Category: Yarn

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when yarn and pattern come together

A couple of years ago, a knitter came into our festival booth with a gorgeous scarf that was full of flame shapes. Of course I asked about it and came to find out that the yarn needs to be specially dyed for it. I put the scarf into my Ravelry queue. It is called Optical Delusion: Conflagration. See it here.

Then I forgot about it, as one does, right? So I finally tackled dyeing up some Sparkly yarn to make the scarf. Here is an in process photo, because I have yet to finish it. This pattern is full of short rows and I must count every row, so it’s only something I can work on when I’m alone and totally alert.

So I’ve dyed up 2 colorways for this project for you. You can buy a kit that includes a skein of yarn and the pattern here. Your order will be individually hand dyed once you order.

If you want to see it in person, come out to the Holiday Fiber Art Studio Tour this coming weekend.

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quick and functional mitts to keep you warm

This is my cutest cup and it’s full of Mexican hot cocoa. Yes I’m inside today and it is still so nippy outside. I let the fire go out in the stove and until I restart that fire, I’ll be keeping these beauties on. This is from my Fingerless Mitt Kitts. You can grab one here.

The pattern is one of the featured free patterns that will be given away during our Fiber Art Studio Tour on December 7 and 8. You can find out all about this tour and how to get a set of free patterns from each of the studio stops here.

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Store reopened after a lovely family weekend

This last weekend was full of family. A family wedding, lovely visits with two 93 year old aunties and their caretaker daughters, a scavenger hunt of Allentown and a concert that got cancelled. But instead we had a great time talking with Bill’s brother and sister in law and sharing our live’s stories and good, good wine.

So coming back I opened the store up with 2 major shop updates. First I added hand dyed natural colored yarns…what??? So I have a great yarn base that is made with 2 different shades of grey and 2 different weights, so it’s a thick and thin kind of yarn.

I overdyed this yarn with a brick red, a bright violet and a navy blue. The results are rich colors. These yarns are farm yarns. They are made with wool from farms of other shepherds. The yarn is highly durable and wearable. Is it soft? It is not too scratchy but it is not cashmere. It would make lovely hats, mitts, socks and even one of those great colorwork sweaters.

You can find this yarn here. What other colors would you like to see? Reply to this blog to let me know!!

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One more day closer to Rhinebeck!

And even if you aren’t going, I wanted to show you our new colors of Synergy yarn. Synergy is a yarn that I have dyed before it is spun into yarn. So it has a hand spun look. It is made with merino fiber and has a beautiful hand and is next to the skin soft.

Raspberry Synergy Yarn
Malachite Synergy yarn
Jasper Synergy yarn
Sunset Synergy yarn
Cream Synergy Yarn
Correlation hat made with Mushroom Synergy yarn

And what does it knit up like? Well it has a heathery look and there is some gradiation in the colors through the skeins. This yarn is perfect for those shawls or sweaters that are using a handspun looking yarn, like Night Shift by Andrea Mowry or one of her beautiful sweaters.

We now have 10+ colors of synergy. These 5 new colors will be added on Tuesday after the show when the store is back from vacation mode. But if you see something you love, you can send me a message and I’ll set some skeins aside for you.

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fun hat that I just finished!

So the 21 day knit challenge is really working for me right now. I finished one UFO. Okay, it’s a hat. Not a sweater. Not a million stitches, but it is done and I LOVE it!!

I love it because it is next to the skin soft. The yarn is my Synergy yarn in the mushroom color. It is merino and each skein has about 232 yards in 4oz. It is somewhere between DK and Worsted weight. I was conflicted about whether I wanted to design my own pattern for a hat or use this one. So I thought I would just do the ribbing and then decide as I was knitting. Do you do that?

This is Correlation by Hunter Hammersen. Available in Ravelry. It is seen through Knit Companion which I love to use for charts and written instructions.

Well, I decided to try out this hat. I love the fact that this is a double sided hat, each side is so different. And it was also a stretch for me. The designer of the pattern wanted me to swatch and I didn’t. And I didn’t because I wasn’t sure I was going to make this hat. I just started.

brown marled merino yarn
Synergy yarn for the hat

So as I got closer, I got really worried. Would I have enough to finish the hat? I practically held my breath for the last series of 12 rows of decreases. I kept telling myself, you have less stitches, just keep going!!

And so I was able to finish with some to spare. And it fits just fine…see below!!

So this 21 day challenge is working. I’m finished with one project and I know what I’m going to pick up today. Another project that has only a little bit left to be done. What are you knitting? Want to join in the challenge? You can join our Ravelry group and use us as accountibility!