The Knit Collage team and I will be here to support you and answer any questions that you may have along the way so that you happily finish with something you adore. Together, we’ll jumpstart your knitting practice, so that you get to experience the amazing benefits that come from knitting things – increased creativity and a healthy tool you can lean anytime into to bring about calm and peace, just to name a few! We kick the adventure off on March 1, 2024.

Inside the 14 day knitting challenge you’ll get:

• * An easy-to follow video course on how to knit the Faye Fringe Bag pattern from start to finish. You just need to know the very basic knit and purl stitches to join in! The course is yours forever, 25 videos in total.
• * Techniques you’ll learn: the provisional cast on, how to knit the slipped textured stripe stitch, how to knit the handle right into your bag panels, the three needle bind off and so much more.
• * A downloadable workbook with the pattern and our best tips and resources for knitting success.
• * Nine live zoom sessions with me, your teacher, and the Knit Collage coaches to help answer in the moment questions.
• * Access to our private Challenge Facebook Group to answer all of your questions and receive technical support. We are a welcoming, energetic, and kind community of members to hold you accountable and keep you motivated to actually complete your project.
• * Prizes valued at over $1000 for most creative cowl, most improved beginner and best cheerleading community member.
• * You have the option to order a yarn kit from us or use your own yarn. I’ve put together 20 different kits that combine our Spun Cloud yarns with our WF Mini Skein Kits and Daisy Chain yarns. We are down to the very last mini kits so if you have your heart set on a color, grab it quickly!
• * Finish with a closing celebration party and community fashion show!

• Bonus:

  • 10 bonus tutorial videos valued at $32 where I teach how to wind yarn, the best tools to support your knitting practice, how to needle felt ends so that you can save yourself time finishing your project and so much more!
• We open up registration on Feb 20^th at 10am ET for both the virtual option, priced at $26 and the yarn kit option is $148. We would so love to have you join us!

•  

  Here are the yarn, gauge and sizing details if you know you'd like to go with the virtual option and want to source (or maybe spin?!) yarn on your own. 

• Pattern details:

• Skill Level: Beginner 

• Needle/Hook Sizes:

  Size US 13 (9 mm) 32” / 80 cm circular needles or size needed to obtain gauge, 2 sets in total

  Size N/P / US 15 (10 mm) crochet hook for provisional cast-on 

  Size I / US 9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook for finishing fringe at side seams.

  Size:  One Size

  Finished Measurements:

  Bag Width (without fringe) = 17” / 42.5 cm

  Bag Height = 12.25” / 30.5 cm

  Handle Opening Width = 4.5” / 11.5 cm

  Handle Height = 2” / 5 cm

  Gauge:

• 10 sts and 23 rows  = 4.5” / 11.5 cm in Textured Stripe Stitch (See Pattern Notes) worked flat on knitting needles, steam blocked

  See Pattern Notes for suggested gauge swatch recommendations.

  Materials: 

  * Main Color 1 (MC1):  1 skein Spun Cloud (100% wool; approx. 100 yds (92 m) / 200 g) shown in Bodacious Pink

  * Main Color 2 (MC2):  1 skein Daisy Chain (95% wool / 4% silk / 1% polyester; approx. 60 yds (55 m) / 100 g) shown in Sweet Papaya 

  * Contrast Colors (CCs): 

  * 1 Wildflower Mini Skein Kit [(approx. 85 yds (78 m) / 100 g) - 5 mini skeins of yarn included per kit, 17 yds (16 m) / skein] shown in Blooming Jasmine with colors used in the following order:

  * CC1:  Reflection Pool; CC2:  Lotus Petal;  CC3:  Goldenrod;  CC4:  Neon Blossom;  CC5:  Bright Purple Iris

  **Please note any modifications to stripe layout, size, width, height, or fringe length may require additional yarn.**

  Pattern Designer: Anna Skala

• I so hope you'll consider joining in. On Friday, I'll share a blog post with more pattern pics, yarn color combo details.  I am so excited for it! AND If you are a beginner knitter, this is for you. Our team plus the video tutorials are there to guide and support you. When you're starting out, you need the most help and support - that's what this challenge is all about! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

  Amy

The Fall Make-along and Solstice Hug Challenge are behind us. So many new friendships were made and stunning projects completed! I'd love to keep that momentum going and inspire you to keep making all the things. With this in mind, I'm excited to tell you a little bit about our Creative Knitters membership. It ties into our yarns and our make-alongs (think early access to the kits and new products) but goes way beyond our yarns and include a video vault of techniques as well as ways to get knitting and crochet help (on any pattern or any yarn)...not to mention learning-packed classes and a cheerleading, inclusive community! 

Alrighty so here is what you get ~ it's a whole lot!

• A video vault – This is geared to all levels of knitters but will be especially beneficial to beginner knitters to start. The video vault is yours forever and hosted on teachable. Right when you join, you’ll get access to the 130+ videos tutorials - simple basics like – how to read a yarn label, what is the difference between yarn weights, our favorite tools, simple cast on and knit stitch tutorials. This is all the stuff that I wish I had known when I started knitting. I spent hours on youtube looking for tutorials – it was painful. This is a one stop place for simple, clear videos. You’ll also find more advanced tutorials on short rows, colorwork, lace, blocking, brioche, intarsia and more!

• Events - Each month we have one to two virtual learning events! We’ve learned how to add beads and sequins to our knitting with Brazilian teacher Paula Pereira, how to Tunisian crochet with Toni Lipsey and just last week, we learned how to stack stitches with Xandy Peters – the list goes on! Members from Knit Collage also lead us in events – Laurel taught us how to fix ALL the mistakes a few months ago and Cheryl taught us how to add a zipper to a knit or crochet project in September. These are fun way for us to up our skills in connect as a community. All of these are lead on zoom and recorded.

• End of Year Party - Every December we also host a fun holiday trivia party complete with a signature cocktail (or mocktail) recipe to follow, fancy dress (if you feel inspired!) and prizes. We gave out over $500 in trivia prizes last time, it was a blast!

• Community - Making in community is just better. It’s about accountability and cheerleading and it’s just so much more fun that way! We’ll host our community in a private Facebook group and will encourage you to connect and cheerlead each other. Posts here can be about any project, any yarn. We love it all! We’ll host Zoom calls every week (sometimes twice a week) in addition to the monthly events. All of them are recorded if you would like to watch them later. We connect you by location and by your cohort of folks you joined with to foster a small group feel. If you want to meet up with folks that live near you in real life, fantastic.

This is a great place to say too – that all skill sets will be welcome. Expert knitters know that ripping is part of knitting. Even after knitting for 20+ years I still constantly make mistakes and it stinks but then I learn and grow. My hope for this community is that it is a place where any skill set will feel comfortable to share their wins and failures – because we’ve all been there and that is part of getting better. 

•  Help - What happens when you realize you’ve made a seemingly fatal knitting error and there’s nothing else you can do?!!!!!! You need help or else the entire project may be tossed to the wayside never to be returned to again. When I started knitted this very problem led to many an unfinished project. We’ve come up with something really cool here for you to get the help you need, when you need it. If you’ve done our make-alongs (MALs) before you might know Cheryl and Anne – our knitting guru/goddess/tech queens. They both help knitters out all the time in our MALs. But now they’ll be helping you with any yarn/any project – not just made with knit collage yarn and patterns. You’ll sign up for a thirty minute time slot to zoom with her and get any kind of knitting help that you might need. We’re going to have a process for doing this through sign up genius that will be simple and easy for you to use. Think of it like your virtual knit helper when you need it. My hope is that this will get you finishing more projects with anxiety!

•   Early Access - The next thing and this is a big one – you’ll get early access to our MALs and now Challenges too! In the past fall and spring MALs we sold out of some colors within minutes. This will give a leg up to make sure you get the colors you love. You’ll also get early access to other Knit Collage new releases – any new yarns, patterns and products that I don’t plan to always keep in stock as well as sale yarns. You will get first dibs! I'm currently working on a giant sample sale for Creative Knitters that will include one off samples from my last trip to India.

   All of our yarn is handmade in India – not only is it time intensive to make, the virus has taken a toll on our lead time lengths mainly because of the ongoing shipping crisis. The lead times we are working with keep getting longer which means I have to decide earlier and earlier what I need to order – it’s so tricky to say the least! Despite my best efforts, it is near impossible to guess each time correctly….which means getting that early access will definitely come in handy to ensure you get exactly what you like.

•  $10 monthly credit - You’ll also get a $10 credit to use on the knit collage website every month. If you don’t use it one month, it will simply roll over to the next month. If you’re so inclined, you can save these all up to use towards our make-alongs.

• Yarn Designing Class - This year, as a group we embarked on something fun and really new. Each CK member had the opportunity to design their own yarn. They created the recipe and I put it all into work on my last trip to India. I worked with our spinning team to get the samples all done (there were 28!) and as a community we voted on the ones we liked the best. The top three winners will become the gift that goes out to members once a year.

• Ok so that is it, I think I covered everything! The cost is $38 per month- a cost will likely increase each time we open registration because we keep adding more tutorials and class recordings to what you get.

•  Registration will be open for one week only. The next time to be able to join may be in about 6 months from now – July 2024. If we get a lot of interest right now we may not open it again for another year or so. This time around you have the option to sign up for a yearlong membership and save around $75 if you go that route.

   

  Registration will open on January 24th at 10am ET and stay open for one week, closing on January 31st. Then the fun begins. Right when you join, you get access to that video vault and the community.

   

  If you feel your inner artist calling to explore and go deeper or if you’ve simply joined in our make-alongs and enjoyed the experience, I invite you to join me on a new, friend-filled creative adventure. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and if there’s one aspect of the membership that interests you the most. I’d love to hear it!

Last Friday, I shared about the knitting challenge headed your way so soon. If you missed that last video, take a quick minute to check out all the details right here.

In our first ever knitting challenge, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your knitting skills, connect with other fiber loving makers, dive deep into your own creativity and finish with a stunning cowl to cherish for years to come. In today’s blog post, I go into all the knitty gritty details of what yarns to choose and sizing so that you’ll feel well equipped to pick yarns and your size easily. If you decide to go with a Knit Collage yarn kit, I share all of the available color combos we’ve put together for you so that you can peruse at your leisure! If you'd like to ask a question or join me live to share more about yarns and fit, join me on instagram live Monday, Dec 18th at 7:30pm ET. 

Ok first up, the color combination details! For this pattern, we combine our Spun Cloud yarn (either 1 or 2 skeins, depending on your size) with one Mini Skein Sampler Kit. Our Spun Cloud yarn is a bulky thick and thin wool yarn that is spun with two tiny strands of silver and gold lurex plied around it. The sparkle is every so subtle! We mix the Spun Cloud with 5 contrasting colors that come packed together as a Mini Skein Sampler Kit. Inside each of these kits you get one mini skein of our most favorite special yarns including: Dreamland, Daisy Chain, Wildflower, Cast Away and Spun Cloud (you'll get this in a contrasting color to the other Spun Cloud color you pick!). Peruse all of the available color combinations at the link below.

Solstice Hug Color Combinations

We are at the end of the year and have very, VERY few Mini Skein Sampler kits left, in some cases less than 10. If you have your heart set on a special kit, please order early to ensure you get what you like! Please feel free to reach out and ask me any and all questions in the blog comments below.

Ok, on to pattern details!

Pattern details:

Skill Level: Beginner Knitter

Sizes: 1 (2, 3, 4, 5)

Finished Measurements:  

To fit chest sizes 28-34 (34-42, 42-50, 50-60, 60-68)” / 71-86 (86-106.5, 106.5-127, 127-152, 152-173) cm.

Fit Note: Choose a size that will fit comfortably around your upper body at chest level. The ribbed fabric will conform nicely to a range of sizes, but you don’t want it to be so snug that it limits arm movement. Samples are size 2 shown on a 34”/86 cm chest and on a 42”/106.5 cm chest.

* My bust is 35.5", I will go with a size 2 that is meant to fit bust sizes between 34" and 42". I will have a little more positive ease with this option, which I'd recommend so that you can freely move your shoulders and arms.

Materials: 

1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skein(s) Spun Cloud (100% wool; approx. 100yds (92 m) / 200 g) shown in Honeysuckle

1 Mini Skein Sampler Kit (approx. 85 yds / 164-170g - 5 mini skeins of yarn included per kit, 17 yds /skein) shown in Geode

The kits we will have will be this option, listed above!

Needle Size:

Size US 17 (12.75 mm) 32” / 80 cm circular needles forBody, or size needed to obtain gauge.

For Size 1 only: Size US 15 (10 mm) 16” / 100 cm circular needles

For Sizes 2-5 only: Size US 13 (9 mm) 16” / 40 cm circular needles for Neck Ribbing (or your preferred needles of same size for small circumference knitting)

Gauge: 

7.5 sts and 10 rnds = 4” / 10 cm in 3/1 Rib Stitch worked in the rnd using larger needle, steam blocked

Note: Adjust needle sizes as needed to achieve gauge. Then use a needle approx. 2.5-3 (3.5-4, 3.5-4, 3.5-4, 3.5-4) mm smaller than larger needle for neck ribbing)

* As part of the challenge, we will have a detailed video on how to knit your gauge swatch and choose your needle size.

Pricing for our yarn kits is:

Sizes 1 through 3: $108

Sizes 4 and 5: $138

If you would like to use your own stash or handspun yarns, that is AWESOME. Make sure your yarns are similar yarn weights to our yarns listed here and that they will work with the needle size and gauge listed. You'll need 185 (185, 185, 285, 285) yards of yarn.

Virtual option pricing: $22 (our yarn kits include pricing for all the challenge deliverables like the pattern, video classes, help sessions and more!)

AND a quick recap of what's inside this knitting challenge!

Inside the 10 day knitting challenge you’ll get:

• * An easy-to follow video course on how to knit the Solstice Hug pattern from start to finish. You just need to know the very basic knit and purl stitches to join in! The course is yours forever.
• * Techniques you’ll learn: swatching in the round, knitting in the round with magic loop, German short rows, rib knitting, needle felting ends + more.
• * A downloadable workbook with the pattern and our best tips and resources for knitting success.
• * Daily live zoom and facebook sessions with me, your teacher, and the Knit Collage coaches to help answer in-the-moment questions.
• * Technical support in our facebook group to answer all of your questions.
• * A welcoming, energetic, and kind community of members to hold you accountable and keep you motivated to actually complete your project.
• * Prizes valued at over $1000 for most creative cowl, most improved beginner and best cheerleading community member.
• * You have the option to order a yarn kit from us or use your own yarn. I’ve put together 15 different kits that combine our Spun Cloud yarns with our Mini Skein Sampler Kits. We are down to the very last mini kits so if you have your heart set on a color, grab it quickly! T
• * Finish with a closing celebration party and community fashion show!

We open up registration on Dec 20^th at 10am ET for both the virtual option, priced at $22 and the yarn kit option is $108 to $138, depending on your size and would so love to have you join us!

Thank you so much for being here! Hope you'll join me live on Instagram today, Monday Dec 18th at 7:30pm ET.