Blogiversary Yarn & Pattern Giveaway Contest!

Today marks the first 'blogiversary' for Robin Ulrich Studio the blog.  One goal I had when I began blogging was to post at least 4 times per month and I've mostly exceeded that.  Another goal was to hopefully have at least 1,000 page views within one year, and I've been amazed that this page has been viewed over 26,000 times by visitors from 100 different nations! 

As I've occasionally mentioned, I put off the idea of starting a blog for a very long time for several reasons, the main one being that I am a very quiet, simple person. But I wanted to find a way to journal our family's day-to-day activities and adventures, share works-in-progress, finished objects and patterns, look at new yarns, ideas and techniques and provide a way for my curious, non-knitting family and friends to get a picture of my favorite interests.

I also liked the idea of another outlet for my passion for fibery things - I can talk about knitting, spinning, crocheting, designing and other related arts all day long, and I even dream about those things as well.

And lastly, since I know only a few knitters in person, I thought this might be a fun way to connect with fellow enthusiasts. Through the past year I've had the opportunity to 'meet' many lovely knitters and readers, discover wonderful bloggers and designers, dabble in my interest in photography, brush up on writing skills, and explore so much more in the world of knitting.  

To celebrate this milestone, I'm holding a give-away contest!  The prize will include (of course) yarn including Cascade's Kid Seta super kid mohair/ silk blend,

Crystal Palace's Kid Merino,

and Claudia Hand Painted Yarns' Short Sport.

In addition to the yarn I am adding free copies of a few of my patterns including the Brandywine Falls capelet, Lingonberry Loop scarf, and my new shawlette pattern, Sothia. 

It's easy to enter the contest, here's how:

• Be a member of Ravelry (it's free, educational and fun!).
• Add me to your Ravelry 'Friends' list (if we aren't already friends).
• Leave a comment to any post on or before July 21st, 2011.

Only one entry is necessary to participate, and each individual's name shall be entered into the drawing only once, regardless of number of comments received.

That's it!  Using a random selector, I will draw one name from all those entered to win the whole kit and caboodle of prizes.  I will announce your name in a post on this blog, after which the winner can contact me via a Ravelry message with their mailing address within 7 days, and I will add the patterns to your Ravelry pattern library and ship your prize to you!  International entries are welcome. 

Thanks everyone for a fantastic year, I appreciate your taking time to read my blog and leave comments.  I've got lots of fun posts planned including yarn and needle reviews, WIP updates, pattern sneak peeks, wool festivals, techniques, and much more.  I look forward to many more posts of knitting together!

New Knitting Pattern - Lesia Loop

After much positive feedback and interest from blog readers and Ravelry members, I'm happy to announce the publication of my latest pattern, Lesia Loop.

The light, soft Brushed Suri yarn from Frog Tree creates a lovely halo similar to that of mohair and the resulting scarf is equally light and soft with a lot of drape.  

Although Brushed Suri is listed as a fingering weight yarn, the fiber halo allows it to be knit up in a variety of gauges, depending on your needle size. I think another fantastic yarn choice for this pattern would be a mohair or mohair blend.

I love the simple, beautiful stitch pattern that looks pretty from both sides, 

allowing this wrap to be worn in a variety of ways, including doubled as a cowl, 

buttoned along one side through the eyelets in the stitch,

or given a half-twist, Moebius-style, and re-buttoned as a shoulder wrap as shown in the photo at the top of this post.  

The pattern stitch is presented in both charted and written form, and the design's garter stitch selvages, button and buttonhole bands lend a clean, modern look. Lightweight shell buttons add a little shine and don't weigh the piece down.

I named this pattern in honor of a very sweet friend I made while traveling in the Ukraine some years ago.  Lesia is a name meaning "of noble kind."  What a beautiful thought.

Some of you may recall this design from earlier posts, and I wasn't certain I would actually publish this as a pattern since I already published a chunky-weight version,  Lingonberry Loop, in December.  

But after many folks said they prefer to just purchase a pattern that gives exact details rather than modify it to suit their preferred yarn, I decided to go ahead with it. Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm and great input!

I currently have two introductory promotions running for this pattern, both through the end of March.

For all Ravelry members, when you purchase the Lingonberry Loop pattern, you will receive the Lesia Loop pattern for just $1 when you add them both to your Ravelry shopping cart.   Anyone who has previously purchased the Lingonberry Loop will also be eligible to receive the special price.

But...  I also want to offer a little something extra special to my blog readers.  After trying unsuccessfully to navigate the murky waters of adding multiple promotions to my Ravelry Pro account for this pattern, I've decided to offer you a free copy of Lesia Loop with the purchase of any of my other Ravelry patterns.

If you purchase any of my patterns through Ravelry, just drop me a Ravelry PM or post a comment to me here in the blog, and I will send the free pattern to your Ravelry library.  I apologize to anyone who tried to use the faulty promotion link previously posted here!

Thanks again everyone, and peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!

Living in Scarfland

I've been in a frenzy of scarf knitting lately, what with Christmas and work on my Lingonberry Loop (LL) pattern, not to mention my Thanksgiving scarf (still a WIP). I love scarves as a fashion accent, as an on-the-go project, and as a warm winter layer.  It's amazing how wearing one around our chilly house warms me up.

I pretty much always have one or two on the needles and over the years I've made plenty, some better than others, LOL.  

 

 

 

This week I finally bound off an aran-weight LL in Berroco Peruvia, and also sewed very light shell buttons on the very first version, knit in fingering weight Frog Tree Brushed Suri alpaca.

This yarn has a gorgeous halo that looks a little like mohair, but has more drape/ less spring, and a matte finish with less luster.  In the hand it is very soft, but reminds me more of wool than mohair.

 

I'd forgotten how much I loved knitting this, since I designed it in August 2010, and now I can't wait to wear it.  

When finalizing the pattern, I actually had two versions written up, one for fingering and one for chunky, both of which I liked.  

The deciding factor at the time was to go with chunky since it is much faster to knit, very warm for deep winter, and also more trend-current.  But boy do I love the light weight one!  

It's shorter and wider than the published version, allowing it to be worn many ways, but perhaps not a width that would be comfortable in a much heavier yarn.  It might feel too much like a blanket.  But then, just look at some of the ginormous (as my niece likes to say) scarves and cowls out there right now and who knows?

I like how the lacy pattern stitch is equally beautiful on both sides so you can wear it as a moebius with a half-twist before buttoning (as shown in top photo above), and how it allows buttons to go through along the sides for a shawl/ wrap style.

I'm considering publishing a second version of the LL pattern in the lighter weight.  Or will people adapt and modify the current one and it would be a waste of time?  Hmmm....

The grey one is still lacking buttons, so I'll save the FO shots for later.  Lots to think about.  

Time to Celebrate

It was an exciting weekend around here!  Thank you to everyone for your enthusiastic comments and lovely Ravelry  messages about my newest knitting pattern, Lingonberry Loop, I really appreciate it! 

 

December 21st is almost here, bringing a full lunar eclipse and the winter solstice, and a very exciting day for me because it marks not only a new season of light coming into our days, it's also my 6 month blog-iversary!

Being a rather quiet person, I resisted blogging for ages but my love for writing, personal life journaling and photography as well as a desire to keep my family and friends up to date on what was happening in our lives overcame my resistance.  

Here I am, only 6 short months after I began (envisioning my mom, sisters and a few knitting friends reading this), and I'm already hitting 10,000 page views, with thousands of unique readers from countries encircling the globe.  Wow. 

It's amazing to me that so many people want to read my thoughts here, but I'm so glad you joined me on this adventure of life, inspiration and knitting, and I look forward to many more posts.  

Happy solstice!

New Knitting Pattern Lingonberry Loop

Ta da!  Here she is at last, the Lingonberry Loop convertible cowl scarf knitting pattern, and just in time to knit before Christmas! 

It was a beautifully snowy, wintry day when we went out for the shoot, perfect for capturing the atmosphere of cozy warmth provided by this piece.

Knit with chunky yarn, the Lingonberry Loop's easy-to-memorize, interesting stitch pattern makes this a fast and fun knit.
 

A berry-like texture stitch is suspended between yarn overs for a cozy, but still airy, lace fabric.  Simple garter stitch borders and button band frame the lace for a clean outline.
 

The single row of retro-style buttons accent the modern silhouette, with the added advantage of allowing the wearer to loop the scarf double around the neck without messing up hair, smudging makeup, etc. - appealing to my practical self.  

Length is adjustable depending on height and style choice of the wearer. 

This project took me and most of my test knitters between 6 and 14 hours of knitting time.  I made this version in about 7- 8 hours.  Easily doable with just a few days of knitting. 

I love the variety of ways this piece can be worn, offering great versatility.
 

This pattern was extensively reviewed by my lovely test knitters and editors - thank you Josefina, Annie, Gill, Gillian, Denise, Michelle, Nanc, Sheri and Lynn.  You came through with flying colors!

And I need to give a great big thank you to my exceptionally talented and very patient husband who takes hundreds of photos, edits copy, uploads PDF files, gives great techie advice as well as tons of hugs and encouragement when I'm discouraged.  You are the best!

The stitch for this pattern was inspired by a favorite preserve made from lingonberries, a cousin of the American cranberry.  I considered the Trinity/ Blackberry/ Bramble stitches, but was not in the mood for all those P3tog's!  So I tinkered around with another stitch pattern to get the Lingonberry stitch as I liked it.

The lingonberry has a deep red color and a delicious, sweet-tart flavor.  Lingonberry preserves make an excellent topping for many dishes including hot or cold meats, rye bread, meatballs, or my favorite, Swedish pancakes!

My Swedish grandmother made the most awesome breads, cinnamon rolls, cookies and pancakes. There are many good variations of the traditional pancake recipe, here is one of my favorites.

Swedish Pancakes Recipe

 Makes 60 3-inch pancakes (although I like to make them very large and fold or roll them).

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
6 TBSP melted butter
1 TBSP sugar or substitute, I use stevia
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
toppings: lingonberry or other preserves, powdered sugar, whipped cream, or ice cream

Directions:
In large bowl, whisk eggs until blended, whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk.  Whisk in flour until completely smooth.  Add remaining milk, butter, sweetener, vanilla and salt, stir until smooth.

Heat a large flat griddle or Swedish pancake pan (available at specialty food shops) over medium heat, spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of batter into circles on griddle.  Cook about 2-3 minutes, until slightly brown around the edges, flip over and cook another 1-2 minutes. 

Serve warm topped with lingonberry preserves or other garnish.

I hope you enjoy the pancakes and lingonberries - all the varieties, both for eating and for knitting!