Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Adding beads using a crochet hook

Add some bling to your knitting (and the Motley pattern) by incorporating beads into your project. Here is a great "how to" video. It's easy peasy - and now you have the tools to do it! Enjoy!

Spoiler shots

Hey - why not? I guess if you're looking here, you either already have the shipment or can't wait for it :).

Presenting Coleus and Meadow...


This month's pattern is Motley, designed by Aleen Caplan Yamasaki.


Detail:

Some great bead sources

Need beads for your Motley pattern? Need beads for other projects? How about for the upcoming Hazel Knits Ravelry KAL? (shhh... that one is still a secret... :)

Fusion Beads is my hands down favorite bead store. Before I learned to knit, I had a mild obsession with beads. I even have a "stash" - which was really the motivation long ago to have stitch markers a big part of the HK line (some of you may remember this - it's been a while... and they are ready for a revival!) Anyway, of all of the bead shops in Seattle, Fusion was my favorite place to browse. And one of the best things about Fusion? They have an online store that has almost double the stock of their retail location. Woot! Plus... drumroll... free shipping!

When originally comparing the Coleus yarn with beads at their shop, this was my favorite, with this coming in at a close second.

I've heard a few things about beads fading when laundered. To be honest, I've only knit with beads on hats and wrist warmers - two things that don't need to be washed nearly as much as socks. However, I've also heard that there's not much fading at all. Mostly, I think it has to do with the gold or silver lined beads, as the color is "applied" to those beads, not fused with them when they are created. This may be averted by a quick dunk to the "leg" part of the sock and more soaking to the soles of the socks, yet that seems like a lot of work. If you are worried, go with an all glass bead that is solid colored. I had the Motley sample knit in clear beads for the "safe" factor, but I think I'm going to risk it and do the metallic maroon bronze for my personal pair.

Here is another link about beads shared by Viki.

I can't wait to see what you all do with this Motley pattern!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Seattle Trunk Show - Fiber Gallery

Get stocked up on yarn for your winter projects. I'll be at the Fiber Gallery on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 from 10am - noon. The yarn will be there all weekend. For this hometown trunk show I'll be bringing several new colors that have never been seen before. New shades of green, brown, blue and more!

The Fiber Gallery is located at: 7000 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hazel Knits at Serial Knitters

Greetings Seattle area and Western Washington knitters!

Looking for an up close and personal fix of Hazel Knits? Here's your chance! I'll be at Serial Knitters this Sunday, September 19th with oodles of yarn. I'll be bringing almost all of the colorways, plus kits and more!


Serial Knitters
8427 122nd Ave NE - Kirkland, WA 98033
425-242-0086

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Belle tours Europe

This is pretty cool - check out Mapleweave's blog! (Mapleweave on Ravelry:)
(photo swiped from her blog.)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Knitwear, silver style




How fun are these?! All available from Wearthou's etsy shop. She's a little backed up right now, as she was recently featured on etsy. I think these will be worth the wait!

Friday, June 18, 2010

On the Plate...

Farmer's Market season is in full swing in Western Washington. While I always have high hopes for having my own abundant vegetable garden, the reality is that it takes a green thumb (which I have) and a significant amount of time (not so much.) That's why I am so grateful that we are lucky enough to have several amazing farmer's markets in Seattle. Depending on how early or late it is in the season, you can find just about everything you need to make quick, healthy meals. Plus, the fruit! Oh the fruit! I'm pretty sure I have eaten more cherries, raspberries and strawberries in the last three weeks than I have all year - yet I gotta get them while they are hot.

Another thing I love about the farmers markets is that you can find things that aren't often available in the typical grocery store. For example, last week we found these awesome blue potatoes (appropriately named "All Blue") and this gorgeous heirloom tomato.




There hasn't been much cooking outside of the grill as of late and no new recipes that have tried and true, however I did come across this recipe for Cherry Granitas which sounds delicious - perhaps even more so with a little spirits (read Vodka) added? Hmmm... now there's an idea... :)

If you're not sure if there's a farmer's market in your area, here's a LINK to the National Farmer's Market database.

Knit Happy!!

I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a Post It note fiend. Specifically, a Post It FLAG note fiend. Seriously. If you take a look at any of my stitch pattern books, you'll see a plethora of brightly colored papers sticking out the tops and sides, marking all of the stitch patterns I like. Same with my pattern books in general. In fact, I didn't really realize how bad the problem was until I started gathering up my books to photograph. I found the same situation with cookbooks and gardening books. And it's not really limited to Post It's either. Lots of ripped up little pieces of paper live in the tops of those books too.

Now combine with love of sticky notes with the disarray of my purse/knitting bag and you can see why I was so tickled to come across these nifty Knit Happy Sticky Note Organizers. Finally a way to keep things more contained when I'm ready to daydream. I hope you will be able to find many, many uses for these little sticky wonders as well!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Welcome Sock Clubbers

I hope you enjoy this new format of a dyer's journal of sorts. It is a work in progress - I'll need to do some sprucing up on the template to make it pretty, but for now, I'll share some thoughts about sock club and here's and there's about how I come up with color ideas and what's happening in the studio during our favorite time of the the month - dyeing time!

This month's inspiration comes from the garden and of course, climbing!
As many of you know already, I'm an avid rock climber. It's a fairly new sport to me (about 18 months now) yet I've taken to it like a bee to honey. While I enjoy climbing at a local gym, what I really love is to get out for a good hike and then spend some time up on "real rock" (we call them "crags"). Out in the mountains I can feel my worries and stresses totally relax, while my heart races out of excitement (and a little fear!) And, most importantly I get to surround myself with nature and all sorts of vivid colors that our world has to offer.

The inspiration for the "Belle" colorway comes from a patch of spring flowers that I spotted on a recent climb. They look a little like pansies, yet I'm not exactly sure of what they are. Not quite blue, but not really purple, these little lovelies had deeper hints of color with a very soft gradation towards the outer edges of the petal. Oh how I wanted to pick some, but there weren't very many and I do like to tread softly on my ventures. Can anyone identify these??

The idea for "Leaf" came from this lovely Columbine plant I recently purchased for my garden. These mottled leaves are so pretty - and although it hasn't bloomed yet, I can only guess from the little picture on the planting instructions that the blue flowers it will produce will be quite close to the "Belle" colorway. The picture to the left are the wet skeins waiting to be rinsed. Doesn't the green really look like that leaf??

These were really fun to dye. Of course they will look great for socks and the Belle colorway, with it's subtle shading will be wonderful for shawls, scarves, etc. And for fun, I did a little Ravelry query on leaf patterns. How fun to make something with a leaf design from "Leaf"!

If you're interested in more, I have a few "knotty" skeins left from this batch. Also, I was very careful this time around in notating the formulas, so I can dye more. Enjoy!!