Customer Project - Spotlight on Lang Tosca Light

contributed by Shawn

We recently snapped a photo of a wonderful example of Lang Tosca Light yarn crocheted into a circular shawl. 

Our customer Florence shared this beautiful project with us and said it was created from a vintage (& unidentified) crochet pattern. The Lang Tosca Light yarn shading really is striking.

Lang Tosca Light looks great in knitted projects like this Wonderful Wallaby sweater too! 

No More Hat Head!

contributed by Shawn


Check out this hat style and yarn combo that won't flatten your hair when you need a hat!

Classic Elite Liberty Wool Light is a 100% wool yarn that creates a warm but lightweight fabric. The slouchy style is a loose fit and these two features combine in a project that doesn't plaster your hair down on your head. The color spirals and eyelet details make it a fun project. The hats provide a nice splash of color in the rather depressing mud seasons that occur on either end of winter. 

Classic Elite's free electronic knitting pattern Eyelet Swirl Hats calls for just one skein of Liberty Wool Light yarn. With the color selection available I had a hard time choosing which one to start with. I went with the Ultra Violet Autumn (#6690) and I really like it. The color choices are so good though, that I think I'll need to knit a few more!

Elephants on Parade

Michele brought these in last week to share with us!

What a perfect gift set for a new baby!

This is Elijah the Elephant, and the Roo Designs Elephant Pullover (pdf pattern) knit to match using sport/dk weight yarns. She used Sublime Extrafine Merino Wool DK. It comes in a great selection of colors and is machine washable for friendly projects for little ones.

SPOTTED

...in a shop window in Munich, Germany.

A beautiful child's Bavarian jacket! This garter stitch classic is one I'm very familiar with... having made two of them about 20 years ago, one for myself and one my husband. I can't remember the pattern I used -perhaps it was this one by Elizabeth Zimmermann (although I know I modified it to make the sleeves a bit more roomy.)

I know we don't have the sweaters any longer - I think we wore them to death! But it was certainly a great "oh remember those awesome sweaters?" memory when we saw these yesterday out on a bustling sidewalk, alongside the dirndl dresses for little girls.

Want to make one for your child? Here's another EZ pattern worth checking out!

What cool things have YOU spotted recently?

Suprise Baby!

How many of you have made the Baby Surprise Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann? I've just finished my second, and it's one of the easiest (and most confusing!) sweaters I've ever made.

Don't get scared off by me saying it was confusing. Because it's not the directions that are confusing, it's the shape of what you are making that is confusing. You are knitting back and forth and working increases or decreases, and following a really well written, line by line pattern... so that's the simple part. But at any time during the knitting, if you try to LOOK at what you are doing, and imagine that it's going to turn out looking anything remotely like a sweater, that's when you get confused.

My only advice is to set worry aside and just follow the pattern. In the end, you will have a light bulb moment and it will all just make sense. It's a really great pattern and fun to make in sock yarn since now there are so many wonderful sock yarn choices.

This shop sample is in the new Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20. LOVE the color. Can't wait to pick out the buttons!

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!

Upcoming Class - First Time Top-Down Sweater

contributed by Shawn

This weekend I started my own little sweater example for the First Time Top-Down Sweater Knitting class that starts on February 13th. I've decided to use the new Berroco Floret yarn since it has a super soft hand and is a machine washable acrylic & cotton blend. This means it's perfect for spring babies! I can't wait to pick out buttons when it is finished.

This class features the knitbot Yoked Cardigan knitting pattern and this is what it looks like in Fibre Company Terra yarn:

Customers have loved this shop sample but keep saying it looks hard. Trust us, it's not! It's a really fun pattern to make, and since there are still a couple of spots left in the class, maybe you should join us!