Happy Friday

We received a beautiful box of Shawl Pins from JUL this morning. All the shawl pins and shawl sticks are online.

We also received two boxes from Freia Fibres. 

Lynn starting moving the Yarn Bombs and Shawl Balls to make it easier to see the colours. When I left the Yarn Bombs were up. I can’t wait to see the Shawl Balls up in the morning. Next week we will be rearranging Minikins in the front room so that they hang as well.

Harvest and Metropolis grabbed me when I opened the box. The first thing I thought of was Romi’s Leaves in a Stream. Kits are available online. 

You can purchase the pattern on Romi’s website.

This is our store sample that has been thrown over a sweater in the front room. The colours are Pt. Reyes and Autumn Rose.

This is Romi’s original shawl knit in Cloud and Coral Reef.

I wanted to show a project made with Minikins and Lynn suggested the Harlow Hat. Alex knit the hat for the store and did an awesome job. The colours turned out amazing. The stitch pattern is Brioche which makes the hat totally reversible.

Pattern: Harlow Hat - you can purchase the pattern on Andrea’s website.
Yarn: 2 Freia Minikins - 1 Dirty Hippie and 1 Squid Ink

Alex knit the medium and made one change. She did the length one inch SHORTER before starting the decreases for the top. If you knit the full length you will run out of yarn.

From Andrea

When I cast on this hat, my intention was to design my ideal, go-to hat pattern. A perfect jumping off point for beginner briochers to try on their newly acquired skills - this hat is great for any gender or age, and the color possibilities are infinite! We all need a dependable hat pattern right?? This is the pattern I know I can depend on for stash busting, wardrobe enhancing, or a quick gift for someone I love!

Stay warm. It’s so cold the dogs don’t want to go outside.

I’m a Model

Lynn and I did a little photo shoot today. I liked this picture - Lynn has her ‘I’m a model and I’m bored’ look on her face 😘. The shawl looks much better when shown on a human rather than a mannequin.

This is Gamut (pattern purchased on Ravelry) that we knit in Tsubame. We used one ball each of colour 5 and 10.

A box arrived from JUL today. This is her Filigree Tree Frog Shawl Stick.

The Filigree Tree Frog has a stick that extends up to the top of the ornament, creating a space behind the body of the frog that accommodates the knitwear, making this stick particularly secure and balanced in how it sits on top of your knitted garments and accessories.  The weight balance created by this unique design means the Filigree Tree Frog remains feasible even for very light-weight knits.

The Shawl Stick is made with white brass and is beautiful. 

Our Color Play Mohair Scarf that I showed last week. I am going to make up kits and add them to the website tomorrow.

The Filigree Tree Frog looks great on this shawl as well.

We also used a JUL Shawl Cuff (Round Ring - Plum with Antique Brass) on the shawl. The colour is perfect.

I haven’t knit much on my shawl - okay I’ve knit 6 rows in the last 4 days. Hockey is on and it’s time for a few rows.

Crocodile

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from JUL this morning. We have new shawl cuffs and shawl pins.

Handmade in the USA in the JUL Studio

Genuine Crocodile-Embossed Italian Cow Leather

Shawl Cuff length - 6.5 inches

This gorgeous and lightweight cuff is made from neutral and subtly metallic, highly textured and hand-painted Italian cow leather. Hand cut from hides embossed to imitate crocodile skin, each cuff is unique in color and pattern with antique nickel snaps.

Laura does amazing work!!

All cuffs and pins are available in the store and online.

We have a new yarn from Estelle Designs.

Estelle's Alpaca Merino Bulky is oh-so soft, knits like a dream, and is composed of 60% Superfine Alpaca, and 40% Merino Wool. Wow, our minds are blown! This yarn has great twist, beautiful colour selection, and would be ideal for home accessories like throws and blankets, or an oh-so cozy cardigan! Winner Winner!!!

See all the shades...

Two skeins make the hat and cowl - a free pattern from Estelle.

A super bulky, super quick knit to keep you warm on the coldest of days. If you weave in your ends neatly, both items will be completely reversible – offering two different textures!

We found a home for Rasta.

Rios is nicely on the shelf as well. While we were putting the yarn away I started seeing something. Six colours that look great together. How about another Nightshift??

I left a little early this afternoon to work on the website. The wifi is much faster at home. Almost everything from yesterday and today's deliveries are online. My eyes are tired from staring at the computer so the rest of the evening will be spent knitting. I only did a few rows on my Rasta scarf last night.

Love Note

Sarah finished her sweater. She got the yarn on October 19 so you know it is a quick knit!

Meet Love Note (pattern purchased on Ravelry)

This sweet little sweater knits up quickly from the top down. The combination of mohair lace and single-ply merino creates a fabric that is floaty, soft and sensual. With a high-low hemline and two length options, what’s not to love?

Sarah used Biches & Buches Le Petit Lambswool and Le Petit Silk & Mohair.

The sweater is gorgeous. Lynn is working away on hers and I need to choose my colours. This is a sweater that I can see knitting again and again in different colours.

This beautiful wrap, designed by Kaffe Fassett, uses the candy of the yarn world: Kidsilk Haze. Riotous color is Fassett's trademark, and in this simple-yet-striking striped wrap, a generous assortment of colors is arranged to dramatic effect.  

The wrap is a generous size, big enough to wrap multiple times around a neck or lushly around your shoulders. Knitting it will be half the treat.

This gorgeous wrap (The Ombre Stripe Shawl) is a free pattern on Knitty.com.  It is knit with 13 colours of Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

Our ever-popular Kidsilk Haze combines the soft halo of super kid mohair with the vibrant shine of silk in one incredible yarn that is loved by knitters the world over. Kidsilk Haze can be used with a variety of needle sizes to create different effects and styles, and is a firm favourite with lace fans. Used alongside other yarns it takes on an almost magical quality, and is available in a kaleidoscopic array of stunning colours

I just ordered new shawl cuffs from JUL Designs. They are beautiful.

Handmade in the JUL Studio in the United States 

Genuine Leather 

Available in Black, Espresso, Blue Indigo & Pewter leather 

Available with Brass Rings 

This versatile shawl cuff is made from a half-inch wide strip of leather linked together by a glossy nickel-finish spring-gate ring, which opens and closes like a carabiner.  

The leather strap may be wrapped twice or three times around the knitwear, depending on the fiber weight and volume of fabric. We invite you to try looping the strap both through and next to the ring to achieve different looks. 

Our straps come in a standard finished length / circumference of approximately 13 inches. 

These should be here by the end of November.

I saw the new Rowan for spring this afternoon. I can't share pictures yet but I really like the patterns in the new Mode magazine. Very wearable. Magazine #67 has many great patterns including a fabulous Kaffe Fassett design. There are quite a few crochet designs as well. If you aren't into knitting/crocheting for summer there are a few neat things coming in fall/winter yarns.

Sirdar has a great new yarn (with outstanding patterns) for children. It is a double knitting weight so there are many, many patterns if you want to use it for an adult or baby garment. It is 50% cotton/50% acrylic. There are new colours coming in Cotton DK along with new patterns. This yarn is 100% cotton - also a double knitting weight.

I'm very early today with my post. This makes up for the days when I'm rushing to get finished before heading to bed.

Leather Closure

Wannietta knit a cardigan for Beth a long time ago. It was too small for Beth but now it fits. We were supposed to have a zipper sewn into it but that didn't happen. Beth wants to wear the cardigan tomorrow so we added The Latch Leather Closure from JUL. There are four up the front and it looks great. My pictures of the full cardigan don't look great so I'm going to ask you to take my word for it.

When we finally find the time to take the cardigan in for the zipper, we can unscrew the leather closures and use them for something else. Or if I decide that I want them for something else they are easy to remove.

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends south of the border. I hope you are enjoying your really long weekend. I enjoyed watching football this afternoon. And a bit of knitting. I've been working on Match & Move. The pattern is super, super easy. It is the same row over and over again until you reach a certain number of stitches. Then you repeat the same two rows until the shawl is finished. Perfect for planes, trains and automobiles. I'm going to work through this colour because I want to see how the fourth colour plays. Then it is going to be put away until our flight next Friday.

I made a few adjustments to the pattern

-I'm knitting on a 3.75mm needle. The pattern says 2.75mm-3mm but I think that the fabric is too tight on that size needle. I also want my shawl to be bigger

-I'm fading in the colours. I worked the first colour (A) until I was 8 rows less that the colour change. Then I did 2 rows of B, 2 rows A, 2 rows B, 2 rows A. Now the repeat will go 2 rows of B, 2 rows A, 2 rows B, 2 rows A, 32 rows of B, 2 rows of C, 2 rows B, 2 rows C, 2 rows B, 32 rows of C...

Now back to it for a few more rows before bed.