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close knit: the neighborhood yarn shop
I don't know about you all, but January and February were some long months for me! I was lucky enough to ring in March at the lovely Oregon coast with a fire pit and a whole ocean close by.
I was working on my Childhood pullover in Harrisville Shetland, and I am just smitten with these tidy increases along the shoulder. It's a good thing I like this yarn so much, because this is not going to be a speedy knit! Totally worth it, though.
It would seem that January is the month I will knit red things.
I have begun to knit Childhood. I am going to be at it for a while. The neck is knit on US1.5 needles, which I miraculously had on hand over the holidays. The rest of it is knit on US3s. At first glance, it seems like a very simple sweater, but this designer always incorporates some really cool and unusual construction techniques which make the process more interesting. Needless to say, once I finish this neck ribbing, I will need to pay attention for a bit.
I originally fell in love with some pretty cherry red Cestari Fingering yarn, but the color was just not quite right that close to my face. (I might go back for a different shade.) This gorgeous Harrisville Shetland captured my heart once I started shifting my attention away from the Cestari. My most stylish and color-minded friend joined me to make this decision, and we agreed that this slightly tweedy red would be just the right thing. There is so much stockinette, and the tweed really helps make it more sophisticated.
On New Year's Day, I had a need for a nerdy vest and some instant gratification, so I bought this Calidez Vest pattern
and cast on with a pile of bulky yarn from my stash. While this is
probably not my perfect red, I love it anyhow. The yarn has some subtle purpley heathered bits, and it's nice and warm. I would suggest Ultra Alpaca Chunky for a close match.
I knit the whole body of the vest in 3 days while recovering from a nasty cold, and I'm picking up armholes and button bands this weekend. I am looking forward to finishing this up and blocking it this week!
What red thing will I cast on next? A hat? Some socks? Apparently it must be red this month.
The two new shades of Harrisville nightshades are on the shelves. Each colorway has a black base with a subtle color added in, creating a moody and beautiful tonal yarn. On the left is Stiletto, pink on black, and on the right is Vinyl, black on black. Here they are in full sun below. They are really best appreciated in person, so come on down to the shop for a look.
I love this beautiful yarn. Nightshades from Harrisville Designs makes the prettiest moody rainbow, with subtle colors blended in with the black base. The yarn is American Cormo and wool, and it has the most lovely hand when it's worked up, substantial and lofty at the same time. It's technically a DK yarn, but it knits up at a range of gauges. Nightshades is all grown, processed, and dyed in the United States, which makes me love it even more.
I have some of this stashed away to make myself a Cline (I think), but I have also been perusing Ravelry for inspiration. I ran across this gorgeous Night Rainbow dreamed up by katrampant (@kat.rampant on Instagram).
Kat used the Blank Slate pattern by Ysolda Teague to make this super cool Night Rainbow pullover, and I love how the stripe pattern shows off the subtle colors of this yarn. Thanks, Kat, for letting me share your photo and your rad sweater!
We have some fabulous Nightshades pieces in the shop from Harrisville Designs. These knitted items have such a nice hand, and the yarn has a lovely crunch to it.
The cables and ribbing and texture really pop with the Nightshades, and the designs are so cool.
I love how different these shades all look even though they all have the same black base. Each sone has a different color added in, and it's great to see how them all worked up.
This yarn is nearly impossible to photograph, though, so it's best in person. You should come on down to the shop and see for yourself. You are also welcome to try on the pieces. If you figure out the best way to wear this cowl/shawl/wrap, please let me know!
This yarn is cool, but so hard to photograph. I think I finally captured all of the shades so you can see how fabulous it really is! Hello, beautiful Nightshades.
I am thinking I'll cast on for Julie Hoover's Cline sweater with mine, and Amanda is almost done with her Doocot by Kate Davies. One of the gals in the shop was thinking about the highly-cabled Emily (was it Emily?). These designs are written at different gauges, worsted and DK, but this yarn works up beautifully at both. It's so soft and squishy, it makes great hats and scarves, too.
Have any of you had great success with this yarn yet? What are you making?
We have been eagerly anticipating the Nightshades, and you have all been loving it!
I've heard through the internet that Harrisville sold out of it at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in record time over the weekend. They needed someone to drive an emergency shipment to the festival from New Hampshire to keep all the fiber enthusiasts happy!
I don't know about you, but that's enough to make me want to get my hands on some. Now I just have to decide which (night)shade...
I realize that swatching is not everyone's favorite part of a project. But when you get to use a beautiful shade of Harrisville Flywheel, it's really not so bad. This is the Stonewall colorway, but I think I bought all of it. Don't worry. The other shades are gorgeous, too.
Look, I finished a cozy wooly pullover just in time for July. It still needs a good blocking, but I'm so happy to finally have my Tea with Jam and Bread off the needles.
I used six skeins of Harrisville Designs Highland, four of the green and one each of the orange and blue. You know I love my crunchy yarns, and this is one of the best. The stitches are crisp, and it holds up to wear really well. I'm looking forward to giving this a good soak to make the yarn soften and bloom. Then I can tuck it away and look forward to having a new sweater in the fall!
Part of the yarn crawl fun each year involves trunk shows from some of our favorite designers. The shop is packed with pieces from Shibui Knits and Harrisville Designs. First up, the Shibui extravaganza, featuring modern pieces with eye-catching details and unusual silhouettes.
The items from Harrisville Designs are classic and timeless. I am in love with this pullover and will be making one for myself.
Whether you prefer the modern look of Shibui or the more traditional designs from Harrisville, pop in and try on some sweaters!
We have been carrying yarns from Harrisville Designs for years now, and they never disappoint. The story of the town, the mill, and the company is an interesting one, too. The mill dates back to 1794, and the village of Harrisville, New Hampshire is a National Historic Landmark, recognized as the "only 18th century textile village in America that survives in its original form." Many good folks worked hard to keep the mill and the town functioning, and I am so happy that we are able to offer their yarns in our shop.
I just began an epic sweater project with their fingering weight yarn, Shetland. I have also been itching to break into the several skeins of Highland that are patiently waiting to become a Tea with Jam and Bread pullover for me.
The Watershed and Flywheel yarns have found a very happy audience with those of you who love tweeds and heathers. A few of our knitters recently held a mini-knit-a-long for the Bucheron Mitts using Watershed in a slew of colors. I'll see if I can procure a photo for you all. They are very cute and warm.
All of this leads me to the newest yarn from Harrisville, Turbine. It is a bulky one, my friends, knitting up at a range of gauges on needles US10.5 and larger.
We have several patterns for Turbine, and they will all work up in a jiffy. You can check out our sample of the Purl Dot Mittens in the shop. The patterns for the Corrugated Rib Hat, the Brick Cowl Wrap, and the Waving Rib Scarf are all in the shop, as well. (Photos below borrowed from the Harrisville site.)
We have loved every yarn from this historic company, and I know we are going to love Turbine as well. Especially as that last-minute-gift-knitting bug catches you all in the next few weeks!
Have you all seen the latest from Brooklyn Tweed? The Fall 2015 collection is really something. Can I show you my favorites?
Sauvie is such a simple shape but so flattering. The seed stitch and the shoulder welts add interest to the knitting, but it's pretty simple overall. Knit up in a light fingering weight tweed, it's definitely on my list.
Trailhead is serious business. Look at all those details...cables, big collar, awesome pockets. It's knit with a fingering weight held doubled, which results in a worsted weight.
Willamette is quite the scarf. The unique cable pattern is double-sided, and the pattern is written for both worsted and fingering weights for two different looks. So cool.
I love the classic look and clean colorwork of Ashland. Those delicate little patterns are so minimalist and beautiful, and the neckline and the relaxed shape are perfectly flattering.
All of these lovely pieces are designed with Brookly Tweed yarns. While we do not carry these yarns, we have some great suggestions for substitutes. The worsted weight pieces will work up beautifully in Harrisville Watershed or Highland. We have a really deep and thorough stock of both of these right now. The fingering weight pieces will work up nicely with Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal. We recently received several new colors of this yarn, so we have plenty of nice choices for you all.
If you love these pieces, we would be more than happy to help you select the perfect yarn for your project. Stop in and see us soon!
All photos borrowed from Brooklyn Tweed.
I mentioned that we had gone all in on Harrisville WATERshed and flyWHEEL. Well it's on the shelves and it's gorgeous. Sally and I were commenting how we would happily knit with each and every one of the colors. They are subtle and rich and so beautiful. I think you'll agree.
The samples are lovely, too. Lisa made this perfect Habitat out of WATERshed, and the Winding Water Cowl is worked up in flyWHEEL.
The beautiful bright green Jaffrey is knit up in Highland, and Henniker is worked up in the lovely WATERshed.
These two are really amazing. Wren has the beautiful lace and cable panels up the front and back, and the shaping on Antrim is stunning. Check out the link for more great views, or come on in and see for yourself.
We are so excited to have these gorgeous yarns on the shelves for the Rose City Yarn Crawl. The excitement all starts tomorrow. See you soon!
Yes, friends, it is that time again. The Rose City Yarn Crawl starts on Thursday, March 5th and runs through Sunday the 8th. We are geared up with trunk shows, special guests, new yarn, and lots of prize baskets.
We just received a Shibui trunk show featuring several items from their Fall 2014 Mix line. We have Mix No. 31-35 at the shop now, and I can tell you that I am in love with No. 35. I tried on the sample and kind of had a difficult time taking it off. I love it.
The cowl (above), wrap, hat and tunic are also stunning. The interesting shaping and shirt-tail hem on No. 31 are really cool.
If these lovely sample aren't enough to get you excited, I unpacked three huge boxes of Harrisville WATERshed and flyWHEEL with their accompanying trunk show for you to oggle as well. Sally went all in on these, and we have all 20 colors of both yarns.
More photos to come soon once it's all on the shelves!
