Eye Candy

Loving this pretty pile of marled Cascade 220. The 220 Wave is a superwash worsted yarn that would be great for blankets, sweaters, gloves, and hats. The shades slowly fade over the course of the skein, so it will knit up into something beautiful!

Aegean Tweed

I love a nice sport weight tweed, and we have quite a few options in the shop if that's your jam. I would like to introduce you to the workhorse of the bunch. The Aegean Tweed from Cascade is a budget-friendly, 100% pure organic wool tweed in some classic colors for all of your sport weight needs. 

At 328 yards each, you can make an ample sweater with four or five balls. I spied a lovely Pomme de pin Cardigan on Ravelry knit up with just four and now I feel that I should definitely add that to my knitting queue.

The Aegean Tweed would be ideal for colorwork, as well. The perfect amount of stick and colors that will play nicely together. Maybe the Twigs by Junko Okamoto?

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

Or a twist on the classic yoked sweater, perhaps something like the Tucson Pullover?

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

More of a cardigan person? I've been lusting over Nr 10 for years.

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

I like to use sport weight when I knit for my guy because he gets too hot in heavier yarns. The Rockland Crewneck is on my list and would be great in Aegean Tweed.

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

Whatever you decide to make with this fabulous yarn, I think you're going to like it!

Eco+ Hemp

This new Eco+ Hemp from Cascade is so rustic and pretty! I love the natural shades. Each skein is 328 yards of a wool/hemp blend DK weight. The yarn is a bit crunchy in the skein, but it will soften up quite a bit with a good washing.

Hemp is gaining popularity among farmers, partly due to some of the ecological and environmental benefits of the crop. It has lots of benefits for fiber artists, too. Hemp has natural anti-bacterial properties, softens up considerable with wash and use, and it will help wool and alpaca garments retain their shape.

It reminds me a bit of the yarn I used to make A Little Ruffle years and years ago. Perhaps we need to recreate that beloved shop sample in this new yarn!

Eye Candy

The newest shades of Cascade Heritage Paints are so pretty! These are 437 yards of superwash wool and nylon, perfect for socks and just about anything else. I'm loving the handpainted look of these new colorways.

Yellow Sweater

I've been working on this sweater for (checks Ravelry...) almost two years. It's a bright yellow Flaum from Amirisu, and I think it's going to be amazing. It's hard to try it on because the hemline is so much longer than my needle, but I think I'm almost done. 

So far, it's gobbled up six (mismatched) skeins of Cascade 220 in all of that squishy fisherman's rib, and I still have a little bit to go. My question for you is, do I get another skein of yellow and hope that it mostly matches? Or do I finish the ribbing and the tubular bind off with a pretty dark grey from the stash?

Thoughts? I'm leaning toward the grey, but I'm open to ideas.

Cancun?

Let's all dream of a Cancun vacation, shall we? We will certainly need this cute Cancun Boxy Lace Top worked up in Cascade Hampton, a lovely pima cotton/linen blend.

Free pattern and just two skeins for the top. Now let's book that trip.

Eye Candy

Look at the pretty Cascade 220 Superwash Wave. It knits up in a cool handspun-ombre sort of way. Take a look at the Cascade site to see swatches of each pretty shade!

Eye Candy

Looks like we have some more warm weather ahead of us, but we just want to remind you that winter is coming. Eventually you will need a wooly sweater! This little human is excited about her Tea With Jam and Bread in Cascade 220. Looks like I need to finish some sleeves!

Fixation

Cascade Fixation is freshly back in the shop. This cotton/spandex blend is great for projects where you need a little extra stretch in your yarn. It's a popular choice for baby hats and socks, especially for the tiniest and most sensitive of humans.

I'm thinking this would be great for some little footie socks for the summer, or maybe socks for the wool-sensitive in my life. Or maybe a hand knit swim suit. Just kidding :)

Linen Season

I love wearing linen garments. Linen is so airy and breezy and easy to wear...really the prefect thing for summer. Linen yarns, however, are often not so perfect. I know a lot of you knitters and crocheters don't care for the rough feel of pure linen in your hands as you work, but I think you are going to like Cascade Hampton.

This cotton/linen blend reminds me a but of Cascade's Ultra Pima, but with a matte finish and more drape. Our current color palette is really tropical, and I'm particularly loving the blues and neutrals together.

This is a new yarn, so there are not a lot of projects on Ravelry to show off yet. Some really pretty scarves and shawls, especially nice for those who don't wear animal fibers. A few Ravelers have used Hampton to create Heidi Kirrmaier's Sunshine Coast, a great choice for this yarn. I have been thinking about this new pattern called Summer, and I'm thinking Hampton might be just perfect for it. It looks like the warm weather is upon us. Time for linen!

Boliviana Bulky

We have a lovely new bulky yarn in the shop, Boliviana Bulky from Cascade. This pretty stuff has such a smooth finish for a bulky, and it's nicely plied which means less pilling. This would be great for a bulky sweater jacket or blanket. The colors are rich and vibrant, and we have such a nice range in the shop right now.

Boliviana is labeled a super bulky, knitting up at 2 to 2.5 stitches per inch. In the skein, it doesn't seem quite that heavy to me. It's a pure merino, so perhaps it fills in a bit with knitting and blocking. I guess we will need to work up a sample to see!

Effects

Cascade has been trying out some interesting new stuff with their classic yarns. We talked a bit about the 220 SW Aran Splatter and the Heritage Prints sock yarn back in November. Now we have 220 Superwash Effects, which knits up with a really pretty faded denimy sort of look.

They all look cool in the skein, and then they work up into an even cooler mottled fabric. Some are more subtle and some are more pronounced, but I like them all. Take a look at the Cascade site to see all of the colors knitted up into swatches. The purple one, Lightening Storm, is one of the more variegated ones.

We have the full range of options at the shop now, and Sally is working up a hat sample in the Pinks shade. A surprising color choice for her, but I like it.

I appreciate that Cascade is trying out a few new things with their old standby yarns. Let's hope they keep this one around for a bit!

Colorful Cascade

The huge boxes from Cascade Yarns last month included these colorful new friends.

The Cascade 220 Superwash Aran Splatter looks like fun, doesn't it? The Cascade website shows all of the shades and how they knit up. Many work up with flecks of color and a very subtle stripe sequence, but a few are little more bold in their striping. The Primary one in the middle there is very stripey indeed. This yarn is begging to be knit into a kid sweater. Machine washable, fun colors, Aran weight...done in no time at all.

I was also excited to see the new Cascade Heritage Prints sock yarn in some fun self-patterning shades. I love this yarn. It solid, inexpensive, and the colors are always vibrant. Each 100g ball will make a pair of adult socks for just $13.25. It's a good deal. The label on each ball shows how it will knit up, but the website gives you even more detail. 

The pattern will change slightly depending on how many stitches you cast on, but these kinds of yarn always manage to look cool. I find that working with self-patterning yarns like these keep me very engaged in my knitting, as I'm always excited to see what the pattern is going to do next.

Grey skies mean it's time for some colorful yarn! Stop in and find your favorites. We will be closed on Thursday this week, but open on Friday to feed your yarn habit. Happy holidays!

Cascade Nevado

Continuing our fall theme of naturally-colored fluffy yarns, we have Cascade Nevado!

This beautiful bulky yarn is a llama/wool blend with an interesting brushed texture. A little bit of nylon holds the whole thing together, and it is as soft as a cloud. The label recommends a US10, but I feel like this yarn would do well knit on slightly larger needles. And it looks like it will bloom beautifully with a good soak in wool wash.

Being a brand spanking new yarn, there are very few patterns and projects made up with this yarn. So I poked around a bit to find some inspiration for you all.

The Purl Soho Bandana Cowl was an obvious first choice. Free pattern, very stylish, just a few short rows to challenge your brain...perfect. And it seems like you could knit it with just one skein of Nevado.

I am also loving the Arika Cowl by Jane Richmond. This one is a $4.95 Ravelry download, but it is worth every penny. Two skeins of Nevado, a little bit of seaming and some very cool fringe. I can see this being a popular gift item. And so cozy!

Need something even faster? Try Kristen Hipsky's Last Minute Hat. She uses two strands of bulky yarn held together to make a quick and easy ribbed hat. I love the idea of using two of the natural shades of Nevado to create a pretty marled knit fabric. I can't make any promises, but it seems like you should be able to get two hats out of two skeins. I suppose it depends on how ambitious you go with the pom pom.

I am excited to see what you all make with this pretty new yarn! Any ideas popping into your heads?
All project photos borrowed from the associated pattern link.

The Next Summertime Sale and Other Important Information

So many of you took advantage of our cotton sale last week!  It was great to see all of your faces.  I hope you scored some good stuff.  What's next, you ask?

Starting tomorrow, June 16, Cascade 220 will be 15% off.  This is just for the good old worsted weight 220 in the white cabinet by the front, and it will only be for what we have in stock right now, no special orders.  This sale will be on until the end of the day Sunday, June 22.  This is such a great staple yarn.  Hats, gloves, sweaters, blankets, scarves, felted items...220 is a go-to at Close Knit.

Prices on Cascade yarns will be going up a smidge in the fall, and it looks like 220 will be at $9 per skein when we receive our fall shipments.  Next week, we are keeping it at $8 per skein AND offering the 15% discount, so just $6.80 for a skein!  That's a screaming deal on some high quality yarn.

Now that summer is (theoretically) upon us, we are going to be changing our hours a bit.  We will be opening up at 11 Monday through Saturday, and changing our hours to 12-5 on Sunday.  Open Knit Night is still happening on Wednesday evenings from 6 until 9PM.  We will be closed on July 4, as usual.

Come in and help us make room for all of the new fall yarns Sally has been ordering.  See you at 11!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, it's the simplest things.  Sometimes, it just takes the right color combination.  Sometimes, you just want to knit a scarf.

The whole thing came together for Sally recently, and this perfectly simple and simply perfect scarf is the result.  Looking for a nice easy project to keep her fingers busy during Yarn Crawl planning meetings (yes, it's okay to knit during those), she cast on for the Churchmouse Pressed Rib Muffler.

There is just something about the rustic, marled grey and the rich, sunny gold, right?  It's just three skeins of Cascade 220, one of the solid and two of the marled.

We just restocked the 220, and we have all of the marled colorways on the shelves.  

The hardest part will be choosing the solid for the ends.

I was thinking that this scarf would be lovely with Cascade Eco Alpaca as well.  We have several marled colorways and coordinating solids for a more subtle look.  These are some of my favorites, but they really do all go together so nicely.  This yarn is buttery soft, too...sure to please anyone.

I like the quiet combo of the silver shades here.

The chocolate really plays up the brown strand running through the interesting grey/blue/brown marled yarn.

The charcoal grey looks great with the more graphic marled yarn in this color combo, too.

Bold or subtle, we've got you covered.  Swing by and see which colors move you to try your own simplest thing.  Now, where are my needles?

Marled

Have you all noticed the marled trend out in the knitwear world?  You probably have...I am never on the cutting edge.  But we can talk about it anyway.  I like the fact that it's a little bit lumberjack, a little bit sock monkey.  Unless you do it like Shibui, and then it's just pure sophistocation.

Photo borrowed from Shibui Knits

Marled yarn (or fabric) involves different colors held together during the spinning of the yarn or the knitting of the fabric.  We have quite a few nice marled yarns at the shop these days.  Sally used the marled Cascade Lana Grande to make this awesome Hat-Shaped Hat.  It makes me think sock monkey, for sure.

Nancy also used it in her Charly Infinity Scarf.

Classic Elite released Crestone this fall.  I like the all of the colorways, from the subtle to the high contrast.  It's a worsted weight, so it pairs nicely with Vista, its solid cousin, or any of the worsteds we have at the shop.

We have the hard-to-say-but-lovely-to-knit Panguipulli from Araucania, if you like a little more color in your marl.  Here it is knit up as a little ribbed beanie.

Cascade Eco Duo has also been a very popular choice at the shop.  The black and white one is my favorite, but they are all really pretty.  And silky soft.  We also have several marled colorways of the Cascade Eco Alpaca, shown below.

Another way to achieve a marled look is to knit with different colors held together, just like the gorgeous Shibui Mix. No. 8 at the top of the post.

Photo borrowed from Savory Knitting

I am very excited about the awesome Moxie from Savory Knitting.  In fact, it is next on my list of things to knit.  Swatching has begun.  Sock yarn held doubled on a US6 is squishy and soft, like a favorite sweatshirt.

I considered several color combinations but settled on a nice burnt orange Cascade Heritage Sock and some chocolatey brown sock yarn to create my own sock monkey sweater, very similar to the original.

Photo borrowed from Knittimo's Ravelry page.

I have also been dreaming about the Spring Kerchief from Portland Designer Sachiko Uemura.  She used two skeins of lace weight to create her colorblocked, marled shawl.  I would love to have one in red and white, or maybe blue and grey.  I love the light, airy feel of this piece.

Any of you inspired by the marled look?  Anything similar on your list?