Entertaining and Soothing

Meet Stephen West’s Dustland Shawl. We used 3 skeins of The Fibre Co Arranmore Light for our sample. Our colour is Ailis. We also knit the shawl on 4mm needles, not the 4.5mm that Stephen suggests. We didn’t want the shawl to be too loose because you will lose the pattern.

This top-down shawl features several easy knit purl textures for an entertaining and soothing project. Garter stitch frames the wingspan edges and a crisp I-cord bind off finishes this top-down shawl for a crisp clean look.

You can purchase the pattern on Stephen’s website.

Inspired by the breathtaking scenery of Ireland, Arranmore Light yarn is spun in a mill that traces its roots to the homespun tweed industry of 19th century County Donegal. This DK-weight yarn blends cashmere and silk with fine Merino wool to create an authentic tweed yarn in a colour palette reminiscent of the wild Irish coastlands for makers who appreciating the best of luxury and tradition.

Yarn is being moved around and we are trying to hang skeins so that you can see the colours better.

MadTosh Wool + Cotton and Primrose Roan. 

The Roan will look better next week. This slatwall was installed when we renovated the house. A few boards are loose so dad needs to add some screws. Then we move the hooks to the edges.

A customer asked me to send some pictures of yarn to make Andrea Mowry’s Find Your Fade. Lynn and I took one of my Find Your Fades outside for pictures.

The shawl has been hiding out in the store - I need to take it home and wear it. We have a kit made up in the store so I’ve added it to the website.

Here is another of my Find Your Fades - this kit is online as well.

Make sure you check your inbox - a newsletter went out this morning. 

Kits for Stephen West’s MKAL will be live at 8pm.

Mystery Shawl

Stephen West sent out a newsletter today about the upcoming MKAL. 

The MKAL is my annual Mystery Shawl Knit Along and this year's shawl is called Shawlography. We will cast together on October 8 and knit together throughout the month of October as I release a section of the pattern each week until the final design is revealed.

The Mystery Shawl is a complete surprise, so when you sign up on September 1, you just know what types of yarn and needles you need along with color recommendations. Then, I will entertain you with a beautiful show-stopping shawl as we start knitting in October.

You will be able to purchase the pattern on Ravelry or from Stephen’s website. 

Lynn and I spent the afternoon putting together kits. You can see the colours on our website. The kits will be available tomorrow evening (Tuesday, August 31) at 8pm EST. This gives me time to make more kits tomorrow. It also gives everyone a chance to look at the colours and decide. 

I was supposed to leave work but continued putting together combinations. These will be added to the website tomorrow - with proper pictures.

Who knows what I will come up with in the morning.

Now I’m rushing to write a newsletter to get out in the morning. While I’m writing the Great British Baking Show is on. They are making brownies. We’re laughing because Beth made brownies after work. 

The easiest brownies to make and they taste great.

Mama and Baby

Churchmouse Yarns has reworked their Welted Cowl in Rowan Summerlite DK.

We love how the purl welts of this fun cowl give a fascinatingly sculptural effect and give you an opportunity to play with color and texture! Cross the color wheel for a striking contrast, or pick subtle shades for a soft depth. Either way, your Welted Cowl will be cleverly reversible!

This version of our cowl was knit in Rowan Summerlite DK—beautifully soft and lightweight. In this DK-weight yarn, Rowan uses the finest Giza cotton—the creme de la creme of Egyptian cotton. This yarn is soft and tactile with a unique matte look.

You can purchase the pattern on Churchmouse’s website.

We are out of a few colours of Summerlite DK but I think you can find 2 that would make a great cowl.

We have two new books from Rowan. These are designs for mama and baby.

Jackson wasn’t happy that Beth emptied the pool last night.

Beth was vacuuming today and laid the bar stools on their side to clean off the bottom of the feet. They love to collect Lucy’s hair.

This morning Beth took Boscoe to the park so Jackson went to dad’s. Dad was very strict with Beth and I. Not so much with the dogs. I’m going to leave it at that 😘

I wrote most of my post yesterday and then got busy and forgot to post it last night. 

I knit a lot this afternoon and made it to the second ball of rust. I will be joining the next green ball tonight. I need to bring Jade to the store tomorrow and get a picture on a mannequin. It looks a lot better when it’s hanging. Blocking will do wonders when I’m finished.

Welcome Home Jackson

September 10th is the launch date for the next Laine magazine. I will get it on the website early next week for preorders.

• 148 pages

• 13 knitting patterns, beautifully photographed and illustrated

• an interview with Judit Gummlich

• an article about mYak

• an article about the Parkano Spinning Mill in Finland

• an article about how crafting can increase social well-being by our regular writer Päivi Kankaro

• a column by our regular columnist Jeanette Sloan

• seasonal recipes

• book reviews

• Laine Favourites section.

Designers featured in this issue: Alma Bali, Olga Buraya-Kefelian, Luuanne Chau, Kristin Drysdale, Claudia Eisenkolb, Fabienne Gassmann, Tamy Gore, Dee Hardwicke, Claudia Quintanilla, Jeanette Sloan and Jutta Turunen.

Jackson Browne is home. Beth sat in the backseat with him and he slept most of the way.

He’s not a fan of the heat. At Lynda’s he laid on the vents.

He laid under the chair during dinner but he won’t fit here for very long.

Lucy wasn’t too sure the last time they met. Tonight she was interested in him. Not playing yet but there is progress.

Boscoe and Jackson ran around outside tonight. Boscoe is a bit rough but that will end when Jackson’s bigger than him. While I am writing they are wrestling. The noises are hilarious.

Beth is asking me to hurry because we have the finale of Making It taped. It’s time to see what it’s like to knit with a puppy.

Preorder

Felted Tweed Colour is available on the website for preorder. Your order will be ready for pick up on Wednesday September 1. If we are mailing your parcel it will go in the mail on Monday or Tuesday depending on where you live.

Here are the garments in the Felted Tweed Colour magazine along with the sizes and yarn needed. These are not the clearest - I had to take screen shots from documents that Rowan sent to me. All the information will be on the Rowan website on Wednesday. You can also send me an email if you have questions.

Yarn is on the way to Lynda for the Forever Sweater. We are making it in the same colour - I really like it.

Did you notice that Rowan has expanded the sizing of their sweaters?

All the Rowan books and the Mode at Rowan books are online as well. I sorted the list so that the newest books are showing first. You can do this when looking on our site. If you want to see what is new in yarn you can click on ‘yarn’ at the top of the page and then ‘all yarn’. Now you can sort in the top right corner.

Click on Date, new to old and it shows what has been added recently.

I looked after Lucy this morning. 

This is not her happiest face. Her dad left her. When dad showed up she grabbed her leash from my hands and ran to the truck. Then I vacuumed and washed the floors. It is amazing how much hair she loses every day. If you look closely you can see that there is a shaved spot on her back. She has a hot spot. Thankfully we caught it quickly. Some antibiotics and lots of cleaning and she’ll be better by the time we go to the cottage.

It’s almost bed time. Beth is going to have me up early tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to see how big Jackson is.

I can’t wait for September 1st

September 1 is going to be an exciting day. It’s the official launch of Rowan and Stephen West will be unveiling his next MKAL. The MKAL will start in October but he will be giving some clues as to what yarns you need and how to choose colours.

I am starting tomorrow at home with Lucy. It is way too hot for her to be going to work with dad. My plan is to get all the new Rowan patterns online so that they can be preordered for September 1.

Ms. UPS brought some Lykke needles today - interchangeable sets.

See all the Lykke needles we have in stock.

While we were moving things around today we found kits for the Countess Mitts.

The mitts are knit with 2 balls of Royal Petites from Blue Sky Fibers. These are 100% alpaca and super soft. Kits are available online.

Lynn found a basket of Switch Clutches from Offhand Designs. These are for your interchangeable needle tips and cords. The fabrics are gorgeous. The clutches are handmade in the US. 

This is our last find for the day. Louisa Harding Pittura. Lynn says that the yarn feels like butter. It is a Merino/viscose blend that will knit up into beautiful garments.

Here is a link to all the patterns on Ravelry that call for Pittura.

A few more suggestions (all links are for Ravelry)

Joji’s Lightweight Hipster

Susan Ashcroft’s Crazy Magic Boomerang

Hitchhiker

Reyna

Dinner is done. Banana bread is made and now it’s time for knitting.