Monthly Archives: October 2013

My (almost finished!) Diadem cowl

When the samples of Diadem first arrived in our office, the thing I remember most was the feeling of being completely in awe of the colors! Immediately, I went into project brainstorming mode: grabbing colors, making notes of pattern possibilities, rearranging color palettes, piling up stitch dictionaries.

Diadem_Yarn_3

Diadem in Tourmaline

There were just so many good possibilities! And finally, after many piles of mini swatches (both knit and crochet), I settled on making a cowl with a simple stitch pattern to really show off the ever-so-subtle shade shifts.

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Addison

When we first started putting together Reclaimed, Addison by Thayer Preece immediately caught my eye. Rather unusual for me, since I rarely wear dresses (jeans & occasionally a skirt are pretty much my usual clothing choices) and most of my time, cardigans are my go to choice for knitted garments. Still, I kept coming back to it.  When I was writing about Reclaimedfor the blog, I finally decided I needed to make it.

AddisonDressDetail

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Diving in Diadem

I can’t believe that it’s finally time to introduce Diadem! I’ve seen so many projects in this glorious yarn around the office lately that it feels like old news, but now I’ll be able to oggle all of your projects on Ravelry! I literally can’t wait to see what creations feature this yarn over the next few months. For now, I’ll content myself to petting the wonderful fabric of the Diving In {recipe} shawl that I made and gifted to my mother for her birthday. The luminous skeins of Diamond and Moonstone were the first colors I spotted when the shipment of Diadem arrived in the office and I made a quick grab for one of each in the middle of the mad dash for yarn. For weeks afterward we all had piles of silky hanks on our desks as we searched for the “perfect pattern” to test this new yarn.

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Introducing Lilleknappen!

I’m a huge fan of details, especially when it comes to finishing projects. I like good, proper hems, perfectly coordinated buttons, and fine stitching along a steek. Even more than that, though, I love authentic touches. That’s why I’m so thrilled that we’re carrying authentic Norwegian pewter buttons and clasps and Swedish cotton ribbons from Lilleknappen!

Dala (Horses) Cotton RibbonKRISTIN Pewter ButtonSHIP Pewter Button

I’ve been waiting for this day for quite some time, actually. I found Lilleknappen when I was looking for good quality pewter clasps several years ago, and we’ve finally been able to add their fantastic products to our lineup. That means that the pile of sweaters that have been waiting for trimming can finally be finished! (for two years my favorite Icelandic sweater has been held shut with a safety pin!)

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Podcast Episode 226: New November Yarn & Collections

This week, we get to talk about one of our all-time favorite topics: new stuff! First up, Jenny and Stacey divulge the details of the newest yarn addition to the Knit Picks line – Diadem! This ultra-luxe blend of 50% baby alpaca and 50% mulberry silk is a fiber lover’s dream come true.

 

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Next, hear all about the three new pattern collections including Glacier Bay, Bulky 2013 and Swish 2013. Finally, Stacey and Jenny gush about the goldmine of new tools, kits and accessories.

You can find all three brand new collections here:

Glacier Bay eBook
Glacier Bay Printed Book
Swish 2013 Collection eBook
Swish 2013 Collection Printed Book
Bulky 2013 Collection eBook
Bulky 2013 Collection Printed book

3 easy ways to listen…

podcast_iTunesSubpodcast_MP3downloadrssfeed

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Palette Contest Winner

Wow.

This was the biggest response to contest we’ve ever had. Since the overwhelming response resulted in some issues with commenting on the blog late in the weekend, we counted comments on other blog posts, emails & social media places – which brought the total entries to over 28,000!

There were so many wonderful comments & ideas on what to do with 150 skeins of Palette! (since I was approving the comments, I read them all!). To keep it fair, we randomly drew a winner from all the entries. So a big congratulations to Nan in Minnesota, who commented:

I would give them to the girls in our school knitting club to use in this year’s charity project–making sweaters for our adopted orphanage in Kenya.

We hope Nan will share photos of these wonderful girls using our yarn and that they have fun making some very special gifts!

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Hearthwarming Stockings

It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are right around the corner. If you’re like me and you haven’t really thought of what to make for the knitworthy on your list, I have an idea – the Hearthwarming Stockings!

This kit contains enough yarn for two stockings. There are a ton of different motifs to choose from, ensuring that each can be unique and just what the recipient would love.

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