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!

Happy New Year!

It's been a busy week here in the shop. We've had so much fun seeing customers from out of town! And it's been great to see our local customers who are coming in to the shop with friends and family who are in Vermont for the holiday.

This week Barb and I have been meeting with sales reps every day, checking out new spring yarns. They are also showing us a few new wintery yarns that are available for immediate shipment. We did order some, so in the coming weeks you will see new sock yarns, new kids' machine washable yarns and new novelties, including a couple more ruffle yarns and even a yarn with feathers! (Trust me, the feather yarn is cool... it's not for everybody, but we felt it was unique and definitely worth bringing in for select customers!)

We've had fun sharing projects, too! I brought some projects back from Finland, including my Shadow Shawl:

and a cute little baby sweater I made using the new Berroco Versa yarn. The pattern for this sweater will be available soon.

Emily brought in the coolest mittens today - striped with 2 colors of Berroco Flicker. 

And even though these would have been nice and cozy with just the Flicker, she took it a step further and added a super cozy lining of Chic Fleece. This novelty yarn is mostly used for furry scarves, but Emily chose it as a liner because it's 65% superwash merino wool. So not only is it super soft and fuzzy (perfect inside a mitten) but it's also really warm. 

What a delight to slip your hand into this mitten, and be surprised by the lining that you didn't know was there!

A sales rep the other day showed us a great felted accessory bag that was knit with Noro Kureyon. It's a really great beginner knitting project and after felting, you attach it to a clear (or colored) vinyl accessory bag, like the ones we sell in the shop.

Shawn is our resident felter here, so I am going to save this for her to felt. Beginners, look for a class on this in the next couple of months!

The other day in the shop we were looking at the Trendsetter Dune yarn. I wanted to make a hat in it but I knew I'd need to combine it with another yarn that had some body to it. Barb and I grabbed several colors of Dune and went over to the Berroco Vintage shelf. There are so many excellent color combinations that you can make with these two yarns. Because the Dune is so gorgeous, we knew that a hat in stockinette would be the best.

The easy rolled brim hat I made reminds me of the old Chinchilla rolled brim hat we had years ago, only this one is kicked up a few notches!

Emily also made up a new scarf up for the shop. It's with the new Knitting Fever Broadway yarn, which has a neat metallic edge on it. It's been very popular so far, especially during this holiday week! 


I hope you are all working on some fun projects this holiday week too!

Barb is working on the Hitchhiker shawl in the Ella Rae Lace Merino yarn. She says it's so fun and addicting! 

And she just finished the Popcorn Baby Blanket out of Berroco Circus and Peter Pan Tinkerbell. This was such a quick knit, and remember there are excellent color combinations for this project. We just had some folks in today who found out their friend just got pregnant. They were picking out projects for newborns. This blanket is just the ticket.

Remember we are closing at 2pm on Saturday, closed all day Sunday, and we WILL BE CLOSED on Monday, January 2nd, so my staff can start of the New Year with a well deserved day of rest. Happy New Year!

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!

The Joys of Public Transportation

When I lived in the states I had a car and didn't need to use public transportation. But here in Europe I'm mostly without a car, and so I'm taking advantage of a pretty clean, and wonderfully reliable public transportation network. I have to say, it's been pretty great so far (although I wish there were a bus stop closer to my apartment, since Finland is pretty wet at this time of the year!) It's so much more relaxing to sit back and let someone else do the driving.

This week we're in London for a few days doing a little sightseeing with the kids, and we've been taking lots of public transportation to get around. Due to the extremely high price of hotels here, we're staying a bit outside the city at Stansted, and using a discounted "family pass" to take a train in and out of the city each morning and evening. A 45 minute train ride into London may seem like an inconvenience to some. But not to me.

It's been so nice to start and end each day with my knitting! I'm working on the Shadow Shawl, which is a free pattern from Fairmount Fibers (the distributor of Manos del Uruguay.) This is a simple pattern using Serena in two colors. It's wonderfully soft and lightweight and will be a year round piece in my wardrobe.

Interweave Knits Fall 2011

contributed by Shawn

I may knit all year round, but I have to admit I love the lead-in to autumn in the shop as new yarns and patterns come in! There are new temptations that will urge anyone to pick up their needles in the recently arrived pages of Interweave Knits Fall 2011 magazine.

The Dahlia Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti is a simply stunning sweater.  This piece has a delicate and eye-catching lace motif centered on the back of the sweater and is knit from Manos Serena yarn. The simple rectangular shape of this sweater drapes into a lovely silhouette due to the Serena's lightweight blend of alpaca and cotton fibers.

Take a look at the colors and patterns that Odessa Raichel used in the True North Mittens. Snowflakes, deer, and evergreens, oh my! These will be a cozy treat knit from Berroco Blackstone Tweed.

I'm especially pleased to see that the ladies from Kelbourne Woolens are the feature of this issue's designer profile.  It is so nice to learn more about the folks who answer the phone when we place orders for our Fibre Company yarns! Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley also have some lovely patterns and we have a number of them available here.

I love the lines in this long cabled coat and can imagine pulling the collar up on a chilly day.  Wouldn't this be lovely knit from the Aquatic color of Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky Yarn? It's the Cardiff Coat by Jennifer Wood. It makes me think of leaf season in Vermont! And the Shadow Tuque would match my coat when the weather turns to snow.

Have you noticed that summer is slipping by? It's August already and that means it's time to start thinking about your autumn knitting!

Mannequin lundi

Bonjour! This week the mannequin is taking a break, because I'm out of town. But in this photo, that we staged before I left, she's wearing something she's worn before, in honor of my trip. There are some pretty big clues in the picture... can you guess where I am?

That's right, je suis à Paris! You see, I made the Citron specifically FOR this trip, and I must say, it's been perfect to have with me. I made mine one repeat longer than the pattern, because I usually wear it more like a shawl - with a t-shirt or tank. For the past two days, however, it has been wrapped around my neck like a scarf. I'm so glad I used the Manos Serena. I thought it might be too warm, but it's perfect.

And so far, it's been FREEZING here in Paris. Thankfully, I had some Jacoby Gauntlets with me. At the top of the Eiffel Tower, it was probably in the mid 40's with that big wind chill this morning. That Malabrigo Sock Yarn sure felt good on my hands, which were absolute icicles. It's supposed to be warming up a bit tomorrow thankfully. Who would've thought I needed so many handknits on a June trip to France?

We're having a great time, fitting a lot in and seeing some incredible stuff. We were just a TAD jetlagged yesterday so I grabbed a few minutes of shut-eye while cruising down the Seine. (Don't worry, I didn't miss anything important!) And we've been working the metro like pros. It's so much fun!

And trip knitting? I have just one project with me. Yep, another Citron. It is THE most versatile scarf/shawl I have ever had. This one is in madelinetosh Tosh Sock, in the color Tart. It's for my sister who lives over here. We're flying down south to meet her on Tuesday. I'm not sure I will finish it on the trip - but I sure will try!?