Project Crush.

Have you heard of Churchmouse Yarns & Teas? They're the folks behind that oh-so-popular Barb's Koigu Ruffle scarf. Theresa contacted them to get that pattern back in the shop. And we were only mildly surprised a few weeks later when the shipment from Churchmouse arrived...including all eleven of their patterns. Yeah, these patterns are that hard to resist! They're well-designed, beautifully photographed with clear instructions, printed on nice cardstock, and most require just a few skeins of yarn.

But one pattern quickly became our new crush - the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf. We sold out of the pattern in a week....and had a complete blast helping customers pick out the three skeins of Koigu's KPPPM to knit it.

I jumped on the bandwagon, too, and I'm really pleased with how my scarf (here's the ravelry link if you want to see the colorways I'm using) is working up. Even casting on 450 stitches didn't seem quite so bad once I saw the colors (I did follow the pattern's suggestion and place markers every 50 stitches to keep up with my progress...and make sure I had the slip stitch pattern right). This is my first project using KPPPM and I love the yarn. Of course the colors are gorgeous, but it's also nice to knit with - soft and not at all splitty or twisty (and so far no knots!).

The pattern is back in stock - and we're keeping the rack of KPPPM stocked as well!

If 525 yards of fingering weight yarn is scaring you away from this project, consider using a DK or worsted weight yarn instead. The long color repeats of Noro's Silk Garden or Aya would be lovely and you could use just a single colorway to get a nice striped effect. The linen stitch is also gorgeous in a solid (maybe the Ultra Alpaca that's on sale?)...especially for a man's scarf.

We're Moving!

It's definitely worth a trip - this is a sale you don't want to miss!!

Thinking about Socks.

Specifically about knitting them, toe-up. Have you done it? Want to give it a try? Please join us for our next KAL!

We're planning ahead - this KAL won't start until August (Friday, August 6 if you're keeping track). And that gives us an opportunity to try out a new poll feature - yep, we're going to vote on the pattern for the KAL. (and it's all anonymous - we only see the total number of votes, nothing about who voted). The poll is located in the blog sidebar, below the "where to find us" section.

Wanting to keep this as simple as possible - we're going to start with two patterns - both designed by Wendy Johnson, who is probably the queen of toe-up socks. She's written books and published dozens of patterns...many of which are free on Ravelry. Two that look especially fun and would work in a variety of yarns and colorways, solids or not, are the Nanner Socks and the Double Eyelet Rib Socks.

These are the Nanner Socks. You can check out the projects on Ravelry .

and these are the Double Eyelet Rib Socks - and the projects on Ravelry .

Voting will continue through Sunday August 1 and we'll announce the winner on Monday August 2. And if neither of these patterns appeal, please suggest an alternative in the Comments and we'll add your suggestion to the poll.

...and last but not least (in case you need some inspiration for voting!) a view of our sock yarn wall - including the dozens of colorways of Araucania Ranco, now 15% off!

P.S. We know there are a few Annis shawls out there ... some finished and some still works in progress. We love to see them all - please share! stop by the shop for a photo - or if you're a bit shy, simply share your project with our Ravelry group!

More Madelinetosh!

Yes! the Pashmina has arrived!! And it looks and feels as good as we thought it would (honestly, maybe even better!) We have four colorways...and I promise it's a complete coincidence that they all look so pretty in this "natural" setting.

clockwise starting at the left - celadon, dusk, thyme and moorland

The yarn is a sport weight (5-1/2 to 6 stitches per inch) blend of merino, silk and cashmere, with 360 yards per skein.

Now the only problem is figuring out what to knit with it. I'd been planning a sweater (maybe goodale, which meets my "must be seamless" criteria and it's designed for pashmina or wendy bernard's essential tank with that pretty lace detail down the front). But now that I've seen - and fondled - the yarn, I think I want it to be a shawl. Something lacy, but with a solid background to show off the color and the softness and the shine of the cashmere and silk. Have to love Ravelry for making it really easy to find patterns. This search shows 19 patterns that would work with one skein. Andrea's Shawl is at the top of that list - and it's been in my favorites for months. But I think Shaelyn is the winner.

And now to pick the color....

Testing the New Lana Grossa Needles.

Did you know we are now carrying the Lana Grossa wooden "design lumber" needles in the shop? Yes, we have double-points and circulars in the full range of sizes* and even crochet hooks.

Here's what the Lana Grossa website says about the circular needles:

• Unique durability thanks to a special compression process of layered wood. The durability beats the precious woods such as rosewood and is beyond comparison with any other wooden needle.
• Attractive colour combination through the separate tints of the various layers of wood.
• Light, but at the same time extremely robust and resilient.
• Easy to handle and the flush surface of the wood means you can knit for hours and your hands are pleasantly warm.
• Slim, tapered tips.
• Black, extremely flexible wire with a smooth transition to the needle which lets the stitches slip easily.

Sounds great, doesn't it? maybe too good to be true?

I've been testing these needles while knitting the Annis shawl. With 363 stitches per row and about 100 nupps and more yarn overs, I figured it was a perfect project to try. And I am happy to report - these needles are wonderful.

My three favorite things:

First, those "slim, tapered tips" are truly super-pointy. I didn't have any problems with the nupps (that photo to the left shows the 5 wraps of one nupp getting purled together). I cast on those 363 stitches with my addi lace size 9 needles and on the first lace row, where I knit the stitches with the lana grossa size 7 needle, I could really tell the difference in points. The addi lace seemed blunt in comparison.

Second, the cable is really flexible and the join is smooth. The cable isn't fighting me at all - it's settled into a nice circle. And my stitches are sliding easily without catching.

Third, they're pretty. I love the colors in the wood. And I think those colors provide just enough contrast to show up the yarn. Granted, I'm not knitting black or navy, but I don't think it's hard to see the stitches at all.

In short, I'm recommending these needles!

*note that the sizing is metric; the needles come in whole and half mm sizes only. So the US 1 (2.25 mm), US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm) aren't available. Sadly. Because I would love to try knitting socks with their dpns.

Another FO Modeled.

This is Janice*, modeling her just finished Lily Chin Convertible Coat (M002), knit with Rowan Cocoon. Janice said this was a fun project to knit - cool construction with flat panels of garter stitch and many (many!) picked up stitches. And it is definitely a wearable piece - you can wear it long (like the first two shots) or turn it upside down and it's a swingy short coat.

Ooops for the blurry 3rd shot, but we were having so much fun with the photos that it was hard to focus!

*and Janice, apologies in advance if I've misspelled your name - I can't find my notes and my memory isn't what it needs to be!

KAL the Fourth.

It's hard to believe it's been nearly six weeks since we started our third KAL (Springtime Bandit). We've loved seeing everyone's shawls and the "knit along" was really helpful when we had  had questions or ran into problems.

So we are excited to announce our fourth KAL: Annis by Susanna IC, a free pattern from the latest Knitty. It's getting rave reviews on Ravelry - check out the project gallery  to see why we're excited about it!

 
...and if you're still wondering "why another shawl", it's because this is not "another triangular shawl that starts at the center back". Nope, this is a full crescent-shaped shawl that starts with the lace edge and ends with stockinette, shaped with short rows. And you can do beading or nupps to add texture to the lace section.

The designer has knit four versions of the pattern in different weights and even posted directions for a mini version. Her version for Knitty used just less than 400 yards of lace-weight, but many have also used fingering weight (aka "sock yarn"). Those fingering weight versions are also coming in at around 400 yards (some more, some less).

You know we have plenty of options in both lace and fingering weight - lovely solids and semi-solids in wool, alpaca and other blends. I've opted for fingering but had a hard time making the final selection. I narrowed it down to a skein of malabrigo sock in primavera (Jane says it makes my skin glow) and a skein of madelinetosh sock in composition book gray (Jane says it makes my blue eyes pop - btw, Jane knows how to sell yarn, doesn't she?!). I decided to swatch both and make my decision once I saw them knitted up.

Long story short (details below!) the composition book gray wins!

I knit my swatch from the lace pattern chart, adding a few rows of plain stockinette at the end. My gauge is slightly smaller than the 14 st/4" that the pattern states, but I'm ok with a slightly smaller shawl.

Swatching Specs:

• Knitted cast-on using size 9 needles - it is VERY important to have a loose cast on. Many forum posts suggested this one - and I think it works perfectly.
• Purled back (still using size 9s) to create a foundation row - I made this modification at the suggestion of other forum posts - some chose to knit the foundation row, but I opted to purl it since the lace pattern is stockinette and the first pattern row is the right side (knitted).
• Switched to size 7 needles to knit the chart, slipping the beginning stitches purl-wise with the yarn in back on the knit rows and in front on the purl rows.
• I played around with the nupps, too. On the swatch above, I used Nancy Bush's method, with only 5 wraps (K, YO, K, YO, K into the stitch) instead of 7. I also tried Myra Wood's method, but I just couldn't handle the crochet hook and the knitting needles together. My nupps are definitely less "bumpy" than some - but I'm pleased with the result.

If you're curious, here's the malabrigo sock version, knit on size 8s (with size 10s for the cast-on and foundation row).

This was just too open for me. I could see, though, that with lace-weight that would be more heavily blocked, the bigger needles might be fine.

Lesson learned? swatch!!!  (and if you're really questioning your results, wet block and pin out your swatch!!)

Project Highlights (please refer to the pattern for all the details):

• Construction/Pattern - this is a crescent shaped shawl, knitted in one piece starting at the outside edge of the lace and shaped with short rows. 
• Yarn - approximately 400 yards of lace or fingering weight.
• Needles - see above for my thoughts on size. You'll want to use a circular needle so you have enough room for all the stitches. The pattern suggests a 32" needle (the cast-on is 363 stitches!!) and something longer would certainly work.
• Knitting Skills - intermediate lace, including increasing, decreasing and following a chart. nupps and short rows. Note that the pattern on Knitty is charted only, but the Ravelry pattern page does include written instructions.

 We'll be casting on this Friday, June 25 at 2pm. Please join us virtually if you can't be at the shop in person!