This morning I woke up to find my email had been hijacked and spam sent to my contacts. I apologize to those who received the junk message – Hotmail is supposed to be SECURE – especially when all their security protocols are followed. Hear that MSN! Instead of doing something productive I am now spending my morning working on cleaning up the mess. And looking into other email clients because having my email hijacked is just unacceptable. Hear that MSN?

Hope your day is starting better than mine :) Cheers! Jean

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Posted on January 23, 2012

First – a correction – the issue of Knitcircus our winners will receive is the Winter 2011 issue – not the Gift 2011 issue. We had a bit of a miss communication with the Knitcircus editor.

Please join me in congratulating our winners: Elizabeth, Jessica, Ikkinlala, Shellie, Catherine, Kathleen, Holly, Jean, Karen and Mary Kay! These 10 ‘early birds’ caught the worm so to speak and have been sent the link for their copy of the Knitcircus Winter 2011 Pattern Collection. This is a great issue with lots of wonderful patterns – I know they will enjoy it.

And for those who did not win a copy – this issue is well worth buying, and maybe next time will be your lucky day. :)

Cheers! ~ Jean

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Posted on November 18, 2011

In my ‘preview’ post I told you that I loved the photos of “Jile Vest” – I think you’ll agree……they’re great. This is my kind of little girl – gotta love the slipper boots with the skirt!

Jile Vest

Photo by Knitcircus

While I did the sample vest in ‘girly’ colors, the design is suitable for boys too – just pick a colorway and buttons they like. (Tip – let them pick ‘em). The yarn is Liberty Wool from Classic Elite, which is a superwash wool. I love the effect the long color striping gives for the front panels, and it looks great knit sideways too. For the sample I used #7896 Sunset as the main color, and #7801 Bleach for the contrast color.

You can read more about “Jile Vest” in the Knitcircus Winter 2011 issue, and the Ravelry pattern page. And here are more photos……….

Happy Knitting! ~ Jean

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Posted on November 17, 2011

Today’s the day! The Twist Collective Winter 2011 issue is out and I can tell you all about “Zori”. First…some photos because the photos are gorgeous. These are the ones taken for Twist Collective by Jane Heller.

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I love everything about “Zori” – the style, color, yoke pattern & the unique border. The yoke is knit sideways & seamed at the shoulders. Then the body and sleeves are picked up from the yoke & armholes and knit to the hem. All the edges are finished with a unique twisted cord border – with the buttonholes incorporated into it. The yoke pattern is charted and very intuitive to work.

Enjoy! And Happy Knitting…….Jean

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Posted on November 15, 2011

Do you remember the TV ad for a clothing store where the lady stood in front of the doors saying “open, open, open”? That’s me waiting for the Winter issues of Twist Collective & Knitcircus – lol.

You see, the projects in my last post – the sneak peeks – will be released to the public in just a few days. The first will be “Zori” on Nov 15th, which is also my first design with Twist Collective – yea! What can I tell you about this one? Well, it’s for women, top-down & sideways construction, a fabulous yoke & a unique border. The name for this one is the Romanian word for Dawn/Daybreak – part of my inspiration for this project – and reminded me of what we used to call our Borzoi’s – Zories – that I loved and miss, even though they’ve been gone a long time. It seemed perfect.

Then on Nov 17th “Jile” will be released by Knitcircus. (No link for it yet :) ) This one is for kids, also has sideways construction and a unique treatment of the major feature – can’t say what that is yet. I’ve seen the pre-release photos of “Jile” and love ‘em! The model is so cute and absolutely perfect for this project.

One thing I really like about working with Knitcircus is that they give designers 10 pattern collection links to give away.  For this issue it will be copies of the Gifts Pattern Collection PDF. And I’d like to give them to you!

So, the first 10 (real – not spam) readers to comment on this post will receive a link to the Knitcircus Gifts Pattern Collection PDF! You must reply to this post with your name and email address (so I can send you the link) and reply by Nov 16th, 2011 – midnight mountain time. Don’t miss out!

And after these two designs……watch for more to come….with the Universal Yarn Designer Partnership Program……open, open, open. :)

Happy Knitting! Jean

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Posted on November 14, 2011