Thank you Bonnie Sennott~ from Kelli

What a treat!  Loved knitting this up.  A great design.

Such a refreshing knit of lace.  Everyday I struggled

to stop knitting on it.

A perfect blogaversary  knit-a long.   Can't wait to see

everybody else's~

A Walk In The Park~ a post by Kelli

Lov'in this Knit A Long, and everyone's colors are so beautiful.
Here's mine so far.


Thanks from all the 'well wishes' and sweet comments about our 5th
year blogging!

A Little Late to the Party… by guest blogger Julie

I meant to post yesterday, on the actual day, but the title of this post says it all. I'm also a little late to the party on following Melissa and Kelli's blog, as I have only discovered it within the last year. That doesn't stop me from wishing you both a very happy 5th blog anniversary. Thanks for the wonderful photographs, lively content and so much knitting inspiration!

I may have been late to the blog anniversary party, but I wasn't late starting the knitalong, despite spending a couple days dithering over yarn. 

Should I knit with this?

Or this?

In the end, I was in more of a pink mood (but really happy to have an excuse to post one of my favorite purple yarn photos) so Hazel Knits Entice in the Land of Sweets colorway was the choice. I moved on to winding my yarn and then cast on.

I'm really happy to be part of this KAL, and I'm looking forward to seeing and reading about everyone's progress on Bonnie Sennott's beautiful pattern. And Melissa, thanks for organizing this!

fun fun fun ~ posted by Melissa

Happy Birthday to us!  We are 5 (hooray!) here at Girls in Sheep Clothing and celebrating with this fun knitalong.  It was so exciting to see posts appear yesterday as we get started on our Streusels (my ravelry notes are here).  I cast on at midnight on the 31st since I was up waiting for Jas to get home from work (he set power and did standby for the Jay Z / Beyoncé concert at Safeco Field Wednesday night). 

I love knitting up these jumbly masses of stitches, knowing what awaits when we finally get to block our work and see the magic happen.  Who would think that messy looking lace edge could become what it does?  It makes me kind of giddy just thinking about it!

I'm also working on a test knit for dandiliongirl on Ravelry (notes here) ~ another poncho to add to my collection...this one with a lace panel...again, giddy :) ... lace ... mmmmm, lace!!!!



 So not much chatter from me today ~ the sun is shining (it's hot!!) ~ I'm going to sit in the shade and listen to some tunes and knit the day away.  I'm imagining you all gathered round, needles clickity clacking away, joining me in all the fun!  Thanks for celebrating with Kelli and I ~ I love that you all come back and knit with us when you're invited!

 

Looking forward to hearing from more of you and seeing some progress! And newcomers are still welcome ~ it's never to late to join in the fun :) ~ Happy Friday !

Melissa

a Bonnie Sennott knitalong ~ posted by Melissa

07-19-2014 - edited to add:  I just saw that Bonnie has started a newsletter...

here's the link

 

if you haven't purchased your Streusel pattern yet, there's a coupon code in the newsletter that gets you 50% off one of her patterns before the end of the month, just for subscribing!  I just signed up and now I'm off to use my coupon code to snag another of her lovely designs for future use :)

 

 

Are you on the fence about joining us for our next knitalong?  If you missed the info here's the link!

 

 

If you are, I thought it might be a good time to share this summer shawl I just finished.  It's Stria by Bonnie Sennott...our lucky designer pick for our Girls in Sheep Clothing blog anniversary.

(ravelry notes can be found here)

 

 

Stria was a breeze to knit and I'm so happy to be knitting another one of her designs so soon after finishing this one.  Her patterns are well written and so much fun.  And I'm pretty sure she'll be keeping an eye on us since she knows we're hosting this kal and seemed tickled when she found out about it.  I think a few of our newest kal'ers may have come from her posting about our knitalong on her facebook and twitter accounts as well as her group on Ravelry.  Let's do her proud :)

 

So far we are seven ~ Kelli and myself of course, Penny (knitwitless) and Andrea (aksaxton).  Mimi (benzngems) will be knitting with us (your invitation has been sent...check your email!) but she wasn't sure if she would actually blog with us or not.  I hope she does...I've already seen her yarn choice & it's perfect so I'm encouraging her to share :).  We also have Susan and Cynthia joining us for the first time ~ don't forget, you two...if you want to blog with us I will send you an invitation as soon as you message me on Ravelry with your email addresses!

 

There's still lots of time to jump on board ~ we don't cast on until July 31st ~ so if you're interested please know you are welcome and we'd love to have you join us!

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Melissa

 



Come on along ~ posted by Melissa

Kelli and I are coming up on the 5th anniversary of our blogging adventures here at Girls in Sheep Clothing and it seems like the perfect time for another knitalong, don't you agree?

 

There are a few stragglers (myself included) on our Spire KAL but this new knitalong is a simple one and maybe even a good beginner lace pattern for someone new to making purposeful holes in their projects.  We've decided that Streusel by Bonnie Sennott fits the bill as a simple summertime knit.

 

It's a shallow triangular shawl with a lace border which is knitted on as you go, so no endless edging to work at the end.  The pattern is both written and charted, with both methods being very simple and easy to follow.  I'm just finishing up another project by Bonnie (Stria...just need to block her ~ rav notes can be found here ) and I can tell you her patterns are well written (and beautiful!).

 

So, if you're interested here's the skinny:

 

• the knitalong begins July 31st ~ our 5th blog anniversary

• there is no deadline...knit at your own pace ~ it's not a race!
 

• the pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry for $5.50 ~ link here

 

• pattern requires 400 yards of fingering weight yarn

 

• skills required are simple increases & decreases (explained in the pattern)

 

• here's a tutorial on guest blogging if you want to peek (thanks to guest blogger Kelly) ~ link here

 

 

If you're interested in joining us, comment here and also please pm me on Ravelry ( link here ) so that I can get the info that I need to add you to the blog so you can post along with us.  We share our progress and photos and offer help and encouragement along the way to those who need it.  We'd love to have you play along ~ we always have a great time and have made some fun friendships over the years.

this was one of our favorites...take a peek here!

(the collage enlarges if you click on it so you can see everyone's work)
 

I for one am looking forward to knitting with Kelli who I haven't seen in over a year (can that be right?).  We must do something about that ~ you'd think we lived on different continents :)

 

Looking forward to planning along with everyone as you jump in to join us and we talk about all things knitting!  Happy Monday!

~ Melissa



Pleased as Punch - Prairie KAL by guest blogger Kelly

Oh where to start?  I fell in love with Juju's loops the second I laid eyes on it and bought it immediately.  I knit up the Cedar Shake Mitts, and a matching cowl early this summer.  I even found a sample of Brown Eyed Susan in a knitting shop and it was divine.  When I found out that the Girls in Sheep Clothing were doing a Loop KAL, I was all about it. 

But which yarn to choose...with so many options?  I have to admit that the yarn sort of chose me.  I am one lucky girl, because five minutes from where I work is an AMAZING resource called the Minnesota Fiber Guild.  There is a gift shop, an art gallery, a library, and it is the residence of the Weaving Guild.  Wow,  Anything you could ask for!  There is even a bargain bin full of delicious yarn, and there was some Jaggerspun Wool Silk that felt like it was waiting for me.  I dyed it a pink-coral color, and we have both been waiting patiently for today.  Without further ado, here it is!  I included the before, the after and the inspiration.

 

Happy knitting everyone!

Kelly Lightbeam

guess who's turning 2 ? ~ a post by Melissa

It's us!  Girls in Sheep Clothing has a blog-anniversary coming up at the end of the month!  It will be 2 years July 31st that Kelli and I started this blog ~ there have been canning parties, county and state fairs, speaking engagements(!), retreats, train rides, family functions, loads of new friends, much laughter and lots and lots of knitting ~ my how time has flown by!  And to go along with our annual New Year's Day knitalong ~ and we've got a few of those under our belts ~ we've decided to add a mid-year kal to celebrate the anniversary of our blog adventure.  Who knows...this might just have to be a regular thing!

After a few hours going back and forth trying to decide what we should do, Kelli and I (with some additional help from past guest blogger ~ Kell-y with a 'y') settled on a triangular lace shawl from the book Juju's Loops by Juju Vail and Susan Cropper.


It's a fitting choice, with both the book and the summer Olympics this year originating in London, England.  The book is currently in 2nd edition print and should be hitting stores in the US 'anyday' (or so I've been told!).  So, if you're not lucky enough to own a copy or know someone that does who might be so nice as to lend it to you for this kal, check with your lys and see if they'll be stocking it.  Unfortunately, when we chose the pattern, we didn't realize that you couldn't purchase it online individually but for future knitalongs, we'll keep that in mind! 

The pattern we chose from the book is Prairie (this link will take you to the Ravelry project page so make sure you're logged in!).  There is just a bit of errata for this knit which can be found here on LoopKnitLounge , so make sure to make any corrections to your 1st edition copy before getting started.  If you're lucky enough to pick up the 2nd edition before the end of the month, I've read that they've tried to correct all the errors throughout the book and not just on this shawl.  My fingers are crossed for the new books at my lys before our cast on date of July 31st, otherwise, I'll be borrowing a copy until I get my own.

So, if you're interested in joining us, please let us know!  Contact either Kelli or I on Ravelry (each of our 'about me' page links are on the blog sidebar to the right) and let us know that you want to knit with us and we'll let you know what we need from you to add you to this blog as a guest poster.  Then you'll be able to blog along as we share yarn choices, answer questions, encourage each other and post photos.  We've made some good friends over the last few years with our knitalongs and we're looking forward to maybe making a few more!

Don't forget ~ cast on date and blog birthday celebration is July 31st!  We can knit an English inspired shawl while we enjoy the 2012 London Summer Olympics!  And until then...I'll be finishing up this puddle of wip ~

New Year's Day 2012 KAL ~ Bridgewater

I'm embarrassingly so close but yet so far...I'm going to kick myself square in the behind when I get it off the needles and blocked since I know I'll love it and wish I had finished it months ago!  Feel free to shame me....I know you want to!  ~  Melissa