Black Dog

I’ve been working hard on Claudie for the past week (I started it last Sunday), and I haven’t shown it to you at all here….yet. Here’s the pattern photo, for a point of reference

Claudie is a design from Black Purl, a midwestern pattern source that’s headed up by someone who owns a yarn shop in Wisconsin. I like her patterns a good bit, and the designs are pretty much great for “every woman” (or every child) and are typically shown in rather widely-distributed yarns (she does alot with Cascade and Classic Elite, two companies we stock DEEP and WIDE). My version is on the right side of the photo, as I’m doing the lace panel (versus cable) and the cap sleeve (versus long version). Check out progress, as of yesterday

Check out the lace–I think it’s pretty!

I’ve finished the first front and am well into the second, so that means my mind is wandering towards new projects, and the siren song of wool is really wailing in my head. I have two other summer-fiber projects in mind (one only needs sleeves on it to be finished; the other isn’t even conceptualized yet, as swatching with the yarn showed it was WRONG for what I had in mind). So, what wooly goodness has my eye?

This cabled cardigan from “Mother Daughter Knits” by Sally Melville and her daughter Caddy, shown in Classic Elite Classic One Fifty, a lightweight fine merino that’s delish to work with. But I’m not far along the path with that project……others have me dreaming and swatching

The Lettuce Coat from “Custom Knits” is shown in Malabrigo Worsted, and our first delivery showed up on Thursday……so swatching has commenced

but my version will be in Bergamota, a SHARP red that leans to the orange side. I got gauge for the upper part, but I have yet to try for the bottom part (two stitch patterns, two different needle sizes). There’s been other swatching, too!

Tang is also from “Custom Knits” and is also shown in Malabrigo Worsted, and I’ve decided to work up a shop model using something from their Seleccion Privada (Private Selection), in the colourway they call “L”

I will probably cast on for one or both of those tonight–I’m a bad person…no wll power.

And yes, there’s even more tempting me

But I haven’t started that swatching yet–so I’ll show you THAT project and THAT swatch next time, along with something else I swatched this afternoon, for a different project altogether. It’s really fun stuff, with a weird name, but I’m not sure it’s good for a garter stitch project (and what I had in mind is all garter).

So there……I really DO swatch, and I enjoy getting to know new yarns and new stitches. ALOT!

I’ve done a little bit of dyeing recently, in the form of a new batch of mini-skanks (25yds each, always unique)

These are perfect for you blankie knitters our there, as there’s enough in each mini-skank to make two “regular” squares and one side square. And for just $1, they’re a great way to add a pop of color to your project without having to purchase an entire 50g or 100g skein. The jar is once again PACKED, so come by, dump it out on one of the tall tables, and dig in! Or we’re glad to mail some to you if you’re up for having us select some for you (either random or with some color direction).

I also made a few new additions to the table of pretty……..

in the form of 490-yard, 4-ounce hanks of sock-weight yarn. I’ve been showcasing my colourways over at the New Arrivals blog, a link over at the main ThreadBear website. There’s probably 30 hanks available at the shop, and hopefully Matt will get a page made soon that showcases all that are in stock.

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