Magnum Paints Quick and Cozy Seed Stitch Cowl

Check out this super chunky cowl I made in less than 2 days using the NEW Magnum Paints from Cascade Yarns.  Love it!

All you need is a pair of size 17 circular needles (29-40 inches long) and 1 skein of the Magnum Paints.

Cast on 89 stitches, place a marker and join in the round (being careful not to twist your stitches).

Round 1:  Knit 1, *purl 1, knit 1; repeat from * to end of round.
Round 2:  Purl 1, *knit 1, purl 1; repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat the last 2 rounds to desired depth of cowl.  I ended at about 7 inches with a very small ball of yarn left over.  Remember to save enough yarn for binding off!

Bind-off in pattern using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off.  If you haven't tried this bind-off yet, you must!  It does take a little more time (and yarn!), but it's totally worth it.

Stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop to check out my cowl in person, or get help with the bind-off!

Project KnitterNatter!

The rainy season is here, and it's time to put your creative energies to work!  What better focus than sharing in a project to help others in the community!?  Knitting donations for local charities provides love and comfort to those in need and empowers us through our craft to fuel positive change in the world at large.

Feel inspired?  Join Joyce at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop on Tuesday, November 20, from 10:30-12:30.  Learn more about Project KnitterNatter, and share your thoughts and ideas!

Interested, but can't make the meeting?  Call the shop and I'll connect you with Joyce!  (503) 283-2004

This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy is going to The Naked Sheep Knit Shop to get some Halloween goodies!

Yarn Love

Casablanca

Urban Lace Infinity Scarf...

Stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop and see all 15 delicious colors!  

Just one skein needed to knit the scarf!

Touchdown!

Check out Riley's new sweater...Touchdown! He's all ready for the football season. Pattern will be available soon at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop!

Working on his Halloween Costume for this year. This Little Piggy will also be available soon in pattern form!

Fall Knit-A-Long

Join us on Saturday afternoons at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop as we Knit-A-Long this darling cardigan from Baby Cocktails.  Vodka Lemonade is knit from the top down, and is full of interesting things to learn.  An easy pattern to follow, knit with us and get help through any questionable parts!

I'm using this gorgeous shade of cranberry in Venezia Sport from Cascade Yarns.  I've lovingly named mine Cranberry Vodka.

We have lots of yarns you can use to knit up this cardigan at The Naked Sheep.  Stop by the shop; and I'll show you what others are using.

Knit-A-Longs at The Naked Sheep are Fun and Friendly and Free!  Join us on Saturday afternoons from 1-4pm.  Hope to see you soon!

Currently in my knitting bag...

I'm just finishing up Helena, a super sweet baby cardigan, using Ultra Pima Quatro from Cascade Yarns in this fun and happy colorway called Candy Stripe.  I've really enjoyed this pattern, and just discovered the adult version, Hermia!  I'll be teaching this class, Helena, at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop on Wednesdays in August.  Check out the Summer Class Schedule and call the shop to sign up!  (503) 283-2004


Citron has been neglected lately since I've been trying to finish up Helena, but the yarn is calling to me.  Such a soft merino wool.  I'm using Rialto Lace from Debbie Bliss in an amazing light turquoise color.  Love it!  This isn't for a class or knit-a-long...just for fun!

Here's my Petal Lace Cardigan...our current knit-a-long at The Naked Sheep.  Love, love, love this yarn!  Venezia Sport from Cascade Yarns; a lovely blend of merino wool and silk.  So soft and spongy, and the colors are great!  Knit-A-Long is still happening on Saturday afternoons from 1-4pm.  Join us!

And here is my third Wingspan, again in Taiyo Sock Yarn.  I love this pattern and yarn; but I think I'm going to repurpose the yarn and cast on for the Entrelac Reticule with Bobble Trim.  You'll find the pattern in the 2012 issue of the Jane Austen magazine.  Stop by the shop and check it out!  This could very well be our next knit-a-long.




Well, that's all for this knitting bag!

What's in your knitting bag?

We Have a Winner!

By unanimous vote, Venezia Sport is the winner for my Petal Lace Cardigan!

And here is how it's knitting up...so nice!  

Join us on Saturdays from 1-4pm as we knit up this summery cardigan together!  As always, our knit-a-longs are free; and we have lots of pretty yarn choices available at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop.  

Too Many Choices! Please Help!

Hello my knitting friends...I need your help making a choice!

We are starting a new Knit-A-Long this weekend at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop, the Petal Lace Cardigan from the new Spring/Summer Knitty.  It's so pretty, and will be very fun to knit up!

Here's my dilema...I have 3 yarns in my stash that would be perfect for this sweater, all in different shades of - you guessed it - PINK!!!


Venezia Sport is a super soft blend of Merino Wool and Silk, and I just love this cranberry color!

Sublime Egyptian Cotton is a silky soft and shiny cotton in this pretty mulberry color.

And Ultra Pima Quatro from Cascade Yarns is such a fun shade of 4 different pinks twisted together.

You can understand my dilemma, I'm sure!  Please vote by leaving a comment below, and help me make my decision!

Straight From the Heart...

Brad Clark, our VP of Everything at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop, shared his touching story, Straight From the Heart, last night at Portland Story Theater's Solo Festival, Singlehandedly!  As usual, Brad's amazing sense of humor and comedic timing entertained the audience as he shared his story of his recent heart scare.  I lived this frightening story with him, and was very glad to be sitting in the audience listening to him share his story!

The food was amazing, as usual!  And there were plenty of delicious drinks available.

And the other tellers were awesome!  I enjoyed each one, and came away with such good feelings!  If you've never had a chance to attend a storytelling event before, you are truly missing out!

Thanks to the founders of Portland Story Theater, Lynne Duddy and Lawrence Howard, for continuing to share their own stories; and for helping others to be able to tell theirs!

Finished my Rococo Shawl, and I love it! The pattern was well written, and error free! The yarn was so much fun to knit with...very soft and light.  It took 8 skeins of Lustrous Extrafine Merino DK from Sublime.

And check out the amazing shawl pin my friend Vickie made for me...perfect!  Stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop and check out her lovely shawl pin collection!

Here's what's next on my knitting agenda!  Remember...finish one, start two!

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss12/PATTpetal.php

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss12/PATTgemini.php

Easter Brunch

We enjoyed a lovely Easter with family and friends. Had quite a few people in our little house; it was cozy! So much fun to spend time with people you enjoy. Being with those I love, hearing them laugh, and sharing delicious food with them makes me very happy! Here are a couple things I made for brunch that you should definitely try!

Impossibly Easy Breakfast Bake was just that...super easy to make, and definitely one of the favorites to eat! I substituted a jar of sweet red peppers for the medium bell pepper. Nummy

Nummy Nummy!

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring was so easy and so good! Tip...remove sticky buns from bundt pan as soon as you take it out of oven. My test batch was perfect, but some of the gooey goodness stuck to the pan on Easter because I let it cool too long in pan.

And the Bacon-Asparagus Strata was my favorite! I made a few changes. Substituted Cheddar for Swiss, used fresh asparagus instead of frozen, and I used Dave's Killer Cracked Wheat Bread instead of white bread. OMG! It was amazing!

And the fruit water was a big hit; tasty and refreshing!

Rosebud

Rosebud

Join our End of Winter Knit-A-Long!

Our End of Winter Knit-A-Long continues at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop! Join us this Saturday, March 10, from 1-4pm! We're knitting up the Norwegian Knapsack from the beautiful book, Norwegian Handknits.

There are lots of new things to learn as we work on this bag together: Charted Colorwork, Embroidery as Embellishment and how to make a Kumihimo Braid, just to name a few!

Bring something delicious to drink, a winllingness to learn and be prepared

to have some fun!

Here's the colors I've chosen...

Hope to see you soon!

Yarn Crawl Activities at The Naked Sheep!

The Rose City Yarn Crawl is officially "just around the corner"...

Stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop during the crawl to participate in some of the fun activities we have planned; you can also sign up to win big prizes! We'll have daily giveaways, as well as the gigantic basket of goodies to give away at the end of the weekend. (Picture to follow soon!)

Jill from Bar-Maids will be here each day during the crawl (Thursday through Sunday) from 10-4pm. Stop by to sample, smell and shop their amazing products!

Candace from One of a Kind Buttons will be hosting a Trunk Show on Saturday from 10-2. You will definitely want to stop by and see all of her lovely ceramic creations! Buttons, Pins and Pendants...Oh My!

We will have Yarn and Needle Tastings going on all weekend! Stop by to sample some fun, new yarns!

And our Back Room Sale Shelves will be well stocked, with items 25-75% OFF!

We're getting very excited, and we can't wait to see you!

New Yarns from Cascade!

Just in today... Pacific Chunky, Pacific Chunky Multi and Pacific Multi. We've had Pacific for awhile, and it's been wildly popular! Pacific is a nice blend of 40% Superwash Merino Wool and 60% Acrylic. So soft, and available in a lot of colors! Perfect for children's garments and baby blankets, as well as adult items! And Cascade has lots of nice Free Patterns available on their website for these yarns.

And we're happy to order any color in these yarns that your little heart desires. Just let us know!

Kim's Cozy Cowl 2/52in52-2012

Here's my second completed project of 2012...a super soft and cozy cowl for my friend, Kim; who graduated from a very important program.

I chose Paloma (Debbie Bliss) for the cowl, because it's so incredibly wonderful! We have all 16 amazing colors at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop. Stop by and check it out!

Dave's 70th Birthday Scarf 1/52in52-2012

Here's my first completed project of 2012. A scarf I made for a friend of the family for his 70th Birthday. I used 3 skeins of Eco Cloud...delicious yarn! My new favorite, I think! The pattern is a simple checkerboard...fun to knit.

I better get busy on this challenge! 1 down...51 to go!

52in52-2012

I signed up for a group on Ravelry called 52 in 52 -2012. Here are the group details:

Up to the challenge of a year long knit-along? (All crafts welcome!)

This is a simple and easy challenge...really, it is.

The only rule...knit, crochet, spin or weave at least 52 projects between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2012.

That averages to one a week.

Those small projects give you time to work on some big things.

Think you can do better...do more...then show us!

Don't forget to tag your projects: 52in52-2012.

Sounds like fun, huh? Who's gonna join me?

Coming Soon...Rose City Yarn Crawl!!!

Mark your calendars NOW for Portland's 3rd Annual Rose City Yarn Crawl! This year, the Crawl will last 4 whole days, Thursday-Sunday, March 1-4. All participating shops will be open from at least 10-6 on all 4 days. The Naked Sheep Knit Shop will be open 10-9 on Thursday, the first day of the Crawl, so we can have a Knit Nite Extravaganza! Fun, Food and Fiber will definitely be involved. More details to follow on this!

A fun, new feature to the crawl this year is a Passport that participants can print out and use to collect stamps from each participating shop. Your Completed Passport is your entry to win the amazing Grand Prize Basket.

As in years past, each shop will have a huge basket full of awesome donations from our Generous Sponsors. Enter for your chance to win a prize basket at Each Participating Shop!

Each shop will also be offering a Free Pattern designed specifically for the Crawl. The patterns will be available with any yarn purchase.

Each shop will also be hosting different activities during the Crawl. Visit The Naked Sheep to experience Bar-Maids wonderful products; as well as daily Yarn and Needle Tastings. Oh, and we'll be giving away our own Daily Prize Packages! That's 4 additional chances to win big!

So let me summarize...

4 Days of Fun-Filled Activities!

19 Shops to Visit!

20 Chances to Win an Incredible Prize Basket!

4 Additional Chances to Win Amazing Prizes at The Naked Sheep!

19 Free Patterns!

1 Really Fun Fiberlicious Weekend!

See you then!