Weaving with Bijou Spun - Lhasa Wilderness

Bijou Basin Ranch sent me a gorgeous skein of Lhasa Wilderness to play with. The colorway is called Stargazer from the Reflections Collection and dyed exclusively by Colorful Eclectic. It is a blend of 75% Tibetan Yak and 25% Bamboo.

The yarn is smooth and cool to the touch. I felt that it would weave up beautifully and decided to give it a try on my Leclerc Dorothy Loom. It's a table loom that has 4 shafts. I warped the loom with a purple mercerized cotton yarn with a 10 dent reed. The Lhasa Wilderness is a light sport weight yarn.

The color variegation is looking great in the woven cloth. I began with plain weave and then wove some rib weave and then more plain weave.

Isn't is pretty? You can see that the rib weave shows more pops of color while the plain weave blends the variegation. I am going to continue to weave and sample different patterns. I am pleased with how it is looking and the yarn is a dream to weave with.

Yarn Review: Vinni's Colours Bambi Yarn, Crochet and Weaving

I am picky when it comes to cotton yarns. Cotton can be hard to work with because it lacks elasticity. I was pleasantly surprised when I started crocheting with Bambi by Vinni's Colours. It was cool to the touch and smooth. The yarn is a blend of 70% cotton and 30% bamboo viscose. It crocheted so easily and it was enjoyable to work with.

The yarn is textured with parts of it being thick and thin. As you can see, it crochets up pretty evenly.

Cotton yarns can be very difficult to weave on a pin loom. The 3 layer warp plus the 4th weaving layer can be tricky to execute if the yarn does not have much elasticity. I warped the Schacht Spindle Co Zoom Loom with a little slack. It got a little tight at the very last row when I wove it, but it wasn't hard at all. I know for next time, I will give the yarn more slack when I warp it.

I think it wove up nicely on the Zoom Loom. The thick and thin of the yarn gave the finished square some texture. I would definitely use this yarn for weaving, crocheting and knitting. The yarn is all hand dyed and comes in many delightful colors.

Pin Loom Weaving with Filatura Di Crosa's Zarina Mosaico

Filatura Di Crosa's Zarina Mosaico comes in a palette of 5 colors. It's a 4ply that has a beautiful marled color effect. When you touch it, you will feel that it's buttery soft because it's made from 100% superwash extra fine merino wool.

Zarina Mosaico is a sport weight yarn. It will weave up a little looser on Schacht Spindle Co's Zoom Loom, but I really wanted to see how the colors would look like when woven. Sampling is always the best way to see how a yarn will look like. It's like swatching with knitting.

The elasticity of Zarina Mosaico made it really easy to weave it on a pin loom. And I like how the sport weight wove up. It will make a light fabric with a nice drape.

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: Filatura Di Crosa SOLOCASHMERE

I recently had the opportunity to try a cashmere yarn from Filatura Di Crosa. They are an Italian luxury yarn brand. Solocashmere is a fingering weight 100% cashmere yarn. It comes in 25 gorgeous colors. As you can imagine, cashmere is very soft. I wanted to make something with it that would be worn close to the neck.

This is a fingering weight yarn, but I had a feeling it would weave up nicely on a 4" pin loom. The yarn is made of many strands and plied. It has a soft halo. I used a Zoom Loom from the Schacht Spindle Co to make a test square and I really liked the woven fabric. The test square showed me the yarn bloomed and filled in the spaces. I was able to weave 11 squares from 1 ball of yarn.

I played around and decided to use 6 squares to make a close fitting cowl. I seamed all the squares together like above first. This way I can check the fit. This size actually fits me and my two daughters. After that, I joined the two ends together.

For the bottom of the cowl, I single crocheted around and I added a crocheted pom pom at the point of the cowl as I went around. The little pom pom is cute and decorative.

I think a crocheted edging gives a nice finishing look to pin loom projects. The crochet hooks I used are from Knitter's Pride. I used a 4.5mm hook.

Look at my cutie pie wearing her new cowl. It is so soft and light. This is going to be perfect to keep her neck warm.

She loves it and is super excited to wear it to school. I love that I could use one ball of Solocashmere to weave a cozy cowl. My older daughter has requested I make her one also.

Thank you to Filatura Di Crosa for letting me review your yarn. Molte grazie!

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.