Thursday, August 1, 2013

Visiting Anzula Yarns in Fresno, California


As many of you know, I love designing with Anzula’s yarns. I adore the high quality of their base yarns and simply love the variety of colors Anzula produces. The other thing that I always rave about is that color is even across skeins, thus, unlike with other hand dyed yarns, so I don’t have to alternate skeins every two rows/rounds.
Viele von Euch wissen, dass ich gerne mit Garn von Anzula designe. Ich liebe die hochwertige Qualität der Basisgarne und liebe die tollen Farben die Anzula herstellt. Eins der anderen Sachen die ich an deren Garn immer lobe ist das die Farbe vom Strang zu Strang immer gleichmäsig ist und ich nicht alle zwei Reihen die Knäule abwechseln muss.

On Tuesday, June 30th, I packed up my two youngest daughters and we made the 200-mile drive from Los Angeles to Anzula Yarns, located in the historic downtown section of Fresno, California. I was in awe with the facility itself, a big former meatpacking warehouse. It is large and I actually got lost along one of the hallways trying to find the bathroom.
Am Dienstag, dem 30. Juni, habe ich meine zwei jüngsten Töchter eingepackt und wir haben die 330 km Fahrt von Los Angeles zu Anzula Yarns gemacht. Anzula hat ihren Sitz im historischen Stadkern von Fresno, Kalifornien. Ich habe ganz schön gestaunt als ich deren Anlage gesehen habe, in einem ehemaligen Lagerhaus von einer Fleischverpackungsfabrik. Es war so groß, dass ich mich verlaufen hatte auf dem Weg zum WC. 

My daughters got to “help” Charlie dyeing roving in one of the rooms. I had not known that Anzula also dyes roving for spinners. I saw some seriously beautiful roving colors!
Meine Töchter haben Charlie "geholfen" um Roving in einem der Räume zu färben. Ich hatte bevor meinem Besuch nicht gewusst das Anzula auch Roving zum Spinnen färbt. Die Farben waren wunderschön. 
 
Charlie dyeing Anzula Roving

Charlie dyeing roving with my two daughters 
I was "dying" to see the dye room (no pun intended).since. Well, that dye room is not a little alchemy kitchen, it is big! Lots of pots were going with dyes and my girls and I got to see lots of skeins being dyed into the most beautiful colors!
Ich wollet unbedingt sehen wie Anzula deren tolles Garn färbt. Der Farbraum ist keine kleine Alchemie Küche, ist ist groß! Viele Töpfe voll von Farbe und meine Töchter und ich konnten sehen wie die Stränge in viele verschiedene wunderschöne Farben gefärbt wurden!

Getting the pots ready for dyeing
Sabrina showing the the dye process to my daughters
Hand dyeing yarn in the large quantities that Anzula produces is hard work, it is physical and with the summer temperatures soaring outside and lots of hot pots in the dye adding to the heat to the dye room. Even with air conditioning units blowing cool air, I was sweating just watching, let alone dyeing yarn for 6-8 hours per day!
Handgefärbte Garne in so großen Mengen zu produzieren ist harte Arbeit, sehr körperlich anstrengent mit steigenden Temperaturen. Im Sommer ist es sehr heiß in der Gegend und dann kommen noch die großen heißen Töpfe wurde es immer wärmer im Raum. Nur beim Zugucken, selbst mit der Klimaanlage die kühle Luft bläst, war ich nur am Schwitzen! Könnt Ihr Euch vorstellen wie anstrengent es ist  für 6-8 Stunden pro Tag in dem Raum Garn zu färben!

Cooligng down with the water hose
Look at all the yarn that was dyed up in a morning! Aren’t the colors just breath-taking!
Guckt mal! All diese Garn wurde in einem Morgen gefärbt! Sind die Farben nicht total atemberaubend!


After the yarn has been dyed and dried, it goes into the re-skeining room. The fun part of this room is that it used to be one of the large refrigerated meat lockers!
Nachdem das Garn gefärbt und getrocknet ist, kommt es in den Winkelraum. Der lustige  ist, dass frühre der Raum einer der großen  Fleischgefrierraum  war!
Multiple re-skeining machines seem to run non-stop
Once the skeins have been re-skeined, they are labeled and are ready to ship out to fill the various yarn store orders.
Wenn die Stränge gewickelt sind, werden sie beschriftet, werden verpackt und an die verschiedenen Wollgeschäfte verschickt. 

Labeling the finished skeins & filling orders
We took a late lunch and Sabrina and Charlie treated my daughters and I to some seriously yummy Mexican food in one of the small downtown restaurants, "La Elegante".
Sabrina und Charlie haben meine Töchter und mich zu einem späten Mittagessen eingeladen, zu einem richtig lecker mexikanisches Essen in einem der kleinen Restaurants in der Innenstadt, "La Elegante".

From Left to Right: Charlie, Sabrina & me
After lunch, Sabrina and I met and went over my design ideas for some of my upcoming designs that I will be using Anzula Yarns for. Being at the source and being able to pick out yarns and colors for my upcoming patterns was so much fun because I witnessed the entire dye process.
Nach dem Mittagessen, habe ich mit Sabrina meine Design-Ideen für einige meiner kommenden Entwürfe, besprochen. Ich habe vor Anzula Garne für diese neuen Entwürfe zu benutzen. Es machte mir so viel Spaß im Anzula Warenlager rumzustöbern, besonders nachdem ich den ganzen Farbprozess erlebt hatte. 

Future Yarn Dyeing Princesses!
 I also got to pick out the yarn for the cable hoodie cardigan that we voted on in my Ravelry group. On our 200-mile drive home, my daughters told me that they no longer want to be princesses when they grow up, they want to become yarn dyers!
Ich habe auch das Garn für meine neue Hoodie-Jacke ausgesucht, die wir in meiner Raverly-Gruppe besprochen und Ihr gewählt hatte. Dann machten sich meine Töchter und ich wieder auf die 330 km Fahrt nach Hause. Auf dem Weg nach Hause haben mir meine Töchter gesagt, dass ihr Berufswunsch geändert hat, anstatt Prinzessinen zu werden planen sie jetzt Garnfärber zu werden!

Yarn for Hoodie Design

Here is a list of accessories and garments that I have designed using Anzula - You can see more specific pattern details by visiting my Designer Page on Ravelry. 
Hier ist eine Liste von meinen bisherigen Designs, die ich mit Anzula entworfen habe. Ihr könnt sie auch auf Ravelry sehen. 

Mermaid Shawl – Anzula Mermaid (Lace Weight)
Lollipop Cardigan – Anzula Milky Way (Light Fingering)
California Hoodie – Anzula Squishy (Fingering/Sport)

Sara Lace Cardigan – Anzula Wash my Lace (Lace Weight)   
Back of Sara Lace Cardigan 
Mariela Top-Down Cardigan – Anzula Cricket (DK)
Pamela Beret – Anzula Squishy (Fingering/Sport)














Saturday, July 27, 2013

I am back! :)

I have been a "bad girl" for not keeping up with my blog. I guess that I have a good excuse... I have been busy knitting and crocheting, designing patterns....

I have decided to post more frequently and to share and show more of my knitting and crocheting. You can also follow my designing and knitting adventures on Ravelry.

Here is a link to my German speaking group & here is a link to my English speaking group.
If you are not on Ravelry, it is free to join, it has over 3 million users!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Hope for Haiti Shawl Pattern


Drumroll please!!! Here is my newest pattern: Hope for Haiti Shawl
Main 1
While living in Haiti, I knit and gifted this shawl to my Haitian mother-in-law, my babysitter, and another really nice lady who lived in my neighborhood.
The shawl is worked from the top down with short row shaping on the sides. Though 289 stitches that are cast on, the stitch number worked is reduced in every row in the stockinette stitch portion of the shawl. The wraps are picked up in two rows at the end of the stockinette section. The simple lace border pattern, the “icing of the cake”, is worked last.
You may choose to work the shawl in two different colors, the stockinette body in the first color and the lace portion in a second color.
Why did I include “hope” into the name? Because when you purchase this pattern, you are supporting the Fanm pou Fanm (Women for Women)’s Haiti Crochet Project that provides a chance for some of the poorest women in Port-au-Prince to support themselves and their children. The proceeds from the sale of my patterns go directly to support this project.
Size: 72“ length, 16“ width
Gauge: 16 sts/4” after blocking in stockinette stitch

Yarn: 
Cascade Yarns Heritage (75% Merino, 25% Nylon)(437yds/100g) – 2 skeins 
If Shawl is worked in two colors: 
Stockinette Section – 1 skein 
Lace Border – 1 skein
Needles: 
US 6 (4 mm) – 32” or 40” circular 
Important! Every knitter’s gauge is unique, use the needle size that gets gauge.
Materials: 
36 Stitch Markers 
 
2 Removable Stitch Markers 
Tapestry Needle
The shawl pattern is available through Ravelry/Paypal for $5.50  


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

My love for linen yarn....

I love the look of linen knit up. I have my favorite linen yarns, for example Louet Euroflax Sport Weight or DROPS Lin yarns are great. I also enjoy knitting with linen/cotton or linen/rayon or other linen mix yarns.

I most recently have knit a super cute (if I say so myself) summer top with Rowan Lenpur Linen. I have also knit with Knit Picks Cotlin before.

However, today I want to tell you about this fantastic and inexpensive 100% linen yarn that I discovered via Ebay but it can be purchased directly via the distributor's website as well. Payment can be made via PayPal, which works for me! :)

Check out this website: www.goodyarnsshop.com 
Here is the direct link to the shop's linen selection: LINEN

Each skein has about 650 yards of really nicely spun and smooth linen yarn. Yes, they are light fingering weight, BUT you can hold the thread double or triple. I am working on a skirt right now, in the black linen yarn, with triple stranding, U.S. 6 (4 mm) needles and 18 sts x 24 rows = 4" (10 cm) in stockinette stitch.

Once I finished knitting my swatch, I cooked it, scrubbed it, basically, I beat it up! The swatch held up without any signs of the abuse.

Say you want to make a skirt, cardigan or sweater in this linen yarn at the 18 sts/4" gauge. You will need about 1.000 - 1,200 yards of yarn. This means, you would have to get 6 skeins of this lovely yarn.

Guess how much it would cost you? Including shipping:  31.04 Euros = $ 39.00 


That is a bargain!!!
No - I am not sponsored by this company nor am I being paid for this blog entry. I just want to share this incredible source for high quality linen. 
Lovely Pink 100 g skein @ 656 yards
Lovely Red - 100 g skein @ 656 yards 


Lovely Blue 100 g skein @ 656 yards
Must HAVE Black 100 g skein @ 656 yards

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What should it become?


I bought this yarn last weekend. I could not resist! It is not in the Ravelry database.
1 lb of 100% Rayon yarn that is hand dyed - 1200 yards. According to the label, it is 6 sts/1” on size US 6 (4 mm) needles. The brand name of the yarn is INTERLACEMENTS and the name of the yarn is RICK RACK.
Wound up into a cake , it is the size of the top tier or middle tier of a wedding cake  !
HPIM4215
What should I design with it? A summer poncho? A skirt?
I am sitting here pondering….

Friday, May 18, 2012

Why I love Friday Night Knitting...


Why I love Friday Night Knitting…
Every Friday evening, I meet with a group of friends for knitting. We help each other solve knitting problems, give each other knitting or life advice, have some dinner, drink some wine, and have a good time.
Tonight, Anne, (I changed the ladies’ names) one of the groups’ regulars had a story to share of what happened to her on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday afternoon… Anne just recently had a birthday and she has been feeling really good about herself, or so she explained as to the reasoning as to what happened next. She was at home alone last Wednesday night, her partner was on a film shoot, away overnight, and here she was feeling good about herself. Thus, she decided that she should order a “pocket-rocket” for those times that she was feeling good about herself…
She logged onto her computer and did a google search for a “pocket-rocket”. “Wouldn’t you know it, Amazon had them for $17.99! Amazing price! So, I placed an order with them.” Anne explained.
Amazon offered her the “quick order option” which she clicked on: Thank you for your order Mary, was the message that came onto the screen. At that moment, Anne realized that Mary had used her computer to order some toys from Amazon for her niece’s birthday four weeks ago. Apparently, Mary had never logged off her Amazon account and now, not only had Mary’s credit card been billed for Anne’s pocket-rocket, but it was being shipped to Mary’s former employer! (Mary had just started a new job last week.)
It was too late to call Mary to inform her of Anne’s pocket-rocket mishap. So, Anne decided to call Mary in the morning.
The problem was that Mary accidentally left her cellphone at home the next morning and had gone to work without it. When she logged onto her computer at work, she saw the pocket-rocket order confirmation email from Amazon in her in-box. Mary totally freaked out! All sorts of thoughts went through her mind, including that a stalker must have hacked into her Amazon account to send her a “pocket-rocket”.
“Of course, have you ever tried to reach somebody via phone at Amazon? It is impossible! Finally, I was able to reach somebody through the chat option.” Mary learned that the order for the pocket-rocket had already shipped out by time she reached somebody at Amazon. The representative credited Mary’s credit card and told her to just refuse the package once it arrived. Mary had to call the mailroom person at her old job to ask him to refuse the Amazon box that was coming in her name. (She did not tell him that it has a pocket-rocket in the box.)
In the meantime, Anne tried to call Mary to explain about the accidental pocket-rocket order, but could not reach her because Mary’s cellphone was at home while Mary was at work.
It was not until that evening that Anne was able to reach Mary…
In case you were curious… Anne did go back online and ordered herself a pocket-rocket with her own account information, however, the estimated delivery time is now 4-6 weeks as the pocket-rockets are on back order. Mary has Amazon Prime!

Monday, April 2, 2012

New Designs!

My newest knits/patterns:

Ricky for All Seasons:

Available for $5.50  


In this pattern, I combined my passion for top-down construction with lace knitting. I named this pattern Ricky for all Seasons …because my knitting friend Ricky whom I knit with on a regular basis introduced me to Estonian Braids (also called Lateral Braids). Most of the time, this braid is used in sock knitting, but it is too beautiful to merely use on socks! I incorporated the braid into this top-down t-shirt.
The ”…for all Seasons” is because the finished pattern is written for a summer t-shirt top with short sleeves and as a sweater top for colder weather with longer sleeves. This pattern is super versatile!
Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)
to fit chest sizes 34 (36, 38, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56)”
Gauge: 22 sts & 30 rows = 4x4”
Yarn:
Summer T-Shirt: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (DK weight yarn) - 5 (5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9) skeins
approximately - 750 (800, 850, 900, 1050, 1150, 1200, 1300, 1400) yards
Cold Weather Sweater: Madeline Tosh Pashmina, Madeline Tosh Merino Sport or DK, Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Sport (any DK or Sport weight yarn that can be worked at the posted gauge)
Needles:
U.S. 4 (3.5 mm) 32 ” circular needle
U.S. 4 (3.5 mm) 16 ” circular needle or DPN if not using magic loop
Use the size needle that gives correct gauge!
U.S. 3 (3.25 mm) - 16 ” circular needle or DPN if not using magic loop
U.S. 2 (3 mm) - 16 ” circular needle or DPN if not using magic loop
Notions:
Stitch Markers (3 different colors)
Scrap Yarn to hold stitches
Tapestry Needle


Bower Cardigan  Knitscene Summer 2012 



Sizes
33¼ (37¼, 41¼, 45¼, 49¼ )” bust circumference, including 1” front band; shown in size 33¼”
Yarn
Yarn Cascade Yarns Venezia Sport (70% merino, 30% mulberry silk; 307 yd 281 m/100 g):
#189 tan 3 (3, 4, 4, 5) skeins
Gauge
28 sts and 36 rows = 4” in lace patt on larger needles
24 sts = 4” in stockinette on larger needles
Tools
• Size 4 (3.5 mm) needles
• Size 3 (3.25 mm) needles
• Markers (m)
• Removable markers
• Cable needle (cn)
• Stitch holders
• Yarn needle
• Eight ½” buttons


Amanda's Wrap: Free download via Ravelry: download now



This wrap is a fun and easy knit.
Wearing this wrap makes you feel like you are getting a hug! I got the idea to make this wrap from a friend who was complaining that wearing a rectangular shawl was fun, but she did not like it moving around.
Once I finished designing and knitting up the wrap, during the photo-shoot, in preparation of the pattern release, another friend told me that she had seen a similar wrap pattern on Ravelry. My heart sank! But, once I checked on Ravelry, I realized that even though my pattern was similar, it was different enough.
The yarns posted for this pattern are winter type yarns, but I would imagine that this wrap would also look great worked up in an aran or bulky cotton yarn.
Size: One Size, approx. 15” x 60”
Yarn: 550 yards of Aran or Chunky weight yarn 
Berroco Vintage™ Chunky – 5 skeins 
Cascade Yarns Pacific Chunky – 5 skeins 
Mirasol Yarn Sulka – 10 skeins
Gauge: 16 sts/4”
Needles: U.S. 10 (6 mm) needles 
Always use the size needle that gets gauge.
Notions: 3 – 2” buttons 
2 stitch markers 
Tapestry needle 
If working a Tulip Buttonhole – crochet hook & 1 DPN needle size U.S. 6, 7 or 8


Click Here: catalog of all of my published patterns.