The Sweatshop of Love Blog » Kitchen Sink Dyeworks http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog The Sweatshop of Love Blog celebrates every aspect of knitting - from finding a pattern to finishing a project. I publish my own patterns, share everything on my needles, and help knitters of all skill levels get excited about knitting. Never snobby, I use creativity and ingenuity to create finished projects for less. More than anything, The Sweatshop of Lover's Blog LOVES knitting and wants to make you love it, too. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:16:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 We’re Just That Awesome Cup Cozy Pattern http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2011/02/08/we%e2%80%99re-just-that-awesome-cup-cozy-pattern/ http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2011/02/08/we%e2%80%99re-just-that-awesome-cup-cozy-pattern/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:10:40 +0000 Allyson http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/?p=5100

The Sweatshop of Love meets at New Wave Coffee in Logan Square in Chicago. Pretty much every class takes place at one or more of their tables, and they are happy hosts. People even know us! When we’re seen knitting on the bus people ask if we are the knitting group that knits at New Wave. We’re Famous!

Coffee Cup Cozy!

The Sweatshop of Love meets at New Wave Coffee in Logan Square in Chicago. Pretty much every class takes place at one or more of their tables, and they are happy hosts. People even know us! When we’re seen knitting on the bus people ask if we are the knitting group that knits at New Wave. We’re Famous!

So I thought, ‘Let’s all knit coffee cup cozies! We’ll look even cooler!’ And we’ll save New Wave a bunch of those paper cup cozies.

And here it is! The official Sweatshop of Love Cup Cozy. Even if you aren’t knitting with us at New Wave every night, you’ll be stylin’!

- WE’RE JUST THAT AWESOME CUP COZY -

Finished Size One size, roughly 3 1/2″ wide (7″ around) and 3 1/2″ tall.

Diagonal Stitch, Sexy Buttons

MATERIALS

Yarn About 11g of any sock weight yarn. I used Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Luxe Merino Fine in Trafford.

Needles Size 4 (3.5 mm) needles.

Notions Tapestry needle, 2 buttons. I used 3/4″ fabric covered buttons.

GAUGE

Not necessary; no fit necessary.

download now

Ravelry Pattern Page

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]]> http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2011/02/08/we%e2%80%99re-just-that-awesome-cup-cozy-pattern/feed/ 3 Sweatshop Shout Out http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2010/01/31/sweatshop-shout-out/ http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2010/01/31/sweatshop-shout-out/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:14:19 +0000 Allyson http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/?p=2828

I big thank you to Mercedes at Kitchen Sink Dyeworks for featuring my Bow Headband in her latest blog post!

Fashion Trend – Girlie-Girl Headbands

And let this be a lesson to all: The one time you take pictures of yourself with no make up on is the one time your picture will be on the front page of a major yarn shop! Everyone be sure to check out all my freckles and under-eye bags.

I used Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Luxe Merino Fine for my headband and have enough yarn left over for 30 more.

Thanks again, KSD!

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]]> http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2010/01/31/sweatshop-shout-out/feed/ 1 Balling and Frogging http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/12/19/balling-and-frogging/ http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/12/19/balling-and-frogging/#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:14:47 +0000 Allyson http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/?p=2491

So I started knitting a sweater. You knew I couldn’t hold off until January. I knew I couldn’t hold off until January. It was bound to happen.

King of Confidence

I started this sweater from the new winter 2009 knitty. The idea behind the sweater was to use yarn you spun yourself in a sweater without having to spin yarn for an entire sweater. I’ve never spun before, but it did make me think of that Kitchen Sink Dyeworks yarn I won a few months ago that I haven’t used yet.

Kitchen Sink, Patons

I bought a bunch of Paton’s Merino when it was on sale around Thanksgiving that I’ve got on my mind grapes for a sweater, so I thought if I knit the sweater in the red and used the yellow around the yoke it would be a great way to use that fancy yarn on something I would wear all the time, having only one skeins worth.

About 7 Inches

But the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t get McDonald’s out of my head. Yellow and red? I would kill someone if I knit a sweater and got a McDonald’s comment. And I was bored. The sweater felt bulky, I pictured it looking bulky on me, and it had no wow factor.

So I ripped it out.

Swift+Ball Winder=Happiness

Ball Winder+Swift=Happiness

To make myself feel better I opened my new swift, attached it, along with my ball winder, to my work table, and balled all the yarn I had laying around. It was kind of awesome. Look how cool my table looks with a freaking swift attached to it! And it took about 30 minutes to ball that Knit Picks Gloss, where before I wanted to kill something even thinking about balling them by hand.

… yeah. I said Knit Picks Gloss. I might have something in mind. I might be a big fat cheater who can’t wait until January to start the Sweater a Month 2010 Challenge.

Yeah, that totally sounds like me.

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]]> http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/12/19/balling-and-frogging/feed/ 1 New Yarn and Some Good Eats http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/10/03/new-yarn-and-some-good-eats/ http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/10/03/new-yarn-and-some-good-eats/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:20:16 +0000 Allyson http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/?p=1692

Shrimp Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Shrimp Stir Fry with Brown Rice

The cold rain was a nice motivator for PT and I to stay in last night.

(Another untimely Tigers loss and Twins win made it seem like we were both home alone. The Central is still up for grabs. If the Tigers win and Twins lose today the Tigers will win the Central for the first time since 1987. But if the Tigers lose I have to be pissed all day and they have to win tomorrow.)

We made some teriyaki shrimp stir fry with red pepper, broccoli, pineapple, shrimp, and onion, with brown rice. It was so good! I love just throwing things together with some teriyaki stir fry sauce and getting a meal like this.

Cute Packaging!

Cute Packaging!

Note, Pin, and YARN!

Note, Pin, and YARN!

I mentioned earlier this week that I won a skein of Kitchen Sink Dyeworks yarn, and it came in yesterday while I was watching The Office!

It was wrapped really cute, came with a handwritten note and a KSD button! It was so sweet, like getting a present from a friend. I will be buying yarn from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks in the future. See what little special touches do?!

And I’m blown away by how beautiful this yarn is! I can’t wait to dive into it.

Any suggestions? I’ve only got 390 yards. I’m thinking lacy shawl? Help!

Workout Fuel

Workout Fuel

Today was the Michigan/Michigan State game and the Minnesota/Wisconsin game. These are big games; Michigan and Michigan State hate the crap out of each other, and PT was telling me that it’s the same kind of thing with Minnesota and Wisconsin. Neither games were being broadcast on regular TV so we planned to go to the gym to watch them. We made broccoli and onion omelets with pepper jack cheese and a piece of PB&J pumpernickel toast to fuel our workout!

Burritos and Fresh Guacamole

Burritos and Fresh Guacamole

We ran/walked for about two hours while watching Michigan AND Minnesota lose. It was a painful bike ride home! We were tired, sore, and deflated by two close losses. So we made burritos with red pepper, pinto beans, onion, fresh guacamole, black bean and corn salsa, and cabbage.

I Did a Bad Thing

Girl Friday Started (!)

And I did a bad thing. The Tigers were getting blown out last night, I was sad, it was 8-0, it was rainy and I was cold and baseball sucks and before I knew it I had Girl Friday cast on. Yes, I should be working on presents! But I couldn’t help it.

I figure it’s better to indulge in knitting than, like, a pan of brownies.

And it’s providence because Girl Friday (my Ravelry page) is a Kitchen Sink Dyeworks pattern!

That counts as full circle, right?

I cast on for both front panels and the back, though. I hate knitting a lot of separate pieces. I’m using Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool, the same yarn I used for the Vogue Cropped Jacket, but in natural.

I checked the gauge at it was so on I creeped myself out. It was exactly exactly exactly on with size 8s. I have never seen a gauge so perfect, even when I used the exact yarn and needles a pattern called for. I can’t wait to start the lace pattern!

… right now!

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]]> http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/10/03/new-yarn-and-some-good-eats/feed/ 0 The Sweatshop’s First Giveaway! http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/09/29/the-sweatshops-first-giveaway/ http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/2009/09/29/the-sweatshops-first-giveaway/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:08:05 +0000 Allyson http://www.thesweatshopoflove.com/blog/?p=1647

Yesterday I was the super luckiest girl in the world and won a beautiful skein of yarn from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks! It totally made my day, I can’t wait to get it, and it inspired me to think up my own giveaway!

I’ve never done one of these before! I’ve had it on my mind grapes for a while now, and I figure today would be a wonderful day to kick this off, what with the Tigers and Twins having The Double Header of Doom. 11:05am. 6:05pm. My season has come down to these next three days.

… but enough about my self inflicted baseball torture and onto the giveaway!

Knit Headband!

Knit Headband!

Cute!

Cute!

This season The Sweatshop of Love is focusing on quick, cute, easy gifts for the holiday season, and this is one of my favorites.

Based on the knitty pattern Quant, but, you know, easier and quicker, I’ve got quite a few of these puppies in The Sweatshop inventory, waiting for the right moment to pop out.

Entrelac Greens

Entrelac Greens

Love Entrelac!

Love Entrelac!

I love me some entrelac! And this pattern is a great introduction. But, why learn to entrelac when you can just win this cute headband!

The i-cord ties make this headband fit snugly to any head, and will keep your ears warm and hair not so hat-heady. It’s perfect for pony tails (I’ve been told!).

To enter, leave a comment with an idea you have for a  present you plan on making for someone this holiday season.

You get bonus points if you tweet this giveaway! I’m at twitter/sweatshopoflove.

And are you a fan of The Sweatshop on facebook?

I’ll pick a winner on Friday, if I’m not curled up in fetal position because the Tigers blew their shot at the ALCS.

Good luck!

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