Eye Candy

Love the Quill DK from Bumblebirch. Look at all those beautiful Portland-dyed shades!

Rose City Yarn Crawl: Bumblebirch and Zigzag Ladies

The Bumblebirch is so lovely on the shelves. It will be even more lovely worked up into something you love!

Speaking of things we love, check out these gorgeous Close Knit gals in their Zigzag Gansey Cowls! Remember, this is a free pattern with the purchase of the Imperial Yarns Columbia, a gorgeous Oregon-grown yarn. Pop over to the Ravelry page to read a lovely bit about the inspiration for this cowl. The yarn is 10% off during the crawl, too, so you really have no reason to resist this beautiful piece.

Rose City Yarn Crawl: Trunk Shows and Visitors

The Rose City Yarn Crawl starts up on Thursday! We talked about the patterns that will be available in the shops, but there is a ton going on each day.

Every year for the yarn crawl, we are thrilled to invite visitors to our shop to show of their gorgeous goods. These trunk shows give you a chance to try on garments, check out how certain yarns will work up, and be inspired by all of the fabulous things these folks are doing. Here's our line up for next weekend:

Endless Wrap, pic borrowed from BSF pattern page

Thursday: Lovely trunk shows from Blue Sky Fibers and Imperial Yarns

BSF Scandia Throw, pic borrowed from Rav page

Arrowhead Cardigan from Imperial yarns, pic borrowed from Rav page

Friday: Bumblebirch trunk show, Lisa Carney-Fenton of Handworks NW trunk show

Bumblebirch Heartwood Celestial, pic borrowed from website

Lisa Carney-Fenton's Slip Slidin Infinity Scarf, pic borrowed from Rav page

Saturday: Farmer's Daughter trunk show, and Lisa Carney-Fenton will be with us again

Farmer's Daughter Fibers, pic borrowed from FDF page

Sunday: Knitted Wit trunk show

Unicorn Eggs from Knitted Wit, pic borrowed from their Color Gallery

The hand-dyer trunk shows are so much fun! In addition to seeing the yarn worked up into lovely items, you'll get to meet the folks behind some of our shop favorites and really appreciate how much work and love go in to creating these beautiful yarns.

Cranberry Crochet

This lovely crocheted shawl, worked up in Bumblebirch Heartland, is hanging around the shop these days.The Cranberry colorway is really something gorgeous.

If you love to crochet, this is such a great shawl! If you want to learn, keep your eyes peeled for the next round of crochet classes on Sunday afternoons. Melissa is in the middle of a session right now, but I'll let you know when the next one is ready for sign-ups.

Here it is with and 8 year old for scale. She also chose a smattering of mini skeins for your consideration. Enjoy!

Eye Candy

Talk about eye candy. Yum.

Eye Candy

The tub is full of Bumblebirch! Come and get it!

Yarn Crawling

I hope you had a chance to see Sarah and her beautiful Bumblebirch yarns in the shop today. Her colorful samples show off the amazing colors and really give you a chance to appreciate how nicely her hand-dyed yarns knit up.

We've had great crowds for the past two days! And it's always so much fun to have trunk shows and guests in the shop. Join us Saturday for Ami of Lakes Yarn & Fiber and Sunday for Krista of Pigeon Roof Studios. Have fun yarn crawling!

Rose City Yarn Crawl Starts Tomorrow!

Prepare to crawl, fiber enthusiasts! The RCYC has been a Portland institution for years now, and for good reason. Discover new yarns, meet dyers and designers, experience trunk shows from your favorite lines, and enter to win some epic prizes. Take a look at the prizes here. There is so much good stuff in these baskets!

Our little shop will be chock full of awesome yarn and people, even more so than usual. The full schedule is here, but I'll give you a little run down.

We will be showcasing trunk shows from Blue Sky Fibers and Shibui Knits during the entire event, beginning Thursday morning. If you have been excited to see these yarns knit up or try on a few of the garments from their recent pattern releases, then pop in for a chance to get your hands on these. Thursday and Friday are generally the quieter days when you'll have a better opportunity to see these in person.

On Thursday, we are thrilled to host Candice of Farmer's Daughter Fibers from Montana. Her yarns are so beautiful, my friends. They remind me a bit of Tosh in their subtlety and color range. You will love it, I promise. We are carrying her yarns full-time now, but she is going to bring all kinds of goodies from her dye studio that we might not see again. Thursday only!

On Friday, we will see Sarah of Bumblebirch Yarn. Her yarns have become a staple in the shop, and we love hosting her during the crawl. Her Dandelion colorway remains one of my most favorite. The colors are rich and the yarns are so soft!

We will also host designer Lisa Carney-Fenton on Friday. We will have a chance to meet her and check some of her recently-published designs.

Saturday brings Ami of Lakes Yarn and Fiber. I have a slight obsession with this gorgeous stuff, as I have recently admitted. I can't wait to see even more of her beautiful yarns!

We will wrap up on Sunday with Krista of Pigeon Roof Studios. She has recently relocated to Portland, and we feel so fortunate to have her this weekend. She will be showing off her beautiful yarns, including her gradient and ombre sets.

The whole things starts Thursday morning at 10. Join us this weekend for all the fun!

Bumblebirch Forage

You all know we love the Bumblebirch Heartwood sock yarn, but the worsted weight Forage is amazing, too! I used the Dandelion colorway for my beloved Advanced Beanie. (It wasn't too advanced, I promise.) I added a few repeats to make it fit, since the pattern calls for a heavier yarn.

Forage is ideal for baby sweaters, too. Just one or two skeins would do the trick, depending on the size of the baby. It works up so nicely in textured stitches and cables...very squishy and satisfying. This yarn is soft and cozy and so beautiful!

Eye Candy

Gry's Jacket is one of my favorite little baby knits. One ample skein of sock yarn does the trick. This is Bumblebirch Heartwood in Dandelion, the most lovely grellow and the unofficial Close Knit color. This sweet thing is in the shop!

Final Day of RCYC

Look at all the fun we are having at the Rose City Yarn Crawl this weekend!

Our gals have been posting photos of the passport finishers and much more on our Instagram page (@closeknitpdx). Lots of good stuff to see.

Sarah from Bumblebirch is joining us again today, and we so happy to have her and her gorgeous yarns on the big table. The crawl ends today at 6PM, so there is still plenty of time to come in and join the fun!

RCYC KAL and CAL

That's a lot of letters. Allow me to elaborate. The Rose City Yarn Crawl hosts a knit-a-long and a crochet-a-long each year as part of the fibery festivities. To make it even more exciting, they keep the final design a mystery from the knitters and crocheters as they are working. You'll receive clues and pattern information as you go, but the look of the finished piece remains a mystery until the work is done. 

Local designers Larissa Brown, Michelle Kroll, and Kat Strieby were inspired by our lovely state and the theme Oregon Grows Great Things. These local ladies have great taste, and I'm excited to see what you all do with their patterns. Sally has seen the final pieces, but she's not telling us anything.

The only thing we can tell you is that you will need yarn. Both pieces will require two 100g skeins of sock yarn in two different colors. The patterns were designed with hand-dyed yarns in mind, and we think that local is the way to go. We have filled our shelves with Bumblebirch Heartwood to give you plenty of options.

The patterns are available for purchase through Ravelery, and the first clue is available on Wednesday! Get on board and gather your materials. If you finish your cowl or shawl in time for the yarn crawl in early March, we would love to see your creations as you tour the yarn shops of Portland.

Bumblebirch Forage

We do love our local hand-dyed yarns at Close Knit. We have a great relationship with Sarah of Bumblebirch, and it's always a pleasure to see her beautiful work in the shop.

Many of you are huge fans of her Heartwood fingering weight yarn, and I think you are going to love the Forage Worsted as well. Each skein is 220 yards of machine washable merino yarn, perfect for just about anything.

We have carried Forage in the past, but it has been awhile. I used a skein of Dandelion to make myself an Advanced Beanie. The knitting was pretty straightforward, although it is desperately in need of a fuzzy white pom pom. I am ashamed at how long it has taken me to get to that bit.

Forage knits up with such a lovely bounce and squish, and the colors are a very important part of the fun. Her colors really reflect the personality of Portland in a lot of ways. The greens, blues, and greys are so familiar to all of us right now in the middle of winter. Her bright orange, deep yellow, and soft pastels look like Portland springtime to me.

This gorgeous stuff is worth seeing in person. Pop in for some local color. 

Eye Candy Monday

I've been thinking that we all need a little pop of inspiration on our Monday mornings. Let's take a look at some of the bright colors in the shop this week.

We are trying out a small batch of Dream in Color Jilly with Silk in some amazing colorways. Holy psychedelic variegation.

The Bumlebirch Heartwood is back in force. This locally-dyed fingering weight yarn is a shop favorite.

And last, but not not least, the Noro Rainbow Roll. Almost 300 yards of Noro-tastic wool roving for knitting, felting, spinning, you name it.

What plans do you have for these colorful beauties? I have plenty more to say about all of these, so stay tuned for ideas!

Bumblebirch Restocked!

There is a basket full of fresh Bumblebirch Heartwood sock yarn on the big table. Actually, there are two baskets full!

Sally has been working to stock the shop with locally-dyed yarns that reflect the personality of our little corner of Portland. All of the lovely products we have offered from Bumblebirch have been very popular with our loyal customers. 

We have been eagerly anticipating this batch of yarn, and the colors do not disappoint! I am partial to the Dandelion (above). I have a hat knit up in the worsted weight Forage in Dandelion. It may or may not be awaiting a puffy white pom pom. This latest round of Celestial (below) is really quite something, too. That's a lot of depth of color there!

I know several of you have fallen hard for this stuff, and it's no secret why. Sarah's colorways are rich and beautiful, and the yarn works up like a dream. If you have visions of that sock weight sweater for the fall, now is the time to stock up on these gorgeous colors. Our baskets are full!

Bumblebirch on the Table

Our supply of Bumblebirch Heartwood has been replenished!

This gorgeous fingering weight yarn is 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon for strength and durability. With 463 yards in each skein, you have plenty to make some sizable socks or a lovely shawl or scarf.

Sarah dyes this yarn right here in Portland, and she does a lovely job. The tonal shades are subtly variegated, and the depth of the colors is really something.

These are not going to be in the shop long, so come choose your favorite. That poppy pink in the center bottom row is calling my name. So is the the gold, and all the greys. And the blues.