The Sweatshop of Love Blog

I was lucky enough to be invited to chat with Johnny at Fiberstory.TV a couple weeks ago!

Johnny and Me

The really, really long interview is up over at Fiberstory.TV right now. You can watch the video of me drinking iced coffee and giggling, or you can just listen to all the giggles. I chat about how The Sweatshop of Love got started, beer, my love of social media and Amy Palmer, the knitting scene in Chicago, getting hot knits out in the knitting market, and my new project, Holla Knits.

Twin Cities Headband Knitting Pattern

I’m giving away one of my Twin Cities Headband patterns at Fiberstory, so click over there to enter.

And a huge thank you to Johnny for inviting me to chat with him at Fiberstory!

Turns out that my goal was to make 14 Twin Cities Headbands, but I’ve kinda always been both an overachiever and bad at math.

Twin Cities Headbands All in a Row!

I honestly can’t believe I made 16 of these damn things. I’ve had a lot of distractions – I had 2 finished before I went to Michigan a couple weeks ago, then I had 8 done on the 5th. I punched 8 more out last week and this weekend and added buttons and finished them up yesterday.

8 White Headbands

I used the Bernat Softee Baby Yarn leftover from  my Impress Dress for 8 of them, and pulled out a bunch of brightly colored fabric covered buttons to make them just that much more summery.

Knit Picks Comfy Sport Blackberry

I made 4 originals! Made with the yarn the pattern calls for – Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Blackberry, and I found some pretty yellow-floral fabric buttons to put on these.

City Tweed DK in Romance

AND I used up the leftover Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Romance from my Beatnik for 4 more headbands. Fabric covered buttons and tweed don’t really work, so I bought some wood buttons and I think they look awesome!

So that is another check mark on my very long Renegade Brooklyn to do list!

Pattern: Twin Cities Headband by me!

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby Yarn in White, Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Blackberry, Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Romance

Needles: Size 4s

White Headbands Ravelry Project Page

Red Headbands Ravelry Project Page

Purple Headbands Ravelry Project Page

First Bow Headbands, now Twin Cities Headbands.

Unfinished Twin Cities Headbands

I want to have 16 of these finished and for sale at Renegade Brooklyn, so I’ve had one of these working on my needles for the past week. 8 down, 8 to go.

Ruffles and Seed Stitch

These babies are not so pretty before they are finished. I figure I’ll knit them all and then finish them all. So right now they don’t look like much.

I’m using Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Blackberry and… WAIT A DAMN MINUTE! Where does that link go?!

Twin Cities Headband on Knit Picks!

It goes to the Twin Cities Headband pattern on Knit Picks! That is right! This pattern, along with the Two Boyfriends Cardigan, are available on Knit Picks. Buy the pattern, buy the yarn – it’s like magic.

Awesome, right?!

So while I’m knitting a shit ton of these I know I’m not alone.

And Renegade Brooklyn announced their full line up of vendors for this June’s show! Check them out. I’m making time to shop this time, that is for sure.

Maybe it’s just because I’ve already carried all of this stuff from Chicago to Minneapolis, and I’m gearing up to carry most of it from Minneapolis home to Allendale tomorrow, but I had a hunch that I did a lot of knitting this season.

Most Everything!

I took a few pictures in Chicago before I wrapped and packed these up. That is pretty much everything.

The Amigurumis!

From left to right, a flamingo for my grandma (four flamingos in all), Adamgurumi for my brother, Adam (naturally), a Twin Cities Headband for my friend Colleen in Adamgurumi’s lap, Emilygurumi for my sister in law, a blackberry Hello Sailor Knot Necklace for my roommate Elizabeth, Matthewgurumi for my brother, and another flamingo.

And to the right...

A sweater for PT and another flamingo.

To the right and over the top!

To the left of PT’s sweater is Rachel’s Two Boyfriend Cardigan, and my mom’s Granny Bomber Jacket.

And to the left!

The Baby Nolan corner! Baby Nolan’s snowsuit and matching ear flap hat.

Not pictured here are Dadgurumi and BabyNolangurumi, because I finished them up here in Minnesota.

AND I’ve got one surprise gift for my mom to finish! I won’t get a chance to post it until after Christmas because I’m saving him for my 13 hour CHRISTMASEVETRAVELDAYFROMHELL, so stay tuned. It’s a DOZY. And I’ll need all the distraction I can get to keep from stabbing people in the Megabus and Amtrak. Seriously.

One of the best things about having a blog is you get to look back on your past project, and it sure looks like I knit a lot for last Christmas, but not nearly as much as I did this year. I don’t like where this is going. 2011 is already making me nervous.

I hope you all had a successful holiday knitting seasons as well!

Hello from Minnesota! I got in on Friday afternoon on a very easy, not remotely exciting Megabus. I know that every Megabus ride with no incident is just lulling me into a false sense of bus-travel security, and that I’ll be on a Megabus from hell, 19 hour trip with no heat, any time now.

But until then, man I seriously love the Megabus!

Twin Cities Headband in Copper with Yellow and White Fabric Button

My first order of business when arriving was to do a big etsy shop update! And so I have.

Hello Sailor Knot Necklace in Green

I added the finished knits that I made for the DIY Trunk Show, including copper, light green, and blackberry Twin Cities Headbands, and cream, green, navy, and copper Hello Sailor Knot Necklaces. See all my Etsy finished knits here.

Hello Sailor Knot Necklace knitting kit!

I also finally have Hello Sailor Knot Necklace knit kits to list!

Laminated Patter, Cotton Yarn, Jewelry Hardware

The Hello Sailor Knot Necklace kit comes in cream and navy, and:

Laminated Pattern

Cotton Yarn

Jewelry Hardware, including chain and toggle button closure

All wrapped up in a handmade drawstring project bag!

All you will need to complete this project are 2 size 9 double pointed needles and a yarn needle for finishing.

Check out my Etsy shop, full of finished knits, knitting patterns, and knit kits, here.

Tomorrow starts a parade of Christmas Present FOs! More amigurumis and a full Holiday Knitting wrap up. I’m pretty damn productive in Minnesota!