New Yarn from the Retreat

Miss Babs brought us a trunk show of yarns. The fingering weight sock yarns were beautiful. I, of course, need more sock yarn like Iceland needs snow, but I felt a responsibility to purchase after her huge effort to support us. Honest!

The grey ombre (OOK Storm)is for doing some fancy colorwork with all the bits and pieces of left overs I have---or maybe something more planned.

The silveriness appealed.
This green colorway (Bluegrass) is a bit more vibrant that the pic, but it still has a soft, feminine quality to it.

A Strand of Purls, one of Hickory's LYS, opened Saturday evening just for us. It was a nice thing to do, and I wanted to support her, also, with a purchase.

Her base yarns seem to be Universal Yarn and Sublime. I wasn't interested in either of those. Her sock yarn didn't interest me because I had just seen Miss Babs' show. I almost bought some Rowan magazines. I never knit anything from them, but I can enjoy the photos for years,

Finally I found a Louisa Harding silk yarn called Mulberry in a great color for me. I also liked the spin which really shows the luster. I had never seen this yarn before and it was screaming "Lacy shawlette" at me. I bought four skeins to play with. (126 yds/ 50 g; 100% silk)

I'm in a small shawl / large scarf mood just now. More on this later.

I think I showed remarkable restraint. Just don't ask when I plan to cast on and knit these babies.

FO-OTN-Miss Babs-Jeans

First, thanks for the awesome suggestions for my Greek list. It will be so much better than it was.


The Melon shawl--Steve named it after the small watermelons we see early in May before real watermelon season--is complete except for embellishing. I was very far into it before I discovered this particular technique for handling the sneeziness I was battling with the mohair. I had a Kleenex trapped under my glasses to mask my lower face. Now that really looked ridiculous, and it didn't work all that well. Then I remembered the masks I use for dyeing. Better. A really good idea is a soft surgical mask. Now to figure out how to wear it---without the mask. Final pic later.

Next project?
Remi purchased some wonderful new summer yarns. I'm using this neat cotton--Katia Bombay--fingering wt--100g=251 yds--$14.00. Long color repeats. This little lace pic is nice on a size 4 needle. So far this is a pullover. Other decisions as necessary. Probably a slightly dropped empire line. Definitely short sleeves. I just think it will look great with the white pants and white shirts I wear all summer. Maybe this will stop people coming up and asking for medical advice. Do I look like a nurse??? Well . . . .


Monday I drove up to Hickory to the Catholic Conference Center where the Charlotte Knitting Guild is hosting a retreat this weekend. The famous Miss Babs of hand dye fame (redundant) is providing a trunk show for the group and I showed up to help arrange storage for the yarn until we get there and buy it all. She is so sweet and brought such good stuff.

I started to take pictures as Jennifer unloaded, but then I decided to wait so as not to frustrate this weekend's participants. Also didn't want anyone to see the yarn I have already put back for me --hee--hee. Check out her website if you haven't seen her stuff. She also brought us gifts--no hints.

Finally, those great (2 size smaller) jeans I am wearing in the picture with Miss Babs are brand new and so cool. They were featured on Oprah and the salesclerk at Dillards insisted I try them on. Smart woman. Ask for Wade. Anyway, they come with a disclaimer and I share it with you. This is a label from inside the jeans.

New (to me) Yarn--Pagewood Farm Yukon

Merisoft by Punta

Sandy discovered this yarn and Remi ordered it and I bought it. It is wonderful. I am making another version of my new hat pattern which will come out after Christmas. The colors are marvelous. Some are subdued blends and others very intense as is the blue I chose.

I generally don't like a single twist yarn. But this one is different. The yarn is twisted enough that it won't pill like crazy or develop weak spots. It is quite firm, yet very, very soft. The firmness will allow the yarn to show stitch patterns. I haven't cabled with it, but I'll bet it's great for that.

It has a nice price point for such a luxurious feel. Only $15.00 for 197 yards. That's a lot of yardage. It's a worsted weight, so I knitted it on an 8US for my first swatching. Lovely and wearable.

I'm discovering a real affection for worsted weight yarn after years of tiny yarn obsession. This and the Selridge Farm Soft Wool have made me a believer. And guess what? It knits up a lot faster than fingering weight. Duh!

Check your local yarn shop and prepare to fall in love with Merisoft.

Toronto's Downtown Knit Collective; LYSs, Yarn

Guilds of the world--listen up.

The Downtown Knit Collective (DKC) sets the standard. About 50 of their 280 members hosted the Vogue tour group for a fantastic fiber afternoon at the University of Toronto.

Carly Scott, Executive Editor of Vogue Knitting, is with us and she brought many of the pieces in the Fall, 08, magazine. I hadn't seen too much of interest in the magazine---that's changed!!! In person, like great art, sweaters can truly be seen and these were works of art. She even brought a few pieces from Nicki Epstein's new book and they were dynamite. Sorry, no pics.

FYI -- I wasn't aware of the videos and commentary by Carla on the Vogue website. It allows you to see the garments from all sides and moving. Check them out here.

Linda Pratt, who used to own Great Yarns in Raleigh was also there. She now does marketing for Westminster Fibers (Rowan, Kertzer, etc,). She brought sweaters from Rowan and Nashua publications.

After some mighty swanky refreshments, the speakers began.


Fiona Ellis shared some of her work. I was most interested in her design stories.

Some lesser known locals including Kurt Dunn who is knitting three stained glass windows, one each of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Kurt studied with Kaffe Fassett and the windows literally glow because of the blends of colors and textures. They will be huge and stunning.


My favorite knitting mind, Debbie New, was there and was hilarious. In the past Debbie has knit portraits, stained glass, a one-strip sweater, and a boat. Now she is knitting kaleidoscopes and sort of whirligigs. Incredible.

Lots of door prizes. I won a package from Soak--a big bottle, about 30 single wash size packets and a stunning baseball hat.

Dinner at the Royal York together and a special gift--another bottle of Soak.

Knitting purchases for this day. A copy of the Nashua magazine just released. I had to beg and plead with Linda Pratt to sell it to me, but I got it.

Sunday we went shopping!

The first time we got on the bus this lovely young woman came up to me and said, "Jane Prater, my name is Beth Levine from Boston, and I read your blog." Well, I was just blown away. She had discovered me through the blog of the World Renowned Turtlegirl76. ( Is there anyone out there who doesn't read Cristi's blog?)

Today when we got to Lettuce Knits, Beth insisted on a "yarn harlot" moment and her mom took our picture.

Louise is a great lady, but not much of a photographer. She is seated on my right and Beth took this picture.

If you look closely, you can see the young owner of the shop with her 5-week old baby tied to her front. She opened just for us and gave us 10% off --and--wait for it---several packets of Soak!!

I purchased one skein of Handmaiden Casbah. This is the first time I had encountered this yarn. It is 80% Merino, 10 % Cashmere, 10% Nylon;
325 m/115g
Machine washable, sport wt.





Feels luscious, so it will probably be a scarf thing.

I was disappointed that she only had a few skeins of the hemp I had hoped to buy.

Next stop was Romni Wools. Romni is reminiscent of the 7th Avenue shops in NYC. Thousands of cheap plastic bins stacked to impressive heights. They carry just about everything you ever heard of, but not Allhemp3--the object of my quest.

I managed to adhere to my goal of purchasing responsibly. I bought
1. Rowan Mag #37

2. One skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sock Yarn which I had never seen. According to Rosemary, the Chicago winters are tolerable only if you have several pairs of socks in this yarn.
60% alpaca, 20% merino, 20% nylon
100 grams = 450 yards
8 sts/in on #2



Handwash-----definitely a scarf.


3. One skein of Malabrigo sock yarn!
100% merino superwash, kettle dyed
3.5 oz. = 440 yards

Soft? It's Malabrigo.

Muffalettas , More Yarn, and Latvian knits

Candace designed these lovely fingerless gloves or muffalettas. My picture does not do it justice. This is Shelagh's finished glove. Wednesday night we met and purchased beads and received the pattern and some tips. The idea was that we would knit this on the bus to and from Brown Sheep. Well, I don't really like Feather and Fan, and I like my gloves to really hug my hand, and I like a few less beads----Surprise! I knit something different.
This is very influenced by Candace's pattern. I offset the Feather and Fan at the beginning, but used her ending. I used an old lace pattern to design the bead placements, and the reverse (palm) side of mine is totally plain. The yarn is the real key. It is from Edie's alpace Bo. So soft and warm you can't believe it.

I had to buy some for Steve. This is a mix of Bo and Bart (pictured on the label). She had the processing mill mix the black and white fibers to create a gorgeous Oxford grey. Her phone number is on the label. You can only buy this yarn from her. Her internet store is under construction. Just call her; you will love her.

This will be muffalettas for Steve--if he is good.


Last yarn purchase of the trip. Handmaiden Sea Silk. Bought this at My Sister Knits in Fort Collins.

I guess this will be a shawl. After all, that was the focus of this year's class and I have a design almost finished.

This is a group of knitters helping their friend destash. Anne is selling her Colorado house and needs to dispose of some yarn and patterns. As her friends, we tried to help.
I lucked into 10 balls of ecru Brasil for a shawl and 15 skeins of Classic Elite Newport Lite cotton which will become a sweater.

Finally, Linda's Latvian collections. This is a top border for an ecru pair of socks.
A lace glove that is still sturdy.
Another sock top; the cuff was lace and the foot plain.
My favorite. I've used this braid as a cast on for a sock, but never thought of it in the middle of the pattern. Mary Ellen told me that she uses it as the Empire line in sweaters, particularly her Gansey cardigans.

This camp is so amazing because we learn so much from each other. Do yourself a favor: Go to camp.

Seaworthy Capelet--I love it!

Even thought I designed it, I'm still going to scream how much I love this. Remi gave me the new Fibra Natura yarn Sea Song and asked what I would make from it. Many missteps later, this is it.

Love the drape of this yarn. It's made of 80% cotton and 20% Seacell (Kelp fiber).

DD#2, Meghan, posed for this. I promised I'd cut her face off. Naw. It's too pretty, even without makeup.

Total project took 4 balls at $8.00 a ball. It's a bargain.

The pattern will be available shortly.

Surgery over! New yarn

be patient. i'm typing with one hand. my surgery went well this morning as expected. all the people at cmc-mercy are very kind and supportive. didn't know i had so many friends until today. toby not only took me and waited patiently, but even dressed me to come home. steve returned from his business trip to find me partying. hope the no pain thing continues. Thanks to all for the emails and well-wishes.

pre-surgery, one just needs a present. okay, that's a weak rationalization and I don't want to hear about no stinkin' stashalong resolutions. i needed comfort. the kind that only noro can bring. this is iro, color 54, lot a. i only bought 8 skeins; i could have bought more---if remi had had more. It will probably be a vest. maybe entrelac, maybe side-to-side.
Also bought this bag from knipicks. it's this darn chartreuse binge i'm on. someone please take away my credit card.

It's Love----True Love!!

It's Malabrigo!
I don't wear wool. I don't wear worsted weight garments. Jet has lost her mind knitting a Clapotis out of that heavy wool. All words that I am now eating.
I finally succumbed to the lure of softness. I'd been looking at this yarn for years, but always had an excuse not to buy it. I thought of it as garment yarn and too hot for North Carolina. I never saw the sense in felting with it--what a waste of good yarn. Jet knocked me for a loop when I saw her finished Clapotis. It was gorgeous and you could feel the softness across the room. I just gave my second Clapotis to a friend for her birthday----well, it was just obvious that I was supposed to knit the third one (and the one I am going to keep for me) out of the Curacao colorway (I'm not a subtle person.)
I did the requisite Ravelry search and finally spoke to Jet about size. She knit hers exactly as written used 4 skeins. It was a go. It looks beautiful. I'll share a full pic when it is finished and blocked. Did I mention how much I love this yarn?

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. That's how I felt today when I was working on my Top Down Central Park Hoodie. I just discovered that I started the front cables at a different row. They are only a little off and I may just create a distracting front band to hide it. NO, I'm not showing you a picture. I'm hiding this goof as long as I can. I'll never fool turtlegirl76
but she cuts me slack for senility.

I cast on a new project--as if I needed it--using Louet Euroflax from my stash. I'm making the another KAL lace shawl (No, I still haven't blocked Swan Lake) designed by Monica Eckert. The shape is wonderful; not quite a circle, but close enough to stay on your shoulders. I can't post a picture yet because the pattern won't be released for about 6 weeks. I'm using worsted weight linen even though the pattern calls for lace weight. I'll probably just stop when it is the length I want and add a border. My main interest is in the shaping, but it looks very nice in the photos from people who are up to date on the clues.

Thanks to all of you who have rushed to sign up for my classes. Only one more opening in the Fair Isle class. I did take the sign up sheets to the shop Friday, so you should have no trouble with sign ups.

Impressionist Collection

Have you seen the Impressionist Collection? Perhaps I'm the last person on knitting earth to discover this, but I'm sharing anyway. Today's newsletter from yarnmarket.com included a reference to this way at the bottom. Cherry Tree Hill has joined in this project which seems to involve using their base yarn and specific colorways created based on famous paintings. (I quibble with calling Van Gogh an impressionist, but that's just my problem.)

Since Cherry Tree Hill supersock merino is my favorite sock yarn, that is the item I checked out first. Found three of interest. Monet's Garden for the DD's.

and Irises and Paris Rain for DH.



Then I looked at the Lorna's Laces. Wow, totally different take on the color pattern.

Artyarns---similar but different.

Now I'm hooked. What a concept. What a neat way to look at the color philosophy of various yarn companies. Different weights and styles. Look for yourself, and let me know if you knit any of this.