BE INSPIRED

The Highlight for today

Another travelling sock arrived home today. Each sock has been so unique and interesting they are  fabulous and treasured works of art for us to savor. I could never pick a favorite.... I love them all!

Today's sock however, had a special twist that made this so memorable. This team included a map with the sock and each knitter put a smiley face sticker showing their location, so the journey was well documented. In addition, they each included a postcard from home.

I had a really rough day today, beginning at about 4a and showing no signs of ending. This wonderful suprise almost made me cry with excitement ... it was just that fun! 

From my heart I thank all of you who have taken part in the traveling socks... and to this fab group a big shout out and thank you!

You inspired me.

Jonelle

New Marketing from SWTC???

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS TATOO?

Known only as Kelsey, this tatoo bears the trademarked SOYSILK name and we're just tickled! In fact, we're putting a bounty out on the identification of this mystery person and this tatoo.

Help us figure this out and we'll reward you with yarn for your effort. 

I have a small tattoo on my ankle. It hurt like )$@(#)@ .  I know some of you probalby love getting tattoo's .. .but I'm just not sure I could do it again. This does tempt me though....

Can you see me now?

  www.Tofubear.com is our sister company. This month, our SOYBaby Blankets are on the cover of the Minnesota Soybean Magazine.  The handsome little guy is Archer Kelly, son of super SWTC Publicist , Tami Kelly. Don't you wish your modelling career started that young?

Also making headlines is  my youngest daughter, Sophia. She can be seen in the new issue of CAST ON magazine. Sophia caught the attention of the editor last summer at TKGA when she spent hours learning to knit. The weekend with TKGA made a mark on this child and she soon after designed her own collection of Webkinz clothing patterns.  It is such a proud moment for me to see my child join the circle of knitters in my family and carry on this beloved art form.  Congratulate Sophia via her own email at Sophia (at) soysilk.com .

Finally, look for our fabulous new yarn TERRA  on the next cover of Knit N Style Magazine.  Designed by Candace Eisner Strick, this sexy summer top plays with color. It also offers a generous range of sizes . If you  like comfort blended with a top that can go from work to evening, dresses to blue jeans  - then this versatile beauty is a top you will treasure. Watch for the August Knit N Style in your mailbox or favorite yarn store soon.

The Mystic Shawl

Lisa D. shared this picture with us recently and we are super excited to show it to you. This is the famed MYSTIC SHAWL by Anna Dalvi knit in Tofutsies.  Lisa used 2 balls of Tofutsies on US 5 needles.   Isn't it amazing?  Congrats again to Lisa on this beautiful heirloom piece. 

Check Ravelry for more details on the MYSTIC Shawl. It continues to be one of the top patterns again this month.

Another fun show n tell moment came in an email from Ellen who is almost finished with her Tofu Tee.  These colors are so fun together! I have to say that I haven't seen a color combination that wasn't fabulous. It is soooo easy to put together in this pattern and each combination will be unique and interesting - like  a watercolor painting really.

Ah... and speaking of Tofutsies, the box with our new sock club prototype colors and more for our main collection finally arrived. With sweat on our brow, we finally chose the final colors. Its hard to do! I fall in love with them all and sometimes it comes down to very minor nuances. We're all really excited about it now. Each new color palette of Tofutsies is better than the last! 

If you haven't signed up for SOCK CLUB........ you're blowing it! These colors are fabulous.

More new pictures from SWTC

Our recent visit to California

Kat and I took a road trip to CA last week for a Shopatron conference. It was awesome and I've got pages of notes for my new "TO DO" list. Kat really captured our trip on her blog today.  We laughed the entire insane trip... but we are quite easily amused some times.

My favorite part of the trip was a visit home. It was the first time in 12 years that I rolled in without husband and /or kids. It was so refreshing to go home and have Mom and Dad there and just get to relax.

My sister, Jonna, is very pregnant with 2 more twin boys. Shes due sometime in the next month. Her first son, Ethan, is almost 2. Ive waited along time to teach Ethan to eat the same way his darling Mother taught my daugther many moons ago.

Ethan is one of the tidiest kids Ive ever seen. He hangs up his hat, wipes his face with precision, picks up toys out of habit. My kids still dont get that! It took some serious coaxing to get this little guy to get messy with me. His parents cringed and complained the entire time. Being rather quick, my sister handed the messy, yogurt covered kid to me when he was done. His big bear hug left , strawberry yoplait all over my shirt, hair, and face. As a doting Auntie, I laughed til I cryed and wore the yogurt with pride.

I later called my girls, who were still stewing that I had gone to the beach with out them.... only to hear" YOU WENT TO THE BEACH AND PLAYED WITH ETHAN WITHOUT US???????" There was no winning.

Kat and I got a bunch of knitting done on the patio. Its like sitting in a park with yarn in your lap. It seemed sinful to relax like that but we both needed it. It took great courage leaving SWTC in the hands of the men folk.

Im happy to report that Joe did a great job being in charge of Home and office.  I had played with Ethan AND gone to the beach  - but my kids rattled off a list of about 20 things Daddy let them do that I never do. The Marshmellows on their face were evidence of a pretty fun few days. They even cleaned up their rooms and the house, gone fishing, and had all of their homework done.  There was a strange incident that left my sewing table busted and a small hole in the wall but I still havent figured out what happened. My Cat is taking the blame for some reason........and he denies any involvement.

I was pretty proud of them all.

XIE bamboo yarn knits beautifully!

This is 5 different color strands of Bamboo XIE knit together on US 7. The fabric is wonderful and silky. We have 40 colors of XIe.......which means you can virtually design your own yarn. Try just picking a group of colors you love together and knitting them as one? Hmmmmmm........maybe I'll find my spinning wheel today and make a yarn! Have you tried that yet? What fun it could be to "design your own". Xie would also make a great ply against your own handspun or finger roving for a great effect.

Rita sent me an email with pictures of a spectacular project she's working on. It was love at first sight for me... read what she had to share:

"We have a summer  house in Maine near the ocean, which we built ourselves.  We try to incorporate an ocean theme throughout the house.   In order to keep sunlight in the basement, I wanted to eliminate doors, and thought of creating sliding doors that would allow privacy, but still let in light, and of course, had an ocean theme. We thought of making fused glass panes, but after using soy silk to make shades for wall sconces, I thought I would try and modify a screen door.  I created pieces of soy silk and placed them between sheets of plexiglass, modifying the frame for additional strength.    Soy silk is such a wonderful fiber, very strong, and so easy to use."

Sock Warriors

Karen, the owner of Needle Arts of Georgetown , wrote recently and share this:

" I'm promoting an all-night party here at NeedleArts.  We're calling it The Reconnaissance Mission.  The warriors are encouraged to wear camouflage (we're near an Army base so lot's of them have their husband's old uniforms to wear), bring rations (snacks) to share, and I'm making a camouflaged army helmet with knitting needles and yarn instead of branches and leaves to promote the party. "

Isn't that fun? Any of you close to this store are sooooooooooooo lucky!  Official word is that color 733 in TOfutsies has been chosen as the sock weapon. So stock up now.  The game begins in May and sign ups are in progress.

Did you see the awesome article in Knit N Style? (and all of the adorable SWTC designs?)  If you haven't, grab a copy. Knit N Style is one of my favorite Knitting magazines. The patterns are always for "real girls with real figures". I love being able to really see the garment in the picture without all of the wild styling that leaves me guessing at what the sweater actually is. This magazine has really gained momentum under the watchful and creative eye of editor Penelope Taylor. Shes really made the magazine a solid read. We love Penelope!

Make a Tofutsies Tee with us.

We're starting up another Knitalong for all of us to enjoy. We had such a great time with the Karaoke mitered square project that its now just part of our lives. Joan, the knitting goddess, just finished a Tofutsies tee. This awesome sweater is knit with 5 balls of Tofutsies double stranded, changing strands as you go to create the beautiful color movement. We all get to knit with TOFUTSIES using a US 5 needle!! Isnt that fun?  I love projects like this with so many fantastic color possibilities. It almost becomes more fun to see everyone elses project than to knit my own.

To join the knitalong, find the yahoo group called swtcinc. Wendy and Pinka will be your KAL guides on this project. The SWTC girlz will all be reading along too.

To get the TOFU TEE pattern, buy your yarn at your favorite yarn store and ask them to give you a copy. Its free with the purchase of the yarn.  Tell your store owner about the KAL - maybe they'll get a group going at the store too. We always love that!

No LYS? The pattern can be purchased here: https://www.shopatron.com/product/part_number=S706/630.0.1875.25161.0.0.0