Introducing Capretta

When we released our merino/cashmere blend yarn Capra in the fall of 2010, we were really excited to see the response from customers – it was a hit!  After that launch, we immediately started work on developing a finer weight of cashmere-blend yarn that would make super-squishy socks and floaty, lightweight garments.  That yarn just launched – Capretta!

Capretta is a blend of 20.5 micron merino wool (for softness), cashmere (for that velvety I-can’t-stop-touching-it quality), and nylon (for durability).  The swatch in the image above is knit at a fairly tight gauge, 8 stitches to the inch, and it feels cushiony and plush with a slight halo.  I’m personally dying to try it out using a looser gauge on some lightweight sweater patterns like Pas de Valse by Marnie MacLean or Hannah Fettig’s Breezy Cardigan

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Weaving Take #2

A few months ago, I finally got the nerve to try my hand at weaving. I first was intrigued by weaving when Kelley started to prepare the samples for her Weaving with a Ridig Heddle video class. I don’t know why, but for some reason I had it set in my mind that weaving was complicated and time consuming. And don’t get me wrong – weaving isn’t some I am able to start on a whim as easily as casting on some stitches for a knitting project. The preparation is a bit time consuming and takes a bit of finessing, but once you are actually weaving the entire process goes along fairly fast.

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Baby Blanket Decisions

Even though my Christmas crafting is over, I still have some really fun gifts I’m excited to get started on. I have some really good friends expecting babies this year so that means I get to make a lot of baby things!

My first projects are for 2 dear friends who are expecting their first baby in May.  All of us are big University of Oregon Ducks fans (and if you are a college football fan, yes, we are all still celebrating the big win from yesterday) so I wanted to make sure I had a UofO theme for them.  I’ll definitely make a Duck Hat of course!

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Freebie Friday 2011

So I hope you have been enjoying our Freebie Friday patterns!  When we started it, we were just planning on running it through the holidays but since it’s been so popular, we thought we’d continue it on into 2012!

This week I thought I’d revisit some of the most popular Freebie Friday patterns – in case you missed one!

One of our favorites is Cassidy Clark’s Rubber Chicken!

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Brava Gifts

Like Kerin, I’m a bit of yarn snob.  I mean, I started out using big box store acrylic yarns but when I discovered how much I liked working with wool, I pretty much left them behind.  So I was initially trepidatious when we first received our initial samples of Brava.  But I always like to play with new yarns and I did have a project in mind where acrylic would be the best fiber to use.

MochiMonsterSlippers 

These are the Feet Eaters from Knitting Mochimochi!

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Color suggestions?

Developing yarn lines takes a long time, and our lead times can be up to a year in some cases!  We’re just entering the new year, and we already have to start planning new colors for Fall/Winter 2012.  Our meetings aren’t starting for about two weeks, so I thought I would check in with our blog readers and see if you have any suggestions for exciting new shades that you’d like to see in our non-cotton, non-lace yarns (think warm wool, cozy alpaca, and our other cold-weather yarn lines).
Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2012 is Tangerine Tango – is there a color that you feel is fresh, new, and just needs to be seen in yarn form?  Have you ever played around with sites like ColourLovers or Kuler for color inspiration? Give us your color ideas in the comments below!

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Life’s little luxuries

There is really something wonderfully indulgent about luxury fibers.
Not only do you get to knit with them, but then you can wear the item!
The only problem is, sometimes you really want to take that luxury yarn
for a test drive before deciding that it is exactly what you want for a
sweater.

With that in mind, we created a kit of simple, one-ball patterns that
lets you try out four of our most luxurious yarns, without the
commitment of a large project!

The Luxe Accessories Set includes one ball each of Aloft, Capra, City Tweed and Andean Treasure in coordinating Soft or Jewel colors.

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Brava!

I’ll admit, I’m something of a yarn snob. I guess after working with
yarn for so long, I’ve really developed a taste for certain fibers, but I
also know that it’s important to use the right tool for the job. So, it
was a shock even to me how excited I was when we started developing our
latest yarn – Brava!

Brava
is a super-soft premium acrylic yarn that was designed with washability
and durability in mind. Four plies give it the right balance for
softness and stitch definition, which makes it a great choice for
purl-and-plain patterns, cables and even lacy blankets.

 

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Happy Holidays!

Wow, the holidays signify the end of the year! Where did it go?  2012 is just a little over a week away and I haven’t gotten my 2011 resolutions done yet!  So it’s a new year and a new list – out with the old, in with the new (or new again!).  Has anyone started their 2012 New Years resolution list yet?

Here at Knit Picks, we wish you a great New Year. Our wish for you is that 2012 be filled with creative crafting and lots of fiber fun!

Happy Holidays & a very Happy New Year!

 

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Podcast Episode 175: Interview with Alasdair Post Quinn

This week, Alison gets a chance to chat with Alasdair Post Quinn, author of the new
book, Extreme Double Knitting! Know for his innovative spin on double
knitting, Alasdair’s patterns show off color and double knitting in
unique and creative ways. Hear all about how Alasdair first got into
knitting, what drew him to double knitting, and the chain of events
brought about the idea for a book on double knitting. After working on
his book for the last few years, Alasdair is currently focusing his
creative energies on designing single patterns and experimenting with
even more extreme forms of double knitting.
You an find out more about Alasdair over on his blog and website.
Books Mentioned:
Extreme Double Knitting by Alasdair Post Quinn (hardcover & eBook available)
 
3 easy ways to listen…
Subscribe in iTunes Episode 175: Interview with Alasdair Post Quinn RSS feed

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