Yarn tasting!

A few months ago, we held a yarn tasting courtesy of Tilli Tomas yarns (is there anyone who doesn't like silk?!). It was grand fun, as evidenced by my photos below, and we'd like to have another!



Our next yarn tasting will be Friday, November 14th, 2008, from 7:30-9:30 PM, and we will be featuring yarns from Prism! $5 covers drinks and snacks; we are limited to 15 people, so please sign up in advance. You can either swing by the shop or give us a call and we'll ring you up over the phone.

Hope you can make it!

What can you do with one skein of Tilli Tomas?

We do love the luxury of Tilli Tomas yarn (and having pre-strung beads on yarn myself, when I discovered Tilli Tomas beaded yarn, I fell down and wept!), and as much as we drool over the many gorgeous tops and skirts we see made with this lovely yarn, we are also constantly on the lookout for easy one-skein projects. Here are two!



The blue one was made by one of our teachers, Jen; it's the Square Cake pattern from Knitty.

The purple one was made by one of our customers, Paige; it's from the One Skein pattern booklet from Stitch Diva (as a bonus, she got the hardware for it in the bead shop in our plaza, Gifts of Avalon).

Thank you, Jen and Paige, for letting us show these off!

June is for Jag

Continuing with 2008: A Year in Scarves... we have June is for Jag. This scarf was knit with one skein of Tilli Tomas in Pure and Simple (Glazed Ginger) on size 6 needles. The tag for this yarn recommends a size 8, but I am a loose knitter so I went down two sizes to get the look I wanted for the scarf. Please keep that in mind when you go to knit it up yourself! It is also easily customizable by adding to or subtracting from the cast-on number.



The pattern is available for download here, and the Ravelry pattern page is here.

On a personal note, I am flattered by the response this scarf has already received on Ravelry. I posted the pattern notes on Friday morning, and it's already been favorited 92 times and is in 80 queues. If you are one of the people who has said they love it, or added it to your list, or one of the people who has already cast on for it-- thank you! I am immensely flattered!

Friday Five: Five silk blends we carry

Are you as into silk as we are? Then you might want to keep an eye out for these fine fibers next time you stop by (or are perusing our online shop).

Cherry Tree Hill Orenburg Lace – This is a handspun (on a drop spindle) yarn that is 80% Kidd Mohair and 20% Silk. As you can tell by the name, it’s a lace yarn; it comes in hanks of 600 yards, and the mohair gives it just the tiniest bit of ariness. Lovely!

Lorna’s Laces Lion and Lamb – This is a medium-weight, 50% Silk/50% Wool yarn. It comes in hanks of 205 yards, and knits up on a US size 8 needle (or crochets up with an “H”… is “crochet’s up” a real term, or did I just make that up…?!). We love, love, love this yarn. Are you familiar with the other Jenna Wilson pattern, Eris? Because I am so thinking that it would be luscious in Lion and Lamb…

Prism Indulgence – 68% Silk, 15% Wool, 12% Kid Mohair, and 5% Nylon… when you add “hand dyed” into the mix, it really just doesn’t get much better than that. We have a free pattern in the shop for a great open scarf that only takes one skein of this, which is perfect for the warm weather we seem to be being subjected to here in Florida (this week).

Tilli Tomas Voile de la Mer – 70% Silk, 30% Seacell (a natural Kelp fiber). This is a very fine yarn; 290 yards in a 50 gram ball, but you can use anything from a #5 to a #7 to work with it. We have to admit we haven’t actually worked anything up with it yet, other than a swatch… but that might be because we just carry it around and pet it all day long.

Twisted Sisters Petite Voodoo (for some reason this isn't showing up on our website, I'll add "fixing that" to my endless list... sorry!) – This is another 50% Silk/50% Wool yarn, but it looks *nothing* like the Lion and Lamb. It’s a much thinner yarn, half the weight of a skein of L&L but almost the same yardage. This would be perfect for lacy shawls when you want beauty and drape, or even a tank top if you really wanted to spoil yourself with softness.