A little sneak peek...

Ahhhh, doesn't the photo effect make the yarn look like an oil painting? I love this effect! How's everyone's weekends? I'm stoked to get the yarn out on Monday and this one I hope to knit with everyone too!

Did I mention already November will have a non-yarn surprise included in the package? Stay tuned! I'm excited about this little enclosure too.

October's Inspiration - Pablo Picasso

Just because I can't stand not telling you all what the art piece inspiration is - here she is - Three Dancers by Pablo Picasso. It spoke to me this time because It's October and Fall and I felt inspired to do some rendition of Fall colours for October's yarns.

The yarns are mostly dyed now and I'm so pleased - well, beyond pleased actually. I can't wait to get these ones out to you guys - and again, I'm looking for your feedback on it - you guys are my "guinea pigs" for new yarn bases...LOL! Truly, this is a good thing because I have always been one to try new yarns...it's lots of fun that way and to have you guys try it for me it is a huge bonus of a sock club!

Can you hardly stand it? LOL! What yarn could she have possibly used and what colours this time?? Hee hee - I'm soooo bad for taunting! Don't worry - Monday they're hitting the mail!

October's Invoices

Hello everyone...just a quick note so there's not too much confusion and the new members know about the invoicing process. Each month (usually the beginning of the month) I invoice each member for the next month's membership giving each invoice a payment due date of the 15th of the month. Once invoices have been issued, I always send out reminders just before or just after the 15th. About one week prior to the end of the month, I "cancel" any outstanding invoices that have not been paid. I do this in order to get a handle on numbers and so I can get to dyeing the required number of yarns.

If you have just recently received a "canceled" invoice notice for October and it's not what you were expecting, please contact me at zenyarngarden AT yahoo DOT com and I'll re-invoice you for October. I always leave a few spots extra for each month so as to avoid any confusion issues and to accommodate any late joiners. Hope that makes sense but if you have anymore questions, don't ever hesitate to email me!

And in other news, lots of October yarns going into the dye pot today! YAY!

Ready for October?

Well, hmmmm, am I going to tell you about the art piece and the yarn?!? Not this month because I want you all to be surprised! The only hint I'll give you is I've chosen Pablo Picasso as our artist and the yarn I wanted, I got...yippee!! Think Fall colours and a brand new yarn base...that's all I'm going to say unless I can't help it anymore or someone drags it out of me...LOL

Hope you're all ready and how are you enjoying the yarn base for September?

Any clues?

Hello Roxanne, fellow sock knitters!

Are there any clues on next month's art inspiration? The yarn base perhaps?

Or are you teasing us by keep it a TOTAL secret?

I'm happy either way, I'm just curious.

Kaibashira Socks Started!

After 5 tries, I finally got it. Here is the start of my Kaibashira socks with the Starry Night yarn. The pattern is subtle and lets the beauty of the yarn shine through. This is the first pair of socks I have made that has no ribbing in it. The cuff has loops and the pattern has only a little stretch. Consequently, it looks a little bigger than other socks while still on the needles. I really like it and am so glad I persevered. Thanks for all the help, Chrissy!

Starry Night Tidal Wave Socks

I started my socks today using Starry Night! My husband chose the Tidal Wave pattern from SWTC and so far so good.



I can't say enough how beautiful this colorway is. Great job Roxanne!

Pattern Trouble

Has anybody tried the Kaibashira sock pattern? I really like the way it looks but I am having a terrible time with it. I have tried 4 times to start the socks. Each time I finish row 2 I am about 10 stitches short. I think I am following the directions but after 4 attempts I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I am not good enough to just look at a pattern and figure out if something is wrong. I am assuming it is my mistake. I'd be interested in whatever anyone else has to report.

modular scarf started

With the aid of my able assistants, I have begun a modular scarf using Starry Night. It is lovely to work with and though my photo skills don't do justice to the colors, they are more satisfying than I could have imagined.

I work part time at a local community college and took my lunch out in the glorious September weather. And of course, I was knitting in public. So many comments on how beautiful the colors were! And when I told people that the colorway was inspired by the painting, it was delightful to watch the light of recognition go on in a few faces.


This is an easy pattern, but a bit tricky to describe in places. Using size 1 needles (I always use circular) cast on 40 stitches, place a marker, and cast on 40 more.

Row 1: knit to marker, slip marker, knit 2 tog, knit to end of row.

Repeat till you have 1 stitch left. Do not break yarn.

Cast on 20 and knit one row, place marker, pick up 20 stitches from the edge of the piece you just knit.

work row 1 and repeat as before, always working a decrease after you slip the marker till you have 1 stitch left.

pick up 20 stitches along the edge of the piece you just knit, and 20 stitches along the edge of the first piece. Work as before.

Down to one stitch? OK, cast on 40 stitches, knit the row, place the marker, and pick up 40 stitches along the edges of the two little squares.

Continue working one big square, then two little squares, over and over. I'll let you know how far to go when I figure it out.

September's Starry Night Spoiler

For those of you still waiting for your yarn, do not click the photo unless you want to see the yarn up close and personal and have the colours revealed to you!

As an aside, if you are waiting on yarn and it hasn't arrived by the end of this week (people in the USA) please make sure to contact me at zenyarngarden AT yahoo DOT com so I can confirm it was mailed and start tracking it if needed. All packages going out are insured and if they, heaven forbid, don't show up, I will get reimbursed and you will get another yarn sent out to you!

September's Yarn

Hi Roxanne,
My first club yarn just got here.....IT IS REALLY REALLY REALLY PRETTY! I was a bit nervous-I am not really big on yellow. But I love all of the gorgeous blues! And the Starry Night card is very cool also! And squishhhhhhh!
Thank you thank you!
Lorna

Favourite Yarn Weights Poll

Hello everyone...would love your feedback on what your favourite yarn weights are to use for socks! You can choose more than one answer as well and the poll will close on Sunday, September 17, 2007. This will help me with deciding on what yarns to use for the coming months. As always, thanks for participating!

October Invoices

Invoices have gone out for clubbers who were with us for August/September. I put a due date on them of September 15th as I'll have to get a handle on numbers and get the yarn ordered the week following! I have a really nice yarn in mind that I hope I can get for us this coming month but I won't say what because if I can't get it, I'll be disappointed. I also have a surprise planned for November and no, I'm not telling you - you'll just have to wait and see...LOL

Okay, enough taunting in one post...how's everyone doing? I see the yarns are getting to a few people...yay! I will post my un-blurry, un-crayon-like photo this week of the yarn too. Have you decided what to knit with the Starry Night colourway yet? I can't wait to see what people are doing - I see on Ravelry we will get some non-sock knitting too - can't wait!

Happy knitting week everyone and welcome to those who have just joined too! :)

Selfish?

I love it. I am feeling the temptation to be a bad mother and not give the socks to my oldest daughter. I did tell her she could have it but that was before I saw it. I am in a quandry. Selfish of me to want to keep something so beautiful for myself? Maybe, but like Cybil Sheppard used to say "I'm worth it".

Starry Night

I can't believe how beautiful this yarn is. I have been carrying it around the house like a baby. I have a feeling that this will become a pair of socks for the husband--he will insist on it, I'm sure.

I can't wait until next month.


hint*hint*MarcChagall*La Branche hint*hint
(was that subtle? no? oh. ok!)

Done in time for the new yarn…

I did not get September’s yarn yet, but here are my Socks for August - not too bad for my first real pair if I do say so myself (hee hee). Now all I have to learn how to to do is take pictures of my feet!??!? It was a fun pattern and very easy to learn for my third sock ever!

Spiral Eyelet Socks

Spectacular!

The colours of the recent shipment are even better than I could have imagined. You've perfectly captured the light-shining-from-within-the-darkness quality of the painting. Oh, my.

Packages in the Mail & Any Pattern Writers in the Club?

Hello everyone...hope you all had a nice long weekend!

All September packages have been mailed and those of you in Ontario will probably get your yarn as soon as tomorrow! October's yarn is going to be great too if I can get it pulled together...stay tuned and can't wait to see some Starry Night projects on the needles! :)

Do we have any pattern writers/designers in the group? I'd sure love to hear from you if you do write/design as I would like to discuss the idea of club yarn specific patterns. Contact me at zenyarngarden AT yahoo DOT com if you're a designer and are interested. Thanks!

Progress on Tidal Wave

I may be the world's slowest sock knitter, but here's some progress:



The sock looks tie-dyed, which is perfect for this then-and-always hippie knitter! The pattern calls for 5 repeats, but I'm going to stop at 4 (just a few more rows) because I think they'll fit better. Since the foot is stockinette, it'll go fast.

Toreador Monkey Socks - FO!

"Toreador monkeys on camp chair" a piece in several media.

The monkeys are finished and at this moment in Myrtle Beach with my daughter Emily who claimed them. The yarn worked really well with the pattern and they are very soft and feel comforting (aren't all socks supposed to feel that way?) The colors came out different on each sock but Em said "Meh, who cares?" They really are pretty. Here's another photo:

"Socks on cement steps".

Toreador Eleanor Socks

Started on my Dali socks. I'm loving this yarn. I'm doing the Eleanor pattern from Socktopia.



Very much looking forward to the Van Gogh yarn!