Halcyon Yarn

All Peru, All The Time

Ok, so the title is a bit of a stretch… We all know about my deep and abiding love for Noro Yarns and our own homegrown Swans Island Merino. But this week, everything is coming up Peru. We picked up Peru this fall to fill a gap in our Bulky Offerings. We wanted a quality washable bulky gauge yarn and Peru fits the bill amazingly.

I’ve blogged about it before, but now I am actually (finally) knitting with it and I LOVE it!! Peru is a blend: 40% wool, 40% acrylic and 20% alpaca; machine washable, lay flat to dry. Yardage is average for a bulky yarn at 116 per ball. It is soft. Pass the itchy kid-test soft. So pull out your size 10-10.5 needles and let’s get knittin’!

Susan already got knittin’ and finished a sweater for her granddaughter out of the magenta shade. It is the children’s Gifford Jacket and knit up quicky quick at this bulky gauge. Susan modified the pattern for short sleeves, per granddaughter request and look how cute it is!!

As for me, I found myself in need of a pair of mittens due to the blast of November weather we had in October. So on Wednesday night, I cast on a mitten with a rusty shade of Peru. On Thursday morning, I had a finished mitten for show and tell at work which amazed my co-workers. The amazement didn’t have anything to do with the beauty of the mitten (ha!) or how quickly I made it. It was the fact that I made a mitten at all. I do not knit mittens. Socks, sweaters, shawls, scarfs, hats by the dozen, but never mittens. I even knit lace. But not mittens. I have tried them and never quite gotten the knack. I don’t understand it but I have a severe mental block where mittens are concerned. They never look right or feel right or fit. Ridiculous, I know. But there you have it. Do I have a mitten phobia?

Anyway, I pulled out the good old Yankee Knitter Hats and Mittens pattern and cast on without trying to think too much about it. And before I knew it I had a mitten. And it’s kind of cute. The other conundrum here is that this pattern is done flat. I practically never knit anything in pieces. I will go to great lengths to avoid sewing pieces together. And here I have a mitten. Knit flat and sewn up. Who would’ve known? Still can’t say I’m crazy about knitting mittens but I am crazy about Peru. I brought home the orange that just came in and I am casting on this weekend to make the Yankee Knitter Easy Bulky Sweater with the cable front. (Which I will be modifying to knit in the round!)

Stay tuned next week for the Einstein Coat blog update and prepare to be amazed….

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What a difference a weight and/or a needle makes!

We are in the full swing of October now and our Annual Open House is behind us for another year. BIG thanks to our wonderful demonstrators and staff members for making our Columbus Day Saturday a huge success, once again. Also a great big thanks to our many amazing and loyal customers for their yearly pilgrimage to visit us for our big day. We already have big plans for next year – I heard talk of an in-house scavenger hunt… Stay tuned and mark your calendars now for Columbus Day Saturday 2010! Here is Beth to talk about our Noro infatuation.

A couple of years ago Gwynn and I made sweaters, she for Meredith and I for my granddaughter, Sydney.  It was a very simple short-sleeved cardigan and as I knit, I kept thinking that I would love a sweater like that.  I decided it was simple enough that I could create a larger version–simpler than I thought!  Sydney’s sweater was out of Sockotta sock yarn on, of course, small size 2 needles.  I found that just by going to a worsted weight (in this case, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed) and size 8 needles, I had an adult sweater!  (Well, the beginnings of one–it is among my unfinished projects right now!)

The same kind of thing happened with the ‘Easy Side to Side Cardigan’.  You may recall the picture of Gwynn, Susan and me all wearing our Patagonia cotton sweaters.  I was determined to make an easier version of the pattern that should have been very easy, but wasn’t.  Finally I came up with a more straightforward pattern, still using Patagonia and was very pleased with the sweater which garnered lots of compliments!  But, alas, we have discontinued Patagonia and I had to find a current yarn.  Noro Iro is so reflective of the splendid fall colors of Maine this year that I chose it in shades of red and really whipped it up.  I subtracted 3 from the added stitches because this was a bulkier yarn on larger needles and still wound up with a very different sweater!  The initial revision was a hip length ’shawl with sleeves’.  Noro Iro is a more sophisticated version reaching to my knees, still very comfortable, versatile and warm.  I can’t wait to try another juggling numbers, but the pattern will be ready to go next week!  And you can follow it or play with it easily!

Gwynn and I are both still working on the Einstein Coat from Sally Melville’s “The Knit Stitch“.  And again, yarn makes a difference.  Gwynn’s in a very colorful Noro Iro (the one I would have used if she weren’t already!) is beautiful and fun!  Mine is in a subtle color path of Noro Kochoran giving a more classic impression. Several of the women in our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group knit this coat through the winter in varying shades of Lopi, Lamb’s Pride Bulky and Jane even did  a beautiful coat holding Victorian Brushed Mohair and Victorian 2-Ply Wool together.  We could all wear them to the same function and probably not have anyone comment on everyone wearing the same coat!

Thank you Beth for figuring out that side to side pattern and knitting like a crazy person to get it ready for us. Here are the pics of our progress – mine is the rainbow version and I have one sleeve left to do. Beth’s is darker and much more elegant; she just started her first sleeve. What we really want to know is what are you going to make yours out of??

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In the Pink

Hello Readers! I want to start with a shout out to the American Planning Association for naming Front Street here in Bath, Maine as one of the nation’s top 10 downtown streets! Not only do we have an amazing little downtown, we are the only place in New England named on the list of Great Streets!! Now here is Beth with this week’s post:

The leaves are changing (splendidly!), sweater weather is coming quickly, the new Volume XII Yarn Catalog is being put together and our Annual Open House is this weekend!  So there is lots going on at Halcyon!  We all have several projects on our needles, hooks and looms!  And yet, some of us are always happy for an excuse to pick up yet another project and color.

Our customers are wonderful!  Some of the mainstays are truly invested and eager to share their thoughts on some great marketing idea.  So when Betsy of our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group came in with a pattern saying, “You should do this!”  and went on to suggest that we gather several of our pink yarns and make a display for October, I didn’t hesitate.  She reminded me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Several of us here at Halcyon, as well as many of our customers, are survivors.  The pattern is a free downloadable Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf and it is lovely.  I grabbed a skein of Halcyon’s Gemstone Soft Twist Silk in pink and wound it into a knittable ball.  I knit the scarf in two evenings and was gratified by Betsy’s approval when I wore it to Sit and Knit this week. Make one for a survivor you know!

The Soft Twist Silk was a luxurious interlude from bulky hairy yarn. Like Gwynn, I am knitting an Einstein Coat, though mine isn’t nearly as colorful.  And Gwynn is right; it is just the right level of simplicity.  I attended a weekend conference last week and the Einstein was the perfect traveling project.  Mine is out of Noro Kochoran and the color way was a great ice breaker.  While at the conference, I was wearing the Side to Side cardigan I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs and several women asked for the pattern.  Now, I have written the pattern but no one else has actually knit the pattern and I wanted to make sure that it was coherent.   So I could hardly wait to get back to the store and pick out a current yarn.  I chose the red Noro Iro, cast on and promptly discovered I had left out a step in the pattern. Quick timeout for a revision! Now it is going very quickly while satisfying my need for color.  Check in next week for the finished project and pattern information!

Thank You Beth! for your busy needles and inspiration. The Pink Scarf is truly lovely and so is the awareness it symbolizes. On Sunday, I was able to finish the Purple People Eater…Bartlett Bulky doesn’t come in pink, so here is my favorite pink pic for the week. Meredith is my reminder to be grateful and aware. Go hug someone you love!

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Simplicity

I am finding that simplicity is the key to ‘funk lifting’. Simplicity in ALL my day to day stuff, which of course includes knitting. This is one of the reasons the Einstein Coat is working so well on the prevailing mood at my house. Simplicity at its simplest: knit every stitch, knit 6 different blocks, each new one picked up on the last one; we’re talking almost bore-you-to-death simplicity. One reason I chose the bold Noro yarn was to help combat the bore-you-to-death factor. I’m not bored to death, although I do know knitters who have shunned this project due to boredom. (Dead simple is right up my alley these days.) I never get tired of watching Noro colors appear on my needles, even after knitting the same color repeat 6 times. Oh, the genius of the Noro colorways! I finished the back piece and picked up for the left front and then….

Anyway, back to the theme of simplicity. Once again this week I was perusing Lori’s receiving area out in the back of the store. (I am often to be found out pawing through the latest goodies from the UPS man…)We got a shipment of Bartlett Yarn Maine Wool this week. I remarked to Lori that I had never knit with Bartlett. This seems almost sacrilege given that it is our locally made wonder yarn. It is astoundingly reliable and sturdy. It comes in a rainbow of heathered colors and right-off-the-sheep naturals. It is the closest look to homespun we have and it can really take a licking. (remember Timex watches?) A particular color caught my eye and made its way into my arms and out front onto my desk. From there it was quickly on the umbrella swift and promptly made into knittable balls. (I just love it when that happens!) I knew right away that I wanted to make the Pure and Simple Weekend Neck Down Pullover. I think she called it the Weekend Pullover because she meant it for weekend wear but I have made a couple of these before and if you have a chunk of time, it really does only take a weekend to make one up. (the gauge is 2 stitches per inch on size 17 needles) There is no sewing or finishing to this sweater; you start with the collar so you don’t even have to go back and do that bit.

I remarked to Lori (as I was snapping up my pile) that I have never knit with Bartlett before and she relayed her Bartlett story to me. Lori grew up with a knitting Mom and as she herself started to pick up the craft, her Mom always told her to ‘Stay Away From Wool. It Itches and It Shrinks.’ As a result Lori grew up knitting with acrylic yarns. Lots and lots of only acrylic yarn. When she finally decided to discard the ‘No Wool’ tenet of her upbringing (only after her Mama passed away), she brought herself over the bridge from Woolwich and into Halcyon Yarn. After the familiar first-time customer ‘Wave of Overwhelm’ she found herself in front of the Bartlett Yarn. The color palette and its local origin was all it took to hook her. She recalls feeling that she was in the lap of luxury holding onto her very own Bartlett Yarn. Remember, she was an all-acrylic all-the-time girl. She wanted hard core 100% wool and Bartlett fit the bill perfectly. Everyone got a warm winter hat that Christmas and Lori has never looked back. In fact, her son Matt treasures his Bartlett hat so much he refuses to wear it. He doesn’t want anything to happen to it.

So here’s to Bartlett Yarn – our own Luxury Maine Brand. And to Lori for branching out to fall in love with Bartlett. And to my soon to be finished Purple People Eater impenetrable snow shoveling sweater!

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The Splendor Continues or Noro is Stellar

Look at this basket of goodness. Take a moment and envision diving right in (you know you want to). I will state for the record that I am naming this my ‘Happy Basket’. (this is the small rice basket that we carry – I may have to upgrade to the large) I have made excellent progress on this coat in a week. I keep thinking of it – my very own Einstein Coat! For anyone who isn’t familiar with this pattern, here are the basics:

It is made entirely with garter stitch. Yes, knit every stitch. After all, the book is called Book 1: The Knit Stitch. Everything in the book is made with the knit stitch. Plain, simple, back to basics knit stitch. (And it all looks fantastic) The coat is knit in pieces, starting with the lower body. Each subsequent piece is picked up and knit off of a previously knit piece. It is a puzzle, albeit a simple one. It really is a perfect knitting project. The actual knitting is so mindless; it is perfect for tired-at-night knitting (which I do a lot of with a 5 year old transitioning to kindergarten). You make a big piece of garter stitch fabric. You count and knit the right number of ‘ridges’ and then you cast off. You pick up and knit the next piece to the correct number of ridges and bind off. And so on and so forth. The pattern is written for a bulky gauge so the knitting flies along on a size 10 or 10.5 needle. What’s not to love?? Add Noro Yarn to the mix and I can barely control myself.

A Stellar Book, a Stellar Yarn, a Stellar Project; it really is just too much! Of course my funk is lifting. (take another gander at the Happy Basket). I will only go so far as to say ‘lifting’ because what me and my girl are going through is hard. I’ve said it before in the last few weeks – parenting is hard. I am single momming it and have been since Meredith was 5 months old. (that’s when her Dad died.) Doing double duty when I don’t have a double portion of patience is trying to say the least. I do realize under the exhaustion (deep under the exhaustion) that she is worth it. Even given my mothering woes, I would choose this again. But knowing that doesn’t make me any less tired or frustrated or low on patience. Hence the Happy Basket! This amazing coat and my fall television shows coming back on track will certainly go a long way toward further funk-lifting. What are you guys watching? Are there any Grey’s Anatomy fans among you? I am a brand new convert since just this summer. I don’t know what took me so long – except that I don’t usually go in for hospital dramas. Anyway, I’m on board now, with a vengeance. There will be much happy TV knitting tonight.

This is a crazy piece of stuff to take a picture of but here is my progress so far. Stay tuned!!

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The Splendor of Noro

Well, I have been in a funk now for two weeks. It isn’t showing any signs of lifting either…  Meredith and I are experiencing transitional dismay and the first of what I am sure will be many power struggles. She is in the height of new found independence and confidence. Which is such a mixed bag. In fact, all of mothering is a mixed bag. Every moment and every decision is fraught with all the emotions on the spectrum; add the exhaustion of a transition to kindergarten and the mix quickly becomes volatile. Or at the very least, weepy. We did some crying last night then had a good dinner and all was well. (For a minute or two at least.)

An all around life funk is one thing and I have seen my fair share of so-called funks, so I know they lift and dissipate as circumstances fluctuate. But this particular funk has affected my knitting. Now, knitting is what I use to alleviate my funks. When knitting isn’t working, I am up the proverbial creek. In my panic immediately before kindergarten started (the night before @ 9:00), I was desperate to start a new project. Something in a bulky gauge, with a luxurious yarn, quick, simple. I had so many amazing choices at my fingertips. Literally at my fingertips. (I work at Halcyon Yarn for goodness sake.) And I couldn’t cast on a single thing. Not a single thing.

And this comes from someone who generally suffers from cast-on-itis. Ask anyone I work with. It has not been an average week if I haven’t cast on 3 or 4 new projects. And planned a few more. There is something REALLY wrong when I can’t ‘Just Cast On”. Right before this funk, I was looking through an old Interweave Knits (Summer 2009) for a pattern for Deb (the Whisper Cardigan) and found an article by Vicki Square called ‘Start As Many New Projects As You Can’. (Dig it up and read it. It is about inspiration and knitting any and everything that inspires and excites you.) I felt so validated by this article and then found myself in a Cast On Freeze Out. New Project Stand Still. I’ve never been there before and I don’t want to go back again. As of this post,  I have finally found my way out.

And of course it was Noro that broke the stalemate. Wondrous, eye-popping, wake up your senses Noro. We added Iro back to our Noro line up this summer. (The fiber combination is 75% wool, 25% silk and has 132 yards per hank. Gauge is 3 stitches per inch on size 11 needles.) I have knit with lots of different Noro yarns but this is my first time with Iro. I will admit that I am partial to the blends containing silk so this isn’t a huge departure for me. It has been lingering in the back of my mind since we ordered it this summer and I have had a very specific project on tap. (You know how you put projects in your mental queue?) Well, this week my light bulb went on when I saw bags of this colorway out on Lori’s receiving pile. I snapped some up on Monday and promptly cast on that evening. Here is my progress so far on my very own Einstein Coat. I have wanted to make and wear an Einstein Coat for a long time but could never get excited about yarn choices. It is a heck of a lot of knitting, to put it mildly, and I wanted something exciting. I found it!! This pattern is in our favorite Sally Melville book The Knit Stitch and I am finally going to be wearing one this winter! You will all be able to spot me coming too – everyone here has dubbed it ‘The Coat of Many Colors’. There will more on this project and the yarn next week – must go knit…

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From the Book Department

Noro the World of Nature Noro: the World of Nature is an amazing must have for Noro fans. Not only does it have stunning new patterns for Noro yarns; it has all you ever wanted to know ABOUT Noro yarns. There is a bio about Eisaku Noro himself plus pics of employees and their job descriptions. There are great pics and descriptions of all the yarn making processes from shearing (the sheep really do start out white!) to dyeing, blending, carding and spinning. Plus there is a nice Noro yarn index detailing yarn specs and colorways.

Felt Easy and Fun FELT: Easy and Fun is a beginning needle felting book by the renowned Birgitte Krag Hansen. (you may know her from Pixie Felt and Animal Felt.) She is in another hemisphere of talented and artistic and her other books may have made needle felting seem a little out of reach to us average crafters. Not so this book! The figures in this book are small and done more simply than those in other books. She published this book with teachers in mind to make the craft more accessible to all age groups.

Beautiful Sheep Beautiful Sheep: Portraits of Champion Breeds is the coffee table book of the year. For fiber enthusiasts anyway! There are almost 40 different sheep showcased with beautiful photography and all their specs to boot, including features, size, origin and distribution along with  a map.

Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting Knitter’s Rejoice! Alice Starmore is back in print with Alice Starmore’s Book of Fair Isle Knitting. Whether you have always been a fan and can’t find her out of print books, or you loaned yours and never got them back, or if you are a newbie and interested in THE place to learn Fair Isle technique, rest easy. This book includes the history of Shetland and Fair Isle types of patterns with charts, all the technique you could want, patterns for sweaters, mittens and hats, and a section for designing your own patterns. 190 pages for a lifetime of Fair Isle knitting for only $24.95! Crazy!!

Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting Crochet in Color is new for you crocheters out there. Cute updated designs using unique color combinations make for interesting and delightful new patterns. This should appeal to beginners and experienced crocheters alike with plenty of technique and easy to understand graphics.

Products featured in this post:

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National Weaving and Spinning Week & “OPEN HOUSE” @ Halcyon Yarn

National Weaving and Spinning week,  a decades long  tradition in the fiber arts world, is October 5th – 10th this year. At Halcyon Yarn we are featuring activities honoring the crafts and topping it off with our Annual Open House held in conjunction with Main St Bath’s Autumnfest Celebration.

Weaving and Spinning Week at Halcyon Yarn will be a celebration of weaving and spinning times three:

First  the “Twisted Spinsters” of Halcyon Yarn  will do a “Show and Spin” from 10am- 3pm, October 6th.  They will gather to share their spun yarns, rovings they’ve dyed, projects they’ve created,  and to share just being together to celebrate the day.  Drop in, bring your wheel or spindle, and any items you’ve finished throughout the year.

Second, enjoy an evening with our master weaver and friend Michael Patterson, as we get together with weavers in our classroom. Join the gathering from 5pm- 8pm whether you are a novice or expert weaver and submerge yourself in conversation and craft.  Bring any “show and tell” you would like to share along with your creative ideas.

**For both of these events we’ll be hosting the fun with decadent fall cookies from Marnees, and hot and cold apple cider as we honor the weaving and spinning crafts and the people who do them.

Lastly, but truly not least, we’ll be joyously celebrating fiber with our Annual Open House, October 10th, 2009 from 9am-4pm. During this once-a-year special event we open our doors to share  demonstrations in all the fiber arts, delicious seasonal goodies, and a fun filled day of fiber extravaganza… plus generous discounts.

Mark your calendars and plan to stop in for a visit or come for the day, it’s always a treat to gather here at Halcyon Yarn!

We look forward to seeing you and sharing this time together.

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