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.

Washable Mohair Blend

Are you a mohair knitter? Some of our customers, though they love to work with different fibers, are drawn to mohair yarns. And this new mohair from Lang is one that's already been noticed by these knitters.

Lang Odeon is a super soft and light bulky mohair blend - and it's machine washable! It creates a beautiful fabric when knitted alone, but would also be perfect mixed with other yarns (like Berroco Boboli or Manos Silk Blend Multi) in accessories or throws. Come in and check it out!

Forced Knitting

Alright kids, if you're coming to the yarn shop with mom, I'm going to force you to knit for at least an hour.

And since the Fletcher Allen NICU always needs preemie hats, that's what you're making!

New Sock Yarn with a Touch of Attitude

One of our favorite sock & shawl yarns is now available with a bit of glitz! Introducing Mille Colori Socks & Lace LUXE by Lang. 

This yarn has always been a great choice for socks - of course - but recently many customers have been using it for shawls and scarves. Here's a Multi Directional Scarf made in shade 53:

The original sock colors are beautiful, and so are the 4 new Luxe shades! These new colors also stripe, but are a bit more subtle than the originals.

Stashbusting Poms

We've all got a yarn stash lurking somewhere. Why not grab a multicolored yarn (or a few strands of solids) and make some fun pom-poms?

This pom was made with just a few yarns of Noro Silk Garden yarn. 
L O V E

Keep a long strand on your poms and use them as bookmarks, or tie them onto special birthday gifts. Maybe your kitty needs a new toy? I'm sure some of your hats could use a makeover, too. Have fun!

Great Lightweight Top for Summer

Today Sophie found a new top in the shop that fits her to a T. It's the Color Block Top in Noro Taiyo Lace. 

And it's a free pattern! And all sizes take just 1-2 skeins of Taiyo Lace. 

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:

Customer Project - Vintage Crochet Blanket

contributed by Shawn


A lovely crochet project came through our doors recently and we wanted to share!

This is a blanket crocheted using Berroco Comfort DK yarn and adapted from a vintage pattern that originally called for crochet thread. The design looks beautiful in the black and white and our customer added tiny rosettes for a finishing touch.

Customer Project - Fun & Bright!

contributed by Shawn

I've always loved the bright fun colors that are available in the Jil Eaton CottonTail Yarn. Seeing them all on the shelf together is an inspirational burst of color for the senses. 

And so is this sweater! One of our customers recently came in to do a bit of shopping for her next project and she was wearing her latest creation incorporating many of the CottonTail colors. 

I love this Trapezoid Pullover that she created using the CottonTail and a Kaffe Fassett pattern. 

Sorry, I didn't catch explicit pattern source details at the time because I was too excited by the actual sweater!

Upcoming Fiber Event - VERMONT

contributed by Shawn


The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year, but if you have the chance to visit the weekend of May 18 & 19 you'll be in for a treat!  

The 18th & 19th is the "Farm to Yarn" Tour weekend and it features fiber producing farms to visit. This is a great way to meet the animals in our area of Vermont that create the wonderful fibers we love to knit and crochet with. Best of all? It's FREE!

There are 11 different sites this year and each farm lists the types of animals you will be able to greet and special activities that are offered during the tour weekend. For more information and a map of the area visit this link. 

Many of the sites are offering demonstrations like felting, spinning, shearing and other animal care. Many also feature fibers and yarns on display and farm products to purchase on site.

So if you are looking for some sheep, llama, alpaca, rabbit, or goat love... this is a great way to enjoy a weekend! Be sure to wear farm appropriate clothing and footwear so you can greet the animals and their farmers up close.

The Importance of Blocking

Enough said!

Dr Who Scarf combinations, in both wool & washable blends!

contributed by Shawn

This year is the 50th Anniversary (1963-2013) of the BBC's Dr Who television series. The demand for Dr. Who scarves is up and requests for knitting materials for these coveted scarves has been phenomenal in the past 6-8 months. We continue to order the colors for authentic replica knitting almost as fast as our suppliers can ship it! 

While customers continue to order the Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarns in sport and worsted weights for these scarves, some customers have been asking for machine washable alternatives. Because Plymouth Encore has such a good color range, we were able to find some close color matches for this scarf. A soft, easy care yarn, Encore will delight any Dr. Who fan. So if you are ready for a washable, wearable, wonderful Dr. Who scarf we’ve got you covered!

(Please note these colors are for the popular Season Twelve replica. See below for additional information and other television season alternatives.)

Dr. Who colors in Plymouth Encore Worsted:

• Brick (#212)
• Burnished Heather (#1445)
• Deepest Mauve (#960)
• English Fern (#045)
• Grey (#389)
• Golden Glow (460)
• Tan (#1203)

Dr. Who colors in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted or Nature Spun Sport: 

• Red Fox (#46)
• Saddle Tan (#123)
• Chocolate Kisses (#136)
• Wood Moss (#209)
• Goldenrod (#125)
• Spiced Plum (#142)
• Charcoal (#880)

Looking for patterns or alternate season color information for these scarves? Check out these sites: 

wittylittleknitter: dedicated to the knitting of the authentic Doctor Who scarf 

dr. who scarf

The Zombie Apocalypse has hit the knitting world

A customer came in recently and asked us to place a special order for this book: Knit Your Own Zombie by Fiona Goble.

Whenthe book arrived and I looked through it, I got a good laugh! I also made sure that Emily (Crafty Hedgehog) had a chance to see this since she knits so many different dissections.

Within a couple of days, all of our copies of this book had sold out. It's due back into stock shortly, so be sure to stop in  to check it out.

(Please note: the zombies call for using snaps and Velcro to keep their appendages attached - this enables you to take the arms and legs off as needed during a zombie attack. One of them even has a removable brain in case the others get peckish.)

Perfect Layering Pieces for Spring & Summer

contributed by Shawn

We have a new sample in the shop that is drawing a lot of attention! This project is a very easy knit and creates the perfect layering piece for spring and summer wear. The Seabrook Vest is a free knitting pattern available from the Berroco Design team. 

Knit with Berroco Captiva yarn, this simple vest will turn your closet basics into sophisticated wardrobe ensembles. The satiny feel of the yarn make it a great blend to work with and the yarn has a subtle shine but is machine washable for everyday easy care. This would make an excellent piece to pack for your next vacation! 

To kick it up a notch you could work this pattern up in Berroco Captiva Metallic yarn for added glitz and an air of elegance for evening wear.

Since I have a tendency to remain a bit more on the Vermont-y side of fashion and trendiness I'm considering the Berroco Lago in the Raffia colorway for a linen-like look and effect.

Another favorite in the same easy-knit style is the Weekend Wrap pattern by Cocoknits. 

Our shop sample is knit in Tahki Ripple, a thick and thin cotton that gives a unique and beautiful textural effect. 

This pattern calls for size US 17 needles and is a no-fuss lace look that does not require yarn overs. 

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?

NICU hats needed!

The NICU is looking for some knitters to help them build up their supply of baby hats!

One of our customers just dropped off a flyer asking for preemie hat donations. It says:

"The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)at Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen is home to the smallest and often sickest patients in our hospital. The babies in our NICU can be born up to 3 months early and weigh less than one pound. Premature babies often have trouble regulating their own temperature and we rely on volunteers to make hats to keep our babies warm. Each hat can only be used for one baby - so we go through donations very quickly! 

I have included a size chart for your reference, but in general we are looking for hats small enough to fit on a lemon, large enough to fit on a grapefruit, and everything in between. The more creative the hats, the better! Parents prefer gender-specific colors and the babies prefer soft, washable yarn.

If you have questions or have hats to donate, please contact Whitney at wlthomas@med.uvm.edu."

The brown bear pattern shown on the flyer is the Baby Bear Hat for Newborn or Preemie by Jennifer Dickerson, and is available online for free. Try worsted weight Plymouth Whitney or Classic Elite Seedling & Seedling Handpaint yarns.

We also have a free Preemie Hat Knitting Pattern written for sport/dk weight yarn. Best choices for yarn are Plymouth Dreambaby DK, Berroco Comfort DK, Sirdar Snuggly Kisses DK or Sirdar Crofter DK yarns.

Whatever you do, please remember that certain yarns are just not appropriate for preemie hats. If you're unsure about a yarn you have, you are welcome to stop in to ask us our opinion. We'll be happy to help determine if your yarn is right for a preemie hat!

And as always, preemie hats can also be dropped off here at the shop. We will be happy to get them to their final destination!

Felting Fun & Fixes

Plymouth Gina has been a very popular yarn in the shop for knitting, crocheting and felting. I found a cute pattern on Ravelry for a Felted Flower Bowl, and decided to make a couple for the front counter. 

I grabbed two balls of Gina and finished these bowls in one evening. I felted them this morning.

It was my first attempt felting with a front loader and it went pretty well. But the bowls did not felt all the way, so they required some hand felting afterwards.

Red bowl - just out of washing machine, Blue bowl - after additional hand felting

I did have a teeny issue with one of the bowls. When I opened the door to the washing machine, I noticed a hole in the bottom of the red bowl:

I think I rushed a bit when weaving in my ends! The tail had come unwoven in the machine, so I grabbed some leftover yarn and a tapestry needle and did a bit of mending: 

Then I hand felted the bowl under hot running water in my sink for a few minutes and you can hardly see my mending job.

Bowls like this can be hard to shape but I found a piece of pottery that my mom had made and it was just the right size:

These bowls will dry quickly - today's sun and warm temps will see to that.

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?

It's Coming Up Tulips!

We are very ready for spring weather here in Vermont and Michele decided to try and hurry it along a bit. Don't the colors remind you of spring? Green grass, bright blue sky, and tulips in shades of yellow, peach and red!

This is the Tulip Sweater kit from Dream In Color. The sweater pattern comes with the kit and can be made in two sizes, 6-9 months or 12-18 months. Each kit has a different selection of 8 colors of Classy yarn included. The yarn is 100% superwash merino in hand-dyed vibrant colors to inspire spring blooms. 

All of the staff have admired the kits and Jill knit us a sample for the shop since it is so difficult to resist the yarn and the colors! Note the different edging techniques that they chose:

We have a selection of these kits available in the shop so come on in and check them out. This is a fun project and perfect for all those baby showers that happen at this time of the year!