Poddy 5 Has Launched!

Hi again all!

It's finally Spring here in New England! So, that being said, I've decided to celebrate by changing up the blog a bit. I love the new flowers header at the top of the page... It's so Springy!!

Poddy 5 Has Launched! I'm so excited because we have a guest for this one!

Meet designer Alison Green Will and learn about her new patterns and other design ideas floating around in her world...

You can get it here: http://jknits.libsyn.com/ or on iTunes...

Enjoy!
Julie
J. Knits
http://www.j-knits.com/

(and, oh yeah! Have Fun & Knit Safely!)

New J. Knits Website is coming along nicely....

Hi-Ho fun, happy, J. Knits Knitting Friends...

How are you all? I hope the summer (although it might be rainy and dreary right now in your neck of the woods) is treating you nicely.

How's your knitting going? What are you working on now that the weather has gotten hotter?

I actually have several things on the needles right now: socks, 2 different sweaters, a shawl, my sock yarn blankie and maybe 1 or 2 other things that are waiting for time to be worked on :)

Do you find that you knit more or less in the summer? It's up in the air for me. I think I knit about the same all year long although maybe a little less in the summer since I spend some time gardening in the summer too :). Gotta have those fresh veggies!

I Square Foot Garden. Here's a photo:

Basically, you plant in 1 foot x 1 foot squares. I know it sounds a little unorthodox, but it's not. It's a space saver and the veggies grow great! I always have a very prolific garden with minimal effort when I garden this way...

Ok, back to knitting and other stuff!

We've had a new poddy since I spoke to you last. Here's the link to poddy 4.5:

http://jknits.libsyn.com/

or you can get it on iTunes if you prefer! It's an in between poddy bridging the gap between poddies 4 & 5. Hope you likey (like Mikey!!).

Also, I've been hard at work on the web page with updates and with putting into work the new layout. It's coming along, but a little more slowly than I'd like. I do all the work myself from photos to layout so each time I revamp it, I think it really take a huge leap forward!

Here's a link to the web page:

http://www.j-knits.com/

and from there, be sure to visit the new yarn page where you'll get to see all these new little beauties:

Showing the yarn in this new way makes the page easier to navigate (and digest!) and, well, HECK! It's just prettier too :). Enjoy it. I liked messing around with the new yarn photos!

Hope all is well in your busy life! Keep in touch and until next time...

Have Fun & Knit Safely!

Your Knitting Friend,

Julie

J. Knits

http://www.j-knits.com/

Spring Is A Time For Rebirth!!

Hi Everyone!

Did I ever mention how much I LOVE Spring? It's my favorite season by far. Not only is it a fantastic time for rebirth outside, but inside too :).

I had a chance to sit down with some old girlfriends this week. It was so nice to see everyone again! Between work, kids, new babies, new jobs, lost jobs, it was hard to get everyone together. But once we did finally meet up, it was just like old times! We enjoyed knitting and beverages, and funny stories (and some sad ones too...) but it did make me remember how much my true friends mean to me! I know despite the situation, they're always there for me (and vice-versa!). It was wonderful to catch up, get some advice, give some advice, and knit! We promised once a month meetings and I'm really looking forward to them!!

Good friends are so hard to find. When you have one, make sure you let her know that she means a lot to you!

If you've lost touch with a good friend, now is the time to reach out to them! Times are tough for everyone right now but it's amazing how important good friends are. Give her (or him!) a call and tell them you're thinking about them!

You know already how much I love flowers, and gardening and the like. I am pleased to announce that the bearded irises I planted last year are coming up like crazy! Bearded irises are just about the only irises that can stand the cold New England winters. This was the first year they had to grow, and I already have BABIES! I can't wait to see what the flowers look like!

And my 2 types of strawberries are coming up too...

I'm having fun knitting for ME right now :). It doesn't get to happen that often, and I revel in the times when I can pull out some obscure project that isn't work-related and begin working on it again!n I don't have much to show you on that front yet but I'll post when I get a little more knit for you to see :)

Oh yeah! It's Fall 2009 here at J. Knits too... Can't forget about that!!

Here's the first of a couple of posts showing you what's new around here (if you can't quite see the whole image, click on it and it will open in a new window so you can read it all!~):

To see everything that's new right now, click here!

And, just to let you know, there's going to be a sizable online store opening up shortly that will carry all J. Knits Products (yes, I said ALL!) so you can find them if your LYS doesn't carry them.

Have Fun & Knit Safely!

Julie

J. Knits

http://www.j-knits.com/

NENA + Fall 2009... WHEW!

Whew is right!

We just got finished attending our annual New England -based tradeshow, NENA. Unlike Stitches, this one's a wholesale-only show which caters to yarn stores. It's a nice show; not too big and not too small. We have a small booth (I'm hoping for twice the space next year) but that does make it easier to set up and take down.

Here are the girls (Sam & Regan) setting up the booth (I'm taking the photo):

And here is the booth all nice and pretty:

And a closeup of the front of the booth:

And of all the colorways, just waiting to be touched and admired :-)

You know what the best thing is about a Tradeshow is? When it's over!! Ha, ha!

No, really... I loved meeting the store owners and some of them brought some employees and friends with them so I got to meet some die-hard knitters too! That's the best part about it! Meeting everyone is always fun and, if you've heard the poddy (my name for our podcast) then you know I can talk forever about J. Knits!!

Norah Gaughan was there too in the Berroco booth (right next to ours). I have met her in previous years but each time I do, it's always a treat! The most amazing thing about Norah is, despite her unbelieveable knitting mind, how down to earth and modest she is about her talent. She must know how good (and I mean really, really good) she is, but she never lets on, not even for a moment.

I love young talent in the knitting industry today. We have a lot to offer. We're just now coming into our own as some of the more seasoned talent retires or moves on to other ventures. A "passing of the torch" I like to say. It happens in every industry, every single day.

I have so much to share with you about Fall 2009 that it's staggering... it will take me a couple of posts at least!

So for now, enjoy the photos and I'll post more in a day or so...

Oh yeah... in a non-industry related subject, we have some wild turkies that have adopted me & my boyfriend recently. No, we haven't been adopted because we are such a cute couple (even though I think we are ;-) but rather because he feeds them! We have a male and female couple who come to visit and they announce their arrival every morning by "gobbling" when they wander out of the woods for our side yard. Here's a fun photo of one eating underneath our bird feeder:

Bye!

Have Fun & Knit Safely,

Julie

J. Knits

www.j-knits.com

Join Us In Knitting SOCKS FROM THE TOE UP and Win Free J. Knits Yarn!!

Calling all Serious Toe-Up Sock Knitters (or those who want to be!!)...

We're proud to be featured as one of the yarns used in Wendy Johnson's new book Socks From The Toe Up.




Our Superwash Me - Sock Yarn was used in the *I Heart Toe Up Socks* found on page 95.

Our colorway Oklahoma (light pink!) was used for these socks and it was a perfect choice! The socks feature hearts running up the length of the sock. So girlie and so cute!

So, please join us in our celebration by joining this KAL group on Ravelry which features patterns from the book:



Here's a LINK TO THE GROUP...

We're donating prizes every month so you can Knit Your Socks The J. Knits Way!!

Are you a member of Ravelry yet? NO??? What ARE you waiting for? It's fun and it's FREE and if you're not a member yet, you are missing out on the best FREE STUFF KNITTING HAS TO OFFER!!

You can link to the J. Knits Group by CLICKING HERE!!

Have fun and PLEASE Knit Safely!
Julie
J. Knits
www.j-knits.com

Our 3rd PODcast has been uploaded! ALL ABOUT SOCKS!

Hi all...

Sam & I have completely been bitten by the PODcasting bug! We've completed and uploaded our 3rd podcast called "All About Socks!". It's long (1 hour, 42 minutes --> Sorry! We got a little carried away since we both love socks!) but it's fun & informative!

Here's where you can get it:

http://jknits.libsyn.com/

iTunes is taking a while to upload it there so if you have a subscription to our PODdy there, you might want to jump on the page and grab it and then drop it onto your iPod through iTunes.

This one takes a couple of minutes to download from the site so be patient!

Thanks for listening and,

As Always, Have fun & Knit Safely,
Julie
J. Knits
www.j-knits.com

Ok, Now We're Onto the 2nd PODCAST....

There's this crazy little saying we have in New England that goes something like this: "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes because it will change!". this saying really sums up the weather we have had this winter here in New England. Some old-timers are saying that this has been the worst winter for us since the 1970's when there was a couple of really horrible winters here!

Now mind you, we're tough! We can take the bad weather but everyone has their limit! This snowstorm that hit us today has just about taken me to my breaking point! There is so much snow piled in my driveway that the piles are taller than I am (and I'm 5'8"!!). These are photos of me in my driveway proudly showing off my piles of snow.

We had a break in the snow squalls for a moment so I ran out to take the pic. No sooner did I get out there when it started snowing again!

Oh well, enough of that! On another note, has it really been this long since I blogged last?? YIKES!! What a slacker I am...

We're onto our 2nd podcast. It's all about J. Knits' Colorways and about the Company. Here's the link to where you can get it:

http://jknits.libsyn.com/

or you can always get it on iTunes. It's easy to get the new episodes if you subscribe to the podcast. Your iPod will just automatically pop the newest edition into your player once it's released. BOOM! Easy-sneezy... I like it when life's easy...

On the knitting, colorway, and yarn front we're into full FALL '09 swing around here at the moment. We begin selling for Fall around April so we definately have to have all our ducks in order by then. I've been toying with colors, yarns and patterns, trying desperately to pull it altogether for the deadline! I always manage to make it work by the time it needs to be to the reps but it can be stressful for months before then. I'm actually early this year --> WOO-HOO! Everything is almost in order and ready to go. This is in no small part to the staff really busting-their-rumps to make sure yarn is flowing out the doors lately. They have made it easy for me to concentrate on other things thank-goodness!

Sorry but I can't spill the beans about Fall yet. Another 6 weeks or so and I'll tell you all about it...PROMISE!

I've been knitting a lot of sock patterns lately. A lot of Fall '09 concentrates on socks (and other stuff too...) so I've had a lot of knitting to do in preparation! I've been warming up to sock knitting quite a bit in the last couple of months. I've been trying to understand the passion sock knitters feel for their footies as opposed to their head, neck, body or hands :).

I've also been a little compelled to show more clothing this upcoming season. I, like most women, ADORE CLOTHING... "Fashion is my passion" or so the saying goes. When we think of high fashion we tend to think of our favorite high end designer tucked away in a design studio in some exotic place (like New York, Milan, London, etc) sketching away with a frantic team of helpers waiting in the wings and twig-like, half-dressed models strutting down the runway to too-loud music...

But, this image has led me to ask myself why hand knitwear can't be just as glamerous or as high fashion... I've noticed that there have been a lot of designers using handknits in their lines in recent months. We can be just as sexy and just as glamerous in our handknits, can't we??

Check out our new pattern line coming out this fall and you'll be able to answer this question for yourself...

And, in some random, has-nothing-to-do-with-knitting 80's Fashback, I just love this song (click the title to see the surprise song...):

Some 80'S Music ROCKS!

Be a knitter, be proud (and ALWAYS be sexy if nothing else works out for you!!)...

As always,

Have Fun & Knit Safely...

Julie

J. Knits

http://www.j-knits.com/