Yarns Untangled Blog
The Making Of: A Cardigan, pt. 4 – Seaming and the FO
Read part three here. Read part two here. Read part one here. Ok folks, it seems we made it all the way to the end. It’s just over two months to the day since I cast on for this sweater, and considering a polished off a few other projects along the way, that’s not a bad finishing time, if I do say so myself! Picking up where we left off last, the bits and pieces of the sweater had completely dried, with minimal cat hair present. Here they are ready to be seamed. If any of you have blocked straight edges …
Lichen and Lace Knit Along
It’s time to announce our second knit along! Thanks to all the knitters and crocheters who took part in 2015’s Lanesplitter Skirt KAL (great pictures and details on many of the projects can be seen on the Ravelry thread). This time we’ve decided to take a slightly different tack on the traditional pattern-based KAL, so instead of working on the same pattern as a group, we are opening the doors of possibility wide! Inspired by the unprecedentedly beautiful yarns of Lichen and Lace, we would like to invite each and every one of you to join us in working on a …
The Making Of: A Cardigan, pt. 3 – Blocking
Read part two here. Read part one here. The blocking process has always been a bit elusive to me. I’ll do it of course, because I know I’m supposed to, and I know that it’s essential, especially for a garment like this one. But I will admit that, in the past, I have skipped blocking my finished objects as often as possible. This is not for any good reason other than basic impatience to have the project finished (there’s nothing like the satisfaction of changing a Ravelry status from “WIP” to “FO”). But just like so many other aspects of knitting …
The Making Of: A Cardigan, pt. 2
Read part one here. You’ll recall that at the conclusion of my last post, I had guessed that a 4.5mm needle should be the right size for me to get gauge. The old me of a few years back would have simply used the data collected from the 3.5mm and 4mm swatches, extrapolated that a 4.5mm would do the job, and simply started the project with the largest size, not bothering with a third swatch. However, partially due to a few hard lessons learned in the past few years, and partially because y’all are watching, I took the straight and …
The Making Of: A Cardigan
One of the absolute best things about working in a yarn store is that we often get to be there, from beginning to end, for a huge number of projects. Sure, we don’t knit or crochet them ourselves, but we get to be a part of choosing the yarn, the pattern, often the needles, even swatching, customizing, mistakes, disasters, solutions, casting off, blocking, and if we’re lucky, trying on the final item, or giving it a snuggle when you the customer bring it back into the store to proudly show it off. Today, I’d like to introduce you dear readers …
Knitted Christmas Ornaments: A Kit
For our first official foray into kits, we’re happy to announce that these sweet little numbers are now available in store. There’s something especially cozy about a knitted tree ornament, and these are some of the coziest. The kit features 11 possible designs (8 easy charts, and 3 more challenging ones), all from the mind of knitting guru Kate Atherley and they are currently only available as part of this collection. Since most of the charts are relatively uncomplicated, this kit is suited to any knitter comfortable with knitting in the round and with basic colourwork. However, if you’re feeling a …
New Yarn: Lichen & Lace
When we realised that Megan Ingman, original owner and heart and soul of Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market, had ventured into the fine art of dyeing yarn under the name “Lichen and Lace“, we didn’t miss a beat. Not only is she working with soft, versatile, and surprisingly affordable bases, her eye for colour is truly one of the best we’ve come across, ever. Our order was put together and sent in seconds. The hardest part was choosing colours – if only we could have every single one! Megan opened Lettuce Knit in her 20s and ran it with a few dedicated …
Announcing our first knitalong: The Lanesplitter Skirt
Welcome to our first ever knitalong (KAL)! We’ve chosen a pattern that has long been one of our very favourites: The Lanesplitter Skirt, by Tina Whitmore, published in Knitty.com Issue #32, First Fall 2010. For those who have not participated in a KAL before, the way it works is that everyone uses the same pattern and we knit our projects in tandem, but each crafter creates their own perfect project using the yarn, needles, and colours they prefer. Participants can be our most regular of regulars, occasional customers, first timers, or even knitters from across the world who want to join in. Ravelry will …
Why We Did It
Throughout this process, one of the first questions that almost everyone asked us was something along the lines of, “What made you decide to open your own store?” That’s of course not quite what they mean; some of them mean, “What on earth do you think you’re doing, in this economy?” or “That’s going to be a lot of responsibility, are you sure you’re ready for it?” Speaking for myself, it never really seemed necessary to me to put into words why we were doing this. To me, it was obvious: for the yarn! What knitter or crocheter hasn’t admitted …