admin, Author at Marly Bird

Buffalo Wool Company

December 10, 2013 By admin 19 Comments

Today on the Yarnthing Podcast with Marly Bird: Ron Miskin of the Buffalo Wool Company!

The Buffalo Wool Company (formerly Buffalo Gold) is run by Theresa and Ron Miskin. They, like many of our fellow fiber folks, fell into working in the yarn industry, in this case, with the help of the family bison ranch. Ron’s father has raised buffalo for many years. While Ron was at loose ends after leaving the restaurant business, he had a chance encounter with bison hides his father asked him to lay out and became interested in what one does with the down/fluff that the bison shed. His father had been selling the hair (it’s not actually wool) on-line and soon after they started producing bison roving which lead to spinning yarn and making accessories. Check out all their cool stuff on their website. Listen below to hear all about this great company, Buffalo Wool!

So why should you try bison yarn? For one, because this fiber is made from hair, bison yarn does not felt. The hair doesn’t have the barbs that make sheep wool felt. This means that it is a naturally machine washable fiber! It is also durable, making it a great long wearing and hearty fiber. Bison fiber is also very soft, just as soft as cashmere, lightweight, and very warm. And if that wasn’t enough, it is hypoallergenic so even people with wool allergies can use it!

In addition to their pure bison yarn, Earth, Buffalo Wool does blends bison with other fibers such as wool and silk. These yarns come in a great array of colors so check them out to see them all! Wool and silk weren’t the only things they blended their bison with, earlier this year they produced a limited run of Buffalo Gold yarn. This luxury yarn blended bison fiber with actual gold filament. Special this week, use the coupon code Marly for 20% off any yarn from Buffalo Wool!!

Check out the patterns that Marly has done with Buffalo Wool yarn on Ravelry. These are great patterns (like Larissa at the left)!

Be on the lookout for their upcoming self-published book, Cowgirl Up! This e-book features 7 knitting patterns and 1 crochet pattern inspired by the women who tamed the wild west. As an added bonus, you also get a short story by Jeannie Eilerts and their Bison Chili recipe.

You can find Buffalo Wool Company: on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Ravelry.

And the GIVEAWAY for this podcast, leave a comment below with Ron’s keyword for your chance to win a copy of the Cowgirl Up! e-book!

Don’t forget the discount code, get 15% off All Needles and Yarn Bowls with the coupon code MBirdYarnT, for Indian Lake Artisans!

Find Additional Knitting Podcasts with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Jen Lucas

December 3, 2013 By admin 24 Comments

Today, Jen Lucas joined Marly to talk about how she started knitting, designing, and her new book Sock-Yarn Shawls. Don’t miss their discussion about being a new designer and all that goes along with it.

Jen Lucas is a relatively new designer in the knitting scene. She learned to knit just a few years ago after she graduated from college. A friend gave her booklet and yarn and she basically taught herself from there. Her first projects were, like a lot of new knitters, scarves. She progressed from those first scarves to socks and then shawls. After her first few patterns on Ravelry, she decided to propose a book to Martingale which eventually became Sock-Yarn Shawls.

The book has 15 shawl patterns all made with sock yarn. The first section has simple triangular shawls that start with garter or stockinette stitch and end with lace borders. The second section expands on the first with more complicated all-over lace. The last section goes beyond the triangular shape and explores other shapes. You can get the book on Ravelry, Martingale, and Amazon.

You can find Jen on her website, Knitting Like Crazy, Facebook and Ravelry. She has also done a few videos with DailyCraftTV, the first of which is up now. Check out her How to Knit (a shawl from the book) video and keep a look out for more in the future.

Current Hobbies Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

And last but not least, the GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment below with today’s keyword for your chance to win you own copy of Sock-Yarn Shawls!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Mens Cable Knit Sweater Pattern

December 2, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Things are really getting crazy around my house now that the Holiday Season is in full swing and I am sure the same is the case at your house. Make sure you set some time aside to knit whether it is something for you or for your loved ones 😉 Maybe a mens cable knit sweater pattern is in your near future…do I have your interest piqued? If you don’t have a particular pattern in mind I have one for you, the Cobalt Cables Mens Sweater by Marly Bird.

I simply love this piece. It is such a comfortable sweater that my model wanted to take it home with him. He said it fit his broad shoulders better than many store bought sweaters that he has in his closet.

Well, we all know that is because of the saddle shoulder construction; it allows for more room in the upper chest which is great for men. Also, the cables get to be highlighted at the shoulder with this type of construction.

Get this pattern now!

$4.99, PDF Download Only

Here are some more pictures of the piece to entice you more!

Erin Lane Bags and Black Friday Deals

November 26, 2013 By admin 39 Comments

On today’s podcast: Lindsey Martin of Erin Lane Bags!

Join Marly as she talks with Lindsey Martin, the co-founder of Erin Lane Bags, about how she learned to knit and how that lead to her wildly successful company.

Soon after learning to knit from her Aunt, Lindsey got tired of loosing needles (as we all do) and couldn’t find any organizers she liked. She asked her Mom (also a crafter) if she would make her one and the KnitPack was born. The same thing happened with project bags leading Lindsey and her Mom to realize they could make a business. Listen to the show to hear the rest of this inspirational story!

New for next year you can join the Erin Lane Bag Club! Lindsey has reopened sign-up through December 7th! Get in now while you can! When you join the club you will get FOUR exclusive Erin Lane Bags: One Large Project Bag (15″ x 15″), One Small Project Bag (12″ x 12″), One Sock Project Bag (10″ tall with a 5″ square base), and one of the new Two-Fer Project Bags (A project bag with a divider in the middle for specialized projects.) over the course of 2014!

You can find Erin Lane Bags at their Etsy shop ErinLaneBagsandMore and at trade shows like STITCHES Expos and fiber arts festivals like the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza. Lindsey is also on Ravelry, Twitter, and Facebook.

More Hobbies Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

As always the GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment below for your chance to win an Erin Lane Sock Project Bag!

Last but not least today, the beginnings of the Fiber Black Friday Deals!! Erin Lane Bags is have their sale Friday to Friday (Nov. 29th to Dec. 6th). Get 15% off the entire shop with the code bf2013 and if you have $70 or more in your cart, use the code freeship for free shipping!

Marly’s Ravelry Shop: Nov. 28 through Dec. 3rd use coupon code bf2013 for 30% off!

Drew Emborsky: Black Friday through Cyber Monday, 50% off all wool yarns.

Bijou Basin Ranch: Nov. 29th and 30th 20% off Lhasa Wilderness, Shangri-la and Seraphim. Dec. 1st and 2nd 20% off everything in the store plus an additional 10% on the new Yak Wrap. Dec. 3rd through 24th 15% off everything in the store plus free shipping! Don’t forget to check back with them for great deals on kits of a few of Marly’s new patterns in their Rocky Mountain Collection!

Indian Lake Artisans: 20% off needles on Cyber Monday with the code MBirdYarnT!

Fiesta Yarns: sign up for their awesome newsletter to get their deals (and you all kinds of other cool stuff too!).

Craftsy: Always check out Craftsy.com because when have they ever missed a big holiday sale! Don’t be surprised if there are some really great deals this week and on Cyber Monday!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Knit and Crochet Now

November 21, 2013 By admin 23 Comments

Today on the YarnThing Podcast with Marly Bird: the crew of the Knit and Crochet Now! TV show! Producer, Candi Jensen; knitting expert, Kristin Nicholas; and crochet expert Ellen Gormley joined Marly to talk about the behind the scene goings on of the production of this public TV show all about knitting and crochet!

Candi Jensen is a designer in both the knit and crochet worlds who started as a content design advisor for this public television show and was thrust in the role of the producer right before production. What began as Knit and Crochet Today is still going strong as Knit and Crochet Now! 7 years later and is still shot at the Detroit Public Television studios. The show is now sponsored by Annie’s Crafts, where you can take classes, get supplies and check out the magazines they produce (such as Creative Knitting, one of my favorites) as well as get patterns and supplies for the projects you see on the TV show. You can find Candi: on Ravelry, Pintrest, and all her books on Amazon.

Also with the show from the very beginning is Kristin Nicholas, the knitting expert on Knit and Crochet Now!. Marly likes to call Kristin the Queen of Color. Kristin is the author of eight books including: Color by Kristin, Kristin Knits, Colorful Stitchery, and more. You can find Kristin: on her blog Getting Stitched on the Farm, her website KristinNickolas.com, and Ravelry. She has a few new patterns that are great for Christmas: Kristin’s Colorful Christmas Stockings and the holiday card Santa Lamb, too cute! Don’t forget to check out her other patterns and notecards while you are on her website.

Ellen Gormley joined the show in Season 3 as the crochet expert. She started as a guest interview and came back as a permanent member of the cast soon after. Ellen is also the new editor of Crochet! magazine (check out her first issue in Autumn 2014) and author of several books herself: Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workshop, Learn Bruges Lace, and Crocheting Clothes Kids Love. You can find Ellen: on her blog GoCrochet, Ravelry, and her on-line classes with Annie’s Crafts (the direct links are on her blog).

Popular Knitting Internet Radio with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

You can find out anything you want to know about the TV show at Knit and Crochet Now! TV, Annie’s Crafts, and on Facebook.

Just in case you want to check out any of the other people Marly mentioned that are on the show: Robin Chachula, Brett Bara, and Amy Herzog.

And last but not least, the GIVEAWAY!! Leave a suggestion about what you want to see on the next season of Knit and Crochet Now! below for your own chance to win the DVD set of the entire 4th Season of Knit and Crochet Now! and a set of Kristin’s Santa Lamb cards!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Bonita Patterns with Lianka Azulay

November 19, 2013 By admin 20 Comments

Tuesday on the YarnThing Podcast with Marly Bird: Lianka Azulay, owner of Bonita Patterns!

Bonita Patterns owner Lianka Azulay, born in Brazil, picked up her first crochet hook at age 7, and hasn’t put it down since. She is specializes in the research and use of unique stitch patterns in her designs to bring fashionable and contemporary style to crocheted pieces.

Her first collection of patterns, Crocodile Stitch Fashions, was published by Annie’s Attic and quickly became the #1 best-seller in the publisher’s catalog. The huge success of her pattern collection touched off a trend, and the Crocodile Stitch became “one of the hottest crochet techniques in crochet today” (Crochet Magazine).

Lianka believes that “having your own signature as a designer is important”.

You can find out more about Lianka and purchase some of her wonderful patterns here: Online store: www.bonitapatterns.com

Follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bonitapatterns

Subscribe to her newsletter: Bonita Patterns

New Hobbies Internet Radio with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

And we can’t forget the GIVEAWAY! As always, leave a comment below for your chance to win

both Lianka’s book and 5 (FIVE) patterns from Bonita Patterns.

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch