Author Archives: Julia

Hello, Crock-O-Dye.

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Recently, it became clear that we were getting low on Crock-O-Dye. Crock-O-Dye is a fingering weight yarn from Knit One Crochet Too, a variegated blend of wool, silk, and nylon. It’s meant for socks, but does just as well in a shawl, scarf, sweater, hat, or fingerless mitts… or wherever else you’d like to use fingering weight yarn. Slowly over the past half year or so, our stock went down. We ran out of the hot pink colorway, then we ran out of the sage green, then the sky blue… and then last week, suddenly we realized we had only two colors left. Time to reorder.

It’s always satisfying to replenish our inventory of any particular yarn. The colors look much happier when they’re together. Come by the shop to welcome back Crock-O-Dye, and see what else is new!

Seamless Crochet.

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Another new title from Interweave has arrived this week: Seamless Crochet, by Kristin Omdahl.

Omdahl offers up a series of crocheted motifs to be joined as they’re made, rather than sewn together after the fact. The book is also filled with projects that put this technique to good use. Have a look at some of these pretty pictures, wont you?

Find this and other new books on the teacart.

Katia Fabula. Once more.

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I know I’ve written about this yarn twice before, but it’s time, once more, to remind you of the existence of Katia Fabula. Super-bulky, very soft, machine-washable merino wool which we now carry in a whopping  8 colors. Have a look!

I have a feeling that as the holidays grow nearer, this yarn will begin to look more and more appealing to those of us who’ve been putting off gift-knitting. A hat in Fabula could likely be a knit in two sittings, maybe one if you’re really pressed for time, and a scarf wouldn’t take too much longer if you cast on narrowly… just saying. 
See you at the shop!

Cleaning up our act.

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If you’ve been at the shop in the past few days, perhaps you noticed something missing. Something that used to sit behind Anne or myself at the checkout desk. Something large, gray, and dusty. Something with an internet connection which I’ve often described as “glacial.” 

Yes: we got rid of the desktop computer. It served us well for the past five years, but now we’re enjoying our speedy new laptop, as well as our new desk set-up. 
We sorted through Anne’s personal book collection, too, creating a library of shop resources.
We’re thrilled with the change in our little corner of the shop, and we hope you are, too!

Coastal Knits.

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Those of you who regularly cruise knitting blogs have probably already heard a lot about Coastal Knits, a collaboration by designers Hannah Fettig and Alana Dakos. I know I’ve been running into it online quite a bit lately. This book boasts the current most popular new pattern, according to Ravelry: the Rocky Coast Cardigan. If you haven’t seen the book on Ravelry, perhaps you saw that Swans Island linked to it, and that Clara Parkes reviewed it. I admit, I was intrigued. If your interest is similarly peaked, come by the shop to take a look at it yourself, because we just got it in stock this week.

Surprise! It’s exactly as beautiful as everyone has been saying it is. Coastal Knits is full of great patterns for sweaters and accessories, and studded with stories and photos showcasing the landscapes and places that inspired these designs. A nice touch: the book includes a bookmark with the yarn and yardage requirements for each pattern, making for easier yarn shopping. And they’ve given us another excuse to knit with the lovely Swans Island Organic Merino yarn in fingering weight!
(Like we need an excuse.) Come by the shop to take a look!

Two new colorwork resources.

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It seems we’ve been getting tons of exciting new books this fall, one right after another. I confess, I’ve added about four new knitting books to my collection at home in the past month alone. Two of those have already been carefully reviewed here on the blog, but the other two have not yet had their moment in the sun. Given my proclivity towards stranded colorwork, it may come as no surprise that these two new titles focus on that technique in particular.

Alice Starmore’s Charts for Color Knitting is exactly what it sounds like: a book of charts. Not a book of sweater or hat patterns with charts, just a book of charts. Starmore begins with a chapter on designing simply shaped, drop-shoulder colorwork sweaters, and ends with “A Word on Colour,” but in between, she leaves the knitter alone with pages upon pages of charts. The charts are organized by place of origin, so that in flipping through the book, one can glimpse the color-knitting culture of Norway, then Sweden, then Russia, then South America, and onward. In addition, Starmore also offers charts she’s adapted from ancient manuscripts, architecture, carpets, jewelry, and stonework, and encourages knitters to do the same. Colorwork charts are easily invented, after all–graph paper and a little color knitting experience is all that’s needed.

Mary Jane Mucklestone’s new 200 Fair Isle Motifs is similar to Starmore’s Charts, but focused on the particular Scottish colorwork tradition for which it is named. The book begins with clear tutorials on all kinds of techniques used in Fair Isle knitting, from swatching to steeking to correcting mistakes. For those overwhelmed by the endless possible color combinations (all of us?), there is a little tutorial on color theory. Then come the 200 motifs. Mucklestone has organized these motifs by the number of rows and stitches in each pattern repeat, making it easy to find a pattern that divides evenly into the number of stitches you’re working with on any given project–hat, socks, sweater, etc. Each chart is shown not only in the traditional black-dots-on-a-white-grid style, but also in a color photograph, a color variation, and an all-over version, giving the knitter a jump start on adapting these patterns for many uses.

These two books have me itching to cast on for something new. I am utterly overwhelmed by the number of half-formed knitting ideas rushing around in my mind, which is, by the way, a most pleasant experience. I am so excited by these two books, which complement one another beautifully. Until I figure out exactly what my next colorwork project will be, I’m enjoying simply poring over Starmore’s black and white charts and Mucklestone’s brightly colored motifs, inundated with ideas.

The Knitter’s Book of Socks.

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Clara Parkes has done it again, and by “done it again,” I mean “provided a practical, beautiful, fascinating, rigorous resource for knitters.” From the author of Knitter’s Review, the woman who brought us The Knitter’s Book of Yarn and The Knitter’s Book of Wool, here’s The Knitter’s Book of Socks.

If you’re a sock knitter, this is an indispensable book. If you’re an aspiring sock knitter, this book may be a good place to start. While many of the patterns include cables, lace, or colorwork, the first is an introductory-level sock with a simple texture pattern, using worsted weight yarn. Once you’ve worked up a pair of those, you’ll likely be ready and eager to dip your toes into some of the more complicated patterns. Also: those of you who are worried that your knitted socks will be too baggy or too tight, not stretchy enough, or that they’ll fall apart after one wear will be encouraged and emboldened by The Knitter’s Book of Socks. Parkes spends entire chapters on the effects of various fibers, twists, plies, and stitch patterns on the structure of a sock, giving knitters the information they need to avoid the potential pitfalls that may concern them.

The patterns come from an astounding group of designers, using all kinds of techniques to make socks in a wide range of styles. Cat Bordhi, Lucy Neatby, Ann Budd, Norah Gaughan, Nancy Bush, Cookie A, and Jared Flood all make appearances, as does a favorite new yarn of ours: the Swans Island Organic Merino, in fingering-weight.

I’m almost halfway through a sweater using this yarn, and had never considered it for socks, as it’s hand-wash only. Then I came upon Parkes’ ode to hand-washing hand-knit socks, which made the task sound more pleasant than inconvenient. Having just accidentally felted a pair of colorwork socks, I’m ready to make the switch to hand-washing, and it sounds like my socks will look better and last longer that way. Suffice it to say, I’m reconsidering putting that beautiful Swans Island yarn on my feet, and I have no doubt that The Knitter’s Book of Socks will change the way I pair yarns and sock patterns, making me a better, more educated sock knitter. Come by the shop to peruse this new book, and plan your next pair of socks!

Tvinni.

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Anne and I recently decided that we needed more colors of Isager Tvinni (pronounced, incidentally, “tweenie.” In case you were curious), a fingering-weight merino from Denmark. We pored over the colorcard, comparing the awe-inspiring array of available colors to our small Tvinni collection, carefully selecting those colors that would play well together and reflect a wider spectrum. Today we received a box which brought these new colors, along with six more copies of Tutto a Mano. I was forced to reorganize the Isager island, petting each yarn and sorting them by color. It’s a hard job, you know, but someone has to do it.

Take a look at our updated Tvinni collection, and see if you’re not inspired to knit it right up.