Phat Knits

Wow, and I thought Snuggle was bulky!

Netherlands based artist Bauke Knottnerus approaches design on a macro level using large threads to create large scale woven objects. “PHAT KNITS” is a series of giant threads used to create, knitted or not, interior products.

Can you imagine how great a rug or bath matt would be made out of this stuff?

Pioneer Update

What a great weekend we had here in SouthCentral PA. Absolutely beautiful, spring weather, perfect wear a cute little sweater and take your knitting along with you type of days. In fact, I did just that over the past two days as I continued to work on the Pioneer sweater in Swizzle as I was out and about.

The pattern is easy to memorize. Terribly easy, which makes it perfect take-along knitting. I got lots of ooohs and aaahs from my family and friends as my Pioneer made the rounds. Since Swizzle is a relatively new yarn for us, this is the first time I've spent any serious quality time working with it on an actual garment. Let me tell you, it's a lovely yarn. Lots of good drape and a serious amount of squishy touch me factor. I'm knitting on size 5 needles and I'm one of those annoying knitters who doesn't knit tight or loose. Pioneer is primarily stockinette with some columns of a two stitch cable worked along the sides and down the back. Several others have made the modification of adding a column of cables down the front middle. I did not do this, but seriously considered adding one as well.



I am making the 'small' size and right now I am over halfway done and I'm only about half through my second ball of yarn. The pattern called for four balls of Swizzle, about 800 yards needed, but I'm not sure I'm believing that. I'll keep you updated!

New Knitty thoughts

We always get little-kid excited when a new issue of Knitty is published. Everyone has their favorites, of course. Beth is especially fond of Hanne, Tasha likes Pioneer and Angela is drooling over Decimal. And of course, we are all swooning over the two lace projects, Shipwreck and Aeolian.

We've decided that we want to take some of our favorites and show you how they will look worked up in our yarns. This should be a fun task each issue pairing up Knitty genius with alpaca yumminess. We are going to start with Pioneer, done in Academy Blue Swizzle. We think it will be a delightful pairing and we will be sure to keep you updated with regular progress photos.

Here's a sneak peek to get your creativity flowing. You can check out more photos on the Ravelry project page. Be sure to comment us if you have any suggestions which AYC yarns might work well with the newest Knitty. We always love to hear your thoughts!

Pumpkin Patch Cozy Stole

I've had a long standing love affair with the Cozy Stole from the fall 2004 issue of Knitty. With it's elegant simplicity, I've always thought it would be a perfect toss over your shoulders wrap. Simple enough in it's stitch pattern, an eight row repeat with all the wrong side rows purled (I'm a sucker for the purl stitch; I purl faster then I knit). I never quite understood why the masses weren't falling all over themselves in love with this stole as I was. Then after a bit more consideration, I realized that this same issue of Knitty, Fall 2004, was the unveiling of that other wrap pattern, the most famous Knitty pattern ever, the Clapotis. How can a humble acoustic guitar player compete when there is a full blown orchestra bringing down the house right next door?
Just look at the numbers; Clapotis has 10,132 different project entries on ravelry, the humble Cozy only 572 and yet, I think it is just as lovely, if not moreso then the Clapotis. Ravely user, badknitter agrees. Don't let her username fool you, she's actually a sweetheart who used our Paca-Peds yarn in the colorway Harvest to make her Pumpkin Patch Stole.

So, I make a case for the Cozy. Step out from behind those dropped stitches and give it a whirl. It's obviously beautiful in Paca-Peds but would also look lovely in Classic or Paca-Paints.

Okay, and for some serious cute overdose, you have to check out this sign. If you are traveling along Route 30 in western York County, PA you will be greeted by this adorable face. Who could possibly resist some of that? If you are in the area, be sure to make plans to visit Beth's farm, Painted Spring. Beth, Neal & the fur babies would love to have you!

Bella's Mittens

We've been bitten by the Bella's Mitten bug here at The Alpaca Yarn Company. Tasha made a pair in Malabrigo. They were so squishy & yummy, immediate mitten-envy set in and I knew I had to make a pair for myself. The yarn selection was easy, Snuggle is a 55% Alpaca, 15% Wool, 30% Acrylic Bulky blend and was the perfect yarn for this pair of mittens, knitted on size 8 needles. The hard part came in deciding upon the color. I scoured ravelry, trying to decide which color among our 15 choices would best represent the spirit of Bella while maybe having a bit of Angela tossed in as well. I kept going back to our hand dyed colorway "A Knot of Naturals". There was some trepidation as that little voice in my head yelled, "Cables! You can't do a hand dyed with cables! You'll ruin the look of both the yarn and the mittens!" However, the other, louder voice said, "Want! Want! Want!". I am so glad I listened to the greedy voice.

The free pattern is clearly written, and written for magic loop no less, my absolute favorite way in the world to knit. I grabbed a set of bamboo circulars and cast on. I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of k1, p1 ribbing, but it flowed quickly as it was only half of the stitches on the cuff. As I was working the pattern, the cables began to just come to life. They seemed to pop off the mitten and I was quickly & deeply in love. I knitted frantically, wanting to get the first one done in time to take it to my Tuesday morning knitting group at Uncommon Threads, our LYS.

Rather than obscure the cables, as I had feared, the slight variations in the Snuggle set off the cables perfectly, giving them an interest and depth. I got to my knitting group with only the thumb of the first mitten remaining. I wasn't quite sure why the designer had asked me to switch to dpns at this point. I mean my magic loop and I had been humming along quite nicely. I decided to throw caution to the wind and continue with my looping. Okay, truth be told, I don't own size 8 dpns and I wasn't about to go buy a pair just for a thumb. I picked up my thumb stitches. I picked them up quite deeply into the row below, actually, because I feel that this usually gives a bit more substantial thumb and I hate holes in my thumbs, or anywhere, really.

The mittens were immediately declared a success with the entire knitting group trying them on and several folks threatening to kidnap the first while I made the second. There is a slight halo to the mittens which gives them that soft, smooshy, dreamy quality. I am now plugging away at the second mitten, admittedly without as much fervor as the first, but I am determined to get them done before winter is truly over. Looked for finished photos here on the blog soon.

Lace in Interweave Knits, Spring 2009

There are two beautiful new wraps featured in the new Interweave Knits made from Suri Elegance.

The first one, is the Sweet Lily Shawl by Kristin Omdahl.
Here’s your sneak peek…

Done in one skein of Blue Blood Red, this stunning shawl features wedge sections worked in a semi-circle with a Lily of the Valley border and sawtooth edging. Lots more bonus photos can be found on Interweave’s website.

The second is the Float Stole by Melinda C. Hunt.

from the magazine…

From open lace eyelets to horizontal welting, different textures create a surprisingly complex effect with simple patterns.

More photos can be found here.

For these great patterns and more, be sure to grab your copy of IK Spring 2009 when it hits the newstands next week.

Striped Ribbed Pullover

Have you ever seen one of those patterns in Vogue knitting that make you say, "Yeah, but it would never look that good on me." You know the ones; the impossibly beautiful models, with the perfect hair and the tiny waists wearing a belted sweater with horizontal stripes. Perhaps one similar to the Striped Ribbed Pullover. A free pattern from the Vogue Knitting Alpaca Collection, the Stripped Ribbed Pullover is knit from Paca de Seda. And seriously, who doesn't look good in alpaca & silk? Both our sweet friend Ali (right) and ravelry user Tare (below) prove that you don't have to be a vogue model to totally rock this sweater. Maybe you're thinking, yes, but I don't like purple and green? (wait, you don't like purple & green? are you feeling okay? we practically breathe purple & green around here!) Well, if you're in that boat, we've made it super easy for you to have this same look, but in other color palettes as well. For a limited time only we are offering kits on our site! In addition to the original purple & green there is a blue/brass/brown, a collection of naturals and one of blues & greens. Find your favorite and unleash your inner super-model!