Archive for May, 2012

A Perfect Combination

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

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What to do next is often a question that hits knitters around June. Many have given up their ‘yarn diets’ or ‘stash busting’ either because they have made a good dent in the stash or because they haven’t and really, why fight it? So this begs the question, what next?

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June is the perfect time to cast on for a lightweight sweater. If you are a quick knitter it will be done in the summer for cooler evenings. If you are a little slower it will be done in time for fall, perfect!
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We just received the perfect combination of yarn and patterns: Jane Richmond’s Audrey and Georgia and Madelinetosh Tosh Light. This combo is meant to be, light weight and hand dyed for a wonderful variation within the sweater. Pick up a couple of skeins today!

Getting Ready for Jane

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
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Jane

That’s right, this Friday is officially Jane Richmond night at Urban Yarns! We will be partying it up at the shop and showing off our knits (mostly Rae’s I think) with Jane herself. I will be sporting my Rae (maybe) and I will be showing off Hunter’s newest sweater, a Children’s Classic Raglan (definitely).

Begbie Toque

Begbie Toque

Need a Jane project you can finish by Friday? Try casting on for a Jane hat or a Begbie Toque. These little knits work up in NO time! Anina knit up a Begbie Toque in the soft and sumptuous Blue Sky Alpacas Techno. It looks adorable and is just the thing for cooler summer nights (ahem, weather).

Hope to see everyone Friday 6-9!

POP!

Sunday, May 20th, 2012

I am so lucky to have such a delightful design partner in Emily. We wrote our book together (9 Months of Knitting) and today I had occasion to think ‘I know her!’ with a little bit of glee. Her new blanket pattern, POP, is topping the Ravelry ‘hot right now’ charts!

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POP is a blanket that is perfect for a couple of types of knitters. The first is the Noro addict. Emily is herself a sufferer of this affliction and wrote this pattern with just that colourful striping stuff in mind. The second is the hoarder of sock scraps, I started my own POP blanket last week with sock yarn held doubled for the colourful center and a worsted weight white for the border.

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Each square is worked from the center outward and the squares are all assembled later. This also makes POP the perfect travel project. Just pop a skein or 2 of Noro, and your chosen background colour in to your bag and you have hours of fun!

Rae Race

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

I realize that knitting is not a race. It’s about the process, the meditative rhythm of creating loop upon loop, the sense of history brought on by moving your hands in the same way that people have done for centuries. There is no real benefit to finishing anything first, and no need to get competitive. Of course I still can’t help but feel that I am somehow losing in the Rae race….badly.

Kynna's Rae

Kynna's Rae

When we decided on a Jane Richmond KAL I wanted to do an Oatmeal pullover. I am expanding at the wrong rate to be attempting a sweater of any kind for myself right now so I had to put that one aside. In an attempt to do something more impressive this KAL than last (I knit a tiny little cushion for Tiny Owl Knits) I cast on for a Classic Children’s Raglan (which only needs one more sleeve!) and a Rae. It seems that the Rae was the popular way to go! Off the top of my head I can think of Kynna, Kim, and Ashley who are also working their way through Rae scarves. Quickly. More quickly than I am.

Kim's Rae

Kim's Rae

Kynna is almost done (or maybe she’s even done now!) and Kim was well on her way last time I checked in. It’s possible that Ashley is somewhere behind me but not likely. I’m only half way. Well almost half way. I’ve got 8 days. It’s gonna be close!

Wool Leaves

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

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There is something so sweet about a hand knit baby blanket. In the winter it will keep baby warm and in the summer it’s the perfect thing to throw down in the grass in the shade. In my experience babies love all things textured so knitting is the perfect platform.

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Winter warm blankets offer almost endless fiber possibilities but with a summer baby on the way I felt I needed something a little lighter and a little cooler. Then I thought again! Why not go with something a little thicker? That way it will be a perfect little play blanket!

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I went with Brooklyn Tweed’s Wool Leaves baby blanket. The pretty lacy leaf shape is the same motif as the Shetland Triangle Shawl, one of my very favorite shawls. Instead of using Cascade Eco, I doubled up some Spud and Chloe Sweater in the lovely neutral colourway, Chocolate Milk. I have to be honest, I may have been entirely swayed to knit this blanket because of the yarn’s cute colour name.

Website Revamped!

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

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Jan and Amanda have been busting their butts for the last….well let’s just say website revamps are a process and they have been working hard! Our new website is up and running for all the online shoppers out there! While I am lucky enough to have UY close at hand there are those who have to wait until they go on vacation to get here. No need to wait, just fire up your desktop or pop open the laptop and there you are.

Having an easy to navigate website is also perfect for the late night Ravelry surfer. The one who has picked a project but needs to know if we have the yarn they are looking for (we probably do) RIGHT NOW. I know this feeling. It’s almost as good as casting on. We are adding new inventory to the site regularly so check back regularly.

Check out our new website here and enjoy our free shipping promo on orders over $100 in Canada and the US.

Elsie

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

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Hunter recently had the chance to model a most adorable dress for Kynna, the Elsie Sundress by Jane Richmond! Kynna hummed and hawed about the yarn for ages. She knew she wanted a cotton and she knew she needed a DK weight yarn(double knitting or 22 stitches per 4 inches). She perused the shop but in the end the colours she loved were in the Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton.

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I love the watermelon-esque colour combo and the little button details on the back. Hunter looked so cute, I think she needs one of her own!

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A New Collection and a Contest

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

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Some of you may know my lovely design partner, Emily Wessel. Emily once counted herself amongst the crew at Urban Yarns, helping knitters choose their yarn and patterns, teaching, and designing. That’s where our paths first crossed many (actually just a few) years ago. Since then she has moved twice and but has now settled in Edinburgh Scotland. This hasn’t stopped our designing duo and Emily still has her passion for lace!

Emily is launching a new pattern collection in September 2012, Handmade in the UK. This collection will feature 9 lace patterns including garments, accessories, and (my fave) shawls! All patterns will be available individually and as a compilation. If you want to keep up with her progress, and the progress we are making on our newest joint project, you can check out our blog here.

We are currently running a very exciting contest as well! If you like the designs we create, perhaps you would like to work WITH us, on a collaborative design project; starting with the sketch and the yarn (you pick the colour) and progressing through the stages of development to a finished piece of lace!

What do I WIN?

  • Enough lace yarn to complete a lace shawl or similar piece
  • Dyed into a colour chosen by you by our master dyer Alexa Ludeman of Gourmet Crafter yarn!
  • Emily will get a skein of the same yarn, and we’ll work together to create a unique new design.  How will it work?
    1. Before we get the yarn dyed, we’ll talk about colour and what you want to achieve; what shape, what size, what kind of a lace pattern, etc.
    2. Then you will choose the colour, and when the yarn arrives we can start making swatches with the stitch patterns that you’re interested in using for the shawl.
    3. Once you’ve chosen a stitch pattern or two that work well, I will help you to combine them, and make charts for your pattern!We’ll both knit the shawl, and I will write up the pattern.
    4. In the end, if we think the finished design is lovely enough, we can decide together what to do with it; we could make it available as a free download, or sell it with the proceeds going to a charity of your choice.

Does this sound interesting?  When you sign up for our email updates you can enter in the draw!