Hello everyone! I am so excited to share these photos with you this week! It's been exhilarating to see all of the FOs (Finished Objects) popping up on the Ravelry forum all week and I am so glad so many of you offered to share them with me and all of the readers here. (Each of the FO pictures this week were used with the permission of the knitter and links to their Ravelry project are provided for more info.) Without further ado, I give you some of the first FOs of the Downton Abbey MKAL 2014! FO #1 by: cebaily who knit her shawlette in the Lorna's Laces Honor in the Bated Breath color. I see lots of the intermediate patterning in her shawl. Looks great! FO #2 by: clmnj58 who also knit her shawl in the Honor in Bated Breath. She said that this photo makes her shawl look ethereal...

Happy Downton Day everyone! Is everyone excited for the final clue or are you rationing like Lady Violet? Although this week's episode isn't the last as we still have next week's "Christmas Special" episode, this is the last week of clues. At this point it is pretty transparent what we are doing next, so I have omitted the clues and have instead given you the final instructions in their entirety. There will not be an episode guide tomorrow as it is not needed. Both beginners and intermediates have 6 rows left of knitting, plus the bind off. I've grouped all six rows for each together to make it easier for you to knit from. Beginners: Please take note that although the knitting this week looks similar to last week, it is in a different order, so be sure to reference this week's clue,...

When I was asked to participate in the Stitch Mountain book I was so excited!! I have lived here in Reno my whole life and skied in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains for most of those years. Of course I love to knit and design with an emphasis on fun and unusual projects, so Brita Sigourney's vision for the Kitten Mittens was right up my alley. Brita is a huge advocate for pet adoption and fosters pets whenever she can. Here's her comment when approached about the project, “I recently adopted a kitty, Cory. She is such a joy, so obviously when I saw these mittens I had to have them!” I am a huge animal lover myself with many rescue pets throughout my life. My pets have made my world so happy over the years and I currently am graced with a 12 year old Queensland Healer mix, Sierra,...

When we decided to work with Skacel  to create the Voodoo Doll Kits for Valentine's Day, we had no idea that Bethany's mom, who is a lawyer that also writes novels, had also just released her latest book called Voodoo Dreams. What a fun coincidence this turned out to be! We originally wanted to create these Voodoo Doll Kits as an alternative for those who prefer not to celebrate Valentine's Day with hearts and flowers. But as they developed, we realized what a fun and positive thing they could be. With the different colored pins that represent love, tranquility, friendship, passion, and more, your doll, rather could be a metaphor for the elements you want to manifest in your life. We love this concept, and it doesn't hurt that the dolls are pretty darn cute! Huck really likes his! Bethany's...

**Please note 2/10: Sorry this is a bit late this morning! I had this auto-scheduled but somehow Blogger malfunctioned and didn't post on time. Good thing I double checked it this morning!** Hi everyone! Here is this week's episode guide for Downton Abbey! Also below is some of the important info you might need for this week's knitting, in case you missed it yesterday. A note to Beginners and/or those who are running short of yarn: The beginner border clues are set up so that you can bind off when you need to after finishing a row 2. Even though the border repeat is technically a 4-row repeat, you can easily decide at at any time that you are finished. If you are running short on yarn, you may opt to do this option to give yourself more control over the yarn usage. Also, this option is...

Hi everyone and welcome to week 6 of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL! Tonight we return to our regularly scheduled clues. That means that these clues are not in order so please watch carefully to make sure you do these prompts in order. I've made the clues pretty easy to spot in the show so even though they may seem vague now, I promise you they are not.  Also, just a hint, if you are pretty adept at pattern reading, you can probably figure out the order they go in. Just a hint. If you do figure it out early, please keep it a secret for those who want to play the game. A note to Beginners and/or those who are running short of yarn: The beginner border clues are set up so that you can bind off when you need to after finishing a row 2. Even though the border repeat is technically a 4-row...

Some of you may already know that one of our yarn vendors, Imperial Yarns, provided the yarn to Ralph Lauren to create the opening ceremony sweaters for Team USA in this year's Olympics in Sochi! When Ralph Lauren set out to create this year's team uniform entirely in the USA with US made products, Imperial had no idea that they would possibly be selected to be a part of the collaboration. We were blown away when we heard so we just had to ask Jeanne Carver, one of the owners of Imperial Stock Ranch about their involvement. Here is what she had to say to our questions: Jeanne & Dan Carver 1)      As a long-time rancher with so much family history in the ranching industry, what made you decide to get involved in the yarn industry? What a great first question.  ...

5th Block of the Sew Red Sew-a-long from Saremy Duffy We are just bursting at the seams (hee hee) to show you the next block in the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long!  This inspired-by-Cathedral-Window quilt block was designed by the wildly talented Saremy Duffy of Chicken Boots.  All about Saremy Saremy Duffy is an extremely avid seamster with a business making and selling accessories for knitters, crocheters and others creative folks called Chicken Boots.  All Chicken Boots products are made right here in the USA in Chico, CA, and we proudly carry them at Jimmy Beans. Saremy is passionate about knowing where the things she buys come from and tries to buy Made in US and handmade first—within reason financially.  I bet what you really want to know, though, is why...

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a fabulous week. Mine was busy (deadlines galore) but overall good. :) So this week is an extremely light knitting week. I am doing this for three reasons: 1) I want to give as many people as possible the chance to catch up so we can all finish together over the next couple of weeks. 2) The most natural stopping point in this section is after 4 rows, so before we begin the final border patterning, I wanted to give you all a nice easy week to relax and enjoy some simple knitting. 3) Although I don't want to assume that any of you are football fans, I am sure some people will be busy preparing for and watching the Super Bowl tomorrow, so I didn't want to overload anyone. For those of you who have already stopped increasing, please do not to the...