TNNA Columbus Fun 2013!

--amber

Jaime and I had a pile o' fun and saw a million exciting new yarny things at the TNNA trade show in Columbus last weekend!

We debuted six new patterns for our Heirloom yarn, and re-released our classic My Favorite Sweater pattern--now featuring Heirloom as well.

Here is quick look at the trade show behind the scenes fun:

From left to right and from the top:
(1)Nebula--the newest yarn from Anzula--is a sparkle yarn that we ordered in dark, moody shades. Look for it to hit the shop in August. (2-3) Funtimes were had with Stephen West, designer extraordinaire and very fun person. (4) New colors were ordered in Madelinetosh + there is a new yarn coming that you will love! A.S.A.P. is Madtosh's new chunky yarn set to arrive in November, just in time for last minute gift knitting.  (5) Jaime and I had the joy of trying on samples from Annie Modesitt's book, History on Two Needles. Knit replica of the Sutton Hoo ceremonial mask? Amazing.

(6) The folks at Schacht are geniuses, they distributed the Zoom Loom (which we currently have in the shop)  for all the yarn companies to swatch up their yarns! We loved seeing how yarns from different companies worked in this little loom-ette. Our favorite was Knitted Wit's mini rainbow skeins--those will be coming soon for Zoom Loom-ing, knitting, crochet or embroidery fun.  (7-10) Lucky Cat we love you! We ordered some special fiber braids from this adorable spinning fiber company--crazy soft blends that include Possum, Angora, Yak, Camel down, Wild Silks and more! Look for these buttery soft blends in a few weeks.

(11-12) The Crafty Diversions booth was full of exciting things, like teatime with Ysolda! She has a book in the works that is going to be amazing! Miriam Felton was there with her upcoming collection, Modern Colorwork. We can't wait for all the exciting things these ladies have in the works!  (13) Carol Feller was signing copies of her soon-to-be-here book, Among Stones. (14-15) Funtimes were had with Cirilia Rose, including a pedicab race (which, btw, Jaime and I won) and exploring the streets of Columbus with our Stephen West knitting bags.

(16) The Meow Collection. Do I need to say more? Well okay, this hand-dyed BFL sock yarn comes in a range of colors based on our feline friends' coat colors. PLUS, $4 from every skein is donated to the Meow Foundation, a no-kill shelter helping abandoned cats find happy, permanent homes!  (17-18) Nerd alert! Jaime and I are so excited for the upcoming special issue Interweave magazines: unofficial Harry Potter Knits and Downton Abbey Knits! Also, Jaime found a hobbit. (19) One of The Fiber Factor challenge sweaters. Of course, Meghan Navoy's cat sweater is my favorite pick! We can't wait to see the judging of Challenge 2 this Friday, with Stephen West as one of the guest judges! (20) Freia Ombré and Freia Flux yarns will be here in September with all their soft stripey goodness!

(21) Jaime and I were happy to meet one of our favorite designers, Olga Buraya-Kefelian. She has new patterns arriving soon and we want to make them all! (22) A wall made of wool in the Blue Sky booth. (23) Look for the speckly goodness of The Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze in the shop in September. (24-25) What! We even got to go visit with Anita of Sew to Speak and April Rhodes at their sewing shop in Columbus while we were there!

Keep an eye on our blog, instagram or facebook to be the first to know when all the newest goods arrive!

Knitting Superstar Weekend!

We had lots of fun with Stephen West, Ragga Eiriksdotter, Ragga's daughter Runa and surprise guest, Cirilia Rose on their visit! We miss them already and look forward to the next time we get to see these lovely folks.

Amber, Cirilia, Stephen, Runa, Ragga & Jaime

Stephen and Ragga taught two workshops together as RaggaWest, and we had a great time getting a glimpse into their design process.

I sat in on Idea Tank and loved it. Everyone came up with designs that were so different and each one was amazing. I can't wait to knit up my new designs!

Stephen got to hang out in Denver for a while and we took him on a beautiful mountain hike (between snowstorms!) He showed off his knitting skills by knitting a sweater the entire time we hiked through mud and snow on steep mountain trails. You'll be happy to know he didn't fall off the mountain once. Phew!

Thanks for the fun times and inspiration everyone!

--Amber

Craft up a Trend - Prairie Style

Living in Colorado, it's hard not to be influenced by the prairies and fields surrounding us. Farmlands and country life are all inspirations to us.

Home on the range...

Small calico floral prints and ticking fabrics are perfect to achieve a prairie style. Lace-up oxfords can help you complete your look. Prairie fashion has been seen on the runway and in the streets and is easy to incorporate into your wardrobe. We have tons of patterns and supplies to achieve a country-prairie look. Here are some of our favorite fabrics, yarns and patterns.

Prairie style is big in fashion now - here are some styles we collected on Polyvore

Nothing beats ticking as a reference of prairie style. This sturdy, tightly woven fabric kept the feathers from escaping homesteaders' feather stuffed pillows and beds. We have a lightweight ticking cloth available in 6 colors that make for modestly classic bags, aprons and even dresses.

Speaking of ticking, thanks to this great pattern from Cirilia Rose for Loft you can knit your own Ticking Cowl inspired by this workaday fabric.

Small floral prints will help you achieve a prairie look. We'd love to see the Ceylon by Colette in one of these sweet little calicos.

A bandanda shawl would be great to accessorize your new wardrobe - perhaps this pattern from Hill Country Weavers in the rustically wonderful Acadia from Fibre Co?

Be sure to finish your garments and accessories with a natural cotton lace trim.

We have no shortage of pioneer inspired patterns, from quilts to cute dresses, your style can be handcrafted-down-home-prairie perfection.

“You should never be ashamed of work you have done only work that you haven't.”
― Little House on the Prairie

Emily's Aidez Cardigan

Greetings, crafty peeps!

Do you know how much I love making sweaters? I really, really do, and I'm pretty picky about how I like to make them--top down, seamless, try on as you go. Seeing Amber and Angelique's beautiful Aidezes convinced me to try this *bottom up?!?* *seamed?!?* sweater pattern by Cirilia Rose. Being a bit stubborn in my ways, I at least had convert the pattern to seamless...and add some shaping...and stuff.

This gorgeous sweater was made from Cestari 2ply Fine Merino in Blue Pansy, which is a lovely squishy aran weight yarn. It was really lovely to work with, although you could also use Peace Fleece, Cascade Eco or Eco+, Imperial Stock 2ply Mulespun, or our very own Fancy Tiger Heirloom Romney!

As per usual for me, this turned into a make it up as you go along kind of affair. After teaching the My Favorite Sweater class for so long I'm pretty comfortable with knitting away from patterns. It's like cooking, you take an amazing recipe and then close the book and make it. Sometimes awesome things happen, and it's a certainty that you will learn a lot. And Cirilia's pattern is amazing. Those cables are all gorgeous to look at, fun to knit, and surprisingly easy to memorize. It makes me so happy when you don't need a row counter as much as you thought because the tiny cables tell you when to cable the bigger ones. You smarty!

Have you ever tried fixing cabling mistakes? Well, I have now become somewhat good at that. Fixing a trellised cable is pretty intense, but makes you feel like you can do anything! Invincible! Ha ha, you silly trellis, you thought you could foil me?!?! Or, you could just leave them in, like I did above. Five points if you can see it.

Oh, and one sleeve at a time--not a good idea when you are making things up as you go. I knit the sleeves two at a time using the magic loop method. Two at a time forever! It's not just for socks, two at a time is pretty much the only way I will knit something that needs to be identical (If that scares you, take a class! You might swear off one at a time too!).

This is definitely my new go-to favorite sweater. I love it so much!

Craft Up A Trend: Nautical Style

Nautical style is super adorbz! We've been seeing it everywhere--in some of our favorite local shops and on the streets of Denver as the weather turns warmer. 

1) Kling dress at Fancy Tiger Clothing  |  2) Whale Necklace by Winter Garden Studios  |   3) Anchors Away Wall Embroidery by motherMAEi  |  4) Sailor Shorts by Tara Starlet  |  5) No. 232 Duffel by Billy Kirk  |  6)  Nautical Set by Vital Industries  |  7) Knot Diagram Pillow by Coral & Tusk 

We've gathered together our best nautical supplies and patterns that would be coveted by the most fashion-forward sailor, so you can craft up a trend!

The Jasmine top sewing pattern by Colette is a sweet and feminine take on a sailor top. A light cotton voile in navy and white polka dots would be perfect!

Knitting guru Emily is already on the right track with this trend, knitting an Aidez cabled aran cardigan in deep royal Cestari Worsted (100% US raised and milled wool yarn). The free pattern from Cirilia Rose is a hip take on a classic fisherman's sweater.

The Anchors Away collection by Dear Stella is nautical to the max with nets, knots, sailboats and anchors. Summerime pool bag? Yes.

Erquy by Heather Dixon is a saucy, striped camisole, and would be perfect knit up in shiny Pima Cotton by Cascade.

We've been anxiously anticipating the arrival of Colette's brand new patterns and just love the new shorts pattern, Iris. Made in Essex yarn-dyed cotton linen and embellished with four bright red tagua nut buttons, tehy would be perfect for lounging on your sailboat.

Narwhals! Mysterious creatures of the high seas! Ysolda captured their adorable-ness in her mitten pattern from Whimsical 3.

A summer dress? Little boy's button down shirt? Pretty much anything would be amazing made out of this "French" sailor print on double gauze from Japan.

We love jersey! And what's better than jersey? Striped jersey! The Renfrew pattern from Sewaholic is the perfect pattern to get you sewing up a summer wardrobe's worth of cute tees. (Secret note to you: We will also have two fantastic classes for jersey tops on our soon-to-be-released summer class schedule--look for that at the end of the month!)

Sailors beware, this adorable toothy shark by Woolbuddy will teach you to needlefelt and then be your friend forever if you let him! 

We hope to see you sporting some handcrafted nautical style soon!

Might as Well Face It, We're Addicted To Aidezes

We've been cardigan-crazy around here lately, and the current favorite is the Aidez cardigan by Cirilia Rose. Angelique started the frenzy with her pretty, mustard yellow, cable bedecked cardigan.

Angelique's Aidez

I learned of the Aidez through the Anthropologie Knits group on Ravelry; they were doing a knitalong and after falling in love with those crazy cables, I had to knit one up for myself. Lucky for me there were already a couple dozen finished cardigans, so I was able to modify my sweater to fit perfectly by increasing the sleeve circumference and armhole depth. The knitting only took a couple of days but mustering up the courage to start seaming took about two weeks... however it was well worth it! I've been wearing this sweater non-stop this winter and get compliments on it everywhere I go!

I used Cascade Eco+ in the Straw colorway (I'm obsessed with ochre at the moment) and it took just over two skeins so it was an incredibly affordable knit. Dépêchez-vous et faire une Aidez aujour'hui!

Amber's Aidez

Angelique's amazing Aidez cardigan totally inspired me to make one of my very own. Cirilia Rose's pattern was quick and fun to knit. The cables kept me interested, but they weren't too complicated to keep track of after a repeat or two. Now that I'm finished, I kind of miss knitting it...perhaps I need an oatmeal Aidez too? Aidez moi, I'm addicted!

For my cardigan I used Peace Fleece worsted yarn--my current favorite sweater yarn--in the colorway Kamchatka Sea Moss. It is so durable that you can wear your handknit sweater every day and it holds up beautifully with no pilling. (I've actually been wearing this cardigan almost daily since it came off the needles!) I love the tweedy look and the stitch definition this yarn gives. The company behind Peace Fleece yarn is amazing, too. They began in 1985, working with and bringing together people in countries that were historically enemies, with a mission to create understanding and friendship through trade. You can check out their story here. I ♥ them.

If you want to knit your own Aidez visit the free pattern download!