Discoveries

Happy Friday! It has been such a lovely summer week here. So nice to sit on the patio at knit night, needles clicking away amidst the laughs, until the sun went down. I love the long summer days (well, until it is too hot and I dream of chilly fall evenings). I discovered a few things, some crafty, some not, that I wanted to share.

1. The return of the mojo. The pattern designing mojo to be specific.



I think perhaps I just needed to bring myself to a cafe for it to happen?!

2. Craftmas in July. Mary Heather and the other fun ravelry ladies have a great idea about crafting for the holidays in July, when we aren't up to our ears in holiday knitting. I may either get a head start on some Christmas gifts, or finally start on this cute advent calendar (so inspired by Knitterella's version) or these fabulous ornament kits that I bought last year and didn't get a chance to put together.

3. Wavelength by Knitterella. Perhaps this could be one of the gifts I knit in July.

I bought the pattern as soon as it was available because I just have to get over my colorwork fear. Don't get me wrong. I know colorwork isn't hard. I've taken a class on it and did a little of it in a baby project or two when I first learned to knit, but I haven't done it in so long, I think I have to just jump in a cast on.

4. Irish Pub Rock Station on Pandora is made of win. And makes me think of Erica!

5. Sunshine Yarns. Ok, not something I've discovered as I've loved Dani's colorways for quite awhile. I can't even say it is the new gradients I've discovered. Really, I've been trying to limit my yarn purchases for some time, but in the past few weeks, there have been a few I couldn't resist.







Pure lovely, right? I think these pretties may explain why the design mojo is back.

6. Cranford, a charming BBC series on Amazon Prime that Cupcakefaerie recommended. A few episodes in and I love it!

Any new discoveries lately? I'd love to hear! Hope you all have a fantastic weekends!





Happy Weekend!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

More Good Things.

1. Instead of taking my class tonight (the series of graduate classes I've been taking the past year), I skipped it.  Because I found out today that some other coursework I took was approved and I can sit for my boards in January!!!  WOohooo!!!  (trying to ignore the fact that that means January will be super super busy now)

2.  It is Friday!!  And though I work next week, it is hopefully a fun mellow one  since it is the week before the holidays.

3. I finished that hat I was working on tonight.  More knitting now that I don't have that class.  Plus chunky yarn is made of win!

4.  I have a new design being released in the next week or so.  It will be the first of a collection (more details soon!!).   It features the lovely Sunshine Yarns colorwork kits.  Here's a sneak peek...



5.  I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the blogiversary specials!  Since I probably won't have time to prep one for Saturday, I'm doing two for today and tomorrow.  You still have time to knit up a Dancette for Christmas.

Dancette       $3.00 until December 15, 2012 (11:59pm PST).



And just in case you really need a few last minute gifts....

Naylor Street        $3.00 until December 15, 2012 (11:59pm PST).





Perfect for everyone in the family!

6.  Time for a contest!!  A few lucky winners will win an IGK pattern of their choice from the IGK ravelry shop and one fabulous winner will win a yarny prize too!   All you need to do to enter is tell me a favorite holiday tradition you have this time of year....or something special you enjoy this time of year.... a new tradition? old one?  One you miss?  Please be sure to leave a way to contact you (e.g., ravelry id, email address)

I'll start.  Last year my family started two new traditions that we'll be doing in the next week.  First, seeing the Nutcracker in San Francisco.  It was magical last year and I can't wait to go again.  Second, my mom, sister and I spent a day in the city enjoying all of the holiday decorations, doing some shopping, and having just a fun day together.  We're doing that this Saturday.  Can't wait!!

Leave a comment by December 15, 2012 (11:59pm PST) and I'll announce the winners this weekend.

Happy Friday!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Capitola

Seems fitting that as summer winds down, I'm able to release my Capitola sock pattern for you.  They are such a quick knit, you could start them now and have them ready to wear in a week or two when fall is here!  A little bit of summer for your feet.

These socks were originally knit for a kit for Sunshine Yarns.  Of course, I think it was Dani's plan to just ensure my love for her yarns, because I think since knitting these I've enhanced my stash with a few more skeins of Dani's gorgeous yarns!

Capitola 





Shown in Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sport, colorway Desert Cactus

I LOVED knitting with Dani's yarns.  The Luxury Sport was, well, luxury.  And talk about a quick knit!  Her colors are just gorgeous!

This pattern reminds me a lot of all the things I love about my Cotty Socks. Its written for both sportweight and fingering weight yarns, looks great in both semi-solids and variegated yarns, and features an easy to memorize pattern.





Shown in Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock, colorway Caramel Swirl




Once again, Jill did an awesome job with the pattern layout.



Summer knitting at the coast. Feet up on the balcony, listening to the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs below. Sun shining down. Just imagine yourself in Capitola, the charming beach village in Santa Cruz County, CA where these socks were knit. The easy to memorize pattern on these socks, paired with the gorgeous Sunshine yarns, make them the perfect summer project!

More info is listed here.  I think I may need to get a start on holiday knitting and cast on another pair of these!  Perfect chance to take advantage of the IGK back-to-school sale too! From now until Sept. 5, all of my individual patterns sold through my Ravelry store, including Capitola, are 25% off when you enter the couupon code: backtoschool .



Happy happy weekend!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Let's Catch Up!

Wow! Although summer has been a bit more relaxed, it sure has been busy! I've fallen a bit behind in blogging so tonight I'll try to catch up!

Let's first start with a countdown! 19 more sleeps until Sock Summit!!!  Woohoo!!  Can't wait! I'm flying in a few days early, so 16 sleeps for me!

Who else is going to Sock Summit?  I can't wait to see both new and old friends!

I've also been wanting to release a free pattern for awhile now and I finally released it yesterday! Another thing to check-off the must-do before Sock Summit list.  Meet my new sock pattern, Honey Badger.



I think you guys will like this one.  My fabulous, speedy test knitters Disco, Manda, and Gaylen, said it flew off their needles!  Thank you again ladies for all your help this week!



The slipped stitches will work great with variegated yarns too.  But if it doesn't, well, honey badgers don't care, right?!  These socks have been brewing in my head since sock camp! 



Sock camp brings out all sorts of silliness, and learning too, but really, this sock knitting community is pretty fabulous and fun.  At camp this year, the Honey Badger seemed to become our impromptu mascot.  When it came time to name this pattern, I just couldn’t resist naming it after the Honey Badger, the most fearless animal in all of the animal kingdom.  Be fearless with your sock knitting!  Honey Badgers don’t care! 



Honey Badger

Notes: Instructions are written for a cuff-down sock. Charts are provided on the last page.

Suggested Yarns: 350-380 yards of fingering weight yarn such as BMFA Socks that Rock lightweight, The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon fingering, Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sock, Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock, Knitted Wit Superwash Merino Fingering, Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Luxe Merino Fine

Materials: Size US 1 (2.25mm) or size to obtain gauge, either DPNs or circular needles, Stitch markers, Tapesty needle

Gauge: 32 stitches and 48 rows = 4” over st st

Size: adult women’s X-Small (Small, Medium, Large)

Finished measurements: 6 ½ (7 ¼, 8, 8 ¾)" foot circumference; 6” approximate leg length

Another special thanks to Thayer and Tricia for doing a fabulous job with the modeling and photography! I don't know where I would be without them.  Plus, I gave them the challenge of figuring out how to model just one sock :)

This is my favorite photo from the day!



And would you believe we saw this guy on the drive up to our photo shoot!  I sooooo wanted to make Thayer jump out and model the sock next to him, but um....we think he was dead.



Even though this was a free pattern, I still wanted to have it feature my new pattern format.  I really, really need to thank Jill, aka Knitterella, for being such an awesome resource for me as my graphic designer.  I highly recommend her if you are looking for graphic design work!



Not only did she do the pattern layout, but she was also a sponsor of this pattern!  Please go show her some love and thank her! I really do appreciate being able to offer this pattern for free and with such a professional look.  Thank you Jill!



I've been keeping Jill busy with pattern reformatting too!  I have two more of my previously published designs in my new layout.



From now until July 15, Dotty and Sweet Baby Kate will be specially-priced at $4.50 and then they will be $6.00, as my other patterns.

See, lots of fun stuff!  One would wonder if I am finding any time to knit.  Well, truth be told, once I had another secret project off the needles, I spent most of the week working on the extra stuff, such as pattern writing.  But last night I did finally cast on another Summer Wind.  I've loved seeing all of the Summer Winds knit up in our KAL, so I was inspired!  Plus, I need some almost mindless knitting.


Anzula Squishy (and omg....love love how squishy it is!)

Hey, I didn't say I'd made a lot of progress, just that I'd cast on!

I also hope to cast on for the Kollage Yarns' IrishgirlieKnits KAL this week too.   I plan to use this gorgeous skein of Sock-a-licous.......



.... to make Keegan, a super quick and easy baby hat and cables pattern that I designed for their Fall line. 


I just love these wee baby socks!


And I could eat her up she is so stinkin' cute!

Okay, and if you have made it through this long catch-up post, I'll treat you to some highlights from my weekend!


Homemade pizza!



And re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I can't wait to see the movie!  Oh, and yes, that gorgeous skein of Ginny from Sunshine Yarns showed up in the mail today!

Any of you excited to see Harry Potter this week?  What do you need to catch me up on? Hope you are having a fantastic weekend!

Now off to bed I go....

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Rainy Weekend, but Sunshine Ahead

Rain in California in June?!  It sure has been awhile for that, but yesterday it rained a ton!  Initially, it put a bit of a damper on my plans with Lil' Guy, but we quickly adjusted.

After a trip to the Lego store (and btw, he could have hung out there forever!), we played blocks with Auntie Rowan.



Then we were off to Sky High Sports, an indoor trampoline place that Snowboarder and Lil' Snowboarder love, but I haven't been there before. Well, this was right up Lil' Guy's alley.



I love these blurry pictures of him, because, well, he is too quick!



Here he is waiting in line for the foam pit. He was not intimidated by the big kids at all.



He even tried to jump off the side of the wall like the big kids.



There was some doggie walking too!



Pa was on duty with my brother's dog, Shadow.



That looks like a tough job, huh?

The sun came out in the evening for a fun time at Grandma's house! I forgot to take pictures because I was too busy recording the kids shaking their butts to a fierce game of freeze dance! Too cute!



And, he was up bright and early this morning and happy as can be!! Just love that kid to bits, even if I needed a very long nap this afternoon!

After all this rain around here the past week, I'm definitely in need of some sunshine...

That's where Dani of Sunshine Yarns comes in!

I've been teasing you with photos of my new Capitola Sock Pattern, and on Tuesday, June 7, the kit will be available exclusively through Sunshine Yarns!  More details about the kit are featured in her newsletter.





Shown in Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sport, colorway Desert Cactus

Before I go further, I have to say something.  I LOVED knitting with Dani's yarns.  The Luxury Sport was, well, luxury.  And talk about a quick knit!  I haven't knit with the Classic sock before either and well, it is going to be hard not to buy another skein or two of this in this week's update!  Her colors are just gorgeous!  You should see some of the colors she has planned for the kit too!

This pattern reminds me a lot of all the things I love about my Cotty Socks. Its written for both sportweight and fingering weight yarns, looks great in both semi-solids and variegated yarns, and features an easy to memorize pattern.





Shown in Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock, colorway Caramel Swirl




Once again, Jill did an awesome job with the pattern layout.  I was pretty chuffed when I saw the printed out version for Dani's kits!  The hard copy of the pattern is 11 x 17 and folded in half, which means no pages to lose!  Plus it looks quite professional if I can say so myself.  Thanks again Jill!



Summer knitting at the coast. Feet up on the balcony, listening to the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs below. Sun shining down. Just imagine yourself in Capitola, the charming beach village in Santa Cruz County, CA where these socks were knit. The easy to memorize pattern on these socks, paired with the gorgeous Sunshine yarns, make them the perfect summer project!

Now that should brighten up our week, right!

I'll have a few other fun things to share this week too!  Although I won't be going to TNNA next weekend, I have a few designs and news to share with you this week!  Go peek here...

One more week of busy, busy, busy work, and then it is summer!! Still working of course, but so much more relaxed!!  Anything fun you in the week ahead for you guys?  Share share so I can get through this crazy week ahead....

Happy Knitting!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits