Well, the chemo cap contest with Your Daily Fiber and Lambspun is nearly up. We want to thank each of you who have donated handmade hats for Hope Lives! and Poudre Valley Hospital. The cold weather is only just starting and it is the height of charity knitting season, whether for those suffering from cancer or those who are in need for warmth through this tough economy. There are many properties of yarn to consider when choosing a yarn for your charity knitting. Below is the article I wrote for the October Stitches newsletter on the softness of yarns, an especially important yarn property when knitting for cancer patients.
Archive for the ‘Yarn’ Category
Choosing Yarns for Charity Knitting – Softness
Posted in Tips and Tutorials, Yarn on October 20, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Dyelot Yarn’s Trunk Show Here For Limited Time
Posted in New Arrivals, Special Events, Uncategorized, Yarn on May 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
For a limited time we are hosting a trunk show form Dyelot Yarn of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Included in the trunk show is their unique Stimulus Package yarn (on Ravelry) which is actually 6 yarns in one, but each one is its own hank so you control where the yarn changes while you are knitting! That way you have artistic control, but also are promised that these unique handdyed yarns will all coordinate and work together to create a pleasing finished product.
The six yarns together equal about 670 yds. Included in Stimulous Package are the following yarns:
- Twisted: 100% Merino (103yd/2oz/57g)
- Circulo: 78% Mohair, 13% Wool, 9% Nylon (94yd/2oz/57g)
- Harry: 76% Mohair, 13% Wool, 11% Nylon (130yd/2oz/57g)
- Deborah: 50% Silk, 50% Superfine Merino (106yd/1oz/48g)
- Alpaca: 100% Superfine Alpaca (129yd/2oz/57g)
- Merino: 100% Superwash Merino (108yd/2oz/57g)
In addition to the selection of Stimulus Package colorways, from tone-on-tone semi-solids to vivid and high contrast colors, we also have patterns to go along with the yarn if you do not have a project in mind. We even have a couple samples of the patterns on display for you to see in person.
Also stop in to check out their lovely colors on the BAM! sock yarn (you can see a peek of it in the lower left of the vest photo above). Two skeins will make an average adult sized pair of socks.
The Dyelot yarns are part of a trunk show and will only be here for a week or two longer so stop in soon for the greatest selection and to ensure you don’t miss out on this special event!
St. Denis’s Nordique Sport In Stock
Posted in New Arrivals, Yarn on March 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One of the new yarns we’ve been talking about for some time is Veronik Avery’s new line, St. Denis. We’ve got a selection of colors of the Nordique Sport in stock along with the premiere magazine of patterns. Nordique is a 100% wool sport weight yarn. There are 150 yards per 50 g ball and according to the label it has a gauge of 6-7 sts per inch on US 2 – 6 needles. The yarn is multi-ply for great stitch definition and durability. It looks equally fantastic in textured, cabled, fair isle and lace patterns.
The premiere issue of St. Denis magazine contains 16 patterns using a wide variety of techniques for sweaters and accessories. There is a fantastic group of contributors to the magazine as well – Veronik Avery herself, Pam Allen, Ysolda Teague, Franklin Habit, Jared Flood, Carol Sulcoski, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Robin Melanson, Laura Grutzek and Jennie Eveleigh Lamond. You can see a preview of the magazine on Classic Elite’s web site or on Ravelry.
Stop in to see and pet the yarn for yourself. While you are there take a look at Veronik’s Porcupine Hat we have on display.
Some free patterns you might want to consider for this yarn include:
Madelinetosh Has Arrived!
Posted in New Arrivals, Yarn on November 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The long anticipated Madelinetosh yarn arrived late last week. We have both worsted and sock yarns in a smattering of colors. The yarn is fantastic with a wonderful hand and great depth of colors. The put ups of both weights is generous making it an economic choice for handdyed yarn. The semi-solid colors have just enough value contrast to make them fun to knit, but not so much that they compete with stitch patterns.
Check out some of the great patterns you can use this yarn for on Ravelry – sock and worsted.
Yarn Review: Cascade Venezia Worsted
Posted in Reviews, Yarn, tagged designedly kristi, shawl, venezia worsted, yarn review on October 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
One of the new yarns we brought into the shop this fall is a worsted weight version of Cascade’s Venezia yarn which is called Venezia Worsted. It is a multi-ply worsted weight yarn made of 70% merino wool and 30% silk. The smoothness of the yarn and sheen from the silk give this yarn fantastic stitch definition as you can see in the above photo. The silk is also a contributor to the fantastic drape of the knit fabric. Each 100 gram hank contains 218 yards of yarn, making it pretty economical choice for a merino and silk blend yarn.
I chose my first use of this yarn (and likely not the last) for a simple shawl design. I wanted to maximize the use of the drape and stitch definition. Since it was a shawl/scarf I opted to bump up my needle size to a US 9 (recommended is US 7). This gave a slightly looser and even drapier fabric that was fantastic for the shawl. My swatch on US 7s was great as well, it still retained plenty of drape and produced a lovely fabric for sweaters and other accessories.
The silk content in yarns can sometimes make them a little bit splitty causing the needle tips to pass between plies instead of clearing the full diameter of the yarn when forming the stitches. Given the 30% silk content I was expecting a bit of a battle with yarn splitting when I set out on the project. While I did not use my pointiest tipped needles, I rarely had problems with splitting. Knitting this project was a pleasure from start to finish. The yarn even withstood a major frogging session of about 5 inches and the yarn did not look any worse for wear.
Stop by the shop and check out the fabric of the shawl pictured in this post (Tesni) and judge for yourself! The shawl is on display and the pattern available for purchase. More Venezia Worsted is on order and should be arriving soon.
If you are on Ravelry be sure to check out some of the finished projects using Venezia Worsted and some of the suggested patterns for even more ideas.
