Holiday Knits 2012

We know many of you always look forward to the release of Interweave's annual Holiday Knits edition.  Well, the 2012 issue is here, and it's a good one!  Let's take a look at some of the highlights:

This little ornament, called Dansk Hjerte, features the simple palette typical of Scandavian colorwork.  You could make a bunch of these pretty quickly for last-minute gifts.  Their sample is shown in Nature Spun Worsted (one of our classic workhorse wools), but it would also be great in Cascade 220 or our new Perfection Worsted.

Dansk Hjerte by Ann McDonald Kelly

Those of you who knit for babies and kids will be very excited to see all the cute patterns for little ones in this issue, like the Little Mary Anning Set.  This is another worsted weight project that would be perfect in easy-care Perfection yarn.  (The set also includes an adorable hat, not shown in this photo.)

Little Mary Anning Set by Mary Ann Cunningham-Kim

For the men on your list, how about a luxurious scarf like the Lyle Muffler?  The reversible stitch pattern and size 9 needle make this a great choice for a special gift.

Lyle Muffler by Andrea Babb

Did we say gifts?  How about keeping some of these beautiful projects for yourself?  The Wobble Scarf looks like it would be fun and interesting to knit and would be the perfect way to knit up a skein of sock yarn, in case you're tired of making socks. :)

Wobble by Michaela Moores

If you're feeling more ambitious, maybe you'd like to knit some of the bigger projects in the issue, like the Road Trip Vest.  The vest is shown in Cascade Eco+ (our fall shipment of which will be here soon!), but we're thinking it would also be wonderfully warm and cozy in Lamb's Pride Bulky or Baby Alpaca Chunky.

Road Trip Vest by Deborah Newton

These are just a few of the dozens of inspiring patterns in this year's Holiday Knits. Also included in the issue are instructional articles on steeking, mosaic knitting, and double knitting.  There's enough in this magazine to keep you busy through the holiday season and beyond!

Done Roving yarns

Now in stock: two beautiful yarns by Done Roving, a small company based in Maine.  We'd never heard of Done Roving until a few months ago, but we instantly fell in love when our sales rep showed us her amazing samples.  We immediately placed an order for fall, and it has arrived!

First up, for all you sock lovers, we have Frolicking Feet.  It's a 100% superwash merino with a wonderful tight twist.  We currently have it in 15 colorways (we started out with more, but a few have sold out already!).  Frolicking Feet retails at $21.00 per 480-yard skein.

Frolicking Feet

Next, we have Natural Ewe.  It's a brand new yarn for Done Roving, and Sheepish is one of the first shops in the country to have it.  Natural Ewe comes in 15 colorways and we have all of them in stock right now. This is a super soft fingering weight yarn that will be perfect for lace projects or whatever else you can dream up.  It's a 100% organic merino (What makes a wool organic? Learn here!) and retails at $14.00 per 300-yard skein.

Natural Ewe

Stop by and treat yourself to these exciting new yarns soon!  We have a feeling they're going to be very popular.

Perfection is here!

We're so excited to introduce you to one of the wonderful new yarns we're starting to carry this fall, Perfection Worsted.  Perfection comes from Kraemer Yarns in Pennsylvania and we are thrilled to have it here at Sheepish!

 

Our gorgeous wall of Perfection

Here are a few of the things we love about this yarn:

• Amazing color range
• Soft (merino wool!)
• Great stitch definition
• Washes and dries like a dream
• Made in the U.S.A.
• Fantastic service from Kraemer Yarns

Perfection is 30% domestic merino, 70% acrylic.  We plan on phasing out most of our stock of Plymouth Encore because we simply believe Perfection is a better, more versatile product*.  We're so confident our customers will LOVE this yarn that we've invested in getting every color in the Perfection line.  That's 56 gorgeous colors--naturals, brights, pastels, muted heathers, rich jewel tones...are you drooling yet?  With this range of colors, there's something for everyone!



Carrie's knitted and crocheted sample of Perfection, in color 1547, Fairy Ring

Perfection has a 4+ star rating from Ravelry users, including one person who commented, "Oh my. Why don’t more people know about this yarn?"  Our thoughts exactly!  

Perfection comes in 200 yard skeins and retails at $6.50/skein.  Gauge is listed at 5 sts/in. on a US 8 needle.  It's machine washable and dryable. 

*Don't fret, Encore fans!  We aren't getting rid of Encore completely.  We'll still carry the Encore Colorspun (Perfection doesn't come in multis), as well as the pure white, which is a brighter white than Perfection offers.