Wow, we’re still in the middle of the Peace Project KAL, so it’s hard to realize that the New Year will be here in a flash. I’m thrilled to say that this year will bring another round of the Kindess KAL! It was so heartwarming to see how many people participated last year and to appreciate all of their different Kindness KAL projects with creative color and yarn combinations. The new KAL will feature a new Kindness KAL shawl pattern (not published yet) and will run from February 1-April 1 2018.
I’m really happy with the new Kindness colorway this year (there was a pile on Liz’s desk this morning and I had to pick it up and pretend-eat it, I love it so). The soft grays flow into sky blue and rich purples. Purple has traditionally been associated with magic, and I also associate it with forgiveness and kindness, any emotion that expands the mind and spirit. Hopefully you will all enjoy it, too!
These days, we need acts of kindness more than ever. The way the KAL will run isn’t set yet; if you have ideas of how people can contribute time, talent or money to organizations through the KAL, please leave a comment here or on instagram (@knitcircus_yarns).
The inspiration for this colorway’s name came from the Madison, Wisconsin mothers who created these yard signs. If you like what you see, you could get one for your own window or yard!
You don’t have to wait for the KAL; use this color for any favorite project! But do mark your calendar to knit along with us for Kindness starting February 1.
Our newest color, Love is Love, is a thank-you to all of the brave individuals in the knitting community and in our families and friend circles who have the courage to be who they are and love the person who makes them happy.
We believe that rights of LGBT individuals are human rights and that, when they are able to perform their best at school, work and home, without restriction, discrimination or threat, we all benefit. So in perpetuity, we’ll be donating 10% of the purchase price of this colorway to the Human Rights Campaign.
This colorway was tricky to create; the more colors in a gradient that are very different from each other, the more difficult it is to apply the dye without areas of muddy overlap. The red, yellow and orange bit isn’t too hard, but there’s just no way around it; green and purple make an unappealing brown.
There was no way around it, we thought, but then we came up with a different solution; applying the green as two separate colors, blue and yellow layered over each other. Voila! Now we could create a rainbow with all of the colors in the right order, all caked up and ready to go.
It’s our birthday and you’re invited! June 16th 5-7:30 join us for a party at the Studio, 634 Grand Canyon Drive in Madison, Wisconsin. We’ll have live music, prizes, a pop-up shop from a local maker, and cake!
Saturday June 17th we’ll have classes with Susan B. Anderson, a sidewalk sale and and more pop-up-shop action. Both days you can win prizes when you visit us. More class details coming soon!
We’re so happy to be in the Studio and hope you can join us to celebrate.
It’s a whirlwind of activity here as we’ve been sending out Trunk Shows for June (Yarnology, Strings Attached and the Yarnover Truck, whooo!), preparing for TNNA (luckily, I’m just attending, not vending), working on our Kickstarter campaign (still time to get in on the exclusive rewards if you haven’t yet!), getting ready to release a new collection this Friday (yay!) AND packing up for the big move June 1st. And all without our beloved Amy D, who’s leading a group of knitters around Ireland as we speak. 🙂
STUDIO NEWS
Maybe not the prettiest photo, but the prettiest things to me! These are the official Keys to the Studio, so we can come and go at will. Our landlord, Tom, is determined to get everything done so we can move in on time. This is no easy task! He’s in the middle of having the ventilation system installed, tiling and plumbing the bathroom, finished putting in extra electrical for our stoves and is about to knock out a wall!
Grand Canyon Speckle
And here’s the Exclusive Grand Canyon Speckle colorway for our wonderful backers! Getting the pale color to show up was a challenge, but I”m very happy with the way it turned out and hope you’ll love it, too.
paint chips of the world, unite
Today, we have the fun job of picking out colors for the new spaces…no bashful grays here!
We have a new page on our website for Studio Events! Please check it out for classes, events and general good times.
Finally, I’m very excited to announce one of those Events; the Knitcircus Studio Open House! We’ll celebrate having our doors open and our new digs on Saturday, June 27th, from 12-4:00 pm. If you’re local to Madison, Wisconsin, please join us for gourmet treats, our fresh new store and a special sale event!
We’re skeining, dyeing, labeling and packing as fast as we can to get ready for Yarn Con in Chicago this weekend! Belle will be accompanying me and we’re really looking forward to the sweet organizers and meeting/seeing Chicago knitters.
YARN CON COLORS
The Yarn Con people had a great idea and they asked a number of indie dyers to collaborate on a fun project before the show; custom Yarn Con colorways! The yarns will be sold at the show as a way to help sustain the event, which has been getting bigger and better every year! (You certainly can’t beat free event parking in Chicago).
We got a little excited and I may have actually designed three colorways, including a whole new dyeing technique I’ve never tried before! The yarn above is a brand-new Speckle colorway inspired by the current Yarn Con logo colors. Everyone in the Lair loved it, and I couldn’t resist naming it Put Me in the Zoo, after the beloved children’s book.
The Speckle technique was so much fun, I’ve designed a number of colorways which will debut this Friday at 10:00 cst as part of the new Late Spring Yarn collection!
More Yarn Con Colors: I designed a gradient using the deep red and pale blue from the Yarn Con logo. These are two colors I’ve always wanted to work with, so it was a lot of fun.
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Then we have a handpaint focusing on the deep red. This is a cousin to the popular Ruby Slippers colorway from the Wizard of Oz collection.
Yarn con has lots of great vendors, like Sun Valley, Fleur de Fiber, Sophie’s Toes and lots more, plus classes from the lovely likes of Andi Smith, Jen Lucas and more, so if you’re in the Chicagoland area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hi!
LATE SPRING YARN COLLECTION
The new collection will be up in the web store this Friday at 10:00 am, which means we have to say goodbye to some of our favorite Spring yarns until next year!
This weekend, my dad is going to fulfill his dream of taking Li’l Buddy and some friends skiing up north, “While I can still ski!”
This knitter isn’t a big skiier, but I’m more than happy to come along for the ride to keep the party going, cook, organize and stand by with extra warm clothes if anyone’s forgotten anything. Mike and Belle get to stay home and enjoy a relaxing weekend with the pets.
Happy Accident
We didn’t plan for this, but due to a Lair snafu, we ended up with a 300-g ball of yarn! I figured, what the heck, I’ll dye it rainbow, because that’s fun.
At first, when it was all wound up into a cake, we all just laughed, but then we started to like it. A lot.
Our Big Rainbow has three full repeats of the Over the Rainbow
Then we started thinking, you could make a whole small adult sweater, baby blanket or three-skein shawl with this baby!
What do you guys think? Would you use or love a huge skein, or is it just too crazy-big? Please tell me your thoughts!
Snickerdoodles
This week, I made Snickerdoodles for the kids as an after-school treat. The best part was that Lil Buddy’s nearly-silent friend piped up when I asked what kind of cookies they wanted and clearly stated, “Snickerdoodles!”
That name is so fun to say, it can bring out even the shyest.
we always use the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe for these and they turn out great. Except no cream of tartar, because they make it taste a bit tinny in my opinion.
These were gone within 48 hours.
Light the Lights
Speaking of fun, the new color of the month is up, and it is delightful, if I do say so. We named it “Light the Lights,” from the Muppet show theme song, because these colors reminded us of their high-energy hijinks. Gonzo blue, Kermit green and Miss Piggy pink, anyone?
And no more waiting weeks for your color of the month! Now that we’ve re-vamped things in the Lair and Erin the fabulous Assistant Dyer is on the scene, we’re turning things around much faster.
Crossing my fingers for a fun, safe ski trip up north and hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
After a very busy holiday yarn season, we all took a week off to enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
With Christmas and Hannukkah so close, it was a whirlwind, with matzo ball soup and candles at my parents’ then our family’s traditional homemade Swedish Meatball Christmas Eve dinner here. Every year, we make up a new 12 Days of Christmas song to reflect the events of the year, so this one included “nine baseball players,” “three weeks of clouds,” and “A Sasha under the tree.”
this little hat was a gift from my mom, handknit and fairly traded
After The Best Christmas Ever(tm), with brunch at our place and dinner at Mom and Dad’s, we took a whirlwind trip to Michigan to check out Mike’s dad’s tree, 12 feet tall with more than a thousand ornaments. Little Buddy found the pickle.
Then two days and two cakes of celebrating Li’l Buddy’s birthday. German Chocolate cake is a family tradition, and it’s an old-fashioned one, with egg separating both for the cake and the frosting. But man, is it worth the time. The kids who came over for a sleepover (just a few this year) got homemade chocolate cupcakes with ganache.
And then it was New Year’s Eve, and frankly, my dears, we were partied out. I snuggled up in our new flannel sheets with a laptop and Dr. Who (season 3, David Tennant, now my favorite Doctor) while Lil Buddy hung out with friends and MIke and Belle puzzled the evening away.
If you’re puzzlers, I highly recommend this particular one, the Fairytale Fantasia. I have never seen a more intricate, detailed picture, though its complexity isn’t for the faint of puzzle-heart.
And now it’s 2015! Today we’re back to work in the Lair for one big day before the weekend, doing exciting end-of-2014-things like inventory and taxes. But we’ve got a new year of yarn creating and knitting!
Knit this Year
I took a few luxurious moments to revisit my favorite projects on Ravelry, and though my knitting time is limited these days, a girl can dream! Here’s what I’m hoping to work up this year:
Moyen Age; this is my dream sweater to knit for myself this year. I just find this delicate design by Hada Knits captivating, and it looks good on all of the Ravelers who’ve posted photos.
Knotted Pine, by Alicia Plummer; love these cables, with just enough texture and changes to keep it interesting.
My mom loves the Manly Scarf in progress Mike, so she requested a version for herself using the 100% cashmere Trapeze yarn I dyed for her for Christmas. A (Wo)manly scarf! This pattern uses a classic texture pattern for a timeless effect and it’s perfect car or waiting room knitting.
Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s patterns always intrigue me, and I’d love to try the unusual stitch in her Moko-Moko cowl.
Of course, Susie Anderson is on the list, with her 50-Row Shawl I’ve been itching to try. A worsted-weight shawl would be so comfy in the winter.
Dandelion Days cowl; big surprise, I love the combination of cables and lace in this compelling cowl.
In fingering, I’m going to try the Ici Paris Beret for my mom; she loves Paris, and I’ve been curious about the Eiffel Tower Stitch for years.
I want the Zag-Edged Scarf for myself; the combo of garter stitch and a nice edging looks like a sure winner for the actual knitting time I have, which is usually while playing Big Bang Clue or watching Modern Family with our own family.
Et Frais would make a perfect use for our gradient yarns in the 25g balls. That texture looks super fun.
For socks, I always use Susie Anderson’s How I Make My Socks or Wendy Johnson’s toe-up basic slip-stitch heel pattern, but this year I’d like to try the Fleegle heel with the Time Traveler Socks and some nice patterning with RPM, like Cindy did in our KAL earlier this year.
Kirsten Kapur creates lovely patterns and I’d love to knit up her Snow Drops and Snap Peas shawl, as well as my perennial favorite, Cladonia.
Hey, I’m sure it’s just me, but I hate when my inbox gets flooded with messages for people vying for my business on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But I do love my customers and we do have some very special, limited-edition prices going on, combined with a way to help families have more to eat this holiday season. So here goes!
We’ve got some beautiful kettle-dyes and handpaints in the store, and all are 30% off! We’ll be adding new ones every day this week.
And every single ready-to-ship yarn in the shop is now 10% off!
And, because it’s the holidays, we’ll donate $1 to Second Harvest Food Bank for every order we receive between now and December 23rd. One dollar is three meals, so three people get to eat every time you buy yarn. That’s something we can all feel warm and happy about!
Castle, Project Runway, Project Runway All Stars, Master Chef Junior, Big Bang Theory, Madam Secretary, Orphan Black, Percy Jackson books, Man’s Best Hero by Ace Collins
I couldn’t wait to tell you that we’re ready to offer four more colors, and now the Harry-Potter-Inspired House Socks collection is complete!
Introducing: Brave at Heart. I Proud crimson stripes with magnificent gold. Whether you’re fighting evil or standing up for your friends, you’ll go roaring through these socks in no time at all! Along with Wit and Learning, Just and Loyal and Cunning Folk, Brave at Heart celebrates the different strengths of magic and muggle folk alike.
You can tell I’m a geek at heart! The next striping sock set is The Shire: Beautiful, springlike colors evoke the gardens of a peaceful land. Colors slowly change from pale to ripe peach to pale and ivy green.
The next: Autumn Forest. This was September’s popular color of the month, now translated into Gradient Stripes. We could never match Mother Nature’s paintbrush, but this is our homage to it. Autumn Forest begins with a cheerful leaf green, before striping to warm chestnut brown, then passing through a brilliant orange to a golden yellow.
Finally: Over the Rainbow. Rainbow stripes! Yellow, orange, red, hot pink, purple, blue, and finally green stripe with each other. Whoo!!!!
I’m having so much fun creating these new colors and knitting up socks of my own! I can’t wait to see what you all do with them. 🙂
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