You know how Knitty does a Fall, a Deep Fall, AND a Winter issue so that you can have twice (or is that three times?) as many patterns to knit once the weather gets cold? Well, we’ve decided to do something similar with yarn at fibre space!
Many knitting stores bring in their fall and winter yarns starting around September or October, maybe add in a couple of special luxury yarns right before the holidays, and then after Christmas, DONE! Time to start thinking about spring and summer yarns, right?
Except here in the DC area, it’s just starting to get really cold in January (well, depending on the day) and we’re finally getting around to knitting winter things for ourselves now that we’ve got all our gift knitting done. We want more winter yarns!
So we thought, hey, why not have a SECOND winter yarn season and bring in some new yarns? So we did!
Since the beginning of December, we’ve brought in new yarns from Manos del Uruguay, Neighborhood Fiber Co., Noro, Rowan, Skein, and Swans Island – and there’s more on the way!
Speaking of Knitty… their winter issue arrived at the beginning of December too, but we were so busy with the holidays, inventory, and getting new yarn in we didn’t really have time to sit down and give it a good look through. We were really pleased to see that our very own former fibre spacegirl Veronica had a pattern published in this issue though! (Congratulations, Veronica!) So we had to take a minute and talk it up, of course!
Veronica knit her super cute Escargot cloche in Dragonfly Fibers Blue Faced Worsted – one of our favorite yarns from this local hand dyer! This would also be great in the Manos del Uruguay Rittenhouse Merino 5-Ply that we just got in – the rich saturated colors will brighten up a cold winter’s day. Or try a variegated version in Skein Worsted MCN!
Another great pattern from this issue is the SkyIsle cardigan, knit in Tahki Donegal Tweed. (Yep, we’ve got it in the shop!) The light-colored Fair Isle-patterned yoke and darker body with waist shaping are very figure flattering! (For most of us, anyway – Danielle, however, will insist this makes her shoulders look too big, and will reverse the colors to have a dark yoke pattern and a light colored body. Isn’t it cool how you can do that when you knit things for yourself?) This looks like a fun knitting challenge – it’s worked in the round from the bottom up and then steeked. Cascade Eco Wool would be another good choice for this if you’d like something a little less tweedy. At 4 stitches to the inch, this should be a pretty quick knit too!
Maybe you prefer cables to colorwork? Personally, I am loving any and all short sleeved pullovers to wear over long sleeved shirts this winter so Alata might just have to move to the top of my queue! This one is knitted in the round from the bottom up as well. Manos del Uruguay Rittenhouse Merino 5-Ply would be a great yarn for this pattern – the plies will help the cables stand out and keep the yarn from pilling with wear.
Not enough cables for you yet?
Stephen West’s Groove scarf/shawl uses two colors of The Fibre Company Acadia, a gorgeous slubby blend of Merino, alpaca, and silk, in a pattern that’s got stripes AND cables. (And lots of buttons too!)
This would also be beautiful in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Maisonette DK or Rowan Tweed – both new to the shop for Second Winter! The hard part will be picking out which two colors you want to use!
Lesley mentioned in her recent post that she has a lot of hats – so do I! I have a whole drawerful of hats that I’ve knitted and not one single solitary pair of mittens to keep my hands warm. (Well, no finished pairs anyway… there are plenty of single solitary mittens floating around.) The Borough mittens might just be the solution!
Knitted in cushy Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes, these convertible mittens have flip-tops that conveniently button back to change them into fingerless mitts – it’s like having two pairs of toasty warm handwear but with half the knitting! (That’s what I’m going to tell myself, anyway. Swans Island Certified Organic Chunky would be another great yarn choice for these.
These are knitted in the round on US 8s and you only have to cast on 30 stitches for the medium size… I might end up with warm hands this winter after all!
Have you knitted anything from this issue yet? What are your favorites?