My name is Lauren and I have a problem...

Hello friends!

Long time no see, eh?! It's been a fun end of the school year here at the lemknitcrochet household. Summer is finally here and that means tons of time to knit again! However, let me begin this blog post with a confession. My name is Lauren and I have a problem...

Uh oh...

...a weaving-in-all-the-ends-so-my-socks-are-finished problem. Look at them! Look how pretty they are! But it's hot out and I know I can't wear them, and so the problem continues. I'll get to it eventually right?!

I've "finished" all these pairs of vanilla socks in the past few months. The green pair to the far left is Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso base in the Zombody Go Braugh colorway. The purple/blue pair to the top right is Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled base in the Ice Palace colorway. The bright, rainbow-y awesomeness on the bottom is White Birch Fiber Arts 80/20 base in the Nothing Says Screw You Like a Rainbow! colorway. Can I also add that these are my FAVORITE bases from these dyers?! Viso is strong and soft, Bedazzled is squishy and SPARKLY, and the 80/20 is the only 80/20 I've ever LOVED (soft and squishy like BUTTER!).

Now that we've got that out of the way (whew!), let me share with you my little haul from the Yellow Rose Fiber Festival in Seguin, Texas. It began the day after school let out for summer (how convenient!) so I drove over with my friend Lori from work. It was a small venue but had a lot of pretties. I ended up picking these beauties below, but man was it hard to pick!

My Yellow Rose haul

I decided I wanted to buy from Texas dyers only this year. To the left is a beautiful skein from a San Antonio dyer, Heavenly Fiber. The colorway is named Fairy Stories and it's even more beautiful in person! It's on her sparkly base and SUPER squishy. The dyer was very nice and I plan to definitely buy more from her in the future. To the right is an awesome skein from Little Monkey's Stitch & Spin. It's a sparkly gradient and I can't wait to find something special to knit with it.

A little over a week ago, I visited New York, New York! My sister is moving there for an internship, so the whole family went up to get her settled and see the sites. We had fun, and did all the tourist-y things we could fit in. I'm glad I got to go, but I am also happy to be back in Texas with TREES and CLEAN AIR and SPACE! Ha!

Times Square!

Fortunately for me, I was able to make it to a LYS, just off of Madison Avenue before we left. The store was a little shop on the second story of a little building, we even had to be buzzed and let in! The shop is called String and had lots of very upscale yarn. They dye their own special yarn there, and even have their own special brand of cashmere Koigu sold only in their shop! I ended up choosing a lovely 50/50 silk/cashmere skein so that I can finally knit a little pair of ear warmers. It's so soft and squishy!

String yarn haul

 For my trip to New York, I decided to stash dive and CO a pair of vanilla socks from KirbyWirby Yarns on her Honey BFL base in the Don Draper is a Pimp colorway. I'm not usually a fan of BFL but this base is strong without being stiff, it's fantastic! While knitting on them I decided I wanted to try something new and so I knit my first Fish Lips Kiss heel.

New York socks with a Fish Lips Kiss heel

Now, I have to admit something. When I knit the heel, I thought it was uuuuuuuugly! It was easy and fun to knit, but it was tiny and looked awkward. AND, the stripes didn't match correctly so I had to cut my yarn and add in the correct striping color (you know how matchy matchy I am!). However, once I knit a little length, I tried the heel on and...

Fish Lips Kiss heel

 ...it's magical! It looks amazing!! So while at first I thought "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!", I am now very pleased with this heel and see doing it again soon. It was quick and easy to memorize the pattern and turned out looking great. The only thing that still bothers me is that it didn't matchy-matchy up with my next stripe, but I'm sure I can figure out how to make it work a little better whenever I knit my next FLK heel.

That's about all for now, but I have to leave you with a little teaser. Now that it is summer, I have time to design again! I was contacted by MariGayle of Spartickes Dyes months ago and asked to join in and design a pattern for her Holiday Club. We put our heads together and decide to dye/design based on the holiday of Teddy Bear Picnic Day in July! The pattern will be exclusive to club members throughout July (my club month) and then it will be released to the general public in August. I can't wait to share what I've come up with, this is a new favorite for me. The club colorways (yes 's', there's TWO!!) are perfect and I can't wait to share how they look all knit up. For now, I leave you with a teaser in a non-club colorway, still in black and white so it will be a surprise!

Teaser, teaser!

I'll be back soon (I promise!) with a full pattern reveal and more chatter. Hope you are all enjoying your summers!

Hugs,
Lauren

Happy New Year :)

Hello friends and Happy New Year!

It's been a hectic few weeks over here in the lemknitcrochet household. We've been traveling a bit and enjoying time with family and friends. I just got back from my very first trip to Las Vegas and had a lot of fun! We even had VIP seating for the fireworks show at Treasure Island, it was a New Year's Eve to remember.

I have decided that this year I plan to focus more on blogging and designing, so make sure to watch the blog because there are already some exciting things in the works! Speaking of, how would y'all like a new teaser? I am taking January off of KAL's so I can focus on knitting up samples of a new design. With a new design....y'all know there must be a new KAL!

I am excited to announce the first KAL of 2014 will be co-hosted with Susan of Desert Vista Dyeworks! Susan has dyed up an amazing new colorway so that we can have a joint Valentine's KAL starting February 1. I have a sock pattern in the works that correlates with an amazing new colorway she will release for pre-order this evening in her shop. It's called Kiss Me at Midnight and believe me when I say it is AMAZING! I have been working with both a variegated and self-striping skein for my new pattern and they're both sparkly and wonderful to work with. I'll be back with more details about the pattern and the KAL later this month, but for now I will leave you with a teaser of the new stripe-y version of the Kiss Me at Midnight colorway...

I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for me this year and look forward to sharing it with y'all.

Until next time!
Lauren

Midnight Garden Cowl

Hello friends!

I'm here with a drive-by 'Hey! I released a new pattern today!' post. I am excited to finally share my latest design, Midnight Garden Cowl.

This design was created on a whim. I wanted something that was easily adjustable, quick to knit, and fun! I picked a beautiful one-of-a-kind skein of yarn I had in my stash and let it design itself. The result? A cowl ready for a midnight snowstorm. I love it and I hope you have fun knitting one for yourself – or a friend!
The pattern contains 5 pages of written directions, including a page with picture tutorials and a link to an exclusive video tutorial to help guide any knitter through one of the special stitches in the pattern. There is also a designer’s note at the end of the PDF that contains directions of how to alter the length of your cowl to a smaller or longer version. This is the perfect pattern to help you get rid of any special skein of worsted that you have stashed away!

It is available for purchase on Ravelry right now and I will be adding it to my Etsy store this weekend. I hope y'all like it! Feel free to come and chat about it in the lemknitcrochet designs group on Ravelry. We have a fun KAL for December going on where you can knit ANY of my designs to participate! Even those old ones you forgot to finish ;) See ya there!

Hugs,
Lauren

Cyber Monday Coupon Code!

Hello friends,

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to write a quick post to let y'all know that I have just created a coupon code for my Ravelry shop that will be valid until 11:59 PM CST on Monday, December 2. It's already active and ready to use - I figured it would be nice to start it a little early.

Seaweed Socks

 Rainbow Explosion Socks

Friendship Socks

Use the coupon code MONDAYMONDAY for 20% off all patterns in my shop!

Enjoy! I will be back soon with a new KAL announcement and an awesome new pattern reveal.

Hugs,
Lauren

Kid N Ewe

Hello friends!

We've been having fun (and relaxing) at the lemknitcrochet household the past few weeks. Last weekend I stayed home and knit - it was so nice! I was even able to finish a test knit for my friend Susan Claudino. This is her Jinx pattern and it is SO much fun to knit! I used The Cyborg's Craft Room Bested base in the Do Cyborgs Knit With Electric Yarn? and Chilean Blue Crocus colorways. I really love how she turned out.

This weekend I went to my first fiber festival in Boerne, TX called Kid N Ewe. It was a lot of fun getting to meet different local dyers, as well as a few Ravelry friends! I discovered a San Antonio dyer, Lone Star Arts, that had some stunning skeins of yarn and ended up taking one home with me. The dyer, Amanda, has a shop on Etsy - Lone Star Arts. Check her out, her colorways are BEAUTIFUL! Here's the skein I had to have, the colorway is Sharp Dressed Man.

I also discovered Lost City Knits and it was hard to pick something, since everything was so vibrant! I ended up taking home a skein of sock yarn in Texas Tech colors because I just couldn't resist. The colorway is Whirlwind and it is so beautiful!

Did I mention that yarn makes me happy? Because it does! And so did meeting some little goat friends.

That's about all for now. I plan to finally Cast-On for our Hunger Games KAL this week with either Girl on Fire or Trinket. Decisions, decisions. Have a great week and I'll be back soon with details about our next KAL and some new designs in the works...

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