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

TNNA 2013: A Huge Success

Stitchers from all over descended upon Columbus Ohio this past weekend for the summer TNNA needlearts market to shop for new products, get inspired and see friends old and new. It was a huge success. 

When walking the show floor frequently people ask if you have found anything new and exciting. As this is my tenth show there is a lot that I have seen before - with many new booths sprinkled in.  I find it all exciting. 

One of my first stops is Lorna's Laces to say hello to Beth & Michael.  Their yarns are a staple in the shop fall lineup. Shepherd Worsted is a wonderful machine washable wool that is hand dyed and lovely.  I am also very excited for their new yarn, Haymarket, which is 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool. It is so very soft and in Lorna's colors- amazing.  

I was very excited when I was walking down the 1000 aisle and ran into Lesley Scanlon who is the amazingly creative mind behind Mac & Me.  She was displaying her new patterns, all classic designs with a modern twist.  I was so happy to catch up with her and place an order for the shop.  

The Koigu booth is always full of buzz and excitement.  We picked through their hundreds of colors deciding what stayed and what didn't (this is never easy.  I love it all!).  Below is the beginning of the process... 

Wow, I love Koigu!

The show wouldn't be complete without seeing some favorite knitwear designers.  The cherry on top was visiting with Ysolda Teague. We talked about her designs, her new book, and even got some new tips for casting-on toys! She is such a nice person to chat with and I am so excited to work with her distributor, Crafty Diversions. 

With all that in mind I still have quite a few surprises up my sleeves for fall.  I cannot wait to share them with you.

Knit, Crochet, Create!

Presenting Churchmouse Patterns

A little birdy named Clare suggested strongly that I look into knitting patterns from Churchmouse - I had seen some before, like the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf... 

and knew that they were very pretty, classic patterns. So I took her advice and ordered a bunch of different patterns. Good advice little birdy. 


The first pattern that I made into a shop sample was Barb's Koigu Ruffle Scarf. 

It was a very quick fun knit that resulted in a very ruffled scarf that looks great with a fitted jacket.  


Keeping with the Churchmouse pattern scarf theme I cast on the Bias Before & After scarf which I am thoroughly enjoying as it is knit with lace weight yarn and I am using the Fil Royal from Zitron which is a gorgeous 100% baby alpaca yarn. 

The pattern, in typical Churchmouse fashion, is so well thought out and written clearly that you are pretty much guaranteed success and a beautiful accessory upon completion.  I look forward to posting my finished "Bias Before & After Scarf" but here it is in progress. 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. 

Springtime at Patricia's

At Patricia's Yarns, we love spring! We love the outdoor seating at Hoboken restaurants, the small flower boxes in shop windows, and, of course, spring knits!


Featured in the picture above is Grace modeling the Louise Cardigan, knit in solid koigu kpm. The pattern is from the book Vintage Baby Knits, a shop favorite.

Patricia knit up her favorite new spring shawl called Springtime Bandit, a pattern by Kate Gagnion Osborne of the Fibre Co. We love all things Fibre Company, especially their new book, Vintage Modern Knits, which contains two more beautiful shawl patterns.

Below are a few more warm weather inspired photos...




Happy Knitting!

Greetings from TNNA

If I tell Margaux one more time how happy I am about this June's TNNA she might smack me. But to be honest it's been a fabulous show and I am so excited for the Fall!

We visited old friends and met new ones and we're all excited about what's in store for you all this Fall!

First we visited Michael & Beth at Lorna's Laces. We will once again be stocking their Shepherd's Worsted and Helen's Lace in more colors than we've ever had before!

Next was Koigu.

It was fun picking out colors again this year and that is only half of what we are bringing to you! We love Koigu for so many reasons and we love them even more now that Rhichard bestowed lil
Scribner with their first toy!
Thank you again Rhichard for being so thoughful and generous. We know our lil' Scribner is going to love it!

Next up, Blue Sky and Spud & Chloe. There's so much we love about this company. The yarns are delicious, the patterns lovely and their brand - genius! Margaux showed them her latest sweater creation to their delight! I think they got the idea of how much she loves their skinny cotton! Now get cracking on that pattern, Miss Margaux. We ordered all their new colors in Brushed Suri, S&C Outer and Sweater and a little limited edition surprise.

Even though we're still in the midst of the summer warmth we do have our sights set on the fall and all it's pattern offerings! Margaux enjoyed this great hat from Mac & Me. Made with 4 balls of the Blue Sky Bulky, we think its going to be a hit.


We had great expectations going into this year's trade show and we left with so much more than we could have expected. Our "to-do" list was long and we managed to check every item off in what feels like a whirlwind visit. As for the new yarn 'friends', we hope you pop in to the shop to meet them - we will be sure to let you know when they arrive.

Looking forward to cast on and seeing you all of you soon!

Knit Road Trip: Philadelphia

Philadelphia: best known for cheesesteaks, Ben Franklin, Boys II Men and now... knitting!

Margaux, Riley & I took a day trip to Philly to visit our friend Craig, owner of the LYS Loop and the great fabric store, Spool, run by the fabulous Laura.

After lunch together, we explored Loop. While I have visited Craig before, Margaux was visiting this beautiful LYS for the first time.

As you can see Craig has a great eye for yarn, one reason why we love him (of many reasons, of course!) He had a Spud & Chloe trunk show which we loved seeing too. Patricia's Yarns also carries the Sweater and Outer weight of this great new line of yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas.

We stopped next door to visit Spool where Laura runs a fantastic fabric and sewing shop!


Seeing this adorable fabric and sewing shop got Margaux's creative juices flowing. Laura was wearing a cute handmade dress and there were so many beautiful samples as well.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip!


Oh and of course we brought home more Koigu! Patricia's Yarns LOVES Koigu!


Thank you Craig and Laura for being such gracious hosts. We hope to see you in Hoboken soon!

All good things must come to an end...

But this one doesn't really end because the fun is just beginning! We are so excited about this 2009 TNNA show. We are coming home to 'Jersey' shortly very excited about some new purchases. We have ordered more Koigu than ever, acquired 2 new yarn lines, spent a great time with friends while making new ones & are enjoying a pre-flight vino ready to return to Hoboken.

We look forward to showing you all our 'shwag' as well as sharing stories from the trip. Hope you have enjoyed reading our updates as much as we enjoyed doing them! See you Tuesday!

Sweet dreams,
Patricia & Margaux

Happy New Year

We are back from the holiday time away feeling refreshed and excited for the new year ahead. Upon our return to the shop we were greeted with packages holding some very exciting things... Addi Turbo Clicks & Koigu.

A few customers have been waiting patiently for their sets to come in & Chris was first in to purchase his set. He sat down & immediately transferred his sleeve of his Tomten jacket onto a new pair of Addi Clicks. It was definitely love. He is working the sleeve utilizing the 'Magic Loop' which is an ideal technique for the very flexible blue addi click cord.

Next we opened the big box of Koigu full of a mix of KPPPM & KPM in fantastic colors.




A few images of color combination fun - the possibilities are endless & wonderful all at the same time.

Koigu Helena

We love Koigu. Love it. Love the people who dye it, love knitting with it, love the colors, love it. We also love Knitty. It is a fantastic website that published an adorable little girls sweater called Helena which is quickly knit from the top down. It's written for a DK weight yarn so we modified it slightly & used Koigu's KPPPM resulting in a smaller finished garment.

Finished piece:

Ann's Baby Sweater

Ann is a long time knitter who comes in regularly with Ernesto - he & Riley are best friends.Recently she finished a modified February baby sweater knit without the lace pattern using Koigu. She brought it by for us to see before it was sent off to a lucky baby.

The color is perfect & the owl buttons seem to be made for fall and that colorway. What a great sweater - perfect for parents who don't want to find out if they are expecting a boy or a girl!

Amy's Rambling Rows Blanket

Amy fell in love with Koigu a few years ago when we acquired the line. She has made scarves, mittens, American Girl Doll outfits, baby sweaters & blankets. It is a very versatile yarn that works well for any project.

Today she brought in her Rambling Rows made out of Koigu & it is beautiful.

She picked an array of blues, purples & pinks that combine together very well. What a beautiful example of Rambling Rows.

What an eye catching blanket. Great job Amy!

Mia's "Fruit Loop" Socks

Today Mia came in delighted with her finished "Fruit Loop" socks knit out of Koigu KPPPM in a very happy pink colorway. They are her first socks & are quite an accomplishment!

They are so cute & perfect for Mia. She has begun down the road of a knitter addicted to socks already having 3 sock projects in her future. We look forward to seeing your next pair of finished socks!

Not your Average Mittens

Mia, our February Beginners Knit graduate, completed her first mitten which was also her first project!



What we love best about these mittens is her choice of contrasting Koigu colors. Mia who has a great eye for color chose the darker purple and light pink and was so pleased with how the colors came together in the mittens. We now encourage all our customers to experiment with different Koigu color combinations. The color combinations are endless and truly make any project unique!

Not to mention doubled Koigu is perfect on size 7 needles for those who are scared to go down in needle but want to use this great hand painted yarn. We are excited to see what other color combos emerge!