Archive for the 'etsy' Category
New Pattern Booklet: FOUR reversible scarves
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
Until now, three of these patterns have only been available in my scarf kits on Etsy…and now I’m combining them with the Reclamation scarf pattern into a booklet of four completely reversible scarf patterns.
All of the scarves look good from both the front AND the back, so you never need to worry about the tails flipping over while you wear them, or which side is the “right” side when you put them on.
I’m calling it “Back and Forth” because whichever side (back or front) of these scarves show, and whatever yarn / gauge / drape you choose, they look great!
(The scarf that didn’t make the cover is this one:)
…the model just didn’t have much life! 
$4 
So anyway, that’s available now on Etsy, Ravelry, and in my own shop.
Posted in Patterns, etsy | No Comments »
New Reversible Scarf kits in my Etsy shop
Monday, June 8th, 2009
100% bamboo, dk weight.
I finally had a chance to photo these today. I’m in the process of getting them all listed on Etsy.
These came to me as undyed 200 - 250 gram hanks, and I tried to split each one up into two manageable skeins. So almost all of them have an exact match.
Some are “sisters” and are the same dye lot, but are so different that I listed them individually.
I priced them according to weight, so whatever they actually weigh is taken into account.
Each kit comes with FOUR scarf patterns.
Posted in etsy | No Comments »
Sketch to Shirt: Analysis of the first swatch
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
This is a DK weight bamboo chain yarn that I dyed (the same stuff as in my Etsy shop).
As well as needing to check my gauge, I want to see what the drape of this fabric will be like, and whether the colors would pool, so I cast on quite a few stitches for this swatch.
I can tell by gathering the fabric that it’ll be quite maliable and that this is exactly the gauge that I need for my top. It’s going to hold its shape, but will flow and be really smooth-looking.
I also like the colors in the yarn, and I find that what minimal pooling there is really doesn’t look bad.
BUT. I’ve decided that as interesting as this yarn would be in a scarf like this:
…the colors aren’t what I need for my garment. The overall feel is too “cool” for me. I’ve got 3 more hanks of this yarn in this dark purple, and none of those have as much green. I’m going to swatch one of those and see if I like it better.
Posted in Patterns, etsy | No Comments »
Last of the Bamboo is posted!
Friday, February 20th, 2009
I’m posting the last batch of my inauguration day dyeing, “Color of Hope” bamboo on Etsy today…
And that’s the last you’ll hear about bamboo yarn from me for a while (whew!)
In case you’re not on her mailing list, I have a new Stitch Diva pattern out:
So far, it’s just a preview, and should be available soon.
In other news, things are really busy right now! I’ve got a book deadline on Sunday, and am working away on my Fall 09 Mission Falls stuff. Also lots of things percolating, of course.
In Mazie news, she has so many new teeth! She’s worked hard for them. We are all very, very tired.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, etsy | No Comments »
new bamboo kits are posted
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
…a few more DK weight and several worsted weight kits are now available in my etsy store.
Posted in etsy | 1 Comment »
New Bamboo! The color of Hope.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Scarf Kits will be available as soon as I can get them listed.
Here’s a preview:
And there are more drying! There are about 40 in all. Most are DK weight bamboo, same as last time, but the rest are a really pretty worsted chain-type bamboo and a tape yarn made of corn.
My theme this time is “The color of hope.” I was dyeing these while Nathan and I were watching the inauguration. He asked me, “What color do you think represents hope?” We decided at the time that it was a golden yellow, like the color of Michelle’s dress. The more I thought about it, the more colors started to come to mind. The rusty auburn of my daughter’s hair, the flush of healthy pink cheeks, the blue of a clear sky, a rich royal purple, and, of course, green for money, spring grasses, my grandmother’s eyes.
So, this batch of yarn incorporates a little bit of each of these colors. Some came out mostly blue with a little green, while others are vibrant purple and chartreuse with a little peach. I’ll post them individually so that you can see how they differ.
Dyeing yarn is always an interesting experiment. I love to layer the colors, which is why they are each so unique.
As usual, the kits come with stitch markers, 3 scarf patterns, and 50g hand dyed bamboo or corn yarn. (Plus whatever Glampyre swag I can find to stick in with them!)
Posted in yarn reviews, Patterns, etsy | 2 Comments »
aw! A review of my “Space Shuttle Scarf” kit!
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Remember those kits I had on Etsy with the dyed bamboo and 3-pattern booklet??
Well. We have the first online review!
To Quote Lenora:
“As promised by the designer, Ms. Japel herself, it truly looks wonderful no matter which side of the pattern one declares to be the “right” side. No wrong side. Gotta respect that.
I brought the scarf to share with the Guild today. Now you must understand that the Guild members are quite accomplished knitters. We have teachers, experts and international brilliance. So, for a pattern to impress this bunch it must be remarkable indeed.
We contemplated the visual effect of both sides - both close up and from afar. Final result? Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.”
AaaaaaAAAaaaAAaaaaaawwwwww! Thank you!
I needed that today!
Posted in Patterns, press, etsy | No Comments »
knit glam t-shirts and..hey! There’s a new Knitty!
Friday, December 12th, 2008
Hey! There’s a new Knitty!
For the locals, this is that abandoned lodge on 70 just at the top of the hill on the way to White Sands (on the East side of the road.) We’ve driven by it so many times, and I just had to use it in the photo shoot. Here it is looking from the North:
Remember that Therapi yarn that I like so much? I knit a whole sweater out of it! And the great thing about Knitty is that I get to KEEP IT. How long since I’ve been able to knit a sweater for myself and keep it?! And I really do like this yarn. It’s soft and doesn’t pill (or hasn’t yet..even as much as I’ve been wearing this sweater.)
In other news, I’ve been having the worst mail time of my entire life. I’ve been just having the worst luck!! I mean, I’ve got some sort of force field going on that repels mail and other deliveries arriving at my house. And it’s also somehow affecting mail that I SEND.
It all started a month or so ago. I was mailing out a bunch of copies of my newest book for review, and at the same time mailing various knits and other stuff. I was supposed to send a swatch to a test knitter, and I swore up and down that I’d sent it. And then I FOUND it. Here at my house in it’s envelope and with stamps and everything. And then I submitted a form to the University that would have initiated disbursement of a really big really big check. Well. They lost my request form in the mail! I heard this after having waited 5 weeks for the check! So…maybe in another 5 weeks it’ll finally pay out. THEN…I took two sweaters in two separate pre-addressed boxes to the UPS store. These boxes were two different sweaters going to two different places. They both ended up at the SAME PLACE. One was for a deadline and is still in limbo because the guy that has it’s wife just had a baby and he’s out of the office.
Today, though, the cloud of badmailishness seems to have lifted because MY T-SHIRTS CAME!! (and I got 2 checks today!!)
That was the teaser from this morning. A few weeks ago, I ran into (fellow redhead) Petra of Red Squirrel Knits, who is a wonderful graphic designer. She took my sketch:
and made it into this awesome logo:
I am so happy with these shirts! They were printed by Squeegee Printers, Inc. (the same people who print the Ravelry tees.)
I’m listing these on etsy right now…you can see the size information in the listing, but I’ve got just a few in Ladies’ sizes S - 2X.
I’m usually a 12 -14 in tops, and the Large fits me great. Not tight, not loose.
Posted in Patterns, press, etsy | 3 Comments »
New kits posted! (and a teaser!)
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Thank you to everyone who purchased a scarf kit. The last few went out in the mail today!
I just posted a new batch of Limited Edition Kits. These are 100g of worsted weight organic cotton. The yarn comes in 4 colors, each of which is natural…the cotton was GROWN to be that color!
These kits are going to be called “Walking in the Desert” and will also include 2 handmade stitch markers and the pattern booklet for 3 reversible, non-curling scarves. (These are the same patterns as in the other kits…but will have desert-themed names in this incarnation.) All packaged in a little box for gifting or keeping.
And…just to tease you…
Posted in etsy | 3 Comments »
New Scarf Kits are Posted!
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
OK, here are the last of the Walking on the Sun kits:
Not much new is happening other than working on these kits! I’m not very streamlined about them yet. I hesitate to get anything ready before it actually sells, because then I might be sitting on 36 sad little ready-to-go items. So as each order comes in, I box up the yarn, put the label on, make the stitch markers, and then put together the booklets…and then package up and address the whole thing. I was up till 4 am this morning winding this new batch of yarn on my niddy noddy. I’m not electric yet, so it takes a little while. My one arm will be STRONG.
This is officially the last of the bamboo. I’ve got an idea for a new (organic cotton) scarf kit…just need to do some swatching!