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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. |
Category Archives: Yarn
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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... |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 11, 2011
This past Friday, I had the honor and privilege to visit with a woman named Peggy Adams from Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Peggy works as the Child Life Specialist in the Family Resource Center and is working hard to arrange a program for the parents of children to participate in while their sons and daughters receive treatment. I reached out to Peggy a couple weeks ago because I thought she might know of some local charities who might benefit from yarn donations. After speaking with her for a few minutes, she mentioned that she was in the process of starting a knitting and crochet class for the parents of kids at the hospital. |
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by Jenny K on May 10, 2011
As new yarns have been coming out, we have been working hard to make sure that we have our brand new yarn review videos to go along with the latest Knit Picks additions! By now you have probably seen Dishie - a new worsted weight cotton yarn that as the name suggests, is the ideal choice for dishcloths, home accessories, market bags and more! Alison gives her review of Dishie in this video and has some wonderful ideas for this soft, yet sturdy yarn as well as tips for using Dishie for garments. Another thing everyone here at Knit Picks is super excited about is the release of all the new and amazing Tonal yarns! In addition to Shadow and Stroll, we now have a beautiful selection of subtle, tonal colors in both Wool of the Andes and Swish Worsted! Both of these new additions come in 100 gram skeins and the colors are just so inpiring - my mind goes right to sweater knitting, even though summer is (hopefully) right around the corner! I just love the depth and texture that the tonals add to any project. You can also hear more about the new tonals as well as tips for working with these hand dyed beauties in Alison's yarn review video. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on May 6, 2011
So, as in most operations where secrecy is paramount, we use 'code names' for our yarns and patterns before they're released. That way, we can say things in 'code' to each other and avoid tipping off the... oh, wait. Actually we just use working titles, because that's easier than thinking of 'formal' names right off the bat. Usually, these working titles are scrapped and something more descriptive takes their place. (For instance, I'm sure a lot more people would want to make the 'Shift Tote' than the 'Intarsia bag'.) Sometimes, though, the working title sticks and you get things like Dishie! |
