Ellison Lane Bags and The Periwinkle Sheep Yarn

Happy mail day! These colors just scream Spring to me. Ellison Lane's Ellie bags are the perfect size project bag for your knitting or crochet. The Periwinkle Sheep has updated her shop with luscious mohair lace weight and vibrant speckled aran weight yarn.

Lazadas Flexible Blocking Wires

Blocking knit wear is essential. After spending all that time hand knitting or crocheting something, you don’t want to skip this finishing step. It changes the drape, opens up stitches, evens out your stitches, relaxes the fibers and helps the yarn bloom. I like using blocking wires because it makes it faster to achieve straight lines and to pull things into shape. When Lazadus Knitting Accessories offered to send me their flexible blocking wires, I was really excited to try them. The Deluxe Super Flexible Set comes with 10 super flexible blocking wires 35” (90 cm) long each, 5 super flexible blocking wires 70” (180 cm) long each and 60 Nickel plated T-Pins.

The wires that I have been using for years are thicker and pretty rigid. I can get them to bend a bit, but it requires a lot of pins to hold the shape. Lazadas wires are thin and flexible. One big difference I noticed was how much easier it was for me to thread the wires through my piece. 

I used 3 wires to shape this triangular swatch for a shawl. The bottom curve was effortless to shape! Even the straight sides were easy to pin out. The one thing that you do need to be careful of is when you are uncoiling the wires. They are under tension and can hit you in the face if you do not pay attention.

For this swatch, I used 2 wires. One wire for the top and one on the bottom for the points. Then I used the pins to straighten out the sides. The thin flexible works really well for thinner gauge yarns. It didn't cause gaping holes in the fabric.

Thank you Lazadas Knitting Accessories! I really enjoyed trying out your blocking wires. These wires will now be a part of my knitting tool kit.

How to block a beret or tam with Eucalan Delicate Wash.

Thank you to Eucalan Delicate Wash for sending me the Eucalan Gift Pack for review. You should always block your knitted, crocheted or woven projects. It helps even out the stitches and lets the yarn bloom. Eucalan Delicate Wash is a no-rinse formula that is non-toxic, biodegradable and phosphate-free. It naturally conditions the fibers with a touch of lanolin and it comes in five scents: eucalyptus, lavender, grapefruit, unscented and their new jasmine scent, Wrapture. Eucalyptus and lavender are naturally moth and flea repellent, making them an excellent choice for wool fibers and fabrics.

First check your yarn label and see what water temperature to use. Typically I use cold or tepid water. You do not want to accidentally felt your project. I am going to be blocking my Iced Eucalyptus Beret. The yarn label says "hand wash cold" so I will be using cold water. I filled the sink with cold water. As you run the water, add a teaspoon of Eucalan. Then soak the hat in the water for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, gently squeeze the water out of the hat. Then roll in between a towel to get the excess water out.

Take a 10" diameter plate and and place it inside the hat.

Thread scrap yarn onto a tapestry needle.

Using a running stitch, baste around the brim of the hat.

Gently cinch the brim to the desired size. You want the brim to gather up because you don't want it stretched out. Tie a knot to hold the scrap yarn in place.

The body of the hat is stretched over the plate to block out the lace pattern of the hat.

Balance the opening of the hat over a jar and let it dry.

The beret is all blocked and ready to wear.

Another good reason for soaking your knitwear in Eucalan? It cleans it. Your project would have attracted a lot of dirt or dust by the time you are done working on it. Eucalan Delicate Wash is great for cleaning before you wear it and for after you have worn it for a while. It's an excellent way to keep your knitwear looking new and smelling fresh. Their no-rinse formula makes it so easy to care for your handmade items. You can even use it on specialty fabrics and fibers such as silk, rayon and cotton.

You can find Eucalan Delicate Wash here. And you can find the pattern for the Iced Eucalyptus Beret here.

Yarn Review: Shepherd's Lamb Rambouillet

Today I am writing about Shepherd's Lamb's Rambouillet 2ply yarn. It is a DK weight yarn and comes in 180 yard skeins. It is a 100% American Rambouillet wool completely made in the USA. Shepherd's Lamb is a family owned and operated ranch in New Mexico that raises Rambouillet and Churro sheep for fiber, meat, pelts and blankets.

This yarn is 100% certified organic and dyed with natural dyes. I chose the color Victorian Rose which was dyed with cochineal. The yarn looks a bit rustic but it is soft enough. It feels wooly but not scratchy at all. I would describe it as a lofty yarn.

I chose to knit the Escalade Hat with the rambouillet yarn. I knew the yarn would give the 2 stitch cable a nice stitch definition. I knit the brim for 1.5" and repeated the hat chart 9 times, then proceeded with the crown shaping.

I washed the hat with a wool wash and blocked it over a balloon. The yarn fulled and bloomed nicely. 

As you can see, my daughter loves the new hat. I am sure she will be "borrowing" this from me. The temperatures have been in the teens and she could use some wooly warmth on her head. In fact, it was 14°F when we were outside taking these photos. She ran back in and made herself some hot cocoa.

The natural dye really shows beautifully in this rambouillet yarn. Take a look at all the colors you can choose from HERE. I fully support American made products and being able to knit with an American made yarn was a pleasure.

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.

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.

Yarn Review: Be Sweet Magic Ball

I am excited to share my review of Be Sweet's Magic Ball Yarn. Be Sweet’s mission; to bring socially and environmentally friendly products to fashionable consumers that evoke an individual style and help support community development around the world. Be Sweet works with several job creation groups that give artisans the means to support themselves and their families in economically depressed regions in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape.

I have never worked with a multi-textured yarn like this before. The Magic Ball is an arrangement of hand dyed boucle and brushed mohair yarns tied with knobby, ribbon and metallic goodies. I wound the skeins by hand and was delighted to see each section of yarns and ribbon that makes up each skein of the Magic Ball. One section even had little beads threaded into the yarn.

I used a US 10 needle to knit with the Magic Ball yarn. It was so much fun to knit with this yarn. I kept wanting to knit more because I wanted to see which section of goodies I would get to next. This yarn is extremely entertaining to knit with. I think my favorite sections would be the yarn with metallic threads, bobbles, beads and hand tied ribbon. The little hand tied ribbons are such a sweet touch. There are 48 colors to choose from and I did have a hard time choosing a color. I let me oldest daughter choose and she chose Oceans. I think it had to do with the mermaid-like colors of the yarn.

I used 2 skeins of Magic Ball to design a small shawl. It is such a quick knit and the yarn really makes this an eye catching accessory. The shawl is blocking and I hope to get the pattern written up onto Ravelry soon. Thank you, Be Sweet, for letting me review your yarn. I loved knitting with the Magic Ball.

Hanashōbu with Anzula

I just released a new cowl design, Hanashōbu, in collaboration with Anzula. The cowl is designed with their new yarn Gerty, a 100% American Targhee. The pattern was an exclusive kit sold at Sample It in the TNNA Summer Show in June. Now the yarn and the pattern are available to everyone. Read more about it on Anzula's blog. From now until Sept 30, you can buy Hanashōbu for a discounted price of $4 by using the coupon code “ILoveGerty” at the checkout.

Yarn Review: Dale Garn Lerke Pluss

Today, I am reviewing Dale Garn's newest yarn, Lerke Pluss. The yarn was provided to me for review from Heart of the Mitten. They are a online store and yarn shop located in Michigan. Now, they are the exclusive US retailer of Dale Garn.

Lerke Pluss is a blend of 53% Merino wool and 47% Egyptian cotton. My first impressions when I touched the yarn was that it was soft, smooth and cool to the touch. It has a soft ply. There are many strands plied together and the color has a marled look.

The yarn is easy to knit with and it went smoothly across my needles. I have to say it didn't feel like I was knitting with cotton. It had plenty of elasticity because of the merino wool. It has a very nice feel as you are knitting with it.

I used size US8 needles and it was perfect for this yarn's gauge. It knitted up very quickly. The knitted fabric is soft and stretchy, but it still had structure. It wasn't floppy. I also liked the texture of the knitted fabric.

My second test for the yarn was to crochet with it. I used a size 5mm crochet hook. It was easy to crochet with this yarn. It works up quickly and is very smooth. Some times you have to be careful of the plies splitting a little if you don't pay attention as you are crocheting, but it wasn't difficult to manage. The resulting crochet fabric is smooth and stretchy and not stiff at all.

Lerke Pluss would be a great year-round yarn for many projects. I could see myself using this for baby garments. Thank you to Heart of the Mitten for sending me this yarn to play with.

Winners of the Kumori Shawl Pattern Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway. I am so happy that my new shawl design, Kumori, is so well received.

I had my daughter pick out 3 numbers. The winner of 1 skein of  Feel Good Yarn Co SilverSpun® Silk and a Kumori pattern is ravelry:davetony. And ravelry: dixiekins and yoganan will each be getting a Kumori pattern. I will be contacting all the winners today.

Miss Babs Summer 2017: Little Dearest Baby Blanket

Last month, I was swamped with getting ready for The National Needlearts Association Summer 2017 Show in Columbus OH. I will save that topic for my next blog post. The week before the show, Miss Babs launched their baby patterns in their Summer 2017 Collection.

I designed a baby blanket called Little Dearest with 2 skeins of Yowza. The colorway is called Deer Moss and it's a neutral color, perfect for either a boy or girl.

Little Dearest is a classic diagonally knit baby blanket that will be loved by babies and parents alike. It is knit with a 100% superwash merino wool which will make this a very warm and snuggly blanket. The alternating sections of Garter and Ridge Stitch create a pleasing texture that will be perfect for a baby boy or girl.

I am thrilled with the response to my new blanket design. I love knitting blankets, but I also know how tedious it can get. That is one of the reasons why I designed it diagonally. As you knit, you increase for half the blanket and then decrease for the other half. It makes it feel like less work. You can purchase the pattern HERE and purchase the yarn from Miss Babs online or at her retail shows.

Knit Noro Accessories 2 + Interview + Giveaway

Knit Noro Accessories 2 has just been published and it has 30 beautiful accessory patterns. I was proud to be in the first Knit Noro Accessories with my Tulip Scarf and even prouder now to have 3 designs in this book. Noro Yarns' colorways are really great for accessories. Knit with it once and you can see the appeal of the long vibrant self-striping colors. There are 30 projects which include gloves, socks, hats, shawls, ponchos, and more. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

I designed a shawl, a scarf and a hat for this book. It was a pleasure to design and knit them for Noro Yarns and Sixth & Spring Books. I hope you will enjoy knitting the patterns from this book. Happy Knitting!

 © 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

© 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

The Garter & Lace Diamond Shawl is knit with alternating strips of garter and lace, knit on the bias to create a diamond with vibrant color and texture. It is knit with 4 balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock in #84 Orange/Red/Pink. You start at one corner and end at the other corner.

 © 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

© 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

The Garter Ridges Scarf is knit with 3 balls of Noro Taiyo in #67 Neutrals/Black/Carnations. It has a subtle knit and purl stitch pattern. It is easy to memorize and quick to knit up.

 © 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

© 2017 Sixth&Spring Books

The Lace Beanie is a slouchy beanie that incorporates simple lace and stockinette. It is knit with 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Solo in #12 Forest. After knitting with Silk Garden Solo, I want to knit this hat in every color they have. Even though it is one color and not like their usual self-striping colorways, the colors are deep and vibrant. You can have a new hat knit up in a weekend.

INTERVIEW + BOOK GIVEAWAY

Jen Lucas Designs recently contacted me to interview me for the Knit Noro Acessories 2 book. Plus, she will be giving away one copy of the book to one lucky winner! Head on over to her blog to read my interview and enter to win the book. The deadline to comment on her blog post for a chance to win the book is 5/7/17. Good luck!