Skylark's Fashion Extravaganza

You know Sharon if you have ever visited my ravelry group, Sivia Harding Knits. Sharon (skylark on ravelry) is the behind-the-scenes mama figure moderator who greets each and every new member with warmth and panache, and even trolls the new projects lists to find folks who might want to join the party.

At a risk of embarassing Sharon and making all of you jealous, she is an unparalleled helper, never complains about the work load, and even test knits for me from time to time - and she is an amazing knitter! You should check out her projects. Really.

Her latest enterprise is the Fashion Show, a growing compendium of photos of people's versions of my shawls. It is a magnificent thing to do, huge in scope, and I am starting to worry about whether Sharon has time to eat and sleep in the face of it all.

So, just to make it a little easier on Sharon, if you have posted pictures of yourself or a friend modeling a Sivia Harding shawl, send a link or leave a comment. We'll add it to the list, and we thank you.

Now back to previously scheduled insanity.. getting ready for SS09!

To Socks and Beyond

Someone told me recently that my two new patterns, which will be debuted at Sock Summit 09, are “way beyond socks.” I just love that phrase. In a way, it was a great complement, as socks are rather prosaic knitted items and I strive for the unique and well, special. But functionality is key too, as for all sock-like knitted items that are expected to perform well and look awesome.

Form and function.. both so important, don't you agree?

So here, without any more ado, are my two newest creations.

Continuum, so named because my inspiration for the cable design was the Tibetan never ending knot that symbolizes the interconnectness of all beings. Continuum is a cabled and beaded series of leg warmers in three lengths, in dk weight yarn. Here again I thank my friends Sparklefaerie and M.Scott, her able and willing photographer.



The shortest version, cuffs that are meant to go over boots or knee socks.



The longest version, thigh high and bell bottomed leg warmers that drape beautifully.





And these shortie leg warmers, so cute on Sparklefaerie, that warm your knees when your boots aren't quite high enough.

Next, Blossom Dearies, beaded baby booties that are meant for the most angelic of little feet. I named them after one of my favorite singers as a tribute to her tiny but perfect, angelic voice.







Thanks to Zoe Gee, mother of the little angel in this picture, and the angel himself, Teijo Tso.

These patterns will be found at the Sock Summit vendor area at the Carolina Homespun booths and at WEBS. And after Sock Summit, elsewhere of course.

Happy journeys.. to socks and beyond!

Fiddling Around

Yes, I am on a crazed sock marathon. Yes, I am counting the minutes, hours and days until Sock Summit.

Yes, I have a new sock pattern.. first seen in Dye Dreams' Four Seasons Sock Club this year, and the lovely Dye Dreams folks have generously allowed me to publish it myself just a few months after their club had it.

So.. here it is folks, with another brilliant M.Scott photo to grace the pattern cover. Those are Sparklefaerie's feet inside the socks too, in case you wondered.

Pattern specs:

Toe up gusset heel sock in three sizes with high instep option for all sizes. Beads are included (of course!) and I used the crochet hook add-as-you-go method for this one. So much fun!

In addition to the Dye Dreams' Panda Sox, a new bamboo blend which knits up beautifully, I have used Curious Creek Fibers' Wasonga, which has a very silky feel.

You can now purchase the Fiddlehead Sock pattern on my site and on ravelry.

If you are coming to SS09, you can see them in person! Yay!

Pure Enchantment

We never know the hidden talents of folks we see every day.

For instance, I knew Jamie from our working together at Three Bags Full where she is assistant manager, and I had met her husband in passing. I even knew that he is a photographer, but that is as far as my knowledge went.

Fate, or perhaps just the openhearted generosity of Jamie and M.Scott, threw us together to solve a problem: How to get some photos of my silk Aphrodite while it is still in my possession? Having kept one of the two Aphrodites that were part of the Twist Collective trunk show when they visited Three Bags Full recently, I knew that I wanted, no needed some new photographs of this piece. Jamie and M.Scott came through in a flash, and what a flash it proved to be! They are a brilliant team. This is just a taste of what was filmed that day, with more to be seen soon on the Twist Collective blog, and on the cover of several new patterns to be released soon.

OK, here is another taste:

Please click for bigger so you can see all the lovely detail.

Jamie (known professionally as Sparklefaerie) can be seen at sparklefaerie.com; M.Scott at altphotoart.net.

Color Riot, or Forgive my Teal

I am in full pre-Sock Summit obsession.. projects crowding around like little mewling babies, all craving attention and all wanting to be made before SS09.

As most of you know, probably to the point of nauseating repetition, I love beads and use them in almost everything I make. A growing number of people share my fascination with beads and how they can enhance (in my humble opinion) knitting designs.

It is however, rare when I find the right bead for the right yarn right away.. usually it takes some shopping around and that can be a process when you mostly order your good Japanese beads by mail order.

So.. regard. This is my latest order from Earth Faire, and EVERY BEAD IS PERFECT! I don't think it is my masterful decision making ability either, because I forgot what I ordered right after I ordered them, and besides I didn't have these skeins of yarn in my possession when I ordered. It has to be serendipity, or grace, or maybe synchronicity. Take your pick.

So take a look, and dream of the socks that will emerge from these yarns and bead combinations...


Because each of these is so wonderful in its own right, here follows a photo of each project.. more for my journalistic desire to record what I mean to do next than anything else.. and nothing is carved in stone, mind you. No promises.

But today, this is my happy color dance of potential bliss...


Oh Mama! STR lightweight in My blue heaven and Turquoise, with mint julep aqua and silver lined dark aqua beads. Yes, this is all one project!


Sweet sweet sweet! Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in Rose Quartz, with sparkling cranberry lined amethyst ab beads.


Be still my heart! STR lightweight in Corbie with sparkling aqua green lined crystal ab beads.


Oh lordy - I hear the angels singing! STR lightweight in Quilla with dark peach lined crystal ab beads.


Splendiforous! Sweet Georgia Superwash Sock in Turquoise with glacier blue lined crystal ab beads


Elegance! Sweet Georgia Speed Demon in Teal with teal lined lavender beads

OK.. enough of this.. I'm going to wind up some yarn, yeah baby!

Sweet Visitation

Last Tuesday I had a sweet little visitation with one of my "children".. Aphrodite, now part of the Twist Collective family.

The occasion was the Twist Collective traveling trunk show which landed at Three Bags Full and took over the shop for the evening.

The shop was quite transformed for the show.. cleared out, lined with chairs, and filled with excitement!

The models began to circulate...












And then my little creations, both of them, came out to play...





A splendid time was had by all. It was thrilling to see these garments in person.. so much better than in pictures.

Phoenix has Risen

So many people have written to me over the last year asking when the Phoenix Rising shawl would be available after its stint in last year's Year of Lace 2008 subscription club.

After much reworking and in a gorgeous new yarn, here she is on my website, and here on ravelry. Please do take a peek.

You will notice some differences between last year’s version and this new one. I have added beads into the flame-like center lace panel, and a brand new beaded lace edge that I feel is a perfect finish. I hope you agree.











The yarn is Sweet Georgia Yarns’ Cashsilk lace, a wonderful blend of 45% cashmere, 50% silk that is truly sinfully soft. Lovely Felicia Lo, whom you see modeling the shawl, dyes a wonderful yarn.. I used her boysenberry colorway. Yum!

Happy lacing and beading to all,

Sivia

Aphrodite Revealed

Hello all,

Just to let you know that the Summer 2009 Issue of Twist Collective is now up. If you are not yet familiar with this beautifully put together online publication, you can read all of the many articles and features for free, and of course see the gorgeous photographs of all the patterns. If you would like to purchase a pattern, you can do so on the shop page. All patterns are available as pdf downloadable files only.

Have I mentioned how thrilled I am to be a part of this publication, in the company of so many other great designers?

I hope you like Aphrodite... She is on the cover of the magazine, and on page 10! Please do take a peek!

If you are on Ravelry, you can favorite or queue the pattern, and also see what everyone else is doing with theirs. The Ravelry library page for Aphrodite can be found here.

There is also an Aphrodite knitalong just getting started on my Ravelry group.

Now forgive me if I indulge myself by posting these *homemade* blocking pics of both versions of Aphrodite, complete with blocking gremlin!

Lace Conquers All

I saw a preview of Twist Collective's summer issue today.. I am on the cover! Please take a peek...

and let me know what you think!

Sivia

The New Phoenix Rising

Yes, it is almost here! Phoenix is about to rise again.. with a few little changes.



Notice the beads that now grace the center lace panel? I hope you do... there are more changes to follow.. stay tuned for those.

I love this yarn.. allow me to sing the praises of Sweet Georgia, whose cashsilk lace yarn this is, in the boysenberry colorway. I swear that several folks at the Three Bags Full knit night last Wednesday evening were swooning when they touched it.

My picture does not do justice to either the super saturated color or the intensely pleasurable feel of this yarn.

I close with a few shots of San Diego, where I was when I started this version, and where a very pretty springtime is to be found.

In Praise of Patternfish

If any of you haven't yet heard of the Patternfish phenomenon, please get up to date already!

This smart and fun site offers you thousands of pdf downloadable patterns, with great ways to search and save your faves, intelligent rundowns of each and every pattern, great service, and even better yet, it's Canadian!

Julia Grunau is the mastermind behind the 8-ball. She writes a mean blog post. And my Harmonia’s Rings is their best selling pattern in Germany.

For all of you designers out there, Julia is soliciting, so go over and get yourself signed up! You will be in fine company indeed.

There and Back Again

Most of you know that for the last two months I have been away looking after my son.

I am back now, a little sleep deprived but all in one piece. Internet access was not always available to me, so there is a lot to catch up on!

Thanks to all of you who offered their wishes for my son’s recovery. It is so hard to see a child hurting, even if he is no longer a child. My son, Ari, has sustained nerve damage from a surgical procedure that went wrong. He has a long road ahead as he continues his rehabilitation, and every prayer and wish is appreciated.

Although we were able to find him excellent health care, the support in California for people in need is not the best and he does not have enough money to meet his bills, especially since he lost his health insurance along with his job a few months ago.

I will be hosting a blog event soon to raise some funds to help with his medical and other expenses. I will be sure to post all the developments here.

In the meantime, I have been busy knitting and designing. Here are some new things you can look forward to seeing:

The June issue of Twist Collective will feature a new beaded shawl pattern. See the Sneak Peak page here.

Also in June, the Fiddlehead Sock pattern, already published as part of Dye Dreams’ Four Seasons Sock Club, will be available from my website and here on ravelry.

The Embrace the Lace Club from Woolgirl, loosely based on the Seven Heavenly Virtues, is now featuring a new beaded lace shawlette pattern along with hosting a charity event in honor of the theme (my virtue: Charity). Please see the blog to join in the event, which will benefit Autism Speaks.

I am working up a new version of the Phoenix Rising shawl that was first seen last year in the Year of Lace 2008 Club. The new version is in a glorious yarn by Sweet Georgia and now includes more beads and features a different edging than the original.

And last but not least.. I am getting ready for Sock Summit!!! New designs and new classes.. oh my.

Please stay tuned for more developments, and thank you again for being such a worthy audience…

Love to all,

Sivia

Fiddlehead Socks... the teaser

Hello dear readers, who must think I have permanently fallen off the blog wagon.

I am currently in San Diego, land of cactus and persimmon flowers, taking care of my dear son for a while.

Mostly I am knitting up a storm, but finding time to design too.. and this is the latest off my needles, the Fiddlehead Socks:





Pictures were taken in the back yard garden of Kristine Brooks, of Curious Creek Fibers fame. I am indeed lucky to be here in this enchanted spot.

The Fiddlehead Socks will be released in May as part of the Four Seasons Sock Club from Dye Dreams, then in June you can look for the pattern under my name. Lucky sock club participants will be receiving the pattern and the luscious bamboo blend yarn in lovely Fiddlehead teal, which was dyed for me according to my specifications.

Thank all of you who have sent get well wishes for my son Ari, who helped me take the pictures of the socks that you see above.

The Event called Sock Summit

OK.. is there anyone out there who still hasn’t heard of Sock Summit, the event that “takes sock knitting almost too far”?

For everyone who hasn’t drooled over the possibilities yet, Sock Summit takes place in Portland, OR on August 6-9 of this year. You can see all the wonderful details on the website, where the class listings were posted for the first time recently.

And very excitingly for me, I am getting to teach at this fantastic event! Truly, I feel as if I should be the one paying them for the privilege. Once you look over the list of teachers and classes (not to mention the 150 vendors in the marketplace) I know you will agree.

If you would like to take a peek at my class offerings, here are the links to those (and yes, they will be all beads, all the time):

http://www.socksummit.com/classes/beaded_cables/

http://www.socksummit.com/classes/beautiful_beaded_baby_bootees/

http://www.socksummit.com/classes/hooked_on_beads/

I hope you can join me there, in spirit if not in the “socks”!

Clubbed

This must be the Year of the Club for me.

Last year, I had a magnificent introduction into the Mysteries of the Club when Phoenix Rising was the kickoff design for the Year of Lace 2008 club.



The success of that design led me to go.. hog wild comes to mind.. when I started getting requests for designs for this year's club docket.

Already this year I have had two club releases, with several more to come.

Forgive me if I indulge myself with a list of past and present offerings.

The first one was for the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club sponsored by the Unique Sheep. My sin was Envy, and this was my initial design:



The yarn is House Blend from Unique Sheep, a lovely dk-weight alpaca blend. The final design was much prettier... in envy green with beads, of course. Sorry I don't have any pics of the final one to show, but you get the idea.

The next was an installment of the Rockin' Sock Club, a design called the Queen of Beads, or as Tina lovingly embellished the title, Queen of Beads Singing the Blues. I became part of the Notorious Sock Knitters World Domination Tour with that shipment and I must say that this has been the highlight of my year in knitting so far.. Blue Moon does rock, and rock well...

And what's up next, you may ask?

I had to balance the Seven Deadly S(p)ins with something, and this is what it was: The Seven Heavenly Virtues of Lace, sponsored by Woolgirl. Can't expose the work in progress to the public eye as yet, but it will be heavenly, at least I hope so. My virtue is Charity, and we are planning an event along with the installment that will bring out this quality in the best way.

Next up is Dye Dreams' Four Seasons Sock Club, for which I am pleased to be the representative of Spring. Do check out the lineup of designers.. I am flattered indeed to be included in this list of luminary sock designers!

I was given the choice of fibers and best of all, colors in this club, and here is the gorgeous color (and beads) I chose:



Next? Why, the Year of Lace 2009!!! For now, suffice it to say that my design will be the summer installment of this prestigious club.

And last but not least, the Shakespeare in Lace Club from Wooly Wonka Fibers. I have my Shakespearean theme, and the gorgeous yarn and beads in hand for the shawl that shall be the December installment of the club. I do hope that it will be bard-worthy.

Here is the lineup for the rest of the year.. I don't know if subscriptions are still open, but do check it out:

March: Miriam Felton of Mimknits is kicking off the subscription kits with a nod to Othello. She’s taking her design theme from Desdemona’s handkerchief, a strawberry motif, done in a drapey merino blend laceweight dyed the color of (what else?) crushed strawberries.

June: Judy Anderson has chosen a lovely soft periwinkle blue silk/merino laceweight for her A Midsummer Night’s Dream project, a triangular lace shawl knit in fairy lace motifs and sprinkled with sparkling beads.

September: Anne Hanson of Knitspot will be chiming in for her interpretation of Macbeth’s Burnham Wood, with a rectangular stole covered with tree and woods motifs in rich earthy hues on a laceweight cashmere/silk yarn.

December: Sivia Harding has agreed to round out the year for us by taking a cue from As You Like it, following the twists and turns of the plot (which resolve neatly in the end!) in the shawl’s lace patterning, and creating a Faroese-shaped shawl knit in a slightly heavier, fingering weight yarn dyed in a deep blue-black ink color.

I think that rounds out the year quite nicely, what say you?

Design your Heart Out.. Announcing The Spring Workshop!

Hello everyone,

It's almost Spring and lace is blooming! For any of you who may in the
neighborhood (Pacific Northwest), or may be interested in traveling here, I have
a new workshop offering that will take place this May on beautiful Vancouver
Island. This one is especially for lace knitters who have always wanted to
design your very own lace shawl… but weren't sure where or how to start.

Here are some of the details:

Creating Lace Filled Triangles
with Sivia Harding
May 14 - 17, 2009
Cobble Hill, BC, Canada

I will walk you through the design process in an inspiring, safe, and supportive
atmosphere. Bring a variety of yarns that you love, and any stitch dictionaries
that you may own.

The Location
Sage's home is so beautiful and we are very lucky that she is opening it up to
us to share for the weekend. The air is sweet, the view stunning and the
Cowichan Valley area is full of delightful surprises. You may wish to add a few
days to your trip and give yourself time to enjoy the region.


(View from Sage's Porch)

Accommodation
Once you've registered we will give you tips on where to look for places to
stay. There are many lovely bed and breakfast options very close by – several
are within minutes of Sage's home. There are also "budget" accommodations
available, too.. contact Sage for details.

Registration – Don't Wait!!!
Space is limited, so please contact Sage right away if you are planning to
attend. Leave a message at 250-733-2999, or email her

Questions?
Most of the answers can be found by downloading the original poster:

http://www.siviaharding.com/Spring_Workshop.pdf

Or by contacting Sage…

See you in May!!!

The Excitement Builds...

For those of you who for some weird reason have not yet heard about the Sock Summit, which promises to be the knitting event of the century, you can get up to speed here.

The unholy three, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Tina Newton of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and Cat Bordhi, have been planning this incredible thing under wraps.. until today.

The wraps are off! Now it can be told.. the most amazing collection of knitting teachers EVER. Including Barbara Walker, Anna Zilboorg, Priscilly Gibson-Roberts, Meg Swanson, and on and on. See the entire list and their bios (yes, thrillingly to include moi) on Yarn Harlot's blog and the Sock Summit website.

HEHE!!! The fun is set to start August 6, 2009. Get your socks on...

Screen Queen

Some of you may know that I am the designer behind the latest Rockin' Sock Club offering, Queen of Beads. From where I stand, this is kind of like being the mother of a famous child star. I just looked on the Ravelry pattern startup page and this is what I saw:


My pattern is second after a gorgeous and free lace shawl KAL. Wow. I don't know.. does this mean I have "arrived"????

Having just arrived home from knitterly jaunts to San Juan Island and the Madrona Fiber Arts event, I am tired but elated. And now this.. somebody pinch me.

More to come as I sort through all the photographs, papers, and patterns from my trip...

Happy Gloves to You!

The Rolling Thunder Glove pattern is available as a free ravelry download. Some of you already found it on my website as a freebie, but now the rest of the knitting world will be discovering it!

The Rolling Thunder glove is an offshoot of the Rolling Thunder sock pattern that was published in Knitty.com in the Spring 2006 issue. The gloves came about because I wanted to make a new pair to replace the samples that walked away with my mom after she visited me last fall, but I just couldn't quite make myself do the pattern as written... hehe. This familiar to any of you? No, I thought not...

There will be a class featuring these gloves at Three Bags Full knit shop in January, so be sure and sign up for that if you are here in town and you thnk you may be interested... it is a fun glove pattern with a hemmed cuff, beads, and a nicely shaped thumb.

May your holidays be peaceful and filled with joy! All wishes for a happy season of light, from snow blanketed Vancouver...

I Created a Monster

Sometimes teaching people how to make socks is like sowing seeds in the wilderness.. This picture from Susan, brought to me via another student's Blackberry, was one of the best presents I have ever received!

And here's to sockoholic bliss!