First Annual Make Along-Handmade for the Holidays

Hello and welcome to the first annual Make Along!

The rules are pretty simple. There are 2 threads in my Ravelry Group. The chat thread is to show off WIPs and for encouragement. The FO thread is for completed projects. The goal of this make along is to tackle those handmade gifts that we always SAY we are gonna make, but maybe never get around to.

Crafts that are qualify as part of the MAL
-Crochet
-Knit
-Weave
-Spin
-Sewing

WIPs count for the crochet/knit/weave as long as the project is not more than 50% complete. For the spin/sewing category, they must be fresh projects.

All Finished Projects that contain at least 50g of Brazen Stitchery Yarn count as 2 entries.

Each month I will have 3 drawings. 1 from the Chat Thread, 1 from the FO thread, and one from instagram. Hashtag any photos of wip’s or fo’s with #brazenmakealong on instagram. You must be a member of the Ravelry group to be eligible to win a thread prize, and you must follow Brazen Stitchery on Instagram to win an instagram prize.

Dates for the MAL are Sep 1 - Dec12.
Please feel free to double and triple dip.

Join us for encouragement and fun!

Workin' It Wednesday August 30, 2017

This week I got more knitting done than I thought I would.  I didn't achieve my goal of finishing the front of my Boxy but I did get 16 rows done.  The marker with the blue bead is where I was last Wednesday.  Maybe this week is the week that I will be able to finish the front and move to the back!  However, I am prepping right now for Georgia Fiber Fest so I may not be able to knit on it too much.  Time to make a to do list and start marking things off.

I was able to get the foot done on my to go project I placed the waste yarn for an afterthought heel last night.  The yarn is Witchy Woman and is dyed by me.  I love this yarn and do not have anything for myself from it.  I decided to remedy that with this years batch.  You will be able to buy it through the website once I have completed the renovations when I return from Georgia Fiber Fest.

They are having a dinner with Franklin Habit speaking on Friday night.  I got tickets for the dinner yesterday-I heard him speak a few years ago at DFW Fiber Fest and I really enjoyed it.  I follow him on instagram and he also has the cutest Pitt But named Rosamund-she looks like a doll.  So I am excited to fangirl on Friday.

What are you working on this week?  Show me your pictures on Instagram, Ravelry, or Facebook.  Tag your picture with #workinitbrazen

Weekending Monday Aug 28 2017

This past weekend was another busy one!  It was the last weekend of the DFW Yarn Crawl.  So I spent my Saturday much the same as the previous one.  I worked, rehearsed, and went to Jennings Street Yarns to hang out and sell yarn.  The only difference was that I went home and was in bed and asleep by 8p.  I had a few nights the previous week of getting less than 6 hours of sleep and that was a real problem.

Sunday, I worked, went up to JS Yarns for the last day of the crawl and then I went to West 7th Wool in Ft Worth to grab a skein from the trunk show that Yarn Carnival was having.  I wanted to pick a skein of hers up for the sleeves on my boxy sweater that I am knitting.  I should be on the sleeves in a week or 2 and I wanted to be prepared for that.

Hurricane Harvey is on my mind and in my thoughts.  We are getting just a bit more rain than normal where I live, but there are people losing their homes, businesses, and lives in south Texas.  Please keep our south Texans in your thoughts as they endure such a massive storm and consider donating to the relief effort.

Workin' It Wednesday August 23, 2017

This week I have been knitting up some quick shop samples and I started a new pair of socks for me with Witchy Woman.

Witchy woman was one of my very first self striping color ways and it has been a popular one!  Every year I dye up a batch or 3 and every year, folks grab it up.  It is a difficult color though.  Self striping needs to be put into a skein that you can dye several yarns at a time in the same color and then put back into a regular skein.  Witchy Woman is the color most likely to fight me during this process.  But she's a labor of love because she's gorgeous.

I am also s l o w l y chugging along on my Boxy Sweater.  Like I have done 2 rows this week!  I just hate purling and I have gotten to the point that it's divided and I have to knit back and forth.  My goal this week is to complete the front of the sweater.  However, this is not a project that you can really haul around with you and with my schedule, I should be able to sit and knit sometime in 2018.  I have hopes though!

So what are YOU working on this week?  I'd love for you to show me your projects either on Instagram, Ravelry, or Facebook.  

Weekending Monday August 21, 2017

This weekend I spent the mornings working for Mega Airline and the afternoons at Jennings Street Yarns for my trunk show during DFW Yarn Crawl. Saturday I also had rehearsal for Treasure Island at Plaza Theatre Co. in beautiful Cleburne, TX.  We had fight choreography and it was so. fun.  I get to (in the guise of Mary Read) sword fight and beat the heck out of one of my friends.  You know what they say, friends that sword fight together, have a blast together.  Well, maybe they don't say that, but it's totally true!  I am really looking forward to the show.

Here are some pictures of Jennings Street and my set up.  I am just to the right as you walk in.

On this past Saturday and next Saturday as well Carissa Browning, designer of the popular Wonder Woman Shawl available in knit and crochet, will be in shop.  Carissa is lovely and her pattern is so cute and very beginner friendly.  I decided to play in the dye pots and come up with my own gold and red.  The red is Hippolyta, the gold is a retired and now fresh and updated color way from a few years ago called Golden Lasso of Truth.

Jennings has a display in traditional gold and red in twead that I think looks great.  Carissa will be in the shop to chat with and also to sign her new shawl pattern collection based on dinosaurs and their friends. Those dinosaur shawls are pretty darn awesome-she has examples of each with her.

And, It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!  The trunk show has this new color called Hocus Pocus in stock until it runs out.  Other skeins will go with me to Georgia Fiber Fest and then when I get home, it will be listed on the website for purchase.  If you would like to pre reserve a skien please let me know by emailing me at Brazenstitchery@gmail.com.

Penny and I are working on some fabulous new variegated and striping colors for the fall and winter. She just sent me a picture of something she's working on and it's totally gorgeous.

I hope my local readers can make it out on the crawl.  We have some fabulous shops in the DFW area.

Yarn Crawl 2017

Today marks the start of the DFW Yarn Crawl!

Here are a few pictures of the setup.  I have taken over the library at Jennings Street Yarns.

I have already said hi to some old friends, and met new people.  I bonded with one woman over my newfound love of Rupaul's Drag Race.  I will be at the shop daily from 2p to close during the crawl.

Yarn Crawl! Monday Aug 14 2017

One of my favorite times of the year is coming up.  DFW Yarn Crawl!  This year, just as the two previous years, Jennings Street Yarns will be hosting my trunk show.  My items will be there the whole time, but I will only be in person from 2p to close each day.

The crawl officially kicks off on August 18 and lasts through August 27.  Go to DFW Yarn Crawl to learn more about the event and see all the fun things that Cindy has planned.

I am really looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.