Monthly Archives: August 2012

Exclusive Collections – Modern Sophisticate

This catalog was particularly exciting for me, as something we’ve been working on for quite awhile is finally available for all of you to see! Several months ago, Alison and I were chatting about IDP and since our eBooks have been popular, we thought it would be great if we could work with some of our favorite designers to create a collection of new patterns, complete with the beautiful photography that Hannah, Heidi and our photography team has been coming up with. Well, fast forward a few months (and a lot of work!) and our first 2 IDP exclusive collections are live – Twentieth Century Graphic by Ann Weaver (which I’ll discuss in my next blogpost) and Modern Sophisticate by Erica Jackofsky.

Erica has been one of my favorite designers since I started at Knit Picks – I love her designs (in fact, I’ve made several of them; many of them more than once). But still, when I talked to her about doing an exclusive collection, I was still amazed with what she had come up with.

Modern Sophisticate is a gorgeous collection of 6 patterns, each a classic piece with fun details. Including both garments and accessories, each pattern has a timeless simple silhouette with wonderful extra details that make Erica’s patterns so much fun to knit as well as to wear.

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Podcast Episode 194: New Fall Yarns 2012

This week, Kelley and Alison sit down to chat about all of the exciting new things
that have been happening here around the office – in particular, all of the
wonderful new yarns available for fall! First up is Palette, our
fingering weight colorwork yarn that is now up to 150 colors! A staple
yarn of the Knit Picks family, Kelley reminisces about the debut of
Palette and how it first began with a selection of 30 colors. Next, Kelley and Alison
introduce a yarn line new to Knit Picks this fall – Galileo! Hear all
about this amazing Merino wool and bamboo blend in addition to some
great projects that Kelley and Alison have in mind that would be perfect
for this new yarn. Next up is another new yarn line by the name of Reverie, which is a blend of baby alpaca and acrylic! Kelley
and Alison chat about this super soft brushed yarn, its unique …

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Some Quick Projects

All this hot weather hasn’t stopped my needles, but it has put
a size limit on what I’m working on. That means no blankets, sweaters
or scarves until the temperature drops below 75! It’s just too hot and
sticky to be hauling around projects that large, let along having them
in my lap as I work on them. NO thank you.

Instead, I’ve been delving into my stash of quick projects. Over the last three days I started and finished a pair of Matilde Skår’s Abra Alba Wrist Warmers, made a Teeny Tiny Knitted Toys white bunny to go with my little vegetable garden from two weeks ago and cast on some nice, plain black Capretta fingerless mittens from the Knitting Venture’s Leap! pattern. And it’s only Wednesday!

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Meet Reverie!

August has really been off to quite the start. With everything from new fall yarns to Sunstruck needles and limited-edition crochet hooks making their appearance, it’s hard to know what to gush about first. And since I always seem to bit a bit cold, I have to say that it has been quite difficult to contain my excitement for one of our newest yarn lines – Reverie!

This light and fluffy blend of 80% baby alpaca and 20% acrylic is just the thing for that perfect weekend sweater. I already have a picture in my mind of a cozy Reverie sweater that I can wear instead of a light jacket as the weather transitions to the chilly autumn air. The soft halo and lofty quality of Reverie totally embodies comfort to me and is just the thing for a relaxed, weekend sweater or dramatic, billowing cowls and scarves. Just add a cup of hot cider to that scene, and I’m a happy camper!

And our in-house designer Kerin was actually one of the first lucky people to try out Reverie – watch her video review to hear more about Reverie!

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Fresh Picked Colors

I always love choosing new colors for our yarns, but it’s no secret that Palette
is my ‘baby’. So, when we decided that it was time to make the big move
to 150 colors, I set out to not just ‘fill in’, but add a whole set
that not only complements the existing colors but is evocative in
itself. And so I am super excited to present our new Palette colors for 2012!

The set was inpired by so many things: new growth, delicacy, and the hints of colors that lie at the edges of grey.

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Summer Stripes Felted Water Bottle Holder

Since much of the US is in the midst of the dog days of summer, we thought it would be a good time to show off this week’s Freebie Friday pattern.

This is IDP designer Mara Jessup‘s Summer Stripes Felted Water Bottle Holder.  During the summer months, I’m chugging water like there’s no tomorrow and having a cute holder to carry my bottles around in is a no brainer.

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Announcing the Winners of Our “Endless Summer” Pinterest Contest!

As a sentimental type, I want to first express how simultaneously wonderful and difficult the experience of judging this contest was. Looking at each board almost felt like meeting a person—some humorous, some artful, some obvious nature-lovers or foodies or film enthusiasts. I was particularly touched by the numerous personal (and fab) “vintage summer photos” of yourselves and family, no matter how unsure you were of your hair in the 70’s. As mentioned in the original post for the contest, I maintain that summer (faults and all) is a magical time; even for the myriad who aren’t winning a spiffy prize, I hope that entering this contest reminded you of that, even in the slightest way. Oh, and I’ll also add – I learned that VERY MANY of you folks are lovin’ some Fifty Shades of Grey this Summer of 2012. I am positively scandalized!

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Fun With Yarn

One of my favorite recent additions to the catalog has been on page two
of the last two issues: the new glamour images under the table of
contents and Alison’s letter. Heidi and I have loved coming up with new
ways to feature our yarns in these fun little scenes each time.

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Enter Our “Endless Summer” Pinterest Contest!

Thanks everyone!  The comments are now closed & we’ll announce our winners by 8/9!

Yesterday, after we rolled out our brand new and lovely Sunstruck needles, I saw a reverberating message throughout our social media channels:  “Whelp! Found my (insert birthday/holiday/what-have-you) present!”. But why wait? What if you could win a full set of interchangeable Sunstruck needles?


sunstrucksummer

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