Thursday, July 25, 2013

Another classic from Churchmouse

Churchmouse Yarns and Teas publishes beautiful patterns that are timeless and classic in style. We sell their patterns and have quite a few samples knit up in the shop. 

For my trip to TNNA in Ohio, I chose to knit Annabella's Cowl out of Koigu KPPPM and Shibui Silk Cloud. It was perfect travel knitting - and so lovely to work with as the Silk Cloud is amazingly soft.  



I recently finished.  This  project is another great example of why blocking is so important. Here is the before: 


during:



and after:


I am really pleased with how it came out. The color is beautiful and this cowl couldn't be softer. 

The blocking process truly is magical; the stitches relax and fall into place making for a gorgeous finished piece. 

To block, I fill my sink with cool water, add a teaspoon of Soak wash, submerge my knitted piece, and squish it around a bit to make sure it is saturated. I let it sit for 15 minutes, drain the sink, squeeze out excess water, roll it up in a towel to get out more water, then lay flat to dry. Sometimes I use blocking wires to help maintain straight edges but this time I only needed pins. It takes a finished project from nice to gorgeous. 

I love this cowl!

Knit, Crochet, Create!

-Patricia

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Summer Cowl

Summer nights on a roof deck or at the beach can be cool and we have the perfect accessory for just such occassions! Let me introduce to you the Tee Cake Cowl in a Day! 




It is a very quick knit on size 19 knitting needles. This easy, fun accessory will take you through summer and into fall. 


Tee Cakes are made of recycled t-shirts and are 51% cotton, 49% undetermined material (ha ha). They are quite fun to work with.  If you cannot make it into the shop you can purchase a kit through our new Etsy shop

Knit, Crochet, Create!


Wednesday, July 03, 2013

New MadelineTosh is in the building...

I am so thrilled to have a fresh new box of MadelineTosh. This time I added a new yarn base, Pashmina to the Merino Light order in the gorgeous colorways that Madeline Tosh is famous for. 


Stop by and see for yourself. The depth of color is so unique and gorgeous. The Pashmina is so soft and luxurious it begs to be worn next to the skin. I cannot wait to cast on with it!