soaking and blocking (and a giveaway)

I've been doing a lot of this lately, which is a good thing. There's nothing like giving your sweet new baby sweater a gentle, loving dunk in the sink. But plain water isn't enough for your sweet new baby sweater. You have to use Eucalan. I have used Eucalan for a few years now and it's a must-have for your soaking and blocking process.

You don't skip this part, right? (Right?) Because you owe it to yourself to finish out these last steps properly on that amazing handmade garment that you spent so much time knitting. A good soak in a bowl or sink filled with lukewarm water and wool wash will do wonders for how your hand-knits look and feel. Really.

Last month at TNNA, I was one of the lucky attendees at the Marly Bird Designer Dinner and received a swag bag of epic proportions. In that bag was a sweet little bottle of Eucalan's new scent, Wrapture by designer Kristin Omdahl, infused with the essential oil of Night Bloom Jasmine. It's as good as it sounds. It not only smells wonderful but also has a ton of benefits. All of the Eucalan scents have natural moth inhibiting properties, and the lanolin and essential oils act as natural fabric softeners that will make your sweater extra soft, also allowing the fibers and stitches to lay really nicely. Wool wash cleans and softens your hand-knits with amazing results ... and you don't have to rinse.



Typically, I use Eucalan the 'traditional' way – soaking my garment in a sink or a bowl of lukewarm water (with one teaspoon of Eucalan per gallon) and then laying it out to dry. However, sometimes I knit sweaters that require a bit more care. Sometimes I'm wary of completely submerging them. With these delicate garments, I add a couple of drops of Eucalan into a spray bottle of water and boom, I'm ready to dampen and block my sweater. Eucalan is a no-rinse wool wash so it's perfectly okay to spray it on your garment and let it soak right in!

So. Would you like to soak your next finished project in Eucalan? I know you would. (Giveaway time!)

THE PRIZE

A Eucalan Getaway Gang pack

Pack includes: 2 each of the individual use single use pods (Eucalyptus, Lavender, Grapefruit, Unscented, Wrapture), 

6 stain-removing wipes, 1 pack lint removers, 1 nail file and 1 sewing kit in a re-usable vinyl zipper bag.

HOW TO ENTER

   • Comment below telling me if you're a hard-core wool wash user, or a first-timer!

   • Like Eucalan on Facebook or follow them on Instagram.

THE RULES

    •    Giveaway is open to US and CAN residents only

    •    Giveaway is open until Sunday, July 12, 2015 at 11:30 PM CST.

    •    Comments must include a valid email address or Ravelry ID so I can contact you if you are the winner. :)

    •    Winner will be chosen via random number generator and will be contacted within 48 hours after giveaway ends.

A huge thank you to Eucalan for this wonderful giveaway. Good luck and thanks for reading! :)

TNNA recap: the Rowan adventures

I have a few more TNNA photos to share, and this time it's all about Rowan. I was invited to attend the trade show with Rowan via Westminster Fibers, which was a super cool experience. The highlight of the weekend was getting the opportunity meeting some of the Rowan team from the U.K. One of my favorite knitwear designers of all time is Martin Storey, and it was a real treat to be able to chat with him over the weekend. Pictured above is my wonderfully talented TNNA roommate, Kristen from Knitionary, Martin and I. He is one of the head designers at Rowan and learning about what goes on behind the scenes (the photo shoots, design stories, pattern design, putting together collections) was absolutely fascinating. He's such a nice guy!

There was a knitwear fashion show on first evening of TNNA which featured 75 designs by various yarn companies. Rowan showed four designs – a vest, a fair isle sweater, a wrap and a wedding dress. This gorgeous Kidsilk Haze bridal gown was saved for the finale and was a showstopper! 

The next day, we got to check out the Rowan booth which was bursting with brand new designs and new yarns.

One of my new favorite yarns for fall is Hemp Tweed, which feels a bit squishy and seems to have great memory/stretch to it. I loved all the designs that were showcased using this yarn and can't wait to knit with it this fall. (I believe it's available beginning July 2015.)

And Kristen and I had fun checking out the new Swarovski + Rowan collaboration, which includes yarn pre-strung with Swarovski crystals and packages of crystals/baubles/beads that are available for purchase on their own.

Martin Storey and the lovely Kate Buller brought out champagne and chocolate covered strawberries for everyone during their knitting with Swarovski demonstration, which was really neat. Martin showed us all how to knit with pre-strung crystals.

And they had a sweet little baby garment display showcasing Rowan's Super Fine Merino 4ply, which is another favorite of mine. It feels so nice and will be amazing to knit with. It's washable, too.

And that's it! I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these sweet and talented people and spend the weekend with other knitting enthusiasts, doing what we do best. A huge thanks to Rowan for everything – I had such a great time!

TNNA recap: the experience

Last weekend, I attended my first TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) trade show in Columbus, Ohio and wow – what a time! I was invited to attend with Rowan via Westminster Fibers, which was an honor. This recap is basically photos from the overall experience and soon I'll share a collection of photos of my friends from Rowan and their new yarns and garments. (There is so much to share!)

First of all, Columbus is a delightful city. I'd never been, and I really enjoyed all of the restaurants and coffee shops and stores that were within walking distance of our hotel. The view from our window was pretty great, too. (Unbeknownst to us, the Rolling Stones played in Columbus on Saturday night and ended up staying at the hotel across the street from us!)

Perhaps the best part of the weekend was finally meeting this wonderfully talented and crazy sweet knitting friend, Kristen from Knitionary. We are both Rowan Ambassadors and have been friends for a few years online but it was so fantastic to meet her in person and hang out with her all weekend. We were roommates and naturally stayed up talking until 1:00 a.m. every night.

Friday night, I attended Marly Bird's Designer Dinner, which was a treat. I sat at a table with several talented ladies and ended up sitting next to Stefanie Japel, knitwear designer extraordinaire and teacher at Craftsy. We enjoyed food and drinks and giveaways and swag bags ... it was pretty sweet.

The actual trade show opened on Saturday morning, with fiber displays as far as the eye could see. Before I knew it, I was bumping into knitting friends, shop owners and designers I had long admired.Like Olga Buraya-Kefelian (OlgaJazzy) and Meri Tanaka, the founder of Amarisu.

And the one and only Nicky Epstein.

And the entire Ravelry team, minus Jess who was outside with her sweet baby. How do they do it? Such a sweet and kind crew.

We talked about women in baseball and adventures in advanced body/armhole shaping with Ysolda Teague. She is completely brilliant and delightful.




And I had to say hi to your knitting hero and mine, the fantastic Mr. StevenBe. I hope to head up to his shop in Minneapolis soon for a visit (and yarn shopping.)




Do you love Arne & Carlos? I do. They were there in spirit. I had to check out what they were knitting.

What else? Well, to summarize ... it was a weekend of yarn. And beautiful knitwear. Too many things to list ... but one of the highlights was obviously Rowan. Their display space was huge and completely gorgeous. (More on that soon.) Other favorites were Madelinetosh, Spud & Chloe, Blue Sky Alpacas, Knitter's Pride, Shibui Knits, EweEwe, Classic Elite, Jade Sapphire, Wool and the Gang, Knit Collage, Lavishea, Loopy Mango, Malabrigo and Zealana. There was so much to see.




And of course, before I left Columbus I had to hit up Jeni's. I had heard about Jeni's for years from other people who had made it a TNNA tradition. And now I know why there's always a huge line when you walk by.

This ice cream is spectacular. So yeah, I get it now. I get it! I got the Trio (3 half scoops) of Pistachio and Honey, Brown Butter Almond Brittle and Salty Caramel. Holy. Cow. So delicious.

And then as I was stuck in the airport waiting for my delayed flight, I discovered a Jeni's vending machine ... at the airport. At my gate! It made my long wait much more tolerable.

And that's my recap! On my journey home, I jumped on delayed flights from Columbus to Chicago in the very middle of the night, and then back to Des Moines to rest my head and snuggle up with my family. The weekend went so fast and was jam-packed with knitting and new yarn and the most lovely people ever. Would I go again? Yup. I definitely would.

on my way to TNNA

I'm headed to Columbus, OH this weekend for the 2015 Summer National Needle Arts Association show. I'm excited to be attending with Rowan and rooming with one of my very favorite Rowan ambassador friends, Kristen from Knitionary. I know we will have a fantastic time together and I'm looking forward to meeting up with lots of other knitting pals over the course of the weekend. This will be my first time attending TNNA but from what I've heard, I can look forward to a weekend of exploring downtown Columbus, checking out the new yarns/products/books, attending Marly Bird's Designer Dinner, meeting up with long-distance friends, good food, tasty drinks and the legendary Jeni's Ice Cream that I have heard so much about. I cannot wait.

I am the world's worst over-packer. But the hardest thing is deciding which knitting projects to bring. So much knitting time on the plane! And all of my projects are super bulky. Hmm. Shoes or yarn? Yarn or shoes. That is the question. 

Will I see you there? Have you attended in the past? Do you have any last-minute packing advice for me? I'm all ears.  ;)