Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

This seems to be a month for quick projects. Accessories are always popular and Luke needed several for sample knits to display at Rare Purls. There is nothing quite like a design that can be held and even tried on to show customers how great a yarn will look once worked up. And I love making samples! It gives me the opportunity to experience a wide variety of yarns and interesting projects, without digging into my own wallet. So I put aside my half finished sweater project - it seems I always have at least one sweater in progress - and got to work on a new spring crop of sample knits.

Godiva Cowl in Alp Premier

When Rare Purls had a Feza Yarns event earlier this month, the favorite yarns were Alp Premier and Dazzle. With the free Godiva Cowl pattern (courtesy of Feza Yarns) and a single hank of either yarn, it is a piece of cake to knit up a gorgeous and interesting infinity scarf, with just the right amount of bling to add some sass to any outfit. Whether you knit or crochet, these yarns do most the work, changing color and texture every few yards to create a truly luxurious, one skein accessory. The hank, even before stitched up, is gorgeous. It is also nice that as far as component yarns go, which are always pricey, these are very friendly to your wallet, with a project cost of $36 - $38. (My neighbor has knitted quite a few of these and after adding a hand full of her incredible fringes, she sells them for $85 each.)

Cherokee Princess Cowl

Another recent project using Feza Yarns is my moebius scarf using Alp Natural. Knit in the round, the attractive twist is built in on the first row. As in the Godiva cowl, stockinette, reverse stockinette, and faggot stitch (yarn over, knit 2 together) work with the sections of cotton, silk, rayon, and linen to create fabulous textures. This yarn is what the industry calls a "monochromatic variegate," As the different fibers and compositions take up the dye at varying rates, the result is a pleasing collection of hues.

Alp Natural

The Cherokee Princess Scarf looks great hanging casually on the shoulders with the twist centered (as in the photo) or pull it down around both shoulders for a topper with a very different look. (If you are a big girl, like me, for the second look you will need a longer cast on and possibly additional yarn.) Though my version is unadorned, I think this infinity scarf would look awesome with oddments of wood beads and shell on fringes, tied here and there on the fabric for a nature inspired necklace.

Flights of Fancy in Pichasca

As crochet is the most popular in years, we needed a snazzy, crocheted sample accessory for spring. The Flights of Fancy Scarf, free on the Lion Brand website, worked up beautifully in Ester Bitran Pichasca. Earlier this year in Vogue Knitting, Martha Stewart commented how much she liked cotton scarves, so I began to comb the shelves for an interesting cotton yarn, lightweight and in spring colors. Pichasca was my pick. This true hand dyed yarn from Chile is perfect for summer scarves and wraps. It has great yardage and the matte, thick/thin single ply of cotton pairs well with cotton tees and tanks. The quick crochet project is a great way to add some color to summer tees.

Outre' in Berroco Borealis

Although not a sample project, I knit up a third Outre' in Berroco Borealis for a friend, another easy accessory. Worked up on size 11 US needles in Berroco Borealis, this delightful, shimmery kerchief is a customer favorite and I often have requests for us to sell the sample right off the mannequin. Outre' is another great idea for Christmas gifts, as one size fits all, including tweens and teens.

Interlacements Sweet Feet - Stained Glass on needles

No matter what else I am working on, I always have a sock project on my needles. Of course, I use them to demonstrate techniques in my sock classes, but the main reason I knit so many socks is my guys love them! My latest pair are for Hubby Bill in Interlacements incredible Sweet Feet sock yarn in Stained Glass. Sweet Feet is the perfect blend of superwash merino, silk, and merino fibers. When I purchased my Sweet Feet, I picked up a second hank and gave them both to Bill on our recent 32nd wedding anniversary, with a promise socks in both would soon follow. He is such a dear and spoils me terribly, so with so many accessories completed, I am full steam on socks for now! Not hard to do when the sock yarn is this yummy, yummy, yummy

Interlacements Sweet Feet - Fireplace Embers

Happy knitting!
Kay Mather

Copyright April 2012

The new SMC Select yarn line from Westminster Fibers, the North American distributor of the hugely popular yarn lines, Regia and Rowan is one of the new kids on the block. When the yarn rep. came by to show us the flagship line, I knew right off which ones I wanted for the shop. Of course, everyone who likes wool loves a nice merino, so Luke and I chose Extra Soft Merino and Extra Soft Merino Color as the first yarns from SMC Select to line the shelves at Rare Purls.

Extra Soft Merino & Extra Soft Merino Color

At first squeeze I liked these yarns, nice and springy, as one would expect from a ball of quality merino. The fresh, crisp colors are amazing! Extra Soft Merino are gorgeous solids, where the Extra Soft Merino Color skeins are interesting multis with long repeats. Moments 08 and 09 contain the supporting patterns for these two new yarns. The design team did a great job on this collection! There are garments and accessories for men, women, and children, something for everyone in the family. The designs are classic in styling with lovely details.

Moments 08 and 09

I chose the welted cowl for our sample knit, using Extra Soft Merino Color (ESMC) in Granite, a predominantly black colorway with grays and a teal blue as highlights. The color pattern is described as a "batik like" effect and the coordinating colors appear as pleasing patches on the background color, as if painted by a brush. As each 50 gram ball delivers 142 yards of plump DK weight, extra fine merino yarn, it only took 5 balls to knit the super size cowl.

A great topper for pullovers

Despite its generous size, this cowl is not heavy on the shoulders due to the finer gauge of the yarn. Also, it has absolutely no itch. Merino wool, coming from the breed of sheep with the same name, is the finest of all wool fibers. It is found commercially in luxury knits and woven suits. The fibers are consistently soft and supple, which is why when they are used exclusively in a yarn, "merino" is most often proudly listed on the label, rather than the generic "wool." Lustrous raw merino fiber fetches a higher price than other wools, so the resulting, consistently superior yarns and fabrics also fetch a higher price. Worth it? A resounding yes, for any wool project where lasting, next to the skin softness is a consideration.

Australian Merino rams

Not only are the Extra Soft Merino yarns pure high quality fiber, that fiber spent quality time at the mill. In both of these yarns, the springy merino plies appear nearly horizontal from the twist. This generous twist means more time to mill, a few less yards per skein, and a bit costlier yarn to produce, but again, so worth it. These yarns will offer great stitch definition and reduced pilling for garments that will look great year after year.

Check out the twist

As for my cowl project, from start to finish this project is easy peasy. The traditional welt stitch pattern is simple bands of stockinette and reverse stockinette. With only three rows of shaping, projects don't get much simpler! It looks fantastic with my pullovers and it seems others agree, as several people asked me "where did you buy that"!?

Happy knitting!

Kay Mather
Copyright March 2012

Introducing Rare Purls New Ball Winder!

Oops! Wrong photo!

Anyone coming by Rare Purls in 2012 has seen the new addition to our staff, my beloved husband, Dr. Bill Mather. Although Bill has always helped us with events, shipping orders, and other support tasks, he is now a full time fixture at our Duluth, Ga. shop and is quickly learning about such knitterly terms as "gauge","DK", "wips" and the wonders of Ravelry. From living with me for over 30 years, he already knows quite a bit about knitters and has even held his share of hanks in the winding ceremony. I am loving his approach to bettering the shop, which always seem to include some form of tool.

Just last week, I walked into the back room and found Bill bent over the table. I figured he was working on our ailing winder, but to my surprise, he was installing an awesome new ball winder! When winding yarn this past month, Bill had noticed that my little Royal ball winder was grunting and groaning from the work load. Royal makes a superb little winder, especially for the price, but it is meant as a personal tool, not for commercial use where it keeps turning hours every day. All those 400+ yard hanks of sock and lace weight yarns had our little winder on its last leg.

Royal yarn winder

So you can imagine my delight when Bill surprised me with a new, jumbo, more efficient, heavy duty ball winder. It is made by U-nitt and will wind much larger balls, up to 10 oz. hanks! The U-Nitt winder utilizes a gear system, so one turn of the crank turns the cylinder with the new ball approx. 4 times, rather than the 1:1 ratio of our previous winder. So much less effort and no more having to wind awesome huge hanks into two separate balls! Whoo hoo!

Yes, Bill has saved us a bunch of time and effort and I suspect he has a few other tricks up his sleeve for the fixtures at Rare Purls. That I now have more time to devote to knitting and teaching has made me a very happy girl. I am loving working with my hubby again! Also, now Luke has time to get back to his computer repair/networking jobs, although he remains active in the business as owner/president of Rare Purls, LLC.

So if you are in the Atlanta area, please be sure to stop by Rare Purls. Check out all the gorgeous yarns, delightful patterns, and our new yarn winders. You will notice that one of them is actually quite charming

On Kay's Needles -
I have been knitting up a cool streak! Luke is wearing new socks on his size 13s, knit in Heritage 150 Paints. I wish you could all feel just how warm and cozy those socks knit up. Also finished is the cowl in SMC Select Extra Fine Merino Color. The splashes of color are all in the yarn. The welt pattern is super easy and with only 3 rows of shaping, the knitting is easy, too. More about the cowl and this new DK weight merino yarn in my next post.

Cowl in SMC Select Extra fine Merino Color

And check out Dan's Honeymoon Hiker Hat knit in Cascade Sierra, a comfortable blend of cotton and wool. Dan in an active guy and I wanted him to have a hat to keep his noggin warm on those marathon bicycle rides, he so enjoys. This is the sample knit for the 20sts./4" gauge in the upcoming pattern.

Daniel in his new hat

Happy knitting!
Kay Mather

Copyright - Feb. 2012

For my sister Cathy's Christmas present this year, I wanted a project that I knew would not only be lovely, but practical, as well. I got a late start, so I needed a bulky yarn for quick knitting, giving me the excuse to splurge a bit and work with Rowan's Colourscape Chunky, a gorgeous single ply of pure, perfect lambswool. I am a fool over about anything baby but especially baby fiber, and it is not often that I happen across 100% lambswool! After checking out the patterns for this fabulous yarn at www.knitrowan.com, I decided on Solace, a design from the Colourscape Chunky Collection pattern book by Sarah Hatton. This casual cardigan is an easy knit and shows off the gorgeous long stripes of color in this yarn. The half sleeve sweater will easily slip over Cathy's scrubs, keeping her warm in the chilly recovery room where she works and without encumbering her as she tends to her patients. All of the colorways of Colourscape Chunky are quite appealing, but I chose the Cloud colorway (a blending of greens, pinks, periwinkle, gray, and lavender), knowing it will look great with most of Sissie's work scrubs.

Cathy's sweater in Rowan Colourscape Chunky

Before I knit Solace, I read through the details in the pattern book, describing how this artisanal yarn is produced. An understanding of the unusual process by which this yarn is milled, greatly enhanced my knitting experience. Kaffe Fassett, a renowned color expert - or "colour" as they spell it across the pond - lovingly describes how the lambswool fiber is first dyed, then added in measured (by weight) amounts to a carder, producing roving in a set progression of colors. This roving is then spun into Rowan Colourscape Chunky. This process is time consuming and each machine can only produce 300 kilos of yarn in a week, reflected in the price tag. At $24/hank, it is the most expensive 100% wool yarn at Rare Purls, but I have to say that this uniquely dyed, lofty lambswool is worth it. It offers the experience of knitting with a piece of fiber art!

Colourscape Chunky - Cloud colorway

Truly, I cannot remember enjoying a yarn quite this much in some time. First, it is soft in a fluffy way. On my # 10.5 US Addis, the rows of stockinette flew off my needles so easily, I did not even have to look at my stitches most of the time. Yes, occasionally where two colors joined in the progression, the ply tried to split a bit, but once noted, I made sure to cleanly catch the strand and had no further issue. The single ply at times varied in weight from one color to another, kind of like my attempts at hand spun. In one particular hank, a section of lavender skinnied down to worsted weight for yards, causing a slight difference in the look of my field of stockinette. At first, I considered cutting out that section of the skein, but that would have upset the color progression and it really was just a part of this yarn's character. I decided to judge this yarn like my hand spun and allow for some variation in the ply, for overall, it is a lovely yarn. The colors are magnificent and the way they progress, exciting. As I worked the rows of stockinette, there was an idyllic picture of gnome like workers in my head, adding fluffy batches of colorful fiber into an old fashioned carder. I was in a happy place.

The back yoke of Solace

Although I am looking forward to using this yarn again soon, it is worth noting that Rowan Colourscape Chunky requires a gentle hand. I don't know if it is a short staple length or the mere hint of twist in the fiber, but you will not need scissors to work with this yarn. It easily pulls apart with a soft tug. This is not a flaw in the yarn and is inherent to the composition. This soft, lofty composition is one reason why the 100 gram hanks of bulky wool each have a generous 175 yards. (A 4 ply wool yarn of the same gauge has only approx. 120 yards.) It only took 5 hanks to knit Cathy's cardigan.

Melissa, Park Cafe's sweetest server, models Solace

If you look through the Rowan patterns for Colourscape Chunky, you will notice that the projects are fairly simple, using few pieces and basic stitches. I applaud that in her designs, Sarah Hatton, the designer of this collection of patterns, allowed the yarn to be the star of the show. The fashionable pieces are very wearable and the colors are show stopping. Her Cora, a free pattern from www.knitRowan.com , consists of one huge cable repeated the length of the scarf, another example of this incredible yarn standing out front and center in a design. We chose Cora as the sample knit for display at Rare Purls, as it illustrates the beauty of this yarn perfectly in an impressive two hank design.

Our friend Melissa sports Cora

As for my sister's reaction to her sweater, she loved it! Cathy immediately noticed that her new sweater would match her scrubs and the fit was great. I always love how she reacts to her hand knit gifts, for as a crafty gal herself, she knows the love and effort that goes into them. She even said the gals would be jealous, which made this sassy sister smile

Happy knitting!
Kay Mather
Copyright Jan. 2011
www.rarepurls.net

This last October, my eldest son, Will, and his beautiful bride, Vanessa, tied the knot. For the blessed occasion, I had several projects on my needles that needed to be finished by the big day. After all, our family owns and operates a specialty yarn shop, so I was doing my best to make hand knits a part of the blessed event. As the newlyweds were honeymooning in London with a side trip to hike in Scotland, I knew they could both use a warm hat. Great Britain is cold and rainy in mid October and this couple resides in sunny Southern California. I decided to design a hat for each newlywed and name the pattern to honor their U.K excursion - the Honeymoon Hiker Hats.

The happy couple in Scotland

Both Will and Vanessa usually opt for classic fashions that are tailored and practical, so with that in mind, I pulled out my sketch pad. I wanted the "for her" version to frame Vanessa's classically beautiful face in a simple, non-fussy, ivory lace. As my Will is a no frills sort, I decided to knit his hat in "blue jeans" blue, with the only similarity between the two hats being the choice of yarn, Calm Wool from Elsebeth Lavold's Designer Collection. The wool/alpaca/camel blend yarn is packed with luxury. If merino is butter, this aran weight, 3 ply blend of fibers is thick cream, rich and yummy! Dense but with a nice hand, this heavenly yarn quickly knits into plump stitches with great definition. (For more information on this specialty yarn, see the Kay's Korner archives for my previous post "Excited About Calm Wool.")

Calm Wool article.

The handsome blue "for him" version starts with a twisted rib band that changes to rows of garter rib before decreasing to the crown. Yes, Will appreciates simplicity and this design fits the bill. That their honeymoon photos show that he wore the hat often (as captured in some great photos from Scotland,) I know that it was comfy, warm, and appreciated.

Will in his Honeymoon Hiker Hat

The "for her" version of the Honeymoon Hiker Hat is knit in a lovely winter white. The camel and alpaca softly halo on the openwork band. Stitches are picked up from the Old Shale lace band to form the crown of this lovely, yet practical hat. Vanessa actually preferred the nonpublic side of the design which shows reverse stockinette with the edge rolling outward. As you can see in the photos, this is a very nice look, as well. The lace band of the "for her" hat serendipitously inspired a Honeymoon Hiker Headband - a design two for!

Vanessa sporting the nonpublic side of her hat

Old Shale lace band that inspired a second project

The final wedding project was a shrug for my sister, Cathy. Her birthday was the day before the wedding and I always like to give her a special hand knit gift for the occasion. That she needed a black shrug to wear at the wedding, took any guess work out of what to knit. Her wedding outfit, a sleeveless Oscar de la Renta dress, needed a topper for the upcoming cool, fall evenings. As I did not think I had enough time to both design and knit a shrug, I sent Cathy several options from Ravelry that I thought met her parameters - cropped to just above her natural waist, half sleeves, and with a 2 inch gap between the front pieces. We decided on Kaya Cropped Shrug by Dawn Leeseman, a popular project among the gals in our Friday Knit Night group. A great basic piece, I knew the top down, seamless, raglan design would work up quickly on #11 needles, a must if I was to meet the wedding day deadline.

Kaya shrug on needles

After swatching a few yarns, I again decided on Lavold's Calm Wool. The gauge was spot on and from earlier projects, I knew it would knit up beautifully. Cathy, though a good seamstress, is not a knitter, evident in her request that the shrug be worked in black yarn, a color that many stitchers avoid. To aid my aging eyes, I utilized the trick of keeping a white background on my lap while knitting, making it easier to see my stitches in the black yarn.

A white background enhances the black stitches

Also, I was fortunate that the project was knit primarily in good ol' stockinette, a stitch pattern I can pull off with my eyes closed. The top down design was easy peasy and worked up with no problems. The simple construction made it a snap to add some inches to the sleeves and body length, as requested. I finished the shrug just a few days before the wedding, handing it over to my sister only one day prior. Happily, the fit was great and Cathy looked lovely in her wedding ensemble! Her choice of black did amp up the formality of the hand knit and I overheard her getting several compliments on her outfit. (Of course, my far more fit sister always looks great, even in her scrubs at work.) We all had a fabulous time in Savannah and thanks to my friend Randie, have some great photos to help us remember the happy event.

Cathy, Luke, and Mum in wedding attire

To see details on the Kaya Shrug, go to RarePurls profile on ravelry.com. The patterns for Honeymoon Hiker Hats and Headband will soon be available on Ravelry.

Happy knitting!
Kay Mather
Copyright Nov. 2011