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by Kelley on March 9, 2011
Warm and happy. Nice new slippers to celebrate all of the snow we had at our home the last couple of weeks. And, in my enthusiasm for Chroma in fingering weight, I had completely forgot that we also had it available in worsted weight. Alison pointed this out to me as I blocked my Gentle Reversible Shawl and was trying to figure out my next Chroma project. This is my free Seed Stitch Hot Water Bottle Cover pattern. I used the twisted stitch version to give the fabric even more texture. It only took a few hours to knit the cover so I was able to use it to keep warm during the worst part of our winter storm. I used one ball of Chroma Worsted in the Mesa colorway plus a little bit more. The good news is there was plenty of yarn left in the second ball to make a hat. |
Category Archives: Yarn
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by Kelley on March 9, 2011
Love this pattern - Gentle. If you follow Diana's excellent instructions on how to divide your yarn like I did when I got started, you won't run out of yarn. This quick, colorful project was exactly what I needed as winter continues with snowy, cold days. |
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by Kelley on February 23, 2011
I love the Belinda Shawl from Kay Gardiner & Ann Shayne's second book, Mason-Dixon Knitting Ourtside the Lines. It is incredibly simple in design but the result will be so elegant. When we received our samples of Aloft, we all started thinking about what we would like to knit with the gossamer soft strands of super kid mohair and silk. Watching the two open-work layers of the Belinda shawl move past each other would be mesmorizing but add in the glint of silk and the warm softness of the mohair and I think this will be a delight to knit and wear. Look at the colors I've chosen. Tarragon was a no brainer since it is the sort of warm green I enjoy wearing. I put several second color options next to it but it wasn't until I held up the Eggplant that I knew I had found my combination. All I need to do is grab a pair of Harmony needle tips and a 32" cable. The sharp point will make it easy to work with the fine yarn. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on February 21, 2011
Let me show it to you... Can you believe how beautiful it is? Aloft is a blend of 75% mohair and 25% silk and it will leave you wanting to knit with it over and over again. The silk adds a radiant core that shimmers and shines through the soft halo of mohair, all the while adding a beautiful drape and texture to any project. Our team fell head-over-heals in love with the line the moment we first saw the sample. The Knit Picks Director - Alison - couldn't keep us out of her office because we all wanted to keep touching it! It's just so yummy! |
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by Kelley on February 21, 2011
With a second ball of Chroma in my stash, I went exploring for a nice pattern that could take advantage of the generous yardage of Chroma Fingering weight. This Gentle Reversible Shawl by Diana Troldahl has a lovely surprise in the instructions. Diana explains how to determine the equal division of whatever yarn you want to use. Then she also tells you how to adapt that knowledge to knitting her shawl. Absolutely brilliant! |
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by Kelley on February 3, 2011
I know I am going out on a limb because each knitter has his or her own set of parameters. But, as I finished my Lace Ribbon Scarf I realized it was one of my absolutely perfect projects. Here is my checklist - 1) Easily obtainable instructions - right from Ravelry. I was able to use my Google Documents app to make the PDF file show up on my phone whenever I wanted to check the lace pattern 2) Memorizable pattern - it didn't take long for me to be able to read my previously knit stitches to tell where I was in the pattern. 3) High quality yarn - our Chroma yarn is delightfully soft as it flows through your fingers, it makes a fabric that is decadently soft and the color play as the lace pattern travels back and forth was mesmerizing. 4) Quick to knit - don't get me wrong, I love challenging projects like lace shawls or colorwork sweaters. But, those don't fall under my category of "absolutely perfect". 5) Easy to give away - that's right! A friend was admiring this scarf as I was knitting it. I loved that I didn't hesitate for a moment before I offered it to her as a gift. I enjoyed knitting it and I knew she would love it day after day after day. 6) My fingers are itching to cast on another potentially "absolutely perfect" project - and I think I've found it. Using my other ball of Chroma Fingering weight yarn in Sunrise. And, I will only need one ball because it has nearly 400 yards in the 100 gram ball. The pattern for this shawlette. |
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by Kelley on January 25, 2011
Our Knit Picks Drop Spindle is an affordable introduction to drop spindling. Notice how I didn't say, 'introduction to spinning'. Thanks to Abby Franquemont's book, Respect the Spindle, drop spindling is no longer considered to be a 'training exercise' or 'a first step towards real spinning on a spinning wheel'. More about spinning wheels later. After you become comfortable spinning yarn with your first drop spindle, you will want to collect more spindles. Abby explains that there are practical, as well as esthetic, reasons for expanding your spindle collection. Between the two, I can justify nearly any spindle purchase. Practical reasons usually involve your wanting to spin different weights of yarns. My Golding is perfect for DK/Worsted weight yarn. But, if I want to spin anything lighter, I definitely need to use a smaller spindle. |
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by Kelley on January 10, 2011
Alright, Stacey has gotten a jump-start on me with her Turn a Square hat and her Ida's Kitchen hat made from our new Chroma yarn. But, I am quite pleased with my choice of project - Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery using the New England colorway in fingering weight. I love how the the undulation of the fabric accents the long transitions of color. The only issue is that I only have one ball from what was left from our office stash. But, since there is a definite right and wrong side to this scarf, I think I'l be perfectly happy just having it drape around my neck. It's also knitting up quickly! I have found that following the chart was much easier than using the written instructions. |
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by Stacey on January 6, 2011
Chroma has been out for about 2 weeks now - have you tried it yet? I am honestly so in love with it. I can't stop knitting with it! First I tried the fingering weight for my Fishy Mitts that I already wrote about. But when I finished, I wanted to keep playing with it! Hats are one of my favorite things to knit (sadly, no one I know wears hats...so now I have a lot of them) so I decided to try out some different hat patterns with Chroma Worsted. First - I decided to do a Turn A Square by Jared Flood. I've actually never tried this pattern before, though I have done a few by Jared Flood. Alison has an addiction to this pattern so it seemed like a perfect time to try it out. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on January 5, 2011
Knitting the Autumn Sun shawl in Chroma worsted was completely addicting. The whole shawl is knit in garter stitch with simple increases on each end to create the triangle shape as you knit (the pattern is available on Ravelry as a free download). With no fancy stitch patterns to memorize or charts to check and re-check, I sat back and watched the colors in the Mix Tape colorway transition from yellow to green to pink to brown. |
