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Free Pattern Friday

December 18, 2015, 4:58 pm
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Happy Friday. Here are some free patterns to download. Think of it as an early Christmas present :)
This stunning vest is knit in Noro Obi. Download the pattern...

We have four colours in stock
#7
#8
#13
#15

The fun thing about knitting with Noro is that the colour keeps changing which prevents you from getting bored with your project. 

A vest knit in Kureyon. Download the pattern...

Knit in Silk Garden. Download the pattern...

Knit in Kureyon. Download the pattern...

Knit in Silk Garden. Download the pattern...

I just got home from work and Beth made pizza for dinner. I'm writing while I eat and then it's time to knit. I haven't touched my needles today and my fingers are itching. The cowl is growing and I love the colours. Pictures tomorrow.
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Mittens

December 19, 2015, 11:28 am
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It was snowing when I left the house this morning and it got me thinking that I should have mittens to keep my hands warm. 

These are the Soft Mitts from Fleece Artist.

You hold a strand of mohair together with a strand of wool to make warm mittens. The yarns are hand dyed in Halifax.

We have kits in many different colour combinations.

Thrum Mitts. What is a thrum? This is how the Yarn Harlot describes them. She has a great explanation on knitting Thrum Mitts...
A thrum is a little wisp of unspun fleece or roving that is knit into your project every so often. Thrumming makes the insides soft and fuzzy, and freakishly warm. This technique is most often associated with Canada’s Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (where they know warm)
We have kits from Fleece Artist for these mitts as well. Both the wool and the fleece are hand dyed.

There are also many patterns available online. You can use a skein of Cascade 220 with some great hand dyed fleece from Manos del Uruguay or Malabrigo.

I'm just past the halfway point. I really, really want to sit and knit today but we're getting the store ready for Boxing Week. I'll post more on that tomorrow and Monday. We are going to start the sale online on December 24. There will be a great selection. If you live in the area, you can purchase online and mark in the comment section that you are picking up the yarn in the store. We will refund the shipping when you get to the store. Then the sale will continue in the store (with more yarns added) on Monday December 28.

Speaking of sale, here are our Christmas Hours

Thursday December 24 10-2
Friday December 25 Closed
Saturday December 26 Closed
Sunday December 27 Closed
Monday December 28 10-5:30
Tuesday December 29 10-5:30
Wednesday December 30 10-5:30
Thursday December 31 10-1
Friday January 1 Closed
Saturday January 2 10-4
Sunday January 3 Closed
Monday January 4 10-5:30
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Boxing Week

December 20, 2015, 5:52 pm
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We're getting ready for Boxing Week in the store. Here are a few yarns that will be available online December 24-27 when the store is closed. These yarns will be on sale in the store when we reopen after Christmas on December 28. If you live in the area, order online and pay for the yarn but leave a comment that you will be picking it up in the store. When you come in to pick it up we will refund the shipping amount. This way you won't miss out on the colour you want.

There is a special section on the website for all the sale yarns. This is not the complete list. I'm going to be adding all week.

The following yarns will be on sale for 50% off. 

This is just a small sample of what we will be offering on sale. It's time to make room for new yarn.

Debbie Bliss Luxury Silk DK

Debbie Bliss Juliet
This is a sport weight yarn.



Rowan Fur

Rowan Alpaca Chunky

Rowan Tetra Cotton

Rowan Big Wool Colour

Soakboxes are on sale - 50% off.

Don't forget about the Colinette Throws that are marked down in price...

It's been a busy day - tis the season. This afternoon we visited with friends and then we had dinner with Jane and her family. My Christmas gift from Jane was awesome - a ball of Qiviut that she bought on her trip to Alaska. And it's purple.
Qiviut is naturally a soft grayish-brown color, and is one of the warmest and most luxurious fibers in the world. Eight times warmer than wool and finer than cashmere, qiviut is hypoallergenic and will not shrink. Extremely rare, it is one of the most luxurious fibers you can choose for a garment.
Now I need to do some searching on Ravelry for the perfect project.

Homeland is about to start and I haven't knit all day. Yes, I'm moving to the knitting chair for the evening.
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ZickZack Scarf

December 21, 2015, 5:31 pm
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I was having a hard time coming up with today's blog post. There hasn't been a lot of knitting happening. Who can knit while watching Homeland? Plus we're getting the house ready for Christmas dinner. Then I remembered this great pattern.
The ZickZack scarf is a free pattern on Ravelry. It is knit with two colours of Mille Colori Baby.

An impressive yet easy to knit scarf in the style of a great Italian designer. 
The chevrons are worked with single increases and decreases – no knots in your fingers trying to knit complicated double decreases and no double increases where the stitches get tight and hard to work with...
The scarf can also be knit in Noro Taiyo Sock or Crystal Palace Mini Mochi. Any yarn with a long stripe.

I was looking up something on the Blue Sky Alpacas website which led me to free patterns.

The Extra Quick and Easy Scarf (download the pattern)


The Baby Jumper is knit in Blue Sky Bulky - a yarn that will be on sale for Boxing Week. Download the pattern...

Now it is time for some knitting. I have about 40 rows to go on my Unicorn Stripes Cowl. I'd really like to start playing with the Mille Colori Baby but I think I should wait until next week to start that scarf. Maybe :)
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ZickZack

December 22, 2015, 6:21 pm
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MountainTop Chalet’s colorful cousin, Chateau is the same super-soft baby alpaca/bamboo blend with a chainette construction. It knits up quickly, which is perfect for last-minute holiday gifts. Any pattern written for Chalet will knit-up just as beautifully in Chateau.

Soft and squishy Chateau is an excellent yarn for a cowl. This one is worked in the round, and has four wedges of Reverse Stockinette stitch that are decreased to make the base wider than the top.
Nancy's Cowl - a free pattern from Classic Elite Yarns

 Of course I cast on the ZickZack Scarf today. Actually, I cast it on twice. I did it in the store and we were busy and I messed up the third row. The best thing to do was break the yarn and cast on again. I went up a needle size on the second go. 3mm seemed too small - I hope I made the right decision or I could be casting on again.

Cathy, Sarah and Lynn just left after our annual Christmas dinner. We had lots of laughs and ate way too much. Now it's time to do a few rows and then bed.
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Late Night Knitting

December 23, 2015, 7:42 pm
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I'm a bit tired today. After Cathy, Sarah and Lynn left last night I sat down to knit. You can't put the scarf down because you need to see what colour is coming next. And I'm pulling from the middle of the ball so I don't know until it reaches my needles.


I'm making a list and checking it twice for yarns that are going on sale. These yarns will be on sale in the store (sorry, not on the website) on the 28th when we reopen after Christmas.

You won't have a problem figuring out what yarns are on sale. We're making signs on bright lime paper. You can't miss them.


Debbie Bliss Roma and Roma Weave
70% Wool
30% Alpaca

$9 a ball

What can you make with Roma (and Roma Weave)? Take a look at this bulky shawl...
Sandpiper from Classic Elite Yarns

Each strand of Sandpiper has five space-dyed shades, giving it highlights and shadows that occur organically as the eight plies interact. These mingling colors add depth and interest, but their similar values mean Sandpiper still shows texture and lace beautifully! 

50gram
104m (114 yards)
4½-5 sts/inch on US 7-5 (4.5-3.75 mm) needles

Download the pattern for the Sandpiper Mesh Scarf (it takes 4 balls)...

$6.75 a ball

Patterns on Ravelry for Sandpiper...

Big Delight is on sale for $6.50 a ball.
The multi coloured print with long colour repetitions creates unique patterns and exciting colour combinations, which means that within one dye lot, lighter or darker varieties might appear. This is no fault or defect, but part of the yarn's character.
Content: 100% Wool
Tension: 16 - 19 stitches
Weight/length: 100 g = approx 190m
Recommended needle size: 5 mm
Knitting tension: 10 x 10 cm = 17 sts x 22 rows
Hand Wash, max 30°C / Dry Flat / Feltable
Here is an interesting scarf/shawl pattern for Big Delight on Ravelry...

And a cowl...

For more patterns, go to Ravelry and type Big Delight into patterns. There are 3 pages of great designs.

Louisa Harding Noema is on sale for $5 a ball.


A bit of TV and the shawl is growing.
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Christmas Eve

December 24, 2015, 6:47 pm
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It is hard to believe the weather. December 24 and I'm not wearing socks. If I wanted to I could have the top down on the car. Unbelievable. I've been in Myrtle Beach for Christmas when it was much colder than this.
The tree is ready. We left a little room for the presents from Santa.
I've started to pull the serving dishes out for Christmas dinner. Aunt Rene and Aunt Barb are cooking. That guarantees a great meal.
The scarf is growing but there won't be many more rows tonight. It's almost bed time. Tomorrow is a busy day.
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Lazy Day After

December 26, 2015, 5:50 pm
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I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. The plan was to write last night but I was too tired. We were up early for church and then stopped at mom and dad's to do gifts. Then home to get the house ready. We had 17 for dinner - thanks Aunt Rene and Aunt Barb for cooking. The food was awesome.
Yes, Aunt Barb is wearing a hat, scarf and oven mitts. It isn't Christmas without a game. Most years everyone brings a gift (divided into men and women) and the first person takes a gift. The second can take from the pile or steal. We had fewer people coming this year so we decided to do something different. And if you've come to Camp, you know that Beth loves a new game.

Dad came home from work a few weeks ago and asked Beth to make 8-10 boxes that fit one into the next. Linda from his office needed them for her Christmas game. Beth decided we were going to do that. She cut down boxes so that we had 12 that fit. The smallest was a wrapped gift card. Then it went into a wrapped box. Into another wrapped box..... Everyone sat in a circle and we had dice. We didn't want them flying around the room so Beth put them into the lid of a puzzle box. If you rolled doubles you got to work on the present. But first you had to put on the hat, scarf and oven mitts. Then you could start getting the paper off. When the paper was off you had to get the box open (of course they were gently taped closed) and then start on the paper on the next box. The dice are still going around and the next player who rolls doubles jumps in. It happened quite a few times that you got on the hat, scarf and oven mitts and were about to go at the box when the next doubles were rolled. We had many, many laughs. Seriously funny game. I'm pretty sure we will be doing it next Christmas.

There has been lots of knitting today. I keep thinking that I'll be back at work tomorrow but I have another day off. I hope to be finished the first two balls before we open the store on Monday.
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Ready to work

December 27, 2015, 6:01 pm
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We're back to work tomorrow morning. The store will open at 10am and there will be great deals on select yarns and kits.

I've extended the sale online until I get to work in the morning. Then these yarns (plus more) will be available in the store.
 
There has been a lot more knitting. I didn't finish the first balls of the ZickZack Scarf. But I'm close. I set the scarf aside to work on my Unicorn Stripes Cowl. I'm so close that I think I'll be able to block it later this week.

Beth loves the new table - now she can puzzle. Cathy gave her two puzzles for Christmas and both are done. Now she's going through the puzzle closet. We have a lot of puzzles.

I'm giving myself another hour of knitting and then it's bed time. I hope we are really, really busy in the store tomorrow. 
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Log Cabin Afghan

December 28, 2015, 4:37 pm
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Big Delight is one of the yarns on sale this week. Regular $12.95 a ball on sale for $6.50.

10 balls will make the Log Cabin Afghan. You can mix and match colours or use the same colour for every square. A totally different look but both beautiful.

 This is Cathy's Log Cabin Afghan knit in Noro Kureyon. Big Delight will stripe like Noro but there aren't as many colours.

Here are the colours that we have 10 or more balls of.

Colour 12

Colour 3
Colour 6
Colour 8
Colour 10

We don't have full bags of these colours but they will mix well if you are using different colours.

Colour 1
Colour 2
Colour 7
Colour 9
Colour 13

Beth came by the store this afternoon with my mom's SUV and took my mustang and put it in my parent's garage. Thank goodness she did. At 4:45 it was clear out. At 5:15 it was full on snow storm. The wind was blowing the snow around and the visibility wasn't good. The back deck is covered in snow and it is sounding like freezing rain now. My work is finished for the day so it's knitting time.




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Wish this was mine

December 29, 2015, 5:07 pm
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I love it when customers send me pictures to share. It makes my blog post for the day much easier.

Pattern: Quadratische Decke Shawl (purchased on Ravelry)

This shawl is absolutely beautiful. Lorraine knit it for a Christmas gift. Can you believe giving this away? If she wasn't going to keep it she should have brought it to me.



Here is a close up so you can see the many, many beads that are knit into the shawl.

Lorraine used 3 skeins of Mrs. Crosby Train Case (a fingering weight yarn) in African Grey.
55% Superwash Merino Wool
15% Nylon
30% Outlast® viscose
Approx. 425 yds / 100g
Outlast® technology is proactive, using phase change materials (PCM) to absorb excess heat from your skin when you are warm, and releasing that heat back to you when you need it most.
Shawls knit in Train Case drape beautifully. The yarn is also amazing for socks. The nylon is there for strength and the Outlast will make sure your feet don't get too hot.

Thanks for sharing Lorraine. It is beautiful.

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The Doodler

December 30, 2015, 4:04 pm
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Here are some of the finished projects from our latest Knit-A-Long. This Doodler was knit by Lorraine (yes, the same Lorraine as yesterday's amazing shawl).
These are totally my colours.

Here is Carolyn's Doodler. Another great colour combination. It has been fun seeing the finished shawls. Every one's colours are so different.

Dana was very, very busy during our latest KAL. She managed to knit three different shawls.

This is In Quiet (pattern purchased on Ravelry)

Focused (pattern purchased on Ravelry)

Ley Lines (pattern purchased on Ravelry)
If you knit a shawl for the KAL, we would love to share pictures on the blog. Don't forget there is only one more day to finish and post on Ravelry or send me pictures to be entered into the draw.
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Happy New Year

December 31, 2015, 12:43 pm
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Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope it was a productive knitting/crocheting year for you. Here are the projects that I finished during 2015.

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January Dream Club

January 1, 2016, 9:21 am
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The Dream Club for January has arrived. The colour is amazing - a grey denim.
These fingerless mitts feature a unique Estonian elongated stitch that travels down the center of your hand. The gorgeous blues in the variegated Jilly with Cashmere lend to the vintage blue jean feel of these pretty gloves. Knit in the round in garter stitch, these will fit a wide range of hand sizes..The tubular cast on and bind off allow for plenty of stretch. The striking thumb gusset is created with slipped stitches that frame the increases.
Please note - the yarn is not the teal colour of this picture.

$48.50 - one skein of yarn and the pattern.

Here is what one skein will make:
-One bandana/cowl and one pair of mitts
-Two pairs of mitts
-Two bandana cowls
Jilly with Cashmere is luxuriously sumptuous and soft! The colors come to life. Every stitch knitted with Jilly with Cashmere is a dream, making only the most magnificent of accessories and garments. 
 •70% superwash merino wool, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon 
•440 yds. 
•7- 8 sts. per inch 
•U.S. 1 to 2 needles
Jilly with Cashmere is one of Beth's favourite yarns. She knit a cowl (That Nice Stitch - free on Ravelry) with one skein and has started another one.
I'm sure when she sees the special colour she is going to want a skein.
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Time for grafting

January 2, 2016, 2:36 pm
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I finished the knitting on my Unicorn Stripes Cowl earlier this week.
Pattern: Unicorn Stripes (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: madelinetosh unicorn tails or merino light

I used merino light leftovers for my cowl. It is 160 rows long. If you are using unicorn tails, you will need 10.

It's been blocked and now I can graft the ends together. Yes, grafting 120 stitches. Not a job before bed time.
The pattern asks for a provisional cast on - when finished you take out the cast on and have live stitches for grafting the two ends together. I did a cable cast on and will graft the live stitches at the end of the cowl to the cast on edge. There will be a touch of a ridge but it won't be noticeable. Here is another reason to knit with Addi Turbo needles - you can block your work while it's still on the needles. Being lazy I didn't want to put the live stitches on a holder and then back onto the needle for grafting. Addis block great. Wooden needles not so good.

Here is another finished Doodler, thanks Susan for the picture.
And Bev's Doodler
And Nancy's Doodler
 Sandra's
The colour combinations are all so different and all so beautiful.

I don't think I should start grafting tonight so I'm going to work on my ZickZack scarf.
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ZickZack #2

January 3, 2016, 2:01 pm
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I was having fun working on the ZickZack Scarf and wanted to know what it would look like in Noro Taiyo Sock. I think it looks great. I'm using 3.25mm needles and took out two pattern repeats (24 stitches). I think that I could have taken off 36 stitches. We'll see how it works out lengthwise. My colours are 47 and 70.

I'm calling this the summer version.
The popularity of the lovely color progressions of Noro's yarn has spurred the production of this softer cotton blend sock yarn. You get gorgeous color that Noro is know for, with a fiber combination that is softer and appropriate for both warm and cold weather wear. Size is approximately 420m (459 yards) in a 100g ball. 50% cotton, 17% wool, 17% nylon, 16% silk
There hasn't been a lot of knitting today because I was too busy being in charge of the TV remote. There were two important football games that I was flipping between. I hope to have more time this evening.
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Sock Yarn

January 4, 2016, 6:16 pm
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Mr. Canada Post brought us a box of Opal sock yarn this afternoon. All colours of Popcorn are in the store. The yarn does all the work for you. Start knitting and it will do all the colour changes.


There are two colours of Opal Happy with Silver Effect.
Opal brought back some of its most popular shades but with the added sparkle of silver effect thread running through it!

Each 100g ball is approximately 425m and is enough to make an adult size pair of socks, pair of gloves or scarf.
 
 
The last four colours are from the Moments of... Collection.

Don't forget that if you are buying a ball of sock yarn, we have a pattern for easy socks (free with purchase) designed by our good friend Kate Atherley.

Friday morning Beth and I are flying to Vegas. Sunday morning I'm flying to San Diego for TNNA (a trade show where yarn shops go to see what is new for the next season) and then I'll be flying back to Vegas on Sunday night. A bit of a vacation and a bit of work. I need a new project for the planes.

Cathy came in today wearing Blue Bird
The pattern is from Classic Elite and can be purchased on Ravelry. She used two skeins of Dream in Color Everlasting Sock. She doesn't remember the colour but there are many, many yarn options for this.

This is Classic Elite's version in Alpaca Sox.

Yarn followed me home from work today. Mechita from Malabrigo. Now to figure out if this is really the pattern and which colour I want.
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Relaxed, Simple and Easy to Wear

January 5, 2016, 4:56 pm
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Knit this cosy, oversized top in Big Wool. Designed by Grace Melville it is worked sideways in a simple ridge pattern making it suitable for the beginner knitter.
Download the free pattern...

Rowan's new Big Wool Silk will also work for this pattern.

To put you in the mood for spring, here are some pictures from Rowan Magazine 59. We should have the magazine in the store at the beginning of February.
Rowan Magazine 59 focuses on two stories this Spring Summer: Coastal and Kyoto.

Coastal - a collection of 18 designs for both men and women. Colours are faded denims through to driftwood and pebble shades. The knitwear is relaxed, simple, easy to wear and inspired by textures and traditional guernseys. From simple stocking stitch to classic cables, this story has knits suitable for all skill levels..

Kyoto - a collection of 18 designs using a selection of Rowan's core summer yarn. Colours are strong, vibrant and contrasting. The knitwear is patterned with flowers and the garments are a mixture of fitted and loose shapes inspired by Japanese gardens, architecture, origami, and traditional Japanese dress. The designs range from easy knits to more complex pieces, stocking and garter stitch, cables, lace, Fair Isle and intarsia, plus crochet.




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Let the packing begin

January 6, 2016, 1:57 pm
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I'm working away on my ZickZack Scarves.
More colours of Mille Colori Baby should be arriving tomorrow. I'm kind of hoping that they don't arrive until Friday after I've left. I know when I see them I will want to try the scarf in a different colour combination. My scarves are staying in the store so you can see how the colours play and how the yarn feels.
 #6
 #7
 #51
#56

We're getting down to the packing crunch. Actually, I need to start. But before I can pack I have many errands to do tonight. I'm tired thinking about them. Chiropractor. Drug store. Dry cleaning. New phones for the store because right now the only way to answer the phone is to hit the talk button with a pen. I need to run to the fabric store so that I can fix my golf pants. Yes, the clubs are coming. The one great thing about going to Vegas is you can buy anything you need there so I don't need to worry quite so much about making a list.

The really important thing to pack is my knitting. But what is that going to be? A plane trip means a new project. I better get this figured out soon.
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Spring Rowan

January 7, 2016, 5:47 pm
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I'm running between my sewing/computer room, bedroom and laundry room trying to do everything at once. It isn't working so I'm going to sit and write about the spring Rowan and then get back to packing.

Rowan is introducing two new double knitting weight yarns this spring. They knit to the same tension so you can interchange them. The yarn and corresponding pattern magazines should be in the store at the beginning of February.

Summerlite DK collection is a brochure of 12 handknit designs for women and using Rowan new yarn Summerlite DK. Designs are inspired by the lush, green, rolling landscape and traditional stone buildings of the English countryside. This booklet features easy, relaxed, yet elegant knits designed to complement your favourite pair of trousers, skirt or summer dress. All garments are knitted in a muted, yet fresh and light palette of summer colours.

The collection features a range of very easy to intermediate patterns, from simple knit textures, lace and eyelet techniques, to more intermediate-level slip stitch and cable details. Photographed in the historic town of Painswick. The town's many beautiful, mellow stone buildings, quaint and narrow streets provide the ideal location for this collection.




Softyak is a collection of 12 designs by the Marie Wallin using one of Rowan's new yarns for the season, Softyak. The collection is influenced by 1970's fashion, inspiring designs which are elegant, feminine and easy to wear. The colours are rich but muted, making the collection suitable for all year round wear.

The patterns are suitable for knitters of all abilities, with designs ranging from simple stocking stitch batwing tops to more complicated cable and lace stitches







Summerlite dk
-100% cotton
-130m on a 50gram ball
Softyak dk

-76% Cotton, 15% Yak, 9% Nylon
-135m

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