Pretty Capelet

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! I just wanted to share this pretty picture of another Louisa Harding capelet. Isn't the color great?

Another Gift Idea

These Louisa Harding fingerless gloves are knit out of Hand-Dyed Grace, a beautiful wool/silk blend. These are a quick knit, although not quite as quick as the scarf below. You can most likely get these done in a couple of evenings.

Quick Gift Idea

This yarn came in yesterday. I knit this scarf today. With only 11 stitches on size 19 needles, it is a very quick knit. This would be a fun gift. We didn't get large quantities so hurry in if you are interested.

Winter White

Mary has finished another beautiful project. This is Sorrel from Sublime's Wool Merino Tweed. I love the cabled collar. Somehow it gives the vest a cozy, winter look.

Fall Jacket

Mary knit this jacket for her granddaughter out of Balder- a self-striping, 3 sts. to the inch, WASHABLE and yet still super soft merino wool. Adorable! We have it in a variety of colors, good for kids and adults.

Two Finished Rowan Pieces

Mary recently finished two Rowan projects. This first one is out of Renew from the Purelife Autumn book. I have included a detail of the stitch pattern, it is gorgeous.

Next is an older project. It was on the cover of last year's Rowan magazine. It is knit in Cocoon. How cozy for a cold winter day!

Some Amy Butler Projects

We have been excited about Amy Butler yarns and her book, Midwest Modern since it came in mid-Spring. And sure, we had samples from the company that are wonderful. But the garments are always much more satisfying to see when we knit them! Here are two examples of recently finished Amy Butler patterns:



This one I finished recently. It is shaped with short-rows so the construction is a little bit different than your average sweater. I can't wait to wear it!



This is the fabulous striped tunic which I desperately wanted to knit but was unable to narrow it down to two colors (they are all so pretty!). A customer beat me to it. It looks great. This piece is so versatile, I think she is going to wear this all the time.

Some more finished projects

It is finishing time here at the Knitting Workshop. In spite of our current heat wave, quite of few of us are getting some late Summer/early Fall projects done. This is great because we will be ready when the weather turns cooler. Here are two lovely examples:

First is Dusk from Rowan's Silk Twist Classics. This sweater feels like a dream to wear, it is so soft and comfortable. And what a pretty color!


Below is Bleaklow from Louisa Harding's Little Cake. It is knit out of Thistle. A perfect layer for Fall weather. I just love it.




Check back soon, I will be posting even more finished projects.

Oh baby

These precious baby sandals are from a new Debbie Bliss book, The Knitter's Year. The book is packed with a variety of small projects that make great gifts. Or, the book would make a very nice gift for any knitter from novice to experienced.

Float

This is Mary's latest finished project, Float. It is a Louisa Harding pattern from Dreamcatcher.

Chunky Cable

This is a picture from a recent Allure magazine showing the Prada headband that I wanted to highlight in my last post. For those of you who don't like to wear hats but hate cold ears, this should be your next project. Very simple, very of the moment.

Chunky Cable Sweaters

This look by Prada for Fall 2010 has been showing up everywhere. My "runway to realway" advice is to choose one chunky cabled piece per outfit. But I think this serves as inspiration. If you are not up for knitting an entire sweater, notice her headband. It is a great way to incorporate the trend in your fall wardrobe with minimal investment in time and money. I hope to have a better picture of this headband soon- please check back.

Simple Shapes

I love this sample that came in today. It is a pattern from the Tahki book, Seaside Tweed. It is knit in Coast, a heathered wool/cotton blend. It is such a simple shape but so effective. I can see it with a skirt, jeans or even over a dress. I am definitely wearing this tomorrow!

Pretty Little Dress

This is just so pretty. A customer knit it for her friend's new baby girl. What a beautiful gift. It is Blossom from Louisa Harding's book, Bizoo Bizu and knit in Louisa Harding's Aimee.

New Rowan for Fall

Just look at these packed shelves! The new Rowan yarns are in and they are fantastic. There are three new yarns- Purelife Renew, Drift and Silk Twist as well as beautiful new colors in our old favorites. And of course, Rowan always has great pattern books- we got quite a few in. Check back soon- we have samples in the new yarns and I will be posting pictures shortly.

Chicago Yarn Crawl 2010

The Chicago Yarn Crawl has begun and continues until August 22.

There are 21 yarn shops are participating. All you need to do to be a part of it is stop in to any of the participating shops to get a passport. Make sure to get it stamped at each shop you visit for a chance to be entered in the Grand Prize raffle worth over $500. In addition, You’ll receive a 10% discount at each shop, a free shop pattern, and a chance to enter a raffle.

Our raffle prize includes:

• a della Q bag
• a Knit Couture knit kit
• Kaffe Fassett sock yarn
• a sock pattern
• a pair of bamboo dpn's

See you soon!

Another Great Customer Project or What You Learn In A Class!

Here is another example of a fantastic customer project. It is the Gathered Cardi from from the Spring/Summer '08 Knit 1. It is a great sweater on its own but what makes this one so special is the flower detail. Our customer recently took our Flower Class and realized that they would look perfect on her newly finished sweater. The colors are so pretty, I absolutely love it! Doesn't it look good enough to be for sale in one of the lovely Bucktown boutiques?

Summer Dress

This cute dress is in the Knit Simple, Spring/Summer 2010. Mary knit it in Louisa Harding's Jasmine- a bamboo blend. It is hard to see in the picture but there is a tiny bit of silver metallic in the yarn. This is the perfect summer dress!

Back by Popular Demand

We have brought back our popular flower class. This picture shows some examples of the flowers you can learn to make in the class. This class is always fun and always different. Check it out, Sunday July 18th, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Please make sure you sign up ahead of time- Thanks!).

New Sock Yarn

We just received a shipment of Baby Boom from Fiesta Yarns. This a hand-dyed sock yarn is 90% extra fine super wash merino and 10% nylon. It feels wonderful. The color combinations are outstanding. Time to start another pair of socks!

Parsnip

Often, when a few of us are knitting the same thing, Mary is the first to finish. This was the case with Parsnip, a dress/tunic from Rowan's Purelife Recycled Collection. It is knit out of Revive, one of Rowan's new yarns from this Spring. Revive is a silk/cotton/viscose blend yarn made from completely recycled garments. "Think clean. Knit Green" is the Purelife motto.


The great thing about this yarn is that it is all season. This piece is perfect to wear as a dress now and then layer over pants in the fall. And look at the pleated detail on the sleeve (please excuse the poor photography!). I love the simple style with a little added interest. Now that I have seen this in person, I am even more inspired to finish!

Another Louisa Harding!

As you can see, we are steadily working our way through this summer's Louisa Harding book. This is Willow from Chinoiserie. It is knit in Fleuris. Such a pretty spring color!

What's New?

We just got in a new shipment of Mirasol's Tupa, a 50/50 merino wool and silk blend. The yarn has a gorgeous sheen and comes in the most vibrant colors. Right now we are looking through all our dk weight patterns trying to decide what to start. We don't need to start a new project but this yarn is too hard to resist.

Pagoda

Here is my first finished Summer project- Pagoda from Louisa Harding's beautiful book, Chinoiserie. It is knit in Fleuris, a bamboo/wool blend that is super soft. This was a quick and fairly simple sweater to knit but beware- there is an errata sheet for the pattern. You can find it here.
I think this is a great, wear-over-everything summer sweater that looks equally cute over a summer dress as it does with skinny pants. I plan on wearing it a lot!

A Vest

I haven't finished a project in a long time. But I finally completed this little boy's vest. It is from Sirdar's Little Sweet Peas. I knit it out of Classic Elite's Moorland. I love this yarn. It has just the slightest varitation of color which makes it so pretty.

Einstein Coat

Sally Melville's book, The Knit Stitch, is a great resource for any beginning to intermediate knitter. The variety of the patterns she designed using only the knit stitch is absolutely genius. This Einstein Coat is an example. A customer knit it out of Araucania's Nature Wool. It is just adorable.

Better Late Than Never

This adorable cabled jumper is from the Winter 08/09 issue of Vogue Knitting. Mary knit it out of one of our favorite yarns, Ella Rae Classic. And perfect timing, because this is a great Spring piece.

Just in!

We just got in a new shipment from Dream in Color. Above is Classy in some pretty spring colors. Below is a new sock yarn- Knitosophy. Such beautiful colors!

Lilly

This is Lilly from Colourscape Folk. Instead of knitting it in the Colourscape which stripes, I decided it would be pretty in a solid color. So, I knit it out of Rowan's Cocoon.
It is hard to see the detail of the back in the picture, but it is knit in a circle starting at the center back with 8 stitches and increasing out. It was a quick, easy knit and fun to wear.