Cocoknits

I took this picture before bed last night. I'm working on my first sleeve of Guthrie. I'm almost at the point on a sweater where I get bored and want to put it away for a while. This time I can't - a deadline is looming.

There is an order on the way from Cocoknits and we should see it by the end of the month. There are brand new accessories coming.

Our latest addition to the Cocoknits Stitch Marker collection is designed to be easy to use on the fly! A simple open loop with a pointed leg that will nestle into your stitches and stay while you're working - easy to remove and reposition while creating increases, counting rows or repeats, or working cables. The steel construction is sturdy but flexible so the opening can be adjusted to accommodate the size of yarn or collection of stitches being marked. And they are nylon coated steel like our other stitch markers, so they cling to the Maker's Keep or any magnet. 

If there were ever a time to use stitch stoppers, it is when using jumbo yarn! There was nothing to help keep those extra large stitches on the needles. Inspired by the beautiful muted colors of the California desert, I created a new color palette for these Jumbo Stitch Stoppers. (P.S. The centers of the stoppers might be big enough to use for your smaller knitting needles! Poke a hole in them and pop them on your small needle tips, rather than toss them out!)

At a recent wholesale show, my friend Amy Small of Knit Collage was admiring the Cocoknits stitch markers. She lamented that she couldn’t use them for her jumbo yarn, but used hair elastics instead, because there were no stitch markers big enough to use with size US 17-19 needles. Thus the jumbo markers were born! We used a softer color palette, but maintained the rainbow of 6 colors so you can use them with the Cocoknits method worksheet, or enjoy using them anywhere you need stitch markers for your super-bulky project!

First-time blockers are always amazed by the difference blocking makes to the final appearance of their knitting. After blocking, sweater parts lay flat, stitches even out, and what looked like a wild mess now behaves nicely. It’s like magic! After 20 years of teaching knitting, I’ve never grown tired of instructing my students on finishing techniques. In fact, the technique of blocking is one of my favorite things to demonstrate. I used to demonstrate blocking with pieces of carpet, but carpet scorched easily and was too thin for blocking pins to sink into. Rugs, towels and bulky blocking boards weren’t much better. Many of my students didn’t bother to block because it was such a cumbersome task. With this in mind, I set out to improve on the carpet pieces. I eventually had special tiles custom made for blocking, and the end result is my Knitter’s Block Kit.

We have 8 Knitter's Block Kits coming. The cost to get these to the store has risen a lot. Cocoknits played with different box sizes and different shipping options for us. Unfortunately it was still expensive. I need to sit down and work out pricing tomorrow but I am guessing the kits will be around $175-180.

I borrowed this picture from Wannietta's Instagram feed. She is making a sample for the Knitters' Fair in Mrs. Crosby Satchel. It looks awesome.

Churchmouse Yarns makes amazing patterns and there will be 5 new patterns at the end of the month. I can't share pictures yet but I am very confident that they will be a hit.

Now a few rows of knitting before bed.