Shop Favorites

by Kelly

During our recent giveaway, we asked people to pick a favorite item from our shop. Surprisingly, almost everything in our shop was someone's favorite, but by far the favoritest favorite of all was Stephanies' White Spiral Afghan.

Second runner up were Dawn's Spa Scented Washcloths.

 

 

 

Many people asked how these were made. Her method is actually quite clever. Go to this post to see what she did...

Noro Scarf - Northern Lights

by Kelly

Well, what I think of as 'long coat' weather has finally arrived here, so it was time to dig out the winter garments - gloves, boots and scarves.

I have too many scarves these days. Ever since I learned to knit and crochet, I seem to have a surplus. Here's one I don't think I showed off before...

That's Noro wool combined with some vintage Navy wool that I found in a great big bag of random yarn Donna scored for me. The pattern is knitted cartridge belt rib and the tasselled edging is crocheted.

Noro wool is really colorful and makes neat striped patterns, but the yarn itself is pretty irregular - thick and fluffy in some places, but thin and straggly in others. I thought at first it was just my skeins, since I bought them on sale, but Dawn had the same experience. Noro also seems a bit scratchy, but then, they don't advertise it as a supersoft Merino.

I like this scarf because it's long and colorful and warm. Also, that poisonous green color reminds me of the Northern Lights. And while I was looking for an image of that eerie green glow to share here, I stumbled upon a beautiful bit of weaving on the blog  Rurification. Check it out if you have a second.

Crochet Fashionistas

While I love to work on scarves and dishcloths (you know, things that are rectangle), I am branching out into clothing [insert forboding music here...]. A little daunting for sure, but I think I'm up for the challenge. The project I'm doing right now is a beautiful (yet simple) crocheted camisole - I should be finished in the next few days and will post a pic. I think one of my obstacles to making this leap in the past has been most of the clothing patterns I was used to seeing were SO old school. Granny square vests and beer can hats (yeah, I had one). But there is a whole new generation of crocheters out there doing really amazing things. One of my favorites right now are the Double Stitch Twins. They are affiliated with Red Heart and have an amazing collection of stuff I might actually wear, not that the beer can hat wasn't fashionable. Check their patterns out at http://www.redheart.com/blog/double-stitch-twins-red-heart-yarns

Favorite Project So Far

by Kelly

This isn't really seasonal, seeing as how it was 91 degrees here a few days ago, but I need to make a Favorites tab for our navigation bar, so let's talk about my favorite scarf.

This scarf is the project I've most enjoyed doing so far. It was the first time I tried a lacy pattern in knitting, and though the pattern was a little challenging for me,  I managed to muddle through. Here's the pattern by Elaine Silverstein. Below is a picture of the finished scarf.

 

The yarn I used was Pattons classic wool in plum, and this yarn is the most wonderfully soft, beautiful stuff I have worked with. This scarf makes me happy in the winter, even when the world is white and gray and freezing cold.

Do you have a favorite project? Did you keep yours, like I did, or give it to someone else?