Tag: yarn

Posted in knitting

Wednesday WIP and 2025 Knitting projects in the Queue

Posted on by Laura Kate

For all my blogging knitters, this is an update. While I haven’t posted about knitting in some time, my needles have been clicking away, and my project queue is longer than ever. Let’s start with this pull-over/jumper.

I am knitting it for dear daughter, and this week I finished the body. Since she and I are roughly the same size, I knew that if it fit my body, it would fit hers. Ta da! It fits. Those interested, the gold yarn is Malabrigo Rios in colorway Frank Ochre The contrasting yarn in the yoke is from KnitPicks – Hawthorne dk in Foster Powell multi and Swish in Moss. She chose the pattern from a selection of patterns in Ravelry. It’s called Autumn Bloom , designed by Olga Putana.

So last week, I went through my project bags and my yarn closet and discovered that I have Four WIP’s and Five New Projects lined up with pattern and yarn secured. That’s way more than I thought. And yes, I am guilty of buying yarn lately. In my defense, it was All On Sale.

I won’t bore you with the WIPs today (pretty sure that I’ve written about each of them in 2024.) But here is what I am planning to knit this year, once I get WIPs done:

I know this post is light on photographs, sorry friends. It’s late and I am tired. I promise to do a charming photo shoot of all the new yarns in my stash, once the weather improves. In the meantime, remember to stay calm and keep knitting.

Posted in knitting

Local Yarn Shop Week

Posted on by Laura Kate

I’m told that this week is dedicated to recognizing our local yarn shops. While sadly, there are no yarn shops in my town, I recently returned from Wisconsin. While there I visited two very nice shops and scored these yarns:

In Madison, WI, Lynette Tucker opened her shop Sunset Yarns just last November. While only a few months in business she has done a terrific job creating a cozy and friendly atmosphere for yarn crafters.

Madison’s Neighorhood Yarn Store | Sunset Yarn

In addition to the labels typically offered, she carries locally produced yarns. I browsed these, which included Galpaca and Ewetopia. Home | GalPaca Farm

The Wisco Sock yarn by Ewetopia is one I have knit before, so I picked up one skein in colorway Superior. (as in, the Lake.) I love those soft, watery shades. I also got Berroco Remix light, which is made from 100% recycled fibers. The skeins of Vintage DK in a plum color will be used to make heavy-duty socks for my husband. I am hoping that the high percentage of acrylic in the mix will wear better and last longer than the typical wool-nylon mix.

Next stop was the quaint town of Veroqua where I shopped at the Ewetopia company store. All I can say is Wow! It is truly the yarn lover’s heaven.

Our Shop — Ewetopia (ewetopiafibershop.com)

In addition to their own label, other Wisconsin yarns and the standard yarn shop yarns are available. They also carry a selection of fleece, tools for felting and many books.

Since I had already purchased some Ewetopia, I was browsing for something different. In the back of my mind I toyed with the thought of another sweater for myself. When I came across the Cascade Roslyn ON SALE, I couldn’t resist it. Cascade is a company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The Roslyn is a DK weight made from 65% wool and 35% silk. Its tweedy texture will be perfect to make a light-weight cardigan useful here in the warm climate of Oklahoma. I chose a leaf-green colorway that reminds me of Autumn.

Now to browse patterns and cast on. I foresee many happy hours in my future, with needles in hand.

Posted in knitting

A Year of Making Features Daily Fiber

Posted on by Laura Kate

Blogger friends, I was pleased to be selected by the folks at LYS Harps and Thistles to appear in their weekly newsletter. This yarn shop is in Cuyahoga Falls, OH, next store to where I grew up. If I only lived in Ohio, it would become my regular hang-out. (sigh)

Anywhoo, the newsletter is full of interesting articles and links to events. Here is the issue that features myself and my blog.

https://mailchi.mp/harpsandthistles.com/20200824-2040766?e=be0c8c953c

Their webmaster did a great job with the images and narrative. The only correction I would make concerns my mom. The newsletter says she was a quilter. She STILL IS a quilter at the ripe age of 90. She even has a high-end, computerized sewing machine with all the bells and whistles. Go, Mom!

Posted in knitting

My Favorite Thing I’ve Made

Posted on by Laura Kate

Yesterday, fellow blogger Karen of Nothing But Knit, put out a challenge. “Write a post about the favorite thing you have made. “

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/32787/posts/2676816067

This post is my response.

Tailored Sweater

Those of you who follow me may be a bit surprised at my choice. It looks nothing like the color-filled fiber objects I usually post on my site. This color is a subdued neutral and the style rather conservative. What makes me happy about this sweater is that I chose every aspect of the design. I worked out the pattern details on graph paper and knitted it up.

It turned out exactly as I imagined and fits like a glove.

Schematic and specifications of my design

I can’t say enough about the quality of the Patons DK Superwash yarn. It is soft, but not a merino. Therefore the sweater has not pilled. The yarn has a heathery tone and a beautiful hand when knit. I used a twisted stockinette for the main body which makes a tighter fabric and plays up the variations in tone.

Back view showing pleat and waist shaping

The hem, cuffs and collar feature a cable-style stitch called Repeated Circles from 750 Knitting Stitches – The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible. The vintage buttons, which I found on Etsy, mirror the oval centers of the cable. Love it!

Another detail that worked out well is the skinny cable at the shoulder edges. The few stitches worked on the outside edge of the cable made a perfect road map for setting in the sleeves.

Well, that’s about all I have to say about this project. Every time I see it in my closet I long for cooler weather, so that I can wear it again.

Posted in weaving

Weaving Workshop: Lesson 3

Posted on by Laura Kate

DESIGN AND WEAVE A TAPESTRY

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Students will learn the basic process for designing and making a woven fiber object. Students will practice transferring their designs to scrim, tying knots, and using a tapestry needle to weave various patterns.

VOCABULARY: Tapestry, scrim, cross stitch, subject, background, transfer

MATERIALS AND TOOLS: Paper, pencil, crayons, markers, scissors, yarn, tapestry needle, rug canvas, masking tape. Optional: String-like objects such as ribbon, cord and fleece.

Step One: The design phase. Students will choose two yarns in favorite colors from the yarn bowl. Using a pencil and paper, they will draw a picture of an object or thing that has these colors in it. Place the scrim on top of the drawing to check that the subject of the drawing is within the margins of the scrim. Once students are comfortable with their drawings, they can color the subject using crayons.

Step Two: Transfer the design. Students will lay the scrim over the drawing, centering the design’s main subject. Masking tape can be used to keep the paper and scrim from sliding around. Using matching crayons or markers, students trace the outlines of the subjects’ shapes onto the scrim. Transfer each part of the shape. (see example)

Step Three: Weave the design. First, students will choose any additional yarn colors that will be needed to complete their designs. Starting with the center of the subject area, they will use yarn threaded onto a big-eyed tapestry needle to weave over each area. Students can weave in any direction that works for them – vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or a combination of all. The objective is to cover the entire surface. This example shows diagonal weaving in the black area and a wrapping technique with the blue yarn.

When the subject area is completely woven, the background can be covered in a contrasting color yarn. Alternatively, the background scrim can be left plain or colored using crayon or marker.

In Lesson 4 the class will finish weaving, add additional materials to complete image details and frame the completed weaving.