Monday, June 28, 2010

I'm having a contest...

...where you will be the inspiration for a new colorway! Here's how it will work:

I want you to send me your beautiful photographs, we here at All For Love Of Yarn will narrow the photos down to the 3 that I think I can produce the most beautiful yarn colorway. Then it is up to you to vote on which one you like the best and that will be turned into yarn, on the base of my choice, that will work best for the colorway. The winner of the favorite photo will win 1 full skein (around 400 yards, either fingering or sport weight) of yarn in the new colorway! This is a sock yarn club listed in my SHOP.

Rules:
Submission of photos:
July 1st through July 15th. Submissions before and after these dates will not be accepted.
Photo Specifications:
One entry/photo per person.
It might be posted on my blog, so don't send anything you don't want the public to see.
Photo must be taken by you, not snagged from the internet.
Photo cannot be of yarn. 
Respectful and tasteful photographs please.
No person's faces please.
I have all rights to accept or not accept any photo for any reason without explanation.
Jpeg format, around 1200 pixels wide
Send  photos to: allforloveofyarn@gmail.com
Include with your email a name I can use on my blog to give you credit for the photo.  

Voting will be July 17th through 27th. I will post the top 3 photos and you will have a chance to vote on your favorite, the one you would like to see turned into some beautiful socks! The winner will be announced before the end of July.

I will dye the yarn inspired by the winning photograph and the winner will receive one skein at the beginning of August, sometime before the 15th of the month.  It will be a fingering/sock weight in either hand painted variegated, kettle dyed variegated, solid, or semi-solid, my choice.

Only 3 more....

...days left for a free skein of yarn with your purchase! Click your way over to the shop to see if there is something that you like and I'll surprise you with a skein of yarn in your package! This ends the last day of June!

We'll be having some fun during the month of July, it's my birthday and I have some contests, drawings and prizes planned! Stay tuned for the fun! Angela

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

We're back...

...from my brothers wedding in Wisconsin, they were married at Holy Hill and we had a wonderful time! Here are a few highlights...

Monday, June 21, 2010

The ever popular...

...Oak Grove is back! This time in sport weight. It's still the same luxurious Sumptuosity yarn base! Get yours here!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

TeaCake Knitters...

 ...as promised, but a bit late! Chocolate cake is always better late than never if you ask me!
My plan is to make a colorway from the tea we drink each month (see photo below) and have a sock yarn club,  and include the tea with the yarn. I'm not sure about the market for this yet. I have a colorway from this tea already, a photo below as well.
Best Ever Chocolate Cake
2 Cups flour
2 Cups sugar
2/3 Cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 Cup milk
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup brewed coffee, room temperature (I stick an ice cube in to help it cool down) Igor makes coffee for me from freshly ground beans. Way better than instant!

Combine the dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in coffee (batter will be thin). Pour into greased baking pans. 9x13 or 2 9 inch rounds. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Ganache Frosting
5 oz dark chocolate (Lindt is the best!)
5 oz milk chocolate
1 1/4 Cup heavy cream
2 Tbls corn syrup
2 Tbls butter
Bring the cream and corn syrup to a simmer and pour over chopped chocolate, let sit for 2 minutes. Add butter and whisk. Cool to room temperature and frost the cake.


We drank fantastic tea, one of my personal favorites; Swiss Vervaine from Teavana.



It was so much fun to use my tea set that I purchased in Russia on my first trip. I haven't had many opportunities to use it, especially with company and everyone loved it! It really makes drinking tea a delight!

We started the evening off with of course the tea and cake, then I gave a short education on yarn weights. Everyone thought it was very informative and can't wait to learn more next month. (We'll be learning about yarn types, protein, cellulose, etc)

I chose to do yarn weights because when I was learning how to knit I found it somewhat intimidating going into a yarn shop and not knowing what all the different sized yarn was used for and more so what those sizes were, how do we know what size they are if the label doesn't say what it is? (This is one reason why I label my yarn with the weight.)

Here's what my experience tells me with some help from a few good books; nothing is set in stone!

Lace
Used to make lace of course!
Yardage: around 800 yards give or take a few hundred!
Gauge: it varies depending on the lace you make, could be large, could be small.  I recommend following the patterns instructions. 

Fingering/Sock
It is the most common weight to make socks with, but really can be used to make anything, gloves, hats, scarves, baby clothing, lightweight sweaters.
Yardage: around 400 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 8-9 sts per inch on US 1-2

Sport
Commonly used for heavier socks, but as always it can be used for anything.
Yardage: around 340 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 6-7 sts per inch on US 2-4

DK, or Double Knitting
Common for making  baby clothes, medium sweaters, again anything you like! I love this weight, it's not too heavy or not to light, it knits up faster than fingering or sport and you still have a fine yarn.
Yardage: around 280 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 5-6 sts per inch on US 5-7

Worsted
Very common sweater and afghan weight. Sometimes referred to as afghan weight.
Yardage: around  220 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 5-6 sts per inch on a US 7-8

Aran
Commonly interchanged with worsted weight, but a little heavier, but not as heavy as a chunky weight.
Yardage: around 200 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 4-5 sts per inch on a US 8-9

Chunky
Used for heavier sweaters and outdoor gear, heavier accessories. Knits up quickly!
Yardage: around 170 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 3-5 sts per inch on a US 8-10

Bulky
Any yarn that is heavier than a chunky weight.
Yardage: around 100 yards in a 4 ounce/100 gram skein.
Gauge: 2-4 sts per inch on a US 10 or larger

These are just rough estimates and can be mixed up for any given effect or pattern. We thought it was a helpful little guide when shopping for yarn, for example if this yarn says it has 330 yards and is 100 grams, but doesn't say the weight on the label, it's most likely a  sport weight. I hope it is helpful! 



My wonderful husband took the kids on a bike ride to the lake and a park along the way.  David found a strawberry on one of the ladies plates when he got home! He loved it and kept on going back to look for more after I cleaned him up!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Free yarn anyone?

I'm giving away a skein of yarn with every purchase from my shop in June! Be sure to click your way over to All For Love Of Yarn! Shop and check it out! I'll be updating with new yarns often!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My electric skein winder...

...is so fantastic!! My genius husband made me this electric skein winder! It has saved me so much time, I use to re-skein my dyed yarns with a niddy-noddy, but no more! It is so wonderful, I love it so much! It was my Mother's Day gift, the best yet! My husband made a video, scroll down to watch it!
Here I will post questions asked about the skeiner just in case you have the same!

Q: What is that on the shaft of the sewing machine motor? Some kind of rubber cap to grip the wheel; but what specifically? 
A: The motor came off the sewing machine with a plastic pulley that was driving the belt. So I picked a piece of rubber hose that would go over the pulley for a better grip with the main wheel.

Q: The flat metal length with the spring, what is its job?
A: The metal bar is supporting the motor and the spring serves as a tensioner to make sure that there is contact between the motor pulley and the main wheel at all times. The main wheel is not perfectly round so that's why it requires a tensioner.













Wednesday, June 2, 2010

It's been...

...too long since I've posted here! Summer has arrived and we've been doing a lot of biking and playing at the parks! Waseca has some great parks and we love them all, there is something new at each park as far as play equipment so it's fun to visit them all, and even I don't get bored!

My dear husband is in the kitchen making truffles! Coffee truffles, and he keeps coming in with something new for me to taste, first it was the coffee flavored chocolate (whoever knows my husband knows he makes the best coffee ever! ~ I don't drink coffee so I wouldn't know, but everyone who has had some says so!), anyway, then the toasted coconut, so sweet and yummy! Oh, in between those was a kiss...how could I forget! I'll show you pictures later...of the truffles!

I've been doing some dyeing, though. I'm getting an order ready for one of my local yarn shops in Rochester, Minnesota. This is exciting for me!

Here are some goodies added to my shop. Stop by and take a look, they are pretty yummy! The blue and tan are sport weight, this is new in the shop and also, the tan is one of a kind, so get it while it lasts! Sometimes the one of a kinds are the best and it's a beauty!