Jogging Stripes Scarf

Emily has a new pattern using the Noro Silk Garden Sock. Choose two skeins that contrast but still play nicely together for the best effect, and go purchase the Jogging Stripes Scarf pattern on Ravelry. If you are not a Raveler, stop by the shop and we are happy to get this pattern into your hands so you can get it on to your needles!

Emily uses alternating bands of texture to really show off the gradient of the Silk Garden Sock, and we have lots of fun colorways to choose from. You could also easily make this into a wider wrap if that's more your style. What a fabulous way to use a gradient or self-striping yarn!

Happy Holiday

We will be closed today to spend time with friends and family. We wish you all a few quiet moments of knitting.

Sally's adorable Polkagris Kerchief in the Jilly Petities is a perfect summer project, don't you think? Just two tiny skeins! We have a lovely selection of colors with more on the way! See you all soon.

Eye Candy

We have kits for the super cool Lumens scarf on the cover the Winter 2018 Amirisu. I've been a little obsessed with this scarf since I first saw it. So gorgeous. We don't often do kits, but these were too cool to pass up. I can't wait to see how these work up.

Fiora Kerchief

 

Take a look at this cute little kerchief that Sally whipped up for us. She used just one ball of Lang Fiora, and the pattern is free when you purchase the yarn. Fiora is a cotton/rayon/acrylic blend, and the colors are really gorgeous knit up.

It's often hard to tell what you'll get when you start working with unusual yarns like this, but I was pleasntly surprised when I saw this little kerchief wrapped around the Gingham Gal's neck. We don't usually go in for a lot of novelty yarns anymore, so when we do, you know it's going to be a good one.

Stop in and let us know what you think of this new beauty!

Whirligig

Sally found some colorful Noro inspiration on Ravelry awhile back. Noro Taiyo is a really cool yarn: cotton, silk, wool, and super soft and squishy. The pattern for the Whirligig tube scarf is free on Ravelry.

Just four balls in two different colorways and lots of knitting in the round on US9. This scarf is easy and fun and gives you plenty of opportunity to enjoy the Noro colors. Look at that pretty grassy green. I love how the colors blend and contrast. Which shade speaks to you?

Basic Scarf and Unicorn Tails

Sorry to be away so long.  I have been doing my civic duty at the courthouse, sitting on a jury this week.  The case has been interesting, but there is a lot of sitting and waiting.  And, in true Portland style, my jury summons specifically informed me that I can bring fixed circular knitting needles.  I am cranking away on a nice basic scarf using the Churchmouse Pressed Rib Scarf pattern.  I am using about 600 yards of some llama/silk stuff that we carried years ago.

This pattern is such a great basic in any yarn.  Remember Sally's yellow and marled one in Cascade 220?  Love it.  This yarn and pattern are playing so nicely together, and the knit ribbed fabric is squishy and soft and awesome.  I cannot tell you the last time I knit a scarf for myself...the basics are often the best, aren't they?

On a completely separate note, we have TOSH.  Not a ton, but enough to get everyone riled up.  I can't promise that all of this Tosh Merino Light is still at the shop this week (jury duty), but I'm sure there is still plenty.  In addition to this stunning yarn, we have Unicorn Tails.  Yup.  Unicorn Tails.

Unicorn Tails are 52 yards of Tosh Merino Light skeined up for your colorworking pleasure.  We have a huge range of colors in these mini-skeins.

I can imagine these being the perfect thing for a shawl edging or some fancy mittens or an accent color on a cap. Or just collecting and displaying as art.  That's normal, right? 

Those neons up there are calling my name.  And the earth tones, and the warm pinks.  If this trial goes on too long, I'll be treating myself to some Tosh to keep me going.

Don't forget!  Debbie Bliss is coming to our little shop on Monday!  If you want to meet her and hang out and get inspired and see her new stuff, call us at the shop or stop by to pay your $5 and sign up!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, it's the simplest things.  Sometimes, it just takes the right color combination.  Sometimes, you just want to knit a scarf.

The whole thing came together for Sally recently, and this perfectly simple and simply perfect scarf is the result.  Looking for a nice easy project to keep her fingers busy during Yarn Crawl planning meetings (yes, it's okay to knit during those), she cast on for the Churchmouse Pressed Rib Muffler.

There is just something about the rustic, marled grey and the rich, sunny gold, right?  It's just three skeins of Cascade 220, one of the solid and two of the marled.

We just restocked the 220, and we have all of the marled colorways on the shelves.  

The hardest part will be choosing the solid for the ends.

I was thinking that this scarf would be lovely with Cascade Eco Alpaca as well.  We have several marled colorways and coordinating solids for a more subtle look.  These are some of my favorites, but they really do all go together so nicely.  This yarn is buttery soft, too...sure to please anyone.

I like the quiet combo of the silver shades here.

The chocolate really plays up the brown strand running through the interesting grey/blue/brown marled yarn.

The charcoal grey looks great with the more graphic marled yarn in this color combo, too.

Bold or subtle, we've got you covered.  Swing by and see which colors move you to try your own simplest thing.  Now, where are my needles?

Movie Star

There is so much yarn in our tiny shop right now.  I must admit to being a tad overwhelmed and unsure where to start.  So, let's begin with a small thing.  

Well, two small things.

One of our loyal and fabulous knitters whipped up a few Movie Star Scarves from the ever-popular More Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  Based on how many copies of this book we sold last year, I am confident that at least half of you have it on your shelves.

These sweet little scarves were knit with Schulana Angora Fashion Print, just one ball of each color for the pair.  Wouldn't these make such nice little gifts?  The knitting is straight-forward, and the results are perfectly professional.

There are only four colorways of this yarn for now, and we have all four.  The color collection is unusual, but they are very pretty, don't you think?  We just received a new shipment last week, so we should have plenty of each color for you.

Sally is also working on the Angora Fashion Print Cowl, a freebie from Schulana.  Keep your eyes peeled for that at the shop soon, too.

Photo borrowed from Schulana website.

Okay, I will try to wrap my mind around the ridiculous amount of yarn we received last week from Rowan and Cascade Yarns.  There is so much, my friends.  Knit up a little scarf while you're waiting for me, okay?

Solids or Stripes?

We are starting to see some things trickle into the shop as we near this half-way point of August.  Soon enough, we will all be thinking about snuggling up with the knitting again.  I, for one, love knitting season, and I am thrilled to see the woolies returning to the shop.  Let me show you a few things.

The Bateaux Mouches Scarf has been a popular one this summer, and we have a fresh batch of the Malabrigo Silkpaca for you.  Sally used just two skeins and a US7 to create hers.  This yarn is so fluid and drapey, I had difficulty getting to stay put on the bench for a photo.

Plymouth Yarns was gracious enough to send us our fall yarns on the early side, so we have been enjoying a few new offerings this month.  

Plymouth Revel (also known as Grignasco Revel) shows a slow color change of the course of the ball, much like the Freia Ombre Lace we have in stock.  The Revel seems to think it's a sport weight, but it seems much finer.  Another fine candidate for the scarf of the summer, if you ask me.

There are still plenty of soccer games, swim lessons, and road trips on the docket before fall hits...a garter stitch scarf in some luscious yarn will make them fly by.  Come on in and choose your favorite!

Fresh Ombre

We have a fresh batch of Freia Ombre Lace in the shop.  Adreinne used one ball to make the Bateaux Mouches Scarf we spoke about last month.  We also received a bag of the beautiful blue grey Isager Alpaca 2 that Jenni used for her sample, too.  I know quite a few of you have been waiting for this shade.

Come claim your favorite!

Project of the Summer?

I've been working at our little shop for almost six years, and in that time, I have noticed that certain projects catch like wildfire with our Close Knitters.  It's always hard to predict, but when it happens, it is enthusiastic.  I think Sally new she had a contender when she brought in the L.1 sample knit up in Shubui Linen.  We all fell head over heels in love, and now it seems that you all have, too.

What is it that has you all so smitten?  The yarn itself is unusual and luxurious...fingering weight chained linen.  But who would have thought that would grab you?  Maybe it is the sophisticated Shuibui color palette.  Perhaps it's the chance to play with color to such a stunning end.  With the lazy days of summer approaching, I'm sure the basic stockinette holds some serious appeal.  

It doesn't really matter what it is, but I know we will be sending many more knitters home with Linen before summer is out.  Sally recently restocked our supply with some fresh colors and old favorites.  

The Poppy at the top has been wildly popular, and I love Suit (navy) and Cascade (bright blue).  The Brick, Apple, and Scale (orange) are great, too.  So are the neutrals.  I'm going to have a hard time deciding.  The Ash (grey) in the sample scarf is on backorder until the end of July, but we have so many other shades to mix and match.  We will be happy to help you create your own color combination.  

I included this photo because the guy walking in the background gave me a weird look and laughed at me for taking photos of yarn outside.  I just needed someone else to know.  The things I tolerate for knitting...

I usually suggest that people look at the yarn in the natural light outside the shop to see how the colors play together...hopefully Dude from the above photo will walk by again and we can really mess with his head.

Silk Scarf

It's been awhile since we had a free pattern, hasn't it?  I put this scarf sample in the shop last week right before the sale, and quite a few lovely knitters really seemed to like it.

The pattern itself is pretty simple...it's basically a knit/purl rib pattern that shifts one stitch to the side on each row.  The scarf is reversible, which I love.  I designed this with Louisa Harding Mulberry Silk, a beautiful pure silk yarn with a very smooth texture.  I used a US7, a few sizes larger than the yarn officially recommends, to create a really satisfying drape.  

If you decide to use a different yarn, be sure to choose something with a smooth texture and ideally with some silk or bamboo.  If you choose a fuzzy yarn, the pattern will just disappear.  The silk is really great for people who might not care for wool, and I think it could even be knit as a dressy piece for the right man.

I hope you all enjoy!

Close Knit Silk Scarf
by Leah Bandstra

Yarn: 3 balls Louisa Harding Mulberry (100% silk)
Needles: US7
Finished Size: 60"x6.5"
Gauge: About 5.5 stitches/in in stockinette
Instructions:
Cast on 49 stitches.  Starting with row 1, follow chart until you have about 2 yards of yarn left.  BO in pattern, weave in ends, and wet block, especially if you have used silk.

Row 1: K1, *P3, K4* until 6 stitches remain, P3, K3.

Row 2: P2, *K4, P3* until 5 stitches remain, K4, P1.

Row 3: K2, *P3, K4* until 5 stitches remain, P3, K2.

Row 4: P1, *K4, P3* until 6 stitches remain, K4, P2.

Row 5: K3, *P3, K4* until 4 stitches remain, P3, K1.

Row 6: *K4, P3*.

Row 7: *K4, P3*.

Row 8: K3, *P3, K4* until 4 stitches remain, P3, K1.

Row 9: P1, *K4, P3* until 6 stitches remain, K4, P3.

Row 10: K2, *P3, K4* until 5 stitches remain, P3, K2.

Row 11: P2, *K4, P3* until 5 stitches remain, K4, P1.

Row 12: K1, *P3, K4* until 6 stitches remain, P3, K3.

Row 13: *P3, K4*.

Row 14: *P3, K4*.

14				X	X	X	X
					X	X	X	13
12	X				X	X	X
	X					X	X	11
10	X	X				X	X
	X	X					X	9
8	X	X	X				X
	X	X	X					7
6	X	X	X	X
		X	X	X				5
4		X	X	X	X
			X	X	X			3
2			X	X	X	X
				X	X	X		1

Odd # rows (right side or RS) are read from right to left. Even # rows (wrong side or WS) are read from left to right.   = knit on RS, purl on WS X = purl on RS, knit on WS