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Today we have Carolyn as our guest blogger. This is an excerpt she has sent us from her blog.
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The Lenpur Linen yarn is pretty interesting. It is 75% Lenpur and 25% Linen.
Linen we are pretty familiar with. Beautiful, durable…a luxurious fiber that keeps you cool in warm weather. It is a vegetable fiber, from flax, a bast fiber taken from the stalk of the plant. It is easily dyed and softens but doesn’t loose colour when washed. Yes, it does wrinkle but it presses easily. Like cotton, it has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily.
Lenpur…is also a plant fiber. It comes from white fir wood. Yup, it is a cultivated wood fiber! It is surprisingly soft to the touch. Garments made of Lenpur are thermoregulatory, anti-odor and absorbent. Another perfect fiber for warm weather.
So what does this mean to the knitter? Well, this blend is perfect for spring and summer knits. The drape is wonderful, perfect for shrugs, shawls, scarves, wraps, summer shells, whatever! It knits ups really nicely. Although there is no elasticity, I didn’t have a problems with my wrists or elbows like I sometimes do after knitting with cotton. The look of the fabric is much more luxurious than cotton. I sometimes avoid cotton because of that dishcloth look…you don’t need to worry about that with Rowan’s Lenpur Linen. The colours are nice deep hues and don’t look faded.
The washing instructions are pretty specific:
Dry clean or hand wash in soapflakes; do not soak; cool rinse; do not wring; short spin; do not leave wet; reshape and dry flat away from sunlight; use a damp pressing cloth.
Ok, sounds like it is high maintenance. Well, I gave it a quick bath in eucalan, rolled it in a towel to get rid of most of the water and then reshaped it on my blocking board. I pinned it here and there to the measurements. Once dried it looked great. It softened up and actually looked freshly pressed…not crunchy. I did press out the fold line (it was folded in half on the blocking board) before photographing.

My only complaint is it sheds these little hair like fibers on you while you are knitting with it. I tend to wear white, so it was really visible on me. I’ll let you know, now that it has been washed, if it does it with wear.
So, would I use this yarn again? Yes! Without hesitation.

Not that we’re rushing Fall (it will be here soon enough) but these are the colours for Fall and Lynne has done a wonderful display that you should make a point of stopping by to check out.

Today we are being joined by one of our major cheerleaders. “A” is always sending us peppy little emails and has sent “quite” a few of her friends and customers to visit us in the shop. “A” volunteered to write a post on one of her favorite yarns. South Pacific is a gorgeous Pima Cotton DK that comes in some truly luscious colours. But lets hear what she has to say :

A here:
Let me be so bold as to opine on a favorite yarn. Being a “regular” knitter – you know – knit baby clothes and kid’s sweaters and a few others things but not having knit in “lo these many years” the current world of knitting came as quite a surprise.

Yarns are more wonderful than ever before.

Having not enough experience to realize I was perhaps in a little deep and hearing the call from lace knit in the beautiful, softness of South Pacific, I undertook to knit the Ilga Lega Antique Lace vest, which is still on the Addi’s. It is soft and fluid and just perfect and very near completion.

The next call from the balmy South Seas involved the Lace and Cable Cardigan in the Nashua Country Fair book. This wonderful green garment is adorned with 600
Knot stitches, more often called Popcorns and has beautiful pointed lace sections on the cuffs and hem. Do I feel like a million bucks wearing this? Do I look like a far better knitter than I am? Do you ask, “Why would anyone bother to calculate the number of Popcorns”? Suffice to say all my Hostas are labeled!

Oh, the adulation!

So now the pink South Seas is to be knit into another summer cardigan, that being Alexandria by Connie Chang Chinchio. There is a nice bit of lace on this cardigan as well and lots of plain sections, which accommodate my love of reading while knitting.

The South Seas hangs in the shop, singing to me – wooing me. What will be next? Try this yarn – so soft with a little sheen and so accommodating – so perfect for summer. Great yardage and luscious colours, it caresses the fingers and is as soft as a South Seas breeze on your cheek.

From the Front Row of the ‘Shall We Knit?’ Fan Club

Euonymus
(A Pen Name)

Beth did a lovely review on Lorna’s Laces here and just to tempt you – we just got in a pile of new colours!

And in the corner of the picture you can see a little bit of the new book Think Outside the Sox that Lina has a pattern published in – it’s gorgeous.

We were really excited last Friday to receive a box from Briar Rose. If you have ever been to Rhinebeck Wook & Sheep Festival or any of the other big knitting events, then you know that one of the booths that is ALWAYS busy is Briar Rose. Briar Rose is the brain child of Chris and she has an amazing eye for colour which she uses in her hand dyed yarns. Anne Hanson of Knitspot uses her yarns in a lot of her patterns – and for good reason – the yarns are gorgeous.
We’ve received 2 yarns so far. The first is Sea Pearl which is Merino and Tencel and has this amazing lustre. At 500 yds of fingering weight – there are a few oohs & aahs.
Then there is the Angel Face, which is 100% Alpaca lace weight at an astounding 2500 yds!
Katherine is busily knitting Caricia out of the Sea Pearl and the first picture is looking gorgeous.
There may have been some falling down at a show or two when I have run into Chris and her gorgeous yarns (scroll way down to see the pic I’m referring to).

Normally on Tuesdays (I know today isn’t Tuesday) we are telling you about different yarns and their properties and why we like them. This week I’m doing something a little different – classes. Because if you don’t know what to do with that awesome yarn you have – then we are very sad.
Classes are always great and I must say we have had a variety going on here.

2 weeks ago we had Joan Kass here. Joan is a sample knitter for a lot of different designers as well as being a proof knitter. If you can proof knit lace – you know your stuff!
So we did Charting Lace on the Saturday – for this she taught us how to turn written lace instructions into chart form. Mind blowing! This is a picture of Beth studiously taking notes. No wonder she is such a good teacher. It was great to understand this subject better. I knew how to do some of it but what if your lace has different stitch counts on some rows? Joan taught us the logical way to work it out – start with the longest row and work out from there – totally worked.

Then on Sunday we were working on Estonian knitting. Estonian lace uses a lot of nupps (rhymes with soup). I have a major aversion to bobbles from a sweater I knit my daughter years ago that was totally covered. It was very cute on her and she loved it but all that turning back and forth – not so much. And Nupps look a little like bobbles but are so much nicer to knit. You increase all the stitches on one side and decrease them on the return row. Joan showed us a few tips for simplifying doing these and then we played with different Estonian patterns. It was a great day – Joan will be teaching at the Knitters Frolic on May 9th. If you have a chance to register for her class – go for it.

Tonight Cari is introducing a couple of ladies to their first bit of knitting. This is a totally newbie class – basically “these are your needles and this is how you make them go”. As I’m typing I’m hearing a lot of laughter from the front room. I think we’ve got some new knitters. Yeah!!!

This weekend we are thrilled to have Kate Atherly coming from Toronto. She has published patterns in Knitty as well as being the technical editor – which comes in handy with her math background. We are doing 2 classes on Saturday with her. One of them is one that every knitter should take – how to fix our mistakes. And then in the afternoon just to mess with your head a little we are doing a class on Entrelac – one of those things where we’re not sure which direction we’re going in.

I find that even after knitting for a couple of decades (sigh) that I am always learning something new. Check out the newsletter and see if there is something that will help to turn that luscious yarn into an amazing knit piece.

Today our guest blogger is Sue Frost. Sue is one of our unofficial staff members, she is always ready to help and is a talented knitter and spinner. I always feel a little like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence when I ask others if they would like to do a blog entry. But Sue beat me to the punch and offered – Thank you Sue.

Sue here:

Everyone was rather excited when the Koigu rovings arrived. I was lucky enough to be allowed to play with a braid. Someone has to evaluate the product, right ?

Koigu rovings are Targhee wool. The Targhee sheep were developed in Idaho in the 1920s. This breed was created by crossing Rambouillet and Columbia sheep. Targhees can take the mid-west weather while still producing quality meat and, more importantly, fleece. Here’s a link to more information: http://www.ustargheesheep.org/

Koigu braids are combed top, leaving the fibres beautifully aligned and prepped. They are scoured, to be as white as possible before being painted. The fibres are approximately 60 ct, even finer than the Koigu Merino top, and 2” to 3” long. As you might expect, the colours from Koigu are lovely. The Targhee fibre has a very matte finish – don’t expect the sheen of the Koigu yarns.

As we petted the rovings in the shop, we all noticed that there were matted, gritty bits throughout the rovings. Fortunately, these turned out to be dried bits of a powder and by the time I had pre-drafted the braids, they were all gone.

I took my braid home and contemplated the rainbow. Deciding on a three-ply yarn to give me different colours in each ply, I broke the full braid into three pieces and then started splitting each into pencil roving. Then I pre-drafted and rolled what would be each ply into a ball. (Here’s where I give you the reminder about weighing out your fibre – a scale is your friend!). I did notice a fair bit of dust flying so if that’s an issue for you, you may want to use a mask. I tried to arrange my three ply-balls so that each would start in a different colour.

The rovings were lovely to spin – hardly any nepps or bits. And that pesky matting? I just spun my no-brainer yarn and didn’t aim for too fine a ply. As soon as I started plying I realized that my attempt at having three colours (a different colour in each ply) wasn’t working. (Prep? Fail.) I kept going. Towards the end I noticed that I had a lot of yarn left over on one bobbin (Pre-weighing? Fail.) Not wanting to waste a bit of the fibre, I simply did a three-ply for as long as possible then switched to a Navajo-ply to use up all the ‘leftovers’. Navajo-ply gave me colour blocking (since you’re folding the yarn back on itself) so there’s a bit of contrast yarn that might make a nice edging or highlight in whatever project this skein becomes.

To finish, I soaked the skein and whacked it on the counter. I believe this sets the twist but it also serves to loosen the strands in the skein. After drying it (no Sir Cat, you may NOT sit on it), I weighed and measured – 3.7 oz and 227 yards of deliciousness.

My skein is on ‘display’ at the store if you need to pet a finished product. It’s also going to be auctioned off at Knit In Public day.
The Koigu roving was a pleasure to work with. It certainly appears to be felt-able, so hand-washing will be needed. Run, don’t walk to get some of your own. You’ll have to run faster than I do.

Usually on the first of the week we do a blog entry to tell you about different yarns – their qualities and why we like them. This week we are doing something different. We’re going to talk about a product to treat all your lovely yarns and fine delicates.
Soak is based out of Toronto and was started in 2005 by Jacqueline Sava. Now it can be found in yarn shops, quilt shops, lingerie stores & boutiques around the world.

Soak is environmentally friendly. It is biodegradable and packaged in recyclable bottles which are printed with water-based inks. Soak is not organic or all natural. Natural products tend to need to be refrigerated and have short shelf lives. Soak is a stable product that will not fog or separate over time.

Soak is modern care for fine fibers. This rinse-free formulation is perfect for washing your laciest lingerie, your softest sweaters, swimwear, workout gear, hand-made quilts and even baby clothes. Soak is gentle and deliciously scented with fabric-friendly ingredients that revitalize fibers so they look great and last longer.

Soak comes in 14 and 6 ounce sizes as well as specialty scents that come in an 8 oz. bottle. Amy Butler has a special scent and Ravelry has just worked with Soak to create a special scent. We have both in the shop.

The School of Yarn is in session every Tuesday, no matter what the weather map says. Today I’m going to talk about Avarice. (Not the deadly sin kind, though you would be forgiven for having lustful and greedy thoughts about this yarn.) Avarice is a very lovely, hand-dyed 100% alpaca yarn from Twisted Sisters. This company, run by two women who aren’t actually sisters but do profess to be twisted, specializes in monochromatic dyeing and short-run handpaints. They also design garments that make best advantage of their true, vivid colourways while looking very flattering on various body types.

Now, I know I’m just a girl who can’t say no, especially to a gorgeous yarn that batts its pretty lashes in my direction, but at $17.95 a skein, my budget can’t support a whole sweater’s worth of Avarice. But a few skeins?? Well, that’s exactly the reason someone invented the word “treat”, isn’t it.

I snagged these three luscious colours a few months back, and then began a search for just the right project to feature this soft, warm yarn. I’ve ended up choosing this yarn as my Knitting Olympics project, and am undertaking a pair of stranded mitts. Based on a pattern called “Swedish Fish”, from SpillyJane Knits (Ravelry link here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swedish-fish ), I’ve had to change the gauge and the pattern repeat, and have worked a completely different-shaped mitten with a gusset thumb and a longer, striped, ribbed cuff.

You may all point and laugh when I report next week that I tripped over my own skates and utterly failed to complete my project before the end of the Olympics on Sunday night.

We have a shop pattern for some dainty fingerless gloves that uses only one precious skein of Avarice, or a pattern for some cosy mittens that uses two. It’s cold and snowy outside … don’t you deserve a treat??

A few weeks ago we introduced you to a good yarn that has wonderful yardage and knits up like a dream. Cascade Ecological wool is a wonderfull investment at an amazing price. Where the Ecological wool is a basic meatloaf type of yarn, this weeks yarn is Filet Mignon (if you’re not a meat eater – I’m sorry).
Superior by Filatura Di Crosa is a totally decadent, luscious yarn. Superior is 70% Cashmere, 30% Silk and is perfect for lace knitting like Starry Nights by Katherine Matthews.

At 330yds per skein you can get a nice size scarf out of one ball and the colour range has over 25 colours. This yarn is slippery so you might want to use your Addi Turbo Lace needles but the end product is well worth the effort. Next time you’re in the shop you HAVE to feel the couple of samples we have done in it.