close knit: the neighborhood yarn shop


Friday, June 29, 2018

Beach Knitting

I was lucky enough to spend a few days at the Oregon coast this week, knitting in the sun, the wind, and the rain. I'm using Victory Sock in the Prendre Le Coeur colorway, part of the Herstory line from Knitted Wit.
I made a little progress during my brief getaway. Anyone have any guesses what I'm making? Does this double-decreased corner give me away?
Stay tuned for more progress...

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Mechita

So, apparently I am just a sucker for the pretty yarns right now. Bright colors, unusual combos, edgy splatters...you've got my attention. 
These three colorways of Malabrigo Mechita pretty much stopped me in my tracks the other day. Mechita is a fingering weight single-ply, perfect for scarves and wraps and soft hats. It's superwash merino, so it would be great for a baby sweater, too. I love making baby sweaters with single-ply yarns like this. The finished garments are so silky soft, and the gorgeous hand-dyed yarns just make them that much more special.
I'm always a little curious about how these guys knit up, so I poked around on Ravelry to find some projects for us to check out. Ravelry is a great resource for this, but Malabrigo has also created Pinterest boards for each yarn, too. Renaissance is the mutli-colored one at the top, Lynx is in the middle, and Aureo is on the bottom. Many of the projects featured combine several colorways, and some of the projects aren't really related to the color in particular, but hopefully you can get a good idea of what to expect from these beautiful colorways. (The Ravelry projects for Renaissance, Lynx, and Aureo will give you some ideas, too, but these colorways look pretty new, so there aren't a lot of projects yet.)

Can't wait to see what you all do with these unusual yarns! Are they grabbing your attention as much as they are grabbing mine?

Monday, June 25, 2018

Eye Candy


Dear Knitted Wit Yarn,
Why are you always so beautiful? I want to own all of you, but I must leave some for other knitters. Please stop tempting me.
Sincerely,
Drowning in Sock Yarn

P.S. The Out of This World colorway is particularly unfair of you. I mean, come on.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Jilly Petites

Jilly Petites! So bright and sweet.
Jilly is a gorgeous single-ply from Dream in Color, and these little mini-skeins are here to add a nice pop of color to your current project. Shawl, hat, baby sweater...anything you'd like. This yarn in silky soft and machine washable.

Monday, June 18, 2018

Eye Candy

Every single time we receive a shipment of Malabrigo Rios, I go straight for the most unusual and stunning colorway and wonder, "What beautiful shade is this??"
Spoiler alert: it's always Arco Iris (which means rainbow in English). The Ravelry project gallery will give you an idea of how it works up, but it's always good. In honor of both the Pride Parade yesterday and the rainbows brought on by those crazy thunderstorms, I think it's officially rainbow day for me.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Daruma Genmou

Have you all seen the lovely Daruma Genmou? It's light and lofty and pure merino wool. This 3-ply yarn is one ply of an untwisted, carded wool, and the other two plies are smaller strands twisted around it for strength. It's an unusual construction, but you can barely tell when it's knit up.
We have a sample of the Kagome Beanie in the shop, and the knitted fabric is so soft and airy. And look at that gorgeous texture!
I love the wide range of colors, too. From beautiful earthy neutrals to bright pops of springy shades. Durumi, the sweater of the cover of the Spring issue of Pom Pom Quarterly is knit up in Genmou, and I love the way the colors work together. 
We are so glad to be able to offer this awesome yarn to you all! Pop and and take a look.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Eye Candy

We have kits for the super cool Lumens scarf on the cover the Winter 2018 Amirisu. I've been a little obsessed with this scarf since I first saw it. So gorgeous. We don't often do kits, but these were too cool to pass up. I can't wait to see how these work up.


Friday, June 8, 2018

New Noro Magazine


So, sometimes the Noro magazine are a little weird, but this one is great! There are several great blankets, which is nothing unusual. Noro is good at blankets.
I'm liking this pretty wrap.
My favorites in this mag are the cool tops, too! Especially if you have a wacky art teacher aesthetic...








Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Lichen and Lace Single-Ply

Oh my goodness...
Look at this color explosion form Lichen and Lace. This basket of single-ply is clearly ready for spring. Not a bad color in here, my friends. This superwash single-ply would be amazing for shawls, scarves, and wraps. I'm thinking about using it for a baby sweater, too. So sweet and silky soft.
These baskets of beauty always remind me how much love and effort goes into hand-dying yarn. You can really see how much these craftspeople care about their work. Stop in and ogle the pretty new yarn!

Monday, June 4, 2018

Eye Candy

Hello Big Cotton! The Loopy Mango yarns are so much fun. We have a few of these big yarn babies, too, but they never last long!

Friday, June 1, 2018

Summer Hours

I know it doesn't exactly look like summer with our overnight sprinkles and chilly mornings, but June 1st officially signifies our switch to summer hours.

We will be open:
Monday through Friday 11-6,
Open Knit Night on most Wednesdays from 6-9, 
Saturday 10-5, 
and Sunday 12-5.

Stop in to say hi and find a perfect summer project!