You’ve been loving Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, so we ordered more of it!
Love it but not sure what to make with it? Try a Sock Head Hat!
A number of people have asked me about knitting for the Syrian Refugees who will be settling in Canada. I’ve done a little digging, researching and and networking and have finally have an answer for you and a direction.
Knit-O-Matic will be joining forces with the group 1000 Stitches for Syria, who are collecting knitted and crocheted garments for Syrian Refugees.
According to our contact in the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship most of the refugees will be families, especially women and children. Currently they seem to be looking for outerwear & small toys:
Soft, comfortable, and machine washable yarns are a good idea, we suggest:
Before you drop your donations off you’ll need to do a few things to get it ready:
Please don’t skip this step, it helps everyone involved!
You can drop off your finished products at Knit-O-Matic, we are an official drop off point. Other drop off points are listed in the Toronto Network of the 1000 Stitches for Syria group. If you are in another part of the country regional drop-off points are listed in the 1000 Stitches for Syria group (presently Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, Kingston, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina and Winnipeg are involved).
The campaign deadline is Jan 31, 2016, but you can drop-off items any time.
So we got some new yarns, and they’re super yummy but they’re off-brand (the distributor brands sells them under their own brand), so I knit up some samples to show you what they can do, wrote some patterns, and Ta-Da!
Grey (1.75 sts/inch)
Grey (1.75 sts/inch)
This hat uses Estelle Big Alpaca Bulky, which is kind of like a super soft and cuddly version of the very popular Cascade Magnum. People always say they love magnum, but wish it was softer, so when Big Alpaca Bulky crossed my threshold I knew it was PERFECT! And yes, we sell the pompoms too!
Blue (2.5 sts/inch)
Blue (2.5 sts/inch)
I love alpaca, but always wish it was thicker. Ask and ye shall receive! Estelle Alpaca 60 knits up on an 8mm to 10mm needle (US11 to 15) for quick & dirty (figuratively) luxury. And it’s off-brand, so it’s a good value too. And we sell the pompoms too!
The next Yarn Swap is Sunday November 8: 1 to 4pm
A yarn swap is a big eco-friendly redistribution of yarn, needles and other craft supplies. Bring in the crafty stuff you never want to see again and deposit it in one of our baskets. Poke around at all the other donations and take home whatever you from the donations. Don’t be embarrassed by the quality of yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, Sistering, Silver Circle Seniors Services, and Gilda’s Club, most of whom prefer acrylic! Link to our Yarn Swap Event Page on Facebook
Awesome news – we’ve received the go-ahead to carry Quince & Co wools, but choosing what to carry is hard, so they sent us sample skeins! We’re going to wind them up and start sampling them to help decide, and you can play with them too!
I’ve wanted to knit a Gradient cowl for ages, and stocking Rowan Kidsilk Haze was a great excuse. It was super easy, just seed stitch, which I know sounds tedious but it was actually extremely satisfying – must be the yarn. It’s so light and airy, so fluffy and cuddly, like a big hug from an adorable toddler. When I put it on I kind of want to hug myself. Even the grafting at the end was fine, I just followed the instructions and I turned out awesome. It also worked up much faster than I expected, normally I avoid scarves but it was way fun and quick. There was also very little finsihing, I was able to knit my ends in as I went, they just disappeared! At the very bottom of the post we’ve included some colour combo ideas.
The only caveat is that the pattern used more yarn than I expected (10 balls), but you can scale it down a smidge so it only uses 6.
In order to get away with using only 2 skeins colour A & C, and 1 skein each of colours B & D you’ll need to try the following:
Gradient Cowl with Rowan Kidsilk Haze
Gradient Cowl with Rowan Kidsilk Haze
Be sure to remember that the 1st & 3rd colours will be the most dominant, and you’ll use the most of the 1st colour. Click on any of the images below to go to our store.
These are the colours we used
Our next store project is a Cable Cowl (like a braid) with Rowan Cocoon – it knits up so light and fluffy on 8mm/US11 needles!!
Violet Waffles
Violet Waffles
Violet Waffles
It’s 49 days until Christmas (32 to Channukah – eek!) and we’re thinking about smallish, giftable projects. We just finished this great hat, Violet Waffles, with one skein of Mineville Merino DK. The yarn is soft, bouncy, very comfortable, and machine washable (makes it harder for them to wreck it). The pattern didn’t look like much, but it fits amazing, looks amazing, and is a great hat for people who aren’t into super flashy knitterly designs (men, teens, designers).
To sub other yarns, you could try 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport, one skein of Madeline Tosh Merino DK, or 2 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca.
