Summer crafting

Hooray Summer! Okay, I tried to sound cheerful about that, but really, isn't August the dregs of summer, at least from a fibery perspective? Depending on where you live in the country, it's hot, it's humid, it rains nearly every afternoon and it's just downright miserable. Of course, if you have air conditioning this might not be so bad, but even then no one wants to sit under a blanket while working on an edging or deal with complicated lace charts under a ceiling fan.

August is great though for working on two things, socks & hats. It's also a fantastic time to get a jump start on all that holiday knitting & crocheting that you know you need to start on, but just can't quite seem to find the motivation.

We have an adorable kit that is sure to spice up your needles and take your mind off the heat, while getting you in the spirit for cooler weather.

The Baltic Ski Hat kit includes the colors seen in the picture and enough Classic Alpaca yarn to complete a 16"/small or 20"/med hat. The large kit includes enough yarn to complete a 22"/large hat. Purchase the kit and the pattern is included at no extra charge! Cost for the Small/Medium kit is $28, for the Large is $35.

My plan is to, pop in "A Christmas Story" and cast 0n!

Twilly Neckerchief

The insanely talented Lisa Shroyer has not one, but TWO patterns in the Fall, 2009 Interweave Knits. First, the terribly cute (if slightly intimidating) Bandelier Socks as well as the totally rockin' Twilly Neckerchief. The Twilly features three complimentary shades of Classic Alpaca. It's unique shape is worked in a honeycomb brioche stitch in two-row stripes and creates the look of woven twill fabric. Framing the pattern with bands of garter stitch breaks up the allover patterning. A simple shawl in a smaller-than-usual size makes for a great kerchief-style neck-warmer. Shaped like a "wonky square" you fold it in half to make a triangle. I've been imagining it done in shades of green & teal. Yummy! Best of all, this pattern is available as a FREE .pdf download from Lisa & the fantastic folks at Interweave Knits. Yay!!!

The drooling shall now commence!

Big, giant congratulations go out to Margaret W, the random winner of our Spring Contest!

Margaret shared her Lliclla, by Helen Hamann from the book Andean Inspired Knits. Using 13 skeins of Classic Alpaca, in browns and oranges, Margaret made this stunning wrap in the Fall of 2007.

Be sure to swing by her Ravelry Project Page and give her some love. We can't wait to see what she makes with her prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We adored seeing your projects and are so glad you shared them.


We have so many exciting new things happening here at The Alpaca Yarn Company! New yarns! New patterns! And even some spiffying up on our website!

This season we introduce not one but TWO new yarns! Astral & Halo.


* * * Astral * * *
Combine 50% Tencel, 30% Alpaca & 20% Wool and you get a little bit of heaven.








Astral knits at 20-22 sts/4". This dk weight yarn has 197 yds in every 100g hank. There are currently 6 rich shades of Astral.


* * * Halo * * *
Halo is a lace weight brushed Suri Alpaca. While it looks like mohair, it has an amazing softness with none of the itchy-ness that you might find in mohair.



Suri alpaca is very rare and very lustrous and is perfect for lacy projects. Each 50g ball contains an amazing 514 yards. You can achieve a wide range of gauges on a US #4-8 needle and beyond.

We debuted these two new yarns at TNNA in June and the response has been overwhelming. So much good feedback & so many designers excited to be working with these new gems. Be sure to look for them in your favorite yarn shop and magazines soon! Can't wait? Order now!

Spring Contest!!!

Show us your style! What's the most creative thing you've made with Alpaca Yarn Company products? A lace toilet paper roll cozy? A halloween wig? A felted keychain? We want to see them! Post in the comments here with a link to your creations. You may enter more then one item, but be sure to post each item as a separate comment. All entries must be made with products from The Alpaca Yarn Company. A winner will be selected at random from all entries on June 15th. The selected entry will receive some fabulous yarny goodness. So hurry and finish those WIPs or get some photos posted to ravelry, flickr or your blog. We can't wait to see what you've done!

Customer Corner: Snuggle Cable Scarf

Today we share another example of our amazing customers and the fun things they are creating with Alpaca Yarn Company yarns. Meet Robin, who wanted to make her husband a nice smooshy scarf. She took a class at The Taming of the Ewe in Jacksonville, Alabama and knitted the Reversible Cable Scarf designed by shop owner Pat Miller. We love the way the Tan Heather Snuggle just makes the cables pop, and we heart the doggie model too! Thanks for sharing, Robin and keep up the great work!!!

Free Pattern: Tye Dye Kids Cardi

Our dear friend, Judy Head decided it was time to do something other than socks with the Paca-Peds. She created this adorable Tye Dye Kids Cardi that is sized from 6 months to 4 years and only takes 1 or 2 skeins of Paca-Peds HT. We are offering the pattern FREE via pdf so that you can knit with Paca-Peds HT in a new way.

See Judy's other fun designs at http://www.judykits.com/

PATTERN LINK

RAVELRY LINK

Finished Pioneer and fun new patterns!

Here it is! Our finished Pioneer sweater from Knitty, made from our newest yarn, Swizzle. Modeled by our AYC's Top Model, Tasha, you can see what a great match this yarn was for this pattern.









I love the crocheted scalloped edging around the neckline. This little touch only took a few minutes but adds miles of smiles to the finished product.




The single stitch cable is subtle and yet adds just enough spice to the back to keep it interesting (both in the wearing and in the knitting). The directions asked us to "Bind off loosely". I discovered that my version of "loosely" and the designer's interpretation of it were probably a bit different, as mine was waaaaay loose, but that all seemed to work its way out in the blocking of the finished sweater.

As you can see by the last shot, Tasha is having fun wearing the Pioneer and I had a ball knitting it. It's practically instant gratification knitting, even though it is on relatively small needles. I did get queried, did we measure the bust across the chest or under the bust. We based our sizing on an across the chest measurement. The size small knitted up to 28" inches across after blocking on size 5 needles, but there is quite a 'give' when worn, due to the low neckline.

The best part of all, we only used two and a half skeins of swizzle, approximately 550 yards to do the entire sweater! This is significantly less then the pattern suggests, which is a nice budget saver. We used the Academy Blue colorway, but I think it would also be stunning in Camo, Goldenrod or any of the colors offered. Be sure to let us know if you decide to cast on your Pioneer in Swizzle; we would love to follow your progress!

We have several fun new patterns being added to the collection this week.

Our newest design, the Surf Sock is worked in Paca Peds HT and incorporates instruction to use the separate HT skein. The repetitive design across the leg and upper foot looks like a cable stitch but is really a simple combination of increases and decreases. This sock can be knit with either the Paca Peds HT or the regular Paca Peds.

And get ready to get your cute on with the Little Jailbird Kimono!

All little girls will steal your heart if they are wearing this adorable kimono sweater. Knit in Classic Alpaca, the simple stripe design is eye catching and the lacy sleeves add interest without being too fussy. Sized for 9-12 months through 6 years, the sweater takes 3- 9 balls of Classic Alpaca. Shown here in the 18-24 month size in colors 2081 & 1430.







Be sure to check in later this week when we share our newest FREE pattern, from our dear friend Judy Head of http://www.judykits.com/. Till then, happy crafting!