Inspira

Oh, my. I mean...

Ann whipped up an Insira Cowl, and I am in love! I had a hard time leaving this one at the shop on Monday after work. It was the perfect pop of color! This cowl is incredibly well-loved on Ravelry. The free patterns has so many variations, you can create several and they might all be completely unique.

For this lovely version, Ann used two shades of Louisa Harding Amitola, two balls of #103 and one of #107. This yarn is buttery soft, and the colors are so beautiful! She made the Steampunk version, following the MissNelly modifications. 

She increased to 258 stitches, and she knit the first and last stitches of each section (to avoid the line). Ann also bound off in I-cord and then applied I-cord to the cast on edge for a nice, clean finish. 

There are so many fabulous versions of this cowl on Ravelry. Come on in and choose your favorite shades of Amitola. It seems like they pretty much all go together!

Out With the Old and In With the New!

The weather is perfectly summery here in Portland, but we are already thinking ahead to autumn at Close Knit. Sally has been meeting with yarn reps and ordering so much great stuff, we can’t even begin to list all of it.

We received a shipment of the gorgeous Malabrigo Sock. Just look at these colors:
Malabrigo Sock is ideal for shawls and socks, and it has found a new life with the recent sock-yarn-for-sweaters trend. Many Ravelers have used it for the Featherweight Cardigan, Tempest, Cecilia and the Whisper Cardigan. Just two or three skeins and you have a sweater!

Audrey, a silk/merino blend from Schaefer Yarns, arrived this month as well.
Knitty’s First Fall 2010 features this yarn for Mythos, a lightweight wrap cardigan. We are also expecting a shoulder scarf pattern from Schaefer written specifically for one skein of Audrey. The semi-solid colors that Sally chose are beautiful, and silk gives this yarn a beautiful luster in the sunlight.

The books and magazines are rolling in, too. I paged through the newest issue of Knitscene recently and noticed that we carry the recommended yarn for more than half of the projects.
The Blume Hat and Glove set knit with Blue Sky Alpacas Royal would make such a nice gift.
Gifted from Mags Kandis is also full of projects for giving.

I love this cute little short row baby hat knit with Louisa Harding Grace Silk and Wool.
The much-anticipated New England Knits from Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa La Barre just arrived as well. These two designers are putting out some of the most popular patterns right now, and their new book does not disappoint. They even have a blog for the book!

With all of this great stuff filling up the shop, we need to free some space. So, mark your calendars and join us next weekend for our big summer sale. There will be discounts throughout the shop, as well as a table of deeply discounted yarns. The sale is Saturday, July 24th from 10-5, and the sale table will continue through Sunday. Come on by to snag some great deals and help us make room for our new and exciting fall fibers!

Lovely Linen

With summer fast approaching, many of us are thinking about working with some of the lovely linen yarns that we carry at the shop. I love the rustic feel of linen yarns and we have some great pure linen, as well as some interesting blends.

Louet Euroflax Sport Weight feels a little rough on the skein, but the final results are perfect for floaty warm weather garments. This yarn should be machine washed and dried to bring out its true softness and drape. We have a few nice swatches at the shop to give you a feel for how it knits up.

We also have Louet's KidLin Lace Weight, a linen/mohair blend. The colors are vibrant and rich and we have this fabulous sample sweater on the way.

Classic Elite Firefly is a sport weight linen/viscose blend. I’m working on a simple bias stockinette scarf in this yarn and it has been a real pleasure to knit. I pressed out what I have knit so far with a steam iron and I love the result. I'll post a free pattern as soon as the scarf is finished.

Merletto from Louisa Harding has been getting a lot of attention lately. It is a DK weight linen/rayon blend with a sparkle streak running through the yarn. This would make a great top, shawl or summer scarf. We have some nice, muted earth tones available now.

Lana Grossa Linarte is a DK cotton/rayon/linen blend with great stitch definition and a lovely sheen. We have bright and subtle colors, but this red just asked to be photographed. We have a sample sweater in Linarte to give you a feel for how nicely it knits up.

If you prefer working with animal fiber blends, Classic Elite Soft Linen is a wool/alpaca/linen. There is a lot of pattern support for this yarn in the Classic Elite booklets and on their website. I love this shawl. We have a great range of colors in this yarn, too, including these pretty purples.

Finally, we just restocked our Plymouth Hillside Linen. Many of you have seen this wrapped around Sally’s shoulders over the last few months. I have some squirreled away for a sweater, and I can’t wait to get started on it.

Whether you’re looking to knit a linen top or wrap for summer or just want to try out some interesting new blends for your sweaters, scarves, and hats, we have a linen yarn for you. Come on by the shop and choose your favorite!

Thanks to Jenni for the yarn styling

Add Some Sparkle

The weather is often dreary here in Western Oregon, even on the second day of spring. So, why not add some sparkle to your life?

Here at Close Knit, we carry many fun, festive, sparkly yarns for your spring projects.

We've got subtle

and not-so-subtle

and everything

in-between.

So, if the clouds are getting you down, stop by the shop and check out some sparkly, shimmery yarns that will brighten your day.

Yarns top to bottom:

1. Plymouth Yarns Dye for Me Baby Llama Glow - a worsted weight llama and stellina blend - can be dyed or used as is - a creamy natural with silver flecks. Use Baby Llama Glow for a slouchy hat or beret or a cozy cowl.

2. Artyarns Silk Mohair Glitter - a laceweight mohair/silk blend - perfect for an airy lace scarf or shawl

3. Rowan Shimmer and Lurex Shimmer - a metallic yarn used for embellishments and fine decorative accents

4. Be Sweet Ribbon Ball - a mohair yarn with hand-tied ribbon and spun with a thin metallic strand. This yarn looks wonderful coupled with a solid mohair yarn.

5. Louisa Harding Jasmine DK - a versatile blend of cotton, silk and bamboo that comes in a wide range of cheery colorways and is lovely for a camisole, spring top, capelet or cloche.

6. Karabella Gossamer - a blend of mohair, nylon and polyester perfect for a festive wrap