This installment of the holiday knitting guide brings us to a casual, quick knit scarf yarn, Passion Nette. I like to think of this one as your everyday scarf yarn. This cotton/acrylic blend has a relaxed drape and a soft, natural feel against your skin. It’s available in 8 versatile colors that will coordinate with anything in your wardrobe.
Passion Ice is the yarn of the day! If you have any kind of Holiday party to attend this yarn is a must have. The metallic sparkle that runs throughout is perfect for your dressy occasions and everyday wear. Available in 5 shimmery colors. It’s an easy knit with a 7 stitch cast on and you are done in no time.
That’s right, I said it. Holiday gifts. Don’t shoot the messenger.
It’s that time of year again folks! Let’s start thinking about those holiday projects. My request list has grown over the years, probably because I’ve been outed by this very blog! Now everyone knows I knit. Boy, are they lucky that I love to do it, and my husband works the night shift!
So shine up those needles, wind up the hanks and grab your patterns, it’s yarn o’clock.
Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2012 edition hits newsstands on September 4th 2012 but the online issue release date is today for those of you like me who just can’t wait and must get started. There are two perfect-for-gifts patterns in this issue made with Galway and Baby Alpaca Grande. Photos by Nathan Rega of Harper Point Photography.
Galway Worsted: #722, 1 skein for BRAIDED TOQUE by Andrea Babb
Baby Alpaca Grande: #2691, 1 skein for HIDDEN PICTURE COWL by Sara Spencer
Don’t forget to pick up your digital copy or newsstand copy on September 4th. You can check out the Interweave Knits website for other editions and great project ideas!
Win 10 skeins of Encore Worsted, read on for details.
Ok, I’ll admit it; I read the 50 Shades of Grey book series. My friends read it, my sister read it, my niece read it, my boss read it, and last but not least, my mom read it! (I’m pretty sure I won’t be accompanying her to the movies when that one comes out.)
Last week, I was chatting with a knitter looking to make a chevron blanket with various shades of grey Encore Worsted. As I searched in my computer system, I realized just how popular grey is, and that we have many, many shades of it. So for some fun this week, I decided to give away a bag but I am going to make your work for it! Give us your best guess to the questions below. One person, with the closest answers, will win 10 balls of Encore Worsted color 389. Comment with your answers to our Blog ONLY. Facebook and Twitter entries will not be accepted. In the event of multiple correct comments, a winner will be chosen among them at random. Plymouth Yarn employees, sales representatives and their immediate families are not eligible to win. Data on number of shades is collected from inventory reports. Winner will be notified via email on August 3rd 2012.
1. How many shades of grey yarn are active in our inventory?
2. How many shades of red?
3. How many black yarns are active in our system?
I am so excited for our fall line-up of yarns this year. Many of you have seen them already and were kind enough to share some of your pictures and projects with us. When we introduce a new line, I normally pick a favorite and go with it. That is impossible this time around ! There are so many beautiful fibers and colors. It’s going to be a busy knitting season for sure! I figured I would share them all with you, in one shot. I will do my best to give the important information you need, even when I really just want to say “It’s just so pretty, I must have it.”
We have a fantastic crew who gets to pick these fabulous yarns. It takes a village you know. They travel to Italy, Turkey, and Peru, just to name a few, to find the highest quality fibers so Plymouth Yarn can offer these to your favorite yarn shops. We have a team of designers who get to play, I mean work, with all of the contenders. They are always hard at work visiting trade and fashion shows to see the latest styles. I consider myself a pretty good knitter but they never cease to amaze me when they demonstrate to us just what these yarns are capable of.
I started my Christmas knitting but I’m also planning which cookies I am making and starting to piece together some of my holiday cards. I realized there are probably lots of other knitters and crocheters out there just like me. Your craftiness doesn’t end with yarn and you aren’t always using it with hooks or needles. I was first introduced to yarn while making plastic canvas tissue box covers with my grandmother when I was 6. Then, a decade or so later, I used a furry, eyelash type of yarn and wrapped it around a large wreath form. That wreath, which is a bit tattered, still goes on my inside door every Christmas season. It wasn’t until my early days at Plymouth Yarn that I started knitting almost daily. I am always looking for deals on blocks of paper and scrapbook supplies. I’ve tried at least half of Martha Stewart’s recipes. I own hundreds of buttons but rarely use them in clothing. Finally, anytime I go on vacation I try to find a ceramic studio to take my son to, as they are few and far between where I live. My yarn stash lives down in my basement but I have 3 shelves of non-yarn goodies too.
Where am I going with this? Most of us who like to play with yarn, also like to craft, bake and create. We had a rare snow in Bucks County, PA over the weekend and it was a wet, cold, slushy mess. I opted to stay in and found a fun website that caters to all of my crafting needs. If you are looking for a project, of any type, check out Craftfoxes. I found this adorable free pattern for a crochet zombie from the book Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots To Make by Nelly Pailloux. Image by Andrew Perris. Encore DK would be perfect for this project.
I have a tough time knitting garments for myself, some parts are short, some parts are round, well you get what I mean. If you are like me, you’re always busy knitting a gift for this baby and a hat for that charity, but that beautiful yarn in your stash that you know would make the most gorgeous jacket, still sits there, waiting for the perfect pattern to come along. The time has come!
Jean Frost, a recognized master of hand knit jackets, has created a fabulous collection of custom-fit, hand knit jackets. Isn’t it time that you could knit for your body and not the industry standard? With Custom Fit Knit Jackets you can turn your measurements into dimensions. From casual to couture, this is like 3 books in one. The first step takes you through the process of measuring for your custom creation, the second is a collection of jackets in 10 sizes and 4 gauges and lastly, it’s a source that helps with the details and finishing of your custom creation.
On page 108, you will find a woven jacket created with Plymouth’sWorsted Merino Superwash(a machine washable, fine merino wool) in charcoal and off white.
"Let’s pretend! Slip stitches can fool the eye.
Here, 2-row stripes appear to be interwoven bands. We chose black and
white for head-turning, graphic elegance. The Chanel styling and
simple, hidden-snap closure are perfect for office dressing."
I have to share a wonderful project knit with Galway. What a great gift for your kids on Easter morning. Just a few hours and you can knit this beautiful pattern.
Not a hard knitting project to complete before the holiday.
Pattern P512
Using our Galway yarn and you can accent with any novelty yarn.
Consider this pattern for a gift for your favorite little one on Easter Sunday.
An era of DIY’ers has emerged, not just as a popular cable network, but as a way for people to express themselves. It will make you feel as you have accomplished something. You feel proud for trying something. Try a new yarn or a new pattern. Take a class – learn something new. Experiment with color.
Our Hand Dyed – Trabajos Del Peru, 100 % Fine Merino Wool, is a perfect yarn! I just love the subtle texture and the color – OMG – just beautiful. Try this 2 skein cabled scarf!
Trabajos Del Peru - F260
Materials:
2-100g Hanks of Trabajos Del Peru.
Size:
Approx 7 x 62”
Knitting Needles:
US 10 needles, cable needle.
Gauge:
14 sts = 4” measured over st st.
RC Sl 2 sts to cn and hold to back, k2, k2 from cn.
Cast on 30 sts
Knit 4 rows.
Then begin pattern:
Row 1: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 2: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 3: K2, *(p1, RC, p1, k4); repeat from * once more, end p1, RC, p1, k2.
Row 4: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 5: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 6: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 7: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 8: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 9: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 10: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 11: K2, *(p1, k4, p1, RC); repeat from * once more, end p1, k4, p1, k2.
Row 12: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 13: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 14: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 15: K2, *(p1, k4, p1, RC); repeat from * once more, end p1, k4, p1, k2.
Row 16: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 17: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 18: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 19: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 20: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 21: K2, *(p1, k4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end p1, k2.
Row 22: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Row 23: K2, *(p1, RC, p1, k4); repeat from * once more, end p1, RC, p1, k2.
Row 24: K2, *(k1, p4); repeat from * to last 3 sts, end k3.
Repeat rows 1-24 until total length is about 60”, or until almost out of yarn, ending with a row 23. Knit 4 rows. Bind off loosely knitwise. Weave in all ends.
