A visit from Jeni and Rachel.

Posted by Julia on June 8, 2016

Last night, our little shop filled with knitters and crocheters for a delightful event. We welcomed special guests Jeni Hewlett and Rachel Coopey, designers and yarn-makers from the UK. They arrived with a big box of books, enough to fill our teacart.

Jeni and Rachel began by telling us a bit about their journey into the world of knitwear design, then unloaded a huge pile of knit and crochet samples for show and tell.

Jeni shared a bit about the hand-dye process that makes her Fyberspates colorways so multifaceted and painterly, where skeins are dipped into multiple dye baths, one color after another. Thinking of garment wearability, Jeni favors semi-solid colorways rather than high-contrast variegates, and so the Fyberspates colorways are designed to look well-blended in the finished fabric, rather than streaky.

Rachel came to knitwear design with a background in jewelry-making and a penchant for sock knitting. When she partnered with Fyberspates to create her own sock yarn, she wanted it to have a few specific qualities: light colors for good stitch definition, tight twist for durability, and solid shades with a bit of color interest. CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is all this and more.

Rachel gave sock-sizing advice while signing copies of her books.

Michael del Vecchio, our Fyberspates sales rep and a designer in his own right, also spoke about the importance of quality materials, and the care that goes into the sourcing of fiber at Fyberspates.

Thanks to all who joined us, and thanks to Jeni, Rachel, and Michael for coming to our shop! We had such fun, and look forward to seeing what’s new from Fyberspates at market this weekend.

Look for Fyberspates yarns and books here at the shop!

Back in stock: Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace.

Posted by Julia on June 1, 2016

We recently placed a rather large order from Fyberspates, and the rather large box it arrived in was full of new books, new yarns, and new colors in old favorites. Our supply of Scrumptious Lace had grown particularly meager – are we really down to just three shades? – so Anne nearly quadrupled our selection with this order.

Scrumptious Lace is a shimmering blend of 55% merino and 45% silk, with 1094 yards on each 100 gram hank. Its vivid solid colors and smooth texture make for sharp stitch definition, ideal for lace knitting.

Consider Ysolda Teague’s “Ishbel,” “Pear Drop,” and “Barley Sugar,” Jared Flood’s “Rock Island,” and Laura Nelkin’s “Life Cycle.” We’ve also seen Emily Ross’s “Haruni” knit in Scrumptious Lace, with extra repeats of the first chart to make a larger shawl and take advantage of this yarn’s generous yardage. Fine yarns like this one are perfect for lace crochet projects, too; check out Elena Fedotova’s “Scarlet Berry” and “Ink Ripples.”

Look for Scrumptious Lace in the lace weight section here at the shop!

An evening with Rachel Coopey and Jeni Hewlett from Fyberspates.

Posted by Julia on May 29, 2016

One of the best things about our annual trip to market is meeting with the talented, fascinating folks behind the yarns we love. This year, we’re delighted to bring that experience to our very own shop with an exciting event: an evening with Rachel Coopey and Jeni Hewlett from Fyberspates, on Tuesday, June 7th, from 6:00-8:00 pm.

Jeni Hewlett is the creative genius behind Fyberspates, a European-based company bringing small production hand-dye and design to the US. We’ve carried their Scrumptious Lace and Vivacious 4ply for the past year or so, and just added Gleem Lace and Scrumptious 4ply/Sport–more on that in future blog posts.

Rachel Coopey is a knitwear designer who specializes in socks, and recently came out with a yarn of her own, CoopKnits Socks Yeah!

Jeni and Rachel will tell us about their background in yarn and design, present the yarns in their collections for you to try, share some of the designs that go with those yarns, and sign copies of their books. You may even get a sneak peek at what’s to come from Fyberspates! Jeni and Rachel come to the US rarely more than once a year, and we’re honored to have them visit our shop. We’re limiting attendance for this event because of our small space, so sign up soon if you’d like to meet Jeni and Rachel!

Back in stock: Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on November 27, 2015

Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply has only been on our shelves since February, and already we’re due for a second big reorder. Over and over again, knitters are drawn to our cubby full of Vivacious 4ply by the rich, hand-dyed colorways and the softness of the yarn.

I’m happy to report that a big box of Vivacious 4ply landed here at the shop last week. Our cubby is stuffed with more colors than ever, and there’s plenty to go around!

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Check our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas!

Vivacious 4ply is hand-dyed, so each skein is unique, even from the same dye-lot; remember you can alternate skeins to blend hand-dyed yarns in larger projects.

We carry lots of hand-dyed yarns, but each one has their own color personality. Vivacious 4ply seems to excel in low-contrast, painterly colorways, the kind that I’d expect to knit up looking well-blended rather than streaky. Their brightest shades are rich and eye-catching, but their muted browns and grays are not to be overlooked.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section at the shop. See you there!

New colors in Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on June 16, 2015

We received a lovely bundle from Fyberspates last week, bursting with bags of their Vivacious 4ply yarn. Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Though we just started stocking this yarn in February, a reorder was already necessary, and their newest shades tempted us, too.

Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Vivacious 4ply is hand-dyed, so each skein is unique, even from the same dye-lot; remember you can alternate skeins to blend hand-dyed yarns in larger projects.

We were also delighted to see these two new books from Fyberspates. Vivacious Kids is a collection of garments and accessories for children ages 2-10, a range for which it is sometimes surprisingly hard to find knitwear designs. CoopKnits Socks Vol. 2 is a pleasing and diverse collection of sock patterns, from the simple to the ornate.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section of the shop!

Hello, Scrumptious Lace.

Posted by Julia on February 3, 2015

Along with our recent shipment of Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply came a new bundle of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace.

Our first batch of Scrumptious Lace came out of our obsession with Kate Davies’ Yokes. Anne is planning to knit “Frost at Midnight,” an elegant cardigan with a beaded yoke, and simply had to have Scrumptious Lace for it.

This latest order rounds out our selection of Scrumptious Lace, so that we have a range of colors to suit a range of projects.

Scrumptious Lace is a shimmering blend of 55% merino and 45% silk, with a generous 1094 yards on each 100 gram hank. Its vivid solid colors and smooth texture make for sharp stitch definition, ideal for lace knitting. Consider Ysolda Teague’s “Ishbel,” “Pear Drop,” and “Barley Sugar,” Jared Flood’s “Rock Island,” and Laura Nelkin’s “Life Cycle.” Fine yarns like this one are perfect for lace crochet projects, too; check out Elena Fedotova’s “Scarlet Berry” and “Ink Ripples.”

For more pattern ideas, look to our “Inspiring Stitches” Pinterest board. Come by the shop to pick up a skein or two of Scrumptious Lace and plan your next project!

Hello, Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on February 1, 2015

This week, we welcomed a new yarn into the shop: Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply.

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight.

For pattern inspiration and a sense of how these colorways might work up in knitted fabric, check out Vivacious Volume One. Inside, you’ll find accessory and garment patterns for fingering and dk weight yarns. Here are a few in Vivacious 4ply.

Check out the “Inspiring Stitches” board on our Pinterest page for more projects in Vivacious 4ply, and come by the shop to see this yarn for yourself. Look for Vivacious 4ply and Vivacious Volume One in the fingering weight section. See you there!

Yokes.

Posted by Julia on December 13, 2014

Yokes is here!

Yokes is writer and designer Kate Davies’ newest book, and one that we’ve been eagerly anticipating since October, when she started posting previews on her blog.

I’ve been reading her blog for years now, admiring her patterns and appreciating her written voice.

An historian as well as a knitwear designer, Davies approaches her subject with academic rigor, and because of this, Yokes is so much more than a collection of inspiring sweaters.

Pick up this book, and you’ll learn about Swedish Bohus yokes, the Icelandic lopapeysa, classic Shetland motifs, Elizabeth Zimmermann’s seamless innovations, and the connections between all of the above.

As a lover of circular yoke sweaters, particularly those adorned with colorwork, I was quick to add Yokes to my own knitting library. I’ve been reading it before bed this week, savoring the text and photos. Davies speaks my mind when she writes, “I am happy spending days working away on acres of plain stockinette, if, at the end of it, there is the yoke’s delicious promise.”

I am knitting one such sweater right now, in fact: “Puffin Sweater,” a design from Davies’ Colors of Shetland. I’ve knit the body and one and a half sleeves, looking forward all the while to the colorful chevron yoke. (Almost there!)

Anne has fallen for a sweater from Yokes, “Frost at Midnight.” This beaded yoke is knit in a delicate lace-weight yarn called Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace, a shimmering blend of merino and silk, which, oh by the way, we now stock at the shop.

We have only a few shades in stock, but will happily order whichever color you’d like. Come by to see the colorcard!

Look for Kate Davies’ Yokes on the teacart in the front room. It will make a perfect holiday gift for the history-loving knitter in your life, and if that knitter happens to be you, send your nearest and dearest in for a copy. See you there!