Tease

 The problem with being a designer with a knitting blog is half the time what you're working on isn't ready for public yet. 

I did a trunk show last fall at the Clay Purl in Nashville, IN, and realized just how many designs I have that aren't finished yet.  (And of course instead of finishing them I started a new one..) 

But anyway, here are a few pictures to tease you with.
 

Shop News

I thought I'd post some changes that have happened in the store.


We've added a new One of a Kind Snowflakes listing in the store.  These are special skeins of yarn, where either the color didn't come out quite right or was an experiment that wasn't repeatable, or something like that.  There are not pictures of these skeins so they're marked down to move.  We may put a written description, and you can always make requests.   Feeling adventurous?  Want a great deal?  This is for you.

And we've been running a Colorway of the Month for the past few months which is working out quite well. 

We post a color on the first of the month, you place an order for that color on ANY yarn or fiber that we have available, (at 20% off!), and we'll dye it and ship it to you by the end of the month.  This is a great way to get yarns on bases we don't normally stock in the store.  We have a lot of great bases in everything from 100% silk laceweight to Alpaca DK weight, to Worsted and Bulky wool. 

This month's color is Berry Pie:

Colorway of the Month details here.

And lastly we've been updating the web site.  We've got several new pages, including history pages for Speshul Snowflakes and Time Traveler's clubs, if you want to see what there's been. 

The Yarns page is updated, and now includes pictures of all of our standard colorways, and info on all the yarns we typically stock.

All pattern sales are now through Ravelry, whether you buy them from our site or directly from Ravelry. 

If you have any suggestions for the site now is a great time to make them, while we're making improvements.  Come talk in the STK Ravelry group, comment on the blog, or send me an email.

My Valentine

When we found out my due date was Valentine's day I figured he probably wouldn't actually be born that day, when only 4% of babies actually come on their due date.  But Sean was!

He had that crooked smile from the beginning.

One thing I noticed going through these photos is the large numbers of pictures we have of Sean asleep in random places.  Third child, I guess he just had to fend for himself.

The other thing I noticed is how much better my cameras got.

Sean started playing Hurling this year.  Dad is so proud.

Happy Birthday my boy, you finally made it to double digits!

Happy Birthday, Molly

 I can hardly believe you are 13 years old. 

You have changed my life in ways I could not ever have imagined.  It's not been easy, we've both had a hard time of it, but you have come so far and I am so proud of you.

 You drove me crazy as a baby, doing everything before I was ready.  Climbing on tables at 5 months old.

 

 and standing up at 6.

 This picture always makes me cry because this is the first time you looked at me in about a year. 

 You've grown up so very much

 This was Molly's birthday party.  Caity made a collar like Kermit's

 Molly loves Hello Kitty shirts. 

 Kermit and Charlie in the Box are her favorite things.

Happy Birthday, Molly

Shave and a Hair Cut

The past week or so I've been shaving a lot of my knits.  Like blocking, I never seem to stop being amazed at how much of a difference it makes in how good the items look, so while I was mid project I thought I'd take a picture

These are handspun Cormo (one of my favorite breeds).  If you don't have one of these big shavers it's worth getting.  They can be found at places like Bed, Bath and Beyond for about $15, and they will make your knits look like new again.  In my experience things pill less after their first shave, because most of the short fibers have already come out.

 And since I probably never blogged this pair of mittens, here's the original pictures of them

3 ply cormo, from Winterhaven Fiber Farm, purchased at Greencastle Fiber Fair.  Bulky-ish, I didn't bother with WPI or anything.

The mittens were just improvised and took me 3 days to knit in January 2011, using just under 100 yards.

Swirl Hat German and Danish Translations

The Swirl Hat pattern is the most popular one I've written.   Calanau on Ravelry has offered up this translation into German.

Swirl Hat in German

Muster von Mandie Harrington

Dies ist eine einfache Mütze, die aus weichem Garn in Sockenwollstärke schnell gestrickt ist. Sie ist elastisch genug, damit das wachsende Kind sie eine Weile tragen kann. Weiches Garn und der enganliegende Sitz lassen auch eine großartige Chemomütze entstehen.
Garn: 20 bis 50 Gramm Sheepy Times Yarns Panda Feet
Nadeln:  3,25 mm (US size 3) oder die passende Größe zur angegebenen Maschenprobe. Du kannst ein Nadelspiel oder Rundstricknadeln verwenden.
Maschenprobe: 26 M = 10 cm (glatt rechts)

    Größen (angegeben ist der Kopfumfang):
Frühchen: 30-33 cm
Neugeboren: 33-36 cm
4-12 M: 36-41 cm
12M – 24M: 41-48 cm
Kind: 51 cm
Erwachsener: 55 cm

    Anleitung:
72 (80, 88, 96, 112, 128) Maschen anschlagen und zur Runde schließen.  Achtung: nicht verdrehen!
*2 re M, 2 li M* für 8 Runden
*2 re M, Umschlag, 4 re M, 2 zus.stricken * so fortfahren bis die Arbeit 11,5 (12,5, 14, 15, 16,5, 17,5) cm hoch ist. (ab Anschlagkante)

Beginne mit den Abnahmen:
1. *2 re M, Umschlag, 3 re M, 3 M zus.*, wdh. 63 (70, 77, 84, 98, 112) Restmaschen
2. *2 re M, Umschlag, 3 re M, 2 M zus *, wdh.
3. *2 re M, Umschlag, 2 re M, 3 M zus *, wdh. 56 (60, 66, 72, 84, 96) Restmaschen.
4. *2 re M, Umschlag, 2 re M, 2 M zus *, wdh.
5. *2 re M, Umschlag, 1 re M, 3 M zus *, wdh. 45 (50, 55, 60, 70, 80) Restmaschen.
6. *2 re M, Umschlag, 1 re M, 2 M zus *, wdh.
7. *2 re M, Umschlag, 3 M zus *, wdh. 36 (40, 44, 48, 56, 64) Restmaschen.
8. *2 re M, 2 M zus *, wdh. 27 (30, 33, 36, 42, 48) Restmaschen.
9. *1 re M, 2 M zus *, wdh. 18 (20, 22, 24, 28, 32) Restmaschen.
10. *2 M zus *, wdh. 9 (10, 11, 12, 14, 16) Restmaschen.
Größe 12 M und größer:
11. *2 M zus*, wdh. 9 (10, 11, 6, 7, 8) Restmaschen.
Garn abschneiden und durch die verbliebenen Maschen ziehen. Fest ziehen und Enden vernähen.

(edited 2/19 to fix a mistake in the translation)


And lbjj80 has translated into Danish. 

Swirl Hat in Danish

Swirl hue
For tidlig født: 72m (12-13tommer)
Nyfødt: 80m (13-14 tommer )
4-12 måneder: 96m (14-16 tommer)
Barn: 112m (18-20 tommer)
Voksen: 128m (20-22 tommer)
Slå 128m op på rundpind. Strik 2 r, 2vr. I alt 8 omgange.
Strik 2 r,slå om, 4 r, 2 r sm. Strik dette mønster til arbejdet måker 7 tommer = ca. 17,5cm, fra starten af huen, incl. Ribkant.
Indtagninger:
Pind 1. 2 r, slå om, 3 r, 3 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 2. 2 r, slå om, 3 r, 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 3. 2 r, slå om, 2 r, 3 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 4. 2 r, slå om, 2 r, 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 5. 2 r, slå om, 1 r, 3 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 6. 2 r, slå om, 1 r, 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 7. 2 r, slå om, 3 ret sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 8. 2 r, 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 9. 1 r, 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Pind 10. 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Til de 3 større størrelser:
Pind 11. 2 r sm. Gentag pinden ud.
Luk de resternde masker sammen.
Hæft enderne.