Well, it's finally happened. My KnitPicks ballwinder has died. I bought it for about $20 maybe 8 years ago and it has served me well. For Tipsy Sheep alone, it wound nearly 51,000 yards of yarn, and who knows how much more for personal projects.

But something inside it has stripped, its wibbly-wobbly base-bit is slipping, and it's making some truly horrifying clacking sounds that I'm going to interpret as its death rattle.  I'm going to give it a proper Viking funeral in my bathtub to honor it for its many years of loyal service.

And yet something wonderful will arise from this tragedy, as I've just placed an order for a truly magnificent heavy-duty ball winder from Nancy's Knit Nacks.  It was shockingly expensive, but since Tipsy Sheep is now officially a business (I got my license, registered the name, and everything!) it counts as a business expense, which softens the blow a little. And she offers a wholesalers discount for licensed businesses with a Tax ID number, so that helped, too.

The best part about this winder is that, when Tipsy Sheep inevitably becomes an enormous success, I can purchase a power base for the winder that will make it fully automated, so I can wind up to 5.5 yards per second instead of the measly 1/2 yard MAX I can wind by hand.

It will be a few weeks yet before the winder gets here, and in the meantime I'll be winding the rest of Alaskan Ice Tea by hand. I'm sure the pins in my wrist will just love that, but that's how much I care about my amazing customers :)

Free stuff!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love KnitPicks. Their yarns are great, their accessories work well and are well-priced, and their customer service is absolutely amazing. Like, I received a set of their interchangeable needles, uh, 5 or 6 years ago as a Christmas gift, and when one of the cables broke a few months ago THEY SENT ME TWO NEW ONES FOR FREE. I didn't even have to pay shipping. You can't beat that.

So anyway, KP recently released a new superwash version of their popular Wool of the Andes worsted yarn. I like WotA okay, and it comes in a great variety of colors, but I'm scared of yarns that can felt... so superwash WotA is right up my alley. They haven't made all the colors available in superwash yet but there are some decent options.

KP sent out an email this morning offering a free ball of WotA superwash! Just add a ball of the color of your choice to your cart and enter TRYSUPERWASH (all caps, very important) at checkout. Just pay shipping.

I'm just said that they sent this coupon out the day after my last order shipped. :(

Review: Unofficial Harry Potter Knits 2013

The print edition of Interweave Knit's Unofficial Harry Potter Knits collection hit shelves on Tuesday, though the digital edition has been available for a little longer than that. I purchased the digital edition earlier this week and, knowing that pretty much everyone loves Harry Potter, figured I'd do a little review on it. Some parts of this review may be specific to the digital edition but all notes on the patterns will hold true for both.

I admit that I browse knitting magazines the same way people browse Playboy: it's really not about the articles, I want to skip to the good stuff.  That being said, the articles included in this magazine look pretty interesting. There's an interview with costume designer Jany Temime (who took over for Prisoner of Azkaban and all subsequent films), an article on the meaning of knitting in the Harry Potter universe, and the locations throughout Britain that inspired J.K Rowling and the pattern designers in this magazine. There are a few more articles too, but I skipped those altogether because OMG there are so many patterns in this magazine, can we just get to them already?

Fair warning: every single pattern in this magazine is for a clothing item or accessory. It all goes on your body; there's nothing in here for home, or even a bag or anything.  I was really hoping for a Burrow-inspired blanket or something like Hermione's Bag of Greater Holding (or is that a D&D thing? I can never remember). As much as I love sweaters and socks and hats and whatnot, I also love knitting things I know will bring character and coziness to my home.  Overall the count per item is as follows:

Sweaters: 11 (4 pullovers, 2 cardigans, 4 vests, 1 shrug/wrap)
Scarves/Shawls: 4
Cloaks: 3
Socks: 5
Hand (gloves, mitts, fingerless): 6
Hat: 2
Other: 1

That "other" category is one hair accessory: an Umbridge-inspired bow. So overall this collection is pretty heavy on the sweaters - I count vests as just sleeveless sweaters - and on extremity accessories.

The patterns are divided into  5 different categories:

History of Magic: These patterns seem to be inspired by Hogwarts itself and some of the major events that take place there. Modern Stripes House Scarves, The Sorcerer's Sweater, Dragon's Egg Socks, Heliopath Vest, Tracery Vest.

Care of Magical Creatures: Inspired by the staff of Hogwarts (mainly Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, and Hagrid) and the classes they teach. Dumbledore's Smoking Hat, Dumbledore's Warm Socks, Herbology Socks, Pomona Mitts, Hagrid's Sweater, Forbidden Forest Scarf, Juicy Fly.

Transfiguration:  Not quite sure why these patterns are grouped together. Albanian Forest Mitts, The Gray Lady's Cloak, Ignotus Peverell's Cloak, and Mermaid Song are all based on myths; Fred & George's Socks and the E.L.F. Cap don't seem to fit in at all...

Charms: Seem to be inspired by the two young heroines of the novels, Hermione and Ginny. Pattern's are light and girly and fun, definitely my favorite category by far. Ginny's Cardigan, Sword of Gryffindor Mitts, Mudblood Cardigan, Hermione's Time Turner Mitts, Yule Ball Engageants, Bluebell Flames, O.W.L. Mittens.

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Patterns inspired by the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters they fight.  Order of the Phoenix Winged Vest, Severus Pullover, Tonk's Togs (a two-part pattern: pullover and vest/sleeveless over-sweater), Narcissa Socks, Malfoy Manor Wrapper, Lestrange Cloak.

There are a lot of patterns in there, so I'm not going to go over them one by one, but I'll give you my top 3 favorite and least favorite patterns.

LEAST FAVORITE PATTERNS.

3. Juicy Fly. This is that Umbridge-inspired black bow. I just really don't understand who is supposed to wear this. Maybe if you shrunk it down a little and put it on a headband or something? It's just so weird.

2. Forbidden Forest Scarf.  Two words for you: tentacle porn.

1. Modern House Scarves. No. No no no. NO. *baps you on the nose with a newspaper* The HP house scarves (both the wide stripes of SS/PS and CoS, and the trapped-bar style of PoA and beyond) are iconic. Classic. Beautiful. Not-to-be-messed-with.  These scarves aren't even in the right house colors!

MOST FAVORITE-EST PATTERNS:

3. O.W.L. Mittens. OMG OWLs. I love the idea of these mittens - little knitted cheat sheets for your OWL exams! These are traditional trapezoid-shaped mittens (as opposed to rounded ones) with the top side featuring "a parliament of owls" in white on a blue sky, and the bottom a list of handy-dandy spells. Two-word spells, and really long ones, have half on the left hand and half on the right, so when you look at the palms of your hands they will spell out "Expecto Patronum" and "Expell iarmus." My one issue is that the right-hand glove says "Leviosa," and the left at the same line says "Lumos," as if each is just a one-part spell. It's "wingardium leviosa," people. Levi-OH-sa, not Levi-oh-SAH! And "lumos" can be combined with "maxima" to create a brighter light. Sigh. I mean, if you're a complete nerd/stickler for detail like I am, it would be too hard to re-do the chart to have the PROPER WORDS on the mittens.

2. Sword of Gryffindor Mitts. I'm a sucker for sleeveless gloves, and the vintage German lace pattern on these is just gorgeous.  I love the buttons along the ulna (... uh, outer portion of the arm. Is that a phrase I can use for it?) and the fact that unlike some fingerless glove patterns I've seen, there's an actual thumb bit instead of just a hole. The underside of the gloves is very plain so you won't go blind making so many lace panels. I love that the description markets them as "a handy place to conceal your wand in case you come across the Carrows in the corridors." I'm totally buying a wand just so I can do that.  Maybe something in a rosewood...

1. Ginny's Cardigan. There's a reason this is the cover photo. It's a nicely-fitted cardigan with an absolutely adorable owl-ish motif on the back panel. I love the yarn choice for this (Classic Elite Woodland in Prussian Blue), a soft slightly heathered blue that Ginny would totally rock. Normally I just sub in whatever (usually cheaper!) yarn I want for whatever yarn the pattern recommends, but in this case I think the designer's choice was spot-on. And in addition to the cute owls on the back, the front also sports a very pretty button band and adorable pockets. I love the extra long rib sections at the hem and cuff. I'm definitely going to be knitting this one just as soon as I finish the other sweater I'm making, actually no probably not, I can't wait...

HONORABLE MENTION goes to Dumbledore's Warm Socks. There's nothing terribly fancy about these socks. They're worked toe-up (my preferred method) with a short-row heel (also my preferred method) in a fairly simple seeded rib pattern, with a contrast toe, heel, and cuff. I just freaking love Dumbledore and thought it was so cute that what he really wants in life is a pair of warm, cozy socks; and I also love that some HP fan out there loved Dumbledore too, enough to design a pair of socks he'd really like and use, and even put his initials at the top - Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

The photographs in this magazine are wonderful and showcase the knit items beautifully...but Interweave, I'd really like to have both a physical and digital copy of this, as it is going to KILL my printer trying to print any of these patterns. All those gorgeous full-color photos (and the way you colorized each page to look like aged paper) are going to suck my ink cartridges dry, even if I print in only black and white.  Would it be so hard to include a digital download link with each physical copy you sell? Because I would have totally bought the print edition if I could have also gotten the digital for free, or even a couple bucks extra.  The margins are infinitely higher on a digital copy, so I can see why you'd sell them separately but... come on.

I bought the digital edition because I hate carrying entire books and magazines in my knitting bag when all I really need is one pattern. I was thinking I could just print whatever pattern I was working on, but that's pretty unfeasible with the amount of color that's on each page. I'd rather have bought the physical edition and just sucked it up and carried the whole thing around with me. Maybe I'll get Dear Hubby to print out the pages I need on his fancy (and free) laser printer at the office.

My one big gripe with the digital format is that it gets kind of screwed up in my browser and on my ereader.  Whenever the letters "f" and "i" occur next to each other, the characters either disappear or are replaced by one big box with an X through it.  It's got something to do with the fonts chosen, and apparently something called "ligature" where part of one letter interferes with part of another letter (in this case, the line through the "f" and the dot of the "i") and makes it hard for the browser/reader to see... so it just leaves it out. I can't figure out how to turn off ligature and essentially separate the characters, so I just have to tolerate this utter nonsense. Again, really wish I had a print AND digital version.

Book review: Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn

Blogging to you today via the media computer from my couch, because I am still too sick to be without cozy blankie.  And I've got Grease playing on the TV, because it's what I used to watch when I was home sick as a kid. Some cinnamon raisin toast and a glass of 7-Up and the picture would be complete...

Anyway, I thought I'd pretend my opinion matters and give you all a review of one of my more recent knitting book purchases: Knitting Socks with Handpaintd Yarn by Carol J. Sulcoski.  As you can guess by the title, it's a book of patterns specifically designed to show off awesome handpainted yarns (like, say Tipsy Sheep...).  If you haven't figured out what to do with your Cosmo yarn yet, this book is bound to inspire you.

tadaaaaa

One of my favorite parts of this book is the introduction. It talks about the different kinds of handpainted yarn - wild multis, muted multis, and near-solid or tonal yarn, and each pattern has suggestions for which type it works best with. Nearly solid/tonals are great for showing off fancier stitches, whereas wild and muted multis have so much going on already that a simpler stitch is usually more appropriate. The intro also talks about how slight changes in gauge can drastically alter the ways color will pool and stripe in a handpaint,.. so doing a swatch is super important. (Confession: I almost never swatch. I'm clearly a terrible person.)

The patterns in this book are awesome.  There are simple cable and rib variations, and that gorgeous cover image is created using nothing but planned increases and decreases to give a chevron effect.  It's also the first pattern I made from the book, in KnitPicks Imagination Mermaid Lagoon.  

Hand-knit socks: another perfect comfort item in times of illness.

More complicated patterns work with combining two different handpaints, toying with vertical and horizontal construction, and one called Whirlpool even incorporates beads to create fun flashes of light in the finished sock. There's even corrugated ribbing and fair isle flames thrown in just in case you weren't having fun yet.

And the glossary. Ye gods and little fishes, I love this glossary. The illustrations are very clear and the written instructions are easy to follow. It shows you a variety of cast-ons used in the book (including one called the Eastern Cast-on, which I'd never seen before) as well as all the increases, decreases, and grafting techniques that you'll need to construct these bad boys.

As with any publication, there are always errors that pop up after printing, so be sure to check the errata page over at Interweave before starting any project from this book.

This sinus pressure is killing me. And Grease is making me want diner food. Blaaaarrrrgggghhhhh.....

Oh Em Squee, look at this thing!

I guarantee this is the fanciest octopus you will see all day:

Unless you work at a tuxedos-required aquarium...

Redditor ohjessie made this as part of a site-wide gift exchange and holy crap is he adorable!

The pattern for the octopus itself came from the book Little Knitted Creatures, which is totally going on my wishlist now. Use Amazon's "search inside" feature to see the other cute patterns in it. (I'm particularly excited for the wee turtle and gnome.)

The mustache pattern can be found here and the tophat here.  Both are crochet, but use very basic stitches so perhaps this would be a good intro project for those looking to start crocheting!

So pretty! ... Now what?

So a couple weeks ago I posted about a KnitPicks promotion for a free ball of the Brava acrylic yarn.  Well I totally bought one. It got here a while ago but I was so busy getting Cosmo ready to ship that I didn't even open the box until this morning.  And ooooOOOoooohhh...

A week of 80 degree, super sunny weather and today it's too 

overcast for good pictures. Thanks, Portland.

I got the worsted weight Brava in Peacock, and it's a little bit more teal than the photo above shows.  I'm loving this color... but I have no idea what to make with it.

I'd originally planned to make the adorable Star Crossed Slouchy Beret from Ravelry, but upon reading the pattern realized that it wasn't, in fact, written for worsted weight yarn. Oops.  It's written for Aran weight, which is somewhere between worsted and bulky and is, for some reason, insanely hard to find.  A thicker worsted would probably be passable for the pattern but Brava is pretty much a middle-of-the-road, straight worsted weight.

Plus I think my head is a funny shape and that this beret might make me look like a muppet.

So it's back to browsing Ravelry for hours on end to find just the right pattern. Oh the horror. Someone save me from this torment.

We now have a Ravelry group!

If you haven't heard of it already, Ravelry is an absolutely amazing resource for knitters, crocheters, and fiber lovers in general. They have a plethora of patterns (most free, some for a small cost) for all skill levels, and you can share your projects, progress, and questions with other users.

And now Tipsy Sheep has its own group! And I have absolutely no idea what to do with it!

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tipsy-sheep-yarn

Maybe we could share patterns and photos of what you all wind up making with the yarn?  And if you, oh I dunno, feel like promoting/sharing this with your friends........

Free yarn!

As you can probably tell from my project post, I'm kind of a big fan of KnitPicks. They just sent out an email saying that until June 18, you can get a free ball of their Brava acrylic, which comes in worsted, sport, and bulky weights.  I've never used Brava before, but it's free, so why not? Just add a ball to your cart and then use code TRYBRAVA3 at checkout to get it free.