Friendship Socks

Hello friends!

It's been a busy few weeks of knitting in the lemknitcrochet household. I'm excited to finally share my new pattern with all of you, as well as the inspiration behind the pattern! Introducing my new pattern: Friendship Socks.

My Friendship Socks pattern is inspired by the deep friendships of characters in classic TV shows, books, and movies. Two cables run parallel to each other but never intertwine - signifying the importance of a friend that can run alongside you with life's twists, turns, and bumps in the road. I decided this would be the perfect pattern to use for our Hunger Games KAL, as there are many friendships that develop throughout the novels. I used the colorway My Ally on the Sassafras base by Hiwassee Creek Dyeworks as it is inspired by the character Finnick from Catching Fire. Finnick and Katniss share an interesting friendship, which begins in the book Catching Fire.

This pattern is similar in structure to my Seaweed Socks pattern, as there is a side chart that is mirrored on opposite sides for each sock. You may notice there is only one sock pictured - that's because I only had time to knit one sock! The other sock will be the exact same, just with the chart on the opposite edge of the sock. This pattern will be released with three different sizes (Small, Medium, and Large) and an accompanying tutorial PDF with a detailed afterthought heel tutorial, as well as a picture tutorial for the cables. This is by far the best beginner sock pattern I've created yet - anybody can knit this one! However, it still has enough detail to keep an intermediate or experienced sock knitter entertained. The pattern is toe-up and uses an afterthought heel. Please hop on over to my Ravelry group for more information about the pattern and to get excited for our KAL!

The pattern will be released on October 31, 2013 at around 5:00 PM CST in my Ravelry and Etsy shops. Feel free to use the coupon code TRICKORTREATLEM starting from the moment the pattern is released and running through November 1, 2013 at 11:59 PM CST for 10% off your Friendship Sock pattern purchase. Consider it a chance to trick-or-treat as an adult! (Note: The coupon code is only valid in my Ravelry shop!)

That's all for this week. I hope y'all enjoy the new pattern and are excited to start our Hunger Games KAL on November 1. Remember you can either knit my new Friendship Socks pattern OR knit with any of the Hunger Games colorways created by Hiwassee Creek Dyeworks to participate in the KAL. The KAL will run from November 1 through November 30.

I hope you have a Happy Halloween and a great week!

Hugs,
Lauren (and Nemo Charlie)

A New Beginning

Hello friends!

Welcome to the new era of lemknitcrochet designs - it's my first blog entry post-podcast. I have edited all my old blog posts and deleted all episodes from BlipTV. The podcast is officially gone.

But with the ending of the podcast becomes the beginning of the blog. Here's what I've been up to this week.

I started a new pair of socks out of Kirby Wirby Sparkle in the Dangitt, where's my broom?! I'm late for work again colorway.

It matches my Bird Leg Bags Small Wedge bag perfectly and is flying off the needles! I hope to get the pair done by Halloween - I'm already on the leg of the first sock.

Next on the needles, I'm working on my Red Raider Inversible socks out of Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce base in the Red/Scarlett colorway. I have one whole sock finished (even the heel!) and am on the toe of my second sock. I'm hoping to get it done before football season is over - I'm convinced they're lucky because Texas Tech is undefeated this season!!

Last on the needles is a brand new design I have in the works! I am excited to be co-hosting a Hunger Games KAL with Christy of Hiwassee Creek Dyeworks beginning November 1 and running through November 30. Catching Fire from The Hunger Games trilogy comes out on November 22, and Christy has created some AWESOME new colorways to knit as we get excited for the premiere of the film!

I have come up with a fun new sock design that will be released November 1, just in time for our KAL! It's inspired by a theme in the Hunger Games that works for every character - so if you want to knit-a-long and be matchy-matchy (like me!), any of the colorways created will 'match' the pattern. Christy has generously offered us a coupon code to use on any of her new Hunger Games colorways! Just type in 'LEMSHUNGER15' for 15% off your purchase

I will reveal more about the pattern in the future. For now, here's a picture of Peeta and the backside of my design as a teaser. No, the front of the sock isn't plain too - silly Peeta forgot to turn it around for the picture! I am using Hiwassee Creek Dyeworks Sassafras base in the My Ally colorway for my pattern sample.

That's all for the knitting talk - but I thought y'all might be interested in seeing how our Master bedroom renovations turned out. Below is a quick YouTube video with both the before and after of our Master bedroom renovations. The video is shaky and shrunk down weird because I took it on my phone - but I figure y'all would still be interested to see what we did.

That's all for this week! Thanks for stopping by the blog and spending some time catching up with me. Feel free to head over to the lemknitcrochet designs group to chat and get excited for my new design and the Hunger Games KAL!

Hugs,
Lauren

Another Quick Announcement

Hello friends!

Tomorrow (10/14) I will begin manually deleting all old episodes of the podcast. If you want to download any episodes you’ve missed - today’s the last day to do it. I plan to clean up shop so that I can start fresh on the blog.

Also, I have decided that I will still record small announcement videos for KALs and new designs on my YouTube channel. I will post any of those announcements in both the Ravelry group and on my blog. I figure this way you still can ‘see’ designs and hear the inspiration without me having to do it through a podcast format. So, while the podcast has ended, you will still hear from me a little bit. I plan to record a Hunger Games KAL announcement and pattern reveal video at the end of October. Until then, thank you for all your kind words and I look forward to getting to know all of you even more in the Ravelry group!

Hugs,
Lauren

A Huge Announcement

Hello my friends!

Brace yourselves because I have some big news. This morning, I received the dreaded email I’ve been waiting for from BlipTV. My podcast channel is set to be deleted within 30 days and I can no longer upload new episodes to it.

I have been going through so many changes lately, I have not had time to sit down and breathe - let alone sit down and record a podcast. With my new job and the potential for a full time teaching position in the future, I have been thinking a lot about the future of the podcast. With a heavy heart, I have come to the decision that I will no longer continue the lemknitcrochet designs podcast.

While this may come as a shock to some of you and catch you off guard, I admit that I have been preparing to stop recording by the end of this year. I have enjoyed sharing my knitting, crocheting, and designing adventures with all of y’all. However, I have found that I would prefer to continue sharing my adventures through Ravelry instead of through a podcast format. I hope y’all can understand that while I could go to YouTube and other free channels to upload old or new episodes, it would just sap time from me that I just don’t have anymore.

I don’t know if BlipTV will stick to their word or not - but if they do, all my podcast episodes will be deleted within 30 days. I will not be uploading them elsewhere. After that time frame, there will be no links or places to access the podcast. My iTunes store is acting up so I have no way of checking whether the podcast episodes are even still available for download from iTunes - but after 30 days they won’t be. This is your heads up - if you want to download any old episodes or re-watch anything, download it now or they will all be gone for good. I will also be deleting my podcasting posts off of my blog. I plan to use my blog in the future as a real blog with pictures and announcements about my designs.

I am sad to let the podcast go without getting to say goodbye on air, but I will be continuing on with my designs and many awesome KALs in the future. I have a fun new KAL for November planned that I will be hosting with a very talented indie dyer, but I will announce details about it in this group in the next few days. So basically, the group will continue and stay the same - just without the video podcasts. I hope y’all stick around with me and continue to have fun in the lemknitcrochet designs group.

Thank you for making podcasting fun for me,
Lauren