Crazy Blogger

Hi friends! Inspired by a wonderful Monday evening in which I was given a chance to teach a yoga class I have started another little blog! I have had the idea for quite some time to integrate my love of yoga with my love of knitting. I'm not yet sure how it will all pan out, but I know that I want to generate something with the name YogaKnits. And I could hardly believe that the email account, Etsy shop and blogspot address were all available! Talk about kismet. The moment I got home from yoga tonight I snagged all three entities and it feels awesome.



I also have fiber happenings to report, of course. Last weekend, on May 9th, I went to the Hudson River Valley for a sheep shearing! The Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm is a wonderful venture that offers knitters a chance to participate in the fiber fun by purchasing a share of wool in the form of roving or spun yarn. I honestly don't know as much about this as some of my friends, but I do know that the idea is to follow the tenets of Community Supported Agriculture, the types of food collectives that have sprung up around the country to help connect people to the farms that supply our sustenance. I have long been a huge fan of gardening, organics, and the Slow Food movement. This awesome fiber farm fits right in to the bigger picture of building a healthy and satisfying relationship with our precious natural environment.



But it's not just all philosophy, it is downright fun! I loved the pastoral setting of the farm and thoroughly enjoyed the potluck, live entertainment, wool dying demonstration, sheep nursery, drop spindle spinnning, and all-around friendly, fibery vibe of the day.



Hopefully you can tell from the photos and smiling faces that this is one fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Can't wait to see everyone join the fun next year!

Jellyfish!

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I really hadn't fully realized how busy I've been! Aside from lots and lots of working and cooking, I have been knitting up quite a storm lately. I finished a couple of hats (no photos yet - maybe next post?) and just purchased yarn for a new sweater featured in the latest KnitScene.

In the world of emmalinedesigns, I posted a few new items since my last post and I updated etsy to let everyone know that I make knitting bags! After trying out lots of different product ideas, like a yoga tote bag and baby blocks and aprons, I decided that I will focus on my number one love - knitting. I hope I can eventually give attention to all my other concepts and designs, but in the meantime I want to play with the graphics for the bags and add some more bells and whistles so that I am offering the coolest knitting totebag you can find! Click to check it out.

I've recently been really obsessed with jellyfish and I went to the New England Aquarium last weekend to do some up close and personal research. These creatures are magical and repellent at the same time! I took photos of the prettiest ones:

These big, blue blobs on the left look amazing in their large group, like glowy, floaty pillows in the dark. And I love the long, wispy tentacles on this pair of sea nettles. They look like they're nearly dancing, and they're definitely having fun (if only they had brains!).












And here is my beginning attempt at actually drawing these awesome creatures!

In a little design brainstorming with my sister she told me a great story about swimming somewhere in Israel and a man told her the jellyfish there are "sweet" He was trying to explain that they were not poisonous and wouldn't sting her. But from now on, we will think of them as "sweet"


Thanks for checking in again. I am committed to posting the crazy design happenings more often, so I'll see you soon!

Keeping it Warm

Hi all y'all! In the midst of all the wonderful things going on in Providence I managed to finish a knitted pair of legwarmers! I know that I'm starting a business based on screenprinted textiles, but knitting is, in many ways, my true passion. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to start up a Thursday knitting night here in town. The sad part is that I haven't found a perfect, comfy, late-night coffee shop yet. More evidence that I need to start my own space that has coffee, yarn, classes, couches, and heck, maybe a yoga studio in the back? This is my idea of heaven - a business that serves the community through my two favorite pastimes and serves a great cup of coffee or tea.






















So here's the scoop on the legwarmers. I bought two skeins of a superwash merino in a DK weight while on the big family cruise to Alaska last summer. I skipped out on buying anything emblazoned with wolves or salmon in favor of buying yarn in every port. This yummy yarn has rust, yellow topaz, garnet, and sage colors that I decided to display in a really simple legwarmer knit in the round. I did some 1x1 ribbing at the top and bottom to help them stay in place. I decided to model them with my favorite high heels which are black, of course. And I'm propping my feet on my sheepskin rug which is my favorite splurge since New Years. I put it right next to my bed so that waking up on these 17 degree mornings is so much more pleasant. And it also makes a great spot to set up my meditation cushion and zen out in my bedroom.



















I made such a big production about my butterfly print, I wanted to show off one of the finished products - little zippy pouches that are for sale on etsy. Of course I have tons of pieces for large totes with the butterfly but I haven't managed to finish a single one! I started spending a great deal of time travelling to DC and NYC in the last two weeks plus I'm working on the product development side right now - I'm designing a yoga mat bag, doing research for some brand spanking new imagery, and knitting a big chunky cowl from another variegated yarn. I think it's going to be a weekend of getting my fiber on and finishing some of these works in progress!