Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Knit Simple Fall 2011


Hot off the press!  The latest issue just came today!

Lots of stuff to win with this issue.  To name a couple, you can win a cover kit, which is some Shepherd Bulky from Lorna's Laces to knit the beanie designed by Faith Hale.

Win some Kool-Aid, a skein of yarn and some Eucalan wash along with a neck warmer pattern to dye your own yarn!  I absolutely love dying yarn with Kool-Aid!  I have done this a number of times; it's so much fun, and you don't have to worry about any hazardous chemicals while dying.

You can also win Tulip's Carry C interchangeable needle set. The set has eleven pairs of bamboo needle tips (US sizes 3-13) with the cables.

Q and A with Jil Eaton - Instructions on how to knit a stitch in the row below.  Her answer contains instructions for knitting the Bee Stitch, which is a very lovely stitch.

Lots of gorgeous patterns, including:




There are also some patterns that combine crochet and knit, such as  a beret designed by Patty Nance and knit with Northampton by Valley Yarns  (I have some of this in my stash to make a cabled blanket designed by Melissa Leapman, and it's very nice yarn!)

If you are interested in dying yarn with Kool-Aid, here is a video demonstrating the process:

If you would like to learn the Bee Stitch, you can find the written pattern HERE, and below is a video demonstrating this stitch


Saturday, June 25, 2011

Sapphires-N-Purls Podcast: Episode 11

Episode 11 is up and running.  You can find links to the magazines I talk about in the magazine tab at the top of the blog, with the exception of the Baby Knits Collection.  I couldn't find a link anywhere for this magazine, sorry.

The Books:
Power Cables by Lily Chin
The Gossamer Webs Design Collection: Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit by Galina Khmeleva
Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman
Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd

The Yarn:
Butterfly Super 10 Mercerized Cotton Yarn from Mouzakis
Sublime Bamboo Pearls DK Yarn
Araucania Azapa  (And I say that I don't know what the colors are of this yarn, because there is just a number on the tag... color names are given on Jimmy Bean's website.  Duh!)
Cascade Ultra Pima 

The Cool Knitting Tools:
Addi Turbo Circular Stitch Holders
Susan Bates Handi Tool