Nightshades Trunk Show

We have some fabulous Nightshades pieces in the shop from Harrisville Designs. These knitted items have such a nice hand, and the yarn has a lovely crunch to it. 

The cables and ribbing and texture really pop with the Nightshades, and the designs are so cool.

I love how different these shades all look even though they all have the same black base. Each sone has a different color added in, and it's great to see how them all worked up.

This yarn is nearly impossible to photograph, though, so it's best in person. You should come on down to the shop and see for yourself. You are also welcome to try on the pieces. If you figure out the best way to wear this cowl/shawl/wrap, please let me know!

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.

Eye Candy Monday

The Blue Sky Alpacas trunk show is still with us! Come and see these sweet little faces in person.

The tiny human clothes are killing me. That little dress/romper is adorable. The pants have butt gussets to accommodate a diaper booty. It's all so cute!

Trunk Shows: Shibui and Harrisville

Part of the yarn crawl fun each year involves trunk shows from some of our favorite designers. The shop is packed with pieces from Shibui Knits and Harrisville Designs. First up, the Shibui extravaganza, featuring modern pieces with eye-catching details and unusual silhouettes.

The items from Harrisville Designs are classic and timeless. I am in love with this pullover and will be making one for myself.

Whether you prefer the modern look of Shibui or the more traditional designs from Harrisville, pop in and try on some sweaters!

Beauty is a Shibui Trunk Show

Yes, friends, it is that time again. The Rose City Yarn Crawl starts on Thursday, March 5th and runs through Sunday the 8th. We are geared up with trunk shows, special guests, new yarn, and lots of prize baskets.

We just received a Shibui trunk show featuring several items from their Fall 2014 Mix line. We have Mix No. 31-35 at the shop now, and I can tell you that I am in love with No. 35. I tried on the sample and kind of had a difficult time taking it off. I love it.

The cowl (above), wrap, hat and tunic are also stunning. The interesting shaping and shirt-tail hem on No. 31 are really cool.

If these lovely sample aren't enough to get you excited, I unpacked three huge boxes of Harrisville WATERshed and flyWHEEL with their accompanying trunk show for you to oggle as well. Sally went all in on these, and we have all 20 colors of both yarns. 

 

More photos to come soon once it's all on the shelves!

Isager Trunk Show

Yup, you heard me.

I opened this box and immediately tried on all of the samples from the new Isager trunk show.  And now I love them all.  

The basic cardigan, appropriately named Vanilla for it's classic simplicity, features an interesting lateral braid that adds a subtle detail without distracting from the overall shape.  The fit is flattering and very wearable.  This would be a bit of a time commitment in terms of the knitting, but you know you would wear it every day.

Lemon also uses the lateral braid up the center front and back, and the construction is unusual.  The front and back panels are worked first, and then stitches are picked up for the sides and batwing sleeves.  I tried this one on, too, and I was really surprised at how flattering it was.

This sample was knit with Spinni, and it is lofty and light as a cloud.  We just restocked our supply of Spinni this week, so there are many fresh colors on the shelves for you.

Olive.  Oh, lovely Olive.  

I believe this piece is to blame for my obsession with Amimono and Isager.  I saw this popping up on the Ravelry pages of European knitters and I went a little crazy trying to put my hands on the pattern.  The original pattern book is out of print, but we have single copies of the pattern available at the shop for you.

The trunk show also features a few scarves and wraps.  The Zig Zag Scarf, available as a single pattern, is a classic.  The stitch pattern is so very supple in the Alpaca 2, also freshly restocked.  Wow, this is a nice yarn.  I never seem to have any scarves when winter hits, and this one is a winner.  I think it would make the prefect man scarf, too, in a nice dark color.

So many of you fell in love with the Bump Scarf during the yarn crawl, so we restocked the pattern book for you.

If you're feeling ambitious, the book also contains the Bump Stole, a larger, rectangular version with all the bobbles you could ever want.  Both of these are worked in Spinni, and they are light as air.

These will be with us for the rest of March, so come down and have your own little dress up party!

Hello, March

Well, did you all have fun Yarn Crawling?  We had a great time seeing so many new faces and introducing people to our shop.  Thank you to everyone who participated!

Now that the dust has settled and we have caught our collective breath, let's get back to the yarn.  We have so many lovely new things at the shop right now.  Let's start with some Manos del Uruguay, shall we?  They have upped their game, my friends.  Over the last few years, their patterns have gone from dated and dowdy to stylish and modern, and I could not be happier to see the trunk show at the shop right now.

Um, garter stitch blanket?  That might be my middle name.  On Monday, I opened a large box with all of the colors for the Salida del Sol Throw, and I was so taken.  The highlighter yellow in the middle is pretty serious, and the dusky purple up at the top corner is gorgeous in person.  Worked in Manos Wool Clasica, the blanket is generous, too...perfect for wrapping up on the couch or by the fire.  I am trying to resist, but it might be futile.

I do plan to make Palette, but I think I need a brighter color.  The Cameo version is very pretty, but I think I'll use some Chartreuse Maxima that has been patiently waiting for me to settle on a project.  The original here was made with Wool Clasica, too, and I am surprised at how soft and cozy it is.  The length is perfect and the simple stitch pattern produces an interesting effect.  Maybe I'll make a few.

Quite a few knitters noticed the Oruga Scarf sample we had out over the weekend, too.  We now have the pattern in stock and many options for lace weight yarns.  Check out the cool detail running up the spine.

We also have samples of the Fumior gloves and Beaubourg, both knit in lovely lovely Maxima. (Both of these photos are from the Fairmount Fibers site.)

I really love what Manos del Uruguay stands for, so it makes me so happy to see these stunning designs and spot-on styling.  They are a cooperative that has been giving jobs and opportunities to women in Uruguay for decades, and they continue to establish new co-ops around the country.  They provide health insurance, vacations, maternity leave, and pensions to their employees, and they are responsible for the first kindergartens in Uruguay.  You can read more about their operation on the website.  

Each skein of yarn has a handwritten bit telling you the name of the person who dyed your yarn and the village where it was dyed.  The yarn has always been beautiful and high quality, and I hope these new designs will appeal to an even larger audience.  I know they have my attention!

Bringing the yarn focus a little closer to home, let's talk about a Portland yarn company.  If you are interested in playing with some Shibui yarn, please join us for the Mix Party Wednesday night!  There will be little mini skeins of the Shibui yarns to try out and mix and match, look books for the Shibui Mix line, and new spring patterns.  Give us a call at the shop to let us know you're coming (503.488.4568), and bring some needles, size US4 to 9ish.

See you soon!

Petite Trunk Show

We spoke last month about the Royal Petite phenomenon.  The trunk show has arrived from Blue Sky Alpacas, and I am quite certain the craze will continue once you all see these finished items.

We have here the Catherine Cowl, the Mitini Mitts, the Buckingham Hat, the Tiny Empress Set, and the Westminster Hat.  The Royal yarn is incredibly soft, and these designs really demonstrate how some relatively simple stitches can have high impact when worked in such a luxurious yarn.

The Westminster and Buckingham Hats get the approval of a choosy (and very itch-sensitive) 5 year old.

The yarn is amazing, the designs are classic, and I stand by my assertion that even the most particular recipient will approve of any one of these pieces.  We have a great range of colors and patterns in stock now, but they do go quickly.  If you have been dreaming about any of these, I would pop in this weekend and choose your favorite.

Majestic Tweed

Earlier this fall, we received a shipment of Majestic Tweed, a beautiful new yarn from Classic Elite Yarns.  The colors are rich and tweedy, and it's so soft.  The angora gives it a nice subtle halo, and the silk really adds and interesting touch.

We now have a trunk show at the shop featuring designs from the Majestic Tweed pattern booklet, #9185.  Let's take a look!

From the cover, the lovely (and very long) Queen's Jubilee with a pretty stranded yoke.

Marquess, a swingy cardigan, employs some intriguing construction work.

Check out the sideways back detail.  Very unusual.

Lady Jane takes an interesting twist on the classic cabled cardigan by adding very deep armholes and wide sleeves...so cozy and easy to wear.

Baroness has a nice wide boatneck and grown-on sleeves.  I didn't care for the photos of this, but I really like it in person.

We have accessories, too!  The beret, Coronet, has a sweet and surprising leaf edging incorporated into the brim.

Perhaps my favorite of all is the unusual cowl, Tower of London.  This piece combines a classic cabled section with a strip of netting.  I love the way the two parts play together.  With four skeins of Majestic Tweed, this might be on the holiday gift knitting list for some special people. 

Jenni and I agreed that this yarn is so much more appealing knit up in these pretty samples than it has been on the shelf.  The subtle tweediness really shines through, and the soft hand and slight halo are really hard to resist.  We will have these for another week or so.  Drop off your ballot and come take a look!