close knit: the neighborhood yarn shop


Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Laine


Oh, Laine Magazine, how I love you so. I would like to live in your pages. This issue went so fast, we had to reorder. Hustle in for yours if you are a fan, too. More designs and pattern info on Ravelry.




 


Monday, October 29, 2018

Eye Candy

More cute new project bags in the shop!
Love the cool animal illustrations on these. They remind me of the little Golden Books of my childhood. These make great gifts, too!

Friday, October 26, 2018

Dude...This Took Forever

Have I told you all about this project? It's my Knitter's Dude by Andrea Rangel.
Oh man, it kind of consumed my life for several months. It is perhaps the most epic and difficult thing I have ever made, but it was worth it. I taught myself all kinds of new tricks for this one. I've been knitting since I was eight years old, so I didn't really think there were that many new tricks to learn...boy was I wrong.
I have never been a fan of catching floats when doing colorwork, especially with highly contrasting colors like I was using. So, I went to the Ravlery hive mind to figure out a better way to do the colorwork. I found a knitter who has employed a really cool technique often used in machine knitting and very clearly outlined in the It's Not About the Hat pattern. It was well worth the $6 pattern to learn the ins and outs and what-have-yous of this technique, and my contrasting yarns are invisible, even over the 24 stitch floats required for the pattern.
After many years of resisting magic loop (for reasons I don't understand), I finally caved when I started thinking about doing those patterned sleeves on double pointed needles. It's so easy and it works beautifully and I really should not have resisted for so long. I am knitting all of my socks using magic loop. Silly knitter.
The most terrifying thing I needed to learn was the steek. You know, just cutting my epic colorwork tube in half. No big deal. I used the technique outlined by Kate Davies, and it worked pretty well. I should have paid more attention to how I was doing the steek stitches while I was knitting, because a few places start to unravel. I ended up having to re-reinforce in a few areas to keep it all together, but that was pretty easy with the Cascade Eco yarn. Overall, her method is top notch and very clearly explained. I believe it was Elizabeth Zimmerman who suggests starting the steeking process with a shot of whiskey, and that might have been wise. I can highly recommend a lot of light and a steady hand, although the method I used made it very easy to see where I needed to cut.
Stay tuned for more...

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Harrisville Nightshades

We have been eagerly anticipating the Nightshades, and you have all been loving it!
I've heard through the internet that Harrisville sold out of it at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in record time over the weekend. They needed someone to drive an emergency shipment to the festival from New Hampshire to keep all the fiber enthusiasts happy! 
I don't know about you, but that's enough to make me want to get my hands on some. Now I just have to decide which (night)shade...

Monday, October 22, 2018

Eye Candy

Do you all want to hear about my most epic project to date and all the neat tricks I learned to make it a success? If so, stay tuned! If not, too bad, I'm going to tell you anyway...
It definitely deserves one of these cute labels that I was gifted recently!
 

P.S. My fabulous hand-dyed indigo bedding come from Anna Joyce Design, a Portland artisan and author doing some beautiful and empowering stuff. Go support her!

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Noro Ito

The newest from Noro is this big beautiful Aran weight wool, Ito
 

The colors are really rich and lush, and the color repeats are just perfect. Take a look at the Noro website to see how they knit up.
Each ball is 437 yards, plenty for an ample cowl or scarf. I'm loving these felted coasters, too. Noro is great for all kinds of projects, as long as you love color!

Monday, October 15, 2018

Eye Candy

This trunk show from Blue Sky Fibers is awesome! 
It's so great to see how this Woolstok Jumbo works up. We have the Arm Knit Wrap, the Jasper Jumbo Cowl (8 year old for scale), and the Odin Jumbo Hat. Pop in to see these super cool knits!

Friday, October 12, 2018

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?

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Knitscene Winter 2018

The newest Knitscene has some cool and modern patterns! I'm also loving the models and wacky photo shoots. Let's take a look.








See anything that inspires you?

Monday, October 8, 2018

Eye Candy

Um...this Boots yarn from Schoppel-Wolle is nice. 
It's a cotton/wool blend sock yarn, which is surprisingly difficult to find. The only reason I'm telling you about it is because I already brought home the ones I wanted. And I think I convinced Sally to get more.

Friday, October 5, 2018

Berroco Ultra Wool DK

I have to admit, I don't spend too much time in the superwash section of the shop. I'm not knitting so many baby things these days, and I don't really mind handwashing my woolies. So this Ultra Wool DK from Berroco sort of flew under my radar. It is really lovely!

Some superwash yarns can feel a bit plasticy and a little to slippery for my taste. I prefer my yarn with a little tooth to it, and this stuff is a great balance between a crunchy yarn and a really great superwash. Our newest sample, the Lane's Island Pullover from Berroco really shows off how nice it is. Plus, you know...pockets.
If you haven't visited the superwash corner of the shop, I suggest stopping by to check out the Ultra Wool. Apparently we have it in worsted weight, too!

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Awesome Sock Yarn

So, I have become a sock knitter in recent years, and I mostly blame cool self-patterning sock yarns like these. The Super Soxx from Lang are super fun! Take a closer look at the wacky stripe pattern. It's all zigzaged on top of a lovely color fade.

I am also a sucker for stripes of any kind, so the gorgeous gradient stripes of the Twin Soxx are calling to me. This one in particular is amazing...I mean, it's a pastel rainbow gradient self-striping sock yarn.
It's no wonder I was sucked onto the sock bandwagon. These are too awesome to pass up!

Monday, October 1, 2018

Eye Candy

Take a gander at this tub full of Earl Grey Fiber Company sock yarn...that blue one in the middle is speaking to me. Loving these subtle shades.