Summertime Sale: Rowan

Not many shops have the selection of Rowan that we have at Close Knit.  (Sally knows what she's doing.)  If you knit with Rowan, there's a good chance you love it.  Modern colors, high quality, interesting fiber blends...what's not to love?  We want to share the love with you, so our next Summertime Sale is all Rowan.

Starting June 30, all Rowan yarns are 15% off, through Sunday, July 6.

How about a few more beauty shots to get you inspired?

 

Stop by and find a new favorite yarn!

Firefly Family

How beautiful is this?

My friend Laura created her version of Norah Gaughan's Axil using four balls of Classic Elite Firefly, one of our favorite linen blends.  In true Norah style, the construction is sort of unusual.  The front and back are identical.  They are seamed together at the sides, and then stitches are picked up and worked to join the neckline.

Laura noticed that the model in the photo had some serious gaping going on under the arms, and Laura's tank had the same issue.  She debated knitting a gusset to pull it all together, but in the end Laura fixed it by simply seaming up the sides a few more inches.  I think she looks marvelous!

I know summer does not always feel like the time for a hand-knit garment, but this combination of interesting pattern and ideal summer yarn make for just the right thing.

The little missy in the photo is wearing her Smilla's dress turned Smilla's tunic.  Laura made this for her daughter last spring from the ever popular All You Knit is Love, and it is still adorable.  

Hard to photograph on a squirmy kiddo, though.  I hope these pretty ladies have inspired you to get knitting for summer!

Summertime Sale: Deep Discount Table

Are you a long-time Close Knitter?  Have you been missing the huge sales that used to happen once or twice a year?  That big white table piled high with baskets full of yarn?  Well this is your week.  

We have been pulling out the yarns that need to move out of the shop to make room for the fall goodies.  We have some yarns in sweater quantities, some odd balls, some discontinued stuff...but it's all good.  Starting June 23, we will have a deep discount table (50% off) going until close on Sunday, June 29.  There will be all kinds of good stuff.  Come see what we have on the table, and help us make room for the new yarns on the way!

Fresh Bumblebirch

There is a fresh batch of Bumblebirch Heartwood at the shop.

We were so happy to have Sarah at the Yarn Crawl, and we are thrilled to have such a nice full stock of her fabulous hand-dyed sock yarn.  Her semi-solids are rich and beautiful, with 463 glorious yards in each skein.  They're machine washable, too.

I was particularly excited to see some of her new variegated colorways, Hermione, Blake, and Caela.  I'm itching to try one of these out to see how the colors work up.  That lovely neutral blend has caught my eye, for sure.

Since Sarah is doing all of this lovely work from her own home, she works really hard to get us these nice full shipments.  It also means that we can't get restocked very often.  If you love her yarns, now is the time to get your hands on them!

The Next Summertime Sale and Other Important Information

So many of you took advantage of our cotton sale last week!  It was great to see all of your faces.  I hope you scored some good stuff.  What's next, you ask?

Starting tomorrow, June 16, Cascade 220 will be 15% off.  This is just for the good old worsted weight 220 in the white cabinet by the front, and it will only be for what we have in stock right now, no special orders.  This sale will be on until the end of the day Sunday, June 22.  This is such a great staple yarn.  Hats, gloves, sweaters, blankets, scarves, felted items...220 is a go-to at Close Knit.

Prices on Cascade yarns will be going up a smidge in the fall, and it looks like 220 will be at $9 per skein when we receive our fall shipments.  Next week, we are keeping it at $8 per skein AND offering the 15% discount, so just $6.80 for a skein!  That's a screaming deal on some high quality yarn.

Now that summer is (theoretically) upon us, we are going to be changing our hours a bit.  We will be opening up at 11 Monday through Saturday, and changing our hours to 12-5 on Sunday.  Open Knit Night is still happening on Wednesday evenings from 6 until 9PM.  We will be closed on July 4, as usual.

Come in and help us make room for all of the new fall yarns Sally has been ordering.  See you at 11!

Cotton Bristol

I have worn the heck out of the Bristol Hat I made for myself last spring.

It's a great hat. The stitch pattern was fun to knit, and the texture and weight are just perfect. As soon as I closed up the top of that one, I knew I would be making more. 

Meet my next one. I have a dear friend going through chemo right now, and she inspired this newest Bristol, knit up in the most beautiful green fingering weight cotton.

I used less than two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima Fine, and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I used a US1 for the ribbing, and a US3 for the body of the hat.  It really does knit up quickly.  Amy Christoffers designed the hat.  I love pretty much everything she designs, and her patterns are always thorough and well-written.

Don't forget...all of our cotton and cotton blend yarns are 15% off this week.  We have so many great choices, including the Ultra Pima Fine I used for my hat.  Come take a look!

Summertime Sale: Cotton and Cotton Blends

Did you all get some nice books and patterns as part of our 15% off sale last week?  I hope you are all inspired, because this week, June 9-15, all cotton and cotton blend yarns are on sale.  Yup...if it has cotton in it, it's 15% off.

Our new Riveting Sport is 15% off.

Berroco Fuji, Weekend DK, Maya...all of these are game. 

 

 

Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton is 15% off. 

Photo by Emily :)

Rowan's amazing cottons, too, including Softknit Cotton, Siena 4 Ply, and Original Denim.

 

 

Classic Elite Sprout and Seedling are on sale.

There are so many more lovely cottons on our shelves.  If you've been waiting for the right moment to cast on for your new favorite summer sweater, it's time.  I'll be there Monday morning at 10 to get you started.  Come see me!

Riveting

We love our denim yarns at Close Knit, and summer is just the right time for them.

Sally decided to bring in Riveting Sport from Kollage for the warmer months, and I find it particularly cool that this stuff is made from recycled jeans!  I was impressed with how lightweight the skeins are, too, especially since each one contains 350 whopping yards of sport weight cotton.

As with most 100% cotton yarns, this stuff will shrink lengthwise with a machine wash and dry, just like your pure cotton jeans and tees.  Be sure to think about this when choosing a pattern.

I was poking around Ravelry for some project ideas for you all.  Let's start with shawls and wraps...it's always a good idea to have a few of those handy, don't you think?

Photo borrowed from Classic Elite.

I love Riveting for the Firefly Fringed Shawl, and I think we still have that pattern book at the shop.  Just one skein and some US8s will get you going.  

Photo borrowed from Sadie and Oliver.

How about A Little Ruffle?  We had a sample of this in the shop several years ago, and it was extremely popular.  Riveting would make such a nice summer version.  You could do a smaller one with one skein, but two would be ample and so luxurious.  I would wash the body of the shawl before picking up the ruffled edge, since the shrinking will be happening in two different directions otherwise.  Not sure how that would work out...probably just more ruffles.

Photo borrowed from Knitty.

Interested in a summer sweater?  Several knitters had luck using Riveting for Amiga, a freebie from Knitty 2011.

Photo borrowed from Heidi Kirrmaier's Ravelry Shop.

Heidi Kirrmaier's Vitamin D would be amazing, too.  This yarn would have just the right swing and drape.

Photo borrowed from Kollage.

We have the pattern for Day at the Beach in stock at the shop, and the all-over pattern looks great in this lighter denim.

I wouldn't tend to use this for hat or socks, since pure cotton doesn't have a lot of bounce back.  I was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely Riveting worked up in cables and lace, though.  The texture of the yarn is a little rustic, but it really pops in the patterned stitches.  What do you all think?  I'm seeing this as a popular one this summer!