New Pattern Preview Pics

Here are some preview pics of my new pattern coming out in Knitcircus #11. The issue should go live on August 4 at Knitcircus.com.







Stone Henley
Men's sizes S-2X, 37-53" in 4" increments
Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort, 80% wool, 20% organic cotton

Spin Spun, Almost Done

A non-spinner would probably be unimpressed with this photo. A little pile of natural brown yarn? Big deal.

Well, yeah. It's about 420 grams of fingering weight 3-ply yarn that I've been spinning on and off over the course of nearly 2 years. Is that nuts or what? Of course, I've done a lot of other stuff along the way.



Right now I'm trying to decide if I should keep going on this and get a whole sweater's worth done, or if I should use it with a natural white fingering weight factory-spun yarn and make a nice Faroese-style stranded design.


Here's the obligatory coin shot. Hmm. I'm leaning toward a nice two-color stranded design because it would be fun to spin some of the other fibers that have been building up in the last two years.

In Other News
I've resigned from my position at Knitcircus. It's been an incredible learning experience for me and lots of fun along the way. My family is hoping to move to a bigger house this spring/summer (the grant-gods, willing) and we have a lot of work to do to make that happen; like, 2 full time job's worth of cleaning, sorting, purging, and packing for at least several months. And I think my kids need some more of my attention than they've been getting. The younger son has had behavioral issues at school and at home that I can't continue to gloss over. I'll still be helping out with Knitcircus here and there: maybe doing some of the photos, definitely designing an occasional pattern. Stay tuned!

Making Waves Socks

These socks will be in the next Knitcircus, Issue #8, which should be arriving in Madison for mailing to all of you around the first of November.

Size: Men's L. Fits approx size 10 shoe.
Needles: US #1. Use 0's for a snugger fit through ankle.
Yarn: shown in a vintage sock yarn from my stash. Cascade Heritage Solids would be a good moderately-priced substitution.

A fun pattern with a simple twist pattern. Suitable for someone moving up from the most basic socks to a bit more of a challenge.

Some Teasers of Upcoming Attractions!

Here are my contributions to the upcoming Knitcircus: Issue #7! We expect to be mailing out issues to subscribers and yarn shops the first week in August! Stay tuned.




The Sivas Pullover


The Pooled Pebbles Scarf



Fountain Lace Scarf

We're Keeping the Cat!*

(Click pic for bigger image)

This summer we've been befriending this cat, whom we've dubbed Guy Noir. He has half a tail, a tough-guy swagger, and a heart of gold. On Monday we got him to the vet and had him neutered and since then, he's showing all signs of being a great pet. He's still pretty jittery and rarely relaxes completely. But he's getting there. He prefers to spend his nights outside still, but I expect that to change in the fall when it starts to get chilly at night.

In other news, I've been working on getting Knitcircus #7 ready for the printers between battles on the domestic front. It's all coming together nicely!

Don't forget, Alt Knitting Camp happens August 2-4, at Devil's Lake State Park, campsite #110. We still have room for 6 more overnight campers, and day visitors are welcome, especially if they bring some goodies to share with the pack! Just email me at elizabethmorriso (at) gmail (dot) com.

*The Ravelry Rubberneckers will understand what this means.

Preview of a few items from Knitcircus #6

Goth Gauntlets by me.


Roughhousing Vest also by me.


Orchid Lights Shrug by Jaala Spiro.


Pivot Shawls by Michelle Miller


Spring Daisy Cardigan by Jenny Snedeker

More to come... Stay tuned!

A Little Finished Object!

The younger son wanted me to knit him a Sackboy for Easter. Never mind that I've been trying to get away from turning everything into another gift-giving occasion. It was something I could make from things I already have lying around the house. Except the metal zipper.

Details:
Sackboy Pattern by Alan Dart.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted, color Wild Oak (had in stash forever).
Needles: US #5

Stuffing was from a toy Sponge Bob my husband eviscerated to make a Sponge Bob suit for one of his robots (don't ask).

The buttons were in stash and the embroidered details are from odds and ends.

The hat was one I made years ago from some cheap-o acrylic in a thrift shop grab bag. I thought I might make baby hats for the hospital, but then Owen got a hold of the hat for a stuffed bear, and it was buried in his room for about 12 years. The hat surfaced in a recent purging. It fits Sack Boy very well.

In addition to this, I've been working on a new stranded knitting project, which I hope to finish up for the August 1 Knitcircus (Issue 7), and I've been assembling Issue 6, which should get mailed in very early May.

Knit Circus Issue 5 Preview!

Here are my three contributions to the upcoming Issue 5!

The Rosepole Cardigan


The Kate Cardigan


The Angularity Vest

See the entire Issue 5 Preview Page!

Pre-order Issue 5! Expected ship date Feb 1.

More about Knitcircus

I've been formatting until I'm cross-eyed! Yowza. But I'm excited about the upcoming Issue #4 of Knitcircus. Jaala and I hope to email it to the lovely and talented Beth tomorrow afternoon/evening for a fine-tooth-comb editing. She's really good at that! She knows when we have a sneaky extra space to delete, finds all those hyphens that should be em-dashes, knows when to bold , when to italicize, and remembers all the formatting things that we set up on p.3 that are being done differently on p 38. After Beth sends back all the big and little things she finds, then we do a final check for any formatting problems that the printer won't like. Then, make the huge mega-file pdf (bigger than my first hard disc!) and off it goes to Texas. Then we wait seven business days for turnaround and about 4 more business days for shipping, and boxes will appear.

In Other News
We have been in the throes of a full-fledged machine conspiracy Chez SABLE. The focus of this one is cars and computers. Must be C is the letter of the week, eh? Both our vehicles have required very expensive repairs and maintenance of the mandatory kind. You know, the "Don't drive until you fix this" kind of stuff. The computer issues have been more annoying than expensive. Owen's laptop has gone in twice for a backlight issue (under Apple Care warranty) and my mouse needed replacing. Mr. SABLE found his PC had over 365 viruses!!! He thinks he got them all, but they were seriously messing with things over there.

The kids are settling into their school routines, which is a blessing. So far, so good.

I haven't knit at all in a week or so. I've just been plugging away at the 'zine. I'm eager to get back into it.

Sliding Into Home

We're in the big-push stretch of Knitcircus Issue #4. It's very exciting and I think we have a very strong issue. We plan to have this available to ship October 1. (If your local yarn shop doesn't carry it, ask them to think about it!)

Here's a little preview of some of the goodies you'll find inside:












There's more to come!

Click on through and pre-order your copy today!
Knitcircus.com

Project Updates

Taking my cue from Bezzie (whose rant here on the so-called "green" reusable grocery bags got me thinking), I made these two cloth bags yesterday. I had bought a small stack of the green pseudo-cloth bags from my supermarket last winter, at 75 cents each. Although they stand up to more use than a paper bag, they have started to self-destruct. Rather than replace them with more of the same, I decided to put some stashed fabric to use. I bought the fabric at a thrift shop in Quincy IL over a year ago, thinking it would be nice for something. I just didn't know what. I have enough fabric to make at least 4 more bags this size, which is a bit smaller than a standard paper grocery bag. I need to buy more nylon webbing, though.

I've been working on turning a few older projects into patterns for the fall Knitcircus. We plan to have it available for purchase by Oct 1. I'm also working on a new project for that, but might not finish in time. That's ok. We can use it in Winter, and we've had great submissions, so we have enough good material for fall.

In Other News
We're counting down to the beginning of the school year. The little guy starts second grade on Tuesday, Sept 2, and Owen starts 8th grade on Wednesday the 3rd. We're having all kinds of behavioral issues with the little guy, but I have to say, Owen has suddenly crossed into a new mature, mellow version of himself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this isn't just a phase for him. I never would have believed that there would be a time when I would call Owen "mellow".

I did send Owen's quilt out to be machine quilted at the local place. I have no idea what I'll get back, but it should be coming soon. They charge about $65 for a twin size, and have stock patterns that their machine does. I'll still need to put edging on when I get it back, I think. For local folks, this is a funny little building on Regent Street, probably a survivor of the great Greenbush Urban Renewal of the 1960s.

We're still in limbo on Mr. SABLE's job front. He had a chat with a VP at a small start-up last week. He felt very positive about that and it could lead to a job offer soon. He's also encouraged that if he has to do free-lance stuff for a while, there are a lot of people in town who can throw him some work. The downside to that plan is health insurance, but it would be income. Time will tell. Stay tuned.

I hope to see all my local buddies at Last Saturday Knitting on the 30th!

It's Here!

Soon I'll be getting some envelopes stuffed to those of you willing to help distribute to LYSs in your area.

But it's a crazy week coming up, and following on an utterly insane week just past.

So, the 'zine: well, I think it looks pretty good. There were a few glitchy things that happened right at the end, resulting in a bit of confusion (on my part) and a couple little edits and improvements that should have gone to press were left out of the final version. But it was a huge learning experience. It can only get better from here, right? This issue was a bit heavier on sewing, but the fall issue will be fatter and heavier on knitting. Stay tuned.

A Little 'Zine Teaser...

Just a peak at one of the Knitcircus patterns coming out soon! Tango!
Click here and scroll down for purchasing info. (New site coming soon!)