Nancy Hat

I recently tested out Nancy's newest pattern, the Nancy Hat. So simple, so slouchy, so perfect.

I used one skein of the really lovely Berroco Ultra Alpaca Chunky for my hat. This yarn is kinda perfect. It has the softness of alpaca and the structure of wool. I expected my hat to come out a little bit more drapey, but I am actually really pleased with the shape. My tied-up hair fits perfectly in the hat! The natural color that I used actually feels like it still has some lanolin in the fiber, and my hands were so smooth after knitting with it.

I used a US8 for the ribbing, and a US10 for the body of the hat. Nancy's patterns are always well-written, and I appreciate her simple impactful stitch patterns. 

The design is available as a Ravelry download for just $6, and it's totally worth every penny. You will make this hat many times for many people in lots of colors. It's a good one!

New Magazine November

How is it November already? So sorry for the unintentional blogging break. Between a weekend away, Halloween, and sick kids, the last two weeks have flown by. But there are things to tell, so let's get back to it.

I know many of you have been clamoring for the newest issue of knit.wear. It won't be coming. Interweave has changed the name to Knit.Purl and given it a bit of a new look.

I really like this first group of designs, particularly the Cocoon Shrug by our beloved Nancy Ricci. This would be great in the Plymouth Homestead we have in the shop. The design is open and flowy but warm and cozy...a perfect layer for our crazy weather.

 

Love the texture and the full collar.  Great work, Nancy!

The in-front-of-the-woodpile story includes several other gorgeous and highly-textured pieces, including the Equation Cowl and the Fisherman Redux. The cowl is begging for something soft and squishy, maybe Cascade 220 Aran Superwash or Shibui Merino Alpaca?

 

The Fisherman Redux is done up in a worsted weight silk and merino blend. I would try it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca myself, but I just love that stuff. 

You know how I feel about a good textured chevron pattern, so it's no surprise that I love the Chevron Cardigan by Michele Wang. Another thick and cozy knit that should fly off the needles.

There is a fun colorwork section that caught my attention. Love the Tilting Fair Isle set knit up in Jamieson's Spindrift. We have lots of colors available, but Rowan Fine Tweed and Harrisville Shetland would play nicely, too.

The Banded Sweater is unusual and interesting,don't you think? I would try Cascade 220 Sport for sure. We are anxiously awaiting our fall shipment.

Are there fingering weight colorwork mittens? Of course there are. The Minaret Mittens are perfect.

What else looks good? The Pintuck Cardigan is a stunner. Maybe in some Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight? Yes, please.

The Lupinus Cardigan looks like a great wardrobe staple, and I like the unusual split neckline of the Shifted Eyelet Yoke Sweater.

Sad to see the end of knit.wear, but thrilled that the new Knit.Purl has picked up where they left off!

Fall Kitscene

The Fall 2012 Knitscene is pretty cool.

Check out my favorites...

 

 

Take a look at the Ravelry page for the magazine for full details of the projects.

Also, check out our friend Nancy!  Her new patterns for Jade Sapphire are very pretty, and it's so nice to see her beautiful face.

 

 

Fridays are for New Stuff (Wednesdays, Too)

I love working on Fridays.  I used to miss out on all of the big packages when I only worked weekends.  Last week was especially good.

The new Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 50 is at the shop.  The Rowan site has a great slide show with all of the important details.  These are some of the pretties that caught my eye.

Have you guys seen this stuff?

Rowan Kidsilk Creation is a pre-knitted tube of Kidsilk Haze that you can use to make these crazy twisty scarves in about 20 minutes.

Seriously.  You can knit or crochet them, and the yarn comes with a pattern.  Rowan offers a tutorial on their website, which I highly recommend checking.  The process is not really even knitting, but the results are getting a lot of attention.  This yarn is a limited edition offering from Rowan, and we have all available colors at the shop right now, so get it while we have it.  It might not come back.

New and well-loved books arrived as well.  Ysolda Teague's Little Red in the City continues to be a popular choice.  The two copies we had left are likely gone by now, but we do keep ordering it.  Classic Elite Quick Knits is chock full of some of the best little projects that Classic Elite has offered over the past several years.  This would make a great gift, too, for a fellow knitter.

Connie Chang Chinchio's Textured Stitches is hot off the presses.  She has designed some very popular sweaters for Interweave Knits, Twist Collective, and a variety of books.  Her designs are classic with a little something to keep you engaged.  We are also freshly stocked with the ever popular Last Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last Minute Knitted Gifts, if you are so inclined.

Brand new to Close Knit: Cascade Lana Grande.  This yarn is similar to Rowan Big Wool for half the price.  At two stitches per inch on a US15, I think this is going to be a popular choice for our last minute knitters.  Sally used two balls of Lana Grande and a US15 to whip up Nancy's Charly Infinity Scarf. 

Also new to us, we have Cascade Kid Seta and Kid Seta Noir.  The Noir has little sparkles, which are notoriously difficult to photograph.

These would be great for Nancy's Poppy Flowers.  They knit up quickly and work really well as gift toppers or as gifts on their own.  We also have a shelf full of Magnum, some new colors of Noro Silk Garden, and these beautiful interchangable Dreamz needle sets from Knitter's Pride.  They are really reasonably priced, and they are very nice to work with.

And this week, a whole bunch of Classic Elite Liberty Wool!  If you fell in love with the little hats we have at the shop, come and get some while it's here, because the Liberty Wool does not last long.  These are the Umbilical Cord Hats from Stitch n' Bitch, and they are adorable.  These hats came from the same ball of yarn (yes, one ball = two baby hats), and they are definitely fraternal rather than identical.

Next time I will tell you about something beautiful that starts with "S" and ends with "crumptious".  I love Fridays.