A Day to Stay Inside.

...at the shop! For the first time in many weeks, the rain kept us inside today. No trips to the pretty stone wall with piles of yarn, and patterns, and other props. Nope.

Instead, I roamed the shop with my camera and looked for pretty.

Fyberspates Scrumptious in lace, sport, DK and aran. 

and bright.

Shibui... we now have all the solid colors of Staccato, and Cima and Baby Alpaca

and colorful.

and variegated colorways of Staccato

and fun.

Just in from Done Roving Yarn - Frolicking Feet and Natural Ewe

and new.

Claudia Handpaints Fingering and Laceweight ready to put out on the floor

and exciting.

Shibui's latest collection, Geometry.

...and finally, I couldn't resist one quick trip outside (with just my camera).

I think the flowers are enjoying the rain!

How did you enjoy the rain today?

Measure for Measure.

Measure for Measure is the lovely wrap that's been displayed on our back table for the past few months. With the Ravellenic Games behind us, and before we dive headfirst into holiday gift knitting, we're going to tackle this as a knit-along.

we gave the shawl a taste of sunshine for this photo!

a close-up of the jul shawl pin you might need want to close your piece

I've used the word tackle on purpose. The front of the pattern says "not for the faint of heart, this scarf has very fine linen stitch borders and a main field of double brioche stitch. This is not a quick and mindless knit." So true! Not only is the stitch itself a challenge, the wrap takes 1,500 yards of yarn (mostly knit on a size 4 needle)...yep, that's a lot of knitting!

a close-up of the brioche - truly stunning!

Which means we're going to treat this "knit-along" a bit differently. Yes, we're still going to gather on Friday afternoons for fun and knitting and encouragement, and we're still going to share tips & lessons learned here and on Ravelry. But we're not planning to actually knit this project on Friday afternoons. If you've come for knitting on a Friday, you know you need a (somewhat?!) mindless project...or you end up ripping more than you knit! 

Beginning this Friday (and likely continuing through September), we're going to gather for knitting our (somewhat :-) mindless projects and show-and-tell for everyone's Measure for Measure. Please do bring your project to show off your progress, share lessons learned and ask questions (and get them answered).

If you're on the fence about joining in, maybe it will help to see a few colors of the suggested Swan's Island Fingering. Note that it takes three skeins. This yarn is lovely to knit with and it works up beautifully (my recently completed Panoramic Stole is knit in the Oatmeal colorway, same as our shop sample, and same as the photo on the cover of the pattern).

a sampling of colors; we have many more!

I happened to have 1,500 yards of Findlay Dappled (in the Woodland colorway), the Juniper Moon Farm merino/silk laceweight. I've always wanted a lightweight silk scarf so I'm going to use it. I do suggest going down to a size 6 needle for the beginning and ending rows of Linen Stitch; you'll probably need to work more rows, too (I worked 16 instead of the 9 the pattern stated). I'm using size 4 needles for the Double Brioche section (same as the pattern states). And because I wanted more of a scarf than a wrap, I cast on 87 stitches so I can make it longer.

progress-to-date...

So far so good!  Hope you'll join in, too. The more of us that knit this, the more fun we'll have to share!

Loving Lace.

Again (or maybe still?!).

Look what's just arrived.

This is Manos Lace, a blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere. Imagine how soft that would be...it's even softer. And it's kettle-dyed; the colors are gorgeous. Each skein is 439 yards. A perfect match for Annis , or Swallowtail ...or a host of other projects!

a sampling of the colors...of course we have them all!

Brand-new from Swan's Island, their lace-weight is a 50/50 blend of fine merino wool and tussah silk in a 550 yard skein. That little bit of extra yardage makes this a perfect match for Citron .

Or Juliette's Scarf. This one is so new I couldn't find it on Ravelry or the Swan's Island website...but we do have the pattern in the shop. And I was fortunate enough to see it knit up in person (our rep brought the sample in for us to see today and I had five minutes alone with it to take this photo). Yes, I'm in love....

Shop Hop the Sixth.

If you saw our announcement on Facebook this weekend, you know the dates have been set for the Sixth Annual Greater Atlanta Yarn Shop Hop. Saturday, September 29th through Sunday, October 7th.

Like Pat commented on our post, yes, it is that time of year again...and yes, Cast-on Cottage is participating for the sixth time!

The rules haven't changed, but in case you don't remember, or this is your first time to participate, here's the run down*:

1. Purchase a passport for $1 (they're on sale now) - don't forget to fill in your name, address, phone and email on the back!
2. Visit any - or all! - of the nine participating shops during the Hop week; spend $10 and you'll get a stamp on your passport and an original pattern.
3. Turn in your passport at any of the participating shops by closing time on Sunday, October 7th.
4. Check out the Shop Hop blog on October 14th to see if you've won!

Completed passports (those with stamps from all nine shops) are eligible for the Grand Prize - $900 in  gift certificates ($100 from each shop). All passports (even those with just one stamp) are eligible for the 27 other knitterly prizes. Each shop contributes three - and truly, these are worthwhile! Check out our three prizes below to see what I mean!  Please note - even if you don't think you can make it to all nine shops, it's still worth buying the passport (remember, it's just $1) and getting it stamped at the shop - you only need to spend $10 during the Shop Hop week to get a stamp.

So without further ado...a first peek at our three prizes.

A Measure for Measure kit, including the pattern and three skeins of Swan's Island Fingering in the Oatmeal colorway (if you've seen our shop sample, it's knit in Oatmeal...and it's absolutely lovely!)

Four skeins of Shibui Silk Cloud in colorways Camel, Flaxen, Rust and Watermelon to knit the Gradient Cowl (a free pattern Shibui published a few months back).

And last, but certainly not least, an Insouciant kit, including the pattern and four cones of Habu Tsumugi Silk in colorway 38 (wine...and I promise - we picked the color without knowing what it was called!)

*Please visit the Shop Hop blog for more details and remember, the official rules are listed on the passports.

New from Julie Hoover.

We hinted about Julie's new collection for Manos Del Uruguay on Pinterest a few weeks back (remember?) ...then we saw all the details on her blog. and finally, today, our favorite three patterns have arrived in the shop.

Beaubourg, Palette and Flore

...and now we can share them with you!

Flore, with Manos' Silk Blend in Nickel, Natural, Coffee and Pewter

First up, Flore (because Julie says it's her personal favorite...and honestly, it's mine too!)  , a relaxed fit seamless raglan pullover knit from the bottom-up in stockinette stitch and then turned inside out. The pattern calls for two colors of Manos' Silk Blend (a DK-weight wool/silk blend). It's shown in Natural and Nickel. We also love the rich brown (appropriately named Coffee) and the blue (Pewter). These four colors would work well striped in any combination.  Depending on your size, you'll need 4-5 skeins of the main color and 3-4 skeins of the contrast. The pattern suggests a size 9 needle to get 4 stitches and 7 rows to the inch.

Beaubourg, with Lorna's Laces, Madelinetosh Vintage, Chadwick and Cascade Eco Cloud

Then there's Beaubourg  , an oversized dolman pullover worked in reverse stockinette (purl stitches on the right side) with exposed seams. The silhouette reminds us of Chaleur (Julie lists differences between the two designs on her Ravelry project page here), but with easier stitches and construction (meaning this would be a great first or second sweater for a newer knitter, or a "social" project for those with more sweater experience). The pattern suggests Manos' Maxima, a worsted weight single ply merino yarn that's similar to Juniper Moon's Chadwick. We also think Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, Madelinetosh Vintage and Cascade Eco or Eco Cloud would all be great substitutes. Look for a wool (or mostly wool blend) that suggests 4-1/2 stitches to the inch.

Palette, with Sulka and Voyage

And finally, Palette , a chunky double-wide cowl with yummy textures of garter and rib stitches. It's fully reversible and can be worn doubled or hanging straight down. The pattern suggests Manos' Wool Clasica, an aran weight single ply merino. We love all the yarns suggested above (for Beaubourg) and also Mirasol's Sulka, a lovely merino/alpaca/silk blend and Berroco's Voyage, an alpaca/polyester (93%/7%) blend with a chainette construction similar to Cascade's Cloud. The alpaca would make a toasty warm hug for someone special! The cowl takes about 400 yards of yarn, seven to eight skeins of the Sulka or two of the Voyage.

photoshoot outtake. those flowers always make me smile!

Fibre Company Love Continues.

Time flies - I can't believe it's been a year since we received our first shipment of The Fibre Company's Road to China Light and Canopy Fingering. Those two yarns continue to be favorites for projects big and small. The colors, the fibers (merino, camel, silk, alpaca, yummmm), the soft drape. What's not to love?! So we were excited when Theresa wanted to expand our offering and carry Acadia and Savannah, too.

Those yarns have just arrived and wow. They're even prettier in person. Let me introduce you:

left to right, top to bottom - driftwood, lupine, blackberry, wild onion, maple, douglas fir, kelp, amber

This is Acadia, a DK weight blend of 60% merino, 20% silk and 20% baby alpaca. The Fibre Company says: 

Acadia is an absolutely beautiful, completely original and custom designed 2-ply yarn with a rustic look and soft hand. A subtle tweed effect created by the silk noil is combined with a heathered base and then overdyed in the duotones we are known for, creating incredible depth of color. 

...and we agree. The colors are stunning. And the pattern options are numerous. To get you thinking, here are three suggestions:

image from here

Avery cowl . A free pattern on Ravelry that was designed for Acadia. The lace pattern shows off the tweed beautifully. Two skeins on a size 6 needle. Finished size approximately 25" wide and 12" high. This seems like a great piece to go from fall to winter to spring.

© Gudrun Johnston/Jared Flood

Norie Hat . This pattern suggests Savannah (see below), but it works fine for Acadia, too. Two skeins on a size 5 needle. (I can't wait til it cools off enough to wear a hat!)

image from here

Etched Rio Wrap. Sadly, the pattern isn't up on Ravelry yet, but we fell in love with it when we saw the first sneak peek photos from TNNA back in June. The pattern suggests a DK weight alpaca silk blend, and now that we've seen how pretty Acadia is in lace, we think it would work perfectly. Knit it in a bright color like kelp or maple to make a statement, or driftwood for a go-with-everything staple.

...and now please meet Savannah, a sport-weight blend of 50% wool, 20% cotton, 15% linen and 15% soya. Yep, another multi-season blend that works so well in Georgia.

left to right, top to bottom - natural, sycamore, slate, bluegrass, crepe myrtle, woodsmoke, cabernet, persimmon

The Fibre Company says:

Savannah is a beautiful and rustic spun 2-ply yarn with a crisp yet soft hand. The unique blend of fibers are spun and then kettle dyed, and the different way the fibers absorb the dye creates a beautiful depth of color with subtle heathered tones. Additionally, Savannah is spun and dyed in the U.S.A., and we are proud to play a small role is supporting local textile mills here in Pennsylvania.

All true, and we are proud to support a USA-produced yarn!

As with Acadia, there are lots and lots of pattern options. Here are my favorite two.

Schieffelin Point Shawl . A free pattern on Ravelry that was designed for Savannah. This is a semi-circular top down shawl with a garter-stitch body and knitted on lace border. Love the shape! Three skeins on a size 7 needle.

...and I saved the best for last. Yes, Hannah Fettig's Sycamore Vest .  Five to nine skeins on a size 5 needle.

my incentive to finish the two Ravellenic Games projects I've queued...

Eye Candy.

The Knitter's Edition.

the front table, stacked high with Habu merino, silk stainless, bamboo, kits, ...

the table to the left of the front entrance, stacked high with Habu cotton gima and tsumugi silk.

If you've been thinking about knitting with Habu (or really, even if you haven't!), this is the time to do it! I'm delighted to see Habu's Tsumugi Silk leading the poll to knit Kozue:

have you voted yet? (the poll is on the sidebar to the right)

And today someone bought three cones of the silk to knit her second Color Affection shawl. (She's going to follow the lace version stitch/repeats and use a size 4 needle). I can't wait to see how it knits up!

If you're wondering what happened to all the bright cotton that was up front...it's now making a bold statement in the kids' hall.

...as always, you really need to see it in person to appreciate it fully. We hope to see you soon!