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Because I am so thankful for all my loyal, wonderful customers and friends, I'm going to have a Black Friday Sale. Buy one pattern, get one of equal or lesser value for free! No coupon code needed, just add 2 patterns to you cart.
ETA: Sale will go through midnight Monday.
How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful day as a family. -5F, 11" of snow, it was a good thing we weren't planning on going anywhere. My husband finally came home from a deployment this last weekend so it was an extra special holiday for us.
If you have an e-reader (Nook, Kindle, even your iPhone or iPad), did you know you can upload your digital patterns to it? Hands down, that is my favorite thing about my Nook. When I'm on a trip and get the urge to start a new project, I have all my patterns with me. Plus if I'm at the yarn store, it's easy to pull out to see what I need to get for my next project. Also the fact that I can read and knit at the same time, since I don't have to hold the book open and can flip pages with the touch of a button, I am now in heaven.
I'm working this week to figure out how to make my patterns more e-reader friendly. If anyone has any tips, let me know! I'm even hoping to have them published in .epub format and available at Barnesandnoble.com. I've been accepted to publish, not to just get the patterns ready. I'm excited!
On a non-knitting note, I use it to hold my recipes as well. Love that!
Does anyone else use their e-reader for purposes other than reading?
And just a reminder, like me on Facebook and get the True Love Cowl for free! More info on my fan page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adorabubble-Knits-The-Knitting-Siren/133222270044018?ref=ts
We will be starting a True Love Cowl Knit-a-Long starting January 2nd. That should give everyone time to gather their supplies and not have to worry about knitting over the holidays, especially since if you are like me you probably have a huge list of gifts to knit. Though, the cowl would make a great gift...
Like me, please, please, like me!
I never thought I would stoop to bribery to get people to like me but here goes...
To celebrate the release of my new pattern True Love, like me on Facebook and get True Love for free! The pattern will be available to my Facebook fans for 2 weeks before it is released to everyone else. The pattern will sell for $3.
The Knitting Siren on Facebook!
Just write on my wall or message me with your Ravelry name or email address and I'll send it to you!
Already a fan? Get the pattern by blogging about this, sharing on your Facebook wall or by suggesting me to friends on Facebook. Let's spread the love! Either comment here or on my wall with your Ravelry name or email address to get your prize.
As I'm trying to organize my house, I'm finding a lot of items I've knit in the hopes that I would one day have a girl. But alas, I think that day will never come :-(
So, I'm selling off all my girly baby items (and other stuff I find). It will probably take me a few days to get it all listed. Slowly but surely.
To start things off, here is a cute pair of Turtle Butts I just listed on Etsy.
X-small, should fit a baby up to about 6 months.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61901774/turtle-butt-size-0-to-6-months
And this scarf is going up next.
Bamboo scarf, hand-knit, hand-spun, and even dyed by me.
Oy, it's done! The Turtle Butt pattern is all fixed up.
While fixing the charts, I thought I would do a little playing around with the pattern set up as well. It's now less pages, less pictures (so you don't waste a ton of printer ink) and directions for adding long legs is added. All of the charts are downloadable separate from the pattern so you only need to print the size you need, if you need it at all. Most people find that by the time they get to the leg split, they have a good enough feel for the stitch pattern that they don't need it. I also increased the font size on the larger charts so you can actually read the row for row directions.
Whew! So now that's done, let's have a sale! My wonderfully awesome yarnie friend Beth of Doodlebirds Creations is back in business. To celebrate the pattern being done and Beth being back, we're pairing up to offer Turtle Butt kits (and Adorabubble Britches and Sideways Britches and sock kits).
Doodlebirds Creations Kits are available here:
http://hyenacart.com/adorabubbleknits/index.php?c=29
All of her variegated yarns look awesome knit up in the Sideways Britches. For a Turtle Butt kit, just pick a colorway and choose which color you would like for the contrast color.
So now the deal... buy your yarn from Doodlebirds and get the pattern 1/2 off. Patterns on sale include Turtle Butt, Adorabubble Britches, Sideways Britches, Wandering Waves, Ripples and Swirling Ribs.
Kits are available here, starting at $14.50. She has a wide variety of yarn bases. I've tried all of them and none disappoint.
http://hyenacart.com/adorabubbleknits/index.php?c=29
If you can't knit and want something made up for you, please see my list of sellers here:
http://hyenacart.com/adorabubbleknits/index.php?info=545
A whole bunch of wonderful work at home moms waiting to knit something for you!
Turtle Butt Longies! I always thought it would be cute, I just never actually made a pair. Now we can wear Turtle Butts through the winter. I'm already getting ready to cast on another pair. They are a bit of an obsession for me!
Instead of knitting a ribbed cuff around the leg hole, I just knit in stockinette stitch until about 1" shy of the desired length. Then I did a garter stitch edge in the contrast color. Cuteness!
It's one of those things that patterns tell you to do but then don't tell you how to do it.
This is how I weave in ends, particularly the last end.
Here is what you start with. After binding off, you cut the end of your yarn and pull it through the last stitch.
Do you see how there is a big step between the beginning of the round and the end? We'll fix that.
Put the yarn end on a big fat needle (Chibi needles are my favorite).
Insert needle under the first bound off stitch of the round and pull through.
Now, insert needle in the back loop of the last stitch of the round coming from the bottom and pull through.
Go back under the first stitch of the round like so.
Draw needle through the last stitch, coming from the top and out the front.
Back under the first stitch like before...
down under the second stitch after the first and then up under the third stitch (you can go up and down a few more if you like, though 3 is enough for me).
Now drop down to the second row on the inside of your work...
work your needle back and forth through the ridge (for a garter stitch edge or reverse stockinette). If you have a ribbed edge, I just work my needle back and forth up one of the vertical ribs. Pull yarn through. I usually stretch the fabric a bit before cutting the yarn.
Voila!
If you are wondering, these are a pair of Turtle Butt's with legs I'm working on. I'll post pics of the finish product when I get the ends all woven in. Super cute!
In case you haven't noticed, the gusset on the original Adorabubble Baby Britches pattern is much different than any other gusset out there. Sometimes I think my brain just works differently than others, haha! Actually there is some rhyme to my reason.
First off, "What is a gusset?" you ask. It is simply a triangle shape of fabric inserted into the crotch of a pair of pants in order to allow freedom of movement. This concept was not new to me when I entered the wool diaper cover world. I'd actually seen this a lot in my former rock climbing days. A gusseted crotch is a must for a pair of rock climbing pants.
So how does my gusset differ from anyone else's. First I'll show you a picture of a pair of Taekwondo pants with a gusset so you can see what it looks like in sewn form.
Now my gusset.
The gusset from the other guys (yes, my pattern does include directions for this type of gusset), I just find to be too narrow. You can see my gusset mimics the sewn form better. I've used the other gusset type a few times but simply like the original Adorabubble gusset better. A great fit for those acrobatic babies! Plus with the top down version, no grafting! You do need to know how to work a provisional cast on though.
I've wrestled with writing this note for a while now and feel I have to get this off my chest. I've been called naive, narrow-minded, over simplistic in how I vote. But, there is one issue alone that directs my path.
As a mom of 6 children, 2 who were called home before I got to meet them, I know when life starts. One baby was lost just days after we found out I was pregnant. Even though the time was so short, I felt like a part of me was gone. I've held the lifeless yet perfect body of 16 week gestation little boy we named Daniel. I called him our honeymoon baby because he was conceived the day James got home from his last deployment. The anniversary of his due date approaches this November 17th. He would have been 1.
There are many things wrong with both parties, but only one gets it right in this area. I strongly believe the moral decline of our nation began here. We as a nation lost our respect for life, especially the most innocent of lives. I implore you to think about what truly is important when you vote. Is the economy more important that life? I say no. Is gun control more important than human life? No.
I'm sure I'm going to ruffle a lot of feathers with this note but I don't apologize for it.
I know teen mothers (and fathers) and their struggle, I know moms who gave their babies to a home they knew would love their "mistake," and I know moms who now have broken hearts because they were told their baby was just a piece of tissue.
If valuing innocent human life is naive, narrow-minded, over simplistic, then I am all of the above.
If you do comment, please be respectful.
Psalm 139: 13-18 (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
