New Projects for Your Spring Wardrobe

contributed by Shawn

The new Tahki Yarns Intermix pattern booklet is all about texture and spring/summer layering pieces! The designs in this book caught our attention as soon as it arrived and many of our customers have already snapped up their copies recognizing that these projects are fashion-forward but practical and wearable knits that can be dressed up or down for a variety of occasions.

Barb has already finished the Destinations Top-Down Pullover knit in Tahki Rosa yarn. This incredibly soft 100% cotton yarn creates a wonderfully slubby fabric with its thick and thin profile. 

Barb's sweater is shown here:

With this bulky yarn the Streamlined Vest would be a quick project to finish!

The bright and easy knit Radiant Pullover on the cover of the pattern booklet invited us to explore the other designs in the book. Radiant shows off the iridescent qualities of Tahki Pixie yarn. 

For more relaxed style stop by the shop to try on our sample of the Spellbound Top.

The Tahki Ripple yarn was an immediate hit last year for spring/summer knitting. This season’s book features several new designs for this textured 100% cotton yarn. Michele couldn't wait to start this one and should have her very own Ruffle Tank to show off soon!

There are 20 different designs in this book and it is well worth a look – which one of these tops will become a part of your new spring wardrobe?

Customer Project: Bunny Hop

contributed by Shawn

Knitting At Knoon patterns for knitted toys have always been a hit in the shop. Which one is the most popular? Well that depends upon the age of knitter, the age of the recipient, and the season of the year!

Some of our customers love to make the Safari Friends (African animals)

while others go for Prehistoric Pals (dinosaurs).

And there are quite a few who think the aliens (Take Me To Your Leader) are the coolest, 

and still more who like the Monkey Business patterns. 

And of course, the Snobuddy Family is popular with everyone.

One of our customers, Amy, has knit many of these creatures and recently found another one of Chris de Longpre's patterns - Bunny Hop! This family of rabbits is certainly inspiration for spring :)

We didn't carry this pattern, but keep your eyes open for it. It's on order!

Organic Cotton for Baby

You already know we've received Classic Elite Seedling in the hand painted colors, but I wanted to share with you my experience with this yarn.

I'm not a big cotton fan. I always have to go down at least 2 needle sizes to get gauge with cotton yarns. This isn't such a big deal - I mean the number of stitches you are knitting on, whether you are using an 8 or a 6, is the same. But what makes it less-than-enjoyable for me, is the pain I feel in my hands when I'm knitting cotton on a small needle. And now that I've hit my mid-40's I'm feeling every ache and pain. Why give myself more pain if I can avoid it?

But I was in the shop after Christmas and I was looking at some of the new yarns we've received for spring. I pulled a skein of each of the new hand painted Seedlings from the shelf, and was amazed at how soft they were! For some reason, I always thought this yarn had a rougher feel to it. I was so wrong!

We used to sell some similar looking cotton yarns with nubbly textures like this and they were, indeed, rougher to the touch. That must have been what I was thinking about when I was "imagining" the hand of the Seedling. Luckily my imagination has now been replaced with a wonderful reality. This is some seriously smooth and soft fiber.

I pulled a copy of the new Yankee Knitter Baby Sweaters, Hats & Blankets #31 pattern and grabbed 3 skeins of color #4566 Lei. It's fun combination of pink and orange with a hint of avocado green thrown in! From the pattern, I chose to make the sweater: a super simple top down raglan cardigan. The thing I liked the best was that when you finished the yoke, the pattern tells you to work the sleeves FIRST, before the body. What's so smart about this? Well, it eliminates stitch holders, for one. And two? You can work the entire piece on a straight needle. Smart thinking!

I whipped up the size 3-6 month sweater in no time, and was pleased to discover that to get gauge, I only had to drop one needle size. My hands are pain free, too! I started the hat this morning and it should be finished soon.

And... if you like hand paints, there are some great colors from which to choose:

Angora Merino

Regia's Angora Merino is one of my favorite new yarns! I have just one word for it: SOFT. This yarn - a blend of superwash merino wool, polyamid and angora - is just unbelievably soft. And the color palette? Again, SOFT.

I loved the yarn when my sales rep first let me "pet" it, and I loved it even more when I saw it had its own dedicated pattern booklet for it (Regia Journal #004).

And the patterns are all great, not just one or two of them.

There are hats and scarves

and socks

and baby blankets

and baby booties!

There's a really beautiful shawl

that we made as a shop sample. Come on in to the shop and try it on!

We love experimenting with all the ways to wrap it.

I fell in love with this adorable baby set. I've started knitting the sweater and can't put it down. The pattern stitch is simple and so sweet!

Fun Factor Score - 10 out of 10

A couple of months ago I started a new project for the shop. We had just received our first shipment of Hikoo Simpliworsted yarn in the shop, and a really neat pattern booklet that went with it.

The Building Blocks pattern booklet is great!

It's got patterns for 12 different squares that can be combined to make a small afghan (36" x 48"), a smaller throw (36" x 36") or baby blanket (24" x 36"). Each square is really fun to do, and involves different stitch techniques, so you'll never be bored. 

12 different blocks - mix and match, or make them all!

This portable knitting is great - you won't have a huge blanket on your lap - just a 12" square. And of course, because you're working one square at a time, it seems like it goes faster. (At least it did for me!)

Most people choose one color of the Simpliworsted and make a solid colored afghan, but we shook things up a bit and picked 6 fun colors. The result - a gorgeous color blocked baby blanket!

My first 1 and 1/2 squares

The Simpliworsted yarn was HEAVEN to work with. And I really did love pulling different colors out of the bag when it was time for a new square.

Light at the end of the tunnel: last square!

I scanned a working copy of my pattern and sent it to my Kindle. Those reading glasses did come in handy, as PDFs are not as easy to magnify on the Kindle...

 
And then it was time for blocking - a date with Eucalan in the sink:

After the basin was drained, I gently pressed out the excess water and then rolled the squares up in a clean, dry towel. Note how - even though I followed the pattern exactly, some squares are not the same size. Ah, the MAGIC of blocking!

Squares are blocked to correct measurements.

Looks like I need a few more blocking squares!

And then after a bit of seaming, here it is:

Gorgeous, and FUN.

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:

New Noro Inspiration

contributed by Shawn

The new Noro Knitting Magazine Premiere Issue Fall 2012 (http://www.kyarns.com/product/noro-magazine-fall-2012/noro-knitting-patterns) is full of new Noro inspiration!

I loved the Crochet Slippers:

Crochet Slippers

So I immediately grabbed my new favorite color of Noro Kureyon and worked up a pair of these. They're a perfect summer adaptation of warm wooly slippers!

My slippers!

I love the Crochet Throw made of hexagon shapes.

Crochet Throw

This is a perfect crochet pattern alternative to the Modular Afghan that I love so much from the Knit Noro book.

I already have some favorite colors of Noro Silk Garden picked out for the Checkerboard Cap.

Checkerboard Cap

All you need is 1 skein each of 2 different colors of Noro Silk Garden yarn for this simple color work hat.

And, it you're inclined to begin your Holiday Knitting in July, then you might want to take a look at these classic hats: the Man's Slouchy Hat and the Man's Ribbed Hat.

Slouchy Hat

Ribbed Hat

Each hat can be done with just 2 skeins of Kureyon (1 skein each of 2 different colors). I think they are perfect designs that anyone would love to receive as a gift this winter.

The Cropped Jacket features a wonderful construction that shows off the Noro colors so well!

Cropped Jacket

Cropped Jacket - back view

The pattern calls for 984 yards color A and 656 yards color B Silk Garden Sock.  We no longer stock the Silk Garden Sock, so have already helped some people choose from the colors of Taiyo Sock yarn so they could get started on this one right away in time to wear for late summer!

I hope this magazine inspires you to pick up some new colorful knitting or crochet projects too!

Falling Water Ruffle Vest

contributed by Barb

We've been selling all colors of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for some time now, but until recently they'd all been special order. The yarn has done so well that we decided to pick the top 20 colors (for now!) and sell them in the shop as stock colors. 

I had never worked with this yarn before, and I really wanted to try it. I decided to start (and hopefully finish) a vest for this fall.  Unfortunately, I'm at the age where my temperature can spike - without warning! - and so I thought the cotton blend would be ideal. I had just ordered a great new pattern for the shop, iMagine Knit Designs Falling Water Ruffle Vest, and the gauge is perfect for Cotton Fleece.

I love the way this yarn is knitting up!

Lace pattern on back

Front view

My daughter heads off to her first year of college next month and I promised to weave a blanket for her dorm bed.  After knitting with the Cotton Fleece I decided that it's the perfect yarn for this project. It's exactly the weight she wanted, and she loved the feel of it. Here is a very small swatch that I used to test my sett. A "sett" is a gauge swatch for weavers. (We have to swatch too!)