Why Hemp?

For those of you who have checked out the contest you may have noticed that the prize set was made with an unusual fiber. First I thought I would explain what hemp is and then talk about why I love it so much that I chose to use it for this contest. I like how the picture above really shows off the vibrancy of the color and how well hemp shows the stitch definition.

Hemp is a natural fiber made from the same plant as Marijuana but it comes from the stalk not the flowering plant were they harvest the "mary jane". Although it is illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. since it falsely gets lumped in with the drug, it has been used for centuries as a fiber in everything from clothing, paper, rope, and even fuel. The Declaration of Independence was actually drafted on hemp paper. The first American flag made by Betsy Ross's own hands was 100% hemp and survives to this day. There is a website devoted to getting the word out about what an amazing sustainable crop hemp could be for this country called Vote Hemp. We are starting to find it at a lot of natural food stores and can find all kinds of sources on line in all of its many forms.

I adore working with natural fibers. I'm all about wool and alpaca for cool weather knitting, but I've just never been a fan of cotton or linen. So I was resigned to man made fibers for my spring and summer knitting since silk is mostly out of my price range. There are some amazing rayons and acrylics out there now but they just don't speak to me like the natural fibers do. Recently there has been a great revival of the alternate fibers like hemp, bamboo, corn and I've even seen milk yarns.

My favorite of these is probably bamboo but hemp is a very close second. I like the sheen and how bamboo takes color a bit more but hemp has a great feel to it. It is a lot like linen but I think it is much easier to work with than linen. Linen gets more pliable with washing but knitting with it can be hard on the hands. I don't have that problem at all with hemp. It is even more durable and breaths better than cotton or linen. They will mix it in with other fibers a lot of times to get the best from each of the parts. The yarn in the contest prize has some cotton mixed in it.

You can find a lot more about knitting with these alternate fibers in a fun book called No Sheep for You byAmy R. Singer . The book gives a lot of tips on how to approach these different fibers and teaches knitters a lot about the characteristics and special handling for each of the fibers.

If you haven't checked out the contest you can still enter until March 7 in the post right below.

Lose The Winter Blues with Lenox Knits Giveaway!

I'm excited to be having my very first blog contest. I am giving away the year round set of knitted accessories worth $50 in the above picture. It includes the following:

1. A lace knitted scarf in a blue hemp/cotton blend yarn with clay beads, worth $18.
2. A knitted pouch in the blue hemp/cotton yarn with the same beads. It has a draw string closing with a long paper bead, worth $12.
3. A matching headband in lace, worth, $7.
4. A knitted wire wrist cuff with matching clay beads and some fun paper mache beads in matching colors, worth $11.

There will be one contest winner and there is free worldwide shipping! Contest closes on March 7, 2009.

Contest Rules:

1. For one easy entry just visit my Etsy shop, Lenox Knits, and tell me what your favorite item is.
2. For another easy entry follow me on Twitter and Tweet to all your followers about the Beating the Blues Contest.
3. Because it involves more effort on your part I will give you 2 entries for blogging about this Contest.
4. If you add my lovely new blog widget to your blog or myspace page, there is code for each, you will get an additional 2 entries.
5. And finally I would be thrilled if you signed up for my new newsletter and will give 3 entries for following through with the steps to submit your e-mail address. I promise not to spam you and you can unsubscribe any time. I will be e-mailing specials and deals seasonally.




Please leave a comment on this post for each step you complete. There are a total of 9 possible entries per person. I will print each eligible entry and put them in a basket, most likely wicker, and have my niece draw a name on March 7th in a secure location, probably my living room. The contest is open to everyone, even non-bloggers. If you don't have an active blog please leave me an e-mail address to contact you. If you have a blog you will be contacted directly through your blog.

Creative Slump

I've been in a true dry spell of creativity for the past few months. Ever since I finished up my craft shows for the season, which was in December, I just haven't had any mojo left. I had applied for the spring craft show, green with indie, hoping that it would inspire me and get my knitting needles moving. Unfortunately I didn't get in so I have the supplies I was planning on playing with and no fire to use them.

Don't get me wrong, I've still been knitting, but just with no real purpose or passion. I've been making some scarves for charity and some other mindless knitting. I know I'm not the first person to go through a creative bleak period and this time of year is always a bit bleak in general for me.

I have visions of some funky yet functional knitted jewelry but I've been having trouble getting into it. I was planning on devoting the next month to really knitting up the hemp and bamboo for the show but that seems futile now. I just don't know if there would be a market for it on-line. I have the supplies so I guess it doesn't hurt to try. I bought these fun Paper Mache Beads from one of my favorite crafty bloggers, My Art and the Mom in Me a month ago. I'm going to play with them this weekend with some colorful new hemp I got recently and see if I can get some inspiration going. I've got lots of other new beads that are desperately trying to get my attention but I've been too uninspired to hear them. Wish me luck for a productive and creative weekend on the horizon.

UPDATE: I was just reading some news on-line and came across this interesting article in Newsweek about how we process rejection. I think it is a great representation of how I'm feeling about my rejection from the "cool" craft show:
All American Reject: Whether it's a dating mishap or just being left out of an e-mail chain, why it's so hard to brush off even the slightest slight.