The Inside Scoop
Get your stitches ready, Knit Eco Chic’s annual MKAL opens for pre-sale today. The Je Ne Sais Quoi MKAL is as unique as each of you and all about you stitching your yarn-i-tude into a light-weight, easy to wear, summer shawl… thing! During the MKAL – knitting and chit chat in the MKAL thread, “Find Your Yarn-i-tude Psychological Analysis” (game), blog interviews, FO thread fun, and prizes! Sneak peek from the design photo shoot! Sneak peek from the design photo shoot! Join the MKAL today and post your yarn intentions in the pre-MKAL chat thread here!
Je Ne Sais Quoi
It’s MKAL time! That sense. That feeling! Je Ne Sais Quoi is an English pattern uniting the French idiom with a part shawl, part scarf, part cowl, in a “I just don’t know what” fashionista design packing in a ton of attitude! Dare down the hottest summer days donned in your carefree hand knit, Je Ne Sais Quoi, with mindset to match. Add beads for a tres chic look or go without for a casual fashion flare. The easy (not beginner) level tech edited / test knit pattern is fully written. Recommended skills – picot cast on, short rows, decrease, bind off.
Eco Elements Awakening
One of the unsung beauties in the process of designing is the morphing a particular concept goes through from the initial glimmer of an idea to a published pattern. The story behind Awakening took such an unusual path. In what other world but design would you find a FO that combines a rotting out tree hanging off a cliff, a fascination with drop stitches, dogged determination, and fresh coloured yarn that makes you want to wake up and pick up the needles before breakfast? tea, knitting, and sympathy flowers tea, knitting, and sympathy flowers …and stayed. Washed, blocked, and ready to shoot! This puppy was off to TE and testing while I waiting on the weatherman. …
Awakening
Awaken to fresh stitches! Sunrise, sunset, whatever your time of day – enjoy an awakening of your spirit in the beauty of the rising or setting sun while clicking your needles away. Toss your knitting needles, yarn, and pattern in a chic knitting bag and prepare for a joyful encounter with the sun. Then marvel in some breathtaking moments while awakening your stitches into your Awakening shawl. The tech edited and test knit intermediate level pattern is fully written and fully charted.
Winding the 3Rs with Renaissance Yarns
(c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. Lisa in her Schleeves (design by Mary Annarella) using a laceweight Silk/Cashmere blend held double.(c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. Lisa in her Schleeves (design by Mary Annarella) using a laceweight Silk/Cashmere blend held double.(c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission. (c)Lisa Chimento. Used with permission.
The 3 Rs
The next topic we’ll be addressing in our “eco elements” is the three R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle. shop curation is coming! Puddles “knit” these “Dean Street Mitts” by Nina Machlin Dayton during the Ravellenics! A win-win-win – stash down, I learned something new, and they’ll be headed off to the shelter this Fall to warm someones hands with organic cotton and love. What’s your favorite way to reduce? From this summer: Driving up – I knit with Three Irish Girl’s Organic Cotton and Bamboo in Talitha Kuomi’s “Crossway Hat” KAL… and rewarded finishing with a yarn purchase from the LYS. I just couldn’t resist that button either ;-). Of all eco principles, the 3 R’s are probably the …
Vegan Beware
You can’t get a cavity filled without an extra dose of fiber along the way! Black Mountain Yarn Shop is perfectly situated between me and my dentist 🙂 – 2016 You can’t get a cavity filled without an extra dose of fiber along the way! Black Mountain Yarn Shop is perfectly situated between me and my dentist 🙂 – 2016 Upon further investigation, I realized that they were taking a very strict and non-historical definition of the word “vegan.” In my opinion, instead of vegan shop here; it was a case of vegan beware! In the narrow definition “vegan” is “animal-free”. Traditionally “vegan” evokes sensibilities tied to health, wellness, and extreme animal cruelty-free to the point of being no to …
Near and Far
5! Thanks knitters :-). To conclude our focus on the eco principle of charity, I searched around my indie friends to see what they were up to. Here are my top three favorites – near and far! (c)Jessica Anderson (c)Christine Guest Thanks for tracking along this term as we focused on charitable knitting! What are some of your favorite yarn related charities and challenges?
Eco Elements Landfall
Nature: after the hurricane subsided I returned to my love of water for inspiration – it’s peace, serenity, and calm. The rhythm of the stitches was inspired by gently lapping waves on the sandy shores. Knit, purl, and short rows combine to give peace to your stitching and FO. Ethos, Pathos, Logos: more on this below in the “something new” section! Hurricane Irma Relief! The indie dyer was personally affected by Hurricane Irma and had to evacuate her home last summer, closing her yarn dyeing business until she could return. Watching the devastation on Instagram, I wanted to do something to help so I decided to create a shawl in the yarn I had from her. Several months later, recovery …