Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Locally Made Alpaca Yarn, and new things from Rowan

Hi everyone! We have some cool new things in at the shop that I'd like to share with you! First up is something that I'm really excited about!

From Anacapa Knits
You are looking at some beautiful 100% Alpaca goodness that we have from Near Sawrey Farm Alpacas in Somis, CA. Their little alpaca friends get their coats sheared every winter, and then their fleeces are mill spun into light, medium, and bulky weight yarns, which we have here at the shop for you to buy!

From Anacapa Knits
It's really soft, really good stuff, I think I need to take a skein home with me to make a hat for my dad for a Christmas present!

Next up, something new from Rowan: Kidsilk Creation
From Anacapa Knits

From Anacapa Knits
This stuff is really cool. If you are familiar with  "Flounce" or "Triana", It's a similar idea, where you knit into the yarn itself to make a fun scarf:
From Anacapa Knits

From Anacapa Knits
The same base yarn as Kidsilk Haze, but now in stripes! Rowan has a free pattern on their website for a scarf knit in this yarn, check it out.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Week 20 of 52: Jack Be Little Pumpkin[s]

It may seem that I am late once again, but I am not. I am changing the posting date to Sundays; with the school year rolling and the holiday season pending, it is going to work a lot better for me to show you the new project on Sunday and to run its yarn sale from Sunday to Saturday.

On with the show - this week, I made 5 little pumpkins. I wanted something very quick to ensure that I could catch up this week and this little pattern really fills the bill. When I had 1 adorable little pumpkin whipped up on Wednesday night, I had so much yarn and time left that I set my sights on making 5 little pumpkins, just like the song I learned before Halloween when I was in kindergarten.



Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins
Sitting on a gate.
The first one said,
"Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said,
"There are witches in the air!"
The third one said,
"Well, I don't care!"
The fourth one said,
"Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said,
"I'm ready for some fun!"
Ooooo went the wind
And out went the lights
And the five little pumpkins
Rolled out of sight.
Week of October 16 to 22:
Pattern: Jack Be Little Pumpkin by Elizabeth Murphy: This designer has a great Etsy store filled with many fiber treasures; check it out!
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Clasico (138 yds/100g, 100% wool)
Needles: US 5/3.75mm; This needle is one size bigger than the pattern calls for. I used a 32" circular and worked in the round by way of magic loop.
Knitting Plan: Make one a night!
Notes:
a) Remember that there are many ways to knit in the round - DPNs, magic loop, or two circulars. You have the freedom to choose what works best for you. I have a very scientific way of choosing which technique I will use: whatever needles are free and clear to be used right then and there.

b) This pattern is well written and easy to follow exactly as presented. I only made one adjustment. After reaching my 3 inches, I did one more decrease row as follows: *k1, sk2p, k1, p1, repeat from * until the end (24sts). I then threaded them on the tail and pulled the drawstring tight.

c) The tails are very handy here. She asks you to leave a 12 inch tail when you have cast on. This tail is used to close up the bottom. I used this tail to create the pinch between the top an bottom. Then I was able to conserve the top tail to be used for the knitting the stem icord. If either of these tails seem to have been cut too short to complete these tasks, then you can spit splice a little bit more on the end.










d) When I picked up the 4 stitches around the top for the stem, I used a crochet hook to get in there for finding the spots. Usually I try to only do this with my needle tip, but this was an ideal place to bring in the help of a hook.

e) The reason that we are using such little needles becomes apparent when we stuff them. This dense, solid fabric will help keep the stuffing from showing through when it is stuffed good and plump. This step reminds me of wanting to try out the recipe "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good."
f) I love a project where you can simply bury the ends after a little bit of weaving in.


If you are viewing this post far from driving distance from our store, then please remember that we will happily take phone orders. Here is color card. Call us @ (805) 654-9500. (There will be a postage charge for shipping.) Also, I want to mention that we have refined the 10%off sale to apply when you are buying the yarn for the featured project.
P.S. If this idea really lights you up, then you can also join a ravelry group here.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

New Stuff and SALE YARN!

Hi everyone! It seems that we are getting new stuff all the time, so today I thought I would catch you up on some of our new exciting yarns!
From Anacapa Knits
We recently got in Spud and Chloe yarns, which are made with luxurious fibers expertly blended for fantastic results, in a hip modern color palette. Above you see "Sweater", a 55% wool 45% organic cotton blend that is machine washable, in a useful worsted weight. I'm thinking that this would be great for gifts, because of the nice colors, the softness of the yarn to the touch, and bonus: It's machine washable!

From Anacapa Knits
We also have Spud and Chloe "Fine", a fingering weight blend of 80% Superwash Wool and 20% Silk. This yarn is a fantastic sock yarn, and it has wonderful stitch definition, which makes it great for detailed stitch patterns as well as colorwork.

From Anacapa Knits
We also just got in "Mendocino" from Crystal Palace, a self striping worsted weight wool and nylon blend, it would be great for baby items because it is soft and machine washable, and I think would also make awesome socks!

From Anacapa Knits
We've gotten in new colors of one of my favorite Manos yarns, "Maxima".

From Anacapa Knits
And new colors of Manos Wool Clasica Space Dyed (that;s quite a name!)

And, last but not least, we received four colors of a great Berroco Yarn, "Pure Merino"
From Anacapa Knits
We got a good deal on this yarn that we are passing on to you, because I hear it's being discontinued. Normally this yarn is $8 a ball, but we have it on sale for $4 a ball! This is a great deal that I know I can't pass up, so come check it out before it's all gone! I really like this yarn for accessories like hats and scarves, but we have enough in stock that you could make a whole sweater!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Anacapa Fine Yarns Web Shop- Ready for Action!


Hi guys! We've recently gotten our Web Shop up and running, and ready for business! On it you can check out all of our kits made with exclusive Anacapa Fine Yarns patterns, and purchase them, too! If you are reading this from far away and can't make it into out shop, check it out! Or, if you live locally and are too lazy to come to the shop, you can buy online :)

To see all the fun things, please visit anacapafineyarnsshop.webs.com, or visit our website and click on the "Shop" tab at the top.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Week 19 of 52: Saroyan Scarf

So, I am again late. I guess that is going to happen from time to time (hopefully, not for a long time from here on). Guess that simply means that you will have to hurry in to take advantage of this shortened sale.
I love this beauty - the yarn and the pattern all together. I was already a big, big fan of Liz Abinante's designs, having made a Traveling Woman last summer. I found both these patterns equal parts of engaging, smart simplicity, approachable to many levels of skill, and loveliness. This Misti Alpaca Pima Silk  Hand Paint  is a perfect one skein indulgence for Saroyan (named for  character in a favorite show, Bones).
Week of October 7 to 13:
Pattern: Saroyan by Liz Abinante
Yarn:  Misti Alpaca Pima Silk Hand Paint (327 yds/100g, 83% Pima Cotton, 27% Silk)
Needles: US 10/6mm (a straight because I like making scarves on straight needles)
Knitting Plan: 
Night 1: Work 6 increase sections (they are only 14 rows each).
Night 2: Work 5 straight sections.
Night 3: same as night 2.
Night 4: work 6 decrease sections.
Notes:
a) Gauge is only important in something that doesn't have to fit specific body part if you want to make sure that you yardage will go the difference. If you don't want to check your gauge, she has included a handy drawing for how much yarn gets used in each section. I got gauge using the needles called for in the pattern and checked the weight of yarn along the way to ensure that this hank would make it. Did so without any worry and achieved an airy, drapey fabric.
b)When you are following a pattern that has a quite a list of rows, you may find that a post it note is your very best friend. I was really excited to get a sample of these Avery sticky notes that are see through like the highlighter tape is. It was pretty cool for doing its job and I could be lazy about scooting it down as I could see the next row.
c) In the increase section and the decrease section, rows 3 and 11 in each section are worked without doing a respective increase or decrease. So, I highlighted them as a blaring reminder that they are different.
d) On row 14, you decrease very quickly by doing a p2tog(purl 2 together, to finish shaping the leaf tip) and then bind off the next 3 sts. So, work the p2tog and then knit 1 - this pair makes the first of the 3 bind offs. This may be too obvious to state but I felt that it was worth examining.


If you are viewing this post far from driving distance from our store, then please remember that we will happily take phone orders. Here is color card. Call us @ (805) 654-9500. (There will be a postage charge for shipping.) Also, I want to mention that we have refined the 10%off sale to apply when you are buying the yarn for the featured project.
P.S. If this idea really lights you up, then you can also join a ravelry group here.