knitfish » yarn

Tulip Mania

stephanie — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:43:48 +0000

There’s a run on tulips this fall, and it’s not the Holland variety. It’s the Tulip Sweater pattern from Dream in Color yarn, which has become quite popular since the Yarn Harlot blogged about it last spring. I’ve gotten sucked in to tulip mania myself – the moment I saw it I knew I’d be knitting it for my niece, Phoebe, who is almost six months old. But my sister-in-law, and therefore my niece, are not “pink girls” and so the original colorway just won’t work for them.

So that’s where the power of the internet comes in. Through Ravelry I found a bunch of various color combos that others have knitted, as well as links to stores that sell little kits made up with exactly enough yarn of each color to make the sweater (otherwise you’d need seven full balls, something around $160 for a baby sweater- ugh!). And the person at the first store I called, Carri at Coldwater Collaborative, was amazing! She got all excited about helping me develop a deeper/stronger color palette that had browns and greens as a base, and it seems like the minute we got off the phone she wound up the balls and mailed it off – because I got it yesterday (and Monday was a mail holiday!).

I don’t have all the colors with me to show (will do that soon), and this is a terrible picture, but here’s the start of the Tulip Sweater ala Carri.

Fingerless for Spring

stephanie — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:45:38 +0000

It’s starting to feel like spring, and I hope we won’t need bulky mittens and gloves for too much longer. So here are some fingerless glove patterns.

Knitty’s “Fetching” fingerless gloves: knit with only a thumb, these get complicated with cable detailing. These are knit in Debbie Bliss’ Cashmerino Aran- a truly yummy yarn.
Wendy’s Striped fingerless mitts: knit up pretty quickly with a slightly bulky wool, like Noro Kureyon.
“Hooray for Me” fingerless gloves: this is a pair I’ve been working on (and off) for a while, with this great sock yarn from Schoeller.

Get knitting while it’s still sorta chilly out – and while you can enjoy your fingerless gloves for at least a month or two more.

10 Free Scarf Patterns

stephanie — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 02:45:06 +0000

The first project new knitters usually take on is a scarf. It’s not necessarily the best first project – scarves take a long time (as compared to, say, a baby hat, or even an adult hat), but it’s definitely easy to grasp the concept of a first scarf – cast on, knit, knit, knit, knit, bind off.

If you’re beyond that basic scarf concept, here are ten free scarf patterns to try (with some yarn recommendations to boot!).

Lace “Touch of Whimsy” scarf – Yarn: Patons Classic Merino
Seed Stitch scarf -Yarn: Misti Alpaca Bulky
Lengthwise Stripe scarf – Yarn: Tahki Bunny Alpaca
Basketweave scarf – Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease
Feather & Fan scarf – Yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Woven Stitch skinny scarf – Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted
Simple lace Drop Stitch scarf – Yarn: Caron Pizazz
Keyhole short scarf – Yarn: Moda Dea Bow Ties
Cable Scarf scarf – Yarn: Any bulky weight yarn
Big Wool Ribbed scarf – Yarn: Any two colors of Merino wool

Have fun!