Yarn Review: Zen Yarn Garden Gradient Trio

I was delighted to get to review Zen Yarn Garden's gradient sets. The gradient sets are grouped together as Trios or Quartets. The Trio comes with 3 skeins, 200 yards each skein, totaling 600 yards. Quartets have 4 skeins totaling 800 yards. All gradient sets have been dyed to coordinate with each other for multi-color projects.

I chose the Trio in the colors Storm Time. The light to dark blues really appealed to me. The yarn is soft to the touch. It is 100% superwash superfine merino wool that is a 2/4 ply which means 2 plies were spun into a 4 ply.

Swatching is key for helping me decide on what I want to knit with this yarn. Plus, it helps me get to know the yarn. I knitted a stockinette swatch on size US 6 needles and I definitely like the knitted fabric it produced on that needle size. It had a nice drape.

My next swatch was using a lace stitch pattern that I liked. I was pleased with how the lace looked. The knitted swatches had a almost silky feel to it. It's hard to believe that it is just 100% wool. The yarn also stood up to me frogging and washing it a few times. It's a very high quality merino wool.

Now that I have swatched with it and know how the yarn behaves, I am going to cast on a scarf using a combination of the stockinette and lace stitch patterns. I definitely would recommend this yarn if you are looking for gradient sets. Check out the amazing color combinations they have to offer. Thank you Zen Yarn Garden for letting me try your yarn.

Blog Review: JUL Designs Mod Loop Leather Closure

UPDATE: Laura from JUL Designs is offering my blog readers 10% off the Mod Loop with the coupon code VERVE. Offer is good until Dec 31. Thank you, Laura!

I have a fun review for all of you this week. The generous people at JUL Designs sent me one of their Mod Loop Leather Closure to try out. Have you heard of JUL screw-in snap closures? They screw directly into the garment. The threaded cylinder positions between stitches with a backing on the wrong side of the fabric and a screw securing the Mod Loop on the front.

They don't make any holes in your knitted or woven fabric and it is removable. The removable part is what sold me on it. I went searching for different accessories I wanted to out with the Mod Loop. I thought it would be interesting to see the different types of accessories it can be used on.

My woven cowl, which was made on a pin loom, was my first accessory to experiment on. The squares are woven on a Schacht Zoom Loom and seamed together. Woven fabric is not stretchy like knitted or crocheted fabric, but I didn't have any problems working the screws into the woven fabric. Look how great it looks and it keeps my cowl closed.

My next try was on my Turkish Lace Shawl. It's a very long shawl, about 95" long, so it can be styled numerous ways. In the book, they have it wrapped and tied. I used the Mod Loop on one end of the shawl and the other half was placed near the middle. I think it's a great way to keep a long shawl in place and it adds a nice detail.

Of course, I had to try it on a knitted garment. This is a store bought cardigan that has no buttons to close it. It's one of those popular open front cardigans. The Mod Loop was perfect for my cardigan.

I really love the mod look of the JUL closure. The clean lines really makes it versatile for many types of garments and accessories. I was given the Truffle color. The leather is nice and thick and the hardware is very good quality.

In case you are curious about the back. This is what it looks on the back of the fabric. That is the threaded screws and backing disks.The backing disks keep the Mod Loop closure snug against the fabric.

My last accessory to try the Mod Loop on was my Putney Shawl. It's not a very wide shawl so it could benefit from a closure. The Mod Loop added a great look to the shawl. It's a very eye catching closure.

I absolutely adore the Mod Loop Leather Closure. Thank you JUL Designs for letting me try out one of your closures. I can see this being used for so many types of garments and accessories. What a clever design.

Melograno Cowl with Anzula

I am excited to release my latest cowl pattern, Melograno. Melograno means pomegranate in Italian. Anzula’s colorway, Madam, reminds me of the those delicious gem-like seeds. This warm and squishy cowl is worked from the bottom up in the round. It’s a quick knit using Anzula’s Burly. The merino, cashmere and nylon blend is soft and amazing to knit with.

Thanksgiving Special Discount: Buy the pattern for only $4 until Nov 24, 2018 (midnight est). No coupon code needed. Just add to your cart for the discount.