Month: May 2012

New Store Sample: Self-Fringing Scarf

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A customer brought this pattern to our attention last week (thanks Heather!) and, although her version was an elegant creamy white, we immediately saw the potential for this scarf to also be casual, colourful, and fun. We knit our store sample using 2 skeins of Berroco’s Linsey (colour #6510) – an ultra soft blend of linen and cotton – and couldn’t be happier with the results. This is a great gift idea and we’ve already had several customers snap up various colourways to knit up as end-of-year teacher gifts! Pattern available in store.

– Melissa

Free Pattern Friday: The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

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(Photos: knittimo)

The Age of Brass and Stem Kerchief, by Orange Flower, is a beautiful yet very simple triangular scarf/kerchief which can be knit with anything from a lace weight all the way up to a worsted weight yarn with adjustments made to needle size and yardage requirements. The DK weight version as written in the pattern makes a shawl approximately 53″ wide and 15″ tall at center back but can be easily upsized by adding repeats of the stockinette and eyelet sections. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t demand too much attention in the knitting but results in an elegant, wearable accessory this one is a great choice. And if you’d like a little added challenge, why not add beads (see first pic above)? I plan to cast this on (just as soon as  I finish the Asymmetric Linen Jacket) in SweetGeorgia’s CashSilk Lace in Slate or Handmaiden’s Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk in Cedar – decisions, decisions.

– Melissa 

Twist Collective: Webzine worth bookmarking

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As many of you can attest, the knitting scene has changed dramatically over the last decade. Several factors have contributed to this tremendous increase in interest and participation, not least the rise of the internet (yarn company websites, blogging, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) and the development of the social networking and resource site for knitters – Ravelry. Research from the Craft Yarn Council published in 2011 found that 93% of the knitters/crocheters surveyed used the internet when searching for patterns and project ideas. We are certainly part of this group, browsing Ravelry and other pattern sites for ideas and inspiration on a daily basis.  One of our favourite online pattern sources is Twist Collective. While we are always appreciative of designers who make selected patterns available for free, we recognize that for many, development and publication of their designs is how they are working to make a living. Twist Collective brings together talented designers and writers in the publication of a beautiful online magazine chock full of great patterns and interesting, informative articles. All are paid fairly for their work. Twist Collective is published three times a year and we look forward to every issue. We encourage you to visit their website and browse current and past issues – between the gorgeous presentation of useful information and the stunning showcase of designs, you won’t be disappointed!

And for more information about the rise of knitting, this article from The Guardian is a great read: Pride in the wool: the rise of knitting.

– Melissa

Snap decision

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Yesterday while at work, Kim was looking at a Drops pattern book and telling me how much she liked the pattern posted by Melissa on our Free Pattern Fridays, I had to agree and then leaf through the whole thing. There are quite a few I would like to knit, but this little bag (a bag of all things, who’da thunk?) struck me as the perfect little project for right now.

I bought the two balls of linen needed and got started last night. Here is where I am at now:

It is going a bit slower than expected, but I like knitting with the linen (though my tension could be a bit more even). I have no idea what I am going to do with it once I am done, yet I definitely wanted to knit it.

Are you like that, too? Do you make snap decisions when it comes to knitting? Seeing something and you want to start it right now?

– Mona

Free Pattern Friday: Buttercup

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(Photo: Heidi Kirrmaier)

We are long-time fans of Heidi Kirrmaier and have knit up several of her designs as store samples including the Medano Beach Bag, Summer Solstice, and Buttercup. Buttercup is both a customer and Ravelry favourite and Heidi has been kind enough to make this great summer top pattern available for free! The easy top-down raglan construction is complimented by lace at the neckline and bottom and features slightly puffed sleeves and an A-line style.  For our store sample we used Premiere from Classic Elite Yarns – a beautiful blend of pima cotton and Tencel – but any lightweight summer blend in a DK weight could be used for this project.

– Melissa

New Store Sample: Corinne

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Corinne, by Crystal Erb Junkins, is a lovely light-weight cardigan with a flattering A-line shape. It’s knit sideways all in one piece with minimal seaming required. We opted for Rowan’s Purelife Revive – a blend of cotton, silk, and rayon – for our summer version but will surely knit this up again for the fall in a warmer merino or alpaca blend. A simple straightforward pattern with sophisticated flair!

A Sentimental Journey

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Today I’m feeling a bit sappy and sentimental, please bear with me!

I do not know about you but I do not have a lot of my own childhood toys left. I guess that it is normal, since once we have ‘outgrown’ our toys they get passed on to younger ones to enjoy, except for the few we cannot bear to part with. I yet have to gather the courage to give away the first batch of my daughter’s outgrown toys, somehow it is really hard. It is a bit embarrassing that I seem more attached to them than she is. Coming back to my own toys, I wish my Mother would not have given away my Barbies (clothes, accessories and all) WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE (this is where I am still a bit bitter) when I was about 14. One day I came home from school and they were gone, given to a four year old – who certainly did not take care of my treasure as I had done. “You weren’t playing with them after all.” Well, I hadn’t but given the choice I would have liked to keep them!

Anyways, you might wonder how all of this relates to my usual blog posts which have a common theme: knitting. Let me tell you:

I have managed to hold on to something else, something I got when I was about 11 or 12 and which was one of the ‘it’-toys in the early 80’s in Germany. They are still around, I think, but then “Mon Chichi” were a novelty and a coveted plaything. Now, it is not the doll itself I’m so fond of, it is the clothes my mother – and later on myself – made for them. Hers are way more sophisticated than what I concocted, but I look them now and think back in fondness at the time spent producing something – without help, I might add – that actually could pass as a garment and was used in endless hours of pretend play. I think at sometime my Mon Chichi was the owner of what could pass as a haberdashery or maybe yarn store, with bolts of fabric, yarn and embroidery thread and all. My sister would come in and “place an order” and then I’d be busy making clothes, sewing, knitting and crocheting away.

Have a look:

My Mom’s work – complete with a sleeping sack and a doll for the ‘baby’.

Yes, indeed, there are beads on the little sweater!

An outfit complete with little booties and bib in crochet.

With horror I have discovered what seem to be moth holes in two of the outfits.

Now, remember, I was about 11 or 12 when I made the following:

The orange thing seems to be a bathing suit of a kind, then a top and a hat.

My work – no holes due to acrylic content…some of it needs blocking!  Mark the bag and hankerchief.

Yes, the white dress has lace sewn on.

This shows an attention to detail that even surprised me: a crocheted edge on the hanky which I found hidden in the skirt pocket and is about a 1.5 inch square

Thank you for going on this sentimental journey with me – I can’t wait for the time when my daughter is ready to play with these and maybe even make some new clothes herself.

– Mona

Free Pattern Friday: Asymmetric jacket in Drops Lin

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(Photo: Garnstudio – Drops Design)

As I’m just about to cast this jacket on to knit up as a store sample, AND because it’s free, this pattern elbowed out stiff competition to be this week’s Free Pattern Friday feature. The shape of this lightweight cardigan / jacket is flattering on many body types and the natural linen fiber makes it perfect for layering on changeable summer days.  Garnstudio’s Asymmetric Jacket is knit with Garnstudio’s Drops Lin – available in 8 beautiful shades.

True to form, I will be casting on in black…

😉

– Melissa

Store samples posted to Ravelry

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This week we took some time to photograph and post some of our store samples to the Espace Tricot project page on Ravelry. It’s a great way to let our customers see everything available for viewing in store and provides a user-friendly platform for describing project details such as sizing, yardage requirements, and modifications we may have made to any of the patterns. We still have plenty of projects to upload but we’ve made a dent and plan to post several more every week. Click here to view our projects and get inspired!

From all angles – decreases; part 3

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Double decreases

Sometimes a pattern will ask you to decrease two stitches at a time with a double decrease. Most often it happens in lace patterns, but there are some garment patterns that include double decreases. In any case, it is good to know how to work them.

I have not yet stumbled upon a pattern that asked to do double decreases from the WS (though I suppose they could be out there), every decrease shown is worked on the RS.

K3tog – knit 3 together

A double decrease worked by knitting 3 stitches together, just as the name says. The result are three stitches ‘piling up’, with the stitch on the left on top.

Inserting your needle into 3 stitches at once can prove tricky. As with everything, practice makes perfect!

K3tog

S1, k2tog, psso – Slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over (the just knitted one, of course)

Slip 1 stitch knitwise*

Knit 2 stitches together.

Slip first stitch over stitch just knit.

Right stitch on top.

This results in a decrease where the first stitch (on the right) rests on top, the middle stitch is hidden under the two stitches leaning in from left and right. This decrease is often used in lace patterns, though not solely.

S2kwise, k1, p2sso or psso – Slip 2 knitwise (two stitches together, this is important), knit next stitch, pass two slipped stitches over stitch just knitted.

Slip 2 stitches knitwise*

Knit next stitch.

Pass slipped stitches over stitch just knitted.

Middle stitch on top.

This is also called ‘center double decrease’ because the the middle stitch lies on top. The two stitches left and right lean towards the middle stitch, but are hidden under it. This decrease is used in lace and garments – where keeping a stitch in line (the middle stitch) is preferred.

Slight variations of abbreviations/explanations for the latter two described decreases exist, but once you know the most common kind it is easy to deduce what the pattern asks for.

*For these decreases all stitches are slipped knitwise, unless otherwise asked for. If slipped purlwise, the stitches get twisted and you will get a different result.

This concludes my look into decreases – I hope you’ll find it helpful, maybe for one of your next projects?

– Mona

Free Pattern Friday: Ribbon of Breeze

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(Photos: knittimo)

I am in love! Newly posted to Ravelry, the Ribbon of Breeze scarf by Sachiko Uemura is breathtakingly beautiful. This pattern requires only a small amount of yarn and can be knit with or without beads. Versions in both lace weight and figering weight yarns are picutred above. A great stash-busting project or a perfectly justifiable excuse for a new yarn purchase!

– Melissa

New store sample: New York Cardigan

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The New York Cardigan by Erin Harper is a lightweight, versatile cardigan designed to be worn over a tee or camisole making it a perfect layering piece for spring and summer.  The main body is knit from the top down with lace panels knit separately and sewn on to complete the front. We knit our store sample with Tonos Pima Silk from Misti Alpaca – an incredibly soft blend of cotton and silk in a DK weight. Pattern available for purchase in store.

Note: This is one of the projects for our next Knit-Along beginning May 3rd. Why not join us? Everyone welcome!

– Melissa

New store sample: Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi

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The Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi by Melissa LaBarre is a lovely cardigan pattern for little ones. This simple sweater is knit from the top down in one piece and features garter stitch trims and ruching around the neckline. Based on the original adult pattern – the re-sized version is designed to fit ages 2 to 12 years.  Our store sample is knit using SweetGeorgia Worsted (100% superwash merino) in a sunny hue aptly named “Lemon Curd”. Just looking at this sweater will cheer you! A quick knit and perfect gift idea.

– Melissa