NEW Ribband Kit Colors, and More!

I hope you all had a lovely mother's day weekend!  I spent two precious days with my Mom at a spa last week and joyfully discovered how important having R and R with her is!  Really, this is the woman who has known me longest, and our chats were the best rejuvenation I could have asked for.

With that, I am ready to hit the ground running this week!  In this post I've got new colors for the Ribband kit to tell you about, a winner of the Inpsinknity Blocking Wires to announce, and a little update on the book! You ready?

Behind the scenes I've been working on new kits for Fall to release at TNNA at the end of June.  While working on them I noticed I was getting a fair number of e-mails asking me to add new colors to my line of Ribband Kits.  Ribband has always been one of my favorite super simple jewelry designs and it was definitely time to give you all some more color choices in it!  Remember the post where I asked you to help me choose beads?  Well, those new kit colors are ready!  Want to see?

I've added the kits to my website, Etsy shop, and wholesale listings... if you are a retail shop and would love to carry them please get in touch, I have them in stock and ready to ship!

Ready for the Inspinknitty Blocking Wire Winner?  There were ALOT of comments! I ran a random number generator, and congrats to #58 Sarah  Get in touch so we can get your wires out to you!!!! 
Remember (if you didn't win): Inspinknity has offered a coupon code to you all!  NELKINGIFT will be active through the month of May. It will take $3.50 off any order placed now through 5/31. It is only good for purchases made at www.inspinknity.com.

Oh, and want to hear some good news?  I don't want to jinx myself, so I'm knocking on wood as I type this, but I am over 80% done with the knitting for the book.... HOME STRETCH!  The first section has already been tested/tech edited and is being tested again.  I might just possibly be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Maybe?  There is still ALOT of writing to do, but WOOT!  I just had to get excited for a second with you!  (ok, thanks for letting me get that out of my system)

My Ravelry Group & why they CRACK ME UP!

We are deep into knitting Juego (this spring's Mystery KAL) in my Ravelry group and so it was time for me to run my traditional "What in the hell do you think we are knitting?" contest.

Well, these creative knitter's really put there thinking caps on.... we ended up with 108 different potential knit outcomes, see?

• Hooded Shawl
• A Net for Catching Cheeky Knitted Object Stealing Children
• A Baby Carrier Sling/wrap/magically-turns-into-something fabulous for Mom to wear to cover up the baby spit up down her back when she has to run to the store-thing!!!
• Bull Fighters Cape
• There are no words for this…
  
  
• A Superhero Outfit with a magical beaded patch over the heart … like Iron Man, but way cooler! We can all be Juegowoman (or Juegoman, it’s an equal opportunity superhero project) and go off bringing beads and knitting to the world!
• A Bed Canopy! Oooo La La
• Water Chair
• Car Cover
• Custom floor mat to hug the bathroom commode
• Cover for our Space Ship
• Diaper cover, or a Depends cover up, depending on how big it is
• Belly Hip Scarf
• Salsa Dancing Skirt
• Mini-Cabana Cover
• Super Knitters Hero Cape
• Mariachi Hat
• Fancy Bib
• Halter Top
• Fancyass Toilet Seat Cover
• Very Fancy Doily
• Beaded Car Seat-Covers
• Magic Carpet
• Bolero
• Convertible Dress
• Cushion Cover for a seat at the Mariachi Band concert
• Horseshoe Crab Cover
• Beehive Poncho
• Beaded Lampshade
• Spare Tire Cover for a Jeep
• Cover for a Chest Freezer
• Tray Cover for a High Chair
• A Costume
  
  
• Tardis Cover
• Poncho
• Straitjacket
• A Very Fancy Yurt
• A Beaded Cat Suit
• Round Afghan
• Beach Umbrella
• A Designer Cover for a Weber
• Veil for a Bride getting married in a traditional Indian ceremony
• Hula Skirt
• A Skirt to Dance the Flamenco In!!
• A Foreign Legion Style Hat
• Jodhpurs
• A Colorful, Beaded Balaclava!
• A Fancy Shade for a Stained Glass or Fan Shaped Window
• It’s a cat toy!
• A Giant Dream Catcher
• A Hammock
• Mayan Headwear
• A Monkeys Hammock
• An Amazing Shawl
• Table Centerpiece
• a Hooded Cape
• Bun Warmer for Nikki Minaj
• A Beehive Bover
• A Cat Hammock
• An Apron, the kind you wear when you go outside to BBQ in the winter!
• A Babushka (head covering, not a grandma!)
• Pantalones
• A Shrug
• A Beaded Batwoman
• A Plant Cover
• A Knitted, Bead embellished password protector!
• A Yarmulka
• A Bib for the Jolly Green Giant
• A Shawl for a Beekeeper
• A Chicken Sweater
  
  
• A Mill Game
• Giant God's Eye
• A burro serape or saddlebag
• A backpack for knitting retreats!
• A Taco Warmer?
• A Parasail
• A Fairy Wing Cover
• A Bicycle Basket
• A Stash Hammock
• First Designer Golf Bag Cover
• Halter Top
• A “Juego my Eggo” Waffle Catcher- (okay you have to read this post, it has a poem!)
  
  
• Really Cool Bathing Suit Cover
• Lamb Pajamas
• Carrying Case for the Guitaron in my Local Mariachi Band
• A Large Stuffed Squid
• A Pizza Box Cozy
• A Sarong
• A Market Basket Cozy
• A Sling for my Aching Arm after all this Knitting!
• A Wine Rack for holding the bottles of wine for drunk knitters
• A Horse Caparison
• A Shawl for a Beekeeper
• A Christmas tree skirt
• Grannie Panties
• The Top of a Bassinet
• A Glamorous Accessory that turns into a safety device when evacuation measures are necessary at high altitudes? Yes, it’s a A Lovely Beaded Parachute!
• A Bootie Bag
• Hairpiece for Donald Trump!
• A Sun Catcher
• A Child Sized Cloak of Invisibility
• A Thingy
• A Bib
• Loin Cloth
• Fanny Pack
• A Cape for Darth Juego
  
  

  
  It was SO HARD choosing a winner, I mean, really Darth Juego is TOO much!  But, I'm afraid the grand prize goes to the jet-lagged, poetry writing, "Juego MY Eggo" brainchild, LKGervitz... looks like I am sending some of my bead stash to Brussels Belgium : )!

A Craftsy Knit-A-Long Workshop!

I’m thrilled to announce my latest project with Craftsy, aka my latest OBSESSION! After teaching 3 lace classes with Craftsy I have designed a brand new summer pattern for Craftsy's June Mystery knit-along!

Craftsy Mystery Knit-A-Long's are a bit different than the ones I run in my Ravelry group. When you sign up you will receive in the mail one luxurious skein of yarn before June 1st. Then on June 1st you will be granted access to a special workshop I have designed just for the yarn. This workshop will contain the pattern, in-depth instructions and high quality close-up photos of each step. Even more, I will be responding to questions and providing help along the way.  I hope to inspire your summer knitting, expand your skills, AND create a new obsession while having FUN with Craftsy!

This mysterious design will be perfect for cool summer days and evenings… expect to create something light, ethereal, and wearable while building your knitting skills! Note: The pattern will not be delivered in clues... but all at once on June 1st!

I can't show you a "real" photo from the shoot... but I can give you an idea of just how windy it was the day we took the photos!

An Inspinknity Blocking Wire Review and Giveaway!

I do love to wax poetic about blocking, especially blocking lace!  If any of you have watched my Craftsy classes you'll know I delve deeply into my adoration of what happens to a piece of lace when you wet it and stretch it out!  MAGIC!

But, I've never loved my blocking wires, I always had to be careful with the tips of my wires as they weren't "delicate" enough for the yarns I work with and I easily snagged my yarn. Also, many of the wires in the set bent with use and wouldn't "un" bend again.  Blocking takes time, but no where near as long as it takes to knit a whole lace shawl... why not use a tool that makes it enjoyable and fun to do!

So, for my birthday I decided to buy myself a new set of wires... it was an impulse purchase, I didn't do a ton of research.  But, I had heard about Inspinknity Blocking Wires, and decided to invest in a set as a little present!  (The fact that it was a write off didn't escape my keen business sense!)  I decided to start with the Premium Wires as they were described on the site as "Super flexible and strong, you can use premium wires for blocking sweater pieces, scarves, and fingering weight shawls."  Since most of my knitting leans in this direction I decided to start with those!  I do, though plan on getting the Ultra Fine Wires for a lace shawl that is on my needles next!

Once I got them I decided some testing was in order... right?

First I blocked some Pioneer Cuffs I have almost ready for a kit release:

In this case I was testing how straight I could get the wires to lie.  I used my ironing board with it's handy dandy ruler marks to help me keep things line... and it was EASY!

Next up, my Kinetik (sans beads) that I wore everyday in Iceland and really really really needed to be rewashed and blocked.

Kinetik is blocked with a straight upper edge, and two parallel wires coming down each side of the center panel, and finally has wires going up each triangular edge.  Want to hear the coolest thing?  I've always had to use more than one wire from my set for long straight edges at the top of shawls, but this set has a 67 " long wire that worked perfectly!  For the center panel I was able to use one long wire instead of two!

Finally Clarus knit in Anzula Cloud which I always meant to block bigger, and really needed a good soaking as well... this is another shawl of mine that gets alot of wear!  

Clarus has delicate points that need to get blocked out in a arc along the sides and bottom edge.  Holy moly, these wires were easy insert and the shaping just came together without too much coaxing or finagling!

I'm not entirely sure what the material is that the blocking wires are made of, but the website says they are "Made from a super-elastic wire with seemingly magical flexibility, these blocking wires will not rust, tarnish, corrode, or easily kink. They will not stain your knitting, and will last for many, many, many years! These premium blocking wires are incredibly strong, yet flexible enough to use for curved edges as well as straight lines. You can arch and curve these wires as you need, and they will always return to straight. This special property allows these wires to be used over and over again without weakening from repeated bending and straightening."

I can attest to this last sentence... when I was done with my blocking experiments I wound my wires back up and put them back into their handy bag ready to be used again.  They did not show any visible bend or kinks and I was purposefully rough with them!  The other thing is that the tip of the wire was so smooth and fine that it slipped in between the stitches perfectly not causing any snags or damage to the yarn.

So, WHO WANTS TO WIN A SET of the Deluxe Premium Wires?????  Just leave a comment below by May 10th letting me know what you want to block first when you if you win them! I'll chose a winner by random number generator on May 11th!

Disclaimer:  I was in no way paid by Inspinknity to write this post, I ordered the wires, fell in love, and then e-mailed and asked if they would be willing to give a set away to one of you!  When I do reviews like this it is because I have purposefully sought out something I think you would be interested in!

A note: I just found out that Inspinknity is waiting on more premium wire... so they have offered a coupon code to you all!  NELKINGIFT and will be active through the month of May. It will take $3.50 off any order placed now through 5/31. It is only good for purchases made at www.inspinknity.com