b r o o k l y n t w e e d
2.16.2006
the beaverslide scarf comes to fruition
the time has come for the unveiling of the scarf. i finished this last weekend, but haven't gotten the time to put a post up about it until now.
this scarf was a great experience from beginning to end. I loved the materials - working with them made the whole project enjoyable (even despite the monotany of scarf-knitting). the stripes spiced it up a bit, and the colors were so good i never got sick of looking at them. i have had my 1x1 ribbing fill for a while, but i never got overly tired of it.
so here it is - the completed piece:
the scarf is pretty long. my general rule for length: make the scarf a few inches longer than the height of the recipient. in this case, the scarf measures about 6 feet 2 inches and is to me, the perfect length. please observe below:
i handwashed the piece in the sink with eucalan and then did a follow up wash with some mild hair conditioner (a great little trick) and it softened right up. wrapped multiple times, it is very warm and fits the new york winter very well, especially through the blizzard on sunday.
the specifics:
materials: beaverslide dry goods worsted wool/mohair blend (90% merino/10%mohair) in colors "mink" and "mallard"
needles: US 8 bamboo 10" straight needles
pattern: my "own." its a 1x1 reversible ribbing with a slip stitch border. i cast on 41 sts.
i kind of feel like knitting another scarf....
¶ 10:31 AM 8 comments
this scarf was a great experience from beginning to end. I loved the materials - working with them made the whole project enjoyable (even despite the monotany of scarf-knitting). the stripes spiced it up a bit, and the colors were so good i never got sick of looking at them. i have had my 1x1 ribbing fill for a while, but i never got overly tired of it.
so here it is - the completed piece:
the scarf is pretty long. my general rule for length: make the scarf a few inches longer than the height of the recipient. in this case, the scarf measures about 6 feet 2 inches and is to me, the perfect length. please observe below:
i handwashed the piece in the sink with eucalan and then did a follow up wash with some mild hair conditioner (a great little trick) and it softened right up. wrapped multiple times, it is very warm and fits the new york winter very well, especially through the blizzard on sunday.
materials: beaverslide dry goods worsted wool/mohair blend (90% merino/10%mohair) in colors "mink" and "mallard"
needles: US 8 bamboo 10" straight needles
pattern: my "own." its a 1x1 reversible ribbing with a slip stitch border. i cast on 41 sts.
i kind of feel like knitting another scarf....
¶ 10:31 AM 8 comments
1.26.2006
beaverslide!
after reading this great review, (and then this, more specific review) it didn't take long before i did some investigation and purchased some wool from Beaverslide Dry Goods in Montana.
their wools are grown and processed by a family run business in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. The fibers are processed using environmentally conscious methods (no harsh chemicals, etc.) and spun on an antique knitting mule which produces a lofty and rustic looking yarn. VERY great.
the range of colors is right up my alley and there are lots of options. i even received a wonderful personalized e-mail from Leanne updating me on my order status. The whole transaction was great, and its always nice to be supporting independent agricultural business.
but if all of this sounds like white noise, maybe this will stand out:
241 yards of wool for 8 dollars. not to mention many of their yarns are on sale for $6.50. $6.50!!
for under 20 bucks i have about 500 yards of quality wool at my discretion. i'm pretty happy.
i bought two skeins of their wool/mohair (90% wool, 10% kid mohair). They came with hand-tied tags in bulging skeins smelling great!
the brown color is "mink" and the dark blue-green is "mallard." this should be enough to make that perfect warm winter scarf that i've been cooking up in my brain for a while. and after a freezing cold walk from columbus circle to lincoln center this morning, i was sure wishing it was already done and protecting me from the blizzard-gusts on amsterdam.
here they are all ready to go. the yarn isn't as perfectly soft as i had hoped, but to my approval, the mohair is not even noticeable (nothing like the itchy halos of lamb's pride) and the knitted fabric has a great subtle texture. it'll be nice and warm and rustic. if you're looking for a great yarn to start your next project, here's an idea! keep your eyes out - scarf pictures will be up soon i'm sure. ¶ 10:02 AM 6 comments
their wools are grown and processed by a family run business in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. The fibers are processed using environmentally conscious methods (no harsh chemicals, etc.) and spun on an antique knitting mule which produces a lofty and rustic looking yarn. VERY great.
the range of colors is right up my alley and there are lots of options. i even received a wonderful personalized e-mail from Leanne updating me on my order status. The whole transaction was great, and its always nice to be supporting independent agricultural business.
but if all of this sounds like white noise, maybe this will stand out:
241 yards of wool for 8 dollars. not to mention many of their yarns are on sale for $6.50. $6.50!!
for under 20 bucks i have about 500 yards of quality wool at my discretion. i'm pretty happy.
i bought two skeins of their wool/mohair (90% wool, 10% kid mohair). They came with hand-tied tags in bulging skeins smelling great!
the brown color is "mink" and the dark blue-green is "mallard." this should be enough to make that perfect warm winter scarf that i've been cooking up in my brain for a while. and after a freezing cold walk from columbus circle to lincoln center this morning, i was sure wishing it was already done and protecting me from the blizzard-gusts on amsterdam.
here they are all ready to go. the yarn isn't as perfectly soft as i had hoped, but to my approval, the mohair is not even noticeable (nothing like the itchy halos of lamb's pride) and the knitted fabric has a great subtle texture. it'll be nice and warm and rustic. if you're looking for a great yarn to start your next project, here's an idea! keep your eyes out - scarf pictures will be up soon i'm sure. ¶ 10:02 AM 6 comments
10.14.2009
Fall Loves You, Wool. And So Do I.
Well. It's been a wild month of travel for me -- from Oklahoma City, to Philadelphia, to Texas, to New England and many a space in between. I've had the wonderful fortune of knitting with folks from all over the country and it has been an absolute pleasure. When I returned to Brooklyn on Monday for a two week break from airplanes, I sat down at my knitting window and realized that transition-time was over and Fall has, in my absence, made itself quite at home here in the city.
¶ 11:45 AM 44 comments
The click of the seasons is something that gives me pleasure beyond words, and Summer to Fall, not surprisingly, has got to be the most special time of year for us knitters. It's usually about the second week of October when my fingers start to twitch even more than usual for soft, wool sweaters on my needles and my eyes desire a bath of materials in rich, autumn heathers.
What else does October mean? It's the one time of year that I knowingly cast my self-control to the wind and embrace even my most irrational wool cravings, which means I generally acquire more during this period than any other. So, in the spirit of full disclosure, I might as well share with you some recent acquisitions from my travels and yarns that are frankly keeping me up at night with giddy anticipation.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Historic Harrisville in New Hampshire -- home of some of my very favorite American-milled yarns and a historic treasure for our national textile tradition. I've been on a major lace knitting stint lately (before the sweater monster came to bite) and these are both slated for woollie shawls.
Harrisville Designs is like a wool-lovers paradise: walls of colorful, sturdy wools housed in a 2-century-old brick building nestled directly over a stream (if you peak through a knot-hole in the floor boards you'll see the flowing waters of the stream below). A destination for any knitter's New England itinerary... and a destination I hope to return to in the future.
Another wool that has recently sent me headlong into infatuation comes from the opposite coast and my home region of the Pacific Northwest. Imperial Stock Ranch makes beautiful, Oregon-grown yarns from their 125+ year old flock of Columbia Sheep (the farm, which is a National Historic District, has been responsible in part for developing this wonderful breed). The yarns are minimally processed using antique spinning techniques (a la many other favorite yarns you've heard me wax poetic about in the past -- Beaverslide Dry Goods in MT and Marr Haven in MI, most notably) and come in both two-ply woolen spun yarns (yum!) and a wonderful unspun bulky "puck", similar to Unspun Icelandic Wool. While the company has been in business for decades, their recent push into the world of hand knitting is one that I think is a very welcome addition to the industry.
And no Fall knitting would be complete without a healthy dose of Shetland Jumper-Weight wools straight from the island. You may be sick of me talking about my wool-standby, but I do start to get nervous if I'm away from this stuff for too long. To me, Shetland yarns are truly fine wines in our world of materials. With these? More lace. Always more lace.
I must sound like a glutton at this point, pulling in all this wool for Fall (there's more too...but we won't go there today) but if you can't be a wool glutton in the Fall, when can you be? And there's no better way to spend the afternoon than quietly working stitches in a good, solid wool as you watch the fading golden light play across the increasingly bare branches.
Despite the natural world telling us that Fall symbolizes the end of something, to me it represents a new beginning and a new inspiration. I hope you are feeling inspired by the wools under your roof and the cooler breezes that are causing us to grab our woolens on the way out the door. Lets enjoy it while it's here!
8.16.2008
Back In the Swing
Hi, everyone! The last weeks have been quite the whirlwind - I spent July traveling around my home turf in the PNW. I did a lot of knitting and design work and got a much needed break from city life. The trip was peaceful, insightful and inspiring - exactly what I was after. When I finally got back to New York, I had a last minute opportunity to travel to Cape Cod, and I promptly jumped on that train, despite my better judgement that staying home and catching up on the bevy of work awaiting me here was the right thing to do, and don't regret it. I figure I need to enjoy my last summer as a student in an official capacity.
So what's been doing on the needles? So very much to share. That lace bug that comes around every few months is back with a vengeance, and I thought I'd try my hand at some lace designing. Uncharted territory for me, but I've been having a looot of fun with it.
To tell you the truth, my tolerance of heat is starting to wear thin - granted we've had what I would consider a very mild summer here (knock on wood), and I haven't even been here the whole time, but air conditioned quarters are still required for marathon knitting - and my wintry temperament is feeling stifled. Visions of lace, cables and colorwork taunt me nightly. Even so, I'll continue patiently waiting for the click of the seasons to happen sometime in September (please?). When it does though...
...there will be plenty of warm, winter lace. I thought maybe the summer would stave off this year's blanket trend in my knitting, but the "Year of the Blanket" title has remained all the same. There may or may not be more than just this one gaining momentum in recesses of the apartment.
I've been playing with wools both heavy and light - I can't seem to get enough of that wonderful texture you get with pre-blocked, heavy weight lace projects.
I know it's cruel to just give little peeks under the (lace) blanket, but these things will be expounded upon shortly. Something I can indulge you in more of however is this, my most treasured recent acquisition: a box of new yarns from Beaverslide Dry Goods, one of my all time favorite farms over in beautiful Montana. Tell me though, seriously, what could be better than coming home from vacation to this:
Most definitely worth breaking a serious yarn diet for. No guilt here. Really.
Over the next few weeks I'll be catching up on many things that have been sorely neglected, not the least of which is my inbox. All things considered, it's great to be home - I really missed my yarn.
¶ 11:49 AM 40 comments
So what's been doing on the needles? So very much to share. That lace bug that comes around every few months is back with a vengeance, and I thought I'd try my hand at some lace designing. Uncharted territory for me, but I've been having a looot of fun with it.
To tell you the truth, my tolerance of heat is starting to wear thin - granted we've had what I would consider a very mild summer here (knock on wood), and I haven't even been here the whole time, but air conditioned quarters are still required for marathon knitting - and my wintry temperament is feeling stifled. Visions of lace, cables and colorwork taunt me nightly. Even so, I'll continue patiently waiting for the click of the seasons to happen sometime in September (please?). When it does though...
...there will be plenty of warm, winter lace. I thought maybe the summer would stave off this year's blanket trend in my knitting, but the "Year of the Blanket" title has remained all the same. There may or may not be more than just this one gaining momentum in recesses of the apartment.
I've been playing with wools both heavy and light - I can't seem to get enough of that wonderful texture you get with pre-blocked, heavy weight lace projects.
I know it's cruel to just give little peeks under the (lace) blanket, but these things will be expounded upon shortly. Something I can indulge you in more of however is this, my most treasured recent acquisition: a box of new yarns from Beaverslide Dry Goods, one of my all time favorite farms over in beautiful Montana. Tell me though, seriously, what could be better than coming home from vacation to this:
Most definitely worth breaking a serious yarn diet for. No guilt here. Really.
Over the next few weeks I'll be catching up on many things that have been sorely neglected, not the least of which is my inbox. All things considered, it's great to be home - I really missed my yarn.
¶ 11:49 AM 40 comments
