Slippy V

Stephen West has a new sock pattern. You can purchase the pattern for the Slippy V Socks on Ravelry.

These socks are knit seamlessly in the round starting at the top cuff and finished at the toe. The MC is featured for the cuff, heel, toe, and stockinette stitch stripes of the sock while the CC is used for the slip stitch color pop. Use a bright contrast color or a marled self-striping yarn like Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool. The slip stitch pattern is very fun to knit! You can easily customize the length of the leg and foot of the sock by simply knitting more or fewer stripes. The bottom of the foot is knit in stockinette stitch for a smooth comfortable sole. Choose two colors and enjoy these colorful Westknits socks!

Photos © Stephen West

The socks would work great with a solid colour with Crazy Zauberball for the contrast colour.

There will be five brand new colours of Crazy coming very soon. Maybe by the end of the month but probably mid September.

This colour would make great flowers in the Alpine Bloom Tee.

Shelly sent photos of her Alpine Bloom. She is using SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock with Dyed in the Wool.

Just a photo to show you the two yarns are working out perfectly. It is a sweater that I cannot put down as I want to see how the next colour works out.

The yarn colours are charcoal and devilish grin

The flowers are going to be gorgeous!

My cottage knitting is packed. I’m taking my Trinigan to finish. Alpine Bloom is getting to point of knit, try on, knit some more and try on again. I don’t want to be fussing with it at the cottage.

Here is a picture of the finished cardigan (© Andrea Mowry) 

Here is mine.

The cardigan is knit in one piece to the armholes and then you separate for the back and fronts. One front is finished and the back is almost finished. I can leave it at the cottage for our trips back at the end of August and beginning of September.

Tonight I’m adding new colours of SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock to the website. These should arrive sometime next week. I will also be adding a new product over the next few days - discontinued colours of Tough Love Sock (these will be priced to sell).

Here is a sneak peek at a few of the colours that are coming. There will be 28 new colours.

Fred came for a visit today. Not the best behaved but cute.

Lazy Sunday

Ambah O’Brien released a new pattern and I totally forgot to blog about it. You can purchase the pattern for the Striation Scarf on Ravelry.

Striation Scarf has elegantly tapered ends and is worked sideways with decreases forming a central spine. With its chevron shaping and stripes, Striation is an invitation to play with colour and texture. Designed to use two skeins of yarn, the options are endless; use a main colour and five mini skeins or make it scraptastic and use up all those delicious end balls or use colour changing yarn for a lovely result.  

Mix up the texture and use a kidsilk or “fluff” yarn in place of one colour. Equally dramatic results can also be enjoyed by simply using two gorgeous skeins of yarn. Striation Scarf is knit tip to tip, with shaping to create interest to this garter stitch project. You’ll find the resulting scarf easy to wear and style. It’s sure to become a wardrobe favourite. 

Instructions to adjust to make the most of your yardage are included.

Diana picked up yarn to make the scarf for the store. The main colour is a skein of Practically Perfect Sock in Clear the Air.

These are the Practically Perfect Smalls that I chose.

Trinigan is growing. I’ve spent time today working on the back. The colours match my Atenti Hope Basket.

Lynn is coming in with me tomorrow and we are doing another big rearrange. I’m very excited for you to see the new Hedgehog Sock display.

Trinigan is Growing

Last night I said I was going to bed early. It ended up early this morning because the football game was good. The wrong team won but I did get lots of knitting done. 

I made it to the split on Trinigan. When you reach 18” you divide the fronts and back. Andrea has you cast on stitches to create the armhole. The rows are definitely going faster now. 

The stitches for the back and left front are on a spare circular needle with Cocoknits stitch stoppers. I love these stitch stoppers. They don’t come off your needle when you throw your knitting into a bag or basket.

There is a beautiful new shawl on Ravelry called Yvonne MT. I don’t have permission to show the pictures but here is the link to the pattern. One version of the shawl is knit in Le Petit Lambswool. Diana has been asking for a project - I think this could be her holiday knitting.

Today Beth made Reindeer Crack. We are going to package it in small bags for everyone in her office.

This is the obstacle course I had to get through this morning.

I forgot this picture. Last night dad helped me wind yarn before dinner. He used to do this when he was young with my Oma. 

New Colours

I started my post yesterday and then didn’t have much to say. We were supposed to received shipments yesterday. The boxes coming by UPS are stuck in Buffalo. The boxes coming by FedEx were out for delivery yesterday. Dad shuttled me back and forth to get my car and we missed the FedEx driver by about 5 minutes. He’ll be back today. While I’m waiting for him and a delivery from Canpar I washed my floors. The store smells great. Once the boxes get here I can take pictures of the new Noro Ito colours. 

The Ito arrived. 3 large boxes. All the colours are online but I didn’t have time to play with them. Any of these would look great in Trinigan. I think the big square with the bottom middle colour would make a great Nightshift. 

I also spent time getting ready for our Black Friday sale. The sale starts online Thursday at 3pm EST. The sale in the store will start at 11am on Friday. There are some great markdowns (10%-60%). The store is suffocating me a bit right now because it is too full. I need to clear out some stock. 

The sale items will go live at 3pm on Thursday. Here is a link to where you will be able to find them. 

The website has been updated for the Cascade shipment we received - Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Heathers and Cascade 220 Superwash Merino (5 new colours were in the box).

Now it’s time to move to my knitting chair. When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to wash the floors here. It was necessary but not a good idea. My body is sore and says please relax and knit. 😀

I finished the second ball of Trine last night while we were watching Yellowstone. Beth wouldn’t pause for me to wind another ball so I started another elf.

Here is the post that I started last night.

My car went into dad’s garage to hibernate for the winter. He (the car) spent the last week at the dealership having some repairs and he’s ready for when nice weather arrives.

Geometric Design

Dee O’Keefe has a new pattern. Meet Glenmont - you can purchase the pattern on Ravelry.

Glenmont is a top-down triangular shawl that was designed to showcase the fascinating interplay of form and texture that can be created using only simple garter and stockinette stitches. The resulting geometric design, which features an intriguing, stylized basketweave border, is bold yet sophisticated. 

Worked in worsted weight with just a few basic stitches, Glenmont is easy enough for adventuresome beginners (who will appreciate the detailed instructions and helpful video links), as well as experienced knitters looking for a relaxing project. 

If you’ve ever noticed that your stitches differ in size when transitioning between knit and purl stitches with ribbing, cable or knit/purl stitch patterns, the pattern instructions include some fantastic solutions that will improve your knitting tension dramatically. Video links and detailed explanations explain why this happens and how to fix it. I think you’ll be very pleased with results! 

The Glenmont pattern includes both charts and full written out instructions for those of you who prefer not to use charts. 

While dimensions and yardage are provided for worsted weight, Glenmont could effectively be worked in other yarn weights, although sport weight or heavier is recommended. Solid, tonal or heathered yarn that provides good stitch definition is recommended for best results.

The pattern size referenced above was chosen because I find it to be just the right size to wear as a versatile accessory with a sweater or jacket. But if you prefer to knit up a larger (or smaller) Glenmont, it’s very easy to do so by working more (or fewer) rows of the beginning garter stitch section.

Photos © Dee O’Keefe

The shawl is knit in worsted weight yarn. You have many, many options. Here is a link to our selection. The shawl can be knit in 3 skeins of Cascade 220 or Malabrigo Rios.

My car went in for a check up today and I knit at the dealership while I was waiting. The pattern is perfect mindless knitting. 
 

It’s a Hat Day

We had a lot of customers in yesterday who were purchasing yarn for hats. It got me thinking about some of the hats that we have knit over the years. I’m sorry for the small font. I cut and pasted from old blog posts and it won’t let me make the writing larger.

This is Flicker & Flame from Andrea Mowry. You can purchase the pattern on her website. I used Woolstok and Dream State (the worsted weight version of the hat).

Hats for the whole family in two different yarn weights! These fun colorwork beanies can also double as your swatch for the Spark Cardi or Sparky Pullover! These hats are knit from the bottom up, with the colorwork motifs being read from a chart.

It was so cold out that Beth was wearing it around the house. Even for a lay down on the couch. The hat needs to be blocked but I don’t need to stretch it - it is the perfect size. 

Beth loves knitting hats and wanted to try out Dream State. After looking on Ravelry she chose the Basic Norwegian Star Hat (pattern free on Ravelry). The hat took one skein of Woolstok and about 1/2 skein of Dream State.

Beth’s Valanar (pattern purchased on Ravelry) with one skein of tosh vintage.

Beth knit the 21 Color Slouch from Blue Sky Fibers.

We haven’t knit this set up but I love the cable pattern in the hat and scarf. Fair Winds Beanie and Scarf (purchase the pattern on Ravelry) in Woolstok from Blue Sky Fibers.

This nautical blessing describes that happy confluence of good fortune and the good sense to go with the flow. The simple braid pattern on the scarf has cable twists on alternating sides for complete reversibility. The cables on the cap converge neatly at the crest. Both promise smooth sailing!

Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok is strong and sturdy and gently plied. Shows off pattern and texture in crisp relief, making it an ideal yarn for these warm cabled accessories. Surprisingly soft, lofty and light - you can almost feel the lanolin in this select 100% Peruvian Fine Highland Wool. A wonderfully expansive palette of twenty-one colors inspired by the craggy, unspoiled terrain of Peru.

Beanie is knit in the round; scarf is knit flat. Instructions for both are given in text format, with charts for following cable patterns.

You'll need 2 skeins for the hat and 6 skeins for the scarf (8 skeins for a set).

I made it to the colour on my Trinigan. 

It’s time for Yellowstone. The first episode of Season 5 was released today. More knitting time!!