Live Stitch @ Little Knits

I love Kathmandu Aran and may have a substantial stash of this unusually soft tweed.

A while back I needed a project for two skeins and I found the I Heart Pompoms hat by Karen Borrel on Ravelry (no financial affiliation with Little Knits).  This is an easy and fun hat pattern that works with a wide range of yarns – easy to adjust – and Kathmandu Aran worked great with it; the slouch perfect without being too droopy and the hat warm without being hot.  So I made a pink Pompom hat for myself.

Last week my friend Rebecca saw the hat, liked it, and when I said I could make one for her she made happy sounds so of course I had to knit one for her.  It has been a while since someone has actually been happy and excited to receive a knitted item from me (if you have kids who run hot you too may know what I mean).  I cast Rebecca’s hat on last Tuesday with Kathmandu Aran Color #180 and Sunday evening, after a total of 3-4 hours of – slow – knitting, the hat was done!

The only change I made in the pattern was the i-cord that bunches up the back.  Instead of a knitted i-cord I crocheted a narrow ribbon like piece.  I don’t know why but i-cord takes me a long time to make and can become challenging – probably only for me – as it falls off of my needles.   The look is slightly different than an i-cord but the functionality is the same and the effort of making the cord is much less of a struggle for me with a crochet hook.

Rebecca picked her hat up today and it made me happy to see her smile.   And I think she looks super cute in it.   When the recipient is this happy it makes the knitter want to cast on another hat…I just might have to do that right after I publish this post.

The newest sale in the 12 days of Little Sales is Malabrigo Rasta! This yarn is fabulous. Rasta is a super bulky 100% merino single ply, with a slight twist. It’s a little like Malabrigo Worsted’s (very) big sister. Recommended gauge is 2-2.5 Stitches to an inch on U.S. size 13-17 needles, and it has approximately 90 yards in each 150 gram hank.

Rasta comes in some amazing colors and it is soft soft soft. My favorite of the moment is probably Baya Electrica.

I think this color would look amazing as a Marian. This cowl is a free pattern available on Ravelry by Jane Richmond.

The Ovate shawl was designed originally with Rasta in mind. The designer’s photos show it in Pearl Ten (one of my all time favorite greys!).

Every time I go to Little Knits I’m so tempted by the Rasta. I’ve wanted to buy some forever, and with a sale like this I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist! That Baya Electrica (and Pearl Ten, and Glazed Carrot, and Grassland, and Plomo…) call to me!

New at Little Knits is Zealana Air, a luxurious lace weight yarn hailing from New Zealand. Air is composed of 40% Cashmere, 40% Brushtail Possum Down and 20% Mulberry Silk, and comes in balls of approximately 191 yards (25 grams).

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a skein of this gorgeous yarn. It’s description is intriguing, and with the cold weather we’ve been having, I want to drop all my current projects to knit some up right away! “AIR features the actual down from the brushtail possum… and when combined with 40% cashmere and 20% mulberry silk, you get something extraordinary-an ultra soft, durable, pill-resistant yarn that is lighter and warmer than 100% cashmere.” (Quote from the Zealana website).

One pattern specifically designed for Air is the  Light as Air Mitts, by Nathalie O’Shea.

This free pattern takes only one skein, and it would look beautiful in Pewter.

Air would also be perfect knit up into Wisp. Another free pattern, Wisp could be knit with two to three skeins of Air, and would be fluffy and delicate

Air is currently part of the 12 days of Little Sales, so you Little Knits aficionados know it won’t last long!

Thank goodness Christmas is over! Back to some relaxing, feel good knitting without a deadline. If you’re looking for something super special and decadent, check out Madelinetosh Silk Lace.

Madelinetosh Silk Lace comes in an ample 1000 yard skein, so one skein could make a luxurious shawl or scarf, and two skeins could make a sweater. It is 100% Tussah silk that shows off the brilliant Tosh colorways in the best way possible. Silk Lace has a great hand and drape, and would be perfect for any lace project! Here are a few of the patterns I’ve been thinking about:

The Citron Shawl is a Knitty.com classic. Update it with the Tosh Silk Lace! If you’d like to keep with the citrus theme try Chamomile or Ginger.

I have made two Whispy Cardigans. It is a wonderful, extremely wearable, simple knit! Smaller sizes could use one skein, and larger two for an elegant, versatile cardigan. This pattern looks equally great with jeans or with a cute dress.

The Rock Island Shawl is one of Jerod Flood’s most popular pattern for good reason! One of our staff knit it, and I drool everytime she wears it. I can’t wait to make one! It would be lovely in bright Nikko Blue or classic Oxblood.

If you’re  looking for something a bit more modern with an edgy streak, try the Rill Scarf. I absolutely adore the raw edge look and subtle lace.

Of course, if you’d like to simply show off this beautiful yarn any sort of stockinette or garter project would be gorgeous. Check out the ever-loved Color Affection  or Clapotis for more inspiration!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season and Happy New Year! Until next time,

-C

Ahh, Malabrigo, my favorite of all yarn lines. Today’s offering from Little Knits 12 days of Little Sales is Malabrigo Rios. My favorite yarn from my favorite manufacturer!

It’s going to be really hard for me to pass up an opportunity to get the lovely Rios at 20% off, but I might be helped by the fact that I snuck up to Little Knits sans toddler a weekend or two ago and snagged three skeins of Aguas.

Rios is a fantastic yarn. It’s a worsted weight (4.5-5.5 stitches to an inch on U.S. size 6-8 needles), superwash, 100% merino wool. It is uber soft, squishy and cosy, and comes in many of Malabrigo’s always beautiful colors.

I’ve used Rios for a variety of projects, and it has held up well in all of them.

This hat (yes, another Thorpe, I know, I’m obsessed!) was knit over a year ago, and has held up amazingly well. Being worn all winter (which can drag on until June here in Seattle), and stuffed into a diaper bag along with toys and snacks and all associated detritus when not being worn, hardly affected it. When it got cold again this fall, I chose Rios again to knit up a new one, since he had grown out of this one.

Rios is fantastic for items worn against the skin. These Dashing mitts get a lot of wear and still look lovely!

If you’re looking for an uber soft worsted weight wool, Rios is unbeatable, and the fact that it’s superwash is icing on the (yarn) cake!