Finished in no time! What a quick knit and a lovely beret it is.  This is the Koigu Beaded Beret pattern from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. There's just the right amount of beads -- not overwhelming, but enough to make it interesting to knit. Can't wait to try the other patterns from Churchmouse.

I brought in S. Charles Collezione  Sahara for the spring --- a lovely bamboo, linen & viscose blend.  I knew that I had  to knit something with it but just couldn't find the right pattern.  So I made up a feather and fan scarf pattern using three of the colors.  Here is is:

                                         Sahara Feather and Fan Scarf



Materials: 1 skein each, S. Charles Collezione Sahara color 7, 8 and 9
Size 10.5 needles

Begin with color 7, Work first 6 rows of scarf and then change to color 8, work next 8 rows of pattern and then change to color 9. Keep changing colors every 8 rows or as desired.

Cast on 28 stitches. Always knit the first 3 stitches and the last 3 stitches.
Knit first 2 rows.

Begin pattern:


Row 1: Knit 3, * (K 2 tog) 2 times, (YO, K 1) 3 times, YO, (K 2 tog) 2 times, repeat from * 1 more time, Knit 3
Row 2 & 3 : Knit
Row 4: Knit 3, Purl 22, Knit 3

Repeat these 4 rows for pattern
Knit until yarn runs out or desired length.
End by knitting 6 rows of pattern in one color and then knit 2 rows in same color.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Natalie is a prolific knitter.  When she knits something that she likes, she may knit it more than once.  She saw this pattern from Norah Gaughan Vol. 6 (which happens to be one of Berroco's top ten) and knew she had to make it.  It's called "Choice".
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is the first one -- not put together yet, but you get the picture.  This one is knit in Berroco's, Bonsai and Seduce
 

And this is her second one, also out of Berroco Bonsai and Seduce -- she's making a third in black and white Seduce only

Hopefully, Gary will put these pieces together for Natalie soon (Gary is a fantastic finisher).

Here's a little piece he started to work on the other night. This is out of Noro Silk Garden -- working up his very own pattern.  We will be seeing more of his work soon.

Sometimes you just see a pattern and say -- that's what I want to knit. I saw a bunch of patterns from Churchmouse Yarns and Tea, a knitting store in Bainbridge Island, Washington and think that I want to knit them all.  So, I am starting out with knitting the Koigu Beaded Beret.  I just love Koigu.  It has a certain shine to it--whatever you are knitting is backlit.  I like to use the crochet hook method of getting the beads on the yarn. Here's a short summary of how it's done:

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First you put a bead through a very small crochet hook. I used size 6 seed beads and a size 9 Steelite crochet hook

 Then you hook your next stitch onto the crochet hook

Next, with the stitch in the hook part of the crochet hook, slide the stitch through the bead

 

And put the stitch back on the left hand needle and knit the stitch as you normally would.

I put all of my beads in a small container and just "stab" each one as needed. It actually goes pretty fast as you get a rhythm going.   This particular pattern uses only 90 beads and has three rows of beading, so it's a great beginner beading project.  I'm almost finished and will post pix when I'm done.

Donna came in with her Summer Tank  -- in cotton worsted yarn dyed by Woolbearers.  Great job!

Laura came in with her finished sweater. The pattern is appropriately called "Laura"  and is from the "Illustrator" book from Mission Falls. Yarn is Mission Falls cotton.  It's really pretty.

We've had quite a few folks knit the Featherweight Cardigan and here are two gorgeous examples

Rachel's is done out of Malabrigo Lace in Purple Mystery.

Katie's is out of Blue Heron Rayon Metallic.  I didn't have enough of one colorway, so we mixed two colorways and got gorgeous results.

Alissa made this gorgeous feather and fan cardigan out of Berroco Pure Pima.  Love the color selection

Nancy is taking my Learning to Knit Afghan class and has completed many squares.  But she needed a baby blanket project, so we decided on a simple pattern -- basketweave -- and picked out some yummy soft, superwash yarn (Cascade Superwash 128) and she went to town.  Now, she's making another one.

The good news is that I own a yarn store and am surrounded by lots of beautiful yarn and can pick any project and any yarn I wish. The bad news is that I own a yarn store and am surrounded by lots of beautiful yarn and can pick any project and any yarn I wish. It's so hard to choose. But sometimes something really catches my eye. A few weeks ago, Sydney came in with a partially done Andrea Shawl and it was just gorgeous, even if it wasn't completed. She used K1C2's Crock a Dye sock yarn and Jojoland Melody Superwash for the striping. I fell in love and immediately faved it on Ravelry.  Then Gwen came in with one made out of Woolbearers' Hand Dyed Raw Silk.  She was just waiting for the right project for the her yarn. I had to agree it was a great choice.

 I was waiting for the right yarn to come along for my Andrea Shawl.  A few weeks ago, a customer who moved to Vermont called me and asked if I could get her some yarn.  No one else seemed to have it.  I didn't either, but that doesn't stop me.  I made a few phone calls and decided to order a few colorways of the yarn.  It's called Kiwi from Zealana yarns and it is comprised of Merino, cotton and possum (no, not roadkill!).  Anyway, it came last week and that was that.  I knew I had to knit my shawl with this yarn.  It's a fingering weight yarn that has a bit of loft to it, so it is nice and soft and a pleasure to knit with.  I decided to stripe mine with some Woolbearers' Hand dyed Woolie Bears sock yarn.  I think it was a good choice.  I'm having fun knitting this -- once you get past the endless border piece, it knits up quickly.  Only about 90 more rows to go!

I just had to take a picture of Jane's unfinished project.  She decided ot knit a simple pullover sweater from a pattern she has had for about 40 years.  We went over to the Vintage Wool and played with colors and I think we came up with a great color combo.

Just love Sabra's Gaia Shoulder Hug made out of Zauberball sock yarn

And here is the baby hat made with leftover Zauberball Starke 6 friom the BSJ

Here is the Zealana Kiwi Fingering weight yarn

Finally got in Manos' newest yarn -- Serena.  It's an alpaca cotton blend and is so soft and yummy I could hardly believe it. Gauge is 22-26 stitches/4 inches on a size 4-5 US needle.  Lots of folks are knitting shawls with this delicious yarn. I have to find the perfect project.  Any ideas?


Beth has an almost four-year-old and needed to make this cute little froggy backpack for him.  It's always filled with trucks and just about anything with wheels. The pattern is from Interweave Knits, Holidy Gifts 2009.  Beth used Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted.

























I was inspired to make another Baby Surprise Jacket out of the new Zauberball Starke 6.  There was lots of yarn leftover so I made another pair of Saartje's booties and a hat, which I'll show in the next blog.

I do actually finish some projects -- ok, I know this is just a baby dress and took about 250 yards, but I did finish it -- it's Jil Eaton's Pinafore Dress and is made out of her latest yarn -- Cottontail -- 100% worsted weight cotton.  Isn't it cute?

Gwen decided to make the Andrea Shawl (pattern from Through the Loops) out of Woolbearers' Hand Dyed Raw Silk.  She did a fabulous job, as always.

Can you believe this is Fran's first sweater?  She was inspired to knit a RED sweater, because she couldn't find her favorite one and needed a RED sweater.  So we found some RED yarn -- Plymouth's Mulberry Merino and a pattern from Classic Elite ---- it was originally in the Luxe Pattern Book, but you can also find it in the book Classic Elite Knits. Even though Fran had never knit a sweater before, she figured out how to size the sweater up -- there was lots of shaping involved as well -- I give Fran a lot of credit for being so brave. She did an outstanding job with this sweater and the best part is -- it fits perfectly!

Jane made another baby blanket from the Oat Couture pattern "Prairie Blanket".  This one is made out of Woolbearers' hand dyed Wool Boucle.  The blanket will be given to the new mom this week at a surprise baby shower. Hope she doesn't see the blog until after. 

LOTS of new classes at Woolbearers.  Here is a small sampling of the "Progressive Shawl" -- we are having this class taught by lace knitter extraordinaire, Teri Lindstrom.  We'll be using the pattern by Cindy Guggemos -- you may have seen this on Ravelry.  The pattern starts out with a garter stitch triangle and gets into more challenging lace patterns as you knit.  I can't wait to see all the results.  Class starts on Saturday, May 8th and the pattern  uses about 825 yards of heavy fingering weight yarn.  This one was made out of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi and it is just beautiful!

We had another dye class. It was a lot fun.

I finally got around to starting socks from my last dye class.  When I finish the first sock, I think I will ball up the rest of the "scarf" and start knitting from the other end in hopes of having a matching pair, or a close approximation.






I couldn't resist this cute little pattern from Jil Eaton called the Pinafore Dress.  It's a pretty quick knit, if I wouldn't keep picking up other new projects.

We finally got in Zauerball Starke 6 and this colorway was just crying out to become a Baby Surprise Jacket.  Love those color changes

Linda knits so fast.  She just bought the Cascade 220 Tweed and now has her Central Park Hoodie done and is working on 2 more.

Kris was inspired to knit this jacket from Fitted Knits from the Trunk Show we had of the book last summer.  She bought tons of Woolbearers' Hand Dyed Cornucopia Yarn in the colorway Early Frost. I had dyed the colorway two different shades and Kris incorporated this beautifully in the jacket

Here is Donna's finished Cropped Vest from the Spring 2010 Vogue Knitting.  She held together one strand of Plymouth Silk Shire, one strand of Dale of Norway's Svale and one strand of Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Beautiful results.  She is making another one in blues. Can't wait to see that!

Linda was inspired to make the same vest. She used 2 strands of Tahki Cotton Classic and one strand of Berroco Seduce. Equally beautiful.

Meg came in to buy more yarn, or course.  She happened to be wearing the Lace Tunic from French Girl Knits out of Classic Elite Premiere.  She said that she made a lot of modifications to the pattern. It looks great!

Donna and Louise are making their second round of Wrap me up Shawls. The first ones were done in wool. Now they are working with cottons.  Donna's is out of Knit One Crochet Too's Ty-Dy Cotton and Louise is using Woolbearers' Hand Dyed cotton worsted.  Donna wore her finished shawl while shopping in New Hope PA and was offered $700 for the shawl by a shopowner there.  If you calculate the time you put into all that knitting, I wonder what the hourly rate comes out to.

This is Joanna's Dianna (free pattern on Ravelry).  She used Kauni colorway ER.  Just gorgeous.  Love the color progression.

Sandra is a prolific knitter and made this shawl from The Fine Line out of Jamieson Spindrift in no time.