay for finishing!

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