Gift Knits Kits, 2nd edition

The Gift Knit Kit Club has been a huge success, and I have loved it more than I could imagine.  All the feedback from the knitters and all the pictures of the finished products have been a blast!  Naturally, I have to do it again.

If you're not familiar with the club, here is how it works: members receive a kit in the mail every month.  The patterns are beautiful, and knit up quickly.  The finished products will look like you worked much harder than you did!  In each kit is a pattern for an accessory, instructions, and premium yarn.  Each pattern is an original design of mine, offered to club members at least three months before it is made available to the general public.  Since each yarn is paired with the pattern by the designer (me), your results are going to look like the photo in the pattern when you follow the instructions.  Everybody has a variety of occasions where they need to give a gift, and spacing out the work through the year makes it much less daunting.  You can save them all up for the holidays, or plan a recipient for each one.  (You can also keep them for yourself!  I'll never tell!)

Right now, I'm thinking July - December should be mostly cozier knits.  The lighter weight projects were well received, but the snuggly stuff generated the best feedback.  The tentative schedule for the 2nd edition looks like this:

July: Easy Lacey Ladies Socks
August: Coveted Mittens (Ladies)
September: Warming William Hat (men's)
October:  Nordic Socks (men's or women's)
November:  Alpine Heirloom Mittens (men's or women's)
December:  Alpine Heirloom Ski Cap (men's or women's) [Will coordinate with November project]

Feedback, please!  If you were a club member, would this list work for you?  If you could build the perfect kit project, what would it include?  Is there a particular kind of yarn or project you want to try?  Let me know!

Snuggly Sock Preview

I know!  Gorgeous work knit by the magical and intrepid Colleen, Wonder Assistant.  She always makes my patterns look good.  (That's Colleen's foot in the photo.  Unless you're looking at this on your phone, it's probably close to actual size.  Her feet are tiny!)

This is the Gift Knit Kit Club pattern for February, Snuggly Socks.  Sized for both men and women, it is made from the incomparable Mountain Colors Yarn, Crazyfoot.  It's a very cozy sock in colors that can only come from Mountain Colors.  I love the way they blend!  It's an easy knit, but due to the yarn and the pattern, looks harder than it is.  It will definitely elicit comments of, "I can't believe you made these!"  If you choose to give them away, be sure to make another pair for yourself.

More beautiful Mountain Colors yarn in
in my Elk Mittens pattern.

I'd like to shout out once again to the lovely ladies at Mountain Colors, led by founders Leslie Taylor and Diane McKay.  It is a nearly all female workforce, and every part of the process at Mountain Colors is done by hand.  (I know.  I've been there and seen it myself.)  The yarns are terrific quality, and the colors take my breath away.  Thanks for all you do.

Like last month's gloves, the yarn alone for the socks costs more than the club members are paying for the yarn and the pattern,  (In my LYS, $26 plus tax for the yarn vs. $26 no tax for the club) and it gets delivered right to your door.  How cool is that?

Wishing you could get the pattern for yourself?  All club patterns will be released for sale 90 days after the club members recieve their kits.  Just wishing you could have the yarn? (I'm only slightly offended.)  Call your LYS and see if they carry it, as the colorways are truly magical in person.  They are available on line (at somewhat discounted prices) through Paradise Fibers.  Seriously, though, check the LYS first.  No computer monitor can show you these colors like they really look.  And we need to support our local knitting communities.

Moving Confusion

In the last couple of weeks I've moved into an apartment.  It's not a dump, but it's not a palace, either.  It's a simple, humble apartment in a safe neighborhood.

Anyone who has moved recently will understand the following: living in a new space is disorienting; putting stuff away in a place that makes sense today does not guarantee you can find it tomorrow; paint doesn't smell nearly as bad as it did 10 years ago; the thin veneer of clean and Elisabeth decor does not make the new place feel like home. 

There is a profound amount of shopping involved with moving, and most of it is annoying.  It isn't the delightful "let's redecorate the living room" type.  It's the "dammit, the couch won't fit through the door" type.  Or the "I ran out of painter's tape yesterday and forgot to get more today so I need to get some tomorrow" type.

In the meantime, I've assembled and shipped the Gift Knits Kits, and sent a very cool pair of mittens to TNNA with my friends at Mountain Colors.  The Kits came back for a postage problem, but they're really on their way now.  None of that stuff got misplaced in the shuffle, and I am grateful.

I carefully moved yarn and needles absolutely first so I could maintain my sanity by knitting at least a little each day.  That worked out great until I finished the first project.  It would be great if I could remember where I put those early yarn boxes.  Now I have a pattern to finish, and I can't find the intended yarn.  My stash is very large, and located in a variety of bins, boxes and bags that made sense in my old living circumstance.  Now that they are out of context, I can see the flaws in the organizing system.  (Okay, no system; there are flaws in the placing of a lot of yarn in unmarked bins and boxes and then moving them to a new abode.)

The good news is that while looking for the specific pattern yarn, I'm rediscovering fibers in my stash that haven't seen the light of day for a while.  The bad news is, I really don't know where the specific yarn I need is hiding.  I hope it's with the missing earrings, and wine glasses, and AV cables, and my iron.  It would be a strange box to have all those things in it, but it's much more discouraging to think all that stuff is lurking separately.  Coffee, chocolate, and red wine will all help.  (And they all stain.  Did I mention the new place has white carpets?)  We'll start with coffee.  This will all settle down.  It's Friday.  Okay.  This isn't panic, it's energy!  Gotta go find that yarn.

Gift Knits Kit Club Gloves Debut

I brought out the gloves I designed for the Gift Knit Kit Club yesterday, and passed them around at the knitting circle at the LYS.  They were a hit!  I was thrilled.  This is the first of the patterns in the exclusive club collection, to be followed by Snuggly Socks, etc. 

Features:
New kit each month including original Liz Marino pattern and premium yarns to make the Gift Knit of the Month, shipped on or about the 15th of the month

Exclusive Liz Marino Club patterns will not be made available to non-club members until 3 months after Club release date

Kits will not be made available retroactively or to non-members

Jan = Straight needle gloves for her (s,m,l)
Feb = Snuggly Socks - adult (men, women)
Mar = Woven-look Purse
Apr = Eco-Friendly Washcloth Gift Pack
May = Holiday Knit-Ahead Hat
June = Yoga Stirrup Socks - one size

No substitutions are available. Color and size is determined by Liz Marino. Each month's kit is the only kit available for that month. Kits are not available retroactively.

Membership will not be automatically renewed for July-Dec. Membership will be opened to current members in April and non-members in May based on availability.

Membership is open to North American mailing addresses only. The price is $27 per month, for a total of $162 USD. Payment must be received in full; no month to month memberships are available.

Thanks for joining this adventure! I can hardly wait!

 

After joining, email me at esliney@yahoo.com with your:

Name
Shipping address

Do this even if they are the same as the ones on your PayPal ID, please, just to confirm! I want to make sure I know how to reach you via email and USPS. If this info is not emailed, your membership will be rejected and your payment will be returned. Thanks!

Gift Knits Kit Gloves Are Finished!

I've finished the sample for the Gift Knits Kit Club January kit, the Gloves!  I love them.  I made the sample in a small/medium, which is what I always do, and now I wish I'd made a large (my size)!  I always end up wanting at least one of every pattern, and at this point I should know better.  They can be made on straights or circs, and they're really pretty, if I do say so myself. 

This minor miracle of finishing the gloves coincides with the first snowfall of the year that stuck to the ground.  For the first time this season it really looks like Christmas is coming to Buffalo.

Yesterday I replaced my 15 yr old winter jacket, and my 8 yr old boots.  Is it coincidence that they both happen to coordinate nicely with the gloves?  It's hard to say.  Sometimes the subconscious sends a message.  Sometimes you just buy the stuff that's available in your size, no matter what the color scheme.  Sometimes I really overthink things.  Ok, often I really overthink things.

I'm so excited about this club!  I'm happy about the socks for February, and the bag for March.  Looking through all the yarns for these projects, making the selections, working out patterns...  I hope you have as much fun with this as I do!  If you're not already a member, join us.  There are a few spots left. 

Gift Knits Kit Club

Straight Needle Gloves - Sneak Peek!

This is the swatch for the first pattern of the Gift Knits Kit Club!  The pattern is finished, and I'm knitting the sample today. (Yep, those are some little bitty cables on there!)  It's for GLOVES, and it is written and charted for BOTH straight needles AND for those who knit in the round.

There will be a contrasting, dark brick colored cuff.  The yarn for the body of the glove is called "Embers", 100% Superwash Merino DK Super Sheep, and it's from Holiday Yarns.  I love it!  It's knits up soft and warm and dreamy. The yarn alone retails for $22.00!  The whole kit, mailed to your door, is just $27. 

I'm making each of these items as a Holiday knit ahead for the 2012 holidays, so next year I'll be less frantic about finishing my gift knits list. 

I've just opened a few more spots in the club, so join us!

Gift Knit Kit Club Features: 
New kit each month including original Liz Marino pattern and premium yarns to make the Gift Knit of the Month, shipped on or about the 15th of the month

Exclusive Liz Marino Club patterns will not be made available to non-club members until 3 months after Club release date

Kits will not be made available retroactively or to non-members

Jan = Straight needle gloves for her (s,m,l)
Feb = Snuggly Socks - adult (men, women)
Mar = Woven-look Purse
Apr = Eco-Friendly Washcloth Gift Pack
May = Holiday Knit-Ahead Hat
June = Yoga Stirrup Socks - one size

No substitutions are available.  Color and size is determined by Liz Marino.  Each month's kit is the only kit available for that month.  Kits are not available retroactively. 

Membership will not be automatically renewed for July-Dec.  Membership will be opened to current members in April and non-members in May based on availability.

Membership is open to North American mailing addresses only.  The price is $27 per month, for a total of $162 USD.  Payment must be received in full; no month to month memberships are available.

Thanks for joining this adventure!  I can hardly wait!

After joining, email me at esliney@yahoo.com with your:

Name
Shipping address

Do this even if they are the same as the ones on your PayPal ID, please, just to confirm!  I want to make sure I know how to reach you via email and USPS.  If this info is not emailed, your membership will be rejected and your payment will be returned.  Thanks!