It’s hard for us to believe, but we welcomed our first customers through our doors 10 years ago! Since serving cake and bubbly are no-no’s right now, we’re “partying” with a Birthday Sale through Saturday for both in-person shopping and phone orders. You’ll save 10% on regularly priced yarn and merchandise, including all our needles and notions, KP blocking boards, Chiao Goo Yarn Butlers, Soak, and Baggu totes — so it’s also a great time to stock up on gifts!
Having such a big birthday kicking off the fall season for us called for some very special yarn treats. We’re bringing in both old favorites and new loves.
Alegria is back on our sock yarn wall in 20+ colors. The dyers of Manos del Uruguay have created amazing new shades, and this blend of 75% superwash merino and 25% polyamide, as soft as ever, still comes in generous 445-yard hanks.
The Islamorada Shawl, Fairmount Fibers’ free pattern from Jocelyn Tunney, is one of the easiest ways we know to bring lots of beautiful Alegria into your life:
Next, Metalico from Blue Sky Fibers. What to say about a yarn that practically purrs?
The plump, gleaming braids of Metalico are almost too pretty to wind, but this lush 50/50 mix of alpaca and silk yarn is a joy to work with.
The four classic undyed colors are in stock now in the shop. We’re happily taking orders for their eight new colors, six of which are dyed — a first for Metalico.
Blue Sky Fibers is currently offering a Michael Vloedman design, the Lexington Cowl, free on Ravelry. It calls for two skeins each of three colors of Metalico:
Arriving soon are two more yarns we’re VERY excited about: the Rasta Pintada Collection from Malabrigo and Rowan Felted Tweed.
Above, the new Kaffe Fassett colors of Felted Tweed for F/W 2020.
May I recommend a type of yarn we’ve carried since Day 1? It’s one of my favorites — the silk/mohair blend. I’m convinced it’s magic stuff, used alone or as a carry-along yarn. Right now we stock both Berroco Aerial and Sugar Bush Yarns Drizzle. I used both for Meg Gadsbey’s Arrochar* cowl.
The suggested yarn for Arrochar is a DK or light worsted weight wool. Madelinetosh DK Twist, Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok, and Malabrigo Rios would all work beautifully. But I used a silk/mohair lace weight on US 8/5.0mm needles. I chose a green Aerial as my main color and a purple Drizzle as my contrast. By dividing each skein in half and knitting with two strands held together, the result was everything I’d hoped for and more — feather light but still outrageously soft, cozy, and warm.
Would you like to make Arrochar or some other cowl or scarf pattern and substitute double- or even triple-stranded mohair/silk? Just ask us to weigh out your yarn and wind it into smaller cakes. We are also here to help with color advice. Different colors held together can be amazing. You can see that happening here in my Shibui Knits Gradient* cowl from 2012:
Another blast from the past, and one of our most popular shop samples, shows how harmoniously silk/mohair and a fingering weight can work together:
We still have a few printed copies of this Kristin Ford Shibui Knits Mix No. 3 shawl in stock. (This 2011 pattern has never been made available as a digital download.)
Shibui still likes to play with the same formula of mixing sections of silk/mohair knit alone with sections of it held with a heavier yarn — their Prism* pattern designed by Shellie Anderson was published on Ravelry only yesterday:
Prism would be beautiful with Aerial or Drizzle knit with a fingering weight such as Perennial from Kelbourne Woolens.
The takeaway here is that a yarn called for in a pattern is a suggestion only. When you want to create something uniquely your own, that’s when GYI can help. It’s what we’ve been doing since 2010 — helping you find just the right patterns and yarns to make it your way!
P.S. If you would like to knit with Madelinetosh DK Twist, Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok, or Malabrigo Rios, may I suggest Romi Hill’s new free pattern, Warm the Line Beanie? Knit one for yourself and one for the person next to you in line on November 3rd!
Note: Patterns marked with an asterisk (*) are available at Gosh Yarn It!