Nusalong: FO & WIP Drawing Winners!

First Prize FO
katriddell on Ravelry

Two skeins of Three Fates Yarns aquae singles in her choice of colors - Arthur and Guinevere - and a Three Fates project bag.

Print & digital copies of my Pip hat, Lelia Mitts, and Salt Creek Loop patterns!

Second Prize FO
zanneq on Ravelry

Digital copies of my Pip hat, Lelia Mitts, and Salt Creek Loop patterns!

Runner-Up WIP

ccb on Ravelry

A digital copy of a pattern of her choice in my Ravelry shop.

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I'll be in touch with all of the winners soon! Thank you guys again so much for participating - I had a great time seeing all of your beautiful color combinations and project photos, and it's been a really fun interlude from my usual work knitting!

Have a great week, friends!

<3

Cory

Nusalong: It's An FO!

  

Friends, I think I've gone full-on mermaid. I can't get enough neon. All I want to is wear flowy things. I have this strange desire to comb my hair with a fork and wear a seashell as a hat. (Or is it a top? I can never remember.)

But I guess it's good timing that the Nusalong is ending this evening at 11:59 pm (remember to post to the Ravelry FO thread if you haven't already!!), because now I can quit my human job and apply to become a mermaid full-time! And how could that possibly go wrong?

...y'know, besides for every reason.

Oh well. I will content myself with wearing mermaidy things and smooshing my face in my new Nusa cowl, which is well and properly mermaid-tastic.

Thanks again to Stephania at Three Fates for sharing her gorgeous yarns with us, and to you all for participating! I'll be choosing winners of all three prizes and posting their names next Tuesday, May 17th. Stay tuned!

(Details of my Nusa are on Ravelry here.)

Happy (late) Friday, friends!

<3

c.

FO: Black Wolf Ranch Nusa

  

At this year's Madrona Fiber Arts festival, I chatted with Wendy of Black Wolf Ranch & Fiber for a few minutes while going for a spin around the market and admiring her lovely yarns. I had seen their booth at a few shows before, and was intrigued by the new dyed colors on their alpaca, alpaca/silk, and polwarth/silk bases, which take dye in the most jewel-like manner.

Fast forward a few months, when Wendy got in touch and asked if I could knit up a sample of Nusa using Black Wolf Ranch yarns. (Playing with pretty yarn and getting more indie.knits into the wild? Why yes, that sounds delightful!)

So after chatting about a few different color combinations, we settled on two colors of 100% alpaca Distinctly Alpaca Sport in Tuscan Sun and City Scape, a luminous acid green and a cozy medium gray. I cast on about a month ago and knit up the sample in a couple of weeks, and loved every second of it.

The alpaca gave such a wonderfully textural knitting experience, and the finished cowl such dramatic softness and drape, that I was a little sad to see this one get wrapped up and shipped off to its new home! But I'm so glad for the opportunity to knit with this gorgeous yarn, and honored that my work will be featured alongside Black Wolf Ranch's beautiful and thoughtfully produced yarns.

All the details are on Ravelry here.

Happy Monday!

<3

Cory

Nusalong: Knitting Deadline, and Giveaway Details!

Remember that tonight - Friday, May 6th, at 11:59 pm - is the deadline to finish knitting on your Nusas!

Then, post your WIP or FO to the Ravelry thread by 11:59 pm on Friday, May 13th, to enter to win the following prizes -

 

First Prize FO

Two skeins of Three Fates Yarns aquae singles, in your choice of colors, and a Three Fates project bag.

(All of Stephania's gorgeous repeatable colors can be viewed here. Pick your favorite two, and post them along with your FO photo to the Ravelry thread!)

You'll also win print & digital copies of my Pip hat, Lelia Mitts, and Salt Creek Loop patterns!

  

Second Prize FO

Digital copies of my Pip hat, Lelia Mitts, and Salt Creek Loop patterns!

   

   

Runner-Up WIP

Didn't quite finish? That's okay! Anyone who posts their WIP in the FO thread will be entered to win a digital copy of a pattern of their choice in my Ravelry shop.

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Thanks again for participating, everybody - can't wait to see all your beautiful FOs, and I'll be sure to post when I finish mine. :D

Happy Friday, friends!
<3
Cory

Nusalong: Home Stretch!

  

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Mer-maid Nu-sa!

(As you can see, I have fallen for the silly pineapple trend as well as the neon colors trend. Why not whack 'em together into one?)

I'm on the home stretch of my Nusalong project, which is to say that I am about to work the turning round. That's really far, right? It's not bad policy to be super late on your own KAL, right? (Sure, self, suuuuuure!)

But really. I am totally planning to bang out the last stripey section in time for the finishing deadline, which is this Friday, May 6th, at 11:59 pm! All you have to have done by the date is the knitting - sewing and blocking can happen in the week after.

And once you're all finished and ready to share photos, we're going to have some cool prizes from me and Three Fates Yarns - all you have to do is post a photo of your FO in the Ravelry FO thread, with your favorite combination of Three Fates aquae fingering colorways, and you'll be entered to win! (FYI, this thread is new and different than the original Nusalong thread.)

The deadline for posting in the thread is Friday, May 13th, at 11:59 pm.

What if you didn't quite finish? That's okay! Post your WIP in the same thread, and you'll be entered to win other cool prizes. More details to come!

Happy Wednesday, friends, and hope your Nusas are Nusaing right along!
<3
Cory

Nusalong: Ravelry & Instagram Drawing Winners!

Hope everyone is having a great week! I just wanted to pop in and announce the winners of the drawing for the free download of the Cairn hat pattern. Thanks to everyone who posted! I've started seeing your colors on Ravelry and Instagram and holy crap, they are awesome.

Without furthur ado, our winners:

Congrats to beechilco on Ravelry, and @hilapups on Instagram! I'll be sending your patterns along shortly.

Thanks again for entering, everybody, and happy Friday!

<3

Cory 

Nusalong: Cast On!

 

I'm taking a breather from work this week, and I'm using the opportunity to cast on my Nusalong project. (You can check out my project page here.)  The stitch count is pretty long on this pattern, so I'm watching dumb home improvement shows in the background while I cast on.

As a side note about the long cast-on - 300+ stitches can feel pretty daunting, and though it is time-consuming, it's actually pretty easy if you can catch a quiet moment to get it done. I usually cast on a kabillion stitches, then count and place stitch markers every 100 stitches after the fact. I count each section of 100 two or three times, which ensures that I have the right number. Then I pop extra stitches off the needle or add more as needed, counting the last section again after each adjustment. You can also divide into sections of 50 if that's easier - whatever works for you!

Then, on the first round after the cast-on, I place my beginning-of-round marker and remove the other markers as I work. Easy peasy.

Remember, tonight at 11:59 pm is the deadline to post on the Ravelry thread or on Instagram with #nusakal to enter to win a copy of the Cairn hat pattern! Don't worry if you need to cast on or join later, though - you're welcome any time.

Happy Monday, friends, and happy Nusalong!

<3

Cory

Nusalong: Sooooooon

 

Oh hey, guess what's coming up super soon? The Nusalong, friends! We start next Monday the 22nd - are you ready? I'm so excited to see your yarn and color choices!

Stephania brought me my yarn while I was working at Madrona last week, and um, it's awesome. I was inspired by my friend Noriko's color choices in her Paulette shawl design, and chose Mermaid and Manic Panic colorways on aquae singles. As my current sartorial life goal is to dress like a glittery undersea creature, I am deeply excited to have a cowl that looks like I stole it from a frolicking dolphin in a Lisa Frank illustration.

Thanks to all the folks who have already posted to the Ravelry thread - remember, post on the Ravelry thread, or to Instagram with #nusakal - or both! - to enter to win a digital download of my Cairn hat pattern.

The discount for yarn from Three Fates has now ended, but you can still get the pattern in my Ravelry shop for 15% off - valid until March 21st - using the code NUSALONG.

Either way, it's not too late to join - treat yourself to some Three Fates, use yarn from your stash, use handspun, steal hair from a unicorn's hairbrush, whatevah! We start next Monday the 22nd, although you can join any time from now until the moment that it ends on May 6th. I'll post again on Monday to kick it all off.

Happy Friday, friends!

<3

Cory

Spring 2016 KAL: Nusalong!

Hello, friends! Today, I'm excited to announce Nusalong! - a Spring-ish Knitalong for the Nusa cowl pattern. I had so much fun running last fall's Fireweed KAL that I figured, why not do it again?

Just like last time, I'll write a bit about choosing colors and working the different techniques from the cowl, it will be super chill, and we'll have some fun prizes of yarn and patterns to sweeten the deal!

So how 'bout those nitty-gritty details?

• Anyone can join!

• The pattern is available digitally in my Ravelry store, and if you use the code NUSALONG at checkout, you'll receive 15% off the pattern, valid from today until March 21st, 2016.

• Feel free to use yarn from your stash, or treat yourself to some new squishies from Three Fates Yarn! ETA: Enter the code NUSA1516 when you order aquae or aether singles in available colors on Etsy before February 14th, and you'll get 15% off your yarn. (The discount applies to your entire purchase, so it's a good time to refill the stash - and if you spend $100 after the discount, you'll get a free Three Fates Yarn bag. Sweet, thanks Stephania!)

• Hop on over to the Ravelry group and post in the Nusalong! Ravelry thread, or post to Instagram with #nusakal by 11:59 pm on Monday, February 22nd, and you'll be entered to win a free digital download of Cairn just for joining.

• I'll be giving away two copies of Cairn - one for Instagram, and one for Ravelry - so feel free to double-dip and enter both! I'll be announcing the winners on Friday, February 26th.

• We'll start knitting Monday, February 22nd, with a finish date of Friday, May 6th.

• Post your finished project on the Nusalong! FO thread on Ravelry by 11:59 pm on Friday, May 13th, and you'll be entered to win some super cool prizes, including yarn from Three Fates and patterns from my Ravelry store.

Allrighty, I think that's it! Onward, friends, and happy Wednesday!
<3
Cory