I’m Finding My Fade! How About You?

A certain kind of madness has hit the knitting community – it’s called “Find Your Fade”.  Why is this project so popular and what the heck is it?
It’s a gigantic shawl project, definitely a double or a triple neck wrapper, it is asymmetrical, with open eyelet sections broken up with garter stitch sections but most of all it is a huge colour explosion. I think the popularity of this project is due to the happy challenge of combining 7 different colours of yarn and imposing an order, but not just any order, a colour-fade.  In the “Find Your Fade shawl each colour is added to the next in the hopes that the eye will blend them and each colour will have a gentle transition. It is harder to do then one would think.

Iwona and I spend a lot of time trying to “find our fade” It is crazily addictive! Even though I have just finished my Find Your Fade shawl, I already want to start another one!

Here it is! (pre-blocking)
I used a combination of Lichen and Lace 80/20 and Hedgehog Fibre Sock, with a little bit of Koigu KPPM thrown in for good measure.

There is a one night workshop at The Knit Café this Thursday where we will be Findin Our Fade and how! So I decided to put together a few possible fade combinations for students. We have so many lovely hand dyed yarns in the shop to choose from. These combos are a mix of Yarn Indulgences, Lichen and Lace, Zen Yarn Garden, Koigu KPPM, and of course Hedgehog Fibre which is what the original “Find Your Fade” shawl was knit from.

Pretty nice eh?

Find Your Fade Knitted Shawl Workshop

Thursday September 28, 6:30-9pm

Register HERE

You can find the pattern for Find Your Fade by Andrea Mowry right HERE. Since the inception of this shawl Andrea has designed some wonderful spin-off patterns, check out So Faded and So Faded Pint Size, Free Your Fade and now a new mystery KAL What the Fade.

Craftily Yours
Kristin

Lovely, Canadian, Hand Dyed Yarn

Wow! Lichen and Lace yarn is so beautiful! Check out this lovely batch of sock yarn. Megan from Lichen and Lace has been posting some wonderful Find Your Fade colour combinations on her Instagram HERE. This popular shawl project is perfect for colour junkies – you get to pick 7 colours! How exciting is that?

We also got us some worsted weight merino. Gorgeous!

…and one of my favourite yarns have arrived. It is Koigu! This local yarn made from 100% merino has such a springy twist. Can you see the ombre possibilities in this collection? I bet you can. We’ve used Koigu KPM for several Knit Café Patterns such as 504 King West, Baby Harem Pants, and Trip to the Island.

Craftily yours
Kristin

 

 

Just like Spring Yarn!

A reprieve from -20C weather! Hooray!
Is it possible that Spring is actually on it’s way? It appears so!
More evidence that this is the case comes in the shipments we have been receiving this week – yarns for springtime knitting! Double Hooray!

Koigu KPM has arrived in the shop. Endlessly delightful, hand dyed skeins come in 50 gram bundles of joy so you can fill your boots with colours to make fine shawls and scarves and light weight sweaters for this coming spring.

If you need just a bit more colour in your colour pallet, there are koigu mini skeins too. These wee skeinettes have 10 metres of yarn on each so you can add a dash of this and that to all your knittables.

The Knit Café has designed several patterns with Koigu and the skeinettes , and now…..drum roll…. they are available as

Knit Kits

504 King West

This is one of our most popular patterns and it is a great pattern to knit right about now, so you can be wearing it in the following weeks and months as the frost leaves the air and is replaced with merely a nip. The 504 King West Knit Kit comes with the pattern and two 50 gram skeins of koigu KPM and 3 skeinettes too. You can choose the original colours of our sample 504, or you can choose from a selection of other colour pallets we offer up for your perusal. Each colour combo is named for a stop of the 504 King streetcar’s route along Roncesvalles Avenue. Have a look at them all HERE.

Baby Harem

These sweet pants are also made courtesy of Koigu KPM and our friends the skeinettes. Koigu – I should mention, is a soft merino wool that is machine washable and therefore perfect for kids duds. The Baby Harem Knit Kit comes with all the yarn, including the complimentary mini skeins, you will need to make these cozy pants. The pants are sized 6-12 months, 12-18 months, and 18-24 months but you can read all about them and find the Knit Kit HERE.

If you would like to pick out alternative colours for these projects and others, Koigu KPM is one of our featured yarns selling in the webshop right now! There are many fresh colours to choose from, but like all our featured yarns they will be available to purchase online for a limited time only.

If you are in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood we will be most happy to give you a guided tour of the new Koigu KPM and the mini skeins too and help you choose your very own custom colours for any project.

see you soon
Craftily yours
Kristin

504 King West

Thank you all TTC Knitalongers! It was so nice to see faces filled with such knit-enthusiasm last Saturday.  What a great way to launch our summer yarn sale!  Thank you too, to the fine folks who organize the knitalong and brought the joy to all those faces, as well as raising some funds for Sistering. It’s Win, Win!

We had a special gift for the Knitalong groups that came through the Knit Cafe.  Iwona designed a pattern to commemorate the TTC Knitalong 2014.  It’s called 504 King West, after the streetcar route that passes by the Knit Cafe.

We’d now like to pass the pattern along to all commuters (and non commuters too -what the heck!).

This asymmetrical garter stitch scarf, is brought to you by the magic of Koigu Yarn.  Find two 50 gram skeins that strike your fancy and mix in some delectable mini skein in a pleasing pallet and you are ready for even the worst rush-hour blues.

A pattern designed for your commute! This asymmetrical neck wrapper is a restful knit meant for sleepy, distracted knitters who like to knit to the rhythm of the metro or the streetcar. Named after the Toronto streetcar route that rumbles by The Knit Café on Roncesvalles Ave, this pattern was originally inspired by the TTC Knitalong. This intrepid group takes over Toronto Transit for an annual knitathon. Amazing!

This garter stitch scarf is shaped with increases and decreases to form a dynamic, obtuse triangular shape. Have fun with the mixing and matching of the colours! Choose two for the body of the scarf and a cute trio of colours for the scarf edge. In our version we took advantage of Koigu Yarn’s sweet, mini skeins, which are 10 metres long each. This is the perfect amount for one stripe in this pattern.

Made with a long circular needle you won’t have to worry about poking the passenger beside you or losing a needle, just throw this project in your bag and climb aboard.

Materials: Koigu KPM 50 grams (160m/175yds) one of each A 2335, B 2354, and Koigu KPM 10m skeinettes one of each C 2403, D 1113, E 1112.
3.5 mm/#4 circular needle 80cm/32” long

Gauge: 20sts and 52 rows per 10cm/ 4 inches in garter st, or needle to obtain gauge.
Finished Dimensions: 140 cm/ 55 inches long, 27 cm/ 10 inches at widest point

Using A CO 4 sts,

Row 1 (WS): K till 2 sts remain, KFB, K1.

Row 2 (RS): YO, K till 2 sts remain, K2TOG.

Repeat both rows till 96sts on the needle, ending with WS row. Break yarn leaving 25cm tail.

At the beginning of next RS row pick up colour B, SL 1, KFB, K till 2 sts remain, K2TOG.

Continue with rows 1 and 2 till 134 sts, ending with row 2.

Bind off loosely and weave in end.

 Edging

Facing RS and using colour C pick up and knit 5sts for every 4 garter ridges (about 170sts), along K2TOG edge.

Row 1 (WS): YO, K till 2 sts remain, K2TOG, break yarn leaving 25cm tail.

Row 2 (RS): using colour D, K till 2 sts remain, KFB, K1.

Row 3: same as row 1.

Row 4: using colour E, K till 2 sts remain, KFB, K1.

Bind off loosely and weave in all ends.

Abreviations:
CO: cast on
sts: stitches
WS: wrong side
RS: right side
K: knit
KFB: knit front and back increase
YO: yarn over
K2TOG: knit two together
SL: slip the stitch purlwise

PATTERN  PDF FOR EASY PRINTING

Craftily yours
Kristin

Get to the point -Needlepoint!

Our Needlepoint Class is filling up, so if you had your heart set on taking part in this seasons session give us a ring!

There is something I particularly love about this Needlepoint Class, it’s the same thing I love about the Rug Hooking Class and the Embroidery Class too, all of which are taught by Maurie Todd.  Yes, I love that Maurie teaches them but I also love that all of these classes require thinking right out of the box!
Many needlepointers follow preprinted canvases in a paint by numbers style. In this class you will learn how to transpose your own creative purpose to the needlepoint canvas.  In other words you make up your own designs.  I love that!

Above is a finished product by Maurie who is teaching the class.  Look at that lovely finishing on her pillow case!

Here is the same design in progress!

…and here is the inspiration! Maurie took a portion of one of Kate Austin’s repeat pattern designs to use as the centre piece of her pillow design.
I wonder what you might do?

Needlepoint Workshop
Monday June 23, 6:30-9pm
$32, material fee of $3,
yarn not included,
we recommend Koigu skeinettes!
Call to register
416 533 5648

Craftily yours
Kristin

 

Visions of Koigu dance in their heads

Look at them Sugarplums!
These guys would be nice found in the stocking or knit-up into stockings! Koigu KPPM is a carefully hand painted merino yarn that is ideal for socks and other light weight projects that call for fingering weight yarn.  Baby duds, shawls and mittens, for example would be gorgeous in this yarn. It’s a local-yocal yarn from Ontari- ari -ari -o!

There’s an introduction to sock making class starting this week. In other words the perfect opportunity to try out some of the Koigu.  If you’ve knit on the double pointed needles before and have a burning desire for warm feet, then this is your class.

Sock Class
Wednesday December 4, 11, 18, 7pm-9pm
$76 materials not included
Call to register 416 533 5648

Craftily yours
Kristin

ps. we just got some more fingering weight yarn that’s gonna blow your socks off! Stay tuned for pics!