New Safety Measures in Place

We reorganized the Plymouth Encore yesterday, since we've just received a number of new colors. Some of the colors are the new neons, which have been really well received. The first day we got the Neon Pink in stock, a little girl chose it for a sweater before we even put it out on the shelf. The mom didn't love the color, but hey, she told her daughter she could pick her favorite color...

And, this week we've had a work crew outside on the sidewalk. We can't really tell what they're doing, because each time we look out the window, they aren't doing anything at all. Maybe they just get a lot of breaks? 

But it got us thinking of our new neon colors, and how maybe these folks should at least be productive with all this sitting around. Certainly they could be making themselves some accessories for when the air turns colder?

This morning we arrived to find a single cone, but no work crew. So we sent one of our employees out to work safety patrol. We told her it's okay to stay in the shade, but absolutely NO sitting down on the job!

Reporting for duty

We didn't have the proper uniform for her, but we whipped up a quick safety sash (Plymouth Encore neons), badge (tape measure), and topped her off with an eyecatching hat (Manos Maxima). 

We think she'll get noticed.

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:

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?

Long Overdue

So we all have projects that are unfinished. And some have been sitting around longer than others. I recently came across a project that was so close to being completed that I vowed to finish it. And I did.

Five years ago I was making a hooked rug from a drawing that my daughters (then ages 8 and 8) had done. They wanted a welcome sign for our mudroom and thought that if they made a drawing of our family, I could transfer the drawing onto linen, and hook it. Helen immediately set out to draw the figures, and Sophie wrote the word "Welcome" in cursive (her newest skill at the time), drew the sun, and contributed landscape ideas. More about the process here. And I started hooking. Here's a shot of it when I started. There's something adorable about a drawing - made by young kids - brought to life!

I worked hard on the rug, and finished about 90% of it. I had a really hard time hooking the faces, so I set it aside for over a year. Then, two years ago, I realized that I needed to make some progress, so I enlisted the help of Michele, our resident rug hooking expert. She took it home with her and completed the faces and the hair for me, doing an excellent job. 

And so I packed up the rug and brought it here to Finland, thinking that during our time here, I'd definitely finish it. Now we've been here almost 2 years, and of course, I haven't touched it! But we're moving back to Vermont in just a couple of months, and I've been doing some packing. I came across the rug and when I opened it up and realized just how little was left to finish, I gave myself a good scolding. I immediately put down all knitting projects and made a deal with myself that I couldn't knit until I finished this rug. After all, wouldn't a Welcome sign look great in our new entryway in Vermont? I think so.

It only took me a couple of hours to finish the parts of the sky that were remaining. 

And then I had to finish the edges - that took another couple of hours. Luckily, I had grabbed a skein of Manos Rittenhouse (now discontinued) in the perfect color to edge the rug.

The girls are thrilled that it's finished. Of course, Sophie said, "Well, it's perfect except for one thing. The cats aren't in it." 

Don't worry Sophie, they may not be in it. But they're ON it.

BAD Lucy! Put those claws away!

What claws!?

And they've proven that they like my rug hooking projects JUST as much as they like my knitting projects.

And Maisy likes it too.

Luckily they won't be able to do this when it's hanging on my wall! Now, back to the knitting!

Manos Fino Yarn

We recently met with our Manos sales rep and saw two brand new Manos yarns. Did we order both? Well, of course. You know we love Manos - from worsted weights Wool Clasica & Maxima, to the lighter-weights Silk Blend & Serena, to the laceweight Lace. And now we'll have two more additions to the Manos team!

Last week we received Manos Fino, a lighter-weight silk and merino wool blend that knits at 6-7 stitches to the inch. 

We've got 6 colors in stock with two more on the way shortly. This yarn comes in subtle tonal colors and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm trying to pick a shawl/scarf pattern. Each skein has 490 yards, so I'm liking it for one skein projects!

We've got the Manos Alegria on order too. This is a new hand painted sock yarn and the colors are super fun! We'll let you know when it arrives. It's sure to make a splash!

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!

Simple & Sweet Baby Sweaters

Each day we see customers in the shop searching for sweater patterns for newborn babies. It's no wonder - don't you always get the urge to knit a little sweater for a close friend or family member when you hear she's expecting? I know I do!

And as yarn shop employees, we've handled this many, many times, so we're always prepared to recommend a good assortment of patterns.

Like the Wee One Welcome Set from Knitting at Knoon.

This pattern is simply adorable. It calls for 400 yards of DK weight yarn. In our shop sample (above) we chose Sirdar Snuggle Crofter DK that knits up with a fair isle striping effect. This yarn is reasonably priced (it costs just $21 to make the set), comes in really sweet colors and is soft and machine washable.

We've got other great DK weight yarns that work really well for this little set. Berroco Comfort DK now has really fun variegated colors, and Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend is also a popular choice.

The Puerperium Baby Cardigan is precious! And it's easy and fun to make. This sweater is pretty hard to resist, once you see the (and feel!) the shop sample (shown below). We used Misti Alpaca Pima Silk and this yarn is just the perfect choice for a newborn. The color choice is spectacular, and it's heavenly to knit.

Another pattern that's been getting a lot of attention is brand new from Yankee Knitter. The Baby Sweaters, Hats & Blankets Pattern #31 is a great addition to the Yankee Knitter offering. The sweaters and hats are sized from preemie to 6-12 months and the blanket is a generous 33"x35". And they knit up quickly in heavy worsted weight.

Our top recommendations for this pattern are Plymouth Encore, Berroco Comfort Worsted, Berroco Vintage and if you'd like a soft wool, then Dream in Color Classy or Classic Elite Liberty Print.

And finally, one last recommendation for a great newborn sweater. We came across this one a few months ago and thought it was beautiful in its simplicity. It is more suited for little girls, but it's a top choice on our list for newborns.

In Threes: A Baby Cardigan is a pattern that's available on Ravelry. We also sell it in the shop through Ravelry. It's the sweetest little sweater. All worked from the top down, in one piece. It's absolutely precious!

We had some Putty colored Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece laying around and I knew it would be perfect for this sweater. It just needs buttons now, but the best part about using such a neutral color is that you can really be creative with your button selection!

Beautiful yoke detail

Mittens to the Max! (Upcoming Class Preview)

Maxima that is!  We have new multi-colors and new semi-solid colors of the super soft merino wool yarn Maxima from Manos del Uruguay.

One skein is the perfect match for a basic set of mittens and will keep you toasty all winter long. What? You've never knit mittens before? Well, come on in and sign up for our Basic Mitten class!

Mittens are not as difficult to knit as they look and shaping the thumb gusset won't remain an intimidating task for long. This class features an extended version of our free Basic Mitten pattern that includes tips and tricks for future mitten knitting.

This TWO SESSION workshop meets Wednesdays, December 5 AND December 19, 5:30 pm - 7 pm.

Manos Limited Edition #10 is HERE!

This month's Manos Limited Edition color just arrived and we think it's scrumptious! 

It's Limited Edition #10 and it reminds me of my favorite color of flowers... purple & creamy white.

Manos Limited Edition Colorway for January 2012

Scrump-dilly-icous:

Manos LE-5 has arrived!

Rectangles Rule!

contributed by Shawn 

Barb was browsing patterns recently and came across a great double knit hat pattern called the Rectangly Hat by Catherine Hughes. She knit one up for the shop using Plymouth Select Worsted Merino Superwash yarn and it was an immediate hit!  

The hat is composed of two layers and is completely reversible - and the colors are opposite on each side. The double knit technique might sound difficult but Catherine has set up the pattern for this hat so that it's easy to understand.

So many of the staff and our customers were interested that soon several Rectangly Hats were in progress!

Here is the one I started using Berroco Vintage yarn. I love the contrast of these two jewel tones for this pattern!

This pattern has kept us busy thinking of other possibilities for what to incorporate as a motif in the double knitting technique. Too bad the word KNIT isn't a palindrome*. BUT with a bit of ingenuity we figured out how to make the hat say KNIT on one side and PURL on the other!

So now we have a real knitter's double knit hat! This sample is shown in Berroco Lustra yarn. It would also look great with KNIT on one side and CROCHET on the other!

Since then we've had a smaller version walk through the door (sized down by using sport weight yarn and smaller needles) knit from Debbie Bliss Rialto DK. And even one version of the hat that incorporated a skein of semi-solid and a skein of multi-colored Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend that was just gorgeous!

I love the creativity that knitting encourages! Hope you have a chance to go 'rectangly' this winter.

*A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction

Before You Gift It, BLOCK It!

We know there is a lot of gift knitting and crocheting going on right now... and even though you may not finish your projects with much time to spare, try to give yourself a teeny bit of time to block your projects. Some need it more than others, and if yours needs it, don't skimp!

Because it's one of the top questions we get asked in the shop, I thought I'd show you my most recent blocking step by step with pictures, in case you needed a little help. 

I recently finished the Shadow Shawl with the Manos del Uruguay Serena yarn. This project had been with me on 2 airplanes, numerous trains, in the car, and in my bag a few times a week while the girls played tennis. So it was certainly scrunched up and in need of a good blocking. And think... in all those places it certainly picked up a few germs, so blocking - in addition to evening out your stitches and getting it to be the exact size you want/need it to be - is a great way of cleaning it.

I usually "wet block". Simply put, this means wet it, and dry it.

I started by making sure my sink was perfectly clean. Then I ran some lukewarm to cool water and added a capful of fiber wash. 

I usually use Kookaburra or Eucalan - because these two require no rinse, and that makes blocking faster and easier!

When the basin was full and the water was sudsy, I added my shawl. I carefully swished it around for a couple of minutes, and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Then I came back and drained the basin.

As the water began to disappear down the drain, I started gently pressing the water out of the shawl. 

Then I used a "touch" more force and gently squeezed to get more water out.

At this point, the shawl was still quite wet. So with both hands I picked it up carefully and spread it out on a clean beach towel. (Wet fibers stretch! So be careful here!) I folded the towel over the wet shawl and rolled it up so that most of the moisture soaked into the towel. 

Then I pulled my blocking boards out of storage. I used to use an old remnant of carpet, but when we moved here I knew I needed to get some blocking mats. 

These mats are great because they fit together like puzzle pieces. Because this shawl is triangular, I was able to set the mats up in the perfect shape. They also come with pins but I didn't need to use those this time.

Of course, I had to shut my office door because a wet shawl is a magnet for my cats, and I knew it wasn't safe out in the open.

The next morning, my shawl was clean, dry and perfectly symmetrical triangular.

I hope you have success (and fun!) blocking your things! If you have any specific questions, remember, you can always call the shop and ask us. We're happy to help.

RRrr RRRrrr RRRRrrrr... ip.

I've been working on the Serena Shadow Shawl since early October. It's not a project I work on every day. It's more of a project that I pick up in between other projects. Or when I just need a break from what I'm currently working on. 

I was pretty tired the other night and so I grabbed the Serena Shawl to work on while the girls and I watched TV. The TV in Finland is something we are still getting used to. Some shows are a year or more behind. Only a handful are current. We've been watching more of the Travel Channel and NatGeoWild than we ever have, although some of the blood and gore animal kills have been too much for poor Sophie to handle. I keep telling her... "Cycle of Life Sophie, cycle of life." But it doesn't help - she always runs from the room. Helen and I are fascinated.

If the shows are in English they all have Finnish subtitles which you CANNOT turn off. Even though I can't understand the Finnish, it is always amusing to try to pick out words that I do understand... numbers, certain verbs, names of foods. And of course keeping my eyes trained to the TV isn't always beneficial to the knitting project, especially if it's one you need to pay attention to.

But the Serena Shawl is easy: 3 rows of knit and one of purl, with a four YOs every other row. Simple, right? Well the other night I looked down and found a wonky stitch about 13 rows down. Crap. I hadn't fully worked the stitch properly. It wasn't really noticeable, but it was something I could easily fix. So worked over to that stitch, dropped down, fixed it, and worked back up. Done.

About two rows later, I noticed another inconsistency in my knitting. It was on the same side of the shawl (left side) but this time about 24 rows down. And it was not something I could drop down and fix. It was a mistaken YO that I had actually knit, thus increasing one stitch. 

I looked at it for a while, close up, from a distance, in the light, in better light... Yes it was noticeable to me. But it was so slight that I knew nobody else would see it. So I continued on, feeling a little guilty that I had made such a silly mistake AND that I was letting it go! But what's that old saying about mistakes in your knitting... that they are your personal signature?

I continued on for several more rows. At this point, the rows were getting quite long. Every 2 rows you are increasing 4 stitches per row. I was nearing the end of the first 2 skeins and took time out to wind skeins 3 and 4. And then I saw it.

Another mistaken increase. On the same left side of the shawl. Again, it wasn't even noticeable to anyone but me. But this one I could not overlook.

So the rest of the night was spent ripping back.It was painful but I know it was the right thing to do!