A Really Good Yarn

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Laine

Meet The Weekender Crew from Andrea Mowry (pattern purchased on Ravelry).

The Weekender Crew is born of the wonderful requests I receive from amazing knitters to my inbox! Topping the list has always been an alternate neckline for those who aren’t comfortable in a boat neck, followed closely by a DK weight option, and something made in a warm-weather friendly yarn! But I didn’t stop there, I also decided to bring the drop shoulder down the sleeves for an extra polished finish, and of course - pockets! I hope this new Weekender Crew fills another gap in your wardrobe!

This sweater is worked from the bottom up, seamlessly, except for a small seam at the underarms. Starting with a split hem, the body is joined in the round and worked that way until the divide for the sleeves. The remainder is worked flat, and the shoulders are finished with an exposed seam created using the 3 needle bind off.

Photos © Andrea Mowry

Finished Bust	Arranmore Light	Hedgehog Tweedy	Cascade BFL	Anchor Bay
34”	3.1	4.1	3.9	3.9
38.5”	3.5	4.6	4.3	4.3
41.5”	3.8	5.0	4.8	4.8
46”	4.3	5.6	5.3	5.3
50.5”	4.7	6.1	5.9	5.9
54”	5.0	6.6	6.3	6.3
58”	5.6	7.4	7.0	7.0
61”	6.0	7.8	7.5	7.5
66”	6.4	8.4	8.1	8.1
70.5”	6.9	9.1	8.7	8.7

I worked out yardages for different DK weight yarns. This is the number of skeins that you need for each size. I worked these out to one decimal place so you can decide how many skeins you want to purchase.

Laine Magazine 18 is available online for preorder. The release date is September 15th.

Our beautiful autumn issue is here! In Laine 18 — called Weekend Getaway — we take time to relax in a little cottage by the forest. The versatile and comfortable knits are suited for both indoors and outdoors, and they are the perfect addition to your wardrobe as the days get colder.
Designers featured in this issue: Jenny Ansah, Marcela Chang, Melissa Clulow, Emma Ducher, Jenna Kostet, Ksenia Naidyon, Olga Putano, Tiia Reho, Anna Sjösvärd and Julia Wilkens.

Beth, Lynn and I decided that we are going to do an Outdoor Sale on Saturday September 23rd (weather permitting). If you go to the top of the blog you will see a tab for the sale and you can read all the details.

Lynn was busy in the store.

Felted Tweed has been rearranged. The shelves are filled and the extra stock is in order again.

Patagonia has been rearranged as well. Lynn found colours that I did’t have on the website. They are there now.

My Alpine Bloom is dry but I don’t want to graft at night. That needs to be a daytime, I’m wide awake chore.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Super Absorbent Towel

Lynn was in today to help me. She put away a lot of Madelinetosh that arrived last week and then she moved around Felted Tweed.

Same but Different (pattern purchased on Ravelry) is a beautiful cowl but the pictures I took last week didn’t do it justice. Thank you Lynn for modelling. We used one ball of Felted Tweed (197) and one skein of Dream State (Neveruary).

Same, but Different is a bandana style cowl, knit flat from the top down, similar to a triangular shawl. The distinctive patterning is simple to create, using the mosaic knitting technique. Carefully designed to integrate seamlessly from top to bottom, those captivating spine stitches are the prominent characteristic of Same but Different! But wait, there’s more … SBD also features a split seam at the back and a continuous I-cord bind off, for a beautiful and professional looking finish.

The delightful shades of Spincycle’s Dream State combine beautifully with a dk weight yarn to create a unique and one of a kind knit accessory. Simply choose your favorite combo for an engaging knit you’ll not want to put down.

Same but Different includes fully written and charted instructions. Each section is thoughtfully explained to guide you from start to finish. I highly recommend following the video tutorial provided in the pattern for the I-cord tab cast-on.

My Alpine Bloom is almost dry. I used my Cocoknits Super Absorbent Towel and it worked wonders.

Our Super-Absorbent Towel speeds up the process of drying hand washables by absorbing excess water from your garment before air drying. Made from a lightweight felt-like cloth, it soaks up much more water than a regular bath towel. By gently removing excess water and shortening drying time, our towel will help your knits look their best for years to come.
Packaged in a reusable linen drawstring bag to minimize packaging waste.
Towel made of 85% cotton; 10% PET polyester; 5% PE
Dimensions: 39” / 1 m x 63” / 1.6 m
One towel
Drawstring linen storage bag
After soaking the garment, spread the piece on the towel and roll from one end to the other, jelly roll style. Kneel or step barefoot on the rolled towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Unroll the towel and gently hang or lay item flat to air dry.
Hang towel separately and allow to dry completely before folding for storage. Wash in cold water and air dry thoroughly before storing. Do not dry in a machine.

Tomorrow night I might be able to graft the lace edgings onto the sleeve.

Now it’s time for football, baseball and knitting.

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Two Posts in One

SUNDAY

This is Brenda’s Alpine Bloom. I am so jealous. Her colours are amazing and the fit of the sweater is perfect. Brenda used Practically Perfect Sock Be Hoppy with Midsommar Dyed in the Wool. Thank you Brenda for sharing.

My Alpine Bloom soaked in Soak this morning and now it’s lying out. I woke up at 5:30 this morning. After thinking about going back to sleep I got up and started knitting. My Temperature Blanket is growing.

This is up to May 28th. I will finish May tonight while watching football. The blanket is perfect knitting if your fingers want to play with yarn but you don’t want to count or follow a chart.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was relaxing. Dad, Beth and the dogs are coming home tomorrow. They’ve had fun fishing and relaxing.

I started a post yesterday but picked up my knitting last night and didn’t come back to my iPad.

SATURDAY

The Cooma Cowl has a new home.

Cooma is a light and airy cowl that provides lots of warmth. Holding fingering and mohair together is all the rage (and for good reason, it’s stunning!) So you can swatch with a purpose! Use the cowl as a canvas for playing with color combinations, test out how each color interacts and practice holding the strands together while creating something of practical beauty!

Here are some new combinations for Alpine Bloom using Purse First. Mom Jeans.

Love & Leche

Lady Lavender

I was up early this morning (6am) and decided to start working. While I was doing this I got everything ready to block my Alpine Bloom. I figured it could lay outside while I’m in the store to dry. It was a great idea but I couldn’t find any Soak. WHERE IS MY SOAK????? I’ll be blocking tomorrow.

We sent out a newsletter earlier this week. If you didn’t receive it you can click here to read it.

Have a great evening. I’m going to enjoy a quiet house.

Friday, September 08, 2023

Kidsilk Haze

Beautiful and interesting-to-knit accessories in the wonderful Kidsilk Haze, these designs are a joy to both knit and wear in equal measure. Designers Kaffe Fassett, Georgia Farrell, Lisa Richardson, Chloe Thurlow and Anna Hull combine simple stitches with a variety of shapes and techniques, intricate lace and stripes of colour to bring us a stunning collection of wraps, scarves, shawls and ponchos.

We have another new book from Rowan for fall. Kidsilk Haze Accessories is available online and in the store.

I’ve started making kits for some of the shawls and they are online. After some playing on the website I figured out how to put all the kits for the book in one place. Unfortunately they aren’t showing up under Rowan kits. I’ve sent my dilemma to Korey and hopefully he can come up with a solution.

I stayed up way too late last night watching football. I don’t want to say it was a great game but I liked the outcome. There was no way I was picking up the sleeves on Trinigan. After taxing my brain on the website I needed something really easy so I picked up my Temperature Blanket again. I’m back in May. I hope to finish May this weekend. I’m on a mission.