Lanaknits hempforknitting

TNNA in Phoenix

2011-12-29T12:42:00.000-08:00

It's true, it's really true! We're going to be at TNNA in Phoemix.

Come by our booth and check out new designs and yarns. We're really excited for this show which we haven't attended for several years. We'll have all our summery hemp and blend yarns up on display.

Our studio will be closed from Jan 11 - 24th in order for us to travel to the show. The last day for us to ship out orders before we leave will be Monday Jan 9th.

We're looking forward to seeing you at TNNA!

We Have A Winner!

2011-12-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Jamie! We've sent an email letting her know she is the winner of the pattern and yarn to knit this beautiful cloth. This morning I finished the one in the pic - deep sea and pearl! Can't wait to see what colors Jamie selects. I think I could get 5 - 6 cloths out of just 2 skeins of allhemp6. Fun, fun, fun!

Another Contest!!

2011-11-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

If you've been following for awhile you'll know that I really like the mosiac knitted cloths designed by Amy Marie. You can check out her ingenious designs on ravelry here.

The release of her latest design - a wing and a prayer angel cloth - is perfectly timed.

Amy and I are joining together for this give-away. The lucky winner will receive the pattern and 2 skeins of allhemp6 in their color choice.

All you have to do is comment here or on facebook and you will be entered. Please be sure to leave contact info. The lucky winner will be selected on Nov 30th. Good luck!

Simplicity and Style Wins Award

2011-11-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Construction Knitting Patterns
Check out this youtube video! What a talented pair and they deserve this award too! I've always been partial to garter stitch and still am.

The FisherMAN Sweater

2011-09-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a first look at the FisherMAN Sweater! It's an easy knit, stockinette with a slip stitch which creates nice vertical lines. The body and sleeves are knit separately in the round to the underarms, then joined all in one piece. This shoulder shaping uses the same technique that I used in the Urban Twist. It gives the appearance of a sewn in sleeve but they are actually knit on as you go. Pattern will be along shortly.

The bottom photo shows the fisherman in the distance and in the foreground a knitted washcloth finished whilst husband fishes. Tally: fish = 0, washcloth = 1. Now that's my idea of a blissful morning!

Shaped Neck Tee With Long Sleeves

2011-09-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Our long sleeve version of our popular tee is now available! We've printed the additional instructions on our web page so if you already own this pattern click here to get the instructions.

I'm throwing in this extra pic cause I just love the architecture in the alley!

VOGUEknitting LIVE!

2011-09-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

We're going to be at this show...well kind of, sort of!

Annette from Green Sheep Shop will be selling our hemp yarns and patterns in her booth. We've sent her several model garments and projects for her booth so if you haven't seen, or touched our yarns before stroll by booth #68 and check them out.

A Tribute to My Mom

2011-08-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

The beautiful lady in this picture is my Mom who passed away last week. She was the most fabulous mother to myself and my four sisters. Mom made sure we knew we were loved, supported and encouraged and no matter what road we took, she was always there for us. Wherever I was I could phone home and know she would listen and only offer advice if I asked.

This picture was taken on her birthday in 2004. Doesn't she look wonderful in her hand knit hemp sweater? She loved telling her friends it was "hemp".

Our studio will be closed until August 30th as I travel to the coast and celebrate Mom!

Cool Hemp Cardi

2011-08-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

Okay all you very patient knitters - our Cool Hemp Cardi is now available! It can be purchased via our website or downloaded from Patternfish or Ravelry. The pics show the design knit with allhemp6LUX in a cheery aioli color. I think I've knit 4 and it really is a great top for the cooler mornings walking to work. With fall just around the corner (did I say that!), it'll get lots of wear.

August Apple Cloth

2011-08-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

I celebrated our long weekend with a fun little knit. You may remember a few months ago I knit a "Some Bunny to Do the Dishes" cloth. I actually have knit several but have gifted all of them. Then a couple of weeks ago, Amy Marie came up with yet another another fun design. Even though I have many deadlines I gave myself permission to cast on and knit this apple cloth. Following the chart (nice and large I might add) this worked up quickly.

If you want to view all of Amy Marie's designs here is the direct link to her Ravelry page .

Out of Choas - Into Creativity

2011-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

My husband and I just got back from working at the studio. I know he would have rather been elsewhere since it is Saturday and it's a gorgeous day! But I really needed his help. and he obliged. Thanks Mike, you're the best!

The first pic is what we started with - chaos! No place to move and it was really hard to find a safe place to put the extension ladder. Gotta love the 12 foot ceilings though - we can store a whole bunch of yarn way up there.

After 4 hours everything was put away, cardboard was loaded into the van and we headed home to start our weekend.

I still want to knit something with that new midnight blue color. Maybe I should just get myself a cold drink, grab some needles and play away. Uh huh, that's what I'm going to do!

More Yarn

2011-07-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an exciting day - our latest order arrived from China. We are now fully stocked in all the colors of allhemp3 and allhemp6. The top 2 pics were taken after we got all the boxes off the skids - 92 in total. I'll try and take another pic once all the yarn is out of the boxes - yeah for color!

We added a new color too! Midnight blue (shown in the last pic) is a beautiful navy. It's a bit darker than what is showing on my monitor. I'm thinking of taking some allhemp3 home with me for the weekend. I have a wedding to attend next week and I think I need a little cover-up.

Have a great weekend!

Lanaknits at TNNA

2011-06-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had at TNNA this year! We've been back for just over a week and I'm finally sharing some of the pics of our booth (and surrounding area). Just look how massive this room is! We had a corner booth, which we think has an open, welcoming feel to it.

I'm still sorting through things from the show and will post more pics soon.

Cool Hemp Cardi

2011-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick peek at our new design - soon to be available. Quickly knit using 100% hemp yarn in dk weight.

Stay tuned for pattern availability!

Sample-It - TNNA 2011

2011-06-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of me at the TNNA Sample-It event. Sorry for the lousy pic quality - I had the setting wrong - duh!).

For those of you who haven't heard of this event, it's one of the most popular at the show. It's an opportunity for shops to buy 1 "new" item from vendors. This way they can sample whatever is being featured. We were selling the cool summer cardi (pictured here in allhemp6LUX in the Olive color). We made kits using both the LUX and regular allhemp6 and we sold out in less than an hour.

The pattern will be available very, very soon. I've almost finished my third one. We had quite a few flight delays on our return - the first one being 3 hrs. Sure was glad I had my knitting with me!

I'll post more TNNA pics soon!

More Knitting in the Sun

2011-04-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting patiently for this book to be available since I learned Kristi Porter was working on it. Her first book Knitting in the Sun was so successful that it was only a matter of time before there was a sequel.

More Knitting in the Sun features 24 designs for children including this design using our allhemp6LUX yarn. Talitha Kuomi designed Vashti - a hooded top with pockets waiting to be filled with treasures.

Bunny Washcloth

2011-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just have to knit something that I didn't design. When I saw this pattern on Ravlery I immediately downloaded it and began knitting. I used allhemp6 Charcoal for the background (main color) and Pearl for the bunny motif.

This is designed by Amy Marie and available on Ralvery. And here's my favorite part, the title: some bunny to do the dishes cloth While your checking this one out, have a look at the others she's designed - brilliant!

New Pattern - Chunky Cable Cushion

2011-04-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yahoo...the chunky cable cushion, our latest pattern is now available. You might remember this was the prize for the contest we had in February. I used hempwol for both the Terra (brown) and Riviera (navy) cushions. I wanted the cover to be quite thick so I used 2 strands of hempwol held together. The finished pillow is a good 14" square, with lots of dimensional interest from the 20 stitch cable. I then knit another one using the allhemp6 in classic. The yarn is used single so the pillow is a wee bit smaller - about 12" square. I'm really liking this hemp one and with Spring now here it fits into the decor.

Robin Hunter's - How to become a Professional Knitter

2011-03-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Check out today's post on Robin Hunter's blog. It's an interview I did with her recently about my business. How fun it was to reach back in my memory bank and revisit the many steps its taken to get to where I am now. Thanks so much Robin for the opportunity to share.

Winners of Pillow Contest

2011-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Yippee! We have drawn the names of the 2 winners of our new pillow kits. The two "Karens" (yes they are both named Karen) have received their notification emails and they were so excited to win.

We'll soon be announcing our next great giveaway so keep checking back.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered.

Giveaway - Still time to enter

2011-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

We are extending this giveaway to Feb 25th. Just Like Us on our Facebook page to be automatically entered.

Our First Hemp for Knitting Giveaway

2011-02-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

We're very excited about our first giveaway contest.

In celebration of our new Facebook page, we're giving away a hempwol pillow kit to two lucky winners.

To participate, all you need to do is Like us on Facebook and you'll be automatically entered.

Hurray because the contest ends Feb 11.

Shaped Neck Tee

2011-01-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a pic of a variation to our popular Shaped Neck Tee pattern. The original has short cap sleeves but I've always wanted to do a long sleeve version. Here it is worked in allhemp6 in charcoal. It's very classic and can certainly be dressed up with scarfs or jewels.

We'll be offering the long sleeve instructions very soon so keep watching this space.

Dolce Handknits - simple, sophisticated designs

2010-12-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

What a thrill to find this book in my mailbox this morning! I've always admired Kim's work - her designs are so wearable, yet as the title says "sophisticated and simple". I first was introduced to Kim when she used our yarn for an Interweave Knits design many years ago.

On the cover is Chapel Hill worked in allhemp3. Love, love, love the design. It's very similar to one of our most popular designs - lacy little top.

Another favorite design is Seville. In the book this is worked in an merino yarn but the original one Kim knit was knit in allhemp3 in licorice. I saw this often worn by Kim at trade shows we attend.

All in all this is a beautiful compilation of Kim's designs and one I would highly recommend.

New Design Published

2010-12-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

Flower Power Cardi for little girls is now available for purchase. This is a "knit in one piece" project worked from button band to button hole band and with very little seaming. The garter stitch fabric makes this quite stretchy and with the shorter sleeve length makes this a style that will grow with the little one.

I think a larger size and maybe even an adult version should soon be in the works.

New Pattern - Flower Power Cardi

2010-12-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

Our latest design is at the printers and will be available next week!

This is another of our side to side, knit in one piece designs. It can be quickly knit using either allhemp6 or hempton yarn. And beause of the stretchiness of garter stitch and with the shorter sleeve length, this cardi will fit your little one much longer.

"Get to Know Hemp" Patterns

2010-11-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays - quick and easy knitting patterns!

We've just published both the Get to Know Hemp and the Get to Know Hemp Blends as patterns only. Previously these patterns were only available if you purchased the kits, with yarn and needles. The kits are great and make perfect gifts but we've had lots of knitters who wanted the patterns only.

I've sent the patterns to Patternfish and they should be available very soon. Here's the link to all our patterns Patternfish

Fabulous Fairisle Skirt

2010-10-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest knitting project. A cute little fairisle skirt for a sweet girl. It's got lots of ruffle at the bottom - 400 sts worth!

This little piece began as a 100 st swatch. When I first received our shipment of hempwol I wanted to see how some of the colors worked in fairisle. I was enjoying myself and knit a really large swatch. Just the other day I was cleaning out the knitting and found this swatch. My daughter Melissa(Petra's Mom) saw the swatch and shouted SKIRT! And voila....a little band, elastic and ribbon at the waist and a ruffle at the bottom finished it off.
Now I must knit another so we'll have a pattern.

Yes, even hemp sweaters might need a little love and mending now and then

2010-10-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

On Thanksgiving weekend we took a road trip to the Okanagan to spend with family. I thought it was a perfect time to do some repair mending to Mike's favorite work sweater. Here's a pic of Mike doing all the driving so I can knit, knit, knit. He's wearing his urban twist sweater which is not yet work worthy!

First thing to do was to redo the sleeves.Too bad I don't have a pic of the really bad looking sleeve, it was ugly! I snipped one stitch and picked up the loops so I could reknit it working top down. Now, picking up these loops while traveling on mountain roads was a challenge. Brought me back to being a young girl, and always getting car sick. I made sure I took lots of breaks and looked up, up, up as much as possible. A week has now past and I've just finished the repair job. I knit 2 sleeves from just above the elbow to the cuffs, reknit the neckband and lower band and also did some duplicate stitching on the underarm area. I couldn't match the yarn color very well, but I justified this because it is a work sweater and this man of mine wears it all the time. I think it is a least 4 years old and he loves it and I knew he wouldn't mind that the sleeves and bands are quite a bit different in color. He's just happy to have his favorite sweater back.

Oh yes and I learned how to do Jeny's incredible stretchy bind off which was a life saver for all those band stitches.

Fresh New Paint

2010-10-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

What a nice surprise when I came to the studio on Tuesday. The painters had been busy putting new paint on our building. It's all so fresh, bright and clean looking. The building is located in an alley in downtown Nelson and so many of the businesses have now fixed up the fronts. I'm thinking this is a pretty nice looking warehouse!

New Design

2010-09-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

Whew....our Lace Garden Cardi is now available! We showcased this design at TNNA in June and all the shops that ordered it will soon have it on their shelves.

I'm really pleased at how well this design turned out - it's really the best combination of garter stitch design and hemp yarn we've done yet The garter stitch provides a wide range of fit. If your preferred style is a close fit (negative ease), go for the smaller size, it will stretch. If a looser garment is your choice go for the large size. This is where blocking really shines. Cardi can be easily up-sized by adding additional pattern repeats, i.e. 1 additional pattern on each fron and one on the back will provide an additional 4".

Hemp for Knitting is coming to Ontario!

2010-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Kitchener Waterloo Guild Knitters Fair

Saturday, Sept 11th, 2010

Kitchener, ON, Canada

Bingemans

425 Bingemans Centre Drive Kitchener, Ontario

This is the first of two shows we'll be doing in Ontario in September. I've wanted to do the Knitters Fair for years and years but the reality of a 1-day show for someone from BC just didn't make sense. This year it does make sense because the following week there is another show - this time for retailers.

KnitTrade

Canadian Knitting Trade Show

September 19th, 2010

Stroud - Innisfil, ON

http://www.knittrade.com/

Deb and Lynda from Cabin Fever are coordinating this first time event just outside of Toronto.

This show is open to shop owners, staff and designers. It's cash and carry so you can walk away with product and avoid those costly shipping costs. We'll be offering a show special so check back just before the show.

The Girly Cloche

2010-07-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've just put our latest pattern up! It's the girly cloche designed by Kyla Hurst. After doing a test knit of the girly dress, Kyla designed a matching hat. We've got it in 3 sizes - 17", 19" & 20". Zoe is wearing the 20" size in the pic.

The sample is worked in cashmereCANAPA and I've just finished up the 17" size in hempton. I'll try to pop it onto Petra's head soon and get a photo.

I want to try this design with a slouchy look and I think another section of the ruching pattern should do it.

#353 Girly Dress

2010-07-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here it is....our latest design! It's worked from the top down (thanks to Kathy who re-wrote and edited the pattern). She must've enjoyed doing it though because she's knit three! Petra (the sweet 1 yr old) is wearing the pink dress knit in hempton. Sara (the cutie - almost 3 yr old) is wearing a cashmerecanapa sample that her Mom very quickly knit up. I'm sure it was less than a week - you go Kyla. She also had fun because she knit a matching hat that we'll soon have available.

Lots of shops ordered this pattern from us at TNNA so you'll see see it on the shelves.

A Sweet Little China Boy

2010-07-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute pic of Lucy's baby son wearing a hemp sweater. Lucy has been my supplier of yarn in China for a long time and last year she had her first baby son. I finally knit him a sweater and it fits pretty good - at least it's a bit bigger rather than smaller.

This design is garter stitch, all knit in one piece. It's similar to our baby garter stitch but this has no sewing and thats a treat. It'll soon be written up and available.

New Colors for Hemp

2010-06-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse at the 3 new colors in allhemp3 and allhemp6. Our supplier sent us a few kilos so we could launch these at TNNA last week. Our full order should arrive in about a week and then it'll be up on the website to purchase.

The new colors are:
#036 - wineberry
#037 - apricot
#038 - angel blue

Latest Published Design

2010-05-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to launch our latest design. It's a sweet summer tank designed by Kathy Chapman. It's "oh so feminine" with A line shaping and petite button closure on the back.

Kathy designed and knit this last year and when I first saw it I knew it would be a popular design with our customers.

The 2 smaller sizes use only 4 skeins of the allhemp3 yarn so it's not really a huge project and doesn't cost a lot to knit.

The cable twist insert adds more feminine detail and is flattering. The length is a little longer (Melissa, our model applauded this!).

The tank is knit back and forth, with the bands worked at the same time on smaller needles. This relates to minimal finishing required. the only sewing is stitching the lower hem in place.

Thanks Kathy for another super design - keep them coming!

Pretty in Pink

2010-04-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

You may remember I was knitting a little dress just around Easter time. I struggled a bit getting the neck size correct. First we couldn't even get it over her head and the next time it was too big! It's finished now and little Petra showed up at the studio today and she was wearing it.

It was a fun little knit and I hope to have this pattern available by the time we go to TNNA in June. When it gets a little warmer outside we'll do a photo shoot showing it worn without a shirt.

Knitting in the sun

2010-04-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

I received a copy of this book last week from author Kristi Porter. Quite awhile ago she requested yarn for a project in this book and we happily obliged. And thats our hempton featured in the design on the cover.

As I look through this book I see so many designs that would work well in all of our yarns. Okay so I'm a bit bias but its true. The garments are well designed and quite fitted which I like.

So if you get a chance, look through this book at your lys or book store and let me know what you think.

New Pattern - Sue's Crochet Cardi

2010-04-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

This pattern is now available. Get it now and you'll have a great cardi to wear all spring and summer long.

Thanks to Sue for a great design and Sarah for her help with pattern editing (and modelling too)!

What a great team!

Almost Done

2010-04-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

In my last post I mentioned I was working on a new design using that "ruching pattern" from Citron. Well, I'm almost finished and here's a look at the little project almost done. I'm at the point where I need to decide what kind of closure. Probably a couple of buttons in the front. This has to be finished in time for Easter!!

Latest Knitting

2010-03-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Many people have suggested I design something shawl-like using the allhemp3 yarn. I'm not really a shawl kinda girl, so I feel a little out of touch with shawl designs. Then, Bridget (from Klose Knit) told me about a design many knitters she knows are working on. It's called "Citron" designed by Hilary Smith Callis. I checked it out at Knitty and indeed this was a design I'd wear. So 3 skeins of allhemp3 later, and its done. I really like the ruching effect. This is something I've seen in several of my books and always liked it but never tried before. It was so nice knitting some else's pattern and this one is written very well. Now I'm using this ruching technique on a "wee project". Stay tuned.

Just a Great Video

2010-03-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

This great knitting related video has been showing up on Ravelry. It's very clever and if you want to see how they made it watch this video

Catching Up and More Colors!!!

2010-03-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I last posted. My excuse is that while I was at Stitches I had my computer completely over hauled...and you know what that can mean! I've now got all my programs working and the computer seems happy. And we love a happy computer, don't we?

Here's a pic of a little sweater I've been working on. It looks a whole lot like our baby garter stitch but this one is worked in one piece. I'm sending this one off to China for a sweet little 1 yr old boy. I was excited to find the cutesy yellow car buttons to finish it off.

And now for the content that relates to the title. We are planning on adding some colors to the allhemp6 and allhemp3 yarn line. Let me know what you'd like to see added. Hopefully we can have the new colors available to launch at TNNA this June.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Stitches West

2010-02-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

Yippee, the time has come! I'm leaving tomorrow enroute to Stitches West. First stop is Vancouver for a few days to take in some of that Olympic spirit and to spend time with family. Then on Wednesday Feb 24th, my sister and I will head to the show in Santa Clara, Ca. My first stop at Stitches will be "The Button Lady". Her stock is amazing and I've got several projects that warrant some very special buttons.

Our business will be closed now until March 2nd so any online orders will be filled as soon as we return. I hope to have lots of knitting news to blog about when I return.

Sue's Crochet Cardi - first peek

2010-02-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here's our "soon to be" newest design - a crocheted little thing worked in allhemp3 yarn and designed by Sue Hilger. Sue was the former owner of a lys (sorry, can't remember the name right now) and she designed this little top to show case the allhemp3 yarn. She came by our booth at TNNA last year wearing this little number - we immediately fell in love with it and asked her if we could have it. So.....a few months later here it is. Because I don't crochet and don't know anything about writing a crochet pattern I asked Sarah if she could crochet it and edit the pattern to add a smaller size. And this is the result - a perfect fit for ME! This sample only took 4 skeins of the allhemp3, so this could be made for about $25-30$. I think we should try it out of the hempton too. We'll let you know as soon as its available.

Family Stuff

2010-02-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I haven't shared much personal family stuff on my blog, yet!

My daughter Melissa has pitched a travel show idea to the W network and she wants lots of votes. Check it out here

Knitter's Review & Our CashmereCANAPA

2010-02-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

I was super excited this morning to read the latest yarn review on knittersreview.com. Yes, that's our cashmereCANAPA in the pic and Clara Parkes did an indepth review this week. Read it here. She puts the yarn through numerous tests and writes a conclusion based on her results. What do you think? Did she get it right? Tell us about your experience too.

Hemp Dress

2010-01-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks and thats because I've been busy busy busy finishing this hemp dress.

This project has been hibernating for about a year. I had the back done but for some reason something else must have taken priority and it got left. It's basically the sweetheart top, but worked to a dress length.

I'm not sure if I'll publish this design.

For me 2010 will be the year I complete my projects, honest!

Yummy, yummy, yummy Yarn

2010-01-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a glimpse at our 500K hemp yarn order that arrived yesterday. This is about half of that because I couldn't fit it all in this pic. I really wanted a pic while it was still in the boxes - all 55 of them but I didn't have a camera with me.

Each bundle (on the floor) is 5K. Lots of yummy yummy yarn. It's just all so inspirational that I just had to share.

I know what we'll be doing today - stocking shelves - and you just know I'd rather be knitting.

The Yarn Garden - new book

2010-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Just before the holidays I received a wonderful surprise in the post. It was a copy of a new book - The Yarn Garden written by J. Marsha Michler. There are 30 + designs using plant-based fibers and four of them use our hemp for knitting yarns. Along with a nice handwritten note, the pages that feature our yarns were all marked. There's the "Silver Saxifrage" a crocheted belt, "Wild Blueberry" a graceful dolman sleeved kimono-style wrap, "Wild Oats" a lace and cable purse and finally "Dark Raspberry" a head scarf (or small wrap) worked with just one skein of allhemp6. I don't have any photos of the projects yet but as soon as I do I'll post them. Looking through the book I would say most of these delightful designs would work great worked in hemp. In addition to the designs there is a section called "Tips, Tricks and Important Information, filled with useful instructions and descriptions. Great work Marsha, I'm proud to have been a small part of this project.

Baby Elegant Empire

2009-12-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

It's here and ready to purchase. Printed copy is available on our website (click on the link above) or purchase a pdf download from patternfish here

Please note the hat is not included with the pattern.

Now this is off my to do list I can get busy on more inspirations. Fun, fun, fun!

Baby Elegant Empire

2009-12-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

We've just finished this pattern. It's off to the printers and will be available very soon.

Little Sarah looks adorable in the sample knit in our cashmereCANAPA yarn. The twisted cable pattern really shows off in this yarn.

Christmas At Gina Browns

2009-12-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a great photo sent from Gina Browns in Calgary. Just look at that Chrismas tree all decorated with hemp for knitting kits. And they are selling a bunch because they keep reordering!

It's really cold in Western Canada (-25C in Calgary) right now so knitting socks and accessories is a great idea.

If you have any photos to share, send them to me at info@lanaknits.com

The All Around Scarf

2009-11-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

- easy seed stitch pattern with picot edge

available in 2 sizes.

Needles: 6.0m 10(US) circular needles (long length, approx 30")

Size: 60" x 3.5"

Yarn: 1 ball ea cashmereCANAPA &

hempton

Size: 67" x 4.5"

Yarn: 2 balls cashmereCANAPA & 1 ball hempwol

CO 176(200) sts, join in round being careful not to twist the stitches.

Rnd 1: K1, p1; rep to end.

Rnd 2: P1, k1; rep to end.

Next: Work all rounds in seed stitch for approx 3(4)".

Bind off using picot bind off as follows:

BO 2 sts, *slip the stitch on right needle back to left needle, CO 2 sts using cable cast on method, bind off 4 sts; rep from * to end.

Enjoy wearing or gifting this quick easy knit and please let me know how it turns out.

Perfect Seaming for Elegant Empire

2009-11-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I was in my happy place, just finishing off the baby elegant empire sweater. Then I remembered, I want to take a photo of the seaming before I have it all stitched. So I put it aside until this morning when the light would be right and I could capture it.

Hopefully you can make out the pic. The first part of the seam (on the right) is done with the Latte color yarn - see you can hardly see it! Then I threaded some lovely green so it would be a contrast. For a closer look, click on the pic to enlarge it.
This seam looks so smooth and is hardly bumpy on the inside at all.

Our First Customer From Russia!

2009-11-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

How exciting it was to get an order from a knitter in Moscow. We've had international orders before but this is the first from Russia. This means hempforknitting is now almost "everywhere". Who would have thought 10 yrs ago when I first started that our sales would reach so globally. Gotta love the internet for that.

Check back next week when I'll have another free pattern. Everyone (well so they say) is wearing big long "infinity" type scarfs, you know the kind you wrap around several times. I knit one last week and truly I wear this all the time. It's just the perfect extra warm thingy for around my neck. I knit it out of cashmereCANAPA so its nice and soft. This weekend I'm making a couple of gifts for some friends. I'll probably double the yarn so there won't be SO many stitches and it'll go fast, fast, fast.

Extra Notes for Elegant Empire Design

2009-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

As I'm knitting the baby version of this design I was thinking that a diagram may really help. This isn't a difficult design but the construction is different. So before I finish it and stitch the front and back sides together this is the perfect time to take a pic. This is the right side (meaning I have just finished the first piece) Now I have to knit the left side, the two pieces will then be joined together at the back. I've tried to label the pic, but it still may be difficult to read. If you click on the pic it will open a larger one.

Let me know what you think and also if you are knitting this design - is this helpful? I appreciate any comments and feedback. .....now back to my knitting so I can get this baby one ready to publish.

Urban Twist Pattern now available

2009-11-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give you the heads up that the new pattern is available immediately at patternfish. http://www.patternfish.com/patterns/4475 That Julia is so incredibly efficient and fast. We will have print copies available in a couple of days, then we'll put all the info on our website.

I'm really excited to hear what you think about this design and some of the rather interesting shoulder finishes.
Enjoy!

Another FREE pattern

2009-11-09T05:56:00.000-08:00

Here's the link to yet another free pattern again using the allhemp6 yarn. What a perfect design for the upcoming holiday season, maybe a gift for someone or oneself. Enjoy!http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000419821

Look what arrived in my Inbox

2009-11-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

I just have to share this pic of the baby sweater modeled by baby Petra. It arrived in the mail yesterday and she and her mommy are having great fun playing dress up.

I've got a bit of finishing to do on the pattern then it will be available on our website.

Finalising Pattern Instructions

2009-10-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Finalising pattern instructions takes me an incredibly long time...sometimes many months.

For example, I've had this design (Urban Twist using hempwol) almost ready for publication but something just wasn't quite right about it. I knit it for my husband and he was happy with it but I wasn't. Everytime he wore it I'd follow him around and adjust it here, then there.....hes' not liking this!

Late this summer I took out the top section and reworked it. Initally I wanted to have a sewn in look for the sleeves, you know the vertical line created as a result of setting in the sleeves. I was working in the round so this was a bit of a challenge and my first attempt didn't really satisfy me - the neck was a little big and the top of the sleeve area didn't satisfy my critical eye. So for the reknit, I worked a bodice similar to Elizabeth Zimmermans saddle sleeve sweater. This gave the nice vertical line that I wanted along the sleeve cap - l think it really looks like a sewn in sleeve (refer to white sweater pic). Everything was going well until I got closer to the shoulder area since I didn't want saddle shoulders I needed to do something else. After many variations I think I got it. It's fairly easy and again no seaming necessary. I worked the front shoulder slightly longer and joined it to the back shoulder (using the 3 needle bind off - easy, peasy).

And now to the reason there is a pic of a baby sweater. Well, after taking out the yoke section of the original sweater and redoing it with new instructions for the shoulder I immediately knit another one in a smaller size. Both of these had an odd number of cables front and back so I thought I'd better knit another one with an even number. This time I knit a wee version perfect for a baby.

I'm very close to finishing the pattern. Kathy, my trusted talented pattern editor will take a look at it next week and then it will be available. Yippee....now I can have a great weekend and I hope you do too.

My Favorite Kitchen Washcloth

2009-10-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting washcloths like crazy lately. In the kitchen drawer there are many to choose from but my hand always searched for my favorite one - the small, scrubby one. Alas there were none....they don't last forever (I know even hemp will finally give in).
So I sat down and started to knit a replacement which soon turned into 3,4,5 cloths. These are quick to knit because they are quite small, about 6-7" square. I like the little bumps on them making them perfect little scrubbers.

So my little gift to you - an easy pattern for the FAVORITE SCRUBBY

YARN: 1 Skein #102 allhemp6 or #102L allhemp6LUX- each cloth is approx 30gr (1 oz). You should beable to get 3 cloths from each 100gr skein. A great use for those little bits of yarn leftover from your hemp project.
NEEDLES: 4mm(6US) or something close.
GAUGE: It's a washcloth so it really doesn't matter so much about gauge. The cloth knit in this pattern grows a bit width-wise that's why I have you knit it longer so it will be somewhat square after a few washings.

CO 35 sts.
Rows 1-4: Sl1 st with yarn in front (wyif), knit to end.
Row 5: Sl1 wyif, k1, [k3, sl1 with yarn in back (wyib)] rep to last 5 sts, k5.
Row 6: Sl1 wyif, k1, [k3, sl1 wyif)] rep to last 5 sts, k5.
Row 7: Sl1 wyif, k2, [sl1 wyib, k3] rep to last 4 sts, sl1 wyib, k3.
Row 8: Sl1 wyif, k2, [sl1 wyif, k3] rep to last 4 sts, sl1 wyif, k3.
Next: Rep rows 5-8 until work measures approx 6 1/2".
Next: Rep rows 1-4.
BO and weave in ends.

Baby Petra's Cardi

2009-10-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome readers to my very first blog post! I see this as a opportunity to chat informallyand hopefully not to myself! I welcome your suggestions and comments, so here is my first chat....

A quick photo of the new baby sweater I just finished. I wanted to get a pic before it goes in the post.

This design is a mini version of the adult Elegant Empire. I knit the baby version out of hempton so it will be easy care and have just the right amount of warmth for baby.

We hope to have the pattern finalised and available for purchase very, very soon.