Posts Tagged ‘Yarn’
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
I’ve heard about yarn being used for various things other then knitting or crocheting. For things like hair on a doll, as a piece of string to hold a little porch tree straight, arts and crafts and even a hair accessory. When I received this link the other day it totally blew me away. It showed me a whole new use for yarn, something I would have never dreamed of …… A pothole filler!! Yes that is correct a pothole filler. What a terrific and funky idea! Just think of how great, some of our cities could look with pretty yarn, used to fill in the cracks that nature leaves us with. No patterns needed just some yarn and a little time. 
What an interesting way to reduce, reuse and recycle.
With Earth Day right around the corner it is time for us to remember that every little bit helps. As I was searching the internet for Earth Day activities in my local area, I came across a cute poem I wanted to share:
Everyday is Earth Day, If it’s cold or wet or hot pitch in to save the planet it’s the only one we’ve got.
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Baby Alpaca DK never looked so pastoral in DivineGift’s leafy scarf-
4 balls of Baby Alpaca Dk in color 402
The pattern repeat was doubled to create a wider scarf. The alpaca drapes well when knit on size 7 needles in lace stitch.
Brooke Nelson’s design has a matching hat and fingerless mitts as well.
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Category Accessories, Design/Patterns, Free Patterns, Yarn | Tags: Tags: alpaca, baby alpaca dk, knit, knitting, knitting yarn, lace scarf, pattern, patterns, plymouth yarns, Yarn,
Friday, February 26th, 2010
The upcoming issue of Knitter’s Magazine will feature a section on combining different weights of yarn in a single garment. Jeannee Worsted and Jeannee DK are combined brought together in a lovely spring weight shell called Bayside Blue by Julie Gaddy. The coordinating scarf finishes the garment beautifully.
Bayside Blue by Julie Gaddy
Knitter’s Spring 2010 will be on the news stand in early March.
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Poppin’ is a yarn that is at its best during the holiday knitting season. With this yarn you can whip up a fun scarf in an evening.
Use size 7 or 8 needles, cast on 8 – 10 sts using a backweards loop cast on and knit- using 1 flat area for the first and last st of every row, and working 2 sts in each flat area in between.
Knitting With Poppin'
Cast on an even amount, using the backward loop technique—1 st per straight area between pops. Knit every row- working 1 st per straight area between pops for the first and last st of every row, and 2 sts per straight area between pops for every stitch inbetween (so work 1-2-2-2-1 for 8 sts, 1-2-2-2-2-1 for 10 sts). Bind off working 1 st per straight area between pops.
Poppin' Scarf
Poppin Scarf:
Use 1 or 2 balls depending on how long and wide you want your scarf to be. Using the backward loop technique for casting on, cast on 8 or 10 sts. Knit every row until almost out of yarn. Bind off.
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Today I’d like to talk a little bit about our yarn, Baby Bunny.
Baby Bunny is a lovely blend of 60% Pima Cotton, 30% Modal, and 10% Angora
Yarn Gauge: 5 sts=1″ / US 7 needle
Yarn Length: 109 yds/50g ball
I’ve knit with this yarn and it has such an incredible feel- like nothing I’ve knitted before!
This yarn has a soft halo that makes it look like a little rabbit. The cotton adds a great stitch definition which would make any cable or lace design stand out with ease.
If you take a look at the color card, you can easily see why this is a perfect yarn for babies and kids. The colors are a mixture of pastels with a touch of mid tones. Also a gorgeous yarn for adults that want to feel warm and snuggly, yet sophisticated and lovely!
One of our knitters, Candace, has made a little baby sweater using the white colorway-
(Pattern from Knitty, 2008 designed by Alison Green Will)
For more patterns using Baby Bunny, click here
I hope you feel inspired to try Baby Bunny for yourself
Friday, September 18th, 2009
I am thrilled at the current hot thing for Fall 2009. Cowls are all the rage! The wonderful thing for knitters is that they are very simple to make and look great in big yarns on big needles.
Trabaojos del Peru is the perfect yarn for a fall cowl. The yarn is soft, cozy, and warm around the neck and works up fast on size 13 needles for a gently draping cowl. The blending of colors makes the knitting a joy to watch develop. The size of this cowl makes it quite versatile- around the neck, or over the head as a hooded scarf.
Follow this pattern from Carol Crowley of Carol’s Needleworks to quickly knit a mobius cowl you can wear this weekend!
JoAnne
Trabajos del Peru Mobius Cowl
Trabajos del Peru Mobius Cowl
Materials: 2 hanks of Trabajos del Peru.
Needles: #13- 32” circular needles, 1 stitch marker.
Gauge: Not too important- about 3 sts =1″.
NOTE: Usually when working in the round, you’re instructed NOT to twist your stitches. This pattern is an exception. When you join, you are to insert a twist to make the mobius hug you!
Pattern:
Loosely cast on 100 sts, place stitch marker, and join with a twist,
Round 1: Purl.
Round 2: Purl.
Round 3: *K1, P1* around.
Round 4: *P1, K1* around.
Round 5: Knit.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: *K1, P1* around.
Round 8: *P1, K1* around.
Repeat these 8 rounds 6 more times.
Repeat round 1 & 2 once more.
Bind off loosely on next round in ribbing.
Weave in all ends.
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
We have had some calls regarding some of the colorspun colors. We have serveral types of Colorspun:
1-Print- some are varigated like 7118
2- Spot prints like 7401
3- Faded like 7138
4- Self Striping like 7511
5- Drifting like 7021
I had some samples of a new color 7722 Drifting Shade knit to show how each ball can look slightly different – even from the same dye lot. So many possibilities from 1 color:
Color 7722 -Sample A
Color 7722 - Sample B
Color 7722 - Sample C
Color 7722 Sample A-B-C
We have been selling the drifting shades for over 20 years. They are always the TOP sellers in the Encore Colorspun range. Sometimes the balls look like they don’t match eachother, this is an attribute to the yarns uniqueness.
Knit and be creative, these colors will continue to impress you.
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Dottie- A loyal customer of my local yarn shop designed her own pullover shown here. When I saw it I knew I had to share it as it demonstrates the versatility of sock yarns.
Dottie in Sockin' Sox Sweater
Dottie worked in double moss stitch and knitted with Sockin’ Sox- used doubled stranded. The sweater turned out lovely with a finished weight perfect for the upcoming fall weather.
Sockin' Sox
When held doubled- Sockin’ Sox works up well at 5 sts =1″ on a size 7 needle. Thanks Dottie for showing us a new way to use this great sock yarn. Check out the color card for Sockin’ Sox- a soft Bamboo/superwash merino/nylon blend sock yarn.
JoAnne
Monday, May 25th, 2009
Happy Memorial Day to all! I hope many of you were able to get outside and enjoy some wonderful weather- maybe even a cook- out. Most of all- I hope you did something enjoyable to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer!
I spent the weekend as I have every Memorial Day weekend for the past 10 years – with my daughter at a large Dance Competition in Lancaster PA. The weekend always gives me some much needed knitting time. Since small easy projects are the best for me to work on in the subdued lighting of the resort’s large auditorium, I took yarn for a top down baby sweater, and matching bibs. I got the baby sweater done to the point where I needed to sew up the sleeve seams (can’t do that in the dark) so I started a bib. What I love about these small projects is that they are very portable, very easy, and very fast to knit.
Since the weather is getting warmer, I choose Fantasy Naturale for my weekend knitting project. This cotton is a wonderful hand knitting yarn- available in many colors, quite affordable, and easy to care for. Fantasy Naturale is a mercerized cotton with a cabled twist. It knits up best for adult garments at 4.5 sts to the inch, but also works very well at 4 sts to the inch, which is where I like it best. The more open gauge lightens the fabric for a baby garment.
The baby sweater pattern I used is the top down cardigan available on our Plymouth website under free patterns. I added a bib using the pattern included here. I started a small one to go with the smallest size sweater, and might make a coordinating one in the larger size too.
Hope you enjoy this pattern- small projects make for great summer knitting.
JoAnne
FANTASY NATURALE
Baby Bibs
Finished Size (Approx): 5 x 7 (8 x 10)”.
Materials: 1- 100g hank of Fantasy Naturale. Shown in color 6399 (9951); 3 small buttons.
Gauge: 18 sts = 4” on a US 7 needle over st st.
Needles: US 7, or size necessary to obtain given gauge.
Cast on 25 (35) sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Row 1(RS): Knit.
Row 2: K5, P15 (25), K5.
Repeat rows 1 & 2 – 13 (20) more times.
Knit 6 rows.
(RS): K8, and place these 8 sts on a stitch holder. Bind off to last 8 sts, K8.
Working on the 8 sts on the needle: Work button strap.
WS: K5, k2tog, k1. Turn, knit back.
WS: K4, k2tog, k1. Turn, knit back.
WS: K3, k2tog, k1. Turn, knit back: 5 sts remain.
Knit for 42 (46) more rows. Bind off.
Reattach yarn to 8 sts from the stitch holder.
Work buttonhole strap
Shape as for button strap, working the shaping rows as RS rows. Work 8 rows of garter st.
Make buttonhole as follows: K1, K2tog, YO, K2. Continue in garter st, working 2 more buttonhole rows every 14th (16th) row- always on a right side row. Once 42 (46) rows of garter st are complete, and strap is same length as buttonstrap, bind off. Weave in all ends. Attach 3 buttons along strap as same intervals as buttonholes. Bib can be buttoned at different lengths.
©2006 Plymouth Yarn Company. Design by Linda Jones & JoAnne Turcotte. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Confusion is a wildly interesting yarn introduced 2 years ago by The Plymouth Yarn Co. It is composed of up to 20 different novelty yarns- colorfully connected in a manner unseen until that day. This yarn is much like some in the marketplace today that sell for more than twice the price. For this reason alone, it is worth checking out Confusion. Give your Spring wardrobe some pizzazz this year-with Confusion. Visit our website’s pattern listings for several fun ways to use this yarn.
Here is a very simple pattern for a versitile, fast, and fun wrap using 3 hanks of Confusion. A quick knit- it can be worn in many different ways.
Enjoy!
JoAnne
Confusion Pattern 1223
Finished Size: Approx 18” x 50”.
Materials: 3—109 yd hanks Confusion
Gauge: 8 sts = 4” on a US 13 needle over pattern st with Confusion.
Needles: 24” US 13 (and size 15 for cast on and bind off), or size necessary to obtain given gauge, 3 large buttons from Dill Buttons.
With larger needle, loosely cast on 101 sts. Change to smaller needles and begin pattern:
Pattern row: P1, *(yo, p2tog); repeat from * across row. Repeat row 1 for pattern.
Note: Pattern row may also be worked as:
K1, *(yo, k2tog); repeat from * across row.
Work in pattern st until almost out of yarn and total length is at least 18”. Change to larger needle and bind off loosely. Sew on 3 large buttons along one end.
Wrap as desired, buttoning at any point, in any direction, as desired.
