Year-round yarns

Some yarns are best for cooler temperatures, and some work better in warmer weather. With all of the great blended yarns available these days, more yarns are starting to be used year round.

Berroco Maya is one of these yarns. It's a blend of pima cotton and alpaca in a chainette construction. The yarn is really lightweight, and the small amount of alpaca really softens up the cotton. For people with aversions to wool, this yarn has been a great option. 

When Maya was introduced for last spring, the colors were very pale. Gorgeous for spring and summer, but not really colors that will jump off the shelf during the other months of the year.

Last week we ordered our new Berroco yarns for spring and summer of 2014. New colors for existing yarns (like Maya) were also introduced, and on some of these, the new colors were already in stock. Normally we wait to take delivery of new colors of spring yarns until at least January, but because the fiber content of Maya makes it a true year-round yarn, we decided to take delivery immediately. And look how the new colors breathed life into the old ones!

This yarn is often used by our customers as a sweater yarn. Our Niche sweater sample (from Norah Gaughan Volume #12) has been tried on and made numerous times. 

Another popular sweater sample in Maya is the Chuparosa vest from Berroco Book #331. This is a flattering piece that can be worn over any sleeve length, making it great for winter wear.

It's also great for accessories, and our Bajada scarf sample, which takes just 3 skeins, is a fun knit. (Berroco Book #331.)

I grabbed 4 skeins of the new Hermosa Blue and started a new project over the weekend. Can't wait to finish it!

Nymphalidea Shawl... what yarns will you make yours in?

Everyone here at Kaleidoscope Yarns knits a lot. But we're all different people. We like different things, different fibers and different types of knitting, so it's rare that we ever make the same thing as someone else who works here.

But when Barb and I were looking at Knitty Issue 45 last week, we both fell in love with the Nymphalidea Shawl. It's a pretty simple pattern, and easy to memorize, so that mindless kind of knitting certainly appeals to us, since it's always good to have at least one mindless project in the works. 

photo courtesy of Knitty.com

And we just love combining a solid yarn with a variegated yarn. Like my recently finished Dreambird shawl...

Dreambird Shawl in Ella Rae Lace Merino (solid) and Noro Silk Garden Sock

And who doesn't love a long semi-triangular shawl shape that can be worn draped around (and around) your neck, adding style to your outfit while being comfortable and warm to wear? The Nymphalidea is more than appealing.

So we immediately began the yarn selection process. For solids, we looked at all available fingering weight yarns in the shop, but narrowed it down to the Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and the Frog Tree Pediboo. For the multi colored yarn, we agreed that this shawl would be best with a yarn that had some sort of repeat (like stripes) as opposed to just a hand dyed variegated. Our top choices were Lang Mille Colori Socks & Lace, Skacel Zauberball, and Lang Magic.

There were so many options! Barb chose a black Ultra Alpaca Fine and a Mille Colori Socks & Lace and got started on hers right away. It's going to be beautiful!

I picked a gorgeous brown shade of Pediboo and also went with the Mille Colori Socks & Lace. I was finishing up my Remix sweater last week so didn't get started on mine until last night. I'm going to love it, I can already tell.

What yarn (and in what colors!) will you make yours in?

Is your color choice influenced by the season?

Do you pick colors based on the season? As I've pulled yarn from restock lists over the past few weeks, I've noticed that we've been selling a LOT of greens, reds, browns, oranges and yellows. And since those colors have been in abundance here in Vermont over the past month, I made the connection that maybe people are buying what they see out in nature? I don't know if it's true of not, but it's my own little study! 

These groupings of yarn were pulled from actual restock lists. So somewhere out there, fall colored items are being made!

Fall inspired colors of Berroco Vintage

Autumnal shades of Berroco Comfort

Plymouth Encore

Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica

Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted

We love it that people are making sweaters, shawls and afghans in fall colors. It's my favorite time of the year in Vermont. How can you look at the foliage and NOT be completely inspired?

Berroco Patterns Now Available As Singles!

This is great news for those of you who find a pattern in a Berroco booklet that you'd like to make, and are dismayed that you have to purchase the entire booklet. Now ALL Berroco patterns (starting with Fall & Winter 2013) are available as single patterns for the price of $6 each.

These patterns are all from NG #13, now available as singles.

Of course, it's still a better deal to pay $8 for the booklet (as long as you like more than one pattern) but it is nice to be able to offer these patterns to you as individual ones. Norah Gaughan books still retail for $14.95 as there are more designs in those booklets. So if you like 3 or more? Buy the book. Like just one? Buy the individual pattern.

Norah Gaughan single patterns are all for sale on line now, and all other Berroco books will be done in the next day or so. They are all available for sale as singles in the shop as of tomorrow.

NOTE: These singles are all electronic! No paper copies. Save a tree!

On the Needles: Jill

It's that time of the year... the air is cooler and I'm itching to start a lot of new projects. And you know how hard it is to limit yourself to just ONE project.

I'm really trying to be good about not having a million half-finished projects all over my house. But the other night my family room had about 8 or 9 vinyl project bags scattered about. In truth, some belonged to my kids (they have slacked off on their knitting since school has started. I'll cut them a break!)

I have a number of things on the needles right now. I recently finished the Little Boater Crew sweater (Thirteenth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, knit in Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK), but it needs to be seamed! We're working on that today, so it should be hanging in the shop in the next day or so. 

Front of sweater

I started a Color Affection Shawl this summer. I loved these 3 bright colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and thought it would be a simple knit. It is easy, that's for sure. But it's a little too boring for me... so I haven't made much progress. I have a trip coming up next month and will have some time to knit on the plane. Maybe it can be my project for that!?

Colors (l to r): Frove Mix, Grapefruit Mix, Orchid

I started a baby hat in June and really need to finish it! I must have misplaced it (I mean the yarn is SO tiny... it's My First Regia in 25 gram balls!) but now that I've found it I'm determined to finish it. Size 2 needles are a bit painful for my hands so I'll have to do it on a day when there's no gardening or interior painting on the schedule...

Pattern is in My First Regia Journal #005

This is what it will look like when it's finished: 

I started a sweater for myself two weeks ago with Berroco Remix, one of my all time favorite yarns. So far it's going really well, but I did set it aside when I found all of these other projects that are SO close to being finished. It's the Chic Knits Ariann Sweater. The feel of the Remix is just lovely!

And my Dreambird shawl is nearing completion! I think I have enough yarn left for one more feather, which will be a total of 14. It's going to block out nicely and I'm eager to see the finished result. The pattern was confusing, for sure! All of the moving of safety pins had me pulling out my hair, so I ended up making a spreadsheet in Excel that had row by row instructions. It was much easier to follow! But this was certainly NOT a project I could work on while watching tv. I pretty much needed to count each stitch. Oh well, it was still a fun project. 

Ella Rae Lace Merino and Noro Silk Garden Sock yarns

So that's 5 unfinished projects. Eeeeek! I better get a move on!

Don't Be Afraid To Mix It Up!

In past years we have put together a mixed fiber shawl - using 4-6 skeins of different fibers in different colors and textures. These shawls have been really popular with our customers and are so fun to make!

Last year we made a small throw blending two Berroco yarns - Boboli and Cirrus - called the Checkerboard Throw. Another fun project, this one was also a popular pick for our knitters. 

Last spring we started carrying the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush yarn again, and we realized that it's a great alternative for people who do not like (or cannot use) mohair. The Cirrus yarn does contain mohair, so some customers who wanted to make it, but who don't like to use mohair, were not able to. Now that we have the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush, this throw CAN be made with NO mohair content. YAY!

The colors pair beautifully with the Boboli, so come on in and check them out to pick your favorite combination. We've already come up with 9 options for an alpaca version of the throw:

 ...in addition to the 11 new options for the mohair version.

We love to mix fibers like this! If you don't want to make a throw, consider using these mixes for a cowl or scarf.

Swatching

We always recommend making a swatch before starting every project. Most of the time our customers say they hate swatching, they don't swatch, they've never swatched, they can't imagine swatching... etc, etc. So we know there's a lot of anti-swatching out there! But we're going to keep recommending it, and here's just one reason why...

We just rearranged the entire worsted room last week. (Locals... come on in and check it out. It looks great!) And while we were rearranging the yarns, we had to opportunity to touch EACH AND EVERY ball. Sure, we each have our favorites, but by being forced to fondle each ball, we got reacquainted with some long lost loves!

One yarn that I've always loved is Berroco Remix. Remix is a super soft worsted weight yarn that's made of 100% recycled fibers. It's machine washable (another plus for me!) and has a nice tweedy effect. While moving the Remix to it's new location in the shop, I really started itching to knit with it. 

I started looking through the sweater patterns in the shop, and settled on the Chic Knits Ariann sweater. I really wanted a cardigan and I like the look of this pattern stitch. I'm going to make the long sleeves (instead of 3/4), but I'll pass on the belt! The collar doesn't thrill me... I really wanted a v-neck, but I'm going to see what I can do with it. By the time I knit up to the neck, maybe I'll have come up with a way to modify it to suit my tastes.

This sweater pattern calls for a stitch gauge (in stockinette) of 4.75 stitches to the inch. Remix is 4.25 stitches to the inch on an 8 US needle. I started my swatching on a 6 US Addi Lace needle. 

[I went down 1 size from what the ball band said, because I needed to cram an extra 1/2 stitch into every inch, and then another size since I knit a little loose, and normally go down 1 size needle.]

I ended up getting almost 5 stitches to the inch which is pretty close to 4.75. But I felt like I was really trying to knit tight... and it was making my hands cramp up. That wasn't going to be enjoyable for me, and I like to ENJOY my knitting time.

So I threw a purl row into my swatch and tried a size 7 US Addi Lace. And I relaxed to my normal knitting tension. And the swatch... was too loose. It measured in at 4.25 stitches to the inch.

After another purl row, I went back to the 6 US Addi Lace and knit with a normal relaxed tension. The result? 4.5 stitches to the inch.

My final attempt was on a Denise size 6 US with a normal relaxed tension. And it was perfect. I ended up getting exactly 4.75 stitches to the inch.

Why did I keep trying different needle sizes and types, you ask? Isn't 4.5 close enough to 4.25? And isn't 5 close enough? 

Well, yes. However, in an adult sweater, that 1/4 stitch per inch difference can really throw off the sizing of your final product! I am making a sweater with a finished chest measurement of 38". If I used the Addi Lace size 6 (with a gauge of 4.5 stitches to the inch) the finished chest measurement of this sweater would have been 40.2" That's more than 2" TOO BIG. 

And if I had used the same Addi Lace needles (size 6) and concentrated on just knitting a little tighter (with a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch) the finished chest measurement would have been 36.2"... almost 2" TOO SMALL.

Moral of the story? We're always going to recommend you swatch. And if you can't get the gauge on a certain type of needle, you may need to try another type!

Brights are in!

If any of you have been shopping for clothing recently, you've noticed the trend toward bright colors and neons. These colors have also been making an appearance in yarns & other knitting & crochet products, and opening each box here at the shop is definitely awakening our senses after as we head into summer!

Examples? Here's a bunch of the new Manos del Uruguay Alegria sock yarn. They've got a lovely mix of bright & neutral colors. Boy, do those bright ones make a splash!

These Berroco brights arrived the same day as our new Hadaki bags. What a feast for the senses!

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (back), Berroco Vintage (middle) and Hadaki Multitasker Bags

The Hadaki bags are new for us, and they're so much fun! The fabrics are all bright & peppy and are coated so they're water resistant and easy to clean. This is the Hadaki Hanging Roll - perfect for storing all your notions:

This is the Hadaki Multi Tasker - a great project bag:

And the Hadaki Hannah's Tote works as a large project bag, a gym bag, a beach bag, a weekend bag, you name it:

Perfect Layering Pieces for Spring & Summer

contributed by Shawn

We have a new sample in the shop that is drawing a lot of attention! This project is a very easy knit and creates the perfect layering piece for spring and summer wear. The Seabrook Vest is a free knitting pattern available from the Berroco Design team. 

Knit with Berroco Captiva yarn, this simple vest will turn your closet basics into sophisticated wardrobe ensembles. The satiny feel of the yarn make it a great blend to work with and the yarn has a subtle shine but is machine washable for everyday easy care. This would make an excellent piece to pack for your next vacation! 

To kick it up a notch you could work this pattern up in Berroco Captiva Metallic yarn for added glitz and an air of elegance for evening wear.

Since I have a tendency to remain a bit more on the Vermont-y side of fashion and trendiness I'm considering the Berroco Lago in the Raffia colorway for a linen-like look and effect.

Another favorite in the same easy-knit style is the Weekend Wrap pattern by Cocoknits. 

Our shop sample is knit in Tahki Ripple, a thick and thin cotton that gives a unique and beautiful textural effect. 

This pattern calls for size US 17 needles and is a no-fuss lace look that does not require yarn overs. 

Dead or Alive?

contributed by Shawn

I caught a whopper this weekend! OK, I didn't actually go fishing. I just finished a fish related knitting project.  

The knitting pattern Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?] by Thelma Egberts appears in the winter 2008 issue of Knitty but you can find the link and listing for this project in Ravelry. 

You can make your fish dead or alive, by changing how you make the eyes. I chose to make my fish alive. I made some small white crocheted circles, and then embroidered a smaller circle in black.

I had some Manos Rittenhouse in my stash (it's a discontinued yarn) and I thought the kettle dyed shading would look nice for this project. 

Now I'm thinking I'd like to make one with some Plymouth Encore - maybe the Blue Jeans Mix and Mod Light Denim would make a really cool tweedy effect. Berroco Remix would be another great choice for this hat.   

So what will your fish be? Dead or Alive?

We all make mistakes!

contributed by Shawn

Can you spot what is wrong with this mitten?

Yarn: Classic Elite Liberty Wool Print yarn, color "Reflecting Pool"

If you look closely above you will see that the thumb gusset shaping runs right up the middle of the photo. The gusset was incorporated into the body of the mitten hand and is not where the thumb was added. 

OOPS. This is a wonderful reason to put down your knitting when you are tired!

It's a good thing that the pair I did as gifts turned out with the thumbs in the correct spot!

Yarn: Berroco Vintage yarn, colors "Fennel" and "Tide Pool"

Both mittens are from our free Easy Mittens pattern. And it IS an easy pattern, as long as you pay attention when you knit!

Indulgence

Self striping sock yarns sure are fun, but sometimes those size 1 & 2 needles can really tire out my fingers! So when my sales reps were visiting last month, I found a nice DK weight sock yarn to bring in to the shop... Knitting Fever Indulgence.

It's available in 12 really fun colors and it's an extra fine merino blend, which makes it SO amazingly soft. 

Of course it's a sock yarn, so it's great for sock knitters. But we've always got customers looking for striping yarns in sport and DK weights for shawls, scarves and baby sweaters. Even lightweight hats and gloves! 

My latest project is the Niche sweater, by Norah Gaughan, knit in Berroco Maya. It's a fun pattern and not one I would normally want to set aside, but I had a vacation with the family planned for last week. And the Niche sweater is knit all in one piece, from cuff to cuff. This is great for people who don't like to seam... but for travel knitting? 

Not so great, especially since I'm about halfway finished. I wanted to pack light on this trip, and dragging half a sweater around on my needles wasn't going to cut it.

So I grabbed a ball of Indulgence and found a really cute and fun free pattern on Ravelry (the Top Down Raglan Baby Sweater - Garter Ridge version). With 12 great colors, picking one was the hardest part!

It was the absolute perfect project for my trip. I'm sad to say I did not complete it (some of the roads were pretty windy and I'm prone to getting carsick!) but I'm only about 8-10 rows from having it completed.

The only changes I made were to the ribbings. They were supposed to be k2p2, but with the modified garter pattern on the body, I thought a regular garter stitch ribbing looked better!

Upcoming Class - First Time Top-Down Sweater

contributed by Shawn

This weekend I started my own little sweater example for the First Time Top-Down Sweater Knitting class that starts on February 13th. I've decided to use the new Berroco Floret yarn since it has a super soft hand and is a machine washable acrylic & cotton blend. This means it's perfect for spring babies! I can't wait to pick out buttons when it is finished.

This class features the knitbot Yoked Cardigan knitting pattern and this is what it looks like in Fibre Company Terra yarn:

Customers have loved this shop sample but keep saying it looks hard. Trust us, it's not! It's a really fun pattern to make, and since there are still a couple of spots left in the class, maybe you should join us!