Showing posts with label Marinade Designs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marinade Designs. Show all posts

Do You Believe in Magic?

by : KristenJBW
The SpellbindersFestival​ is a FREE Magic event that brings kids into their local libraries and encourages them to embrace their creativity What's not to love?!?!

We've partnered with Spellbinders, Rowan Yarns​, and Marinade Designs​ to create this fun Spellbinders Magic Kit complete with yarn, a knitted project, and an EXCLUSIVE video by Larry Wilson​, an Emmy-nominated Magician, where he teaches you to do some cool magic with yarn (oh, and you can knit with it too!)! How fun is that?!?! The best part is 100% of the profit from these kits goes to Spellbinders!


Snag yourself a Spellbinders Magic Kit for just $10 and prepare to be AMAZED! 

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Fit for a Feast 2014!!!!!!! Gobble Gobble!!!

by : Unknown
Fit for a Feast is back and better than ever!!!! 

 Thirteen amazing companies have come to join in the festivities #justatjimmys, and we couldn't be more excited (or hungry for yarn ;) wink, wink)!!!!! 

 Lorna's Laces is kicking off the smorgasbord with Wild Turkey in Shepherd Worsted!!!! 

 We've also got Jade Sapphire with scrumptious Cream of Mushroom Soup!!

 Koigu with Pickled Pumpkin in two variations!!! 


 Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in my favorite side dish: Sage Stuffing!!!   

Vice Yarns with Green Bean Casserole, and Mrs. Crosby with a tasty Relish Tray!!! 

Fyberspates and Malabrigo have tackled the potato dishes. With a delectable Sweet Potato Cowl Kit that is accompanied by Leanne's fantastic design, and includes both Fyberspates Vivacious DK and Malabrigo Rueca Handspun!!! Malabrigo Worsted Merino Yarn in Blue Mashed Potatoes brings a smile to our faces and is sure to please!!!



And what is a Thanksgiving feast without the desserts and mulled wine? Dream in Color brought a Fruit Anthology to the party, SweetGeorgia brought Pumpkin Spice Pie, and Freia Fine Handpaints brought Guinilla's Glogg!!! 



If your sweet tooth isn't sated just yet make sure to try some Artyarns Cranberry Orange Relish or Anzula Triple Berry Pie!!!


Of course there's always leftovers, and these leftovers come with a sweet little garland project from our very own Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich!!! 

If you're getting hungry, don't fret, there's a recipe booklet that accompanies each yummy yarn  dish!!!!

Keep your eye out for Facebook posts as well, that will lead you to blogs about the inspiration behind every mouthwatering colorway!!!

Happy Holidays!!!!

~Olivia 




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Game of Thrones Mystery Knit-A-Long 2014!

by : KristenJBW
Hi everyone, and welcome! We hope you’ll join us for this year’s MKAL! It’s going to be SO much fun, I can hardly wait to get started!



Here are the details for this year’s Game of Thrones Mystery KAL:


  • The MKAL will begin on Sunday, May 4th and run for 6 weeks (through the end of Season 4 of Game of Thrones.)
  • We will be knitting a lace shawl inspired by Daenerys Targaryen! The mystery is in the design…
  • The recommended yarn is 2 skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and we are using the Limited Edition color “Fire and Blood” (avail. 4/25.) Lorna’s Laces Solemate is also a great substitute, and as usual, you are welcome to use ANY fingering weight yarn of your choosing. You are never required to buy yarn from us to participate in one of our KALs. Anyone is welcome!  
  • The pattern difficulty level is considered Intermediate. The stitches are basic enough (a list of abbreviations is available immediately when you download the pattern in case you need to brush up on any skills), but there is some interesting shaping that may challenge you a bit (in a good way of course.)
  • The pattern will include both written instructions AND charts (by popular demand!)
  • The KAL will be hosted entirely on Ravelry, so the pattern will also only be available on Ravelry this year.
  • You will need to go here to download the pattern: Game of Thrones MKAL 2014
  • Each Sunday during the KAL, you’ll receive a message that the pattern has been updated. You can download and print each clue individually, week by week. 
  • As usual, we’ll have threads for each clue in the JBW Group on Ravelry, so come on over and join in the conversation, ask questions, get help with the pattern, etc.!!!


Since we started doing these MKAL’s a little over a year ago, we have learned a ton! With each one, we’ve tried to improve the participant experience a little bit, and learned a little more each time as we go. After this year’s Downton Abbey MKAL, we received tons of great feedback (thank you all!) and think we’ve hit the nail on the head in terms of optimizing the KAL experience for all of you, and streamlining the process and information as much as possible. If you are returning this year for your 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) MKAL with us, you’ll notice a few key changes:

1) The pattern will now be available as a Ravelry download making it easier for you to print, store on an iPad or e-reader device, save for future reference, etc.

2) Each week, the new clue will be published separately from the week before (and e-mailed to you on Ravelry) so all you have to do is print the new section, not the whole thing over again. Once the KAL is over, you will receive a fully formatted all-in-one version of the pattern.

3) Because of this huge change, we’ll no longer be putting the instructions on the JBW Blog (which most of you mentioned is tough to print from anyway. Win-win!)

4) This also means no more going back and forth between the blog and Ravelry. Everything is in one place! Hurray!

5) Last time (for the Downton KAL 2014 AND the Game of Thrones KAL last year) the yardage on the pattern ran really close to the yardage needed to finish the KAL piece. I will never do that to you all again! This time there is ample yardage to finish the project, with extra to spare! (Gauge is still important! So please do check your gauge!)

6) As mentioned in the KAL details above, I have created charts along with the written instructions for this pattern. I have been asked for charts in the past, but not been able to provide them for various reasons. Now, thanks to my awesome new chart software, I’ve got nice, clean, and easy to read charts for every section of the project. :)

7) Lastly, (and please don’t tar and feather me for this) we are going to be charging a small fee for the pattern this year. The KAL promotional price for the pattern is just $3 and helps to cover the awesome changes I’ve listed here as well as my time in the design process and running the KAL. After the KAL is over, the price will go up to $6, so if you think you want to knit the shawl but are planning to wait to cast on, be sure to order it now and save the pattern in your Ravelry library for a rainy day to take advantage of the 50% off price!

I hope this covers any questions you might have about this year’s Game of Thrones Mystery KAL! As usual, you are welcome to leave comment/questions here, or send me a message on Ravelry at either JimmyBeansWool or Marinade (my personal account.) Also, be sure to join in the conversation in the Jimmy Beans Wool Group!

Hope to see you all in this year’s MKAL!

Happy knitting,
Kristen


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First Block of the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long from Kristen Ashbaugh Helmreich.

by : Jenn
It's the first week of the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long and we are raring to go! The first block design will be from Jimmy Beans Wool's very own Kristen Ashbaugh Helmreich.

All About Kristen

Kristen Ashbaugh Helmreich lives in Reno, NV and works on the Customer Engagement team at Jimmy Beans Wool where her tasks include social media (Ravelry & Pinterest, yay!) and coordinating the blog, co-writing the bi-monthly newsletters, and designing knitting, sewing and crochet patterns among various other fun tasks. Outside of work, she is the designer behind Marinade Designs (www.marinade.wordpress.com), her own line of knitting patterns that she is hoping to expand in the coming year. When she's not knitting or sewing her own clothes, she is working in her garden, tending to her chickens, cooking up delicious food, doing yoga, or hiking and backpacking with her husband and their feisty little mutt Wallace. Feel free to check out all of Kristen’s designs on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kristen-ashbaugh-helmreich”

Kristen and Sew Red

Since she has such a strong background in knitting and designing knitwear, you may be asking yourself how Kristen got involved with Sew Red in the first place. After publishing her design in Knit Red when that book came out, Kristen began to dabble in sewing her own clothes. Even though her mom is a professional level seamstress, Kristen never got too much into sewing when she was younger. She had the knitting bug, for sure! However, when Jimmy Beans was looking for contributors to Sew Red, she decided to take a stab at a sewn design and create something simple that a beginner sewist like herself could make. The result is a really fun garment that is exactly that!

Why Kristen Chose to be Part of the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long

When we asked her to participate in the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long, Kristen was a bit hesitant. After all, she designs mostly garments and so is more of a sewist rather than a traditional quilter. She agreed to give it a go, and began brainstorming what kind of a block she'd like to do.

Kristen has been on a chevron kick lately and wanted to bring her favorite graphic to the Sew Red quilt. Unfortunately, she was having a mental block for how to do the chevrons and so switched to designing another, easier block. In the course of figuring out this easier one, the light bulb went off for her and she figured out how to do the smaller scale chevrons she wanted in the first place. So, we'll have two blocks from Kristen throughout the course of the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long!

Kristen's Block

We're excited to kick off the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long  with one of Kristen's blocks because it's a nice easy introduction to get us in the swing of things. Also, since it's a fairly easy block, you can do it again and again in place of future blocks that might be out of your comfort zone!


Without further ado, follow the link to Kristen's blog, Marinade Designs, to get the instructions and get started!
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Journey of a Knitwear Designer

by : MarinadeDesigns

The Sierra Sunset Cowl
I was recently talking with Laura (Jimmy) about some of the things I’ve learned in the last six months as the official in-house designer for Jimmy Beans Wool and she suggested I write about those things here. I’ve learned a lot, had some hits and misses, and continue to come up with new ideas and find inspiration every day. This is my journey…

Basic Neckie Design
Some of you may know that I designed a few knitted items before I started designing for Jimmy Beans Wool. My first design, the Basic Neckie (which eventually became a free pattern on the Jimmy Beans Wool site) was designed for a friend who came to me with an idea for a short buttoned neck scarf and asked if I knew how to make something like that. I said sure, I could figure it out. I did, then I taught her how to make it, then I made and sold them on Etsy. It was fun for a while, but got pretty burned out after a while.

Sharon and her Donner Pass Cowl
Flash forward eight years. By last fall I’d self-published a few more patterns under the name “Marinade Designs,” including the Hipster Hat, Donner Pass Cowl, and Winter Wheat Hat that a bunch of the gals here at the shop have knit. (Sharon, Shevawn, and Sandy are usually the first to knit my designs, thanks for the support ladies!) Then, in September of last year I was offered the HUGE opportunity to design something for the Knit Red book. I was SO thrilled and nervous too. Being published meant that I actually had to start trying harder to make something of this little passion of mine. Now was the perfect time, the momentum was starting. It’s funny, once I started putting that energy out into the universe, it was easier to make things happen. 

So, I started submitting designs to magazines early this year. There was one hit and a lot of misses, but that’s ok, I knew it would be a challenge. While at Stitches West this year, I mentioned to Laura that I was starting to submit designs to magazines and that I really wanted to give this designing thing a shot. Being the amazing boss that she is, she listened thoughtfully as I told her my goals. I had no idea that a month later, she’d find a way to make my dream a reality! (I really do work for the most amazing people. Seriously.)

Laura and Huck in my hats.
So here I am, six months and nine designs later (mostly knit, one crochet and two sewing patterns), the official in-house designer for Jimmy Beans Wool. I create at least one new free pattern each month for our Newsletter and Free Pattern page of the website. Knitting patterns are definitely my specialty right now as that is where most of my experience lies, but as I continue to develop my skill range in crochet and sewing I am planning to offer more of those patterns as well. In fact, last month’s pattern was actually two-in-one. “Hats for the Whole Family” featured both knit and crochet versions of a simple hat pattern that covers all sizes from Infant to XL adult. The best thing is that these patterns are free to all of you on the Jimmy Beans Wool website. Hopefully you are finding some of them useful!

Green Market Tote
The market bag pattern I designed for Knit Red turned out to be my first official published design. When it hit in June, it felt so surreal that I had a published design. In an actual book. Right in between patterns from Jared Flood (aka. Brooklyn Tweed) and Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton. JARED FLOOD AND CORNELIA TUTTLE HAMILTON!!!! Wow! So amazing and such an honor to share a space with these two greats, along with so many other brilliant designers that I've idolized for years.

At the Knit Red book signing.
My next published design (aside from the Jimmy Beans Free Pattern each month) is due out in the Winter 2012 issue of Knitscene Magazine. I am SO excited! I think I have every issue of Knitscene ever published. I am so honored to have been given these opportunities. I hope that you’ll join me as I learn and grow here at Jimmy Beans Wool.

I’ll be blogging about these designs and my process here regularly and would love if you would join me here when you can. Feel free to send me your comments and feedback. I would love to hear from you and welcome any advice you might want to share. I know that we all have a design aesthetic that we lean towards and you may have noticed by now that I love garter stitch, short rows, and simple design. Someday, I would love to design beautiful sweaters and larger garments as my knowledge base grows. I am learning day by day and cannot wait to see how my style evolves over time. I welcome you to my journey and hope that you’ll pull up a chair, sit, and knit a while with me.

Happy knitting and crocheting,
Kristen     

PS. Did you know we have a Jimmy Beans Wool Group on Ravelry? Come on over and join the conversation! Not on Ravelry? We are also on Facebook and Twitter!

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Swans Island Anna Cowl KAL- Mid-point!

by : MarinadeDesigns
Well folks, we made it through the halfway mark of the Anna Cowl KAL!  Give yourselves a big pat on the back!  Now it's just smooth sailing since the rest is just a repeat of the first half.  I just bound off on the first side on Monday night and I was really pleased to see how the pattern is shaping up.  What a fun and easy knit this is!

I used a US size 10 needle for the bind off so that it will be nice and loose when I go to block it and pin out the points.  I have a funny feeling that this cowl is going to grow quite a bit when I block it.  The Swans Island Worsted is so scrumptious and squishy, but it seems to have a lot of give.

 

Also, you may have noticed that I made my middle section a bit bigger. I added about a 1/2" to the middle garter stitch section.  I am a pretty tall person so I wanted a little bit more width.


We've had a lot of lovely pictures and conversations happening over on the Ravelry group, so if you haven't checked that out yet, please feel free to do so!

If you have finished photos you would like to share for the blog next week, please e-mail them to me at: kristen@jimmybeanswool.com.  As always, please let me know if you have any pattern questions or concerns!

Happy knitting!
Kristen
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Extra, Extra Read All About it--Swans Island KAL and a Giveaway!

by : MarinadeDesigns
Happy Wednesday everyone! I am so excited today I can hardly stand it! We are starting a new Knit-A-Long next week (on 1/25/2012) with Swans Island yarns! We started carrying Swans Island's beautiful yarns back in October of last year, and I have been wanting to host a KAL ever since I saw the Anna Cowl pattern. Delicate and lovely, yet practical and warm, this cowl has everything I look for in a knit-- simplicity, with a little something interesting. I just love it and I hope you all will join me!

Swan's Island in "Garnet"
Swans Island yarns is a small, all natural hand-dye company based in Swan's Island in Maine. All of their yarns are made of 100% Organic Merino Wool and dyed with natural dyes and processes. The colors are truly stunning. So stunning, in fact, that I have already had my color picked out for months, the beautiful berry-toned Garnet color. The rich almost-red shades are balanced out well with vibrant pinkish tones. The Anna Cowl pattern takes just two skeins of Swans Island Worsted, and I can hardly wait to cast on! I might even jump the gun a little bit and get started over the weekend so that I have something to show you in that first KAL post. If you want to learn more about Swans Island Yarns, check out their website here, or click here for a look at their other awesome designs.

Anna Cowl
For those of you who aren't familiar with Knit-A-Longs, here is an overview. Knit-A-Longs (or KALs) are project-based knitting circles. You can host them either in person with your local knitting groups or online with knitters all over the world--this one is the latter. Everyone knits the same pattern at the same time, so when issues arise, you have a whole group of knitters who can help you through it. For the Jimmy Beans hosted KALs, I have started a Ravelry Thread on our Jimmy Beans Wool group page and will be posting there regularly. I will also be checking it several times daily to support you all in any way I can. If you are on Ravelry and want to participate, or if you have questions, please feel free to contact me either on the thread or by message. My Ravelry name is "Marinade." If you are not on Ravelry and will just be following the blog, feel free to e-mail me directly with any inquiries: kristen@jimmybeanswool.com. There is no pressure to post anything or show off pictures of your knitted work (although we always love when you do). Basically, it's just a friendly community of knitters, who are all excited about knitting the same project together!

An added benefit of participating in the KAL is that the kit is on sale on our site this month as the Kit-of-the-Month (through mid-February) for 20% off! What a deal!

Now for the best part! The kind folks at Swans Island have donated a kit to give away to one lucky winner! Please leave a comment by 12 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Friday 1/20 letting us know what your favorite Swans Island color is, and we'll choose a winner later that morning and announce it in Friday's blog post. We'll ship the kit as soon as we hear from the winner, so that he or she will receive it in time to participate in the KAL! Fun stuff! (Please only one comment per person, we will be choosing a winner at random.)

***Edit- 1/20/12*** Thank you so much for entering the Swans Island Anna Cowl Kit giveaway.  We've already chosen our winner.  Please see today's post for the announcement!  Thank you!

Well, thanks so much for checking in today! I hope to see and hear from you all during the KAL and best of luck to those participating in the giveaway! I'll be back next Wednesday with our first official Swans Island KAL post!

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS. Jimmy Beans Wool is the official yarn, knitting and crochet supplier to U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing! To encourage people to be creative on and off the slopes, we have partnered with Red Heart® yarns to create “Stitch Mountain." Check out the free Stitch Mountain patterns at www.jimmybeanswool.com/StitchMountain and like our Facebook Fan Page!


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Resolution Knitting--no easy feat!

by : MarinadeDesigns
So, I rarely make any REAL New Year’s Resolutions. I say this because every year I tell myself I will, and then I end up with sort of a random list in my head that I half-heartedly follow until about mid-January before I forget entirely about it. This year though, I figured, well why not? I should make a list of attainable to-do items and stick to it for once! I figured the best way to do this was to make my list entirely about knitting. Forget all of the health and wellness related resolutions that most people tend to make this time of year (not that those things aren't important), I am going to focus on the knitting!
Tea Leaves Cardigan
Now, this may seem like an easy feat--I mean, who doesn’t love these “fun” kinds of goals, right? Some knitters, and I am NOT one of them, start a project and diligently work on it until it is finished within a timely manner. I do exactly the opposite. I am the kind of knitter who sees a project and falls in love with the IDEA of it. The picking out of the perfect yarn, the casting on with glee and knitting the first few sections thinking all the while about how awesome it will be to finish and wear it. Usually about halfway through I lose my momentum and start to day dream about other projects. Does this sound familiar to any of you, or am I alone in my wasteland of UFO’s?
So here is my list, albeit a little short, of my New Year's Resolution Knitting:
  1. Finish at least 5 of the WIP’s on my Ravelry Page: I’ll be happy with 5, but more would be nice. Priorities are the 2 blankets on the needles (Umaro and Hemlock Ring) that were meant to be wedding gifts. These will get done first!
  2. Knit a sweater for my husband. I've started and stopped this process once or twice already with various reasons befouling my progress: not quite having enough yarn, making too small a size, and getting bored with the pattern to name a few. I have now decided on a pattern (Jared Flood’s Cobblestone Pullover) and acquired new yarn (Tosh Vintage in Stovepipe) and will be making it happen this year!
  3. Knit myself a Tea Leaves Cardigan. I’ve longed for one since I first saw it a couple of years back. I have some Tosh Vintage in Tart that is ready to be knit into my pretty red cardi!
  4. Write up and publish the patterns for the 6 or so designs that I’ve made over the last year for Marinade Designs. This sounds pretty easy, but I am a total slacker! Although I love the creative process and knitting of the garments, I often procrastinate at the drudgery of the number crunching and writing part, especially when I don't have a deadline.
    5. Cobblestone Pullover
  5. Put some of my design ideas out there and submit them for publication in knitting magazines and periodicals! I’ve been meaning to start this process for a long time but frankly have been a bit scared to try. This is the year I make an effort!

So these are my knitting resolutions, out here for all the world to see. I have to follow through now since all of you are here to hold me accountable. I’ll continue to post my progress throughout the year. If any of you have resolutions you want to share, feel free to post a comment. We are all in this together!
Happy New Year!
Kristen

PS. Have you seen our latest catalog yet? It’s 48 pages of pure, 100% Rowan.
Visit jimmybeanswool.com/catalog to sign up for your free copy!

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A handmade holiday by little beans...

by : MarinadeDesigns
Well, the holidays are here and all of us beans are like little elves, knitting and crafting like crazy to have hand made gifts to give this year! Many of us, as usual, left our holiday knitting until the last minute and are hurriedly trying to crank out gifts in time to wrap and place under the tree. So, since it’s pretty much all we can think about at the moment, we thought we’d share with all of you what we are making as gifts this year!
Sandy is knitting these darling gloves for her daughter out of the “Knitter's Book of Yarn” by Clara Parkes. The lovely pink yarn she is using is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in “Whisper.” Shepherd Worsted is awesome for knitted gifts because it’s machine washable!
Terry is expecting her first grand-baby in January and has been knitting these darling Wool Diaper Soakers out of Cascade 220 Tweed. The pattern was purchased on Ravelry from Closeknit.

Amber is sewing some of her gifts this year and made this super cute jewelry roll for her mom out of Cath Kidston’s book “Sew!” She used Joel Dewberry’s gorgeous “Bloom” fabric from his Aviary 2 collection. Isn’t it cute?

Jeanne’s son Chris requested a purple beanie for Christmas, so she knit him this super cute beanie out of Manos del Uruguay Striated Dyed Wool yarn. The design is a modified mistake rib and she just kind of made it up as she went. That Jeanne, so creative!

Tara is knitting this cozy scarf for her grandma out of Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Flamme yarn. The pattern is a free one on Ravelry called “Scrunchable Scarf.” All of us beans just love Ravelry’s extensive pattern database. It’s truly indispensable!


Shevawn knit the Rustling Leaves Beret from the Coastal Knits book for her sister in Madelinetosh's Tosh Sock yarn. The project took less than one skein and turned out beautifully! I'm sure her sister is going to love it!

Last but not least, I (Kristen) am knitting all kinds of different items. I have knit 3 of these chunky Rasta Neck-warmers from Malabrigo Book 3. Instead of the Malabrigo Rasta (which we currently out of as we wait patiently for our next shipment) I used Cascade Magnum which is super soft and comes in great solid colors! I am also knitting a variety of hats for family members, mostly basic beanies, but also a number of these fun earflap hats using a chunky tweed yarn (pattern coming soon from Marinade Designs).





I hope you all are having fun finishing the last of your holiday crafting and knitting!
Happy holidays,
Kristen

P.S. Have you seen our latest catalog yet? It’s 48 pages of pure, 100% Rowan.

Visit www.jimmybeanswool.com/catalog to sign up for your free copy!
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