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Introducing the first-ever Chiagu club: Koigu minis!
I've been hard at work planning for my first-ever club, and it's now ready to be announced! The Chiagu Koigu Mini-Skeins Club starts shipping next month, and signups open tomorrow, April 19th.
Basic club details:
Receive 6 mini-skeins of Koigu KPPPM in your mailbox automatically each month!
Each skein is approx 25 yards, so 6 skeins is almost as much yarn as one full skein of Koigu . . . but 6 times more fun!
The club is a monthly, with payments automatically through PayPal each month. So you can cancel anytime! And yes, international customers are welcome.
That's the basic premise of the club, and all the details are in the club FAQ page, please check it out!
I'm so excited to hear what you think of my first club!
UPDATE:
Cantaloupe socks
Yes, I do still knit! This crazy color of Koigu (P216) arrived in my recent order and just kept calling my name . . . the bright bright oranges and hint of pink feel just perfect for this season. I knew that it was so bright that it could only be a small accessory, and considered doing a shawlette, but the more I flipped through my dog-eared stitch books the more I kept imagining the stitches and color as a sock. So I started swatching, and just hours later I have the above, which is half of the first foot!
I don't usually knit, much less design, toe-up socks, but for this stitch pattern I didn't like the way it looked "upside down" (ie knit from the leg to the foot) so I knew I had to go for a toe-up sock. I started with Judy's magic cast on and then increased to the right count, keeping the toe and the foot of the sock in stockinette while working the lace on the top of the foot. Once I start turning the heel, the stitch pattern will start morphing into a more complicated version of the lace you see above, and the leg will end with the "second half" of this stitch pattern. It's hard to explain in words but I should be able to show it to you in just a few days. I always forget how fast socks work up and then it's a pleasant surprise when I discover that again!
Depending on how the leg looks I may work a second pair of these up in a semi-solid pair of knee-highs . . .
New Freemans Alley & Loreley Scarf Kits in the shop
I just finished updating the shop with a bunch of new kits! If you've been wanting to grab a Freemans Alley or Loreley Scarf kit, hop on over to the shop and check out the colors!
This time around I was inspired by the Spring weather to create some really fun, bright colorways. Here are some of my favorites:
For Freemans Alley:
Acid, which is totally on-trend for spring with its punches of bright, neon colors. I'd love to wear these with a all-neutral outfit, for just a pop of color!
Cotton Candy, which fits with the other big spring color trend, which is pastel, sweet colors. This color would also be perfect to whip up for your Easter outfit . . .
And of course, what update is complete without a blue-on-blue colorway? This one, Medium Blue, has so many shades of blue in it that it's pretty mesmerizing. Every time I pick up one of these kits I lose at least 10 minutes examining all the shades and tones in it!
And for Loreley Scarf kits, some of my favorites:
Talk about inspired by Spring! This colorway, which I've named Bouquet, has every color of flowers imaginable. I love all the tones of lavender, pink, and blue in this one.
I happened to have a bunch of speckle-y colors on hand, so thought it would be fun to do an all-speckle colorway. Since the speckles are the rare ones in Koigu, I knew this colorway would turn out very unusual! I've named this one Speckle Party, what do you think?
The last one I'm highlighting here does NOT fit the Spring theme. This colorway, which I've named Dark, was a response to all the requests I've received to make more dark colorways similar to the original color of the photographed Loreley scarf. So this one's for those of you who've been asking this question!
There are 8 colors of each kit up, so be sure to click through to check them all out as these are just a sneak peek! I hope you all like the new colors, happy shopping!
Oh and remember, shipping is free for US orders over $75! That means if you order two Loreley's, for example, the shipping is on me!
Getting things done
There's something about Spring that makes you want to get things off your to-do list, isn't there?? I've been more productive today than I have in a single day in quite some time!
The picture above was supposed to be of the shawl, but when I look at it I can't help but focusing on sweet Arnold who's making such a cute face! But really, the point of the picture is that I finished the lace shawl. And I'm very happy with how it came out! Now that the weather is warmer a light laceweight shawl is the perfect accessory. I always knit shawls in the summertime because they're season-less and aren't too warm to keep on your lap when you're working on them!
I don't know what I'm going to name this design yet . . . but I'm aiming to have that pattern done and ready for you guys by the end of next week, so I'll have to decide soon.
Also done today: a big kit order for Loop! That's right, I now have two brick-and-mortar retailers stocking Chiagu kits. It's so so exciting!
Want to see what my work table looks like when I'm making kits? Here you go:
It's actually less of a disaster than it was this morning before I cleaned up the apartment . . .
And speaking of apartment and getting things done, I'll be moving out of this tiny studio at the end of my lease, which is at the end of April. That means I'm already looking at all my stuff with a critical eye and trying to clear things out so they don't have to be lugged down 5 flights of stairs to get out of here. There may or may not be a stash sale coming soon . . .
Oh and speaking of sale, did you notice that I now have a sale section in the shop? Right now there are Freemans Alley Kits in there on clearance for only $12, because I'm discontinuing the old put-up and will be re-releasing the kits with more yarn in them (the ones that I've made for Loop are the new put up).
What's the difference, you ask? Well the ones on sale now only have enough yarn in them for a size Small or Medium pair of mitts. They have exactly 1 skein's worth of yarn in them. The new kits will have 1.5 skeins' worth, so there will be enough for even the Large size mitts.
So if you'd be making the Small or Medium anyway, you might want to snap up one (or more!) of the remaining clearance kits!
