New Manos Shipment

We just received a shipment from Manos the other day with some gorgeous new colors of Serena and Manos Lace. These are two yarns we sell a LOT of, and we always love bringing in new colors!

We got 4 new colors of Manos Lace. This yarn is perfect for the Featherweight Cardigan, the Wispy Cardigan or the Faceted Gems Lace Wrap.

And we got 7 new colors of Serena, and now offer a total of 26 colors (16 semi solids and 10 multis). I just LOVE the combination of these new shades. 

Need a project idea?  Serena is perfect for the Signs of Spring Cowl, the Citron Shawl and the Moore Sweater. 

Stay tuned... our next post will be about the new Manos YARN that we just received. Patience, patience! We are still working on the photographs. It's worth the wait!

SPOTTED

...in a women's clothing boutique in Paris, France.

OH MY GOSH do I love a lace weight sweater knit at a loose gauge!

Sometimes a basic stockinette stitch is the most wonderful thing. Especially when it's done in a trendy seasonal color!

Customer Project - Reading... and knitting!

contributed by Shawn

Our customer Pauli D. has been visiting Malta this summer and she's keeping in touch with us on our facebook page.  We always love hearing what she's been up to. She was just back in Vermont and stopped in the shop before heading back to the Mediterranean. Pauli told us she's been reading Casting Off by Nicole R. Dickson. While she's been enjoying the story, she's also been trying out some of the Irish stitch patterns that are included in the book.

This is a sample that she brought by to show us:

The story teller is a woman who visits an island off the west coast of Ireland to research Irish knitting.  She finds that each fisherman's handmade sweater tells a story.  Stories and knitting! Guess I'll need to stop by the library this weekend.

Lace Wingspan Shawl (Upcoming Class Preview)

We love the Wingspan Shawl by maylin of Tri'Coterie Designs.  We've had so many customers comment on our shop sample knit in Lang Jawoll Magic Degrade yarn (pictured below) that we knew we needed to offer this project as a class! 

The triangle shaping is created using short-row technique and self-striping yarn makes the simple garter stitch stunning.

The Wingspan Shawl has been so popular that several other adaptations are now available. We decided it would be fun to take our class to the next level - so join us for the Lace Wingspan class!

We recommend a soft, luxurious, fingering weight yarn in a solid or semi-solid colorway to show off your pattern stitches.  You will master the written and charted instructions for 8 different lace patterns in once project!

This TWO SESSION class meets Wednesdays, September 12 AND September 26, 5:30 pm - 7 pm.

Party Angel Stole

We love Party Angel by Debbie Bliss! It’s available in 4 elegant colors and because it has just a touch of shimmer, it is perfect for special occasion items. Our most popular garment in this yarn is the Party Angel Stole. It’s a beautiful lace piece that is fun to knit.

I think it would be a great wrap for a wedding or black tie event, but I wouldn’t hesitate to wear it with jeans and a tank top either!

We just finished a shop model of this stole so if you are local, please come in and try it on!

Back view

Kidsilk Haze Stripe Collection

We're loving the Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe yarn. Obviously it makes a gorgeous striped scarf (with NO work on your part!) 

but did you know we've got a pattern booklet for some gorgeous sweaters in this yarn?

More and more people are making sweaters out of lace weight yarn, and we think these are beautiful:

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)

Free on Friday

I posted a link to this scarf pattern in another post earlier in February when I announced we'd received the Classic Elite Firefly yarn. But we've finished our shop sample, and it's just SO spectacular, that we thought it deserved some recognition in a Free on Friday post.

So here it is - the gorgeous Firefly scarf. The free pattern, courtesy of Classic Elite, can be found here. This scarf is perfect for spring. So get cracking!!

Laceweight projects abound!

Last week we received another book dedicated to projects for lace weight yarn. We'd recently gotten in Silky Little Knits, which was so well received by our lace addicts, that we thought we'd try Lacy Knits.

We know it's hard to justify buying a book unless there are a number of great projects in it. Both of these books have a lot of neat patterns for lace, so we think they are worth it. I used to have a rule when buying music albums. I had to really like at least 3 songs on the album or I wouldn't buy it. I think that rule also works for books. And if so, I've just bought these two for sure.

In Silky Little Knits, my clear favorites are the Linda Beaded Boa: the Colorwash Mittens: and the Frilled Bedsocks: Although there are a number of other projects I just love, too.

And in Lacy Knits we have a few faves as well. Barb has already grabbed 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Angel and started the Wonder scarf.She's made some good progress on hers, and look how beautiful it is! It's basically a 4 row pattern... but 2 rows are just knitted and the other 2 are the same, just offset.

I've picked out the Glow scarf and we're going to make that up as a shop sample. It calls for 2 different kinds of yarn, one a kid lace/mohair blend, and another one slightly heavier. I'm pondering our options on that one...

And I love the Beth cowl. Who wouldn't want to have this wrapped around them on a cool winter day?

In love with lace

That's pretty much the subject of the new Debbie Bliss Knitting magazine for Spring/Summer 2011. And with her new lace weight kid mohair and silk blend, it's no wonder! We've had other fibers like this in the past - in fact at one time we carried 3 different ones, in a total of over 30 colors. For various reasons (price increases, wanting to deal with other companies, etc) we discontinued all 3 over time.

But now we are carrying Debbie Bliss Angel and it's just beautiful. We are so glad to have this fiber blend back in stock. The colors are so soothing (although we have a few brighter ones on order) and there are some really great patterns for this yarn. In addition to a lot of good information on lace knitting, the magazine actually has quite a few great patterns for this yarn. This beautiful bolero ties with a tiny bow: And this simple stockinette stitch bell-shaped tunic has a sumptuous scallop-edged lace border. Lace novices will love to practice with this quick lace chevron-stitch scarf: This drapey stole has breathtaking patterning:This cardigan with blackberry stitch bands is knit on larger needles and is extra light: Part capelet, part shrug, this is worked from the neck down: This simple shrug has a surprise lace paneling on the back: And this boat neck top with fern lace patterning is simple, but makes a statement.There are also lots of other non-lace weight patterns in this magazine. Come on in and take a look!

Free on Friday

This week's free pattern is a new favorite of ours. One day a couple of months ago, I ran next door to the warehouse to grab some yarn for a customer. While I was there, a skein of Ella Rae Lace Merino caught my eye. I already knew I loved this yarn, but this one particular color made me swoon (Teal, Lime & Maroon). It just BEGGED to come back over to the shop with me and find its rightful place in a finished object of some sort.

But what would that be? This gorgeous skein of yarn sat next to me on my desk for weeks and weeks. We wanted to make a one skein project with it, but which one? Socks? Fingerless mitts? A lightweight hat? No, no and no. We were stumped, and the skein was sad.

Barb was looking on Ravelry one day, and came across this free pattern for the Deirdre Shawl. It's your basic triangular shawl, but it incorporates different stitch patterns which make it really interesting to knit, and beautiful to wear. So she took the skein home, and look at it now? WOW. Now it's a happy skein! It has become a great shoulder wrap for under a coat, or a lightweight cover for those chilly restaurants.

And remember, a good blocking is important for lace knitting!

Bertie Bott's, trip knitting and other uses for knitting tools!

We took advantage of a school break last week and some frequent flyer miles and headed to Florida for a few days of fun in the sun. After a quick stop in Orlando to visit Hogsmeade & Hogwarts, where we sampled Butter Beer, visited Olivander's Wand Shop and dined at the Three Broomsticks, we headed south to stay with some good friends in Miami. There, we hit South Beach, went out in the boat and sampled some of the freshest and most delicious seafood. Yum!

Side note: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans are the perfect entertainment for kids! (Okay, and adults, too!) We took some to our friends in Miami and it was too funny. Sampling these jelly beans one by one, waiting to see if the flavor is good or awful, and then trying to figure out what the awful flavor was... hysterical. Thankfully I only got a few bad ones - soap and what tasted like lemon pledge and sap. Fortunately, the kids got all the terrible ones - vomit, earwax, dirt, etc. Fun fun!

I packed two knitting projects for the trip. One was a lace-weight project with Noro Sekku, and the other was a hat in the new Malabrigo Rasta. I'm not a big fan of lace-weight yarns, but since we had a 3 hour layover at JFK (yay, frequent flyer miles!!) I started that project first. I won't divulge the pattern here because you'll see it this Friday on "Free on Fridays". I can say that it was my first project with lace-weight yarn where I opted to use the Addi Turbo Lace Needles.

These needles were just fantastic to work with! The points are incredibly pointy (without hurting my fingers) and the needle surface is just grippy enough that the teeny-tiny-skinny yarn did not slip. I will go so far as to say I enjoyed knitting with this yarn - and that's a complete turnaround for me. It just shows you how important the right tools are. Here's a preview of the scarf, straight from South Beach. (That's Marc teaching Helen how to boogie board in the background.) It's almost finished, too. Just a few more rows to go and you'll see it on Friday.

My Rasta and Brittany double pointed needles saw no action. They were just along for the ride. I did learn that Brittany dpns are versatile tools though, and can be used for non-knitting related activities! Our flight from Miami to JFK was delayed, so we were put on another plane that should have given us plenty of time to make our connection to Burlington. However, things did not go according to plan, and we ended up sprinting what felt like 2 miles to our connecting gate, running past people on the moving walkways, screaming "On your left!". We arrived just seconds before they closed the door to our plane.

When we got into our seats on the minuscule plane, it was 8pm, and we had not eaten since 2:30pm. (Bad planning mom, I know!) I had purchased some of those (super healthy!) Cinnabons in the airport, but had forgotten silverware. Those things are certainly not finger foods, but at this point, we were starving. Those small planes don't even have silverware, and so I searched my backpack to see what I had that could possibly assist us in eating the messiest meal possible.

Thankfully, my Brittany size 13 double pointed needles did the trick! I used one as a knife to cut the Cinnabons into small pieces. Sophie and Helen each used one as a fork, and Marc used 2 as chop sticks. Our tummies were satisfied, and the needles received a good cleaning when we arrived home, and they're good as new. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

Manic-In Monday

Shawls are year round garments, but isn't there something wonderful about wearing one in the summer? Grab a shawl, fold it up and pack it in your bag. Then, as you go about your day - and roam from hot outside temperatures to cool inside temperatures, your shawl becomes your best friend.

Our gal is getting ready to attend an outdoor concert, and her shawl is the highlight of her outfit. She's going to see the Vermont Symphony Orchestra at Shelburne Farms on July 4th. The gates open at 5:30 but the concert doesn't start until 7:30pm, and by then it may just be a bit cooler! Her shawl will be just perfect. She can wrap it around her shoulders, sit back, enjoy the music and watch the sun set over the mountains.

Pattern: Gardiner Yarn Works Kiwassa Shawl pattern

Yarn: madelinetosh Tosh Lace (so soft, and machine washable!)

A picture says a thousand words

I'm giving India a big thumb's up for these photos that she shared with me recently! Hope you enjoy them.

This is the Shoulder Shawl from the Victorian Lace Today book. She used Noro Sekku, Noro's new lace weight yarn.

Many of you ask us how to properly block lace projects. This picture explains it all:

Vermont is famous for it's mud season, although I think we managed to skip most of it this year, due to the strange weather. I love how the mud boots were captured in this shot:

Don't be scared of lace!

Lace knitting seems to bring out some of the most interesting opinions in the shop. Some people love it and some people hate it. Others are intrigued, but just plain intimidated by some part of the process whether it is the materials, tools, or pattern. So I thought I would share some things that can make lace knitting feel less intimidating, or a lace project feel more friendly.

You see there are some secrets (now keep this quiet!) to those comments that I hear all the time
about lace knitting in the shop.
Oh the yarn is so thin or slippery!
Oh the charts are so hard to read or follow!
Why is it so hard to keep track of my pattern or the number of stitches in each repeat?
Well...

1. Light. Yes, light. Lace is by definition a delicate open fabric and it can be difficult to work if you don't illuminate it. Why work in less than optimum conditions? Please don't try to knit lace in a darkened room in front of your television. But, if you do insist on sitting in a less than bright place to work on your lace, at least use the right tools! A Mighty Bright LED lamp clipped close to your project will give you better ligthing, but won't disturb anyone else near you....

2. Stitch markers. Yes, stitch markers. Nothing like knitting 400 or more stitches only to find at the end of the row that you must have mis-counted something earlier in the row. The tiny little Lace & Sock Rings are perfect! Place these between your repeats and you will tell almost immediately if/when you've lost your place.

3. Highlighter Tape. I don't know whose brilliant idea this was, but come on! You can't beat it. Removable, "re-stickable" tape that comes in different colors. Put it right on your pattern and the CHART so that it looks as if you've just used a highlighter pen to mark the row you are on. Cover the row below and the row above just to increase the odds of following the correct row of your chart!

4. Lace Needles. Addi Turbo makes needles specifically designed for working lace. These needles have a finer more tapered tip to help you with your delicate stitches and those finer yarns. They also have a special coating to increase the friction (not too much!) of slippery yarn moving over your needle. The nylon cord is extremely supple just like the regular Addi needles, and they come in lengths all the way up to 60" so you can fit all 10,000 stitches on your needle.

5. T-pins & Blocking Wires. There is nothing more disapointing than starting a gorgeous new lace pattern only to realize that your knitting looks like a giant blob of very fine fabric that bears no resemblence to the beautiful photo in your pattern. Don't fret! Everyone's lace projects appear bloblike until they have been blocked. Do yourself a favor, relax, brew a cup of tea, breath deeply and continue bravely on. Be content in the knowledge that t-pins and some sort of blocking wires (exhibit A or B) will help you achieve great things with your finished piece.

Now doesn't it seem like lace could be a great new adventure for your summer knitting?

Light...
Airy...
and not so scary!

Upcoming Lace Class

I have always loved to knit lace. And it's not always thin yarn and small needles! But this time it was. Ever since we got the madelinetosh Tosh Lace, I have wanted to make something with it. It's so pretty and soft. I have a folder of patterns at my desk that intrigue me and so I looked through it and the Kiwassa Shawl pattern by Gardiner Yarn Works jumped out. It was perfect for this yarn.

After about 2 rows I realized my regular Addi Turbo needles were not quite pointy enough for the job, so I switched to the Addi Turbo Lace needles. These were fantastic! The tips are so sharp, and worked really well on all those k2tog, ssk, etc. By this past Saturday, I only had 4 rows left on the shawl. I knew I'd finish it Saturday night, and be left without a knitting project for Sunday. Without a knitting project, I am forced to clean, and that's a lot less fun! Since my upcoming lace class offers a choice of two patterns (and one is the Kiwassa shawl!) I figured I'd knit up the second option for folks to see.

I'd been working in the shop on Saturday and I was inspired by all the projects our customers were buying or showing us during the day. The madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Afternoon color was catching my eye all day. So I grabbed it and took it home, along with the Midnight Lace Scarf pattern by Gardiner Yarn Works. This is the other pattern that people can choose to knit in my lace class. It's such a great pattern and is going to be beautiful in this yarn. The beauty of this scarf is that not only does it involve lace, but it also has a cable pattern. It's a very good place to start for a less experienced knitter.

Come in to the shop to check out these beautiful lace pieces. And sign up for my lace class!

The Lux is a winner!

One of the yarns we were really excited about at TNNA in June was the Lux #12 and Lux #12 Hand Dyed from Buffalo Gold. It's a true luxury yarn - the blend is bison, cashmere, silk and tencel. We fell in love with the gorgeous jewel-tones colors, and for $9 more, 3 colorways dyed by Lornas Laces. This yarn arrived two weeks ago, and I rushed to get it online before I left for vacation.

I'm glad I put it online so quickly! Last week, Clara Parks (of knittersreview.com) reviewed the Buffalo Gold Lux #12 in her yarn profile. And thanks to a link to us, this special yarn is now in the hands of many other folks out there, who are already giving us great feedback about it! We still have most colors in stock, with more arriving in 2.5 weeks.

The flakes they are a-flying

It's definitely a wintery day in northern Vermont today! We woke up to highway closings both north and south of us - black ice was the enemy of the morning it seems. I got up early to meet my mom before her surgery - poor thing had to deal with a scary commute in on the highway - nothing like windy white outs on the Bolton Flats to get that heart racing.

Sophie woke up with a fever, so Marc is working from home with her so I can go back and forth to the hospital. He sent me this picture of her this morning:Maisy sure looks excited to have a pal for the day! (Note the kitties playing with yarn balls on her pjs!)

I had my knitting this morning at the hospital, but I wasn't going to work on it while I was waiting with my mom in pre-op. After all, the socks are a gift for her birthday on Thursday and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. But after my dad and I were joking with her about how she wouldn't even be ABLE to put on her own socks after today, and how her feet might be a bit swollen, I whipped out the one finished sock and told her it was an early (and unfinished) gift. My reasoning - I wanted to make sure it was the right size, and since her feet will possible be larger after today, I wanted to get an accurate measurement! The result? The sock fit perfectly, and she loves it. So I was able to knit for a couple of hours while we waited for her surgery time. (Photo is on my foot - she wouldn't allow a camera near her this morning.) I'm so glad I used fewer stitches than the pattern called for.

The Piece of Vermont Bamboo Blend sock yarn really has a gorgeous sheen to it. It has been so nice to work with, I will be sad when this project is over. But how can you mourn any yarn for too long when there are ALWAYS new ones arriving? Last Friday we received Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn. And wow. I mean WOW! We sold a bunch of it before it was properly unpacked! My favorite color is the November Muse, followed by Dusky Aurora and Midnight Derby. It is just gorgeous. I'm going to have a hard time keeping my hands off this yarn.

Speaking of last Friday, we had a really nice time with author, Alison Hyde. What a genuinely wonderful person - so interesting, caring, and thoughtful (she made me a scarf! thanks Alison! I love it!) She had a really nice time relaxing with knitters and friends, and we hope to see her again in the near future.

We still have a few of her signed copies of Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls left, but we have received several emails from customers who pre-ordered a signed copy of Alison's book. We mailed them out on Saturday morning, and these customers are just thrilled with how wonderful the book is. Beth from MA wrote, "I just received my signed copy of Wrapped in Comfort. That name just does not do justice to the exquisite collection of shawls between the covers! Wow—they are gorgeous. I can’t wait to sit and soak up the pages." Thanks, Beth for the feedback, and thanks to the others who commented, as well.

Unfortunately, I didn't even think to grab my camera until the very end - I did have to leave in the midst of her visit to pick up my girls and take them to a Girl Scout function. But here's a picture of Alison, with Kristine and Lucy. Kristine and Lucy were here for more than 4 hours, and Lucy was her lovely little self the entire time. What a pleasant little knitter-to-be!