Newsletter 354
Originally Published June 22, 2015
In this week's newsletter, we thought we would share a few projects that are perfect for traveling knitters. All three require just one skein, are fun to knit, and they can fit in a small bag, ready to be pulled out on a plane, in a car - however you travel about!
Antarktis is a simple, slightly asymmetric triangle that is addictive to knit and easy to wear. It is specifically designed to make the most of just one skein of fingering weight yarn. So if you find yourself knitting one Antarktis … then another … and another … don’t say we didn’t warn you -- we've knit this pattern too many times to count! This time around, we used Sprout, from Fiber Seed. Sprout is made from American wool and utilizes dyes (free from any harsh chemicals or heavy metals -- no hazmat warnings needed here!) that have a low impact on the environment. Sprout's also very color fast. 90% Superwash USA Merino Wool, 10% Nylon, 480 yards.
Milo, a simple seamless vest, is knit in the round from the top down. The pattern includes six different cable options (we couldn't resist the heart!) and offers sizing from newborn to size 6. We knit the newborn size from just one skein of Classy, from Dream in Color. The fiber content, combined with a unique dyeing process, gives Classy its deep and lushly-shaded tones, while the plied texture lends crisp stitch definition to everything from lace to cables. 100% Superwash Merino Wool, 250 yards.
Little Chausses are the cutest little booties ... or are they cowboy boot-ies? Since we are in Nashville, we couldn't resist! They're rather quick and fairly easy but trust the pattern; it looks like a whole lot of nothing for a while and then all of a sudden ... a boot-ie appears! When you view the pattern page on Ravelry, you may stress a bit because some of the text is in French ... we promise that after purchasing the pattern you will in fact receive instructions in English! We know we said that these projects were all one-skein wonders, but we couldn't resist casting on with one color, then changing after a few rows for this one. But who doesn't have an extra 10 yards of worsted yarn lying around? We used Ewe Ewe Yarns' Wooly Worsted, a lovely 100% merino wool yarn. And since it's washable, your boot-ies will be easy to care for! 100% Superwash Merino Wool, 95 yards.
Our very own Cate has a love of both Faroese shawls and the Fibonacci numerical sequence...which she combines in her Faroenacci shawlette, a brand-new pattern available on Ravelry. She knit this sample using Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool and Noro's Kirara. Both yarns are suitable for Spring and Summer knitting and transition well between indoors and out. This shawlette is knit from the neck down, which is a variation on the traditional bottom-up construction.
Mark your calendars and join us...
...for The Ross Farm pop-up shop! Sunday, July 19, 1-4pm.
We are thrilled to be hosting a pop-up shop featuring yarns from The Ross Farm, a Pennsylvania Century Farm listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Amy (recently featured in Gladys Magazine) and Scooter Pie (!) raise Heritage and Rare Breed livestock on their southwestern PA farm and process their wool into beautiful yarn in a lovely range of natural colors. Most of their product is single-sheep sourced; you can knit a whole sweater made from the fleece of sweet Minerva! Or Letitia! They'll tell you which sheep your yarn came from. Don't miss this opportunity to meet and talk with farmers who literally make sheep-to-skein yarn!
A Note from Christina, Organizer of Threads of Kindness: