Baby Me Boo for you

Take a look at these lovelies that arrived this week.

This is Baby Me Boo, a wonderfully soft blend of 50% baby alpaca, 30% merino wool, and 20% bamboo. Hand-dyed by the talented artisans at Misti Alpaca, the thick-and-thin construction of Baby Me Boo creates a gorgeous, textured fabric.

When a yarn itself is this beautifully designed, you don't need a complicated pattern to create projects that look fantastic. That makes Baby Me Boo a great choice for beginners who aren't yet ready for a challenging pattern but want to make something that looks fancy, as well as for anyone who needs to crank out some nice gifts without much effort.

Convertible Scarf - Worsted Cowl

Basic Lace Scarf

These patterns and more are available as free downloads via Misti Alpaca. For more Baby Me Boo project ideas, check out what Ravelry users are making with this yarn.

Baby Me Boo is listed as a worsted weight yarn that knits up at approximately 4.5 sts/in on a US 7 needle.

New: Perfection Lights

You asked for it, and we heard you! Customers have been asking for yarn with a bit of sparkle in it, and we think you'll really like this one.

Kraemer's Perfection continues to be one of our all-time most popular yarns, so we're really excited to be able to offer you Perfection Lights Worsted. Like its non-sparkly cousin, Perfection Lights is an easy care, classic worsted weight blend of superwash merino and acrylic, but with the addition of a tinsel-like polyester thread.

Here's a closer look at the colors we have in stock. The rich palette is, well, perfect for fall and winter knitting. What will you make with this yarn--a festive hat? elegant evening shawl or cowl? blinged-out Christmas stocking?

Perfection Lights Worsted comes in a 200-yard ball for $7.50.

Shop Hop prize: Serena

Today we're spotlighting the second of the three prizes we'll be giving away for Shop Hop. (Did you miss the first one? Here it is.)

That's SIX skeins of Manos del Uruguay's luxurious Serena. This kettle-dyed colorway is called Blackberry Ice. Serena is a dreamy 60/40 blend of baby alpaca and pima cotton--which, in our climate, makes it pretty much an all-season yarn.

The fiber content gives Serena a fabulous drape that has made it a very popular choice for scarves, shawls, and light cardigans (Featherweight, anyone?). Although Ravelry lists this yarn as a DK-weight, we like it even better when it's knit at a sport- or even fingering-weight gauge. These six skeins give you a total of 1020 yards, so you'll have lots of project options...

...if you win. But remember, you can't win if you don't play, so don't forget to buy your Shop Hop passport! They're only $1.

The retail value of the Serena prize package is $87.

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.

End of winter sale

As spring yarns begin to arrive, we need to clear out some winter items. Starting today, many wool and alpaca yarns are 20% off. This includes Kraemer Bear Creek, Misti Alpaca Chunky, Manos Maxima, and many more. The sale will run through next Sun. 3/16. Come on in and get some great bargains!

Signs of spring

Can you feel the excitement in the air? The first yarns of spring are starting to arrive! Here's a little shipment we just got in from Misti Alpaca.

A lot of people don't realize that Misti Alpaca doesn't just do alpaca. This is Pima Silk Hand Paint, a luxurious DK-weight blend of 83% cotton/ 17% silk. This yarn was very popular last spring and summer, and we're happy to introduce some new colors of it this time around!

 

Meanwhile, we're still seeing plenty of demand for Tonos Worsted. What's not to love about this buttery soft, kettle-dyed, 50/50 blend of baby alpaca and merino? We've brought back some tried-and-true favorite colors, as well as adding some fresh new ones.

What projects are you planning for spring?

Lighten up with Silky Alpaca Lace

This weather is crazy. Hard to believe, but this time last week we were closed because of ice and snow. Today it's 73 degrees and we're thinking about SPRING!

If you're ready to shed your winter layers and start planning some lighter projects, we have some suggestions. Check out these beautiful colors of Silky Alpaca Lace from Classic Elite Yarns.

This 70% alpaca/30% silk yarn is wonderfully soft and airy, making it a great choice for the change of seasons. Here are some patterns designed specifically with Silky Alpaca Lace in mind.

Honeybun by Tonia Barry, a scarf that twists into spirals with a picot edging detail. Its stockinette fabric would make a lovely blank canvas for a variegated colorway.

 

Moonraker shawl by Lakshmi Juneja, the perfect thing to wrap around your shoulders on a chilly spring day.

Dune by Jennifer Dassau, a fitted sleeveless tunic. The smallest sizes only take two balls of Silky Alpaca Lace.

All of these patterns are available at Sheepish through our Ravelry pattern sales program, so you can buy them from us and receive credit toward your Reward Points.

Treat yourself to some Silky Alpaca Lace and you'll be ready to greet spring in style!

Misti Alpaca Chunky is a hit!

When we decided to stock Misti Alpaca Chunky, we knew you'd love it, but we had no idea how much you'd love it. We won't name names, but we have a few customers who are downright obsessed with this stuff. Why not? It's super soft and, well--just look at it.

Pretty much irresistible, right?

In case you haven't jumped on the Alpaca Chunky bandwagon yet (or if you've stashed a ton of it and haven't quite decided what to make with it), here are a few project ideas. All of these patterns are available for purchase from us through our Ravelry in-store pattern sales program.

 Salt by Andi Satterlund

 Arctic Circle by Antonia Shankland

Early Morning by Taiga Hilliard Designs

Grown-Up Cozy by Justyna Lorkowska

These are just a few ideas. Stop by the shop to see the latest shipment of Misti Alpaca Chunky, and we can help you add more projects to your queue. :)

Have you met Ayllu?

We're so glad we decided to open an account with Misti Alpaca Yarns last year. It's been such a pleasure to support this Fair Trade company, not to mention the fact that their yarns are WONDERFUL!

Well, hello there.

Case in point: Ayllu (which Misti Alpaca informs us means "community" in the Andean language of Qechua) is an alpaca yarn that's wrapped with a fine nylon thread to create a cozy thick-and-thin texture. It's overdyed, so some parts of the skein show the hand-dyed colorway and other parts are black. Gorgeous! Here's a closer look at the colors we have in stock:

Top, L-R: El Dorado, Italian Ice, Cabaret. Bottom, L-R: Dynasty, Galapagos, Rose.

 

Misti Alpaca classifies Ayllu as an aran weight, knitting up at 3.5 sts/in on a US 9 needle. 120-yd skein/$23.

We haven't made a shop sample with this yet. What would you like to see made out of it?

Dream Club: December 2013

Here's the latest offering from Dream in Color's Dream Club. Yes, it's another gorgeous one! (We know we say that every month--but it's always true.)

This month's yarn is a special base created just for the Dream Club. It's 100% domestic fine merino wool, which knits up at about 4.5 sts/in on a US 7 needle (210 yds/100g for $30). It's wonderfully squishy and, of course, the hand-dyed colors make these skeins really special.

The pattern that comes free with purchase of this month's yarn is actually two patterns. This set is called Poinsettia, designed by Jessica Correa. There is enough yardage in one skein to make both the headband and the fingerless mitts. As always, we only have ten skeins of this month's yarn, so be sure to get one soon!

Did you know that Dream in Color has a monthly contest in their Dream Club Ravelry group? They host a knit-along each month, and at the end of the month they award a high-end skein of yarn (retail value $30+) to two randomly chosen participants. They also award a bag of Smooshy to the LYS where the winners purchased the yarn. Visit the group for full details.

New: Hand Paint Sock

Ooooh, it's so exciting when a new-to-us yarn arrives. We're very happy to introduce you to our latest addition, Hand Paint Sock from Misti Alpaca.

Colors currently in stock, clockwise from far left: Tilt-A-Whirl, Reggaeton, Northern Lights, Manu, Eiffel.

We're crazy about this yarn. The colors are great, obviously, and it's also wonderfully soft. The fiber blend is 50% alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% silk, and 10% nylon. Hand Paint Sock comes in a 437-yard skein for $23.00. The label recommends hand-washing.

While Misti Alpaca calls this a sock yarn, don't limit yourself by thinking of it only in terms of socks. A quick browse through its Ravelry project pages will give you plenty of inspiration for scarves, shawls, mitts, and other great items to make with this wonderful yarn. Let your imagination run wild, and have fun!

Dream Club: October 2013

The latest installment from Dream In Color's Dream Club is another gorgeous autumnal gem. With Everlasting Sock ($26) as the base yarn, the warm colors of falling leaves really pop out in this smoothly-twisted 100% superwash merino.

Everlasting Sock

Accompanying this beautiful yarn, the Dream Club pattern of the month is Sand People Always Ride Single File (S.P.A.R.S.F.) by Claire Ellen. Dream In Color calls these cabled socks, "A perfect match between our wonderfully hard-wearing Everlasting Sock and an entertaining intermediate level pattern."

S.P.A.R.S.F. socks

This pattern might look intimidating at first, but if you have basic knowledge of sock knitting and cable construction, you can make these.

Remember, as a Dream Club shop, we only receive ten skeins of each month's yarn from Dream In Color. It's first-come, first-served, so be sure to stop by and get a skein for yourself before they're all gone!

More beauty from Manos

When we got our first fall shipment from Manos del Uruguay a few weeks ago, several of the colors we'd ordered weren't included because they were backordered. Today we received a wonderful box containing these colors:

This is Maxima in (top to bottom) Kermit, Foil and Tigerlily. The Kermit and Tigerlily are brand new colors from Manos this fall. Foil is featured in our Shop Hop pattern (more info on that coming soon!), so we needed to stock up on plenty of it for everyone who wants to make the pattern.

Next, here are two more colors of the extremely popular Silk Blend--Chartreuse and Black. Each of them is gorgeous, but we love them even more together! What do you think of this combo?

Also in this shipment, we have the Minas cowl pattern, designed by Angelia Robinson. This is a crochet pattern! It calls for three skeins of Silk Blend (two of the main color, one of the contrast) and a size H hook. Minas is a brand new design from the Manos Fall 2013 pattern collection.

We're constantly amazed at the beauty of everything we get from Manos del Uruguay. We hope you'll love all these new colors as much as we do!

Shop Hop prize #2

Here's a sneak peek at another one of the prizes we'll be giving away during Shop Hop.

Ooooh...cashmere.

Yes, it's three luscious skeins of Jade Sapphire's Mongolian Cashmere Handspun. That's a total of 360 yards of thick-and-thin, worsted weight, 100% cashmere. It just doesn't get much more luxurious than black cashmere.

The retail value of this prize is $138. Remember, even if you only get one stamp on your Shop Hop passport, you'll still be eligible to win great prizes like this one! Passports are on sale now for only one dollar.

Dream Club: September 2013

This month we're thrilled to be kicking off another great season of Dream In Color's Dream Club. Without further ado, let's take a look at September's installment from the club.

It's even more gorgeous in person!

Wow, they're really setting the bar high by starting the season with this yarn. It's one of Dream In Color's most popular yarns, Smooshy with Cashmere, dyed in an exclusive Club colorway that features all the rich tones of autumn. With 400 yards in a skein, this fingering weight blend of 70% superwash merino/20% cashmere/10% nylon is a real deal at only $30/skein.

With your purchase of this month's Club yarn, you'll also receive the pattern of the month. Dream in Color calls Menagerie "a unique accessory piece that can be worn in a variety of ways." Like all Dream Club patterns, this garment is designed to be knit with just one skein of the month's yarn.

Remember, we only get ten skeins of each month's yarn, so if you want one, come and get yours soon!

Labor Day weekend sale

New fall yarns are arriving regularly, and we need your help to make room for them! So...

Brown Sheep yarns, just waiting to go home with you.

Now through Sunday, Sept. 1, all yarns from Kraemer, Cascade, Classic Elite, and Brown Sheep, are 25% off. Out with the old dye lots and in with the new!

Sale yarns include: Perfection, Tatamy, Heritage, Fixation, Ultra Pima, Seedling, Silky Alpaca Lace, Lamb's Pride Bulky, Cotton Fleece, Nature Spun, Burly Spun, and many more. If you're coming to Decatur for the Book Festival anyway, you might as well stop by and see us and grab some bargains, right?

New yarns from Misti Alpaca

This time of year is so much fun for us. The UPS man brought us two big boxes of gorgeous fall yarns today!

We're pleased to be adding several Misti Alpaca yarns to our fall line-up this year. We think you're really going to love these.

Misti Alpaca Worsted

First up, here's their worsted weight baby alpaca, simply called Worsted. This yarn is buttery soft and its medium weight makes it a versatile option for our climate. It knits at 5 sts./in. on a US 7 needle. $8.00 per 109-yard skein.

Tonos Worsted

Next, this is Tonos Worsted. It's a 50% baby alpaca / 50% merino blend in amazing hand-painted tone-on-tone colorways. Like the solid worsted, this yarn knits at 5 sts./in. on a US 7 needle. $20 per 218-yard skein.

Misti Alpaca Chunky

Last but definitely not least, we have Misti Alpaca Chunky. Folks, we've snuggled up to a lot of alpaca yarns in our time, but this just might be the softest of them all. And the colors and drape are absolutely heavenly. This 100% baby alpaca yarn will be a great choice for quick, luxurious accessory projects. It knits at 3.5 sts./in. on a US 10 needle. $16 per 109-yard skein for the solids; $23.50 for the hand-paints.

Come in and feel these goodies for yourself!

Fall arrivals from Manos del Uruguay

Today we received our first shipment of fall yarn, and it's a beauty. Check this out:

Autumny goodness.

That's Manos del Uruguay's Silk Blend, a luscious DK-weight combo of 70% extrafine merino / 30% silk. Some colorways are space-dyed and some are semi-solid, and all come in 150-yard skeins. Space-dyed colorways are $15.00 and semi-solids are $14.50.

If you need some inspiration about what to make from this new-to-us yarn, here are some lovely accessory patterns to ease you into your fall knitting. These are in stock now!

Manyara beret and cowl set.

Salto fingerless mitts.

You need to experience this yarn in person so you can feel how fabulous it is and see the gorgeous hand-dyed colors for yourself. Photos just can't do them justice!

Sneak peek: Gradient

Back in the spring, a sales rep left a ball of Schoppel Yarn's Gradient with us so we could try it. Stacy knit it into the Honey Cowl, and the sample has been living here at the shop all summer, where many of you have commented on how much you like it. That's exactly the kind of feedback we were hoping for!

Gradient is a soft, slightly felted wool single with very long color repeats. It comes in the same kind of ball as Schoppel's Zauberball, but knits at a worsted weight gauge. It's really nice to work with, and watching the slow, gradual color changes is so much fun.

We met with our sales rep yesterday, and based on your positive reaction to Gradient, we ordered it for fall. We'll be getting five colorways, and we ordered extra balls of the orange shown in the sample because it's gotten such a great response. It will sell for about $22.50 per 284-yd. ball. Our Honey Cowl took less than one ball.

We look forward to seeing what kinds of projects you'll make with this gorgeous yarn!