On The Needles: Featherweight in Zephyr

This is a bad news/good news kind of post. Remember this sweater? Two weeks ago it looked like this:

Nearly done!

Well, guess what it looked like a few days after that. Give up? It looked like this:

Yikes!

Fellow knitters, did you just break into a cold sweat when you saw that? It's okay, really. Here's what Stacy has to say:

"Everything was done on Cloudette except for one sleeve. At that point I tried it on and I hated it. The proportions were off, so the belt was waaaay below my waist. So instead of looking cute and tailored, it just looked sloppy. I knew I would never wear that sweater, even if I finished it."

But you know, one of the great things about knitting is that it's one of the few areas in life where you can get do-overs. Mistakes can be undone, and even whole garments like this unfortunate one be ripped out and the yarn re-used. So now it looks like this:

A fresh start!

It will grow up to be a Featherweight cardigan, which is a perfect option for this Zephyr laceweight wool/silk yarn.

Stacy says, "I've made two Featherweights before, and I wear them all the time. I keep thinking I need more of them in other colors, so...green Featherweight coming up! This is something I know will look good and get worn all the time."

Organic cottons from Classic Elite

Yesterday the UPS man brought us two big boxes from Classic Elite Yarns. In addition to about a million skeins of Liberty Wool, we're now stocked up on some of our favorite cottons for summer--Seedling and Sprout.

Seedling is a soft, worsted weight, organic* cotton with a slightly nubby texture. It's machine washable, so it's a great choice for hot weather garments and baby items--anything that will need to be washed frequently. We have a wonderful range of colors in stock right now:

Left to right, top to bottom: Summer Cloud, Lime Juice, New Navy, Deep Saffron, Evening Primrose, Baby Blue Eyes, Persian Rose, Natural, Horizon, Persimmon, Mint, Steel Blue.

We're also really excited because we now have Seedling Handpaints, which is new for us. It comes in these vivid tropical colors:

Left to right: Bora Bora, Lava, Hula, Paradise, Lei.

Both Seedling solids and handpaints come in a 110-yd hank. Solids are $7.00 and handpaints are $9.00

Sprout is kind of like Seedling's big sister. It's a type of yarn that's somewhat hard to find--a bulky cotton. Like Seedling, it's a nubby-textured, machine-washable, organic cotton. Here are the wonderful colors we have:

Left to right, top to bottom: Lime Juice, Deep Saffron, Chicory, Summer Cloud, Garden Sage, Flamingo Pink, Evening Primrose, Salvia Red, Mint.

Sprout comes in a 109-yard hank for $12.50. It knits on about a size US 10 needle, making it perfect for a quick sweater or baby blanket. If you need some garment ideas for Sprout, we have the new Fun In The Sun pattern booklet in stock as well.

These patterns provide a wide range of sizes, from bust measurement 30" to 51".

*Not sure what exactly constitutes "organic cotton?" Learn all about it here!

Two years old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIELE!!!

"Hey, everybody! Come to Sheepish 6:00-8:00 tonight and eat cake with me!"

On The Needles: Amalthea in Pima Silk Hand Paint

This Pima Silk we got in recently was just begging to be knit into a shop sample. To refresh your memory, these are the colors we got, just to try out this lovely cotton/silk blend from Misti Alpaca:

Three of the four are dyed with subtle tone-on-tone shading, but the one on the left is a Pima Silk Hand Paint in a colorway called April Showers. How would the colors knit up? Would it stripe? We had to find out! So, Stacy's started knitting this little fringed shawlette called Amalthea, designed by Tori Gurbisz.

Wow, aren't those colors gorgeous? Mostly shades of blue, but with little shots of green, red, purple, and gold throughout.

Stacy says, "This yarn is a dream to knit with! It feels so soft and smooth in my hands, and the drape is perfect for a summery wrap like this."

Amalthea is available for download from us via the Ravelry in-store pattern program. You can get her as an individual pattern for $6.00, or as part of a larger eBook (six shawl patterns) called Myths and Fairytales for $16.50.

On The Needles: Cloudette Cardigan in Zephyr

Ever have one of those projects that just will. not. end? This is one of those.

Meet Cloudette. Designed by Claudia Geiger, she appeared in the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits. Stacy's knitting this in JaggerSpun Zephyr (laceweight wool/silk) in Bottle Green.

Stacy says, "I cast on for this sweater pretty much as soon as I saw it. And that was almost a year ago. It's not the sweater's fault--I just keep getting distracted by other projects! Also, I decided to make the sleeves longer than the original, and now I'm kind of regretting that decision. OH WELL."

Do you have a project that's been in progress forever? What's causing it to take so long?

See us at Stitches South!

If you're heading to Stitches South this weekend, be sure to stop by and see us at the Atlanta Area Yarn Shops booths. Carrie and eight other LYS owners will be set up in the market in booths 133, 135, 137, 232, 234, and 236 (highlighted on the map below).

Click map to enlarge.

We'll have two beautiful kits for sale at Stitches. First up, this is the Crabapple Petals cowl. You might recognize it from here.

This kit comes with the pattern by Lesbian Housewyfe, approx. 250 yards of Serena (alpaca/cotton blend), and 15-20 grams of size 6 beads (via The Bead Shoppe). Seven different colors will be available, so shop early to make sure you get your favorite! (Sample shown in Glacier.) $30/kit.

Next, here's an exclusive pattern created especially for this event by local designer NellKnits. It's called the Sheepish Springtime Cowl and it'll be a great addition to your wardrobe, whether you wear it doubled around your neck or long and loose as shown here.

The Sheepish Springtime Cowl kit comes with the pattern and one skein (220 yds) of Ultra Pima (100% cotton). It will be available in at least eight colors, so again, shop early so you can get the one you want! (Sample shown in Deep Coral.) $15/kit.

The market hours at Stitches are: Friday, April 12, 10am-6pm; Saturday, April 13, 10am-6pm; Sunday, April 14, 10am-4pm.

If you aren't going to Stitches and/or you want first chance at one of these kits, stop by the shop before 6:00 today and you can get one before Carrie loads them into her car. :)

Introducing...Misti Alpaca

Recently we had the opportunity to meet with a sales rep from Misti Alpaca, and to see and feel many of their lovely yarns. We were very impressed!

Of course, with the weather getting warmer, now isn't the season when we'd normally be stocking a lot of alpaca yarns. But lucky for us (and YOU), Misti Alpaca was offering some special deals so we could order small quantities of a few yarns and try them out. And here they are!

First up, this is Baby Me Boo. It's a beautiful thick and thin blend of 50% baby alpaca, 30% merino, and 20% bamboo. We have two skeins each of natural cream and nine hand-painted colors. Worsted weight, 174 yds/skein.

Baby Me Boo

Next, we have Hand Paint Chunky. Folks, we've touched a lot of super soft alpaca yarns over the years, but this one just might be the softest yet. It's 100% baby alpaca and the colorways are gorgeous. We have two skeins each of ten colorways. Bulky weight, 108 yds/skein.

Hand Paint Chunky

Last but not least, here's Pima Silk Hand Paint and Tonos. This actually is a great yarn for warm weather. It's 83% pima cotton, 17% silk. We have five skeins each of one hand paint multi colorway and three Tonos (tonal, kettle-dyed look) colorways. DK weight, 327 yds/skein.

Pima Silk Hand Paint and Tonos

Again, these are some yarns we're just trying out, and there are very limited quantities of each, so come and get 'em soon. Fondle them, knit with them, and let us know what you think! Your feedback will help us decide which Misti Alpaca yarns we'll order for fall.

On The Needles: Hoodie in Tatamy

Maybe we should call this one "On The Hook." For those of you who think crochet is only good for baby blankets and doilies, take a look at this....

Click to enlarge

Carrie just started this Lightweight Hoodie To Crochet, designed by Val Love for Dovetail Designs. The yarn is Tatamy in color 1718 (black). Yes, we've been hitting the Tatamy DK pretty hard around here lately. What can we say? We love this yarn.

Carrie says, "I need a black cardigan and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in knitting, so I decided to branch out and crochet. I'm using a bigger yarn than the pattern calls for, so I'm using the directions for the size medium and it should come out the right measurements for the size large. I did a gauge swatch first!"

Want to try making this project yourself? The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF through our Ravelry in-store pattern program!

Bind-offs that don't bind

Do you ever have a problem with your bind-off being too tight? It's a common issue, and can really be trouble if your bound-off edge needs to be flexible in order to fit right (such as a toe-up sock or top-down hat) or if you want your finished piece to drape evenly all the way around (such as a circular scarf).

One thing you can do to combat the tight bind-off is simply use a larger needle for your bind-off than you used for the rest of your project. That'll do in a pinch, but sometimes it leaves your edge looking a little floppy. Luckily, there are some alternate techniques that provide a beautiful bound off edge with plenty of give.

1. Elizabeth's Stretchy Sewn Bind-Off: This method was developed by the legendary Elizabeth Zimmermann. It's ideal for neckbands, cuffs, or anything else that needs to stretch and bounce back. It's kind of like the Kitchener stitch, except you're not stitching anything together. Here's a video that demonstrates this simple, effective process.

 

YouTube video by KannD86

2. Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off: This one is similar to a standard bind-off, except it adds a yarn wrap step for extra flexibility. The advantage of this technique is that, unlike the Sewn Bind-Off, you don't have to guess about how much yarn to leave for a sewing tail.

YouTube video by planetpurl

3. K2Tog Bind-Off: Here's a great bind-off option for items that need to drape, like cowls. It's also ideal for binding-off lace projects so their edges can be flexible enough for blocking.

YouTube video by AllFreeKnitting

There are other stretchy bind-offs out there, but these are the ones we've used and liked. Try them and see which one you prefer! Do you know of some other good ones? Tell us in the comments!