Something New From Feza Yarns!

I was looking around at patterns for Feza Alp Oriental and came across this lovely pattern for 1 skein of yarn!  Its called the Alp Oriental Rounded Shawl and I have kitted them up for you. What a fun way to use this yarn.  And here I thought I would only make blankets with it.  The complete kit is available for just $48.00!

So choose your color and grab your size 17US needles and get stitching!

Happy Stitching!
Regards,
Karen
One Planet Yarn and Fiber

Something You Might Like - New Puppy

Everybody, meet Roo!  Roo is a 6 month old pound puppy that my daughter and her boyfriend rescued a few weeks ago.  The theory is that he is part shepherd.  We have no clue what the other parts are!  As you can tell there is much puppy love at my house.

Please Adopt!

Regards,

Karen

One Planet Yarn and Fiber

 

This is what Roo does when my daughter leaves the house.

Vogue Knitting Live Seattle In April!

I saw and ad for Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle which takes place at the beginning of April.  I dreamed lazily of going and thought it probably wouldn't work out for me to go.  I drifted over to my teaching calendar and took a look. Wait!  I didn't have any classes scheduled!

I thought, maybe I won't want to take any of the classes they were teaching.  I headed over to the Vogue Knitting Live website.  You guessed it.  I found TOO many classes that I wanted to take.  I talked it over with my husband and decided to go for it!

So I'm headed to  Seattle on March 31st.  

When my daughter heard that I was going she said she wanted to go too to visit her cousins there.  Then she said her boyfriend was coming too.  There went my week by myself visiting all things fiber related to all things family related.  My brother-in-law and his family live in West Seattle, my sister-in-law and her family live in Port Orchard.  My sister-in-law just learned how to crochet, so I am going to corrupt her and take her to the Weaving Works in Seattle.

I am also hoping to meet up with Katy Hattori from Botanical colors, Mr & Mrs Pocket Wheel and Cat Bordhi.  It will be a busy week and I am really looking forward to it.

Are you going?  Let me know and maybe we can arrange a One Planet Yarn and Fiber get together!

Happy Stitching!

Regards,

Karen

One Planet Yarn and Fiber

Another Small Artesano Shipment!

I decided to stock all the colors in the Artesano Aran line.  Some more have come in!  If you don't see the color you want, just let me know and I will order it in for you.  Enjoy!

Happy Stitching!

Regards,

Karen

One Planet Yarn and Fiber

Something You Might Like-DC

We braved the cold yesterday and took the train into DC to head to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  My husband is correct, the winters are way better in Arizona.  Just sayin'.  I have more pictures to share, but my iPhone doesn't agree with my netbook and I will have to wait until I am back home to my Laptop to be able to share them with you.

Stay warm!
Regards,
Karen
One Planet Yarn and Fiber

This is Boochie.  He is the demon cat that bit me the last time I was here.  Innocent looking, isn't he?

Dad on the steps of the museum.

Too much shopping in the museum!  These were in the kids shop.

As were these.

Rotunda of the museum

Just beautiful

Entry to the live orchid display

Did you know that Vanilla beans are from an orchid?

Staircase near the Atrium Cafe

Lousy picture of the Hope Diamond

Some big honkin' diamonds

The Capital building

My brother-in-law insisted on taking this picture of me!

Washington Monument

I just love the details on these buildings.  If it had been a warmer day I could have walked for miles taking pictures.

Smithsonian from the Mall

Yarn Fit for a Hobbit

 Feb 4, 2013 by Kathleen Cubley 

Who's seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? I have, I have! And it's a feast for the senses. The stunning New Zealand location, the serene beauty of the Shire juxtaposed with the harsh landscape on Bilbo's quest, the perfect costumes . . . it's all just wonderful.

Mary Hall and handspun. (Courtesy of Ashford's Wheel Magazine)
Lincoln wool ready to be spun into yarn for Hobbit costumes. (Courtesy of Ashford'sWheel Magazine)
Lincoln "wildspun" yarn on the bobbin.(Courtesy of Ashford's Wheel Magazine)

New Zealand is known for its fantastic wool production, and the movie producers tapped into that wealth for the costumes. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at some of the wool sourced for the movie:

Costuming The Hobbit

Two and a half years ago, Mary Hall of Hallblacks Natural Wool Products in Nelson, New Zealand, received a call about her wool. To her surprise, the caller was the buyer for the firm making costumes for Peter Jackson's upcoming Hobbit movies. The first movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was released this December.

The film company needed large quantities of yarn for costumes. Mary and her husband, Selwyn, supplied samples of Romney and Lincoln, both fleeces and sliver, along with various commercial and handspun yarns. The film company then sent a photograph of a sweater and asked if the Halls could re-create the yarn. They wanted a thick/thin yarn with straggly tips. A "wildspun" in Lincoln singles plied with plain twelve-ply yarn resulted.

Then came the orders: 9 pounds of yarn per costume (one pair of sleeves required 3 pounds). Because of the quantities required, most yarn was made on the Ashford Country Spinner, which could produce 2½ pounds of Lincoln "wildspun" yarn per bobbin. The Halls spun 95 percent of the handspun themselves—well over 200 pounds. Gwyneth Thomson, Nicole Thomas, and Tracey Taylor also helped with the spinning, and Judith Ryan stepped in to dye yarn.

Throughout the process, the Halls worked with numerous Hobbit departments: wardrobe, soft furnishings, set decoration, art, and even special effects, who bought a huge vat from them to make snow and ice. According to the Halls, all were a joy to work with. 

—From Ashford's The Wheel magazine, as reprinted in Spin-Off magazine

	Ori the Dwarf wears a beautiful knitted vest.(Photo copyright New Line Cinema / MGM / Warner Bros.)

This story reminds me of the handknit sweaters the Harry Potter costume designers ordered from various UK designers and knitters. It brings a new meaning to "buy local"!

When I did a little research on the knitted pieces that appeared in the movie, I came upon an interview with the costume designer, Ann Maskrey. She said that she felt lucky to be working in New Zealand because of its strong craft base. Apparently, one woman, named Beverly, made almost all of the knitted pieces in the movie—extraordinary!

Spin-Off magazine is a great source of information like this, as well as beautiful knitting patterns, knitting techniques, and inspiration for knitters and spinners. Subscribe now, especially if you're a spinner. You won't find a more valuable magazine.

Cheers,

P.S. Have you seen The Hobbit? Leave a comment below and tell us what you thought of the costumes!