a new favorite cotton /
In my spring/summer Rowan Ambassador yarn box, there was a ball of Softknit Cotton in Indigo Blue that immediately caught my eye. I love cotton, and after knitting up a swatch with this yarn I think I have found a new favorite. It's not at all stiff and knits up soft. Which makes me think it may be the perfect yarn for a number of things on my 'to-knit' list ... but especially perfect for a sweater for Bowie. For a little guy with sensitive skin, cotton is the perfect thing.
I might use it to knit him this little cardigan from Rowan Studio Issue 30, which is a gorgeous collection of baby/kid-sized sweaters. Several of them were named after the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music, which makes these patterns even sweeter. (Liesl, Marta, Gretel, Friedrich, Louisa, Brigitta!) This pattern is Kurt and I think it would be a sweet little layer to add to Bowie's closet this fall. Right? Yes. What are you knitting this summer? I'm already secretly looking forward to fall ... a tiny bit.
bye, old friend. /
(image from Feedly.com)
It's almost time to say goodbye to our old pal, Google Reader. (Have you been using it to read your favorite blogs as long as I have? Years! I know!)
While it's a little sad to say sayonara, the good news is that you can import all of your favorite blogs to Bloglovin' or Feedly almost instantly if you haven't done it already. It's super easy.
Wherever you land, be sure to add this blog to your reading list! I have two buttons on my sidebar (to the right) that will get you there in one click. I've also included links below.
Follow makexdo on Bloglovin'.
Follow makexdo on Feedly.
Thank you all for being such loyal readers over the years and through my transition from heyjenrenee to makexdo. You are rad – I'm a lucky girl!
Summer of Love WINNER. /
YAY. Summer finally feels like it's in full swing, right? It's a good feeling. We've had a solid week of hot, sunny days and we're headed to the wading pool today to soak up some rays.
So, it's time to announce the winner of the free spot in Kara's Summer of Love e-class.
And the winner is Snow Fox/Anja. (I just love her description of summer ... she is going to rock this class!) Please send me your email address and Kara will get you hooked up with the e-class login info. Thanks to all who entered and happy summer!
it's (gonna be) a summer of love. /
My lovely friend Kara is once again offering her most popular online journaling + photography course, Summer of Love. If you've ever sprawled out on the warm cement of your driveway on a hot summer night and looked up at the stars, you're going to want to sign up for this right now. Because that's what this is all about and Kara's classes are amazing.
Follow along on an adventurous two weeks worth of art journaling and photography. Kara has crafted a dynamic class for recording your summer and all its magical details. The class is formatted with three journaling prompts and daily night photography prompts and tutorials for two weeks worth of content. The class is created so you can work at your pace OR have a whirlwind two weeks of art. Summer of Love also includes step by step instructions to create vintage book art journals with friendship bracelet binding.
This live, online class includes:
- 30 journaling prompts
- 18 photography prompts and techniques
- Daily art journaling techniques
- Vintage mini book and binding tutorials
- Video tutorial
- Email access to Kara
- A downloadable PDF of the entire class once the class concludes!
Note: You can begin and finish the class whenever you want. The private blog site will be up for one year and you will also be able to download a printable PDF the entire class. You could purchase it now and not start until next summer or you could purchase in two weeks and begin then! It is a seasonal class, so you’ll want to record your summer sooner rather than later though! Also, if you purchased the live class last year, the password is the same if you’d like to participate in it again. Purchase here.
And guess what? One lucky reader will win a spot in Kara's awesome Summer of Love course.
To enter the giveaway of a free spot in this year’s Summer of Love course, leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite thing about summer is. Maybe your favorite memory. (Lying on the warm cement of my driveway at midnight on a hot summer night and eating slushes from the gas station with my high school BFF? I totally did that.)
Go skateboarding day. /
Happy Go Skateboarding Day! Here are some pics from our little driveway sesh. Bo picked up this nice quarter pipe and it's pretty fun to be able to skate with the whole fam at home. If you're local, go check out the Go Skate Day sale at our beloved skate shop, Subsect. They have a bunch of shoes 50% off today. (Now, go. Go skate.)
a finished sock /
One down, one to go. I have finally finished knitting my first legit adult sock – Sparrow, by Gemma Atkinson from the Rowan Fine Art Collection. I used Rowan Fine Art sock yarn in Chiff-Chaff and I love these neutral browns and grays!
I've cast-on sock number two and hope that it will knit up pretty quickly now that I have the first one under my belt. I'm really liking how these look with my Converse and can't wait to wear them a bit more this fall. I've decided that socks are pretty fun and now I understand why many knitters always keep a pair on the needles. If I have enough of this yarn left, I may make a small pair of socks for Lo or Bowie. (What's on your needles right now?)
Happy World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKiP Day) /
Hooray – it's Knit in Public Day! Today kicks off a whole week of k.i.p. fun (all around the world). You can find out all about it here. Or here. And maybe even join a local k.i.p. event near you.
This is my personal little k.i.p. group. It's a good one, so I thought I'd share a few pics. We've been meeting up to knit at various coffee shops/restaurants/breakfast spots/local retreats for quite a few years now.
I know ... I'm pretty lucky, huh? If you don't have a little group like this to k.i.p. with, I highly encourage you to seek one out (or start one up) in your area. I've learned so much from these women, and we've exchanged so many stories and been through so much together over the years. Of course, we all have knitting in common. But the friendships we've formed because of all of that time we've sat together while knitting is by far the very best part.
“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.” ― Elizabeth Zimmermann
Happy Knit in Public Day! Go out and celebrate it. Share and tag your photos on social media with #KIPW.
knitting backwards (a video!) /
Hello! As I've been knitting away on Sparrow with my Rowan Fine Art, I thought it might be fun to share how I've been getting all of that garter stitch accomplished in the round. You can't see it here, but the rest of this sock is almost completely garter stitch. Sometimes, instead of doing all of that purling, I like to knit backwards. (Backwards!)
Knit backwards, you say? If you've never tried it, it's not hard to do – just different. Knitting backwards eliminates the need to purl when doing stockinette on two needles or when knitting garter stitch in the round. (Yes! Crazy, I know.) Take a look at the video above, laugh at my awkwardness and give it a try. Your friends will be so impressed.
knitXmidwest! /
Oh wow! I am so excited to share this. The official knitxmidwest website is up! In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, knitxmidwest is going to be a super fun knitting party that my friends at Hill Vintage are organizing (and I am helping out with, as well.) It's a weekend fiber arts retreat, if you will. And the perfect opportunity to create and bond with other fiber artists in the area. It's pretty much going to be an amazing weekend that you won't want to miss.
The beautiful Walnut Woods Lodge in Walnut Woods State Park here in Des Moines, Iowa will be home to knitxmidwest, sure to provide a lovely fall setting for our knitting fun. Check out the event schedule here – which includes plenty of knitting time, show and tell, spinning demonstrations, knitting yoga, stashbusting, knitting and crochet help and lunch catered by a local favorite, Tacopocalypse. The retreat fee covers lunch on Saturday and Sunday, snacks, beverages (coffee, water, tea, mimosas) and entry into a drawing for a grand prize and other door prizes.
Stay with friends and meet up with fellow knitters after hours for dinner, drinks or more knitting in the hotel's gorgeous lobby or bar area. Hyatt Place is a contemporary hotel in the heart of downtown Des Moines, within walking distance of several local dining/nightlife hot spots, including: Splash, Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company, Fong's Pizza, Hessen Haus, Centro, Alba, Django, House of Bricks, Spaghetti Works, Raccoon River Brewing Co. and Zombie Burger. It's also a hop, skip and a jump away from Hill Vintage & Knits – join us for wine/dessert and shopping on the night of November 2.
Click here to read all of the details under lodging and reservations. Rooms are limited, so reserve yours now.
Questions? Email hillvintage@gmail.com.
Want to register right now? Click here or call 515-288-2287. (It's going to be so much fun.)