Eye Candy

Gorgeous Isager Tweed for your Monday morning.

New Shibui

The two new yarns from Shibui Knits are really cool! Nest is a lovely wool alpaca blend with a modern marled look. All of the shades work up into a really cool fabric, but I love the black and white one the best. I have been loving the mid-weight DK yarns lately, and this one is a keeper.

Take a peek at this beautiful Sindi cowl worked up with Nest and Silk Cloud. What a luxury!

Pic borrowed from Shibui Knits

We also have Tweed Silk Cloud in the shop, and it is so unusual. It's like a more rustic version of the Silk Cloud that has been around for awhile. Just like the original, this yarn looks great on its own or paired with other yarns.

If you are a fan of the luxurious Shibui shades and textures, you will want to stop in and see these new yarns.

Rowan Cashmere Tweed

Um, cashmere and tweed and a free pattern book? Yes, please. Rowan Cashmere Tweed is here in a sweet range of colors.

I'm loving the pink, but this brown is so beautiful, too.

And there is a free pattern book for you with the purchase of the yarn to make the patterns! Treat yourself to some cashmere. You deserve it.

Aegean Tweed

I love a nice sport weight tweed, and we have quite a few options in the shop if that's your jam. I would like to introduce you to the workhorse of the bunch. The Aegean Tweed from Cascade is a budget-friendly, 100% pure organic wool tweed in some classic colors for all of your sport weight needs. 

At 328 yards each, you can make an ample sweater with four or five balls. I spied a lovely Pomme de pin Cardigan on Ravelry knit up with just four and now I feel that I should definitely add that to my knitting queue.

The Aegean Tweed would be ideal for colorwork, as well. The perfect amount of stick and colors that will play nicely together. Maybe the Twigs by Junko Okamoto?

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

Or a twist on the classic yoked sweater, perhaps something like the Tucson Pullover?

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

More of a cardigan person? I've been lusting over Nr 10 for years.

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

I like to use sport weight when I knit for my guy because he gets too hot in heavier yarns. The Rockland Crewneck is on my list and would be great in Aegean Tweed.

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page

Whatever you decide to make with this fabulous yarn, I think you're going to like it!

Craggy Tweeeeed!

We have a gorgeous batch of Farmer's Daughter Craggy Tweed on the shelves right now. If you've been itching to cast on a Swoncho, get yourself into the shop to choose your favorites.

Of course, this gorgeous machine washable DK would be great for hats, blankets, shawls, even cozy chunky socks.

If you love this modern, super cool tweed, I would get your hands on it soon. This will go quickly!

Sparkle Tweed!

Oooo, look at this fun new stuff! I'm affectionately calling it sparkle tweed. This stuff has holiday gifts written all over it.

The Metal Tweed from Gedifra is a worsted weight alpaca, wool, cotton blend with a fluffy mohair feel to it. I think this would look really cool as a cabled hat or cozy cowl. Your finished piece would have a lovely halo and so many pretty flecks of color!

The navy and the white are my favorites. Which ones do you like?

Tweed Regia

It's been agreed upon that this tweedy Regia 6-ply needs to be knit up into cabled knee socks or some cute legwarmers. Any takers?

Arranmore Light

Hello, beautiful Arranmore Light from The Fibre Company. These hanks contain 328 yards of merino, cashmere, silk in a perfectly crisp DK weight yarn. Just the thing for a tweedy sweater, a drapey shawl, or cozy scarf. The Bibbe pullover looks fabulous! In fact, the whole Pop Collection from Kelbourne Woolens looks really cool. They do a great job of taking a classic yarn and making in modern with some really great designs.

Eye Candy Monday

Mmmm...tweed. New colors of Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal in the shop!

Soft Donegal

When a new tweedy yarn arrives at the shop, I am usually drawn to it immediately. I zeroed in on the lovely baskets full of this beautiful new Aran tweed from Studio Donegal, expecting a rustic and crunchy wool...which is not what I found.

The Soft Donegal is as cushy as a cloud, my friends. Those of you who are little more aware of the "scratchy" wool feeling will surely approve.

This pure merino tweed yarn is produced in the Irish village of Kilcar, which can be reached by taking roundabouts outside of Killybegs after leaving Donegal. That sounds fun, doesn't it?

Photo borrowed from Ravelry pattern page.

This lovely yarn will be great for just about anything at all. I have been oggling the Baa-ble Hat for some time now. Soft Donegal would be the perfect choice for the sheep-centric design. We recently received a fresh batch of colors, and I have been dreaming about the possible combinations. Soft baby blue sky with a peaty green field, stormy dark grey skies and a golden field, or go a little crazy with a pink or purple sky. So many fun choices.

The pattern is currently available as part of the Shetland Wool Week 2015 Annual online magazine. So generous of them to offer it for free! The other designs in the publication are really lovely, too. If you have a soft spot for stranded knitting, you might just fall for each and every one.

Pop in and have a look at the Soft Donegal. If you like the look of a crisp tweed but not the crunch, this one will certainly surprise you. I hope you all fall in love with it, too.

Tiverton Tweed

We have manymanymany boxes of yarn coming in to the shop this month. Lots of good staples, standbys and favorites.

But this. This is new. The Tiverton Tweed from Classic Elite is so pretty and unusual, and it's so brand new that there are only a few projects on Ravelry. Sally is working on a little cowl with a few different colors to show off this great new yarn.

I really appreciate the colorful flecks nestled in the neutral marled background. The label suggests that it's a worsted weight, knitting up at 5 stitches per inch on a 7, but it seems much thinner than that to me. Maybe closer to a DK or sport, but maybe it will bloom a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing Sally's sample.

Stay tuned for updates on all the good stuff coming in to out little shop, including more new stuff and so many old friends!

Embrace the Grey

The sun was shining out there yesterday, but those skies are cloudy this morning.  And that makes me want something cozy.  And grey, for some reason.

Good thing we have a shelf full of these plump lovelies.  The Galler Peruvian Tweed speaks to me every time we have it on the shelves.  The natural tweedy marl of this yarn is visually interesting and lusciously soft.  One of these big ol' skeins is 595 yards, too, so one is plenty for a nice big wrap.

Maybe something as easy as a Boneyard Shawl, or you could use the Textured Shawl Recipe. A nice long ribbed scarf would be so nice...something like the Churchmouse Pressed Rib Muffler.  No. 4 from Shibui would be amazing and gorgeous, but I would certainly commit to two skeins and make it huge.  Keep it simple on the texture, though.  The halo of the yarn will obscure anything too intricate, so ribbing or garter or stockinette for sure.

How about a Groovy?  I love my white linen/wool version.  I am constanly sizing up any new and tempting yarn to see if it might be suitable for my next Groovy, and a squishy grey Peruvian Tweed version seems just right. 

I just finished up a few projects...I might need to treat myself with some of this stuff.  The darkest charcoal grey is calling my name.  And I know I'll need something to match those grey skies that are looming.

Tweed is Good

We have been loving the Harrisville Highland Tweed.  Judging from the dwindling backstock, you all have discovered it, too.  We have been using it in place of the very-nice-but-hard-to-get Shelter, and now we have an alternative for Loft, too.  Please say hello to Rowan Fine Tweed.

The little balls of Fine Tweed are so stinkin' cute.  Imagine all of the delicate, intricate colorwork you could do with these stunning colors.  Or just lots of stockinette or garter. 

Whatever you choose, the Fine Tweed provides vibrant color, tweedy goodness, and such a soft knitted fabric.  Sally did up a little swatch in the fall when she was trying out every tweed yarn on the market, and this one was definitely one of my favorites.

Shall we talk about a few project ideas?  This yarn is sort of made for stranded colorwork, and Kate Davies puts out some of my favorite traditional designs.  (All of these lovely photos are borrowed from her Ravelry shop page.)

I love her geometric cowls like the Funchal Moebius and Hazelhurst, and her more traditional tams and beanies are spectacular.  Neep Heid, Peerie Flooers, and Sheep Heid are my favorites.  The Fine Tweed would be perfect for all of these projects.

If the colorwork scares the pants off of you, we can talk about stockinette stitch, too.  I have visions of a huge stockinette scarf in tweedy stripes, much like L.1, a freebie from Shibui (photo from the Shibui Knits Ravlery page) or Rivage from my newest designer crush, Julie Hoover.  (The rest of the photos are borrowed from the Brooklyn Tweed Collections and Wool People Ravelry pages.)

The Ticking Cowl is on my list, too.  Maybe sooner than later...it's so perfect.

The hat possibilities are awesome, too.  What to do you think of Bayard?  Or maybe Oljett?  Someone stop me.

There are sweater and shawl possibilities, too, but I am getting overwhelmed.  What will you make using this pretty palette?