A Few Of My Favorite Things–Bamboo Bloom

 

Bamboo Bloom yarn by Universal yarns is a blend of wool and viscose from bamboo.  What’s really interesting about it is that the two fibers aren’t evenly blended.  Instead, there are sections of bamboo viscose that are about worsted weight interspersed with sections of wool that are more lightly twisted and are bulky in weight.  The structure of the yarn means that it has very different looks depending on what size needle you choose.

This cowl (from CowlGirls – more on that book in another post) was made on size 13 needles with Bamboo Bloom.  The bamboo sections looks very open and lacy with the wool section having a more traditional ribbed texture.

This mobius cowl/scarf was made on size 8 needles.  In this case, the bamboo section looks like you’d expect worsted weight yarn to look while the wool sections kind of “bush out”.

The bamboo viscose part of the yarn is wonderfully silky and shiny while the wool section has the consistency you’d expect of lightly twisted wool.

Bamboo Bloom comes in some beautiful handpainted colorways along with coordinating solids.  In the examples above, I used Fallen Petals (the handpainted yarn) and Jasmine (the solid).  This yarn is great for cowls, scarves, shawls, hats, and more and is great to work with!

Stop by The Knitting Nest and check out this gorgeous yarn!

Christmas Is Coming . . .

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old man’s hat;

If you haven’t got a penny, then a ha-penny will do, if you haven’t got a ha-penny, then God bless you!

For those of you who missed the memo (and the dropping temperatures), Christmas is on the way (along with other winter holidays)!!  And for those of us who like to give handmade (AKA knitted or crocheted) gifts, it’s time (or perhaps past time) to start thinking about what to make.  Unless you have 20 hours a day to knit, I’m guessing that you aren’t planning to start working on sweaters for everyone on your list, so let me give you some great ideas of pattern books with ideas galore that won’t take forever and a day!

CowlGirls

I am soooooo loving this book!  Of course, I also love cowls, so there may be a connection.  This book is chock full of cowls, hoods, dickeys, collars, and more.  If it goes around the neck, it’s in the book!  One of our customers purchased this book and is making several of these items for family members.  She brought in one of them for us to see, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out!  CowlGirls would be a great place to start looking for gift ideas. (Several of the patterns call for Cascade Magnum yarn, which we carry.)

Hattitude

This book is by the same author as CowlGirls – and has just as much style and fun packed within!  These hats go from your basic watch cap all the way to a felted bonnet.  Whether you want to make a beanie, a tam, or a cloche, you’ll find it in here!

Amigurumi Knits and Amigurumi Toy Box

 

Amigurumi are little knitted or crocheted and stuffed figures.  Amigurumi Knits has patterns for vegetables, underwater creatures, backyard critters, and “cryptozoological” (not real) creatures.  Amigurumi Toy Box patterns are for little toys – animals (real and imagined), plants, food, and more.  My daughter crocheted up one of the little ducks from the crochet book and it is adorable!  These would make great gifts for the kids in your life!

One-Skein Wonders

 

 

We carry the original and Sock Yarn versions of this series of books.  The One-Skein Wonders books are wonderful sources of patterns that use only one skein of yarn, so are pretty quick to work up.  The original version is arranged by yarn weight, which is incredibly handy when you have decided on a yarn, but not a project.  There is a photo gallery in the center of the book.  The Sock Yarn version of the book is arranged by type of project.  Patrick made a scarf from the original book which has been a real hit in the shop.  These books could definitely help you out of a knitting idea jam.

60 Quick Knits and 60 Quick Baby Knits

 

 

These two books from Cascade have some great quick patterns to make in Cascade yarns.  The 60 Quick Knits books has 20 hat patterns, 20 scarf patterns, and 20 mittens patterns all made from Cascade 220.  The 20 Quick Baby Knits book has patterns for blankets, booties, sweaters, and more made from Cascade 220 Superwash.  I made one of the baby blankets using Cherub Aran with great results!  Either of these books would give you some wonderful patterns for Christmas gifts!

We have all of these books in stock right now and can help you choose yarn to create perfect, personalized presents!!  Hope to see you soon!

 

Technique Tuesday–Blocking

We are rapidly approaching the holidays, which means lots of gift-giving.  Which, for knitters, means lots of knitting projects to finish!!  One of the things that will make your projects look a little more professional and well-made is proper blocking.

Blocking allows the yarn and the stitches to “set” in the way that you want.  This is particularly crucial for natural fibers and lace patterns.  Many knitters will tell you that they don’t worry about blocking – I was one of those for entirely too long.  After blocking a few items and seeing how they went from ordinary to beautiful, I am now a die-hard enthusiast for blocking your knitted items!

How you block things depends largely on the fiber type.  Your goal is to lay out the pieces to the correct size before sewing them together (if needed).  For man-made fibers, little blocking is needed.  You can pin the pieces out and spritz them with water.

I like to wet-block wool because it allows the stitches to relax into place.  Wool knitting can be soaked with wool wash in tepid water for about 15 minutes, then very gently rinsed.  Avoid agitation or your wool will felt!!  After rinsing, gently roll the item in a towel to remove as much water as possible.  Then pin out onto a towel or blocking board and allow to dry.  Wool can also be steam blocked.

Cotton is inelastic when wet, so handle with care.  I tend to wet-block my cottons, but steam blocking is also possible.  Silk becomes weaker when it is wet, so be careful when blocking it.  Generally, pinning and spritzing is best, although I will wet block silk blends when I make lace items.

This is not remotely an exhaustive treatment of the topic of blocking!  Here are a couple of links that will give you some good information.  You can also check out a good knitting encyclopedia.

Questions?  Stop by The Knitting Nest and we’ll be happy to try to help!

A Few of My Favorite Things–Old 92

 

The Knitting Nest in Weyauwega is just 50 miles from historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin, the home of the Super Bowl Champions, the Green Bay Packers.  Like the rest of the community, we take our football very seriously!  We made sure to include in our first yarn order plenty of colors that could be used to make items to show our support for out local football teams – Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and the local high schools.  (Patrick and I are long-term LSU fans, being alums of that school, but we don’t have many purple and gold items in the shop, those colors also being the colors of the Minnesota Vikings.  I’m sure you can see why!)

Several months ago, Patrick came across Dear Husband yarn on Ravelry.  He was, naturally, interested in learning more about another man in the yarn business.  Dear Husband yarn sells hand-dyed (or “man-dyed) yarn by Tim Pintsch.  Tim lives in Pennsylvania, but he is from Escanaba, MI and has family connections to Wisconsin.  Being a lifelong Packer fan, he was interested doing a green and gold colorway sometime.  And our shop was a great excuse!

We now carry worsted weight wool, bulky weight wool, worsted weight superwash wool, and fingering weight wool/nylon blend in “Old –92”, a beautiful colorway in green, gold, and white.  Why 92?  In 1992, the Packers signed a young quarterback named Brett Favre.  The next year, they signed as #92 Reggie White.  These two events helped the Packers to win the Super Bowl in 1997.  Hence, the name “Old –92”!

 

This would make a great hat, pair of mittens, or pair of socks for the Packer fan in your family. 

Have a great time watching the Pack beat the Vikings tonight and, later this week, stop in and check out this wonderful hand-dyed (and “man-dyed”) yarn!

A Few of My Favorite Things–Knit, Swirl

Have you heard of Knit, Swirl yet?  No?  Well, be prepared to be amazed!

Knit, Swirl by Sandra McIver is a book about knitting “swirl jackets”.  Sandra has developed a wonderful technique of knitting these jackets in a large circle and then making sequential decreases.  In the center, half the stitches are bound off and the bodice and sleeves are worked back and forth.  After the garment is blocked, only one seam is needed to complete the swirl!  When you are done, the large circle drapes around the collar as well as forming the lapels and bottom of the swirl.

Confused?  That’s OK!  It sounds complicated, but the techniques that are used to make the swirl are well within the reach of anyone who can knit a sweater.  Sandra includes helpful charts and diagrams with stitch counts to keep you from getting lost.

You might wonder why she has a whole book of patterns based on just one technique.  The reason is that she has created some cool variations.  I made the very first swirl which has a circular shape with a circular opening set in the center.  The variations in the book include circular or oval shape, circular or oval opening, and center or off-center opening.

I loved making my swirl.  I followed directions carefully and was a little concerned because it looked like I was using more yarn than I was supposed to.  It did block a little larger than it should have, but ended up turning out well.  (Definitely block your swatch!!  That’s a step you really do NOT want to skip!)  My swirl is made from Cascade 220, so it’s plenty warm.

This is a great book for some new and innovative project ideas, if not for you, then for another knitter in your life!

Works In Progress–November 7, 2011

Having a yarn shop means that I get to knit lots of really interesting things since we need shop models.  The downside to this is that I can’t put the items directly in my closet!  Nonetheless, I’m having a great time with my current projects.

1. Swirl coat.  I love the new book, Knit, Swirl.  There are some just amazing designs in this book!  I finished knitting my swirl (the first one in the book) a few weeks ago, but finally got to block it on Friday.  I’ll start sewing tonight or tomorrow.  The yarn is Cascade 220.

2. Cardigan sweater.  This is the first item I’ve made from a Cottage Creations pattern.  There is almost no sewing in this sweater, although I did have to graft together 80+ stitches down the center back.  I’m doing this cardigan out of our “Sheep to Shop” yarn, the yarn that we bought locally as raw wool and took to be spun.  I’m really enjoying working with this yarn.

3. Christmas decorations.  I’ve been knitting lots of stars out of blue cotton Ultra Pima for our window display.  But that’s all I’m going to say about that – you’ll have to stop by the shop after Thanksgiving to see the final display.

What are you working on?  How are your Christmas projects coming along?