Good Timing!

My shopping cart is broken! (sad face)

It happened because my webhost was changed by Costco. I had, up until then, been extremely happy with the webhost provided by Costco, mainly because of the excellent customer service.

This new one has foreign customer service, what Leo Laport calls 'customer no service'. They couldn't help me, but took several hours on 3 separate occasions to tell me, and of course, blamed my shopping cart itself.

Excuse me - but you lost the file while transferring and now my shopping cart just loops around until it gives up.

I never liked my shopping cart, anyway. It was a program written by sadists who liked feeling superior to their users. Also had 'customer no service'.

So I'm having whole new website built by my favorite webmaster, Peter Eastwood, who will be putting in a new, user friendly shopping cart and will be hosting it himself. I took advantage of this opportunity to redesign the website and can hardly wait to be able to invite you (my 11 regular readers) to view it.

Stay tuned! And in the mean time, if you want to buy something from my site, contact me at info at ellenewarren dot com, please, and I will hand process your order.

Free Crochet Pattern

Meet Yarnartist's Granny!
Inspired by the scarf nurse Jackie has been wearing over the last few weeks, I got out all my Claudia scraps, a skein of her Mohair, and created this very easy scarf.

I am offering her for Free from the e-boutique - use coupon code GRANNY!

Enjoy!

Another Knitting Disaster Story

I just listened to Knitpicks Podcast #101, in which Kelley discusses knitting disasters with some other knitters. (BTW - it's the only knitting podcast I have stuck with - it's really very good!)

Anyway, it reminded me of one of my worst disasters, which occurred when I was 17 years old and working on my first fairisle project. Back then, I just called it a ski sweater. It was 3 colors - natural whitish-cream background with pink and black. It had overall patterning, but only used 2 colors at a time.

I quickly completed the front and back, not knowing that it was supposed to be hard and take forever. Then I had to go to the hospital for an extended stay. I brought the yarn and pattern with me, but left the completed pieces at home. I worked both sleeves at the same time - 6 balls of yarn all going at once!

By the time I went home, I had completed the sleeves to the armhole decreases. But to my horror, I had put the black where the pink had been on the front and back and the pink where the black had been. I decided it would be okay - a design element!!! I finished the sleeves and sewed the sweater together (with sewing thread! sigh!)


No matter how I tried, I could not live with the mistake. It bothered me so much that I knew I would never be able to wear it. So I took it all apart, frogged the sleeves, and remade them with the colors in the proper places.


It has taken me many, many more knitting disasters to learn that I am a person who can't live with a mistake in my knitting. no matter how determined I am to just keep going. I may as well start ripping the minute I discover a mistake because I will just be throwing good time after bad.

What amazes me now is that I still have this sweater - 42 years later! Agghhh!

Crazy Lace by Myra Wood

Myra's new book is ready for pre-order on Amazon!!!

It is an amazing new concept, dreamed up by the genius mind of one of the most talented fiber artists in the world!

I have been so inspired by her Crazy Lace concept - it has changed the way I design Lace and will blast open new creative channels of any lace-knitter's mind!

I can't wait to hold the finished book in my hands!

Pre-order yours here.

Want to ChaCha?

This baby was a difficult birth. Tech editing problems. Test knitting problems (due to errors left by tech editor and also operator error)

Sometimes it just be's that way. But I persevered and I am so happy with the results. Actually, it is an easy and fast knit.

This pattern is available as part of a kit only, with Claudia's gorgeous mohair and boucle. The nice thing about it from the retailer's standpoint is that it is interchangeable with the French Scarf Kit, so if a customer wants a certain color of yarn, the pattern can just be switched out.

The nice thing about it from the knitter's standpoint it that this lusciousness retails for under $40.

The nice thing about it from my standpoint is that IT IS DONE so I can move on to one of the 1,278,962 projects in my planner.

Want a ChaCha of your own? Order it here.

Hanne Falkenberg Blues 1 Kit For Sale

I totally love this design. I love a lot of Hanne Falkenberg's designs.

But I will never make any of them. What was I thinking when I bought this kit?

Anyway, my folly could be your good luck. Here are the details:

Blues 1 by Hanne Falkenberg

The kit contains sufficient yarn (50% cotton/50% lambswool) to knit one of the following sizes - S, M/L, XL. The finished garment measures 35", 39" and 43" around the chest.

Please note the pin is not included in the kit, but you will get an actual Hanne Falkenberg label to sew in your finished garment.

You will also need 2 x 3mm circular needles (80cm length) and a set of 3mm double pointed needles.

Regular retail price is about $85. I will sell it for $70 including priority mail postage in the US.

SOLD!

Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary

See this woman? Her name is Kay and I read about her amazing contribution to the world, rescuing wild cats, in More magazine. The way she described the tragic existence of these wonderful creatures and the transformation that came over them after they began to live with her moved me to tears. I checked out her website and immediately donated to her cause.


When I read that she also rescues senior domestic cats who have lost their owners or their homes, I began crocheting some blankies for the senior cats.


I need to always be making something - it keeps me from going out of my mind. Sometimes I need simple, mindless projects that do not contain any of my designer's ego. Kitty blankies fit the bill perfectly, with the added benefit of usefulness. Kitties really LOVE laying on little blankies.

I also have a ton of yarn!!! What better use is there for yarn I will never need? The kitties don't care about color, stitch pattern, or matching.

I finished 8 of them and will be sending them off to the senior kitties at Cedarhill.

Spring Lace

I think we are all ready for spring! This project was made from some gorgeous silk/wool yarn from Fleece Artist. I bought it to make this exquisite sleeveless jacket by Ilga Leja.

The problem was, every time I put it down I left it too long and forgot where I was in the pattern. The back was finished for over a year, but I kept having to rip the front piece to get started again. Why didn't I just finish it? I still adore the design. But I was seriously concerned there wouldn't be enough yarn and it made me very uncomfortable every time I worked on it. Also, I think the color was a little too bright to suit the design.

Anyway, after the 3rd ripping, I decided to just frog the whole thing and make up my own design with the yarn.

This is what I came up with:

It is just a simple top down, garter stitch bodice with a made-up lace skirt. The top is shaped with darts at the bust and sides. The garter stitch hides the shaping pretty well, I think.

I was experimenting with widening a lace skirt - see how the pattern is established with the first repeat (at the waist) and then splits off into 2 reps where there had just been one?

The cut away styling of the skirt is very slenderizing to the hips.

I crocheted a simple shell around the armholes and the hemline. I had about 12" of yarn left over, but wasn't as tense about running out of yarn as I had been when working on Ilga's pattern.

Although I love the yarn, I still wish the colors were a bit more muted - especially the green. I will probably never wear it - if you want to buy it - let me know. (size 6-8)

A Little More Ms. Frizzle

Ms. Frizzle

For about 6 years I have had a spider plant in a pot that we call Ms. Frizzle. The plant finally succumbed to a mite problem and I decided to put it out of its misery, sterilize the pot, and buy a new spider plant.

This is Ms. Frizzle


This is what I pulled out of her head.

Cool, huh?

If I Were in High School

I'd be a Goth.

Eden explained to me long ago about the different cliques at his school - the (Skate) Boarders, the Nerds, the Gangstas, the Emos and the Goths.

I like the costumes of the Goths. Course, I'd have to add a little pastel rainbow here and there and some glitter.

Monoyarnamous

TNNA _ January 2009, San Diego, CA


Monoyarnamous is a word I just coined during a communication with a Ravelry friend. It is what I am trying to be, but man, it's hard.

Just as when looking for that one partner who could keep me monogamous for the rest of my life, I had to try a lot of yarn first before marrying just one.

And I chose .... Claudia!
And here are the reasons why.
1) Love love love her colors. Claudia is not afraid of color. She's playful, serious, or sophisticated. She has A LOT of colorways and I find that the more I become intimate with each one, the more I like it.
2) She also has a lot of textures.
3) Claudia herself is such a nice person and creative spirit. We are on the same page in our approach to our businesses.
4) Inside each of her yarn labels it says "Peace, love, comfort and Joy."

But it is so hard to stay monoyarnamous. Every day I see yarns that set off beautiful designs on the screen of my imagination and start my fingers twitching to touch and shape them into my dreams. I can't tell you how many loaded shopping carts I have closed my browser on.

The thing that keeps me on track is the inconvenient truth that I stare at every day - my stash above and beyond life expectancy. Every ball and skein purchased with best of intentions and a flash (or flood) of creative vision of its potential possibilities. Put aside, mostly where I can't even see them.

Like a sperm bank - just shelf after shelf of possibilities.

Last UFO of 2008

This one is called the "Not Square" Jacket. It is made from an assortment of yarns I purchased from A Mano Yarn Center is a feast of creative inspiration, and was sitting, nearly finished, under my table for about a year. I needed the perfect button.

I finally found it online the other day and it just arrived in today's mail!

New Pattern Up - SweeTee

This little SweeTee has been driving me nuts and I am so glad I finally achieved what I wanted with it.
It's not the yarn, which is delicious, Silk Lace by Claudia in the color Cherries, 2 strands held together throughout.

If you know me at all, you know I love the details.

I love the stitch pattern, too, which gives a nice, slimming vertical stripe.

It was...you guessed it...the math!!!!

I had the hardest time grading this - the 14 st pattern repeat offset with an extra 5 sts and wanting to keep the center intact. Grrrr.

I even tried to hire someone to grade it for me. She told me some things just can't be graded. No kidding!

Finally I conceived of an alternative - knit the same exact thing on different sized needles and you end up with a different sized garment. So I was finally able to finish it.

And just in time for TNNA!

Use coupon code HAPPY NEW YEAR and get the pattern for free from my website when purchasing 2 skeins of Claudia's Silk Lace yarn in your choice of 108 different colors! Plus, of course Free Shipping!

Happy New Year!

How I Spent Christmas

I spent Christmas in bed all day, watching movies and knitting!

Scarf With Striped Border, page 80, Victorian Lace Today.
Yarn - Malabrigo Lace Weight from A Mano Yarn Center. Been in my stash for over a year! My favorite color and the yarn is sososososos soft!

My Name is Ellene and I am a Procrastinator

I am a productive procrastinator, but still...
Unless you count all those hours playing Guitar Hero. Thank you, Mr. Bear, for finally hooking me into the madness.

At least my other procrastination activities yield a product at the end.

Hot Hands in Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, Short Sport, colorway Circus Dancer

Kitty Bwankie for Charlie with catnip Meeses to match

Granny Takes a Trip

It always amazes me when I complete a pattern and publish it - all the details of math, format, layout, schematics, tech editing, more math, and still more math.

Designing is the easy part. Making the sample is the fun part. The rest is just work, work, work. Lots of stress.

But I am so happy when I am finished and have another pattern to add to my collection.



Many years ago, when I first moved to California, there were a few shops that blew my mind. One was the Pleasure Dome on Sunset Blvd. I had never seen such a collection of yummy colors and fabrics and hip styles.

There was also Holly Harp on Sunset - the rich and elegant hippy fashion paradise.

And then along came Granny Takes a Trip on Melrose. I heard it was owned by some wives of the group, Chicago. It was named after a hip boutique in London, at that time the epicenter of all that was hot in music and fashion. Pleasure Dome inspired me but Granny got me wanting a store someday - just like that one! Only with all my designs.

Flash forward about 8 years. My boutique on Santa Monica Blvd. had just been robbed - cleaned out, actually, and I had a big chunk of money from the insurance (those were the days when you could actually afford to insure your inventory) I was faced with the choice of starting an entirely new career or building a new boutique.

And guess what was available? Granny Takes a Trip had gone out of business and the store was for lease! Right across from the Bodhi Tree, LA's famous metaphysical bookstore, I had my name in shocking pink neon for the next 10 years! So many stories to tell, if I could only figure out how to write and knit at the same time.

Really, no knitting for me today. I am working on the final drafts of some other patterns. Stay tuned!

Kits will be coming soon in these colorways. Pattern is available here.

New Yarn Section in my e-boutique Now Open!

For the past 2 months I have been working overtime adding a new Yarn Section to my e-boutique and it's finally ready for visitors!

I am happy to announce that I am the only resource in the world with the entire line of Claudia Hand Painted Yarn! That means 15 different types (14 really, but Sport Merino comes in 50 or 100 gram skeins) in 108 different color ways!

Claudia's yarns are exquisite! Her colorways are fresh and beautiful and as I was working with the photos, color correcting them to the best of my ability while holding each skein up to my monitor, I fell in love with nearly every single colorway!

Another thing I love about Claudia's yarn is the wonderful scent that wafts up to your nose as you wind the skeins and as you work. She has some secret ingredients she adds to the last rinse. I have been encouraging her to package and market her wool wash because it is so nice!

I think the best part about designing in and selling Claudia's yarn (besides having an enourmous stash of her yarn around me at all times) has been getting to know Claudia, herself. The inside of her ball bands carries a hidden message: Peace, Love, Comfort and Joy! And Claudia is every bit of the Rainbow Goddess I expected would go to the trouble of sharing a blessing in every skein.

In January, Claudia will be at TNNA in San Diego and will be featuring several of my new patterns, which I will preview for you here on my blog in the weeks to come. She has promised to sit down with me for an extended time and fill me in on all the details of how she came to own one of the most exciting hand-dyed yarn companies in the world, and I will share what I learn about her with all of you (with her permission).

I am so curious about how she got started, what she did before, what she dreams of for her future. Enquiring minds want to know!!!

Visit my website and let me know what you think of the new Yarn Section!