Have you taken a peek at Andean Treasure lately? It’s one of those yarns that I forget about until I see a project in it and then I’m instantly reminded about how wonderful it is. This time it was the utter adorableness of the photo we just took for the catalog.

While we were listing off yarn lines that needed new photos for catalog, Alison mentioned that she had a few alpacas at home and I remembered that I a friend of mine had one kicking around her apartment and before I knew it, we had a small collection of super cute alpacas clustered on my desk ready for the shoot! You can even see a picture Jenny snapped of one alpaca riding to work in her purse on our Instagram feed.

After my interest in this lovely alpaca yarn was piqued, I remembered Ann Weaver’s Partition Cardigan - a lovely combination of Aloft and Andean Treasure from the Twentieth Century Graphic pattern collection. All the garments are graphic and simple but BOLD with the vibrant colors and large sections of color.

Andean Treasure knits up into a dense fabric that is lightweight but super warm without all the bulk that is usually associated with cozy fabrics. I’m so glad that our cute alpacas tickled my memory because it’s just about the right time of year when I start reaching for a hat when I leave for work. I bet a hat in Andean Treasure would be light weight and breathable but cozy enough that I won’t have to layer it with another one (even though some days are just so darn chilly!).

It might even work for my sister who commutes to Boston on the train every day, I’ll let you know if it is! Did you knit a project from Twentieth Century Graphic? What about a project in Andean Treasure lately?

I don’t know if it’s the suddenly dark evenings, the rainy weather, or the fact that Eggnog Lattes are back in season, but I’ve seriously been a homebody the last couple of weeks. I’ve always been a fan of knitting lovely winter and fall items to wear, but this year I got a bug in my ear for home items. So when, over the course of preserving the innards of seven Halloween pumpkins, my favorite kitchen towels started to give up on me, I decided to just make my own!

Besides the fairly pristine bread towels I use to cover dishes at family gatherings, my kitchen towels take some serious abuse. Most especially, the ones I keep on my freezer and oven door handles not only have to dry my hands, but they’re constantly being attacked and dragged off by my cats. So, I grabbed some cheery Cotlin and made one that would stay put.

It’s a pretty basic pattern – just knits and purls, with a wide garter stitch band that wraps around the handle and buttons underneath. (and yay for finally finding a use for my stash of little yellow plastic buttons!)

But it was so satisfying to make, and even more so to use. I’m sure that my cats will eventually figure out a way to run off with it, but until then I’m quite pleased!

I still have some Dishie and Cotlin in other colors, and I’m thinking that next up will be some smaller towels that hook on to my apron strings. Nothing like a long day spent canning, back and forth to the sink, and you find that the clean hand-drying towel that you shoved in your apron is on the floor amidst the various peels and pits and pulp that escaped the counter. Nope, I think I’ll opt for a convenient, handmade solution instead! Considering that the holidays are coming up, and that means a lot of time in the kitchen for me, I think I’ll feather my nest a little with some awesome little kitchen knits.

The pattern is now available for free!

The post November Nesting appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

I have a great love for single ply. Obviously there are some cons - mostly that it pills more easily and can be splitty to work with. But we have such yummy single-ply yarns that I can't help but love them!

Since I've finally put the finishing touches on my favorite Icelandic coat, I've been itching to start another Icelandic style sweater. The natural choice is a single-ply, as that's what Lopi-style yarns are. Before it's all gone, I had to get my hands on some Full Circle Worsted in the most cheerful green - Tomatillo - and get to work!

The post For the love of Single-Ply yarns appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

There’s nothing quite like a handknit blanket to warm you up on a winter day. And they’re even better when they’re washable! That’s why we have several blanket kits in our super-soft, sturdy acrylic Brava yarn.

It’s hard to go wrong with the Hue Shift afghan! This favorite blanket is available as kits in four colorways: Rainbow, Baby, Jewel, and Decor. It’s a great choice for on-the-go blanket knitting, since it’s worked modularly. The 50″square blanket works great as a couch throw or a picture-perfect picnic blanket.

If you like a little more commitment in a blanket knit, there are the Happy Place afghans. These cheerful, big blankets are worked in simple Intarsia designs depicting an undersea scene and a dense pine forest. At 60×72″, these are the right size for a twin bedspread, or a family-sized throw. Not to mention, they’re super cute!

The best part is that we’ve done the hard part for you – picking colors and putting it all together. Afghans can be expensive projects, but when you buy kits you’ll always get a discount. It’s a win-win.

Kits always make great gifts, too. If you were looking for a last-minute gift for a knitter friend, how about a Brava blanket kit? Washable yarn, cheerful colors, exciting designs – it’s the kind of gift any knitter would love to receive.

The post A Bevy of Brava Blankets appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

By now, most of you have noticed the spectacular sale we have going on (our early-to-the-party answer to Cyber Monday). But the downfall of having over 700 yarns on sale? It always feels like you’ve missed something, no?

With that in mind, I’ve highlighted my Top 10 favorites from this year’s big sale—in dramatic ascending order! Please keep in mind that I’m a lady who loves her neutrals (with little pops of jewel-tones here and there).

10) Capra in “Wine”
$7.99 $3.99/50g  –  85% Merino Wool, 15% Cashmere

My favorite reds always look like they belong in a long-stemmed glass; the combination of this with cashmere feels like some pinnacle of luxury.

9) Biggo in “Cobblestone Heather”
$8.49 $4.24/100g  –  50% Superwash Merino Wool, 50% Nylon

Oh, all the quick, perfectly-oversized cowls you will make!

8) Palette in “Mineral Heather”
$3.59 $1.79/50g – 100% Peruvian Highland Wool

Simply put:  This is a magnificently complex hue—perfect on its own or in colorwork.

7) Wool of the Andes Special Reserve in “Oakmoss”
$2.49 $1.75/50g – 100% Peruvian Highland Wool

All of these limited-stock colors are knockouts for me, but there’s something extra special about this airy, barely-there green.

6) Stroll Sock in “Jack Rabbit Heather”
$4.69 $2.34/50g – 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon

Existing on some beautiful, uncommon plane between grey and brown, this is what I like to call a “rare neutral”.

5) Imagination in “Castle Walls”
$6.79 $3.39/50g – 50% Merino Wool, 25% Superfine Alpaca, 25% Nylon

Leave it to me to favor this among the all the technicolor offerings of Imagination! But honestly, the movement of this tonal colorway would look drop-dead gorgeous in a shawl (and bring subtle interest to a standard handknit sock).

4) Wool of the Andes Tweed in “North Pole Heather”
$3.29 $1.64/50g – 80% Peruvian Highland Wool, 20% Donegal Tweed

A lovely icy blue made unique through rustic flecks of tweed; everyone will ask you were you got this yarn.

3.) Brava Worsted in “Hunter”
$2.99 $1.49/100g – 100% Premium Acrylic

Deep hues really make Brava yarn sing. “Hunter” is a true jewel-tone that feels classic, verdant and gender-neutral.

2) Aloft in “Pennyroyal”
$6.99 $3.49/25g – 75% Super Kid Mohair, 25% Silk

Aloft can be such an unexpected delight in neon hues (like brilliant “Koi” or “Cosmopolitan”), but the subtle purple whisper of “Pennyroyal” takes the ethereal cake.

1.) Diadem DK Special Reserve in “Argent”
$16.99 $11.99/100g – 50% Baby Alpaca, 50% Mulberry Silk

The DK weight of Diadem is even plusher and more halo-riffic than your wildest dreams—and something about this classic chrome hue complements those characteristics perfectly.

Hopefully I helped you spot something you missed on your first outing—but either way, happy sale hunting. Although we’re limited to stock on hand (meaning: grab your very favorites while they’re around), the sale continues until December 1st!

The post The Big Sale 2013: My Top 10 Picks! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

It’s really feeling wintery all over the country, and we got a little taste of that today in the northwest. It actually snowed!

Now I’ll admit it’s not much snow (nothing like we used to get in upstate NY!), but it still evokes a ‘hot chocolate kind of day’. On days like this, I just want to curl up on the couch with a warm mug of cocoa and some woolly knitting. if this weather keeps up, I might just be able to finish my Full Circle sweater!

It’s coming along pretty well. The body is done up to the yoke, and the sleeves are up to the elbows. I’d be much further along, but I’ve had a few other competing projects in the meantime!

There are so many things to knit, and so little time. Hopefully I can finish this up before my huge box of Wool of the Andes special reserve colors comes in the mail! Between that and a little binge on City Tweed during our 48 hour sale, I think I’ll have plenty to work on for the whole winter.

The post Snow Day! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

I’m usually not terribly tempted by sales, but this year I just had to treat myself to the limited edition Wool of the Andes colors that we had for Cyber Monday! Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had that idea, considering that by the time I placed my order, one color was sold out and two more were just a few skeins away. So, I got what I could!

And it was a lot.

I saved opening my package for this week. Not that it would be a surprise, just a nice, woolly treat!

I got about two or three sweaters’ worth if I just use the colors by themselves, though I think I’ll be mixing in with my already enormous Wool of the Andes stash. These soft colors really work well with a lot of the more subtle shades in the line, or can be used as just a hint of color in an otherwise neutral palette. I really love them all!

Did you get a bounty of beautiful yarn this year? Do tell! We’ll all have lots to knit in 2014!

The post Holiday Haul! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

Jared Flood’s Cobblestone Pullover has been haunting me for years. I think most knitters have a pattern that has lingered in their mental list of things to knit for far too long and at some point it becomes this obstacle that needs to be conquered. I bought my very first issue of Interweave Knits way back in 2007 during my first year of college and the early days of my knitting adventures. Over the years I’ve sifted through that single issue so many times that it’s falling to pieces. Without fail, I would head straight to the Cobblestone Pullover whenever this issue resurfaced on my book shelf, and I would find myself wishing that I had either the yarn or the fella to knit it for. The stars never quite aligned for this pattern… until now!

Fast forward to today and my most recent revisit to my “someday sweater”. I was idly clicking through my Ravelry queue, looking for something to make for my Dad this Christmas when I realized that this would be the perfect time to knock that sweater out of the park! I had a stash of Andes del Campo in Wellies and two weeks to whip it out so I thought I’d give it a shot.

I spent two weeks carrying that sweater e v e r y w h e r e with me, sneaking in a row or two every chance I got and managed to bind off and block it Christmas Eve! I loved working with Andes del Campo. The 100% Highland Wool is surprisingly smooth and soft to work with and the finished fabric has such a wonderful springy quality to it.

The stitch definition through the shoulders of the Cobblestone Pullover is superb and adds a special touch to this sweater. One more thing done and off of my queue, but I think this probably isn’t the last I’ve seen of this pattern. It was such a good, quick knit that I might try my hand at sizing it for myself someday… sooner rather than later!

The post Cobblestone Christmas Sweater appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

A new week, and a new dishcloth for our 52 Weeks of Dishcloths extravaganza! This is my first contribution: Bee’s Knees.

This 11″ square cloth features a happy bumble bee in flight, with a border in Bee Stitch. The fluffly texture of Bee Stitch combined with Dishie makes this a really squishy fabric – great to use as a washcloth or dishcloth.

Bee’s Knees uses less than one ball of Dishie. In fact, if you’re sparing, you can get two cloths out of one ball. Keep one and give one to a friend, or make a whole hive of them for your own kitchen!

The post Bee’s Knees Dishcloth appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

I’ve struck again! This time I used the luxurious Aloft to make a quick and easy headband pattern for a vintage-esque accessory. Introducing the Rhoda Headband!

Aloft knits up into such a light, soft fabric that it’s warm enough to wear on a chilly day and light enough that it won’t weigh your hairstyle down at all. Rhoda uses about 60 yards of Aloft which makes this project perfect for stash-busting and gift-giving.

I couldn’t resist getting a shot with Linus! We used his little bunny room for these photographs so I just scooped him up while he played “supervisor” around my feet.

The post Free Rhoda Headband Pattern appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat in Tacoma, WA.  Hundreds of fiber enthusiasts attended classes in knitting, spinning, weaving, as well as other great subjects. There also was a great market place that was hard to resist!  My focus that weekend was Intarsia and Fair Isle knitting.

My first class was a 3-hour class, “Learning to Love Intarsia” with Sally Melville. I have been so intimidated with Intarsia.  This class definitely changed my mind! Here’s the swatch I created.

I learned how to avoid gaps in color changes and minimize the “mess” on the inside, how to weave ends, and many other tricks.  I also learned the correct way to duplicate stitch.  I know that may sound silly, but my duplicate stitches were mighty ugly. My swatch is Wool of the Andes Sport Avocado and Forest Heather, and a dash of Sprinkle Heather duplicate stitches. Sally also opened a whole world of intarsia design, which has already got the creative juices flowing!

The second class I took was “Adding and Inventing Colorwork Patterns” with Mary Jane Mucklestone. This was an all-day class teaching us how to create our own Fair Isle patterns, calculate number of stitches needed and charting.

Here’s a small swatch of my work. It was a little scary at first, trying to make sure the colors worked together. I’m fairly new to colorwork, so speed was definitely not seen here, but it took that fear away and I’m ready to start creating!  I used Capra yarn for this swatch with the current colors Hunter, Harbor, Flamingo, Velveteen and an older color from my stash. Many people are resistant to swatching.  A cool way to swatch in the round is to create an arm cuff with ribbing on either end. That way you can work on the first part of a project and swatch at the same time!

Sally Melville and Mary Jane Mucklestone are both amazing and talented designers and authors. When the next opportunity arises, I plan to take more classes from them.  In the meantime, I’ll be perusing some of their published books to gain more knitting skills both in colorwork and design.

Knitting Pattern Essentials by Sally Melville:

150 Scandinavian Motifs and 200 Fair Isle Motifs by Mary Jane Mucklestone:

The post Color Explorsion at Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

I love our new yarn Hawthorne.

You probably could tell because I wouldn’t shut up about it on our latest podcast. Since I’ve been using it like crazy in several projects, I thought I’d share some tips & tricks for working with what can be a challenging yarn to some people – hand painted yarn.

Hawthorne is an even more interesting hand painted yarn than others you may have seen and used – it’s actually hand dyed in two stages, the first is tonal and the second multi-hued, to create a beautiful painterly effect with a bright pop of color.  This yarn is all completely hand dyed – so each skein can be unique with awesome variations. They are lovely to look at – as well as to knit or crochet with.  This is the Vancouver colorway all skeined up.

Pooling is the nemesis of many fans of hand painted yarns.  This is where a color will stack up, creating a blotches in your project.  Here’s an example with the Vancouver colorway again knitted up (and taken with my camera) – this swatch is 64 stitches across, knitted back & forth at 8 stitches per inch.

I got this effect on my Sockhead hat I knit in Concordia, but I rather like it.  The pooling reminds of lighting bolts.

But if you don’t want this look, there are a couple of things you can do.  First is to swatch (I know, that’s boring) – use different needles and different stitch counts to see what you like.  For example, for the swatch we used on the site for the Vancouver colorway, we went down to 32 stitches back & forth at 8 stitches per inch (to get a better idea of how it would look like at 64 stitches in the round).

Another thing you can do, especially for hats or larger accessories or garments is to alternate skeins – either from an additional skein, winding a skein into 2 cakes, or working both ends of the yarn cake.  For projects in the round, you’ll want to switch every round – for a vest I made a few years back, I just placed an extra marker on the side to remind me to switch yarns.  For working back and forth, switch every other row.  It’s a simple way to break up any colors and if you carry your yarn up each round or row, you won’t have any additional ends to weave in.  Since there can be color variations from skein to skein because of the hand dyed nature, this method is the best way to even out the color distribution.

There are also many sock patterns that have stitch patterns that are designed to show off hand painted yarns.  Two of my favorite sock books are great for this – Indie Socks by Chrissy Gardiner and Socktopus by Alice Yu. Both are filled with tips & tricks for working with hand painted yarns as well as some fantastic patterns – I think Chrissy’s Supernova pattern would look great in Hawthorne.

(also both books are on sale for 40% off right now!)

For my socks, I opted with an old favorite – Monkey by Cookie A.  I’ve used this pattern a lot so I knew it was great for hand painted yarns.  I went with the Alameda colorway for mine and I just love them so much.

Oh, and in case you were wondering – that yarn at the top was how much I had left after I completed these socks for my size 10 feet with a 6 inch cuff. There’s about 4 grams left, which makes me happy because I dislike having a lot of random sock yarn leftovers taking up room in my stash.

See how the stitch pattern broke up any kind of pooling?

Another method some folks use is intentional pooling, where you deliberately pool the yarn into designs such as horizontal stripes, argyle, or other interesting patterns.  This does take quite a bit of preparation (and swatching) but the results are incredible – check out groups on Ravelry such at pooled knits for examples of projects & tips on how to create these projects yourself.

So with these tips, I hope you’ll love Hawthorne as much as we do – I’m all ready to start my next project in it.  It’s really got back me back into knitting socks again – I hadn’t been for quite awhile but now I want a pair in every color!

Do you have other tricks for using hand painted yarns?  Leave them in the comments!

The post Working with Hand Painted Yarn appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

Eight new colors are here to spice up your knits! Stroll Brights Special Reserve is the same wonderful sock yarn base in set of super bright colorways. Remember, Special Reserve means they’ll only be around while we have stock so grab some while you can! I snatched one ball of Pucker as soon as we opened the box of samples because it’s just SO BRIGHT and wonderful, there’s no way I could pass it up. I knew right away that I wanted to do a Color Affection shawl with a bright pop of color and the screaming pink was perfect for it.

I’ve been seeing so many projects that feature a light grey with a HOT pink accent so I grabbed two balls each of Stroll Dove Heather and White and got started that afternoon.

I love this pattern! I found that I did have to modify it to get a looser top edge (I used this knitter’s notes as a jumping off point) otherwise I left the pattern as-is.

I love that the shawl can expand to a larger, cozy size but isn’t too heavy and can drape like a spring-weight scarf. So cute! I’ve been wearing it with a shawl pin to keep everything in place when I’m moving around at work. I hope someone works a version up with Pickle Juice (best name EVER) as the accent color. I think it would look stunning as the contrast color with black background!

The post Say “Hello” to Stroll Brights! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

Well our Yarn Madness is over…and Wool of the Andes came out on top with 60% of the vote!

It’s no surprise – Wool of the Andes was one of our first yarn lines. Perfect for nearly every type of project with 100 colors to choose from, it is continually our top seller every year. Congrats to to the ultimate Knit Picks Yarn!

And we randomly drew a winner for a Wool of the Andes sampler – and Jen is the winner! She wrote:

WOTA- love love love the colors!

We agree!

But even if you didn’t win the sampler, we’re celebrating Yarn Madness by giving everyone a discount on Wool of the Andes Worsted!  Save 10% on the champ – but hurry, this will only go on for 48 hours - the sale will end Saturday 4/12 at 8am PST!

(Note – 48 hour sale only applies to Wool of the Andes Worsted – so click here to see all the colors!)

We hope you had as much fun as we did with Yarn Madness!  We can’t wait to do it again next year – how will yarn lines like Stroll & Swish stand up to the power of WOTA?  Will an up & coming newcomer like Hawthorne blow them all away?  We’ll see!

The post Yarn Madness Winner – Wool of the Andes! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

My son Nate is growing like a weed, and keeping up with his increasingly-large clothing is a bit of a challenge.  I tend to get all wide-eyed from sticker shock when I see baby and toddler sweaters in stores, so most of my knitting lately has focused on little pullovers and cardigans. 

I have a non-pattern for baby sweaters that basically involved making a boxy body, no armhole shaping, making up a crew neck opening, picking up and knitting the sleeves from the armholes with a slight taper,  and then picking up and knitting a folded ribbed collar. (For a similar basic pattern, try the sweater in The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns).  It’s a basic recipe that works with any weight or type of yarn, but sock yarn is at the top of my list for kiddo projects – hard wearing due to the nylon, good texture from the wool, not too thick of a fabric, and I can take my pick from tons of different styles and colors. When the Hawthorne samples hit the office, I knew I wanted to use it to make Nate some fancy-looking-but-reasonably-priced sweaters that would take all of his cheerful daily abuse.  My first attempt was in the Laurelhurst colorway, as I have a general weakness for similar indie dyed yarns that combine green, gold, and brown for a verdigris kind of look. I used two skeins for this project, but I had a good sized ball of leftovers and could have made the body and sleeves even longer.  While working with the Laurelhurst colorway, I decided that I would just plow ahead and knit from one skein at a time instead of alternating skeins (as is generally recommended for handpainted yarns).   I liked the color change on the body so I continued on, feeling that the color shifts would give the sweater a little bit of a devil-may-care attitude.  You can definitely see the differences between the two skeins at different points in the sweater – armhole divide, collar, and sleeves. Nate’s currently obsessed with purple, so I grabbed two skeins of Alberta Arts and got to work on a second sweater.  This time, I alternated skeins every other row for the entire sweater – body, sleeves, front and back.  The overall effect is a completely blended look, as the alternating skeins kept the yarn from pooling and also mixed together the slightly different colors of high-contrast areas for each skein. I knit Hawthorne on size 3 needles because I wanted a slightly looser fabric than what I’d target for socks.  Once I was finished, I washed both sweaters on a permanent press setting in cold water and then tumble dried them on low.  For the purple sweater, I also tried a second wash where I tumble dried on medium heat instead.  Both turned out silky-smooth with even stitches, zero pilling and a plush bouncy feel to the fabric.  Most importantly, both have passed the soft-enough-against-a-toddler’s-neck test! Yarn: Hawthorne in Laurelhurst and Alberta Arts, slightly less than 200g per toddler sweater (roughly 2T-3T, 26″ chest and 14″ length)

Needles: US size 3 Gauge: 6.5 stitches/inch

Pattern: my own basic sweater recipe – for a similar version, try The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns.

The post Hawthorne for kiddo projects appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

Hawthorne is my newest yarn crush with the lovely color palette, local yarn names (so much fun to pick!) and the wonderfully durable fiber blend it’s perfect for so many different projects. Alison has been making baby sweaters, I’ve seen a few lovely shawls and I’ve personally made almost four pairs of socks since we got the samples in the office. We also reknit the Gradual Rib Hat from the Geometric Pattern Collection in Rose City and Irvington, I like the new colors even BETTER than the original Stroll colorway!

The addition of Hawthorne gives this project a wonderful bouncy quality and makes it even stretchier than the original knit. Aren’t the blues in Irvington stunning!?

Hawthorne only gets better after the first wash too. I knit two pairs of socks using our free Two at Once, Toe-Up Magic Loop Socks pattern and have washed both pairs several time and worn them almost every day since I finished weaving in my ends. The fabric has softened and bloomed to make an incredibly comfortable sock fabric. I’ve been hand washing my socks with Eucalan Woolwash on the weekend and air drying them, but I know that Alison has been using her new washing machine to do her Hawthorne baby sweaters with equally great results so I’m not worried if one pair accidentally sneaks into my machine one of these days.

This blue pair is in Goose Hollow and while some colorways have some color differences between the first half of hank and the second (see Alison’s blogpost for a good example of this), but I didn’t notice it with this particular skein at all.

I used Rose City for my favorite pair of socks. This hot pinky red is incredible. I grabbed a skein before the box was even opened completely and I loved every second spent working on these.

Zing! Again, I didn’t notice any definite color variation within the skein or remarkable pooling because this colorway is more tonal than some of the others.

Each pair of socks only used one hank, I wear a size 9.5 shoe and wound up with a perfectly long cuff. I’ve heard some concern online about the hanks not having enough yardage to make a proper sock, but I’ve had absolutely no problem so far. I just wrapped up a third pair of socks in the super popular Vancouver colorway, but they’ll be a surprise gift next month so no pictures until then! I’m also mid-foot into a fourth pair of socks in Mt. Tabor, I can’t wait to share pictures of both soon!

Have you ordered any Hawthorne yet? What projects are you making, or what projects are you dreaming about making?

The post Hawthorne appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

With Memorial Day this past weekend heralding the unofficial start of summer, my favorite season, I thought I’d take a look at my to-knit list and start planning my warm-weather pieces! I knit year round, although I usually knit smaller items with more plant-based fibers in warmer months, since they’re cooler to hold and take up less space when toting them around on trips.

As my last project indicated, I’ve been really into knitted tee shirts,  tank tops, and short-sleeve cardigans. They give all the satisfaction of a garment in less time, and there are so many cute patterns! Basic lace and mesh patterns have really been calling my name recently, and are still a strong fashion trend. I wanted to highlight the graphic impact of the lace, rather than the soft, romantic side. So I found myself gravitating towards pieces with a stockinette body and geometric lacy accents, paired with a bright color palette for each to really make them pop. Below are three patterns I can’t wait to knit and wear this summer!

Light Basics Shell

Everyone needs a classic tank top, and this one has clean, elegant lines. It would go with anything! I like to customize my knits, so I’d probably add a row or two of lace at the bottom, or maybe around the neckline. Though the pattern calls for Stroll Glimmer, I decided to use Stroll in Solids instead. The pink, greens, and soft gray of this palette would blend in perfectly when I’m hanging out in one of Portland’s many parks.

Thrysos Yoked Blouse

This blouse was one of my favorite pieces in our spring collection, In Bloom. It’d be great for layering and the lace is just gorgeous. It’s one of those tops that are so comfortable to wear but still look a little fancy!  To really give it some oomph with jeans or a skirt, I’d pick a punchy color of Stroll Tonal that will look amazing at a BBQ or outdoor concert.

La Clusaz Cardigan

I love cardigans, especially for summer when I’m always taking off or putting a layer back on. This would be just the thing when it gets chilly in the evening while I’m sitting on the bar patio having a drink with friends. The little touches of mesh on the front and back keep it airy and light, and the shaping is so flattering. It’s knit in Shine Sport, one of my favorite yarns, so I’d pick a warm, intense color to show off the beautiful gloss.

If you’re as excited about warm weather knitting as me, let me know what you’re planning on making this summer in the comments!

The post Summer Knitting Happened So Fast appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

So have you seen our purty new yarn Lindy Chain?

I love this yarn!  Before we got it, I’d never used chainette yarn so I was little dubious, but we all had a lot of fun playing with it.

(isn’t the Honey color just so cheerful?)

Lindy is perfect for summer projects, especially since it’s a fingering weight yarn that is 70% linen & 30% cotton.  It’s just so lightweight & versatile, it makes such a great yarn for all sorts of projects. In fact, I crocheted a scarf out of my 4 favorite colors and I see it as being just perfect to wear when walking on the Oregon Coast. (you can download the free Seaside Promenade Scarf pattern here.)

It’s also great for lightweight tops – a couple of designers came up with some beautiful tanks to show off Lindy.

Elizabeth Green Musselman designed the fun Arezzo Tank in Honey.

And Snowden Becker designed her Beryl Top in Plum.

As you can tell from these patterns, Lindy has great stitch definition & shows off texture and lace really well.  Check out Tetiana Otruta’s Leaf Garland Shawl

Also, in the case of most linen yarns, it just gets softer & softer with each wash!  I used some Soak on my scarf after I finished and I just love how it feels.

We hope you love Lindy Chain as much as we do!  I’m totally planning all sorts of projects – those above and a couple of older patterns I’ve had my eye on such as the Harnett Tank which I think will look & feel great to wear this summer, especially since I keep reading how it’s supposed to be the hottest summer in the Pacific Northwest in 5 years!

If you have other pattern ideas, let us know in the comments!

The post Introducing Lindy Chain! appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

I started day dreaming about a cowl in Lindy Chain the minute we finished unpacking the boxes here at the offices. I pounced upon two balls of lovely, rich blue Navy and decided to try an open stitch to make the perfect summer weather accessory. You can find the free Alcea Cowl pattern here on our website!

It’s such a simple pattern with a single set up row and then stockinette stitch all the way up until the last row when key stitches are dropped creating the long ladders between strips of intact stockinette stitches. This kind of quick knit is perfect for summer evenings when your attention might be split between the project in your hands and the evening twilight skies.

I loved working with Lindy too! It looks so nice with a larger gauge than I would typically knit and it was so easy to rip back or drop stitches. I’m so used to the “grabby” quality of 100% wool fibers whenever I make a mistake and have to rip back that I found myself dreading dropping the stitches at the very end but Lindy was super easy to undo down the length of the cowl. What a nice surprise!

Have you started any projects in the delightful new Lindy Chain? Tell us in the comments!

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When our newest yarn, Lindy Chain, arrived at the office, it was love at first sight. The gorgeous colors! The cool crispness of the fiber! The way it seemed to shine and glow!  I was so excited, I had to sit down for a bit. Once I recovered, I realized I had the perfect pattern for this yarn all queued up- the lovely and classic Strathcona, by Jane Richmond. It’s from her book Island. Now, I love me some Jane Richmond. Her patterns are so clearly written, and she always has a great ratio of stitch pattern to plain knitting. Plus her designs are just so Pacific Northwest to me: casual, cozy, and earthy, yet modern and sophisticated.

Living in the NW, I wear scarves year-round, usually as a way to brighten up an outfit with color or a pattern, and I realized I had no neutral-colored scarves AT ALL. This shocking omission needed to be remedied. So when I saw the warm gray of Gosling (reminding me irresistibly of this dearly-departed meme), I decided that this was it, a match made in knitting heaven. So I cast on, and knit. And knit. And KNIT! I’d forgotten how long fingering-weight scarves take to make, but thankfully the mesh stitch was easy to memorize and the small size of the project meant it traveled well. It even fit neatly into my pannier as I rode over McKenzie Pass in central Oregon, where I paused at the top to do a few celebratory rows. 

I did miss the errata posted on Ravelry, so my left leaning garter stitch panel isn’t quite as wide as the right one, but I blocked it closely enough that when it’s being worn you can’t tell. (Ravelry page for this project is here, if you’re interested.)

And how was the yarn? Awesome! It stayed so cool slipping through my fingers as I knit, even in a hot car, and the resulting fabric has a great drape and a bit of heft to it that’s perfect for summer nights. I hadn’t worked with chainette yarn before, but it was no harder than plied yarn and it’s quite difficult to see the little chains in the finished scarf. Overall, I love it and I’m already planning a striped sweater in Lindy Chain to wear on an upcoming beach vacation. This yarn relationship looks like it’ll be for the long haul!

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