Did any of you see the Martha knitting episode on Monday? One of her guests, Lolo from Veganyumyum, makes the absolute cutest knitted marzipan decorations for cakes and cupcakes. You can check out all the show details here!

Eileen

How cute are these little crochet charms by Michelle at Crowded Teeth:

Put them on a key chain, atop a gift for a creative friend, or wear one around your neck and be a standout at the office. At $4-$6 a piece...the possibilities are endless!

Eileen

Yesterday a few of us went on a field trip to one of the local knitting shops in Cincinnati (Fiberge). We were on the hunt for materials for our first MyCraftivity Knitalong (details to follow soon)! Prior to this, my only experience in shopping for yarn was at the big box craft chains. Let's just say this shop had a lot more options to choose from...

               

It was good that we had to find a certain kind of yarn (Cascade 220) so that narrowed down the options quite a bit. Then came the color choices!

The greens alone required intense inspection!

I started with magenta, switched that out for shades of brown, at one point had a heather gray combination in my arms, and finally, 45 minutes later, settled on a nice combination of blues. We all had a tough time deciding on the two contrasting yarns the pattern calls for. We all ended up with color choices that suited us pretty well.

I chose the royal blue-and-navy combo; Jessica picked heathered green and slate blue; and Kim decided to go monochromatic with a tweedy white flecked with bright colors. Jessica bullied her into agreeing to knit in a simple line of red for accent

You never know how tough it's going to be until you're staring at all those different colors. It can be quite overwhelming. Does anyone have any great tips on choosing colors?

We're hoping to get the knitalong started sometime next week, so stay tuned for a pic of the project, the pattern and a list of materials that you'll need. Here's a hint: The pattern comes from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel.

Eileen

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Craft and Hobby Association Winter Tradeshow out in Anaheim, CA. The weather was absolutely perfect, 70’s and sunny. Outside and under the sun, my mind was on flip flops and tank tops. Inside, however, at the Lion Brand fashion show, my thoughts were switched to fun layers for cooler climates. I, along with North Light Managing Editor, Jessica, had the opportunity to attend the fashion show hosted by Vanna White. Yes, THE Vanna White. No letters were flipped, but there were a lot of fun patterns that sure turned heads. Here are some of the highlights:

Lots of bold colors and graphic patterns. There were a lot of afghans and berets in the show...but my favorites were the dresses! And I also loved the layering of multiple skinny scarves (as seen in the bottom right photo). Maybe if I start now I'll have my own knitted gown to wear NEXT winter!

Eileen

Our recent project at the F+W weekly knit-a-long was a super cute heart pin (check here for the free pattern). Being the novice knitter that I am, I never did get two hearts to match up in size quite right...so...I made cards with them! Here's a tag that I plan on putting with the gift I got for my husband. Since the heart was kind of tattered looking, I decided to make it a theme by incorporating some grungy cardboard and less-than-perfect outlined acrylic letters. Definitely a gift handmade with love. (And here's a pic of Jessica and a fellow knitter getting in on the fun at last week's gathering)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Eileen