close knit: the neighborhood yarn shop


Friday, August 31, 2018

(Some of ) My (Recent) Favorites

Do you all like to peruse Ravlery for inspiration? Do you, like me, have an enormous list of favorites that you often forget about? Let's dive in to a few of my recent favorites and see what we can find.

I have hats on the brain (haha). Loving these pretties...
Magnolia Hat by Camilla Vad
Varma Hat by Sari Nordlund
Hamburger Jung by Nina Dunkhorst
Apparently my feet are cold, too.
Happyscrappysocks
Sanborn Socks from BSF
Oxalis Socks by Phoebe O'Neill
And we all need some sweater inspo now and again. I have a thing for stripes.
Beautiful After the Rain knit by siriusknitter
Jellyfish Jumper by Jenny Beckman
Aveiro by Orlane Sucche
This crazy, beautiful thing. 
Squiggle Kite Shawl by Lindsay Degan
And, obviously, a narwhal.
Narwhal by Mimi Codd

Any fabulous inspiration out there that has you ready to cast on? Tell us what you've found!

All pics borrwed from their Rav pattern pages, with links provided.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Illustrious Naturals

With a name like Illustrious Naturals, it has to be good. This blend of Falkland wool and British alpaca is soft and buttery, and the natural shades are rich and so sheepy.
This gorgeous stuff comes from a lovely British company called West Yorkshire Spinners, which has a long tradition of producing beautiful yarns from British wools.
We now have a few of their yarns in the shop, but I wanted you to all see this gorgeous hat that we have knit up in the Illustrious Naturals.
I believe this is the Pewter colorway, which is the only one with this kind of slow color fade that is expected from a marled yarn. The others will knit up as solid natural shades. Pop in and check out this beautiful new yarn! Stay tuned for more yarns from West Yorkshire Spinners...

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Cables!

The new Interweave Knits is full of cables! Yay for fall knitting and yay for cozy sweaters.
 
And non-cables, too.
And some cool articles!
Pop in and take a look! We have AC and comfy chairs.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Eye Candy

Cute hat alert! Brooklime from Rachel Coopey knit up in the new Pip from baa ram ewe.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Lore

I can't say too much about this pretty new yarn from The Fibre Co. quite yet.
But it is really beautiful, and I think I need some. Especially after handling the sweater Sally started.
Stay tuned for more details soon...

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Woolstok Jumbo

Woolstok Jumbo is here, and it's huge!!! Look at these huge yarn eggs! This cool stuff knits up at 0.25 to 1 stitch per inch on US35 to 100 needles. Each of these mega jumbo skeins contains 45 yards of fine highland wool with a cool braided/i-cord kind of construction.
Pic borrowed from BSF site.
The Blue Sky Fibers site has several free patterns for this yarn, including this super cool Big Lake Rug and a fun Arm Knit Wrap, which can easily be sized up to a throw or blanket.
Pic borrowed from BSF site.
Can we start thinking about knitting for fall and winter yet? I'm ready for jumbo wool!

Monday, August 13, 2018

Eye Candy

We are loving the gorgeous indie pattern books lately! Plain & Simple from Quince & Co is full of gorgeous sweaters and accessories, Within has six lovely and classic pieces, and A Sense of Place contains four sweet designs for a cozy fall wardrobe. Stop in for some indie inspiration!

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Fun Little Things!

We have fun stuff arriving almost daily at the shop, including lots of non-yarn items. Take a look at these cool leather bracelets! The longer ones wrap around and include a needle gauge and measuring tape (metric and imperial units), and the smaller ones with the mountains include the latitude and longitude coordinates for Portland. So cool, and handmade in Sandpoint, Idaho.
These sweet little project bags are all made with love and some adorable fabrics, too. Foxes and squirrels, oh my!
Are you an enamel pin kind of person? Put one on your knitting bag or jacket? Maybe you need one of these cute ones... 
These sweet needle gauges from Katrinkles are stinking adorable. Who doesn't want a hedgehog in their knitting bag? Or a sheep or a fox?
And finally, tiny sheep sheep buttons. I mean...
Sally always does such a lovely job of curating the beautiful things in the shop, and this sweet selection is just right!

Monday, August 6, 2018

Eye Candy

Say hey to the beautiful Darjeeling Sock from Earl Grey Fiber Company. I want to combine the pink and green into something...

Friday, August 3, 2018

Bananas!

The newest Herstory yarn from Knitted Wit is in the shop!
This one is inspired by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. She studied molecular biology and genetics, publishing a seminal paper on the genetics of fruit flies in 1980. She then went on to study the genetics of more complex organisms and was the director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology for many years. She was also an advocate for women in science and worked hard to address many ethical issues in science during her career.
Her fruit fly work inspired this yarn, Time Flies Like an Arrow, but Fruit Flies like a Banana. Ha! Christiane is certainly an inspirational scientist and advocate for women in science, and I love that this fun yarn series is giving us the opportunity to learn more about people like her!

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Eco Cashmere

Blue Sky Fibers has a line of beautiful sustainably-crafted cashmere, and it's gorgeous! Eco Cashmere is made from both recycled and virgin cashmere, but it's still 100% luxurious cashmere. This yarn is light as a feather and squishably soft. 
Sally used our Simple Slouch pattern (free in the shop with your yarn purchase) to make this awesome cap while she was backpacking a few weeks back, and it's pretty much perfect. She is currently working on one in the reverse colors. Stop in and squish the cashmere to truly appreciate this lovely new yarn!