Eye Candy Monday

Pretty Misti Pima Silk Handpaint. Happy Monday!

Best of Spring

 

Look at these colors. Don't they just announce spring? I opened this box on Monday when it was sunny and warm and gorgeous outside. All I could think of was spring flowers and the blue sky.

This the the Misti Alpaca Best of Nature Worsted, the same yarn Sally used for her soft and lovely Stumptown Slouch. We have had such a nice array of fall and winter colors, and it's great to see these lovely new shades on the shelves. The solids are actually tonal mixes...the blue, in particular, is stunning. The multis are blowing my mind, too. It's hard to believe they can achieve color like that with all natural dyes. You really need to come in and see for yourself!

Stumptown Slouch

We received this gorgeous Best of Nature Worsted from Misti Alpaca right before the yarn crawl, so it went slightly unnoticed for some time. Luckily, Sally was motivated to knit up a lovely little garter stitch slouchy hat using just one skein.

This beautiful yarn is dyed using natural vegetable and mineral dyes, and the yarn itself is produced organically. The colors are rich and subtley tonal. Misti warns that the dyes will likely vary significantly from year to year, as some of the colors are based on the crops. I am not often lured in by pure alpaca, but this yarn is sure something. There's not a lot of that fuzzy halo that you often see with pure baby alpaca, and this yarn is cashmere-soft.

Sally used the lovely Rockies colorway, a lovely grey...no surprise. This yarn is beautiful, the hat is cute, and the pattern is free! What's not to love?

Stumptown Slouch

by Sally Palin

Yarn: 1 skein Misti Alpaca Best of Nature Worsted
Needles: US6 and US7 16" circular, US7 double-pointed needles
Instructions:

Cast on 88 stitches using smaller needle, join in the round (don't twist), and place marker.
Work 2.75" of K3, P1 ribbing.

Switch to larger needle and work 5 rounds of garter stitch in the round: purl one round, knit one round, purl one round, knit one round, purl one round.

Work increase round: *Knit 11, m1* around (96 stitches).
Purl one round.
Work increase round again: *Knit 12, m1* around (104 stitches).

Continue with garter stitch in the round until hat measures approximately 9" from the cast on edge.

Work decrease round: *Knit 7, k2tog* around.
Purl one round.
*Knit 6, k2tog* around.
Purl one round.
*Knit 5, k2tog* around.
Purl one round.

Continue decreasing in this way until the last round, which will be K2tog around. Do not purl a round after this. Cut your yarn and pull in through the remaining stitches, pulling the opening closed. Weave in your ends and enjoy!

Rose City Yarn Crawl KAL and CAL

So, the Rose City Yarn Crawl is coming up in a few short weeks. As usual, there is so much going on that I can barely keep up! Let's start with the making of things, shall we?

There will be both a Mystery Knit Along and a Mystery Crochet Along this year for your stitching pleasure. The knitting pattern requires 400 yards each of two coordinating colors of fingering weight yarn. There are two versions of the crochet pattern, version one requiring 445 yards of a main color and 285 yards of a contrasting color, and version two requiring 405 yards of two coordinating colors. The crochet pattern is written for fingering weight yarn as well.

We have stocked up on a lovely array of yarns for you, and we have already seen several of your projects underway. Let me show you what we have!

The Baah La Jolla sock yarn is so lovely, isn't it? This yarn is a stunner. The colors are rich and deep, and it is so soft and drapey. You could use it for socks, I suppose, but it would be great for the yarn crawl KAL and CAL.

We also received a box full of goodies from Misti last week, including this gorgeous Tonos Carnaval, an alpaca merino blend that would also be amazing for the KAL and CAL shawls.

We are eagerly waiting for Sara of Bumblebirch Yarns to bring us some more of her lovely Heartwood sock yarn. She will be joining us on Friday and Saturday of the yarn crawl with a wide range of yarns and some amazing samples. Can't wait to see all of that amazing yarn in our shop!

A Little Color

Need a little color on this surprisingly gray day?  How about a slouchy hat?

Adrienne used the beautiful Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Sock to knit her Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure.  It's a freebie from Bohoknits, and she used a US4 and less than one skein of yarn.

Adrienne likes her hats VERY slouchy, and this one is just that. See?

The colors in the Misti Alpaca Sock play together so nicely, creating a nice variegated look with no striping or pooling.

We have four colorways in right now, and they are all so pretty.  Who would have thought a hat would feel good on the first of August?  Nice job, Portland.

Scarf or Necklace?

I have been noticing quite a few of these scarf/necklace items in the knitting and retail world. More delicate than a cowl or scarf, but softer and warmer than a necklace. Here are a few of my favorites.

Sev[en]circle from Kirsten Johnstone of assemblage:

Kirsten includes instructions for a sport weight and a lace weight version of this piece. I'd like to try this with Misti Handpaint Suri & Silk. I'm not usually a huge fan of the variegated yarns, but the folks at Misti really know what they are doing in the dyepot. It looks like they might be discontinuing this yarn, but we have a nice selection in the shop.

Looped Loop, also from assemblage:

This one requires about 400 yards of a sport weight yarn, and it would be so nice in a drapey alpaca or silk, maybe Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight, Melange, or Alpaca Silk? Kirsten has several stunning designs available through her Ravelry pattern shop, and she offers these two little accessories as free patterns.

Cable Braided Necklace (also pictured up top) from Knit Creations of a Curious Mind, designed by Olga Buraya-Kefelian:

Olga used a cashmere blend for her original. Our Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply or 4-ply would be lovely, as would Karabella Margrite. Olga has a very thorough tutorial on her blog showing how to construct this sweet little piece. Despite the name, there isn't any actual cabling or braiding involved. Take a look.

String Theory Scarf from Spindleshanks, designed by Portlander Vivian Aubrey:

Such a cool scarf. I often admire a skein of yarn at the shop and think it would be beautiful just wrapped around my neck without even knitting it, and this scarf achieves that effect with a few bands of knitting holding it all together. This design almost cries out for a variegated yarn to show off the lovely color changes.

Movie Star Scarf from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts, designed by Joelle Hoverson:

This book is chock full of great stuff, and this little kerchief is so sweet. We have the Louet Mooi called for in the pattern, but any luxurious laceweight would be perfect. What a nice gift, too.

These little necklaces/scarves are so versatile, too. Imagine the Cabled Braided scarf knit up in a bulky yarn, or String Theory in a solid silk, or Seven Circles with some sparkles...

I know I'm not the only one trolling Ravelry and knitting blogs for cool stuff. Has something similar caught your eye? Please share with us in the comments.

Thank you to Kirsten, Olga, and Vivian for the use of your beautiful photos!

Knit a Hat

If you are still hoping to knit up a few handmade lovelies for holiday giving, may I suggest a hat? Just a few skeins of yarn and a few movie nights, car rides, or plane trips, and you have a finished gift! We have many great samples at the shop to help you make a choice. Here are some good ones.

Canape in Classic Elite Kumara:
Trellis in Classic Elite Ariosa:
Close Knit Waffle Hat in Misti Tonos Chunky:
Thistle in Classic Elite Lush:
Windschief in Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran:
Watch Cap in Karabella Superyak:
Earflap Hat in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande:
We have all of these yarns and patterns available at Close Knit. We are open on Mondays for the next few weeks, and we're open until 10PM every Wednesday. Come on in and get knitting!

Unpacking

We are happily welcoming more and more yarn into the shop. Here's what's rolling in.

We restocked our selection of yarns from Manos del Uruguay. One whole corner of the shop is now devoted to Manos yarns. We have much more Wool Clasica, a favorite for so many projects from blankets to hats to felted bags.

I used the Wool Clasica Naturals shown above to make this cool Destroyed Cowl, which I have donned every time the weather has warranted a scarf so far this fall.
We also have more of the Rittenhouse Merino 5-ply. This yarn keeps trying to come home with me, especially the red one. We have this in variegated and somewhat solid colorways. I told you about it back in March, and I still think it's a winner.

A nice new selection of the Silk Blend arrived, as well. It is ideal for sweaters, scarves, hats, and these welted fingerless gloves that Ann will teach you to make at Modern Domestic. The pattern was written for Silk Blend, and they turn out just right.
We just received Maxima, the newest yarn from Manos. It's softer than the Wool Clasica, and the colors are just as fabulous. With 218 yards per skein, it is great for all kinds of projects, including those satisfying one-skeiners.


Misti Alpaca also arrived this week. This yarn is soft and squishy and knits up so fast. We have the Misti Alpaca Chunky and Hand Paint Chunky, which a lot of knitters love for hats (one skein) and scarves (only two skeins).
Misti Super Chunky (the 3-ply shown above) is now only available in variegated colorways, which are new to the shop and quite pretty. If you love the solids, come on down while we have some left.


Last but not least, we have all of our Rowan. The fall big book, Rowan 48 is here.
We are stocked up on Kidsilk Haze, Kidsilk Aura, and Felted Tweed, as well as Amy Bulter's Belle Organic Aran and DK, which I wrote about last week.

We have a few pretty samples from Rowan: Lochalsh from Rowan 46, Lombard from Rowan 44, and Bourne from Rowan 46.

If you like to sew, too, you might be interested in the big sale happening next door at Bolt Neighborhood Fabrics. Come spend part of your rainy weekend on our corner.

A Waffle Hat for You

I took home a skein of Misti Tonos Chunky a few weeks ago to make a sample for the shop, but I wasn't exactly sure what it would become. I knew I wanted to make a hat, and I wanted to use just one skein of this chunky alpaca/merino yarn. Since we often have requests for a good men's hat pattern, I was hoping to come up with a pattern that would work for a man or a woman.

I trolled around Ravelry until I found something that seemed almost right. I started with Aaron's Hat by UptownPurl, and I was inspired by several Ravelers who had made a some modifications to the original design. After a few false starts, I ended up with what I wanted. UptownPurl kindly gave me permission to rework the pattern and make it available.

The waffle stitch has a great texture and it's even reversible. The hat would work in any of our bulky yarns at Close Knit, and I've included a list of suggestions at the end of the pattern.

This is a quick knit on big needles, so whip up a few and stash them away for holiday gifts. Enjoy!

Waffle Hat (an adaptation of Aaron's Hat by UptownPurl)
by Leah Bandstra

Yarn: 1 skein Misti Tonos Chunky, Avocado #TTC05
Needles: US10 16" and double-pointed needles
Finished Size: 18" with plenty of stretch for my 22" noggin, 8" high
Gauge: 3.5 stitches/inch in stockinette on US10 (standard bulky weight)

Waffle Pattern:
Round 1 and 2: *K2, P2* Repeat between *s around until the marker.
Round 3: Knit all stitches
Round 4: Purl all stitches

Instructions:
Cast on 64 stitches with your 16" circular needle.

Join in the round (don't twist), placing marker at the beginning of the round.

*K2, P2* Repeat between *s around until the marker. Do this until you have 6 rounds of ribbing.

Begin the waffle pattern. (Note that the first 2 rows of the waffle pattern look just like the K2, P2 ribbing you have been doing.) Complete the waffle pattern 6 times total. You should see 6 purl ridges on your hat. You should have enough yarn to add an extra repeat of the waffle pattern to add about 3/4" if you'd like.

Begin the decrease rounds, repeating between *s around each round, switching to DPNs when it gets too tight for the circular needle:
Round 1: *K2, P2tog, K2, P2*
Round 2: *K2, P1, K2, P2*
Round 3: *K5, K2tog*
Round 4: Purl all stitches
Round 5: *K2tog, P1, K2, P1*
Round 6: *K1, P1, K2, P1*
Round 7: *K2, K2tog, K1*
Round 8: Purl all stitches
Round 9: *K2tog, K1, P1*
Round 10: *K2, P1*
Round 11: *K1, K2tog*
Round 12: Purl all stitches
Round 13: *K2tog* (8 stitches left)
Break yarn and pull the tail through the 8 remaining stitches.
Weave in your ends and block if desired.

Alternative yarn suggestions:
Berroco Cuzco, Cascade 128 Superwash, Classic Elite Ariosa, Classic Elite Duchess, Debbie Bliss Glen, Karabella Margrite Bulky, Karabella Superyak, Malabrigo Chunky, Rowan Cocoon, Rowan Purelife Renew, Rowan Purelife Sheep Breeds Chunky

Umschlagplatz

I love to check out new designers on Ravelry, and I recently stumbled upon a great design label from Austria called Umschlagplatz created by these two lovely and very friendly ladies, Kat and Vera. (If you don't read German, here's the link to their Ravelry page.)

In 2007, they formed a knitting group in Vienna as a way to socialize and perhaps drink a few beers while knitting. Their group grew quickly, and they were soon asked to sell their original knitted hats at an art fair during the holidays. They met with great success at the market, and they branched out to sell their knitted items in their Etsy shop as well. Lucky for us knitters, they have made their patterns available online as well, several for free.

Kat and Vera are both working while they finish their graduate studies, and knitting helps them to relax and think about their studies while taking a break. Their designs are inspired by everything from their beautiful city to small details on plants, clothing, and flowers. I recently knit one of the newest designs from Umschlagplatz, Anna Karenina. I love the architectural little towers and the nice slouch.

I used Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000 for my hat. It's a great machine washable merino. We have a nice range of colors from bright and variegated to some dark and subtle solids. It is soft and smooth, and would be perfect for kids and those sensitive folks. This is one of those yarns in the shop that just doesn't get the attention it deserves. Several of their hats would be great in Cool Wool, as well as Rowan Pure Wool DK, the new Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, and Rowan Wool Cotton.

I'm working on Bloom (a free pattern) in Misti Tonos Chunky. Kat and Vera's version is below, and mine will be in the shop soon.

In German, Umschlag literally means yarnover, but the definition has evolved to mean a sudden change as well. Their design label, Umschlaplatz, can be interpreted to mean the place where sudden changes or movements meet, and that seems very appropriate for a knitting label.

Thanks to Kat and Vera for all photos except my Anna Karenina hat.