Process vs Project

A lovely customer sent this to me this morning thinking it would give me a chuckle, and it did J

http://www.twistcollective.com/collection/component/content/article/35-articles/features/1405-process-this/

I am very much a process knitter. How about you?  Enjoy!

Knitting for Others

I was recently asked by Patricia, a hospice nurse and customer, if I might know anyone interested in knitting or crocheting hats and cowls for cancer patients at OHSU. She has a nursing friend there working in Oncology, Brandy, who is concerned that there are patients going home that have nothing to cover their heads!

Brandy says "We are looking for hand knit or crocheted hats that are SOFT.  There seems to be a shortage in particular of the smaller and larger sizes. We do have several young children in treatment at any given time, usually 10 months to 5 years.  We also get older children, but they don't seem to come through as often." 

Let's show these 2 lovely ladies just how much we care, and knit or crochet some amazing hats and cowls!  Remember, all sizes are welcome, for both adults and children.

Drop off your finished hats and cowls at The Naked Sheep. 

FREE Pattern! The Andalien Cowl

Knit up this soft and sparkly cowl using just 2 skeins of Andalien!  I used a size 10-24 inch circular needle and got a gauge of 3.5 stitches to the inch.  Here’s what I did…

Using long tail method, cast on 84 stitches, place marker and join into the round.

Next round:      Purl.

Next round:      Knit.

Next round:      Purl.

Next round:      Knit.

Next round:      Purl.

Next round:      Knit 1, purl 1; repeat to end

of the round.

Next round:      Knit.

Next round:      Knit 1, purl 1; repeat to end

of the round.

Repeat the last 2 rounds to desired length of cowl.  I went about 7 inches from cast on edge.

Next round:      Purl.

Next round:      Knit.

Next round:      Purl.

Next round:      Knit.

Bind-off loosely purlwise.  Weave in ends and enjoy!  J

Yarn for Henry Schmidt

By now, you may have heard about the young man who was hit and left for dead while walking his bike home from work along SW Barbur Blvd earlier this month, Henry Schmidt. After his family pleaded for the driver to surrender to the police, a woman finally turned herself in. A woman whose driving record contains 4 suspension and a dozen driving citations.

What you may not have heard, is that Henry's a knitter. A couple of my friends and I decided to collect some yarn for Henry. When Mary Mooney from the Oregonian got involved, our small project began growing into something really big and wonderful!

So far, the response has been AMAZING! I've received calls and packages from Chicago, New York, California and Florida...just to name a few. Cascade Yarns and Lantern Moon stepped up with fabulous donations! I've been so touched by people's generosity and concern for this young man. Fiber artists are so tightly knit together, and we take care of our own!

We'll continue collecting items for Henry through September. I'll be making the first delivery to him soon! In addition to all the wonderful yarns, needles and books, I'm going to offer Henry some free classes at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop.  He just might need a little help working through some of this!

The goal was to show Henry some support, to let him know that we care, and to make his recovery time a little more enjoyable. I believe we've done just that! THANKS!!!

The Most Delicious Red Wine Sangria!

Ingredients

2 bottles of dry red wine

1 cup brandy

1/2 cup triple sec

1 cup orange juice

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 orange, sliced 

1 apple, sliced 

1 cup blackberries 

Directions

In a large container or pitcher, mix all the ingredients together, seal it and let it stand for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy with friends!

New Patterns...Easy Baby Blankets!

New eBook available soon at The Naked Sheep's online store! Buy the patterns individually, or as a set. Stay tuned!

3 in 3 Challenge

Well, my 3 in 3 Challenge is complete; and I almost did it!

I completed The Age of Brass and Steam in the gorgeous Puelo, 100% alpaca; a total joy to knit with. I also got it blocked!

I completed The Droplet Scarf using Droplet, a fun cotton blend, complete with beads!

And I half completed Pimpelliese using Huasco, a new, super soft, fingering weight merino wool.

I also completed my "plus 1", Elis using Cotton Supreme Sequins.  This is on the new fall class schedule at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop.  Super fun to knit!

A very lovely weekend of knitting. I also managed to squeeze in breakfast out at Podnah's Pit with my sweetie, a little wine on the deck, and Michael Franti and Spearhead out at Edgefield with friends,,,

I'd say it was a pretty AWESOME weekend!

3 skeins, 3 scarves, 3 days

Ok, so I've given myself a pretty crazy goal. I'm going to knit 3 different one-skein scarves in 3 days. I have 3 skeins of 3 different new yarns that I want to use to knit shop models for The Naked Sheep Knit Shop.

Droplet, which I already have a tiny head start on. I'm making a one skein scarf that is a free pattern from their website.

Huasco, the beautiful blue, extrafine merino wool, fingering weight yarn. Still searching for the right pattern. Maybe The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief?

And Puelo, a luscious 100% alpaca that is coming soon to The Naked Sheep Knit Shop. Knitting Fever shared a pattern idea on their blog, and I think it will be fun to knit!

Oh yeah...and I have to finish up my Elis Cowl. I'll be teaching this as a class this September at the shop.

Saturday - Sunday - Monday...Can I do it? I'll start tomorrow, and keep you posted!

I Love Bar-Maids!

We loved having Jill from Bar-Maids with us during our 8th Annual Anniversary Sale and Celebration at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop a couple weeks ago. Their products are so amazing! I love the new Twisted Light Candles; we have some available at The Naked Sheep right now J

And I am continually impressed with the Lo-Lo Cuticle Intensive. This is a product that is PERFECT for every knitter or crocheter. Keep one in your purse, as well as your knitting bag. My hands were a mess this morning after a couple weeks of neglect. After just 2 applications of the Cuticle Intensive, they are beautiful! Really, stop by the shop and see for yourself! You MUST try this product.

And the Lo-Lo To-Go Bars are equally amazing for the knitter's hands. All natural, and safe to use while you're knitting. Stop by and smell the new scent, Orange Vanilla. Reminds me a Creamsicles in the summertime!

Monster Bombed!

The Naked Sheep Knit Shop got bombed...Monster Yarn Bombed!  Check out the cute pics of Mike and the Monster :-)

Yarn bombing is a fun way to use up your odds and ends of yarn!

Mirrored Increases Made Easy!

I've been using mirrored increases a lot lately; and I've had several students and customers ask about them recently, too.  So I thought I'd share with you my little "cheat sheet" for Mirrored Increases:  M1R (make one right) and M1L (make one left).  Cut and paste it, print it out, and keep it in with your knitting notions so you can always be reminded how to do them J

Working these mirrored increases is similar to working a k2tog on one end of your work and an ssk on the other, although K2tog and ssk are mirrored decreases.  A k2tog slants to the right and an ssk slants to the left.

Try it out, and stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop if you have any questions about how to do them!

Mirrored Increases

M1R (Make one right) = Using the needle in your left hand, pick up the horizontal bar in between the stitches from the back to the front and knit it through the front loop.

M1L (Make one left) = Using the needle in your left hand, pick up the horizontal bar in between the stitches from the front to the back and knit it through the back loop.

Knitting a Monster

Knitting monster toes and making monster eye pom-poms. What am I making, you ask?!?  Stay tuned for the big reveal!

You'll want to stop by The Naked Sheep Knit Shop to see it in person!

Recycled Rain Project

Check out this fun art show that's coming June 1...The Recycled Rain Project!  If you look closely at the list of participating artists, you'll see that our very own Bradley Clark is listed!  Because of his awesome Rain Paintings...he's a natural choice for the show!

25 Artists.
1 Jar of Rainwater.
30 Days of Inspiration.

Join us on Saturday, June 1 from 6-10pm at the Olympic Mills Gallery Space; and marvel at the creativity of these talented artists!

Get more info at The Recycled Rain Project or their Facebook page.

Here's a peek at some of Brad's Rain Paintings!  Fiesta - Portland in Love - Sea Light

My Easy Triangle Shawl

I'm loving the Bamboo Bloom and Bamboo Bloom Handpaints from Universal Yarn!  Until recently, I had been making cowls; but I decided to make a simple shawl.  Soft and squishy and warm...and easy!!!

Just 3 skeins, a size 9 or 10 32"-circular needle and some stitch markers are all you need to knit up My Easy Triangle Shawl!

Cast on 5 stitches.

Row 1 (RS):  K1, yo, k1, yo, pm, k1, pm, yo, k1, yo, k1.

Row 2 (WS): Knit to marker, sm, p1, sm, knit to end.

*Row 3 (RS):  K1, yo, knit to marker, yo, sm, k1, sm, yo, knit to last stitch, yo, k1.

Row 4 (WS): Knit to marker, sm, p1, sm, knit to end.

Repeat last 2 rows 3 more times.

Next row:    K1, yo, knit to marker, yo, sm, k1, sm, yo, knit to last stitch, yo, k1.

Next row:    K2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2.

Repeat last 2 rows 3 more times.

Repeat from * 7 more times, or to desired depth of shawl.  Bind-off loosely.

Stop by The Naked Sheep and check out the shawl, and all the lovely yarn choices!!!

Umaro by Jared Flood

I CAN'T STOP starting new projects! Do I have a problem? I think not!

My most recent cast on is Umaro by Jared Flood. It's been in my queue for quite awhile. After an unfortunate red wine spill while at the beach last weekend...it's now coming along nicely! 

The pattern calls for Lana Grande from Cascade Yarns. Love love love this yarn ♥ Soft and bulky and oh so pretty!

I'm using my Cubix Interchangeable Needles from Knitter's Pride. They're fun to knit with, and they fit in with the pretty theme I have going on with this blanket.

We have the yarn and the needles at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop!

And in case you're wondering, we had a lovely time in Long Beach.  We stayed at The Inn at Discovery Coast, and I would totally recommend it!  A romantic and relaxing getaway ♥

Love is actually all around...

Calling all hopeless romantics!

Let's Knit-A-Long the Love is Actually All Around Cowl! Join me on the next 2 Saturdays (February 2 and 9) from 1-4pm at The Naked Sheep Knit Shop, and we'll knit up this cute cowl together.

I'm using 2 beautiful shades of pink in 220 Superwash from Cascade Yarns.

We'll learn the art of double knitting, as well as a really cool modified tubular cast on for double knitting.  This is my first double knitting project, so we'll learn together.

My first attempt at it proved to be a nice generous swatch.  I just cast on for the second time with smaller needles and a much better understanding of what I'm doing!

Buy your supplies at The Naked Sheep for your project, and get 14% OFF your entire purchase!  Just mention that you're joining the knit-a-long J

Hope to see you Saturday!

Pinterest

I'm hooked!  I love Pinterest!

Recipes, knitting patterns and tips, funny sayings and so much more!  Check it out!

Here's a recipe I got from Pinterest that I'm going to try this weekend...

Ham and Cheese Egg Casserole.

I'll let you know how it goes!