Then made the cowl in group last night. I had to update some color cards yesterday and hate to throw out the yarn samples...I usually tear them off and put them in spinning batts but hey the felting machine is here and so is some bulky yarn I dyed....so I felted yarn scraps to the big yarn and knitted a cowl....upcycling.....
More interesting versions of this yarn are here too.
And I will likely be making some more of it during the week.
I was looking at an old Knitscene a little while ago and found an article about Knit Collage - a relatively new company whose yarn I love. They hire women in India who prepare the fiber and then spin every skein. They are a fair trade company so they pay a living wage to the women there. Often folks come in and are shocked at the price of hand spun yarn. But think of the labor involved in just one little skein. One of their lines is Rolling Stone and has little bits of other fibers and sparkle and other things spun in. Gypsy Garden has little flowers in it as well. All those those things require an extra step in preparing to spin and more time and attention in the actual spinning. A single skein of 35 yds can take an hour or two just to spin. Even my own handspun here at the store with fewer fancy elements requires a lot of time and energy. Often it is hand painted fiber (mine or someone else's) and then spinning 4 ounces of fiber can take a couple of hours or all day depending on the thickness.
Enough lecturing now....Here's my latest thing - the knitted version of the Sparkly Cowl that I put out on Friday. The crochet version can be purchased in store or on Ravelry. I will put the knitted version up this afternoon. I must confess I like the crochet version better - it was faster. Sorry for the picture, this camera won't do the colors very well....It is really a nice Christmas Red with Shiny Bits......I did this one in Plymouth Aire - a super soft Alpaca yarn that feels awesome.
is an adorable baby hat from Cascade's 60 more Quick Baby Knits. All the patterns in the book are made of Cascade 220 Sport.
We have LOTS of buttons to choose from here too.
And......my pick of the day is this cowl. I made it Wednesday and the pattern is up on Ravelry now. It is crocheted and I am working on the knitting version too...should be up by Monday.
And....just one more thing....We got a new yarn in today. A superwash wool single that self stripes...by Elsbeth Lavold....it's a good thing.
Meet Good For Ewe's Claddagh...a very lovely llama and wool blend with tweedy bits..It is DK weight and very soft and yummy.
There are some new handpainted colors of Ella Rae Merino Lace which is really a light fingering and is superwash and quite lovely to knit with....
The picture does not do the colors justice...they are very vibrant and rich. So here's what I am doing with them.
This is an ingenious pattern called Leftie - for sale on Ravelry of course. A fun knit and luscious with this yarn.
I'm sure it's not gone unnoticed by some of our customers that I've published a couple of new books this year---one for 15 scarves and one for 18 cowls. Now all those patterns are all found on Ravelry and the books as .pdf documents are available on for sale through my Etsy Shop. For those of you far, far away, this is one way to obtain my published patterns. You will also find some of the patterns from the books (as well as others) available separately. In either case, you'll save a little bit by doing your own printing. We'll continue to print and sell hard copies in the shop of course. And coming soon! get your The Knaughty Knitter patterns directly through Ravelry....!
If you knit one or more of these projects, please share your projects on Ravelry! Thanks.
The Knaughty Knitter Book of Scarves
Knaughty Knitter Book of Cowls 2
At Fiber in the Boro I ran into Phyllis H. who I had not seen in a while. She is a wonderful knitter and spinner from Nashville...anyway she had on a gorgeous shawl made from her hand spun yarns. Turns out it was her yarns made from fibers she had purchased at the last couple of years of Fiber Festivals...Christine and I both wanted one and decided on a knitalong. We'll be using our hand spun yarns to create unique works of art. This starts in Friday group and anyone is welcome to join us. You can use your handspun, or your hand dyed yarns or just a bunch of leftovers from your many projects. Phyllis said she'd come to group with the shawl so we can all be inspired again. Friday 5-7. Here's just a teaser photo Christine took of the shawl.
of this a while back
This was a Ravelry pattern Kathy Kelly's Cabled Cape. It was fun and interesting to do, the techniques were a bit different on the cables.
okay not the best picture.......
Lisa has been quilling...She is going to teach class in it. Yes it is paper, but paper can be made of fibers....anyway the Quilled Christmas Card class is in November.
There will not be Friday Night Group this week due to the Fiber in the Boro.
Kim T. brought in her beautiful newly knitted red sweater. Thanks for showing us your finished project! She added a fancy little edging to the hems.
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