Do you knit holiday gifts for your co-workers? Do you feel like it’s a chore you have to do or have you found a way to make it fun?

At customer Trish’s office they have a Santa hat contest every year so that one of her lucky co-workers can win a handknitted hat!

They play games like “race to wrap a present”, “pin the pom-pom on Santa’s hat”, “complete the Christmas song lyrics”, and Christmas trivia to pick the winners.

Wrap faster!

Here are a few determined competitors in the “draw a Christmas tree & ornaments with the paper on your head” contest!

How does my tree look?

Want to make your own Santa hats for your officemates?

Lucky winners!

The two hats here are (on the left) Penny’s Santa Hat, knit in aran weight on US 9 needles and (on the right) our very own Whimsical Holiday Hat which knits up SUPER fast on US 17 needles!

Happy knitting to all! Eat a bunch of Christmas cookies, have some eggnog, and don’t work too hard!

I don’t usually recommend that a bride knit items for her wedding. I was talked out of this very activity a couple of years ago when I had the grand idea of knitting my flower centerpieces. (well, mostly by my stepmother who insisted that a wedding wasn’t a wedding without real flowers). I imagine though that the knitting world would probably have tried to convince me that it was a bad idea as well. The last thing we need when planning a wedding is a high pressure knitting job too. So when Sarah told me that she was going to make shrugs for her brides, I probably gave her a big speech about it being a terrible idea. But she just sent me the photos from the wedding…and I must admit that I was wrong.

No matter how much stress or work or whatever this may have (or may not have) caused her, it was absolutely worth it. These photos are stunning. She created an amazing one of a kind gift for these ladies and added a unique and stunning element to her wedding. And the COLORS! I love the colors, I love the vintage vibe of her dress which matches the bolero so nicely. I love everything about it…makes me wish I had actually had a wedding with bridesmaids.

Sarah used the ruffled bolero pattern available from Ravelry. The flowers were the peony from 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet. The yarn is Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK by Sirdar which is a wonderful blend of merino and bamboo that is machine washable and has a nice shine to it, like a silk blend.

I have been sick for three days now, which should mean that lots of knitting is happening, but I am also in the middle of house hunting…so not so much knitting happening. Our house sold in three days. I love the agent that I worked with. (Despite knowing approximately ten agents who are knitters, I decided to keep my home sale completely separate from my business/knitting life). So we closed on our house last week but have yet to find something new. We even have a one month rent back that ends in June but it seems like not enough time to find a new place. There just isn’t much on the market these days.

While I was out sick this weekend, I missed the Pirate Sock-In event! From the look of the photos I can assume that some folks fully embraced the theme and that some actual socks were knitted.

is that a tie-dyed fibre space shirt?!

Jane showed up with the most amazing knitted thing I have ever seen…brace yourself. This is a bit overwhelming. This shawl is LACE, INTARSIA and BEADED. yup…you read that correctly. Those three things happened in the same project. And my goodness I have no idea why it turned into a SKULL of all things…but I can’t control what you all knit. I try to tell you when you are doing something silly, but you don’t always listen. Jane actually GAVE THIS TO KEL, which is the other shocking part of this project. It was a gift. yup. a gift. What is the craziest gift you have ever stitched up?

My sleeveless Hooray Cardi

our so the pattern is called…

Last month we had this cabled raglan cardigan class, which uses the Hooray Cardigan pattern by Veera Välimäki. I grabbed a few hanks of Madelinetosh DK for the project and worked along with the class..which brings me to this stage seen here (well, this looks done, but it needs sleeves. But the back looks cool!) The pattern is a fairly straightforward raglan but includes some interesting cable charts on both fronts and down the back. It also has a large turned collar that takes quite a bit of time to knit (2×2 ribbing for 16″ anyone? No? yeah..i didn’t think so.) I suppose I should just knit the sleeves and be done with it, but who likes to knit sleeves? After working the ribbing around the front for almost a week, I have come to a screeching halt on the sleeves. It probably doesn’t help that I have a stealth knitting deadline looming over my head right now too. Fortunately, others have had more success with their Hooray Cardis. Here is Jennifer’s finished cardi:

Here is one of the student’s from the class, also Jennifer, with her card:

Now I know that I have previously scoffed at raglans, since they do nothing but accentuate my giant shoulders..but the raglan lines on this one are very vertical, so I am hoping that it works for my body shape.

So now that I am mostly done with the thing, we get an entire order of the new Madelinetosh DK yarn into the store – Tosh Merino DK. Of course it is lovely. The single ply takes dye similarly to the TML that I adore so much. So I am itching to get a sweater quantity of it.  I have to resist until at least this cardi is finished or the Monami cardi is finished…(also a class and also worked in DK weight yarn, by the way).  I am having this overwhelming desire to start knitting spring and summer projects so that they are done in time to wear them, but it is also freezing outside and I have a few sweaters so close to being done…

Lost in space

This adorable red cabled beret was left in space yesterday. Let us know if it is yours!

I can’t believe that it is 2011 and this is my first post! I have been so busy with various knitting deadlines it seems. The first of the year was the giant white snuggly blanket. My mom’s birthday was Thursday but luckily she couldn’t come over for dinner until Sunday, leaving me with three extra days to get this blanket done. It is the Umaro pattern from Brooklyn Tweed and we will have the printed pattern in the shop next week!

The yarn is one full bag (10 hanks) of Mirasol Ushya. The yarn is very lightweight, helping this to not weigh an absolute ton. It is like cotton candy to work with. Amazing. The pattern is also rather satisfying. It is not hard to memorize. It works up really quickly! It might become my go to project for wedding gifts and such. It would even be gorgeous in worsted weight yarn for a baby blanket.

Ashley also finished a giant project of giant awesome: a Pi Shawl! Some of you might remember our shawl knitalong from last August in honor of the 100th anniversary of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s birth. Here is one of the few completed shawls we have seen. She used Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine. The subtle heathery look of the yarn is really gorgeous in lace. Lovely job Ashley!

Thank you to everyone who donated tiny sweaters for our holiday window. The tiny little dudes are all over the trees in our front window. We got so many amazing and unique designs as well! Today the staff will figure out our “most unique” prize. Niya won our random drawing! She will get a $50 gift certificate for the shop.
read more >>

We received lots of amazing goodies this weekend to add to our coral reef window, including this amazing octopus from Ginny (seen here eating Cynthia’s face). Even the adorable little sucker things are crocheted. Is there a word for those? We can’t come up with one…

The window display will be up until at least September 5th. If you still have coral that you need to add, please bring it by before the 5th. You can check out the new creatures in the window and add a few of your own!

This weekend, despite the heat, folks were picking up the new bulky yarns for winter. Jane grabbed a hank of the new Malabrigo Rasta and whipped up the Marian Cowl while sipping her Misha’s coffee on Sunday. I think it took maybe an hour of knitting time. We love that the cowl (in colorway Laguna Negra) matches her Misha’s cup nicely.

I am still stuck on my balloon sleeve jacket and pretty close to putting it back into hibernation for year two. The Austin Hoodie calls to me…

Birthday cake pattern available from Crazydazyknits

This week we celebrate our one year birthday, something that seems to have come up way too fast. My head is still spinning from it all. This has been an unbelievable year for us, so much more than I had ever planned for.  It has taken until just recently for this all to set in! Thank you so much for your feedback, encouragement and business this past year. And as always, let us know what you want to see at the shop, what you wish were different (or what you like!)

To thank you, we are hosting a birthday sale all week, ending with a big birthday party on Friday. Read more here.

Trudy sent me this note this week and I just had to share:

The first day that fibre space was open I bought Mini Mochi and, a couple of weeks later, took it on a tour of China. Here I am knitting a sock with it at the site of the terra cotta army! Later I sent these socks, marked “made in China,” to a friend for her 50th birthday.

You and your staff and store are a fabulous community resource. I wish you continued success in your business endeavors.

trudy

on a yarn…and have to knit with it but have no idea what to do? That is where I am with these two lovely hanks of Terra.

I wanted to knit something before the Designer Scavenger Hunt this weekend and stumbled on this green hank. My goodness that is amazing. But it looks so awesome with the purply color that I just don’t know what to do. I could do a pair of Lychee mittens and this hat to match maybe?

But then what knitter actually has a set of matching mitts and hat? I wouldn’t look like a crazy knitter if my things actually matched! I could just scrap the purple and knit the Springtime Bandit in green…always an option. (this is a class, by the way) My other idea is to knit Beth’s latest pattern (done in Spud and Chloe Outer) in a lighter gauge and pair it with some of our new amazing buttons.

I just have to do SOMETHING with it!

Someone special brought by her Ishbel worked up in Dragonfly Fibers – the color “green riptide.” It’s lovely!

Can you guess who?

Folks have been furiously finishing holiday gifts and sending along photos. Here are some highlights:

Cameronne finally finished her husband’s Xmas Sweater, the Blue Sky Alpacas Men’s Ribbed Sweater pattern in the Fibre Company Organik – color jungle.

Amanda finished her Eastlake Sweater in Berroco Pure Merino (both available at the shop)

Since the snowstorm had her out of work for a bit, she also finished this Cosima sweater in Berroco Cuzco. Pattern and yarn available at the shop.

I finally finished my nephew’s holiday coat and matching hat. This is the Tugboat Coat by Sublime available in a Sublime pattern book at the shop. I used Berroco Pure Merino DK.

What else did you all finished in the last few days? Doesn’t it seem like the time has been flying by?!

On New Year’s Eve join us in fibre space for a day long knitalong for this awesome, quick and dirty thing:

Photo courtesy of Martha Merzig

Thank you Martha Merzig for an awesome and amazingly simple pattern! The Destroyed Cowl can be wrapped around the neck once for a tighter fitting cowl or worn with a nice shirt for a night out on the town (like New Years!)

I am still figuring out what I will use for this. Some contenders:

Malabrigo worsted – 1 hank

Shokay Yak – 2 hanks

Neighborhood Fiber Co Worsted – 1/2 a hank…matching fingerless mitts?

Berroco Pure Merino – 2 balls

Spud & Chloe Sweater – 2 hanks

So come join us. We are open from 10 am – 4pm, closing just in time for you to get home and get ready for New Year’s celebrations.

Emily finished her Linden wrap, a lace entrelac project from Pints and Purls. (my design!)

It is worked in Cascade Eco Alpaca. Yum!

Cameronne finished a Spud and Chloe Lovey Dovey sweater in Spud and Chloe Sweater! Isn’t it adorable?! We got more of this yarn and patterns in on Friday.  It is machine washable, soft and wonderful for children’s clothing. Congrats Cameronne!

Keep an eye on the Inspiratio blog today for new arrivals, project ideas and the cocktail of the week! Don’t forget there are now TWO blogs you must read each morning

So I have been plugging away at the Helena baby sweater with no luck in actually finishing it. After I get done entering in all of the Hanah Silk Ribbon that arrived yesterday and making room for the giant pile of boxes that are coming in today, I might just knit at work and get it done.

Beth came in yesterday with the first (maybe second) finished object made with shop yarn. This shawl is one strand of Kid Seta (kid mohair and silk lace weight yarn) and one strand of Mama Llama silk merino held together. Gorgeous pink isn’t it?! the pattern is Lavalette by Kristen Kapur.

Be sure to send me photos of your finished objects or bring them in. I want to continue to post them on the site!