Yarn Gallery Blog

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The MadelineTosh has arrived and the afghan gals snagged a bunch of it.  I’ll have to reorder right away because I was at the store this morning (ordering fall yarn – gosh, so fabulous!) and saw that the carton was half-empty.  Still some wonderful things in there and I’ve got my eye on a skein of Tosh Sock that absolutely rocks.

Reminder: The shop will be closed on Sunday, May 30.

Let’s catch up with some older photos:

This is the Springtime Bandit shawl that I mentioned several weeks ago, a free pattern on Kelbournewoolens.com.  It’s pretty, fun, quick, and frankly, mine looks better than theirs, probably because of the blocking.  It’s a good pattern.

This is my Let’s dance a fandango! version of the Horizontal Feather and Fan shawl, a pattern that Janet teaches in her beginner lace class.  I used Noro’s Furin and inserted a few rows of Trendsetter’s Cha-Cha, and it’s just plain fun.  Fran Krieger is doing a beautiful version in off-white, very, very pretty.

Here are some photos that might get you into a class this summer.  First is Yuko Lewandoski’s version of the Adult Surprise Jacket.  The colors are bright but overall the effect is tailored and elegant.

This is Janet’s version of the shrug she’s teaching in her Mother-Daughter Design a Shrug class.  It’s too cute in a combo of Jelli-beenz and Fizz:

And here is the toe-up sock in progress, from Karen Walter’s class this summer.  It may be finished this week – it’s sort of like a striptease, every time I see her she shows a little bit more!  (This week she was in to raid the MadTosh before anyone else got their paws on it.)

Carol Whitcraft is knitting like a madwoman for her first great-grandchild.  Look at the beautiful blanket and this perfect little sweater in Jeannee, a soft cotton/acrylic blend.

And Karen Shearer’s granddaughter came in in her Baby Surprise, and even though we’ve shown her before, I had to take her picture again.  You can see why, can’t you?  Do you love the little pants or what?

Anne Nordhoy is an A-one knitter who knits like the wind and does the most intricate colorwork as naturally as you and I breathe.  She and her husband host an auction and fundraiser for the Y every year, and she knits many beautiful treasures to auction off.  Here are a sampling of what she’s offering this year.  They’re just too remarkable to remark on:

A Trio of Christmas Stockings

Thumb Detail (a boy and girl) of a Pair of Mittens

A Multi-Stitch Baby Blanket

Christening Gown and Bonnet

Delicate Lace Shawl

A Child's Ski Sweater

Child's Sweater

See what I mean?  It takes your breath away!

Enough for one day… see you soon!

Trish

We got socked, didn’t we?  It was really just lovely to wake up to a world in white and know that I didn’t have to go anywhere.  I hope all of you who have to get to work, no matter what, made it safely, and thanks for being there for all of us.  The only thing I did all day was shovel, nap, and knit.  It was very nice.  My sister lives in Baltimore and sent me updates from time to time on Saturday.  At 1 pm we were clear but it was still coming down at her place:

That little gate you see is taller than my head.  I bet her dogs are still peeing on the deck!

The second wave that we’re supposed to get this week may not seem just so very special!  I have yet to dig out my driveway, because I can walk to work, but I think I’d better make the effort today and run all those errands that I’m tempted to put off. But first! Here are some fabu projects to inspire your snow-day knitting:

Loretta Hollenbach made it to class on Sunday all the way from the wilds of Womelsdorf and modeled her beautiful gansey:

and Sarabel Conn also sent a photo of herself in her completed gansey:

I should have a page just for these wonderful sweaters – they have all turned out so well, thanks to some very good knitting, persistence, and Donna’s Guthrie’s inspirational and supportive class.

Nancy Rambo had a back operation and came in beforehand to make sure she had some knitting to do while she was recuperating.  These two pretty baby blankets are the results, and I hope everything else went as well as her knitting.

Nancy used JelliBeenz for the top blanket and Encore for the lower. Both are from Plymouth’s 8-Hour Baby Blankets booklet, our most popular booklet, and you can see why it’s so popular.

Karen Shearer used a self-striping Encore for the child’s sweater above.  It’s from a pattern by Cabin Fever and we were all enchanted by the way the stripes worked out.  The pattern is fun to make – garter stitch, all one piece, no sewing to do!  There’s an adult version that I would love to make – it’s on my list for fall.

Debbie Andrews made our Scribble Lace Scarf and had enough yarn left over to make this adorable tam to match.  She looks great in the set and finished them just in time for all this wintery weather.

Some additions to our class schedule:  Donna Guthrie is starting a new group for the Great North American Afghan soon – if you’re interested, email me or call me at the shop 610-373-1622.  Janet will be doing a second session of the February Lady Sweater and the Beginner Cabled Scarf.  Again get in touch if you’re interested.  You can check out the projects on our Classes Page on the website.

Well, I probably won’t see you Wednesday but I hope to see you soon!!

Trish

I love the change of seasons for many reasons and one of them is that it brings new fashions and colors to our notice.  I don’t rush out and buy stuff, of course, but I do love to see what the designers have thought up and see what the trends are.  As far as I can tell, the trends this season are for muted ombre colors and bright tone-on-tone prints, lots of ruffles and gathers and ties and other embellishments, loose plain jackets, and the safari look, which raises its pocket-y, lapel-y, belt-y head every few years. ( I ignore it because I look like Elmer Fudd on his wabbit-hunting trek. Don’t need all those extra things hanging on my clothes.)

I have to say, Berroco is right on top of these trends.  They’ve added an ombre line to their wonderful yarn Seduce and Norah Gaughan’s new collection is full of pleats, gathers, ruffles, and embellishments.  I can’t decide which to do for the shop, but I loved this the minute I saw it:

Lots of knitting but I think it may be worth it.

Karen Wenrich is knitting this gorgeous tank for the shop in black Bonsai:

This is the subtle pleat at the center of the eyelet detail.  Love it!

Bonsai and Seduce colors as well as the new Norah collection are at the shop already.  This was one thing I couldn’t wait for!

More about new yarns as time goes on.  Meanwhile, many of you are finishing up wonderful winter projects as you can see below.

Jettie Hunt and Kim Walker both finished their ganseys from the class that ended just before Christmas.  Jettie’s husband Michael is modeling his:

The sweater is not hot pink, it’s a gorgeous rich burgundy but I couldn’t get the photo to look like that.  So, I’m sorry, Michael, you’re not only headless but also extremely colorful!

Kim Walker knit her gansey in a beautiful dark green tweed, which  looks gray but gorgeous nonetheless in this photo.  It’s absolutely lovely.

The gansey was quite a project, with a huge commitment of time involved.  Congratulations to all who have finished theirs, and for those who are still working on it, keep going.  It’s definitely worth it!

Last week I showed you the Abstract Leaves Vest that Karen Walter is making and teaching.  It had three steeks (extra stitches added that allow you to continue to work Fair Isle in the round even after the garment has reached the armhole and neck openings).  This picture shows the neck finished and one armhole being worked on, while the third steek is still intact.

And here is the finished vest!

It really is a beautiful piece, and the yarn (Nature Spun Sport) makes a crisp design with a very soft hand.  Wonderful!

Lynne Nagle brought in this fabulous wrap that she crocheted.  It’s done in a self-striping yarn, with a beautiful swirling motif.

The pattern is called the Infinity Wrap and is available for download from Interweave Press’s store.  I hate to promote expensive downloaded patterns on this blog, but if the magazine is unavailable, at least it’s a good thing if the pattern can be still be purchased.

Jennifer Gensemer brought in this pretty cabled “snood” (which is not a snood but a neck wrap that can also be worn over the head as a hood.  A snood is an old fashioned hair net popular with Victorians.)  (Okay, I’ll try to quit the quibbling.) Jennifer did a beautiful job on it, working it in black Baby Alpaca Grande.  Margie Jozwiak was in the store and volunteered to model it for us.  Aren’t they both gorgeous?

Jennifer bought the pattern on the internet (Ravelry, I believe).  You can find it by googling “Snooty Snood.”

And here is this week’s Belle of the Blog.  Annie Harlin is a well-known artist and has worked in many media.  She’s retired, she says, but how do you retire from art?  By pleasing yourself and not potential customers, I guess, and look at the wonderful hooded cape she made from – oh, my gosh, I can’t even estimate the number of different yarns she used!  The braided fringing alone must have taken hours.  How wonderful to have this kind of vision, yes?

That’s it!  See you soon…

Trish

Even though it’s totally frigid today, I’ve got the spring-cleaning bug.  You all have got the spring-knitting bug, because we’ve been getting a lot of questions about spring yarns.  These two inspirations have combined into my wanting a permanent place for our lighter weight fibers in the shop.  Currently we put all the cottons and blends away for the winter, and then have to root through the piles of bags, interrupting classes and so on, when someone wants to look at “summer” yarns.  So, I’m going to replace the novelties, which are in the upstairs front room, with the cottons.  That part is fairly easy.  Finding a place for novelties won’t be so easy and they won’t be available until we do.  Most of you won’t miss them!  Anyway, that will all be happening this week because most of my spring yarns will be shipping in the next two weeks and, as usual, I have no room for them.  And as usual, I just can’t wait for the new stuff to get here.

Here’s one new model that’s finished.  It’s from the current Debbie Bliss Magazine, and was quite fun to do. You start by making the back and both fronts to the armholes, then cast on for the sleeves, combine everything on one needle and finish in one piece.  I knitted it from Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton, because I wanted a really bright color. I didn’t change anything except to add a border of single-crochet to the front edges to reduce curl. (With forethought you could just add 2 or 3 extra stitches and work them in garter.)  You can use any DK weight yarn.  I didn’t buy Prima, which is what all these designs in DB#2 are purportedly knitted from.  I didn’t like it, it’s slinky yet hairy and I can’t imagine it being comfortable to wear in any season.  And very few of these designs were originally knitted in it – most were in Cathay which has been discontinued.  In other words, don’t be afraid to substitute yarns!  If you’re not sure, do a swatch or get some advice.

The shop has been full of people working on projects and I have lots of wonderful pictures to show you this week, so let’s get going:

Mary Ann Posey brought in this delight:

It’s a beautiful lace scarf knit from qiviut, a rare and precious fiber from the muskox.  It’s lighter than a feather, softer than cashmere, and warmer than down.  Mary Ann’s daughter bought the yarn in Alaska and knit the scarf as a present for her father.

Margie Leisawitz knit this sweater using intarsia to add color to the cable panel that runs up the front and down the back.  A perfect skating sweater!

Donna Howard is taking the Great American Aran Afghan classes and brought in her partially-done afghan.  It was the first time I’d seen any of the blocks put together and just had to have a photo even though it isn’t finished yet.  She has, I think, 8 more blocks to go; every single one is a work of art.

And she also brought in a version of the Lady Eleanor Entrelac scarf, done in a bright colorway of Ty-Dy Sock: Can’t wait to get in the new colors of it, and the new colors of regular cotton worsted-weight Ty-Dy.  Speaking of which, check out David Ritz’s latest posting below this one – he’s knitting like a fanatic, as usual, and I really like the design, don’t you?  Looks like it would be fun.

It was tough getting a photo of this cute baby sweater that Sandy Albert just finished (her 6th version of this design!)  You can see how crowded the table was that day  – so many people trying to finish up their projects, we had overflow into the back room.  I love it when the shop is buzzing like that!

I finished a baby sweater too. This is from a Cabin Fever design, very clever one-piece construction that just flowed from the needles.  I did it in Hopscotch, a thick and thin superwash wool, soft and practical too. And Susie Crump finished her Sitka sweater and I had to show you how very special it is.  Now, if I had to bet, I would bet that this little grandson of hers is going to have this sweater for the rest of his life.  Where else is he ever going to find something with his name on it, and that displays the tree he was named for? 

And Lynne Nagle and I sat down to talk about crochet classes and she’s got some good ideas about projects for beginning classes.  We don’t have a schedule yet but we’re getting there.  She brought in this beautiful lace collar that she made from Frog Tree alpaca:

Isn’t it gorgeous?  That lace!  But don’t be intimidated – I made this pretty scarf from Ruca (hand-dyed sugar cane fiber!) and it’s soft and silky and I’m extremely proud of it, even though it was a simple 2-row pattern done on a pretty big hook.

Great yarn, a little (very little, in my case) skill and some patience, you got yourself a real purty scarf!

Okay, that’s it for this week.  I’m yearning to re-do my 80-year-old bathroom and went looking at fixtures and so on today.  I’m still in sticker shock and need to go lie down.

See you soon.

Trish

It’s been a great two days off, despite the fact that Geordie had an operation Monday a.m. He has a shaven hind end and a little soreness, but as long as he’s with his pack (Jackson, me, and you all), he’s good! I was pretty confined to the house once he was home, so I’ve spent a lot of time on the computer – it’s too hot to clean, right? Please validate my laziness! – and have been roaming around fashion sites, looking at what’s coming for fall.

You would never know it to look at the way I dress, but I love fashion and love reading about trends. In a small way, knitters are designers. Even when we’re beginners and feel we must follow a pattern religiously, we choose different colors, substitute yarns, add or subtract an inch or so from sleeves. And when we’re more accomplished, we casually change rolled edges to ribbing and back again, add a little waist shaping, raise or lower a neckline, so yes, this is design! And you can design exactly what you want to wear once you:

1) Get the concept of gauge

2) Learn the basics of shaping

3) Realize that you are creating fabric in the shape of a finished garment (instead of cutting a garment out of a rectangular piece of cloth), and

4) Come to terms with your true body measurements.

So, as designers, we want to know what’s going on in the world of fashion. Looking around today, I saw lots of huge pieces covered in cables, often worn with (sob) leggings or very skinny pants – sometimes in plaid – wow! There are also some very tailored small-scale jackets worn with wide-legged pants, a silhouette that comes very naturally to my own pear shape. I saw many, many, many belted sweaters. The belts are wide and contrasting and should be forbidden to anyone who is 5 feet tall, but you tall folks will love the look. Except this one, from this fall’s Knitscene.

This skinny little model looks like a hoss in it, doesn’t she?

But I love this look from the Knitscene cover – a wide and fluffy scarf piled around neck and shoulders.

I’m making it in a new yarn from the Fibre Company called Canopy: Baby alpaca, merino wool and bamboo. It’s just lovely and luxe. I’m cutting the width of the scarf by a full third and it will still be quite a scarf:

This look was on the runway and you’ll also see it in the fall Vogue Knitting. I think big gorgeous scarves are going to be a real statement item this fall and winter.

I’m making progress on the brother-in-law socks, mostly because I know there is some wonderful sock yarn coming in shortly and I want to have my needles free to start something at once! Gosh, I went through the list of new yarns coming in during the next three months, (have to make price signs and updat the lists, etc.) and I got all excited all over again. I’m making no progress on the Till Tomas shawl because I got enthralled with the Canopy scarf. And I’m burnt out on sweaters and need to just do faster things for a week or two. So, no project pictures. But I still have something wonderful to show you:

This is beautiful Alise Katharine Nierle at just a few days old. Look at that direct gaze – I didn’t think babies could even focus at that age, but I would swear she’s saying, “Look at how cute I am in this outfit, people!” The hat and sweater were of course made by mom Trish, and thanks so much to Trish and John for sending me pictures in the middle of getting Alise settled at home. I’ll meet her in a day or two, I hope, and maybe she’ll make a visit to the yarn shop in the near future.

So, speaking of the shop, we’re re-organizing the patterns, which has totally dominoed into reorganizing the whole front room, so excuse us while we get our act together. And we’ll be meeting soon to get the fall class schedule started. I want to do a series on Fair Isle, now that we’ve got some wonderful Shetland yarn coming in. And I want to do a series on mitered knitting, with at least two fun projects already in mind – oh and that reminds me, don’t forget our Mitered Market Bag class – there are still spaces available. It starts August 2, and it’s just a terrific and beautiful bag.

Aren’t you starting to want a really cool market bag to carry into stores when you’re just getting a couple things? I’m to the point of feeling stupid for not having one, but not yet to the point of remembering to carry one with me! I’ll get there, though.

So, those are some of my ideas, but I really want to hear yours. Send your comments, please – what do you want to learn, what would you love to make???

See you soon…

Trish