Here are a couple of things about me and my company that you may not have known about that I thought you might find interesting. Some of these things cost me a little bit more or take a little more time but they're things that I want to do to make sure that everything is just how I want it to be.
I use recycled paper to print all my labels and receipts.
I insure every package I send using a private shipping company.
I skein, dye, reskein, photograph, label, package and ship each skein of yarn myself.
All my handspun is spun on my Lendrum Double Treadle wheel that I bought in 2005.
All my yarn and roving is dyed by me in my kitchen.
I design all my own graphics, including ads.
I use Etsy artists to print my labels and stickers.
I blend my own herbs for the sachets and sew or iron the patches on myself.
Sometimes my husband helps me name yarn colors when I'm feeling blocked.
Usually his handwriting is on the labels because mine is awful awful.
Those who have received thank you notes can attest to my awful handwriting.
Noelle's Noodle was the name of my first personal (and handcoded) website in 1997.
That's all I can think of for the moment. But I thought you guys might find it interesting anyway.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Makeshift tapestry needle
At the office with cody today and I'm grafting the unbiased scarf using a pen top as a yarn needle :)
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
taken and uploaded using my blackberry
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Opposing Biases Scarf (Reverse Engineering Edition)
I'm well into my holiday knitting here while I wait anxiously for a delivery of aran weight yarn blanks. Take your friggin time Fed Ex.
So I'm to my father-in-law on the list and since he's never received a scarf from me and that's what they heavily hinted he needed during their visit last week that's what he's getting this year.
Back in 2005 I made this great scarf for myself from a free one sheet pattern that was at my LYS. It was made with a thicker rough spun wool/silk/mohair blend yarn from Japan that most US knitters are familiar with called Noro Iro and was my post-holiday easy to make for myself celebratory knit.
I love this scarf so much I still wear it pretty much every time I go out when it's cold. Seriously. I love all the freaky little colors in this scarf there's just no comparison. You know it's an Eisaku Noro yarn when you see this combination of colors.
I used to talk only about painters and sculptors this way. Now I talk about yarn artists too.
And I still get compliments on it! Even at my LYS last winter someone who worked there said that it was beautiful. Now that's pretty cool. I told them I got the pattern from there but they didn't remember it. Someone on Ravelry wrote to me asking about this pattern last week too.
So this week as I dug unto my stash looking for yarn to knit holiday gifts (I'm knitting from my stash so go me) I ran across some more masculine Noro Iro that suits my father-in-law really well. I looked through all 900,000 pages of my printed patterns to find this old pattern from almost four years ago. No luck.
So I sat and looked at my favorite scarf and reverse engineered it instead. Here's what I came up with.
It's not that complex and I haven't written a pattern in years but at least it gives a good idea of what to do :) Eventually I'll PDF it and everything I just wanted to type it out while it was fresh in my mind.
Opposing Biases Scarf (reverse engineering edition)
I made this scarf in January 2005 and it is STILL my favorite scarf to wear. Because it's knit in stockinette stitch even after blocking it will roll up sometimes (the slipped stitches will help a bit) but this makes it a very cozy scarf.
This scarf is long enough to double up around the neck too!
Yarn:
2 skeins Noro Iro
Size 11 needles
tapestry or yarn needle
Optional Crochet Hook for fringe
Terms
WYIB - With yarn held in the back
KF&B - Knit into the front and the back of the same stitch
K2tog - Knit two stitches together
Instructions
CO 22 stitches
Row 1 - WYIB Slip first stitch as if to purl, Kf&B, K to last 3 stitches, K2tog, Knit the last stitch
Row 2 - WYIF Slip first stitch as if to purl, purl to the end
Repeat until you use most of the first skein and/or have enough to make optional fringe place live stitches on stitch holder
Use 2nd skein of yarn to make an identical scarf, leave enough yarn to graft two scarves together and/or make optional fringe.
Soak and pin out the scarves to block to a shape you prefer. This softens the yarn too which can be a bit rough.
Use a Kitchener stitch or 3 needle bind off (or even a mattress stitch) to graft scarves together to make one very long scarf.
Use your favorite technique to make an optional fringe (I love wrapping yarn around a dvd case to make mine long and scraggly) and use a crochet hook to add to the ends of scarf.
So I'm to my father-in-law on the list and since he's never received a scarf from me and that's what they heavily hinted he needed during their visit last week that's what he's getting this year.
Back in 2005 I made this great scarf for myself from a free one sheet pattern that was at my LYS. It was made with a thicker rough spun wool/silk/mohair blend yarn from Japan that most US knitters are familiar with called Noro Iro and was my post-holiday easy to make for myself celebratory knit.
I love this scarf so much I still wear it pretty much every time I go out when it's cold. Seriously. I love all the freaky little colors in this scarf there's just no comparison. You know it's an Eisaku Noro yarn when you see this combination of colors.
I used to talk only about painters and sculptors this way. Now I talk about yarn artists too.
And I still get compliments on it! Even at my LYS last winter someone who worked there said that it was beautiful. Now that's pretty cool. I told them I got the pattern from there but they didn't remember it. Someone on Ravelry wrote to me asking about this pattern last week too.
So this week as I dug unto my stash looking for yarn to knit holiday gifts (I'm knitting from my stash so go me) I ran across some more masculine Noro Iro that suits my father-in-law really well. I looked through all 900,000 pages of my printed patterns to find this old pattern from almost four years ago. No luck.
So I sat and looked at my favorite scarf and reverse engineered it instead. Here's what I came up with.
It's not that complex and I haven't written a pattern in years but at least it gives a good idea of what to do :) Eventually I'll PDF it and everything I just wanted to type it out while it was fresh in my mind.
Opposing Biases Scarf (reverse engineering edition)
I made this scarf in January 2005 and it is STILL my favorite scarf to wear. Because it's knit in stockinette stitch even after blocking it will roll up sometimes (the slipped stitches will help a bit) but this makes it a very cozy scarf.
This scarf is long enough to double up around the neck too!
Yarn:
2 skeins Noro Iro
Size 11 needles
tapestry or yarn needle
Optional Crochet Hook for fringe
Terms
WYIB - With yarn held in the back
KF&B - Knit into the front and the back of the same stitch
K2tog - Knit two stitches together
Instructions
CO 22 stitches
Row 1 - WYIB Slip first stitch as if to purl, Kf&B, K to last 3 stitches, K2tog, Knit the last stitch
Row 2 - WYIF Slip first stitch as if to purl, purl to the end
Repeat until you use most of the first skein and/or have enough to make optional fringe place live stitches on stitch holder
Use 2nd skein of yarn to make an identical scarf, leave enough yarn to graft two scarves together and/or make optional fringe.
Soak and pin out the scarves to block to a shape you prefer. This softens the yarn too which can be a bit rough.
Use a Kitchener stitch or 3 needle bind off (or even a mattress stitch) to graft scarves together to make one very long scarf.
Use your favorite technique to make an optional fringe (I love wrapping yarn around a dvd case to make mine long and scraggly) and use a crochet hook to add to the ends of scarf.
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