Lit Knits + 1

As Christmas approaches, I'm getting ready to cast on another Deep Sea Wanderer cowl from Lit Knits. (It's been quite popular with my family members.) I know all you other knitters are working on/ panicking about what knits to knit. Here's a little something to make your decision making a little easier. If you buy a digital copy of Lit Knits, you can get another Bear Ears pattern for free. This includes other collections like From Pines To Pacific and A Midsummer's Night Knit. (This promotion does not include Celestarium as the pattern is currently under Twist Collective's control.) If you've already bought a digital copy of Lit Knits, add a pattern/collection to your basket and it should already be discounted.

If you choose to buy a hard copy of Lit Knits, post a picture of you with it on your instagram account, tag @bear_ears, and I'll drop a digital copy of Lit Knits and a free pattern in your ravelry account. Be sure to add your ravelry name and the pattern you'd like to have in the instagram post where you've tagged me so I can be sure to get it to the right account. I'll be doing this under the honor system.

The offer is good until Christmas Day, so if you were lucky enough to receive a copy of Lit Knits for Christmas, you can take advantage.

If you want a hard copy, there are signed copies available at Island Wools ready to be shipped.

There are also unsigned copies available at Amazon. 

Here's the step by step on how to take advantage of this promotion

If you are buying Lit Knits digitally without a hard copy, you can follow this link to add Lit Knits to your cart. Then press "view all available items"

Choose a second Bear Ears pattern or collection  (also labeled as Audry Nicklin Designs in the store) and add it to your cart.

The second pattern/collection should discount to 0, leaving the total for only Lit Knits. If it doesn't, something isn't right. (remember, Celestarium isn't part of the promotion)

You can also add Lit Knits to your cart either by going to the Bear-Ears ravelry store, then add a second pattern/ collection to your cart before checking out.

Twist Collective Closing

Hello friends! You may have heard that Twist Collective will be closing down at the end of the year. What does that mean for all of you who have bought a Twist Collective pattern? Well, it depends on the designer. In my case, I plan on continuing to offer Celestarium through my own store. I've been in contact with Twist Collective and the transition should go smoothly enough that no one will notice any difference.

For those of you who have bought the pattern, I won't have a record of your purchase, but any update made to the pattern will still show up in your ravelry library. Pattern support will move from Twist Collective to me. The fastest way to get help will be by contacting me on my bear-ears ravelry account.

One Sock, Two Sock, Red Sock, Blue Sock

I recently finished two pairs of socks. I'd finished knitting them awhile ago, but in an uncharacteristic move, I didn't weave in the ends for a month. The first pair finished was the pair knit from Cathy's stash: Swedish Fish.

I made a few modifications. I made the leg 68 stitches, up 4 stitches from the 64 the pattern calls for. I also ignored the patterning on the foot and went with a 1x1 stripe.

The second pair of socks was my third pair of Primavera socks. I really struggled to find a pattern that showed off the Mushroom Hunting color way from Dragonfly Fibers. The Primavera pattern is the perfect mixture of interesting pattern and simple knitting.

Of course I've cast on some more socks. Once I finished the Swedish Fish socks, I allowed myself to cast on another color work pattern: Roll The Bones. What's funny is that I'd looked at the pattern so frequently that Connor thought I had already knit it. It's an involved pattern, so I anticipate knitting these for awhile.

Orange is Baah! La Jolla in California Poppy. White is Tosh Sock in Filtered Light.

I also cast on new car knitting after finishing up the Primavera socks. This pair is called By The Seine River. It was written for a 72 stitch count, but I've modded it to a 63 stitch count. The pattern came out better at 63 rather than my usual 64 stitches.

Nox Yarn in the She's Filled With Secrets color way.

Does anyone else have a pattern that they have looked at so often that they might as well have knit it by now?

Ornery Fuzzball

Happy birthday Scooter! You've made it to 16! Now that you are 16 you are a bit more ornery than you used to be. (Didn't know that was possible.) You have clear feelings on what you do and don't feel like doing. For example, you didn't want your picture taken for this year's birthday post, so you ran off as soon as you saw the camera.

I asked nicely, but you decided that you preferred to be inside. I suppose that is my fault. You are almost entirely deaf now, so other measures have to be taken.

Since your sense of smell hasn't diminished, you have no problem coming out for food. You'll even humble yourself for the good stuff. Ham, for instance, is worth sitting and presenting a paw.

You also aren't below licking every last bit of ham taste or treat crumbs off of someone's hand.

So happy birthday little buddy. You make everyone's day bright just by being around.

These Last Two Months

Until these last two months of not writing, I had been blogging at least once a week for 8.5 years. There are, as of this post, 781 entries. That is quite a bit of writing! Although I don't plan on entirely quitting, it's become clear that I need some space from this blog in order to have time and creative energy to put into other areas of my life. Basically, I need to give myself permission to not blog at least once a week.

Ok, so now that's out of the way, what has happened in the last two months? Well, I met up with Connor in Japan. He had a two week business trip there. I flew to meet him at the end of it and we spent almost another two weeks touring around.

My favorite part of the trip was meeting the bowing deer of Nara

I gave travel journaling a go in Japan and really loved it. I'm still finishing up some paintings from the trip.

I spent a lot of time painting the sights. This is Kinkaku-ji, the temple in Kyoto that is covered in gold.

Once we came back from the trip, Connor and I joined a comic drawing group that meets up once a week. I found out they do a yearly anthology. When we joined, there were five weeks until the deadline. I decided to draw an 8 page, fully watercolored comic. In retrospect, that was a little nuts. It's taken a lot of energy, but I'm pleased with how it looks.

Just one of many pigeon jokes in my comic

I'm still knitting here and there. Connor has introduced me to Battlestar Galactica. (The new one.) I've found it to be a pretty good show to knit to.

Rebellious Mushroom Hunter

I started the Swedish Fish socks using some of Cathy's stash. Already I have knit this sock up to the heel, ripped it out back to the cuff, and started it again. The fit wasn't quite right, but the ripping was worth it. I'm going to have a really cute sock.

Tosh Sock in Baltic and Warm Maize

In a burst of energy, I also finished off two pairs of socks. First pair are the Woodpile Socks using my skein of Spun Right Round in the Bug Jar color way.

The second pair are the Vanilla Latte socks in Stray Cat Socks' Blue Moon color way. This is the second time I've knit a pair of socks in this color.

After finishing the last two pairs of socks, but still making ripping decisions about the Swedish Fish, I started a new sock. I'm still deciding what pattern it will grow up to be. I was so desperate for a sock to knit that I just cast on 64 stitches and worked a 2x2 rib cuff. I figure I can find a pattern to match.

Dragonfly Fibers in the Mushroom Hunting color way

Has anyone else cast on with wild abandon? I've never cast on without a plan before and I feel like a rebel.

What Happens To Your Stash When You Die

A few weeks ago a knitting buddy passed away. She hadn't been well, but I hadn't realized she had taken a turn for the worse. Then, just this past weekend, a bunch of us were alerted that her stash was going to be dismantled.

Cathy had been quite thorough with her documentation of her stash on ravelry. I decided that the best way to remember her would be to knit a pair of socks that she had planned to make, but didn't get to. Only a few queued sock patterns had yarn ideas assigned to them. Cathy and I had bonded over color work socks, so when I saw that the Swedish Fish pattern was one with an assigned yarn, I made it my mission to find the skein of Baltic and Warm Maize in Tosh sock in her enormous stash. (She had over 1700 entries, not just skeins, on ravelry) Luckily I had some help and eventually was able to find each skein. I got a little teary when I saw that the skein of Baltic had already been wound.

I pulled out some other skeins while I was there. Most notably a skein of Baah La Jolla in Burmese Ruby. Cathy had the best taste in reds.

I also left with a sweater quantity of Brooklyn Tweed's Loft in Meteorite and Artifact to make another Pente. Cathy was one of the group of us who made a Pente together. She was the one who coined the term "stockinette hell."

Farewell Cathy. I hope that you have already found the yarn shop on the other side. I'm sure you will find the best red over there too.