The Rhubarb Festival at Kitchen Kettle Village is next Friday and Saturday, May 15th and 16th! We've got fresh skeins of Rhubarb from Kettle Dyed Socks in stock now! Knit or crochet with a locally hand dyed yarn that celebrates our favorite piquant harbinger of spring--RHUBARB!
WE'RE CELEBRATING WITH SOCK YARN!
DELICIOUS!
We had a great First Time Fair Isle Workshop this week--I'll teach it again June 30th!
Learn the basics of Fair Isle technique & then come back this summer for one of our advanced Classes! Our lineup includes and astonishing Christmas Stocking by Spindleknitter & a beautiful, steeked cardigan for little ones designed by Sooza. See our Classes page for more details!
I am so excited to be a guest blogger on the Lancaster Yarn Shop blog, in honor of the premier of my new book, Lace Yarn Studio. Lace Yarn Studio was a long time coming: I first proposed the concept to my editor at Lark Crafts three years ago and circumstances beyond our control made the publication take longer than we planned – so it’s extra-exciting to finally hold the book in my hands. I really wanted to show knitters how lace yarn isn’t, contrary to what many think, scary, and I also loved the challenge of coming up with some less conventional ways to use lace weight yarn.
I will freely confess to you that when I first came back to knitting, a while back, I was intimidated by very skinny yarns. I wasn’t sure what to do with them and I doubted my ability to make complex lace shawls, since my skills were rusty (and in some cases, non-existent!). Over time, I came to know and love superfine yarns. Here’s why:
· They are so lightweight! I live outside Philadelphia and I don’t get a chance to wear superbulky sweaters many days of the year. But garments and accessories made of lace weight yarn are comfortable on all but the dog days of summer because they aren’t heavy or hot.
· They don’t add bulk. I love that superfine yarns are thin rather than chunky so they don’t add bulk to my silhouette.
· They look amazing when you take advantage of their sheerness and drape. Look at the delightful way Barb Brown’s Wind On The Water scarf practically shimmers, with an airiness that captures the feel of a breeze gently ripple the surface of the ocean.
· They come in so many amazing colors, blends and fibers. Whether you like smooth, firmly twisted merino or a luxe blend like mink, silk or bison, there’s a lace weight yarn for you. Handpainted, metallic, self-striping, with a halo or without, plied or singles, you can have a blast playing with all sorts of fun lace weight yarns.
In Lace Yarn Studio, I’ve included a technical section with information and tips for using lace weight yarn, so if you’re a newbie to lace weight, you’ll have what you need to get started. I’ve also included many easy-to-work patterns using lace weight, such as the Eden Scarf (stockinette and moss stitch, with simple increases and decreases); the Malbec Infinity Cowl (garter and stockinette knit in the round); and the Square in the Round Poncho (designed by Robyn Schrager; stockinette in the round with increases).
As you get more comfortable knitting with lace weight, you can play around with cables, eyelets, mesh lace and more.
I hope you’ll pop over to Lancaster Yarn Shop (which, handily, also has the initials “LYS”) and pick up a copy!
A friendly Lancaster County welcome to the American Quilter's Society as they make their way to the mid-Atlantic and Lancaster County to celebrate quilting!
WELCOME QUILTERS! We know you love color and texture and MAKING things--and we know many of you like to knit, too!
Join us for an informal OPEN HOUSE on Thursday evening, March 12 5:00 - 8:00 at LYS
Four days of quilts (and yarn!) and fun with quilters (and knitters!) from across the US and around the world. AQS QuiltWeek – Lancaster, Pennsylvania on March 11-14, 2015, for quilting immersion at its finest among the beautiful hills of central Pennsylvania.
Cascade 220 Sport is one of my favorite wool yarns. A two ply construction provides enough body for a sophisticated fabric at a variety of gauges, and it is just perfect for color-work projects big or small. This week we will have a huge selection of this terrific yarn in stock, and as it's also a perfect transitional weight, consider a late winter/early spring project in one or more(!) of the dozens of colors we stock.
We have featured several classes and workshops over the past year using the amazing palette of colors in both simple and complex Fair Isle and Latvian patterns. I recommend this yarn very highly. We are currently teaching a sweater class using this yarn for Kate Davies' beautiful, structured cardigan the 'Deco.' The sweaters are coming along beautifully without exception.
Fiber: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
Yardage: 50 g (1.75 oz) / 164 yds (150 m)
Gauge: 22 - 24 sts = 4" (10 cm)
US 5 - 6 (3.75 - 4.0 mm)
Wash: Hand Wash Cool
I love to teach. I especially love to teach fair isle knitting techniques or stranded knitting. When I first learned to knit, I jumped right to color work--with occasional success and lots of trial and error. Who knew there were rules?
I was knitting patterns from weaving charts and adding colors like I was warping a loom. Twenty colors in one row? SURE! Why not? Purling in pattern? SURE! Why not? It worked, and I was making fabric.
I've studied a great deal since then, and I still love deeply patterned knitting. I'll be teaching another session of our 'First Time Fair Isle Workshop' next week. Click here for details! Won't you join us?
