Sandrasingh.com's Top 10 Yarns & Patterns in 2010

Its that time of year again, as 2010 draws to a close its time to take a look at which Yarns & Patterns we enjoyed creating with the most!

Yarns
#10 Anzula Luxury Fibers Save 10% on Cloud, Sebastian & Wash My Lace

#9 Wendy Peter Pan Save 15% on Velvet Touch

#8 Dream In Color Save 10% on Smooshy

#7 Alpaca Yarn Company

#6 Yarns On Stage Save 10-15%

#5 Karabella Aurora Yarns

#4 Schaefer Yarn Co Save on Anne, Lola, Kathleen & Sandra

#3 Madelinetosh Save 10% on Tosh Sock

#2 Malabrigo Yarn Save 10% on Merino Worsted & Twist

#1 Sandrasingh.com Save 10% on 3 Ply Merino Worsted & New Colors in Lace & Superwash Fingering

And our Favorite Patterns...

#10 Bel Air by Knitspot

#9 Nancy One Skein Shrugigan by The Schaefer Yarn Co.

#8 French Press Slippers by French Press

#7 Highlander by Knitspot

#6 Antique Lace by Ilga Leja

#5 Elijah by Ysolda

#4 Desert Rose by Goddess Knits

#3 Tangled Vine Socks by Gardiner Yarn Works

#2 Isabella by Through The Loops

#1 Super Bulky Winter Vest by Lisa Ellis Designs

Thank you for being a Sandrasingh.com customer. I've enjoyed assisting you with all of your Fiber Arts needs in 2010 and I know that 2011 will be even more exciting! Happy New Year, see you in 2011.

Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 is Here!

Kauni Effektgarn is back! And the beautiful long self striping colors are as rich and vibrant as ever!

EA - Mauve, Purple, Lime & Sage

Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 is an amazing self striping yarn painted in long, vibrant color repeats which give your finished garments and accessories beautiful, long stripes of color. Crafted of 100% wool this sport weight yarn can be knit and felted with equally stunning results. Let your imagination flow with projects for shawls, cardigans and pullovers, handbags and more.

ED - Tan, Brown & Black

Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 is put up in generous 130, 140, 150, 160 or 170 gram balls and priced accordingly.

EQ - Rainbow

Also available in EP (Burgundy, Brown, Gold & Rust) and EY (Magenta & Purple)

Have a very Merry Christmas!

This home is located in Clarksville in downtown Austin and the owner is a local celebrity when it comes to decorating for the holidays. Last night when we visited he was outside greeting passerbys and he graciously allowed me to photograph his work, "Thank You Willis, Merry Christmas!"

And a Happy & Prosperous New Year!
See you in 2011!

Holiday Parties, Big Bend and of course Knitting...

Where to start? Life has been a whirlwind of activity since late October! I'll do a little update, out of order of course my usual style!

First on December 6th our Monday Knitting Class met for our annual Christmas & Hanukkah party at the Tea Embassy in downtown Austin. This darling little teashop is owned by one of our fellow knitters. It was a blast to see everyone since I had been out of town for quite some time.

Here's Carroll (not the owner Carol) taking it easy, no gift knitting for her.

The elegant Nita, decked out in tiger print and knitwear of her own creation.

My good friend Beth who not only knits brilliantly but creates the most beautiful quilts as well.

The multi-talented Bren, she knits, crochets, tats, beads, sews, does scrap booking, teaches, I know I'm leaving something out!

This is the shop owner Carol demonstrating how to brew a Japanese green tea as Carroll supervises! It was a lovely party!

Now we'll go back in time to November and Thanksgiving...8 of my family members and my DH & I swept into Big Bend National Park in West Texas and did as much hiking, horse back riding and eating as we could in four short days! An amazing time was had by all! I have one word to say to you about Big Bend, if you've never been there, "Go!"

On the second to last morning DH insisted we get up before dawn so we could get this shot, "Good morning sunrise!"

These next two pics are a little out of order. We stayed at the Las Lajitas resort which was wonderful. One of the excursions they offered was a Star Gazing Horse Ride. The pic of me on the horse below should be next. We rode across the Chihuahuan Desert and up into the mountains in the fading daylight. When we arrived to our campsite the cowboys had dinner waiting, steaks grilled over the camp fire!

As the sun set and the Milky Way revealed itself to us, we realized we really were in one of the darkest locations in the United States. DH got this shot of the movement of the Earth by holding the shutter open for several minutes.

Yes this is me on a horse!

The intrepid hikers! We reached the summit of the Lost Mine Trail near Chisos Mountain.

For Thanksgiving Day we dined at the resort and we're all very satisfied with the menu even my vegetarian husband. Again I can't tell what a beautiful place Big Bend is and what a great time we all had. I look forward to another visit, there is so much to do we could go again and again.

Ah but what about the knitting you ask! I've been very busy adding lots of new yarns and patterns to my website plus doing a little personal and gift knitting.

Dive In! Madelinetosh Tosh DK

The wait is over, Tosh DK has arrived and its stunning. This superwash yarn is a worsted weight and has 225 yards per skein.

Cascabel by Nelkin Designs

And I'm also in the process of adding two new knitwear designers to my website, Laura Nelkin of Nelkin Designs.

Onyx by Army of Knitters

And the designs of Army of Knitters.

And I've been doing a little knitting as well, its been quite some time since I picked up my needles and I'm really enjoying myself. I'm working on Swoon Fibers' Scultped Cowl, one for my mom and one for me!

This one is for my mom in Karabella's Soft Tweed. I think she's going to love the dark green color. Think I'll get it done in time?


This one is for me, I'm knitting it in Malabrigo Twist in Sunset. I adore yellow! Twist and Merino Worsted are both on sale.

I've also just added new colors in The Schaefer Yarn Company's Audrey, Chris and Nichole yarns, lots of semi solids and hand painted variegates! All three would be perfect for your next sock, lace, hat or glove project, just let your imagination run wild.

And I have a huge order of my Sandrasingh.com Lace, 1 Ply Merino Worsted and Superwash Fingering on its way to me as I type this.

This post is getting long and I've got more products to add to my website, more parties to prepare for and more house guests on their way! Happy Holidays to you and your family ~ Merry Christmas and have a Safe and Happy New Year!

We have a Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Sculpted Cowl Kit, Sarah!

And "Thank You" to everyone who entered. Stay tuned...I have another Giveaway coming real soon!

NEW Malabrigo Yarns In Stock!

A HUGE shipment of Malabrigo Yarn just arrived and I now have new colors in stock of Merino Worsted and Twist which are 15% Off.

Plus lots of Sock in Eggplant for Ysolda's Orchid Thief Shawl. And new colors in Silky, Rios and Lace.

Sculpted Cowl Pattern, Kit & Giveaway!

We have a winner! Will Sarah, aka sadiekate08 on Twitter, please contact me at sandrasingh@sandrasingh.com to claim the Kit!

In my December Newsletters I've been giving you lots of pattern ideas to knit up quickly for last minute gifts and this time I have something very special for you. This new design knits up fast with stunning results and combines a talented new knitwear designer, the in demand accessory the cowl, a luxurious hand dyed bulky yarn crafted of super soft wool & alpaca and a Giveaway for the Pattern & Yarn!

Swoon Fibers' Sculpted Cowl

Alida Porter of "Swoon Fibers" has been professionally designing womens knitwear for over 15 years, you can find her garments and accessories in popular clothing stores such as The Gap, Chicos and many more nationwide. I'm excited for the opportunity to bring you her unique designs and her first piece is being offered exclusively on my website, Alida's Sculpted Cowl.

Whether you create this classically cabled cowl for yourself or a loved one it will keep you warm in the upmost of style. Knit flat and sewn together it works up quickly in Swoon Fibers' very own bulky weight, hand dyed yarn Fireside. The pattern is both written and charted.

Finished Size: Circumference 28" x Height 10"
Yarn: 1 skein Swoon Fiber Fireside (85% wool & 15% alpaca, 250 grms/270 yds)
Needles: size US 11 (8mm)
Gauge: 15.5 st and 18 rows = 4"

Don't want to wait to win this pattern? The Sculpted Cowl is available as a Pattern only that is downloaded as a PDF after purchase and as a Kit. The Kit includes the Pattern and one skein of Swoon Fibers' Fireside and it will be shipped to you immediately!

Meet Alida Porter: Alida Porter started her line of yarns & patterns "Swoon Fibers” in May of 2010. Hers designs have been featured in “Vogue Knitting” and she has been an avid handknitter and professionally a knitwear designer in the fashion industry/specializing in novelty design, in New York City for over 15 years. Her designs have been sold to The Gap, Liz Claiborne, Target, Chicos and many more. Growing up in the beautiful rural Delaware Valley, and a student of painting in art school, her love of color combined with the love of luxury fibers is what always motivated her. That interest in art and nature, and a need to create something personal now has found its way to her own hand dyed yarns.

The Giveaway includes the Sculpted Cowl pattern and a skein of Fireside in Cool Blues shown below. The pattern will be emailed to the winner as a PDF and the winner will be announced on December 15th.

Enter this Giveaway:
The more ways you enter, the more chances you have to win and make sure to leave a comment telling exactly what you did to enter.
1. Leave a comment, with your contact information, under this blogpost.
2. Blog about this Giveaway and link it, leave a comment under this blogpost with the link back to your blogpost.
3. Join my Ravelry group Sandrasingh.com and introduce yourself in the "Welcome Tell us About Yourself..." thread.
4. Friend me on Facebook: Sandra Singh and say you "Like" my post about this Giveaway.
5. Follow me on Twitter: Sandrasingh and announce this Giveaway with the link.
6. And sign up for my Newsletter on my Home Page.
7. Sign up to follow my Blog.