I got some new toys, I mean new tools!

As a knitter and knitting designer it is important to have quality yarn, but it's also important to have quality needles. I love the interchangeable knitting needles. I started with Knit Picks Harmony and expanded to acquire Knitters' Pride Dreamz short tips (great for hat knitting), Karbonz (carbon fiber), Knit Picks Caspian needle set, a few smaller tips size 3 mm and 3.25 mm purchased from Knit Pro in Europe. The great thing about Knit Picks, Knit Pro and Knitter's Pride is that their tips and cables are all compatible. Why do I need so many different tips and knitting needles? I love knitting gloves, socks and sleeves using magic loop technique with 2 knitting needles. For this you will need 2 sets of needles in one size. Another reason is different yarn fibers and knitting needle materials work great together. For example a slick yarn works better with a little rougher wood or bamboo needle. A rougher wool yarn might work better with some slick nickel tips. Another reason is that different knitting needle materials create different knitting gauges.

So here come my new toys, I mean tools! I purchased the new Knitter's Pro Zing Interchangeable Deluxe Knitting Needle Set. At this time this set is only available in Europe. I purchased it at Woolstack. Follow link to purchase. Woolstack sells internationally and ships quickly and Lisa communicates great. I received my needles within a week at a reasonable price.

Here are some pictures and my review:

Pros:

• I love that the tips are in different colors and have the metric size laser printed in a legible size on all needles. Cables are for the different sizes in different colors too.
• The tips are smooth and it is a pleasure to work with. 
• The set comes at an affordable price.
• And most of all: They are pretty!

Cons:

• I'd like to see smaller tips like US size 2.5 (3 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)

What's in the box:

Knitting Needle Tips
Metric Sizes: 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 mm
US Sizes: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10.75 and 11

Cables
1 x to make 60 cm (24") - Neon Green
2 x to make 80 cm (32") - Orange
1 x to make 100 cm (40") - Red
Note: Final cable length is achieved when both needles and cables are joined together.

Accessories
1 needle case
8 plastic end caps
4 tightening keys
1 set of cable connectors

I purchased some additional tips to complete my set:

Knitter's Pro Zing US size 5 (3.75 mm)
Knitter's Pro Nova Metal US size 2.5 (3 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm) - these are not available as Zing needles.

Please note that the Zing tips can also purchased as short tips. They are designed especially to be used with the 40 cm cable (making a knitting length of 40 cm/16 inches). Ideal for those knitting smaller items. Link to the short tips is here.

Thank You Shawl - A new design

Introductory offer on Ravelry: Shawl will be discounted 20% until July 31st, 2016, 12 pm EST. No coupon code needed, just add to cart and go through checkout. Link to pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/thank-you-shawl-2

Making a knitted gift for a non-knitter can be tough challenge. With this in mind I created my new design Thank You Shawl. Not too long ago it was the end of school year and wanted to make some gifts for for 3 teachers. I was challenged to create something which is easy to take care for by a non-knitter, can be completed quickly, can be worked with yarn I have on hand and of course is pretty! My solution is the Thank You Shawl. An asymmetrical shawl made of 3 colors and accentuated with beads. I completed 3 shawls in 2 weeks including developing the pattern. The shawl is designed in a smart way which makes the traditional wet blocking optional and perfect for the non-knitter. The pattern includes the steps how to naturally block your shawl. All pictures of the shawls I knitted show the way I naturally blocked them. None of them have been wet blocked with pins and mats.

This pattern can be used over and over and is a perfect stash buster. The added beads look pretty and provide additional support.

My first 3 shawls for the teachers ended up all in Frozen colors. The colors were chosen by my daughters from my stash.









My next shawls were made of leftover yarns. I used Knit Picks Gloss bare and hand dyed with food coloring in purple shades and pink. I left some white to use as contrast color.








Finally I made the dark gray, light gray and light blue shawl for the Knit Picks Website release. Yes, you can purchase yarn, beads and pattern directly from Knit Picks Website. Here's the link: http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Thank_You_Shawl__D13712220.html

Shades of Denim Shawl - pattern release and contest

I’m so excited to share with you my new shawl pattern Shades of Denim, which uses my brand new pattern stitch the Denim Stitch. This is a variation of a slip stitch which creates diagonal and horizontal lines.

I wanted to create a shawl that looks like it was made out of denim. The denim stitch used in this triangular shaped shawl reflects the look of your favorite pair of jeans.

The first Shades of Denim shawl has been knitted with Willow Yarns Daily DK, which I dyed in a gradient colorway. 

For the second one I chose Kollage Riveting, sport weight in colors charcoal denim and storm denim. I chose the yarn because it was made of 100% recycled blue jeans.

I was inspired by Aroha Knits 5 shawls in 5 days challenge and created a few different versions of the Shades of Denim Shawl. It is amazing what a little change, a different color or a different fiber can do to a pattern. The possibilities are endless. I included the directions for the modified versions in this pattern.

Here are some of my samples:

Shades of Fire

 Shades of Pacific

Shades of Microfiber

Shades of Hawthorne

Shades of the Half Blood Prince

Now we come to the contest!

I want you to come up with your own color combination and a creative title.

There are 3 ways of participating:

1. Instagram: Post a picture of your yarn selection and project name and tag me (my Instagram name is andreacraig12 and add the hashtag #shadesofdenim.
2. Ravelry: Create a project (with creative title and link to my pattern) and picture of your color choice, add to queue and favorite my pattern. 
3. Facebook: Join my Facebook page and post a picture of your yarn choice and your creative title and add the hashtag #shadesofdenim.

You can participate in all three to increase your chances.

Contest ends on Friday, May 6th, 2016 11.59 pm EST. I will pick 3 winners from each way on Saturday, May 7th, 2016.

Price will be one of my patterns for free. I will contact you to find out which pattern you would like and your Ravelry name. A list of all my patterns can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/knitting-for-sanity

Good Luck!

Poncholina meets Harry Potter's Time-Turner - a pattern crossover

Poncholina was the first knitting pattern I designed. I incorporated cables in the front and back for interest and to provide a little stretch. It was designed to be a short and snug poncho to fit under a jacket or over a sweater. Short enough to provide flexibility to move around.

My second set of patterns were the Harry Potter Time-Turner series. My daughter and I started our own little Harry Potter bookclub. I was inspired by Hermione's Time-Turner and designed the Time-Turner chart. I started with a bookmark and added hat, shawl and fingerless mitts to complete the set.

I love mixing up things and combined this unique Harry Potter Time-Turner Poncholina for my daughter. Instead of the cables I added the Harry Potter Time-Turner chart. For the rib stitch I used the rib pattern stitch from the Harry Potter Time-Turner collection. I used Willow Yarns Daily DK yarn and hand dyed it in gradient colors.

Do you want to make your own Time-Turner Poncholina? You will need any of the Poncholina patterns (pick your size) and the Harry Potter Time-Turner bookmark or fingerless mitts pattern. As a special promotion you will get 2 patterns for one price. That is a $4.50 discount. Add both patterns to cart and go through checkout. No coupon code needed. All my knitting patterns can be found on Ravelry here http://www.ravelry.com/designers/knitting-for-sanity

Waiting For Rain - Shawl 2

I usually don't write 2 blog posts a day but this is special. I finished my second Waiting for Rain shawl. As previously posted I started this one in hemp. I used Allhemp3 from Hemp for Knitting in charcoal and foggy. This shawl is so lightweight and beautiful to wear. Perfect for Virginia. Here are some pictures. Check out my Ravelry project page here. Pattern can be found here.