How to Block a Knit Lace Scarf. Knitting and Crochet Blog week

Posted: 01/04/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Design | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Author: Jacqueline

As part of the Knitting and Crochet blog week, they’ve encouraged us to try something a little different for April Fools.

Today’s assignment was to make a posting on our blog that was different from our typical day to day content. We’ve often had customers ask us for tips on how to block their finished projects, so we’ve decided to make a video to show the process of blocking a lace scarf. We’re new to this world of video so if you have some tips and tricks for beginners, please share!

Embellish the story. Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

Posted: 31/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Design | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Author: Chris

My mother sewed a lot when I was a kid.  She made our Halloween costumes, some of our clothes and, if she didn’t make our clothes, she embroidered them.  It was the 70s.  All my jeans had big, loopy flowers on them, done by my mother. 

As a sewer, she had a huge jar of buttons, buttons that fell off clothes, buttons that she cut off vintage clothes so she could use the fabric, extra buttons that came with new clothes, buttons that were purchased because they were pretty, buttons of every size and shape.  When I was little and it was raining, I loved to dump that jar on the floor and sort through them.  Sometimes I matched them up.  Sometimes I made designs with the different colours, sometimes I lined them up by size or sorted them by colour.  My mom still has that button jar and every once in a while when I visit, I put my hand it in and let the buttons pour through my fingers, just like I used to when I was a kid.

I have my own button jar today.  It isn’t as big or as diverse as my mother’s.  Most of my buttons have been purchased.  I don’t always have a reason for buying them.  I’m usually browsing at a tradeshow or in a shop and stumble upon a pretty design or a great colour.  Sometimes I have a specific kid in mind (like the ‘transportation’ buttons I bought for my nephew) when I buy them and no real project to go with them.  Having friends that are also crafters, I’ve been gifted some pretty fabulous buttons as well. 

I love searching through my button collection after a project is completed.  I still like to pour them all out to sort through them.  You can forget what’s in there.  It’s like a little treasure hunt.  I don’t always find what I need which sends me to buy more buttons.  I find buying buttons like eating chips.  You can’t just buy one set.  What if I get this one home and it doesn’t look right?  I’ll need the other set just in case!  I know this could be solved by taking my project with me but where is the fun in that?  How will I ever have a great button jar filled to the brim if I’m always buying just what I need?  I certainly don’t do that with my yarn stash. 

 About a year ago, I made a dark green sweater for a baby girl.  It was a really cute little cardigan that needed just two buttons.  Before I’d found the right buttons, I had laid the sweater out and thought perhaps I’d lost my mind with that particular colour for a new baby girl.  I’d also knit another sweater as well as a blanket.  As I sorted through the buttons it was in the back of my mind that perhaps this sweater would get put aside and gifted to the next baby boy that came along.  Then I fell about the delicate pale green flowers with yellow centres and instantly knew that these were the exact right thing to turn that dark green into a baby girl’s sweater.  At the baby shower, it was the dark green sweater that everyone cooed about.

Embellishments can make all the difference.

Aside from buttons, our labels of love also add a nice finishing touch to your home made gifts. Attaching one of our labels and adding a few mini-soaks in with the gift will help ensure that your hard work will be taken care of.

Tidy mind, tidy stitches. Knitting and Crochet Blog Week

Posted: 30/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Design | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Author: Jacqueline

As business people in the yarn industry and avid crafters, we are often gifted yarn. Lots of yarn. Some we claim for our individual projects, some we gift again, but most we keep at the office, cued up in the land of imaginary projects and endless time, displayed for our enjoyment as decorative art.

Carrie is in charge of yarn organization. She is the master of style, protector of all pretty string, to borrow the phrase from Lorna’s Laces. Before Carrie, you see, yarn was scattered throughout the office, in boxes, in the warehouse, on shelves and under desks.  It was chaos. There was no rhyme or reason to the piles, just yarn arriving and being abandoned amongst the magazines, bags and other samples.

Carrie gave the yarn status. She organized the stash by a full range of criteria. In one group is the Louet yarn, including our Creative Juices collection in Gems Merino.

You can use this yarn, but only if you have a special project in mind. Another classification contains single skeins of delicious colours, exclusive samples and precious yardage earmarked for only the most exclusive projects. You have to ask Carrie really nicely to secure yarn from this stash. Guests who peruse our yarn stashes are steered away from this group.

Then there’s the bin of yarns that, while lovely and vibrant, are misfits, random balls, samples and promotional pieces that seem to have appeared out of nowhere, but have chosen our office as their home.

Carrie loves all yarn. She provides safe havens for all of our stash, regardless of its past, present or future. She has also reduced the yarn clutter from the office library, from my office (in particular, as I didn’t used to part easily from my yarn) and from our minds. We are all confident that our yarn is better off thanks to Carrie’s presence at the office.

Like a good friend, Carrie also offered to help organize our home-based yarn stashes. Her wise ways are as useful in the office as they are in personal spaces, keeping our minds and homes clutter free so we can focus on our knitting.

Want your yarn (or other creative stuff) organized, at home or work? Invite Carrie over and your stash will never be the same. She can’t wait to meet you.

Skill + 1UP. From Scarves to cupcakes.

Posted: 29/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Knitting | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Author: Esther

I vaguely recall having learned to knit as a child when I used to sit beside my mom as she knit. She was a great knitter. I on the other hand was not and haven’t touched a pair of needles until I started working at Soak.

I’ve been interning at Soak for almost 7 months now and it’s hard not to pick up knitting while you are here. Jacqueline, Chris and Ngoc all know how to knit and they often bring in their projects to work on during lunch. Seeing their fun projects, as well as seeing all the beautiful colourful yarns laying around the office made me wonder if I could actually learn again and maybe even finish one project.

I grabbed some Louet Riverstone yarn and a pair of borrowed needles from Jacqueline and started to knit a simple scarf. I learned how to knit and purl. I finished in about a week. Even though it was a very simple pattern, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment as I wrapped my finished scarf around my neck.

I moved onto my next project right away after being inspired by a cupcake on Jacqueline’s office desk that was knitted by Chris. The instructions I found for cupcakes all suggested crocheting so I tried my hand at crochet. My first cupcake was horribly big; perhaps I didn’t pull the stitches tight enough. My next one was much better. It was so adorable that I gave to my friend as a present. I made one last cupcake before my interest started to subside.  I looked through our library to see what I could make for my next project. I decided on a cute little yarn cactus.

I took a break from knitting until I went with Ngoc to a Heel testing/review at the Purple Purl, lead by Amy Singer. That was the first time I went to Purple Purl. I just loved the entire store and the people within it. Everyone was so friendly and made me feel so comfortable and relaxed. I decided that I had to buy some yarn and start my next project. I had initially picked up some black yarn but put it back once I saw Ngoc shaking her head in disapproval. She persuaded me to be a little wild and pick a beautiful raspberry pink yarn instead.

 

I went from not knowing how to knit or crochet to making 2 scarves, 3 cupcakes, and a cactus this winter. Not bad. For my next project, I might even try cables or even entrelac. Do you have any suggestions for a project for a pretty beginner knitter?

A Tale of Two Yarns – Knitting and Crochet Blog Week

Posted: 28/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Design | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Author: Chris

At the end of January 2010, just as I felt the cold weather would never leave us and the Olympics were set to begin in Vancouver, I decided my home needed a new blanket.  I rarely knit for myself.  I have a niece and nephew and lots of friends having children.  Small projects are my preference.  Big projects, such as a blanket, tend to lose my attention before they’re done and end up forgotten in the UFO bin.

 

Cold and motivated by the idea that I would sit and knit for hours each night while I watched the Olympics, I began my blanket.  I had chosen a log cabin pattern for myself in 3 colours of Cascade 220.  I chose this particular yarn because I fell in love with the colours, which does tend to be my way.  Others at the shop had tried to convince me that neutral colours would be better for a blanket in my living room but I had spied the Cascade 220 in orange and meant to have it.  Choosing the blue and green to go with it was easy.

Not long after I began the log cabin blanket, a friend announced her first pregnancy.  After a chat with her about the baby and their home renovations which included her colour choice (shades of yellow and gold) for the baby’s room, I decided I would make a blanket for their new one’s arrival.  I was clearly still in the delirium of love with the first blanket that I didn’t recognize what I was committing myself to with a second blanket while the first one was still barely begun.

I had seen a sweet basket weave baby blanket pattern that I could do in one colour.  I just needed to choose that colour.  I have a large stash of yarn at home and the office.  After digging through the bins to find something that might inspire me, I came across Louet Gems light worsted in brown.  I love brown.  It can be accented with so many other great colours.  I also thought it would be perfection in a room of yellow, especially since the happy couple was not going to find out the sex of their baby before the birth.

The patterns are quite different.  One requires no attention at all, just knit every row within each block of colour.  The other requires a small amount of attention or at least minimal internal counting.   These are different yarns to the touch, too.  Cascade isn’t soft but isn’t scratchy either.  It is thick, warm wool which is what a blanket should be. Gems is super soft and machine-washable, perfect for baby stuff.  They both have excellent stitch definition.  The colour selection with Cascade 220 was spectacular so I can see myself going back to this yarn when something sturdy and warm is required.  Gems is a yarn I will use over and over again because the varying weights and colour choices make that easy to do.

I am not what you’d call an avid knitter.  I enjoy it.  I particularly like making things for little people.  I don’t, however, knit every day.  I don’t even knit every week unless I’m working on something with a deadline.  So there I was, with two blankets on needles and my attention slowly dwindling.  You’d think a baby arriving would be enough of a deadline for me but I’d already knit two sweaters for the wee one. The blanket felt like a bonus.

Now I just need to finish at least one of these blankets.   Maybe this blog post is just the thing to capture my attention and enthusiasm for these projects again.

2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week

Posted: 25/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Design | Leave a comment

Visit us next week as we’ll be putting up a post each day as we participate in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

We’ve taken a sneak peek at all the topics and decided that it’s going to be a group effort with postings contributed by everyone in the office. Visit their site for full details. Some of the topics will touch on embellishing your FO, comparing yarns, and learning new skills.

Will you be joining in? Let us know and we’ll be sure to read your postings!

2011 Update

Posted: 23/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Food | Tags: , | Leave a comment

It’s only March and we’ve had an eventful first few months of 2011. Here’s a brief update on what we’ve been working on.

January was full of travels. We attended TNNA and Vogue Knitting Live where we were greeted with friendly eager customers who couldn’t get enough of our newest product, Heel. This was the first Vogue Knitting Live show and we loved meeting our New Yorker Soak users. We also met some friendly people who travelled from Canada and even California to participate in the fun.

February was full of cake and icing. With both Jacqueline and Chris celebrating birthdays last month, as well as brightly coloured Valentine’s day cupcakes, our sweet teeth have thoroughly been satisfied. I also learned how much butter and sugar actually goes into a bowl of delicious butter cream icing. This is one fact that I probably could have gone my whole life without knowing, and have been happier.  Even knowing what was in the icing, it didn’t stop me from licking the bowl.

For month’s now, we’ve been diligently working on making our website more user-friendly and appealing. There has been vast improvement so far compared to our old site and we’re still working hard on continuing to improve it. Here’s a sneak peek as the new layout and design that we’ve been working on.

Visit soakwash.com and give us your thoughts on our progress thus far. I’ve looked at this page everyday for the past 3 months and I’m sure a fresh pair of eyes can offer some much needed feedback.

We’ve decided to take part in the 365 photo a day project. It’s been a team effort with each one of us submitting photos and it’s been interesting to see what each of us sees in our daily lives outside of the Soak office. With warmer weather just around the corner, I’m excited to see more nature and outdoor photographs. If you search 365 in Flickr, you’ll see many photos taken by people around the world who are participating.

Exciting delivery.

Posted: 07/03/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Business, SWpress, SWpromotions, Uses for Soak | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

We received an envelope this morning and much to our enjoyment, it was the April Spring issue of Martha Stewart Living. Flip to page 38 and you’ll find Soak featured under “75 Spectacular Spring Things”!

It’s been an exciting day for us media-wise as we’ve received news that we’re also in Chatalaine for the April Issue as well on page 89! We haven’t seen it ourselves yet but you can bet we’ll be picking up the issue.

I have been reminded of Spring all morning. First it was the brightly coloured fabrics shown on Red Pepper Quilt’s blog. And then these magazine spring issues. Not to mention the sunny skies and melting snow. If you’re anything like me, and can’t wait for spring cleaning time (not because I enjoy cleaning, but because it means warmer weather is just around the corner) than perhaps a brightly coloured Carrie or Phil basin can help you with a few jobs around the house.

Spring uses for Carrie and Phil

Clean your blinds. Fill up a basin with some warm water and Soak and dip a wash cloth in the water to wipe down your blinds. It’s amazing how much dust can accumulate on each blade. 

Wash your winter accessories. Carrie’s larger size makes her great for hand washing several pairs of mittens, scarves and hats all at the same time.

If you are a big gardener, the basins are great for outdoor use. They are great for holding soil and fertilizer or to keep your bulbs and roots in one place.

Do you have any other ideas of uses for our vibrant basins? We’d love to hear them.

Heel – Round Table

Posted: 24/02/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Business, Craft, Knitting | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amy Singer, editor and writer at knitty.com often does reviews on new yarns and knitting accessories. We joined her last month at the Purple Purl as she and a group of reviewers tried out our newest product, Heel. All of our reviewers came with their current knitting projects and eagerly waited to find out what they were going to test this week.  

 We received a lot of great feedback. You can find Amy Butler’s review here. I’ve summerized a few of the key comments that we received.

– “I like the spearmint. It’s cool and I think in the summer, it’s going to feel good too.”
– “It’s a little greasy, and I like that. It feels more like a lotion than a cream. It could go in a pump.”
– “It’s a lovely consistency and it disappeared into my hands right away.”
– “I didn’t find it greasy at all, in fact, I’m knitting with it right away afterwards and it’s not affecting me in any way.”
– “Definitely not greasy — almost like the moisture is sealed in to my skin now. Very nice.” – Amy Singer

Thank you so much to all the lovely reviewers. If you’ve tried Heel, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our newest product.

101 things to do with Soak |040 dolls and toy animals.

Posted: 14/02/2011 | Author: | Filed under: Craft | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Dolls, toys, and fake acrylic hair.

This wonderful photo was posted on our facebook wall by one of our customers. She had filled her bathtub with water and Soak and let her dolls take a nice relaxing swim.

During the holidays, I had a ‘my little pony’ that I wanted to include with a friend’s gift. They’ve completely changed the way these ponies look and I wanted one that was similar to the one he used to play with as a kid. I bought a used one online and wondered if the fake acrylic pony hair would make it through a shampoo. I figured if worse came to worse, I could buy another pony so I grabbed my Soak and a toothbrush and got to work.

The tooth brush was great to get into the little crevices and in the pony ears. I put a tiny bit of Soak in the pony hair and gently lathered.

I gave the hair a quick brush when it was drying to detangle it and left it standing on a towel to air dry.

Once the pony dried, she looked as good as new! The hair was soft and shiny and smelled delicious! Thank you Celebration Soak.

He had a good laugh when he opened his present and saw the pretty pony sitting on top.

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