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A simple to knit scarf, combining 2 of my favorite stitches: Brioch & Cables. What fun to knit this great gift from one of the new hand dyed yarns!
A new twist on socks: Cable Twist courtesy of Hello Yarn Handspun!Links
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Are knitting needles and crochet hooks allowed on airplanes? (United States - Transportation Security Administration)
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Yarns / Patterns / Notions / Magazines
Berroco
Bryson Distributing
Brown Sheep Company, Inc.
Cascade Yarns
Colinette Yarns
Crystal Palace Yarns
Fiber Trends
Harrisville Designs
Interweave Press
Karabella Yarns
Knit 'N
Style Magazine
Knitter’s Magazine
Knitting Bags - carry all your knitting
needs in a handcrafted, fully-lined, zippered carry-bag.
Knitting Fever
Koigu
Lana Grossa
Muench Yarns and Buttons
Needful Yarns (has a calculator for
converting meters to yards, grams to ounces)
Plymouth Yarn Company
Schaefer
S.R. Kertzer, Ltd.
Skacel
Tahki - Stacy Charles, Inc.
Unique Kolours
Vogue Knitting
1Knitwit2Purl Pattern Co.
Kochoran Mittens - Warm and stylish and only takes 1 skein-WOW. Free pattern from Interweave4 Corners, Based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Blanket-You could do the blanket instead!
Great summer sox pattern, free from Classic Elite & do we have plenty of their great yarn to support this pattern. 
Want to knit up a quick lace bolero-Great for fall! I suggest any Aran weight cotton or wool (Dream in Color; Tara; Mission Falls; King Tut Cotton; Fantasy Naturale)! Only requires about 450 yards.
I noticed this chunky knit shrug that will ward off the cool of our late summer and early fall winters on the Vogue Knitting site. Consider using one of the many new chunky's that have arrived.
There is no time like the present to start on holiday gifts-Check out the cowl knit in chunky alpaca from f.pea.Great new hat pattern for the great new chunky Marble from Kertzer! In-stock now at the shop. Available free on their website.
Or the Great Kertzer Bag!
A new online magazine with articles and designer patterns debuted this past week: Here is the story.
The first issue of Twist Collective, the hot new pattern e-zine, went live on Friday. It's packed with patterns that you can click through and buy, right on the spot. What a great way to support independent designers! Most patterns are $7, but there are still lots of free tidbits AND a free, gorgeous sock pattern from none other than Cat Bordhi. Some of the patterns use hard-to-find yarns but not to worry, we have a substitute for most yarn gauges with proper drape and feel.
Cap'n Crunch Neck Warmer (on Ravelry) by Jennifer Adams. Great knit in Manos! Lots on the shelf at the shop.
Remember Melanie Fallack’s pattern for the petal washcloth made from Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille? It was originally printed in her book “Weekend Knits” and in a now out of print copy of Interweave Magazine. This pattern is available FREE on the Canadian Living website. This washcloth makes a great hostess gift. Make one in the new spotted cotton chenille we received last week.Thanks to Jenny (our Jenny at the shop) for this great, easy to knit towel in Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille.
Go Green Bags remain fun to knit and good for the environment. Check out the Everlasting Bagstopper on Knitty.
It's HOT, HOT, HOT! Time to keep your head covered! Check out this easy to crochet, floppy hat at the Vogue Knitting Site
New on the Classic Elite web site this week is a pattern for the American Girl Doll Kit and a matching child's sweater as well. OR try the Lace Beret, knit in Koigu Mori
Antrhopologie Inspired Capelet: Fibertrends also has a great new pattern in super bulky yarn as well. Super bulky yarn is big this fall!
Check out the seafoam towel pattern on Knitting Daily: This towel is knit in super soft cotton chenille. A new supply of Crystal Palace cotton chenille is due in tomorrow!Cascade Yarns has a great number of free patterns on their website: I love the Christmas Stockings (LESS THAN 6 MONTHS AWAY!) & the pumpkins! All made in Cascade 220.
Cute Newborn Easy to Knit Apple Cap knit in worsted weight yarn in bright red with green. This would great in Touche, Luna or Comfort!
Adamas Shawl
Wonderful detail in a great shawl by Meriam Felton which only requires 700 to 800 yards of lace weight yarn. The main web site www.mimknits.com has a bunch of free patterns for bags, socks, booties & wristlets as well.
Check out the Classic Elite website for a cute “wedding shrug” knit in Posh or any worsted weight yarn with a heavenly drape. This pattern would not be good knit in stiff yarns. We often have bridesmaids stopping in for something to throw over their shoulders when wearing the strapless dresses that are the rage these days. This pattern can incorporate the dress or wedding colors with the addition of a bow threaded through the sleeves.
Got a stash skein of yarn with about 200 yards in a fingering or sport weight? Try this lovely Little Leaf Lace Scarf from Sivia Harding Knit Design.
For those of you seeking a challenge, try this Mohana Shawl. I bet this will go in the files of our own resident red hat knitter (Yvonne).
Check out these great cotton slippers. Easy and quick to make, yet wonderful to wear.
SOCKS & BOOTIES & MORE: Cute ballet socks for Ballet School Dropouts from Purl This! for our continued COOL spring weather. I am now putting my closed toed shoes back on with SOCKS!
Rainbow Socks
Looking for a new twist in your knitting? Learn modular knitting courtesy of Iris Schreier of ArtYarns. Iris has developed tutorials that are provided free to knitters who want to create using her wonderful modular knitting techniques. Iris did a workshop here this past fall and we were all wowed by her skills and the simplicity of her techniques. Just visit the web site and sign up. You are then granted access to the 14 tutorials.
Check out the cute ISABEAU Purse knit in cotton! Quick & Easy Project.
Great shaped tank from Classic Elite's Free Patterns website knit in worsted weight yarn. It dresses up or goes casual depending on your yarn.
My visit to the Vogue Knitting website produced several great patterns this week. Each pattern is a great find for yarns found in the shop or in your stash! I love the Cropped Jacket knit in chunky alpaca by Cascade Yarns. The gauntlets knit in Aslan Trends Guanco are an easy knit! We have great colors in the shop. The Galaxy Scarf knit in Alpaca with a Twist Fino looks great and is fun to create.
The perfect sweater pattern is available free here. This sweater is sized from extra small to 4XLand can be knit in worsted weight yarn with a variety of necklines. I suggest Ella Rae Classic or Cascade 200. There are also many delightful new spring yarns that would look great as well.
I must be on hat kick. We always get asked for hats with ear flaps. Tina redesigned one from BULKY weight yarn.
Vogue has revamped it’s web site and added a few new free patterns.
Check out knitty.com for a great meandering cable hat.
Try your hand at a jacket knit with baby alpaca. Cascade has a free pattern at their site for a cropped jacket knit from Chunky alpaca. Misti Alpaca has a great pattern for an easy to knit jacket as well.
Very Cabled mittens that would be great knit from a heavy worsted such as Lambs Pride, Monter, or Pastaza.
Check out the Drops Felted Mittens pattern.
Check out this keyhole scarf (PDF) made from Brushed suri alpaca from Blue Sky!Check out this cute Reversible Cabled Brioche Stitch Scarf at Fireflower knits website.
I was looking for the lariat pattern referenced in the new Knitters Magazine and found a treasure trove of free patterns from Knitters and XRX.
Beyond the Lariat has a great sock pattern, a swing coat, and some cute, quick to knit coasters.
Elf Socks: Cute, Cute, Cute!
Cat Bordhi shares a crescent bag (PDF) with Unicorn Books and their loyal customers.
For those of you who love crochet, check out this Amelia Bag. She even has a tutorial for making this bag and other designs as well as critters, too.
Cropped Bolero Vest from Women’s Day!
Try this head hugging beanie pattern made from worsted weight yarn.
Soxie at PT Yarn gives us yet another fingerless glove pattern to use that stash of opal!
Modern Quilt Wrap from Megs Kandis
Great skully washcloth can be done in any cotton including Coospun from Kertzer or Fantasy Naturale from Plymouth.
Kat, a happy blogger from California created "knit donuts" for all of you who loved knitting the cupcakes from the One Skein book. Check her out!
Check out another blogger, Fillyjonk for a pair of cute Horseshoe crab socks. These would be great in a solid from Opal or Shibui!
Crocheters visit www.crochetme.com for an assortment of free crochet patterns
Free Market bag patterns to dowload from SR Kertzer. One to Knit and one to Crochet!
I was searching for new patterns that will support the yarns we bought at market and those we have in the shop and found a capelet I love that really depicts what we saw at market.
Cute feather and fan scarf knit from 2 skeins of Noro.
Check out this website which is loaded with free patterns. All new patterns are noted at the top of their site. Great resource when you are looking for something NEW.
Pick up a great hand dyed sock yarn to knit a pair of these Flutter-by Socks. She wrote the pattern in great detail so that even a novice knitter can knit them!
Visit the Be Sweet web site for 4 free patterns: Valentine Pillow, Tea Cozy, Baby Hat & Magic Scarf! What Fun!
Try this great fingering weight wrap pattern.Check out this cute new baby in a cupcake hat. New grandson of Gail, a great customer and knitter! Gail knit the Cupcake Hat for her precious new grandson! Wow! Visit The Naked Sheep for the pattern. We have an adapted version at the shop which is knit in Berroco Touche.
Glam Kerchief from Alchamy Yarns: Great for a Minnesota summer when made from cotton or a blend. Check out the other free patterns on the bottom of their web page.
I was showing Yvonne some class ideas for fall today and came across a huge cache of free patterns at the Knittingatknoon website. There are slippers, hats, mittens, gloves and more. Yvonne and I both loved the hat with a brim made from worsted weight cotton. Knitting at Knoon also features video tutorials on their site for help. We stock many of their patterns with more to come after market.
Checkout another great sweater pattern from Unicorn Books.
This all season sweater would be great knit in either cotton or wool. It has great detail at the cuffs and on the body of the sweater and is knit in Aran weight yarn.
This great scarf only takes 700 yards of worsted weight yarn. Great Cables! Courtesy of Knitty Gritty.
Check out this cute tee knit in worsted weight cotton.
NEEDLE Sizes: We are often asked at the store, "Why are there differences between needles when converting metric to US Sizes?" How come a US 2 is 3mm in some brands and 2.75mm in others?" Well, for starters each needle manufacturer is unique. One company's "US size" may differ from another. This creates a headache for both retailers and consumes alike. The major differences are noted in the smaller sized needs up to a size US 3. Addi Turbo's and Lace needles are marked with both the metric and US sizes and are consistent within all the needles they manufacture. A good rule of thumb is to check both the metric and approximate US size prior to purchase to ensure that you purchase the correct needle.
I really liked the arm warmers.
I really like the cable shell knit in Tara as well. I think Tara is a new favorite.
If you are looking for something quick to knit, try this great cabled cardigan knit on size 17 & 19 needles using Twinkle Chunky. We received a new supply of Twinkle this week.
Check out this easy to knit shawl collar vest from Unicorn.
I continue my love of the use of cables. Cables are both easy and fun! Check out this hat pattern which has the cables going around the head! Cute for both adult or child. Love it that it’s knit in worsted weight yarn. I think I will make it up in Karabella Aurora 8 or Berroco Pure. Both are great venues for hosting cable stitches. Now I am beginning to sound like an event planner don't you think?
A cable idea! Reversible Cabled Scarf
Basketweave Socks courtesy of Stitches of Violet blog.
Check out the Norwegian Mittens.
Visit the blog of Sand Pit to pick up a great shawl pattern knit from lace weight yarn. A must for lace knitters.
Great pattern on Knitty that uses Karabella Gossamer (we have lots in stock)Check out the fingerless cabled mitts pattern. The Tread Lightly Herbal website has a number of free patterns and some for sale as well.
Sinful Ribbed Scarf – This easy to knit scarf boasts chunky-to-bulky yarn.
Great sock made with Cascade Fixation Yarn.
Check out Knittersreview.com and become a member to get weekly updates on yarn reviews and more. This last week the site had a great Christmas Stocking pattern designed by Cat Bordhi. As the site notes, "this is no ordinary stocking. It uses a disproportionate waste yarn technique to create multiple tiers of pouches in the arch expansion area. And you can use this same technique for all sorts of things that need not have anything to do with holidays or stockings." Links to two helpful video tutorials on her disproportionate waste yarn technique are also on the site.
Cute to Knit: Fireside Footies-great in Kureyon, Tapestry or any of the self striping yarns!
Visit Berroco.com for quick to knit Wristers and more!
Interested in a great cable scarf that screams FALL 2007: Check out the Alexi scarf from Berroco made from Pure Merino.
The Kertzer web site has great free patterns: Check out the patterns for doilies, wash cloths and boot socks!
Check the Helena Sweater in Knitty-SOOO CUTE!
Check out all the free sock patterns knit in Fixation! We have a great supply on hand OR check out Skacel's Free Sock Pattern.
I also found a pattern to use the wonderful cashmere and silk yarn from Tahki that I have fallen in love with (Superior). It only takes one skein and is knit on size 6 needles. This would be a great holiday gift. Put me on your list!
Try a pair of cabled socks with a tonal hand-dyed or solid sock yarn. Heaven knows we have plenty of sock yarn at Amazing Threads.Cute free sweater pattern, designed by Debbie Bliss, put online by KFI. Check out the cute ribs and cables baby hat from Classic Elite. The hat is made with their terrific Summer Set cotton, alpaca blend!
Here is a pattern for a cute, cotton baby sock. Knit it in any dk weight yarn.
Consider knitting the cute cotton ponchette to ward off the chill of June in Minnesota this year.
CHECK OUT the cute BABY Cloths from Shirley Ann Thompson. This is just one of her many free cloth patterns.
Use one of our great cottons or blends (Silkience, Sublime Organic DK, King Tut) to knit this cute raglan sleeve top with detailing at the neck edge from Vogue Knitting.
Cute bibs with lots of inlaid motifs that are easy to knit in any of the cool new cottons.
Check out the Stockinette Twist Tee from Knitty.
Or consider knitting the shoulder slit tee from Vogue Knitting. This tee is also knit with worsted weight yarn. This pattern would work great for Leola and is sized for small to XXL.
As always Crystal Palace yarns has a great variety of free patterns. I like the style of the blippity tank, but would substitute a more natural fiber.
The Rebecca magazine website has a great number of free and inexpensive patterns to download in English in PDF format.
Sock Lovers check out these Sprung Sox-Try them in one of the subtly variegated Araucania, Smooshy or Shibui Yarns for best results.
Here is one that uses Malabrigo CHUNKY-which would be both WARM and CUTE!
Check out Through the Loops! for more free patterns.
Stop by the shop to pick up a free pattern for this Love Scarflette with the purchase of yarn to make the scarf. A perfect Valentines gift for anyone!
Pam Allen for Classic Elite did a great job of reviewing the "Knitting Lace Triangles" Book. Visit their site, click on web news & see what you think. Tammy Wright created a great flap hat that will fit children through small adults. The only difference in the pattern sizes is a change in needles. There are pictures on the pattern PDF.CROCHET Fingerless gloves for all of our Crocheter’s made from heavy worsted weight yarn.Also check out the knit water bottle cover (PDF).
Check out these Fabulous Felted Slippers from Drops at Garnstudio.
Wrist Warmers with a Wavy Pattern suitable for a Minnesota Fall or Winter.
Alpaca Sox Cabled Sock: This yarn is in the shop & it is wonderful!
There number of really cute patterns available free from Garnstudios on their website. Check out the hat and scarf pattern (wide and wavy) or the long wrap cardigan that would look great out of Kathmandu.
Check out a blog by Smariek. She has a great many free patterns for hats, dishcloths & more! Her latest swirl hat is great and I love the embossed hearts dishcloth!
Gentleman’s sock knit from Trekking (PDF).
Fire Dragon Scarf from Fun Knits for Kids.
In my searches for patterns I found a free one for thrummed mittens and thrummed socks/slippers. I have not compared the mitten pattern to the pattern on the Fleece Artist kits or the MyBagatelle pattern we carry but some of you might want to try these. We have a sample at the store and they are super warm. There is also a pattern for Baby Tube Socks or Fingerless mitts for babes!
The author of Knitting for Dummies publishes many free patterns including a great pattern for a mitered tote bag that uses 5 skeins of Kureyon-A great addition to anyone's felted bag collection.
Stumbled onto a few new sites this past week. Here is a cute hat with ear flaps from Alchemy (PDF).
Visit spillyjane.blogspot for a cute pair of Naïve socks – Great pair of cabled socks with an easy pattern.