Sundry KAL.

Over the weekend, I started a thread on Ravelry announcing our next KAL (here). And I did get a one "love" response…but nothing else. I can only hope that means y'all are so busy watching the weather forecasts you aren't thinking about knitting?! Of course I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm facing a forced day or two at home, the only thing I'm thinking about is "what am I going to knit?" (once I've made sure I have ample milk, coffee, popcorn and wine in the house!)

So let's just forget about the winter weather advisory for a bit and start thinking about Sundry. Click here to ooh and ahh over the project gallery . The pattern is available for in-store purchase (or on Ravelry).

Jennifer Dassau, the designer, describes it like this:

An elongated, asymmetrical wrap that combines the warmth and style of a shawl with the wearability of a scarf; Sundry means various or diverse, and this wrap features two colors, two stitch patterns and endless styling options. Cast on at the long, pointed end, Sundry has shaping at each end of rows that grow ever wider. Two colors contrast yet harmonize in solid garter stitch and houndstooth slipstitch sections; the slipstitch is easily worked using just one color per row. A simple picot bind off finishes the long straight end.

She suggests a sport-weight yarn, about 380 yards each of two colors, on a size 7 needle. The finished piece measures approximately 24" deep and 112" wide (measured along the longest edge of the triangle).

The nice thing about a shawl is that you really can knit it out of anything; your finished piece and yarn/needle requirements will just…be different.

Here is Kathy modeling her Sundry. It's big and cozy, knit at a DK-ish gauge. The brown she used is the Lotus Mimi…100% mink!…doubled. And she really does love it… even though I failed to capture her smiling! (sorry, Kathy!)

I mean the details…what's not to love?

Here it is blocking to give you a better idea on the size and the shape (I think that's a queen-sized bed).

This piece is all about COLOR! We really love contrasting solids: black (or navy) and white with a pop of red or yellow; charcoal or lavendar and cream. This one, by stormyk9 is a gorgeous example (and she's written detailed notes about how she did it on her Ravelry project page). Shibui Staccato, Fibre Company Canopy Fingering, Spud & Chloe Fine and Marion Foale are all great choices for solid colors in a fingering weight. Mirasol Nuna and Shibui Cima doubled would be lovely in a sport weight. Contrasting tonals work, too. I've chosen Malabrigo Sock in Eggplant and Turner for mine (that combination has been a favorite since Stephen West's Lakedale Shawl way back in Malabrigo Book 3).

If you want to use a variegated colorway (Claudia Handpaints fingering or Sweet Georgia Tough Love) - and those yarns make the houndstooth section look like a mosaic - just be sure to choose a contrasting solid or semi-solid for the second color. The key is contrast. You want the two colors to really pop in that houndstooth section; don't choose yarns that share colors - you'll get mud in the middle.

Adjust your needle size up or down depending on your yarn's weight - and your personal preferences. I know I like Malabrigo Sock knitted on a size 6, so I'm going to start there. If I don't like the way it looks after a few inches, I can always rip it out and start over! (in other words, I'm considering the first couple of inches my "swatch"  :-)

For yardage, we don't suggest less than about 350 yards of a fingering or sport weight (unless you want a much smaller piece). The designer has included notes that describe how to get the most out of the yarn you have. We do have a lot of experience with this shawl, so if you have any questions, just ask!

The official cast-on is this Friday afternoon (January 31, 2014). We hope you'll join us in person or virtually. If you do join virtually, please share your project with our Ravelry group…and post photos. We can't wait to see!

...and now the snow is falling…I'm off to another pot of coffee and some knitting. stay warm, y'all!

Why Do We Knit?

Whoa. It's been a while since there's been anything new here. I apologize for the long absence, but Life Outside Knitting (yeah, I know, it does exist even for me!) has been consuming me and it's honestly going to be a few more weeks before I'm really back.

I've missed weeks of posting on my personal blog as well, but Carole's Ten on Tuesday topic was about knitting, specifically "Why I Knit", and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my list. Of course y'all - the Cast-on Cottage Community, both in person and virtual - are a huge part of it and I want to first, say thank you...and then, ask why do you knit?

the Yellow Table on a Friday afternoon, blogged here.

Please share your feedback here in the comments, or on Facebook or Ravelry. Let's keep the Community strong!

And quickly - I hinted about a new KAL in our Ravelry forum. Yes, we are going to knit the Churchmouse Linen Stitch scarf, likely starting in early June. I hope to write a proper post with yarn suggestions, etc., but in the meantime, you might want to check out the project page on Ravelry , and specifically the recently published addenda to use Claudia Handpaints Linen or Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. We have a great selection of both yarns, as well as the traditional Claudia Handpaints fingering, in stock. (really, who needs a blog post, right?!)

Happy Knitting!!

Time for a New KAL.

Maybe I should've ended that title with a question mark, because part of me says "what, already?" (that's the part that remembers a half-finished Panoramic Stole and a barely begun Rill Scarf from our recent KALs languishing in my works-in-progress basket...)

Yeah, so I'm not listening to that part of me today.

Because Kathy and I spent fun time yesterday pairing up colorways of Claudia Handpaints Fingering and Malabrigo Finito...

photo credit

...to knit the Sand and Sea Shawlette . Yes, it's time for a new knit-along! ***exclamation point!!!***

This will be our third KAL project from the ever-popular Coastal Knits book. We knitted the Rustling Leaves Beret last fall and the Panoramic Stole earlier this year - all of those projects turned out so well we wanted to knit another one. This shawlette seems like a perfect accessory for summer. It takes only 375 yards of fingering weight yarn, so you know it will be lightweight.  And the color options...well, that makes it perfect for a KAL!

The pattern suggests a main and contrast color (250 and 125 yards, respectively), but you could also choose a single skein of Madelinetosh or Malabrigo Sock and knit it in one color.  Kathy and I, we're definitely going the two-color route!

...now the only challenge is...which two colors to pick!

We'll be casting on next Friday (April 27, 2012) afternoon. Please do make plans to join us - in person is always fun, but virtually is ok, too. You can chime in on our Facebook page or Ravelry forum.

Claudia Handpaints.

Another day. another new yarn. Seriously, it's starting to seem like that! Last week was completely overtaken by the Rowan, so much so that the completely wonderful shipment of Claudia Handpaints that arrived on Monday was overshadowed. I'd planned to post about it last week, but I felt like it deserved a spotlight of its own. And then I'd planned to post about it over the weekend, but I got caught up in classes and knitting...and now it's Tuesday.

And finally time to share about Claudia Handpaints.

Theresa is now stocking two of her best lines. Handpainted (duh, right?) fingering merino.

just a taste of the new "handpaints" wall...there are more colors above and below where I cropped this photo!

and handpainted linen.

that's Claudia on the left and Louet on the right. love the mixing possibilities!

If you've never seen these yarns in person, the fingering merino is kind of like the koigu kpppm (and as much as I am a huge fan of that yarn, Claudia's colorways....they had me at hello)

and the linen is exactly like the Louet Euroflax Sportweight. Seriously. It's the same fiber base, just handpainted. and wow! who knew what handpainting could do! I thought I'd had my fill of the yarn when I knit Liesl earlier this summer. Maybe no. Have you seen this pattern? (it was one of today's featured patterns on Ravelry and we have it in the shop). I might have to knit another tunic.

Liesl, Janna's Tunic...and Claudia's Handpaint Linen

Coming tomorrow - an update on our KAL plans (see this post on Ravelry for a hint). and then another post about new yarn (yes, our UPS driver is still being good to us!)