Hot summer socks

contributed by Shawn

Yep, that's right - socks in the summer - these are HOT, HOT, HOT! Customers are loving our new tangerine sock sample. The lovely bright color is an eye catcher and when they feel the fabric they are hooked!   

 

We knit this basic top-down sock using the Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamental Top-Down Socks (#F01) pattern.  It's a great option for basic socks because it offers such a wide range of possibilities for both size (baby through adult men) and gauge (superfine through worsted weight yarn). 

This sock pattern actually uses a "Bamboo Rib". Funny that we chose a bamboo yarn for it!

What really makes this particular sock so wonderful is the yarn we chose: Knit One Crochet Too Pediwick sock yarn. This fingering weight yarn is machine washable and offers great advantages because it is made from bamboo!  It is soft but very durable, and helps your feet thermal regulate because bamboo is an excellent moisture-wicking, breathable fiber. This means it will help keep you warm, but in warmer weather, it will act as a cooling fabric.

For those of you who don't like wearing wool against your skin, bamboo is not likely to irritate the skin or bother those who have animal allergies. It's a naturally smooth fiber, and it's soft and strong, so it is perfect for socks.

But wait, there is more! Pediwick is spun with a natural stretch that gives the socks an elastic advantage to help keep them in place.  Make socks with Pediwick and you'll have no more slouchy socks! 

We've been using Pediwick in striped socks this summer since the colors are so nice. Try Plum with Sage:

or Chalk Blue with Tangerine:

or Dusky Aqua with Wheat for the summer:

But neutral stripes also look great (like Slate with Natural):

and I'll definitely be making some of those for gifts this holiday season.

Flowing Locks - Upcoming Class

contributed by Shawn

Get ready to cable!  I just finished the sample of the Flowing Locks Hat for our Knitting Cables Class (http://www.kyarns.com/product/3259/knitting-classes) that is coming up in a few weeks. We still have a few spots so give us a call if you want to get some cable instruction!

This Figheadh pattern that makes a great beginning cable project. And remember, all Figheadh patterns are available as PDF downloads, which is convenient since knitters are looking for more of those these days.

I'm so tired of the "browns" of our mostly snow-less winter that I decided to brighten things up a bit with a Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in bright red. This is a wonderful yarn to knit with and it shows off the cables in this pattern really well. The little bit of cashmere really makes this yarn even softer! It is a great choice for items that will be worn close to the skin like scarves, hats, or cowls.

Toasty Toes

contributed by Shawn

One of the physical discomforts that I dread the most is COLD toes.  All winter I have to have thick wool socks on or felted slippers and even then I often feel a chill in my feet. When making an afghan, I always plan to make the largest size so that I can drape it from my head to my feet and tuck it in nicely at the bottom to keep my toes warm. 

I've picked out the Fir Cone Lace Blanket as a perfect candidate for my next toe warmer. This is going to knit up quickly with bulky yarn and with a finished size of 50" wide by 60" length it is sure to keep me covered on cold days! It's time to replace the worn grey garter stitch blanket that graces the couch in my house - Indigo (the cat) has claimed it and gets grumpy if anyone tries to take it away from him. (Believe me when I say you should beware grumpy Siamese cats!) 

I absolutely love the drape of the Berroco Vintage Chunky yarn used in our shop sample so I think I'm going to pick out a dark blue - Juniper (color #6188) or maybe Blue Moon (color #61191)? 

The living room rug is all shades of blue and both of these shades have a lot of color depth to them so they'll look stunning on the couch.  The pattern is a nice easy lace pattern and has a fair amount of repetition.  I'm thinking this will be a perfect way to undertake a new television series marathon to finish out the Vermont winter.

When One Pattern is Really 2... or 20!

Some of my favorite patterns are those that offer directions for making the same garment in any number of yarn weights. This means that you purchase just one pattern, and you can make it over and over again in different yarns for different sized people. Heck, you can even add stitch patterning to make each one look different!

Over the years I've used a number of patterns that fall into this category. Some of my favorites are:

Yankee Knitter Classic Socks for the Family #29 is sized for Babies, Small Children, Large Children, Women and Men, and has directions for Fingering Weight, Sport Weight and Worsted Weight Yarns. That's 18 different patterns right there. Then you can customize these by adding texture stitches, ribs, etc. It's the number one sock pattern we sell, and we think one of the only ones you'll ever need to purchase.

Ann Norling's Kid's Top Down Raglan or Bottom Up Raglan: Both of these versatile sweater patterns encourage you to experiment with different colors, textures, yarn weights and stitches. Each pattern has instructions for 7 sizes in 4 different weights (that's 28 patterns!) And then add the choices of cardigan or pullover... and v-neck or crew neck. You do the math!

Yankee Knitter Hats & Mittens Pattern #26 is a great basic pattern for anyone wanting to knit mittens for the first time. These mittens are worked flat, so the pattern won't give you practice working in the round, but the mittens fit great and the seam is barely noticeable. Both the hat pattern and the mitten pattern are written for 6 sizes in 2 gauges, and the hat includes 2 style options.

Over the past couple of years, I've been adding some of the Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamentals patterns to this staple collection. From socks to sweaters and hats to vests, Figheadh has some excellent patterns. 


This fall I made the Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamental Top-Down Baby Cardigan this fall out of Classic Elite Liberty Wool Print. What a great pattern! The self striping yarn did all the work, but next time it would be fun to use a solid yarn and add a cable pattern.

And I just completed a Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamental Junior Vest the other day. I used the SMC Bravo Rainbow Color yarn, which is a fun washable acrylic that's a tweedy striping yarn. There is enough yardage in one ball to make up to a child's size 12 or 14. And this pattern makes 12 different sizes in 4 different gauges, so it's a definite keeper.

Progress!

Remember this?

Well now it's finished, and I love it! Of course it's going to be making it's way back to the shop this week, so it will not get buttons until it arrives there.

I had enough yarn leftover that I decided to make a super cute jester hat. I found the pattern on Ravelry (it's free) and it is a great project for self striping yarn like the Liberty Wool. It's called the Baby Jester Hat.

I've also completed one preemie hat for our preemie hat drive. (Notice how I'm working a lot with yellows, greens and blues? Hmmm.)

I whipped it up pretty quickly the other day, and then paused for a bit to make the jester hat. I'll be making more... and hey, that jester hat might be a good idea...

Now I'm about to start the Storm Cloud Shawlette, another freebie on Ravelry. I am going to try combining the Blue Heron Rayon Metallic with the Rowan Kid Silk Haze. I love lace weight yarns like the Kid Silk Haze, but I'm not fond of using them by themselves. I thought that blending it with the Rayon Metallic would be more up my alley!

Knitscene Fall 2011 Preview

contributed by Shawn

The wonderful fall projects just keep rolling right in!  Check out the new issue of Knitscene Fall 2011.

In keeping with the 'We Love Bulky Yarns' trend for this fall the Grand Palais Shawl by Tanis Gray will be quick knit in Tahki Montana Yarn. This is a simple garter stitch triangular shawl with a knit-on lace edging. Hey what a great way to try lace knitting - with bulky yarn!

We often get asked for advice on top-down and bottom-up knitting patterns in the shop. The Beauty of Seamless article by Amy Palmer discusses top down vs bottom up circular seamless knitting techniques.  She suggests pitfalls that may arise so that you can weigh your options BEFORE you start your project. And she points out that the beauty of knitting sweaters in the round is that you can often try these on in the middle of your knitting process to be sure you get it just right!  Knitting Pure & Simple patterns are some of my favorites for beginner top-down patterns, and Figheadh Fundamentals has some great ones too.

 

For those of you sending off a college-bound guy this fall, there is a great quick bulky knit for him! Take a look at the East Hale Cardigan by Alexis Winslow.  Knit in Cascade EcoWool the yarn offers a range of lovely neutral shades in un-dyed wool.  A quick zippered layer with a shawl collar and garter trim detailed with i-cord edging.

By knitting the lace weight Filatura di Crosa Nirvana Yarn at a sport/dk weight gauge, Debbie O'Neill offers the sophisticated Hawkmoth Pullover. It's perfect for layering over those summer tops on a cool autumn evening.

And just because I LOVE saying the word 'Lepidoptera' I have to point out the Lepidoptera Cardigan by Anne Kuo Lukito.  This is knit in Manos del Uruguay Lace. The patterning is lovely - like scales on a butterfly wing - and the difference in texture is achieved by knitting the lace yarn single stranded for the body and double stranded for the edging panels.

Amy Herzog features two different patterns in this issue that use some of my favorite yarns. The Cooke Cardigan is knit using Fibre Company Canopy Worsted. I think it would be lovely in my favorite color Sarsparilla.

Also catching my eye for this fall is the Pinstripe Pullover knit using Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  We got in some great new shades for fall, and I just have to choose a color first!

Sneaky Santa knitting

I've decided to make some socks for Helen and Sophie for Christmas. It's hard to sneak in the knitting, though, since they are pretty much always around me. Sure, I can knit when they're in bed, but I take advantage of every spare moment to knit just a few stitches. If we're going anywhere in the car as a family, Marc drives, and I knit - so they see what I'm doing. If I finish eating my dinner before they do I will pull out my knitting and knit a row or two while they finish.

Because THEY knit, they are always taking note of what I'm making. Marc could care less. I could knit him an entire sweater in front of him, wrap it up, give it to him as a gift and he would be completely surprised, because he never really takes note of it. Not so with Helen and Sophie.

So I decided to make the girls some socks out of the Regia Softy sock yarn. One night after they had been in bed awhile, I pulled out the new Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamentals Top-Down Socks pattern, and cast on. I worked about 3 inches of the cuff, and before I went to bed I pulled one of their socks out of the clean laundry basket and compared it. The cuff of my sock seemed a bit snug. I had followed the directions for a fine yarn (6-7 sts to the inch) and I am using Regia Softy on a size 3 US needle. When checking my gauge, I realized that I should be following the directions for the super fine yarn (7-8 sts to the inch.) Drat!

The next day, before I ripped it out, Helen walked into the room just as I was about to start knitting. She saw my project before I could hide it, and she said, "OH MOM! What IS that? Is it a mitten or a sock! Oh it's SO soft, I just LOVE it. Could you make one for me!?!?!" So I said, "Oh honey, I'm SO sorry, but this is a sample for the shop. It's a child's sock and it's REALLY hard to make. I am SO busy between now and Christmas that there's no way I'll have time to make you a pair. Maybe after the holidays?" She frowned and said "Okay" in this poor little dissapointed voice. So then I said, "Can you help me out by trying this on? I think it's smaller than what I am trying to make." She was thrilled to help, and stuck her foot in the cuff of the sock. I was right. It was too small.

So I ripped it out, and added stitches and now it's on track. I succeeded in tricking her... for now anyway. What's going to happen when she sees me knitting the same thing, in a different color? Hopefully she doesn't put it together.

Anyway, I love the new Figheadh sock pattern. It is so versatile - it gives you 4 weights of yarn (superfine/7-8sts; fine/6-7; dk/5-6; worsted/4-5) and TEN foot sizes (baby; child 1-2; child 3-4; child 6-8; child 10-12; adult xs; adult sm; adult md; adult lg; adult xl). Because the Regia Softy is fuzzy, I am not working the stitch pattern that they call for. Instead, I am using the stitch counts and measurements, but am working a 1x1 rib on the cuff and on the top of the foot. Remember folks, a pattern is just a guideline. Feel free to add a little bit of your own know-how to it.

Check out all the other great new Figheadh Fundamentals patterns: the Baby Pullover; the Child's Pullover; the Men's Pullover; the Women's Pullover; and the Toe-Up Socks.