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by Jenny K on September 8, 2011
I have to admit that I am a sucker for anything that shimmers and shines - everything from nailpolish to shoes, and yes, yarn too! This is exactly why I could not wait to see our newest yarn, Stroll Glimmer, which shimmers and shines and looks simply stunning. When the box of samples finally arrived at the office, everyone rushed over to look through the colors and to see the pretty sparkles in person. |
Category Archives: Yarn
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by Kelley on August 1, 2011
Yes, I know, that is really thick yarn! It is a photo of two irresistable braids of 80% Merino/20% from Wonderland Dye Works that were my first purchase of the day. After sorting through my stash a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I still had fingering weight sock yarns from the first Sock Summit! The good news is that I was still completely in love with those yarns. That got me to thinking about the first Sock Summit and what I say to people when they ask me about it. I always explain it as being like visiting a large art museum. Each independent dyer has her, or his, color sensibility. Seeing booth after booth made that clear in a way I couldn't resist. Sort of like Monet and Picasso and Degas. |
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by Knit Picks Podcast on July 21, 2011
Kelley gets ready for the upcoming Sock Summit with weaving! By planning out projects for her rigid heddle loom, Kelley is able to go through her sock stash and use up yarn from the first Sock Summit. Who knew weaving could work as a stash management tool? Kelley also shares two books that would be perfect for those interested in weaving – Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving by Betty Linn Davenport and Weaving Made Easy by Liz Gipson. Next up, Kelley chats about projects on her needles and her weekend of weaving! Kelley also reviews the book, Mittens & Hats for Yarn Lovers by Carri Hammett. 3 easy ways to listen… |
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by Alison on July 5, 2011
I've been mostly knitting and crocheting as of late, so the start of Le Tour de Fleece was a great opportunity to pull out my wheel and get back into my peaceful Zen square of handspinning. Spinning yarn seems to occupy a different part of my brain than other fiber crafts; I find it especially calming when I have a really hectic week. First, I spun some BFL (Bluefaced Leicester) that I got at Andersen Fiber Works a couple of weeks ago. The indie dyer is Dicentra Designs, and I just love their bright, clear colors. I predrafted this fiber without splitting it up in order to preserve the super-long color repeats, and then I chain plied it to make a bouncy 3-ply yarn. When I knit this one up, I should see stripes that transition gently from shade to shade. |
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by Kelley on June 7, 2011
This is the photo from Mason Dixon Knitting: Outside The Lines. You can see how the pattern caught my attention. The shawl is actually very easy to knit and it worked up relatively quickly. I couldn't have cut it much closer. I finished the shawl one week before Bob's nephew's wedding. Thank goodness lace shawls dry quickly. I was so happy with the results. One of those times when you have wanted to make something for ages and it turns out even better than expected. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 31, 2011
We always love getting emails from Interweave (and any other magazines for that matter) saying that our yarn has been featured. We are particularly excited about the latest email we received from Interweave Crochet annoucing that our yarn was used for the beautiful Arboretum Cardigan, designed by Annette Petavy. Isn't it just lovely? For the cardigan, Annette used CotLin DK in Lilac. The little flowers are aslo made with CotLin in Cerise, Blackberry and Sprout. |
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by Kelley on May 31, 2011
What could be better than having an inspirational book arrive in the office at the same time as a sampling of new yarn? A Knitter's Home Companion by Michelle Edwards is an absorbing combination of stories, patterns and recipes. Her trio of washcloths just begged to be knit with our new Dishie cotton yarn. |
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by Knit Picks Podcast on May 26, 2011
Alison got a chance to chat with our art director, Christina about the development of all the new tonal colorways for Shadow, Stroll, Swish and Wool of the Andes. Kelley dishes about her love for Dishie and talks about knitting with cotton yarns. Hear all about Kelley’s fiber fun and what she is currently working on in the “What’s On My Needles” segment. Kelley also reviews the book Knitted Socks East and West by Judy Sumner. 3 easy ways to listen… |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 25, 2011
Many times, our customer service department receives questions about our new products with regard to their washability, durability, texture and so on. Recently, a couple days after the launch of our new Dishie line, a customer called in and asked our wonderful representative, Daryl, whether the yarn colors would bleed or fade in the wash. She also inquired whether the texture and feel were comparable to one of our competitors’ 100% cotton yarn. When we are selecting new yarn lines, we always go through a vigorous vetting process to determine whether the yarn is up to our standards. As soon as we receive the yarn samples, we distribute the yarn to two or more knitters and/or crocheters to swatch. We do this for three reasons: to test gauge, to make sure the spin is consistent, and to see how the yarn looks once it’s worked up. Once we have swatches in place, we essentially beat one of them up. We wash it in hot and cold water, we put it in the wash with heavy items, and test to see how it will hold up with a lot of abuse. Next, we wash another swatch according to the care instructions that we recommend. Once we know how the yarn works up and holds up, we make our decision. One thing that we hadn’t done in the past is bleach the yarn. Until now. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 19, 2011
Thank you to everyone who participated! This contest is now closed. To find out who won, please click here: WINNERS I am so thrilled to introduce you to our brand new yarn- Dishie. Dishie is a hard working worsted weight yarn, made of 100% cotton with a tight spin and high absorbency. Dishie is made of tougher stuff than super-snuggly Comfy or the organic cotton in Simply Cotton, which were designed specifically with garment knitting in mind. Dishie is more of a multi-purpose yarn well-suited for projects like dish cloths, market bags, baby bibs, but we made sure the finished yarn is still soft enough that it's a pleasure to knit. Dishie is also one of our most affordable yarns at only $3.99 for 100g ball, and comes in a rainbow of colors. Dishie is the darling of the Knit Picks' office right now, we've never knit so many dish cloths! Kerin even made up a dish cloth template for us so that we could each design our very own dish cloth pattern which are now available as free patterns. She also re-formatted the template to create a downloadable DIY Dishcloth free pattern. Now we want to see what you can come up with. Send a PDF, word doc, or jpeg of your own charted dishcloth pattern, or a photo of a knit or crocheted dishcloth you designed to contests@knitpicks.com by May 15th, 2011. It's up to you whether you want to use the DIY Dishcloth pattern or free style it- anything goes! We'll randomly select 3 winners and give them each a $20 gift card to Knit Picks. The winners will be e-mailed and their names will be posted here on the blog, along with some photos of a few of our favorite submissions. Now I'd like to show what our staff dreamed up to give you some inspiration... |
