A Day of Boxes

I looked at my calendar today and it is already the end of March. Where has the month gone? Where has the year gone? I need to finish my March newsletter. That is tomorrow's job.

Our Spring/Summer hours start on Monday.

Tuesday - Friday 10-5:30
Saturday 10-4
Sunday Closed
Monday Closed

I knew that Wannietta tried on her cardigan yesterday but I didn't see it. I did last night on Instagram. It's looking good!!

Mr. UPS brought us three boxes from Namaste. The website has been updated.

Mr. UPS left and came back half an hour later. He found another box for us.

Kim Hargreaves newest pattern book was in the box.

Earthen tones give a seasonal glow, from kissed shades of sand, copper and tan to the faded hues of white and stone. Containing twelve elegant, classic designs for women by Kim Hargreaves.

Mr. Canada Post brought us a box from GarnStories. Oh my. So pretty. The yarn has been photographed and is available in the store and on the website.

We've watched Survivor and I worked on my Throwback. The pattern asks for 9" of stocking stitch before starting the ribbing. I'm at 6" (why isn't it going faster?) and will knit at least 11". I want my cardigan longer. The great thing about knitting from the top down is that I can try it on and see how I like it.

Little Green House

Mr. Canada Post visited this morning with yarn from GarnStories.

Today's colours are pictured and are on the website. There is another box sitting somewhere in Germany.

I used GarnStories to knit Chevron Shenanigans.

I highly recommend the pattern and the yarn. It was hard to leave the store without skeins to make another one.

Tomorrow we will see Mr. FedEx with a box of books including the new Interpretations 6.

Interpretations Vol. 6 is another magical and heartfelt collaboration between Joji Locatelli and Veera Välimäki. Like each Volume before, the 6th Volume includes six themes, six words with two designs inspired by each word, showing a personal take on each of these themes.  

This year the photo shoot was set in charming Barcelona and we had the honor to have Jonna Hietala taking all the pictures for this book. 

One of Beth's chores while in Myrtle Beach was to meet with Tina to discuss repainting our house. It has faded (really bad in a few spots). Beth picked out some different colours but Tina vetoed them. She said that she has to drive by our house every day so she has to like the colour. 😘Very true. She looks at our house more than we do. Beth and I thought about a denim/grey blue. The problem is that we have called it The Little Green House since the day it was built. It has to be green.

I'm going to get my Hipster cast off tonight so that Alex can have it tomorrow. Then back to The Throwback.

Hipster

I made it to the cast off. I think I am going to leave off the fringes and add tassels to the two ends. I think. I'm going to decide after someone blocks my shawl. (Hi Alex!)

I love this pattern. I need to finish The Throwback for the Knitters Frolic and then I will start another one.

Pattern: Hipster
Yarn: 3 skeins of Hedgehog Merino DK

The crossovers look hard but they aren't. Before trying them on your shawl I suggest casting on 20 stitches with scrap yarn. Try them and if you're having a hard time come in (with your shawl on that row) and we can show you how to do it.

We're starting to put away our winter garments and bring out bright and cheery. This is Chimera knit with a skein of Frabjous Fibers Cheshire Cat (coming tomorrow to the website) and a Cheshire Cat Mini Skein kit. 

This three-quarter square shawl is worked from the centre out, beginning with a garter tab. Two garter tab options are included in the pattern: Turkish cast-on (my favourite) and the standard. One skein of main colour is worked in one stitch pattern, followed by five gradient mini-skeins worked in a second stitch pattern. Hard blocking is recommended as it opens up the lace and makes this pattern shine.

Spring is coming. There are buds in the garden.

Enamel pins and stitch markers should be arriving this week.

We should see the first box from GarnStories tomorrow. The second box is still in Germany. I can't wait to see the colours that Anke dyed for us.

If I'm going to make it to the store tomorrow I need to say goodnight and get some sleep.

Mauvelous

Did you know that our friends at Meadowcroft Dyeworks are a father and son team? Dave (the father) just finished two beautiful shawls.

The pattern is Mauvelous (purchased on Ravelry). Dave used three different colours of Rockshelter Sock.

For the purple version Dave used
Harold's Crayon
Treachery
Laurel Caverns

For this version Dave used
Opium Den
Calming Down
I don't have the exact orange he used but Einstein on the Beach or Roasting Marshmellows would work.

Choose 3 colors of fingering or light fingering weight yarn for the textural shawl of your dreams! Mauvelous is a large, symmetrical triangle shawl with stripes of color and geometric patterns, knit using a combination of garter stitch medallions and two-color brioche zig zags. 

Skill level: Beginner brioche - Intermediate. Basic brioche skills are not required, but are recommended. Techniques used: knit, purl, simple lace knitting increases and decreases, brioche knit (brk), brioche purl (brp), simple brioche increases and decreases (no br4st dec!!), traditional triangle shawl shaping. I wrote this pattern to be very approachable to brioche beginners who want to dive deeper into brioche lace!! 

Construction Notes: This symmetrical triangle shawl is knit from the top down, with increases in the center as well as along the edges. The shawl begins with a simple garter stitch setup using Color A, then Diamond Medallions are created using garter stitch lace. To bring in Color B, a two-color brioche zig zag section begins to really blend your colors well. These are alternated again continuing with Color B, and then bringing in Color C for a bold finish. I wear this shawl with the top edge wrapped warmly around my neck or shoulders, and the bottom point of the triangle facing down.

I received an email from Anke at GarnStories this morning and new colours are on the way including

Bloomsbury Circle

Echo

Gloaming

Momento

Soul Sister

Woodstock

Alex just finished the Sturgill Cowl (pattern purchased on Ravelry). She was a bit late getting to work because she was casting off.

There is a sweater (Sturgill Sweater) to go with the cowl. She knit the cowl first as her tension swatch and to make sure that she liked the colours. The main colour is tosh dk and the contrast colours are Hedgehog Merino DK. The colours look great and she is casting on the sweater tonight.

Sturgill is a top-down yoke sweater knit seamlessly in the round with an optional matching cowl for a removable turtleneck. I personally love turtlenecks, but find them too warm most of the time, so rarely wear them although I love the way they look. This design solves that “problem” by featuring a removeable matching cowl that can be worn as needed, or left off entirely. 

The cowl pattern is available in a separate PDF - you can get the pattern free with the purchase of the sweater (no code needed), or you may purchase the cowl separately if sweaters just aren’t your thing! ;) 

This design features short row shaping at the back neck, stranded colorwork and bobbles. Please note that there are several rounds that require 3 colors of yarn to be worked at once. I try to limit the number of these rounds, so just know that there won’t be too many of them and the 3 color effect will be worth those challenging rounds! I love adding little challenges into my patterns while still keeping the design approachable for adventurous beginners.

Survivor is starting and Beth is yelling so it's time to knit.

New Pattern Coming

I put together a few colours combinations of GarnStories for Ambah O'Brien's Bambara Wrap (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

Charade is across the top and will be the POP colour.
Kimono, Paisley, Driftwood

Bossanova is across the top and will be the POP colour.
Mikado, Punk, Funky Bizz.

With the blacks and greys you could do any POP colour. GarnStories is the same base as Hedgehog Skinny Singles, Life in the Long Grass Singles, Long Dog Singles and Uschitita. You can mix companies to get more colour options.

Bambara wrap was inspired by a walk in my local bush. The greens of the landscape were translated perfectly into yarn by Primrose Yarn Co, who dyed the amazing colours based on my forest walk inspiration.  

Bambara is a generously-sized wrap, knit on the bias with simple shaping and alternating sections of lace and garter. The colours and patterns weave together like the layers of a melody, calling to mind the iconic sound of The Cure’s A Forest. It’s the perfect opportunity to play with colour – use a 3-skein gradient with a coordinating contrast colour, mix speckles and solids in 4 different colours for a fun, bold look, or keep it subtle with neutral solids.

This is the Bambara Wrap that I knit. I highly recommend the pattern. It was a fun knit. The repeat was easy to memorize and you change colours often enough that you aren't bored with each colour.

©Andrea Mowry

Andrea Mowry has a new sweater pattern coming out the first week of January. It is knit in Dyed in the Wool from Spincycle. The main colour is Deep Bump and we have lots on the way to us. I don't know what the contrast colours are but I am sure that we will be able to put together beautiful combinations.

Pick Your Poison would also make a great main colour.

While eating dinner my dad looked at me and told me that I looked tired. I guess that means that I should head to bed soon. I picked up my needles and knit a few rows on Chevron Shenanigans. I couldn't concentrate. I guess that means that I should head to bed soon. The Leafs are losing bad and the college football game just started and it is already over. It's bed time.