Another New Shop!

Everyone enjoyed my previous LYS (local yarn shop) post that I thought I would share another with you! At the beginning of the month my mom and I ventured over to Whidbey Island for my 30th birthday! 

We stayed over night at a gorgeous historic lodge that sat right on the water and had a fabulous dinner. Along with staying at a fun spot we were able to visit a few different yarn shops, one of which is Skein and Tipple.

This tiny shop carries mostly their own hand dyed yarn and is about to open a ... bar! Yes! Knit nights in a vintage inspired bar, how freakin awesome. 

Skein and Tipple stocks mainly their own hand-dyed yarn and a select few other brands. It was so fun to speak with the owner and hear about the evolution of her business from dyeing yarn to finding the space for the shop and bar. 

Very similar to my bag making, nearly all of her yarns are one of a kind or small batches with few repeats! That made every skein that much more of a jewell because it couldn't be remade. Just being in the shop made me feel special. I would highly recommend if you're in the Seattle area to come and take a day trip to Whidbey and visit Skein and Tipple. 

Lambing Mitts

Designing is fun, super fun actually, but to get a design started is time consuming and I don't always have the brain power to start. At this point few weeks ago I decided to cast on a simple project that I've had planned for years. 

I cast on the Lambing Mitts with yarn I purchased in 2015 on a trip to Ireland! I purchased quite a bit of yarn while on my trip and I've used quite a bit of it but this is a skein that's been hanging around. 

The Lambing Mitts are a free pattern available on Ravelry and super simple to follow and knit. I made the medium size with a US 8 needle; why 8, because that's what I had in my needle collection:) 

This pattern was my preference over full mittens because I can fold down the cuff and have my fingering accessible but then unfold and have nearly all of my hands covered. If you're looking for a quick knit or a gift project this is a great one! 

Check it Out Shawl

I have waxed soliloquies about my love of scrappy projects and designs, so I've decided to present you with another one! 

Check it Out is a top down triangle shawl that uses a main color and an array of leftovers for a fun and graphic stripe design. Check it Out is simple to follow and easy to knit so it's a perfect project for beginners or knitters just looking to play with color. 

I went with a cooler color palette for this design with a grey base, but I think a cream base (which is my favorite) with brights or jewel tones would be gorgeous! Check it Out is definitely a design where it is easy to put your color hat on and play, but if you don't have lots of leftovers or mini skeins (I have some here in my Etsy) you could also use a self-striping or a gradient skein as your contrast/mini skeins. 

The leftovers were a mix of bases for this project but the main color is an alpaca/merino/nylon blend, just comfy enough to wear wrapped around my neck. I used approximately 1.5 skeins of fingering weight yarn for my main color, they were actually leftovers from a sweater project! 

Sock for Fall

Fall was short and fairly warm here in the PNW for 2022. Sooo, I actually finished my socks right in time for winter, whatevs. 

I've had this yarn in my stash for quite awhile and I know it was purchased at my former Local Fiber Fest, Lamb Town. The yarn is from Duren Dyeworks but it didn't have a colorway name on it so I called them 70s fall, mainly because of the goldey contrast color. 

I used my regular vanilla sock pattern which is a 64 stitch cast on with a US 1.5 needle (I use a 9 inch from HiyaHiya) then 1x1 ribbing for 15-20 rows, stockinette leg until ~5-6 inches from cast on. I use a modified Eye of Partridge heel flap (all my cuff down sock designs use this heel if you're interested) and this is where I started with my contrast. A traditional gusset for this sock and then ending with a wedge toe. 

I used 46 grams of my main color so I have over half my skein left. If I didn't love scrappy designs so much I would probably knit a pair of shorty socks but this was delegated to the scrap bin, though you may see some of it in scrappy packs on Etsy. So if you're looking for a bang for your buck purchase 100 grams of sock yarn plus a 20 gram mini and you can knit two pairs of socks! 

Did you work on any color specific projects for fall? -- Sierra