Yarn Gallery Blog

…finished objects, that is.  I have a lot of photos to post so you don’t have to read a whole lot to get to them this week – I hear those cheers, stop it immediately!  But first I want to tell you that Janet and Donna did a wonderful job of displaying our finished samples and that we have beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats and shawls for sale.  The people who came in last weekend had a great time trying things on and getting first pick of the things that were on display, but don’t worry, there are more!  Come in and see what’s available – you could save yourself some last-minute knitting.

Okay, now to the photos, I have a lot since I didn’t post any last week…

Mary Ann Posey brought in several finished shawls to show us, done in Evelyn Clark’s beautiful Flower Basket and Leaf Lace patterns.  The light blue is made from Jaggerspun “Zephyr” and the darker is from Mountain Colors’ “Winter Lace”.

She also brought in her husband Ken in his new cardigan that she just finished, made from K1C2′s “Linus”.

Beautiful, Mary Ann!

Carla Frazer made these Twisted-Rib Mitts from our free pattern in a pretty brown shade of “BabyBoo.”  Although not a warm yarn, it’s smooth and soft and pretty and has no wool if you’re knitting for someone with allergies.

Sue Seidel came in to model her “Nimbus” jacket, in a beautiful shade of Berroco’s Borealis.  Sue is a relatively new knitter, but loves it and puts in the time to make sure she’s on the right track and will end up with a beautiful piece that fits and flatters her.

Joan Gruber, determined to pick up knitting again, learned to make mittens in two days of concentrated effort.  Here are the sweet little mittens in a bright shade of Plymouth’s “Jelli Beenz”, thanks to Joan’s efforts and those of Karen Walter, who stuck with her through the whole process:

Speaking of Karen, she made these pretty mitts from one ball of Classic Elite’s “Wool Bamboo” from a free pattern from their newsletter.  Get the pattern here.

Rochelle Mann brought in 2 finished (or nearly so) projects.  The first is this great kid’s cardigan in a bright blue shade of Plymouth’s “Encore”, with raglan sleeves and cable details:

and here is a small section of a wonderful (and humongus)ncomforter she has been making for a while, which is very nearly completed:

Isn’t it pretty?  Rochelle researches and figures out all her own patterns – that takes a very good knitter!!

And here is Sylvia Kurpiewski in a beautiful Adult Surprise Jacket.  She made a summer-weight version from “Ty-Dy Cotton” and wanted something warmer for fall.  Isn’t it just wonderful?  And she looks so pretty in it:

Janet, Donna and I have all been working hard on new scarf models to inspire your gift knitting.  I’ll try to get the pictures together for next time – or maybe send out an email if I get a minute.

See you soon!

Trish

I’ve finished three things this week – one was a shawl that is pretty cute, is a free pattern, is a good use of the yarn, but which I hated knitting.  Here it is:

Cute, yeah?  Those little pleats at the bottom are short rows which change size as you travel from one side of the scarf to the other, so you’re always counting stitches and looking at the directions for the particular section you’re on. Plus every few rows you’re changing needle size.  It was repetitive and tedious without being easy, and I can’t say worse than that for a knitting project.  It’s Coquille from Knitty (here’s the link if you really must http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff10/PATTcoquille.php)  I did like the yarn, “King” from Noro, a rayon-y blend that softens, fuzzes a little and reflects light nicely and has very subtle color changes through it.

I started and finished this wonderful garter stitch piece this week – it was fairly simple, although there is some subtle shaping that helps it fall nicely, and the yarn (Schulana’s “Pacolana”) is completely addictive.  Soft, warm but lightweight and lofty, lovely to knit with, fuzzy but not sheddy and lots of yardage on a ball.  You need to make something with this, you’ll just love it.

I haven’t knit socks for a while, but I was inspired by new colors of Fortissima Socka Mexico that came in recently:

Looks like we may get one more storm this afternoon – I hear my garbage can rolling around in the back yard – so I’m going to speed through the rest of this post.  Speaking of socks, don’t miss the pretty socks someone posted yesterday, they’re really gorgeous and she gave the link to the free pattern.  I’d love it if you sign your posts – Flicker just identifies them with our account name.

Karen Walter finished this sharp little Trina jacket, done in Blackstone Tweed from a free pattern on the internet.  (And, by the by, doesn’t she look great modeling it? Just look what a summer of eating sensibly and cycling your head off will do for you – unlike my summer of knitting and complaining about the humidity – somehow not the same results.)  It’s a great piece, soft and yummy but shapely and not droopy in Berroco’s Blackstone, which comes in such great grownup colors.

This beautiful sweater (and the model/knitter) are just gorgeous, and I’m afraid I’ve forgotten her name.  (She came in for buttons just when our knitalong group was coming in and I didn’t write it down. You know what that means – it’s gone!) The sweater is done in Classic Elite’s luscious Montera and it is absolutely perfect.

Check out the pretty little angel and pink ribbon beads that Patty Golembiewski found to embellish this wonderful felted bag.  She knitted like crazy to get it ready to donate it for a raffle to be held in October, which is Breast Cancer Month.

Isn’t it just great?

Donna Howard, who broke her wrist earlier this year, is back on track with her knitting, and finished her Puzzle-Me-This Jacket.  She did a wonderful job, and the color really sets off her hair and eyes.

Liz Heckman knitted this hugely-long Dr. Who scarf for her son, picking exactly the right colors and knitting it precisely the way the original was done (or at least the way the 4th Dr. Who wore it).  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then just never mind.  Trust me, her son will absolutely love it!

Okay, I think that’s it – now the sun’s out so I didn’t need to worry, but I’m sure you’re sick of me already, so goodbye!

Trish

This is it blocking, taking up all open floor space in my bedroom. I had to roll across the bed if I wanted to get to my blow dryer. Luckily, with the incredible temperatures we had, it dried in about 24 hours.  You can see the construction of the shawl in this photo, all the modules building from the outside edge to the center.

Here it is at its soft and drape-y best.  Even though it took several intense weeks of knitting, I really loved the project and couldn’t be happier with the results.  Norah Gaughan’s design for Berroco was excellent, the pattern had only one problem, and the only thing I changed was the top edging, by making it a few rows less wide.  It took 14 balls of Classic Elite’s Fresco and was worth every penny and minute spent on it!  And, thank goodness, it’s out of my system and I can get on with new things, which I’ll be talking about soon.  Meanwhile, if you feel as I did about this wrap – that it simply must be knit – the pattern and yarn (in wonderful colors) are available now at the shop.

The heat has been something else, yes? and I think my brain was cooked – couldn’t think of one thing to say here, plus the computer room was always so hot, I just didn’t want to be in it!  However, the best things about July are also here – ripe local peaches (got some beauties at the West Reading Farmers’ Market) and my homegrown tomatoes are ripening as we speak.  Two things I love and only eat in season.  The stuff they ship from elsewhere shouldn’t even be called the same name!  Thanks to David Ritz for posting his amazingly numerous and beautiful projects and providing inspiration (and provoking envy)!

Fall yarns are arriving weekly now and the gals and I will be talking about fall classes soon.  I don’t want to rush through life, but I have to say I’m ready for fall weather and fall clothes.  From what I’ve noticed so far, vests are making a comeback – check this out:

Yarn and pattern coming soon.  Armwarmers optional!

Longer sweaters, or short sweaters layered over longer tops.  Big wraps and capes. Cowls and neckwarmers of all types.  Hats that have something special about them – cables, an interesting shape, fair-isle patterns, several colors or textures.  And, so I’m told by yarn reps, who admittedly have their own agenda but also see lines from the European markets that haven’t reached us yet, there is new interest in “fashion yarns” – those fun yarns that make great trims and accessories without a lot of fancy knitting.

I’m on a quest to find a great outside jacket pattern in superbulky yarn that will be warm enough to walk the dogs and run errands when the weather gets quite cold.  Low hip length, a big collar that can be buttoned up to my chin, an overlapping front for warmth, and a yarn that will make a dense but not heavy fabric.  Pattern Quest.  We should design a video game!

Okay, enough!  The heat wave has broken and I’m going out to do errands and enjoy the freshness of this beautiful day.

See you soon!

Trish

Yippee! I can upload pictures again, but first, if you missed the post from last week, be sure to update your bookmarks/RSS feed and any other preset for the blog from http://blog.yarngal.com to http://www.yarngal.com/blog.

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

Well, after an exhausting week, the spring yarns (most of them) are finally out front where they need to be and, although there is a lot still to do, the chaos of last week has been somewhat tamed.  I have to say, it was exhausting to move everything and showed me just how physically wimpy I’ve gotten.  I came home every day absolutely wiped out!

Here is a shot of what we did most of the week:

That’s Karen vacuuming behind the shelves.  We moved winter yarns, fluffed and culled (the bargain bin is full!), then cleaned the emptied shelves and brought out the new goodies.  Bending, stretching, carrying, squatting, kneeling – whoof! But the new yarns look wonderful, and we’re supposed to have great weather this week so we’ll all feel very spring-y.  And I need to go into spring training!

Stop in soon…

Trish