Worldwide Knit in Public Day! - 1 more day

Worldwide Knit in Public Day is tomorrow. I am so excited. 

If you are in New York City, you must check out Knitty City's event in Bryant Park. It starts at 2:30 PM. They set up tables and chairs for knitters right near the Bryant Park Grill. 

In conjunction with Worldwide Knit in Public Day, I have these beauties to show you. 

I have decided to open my Etsy shop again, and these have been a clear best seller. I have even had inquiries before the shop opened for custom orders. Of course, I made the markers and shipped them immediately. 

My customer is totally happy with her purchase. I love making people happy...especially other knitters. 

The Etsy shop can be found at Mekamika.etsy.com. Check it out! 

Here is a pic of the business card that I designed for the shop. My main focus is embellishing knitting with pretty Swarovski crystals. A little sparkle will just make the knitting project that much more enjoyable. 

As far as knitting goes, I have tons of socks to complete. But, of course I am thinking of starting a new one, or a shawl. Here are the yarn choices.  

I'm contemplating the middle skein. Peepaloofields Dive Bomb in Orange. It knits up like this. 

And of course, I'm thinking of making socks with it. The pattern I have in mind is Skew from Knitty. 

I have had that pattern queued for years, and I think I finally found a yarn that would give it some life. 

The other pattern I have in mind is Swedish Spring by Maria Montzka. Here is a pic of her wearing it (from the Ravelry pattern page).

It was brought to my attention on the Yarngasm Podcast. Kristin of Voolenvineyarns.com is knitting one of her shawls. I have subsequently began listening to Maria's Podcast Stitched in Sweden. Around the same time I discovered the podcast, I bought a skein of Voolenvine's Stellar Banshee. I love the pink/purple flecks and that touch of almost neon yellow. Yet, I think it's subtle enough that you will still be able to see the shawl pattern. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the universe has brought these two together with shear timing and coincidence. It must happen! 

So, what do I pick first? 

Socks or a Shawl. I'm casting on tomorrow. 

A change has come!

I am so excited that Barack Obama is now the President-Elect. I could not sleep last night due to the excitement. So, instead I came up with this idea.


Here is a closer look.

These earrings are made with Sterling Silver earpieces, Swarovski Crystals, and plastic. The logo is covered with an acrylic semi-gloss so that it will not fade.

I went to my knitting group, and as soon as I walked in I heard "Oooh, I LOVE those earrings. Where did you get them?" My reply "I made them this morning". Response - "Are you selling them?"

Answer - YES WE CAN!!!! Please check out the ETSY site if you are interested. If they become temporarily unavailable, I will be happy to make more. Just send me a message on ETSY! The Obama Campaign is still taking donations, so like my stitch markers, I will be donating 50% of the proceeds to the campaign.

Knitting News

I am making good progress on Juliet. I also checked out simplysockyarn.com. They have MMMMMMMMalabrigo Sock Yarn!!! I conservatively bought 2 skeins. So, there will be a yarn eye-candy update within the next week. I need some Mmmmmmalabrigo to wear inside my new boots!!

100th Post...Creative Fun!

I was having some creative fun yesterday, so I made these!! We have a very short time left to make a decision. And with these, I don't even have to say who I am voting for, because you already know. I encourage you to VOTE FOR CHANGE!!!

Wanna get your hands on some? I just made an update to my ETSY store! 50% of every sale will go towards the campaign.

So who is the proud owner of these sets? They were given to Jen, as part of the Sit N' Knit Neckwarmer Exchange. I think she likes 'em!!Here is a closer look at her Crofter's Cowl. The yarn I chose for this cowl is Malabrigo Silky Merino in the "Ankara" colorway. I used size 6 needles. The pattern calls for 2 pattern repeats, but I did 3 repeats, just to make it longer. I had just enough yarn, as you can see from the picture in my previous post. The cowl is created by making 2 pieces, and then grafting it together. I had to rely heavily on that book, my personal knitting bible, in order to get through the kitchener stitch/grafting technique.

I will definately be making a second one for myself. When I can give a gift that I would like to have for myself, I am overjoyed because I know the recipient is getting something that touches my heart. This cowl is super soft, and very cute. I also have a teal leather jacket that will match it perfectly. Yay!!

Speaking of matching perfectly, I received this beautiful cabled, button-up cowl from Limonene.

Here is a close-up shot. She also got me some Raspberry Ghirardelli chocolate treatsas well, and I am going to savor every single bite of it. The cowl matches the bag that Chicagopurl bought me for my birthday. I mean it is a perfect match. I have been trying to break away from all of the pink, and add some more colors to my wardrobe. This cowl is perfect. It is supersoft, and I love it. Thank you once again, Limonene!!!

Since the weather was a bit chilly today, I decided to wear my Central Park Hoodie. My very first sweater. My labor of love. I looked down at my arm and saw this horror of all horrors.

Here is a closer look at the damage. I don't even know how this happened. I am suspecting that the yarn just wasn't properly spun in that area, and it just popped. It doesn't look like a moth had a feast. And, since I am Meka the Mothslayer, that wouldn't happen anyway.

So, I became a sweater surgeon today. Although it may not be perfect, at least the hole is closed and I don't look like I am wearing a bummy sweater.

So, the lesson of the day is... always keep a few yards of sweater yarn, because you never know.

Oh, you want some knitting content? Wicked sleeve #1 is almost finished, but there isn't a picture yet. Rhinebeck is in 13 days, I gotta finish this baby soon. I am not missing another deadline!!!

I also am celebrating a milestone today. This is my 100th post. Since I am feeling generous, I think I want to do my first contest. The prize will be a set of 10 stitch markers in the size of your choice (worsted, chunky or bulky) made with a picture of your choice, and matching swarovski crystal accents. Here are the rules.

1. Comment for your first entry.
2. Mention the contest and link to this post on your blog for a second entry.
3. The drawing will be on October 28th. 1 week before the Presidential Election. Good Luck!!

Where has Shameka been???

It has been 3 weeks since I last blogged. What took me so long? Well, it really has been an eventful 3 weeks. Where do I start??

First of all, I modeled in a photoshoot for my hair salon House of Hair. They needed someone really daring to do a drastic change, so here are some of the "candid" shots on the day of the shoot.

I also went on a frenzy making a bunch of stitch markers. I have already updated my ETSY site with blog-button stitch markers for customization, so if you would like something made please don't hesitate to send me a message. I will make more updates soon, I promise.

These are for Carrie. They will be in the mail shortly. She was the only one to respond to THE CHALLENGE. She didn't have a blog button, so I created an image for her to use on her stitch markers. I also made them in her favorite color of blue. They can be used on worsted weight and chunky needles.

These are for Tawana. She was kind enough to gift me some Lorna's Laces sock yarn in Bittersweet. So, this is my way of saying "Thanks". These are for my Sit N' Knit Group. They were raffle prizes for our Worldwide Knit in Public Day event. It was so much fun. Congratulations to the five lucky people who won stitch marker prizes!!! These stitch markers are Limited Edition.

These were made especially for Me!!!

I also had a performance at a fairly new club in Brooklyn called LIME. The vibe was really nice, and we had a lot of fun. I am singing alongside the one and only Dane Gulston. I admire him as a musician so much. This man can play ANYTHING on that Steelpan!!! He had the crowd jammin' all night. And guess what?? He saw me knitting, and admires all of my various talents, including my knitting skills. He has already requested a hat from me. Not sure if I can make anything to surpass that Kangol hat that he is wearing, but I can surely try.

I went to see Sex And The City with my girls Tawana, Chante, and Saunielle. Afterwards we had sushi, and I thought this cup was so cute. We had a lot of fun, and I even got some knitting done.

Here is the knitting update!!!

While I was at the hair salon (all day), I started this Top-Down Raglan Cardigan . I am almost complete with the yoke. I am using Manos del Uruguay in color #118, Mulled Wine on size 9 needles. I love this color. The yarn smells a little like vinegar, but I can deal with it. I will use some Citrus flavored SOAK to make the foul smell go away when I am blocking.

I also made some progress on my Jaywalkers.

I started a new pair of socks for my Summer of Socks Knitalong. These are my Nutkins that I started this past Sunday. I am using Socks that Rock Mediumweight in "Mustang Sally" from my stash, and size 2.5mm Knitpicks 40 inch needles. I acquired it at Rhinebeck. I first fell in love with this color when I saw it on Deb's blog. I don't know what took me so long to make something with it. I LOVE THIS YARN!!! It feels so nice. I feel so happy that I matched the perfect pattern with the perfect yarn. The pattern is very easy to follow and remember, which makes it even nicer. I am currently on the third repeat of the pattern. I have to complete 8 repeats before I turn the heel. Once again, magic loop is my friend. I am afraid that I will never go back to double points. This 2-at-a-time technique is a winner!!! Now I just hope I can finish in 2 weeks to be eligible for that raffle prize. I already started a day late... Darn!! Wish me luck!!!

Also, in response to the comments in my last blog post, I will be making earrings to match the stitch markers for all of the Mekamika admirers out there. Thank you for all of the feedback, input and well wishes. Having good people like you to help guide my creativity is priceless.

The Etsy Site Has Been Launched!!!

I just wanted everyone to know that I finally have my Etsy shop up and running. I am specializing in Stitch Markers and Jewelry for now. Who knows what my creative mind will come up with in the future???

I also created a new blog in addition to this one called MekaMika, which will focus mainly on my beading and jewelry escapades. Please feel free to check it out.

Here is some eye candy for you.