Tag Archives: merino

Dream in Color Pop-Up! Club: October.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up! Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. October’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

This month, dyer Veronica was inspired by the irresistible colors of fall at a vineyard in Napa, and she painted some of them on Dream in Color’s aptly-named Smooshy Cashmere.

Smooshy Cashmere is perfect for a special pair of socks, like Dawn Henderson’s “Lyne Socks” or “Autumn Dawn Socks,” but for a larger project as the season slowly turns, a cozy shawl is just the thing. Consider Rebecca McKenzie’s “Francy Shawl,” Joji Locatelli’s “Venezia Shawl,” Tamy Gore’s “Pop Tart,” or Francoise Danoy’s “Whakahoahoa Shawl.”

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these pretty skeins directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront remains closed to walk-ins!

Washted + Rios + Nightshift!

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Our recent Malabrigo Rios restock has us thinking about Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” again, that popular slip stitch shawl that still seems to be on everyone’s needles. We’ve seen several knitters make it using Rios and Washted, another Malabrigo yarn.

Malabrigo Washted:

  • worsted weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $16 each

Flashback to Pam’s “Nightshift” in progress – look closely and you can see she’s used both plied and single ply yarns.

The combination of plied Rios and single ply Washted makes for intriguing texture along with exciting color – here are a couple of ideas!

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup.

New colors in Malabrigo Rasta!

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Malabrigo recently released a bunch of new colors in their super bulky Rasta yarn, and with our cooling weather, we’re especially excited to have them in stock!

Malabrigo Rasta:

  • super bulky weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 90 yards/150 g
  • $22 each

Rasta is plush and squishy, perfectly suited to cold-weather accessories, and one skein makes a hat or cowl in a hurry!

Here are a few hat pattern ideas for Rasta:

And a few cowls:

Along with the Pintada collection, we also have Malabrigo Rasta in the semisolid and variegated colorways pictured below.

Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Malabrigo Rios is here!

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Malabrigo Rios is back in stock! We recently received a big box of some of our favorite colors, along with a couple we hadn’t seen before. The photos below show every color we have on our shelf right now, but place your orders quickly if there’s something here you’re interested in – Rios is one of the most popular yarns at our shop, and it sells fast!

Malabrigo Rios:

  • worsted weight
  • hand-dyed in variegated and semi-solid colorways
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $16 each

Lisa Hannes is an avid designer of shawls, and I noticed two in her portfolio that recommend Malabrigo Rios – “Interlude” and “Ice Cream Shawl.” I’ve put together some color combinations with these shawls in mind, though there are so many other possibilities!

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure!

Dream in Color Sock-It Club: September.

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The Dream in Color Sock-It Club is back! This time around, each limited edition skein of Smooshy comes with a 100-yard mini skein for coordinating heels and toes. $36 each, order while supplies last!

September’s colorway is autumn in a skein, a variegated mix of plummy brown, golden yellow, and silver gray, with a semisolid burgundy mini skein that beautifully sets off the main colors. Dyer Veronica was inspired by a bit of wanderlust, imagining what it would be like to see the leaves change in Paris.

Smooshy is a tightly-plied fingering weight yarn that’s ideal for sock knitting, composed of 85% superwash merino and 15% nylon for strength. There are so many wonderful sock patterns out there, but sometimes something simple is best, especially with such a highly variegated colorway – Madeline Gannon’s “Afterthought Heel Socks” are just the ticket.

We still have a handful of older Sock-It Club skein sets on hand, all at $36 each – order online for local pickup or shipping!

Shibui Haven + Malabrigo Caprino.

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As soon as we saw Shibui Haven, another DK weight merino/cashmere blend came to mind – Malabrigo Caprino. Though these yarns have gauge, fiber content, yardage, and texture in common, they have such different looks simply because of how they’re dyed.

Malabrigo Caprino:

  • DK weight
  • hand-dyed, variegated, speckled, and semi-solid colorways
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 159 yards/50 g
  • $18 each

I’m intrigued by the contrast between Shibui’s austere solids and Malabrigo’s wild hand-dyed shades, and I think they’d play beautifully together.

Here are a few pattern ideas for Haven and Caprino:

Eager to get these squishy cashmere yarns into your hands and onto your needles? Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Hello, Shibui Haven.

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We’re delighted to announce that Shibui’s new yarn has arrived! Meet Haven.

Shibui Haven:

  • DK weight
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 160 yards/50 grams
  • $25 each

Shibui Haven is just as soft as its fiber content suggests, a treat for the hands. With its unique 7 ply structure, Haven boasts excellent stitch definition for showing off texture, cables, and lace.

What to make with Haven? Shibui’s new pattern collection is full of ideas that perfectly suit this luxurious yarn!

“Repose,” a striped garter stitch cowl. Pattern is free when you buy 7 skeins of Haven.

“Beacon,” a batwing pullover knit with Haven and Tweed Silk Cloud held together throughout.

“Peak,” a twisted rib shawl. Pattern is free when you purchase 8 skeins of Haven.

“Harbor,” a ribbed capelet knit with Haven and Cima held together throughout.

Use our online order form to get some Haven of your own, whether for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail shipping!

Dream in Color Pop-Up! Club: September.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up! Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. September’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

This month, dyer Veronica was inspired by the muted antique colors of dried flowers, and she painted some of them on Dream in Color’s aptly-named Smooshy Cashmere.

Shades of green dominate, from pale sage to deep forest, mottled with flecks of yellow, blue and brown.

Smooshy Cashmere is perfect for a special pair of socks, like Dawn Henderson’s “Lyne Socks” or “Autumn Dawn Socks,” but for a larger project as the season slowly turns, a cozy shawl is just the thing. Several months ago, I created colorways for Tamy Gore’s “The Drifter” shawl, and they caused such a stir, I decided to make a fresh batch with this new Pop Up! Club shade.

The rustic woolen-spun Tukuwool Fingering is an intriguing counterpoint to the luxurious Smooshy Cashmere, and the heathered colors play beautifully with these variegated skeins.

Tukuwool Fingering:

  • fingering weight
  • 75% Finnsheep wool, 25% Texel wool
  • 213 yards/50 g
  • $12.50 each

“The Drifter” is decorated with slipped stitches and stripes, and Gore provides instructions for using three shades or two.

If the two-color combinations especially speak to you, check out Joji Locatelli’s “Circle of Friends Shawl,” too!

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these pretty skeins directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront is temporarily closed!

Soulful Slouchy Hat + Peerie.

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A recent Brooklyn Tweed restock brought some of the best-loved shades of Peerie back to our shelves. This got me thinking about Tif Neilan’s “Soulful Slouchy Hat,” just the kind of small colorwork project I love. It comes in a wide range of sizes, from toddler to adult large.

© Tif Neilan – tif handknits –

Brooklyn Tweed Peerie:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% American merino wool
  • 210 yards/50 grams
  • $17.25 each

One skein in each color gives you enough for at least two hats, if you rearrange the color placement. Below are the four shades Neilan used in her own “Soulful Slouchy Hat,” pictured at the top of this post, an intriguing mix of classic navy and white and a couple of unusual earth tones.

Here are a few more color combinations I came up with for Tif Neilan’s “Soulful Slouchy Hat.”

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure!

Wooly Worsted + Yipes Stripes Cowl.

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Along with our recent Ewe Ewe Sporty restock, we also replenished our supply of Wooly Worsted. This plush worsted weight superwash merino is a staple here at our shop, whether for baby blankets, children’s sweaters, or accessories for all ages.

Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted:

  • worsted weight
  • solid colors
  • 100% superwash merino
  • 95 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

Anne has used Wooly Worsted many times – here’s her “Yipes Stripes Cowl,” designed by Ann Weaver.

There are all kinds of knitting techniques tucked into this one little project, from a turned hem to two- and three-color braids, with stripes and slipped stitches in between. All these ways of playing with color make for an engaging knit. Want to make a “Yipes Stripes Cowl” of your own? Here are some colorways to choose from!

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure!