The Knaughty Knitter

Doyle had a chuckle

When he came out to the deck this morning.  I was already there, in a big wooly sweater over my pjs, alpaca hat and mittens and fuzzy slippers.  It was almost a giggle.  Anyway I am glad for a bit of sweater weather.  I miss the wool during the Summer, I am glad Fall seems to be coming early this year.  And it has me in hat making mode. 

There'll be a Knewsletter going out tomorrow afternoon.  There will be some hat news in it too.   So check it out.

Afghan Knit Along

is Monday and we will be doing bobbles.  You can pick from squares 20, 29 or 44.  Technically square 9 using Trinity St is a bobble too, but we will cover it separately.  It helps to cast on before class for the squares.  You could also just bring scrap yarn to practice bobbles on.

Lulabelle loves looms?

I came in and found this the other day.....She found a place to hide from those Other Cats....who were on the other chairs around the table....She doesn't think other cats should be.....from here she couldn't see them so it was okay.  It is not a soft place - there's paper and shuttles and loom things under her along with only a bit of yarn.....Very indignant kitty when I started laughing at her.... At least the wool was warm when I returned to weaving this...

Made this yarn yesterday and..

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.

New Class Listing

I've changed the class schedule a bit.  I added a Weaving for Fun class.  This one is a bit different. The looms are already warped and you can come in and try them out.  We'll teach you some basics, you can weave a scarf, table runner or just a piece of fabric you'll sew into something later!  Use one color or many.  You can just relax and enjoy the easy part of the weaving without all the hassle of warping - take that class later if you need to.   Class is $30 for two hours and you purchase the yarn to weave with (weft) or pay a small materials fee to use a lot of different yarns from the store stash.  The first one is scheduled for June 22nd.  

Also Lisa wants to teach a beginning lace class so that is scheduled for August. You'll be learning to knit lace, reading a chart and making a sampler scarf (or shawl)  Sign up early, space is limited.

I added a Yarn Tasting for the 29th of June too.  Check out the class schedule for more information.

Ruffle Yarns 15% off Today

Ruffle yarns are 15% off today only.

Don't forget the Stafford Mitts Knitalong starts this afternoon.  This is the January project. We are doing one KAL a month this year.  They will all be fun and different and perfect for new or intermediate knitters who want to learn a new skill or more experienced ones who just want something fun that's quick.  The Stafford mitts are mitered knitting and I will demonstrate it at the KAL meeting this afternoon at 3.  It is okay to jsut show up for these, no reservations and its free.  Please print your own pattern off Ravelry for this one.  It requires sock weight yarn - preferably self striping - and #1 needles.

 

 

Handspun Yarns and more

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.

 

Robin's pick for this week

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.

New Yarn....

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.

Published: 33 Patterns, 2 Books

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