Tag Archives: hats

Wearwithall.

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A new book, recommended by a friend, has arrived at the shop.

Wearwithall is a collection of patterns by the people at The Yarnery, a yarn shop in Saint Paul, MN. The book has a nice range of projects, including hats, socks, sweaters for babies and children as well as adults, and an eye-catching striped stole.

This stole, designed by Theresa Gaffey, is made from the exquisite Isager Alpaca 2 yarn, a fingering weight blend of wool and alpaca. It’s construction is simple, letting the brightest colors from the muted Isager palette do the talking.

Take a closer look at Wearwithall next time you’re in the shop. Be sure to visit the Alpaca 2 as well, and as you do, just imagine curling up in a cozy Alpaca 2 stole. Hard to resist, no?

Hello, Ewe Ewe.

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Once again, Clara Parkes inspired us with a recent Knitter’s Review. She never fails to peak our interest. Sometimes it’s a tool, sometimes a book–this time, it’s yarn, from a new company called Ewe Ewe.

Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted Washable is a squishy, soft yarn which is well described by its alliterative name. With 95 yards of machine-washable merino wool in each 50 gram ball, Wooly Worsted Washable is an excellent choice for accessories and baby things.

The color palette is limited but vibrant, and the pattern support makes good use of it in stripes and colorwork.

This yarn is a pleasure to knit with, with brilliant stitch definition and a springy texture. “It knits itself,” Anne has often remarked since Ewe Ewe’s arrival, and she should know. This baby hat was completed in less than 24 hours, with enough yarn left over to make another with the colors inverted.

Come by the shop to pet Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted Washable, and remember it for baby- and gift-knitting. Find it on the teacart, and find Ewe Ewe patterns in our recently reorganized pattern binders.

Knitbot Essentials.

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Last week, a sweetly-packaged bundle of books arrived at the shop.

Quince & Co. has just published a collection of knitting patterns by Hannah Fettig, co-author of last fall’s beautiful Coastal Knits. Say hello to Knitbot Essentials.

Inside, you’ll find simple cardigans, pullovers, and accessories that look comfortable and easy to wear.

The patterns are shown in Quince & Co. yarns, but written with yarn substitution in mind, making it easy to figure out what yarns will work well for each pattern, and how much you’ll need. Fettig also provides an excellent section on how to achieve drape in knitted fabric, demystifying the gauge of her patterns, which is often larger than what you’d typically expect from the yarn.

Anne has already swatched her beloved sweater’s-worth of Malabrigo Finito to get gauge for Fettig’s Lightweight Pullover (above).

Copies of Knitbot Essentials have been quickly disappearing, but have no fear–a new shipment of them is expected this week. Come by to take a closer look at this truly tempting collection.

New yarns from Schulana.

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Last week, I wrote about two of the most recent knit samples at the shop. If you’ve been in the shop in the past week or so, you may already have seen two more finished samples: hats made with new yarns from Schulana.

First up is a hat I made using Schulana Lambswool, a marled tweed yarn whose fiber content is reflected in its name. The yarn is incredibly soft and light, with 110 yards on each 25 gram ball.

We thought it’s rustic look and lofty nature made Lambswool an excellent substitute for Brooklyn Tweed’s Loft yarn, so we picked Gudrun Johnston’s hat pattern for Loft, Norby. I’m pleased with the result–so pleased, in fact, that I’ve already taken home a sweater’s worth of Lambswool. I can’t wait to figure out what I’m going to do with it!

While I knit up the Lambswool, Anne was working on a top-down baby hat using Schulana Tamarillo, a machine-washable cotton tape yarn with multicolor slubs that pop out from the knitted fabric.

This little hat is a great example of why we try to have samples and swatches of every yarn we carry. It’s not always easy to envision the finished fabric just by looking at the yarn in a ball. Some yarns, like Tamarillo, will surprise you when you knit them up. The pattern, Baby Boy (Or Girl) Sun Hat, is available as a free download from Ravelry.

Finally, our third new Schulana yarn for spring is Macaibo, a self-striping cotton/viscose blend, knit sample forthcoming. Enjoy perusing these new yarns next time you’re at the shop!

Heritage Fiber Publications.

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This week, we added some new single patterns to the pattern binders.

Heritage Fiber Publications offers a wide range of patterns, from shawls and scarves to hats and socks.

Don’t forget to check the pattern binders as well as the bookshelves and magazine racks when you’re looking for a new project–there are tons of single patterns tucked away there. Dig in.

Swans Island. Again.

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Every time we get a box from Swans Island, Anne and I exchange an open-mouthed look of delight. It’s so exciting to open those boxes, to see the new colors and welcome back those that we’d already sold out of. 

And those are just the reorders. Our joy is doubled when we pull aside a bag of Swans Island yarn to reveal a packet of Swans Island patterns! There were so many in our most recent shipment that we had to get a bigger binder.

Below, you can take a peek inside the Swans Island Patterns binder, though I must say, it really deserves a full-on browse. Start here and if you like what you see, come by the shop to see the rest! You’ll be Swans Island junkies like us in no time.

Purple caps.

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Thanks to all the knitters and crocheters who made purple baby caps this year, we were able to send off a big box of 174 purple caps to the good people at the Period of Purple Crying project. They’re working to educate new parents and other caregivers that an infant’s increased crying is totally normal, and that it is never okay to shake an infant in frustration, that real harm can be done that way. These purple caps will go home with newborns throughout North Carolina along with information about the Period of Purple Crying.

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who participated!

Swans Island hat and mitts.

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Though Anne and I were both beside ourselves with excitement over the arrival of the new Swans Island yarn, it’s possible I was more excited, because she had assigned me the task of swatching it. I began by looking through their patterns for inspiration–a good starting place, as their patterns are beautiful in their simplicity, allowing the knitter to relax and enjoy the yarn. I chose the Harbor Hat pattern, which progressed quickly, and soon I had completed it, with more than half the skein to spare. Back to the Swans Island pattern binder I went, this time, for the Blackberry Mitts. 

The completed set now lives on the teacart with the Swans Island yarn, perched atop the basket, ready to be inspected by those who are curious just how this stuff knits up. Allow me to spoil the surprise: the yarn is wonderfully soft, smooth, and consistent. The patterns are easy to follow and quick to knit. Our love affair with Swans Island continues. In fact, I’ve started a sweater for myself out of the fingering weight Swans Island, the New Zealand Pullover from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knit One Knit All. At 7 stitches to the inch, it’ll be a while before it looks like much, but I will surely do some show and tell once it begins to resemble a sweater.
Come in and admire the Swans Island yarn and patterns if you haven’t yet done so, and slip your hands inside these mitts. See you soon!

Weekend Hats.

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Knitted hats are wonderfully useful things. For the knitter, they work on several levels. We often recommend a hat as a second or third project for beginners, as they give the relatively new knitter the opportunity to learn a few new skills: decreasing and working in the round, both with a circular needle and double pointed needles. For more experienced knitters, hats are wonderfully small canvases on which to play with different kinds of designs, from colorwork to cables to lace. Designer, innovator, and all-around knitting heroine Elizabeth Zimmermann often suggested using a hat as a swatch for a bigger project, so that one might find out their honest-to-goodness in-the-round gauge for that project. Another thing about knitted hats is that they make great gifts. They are substantial and happily received, yet small enough that the knitter can give one away without feeling too sad to see them go. 

This week, we got a new collection of hat patterns which show off all the fine qualities of knitted hats. Weekend Hats is compiled by Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre, authors of last year’s New England Knits, and features patterns from a bunch of other great designers, including Jared Flood, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Kate Gagnon Osborn, and Kirsten Kapur. Here’s a peek inside:

All three of these hats were made with yarns that we carry, by the way–Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Malabrigo Worsted, and Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball, respectively. Come by the shop for more hat inspiration!

60 More Quick Knits.

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Since I first wrote about Cascade 220 Superwash Sport back in February, it has become one of our best-selling yarns, in spite of the fact that we had no pattern support for it. It’s been a go-to for both knit and crocheted baby things, due to its stellar washability, and used for colorwork of all kinds, due to its wide spectrum of colors. Those who are comfortable designing their own sweaters, socks, and hats have used Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, and those who like to work from patterns have found that it makes a good substitute for yarns of all kinds, between a sport and a dk gauge. There have been many excuses to work with this yarn, and this week, we received a new book which promises 60 more.

Hats, mittens and scarves of many kinds, all made from Cascade 220 Sport, the hand-wash-only fraternal twin to Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. We actually don’t carry the 220 Sport, but as is so often the case, the 220 Superwash Sport makes an excellent substitute. The 220 Sport has slightly more yardage, so you’ll want to do a little math when you’re choosing 220 Superwash Sport yarn for these projects, but that’s the only caveat. Knit with Superwash Sport and your mittens wont felt onto your hands, and neither will your hats when they are accidentally thrown in the washing machine.

Here’s a peek inside the book:


And that’s only a tenth of it. Find it on the teacart, which is just brimming with fall knit and crochet inspiration.