Tidy mind, tidy stitches. Knitting and Crochet Blog Week
Posted: 30/03/2011 Filed under: Design | Tags: 2kcbwday3, carrie and phil, knitting and crochet blog week, organization, soak wash, yarn stash Leave a commentAuthor: 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.
A Tale of Two Yarns – Knitting and Crochet Blog Week
Posted: 28/03/2011 Filed under: Design | Tags: "annual knitting and crochet blog week" "tale of two yarns", 2KCBWDAY1, baby blankets, Knitting, yarn stash 1 CommentAuthor: 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 Filed under: Design Leave a commentVisit 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!
Travelling Mini-soaks
Posted: 21/01/2011 Filed under: Design, Travel | Tags: mini-soaks Leave a commentWe constantly get emails and praise from our customers about how mini-soaks have become a must bring item on their travels. The little single use packets are great in hotel rooms to wash hosiery, swim wear, blouses, or almost any garment for that matter. I’ve also heard stories of people bringing them on road trips, or when back packing because it allows them to pack light an easily wash their outfits without a washing machine or a large amount of water. I wanted to share some of the great photos that I’ve received from our world travellers. Did Soak go with you on your latest trip? Send me your photos and fun vacation stories.
Mini-soaks by a fountain in the Rathaus in Basel, Switzerland
A menu in Strasbourg, France
On a ship on the Rhine.
Luzern, Switzerland
Citrus strapped to a bicycle on a Canal in Amsterdam.
Celebration mini-soaks in China.
Send your Soak success stories and photos to ngoc@soakwash.com.
DIY gift vouchers/coupons
Posted: 21/12/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design | Tags: DIY, homemade coupons 1 CommentAuthor: Ngoc
Homemade coupons are a great inexpensive and thoughtful gift idea. Jacqueline is the creative one in the office and has often wowed us with her fun craft ideas. If you’re stuck on a last-minute holiday gift, or perhaps you’d like to plan ahead for Valentines day or for a birthday, perhaps take a page from Jacqueline’s book and gift one of these cute DIY coupons.
Traditional cardstock coupons
Adding a few fun touches can give your paper coupons just what they need to really make a visual impact.
Tips:
- Using scrapbooking paper and stickers are a quick and easy way give your coupons a clean and stylish look.
- Think of what you want each coupon to offer in advance. Printing them out on a printer instead of handwriting will give it a more professional look.
- When choosing your paper, keep in mind what color scheme you’d like to have and pick designs and colors that complement each other.
- To keep track of which coupons have been redeemed, each one has a line that the gift giver can sign after each redemption.
The paper used here was based Amy Butler’s designs.
Finish by putting them all in a nice envelope, dressed with the recipient’s name.
Laser cut cardboard vouchers
Jacqueline visited Karen at The Workroom when she made these great cardboard vouchers. An Epilog laser cutter was used to engrave these fun messages and cut out the letters.
Tips:
- To keep track of which vouchers have been redeemed, Jacqueline included two holes on each card and tied a small ribbon beside a hole that says ‘undone’. Every time the recipient claims another voucher, the ribbon is moved to the hole that says ‘done’.
- Punching a hole in the corner of each voucher allows you to hold them all together using a paper or binder ring. You could also hold them together with a pretty ribbon.
Buttons
Jacqueline also visited Karen for these fun button coupons. Look around your local craft shops to find somewhere that rents out a circle cutter and button press. You can also buy button making kits if you can’t find one to rent.
Tips:
- Jacqueline took a circular embroidery frame and put fun fabric in it to give a base for the buttons to be pinned to.
- Using two different types of fabrics will allow you to keep track of which buttons have already been redeemed. Start with all the buttons on one side, move to the other side as they are used.
- You can use magazine images, wrapping paper, or other fun colourful paper to make some decorative buttons to add some variety and color.
- Be creative. Add related images as background to the text to make the buttons more visually pleasing.
Here are a few of my personal favourites. I tried to redeem the male model button. It unfortunately was just a decorative one. At least I tried.
The ice cream button on the other hand was not decorative. Yum!
Did you make any fun homemade gifts this season? I’d love to hear your ideas or send us your photos of the finished gift.
We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.
Our Card Tree.
Posted: 14/12/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design | Tags: Soak office, thank-you cards Leave a commentSeason’s Greetings. Happy Holidays. Thank-you. Keep Knitting. These are a few of the wonderful cards we’ve received lately from our friends, family and customers. We love when a fun card or letter shows up in our mail box. After we’ve all had a chance to look at the card, we proudly display it on our card tree.
I wanted to point out two especially fun cards that we’ve recently received.
The first is is a great group photo from the Men’s Fall knitting retreat. They sent us a very kind thank-you letter for our goodie bag contribution. Look at all those wonderful smiling faces!
The second card that we thought was especially fun was from Clara Parkes and her knitting retreaters. They all signed the thank-you card. How thoughtful!
Every year, I have every intention of making fun holiday cards for all my friends and family. I always tell myself that I have plenty of time and then the next thing I know, it’s the middle of December and I have yet to grab any craft supplies. One fun card idea we saw this year was the use of knitted squares to create knit prints on cards. I didn’t make one so I don’t have a photo to show you but the basic idea is to knit a square with an interesting design, use a roller or brush to paint a thin layer of paint on the square and press it on the front of a blank card. It should leave a pretty knitted design on the paper when you remove the square.
If you are feeling crafty, and decide to try this tecnique out, send us a photo of the finished results.
Heels, hand-knit socks, and photo shoots.
Posted: 16/11/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design, Knitting | Tags: Foot cream, Heel, Kate Atherley, photography, photoshoot, soak 5 CommentsAuthor: Ngoc
I’m fascinated by photography and lighting. I find photo shoots extremely interesting and just the other week, I was able to go to another photo shoot for our newest product, Heel – foot cream for feet worthy of hand-knit socks. 
I am always impressed by the whole process and the beautiful results that we get. The above photograph was professionally taken by Jessica, our wonderful photographer. The following images are from my camera as I documented our day. 
The day started off with a quick brainstorming session of different pose ideas so that Jessica could get an idea of how to set up the backdrop and what lighting we would need. We then tried on some of the hand-knit socks that were designed and made by Kate Atherley, a Toronto based knitter, designer and teacher. I never understood the fascination/obsession with hand-knit socks until that morning. They were beautiful and comfortable and hugged my feet in this way that only hand-knit socks can. Some of our Heel labels will feature Kate’s beautiful socks. If you are thinking of a fun gift idea for your favourite knitter, why not pair a tub of Heel with the accompanying sock pattern? Visit Kate’s online store for her designs. 
Esther and I were the lucky feet models for the day. After a few hours of tippy toes, pointing, and stretching, I have gained a new appreciation for feet models. I don’t know whether my feet and toes are just terribly out of shape or what, but after holding a pose for 10 mins with slight movements, I started to get cramps galore. As we looked at the images appearing on the computer screen, it was fascinating to see how the slightest movement in the toes or the smallest change in the direction that your feet were pointing could completely change the feel and attitude of the image. 
I am always impressed by a beautiful photograph and am constantly asking for tips and advice on how to improve my own photography skills. I find that once in a while, I’ll fluke into a decent photo. I am still striving to take that one photograph that I am proud enough to display on my wall but alas, nothing as of yet.
Here are a few of the tips that I’ve gathered along the way.
1. Welcome to the wonderful world of digital. Just snap away. For every wonderful photo you see, that person probably took 90 mediocre ones. Take a lot of photos. Look at them and figure out what you did wrong, what you like about them, and what you should do differently next time.
2. Catch the light. When photographing people, spin them around and look at their eyes. Stop spinning them once the eyes catch the light.
3. Photos don’t always need to be artistically beautiful. They are about capturing your memories and emotions. A photo might not be impressive to anyone else, but if it brings you back to a wonderful moment or invokes certain wonderful emotions in you, then it’s a good photograph.
4. A good camera and a good lens doesn’t equal a good photograph. I’ve seen people take wonderful photographs with their camera phones. There is so much more to photography than just the equipment.
5. If you’re new to the SLR world, take the time to learn about ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds. Don’t waste a perfectly wonderful camera by only shooting on auto. Try manual. It will open up a wonderful new world.
Do you have any fun photography tips? Please share, I’d love to hear them.
Soak Holiday Party
Posted: 16/11/2010 Filed under: Design | Tags: holiday, newsletter 1 Comment
You’re Invited!
Join us for our annual Friends and Family party. Let’s kick off the holiday season with some snacks, friends, Soak and a little bit of holiday shopping.
Date: Thurs. Nov. 18, 2010.
Time: 2-8 pm
Where: The Soak office: 2465 Cawthra Road Unit 124 Mississauga, ON
Phone: 905.270.7625.
Why: Because it’s nice to have an excuse to eat cake.
Like last year, we ask that you bring a non-perishable good with you to donate to the food bank. We’ll have small holiday treats as our way of saying thank-you.
Not in the area but would like to gift Soak this holiday? Is your bottle running low? Could your family use a Carrie or Phil? How about some Heel foot cream to sooth those tired feet? Visit our online store for the solution to all these problems.
Do you have a fun Soak story? Did Soak save your favourite sweater? Did your grandmother’s veil get a second life? Do you use it to wash your child’s hockey equipment? We always love hearing stories from loyal Soak users. Send us your photos and stories for our blog to Ngoc@soakwash.com.
New from Soak | Heel- foot cream for feet worthy of hand-knit socks.
Posted: 07/10/2010 Filed under: Business, Craft, Design, Knitting | Tags: Foot cream, Heel, soak wash, soakwash Leave a commentOur unique combination of ingredients restores the skin and soothes tired feet. Cucumber extract, Vitamin E and the soothing powers of menthol work together to form a luxuriously rich treat for sock worthy feet. Go ahead. Indulge.
Not a knitter? Heel– is perfect for all feet. Whether you are walking the mall in search of holiday gifts or treating your feet after a run, Heel is for you.
We’ve launched this great product with a few of our favorite knitting friends. If you are part of the Loopy Ewe sock club, you were treated to the first batch of peppermint infused foot cream.
We were proud to launch Heel with the Loopy Ewe.
Jimmybeanswool.com devotee? Get a customized tub of soothing scentless with menthol to match the Lorna’s Lace limited edition yarn Goblin. We’ll feature a new limited edition tub each month. There’s also a lovely basic Jimmybeanswool.com batch as well.
Soak is also new to JBW. Check out the two-packs on their site.
Along with our scentless Heel, you can also choose from our delicate and cooling cucumer or rich and soothing spearmint.
These delectable treats can also be customized! With a minimum order of 24 units, we can customize the label to your heart’s content. Got a sock club, we can make a label for you. Are you a yarn retailer looking for special holiday gifts for your top customers, Heel is perfect. Knitting retreat? Yoga store? Shoe shop? Even if you have a great group of lucky friends (showers, bridal parties or charity runs) we can personalize Heel for you.
Email us for a quote and conversation on custom designs.
Another brilliant creation by the experts at Soak Wash Inc. Like Soak, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Business’S cool. Week 1.
Posted: 01/10/2010 Filed under: Business, Design, school | Tags: business, Jacqueline Sava, school, soakwash 2 CommentsThis Friday we are shaking things up. It’s time to put away our summer bags for a school bag fit for fall. We’re trading silk for leather, cotton for vinyl and soft sacs for sturdy back packs. Join us each Friday for Business’S cool.
Stories to inspire and educate, from owner and founder Jacqueline Sava.
Tuesday mornings you won’t find me at the Soak office. I’ll be held up in an interior classroom at George Brown College’s School of Design. My philosophies and practices combining design and business led me right to the Design Management program at George Brown. In class you ask? Well, I’m not taking classes, I’m teaching a class called Design Strategy. Essentially, I teach designers how to think and work like/with business people. I believe (and as a trained designer, I feel comfortable saying this) that designers should learn, at some point or another, that there is a whole world out there that doesn’t understand, speak or think design. More importantly, if we designers want to live in the real world, we need to learn to communicate, work and live in unison with business people.
Most of the students have, like I do, undergraduate degrees in various design disciplines. They all want to work as design managers, design directors or key players in the corporate world, bringing design to the masses, or at least management. Each week (or so) I’ll bring you insights from the classroom. A sneak preview at what we are working on, great books to read, insights from students, and experiences from the Soak office. It is shockingly true, that nothing is more valuable than experience, and these days, we are getting more than our fair share.
This photo was taken at one of our branding sessions.
Education is a core value here at Soak. We not only educate our consumers on best practices with our product, but also continue to learn at the office as well. We are always seeking to improve, share and develop ourselves, as we develop the business. Feel free to send thoughts and ask questions. Sharing knowledge is my passion and I hope you can learn new things here, to apply to your work and life.
Enjoy.
Back to the design school, and a little bit of history on myself and the program:
The School of Design features many award-winning programs. Design Management draws international students together with diverse backgrounds such as Industrial Design, Fashion, Graphic Design, Advertising, Architecture, Interior Design etc. All students have work experience, ranging from one to several years, in various disciplines and countries. The richness of cultures, experiences and insights is staggering. There is nothing more rewarding than learning while you teach. This is my second year working with the brilliant faculty at the School of Design. In the past I’ve taught at Humber College (in both the Industrial Design department and the School of Fashion Business) as well as done lecture series with various business organizations. My background combining an undergraduate degree industrial design from an art college (RISD) and an MBA in strategy and marketing from SSB (York University) offers a unique combination of art and business, design and strategy. When I speak I try to bridge design and business enabling easy and enthusiastic communication from both perspectives.
Next week, let the games begin. I’ve got my school bag ready. Do you have yours?
soakworthy.com 
