Extreme Bulky

We've been asked for super, super bulky yarn and now we have one. A shipment arrived yesterday afternoon with charcoal grey Mondo. I took out some 25mm needles and cast on. This is one and a half skeins. I'm going to use 4 and make a great throw. It will be about 32" wide (not stretched) and 48" long.

Mondo is just what it's name implies, SUPER bulky and SUPER soft! It's a soft blend of superfine alpaca and wool. This new yarn is best for quick and bold statement pieces and has a gauge suitable for arm knitting.

50% Superfine Alpaca / 50% Wool
Weight: 400 g / 14.12 oz
Approx: 58 yds / 53 m
Knitting Needle Size: Size US 50 / 25.0 mm
Knitting Gauge: 3 - 4 sts = 4" (10 cm)

We've already put together kits with 4 balls of yarn and the needles.

We have daily requests for baby blanket patterns. This is Starry Stripes (purchased on Ravelry) knit in Liberty Wool from Classic Elite.

A colorful blanket every baby and mother will love in machine washable Liberty Wool. The subtle slip stitch chevron showcases the stripes in Liberty Wool Print to their best advantage.

Liberty is one of my favourite yarns. Lots of colours without changing balls. It feels good to knit with and wear.

My plan was to finish the throw while watching Survivor. I got into the show and forgot to knit. The third skein has been started. I'd like to say it will be finished tomorrow but we are heading to One of a Kind after work. The throw will be in the store so you can see it in progress. It is so warm! And the yarn is very soft. It's the perfect colour for my house so I have a feeling I'll be making another one. One for the store and one for the couch.

Mimsy

This morning we received a shipment of Zauberball Starke 6.

The same unique color combinations as Zauberball® Crazy in a DK weight to give sweaters, shawls, and scarves a truly creative flair.

Beth's original scarf was knit with the thinner Crazy. Then she found Starke 6 - the same great colours but she could use a bigger needle. This scarf is one ball each of colours 2266 and 2136.

She liked the scarf so much that she's started a second one.

For this scarf she used one ball each of 2136 and 2095

There are 3 pages of patterns on Ravelry for shawls, scarves, socks, sweaters, vests and cardigans using Starke 6.

A box arrived from Lynda as well. The shawl is beautiful!

Pattern: Chevrione (pattern purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: One Cheshire Cat mini skein kit from Frabjous Fibers

It's a crazy windy day today and getting pictures wasn't easy. The picture of the shawl on the mannequin is very close to the true colours of the kit - we used Mimsy. The picture below is to show how big the shawl is.

Chevrione is knit starting from the small end of the triangle to the end, where it is bound off using a picot bind off! It can be worked with lots of beads, a few beads, or no beads at all. Chevrione was specifically designed to use gradients, as the wave pattern shows beautifully with the gradient. This pattern includes both full written and charted instructions, and can easily be modified for size by working extra repeats of Chart B, or omitting repeats of Chart B.

Something fun came late this afternoon. I've been playing with it and there will be pictures tomorrow.

Sorrento

Wannietta brought in this great looking cardigan on Saturday. The cardigan looked good on the pattern and on Ravelry but it is so much better in person. I dressed it with jeans but it will also work for the office.

Pattern: Sorrento - we have copies in the store or you can purchase on Ravelry
Yarn: Erika Knight's Studio Linen

A jacket style edge to edge cardigan worked in reverse stocking / stockinette stitch and stocking / stockinette stitch with yarn used double and integral rib front selvedge bands, revere collar and patch pockets.

Wannietta commented that the linen was really nice to work with. She said it was soft and didn't feel like linen can.

85% is recycled rayon-linen fibre, sorted from selected wastage and regenerated using the eco-friendly hydrolysis method. Blended with 15% premium natural linen, these fibres are twisted and dyed by a specialist Italian spinner in Biella to produce a unique yarn with a dry hand feel and subtle sheen.

Cool to the touch, and with a delicate drape Studio Linen is the perfect yarn for summer. With a refined palette of eight essential colours that will work with everything you wear and a clear stitch definition, Studio Linen crafts beautiful garments both in knit and crochet.

Made in Italy

It's going to be a very busy week in the store with new yarns arriving every day. And there will be another new store sample this week as well. Blog posts have been started so I can share once the boxes are open. The items are ready to go live on the website. The only bad part will be finding the perfect spot for the yarn.

I'm a bit tired today. The Grey Cup was awesome. What a finish. And then the NFL game went into overtime as well. Tonight should be early to bed. Should be. But if I get the knitting groove going then it might not be.

Lemongrass

It's halftime of the Grey Cup so I'm quickly writing. The game has been really exciting and the halftime show has been good. The sound is the best that I've heard at a halftime in a long time.

We went to the Grey Cup when it was in Hamilton in 1996. What a cold day. It snowed during the game and we froze. The crowd today is very lucky.

Wannietta came for a visit yesterday to pick up her next project. Lemongrass (pattern purchased on Ravelry) in Cascade Eco +. She is a very fast knitter. I hope she is really, really fast on this one. I can't wait to have it hanging in the store.

She brought in a cardigan in Erika Knight's Linen. I'll get pictures tomorrow - there wasn't time yesterday to go outside.

I had every intention of writing a post last night but Beth and I got caught up in finishing the final season of The Good Wife. My dad always told us that if we don't have anything good to say then don't say anything. Let's talk about knitting.

I've been knitting on Building Blocks today. I'm half way through the section 8. Then section 9 and the cast off. I'm becoming a bit obsessed with it. I want it finished now so that I can wear it. And I'm planning colours for another one.

The second half is on. It's time to go. 

Pompoms

Mr. Canpar brought in a large box this morning and in it were Faux Fur Pompoms.
-pink
-cream with black
-berry

We also received
-aubergine
-midnight blue
-ice blue

More colours should be arriving soon including black and grey.

This soft and fluffy pompom is made of beautiful faux fur, but looks like the real thing! The perfect addition to the top of any hat. Available in a gorgeous range of colours. 62% Acrylic, 38% Polyester

I finished my shawl last night. No, I didn't knit until the wee hours of the morning. It went very, very fast. I can't stress enough how great the yarn feels.

Pattern: Twindom (free on Ravelry)
Yarn: 2 skeins of Malabrigo Caracol
Needles: 12mm, 80cm

It's that time of year again - the Indie Gift-A-Long on Ravelry.

What is Gift-A-Long? It’s a multi-designer promotion to help you kick your holiday gift-making into high gear!

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to December 31, 2016 at midnight US EST there will be fun games, contests, and 8 KAL/CALs that will help you get your holiday knitting done with companionship and fun! From November 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm US EST to November 30th at 11:59pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2016.

Read more about the Gift-A-Long...

Lucy has a new friend. Meet Dante. He lives just down the road from my parents. Dad said the two dogs would run around chasing each other and then lay down for a rest. All of a sudden they would be up and running again. I'm not sure what Lucy is going to do when they come home and dad goes back to work.

Caracol

005 Aniversario

It's here. Caracol from Malabrigo.

Truly a unique yarn! We start with a bulky thick-and-thin single made of our delightfully soft superwash merino wool, and then we criss-cross it with a binder thread (either black or white.) Then the yarn is dyed one of our signature kettle-dyed colorways, and: poof! Something unlike any yarn we've made before, inspired by a particular style of handspun yarn. Caracol knits up into a cozy, fluffy fabric with a ton of texture and visual interest. Simple stitch patterns really let it sing!

Content: 100% Superwash Merino Wool.
Weight: Super Bulky 
Texture: plied, thick and thin yarn.
Yardage/Meters: 90 yards (87 meters)
Skein weight: 150 grams (5.29 ounces)
Gauge: 9 sts = 4 inches.
Recommended needle size: US 13 - 19 or 9 - 15mm

416 Indiecita

809 Solis

845 Cirrus Gray

863 Zarzamora

886 Diana

I've taken two skeins to make Twindom. The pattern calls for 15mm needles with Rasta or ASAP. The Caracol is a bit thinner so I'm using 12mm needles. The colour I chose is Zarzamora.

The yarn is very soft and enjoyable to knit with.

I found a free pattern on Ravelry for a cowl that takes two skeins. Quick and easy Christmas gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends south of the border. I hope you and your family have a great weekend. My knitting grew this afternoon while watching football :)

Cables

Winter Cove is finished - blocked and all ends are sewn in. I make that sound like a big deal. There were only 4 ends :)

Perfect timing because more colours of Rasta arrived today

 Lettuce and Paris Night

Along with the Rasta we received some Royale Interchangeable Tips from Knitter's Pride. These tips will work with the cords from any Knitter's Pride kit. The Royale tips come in 3mm and 3.25mm. Smaller than the Dreamz which start at 3.5mm.

There was a second box today. Norah Gaughan's new book arrived. I haven't had time to go through it but I know Norah's work. The cables are going to be phenomenal.

We've had dinner (Festive Special from Swiss Chalet) and now it's time to knit. I definitely don't want to go out tonight - we're having freezing rain right now. YUCK!!

Sucre

This cardigan pattern is a free download on Ravelry...

Knit this relaxed fit ladies cardigan, available as a free download. Designed by Sarah Hatton using Brushed Fleece, its simplicity makes it a quick knit project suitable for a beginner.

Rowan's Brushed Fleece has been marked down in the store and on the website. 25% off.

Brushed Fleece is a super soft blend of extra fine merino wool and baby alpaca. The yarn has a soft marl colour effect and is quick to knit making it very wearable, warm and lightweight.

See all the Rowan Yarns that are 25% off...

Mom and dad took Lucy to the dog park today. She loves it. Running around and meeting other dogs. How can life get any better?

Practising

This morning was spent unpacking. It was good practise for Christmas morning.

Sock blockers are back in stock. We have three sizes - small, medium and large.

A large box arrived from Freia Fibers as well. There are new colours in Shawl Ball - the yarn that we used for Chevrione. Most of our colours are from Freia's Ombre range.

Smooth, slow gradations are the signature of the Ombré color range. We carefully transition five or more colors/shades per ball making for very long, yet still dramatic color changes. We suggest working from alternate ends of each ball as you go for smooth color transitions since every ball will begin and end with different colors.

We received two colours that Freia calls Flux (self-striping).
Each 100 gram Merino Shawl Ball begins and ends with the same color, making for easy transitions from one ball to the next and leading to less waste. Flux Handpaints will have a base of 8 colors per ball, though the dyes blend together and form additional colors.

Ultraviolet

Seaglass

There were some bags of Super Bulky as well. Meet Cloud - shades of grey.

The Big Hat takes one ball.
The cowl is knit on 15mm needles with one ball. The pattern is free with the yarn.

We have a new shawl hanging in the store.

Pattern: Terra (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 3 skeins of tosh merino - we used the colour Vishnu

Wavelets of lace lap at the trailing edge of this simple shawl textured with chevron furrows of garter ridge. The same instructions yield a large size with worsted weight or a smaller triangle with a dk weight.

What a great evening to be inside, sitting by the fireplace with a cup of tea and my knitting. 

Winter Cove Again

It was fun knitting on 15mm needles. I finished another Winter Cove this afternoon. This time I used Rasta - what a great yarn to work with.

A lightly-fulled single-ply yarn of magnum proportions! Whip out a super-cozy accessory in just hours with this super-sized delight of a yarn. Our premium Uruguayan merino is just as soft as ever, and Rasta comes in a range of our unique “watercolor multi” colorways as well as a rainbow of semi-solid basics. Unbelievably squishy, this is the yarn to turn to when you want the ultimate in warmth (or the ultimate in speed!)

Now I'm back to 4mm needles - Outline has come out to play. It took a few rows to get used to the needle size.

Today was the perfect day to stay inside and knit. The wind was howling here. It's sweater weather. 

Party of Five

I love SweetGeorgia's Party of Five kits. A pattern was just released that uses one kit.

Pattern: Marron (purchased on Ravelry)

Playful and bold, Marron is a gorgeous shawl that makes the most of our Party of Five gradient sets. Gentle waves of dropped yarn overs pair beautifully with the triangular line of the silhouette for an accessory that captivates from start to finish.

 

A tip from the designer

Its important when carrying the yarn up the side that the yarns are twisted every time at the right-hand side of the work, but also that the carried yarn is not pulled too tight so that it there is enough give for blocking. What I do is to knit the first 3-4 sts of the right-side row then stop and make sure that the tension is even and all sts are neat (pulling gently on the carried yarn as necessary). Then, I give a tug on the right-hand side edge such that the carried yarn is pulled out to the maximum the fabric will allow.  That way you won’t get any puckering on the finished piece and it can block to its full glory!

Take a look at the Marron knit in the Jelly Bean colourway. Oh my goodness. So beautiful.

And the timing of the new pattern is perfect. We are well stocked on kits right now - a shipment arrived this week. 

I started another Winter Cove this evening. This time I'm using Malabrigo Rasta - the colour is Reflecting Pool. There is nothing better than a quick and easy project.

What's for breakfast?

Lynda finished Hitchhiker using one of the new Evolution kits. The scarf is huge - just the way I like it. If you think this is too big, you can knit it on a smaller needle. We did 4mm but I think you could go down to a 3.5mm or 3.75mm.

The Inspira Cowl is finished. Blocked. Ends sewn in. This pattern is still one of my favourites. The pattern is easy to memorize and it's fun to see how the colours are going to play out. Four people could use the same colour combination and all the cowls would look different. It just depends on what colour your ball starts with.

Three more rows and section 7 is finished. I was helping a customer pick out colours today and we went really bright. Now I'm inspired to get this finished. I think I'll need to make another one.

Someone is growing. I think she wants breakfast.