Live Stitch @ Little Knits

I have been knitting.  Yes, I have been knitting and doing so somewhat obsessively.

The lovely people at Malabrigo Yarn was nice enough to send me a hank of their new yarn, Twist, a super soft baby merino that is loosely plied.  I tried to get a closeup of the ply to show you the difference in the thicknesses of the baby merino

that is plied together, which makes the yarn feel more organic/natural.   Twist is a pleasure to work with and makes a rather solid knitted fiber and I know I said it before but it is very soft and feels wonderful next to skin.

I looked for a project for my single skein and found Prismatic Scraf on Ravelry, a free pattern that works

beautifully with this hand-dyed yarn.  I am using my favorite needles (HiyaHiya circulars), in U.S. size 9 for this pattern but I think I could have gone up to size 10 as the yarn makes for a pretty substantial knitted fiber.  I think I will be able to soften the drape of the scarf if I block it with some vigor.  We have ordered all the colors Malabrigo had ready for shipment for the Twist and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

As to the pattern, Prismatic Scarf is a great (free!) pattern for hand-dyed yarns as it shows their beauty by allowing the colors distribute evenly on the knitted fiber.

I know that I will be knitting a few as gifts – it is a quick and easy knit and it is addictive like your favorite snack that you cannot put down.

We also got a new yarn in from Fleece Artist.  Nyoni is a merino, mohair and silk blend yarn that can be used for sock and lace projects and has a subtle sheen.  Nyoni is very similar to Fleece Artist’s Somoko with a slight difference in gauge and comes in 125 gram hanks at a great price point.  One hank is sufficient for a pair of socks for most sizes, two hanks is sufficient for a mid-sized shawl, and three hanks would make a large shawl or stole.  Another great project idea for this yarn is Tempest by Weaver Designs, which you can find on Knitty as a free pattern.  And here are a few of my favorite colors:

Pewter   Wine 

Boreal 

I am looking for a shawl pattern for Nyoni as I have put away a few skeins for self.  This shawl will be knitted for myself.  I say I am allowed to give myself a Christmas gift and so should you!

Hope you are all well and knitting and crocheting with a smile.

For the last few days I have been photographing and listing Evilla Artyarn colors.   And just when I think I am done new colors come in.  So I decided to post about it tonight without further delay.

If you have ever worked with Kauni you know the super gradual and long color exchanges of their yarn.  Evilla Artyarn has the same gradual and long color exchanges, has the same yarn base (the gauge is exactly the same), only with a much wider color range.  It seems that I will never get done photographing and posting new colors.

In addition, Evilla seems to be rich in lanolin and has a ever so slightly softer hand.  When we opened our first box and grabbed our respective hanks the first thing we did was to smell the yarn and we loved the lanolin aroma.  The fiber seems almost directly from the sheep and you will feel the lanolin on your hands as you work with the yarn.

The colors…the colors of Evilla are simply stunning and makes me love this yarn.

Evilla Artyarn can easily be used as a substitute for Kauni.  If you are on Ravelry do a yarn search for Kauni and look at the projects.  Now multiply the potential for color lines by ten and you have Evilla.     Another cool thing about Evilla is that it comes in various weights.  We have not yet received the DK or Worsted weights in Evilla Artyarn but we hope to have those in the near future, which I thought would be ideal for heavier projects and for felting.

I have so many photos that I would like to share with you but I think I will stop with just one more.  Please excuse my enthusiasm, Evilla colors have me spell bound. 

Sending you my best from a late night in Seattle. 

And my furry baby Rontoo.  It is the latest we have been up for a while and as you can see he is rather tired.    So he told me to make this quick so that he can finally go to his bed upstairs and snooze.  Sorry his photo is not one of my best, I was hurrying to get him before he rolled over but you get the idea, right?

Today I was busy opening boxes and right about the second one I hit red!  The red I speak of is called Blue Blood Red and came in the Lamb’s Pride Bulky format.  I was weak so I took enough for a hat.  This is going to make a very warm hat, which will be perfect for windy days and Puget-cold-rain. 

I kept opening boxes and hit the Noro jackpot.  A whole bunch of Silk Garden Lite closeouts with a great color range.  Usually we get one or two colors that are similar this time it was not so.  Here is the beautiful deep colors of #2014  

 

and then the more playful colors of #2046  

 

and the fall like #2047.    There is more and you can see it all under Noro Silk Garden Lite.

That is all for now.  Tomorrow it is Friday and I have to have some energy for my 4 year old who requires mom’s continuous attention and lots of play time.

I have been taking photos of Classic Elite’s Alpaca Sox , which means that I have to handle all the hanks, see the new colors and appreciate the feel.  This is usually when I get in trouble with stash related issues.  This time no such thing.  I did pick a hank and put it away into a basket intended as a house warming gift.  Hah, how is that for not feeling guilty!

And, of course, there are some new colors.  Here is my favorite and it happens to be a solid color.  We call it Velvet Plum and it is lovely.   I would rather wear this color near my face so I would most likely opt out of socks and go for a hat or a scarf but that is just me.  Of the new multi-colors I think the Moss-Malachite  and Lapis is lovely.  And then there is the rather unique Fall/Winter color line that we have named “Please name this color.”    That concludes the yarn related portion of this post and I go on to the next topic where I ask for your help. 

I need to come up with Halloween themed snacks that are healthy and fun for kids.  Minimum baking and cooking would be great.  A smoking bowl full of eyeballs would be lovely but how can I achieve that with healthy food that is actually edible?  Anything gruesome and/or funny and edible would be great.  And one final note, no candy allowed.

Hope you are all well and knitting and crocheting with a smile.  And, hope to see you here tomorrow. 

We received our first shipment of Kauni (after a long break), and we could not wait to open our boxes.  And once we did out came beautiful new colors.  My new favorite, EMC, has deep reds in combination with black.   Isn’t she pretty?  And for some reason it make me think of one of my favorite shows, True Blood.  Then there is the EI with its beautiful lavender, wisteria, deep purple and beige combination.   And, there is the russet, deep rich tangerine, mustard hued EX with occasional hints of deep amethyst   for those of you who prefer autumn tones. 

There is more but I am beat.  I took advantage of the beautiful early fall weather and went for a somewhat hard run.  Must go to bed.  I hope you like the new Kauni colors.

Hope to see you here again tomorrow. 

Just a quick post to let you know of this lovely new yarn.  Indie III is a 70% Merino Wool and 30% Seacell fingering weight yarn with a beautiful drape, stitch definition, and a subtle silky sheen. 

 

Indie III comes in GIANT 400 gram hanks that has plenty of yardage for a shawl, stole, a cardigan (if you shall so desire), and/or 4 pairs of socks.

This lovely yarn also makes a great base for dying.

 

 

 

 

We had a beautiful sunset here in Seattle.  Everyone keeps telling me that fall is here but today sure did not feel like it.  Good night all.  Hope to see you here tomorrow.

I have been taking photos of new yarn lines as well as new color lines within Malabrigo Silky and had to share them with you.  I will keep working on this entry as I edit my photos. 

As I type this post I am sure most of you are asleep so I will postpone my photo work for tomorrow morning and ask you to be patient with me…I have some surprises for you. 

OK, I am back…just for a moment as my boy needs new shoes.  His feet has outgrown all his shoes!  So I am taking him shopping.  He is talking up a storm right now about how he wants light-up shoes tho I doubt we will be able to find them in his size.  But before I left I thought I would keep my promise at least in part.

Before I post photos – many many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read and post comments.  It would have very hard to keep going had it not been for you.  Hugs to you.

And here is some Malabrigo Silky eye candy (my favorites Nocturnal and Marron Oscuro):

  

 

I have written and rewritten this blog entry and my blog software is failing.  It has lost my entry several times so I am going to keep this post short and sweet so that I can get it up on the site.

Ladies and gentleman, we have fiber!  And I mean FIBER!  We have undyed Blue Face Leicester, silk merino blend, we have merino bamboo in solid color lines, we have hand-dyeds, and more.  So get ready for a fibertastick week.

See you here tomorrow, there will be photos.

 

I have been looking for a sock-yarn-pairs for a long time.  You know, where a hand-dyer takes a sock yarn and dyes it in two pieces.  The main part of the yarn is dyed in a variegated color composition and the smaller portion is dyed in a near-solid color line that is coordinated with the main portion.  The smaller piece is then used for the heel/toe portion of the sock. 

Then this August I literally ran into Paca-Peds and it was love at first sight.   Paca-Peds is a yarn by the Alpaca Yarn Company and has 20% superfine alpaca, 65% superwash wool and 15% nylon fiber content and comes in big 125 gram hanks with 450 yards each, more than enough for a pair of socks.

The 125 gram hanks of Paca-Peds are split into two hanks.  First the main 100 gram section is hand-dyed in beautiful multi colors with a matching 25 gram hank that is dyed in near solid hues that is color coordinated with the bigger hank.  That is the yarn related portion of this post but I have other beautiful things to share with you. 

Today we had three little visitors at our shop, the furry kind and they were so cute I could not resist but invite them just a wee bit inside so that I can take their photos.  The two boys are called Atlas and Apollo and…ohnos, I cannot remember the little girl’s name.  All three are super cute and they belong to Shibaguyz and I may just have to steal one of their babies one day.  The parents of these three super cute Shibas also knit, crochet and grown a mean garden. 

We had other visitors today but none were willing to be photographed so I made do with the Shibas though everyone was nice and super cute.   I hope to see you all at Little Knits sometime soon.  Now only if I can find a reliable contractor who can do our outside sign.  Any suggestions from Seattle folks would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great Sunday and hope to see you here tomorrow.  One more photo of Paca-Peds before I say goodnight, because Grapevine color line is just too beautiful not to be shown. 

I am posting new Tilli closeouts as I type this entry (must publish this entry before midnight to keep the 30 entries for 30 days going). 

The first Tilli closeout is Sequined Lace and comes in all solid colors and the Dusty Purple happens to be my favorite. 

And the second (and last) Tilli closeout is Beaded Silk with Sequins and my favorite color – this was hard to pick – is Bridgetown Brown. 

And, finally, my new quick and easy project: a pair of mitts knit with a new yarn I saw at a local show, Zealana’s Rimu.  Rimu is made of 60% New Zealand Merino and 40% Possum.    On skein it is soft and lovely but had it not been for the skirt that was knitted with it I would not have gone for the yarn.

The skirt clearly had been around, possibly worn, washed and  gone from show to show and was it soft!  I mean cashmere level soft and may be even softer with a definite halo.  I cannot see myself wearing a knitted skirt as I imagine it will cling to every curve but I will make an exception for this skirt.  Though I would probably look silly constantly petting it while wearing it.

So I cast the mitts on and one skein is supposed to be sufficient: a single ball of Rimu weighs 50 grams and has 167 yards of yarn.  More on that later.  I know it supposed to be enough I just cannot believe it.

Goodnight to all!