knittinginperth

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing my wonderful Mum and knitting friends a very Happy Mother's Day.  Hope your day is relaxing and full of special moments with your family.

 

Many Hugs! 

KI News and FREE Postage Offer

For sometime now I have been wanting to start posting regular news updates for KI so here we go.  

Firstly, if you haven't already visited our new Knitting Inspirations online shop then you are in for a real treat.  I spent most of January and February on and off transferring our shop over to our a new website, which worked out really well.  We hope all of our customers will find shopping with us much easier and more enjoyable.  It is such a wonderful feeling having a modern shop with good shopping cart software after making do with Typepad for so long.  It served us well and provided a good stepping stone, but it was time to relocate so we can better serve our customers needs and expand our collection of products. 

To celebrate the launch of our new online shop we are now offering FREE postage with all purchases over $60.00 and have reduced our postage for purchases under this amount to $5.00 to all Australian addresses.  Purchases will continue to be sent via express post, as we want to provide a fast delivery at a reasonable rate.  

Yarn tasting cards are now being included in all orders with enough yarn to knit a lacy ring, which was designed by Ann.  This provides you with the opportunity try out yarns prior to purchase.

New items recently added:

Knit Pro Harmony Fine Interchangeable Needle sets with compact fabric case in sizes 3 - 6 mm with cables and accessories

Knit Pro Interchangeable Needle Stand

Knot Pro Needle Sizer and Stitch Viewer

Magnetic Chart Keepers for keeping track of your pattern rows

Mini Key Ring Stitch Savers which are great for rescuing that dropped stitch when you are away from your crochet hooks

Lantern Moon Sheep Tape Measures which make great gifts

Clover Triangle XS Stitch Markers

Debbie Bliss Spring/Summer 2010 Magazine

 Namaste accessories which include the buddy case and newly released wallet.  The Monroe, Zumma and Laguna bags have been listed and are currently available by order.  If there is enough interest in these stunning bags then we will keep a permanent stock.

Our three favourites are the Buddy Case,  Zumma and Laguna bag, but are very impressed by the Monroe.  This makes an ideal bag for those who like a more sophisticated looking bag with separate compartments.  It has been along time since I've come across such functional well designed fashionable bags for every occassion.  For those of you who live locally they can be viewed at our knitting circles over the next two weeks, or just contact me to arrange an alternative viewing time.  

More Hand Maiden Sea Silk and Mini Maiden yarn arrived last week, which I wasn't able to photograph until this morning due to it being so overcast most mornings this week, but the sun cooperated this morning so I will be editing the photos tonight.

New Items Coming Soon 

String Theory Capper 4 Ply Yarn

Interweave Knits, Knit Scene, Piecework, Spin Off magazines.  If you would like to regularly receive any of these magazines please contact us, as we are happy to take pre-orders.

Handmade knitting totes made locally by one of our lovely crocheters/knitters who also sews.

Handmade Stitch Markers by Ann

Hand Maiden Camelspin

Yarn Clubs

We are going to replace our yarn clubs with seasonal kits designed by Ann using various yarns that we haven't previously stocked, which will be announced here and listed in the shop as they become available for purchasing.  A photo of the first design is on our home page and the yarn used is Hand Maiden Camelspin, which is a silk camel blend.  Absolutely lusciously soft and silky, so stayed tuned.

We will also be including a kit or two in 100% silk through Spring/Summer for those who are unable to knit with wool.

Preparation and planning is well underway for this year's KI knitting retreat that is being held on the June long weekend at Avalon Homestead in Toodyay.  Sign-ups are nearing completion with only one spot left, so if you are interested or would like to go on our notification list for next year please contact us asap.  We have some very exciting workshops planned this year such as top down cardigan design, beading techniques for lace knitting and finishing techniques along with lots of knitty fun and goodness.

Ann and I along with a group of knitting circle friends will be attending the Aust Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo in July.  We are looking forward to meeting some of our friends and customers from the Eastern States and are hoping to organise a KI meet-up at some point during our visit, so if you are attending and want to meet us get in touch.  We are staying in Melbourne and plan on travelling up by train on Friday.

If you live locally here in Perth don't forget that you can knit with us at any of our regular knitting circles, so check out our events calendar.  We would love to meet you and see what your knitting.  Otherwise you can stayed connect here and on our KI Ravelry group where we have 132 members and growing.  Thanks everyone for joining us and sharing all your wonderful FOs.

Happy Autumn Knitting! 

Breakfast at the Farm

One of the magical things about visiting the farm is having breakfast with my wonderful Mum outside on her new patio while being entertained by all the wild parrots and honey eaters that fly by to the bird feeder for their daily treat of seed/honey and bread.  It is also amusing watching the chooks drinking at Mum's water fountain.  Such a blissful way to start the day without all the normal morning rush and noise at home.  The red speck in the tree is a Western Rosella getting ready to fly down to feed.  It is at times like this that I wish for a better zoom lens.

 

Bubbles By AJ

Our youngest AJ loves blowing bubbles.  He put on an awesome show while we were staying at the farm.  It keeps him amused for hours and it becomes a very serious mission as you can see from the photos below. Enjoy!

Summer Holiday Fun

I know it has been awhile and I have been working towards this post for sometime.  I have to admit that it has taken me awhile on and off to edit all of my holiday photos from our summer holiday at the farm.  Always so many good things to capture, so by the end of our holiday I am left with zillions of photos to edit and upload to flickr.  Finally finished and now it is time to share.

Here is a series of photos of the farm buildings.  The farm is located between Mt Barker and Albany in the south west of Western Aust. 

 

You can view the rest of the series of the farm here.

Mum and I took the boys to Albany Marron and Bird Park.  We all had a ball hand feeding the all the parrots.  We also enjoyed a delicious lunch at Nippers Cafe, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Albany.  Here are two of my favourite shots from the day.

 

All the other photos from the day can be viewed here.

 

MM Christmas morning before present opening started at the farm.  More photos of the boys enjoying themselves at various times a few days prior and during Christmas day can be viewed here.

City Nits Says Good Bye and Thank you to Borders and Gloria Jeans

As it was our last City Nits gathering at Gloria Jeans on Saturday before we start meeting up at our new location in January I thought it would be nice to take along my camera to capture everyone's knitting and spinning activities since our last gathering to commemorate this occasion.  I was pleasantly surprised, or should I say blown away with all the amazing WIPs and FOs that were in attendance. 

 

First off is DrKate's gorgeous Ishbel shawl, which is now completed.

 
Melita knitted these pretty summer tops for her two beautiful daughters to wear to their Christmas party this year. 

These pretty butterfly buttons are just too cute for words and finished the tops off perfectly don't you think?

Melita's also designed and knit this lovely Halter Neck Top in Jo Sharp's Desert Garden Aran cotton, which was inspired by the first stitch pattern from the Laminaria Shawl. 

More pretty buttons that just finish this top off perfectly too.

The Aeolian shawl that took my breath away and the one that I thought we wouldn't see completed IRL as Madradish was knitting this for her Mum's birthday at the beginning of January, which is being held up and deeply admired by Frog our other queen of lace knitting.  Words cannot express how happy I was to have an opportunity to photograph this exquisitely beautiful creation in her completed dazzling glory.  Madradish is also showing off her nearly completed stunning Crown Prince shawl that she is knitting for her friend to wear on her wedding day.  These pieces are truly fine examples of her amazing lace knitting talents and accomplishments. Once again many congratulations on your lace knitting achievements my dear knitting friend. 

In her full dazzling glory.

More dazzling glory!

The dazzling nupp edging that reminds me of lovely clusters of rosebuds on a my rose bushes. 

The gorgeous handsome Crown Prince shawl in his nearly finished glory. Madradish is working on the stunning border as I post this.

The dazzling garden of nupps.

The dazzling flowering nupps.  Aren't they divine? 

Shellakabooki's gorgeous baby blue kimono knit in her bamboo yarn nearing completion that is a gift for a friend's baby.

Spinning delight and joy shared as Raquel07 shows her first hand spun to her mentor Shellakabooki. 

 

Such lovely luscious soft yarn.  Congratulations Raquel07 on your first lot of hand spun yarn and may your spinning journey be filled with many more of these beauties.  Spin on!

Raquel07's gorgeous Lacy Batkus shawl being knit in hand spun.

K's gorgeous sparkly hand spun yarn.

Madradish's gorgeous hand spun in one of my favourite colours.

Furrywithruffle with her latest socks being knit with Celia's Basket's sock yarn in bloodfeud.

Frog knitting away on her latest project.

Many thanks to all my special knitting friends for letting me photograph and share all your wonderful knitting and spinning accomplishments here.

Festive hugs and Happy knitting in 2010!

Helenx

Yarn Dyeing Workshop

Back In November I attended an afternoon of yarn dyeing with Shellabooki our hand dyeing extraordinaire along with other ladies from our knitting circles that Furrywithruffle organised at the lovely Teddy Tree shop in Mt Hawthorn who were kind enough to let us use their class room space for the afternoon.  It was a really informative fun afternoon with lots learnt on the art of hand dyeing protein fibres that resulted in successful dyeing as you can see from all the photos below.

 

Lets begin by removing excess water from our yarn that has been soaking in water and vinegar for awhile.  For this session we dyed our yarns using food colouring as it's readily available and safe.

 

Dyeing of our yarn commences by mixing up our dyes and then painting them on our yarn.

SusanPerth has nearly finished painting her multi coloured vibrant skein.

1morerow adding the finishing touches to her nearly solid grey skein before warping it up in the plastic ready to microwave to set the dye.

Shellabooki adding the final touches to her semi solid purple/pink skein before wrapping it up ready for microwaving. 

Yarn is now cooling off after being microwaved.

 

Furrywithruffle's yarn bundle ready to be taken home and unwrapped, rinsed and hang up to dry.

More details and some photos of all the dried yarn can be found here on ravelry.  Also there are some more photos over at Flickr here.

A HUGE thank you to Shellabooki for conducting this workshop and to Furrywithruffle for the co-ordinating and organising this workshop.

Join Me at Willagee Knitting Circle

 

Here we have Lisa engaged in a technical explanation to Mary & Matab at the end of the table, Chris trying on 1morerow's Featherweight Cardie for sizing with Melita looking on and Jo is contemplating Gosia's Silk Cardie as she checks the length on the left while I was taking this photo.

Now here's Gosia's Silver Cardigan being knit in Hand Maiden Sea Silk yarn in silver, which is turning out to be a totally gorgeous versatile cardie.  The is knit top down by the way, which means no seaming.

 

Up close view of the back.

1morerow and Danuta chatting.

Danuta modelling her stunning new shawl knit and designed by 1morerow as a thank you gift for helping to establishing her organic vegie garden.  Danuta is our resident gardening advisor as she has a farm a Balingup and grows an array of vegetables and fruits, which she often shares with us. Many congratulations 1morerow on your first shawl design, which is truly exquisite and I see many more designs in your future. It was knit in one of Zen Yarn Garden's gorgeous yarns from her stash.  All the shawl details will be forthcoming on Ravelry here.

I just love how the beads add a subtle exquisiteness to this shawl highlighting the lovely border stitch pattern.

A front side close-up view, so you don't miss how those beads sit so snug against the stitches. 

Matab modeling her current WIP for fit.  I just love how bright and summery this top looks.

This fine lot of Hand Maiden yarn hoping to be taken home in everyone's knitting bags and get turned into a holiday project.  A few skeins were lucky enough to make the jump.

 

Here is Dana whizzing up her latest purchase of Zen Yarn Garden's gorgeous Serenity lace yarn in colourway silverspoon.

Lisa's already wound up skein of Hand Maiden Mini Maiden yarn in the Hemlock colourway.  I just love how all those vivid green colours blend after being wound up and are looking forward to seeing what she creates with it, which I'm sure will be something stunning.  

Well I hoped you have enjoyed this knitting circle series and thanks for visiting with us.

Until next time peaceful knitting!

Join Me at Willetton Library Knitting Circle

On the second Tuesday evening of every month (excepting January) since April 2006 a group of knitters have been gathering to knit and chat at the Willetton Library.  Colleen and Linda are fabulous hosts and always have lovely refreshments on offer.  I thought it would be nice to share some highlights of the evening with you seeing it was our last gathering for this year.

Busy knitting and catching-up on works in progress and finished objects.

These ladies are discussing Hand Maiden Mini Maiden yarn possibilities and which colourways they are going to take home.

Congratulations on finishing your Dad's awesome Christmas socks DrKate.  They are knit using Fleece Artist Trail Sock yarn in Ebony.  DrKate's designed these socks using Cat Bordhi's standard toe-up, reinforced heel riverbed arch expansion with a stitch pattern that her Mum taught her many years ago called block stitch, which is similar to garter rib stitch pattern. These are her third or fourth pair using Cat's sock architectures from her book New Pathways for Sock Knitters, which I admire greatly as my attempt at this method wasn't very successful.  This is a great technique to use when knitting socks for people with high insteps or wide feet.

Notice how the gusset increases start much closer to the toe and are worked on the bottom of the foot instead of at the side allowing for a more gradual gusset expansion that accommodates those high in-steps and wide feet so beautifully.

A fine example of the block stitch pattern up close. Such beautiful even knitting!

Here is Missmissjane complimenting Madradish on her stunning beaded Traveling Woman shawl knit in Needle Food's fine yarn. That pink bundle in Madrash's lap that she is working on is her beaded Aeolian Shawl knit in the most exquisitely divine lace yarn in my favourite colour, which I have to confess that I cannot remember the name of, apart from it comprising of all these luxurious natural fibers.

 

Here she is in her full glory.

Close-up of the pretty sparkling beads.  The addition of beads in the edging makes this already stunning shawl stunningly beautiful don't you think?

Here is Missmissjane modeling Madradish's woven scarf that she wove on her loom using her own gorgeous hand spun.  Did I mention that not only is Madradish an amazing knitter, but she is also an incredible spinner and now weaver.
 

Now here's a close-up styled shot for your viewing pleasure.  I just love how weaving yarn instead of knitting it brings a different colour perspective to the finished fabric and the texture it creates.

Again, I have used Ravelry IDs and links, as not everyone has a blog and I think most people are Ravelry members.  If not I encourage you to join this world community of knitters and other fiber crafters, as it is such a wonderful resource and a great way to connect with other knitters.

Until next time Merry Knitting!

Walking to City Knits

For the past two and a bit years a group of Perth knitters (City Nits) have been gathering every second Saturday afternoon at Gloria Jean's Cafe in the Borders Bookshop in the city to knit and chat. I park a few blocks away and took these photos as I was walking towards the Hay Street Mall.

Starting towards the city centre after leaving my car. The steps on the right lead to the entrance of the new District Court Building that was opened in June 2008.

Approaching the Crition Hotel where there are always a few people sitting outside under the umbrellas enjoying food and beverages.

 

Waiting to cross Barrack Street into Hay Street Mall.  Not far to go now!

Hay Street Mall full of Saturday afternoon shoppers

Here we are, so lets go in and see our knitting friends.

There they are all sitting knitting at the big centre table in the middle of Gloria Jean's, so lets go say Hi!

 

Here's Meifong16 and 1morerow discussing the fine points of Hand Maiden Cashbah yarn, which there are many, as this yarn is heavenly and is why my stash keeps growing.

 

More fine Shellabooki hand dyed yarn by Knitting Angel who is our dyeing genius. These were some of her wonderful seacell/silk yarns.  

Admiration of Melita's gorgeous Laminaria, which was knit with Shellabooki seacell/silk yarn.

Laminaria close-up, so you can see the gorgeous pale pink highlight colour, which is just way to beautiful for words. Another wonderful design and yarn marriage, which can bring tears to this knitter's eyes.

DrKate admiring Melita's lovely Milkweed shawl that was knit in Hand Maiden new Swiss Mt Sea Sock yarn and Gosia knitting along like the wind, as she always does. Psst doesn't that Lamanria shawl look absolutely stunning on Melita.  

Milkweed shawl still being admired.  I just love how knitting with bigger needles gives this shawl a more flattering light drapey look, which is ideal for wearing during our our warm evenings here. 

Oh I just love how close-ups show off the stitches.

 

Knitting Angel  finished this warm scarf for her Dad, which was her own design.  She is an amazing knitter and spinner as you can see on her projects page here in Ravelry.

Another close-up for your viewing pleasure. The perfectly manly stitch pattern don't you think?

Inbetween snapping all those photos I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of knitting and chatting with all my knitty friends before we said our good-byes and headed off.  This was made a little easier knowing that we will all be knitting together again in two weeks.  We also welcome new knitting and fiber friends, so if you happen to be in the Perth area check out our schedule here. 

Before I go a quick word re links.  I have used Ravelry IDs and links, as not everyone has a blog and I think most people are Ravelry members.  If not I encourage you to join this world community of knitters and other fiber crafters, as it is such a wonderful resource and a great way to connect with other knitters. Also, if anyone doesn't want to appear in this post please let me know and I will remove your photo.

Until next time Happy Knitting!