What are we working on?

When I decided to write a blog post today I was planning to focus on my Seamless Leaves pullover, but as I was taking photos, an idea popped into my head – why not share what everyone around the office is working on? I moseyed around the office asking our team about what they’re working on and whether I could take a few quick photos of their projects. Sadly, Yonca and Amy are out today (they surely deserve it after a busy weekend at Stitches West), so their own projects aren’t included.

First up: Seamless Leaves

W

Cottonwood is one of my favorite yarns. It’s eco-friendly and has so many beautiful colors to choose from.

I love so many of the projects in the new collection, Arboretum, featuring projects by the one and only Amy Gunderson using Fibra Natura Cottonwood. Each pattern in the Arboretum ebook is extremely wearable and tempting to cast on, especially when the temperature has been lingering in the 60s and 70s in North Carolina.  I decided that I needed to cast on a Seamless Leaves pullover for myself, and I wanted a basic, black version. Because of my inclination to knit things in deeply saturated colors (especially warm colors), I just don’t have enough neutral garments in my wardrobe. This project is my perfect solution.

I love the lightweight fabric created by Cottonwood. It’s wonderfully smooth and even with stitch definition that makes the raglan details on this pattern shine.

Even unblocked and worked in such a dark color, these details look great thanks to Cottonwood’s superb stitch definition.

Our sales team seems to be having an affair with two-at-a-time socks, toe-up socks.

Left: Krista’s socks in Pix, Right: Katie’s socks in Allegro

Here’s what Krista had to say about her project:

“I’m always working on a pair of socks.  Always.  For this project, I am using one of my favorite yarns, Pix, in the Paisley print.  They’re a plain vanilla pair (nothing but stockinette) using a basic short row heel.  I love how Pix works up in patterns as I’m knitting. This yarn makes a simple project very fun. Socks are perfect on-the-go knitting to keep in my bag.”

Here’s what Katie had to say about her beautiful WIP:

“I enjoy making socks, but I have Second Sock Syndrome and never learned how to do two-at-a-time socks.  Krista helped me with the cast-on and now I am loving it! I was even able to just knit at my daughter’s choir concert last night and didn’t mess up.  Woohoo; progress! I love the elasticity of Allegro. I am using the color Grape Sonata. I decided to do ribbing over the arch instead of just stockinette stitch because I love my store-bought socks with the ribbing on the foot.  We’ll see how it turns out!”

I’m sure they’re going to be perfect! If you’re also a sock knitter, you might be interested in one of our free sock patterns like this one, this one, or this one.

Finally, our social-media extraordinaire (and quite frankly, everything-extraordinaire!), Heather, showed me a deliciously squishy hat knit up in Poems Silk in the Baffin Island colorway. She told me she enjoys a simple hat project when she’s knitting at the movie theater. I have to say, this is always something that impresses me. Whenever I bring knitting to the theater I have the tendency to drop the occasional stitch or insert an unwanted yarn-over. Serious props to those of you who are successful in your endeavors in low-light knitting! Heather’s hat is looking great and we can’t wait to see the finished version.

That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed a little glimpse into some of our projects! We’d love to share more soon.

Free Pattern Friday – Sunset Slouch

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Sunset Slouch in Poems and Deluxe Worsted Superwash (pattern link).

This adorable Fair Isle hat has already proven to be popular around the office, even before its official release.  It’s sized from newborn to adult large, so it’s a nice topper that can fit everyone.  Self-shading Poems wool gives a nice graduated color shift that keeps things interesting!

The adult size shown was the first one we knit.  Designer Rachel Brockman used a 1×1 rib long tail tubular cast-on for a nice, stretchy edge.  Rachel did a photo tutorial of this method of casting on not long ago, in a blog post about the Nutmeg Hat and Mitts kit from our 12 Days of Winter kit series.  You can find that blog post here.

Before we could publish the pattern, it caught the eye of Krista on our customer service team.  She whipped up the cute teal version shown up top for her cherub-cheeked son.  We just have to share his picture.

Awwwww!!  Great job on both the cap and its model, Krista!

We hope you have a fantastic weekend, and that you spread a little joy in your corner of the world.

Happy crafting!

This Blanket’s So Bright I’ve Got to Wear Shades

Self-shading yarn never gets old for me. It’s so pretty and fun to watch the colors that emerge from a ball of colorful yarn. One of my favorite patterns in our Poems yarn is the Southwest Sky Afghan.

Three gorgeous colorways of Poems come together in this modular garter stitch piece. In each colorway of Poems, there are around 6 different shades, meaning in this blanket where there are 3 colorways, there are 18 different colors in the project! I believe that most any color combination could look really great in this throw. But it can be tough to just visualize what this might look like, so we thought it would be fun to see some other color combinations actually knit up.

Here are some small samples of three alternate colorways:

Colors 606 Time Travel + 604 Port of Spain + 591 Vesuvius
Colors 616 Chevron + 609 Enchanted Forest + 615 Cruise
Colors 613 Shoreline + 612 Romance + 614 Piquant

 

The examples above either fall into the same color family (generally), or value-wise are similar. It could be fun to pick out only brights, or purples, or go for highly contrasting – sky’s the limit!

Bamboo Bloom Handpaints – Limited Edition 329 Fugu

New and beautiful this season…

We had such a great time with our last limited edition Bamboo Bloom Handpaints that we decided to do it again. This time, it’s 329 Fugu.

Fugu is the Japanese word for pufferfish.  One minute it’s sleek and streamlined…

Hi there!

The next minute it’s quite a bit bulkier!

HI THERE!!

So it is with Bamboo Bloom Handpaints, transitioning from smooth and silky to fluffy puffs and back again.  And given the cool blue ocean tones of this color, we thought it was appropriate.

When I got my hands on this, my immediate thought was, “this would make a beautiful Hanasaku Cowl.”  It led to a lot of joy, sorting through our stock of Poems to see what would pair well.  In the end it came down to two choices.

Poems 616 Chevron looks great with it, and I was curious to see how that yellow would interplay with the greens.  In fact, Yarn Bazaar in NJ has kitted up this combo!

In the end I went a different way.

I liked the darkness and overall violet-blue of Poems in Arles 601, and am pleased with how this turned out.

I still may go back and make one in the other combo.  Honestly, these slip-stitch cowls are fun and quick to make.  It’s a great go-to project for something colorful and impressive-looking.

The Hanasaku Cowl is available for sale on Ravelry – but if you hit your local yarn shop, they can download it for free for you.  You might want to grab a skein of Fugu while you can, too.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Suddenly, Gradiently!

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, it’s Suddenly, Gradiently! in Deluxe Bulky Superwash.

We loved the way this simple color-changing scarf looked, so we knitted up several options to see how it looked in different colors. It was no hardship.  The pattern is easy enough for a beginner and is worked on US size 10 1/2 needles in our Deluxe Bulky Superwash wool.

I’m a sucker for blues and greens, so the five-color version in those tones really speaks to me.  Those who want to go bolder might try the six-color version, shown in purple, pink, and green.  And those who want something classic and understated can knit the three-color version in shades of white and gray.

We’re not kidding when we say the welting pattern on this is easy.  It’s a four row repeat knitted flat which goes: knit a row, purl a row, purl a row, knit a row.  Great for beginners, or for those who want a project to knit that doesn’t require their full attention.  (I still haven’t gotten to see the latest season of Sherlock; this would be ideal for that!)

As I look at this scarf, I also wonder how it would look with a couple of different colors of a self-shading yarn, like Poems Chunky.   I’ve been searching for the perfect project for our newest color.

Hm.  I think my queue just got longer.

Happy knitting!

LYS Exclusive – Hanasaku Cowl (large)

So you saw the Hanasaku Cowl in its short version, right?  If not, you should go read about it nowHanasaku short 2 180dpi square

Go ahead.  We’ll wait.

Luscious, right?  Well, we also did a long version, for those who like to loop their cowls around.

Hanasaku Cowl long 1 180dpi

This version uses one skein of Deluxe Worsted wool as a backdrop for the variegated Bamboo Bloom.  We chose a more subdued color palette for this combo.  The large version is the same height as the small, but twice as long.  Here are the stats!
Hanasaku Cowl long 2 180dpiFINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Height: 15¼”
Circumference: 61”

MATERIALS
Large
Deluxe Worsted (100% wool; 100g/220 yds)
• 12235 Sidewalk Grey (MC) – 1 skein
Bamboo Bloom Handpaints (48% rayon from bamboo, 44% wool, 8% acrylic; 100g/154 yds)
• 303 Precious Jade (CC) – 2 hanks

Needles: US Size 11 (8 mm) 32” circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle

We’re loving this pattern and are having a great time with other color combinations as well.  Here’s one that features two hanks of Bamboo Bloom Handpaints in 311 Bonsai and two skeins of Wisdom Yarns Poems in 602 Bruges.

Hanasaku Long Blue 180dpi

Hanasaku Long Blue draped small_CC

The pattern is a simple linen stitch that you can easily master. In the coming days, we’ll be sharing other color combinations in this rewarding pattern.

The Hanasaku Cowl is a LYS Exclusive pattern – your local yarn shop can download it for you and help you put together a truly stunning color combo.

We hope you enjoy this vibrant and dramatic project.

Happy knitting!

Hanasaku Cowl long 3 180dpi square

LYS Exclusive – Hanasaku Cowl

We love going to LYSes and getting feedback on yarn and designs.  That’s what we were doing when we brought a Bamboo Bloom Handpaints cowl around to local shops to get their take.  Like us, they fell in love with it.

Hanasaku short 1 180dpi

This is the Hanasaku Cowl, designed by Tori Gurbisz.  Hanasaku means “bloom” in Japanese.  With its bursts of color the name seemed apt. We were going to hold off on releasing this until Spring, but we just could’t wait.  Besides, winter is a great time for this burst of color.

Hanasaku short 2 180dpi square

It’s available in both large and small versions – the small version is pictured above.  As pictured, the pattern calls for:

MATERIALS
Small
Wisdom Yarns Poems (100% wool; 50g/109 yds)
• 601 Arles (MC) – 1 skein
Universal Yarn Bamboo Bloom Handpaints (48% rayon from bamboo, 44% wool, 8% acrylic; 100g/154 yds)
• 313 Kanji (CC) – 1 skein

Needles: US Size 11 (8 mm) 24” circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle

Hanasaku short 3 180dpi shoulders

 

This pattern is only available at your LYS.  The experts there can download it for you and help you put together the perfect color combo.  It’s a simple knit, made in the round.  If you can work a knit stitch and use a circular needle, you can create this cowl.

We’ll feature the longer version in another blog post.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Landscapes Sweater

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Poems Sock Landscapes Sweater_blog

Today, the Landscapes Sweater in Poems Sock.

Happy Selfish Knitting Month! Yes, it’s January, and all the gift knitting is done, so it’s time to do something just for you.  Enter, the Landscapes Sweater.

This entrelac pullover is based on another popular design we had in a discontinued yarn.  We couldn’t let the sweater go, so we re-wrote it into the sock-weight version you see here and made it available for free!

I had to take it outside into the sun. So pretty.
I had to take it outside into the sun. So pretty.

The yarn is Poems Sock (459yds/100g), a strand of 75% wool/25% nylon that moves smoothly from shade to shade.  I really like the choice of color 971 Earth and Sky for this.  It works well for a full-sized garment – colorful but still grounded.

The Landscapes Sweater is constructed in pieces.  The sleeves are worked lengthwise, so the stripes run the length of the arms.  The entrelac front and basic stockinette back and sleeves are worked flat and then seamed.  Sized from XS to 4X, the whole sweater takes from 3-6 balls of yarn.

We hope you enjoy this “just for you” pattern, and that you keep striking the right balance between challenging yourself and just kicking back and enjoying your projects.

Happy knitting!

Poems Sock Landscapes Sweater rear_blog

Free Pattern Friday – Be Knotty!

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Be Knotty for social media

Today, the one ball Be Knotty Scarf in Poems Uno.

We’re not kidding when we say it’s the easiest scarf ever.  It’s a one row repeat, and on US Size 35/19mm needles,  it goes in a flash.

Poems Uno Be Knotty Scarf detail_blogWe call it the Be Knotty scarf for the obvious reason – it has a nice open lacy knotted look.  We also call it that because you can “be naughty” and pretend that you slaved over it when in fact, you worked it up in an evening.  That’s the nice thing about Poems Uno Superwash (90yds/150g) – it’s big, the colors are bold, and it works up fast.  Instant results.

Please enjoy this easy and gratifying scarf.

Happy knitting!

Poems Uno Be Knotty Scarf long_blog

 

 

Knitspiration – Mast and Lines

Shall we have some Monday Knitspiration?

Mast and Lines with chips
Mast and Lines by Morris Blackburn (1902-1979)

The geometry is perfect here – the angles and colors, the twists of the sails.

Cotton Supreme for Masts
Cotton Supreme
Ladder Scarf in Cirrus Cotton
Gossamer Shawlette in Cotton Gold
Art Deco Stole in Mohair Mountain
Cornelia Lattice Cowl Poems Silk
Lattice Cowl in Poems Silk

The masts and lines of Blackburn’s piece call to mind the waves of Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton’s Lattice Cowl above.  The combination reminds me of a family favorite poem, Sea Fever by John Masefield.  It’s read beautifully here by Tom O’Bedlam.

In the poem, John Masefield wishes for “a merry yarn.”  It may not be the kind that he’s thinking of, but we wish you much merry yarn as well.

Happy knitting.