Brrr!

It's knitting weather folks, and we have the big stuff in the shop to keep you cozy.

Our shelves are well-stocked with Cascade Magnum and Lana Grande.  

What to knit with these yarns?  I love Nancy's Charly Infinity Scarf with the Lana Grande.  We have a sample of this at the shop in one of the marled colorways.  If you can knit and purl, you can make this.  And you could probably be wearing it by tomorrow if you knit quickly.

I also love Laura Irwin's Textured Marbled Beret, knit with just one ball of Lana Grande. Laura has several amazing magnum projects, too, including the Softwaves Cowl and the Snail Twist Cowl.  These cowls are very architectural and unusual.  If you are craving simple, just cast on 12-15 stitches on a US 17 and knit every row until your yarn is gone.  Bam, big impact scarf.

Speaking of simple and big impact, do you all remember our Seed Stitch Cowl from awhile back?  It is very nice in Magnum, and it's the perfect thing to whip up to fight the chill. I am reposting the pattern here for you all. Come get your yarn and warm up!

Close Knit Seed Stitch Cowl
By Sally Palin
Yarn: 1 skein Cascade Magnum
Needles: US17 24" circular
Finished Size: 10" high by about 32" around  
Gauge: about 8 stitches over 4" in seed stitch
 
Seed stitch in the round:
Round 1: *K1, P1* until 1 stitch remains. K1.
Round 2: *P1, K1* until 1 stitch remains. P1.
Basically, after round 1, you will simply knit your purls and purl your knits, so it's not crucial to know what row you are on.
 
Instructions: Cast on 65 stitches.
Twist once, place marker, and join for knitting in the round. (This twist is what you usually try to avoid when joining to knit in the round. You could also join normally to create a non-twisted cowl if you prefer, but the drape is not as nice.)
Seed stitch your heart out for about 10".
Bind off and enjoy!

Loopy Mango

Do you like big yarn?  We have some.  Sally took the plunge and ordered the Big Loop from Loopy Mango!  (Their site is gorgeous.  Go have a look.)  We have taken to calling these yarn babies.

Sally whipped up a blanket in about two hours with one ball of Big Loop and some US50 needles.  We have some in stock, since most of us don't have those in our collection.  You could just use broomsticks, I suppose.

The pattern is a freebie on the Loopy Mango site.  It starts out "cast on 18 stitches..."

I have to admit, I was not expecting to like this stuff as much as I do.  It is very snuggly.  We also have a few balls of the Big Loop Mini (13 oz balls) in stock.  Look at that pink.  Wowza.

Jenni used one to make the Eternity Cowl.  Cast on 4 stitches.  It's wrapped around three times here.

One of the Big Balls will make three of these, according to the pattern.  These patterns and several more are available for free on the Loopy Mango site.  I am loving the New Yorker Scarf.  There are a few crochet patterns, too...a super simple scarf and really nice round rug.

Photo borrowed from Loopy Mango.

We have more of this crazy cool stuff on the way.  Sally has ordered more of the naturals, some grey, and more Dirty Dirty Pink, and we are happy to special order.  I'll let you know when it arrives so you can come choose your own yarn baby.