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.

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.