Baby Chucks

contributed by Shawn

Remember these?

Well I recently came across a pattern for Crochet Baby Converse sneakers by Suzanne Resaul on Ravelry and COULD NOT RESIST. They are amazing!

I used Knit One Crochet Too DungarEase yarn for the soles. I don’t usually enjoy knitting with cotton especially at the tight gauge required for stiff fabric like these little shoes. However, the DungarEase yarn is wonderful to crochet with. I enjoyed using it even on a small hook at a tight gauge. The yarn is made in a way that gives it a nice cushy feel and it has some elasticity to it when you work with it. My hands definitely did not complain about crocheting with this cotton blend like the usually do when I knit or crochet with cotton.

The uppers are Berroco Comfort DK. I was going to make little red Chucks, but we were out of the bright red color so I settled for the lime green. They are still awesome!

These little Chuck Taylors are an easy project and everyone who sees the finished shoes is enthralled. I highly recommend making up a pair for the next baby gift you plan to give.

Bella Sweater

contributed by Shawn 

We have a lot of samples in the shop for customers to look at and all of these samples have to be knit before we can put them on display. Some of them are knit by staff, some we get from companies, and some are knit by our sample knitters. Kim has been knitting for us for over 10 years (!) and she recently finished up another batch of samples for the shop. When she dropped them off for us to oooh and ahhh over, she picked out something to knit for herself. 

Then, when she finished it, she showed us and very generously allowed us to 'borrow' the finished sweater so we could oooh and ahhh over IT as well. It is so soft and she did an amazing job - I love the detail!

It's the Bella Short-Sleeve Vest with Leaf Motifs from Essentially Feminine Knits: 25 Must-Have Chic Designs by Lene Holme Samsoe. She used Knit One Crochet Too Elfin Tweed Yarn in the color Berry Heather (#1261).

So inspiring!

Lace Ribbon Scarf in Pediwick

Sometimes an oldie is a goodie! And that's why we went all the way back to Knitty's Spring 2008 issue and chose to knit the Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronique Avery. Just because the pattern is over 4 years old, doesn't mean it's not still very in style!

Knit One Crochet Too's Pediwick Yarn is a springy blend of bamboo and nylon. I use the word "springy" because it is spun with a natural stretch that helps keep things in place. This quality is perfect for socks and tanks. And even though a "springy-ness" is not really necessary for scarves, there's something about a knitted piece that you can grab, pull and tug on and it goes right back to it's original shape! I love things with this stretchy-but-won't-stretch-out quality.

I knit the Monhegan Tee back in March and fell in love with Pediwick. 

After that we knit a sock sample for the shop and it's been super popular with our customers.

This scarf is too! And a bonus - it's easy to make with a pattern stitch that's easily memorized. Perfect for throwing in your bag and pulling out at doctor's appointments, hockey games, lunch breaks, etc!

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.

Elfin Tweed - NEW yarn!

Sometimes when we are looking at new items to bring into the shop, we get a really special feeling about a certain yarn. That's the way it was when we saw the Elfin Tweed by Knit One Crochet Too. I don't know if it was the feel of the yarn, the look of the yarn, the blend of the yarn or the colors it was available in, but I knew immediately that we needed to have this yarn. 

It's a gorgeous blend of merino wool, llama, bamboo and donegal. We don't currently have any llama yarns in the shop, and we do occasionally have people ask, so I knew that it would be a good fiber mix to have.

When I picked up the skein I just loved the hand of this yarn. It's so soft, and just a bit tweedy - not too much, not too little. I've always been a sucker for tweeds! I could picture a beautiful lacy shawl in this yarn.

Three skeins would make the Buttonwillow Shawl:

Or the Maia Shoulderette:

And five skeins would make the Ivy Wrap:

And the colors are just beautiful. Don't you agree?

Lagoon, Berry Heather, Seafoam, Russet, Olive, Garnet (top to bottom)

One spring sweater completed!

I just finished my Monhegan Tee last night and I love it! I have not had a hand knit sweater fit me this well in ages.

The pattern was fun and easy, and the K1C2 Pediwick yarn is amazing! There is so much "spring" and "stretch" in this yarn. I had a hard time figuring out what size to make... I am a 36" bust and the closest options were a 35" or a 40". I knew the 40" would be huge but I was concerned about the 35" being too snug.

The pattern called for size 7 US needles, but I had to go down to a size 5 US to get gauge. I swatched with my Addi Turbo in sizes 7, 6, and 5 and still couldn't get the right gauge, so I went with my Denise size 5 and was right on. 

Sorry, this is the only way I could get a full length shot. My self-timer is on the fritz!

Remember, different needle types - metal, plastic, wood -  in the same size often produce different results. So when you buy a whole new interchangeable needle set, don't get rid of your other needles!

The yoke/neck detailing is really pretty. Needs to be blocked just a smidge!

This sweater was a dream to finish. The set-in sleeves fit in like a dream, and the yarn seamed up the side beautifully - it looks like it was worked in the round. The chest measures exactly 35" and with that 1" of negative ease for me, it fits beautifully. Thanks, in part, to that awesome stretchiness of the yarn!

Now we just need some spring weather in Finland!

Accept it

Today is the first day of spring, but in Vermont it feels like mid-summer. As wrong as this weather is at this time of the year, it might just be time to accept it!

I'm working on a beautiful sweater for warm weather and thought I'd share it with you. A lot of people only knit for cool and cold weather, but there are so many great patterns and fibers available for warm weather. All you have to do is look!

We recently started selling the Knit One Crochet Too Pediwick Yarn at the shop. It's really a sock yarn that was designed for folks who can't (or don't want to) wear wool. It's got 66% bamboo and 34% nylon. Our non-wool-lovin' customers have been thrilled with Pediwick. The bamboo is so smooth and soft, and did you know it's got natural anti-bacterial and wicking properties? A great feature in a sock yarn...

Another bonus - this yarn is machine washable, making it a perfect choice for garments (for adults, kids and babies). I recently started the Monhegan Tee pattern and I've got about 15 more minutes to go on the front and then I'm on the home stretch with the sleeves.

This pattern is a simple one and goes really quickly. 

It's such a flattering top - it will look great with jeans, skirts and shorts!

Not Just For Socks!

Knit One Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye Yarn is a blend of super-wash wool, nylon and silk. It is amazingly soft and has the most beautiful sheen. Our customers have been loving this silky sock yarn since we brought it in this fall.

But just because a yarn is a "sock" yarn, and is perhaps hanging with other "sock" yarns, doesn't mean you have to use it for socks! Remember that these yarns are perfect for lightweight adult sweaters, shawls, scarves, baby sweaters, baby blankets, and more.

We've got two great patterns in the shop for the Crock-O-Dye that have been tempting our customers to use it for more than just socks. The Diagonal Lace Scarf pattern is really pretty. We have this knit up as a shop sample and it takes just one skein.

The Blue Wings Shawlette is for intermediate knitters with a charted design. It also takes just one skein of the Crock-O-Dye and is something you can wear around your neck for warmth in the winter, or over your shoulders on a cool summer night.

Today I was on the Knit One Crochet Too website and found another great scarf pattern - and this one is free! Designed by Hélène Rush for Knit One Crochet Too, the Picot Tricot Scarf uses just one skein of K1C2 Crock-O-Dye.