Tatamy DK cotton for all seasons

Summer may be winding down, but we know there's still plenty of warm weather left. And in our mild climate, a medium-weight cotton is a great choice for year-round wear.

With all that in mind, we're fully stocked on colors of Tatamy DK from Kraemer Yarns. This 45% cotton/55% acrylic blend is machine washable and dryable, making it a fantastic choice for garments, afghans, or whatever you can dream up. Take a look at all these beautiful colors we have in stock.

Stacy recently made this adorable sweater for a friend's baby, using just over one skein.

The pattern is Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater by Carole Barenys. It's a simple (and free) pattern available from Ravelry. Need more ideas for Tatamy DK? We'll be glad to help you brainstorm!

NEW: Pea Pods

Here's a lovely new yarn that arrived just in time for your summer knitting. This is Pea Pods, a 100% cotton yarn from Knit One Crochet Too. It has a thick-and-thin texture that resembles peas in a pod.

Pea Pods can be worked up at a variety of gauges to achieve different effects. K1C2 describes it as having "open texture at looser gauge, cobblestone texture at tighter gauge." The label recommends a size US 5-7 needle for 18-20 sts/4".

This yarn has great yardage--262 yds./100g ball for $14.50.

Need pattern inspiration? Check out this clever jacket Carrie made with Pea Pods.

It's the Warren 2-Way Jacket, which can be worn as a short jacket with a wide shawl collar (as shown), or turned upside-down to be worn as a longer garment with a fishtail hemline and a rolled lapel. Very cool!

Let us download this pattern for you, and you'll receive credit toward your Sheepish reward points.

On The Needles: Madison in Seedling Handpaint

It's no secret that we're big fans of c2knits designs around here. But did you know that in addition to their easy-to-knit garments and accessories for women, they also offer a design for an adorable baby dress?

Madison is a cute jumper, sized for girls from 6-24 months old. Its A-line shape extends its wearing life--as your little one grows, she can wear Madison as a tunic or tank! There are three hem design options--ruffle, lace, or colorwork--so you could knit several Madisons and never make the same one twice.

This design calls for a worsted weight yarn and a size US 7 needle, so we thought it would be the perfect way to showcase one of our lovely new organic cottons. This is Seedling Handpaint in colorway 4526, Lava.

Stacy says, "This is my first time knitting with Seedling, and it's really nice. Soft and comfortable, and not at all limp or stringy like some cottons. Madison is a very simple, fast knit. It would be a great option for a quick baby shower gift, or a first garment project for a beginning knitter who's ready to move beyond scarves."

By the way, could we just take a moment to marvel at how perfectly the stripes on those little straps match?

The kicker is, this wasn't even intentional. That just happened to be how the handpainted colors landed.

Hard copies of Madison are in stock now, as are many wonderful colors (both handpaints and solids) of Seedling.

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!

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!

On The Needles: Cowl Shell in Ultra Pima Paints

This week's On The Needles is a study in handpainted yarns.

As we posted recently, one of our all-time favorite cotton yarns, Ultra Pima, now comes in handpainted colorways as well as the solids. Stacy's working on a sample garment for our shop mannequin, Epiphany, to wear for spring.

The pattern is the Cowl Shell by Myrna Batten. What a great addition this would be to any warm weather wardrobe! Wear it alone on a hot summer day, layer it under a blazer for work, or pair it with a light cardigan for those chilly movie theaters.

You can buy this pattern from us through Ravelry's in-store pattern sales program. It only costs $5.00, and it's a great way to support an indie designer and your favorite local yarn shop!

Stacy says, "I wanted to experiment with this handpainted yarn a couple of different ways to see where the colors would land. I started at the bottom, knitting every round from the same ball of yarn. As you can see, large pools of colors began to appear. After a few inches, I started alternating two skeins of yarn, knitting two rounds with each. While the colors are still pooling a bit, they're much more mixed now and create much less of a dramatic swirling effect. Next, I'll try switching skeins every round. I expect that will break up the colors even more. Depending on what you like, you can get a lot of different looks with handpainted yarn.

"The Ultra Pima Paints are every bit as wonderful to work with as the solids. The yarn is soft and has a subtle sheen, and the colors are beautiful. This is my go-to yarn for spring and summer garments. And I can imagine any of the Paints, especially this Pastel Mix I'm working with, making a really cute Baby Surprise Jacket." (We have the BSJ pattern in stock, by the way....)

Ultra Pima--now in Paints!

Cascade's Ultra Pima has been one of our favorite cottons for years, and now we're excited to be one of the first shops anywhere to carry Ultra Pima Paints!

This yarn is so new, it's not even listed on Ravelry yet. But it's here at Sheepish and waiting for you to be one of the first to try it.

Like Ultra Pima's solid colors, Ultra Pima Paints is a DK weight, 100% cotton that knits at 5.5-6 sts/in on a US 5-6 needle. The silky sheen and drape of the pima cotton make this yarn perfect for spring and summer tops, but it would also be a great choice for shawls, baby blankets, fancy washcloths...any project that benefits from a soft, colorful yarn. Oh, and did we mention it's machine washable?

 

Just look at these colors! Clockwise from top left: Autumn Leaves, Carnival Mix, Pastel Mix, and Iris Mix. We have a shop model in the works so you'll be able to see how the color changes knit up.

Ultra Pima Paints retails at $12.50 and, like Ultra Pima solids, comes in a generous 220-yard hank.

Kraemer cottons for spring

Yes, it's time to start planning those spring projects. Here are a couple of new yarns to get you inspired. They're both from Kraemer (the folks who make our super-popular Perfection yarn), and are made in the U.S.A. like all Kraemer products.

Tatamy Tweed Worsted

First, we have Tatamy Tweed Worsted. This easy-care cotton/acrylic blend will be a great choice for warm weather garments, baby items, blankets...you name it! We love it because the tweed flecks are small and spun right into the yarn, so it doesn't have that linty look that many tweeds have. Tatamy Tweed Worsted comes in a nice range of colors, from neutral to pastel to bright.

Tatamy Tweed Worsted in Rubber Ducky colorway

Here's a little blanket Carrie made for Mariele's baby doll. It's so soft and cute. And when it gets dirty, it can be tossed in the washer and dryer--HURRAY! This yarn comes in a 180-yard ball for $6.50.

Tatamy DK

And this is our wonderful selection of Tatamy DK. Another machine washable cotton/acrylic blend, this one is a bit lighter (calls for a US 5 needle) and doesn't have the tweedy flecks. Carrie is making a market bag out of it and she reports that she really loves working with it. The colors have a lovely depth to them--stop by and see them for yourself! Tatamy DK comes in a generous 250-yard ball for $6.50.

More cottons will be arriving in the next few days....

Sheepish Summer Games Challenge

You may have heard of this idea before:  pick a project, begin it during opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, then finish by the end of closing ceremonies.  We're putting our own twist on it: purchase your yarn (and hopefully your pattern too!) at Sheepish, simply finish before the deadline and you'll be entered to win prizes! 

We've come up with three categories:

• Small projects:  hats, scarves, baby sweaters, etc
• Socks
• Big projects: adult sweaters, blankets, etc

There is no judging--just stick to the rules and finish and you'll qualify for a drawing where we'll be giving away shop gift certificates and other goodies.  If you're not sure what category your project would fit in, just ask!  I'm sure we'll figure it out. 

As an extra incentive, all cotton yarns are on sale 20% off, starting today!  If it's got cotton in it, it's on sale!

You must purchase your yarn at Sheepish to qualify for our prize drawing.

The Olympic games start Friday the 27th of July and end Sunday August 12th.  You've got a week to pick a project and then 2+ weeks to work on it.  Everyone likes to watch the games, now you can keep your hands occupied while you cheer on Team USA!

Cotton Rich strikes again!

Here's Tuesday night regular Sara with Mariele, who is modeling the adorable dress Sara made for her.  Sara used two colors of summer favorite Cotton Rich DK and the Rainbow Dress pattern by Georgie Hallam.  Super cute!

We have lots of beautiful colors of Cotton Rich in stock for your summer knitting.  The Rainbow Dress pattern is available for download from Ravelry here.