Why I Hang Out In Yarn Shops

I like to visit my local yarn shop as much as I can to say hello to the yarn. One day while I was visiting a very professional man walked through the door and started asking questions about the Cascade 220 yarn displays. It didn't take me long to figure out that he was a representative of Cascade Yarns. The ladies from the shop introduced him to me. Moments before he had walked through the door I had purchased two skeins of Cascade 220 yarn. As I was being introduced to this man I felt relieved that I was knitting with yarn from his company. 

The man's name was Mike. He watched me knitting away as we got to know each other. Mike was impressed with my ability to not only follow an intricate pattern with cables and such, but that I could do so from memory and without looking. He began talking me up to the shop owner and convinced her to utilize me in any way that they could. He asked if I could teach some classes. I already teach the speed knitting class. Then he asked if I could knit the display projects to help sell the yarn. That's when I got really excited. 

Mike left the store for a moment and came back in with some beautiful light green yarn and a gorgeous cowl that was knitted.  He started to tell the story behind the cowl and explained that the yarn that was used was the ball that he was holding. He said that the company tried to come up with several one skein projects and that this was one of them. The cowl that he brought in was actually made by the president of the company. A jolt of excitement went through me as I gave the cowl a closer look. I admired the even stitches and binding off technique used. The yarn itself had impressive stitch definition. I had to have this yarn! That's when Mike told me that he wanted to give me this yarn and even told me the name of the pattern so that I could try it out for myself. 

That was just the beginning. Mike began going through the store and was on the hunt for yarn to use for display pieces. That's when the store owner Terri presented three zip locked bags of yarn with patterns inside. All of the yarns were different styles made by Cascade. There was: 

Alpaca Lace: 

 Eco Duo:

and Ultra Pima:

 Then Mike started talking about a new type of yarn that Cascade just started selling called Souk:

So, the task was presented to me to create these beautiful designs using the patterns given to me with all of this amazing yarn. I felt like I had made it out of that store like a bandit. Not only was I given all of this beautiful yarn for free, but I was even offered compensation for my talents. This was one of those rare moments when I was in the right place at the right time. Mike even discussed an opportunity for me to sell patterns through Cascade. With all of these wonderful things happening I no longer felt bad for splurging on the other items I had purchased. I felt like I had been given a wonderful deal!

Owl Lace Sweater - WIP/Review

I've been working on an amazing sweater with owl lace for the past couple of days. It's Ginny's Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine published by Interweave Knits. I love their regular magazine patterns, but this collection really knocks my Narcissa socks off. I literally want to knit every single pattern. They have a few sweaters, socks, scarves, and mittens. There's over 30 patterns for me to sink my teeth into.

Here's what I have so far. You can't really see the sides, but it's all stockinette stitch. This is worked mainly in one piece from the bottom up. I love the shaping techniques used in this cardigan. Short rows were used to construct the bust line. Decreasing, then increasing stitches creates a snug fit for the hips.

The owl lace is the main focus point of the cardigan. It's really important to pay close attention to the chart as you're working. I usually can pick up on a lace pattern rather quickly and won't have a need to follow the chart after a couple of passes. This lace pattern is to intricate for me to memorize like that. You work this pattern over 23-31 stitches which means that you gain and lose stitches as you go. Regardless, it offers a challenge that I enjoy. 

I'm going to make a trip to the yarn store later this week to pick up some size 4 and 6 DPNs. I've had to buy brand new needles to do this project, but luckily the yarn was free for me. The needles are the interchangeable kind from Knit Picks. I'm really loving them so far. I can't wait to get the DPNs. 

The yarn I'm using is the Bernat Nylo Sports wool blend. It's 50% wool and 50% nylon. The colorway is Silver Mix which gives a great denim effect to the cardigan. I love how soft it is. I can't wait to put this sweater on!

New Dress Form

I just got this new dress form today! I've been wanting to get this for years. I named her Circe. <3 

I plan to take Circe with me to my craft market on the weekend and to have her pose for my Etsy listings. She's going to look great wearing my wraps and scarves. I'm really excited to start this new friendship! 

Contest for Mystik Designs' new logo!

Okay, so I was going to make a video for this, but I think I'll just make a blog instead since I'm all camera shy and stuff. :S

I'm not really happy with my business logo. The background is dark and the letters are too dark for the background. The silhouette has absolutely nothing to do with what I make. It was more of a promise to myself to start making more Victorian Goth/Steampunk looking things which never happened. I still plan to make some things that might be used for that like my cameo chokers, but I digress.

So, the purpose is simple. I need a new logo. I'll be using this new logo for my business cards, buttons, a background for this blog, my business' Facebook profile pic and any tags or displays that I'll put on my products. This is to help establish myself as a brand and make my business actually look like a business and not a hobby. Because you know... it's not a hobby.

Rules:
1. Don't make it look too dark. See what I have now? That's too dark. Don't make the new logo that dark. Anything lighter would look tons better.

2. Don't use artwork from someone else, unless the artist has given express permission to you or to everyone on the internet. We need to respect artists for their time and talent.

3. You can use whatever font you want so long as it's legible. Creating your own font for the logo is highly encouraged.

4. It needs to have both an image and the words "Mystik Designs" and "Magic in every stitch!". You can use the logo above as a reference.

5. Don't make a copy of the logo above. I don't like it. No silhouettes.

6. Make a copy of the logo that can be used for a profile pic. If you want to earn some extra credit you can optionally make a design for business cards, buttons, this blog, or whatever you think I'll need the design for. If you do this, keep in mind that whatever colors you use have to stay uniform. If you make a business card design, I don't need you to enter the info but I will need to see a sample of text.

7. You can enter as many times as you want to. Submit all entries to my business page in a private message. (www.facebook.com/magicineverystitch) I will create a folder on the page that showcases all of the entries.

I encourage all of my artist friends to take part in this and get all of their artist friends to take part also. Usually I have people make submissions and have people vote on it. This time I will be choosing the winner. The contest starts now and will end on June 30th. I will make a decision and announce it that night or on July 1st. The winner will get to choose a hat from my shop up to a $45 value. My cosplay hats are off limits though. Sorry. :(

Here are some size requirements for things that I'll be using the logo for. Keep in mind you only have to make a profile pic and the other things are optional.

Facebook Profile Pic: 180px by 180px and less than 4MB

Facebook Cover Photo: 851px x 315px

Etsy Banner: 760px x 100px and less than 2MB

Blogger Background: 1440px x 720 px  and resolution of 72px per inch.

Price Tags: 2" x 1"

Business Cards: 3.5" x 2"

Happy designing! :D