Tag Archives: navia

Show and tell: lace.

Posted by on

Time for another round of show and tell! I love to take photos of finished projects when folks bring them into the shop to share with us, and to share them here on our blog. I always seem to have a backlog of photos, thanks to the many productive makers who frequent our shop. Here’s a batch of show and tell with one technique in common: lace.

Ruth came in the other day with this lace shawl to share, “Heartland Lace Shawl,” by Evelyn A. Clark. She knit it with Navia Uno, and reports that the yarn is as sturdy as it is soft, becoming especially so after blocking.

Stella is fond of purplish grays, and selected some Kelbourne Woolens’ Mojave in this color family to knit a shawl. She chose “Tales From the Isle of Purbeck,” by Annie Rowden, which looks especially lovely in a gradient.

Astrid is an avid lace knitter and designer, and often visits us with a recently-completed shawl in hand. This one is “Wild Swan,” by Anne-Lise Maigaard & Nim Teasdale, and Astrid knit it with Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere.

Joanne knit this “Lexington” scarf with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, a yarn she’s come back to again and again. Lightweight and lofty on account of its woolen-spun structure, Shelter shines in lace patterns like this.

Margaretta knit this “Calla” shawl, a pattern that caught her eye in a recent issue of Laine Magazine. It features a striking combination of texture, lace, and cables – a hint at the theme our next show-and-tell post.

Taking stitch definition, softness, and color into account, she chose Kelbourne Woolens Scout for the project, and the result is ideal on all fronts.

Thanks to Ruth, Stella, Astrid, Joanne, and Margaretta for sharing their work with us! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Interested in learning more about lace knitting? Check out a few upcoming classes on the subject – Marsha’s Lace Basics is a one-time technique class for folks new to lace knitting. For a bigger project, consider Amy’s Hitofude Cardigan class and Marsha’s Marigold Cardigan class. We’re excited to see the beautiful sweaters that will be coming out of our classroom this fall!

Hello, Navia Uno.

Posted by on

Meet Navia Uno, one of the newest yarns here at our shop.

Navia is a family-run yarn company from the Faroe Islands, specializing in traditional Faroese wool. Their yarns are now distributed in the US by our friends at Kelbourne Woolens, who traveled to the Faroe Islands earlier in the year and wrote a bit about it on their blog. They also published an interview with Óli Kristian á Torkilsheyggi, the owner of Navia, which gives more insight into the history of Faroese knitting and Navia yarns in particular.

Uno is one of the finest Navia yarns, a lofty lace weight blend of Faroese, Shetland, and Australian lambswool. Its 2ply structure gives the yarn a somewhat rustic appearance, a bit of texture that lends character to knitted fabric without detracting from lace or texture patterns.

What to knit with Navia Uno? This yarn would be right for many patterns calling for lace weight yarn, and we’ve collected a bundle on our “Lace weight” Pinterest board. I searched Ravelry for patterns that call for Navia Uno and projects that use this yarn, and found a few leads:

Searching more broadly for Faroese shawls brought more possibilities to light. Faroese shawls are known for their distinctive shoulder shaping, which helps keep the shawl in place.

Look for Navia Uno in the lace weight section here at our shop!