Made in Oregon at The Imperial Stock Ranch, this soft and sumptuous pencil roving is worked in this simple rib pattern creating a simple to knit cowl that can be worn around the neck or pulled snug over your shoulders. The pattern calls for you to hold two strands together using two balls of yarn. We opted for a lighter weight version, only knitting one strand and one ball of yarn. Either way you decide to knit this project it is beautiful and affordable. The bulky 2 strand pencil roving is approximately 200 yards of 100% lofty wool for $13.00 and available in subdued colors as well as bright and bold colors.
To finish off your beautiful creation check out the Annie Adams line of shawl pins that are sure to appeal to all needle loving designers in need of that extra something special. No matter your craft the lead-free pewter pins will accent your personal style. -B
This bright and colorful rainbow scarf was designed by Huan-Hua Chye and is a free ravelry download. Like most of us who have a yarn stash this is a great project to use up two skeins of Noro Yarn or any other self striping yarns, either way you should get stunning results. We chose to use two different colorways of Noro Aya a marvelous mix of cotton & silk plus a touch of wool gives this yarn a softness and subtle sheen.
Just remember the more different the two colors are, the more contrast and wow you will get with your final project. We are also offering a class on the Pegasus Scarf the 9th of July that will teach you to knit on the bias as well as how to carry the yarn up the side of your project without have to cut.
Growing up in the 80’s I love that in the designers notes she mentions that the design is a tribute to her neon 1980’s Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper. For those of you who have seen the Trapper Keeper I know you will see the color resemblance. -B
This retro wide neck pullover is perfect for beginners because it’s basic with some special accent stitching that appears to be more complex than it actually is. You can find the pattern in Wendy Bernard’s book Custom Knits. The one pictured has a few minor adjustments to the original pattern, mostly having to do with the yarn and needle size.
The original pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn on a size 8 needle and this one was knitted out of a dk weight yarn on a size 4 needle. There was also an adjustment from 3/4 length sleeves to short sleeves making it a little cooler for the heat of the summer.
The top down raglan construction with the body and sleeves knitted in the round makes this a relatively quick knit and if you haven’t tried this yarn yet it is a must. Ruca from the mother/daughter team of Araucania Yarns has created this beautifully crafted 100% sugar cane yarn hand-dyed in Chile.
This dk/sport-weight fiber has lustrous elegance and comes in a generous 263 yard hank of solid and multi yarns. Thanks so much to Whitney for bringing her beautiful creation by the shop for us to photograph. -B
A couple of posts back we talked about the Melted Crayon Shawl by Allison Jakus. This is just another beautiful version of that pattern in a lighter weight yarn. We had lots of questions about the class and where the pattern could be found. Now that the class is over I wanted to give you a link to the pattern.
You can see from these pictures that you truly can’t go wrong with color. The original was knit out of Noro Silk Garden and Manos Wool Classica, this lighter weight version was knit out of Noro Silk Garden and Scarlet Fleece Ewe Silky Thing. Click here for the link to the pattern and Allison’s blog, and if you have other questions please let us know.
A big thank you to Allison for her wonderful pattern, and to Elizabeth for the lighter weight version of the shawl. -B
One of my favorite techniques for adding textural pleates or ruffles in knitting is ruching. I think that is the reason I loved knitting Citron, by Hilary Smith Callis so much. I literally couldn’t put it down, which for those of you who know me is not something that happens with my projects very often.
All you have to do to make this beautiful pattern is increase and decrease with a series of stockinette rows in between, a quick and simple knit! The best part is for those of us who aren’t familiar with the technique it appears to be quite complicated.
After eyeing the pattern on knitty for several months I finally decided to knit a summer version of this semi-circular shawl using Araucania’s Chaiten a hand dyed, machine washable 100% raw silk yarn, in an array of variegated muted hues. You only need two hanks which makes the shawl very affordable at $40, a great price for a hand dyed silk. I knitted the one pictured exactly as the pattern directed, but you can easily add repeats to make it larger. If you aren’t familiar with the pattern you can check it out by clicking here. -B
