Knit, Blog & Be Happy!

I cannot begin to tell you how long I have been looking to bring Woolstok to the shelves at Monarch. I just never made the commitment and I do not know why.  Blue Sky Fibers had a booth at this summer's H+H and as I made my list of vendors to visit, they were on the top. I brought a bit home with me and knit a few swatches and, I can honestly say, I adore this yarn. We will be hosting a Woolstok trunk show from September 15th to October 14th It will feature cowls hats and sweaters.  If...

Like many knitters, I organize my projects before I think about what clothes I am going to take on a trip. We featured this list in the "While We Knit" section a few weeks ago but I thought it was worthy of an expanded blog post. What do I do when I pack my knitting? Read on! When selecting a project with which to travel I always select something that is easy for you to knit. I might be chatting with friends, or on some form of transportation so you want a project that you can pick up and put down...

Swatching is my not favorite part of knitting a sweater or a shawl. As we talk to all of you in the shop, we can confirm that knitting a swatch is low on many knitter's lists. As you all know, if you want a sweater to fit properly, knitting and blocking a swatch to check your gauge is necessary. Many people skip that step and hope for the best. If fit is not a good enough reason to swatch, let me give you another: yarn to pattern marriage. Read on for this week's swatch journey! I am in love with the Beaufort 5 cardigan...

With some new colors coming out today, I decided to celebrate Woolfolk Luft in this week's Spotlight.  I am not a huge fan of knitting of bulkier yarn but Luft is the exception to the rule. This is not a weighty, bulky yarn but one that is light and airy due to the fact that is it an organic cotton chainette tube filled with Woolfolk's Ultimate Merino. (You can read a bit more about their merino here.) Woolfolk describes this season spanning yarn as "a bulky, lightweight miracle"   If you want to give Luft a try, I would suggest knitting...

As many of you know, I am not a big crocheter.  Yes, I am crocheting a temperature blanket, but that is just one stitch repeated again and again in a straight line.  When I happened upon the Ikigai Fibers booth at a trade show, I fell in love with this granny square blanket.  This is not my grandmother's acrylic yarn crochet of the early 70’s. Pam Power’s Granny Square Lite Blanket, worked in a beautiful color palette, looks modern.  Six large squares are crocheted in her Paka Chunky yarn, put together and finished off with a 3-row border. The result is...