Yarns Untangled Blog

YU Project: Nightshift in Painted Sky

Made in September, 2020Craft: knittingPattern: Nightshift by Andrea MowryYarn: Painted Sky in several different colourways, see notesSize: n/aNeedles: 5.00mm/US 8Gauge: 20 stitches x 28 rows = 10cm/4″ Our notes: The ever-present Nightshift. Andrea Mowry has gotten a lot of mileage out of this stitch pattern, and she’s very clever with it. This is (I think) the OG version of the shifting colour stitch, and while lots of folks have had luck making it with solid colours, it is designed to work with a yarn that slowly changes colours. So not a variegated or gradient yarn, but one that “shifts” from …

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YU Project: Quarter Section Blanket in Trailhead Yarns Yosemite

Made in February, 2021Craft: knittingPattern: Quarter Section Blanket by Trailhead YarnsYarn: Trailhead Yarns Yosemite in “Northwest Passage”Size: n/aNeedles: 8.00mm/US 11Gauge: 12 stitches x 15 rows = 10cm/4″ Our notes: A fun and fast baby blanket for those last minute baby shower gifts you need. The yarn is all cotton and partially recycled. It’s lovely thickness makes a nice, heavier-than-average baby blanket and would also make a beautiful full-size blanket for grownups. Changes made to pattern: pattern is written for three skeins but we did it with two and it was still a good size. In order to do so, we …

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YU Project: Turtle Dove in Julie Asselin Bouclé

Made in January, 2021Craft: knittingPattern: Turtle Dove by Espace Tricot Yarn: Julie Asselin Bouclé in “Mouton Noir”, approximately 3.25 skeinsSize: 3/MNeedles: 6.50mm for main body, 5.50mm for edgesGauge: 14 stitches = 10cm/4″ Our notes: This is such a worthy knit. Easy to wear with any outfit, the yarn is soft and warm. It’s a worsted weight, but we knit it quite loose here and the boucle texture just fills in the space so it didn’t actually use up that much yarn and went rather quickly. We had enough yarn left that we could have made it longer, or gone up one size …

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Black Knit and Crochet Designers

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been a lot of time online trying to find resources to help learn how to be a better anti-racism ally. The fibre community has tons of it’s own issues with racism, othering, exclusion, and many others that we need to work hard to improve. So many of us are new to sitting with our discomfort in this way, and we have found some really great resources out there that have helped to expand our fibre-related experiences. First, Hypothesis Yarns of Nova Scotia has been filling her Instagram feed with tons of beautiful yarn made …

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Four years!!!

Today marks four years since the day of our first sale! An anniversary is a great time to sit back and think about the people that have made Yarns Untangled such a fantastic community. This January, Annabel reached her one-year anniversary! I can’t believe it’s almost been two years, I don’t know where we’d be without her. We were also joined last year by Kelly who quickly became an integral part of the team. She keeps me in line as best she can, and that’s a difficult task!  Thank you so much to both of you for all you do! …

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YU Ranunculus KAL Rundown

  As of last night, the deadline has passed! Thanks to everyone who participated, we saw some truly lovely creations in this KAL, and some very interesting demonstrations of how a pattern can look different depending on who is driving the needles. After checking all the Instagram posts, and going through this thread and everyone’s projects, here’s the data: Projects started: 23 WIPS: 10 F.O.s: 15 Participants: 19 IG Posts: 38 Ravelry posts: 60 Ravelry pages: 3 And now for the prizes! Most tops made: Although a few knitters started a second top, only Simone was able to finish, block, and …

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KAL Poll: Help us pick our next KAL subject!

Following on the heels of our adorable Zooalong, we’d like to keep the momentum going and choose the topic of our next KAL.  This time, we’d like to bring it back to the roots of the knit-a-long format and choose just one pattern that we are all making together. We’re asking for your input on picking our next pattern, and we have narrowed it down to four fantastic and versatile patterns we know you’ll love. Head on over to Ravelry to make your choice. Voting will be open until 6pm on Wednesday July 24th. Pattern #1: Ranunculus This pattern continues …

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Zooalong!

At long last, we have finally arrived at the first knitalong of 2019! After much discussion, the YU staff have chosen what we’re calling a Zooalong: a celebration of animals! Choose a pattern inspired by a beloved pet, favourite wild animal, or local urban varmint. The possibilities are unlimited! Stay tuned to this thread to see what everyone else has chosen, or dig through Ravelry to see what you can find (and then share your faves here!). A few ideas to get you started: The Pattern that started it all for us is The Sinister Catdigan pattern by Marna Gilligan  …

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Happy holidays, and a thank you!

We have had the best year yet here at Yarns Untangled, and that is thanks to the kindness and unending support of you wonderful people. Thank you for your love of craft, your passion for colour, and your true understanding of the value of small independent businesses in Toronto.  Here’s to an even better 2019! 2018 was an exciting one for us, with many small shifts and improvements, as well as a couple of unexpected occurrences that kept us on our toes. This time last year, you may remember that we had no water in the store, and that lasted …

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The Magic Sweater

If you haven’t yet read our last blog post, A Feisty Knitalong, read that first before this one. Earlier this year, The Yarn Therapist and Feisty Fibres met at a yarn festival, and fell very much into creative love.  Since then, they have been working on a collaboration that uses both of their yarns to the full extent of their beauty. The product is The Magic Sweater! This fully customize-able sweater kit includes enough Yarn Therapist self-striping to make a perfect yoke for your chosen size, and enough Feisty Fibres worsted to complete the rest of the sweater. This kit …

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