Just because

If you're on our mailing list, by now you should have received an eCard about June's Featured Project - CoCo Knits Hanna. What you won't have seen in the card is how silly Liz and I can get during a photoshoot. So, for your (and our) amusement, I put together a photo pile.


You have to admit, silly is something we do well here. In any case, at least you can see how nicely the sweater drapes and moves.

Next on the list, I snagged a shot of Jenni's current wip du jour, her Fargyle socks:

Which she is trying to finish in time to enter in the State Fair. Wish her luck! Now, normally, I would refer you to her ravelry notebook (and there is a link), but it's woefully short on information. So, if you see Jenni, tell her to update it 'cause she just won't listen to me.

Moving on... we have NEW YARNS!

These have arrived with perfect timing - they're ideal for cool summer knits. On the top row is the second round of our popular limited edition sock yarn, the Knit Purl Natural Collection. Dyed in very small batches using only natural dyes and mordants, these little jewels make simply beautiful projects (remember my Seraphim shawl?) or just look lovely in a stash.

On the lower two shelves are two new yarns from Be Sweet. The bright and cheerful and glossy little cakes are Be Sweet Bamboo. 100% bamboo at a sport weight, it's great for light and drapey shells and sweaters. The fact that it's handdyed will also add dimension to a finished garment. Personally, I'm really looking forward to seeing it knit up.

We also have Bubble Ball yarn from Be Sweet (middle shelf on the left), which is some really interesting stuff. Handspun and handdyed, it's further embellished with 25 felted beads. Just imagine the cool trim it could make. I also want to see what our customers will do with this. (hint, hint) You guys can be so much more imaginative than us with new yarns.

Anyway. That's everything (for now). On Tuesday there should be several beautiful customer projects (we just have to find the camera) and info on upcoming events. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Truly wicked yarn pr0n

I'm evil, I know it. But, see, if I sell the yarn to customers it won't end up in my stash. It's all about the self-preservation, see. And believe me when I say some of it has already found a new home in my Stash Containment Unit. The new Habu is particularly tempting.

The first on our list of Must-Have New Yarns are from two powerhouse favorite dyers: Schaefer Yarns and Chameleon Colorworks. Direct from Schaefer's dyepot, we have the coolest of the cool in their Memorable Women Series - the Memorable Knitters. Next to it is Twinkle Toes (by Chameleon), which is a luscious, shimmery half-superwash merino, half tencel blend:

At the moment we have 3 of the 4 Memorable Knitters Series: Mary Walker Phillips, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Emma Jacobsson. Dorothy Reade is still on order. If you're a hard-core sock knitter, you'll going to want to grab these soon as I predict they're going to go fast (and not just into my stash).

The Twinkle Toes is a little more whimsical in nature, dyed in many of Chameleon Colorwork's most popular colors plus two new themes: Ophelia and Lavender Fields. Again, I have a feeling that these will run out the door fast, but this line promises to be more long-term.

Next on our list of yarny goodness are on the recently refurbished New Wall: Abstract Fiber & Araucania. Two lines of handdyed loveliness.

Abstract Fiber is well-known by most Knit Purl customers, but Araucania is a line we're less familiar with. 100% cotton and handdyed, it'll be great this summer...

And, finally, the last of our new yarns... Isager's summer lines:

And wall. They have so many yarns we decided they needed their own wall. Anyway, back to the new yarns. For this summer they've put out six new lines:

1. Bomuld (100% mercerized cotton)
   
2. Viscolin (linen/ rayon blend)
   
3. Bomulin (cotton/ linen blend)
4. Hoer (100% linen)
   
5. Alpaca 1 (100% baby alpaca, lace weight)
   
6. Hoejlandsgarn (100% Shetland lambswool)
   

We still have several colors on order, so expect to see the wall fill out over the next two weeks. And, quite possibly on the blog, a Hoejlandsgarn WIP I'm contemplating. Also to go with the yarns are the next Amimono 2 and Marianne Isager Spring/ Summer books.

In less tempting news (but still worth ogling), we have a pair of finished Wishbone Socks:

The pattern is by Nancy Bush and was featured in the Mar/Apr 2008 issue of Piecework Magazine. I'm afraid that the information concerning these socks has been lost (I'm truly very sorry about that!), but I think I remember them being knit with ShibuiKnits Sock in "Wasabi".

And, very nearly finally, we have some...

Announcements:

1. Our annual Spring Sale starts Thursday! Drop by the store for huge savings on all your favorite yarns, door prizes, a free needle case with purchase and more. See our Events page for more details.
   
2. [Some colors of] Kauni back in stock. Kauni EQ is still on order. But we do have one NEW color and some old favorites, such as ES and EV.
   
3. A collection of new habu yarns have arrived: Silk/ Wool A-113, Silk Cashmere A-190, Wool Pom Pom (N-60), Natural Cover Cotton (A-184), Kusaki Zome (A-4), Stainless Steel Thread (N-48), Ramie (A-166), Jersey Tape (A-189). All of which are so new they aren't on our website (or, in some cases, Habu's either); but, if you'd like to drop by the store or give us a ring, we'll be glad to help you.

And, lastly, just because:

We've been having fun with all the different fuzzy mohair yarns we carry. Shown: Habu Kit 110 and Knitty's Ice Queen knit up with ArtYarns' Beaded Mohair & Sequins (sparkly bling, eh?).

That should be everything. Check back on Thursday (sale, sale, sale!) for more news about the, yes, sale, LeBrie's Nuno Felted Scarf Class and... well, whatever happens between now and then.

end of week round-up

Let's pretend it's Thursday, eh? Yesterday was New Year's Day and I can't remember why I couldn't post on Tuesday, but it's been that kind of week.

First and foremost, the promised "Gina's socks" (modeled by Gina on Monday):

Made out of ShibuiKnits Sock in ManBlue. Knit on size 1.5 (2.5mm) Addi Turbo circs at a gauge of 8 sts & 12 rows per inch. The pattern was something I made up, but am rewriting because I like it so much.

Next, we have Trish and her awesome self-designed funky hat:

Made with ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in "Spectrum". I'm afraid we didn't get any more details than that, sorry!

Then, let's see, we had a visit from da babies:

Which I had to share because of the gratuitous cuteness factor.

It should be mentioned that they came by with their daddy to pick up this year's OFB Food Drive donation box (to drop off at the OFB):

Which, I am told, weighed in at 90lbs. A fact I find rather disheartening as we collected over 130lbs last year during a food drive that lasted less than a week. Maybe we'll do better next time.

In less depressing news, we have the whatsit prototypes:

The Whatsit (once it is properly named) will be a Knit Purl pattern, which is worn like this:

(modeled by Darcy)

Cool, huh?

But I can't tell you too much about it yet, as the patterns aren't finished and it still doesn't have a name.

Moving on, to... sock club SPOILERS. Before proceeding, let it be know that you were warned.

The January 2009 kit is available for members to pick up in the store:

Out-of-town members' packages have already been shipped.

Whoo, what a week!

Regular blogging schedule should resume next Tuesday, I promise. It should also be mentioned that my New Year's resolution for the blog is to get more coworkers involved, so expect (or hope) to see posts from knitters other than myself here... eventually.

socks and the News

Wow. Progress has been made. The Holiday Special is out and I can actually see the 'wood' surface of my desk in a few places. Jenni isn't so lucky at the moment, but I think we'll be able to see her desk sometime this week. Maybe after Thanksgiving.

Today I have some cool staff (and patron) projects to share with all y'all. First, we have Mike's sock, made with ShibuiKnits Sock in "Dragonfly". He wrote up the pattern and gave it to us to share, which we have since managed to lose (it's on a scrap of yellow, lined paper if you happen to see it lying around...), but here is the finished sock for your viewing (if not knitting) pleasure:

You never know, though, the pattern may yet show up on the blog. We just have to find it first.

Right. Continuing on with the sock parade, here's (short) Sandy's cashmere sock:

Knit with ArtYarns Cashmere Sock in color #2244, using the Waving Lace Socks pattern by Evelyn Clark in Interweave Press' Favorite Socks. There was a slight hiccup in this project. The finished sock ended up way too big for the size 4 foot it was intended for. Ouch. It's now a shop sample, if you want to come by and pet it. Or sympathize with Sandy's pain.

And while we're on the subject of store workings, I have photos from LaBrie's Nuno Felted Scarf workshop last weekend:

Yes, you are actually seeing drop-cloths on the floor. It looks like they had a lot of fun, though! The workshop was focused on a particular Japanese felting technique (nuno), in which wool roving is felted over loosely woven silk fabric (a silk scarf in this case). It makes for a beautiful, gauzy, and warm finished fabric. The process involves water and a lot of agitation, hence the blue tarps everywhere.

I hope some of the participants will bring their scarves in for us to admire...

Anyway. We're doing another Nuno Felted Scarf workshop on December 13th, because we couldn't fit everyone into the one last week. So, if you're interested, I'd recommend you register now before the next workshop fills up, too.

Next on the list of things to cover, our In the News bulletin:

1. Update on the Jared Flood Lecture. Slight recap: Jared Flood (brooklyntweed) has agreed to lecture on January 8th (I think I mentioned this). At the moment, we have narrowed the choices of venues down to two suitable options and are now looking at the logistics aspect of all this. I swear to you, we're working tirelessly on this and will have registration information up soon.
2. We just got another Oleana shipment in. I succumbed, and bought one of the felted wool blankets. It's so soft and lovely that I couldn't resist. There are also several new styles of wristers and scarves in stock, for those of us who only buy cold-weather garments when it's cold enough to wear them (ask me how I'm familiar with this habit).
3. We are currently out of stock of both the Elfin Santa Hat and Beaded Silk Star Christmas tree ornament kits. Honestly, I don't think any of us were expecting to sell out in a day. We have lots more of the yarn on order, but... well, there's going to be some delay before the ornaments are on sale in the store again. Sorry about that!
4. We will be closing early tomorrow, at 5 pm. Also, we will not be open Thanksgiving Day.
   

And, last but not least, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

5 things.

So much to do, so much to say. And never enough time.

But, in terms of imminence, there are 3 noteworthy announcements:

1. All Noni patterns from the Noni Knits Trunkshow will be 40% off for the next couple of weeks. Check out the sale area and see what's available at a discount.
2. Alas, we must bid the Skif Trunkshow farewell. We've had it for several months now (to the exclusion of others) and need to send it along to another funky LYS. If you really want to try one of the sweaters on, now is the time to do it. They ship out next week.
3. The November Sock Club kit is going into the mail this week. It will be available to local members on November 3rd, so they'll get their kits at the same time as out-of-state members. Incidentally, the 3rd is also a "No Mean Feet!" night, if you're feeling the need to cast on your kit immediately with people who will understand your addiction.
   

In less imminent news (#4 on our list)... I finished my Seraphim Shawl!! It's so exciting to have it done in time for Miriam Felton's visit. I can't wait for her Introduction to Lace Design workshop (I am so signed up for that), since I already have my shawl sketched out. Which means, if you count me and the other 2 students in the class, there are only 5 spots left, since both workshops are capped at a maximum of 8 students.

But, for your viewing (and my preening) pleasure, we brought the shawl along to a photoshoot this afternoon. 3M is nicely OCD about the good photography and I was hardput to choose just one photo, so here are three:

(I think this was 3M's favorite)

Project details:

• Pattern: Seraphim Shawl by Miriam L. Felton
• Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm
• Yarn: Knit Purl's The Natural Collection, hand-dyed with natural dyes by Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks just for us. Used just over 2 skeins. And now I really wish we had more of this yarn, since it was sooo nice to work with.

And, if you want more artistic photos (or more specs), here's the set. Or it on ravelry. Can you totally tell I am beside myself for finishing this?

Finally, last but not least (#5), the Sock the Vote yarn is here! I wish I had a photo (might be on the list for Thurday's post) to prove it, but it is officially for sale. Behind the scenes, we have an unofficial bet going on which color will sell out first. I think it's going to be a toss-up between Michelle and Hillary, but I could be wrong. I guess we'll find out soon.

'Til Thursday, happy knitting!

hand-dyed goodness

I'm sorry, time is short again, this will be a brief post.

First on the list: silk lace yarn.

Silk Hues.

Hand-dyed for Knit Purl. It's 100% silk with 440 yards per 50g skein and it's available in about a gazillion colors. Niiice stuff. Sandy Kay is knitting Anne Hanson's Gust with a skein of it:

... in Barbie™ Pink.

To each their own, I guess. It's actually a lovely color, honestly. Just pink. Very pink.

And, finally, we've got roving:

Lots of it. All hand-dyed by Abstract Fiber of Portland. This will be on the website (next week-ish) for those of you far away. We have 10 colorways in 3 fibers: Blue-faced Leicester Superwash, Alpaca/ Merino/ Silk, and Silk/ Cashmere. All are just gorgeous and terribly tempting. I just know I'm going to walk out of here with a looot of roving very soon.

Ooh! We're also supposed to receive a shipment of spindles tomorrow. Our handspinning section is growing quite steadily. Drop by on Saturday to see it in it's inaugural beauty.

And now I must away. Have a good weekend!

we're not endorsing anyone, but...

Meriwether came in today with her finished Obama sweater:

Maybe a month ago, I helped her pick colors of Cascade 220 Superwash and ShibuiKnits Worsted Merino that matched one of his political posters. How awesome is that? Senator Obama's face is done entirely with intarsia in FIVE colors!

Okay, so it's awesome in a slightly crazy way. But we can get behind the slightly crazy here. If you'd like more information on how she knit it, you can check her ravelry notebook (she's promised to update it) or see her YouTube video: Obama knitter girl.

(And, seriously, if any of our readers are working on a McCain sweater (or hat, whatever), we'd be glad to feature it - Knit Purl is nonpartisan.)

Moving on to less inflammatory topics, we were visited by baby Kandyce last Thursday for our weekly Sip 'n' Stitch:

At 2 months and almost 10 lbs, she got passed around by Mommy's coworkers a lot. She also was very patient with 3M, who had never held a baby before. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her eyebrows - they are so expressive! Just adorable.

I would plotz more over her cuteness, but I just looked at the clock and time is running short. We just receive an update from Farrah, who is knitting us a sample Icarus Shawl in Isager's laceweight wool:

And a close-up:

Aside from us lacking some serious lace samples, we're also putting together a Miriam Felton display, for those of you who might be interested in her upcoming workshops but are still wary of the lace. It's gonna be awesome. I'm hoping we (Farrah and I) get our respective shawls done in time for Miriam's visit.

And, finally, we just received our first shipment of Happiest Girl sock yarn:

Dyed by Happiest Girl Dyeworks, in Portland, these are fantastic colors that you won't forget in a hurry. And, very especially, we have 4 (oops, now 3!) skeins of Halloween sock yarn, named Icabod. Grab it while you can.

That's it for now. I have some loooovely silk lace yarn for you on Thursday. And a swatch, too. It'll be nummy. Until then, happy knitting or crocheting!

Sock-centric

Sock knitting seems to be taking over the world.

Well, the knitting world, anyway. Aside from a truly exceptional "No Mean Feet!" last night (record turnout!), we've just got word of a new limited edition series from Schaefer Yarns, Sock The Vote...

If you're not allergic to mohair, you can get a skein (or two!) of sock yarn dyed for your favorite politician/ politician's wife in the Presidential race. I'm not bitter that it only comes in Anne, no, not at all. Grr.

If we're lucky, this yarn will be in stock soon (it's on order).

But, back to "No Mean Feet!", we got pictures proving that sock knitters are indeed on the rise. We had to enlarge our knitting circle twice last night - welcoming several new visitors:

It was, as always, lots of fun. I wish I could go add more to this post, but a Newsletter went out on Friday and we are just drowning in web orders. Until Thursday, happy knitting!

Ladies & Gents, it's time for another YarNews Flash!

We've got not one, not even three, but FOUR new yarns for your tactile pleasure. All arrived yesterday and were just put up on the New Wall. First off, temping us all greatly here, are the three new Art Yarns lines:

1. Top row: Cashmere Sock Yarn. 65% Cashmere/ 25% Wool/ 8% Nylon. 146m/ 146y per 50g skein with a gauge of 22sts = 10cm/ 4" on 4.5mm/ US 6 needles. Yummy. Can you image how glorious a pair of socks made with this yarn would feel? At the moment we only carry 6 colors (one of which was bought up immediately!), but we might be getting in more if it turns out to be as popular as it should.
2. Bottom row, left: Silk Pearl & Sequins. 100% Silk strung with glass beads and sequins. 71m/ 78u per 50g skein with a gauge of 17sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 5 colors. Don't get me wrong, I like this yarn, it's very fun and lovely to touch - but it strikes me as the perfect accessory for a European Discotheque. Still, would be a lot of fun to work with.
   
3. Bottom row, right: Beaded Mohair & Sequins. 80% Silk/ 20% Mohair strung with glass beads and sequins. 104m/ 114y per 50g skein with a gauge of 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 4 colors. A slightly lighter version of its all-silk sibling, but with a gentle halo. Still sparkly and fun, but probably quite a bit warmer for handknit garments.
   

Fourth on the New Wall is the latest Noro creation:

Noro Yuzen. "Yuzen" is actually a Japanese dyeing technique used to paint kimonos and paper for origami. This line comes in skeins, not balls, and features more subdued tweedy colors. It's absolutely lovely, and if it didn't have mohair in it I'd have bought a bag. In any case, the blend is 56% Wool/ 34% Silk/ 10% Mohair. Each 50g skein has 110m/ 121y with a gauge of 16 - 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". It's a solid worsted-weight that'll be great for winter garments.

And, finally, completely unrelated to YarNews...

A wip photo of my in-progress Seraphim Shawl, the "Manta Ray" as 3M calls it:

Made with Knit Purl's The Natural Collection yarn in a color best described as "Cochineal". Aside from a long-standing desire to make this shawl, I thought it would be appropriate to have it finished in time for Miriam Felton's visit in November. Yes, you heard me right. The designer of the Icarus Shawl and Juno Reginan Stole is coming to Portland to teach to two 1-day workshops at Knit Purl.

I really want to take the Intro to Lace Design class...

Anyway. It seemed a cool way to welcome her (okay, showing off) when she got here and a great reason to use the yarn I had originally stashed for this project in December.

Ahem. This wip might be a reoccuring topic over the next month... But it should be buffered with tons of YarNews, store workings and customer wips/ fos (which we haven't been seeing many of lately, where are you guys?).

True Plies: Spinning out of control

True Plies: Fleece Artist Blue-faced Leicester Roving

I have to admit it. I have a problem. A big one. And working at this store ain't helping me with it.The culprit this week?

Handmaiden & Fleece Artist of Nova Scotia. In the past month we have received so much merchandise from them, we've had to create a section of the store I'm calling Little Canada.

(shown to the left)

To make matters worse, a couple weeks ago we received an enormous box of hand-painted roving. Seriously, when I say "enormous", I mean it. I could have shipped myself (and a friend) to Jamaica in that thing (actually...hmm, not a bad thought).

I managed to avoid the wicked, wicked beguiling ways of the roving until The Blogger set up a spinning display with a basket of it, and ... well, I fell off of the wagon. Two nights ago I brought home 100g of their BFL roving in the colorway "Peacock". The bronze and turquoise together called to me. So I pulled out my wheel, spun up some very fine singles, and then Navajo-plied the singles into a 3-ply/ worsted weight yarn:

My review of it? Oh, it's beautiful. Not just to ogle and pet, but to spin as well. I have to admit that I have had some pretty traumatic experiences with hand-dyed wool roving. Inexperienced dyers can accidentally felt the roving by using water that's too hot or agitating the wool as it's soaking up the dyes - which turns perfectly beautiful wool roving into rope.

Not this stuff. It was still soft and fluffy and didn't resemble hand-dyed rope at all. The roving easy pulled apart in slivers and was even easier to draft. So easy, in fact, that I managed to shock myself with how fine the single-ply yarn was. Navajo-plying it made the yarn heavier and self-striping. If I had 2-plied the yarn, it would have been a fingering weight yarn in the end. And the colors would have misched more.

All in all, I'm exceedingly pleased with it. And $16.50 for 100g of hand-painted, handspun, yarn ain't bad. Not by a long shot. Now all I have to do is knit it, once I manage to beat my coworkers away from the skein with a stick or something...

(Next time? Fleece Artist's Casbah.)

True Plies: A Cheap Thrill

True Plies: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend

One of the lovely perks of being in the receiving office of a knitting store is receiving the yarns. Especially when we get new lines of yarn, like Manos del Urugauy's new Silk Blend, a sumptuous mix of Merino and silk. But, before I get ahead of myself, here're the specs:

Fiber: 70% Merino, 30% Silk
Yardage: 135 m / 150 y
Skein weight: 50 g / 1.75 oz
Yarn weight: DK weight
Recommended gauge: 2-2.4 sts/cm or 5-6 sts/inch
Recommended needle size: 3.5-4 mm / 4-6 (US)

Just like their Wool Clasica and Cotton Stria, the Merino Silk is kettle-dyed by hand to create deep, vibrant solids and variegates. Completely different from the Wool Clasica, the Merino Silk is soft enough to be used in baby garments. As much as I loved the Manos Wool Clasica to look at, knitting with it left something to be desired. For me, anyway. I know The Blogger has a deep and abiding love of Manos Clasica for felting and outwear garments.

Aside from the fact that the Merino Silk is softer than it's older siblings, it has the added benefit of being DK weight instead of worsted. While it comes in 50 g hanks and not 100g (like Clasica), they have the same yardage for nearly the same price. The only drawback I could see is that the Merino Silk is millspun, not handspun like one might expect, which is probably why it costs less than the Clasica.

Back to receiving the Silk Blend. This variegate, "Autumn", immediately caught my eye. So, as soon as it was received, i.e. in the system and ready for sale, I grabbed a hank and CO for a hat. With 150 yards to 50g and a cold head, the project choice seemed obvious.

On US 5's, with 5.5 sts & 8 rows/ inch, I CO 120 sts for my 23" head (remember to always subtract 10% for negative ease!). Enjoying the process of just knitting with the yarn, I worked the hat in stockinette for several inches. The yarn made a soft, well-draping fabric. It was hard not to stop and admire the color-changes in the yarn every row or so, I must admit. Eventually, though, I had to start the crown decreases, which The Blogger cunningly took an aerial-view photo of.

My first worry was that the yarn might pool unattractively once the number of sts changed. Thankfully, the way the yarn is dyed seems to prevent this. As you can see, the yarn didn't stripe either (another problem I find with some hand-painted yarns). In the end, I finished with some yarn to spare. Not much, but enough to prevent panic.

Of course, the first thing I did was put it on my head. Then I wove in the ends and examined the FO more closely:

After an experimental "sqoosh" or two, I put it back on my head. What can I say? I like my hat.

I also really like the yarn. It was a pleasure to knit with, and I definitely want to use it again in the future. Aside from hats, it would be great for baby clothes, mitt(en)s and scarves. In the pattern book that came with the yarn, Primera, there are also several gorgeous adult sweaters I might be tempted to try.

This just might be my new favorite yarn for next winter.

Next week: how do you knit a pineapple?