Marvelous Mohair

November 2, 2012 in Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding, Queensland Collection, shawl, Sweaters

Mohair yarn comes from the fiber of angora goats. (Not to be confused with angora yarn, which comes from angora rabbits.)

Some knitters and crocheters shy away from mohair because it’s hairy appearance makes them think it will be itchy.

I want to encourage you to not be afraid! Mohair, especially kid mohair, can be very soft and cuddly.

If I’m not sure about a yarn I hold it against the inside of my elbow or against my neck to see how I’ll react. The skin in those areas is fairly sensitive so I know if I’m ok there I’ll be able to make a sweater.

Mohair is on my mind because Wild Purls, a yarn store in Montana, keeps posting pictures of their pretty display of Debbie Bliss Angel yarn on their Facebook page.

Debbie Bliss Angel display at Wild Purls

Isn’t that just beautiful? It’s like a calorie free layer cake!

You can see they have both the original Angel yarn and the Angel print yarn there around the bottom layer.

What could you do with all that pretty 76% Super Kid Mohair, 24% Silk blend yarn? Well, let me give you some ideas.

Debbie Bliss Angel

These pretty mittens are in the Angel book.

These pretty mittens from the Angel book take just one ball of Angel yarn.

Small projects like these allow us to indulge in luxurious yarn. The three yarns in the Angel family (Angel, Angel Print, and Party Angel) come in 220 yard balls, so it’s easy to make a one skein project.

The Angel book also has sweaters and shawls.

There are also projects using Angel yarn in the last few issues of Debbie Bliss magazine.

The Striped Stole uses Angel and Bella yarns

This Striped Stole is from the Spring/Summer 2012 issue and uses both Angel and Bella yarn.

Queensland Collection

Caracara yarn from Queensland Collection is a 50% Acrylic, 30% Nylon. 20% Kid Mohair blend. It is more affordable than the Angel yarn, but still soft and fluffy.

You might remember that I made a Scaruffle using this yarn in the spring.

Make it with or without the rosettes.

There are 10 new colors of Caracara this season. To go along with them we’ve release two free patterns using this yarn.

The free pattern for this simple ribbed shawl uses six balls of Caracara.

If a shawl is too much of a time commitment right now, there is also a free scarf pattern that uses two balls, but still has the pretty rosettes on the ends.

Luxury Mohair

Another yarn to tempt you is our Luxury Mohair, which is a 75% Kid Mohair, 25% Silk blend. It is available in eight colors and has a generous 273 yards per hank.

The edging on this shawl is amazing.

This beautiful shawl is in the Luxury Collection book and uses six balls of Luxury Mohair.

Isn’t the edging just stunning?

Louisa Harding Simonetta

While we’re on the topic of stunning, let’s not forget Simonetta yarn from Louisa Harding.

Warbler is from the new Sorella book.

There are eight new colors of this 60% Nylon, 26% Kid Mohair, 14% Metallic Polyester blend that has 264 yards per ball.

You can probably still find copies of the Simonetta book at your local yarn store.

The new Sorella book has patterns that use Simonetta and a variety of Louisa’s other yarns.

The Warbler sweater shown here uses Simonetta and Grace Wool & Silk in coordinating colors. Think of the possibilities in color combinations!

Araucania Yelcho

The final yarn I’ll highlight is Yelcho from Araucania.

There are three new colors of this 60% Wool, 20% Kid Mohair, 10% Silk, 10% Nylon blend. It is a bit thicker than some of the other yarns I’ve mentioned, but still has 275 yards per hank.

This cozy dress is crocheted.

This fabulous crocheted dress is a free pattern on our website.

It is worked flat from the bottom up and seamed. An experienced crocheter who doesn’t want to commit to an entire dress could probably figure out where to start the pattern to make a pullover or tunic length garment instead.

This dress has a fabulous cabled edging on the hem, cuffs, and collar.

Go See For Yourself

I hope I’ve given you an idea of the range of projects you can make using mohair yarns.

This post just scratches the surface of the mohair blend yarns we have available. You can see more yarns and get project ideas on our website.

You should head down to your local yarn store so you can pet some of these yarns in person and get a better idea for how soft they are.

Where do you fall on the mohair spectrum? Do you love it or shy away?

Tags: mohair, shawl, sweater
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Color Affection Bandwagon

August 25, 2012 in Ella Rae, Elsebeth Lavold, Noro, shawl

Color Affection is a shawl pattern designed by Veera Välimäki. It is a striped, asymmetrical, garter stitch shawl that employs short rows to create its unique shape.

On Ravelry there are 5,477 projects and 7,539 queues listed.

I feel like I keep seeing it everywhere, and each one seems more beautiful than the next! I could no longer resist jumping on the bandwagon.

Yarn Tree Studio use Elsebeth Lavold Sikly Wool.

This version was made by Yarn Tree Studio, a local yarn store in North Carolina. They used Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool for their version. This 45%Wool, 35%Silk, 20% Nylon blend is available in a wide range of solid colors. The slight tweedy texture of the yarn adds extra interest.

Island Yarn Company made one using Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn

Island Yarn Company, a local yarn store in Massachusetts, used Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn for their shawl. The long color changes of this 50% Cotton, 17% Wool, 17% Nylon, 16% Silk blend add an interesting dimension to the look of the finished shawl.

Sedona Knit Wits made one using 4 color of Lace Merino

Sedona Knit Wits, a local yarn store in Arizona, made theirs larger by adding a fourth color. They used Ella Rae Lace Merino for their shawl, which is the same yarn I selected.

Lace Merino is a fingering weight, 100% Superwash Merino Wool with approximately 460 yards per hank. Plenty of yardage to meet the pattern requirements. This yarn is available in a wide range of both semi-solid and variegated colors, which can make it a little tough to decide just which colors to use!

#32 - Crimson, #139-Turq, Green, #34-Med. blue

Since blue is one of my favorite colors, I decided to use that as my starting point and selected #34-Medium Blue to start narrowing my options.

I thought it would be interesting to include one of the variegated colors both to see how it behaved in the pattern and to tie the three colors together, so I selected #139-Turqoise, Green because some of it’s blues echoed #34.

Then it was matter of selecting a third shade. First I picked #32-Crimson because I thought it matched some of the pink bits in #139.

#32 - Crimson, #139-Turq, Green, #3-Grass Green

My friend suggested picking up the greens in the multi colored skein and selected #3-Grass Green.

Although the blue was my starting skein, I thought I do my due diligence and try a pink, multi, green combination first. It was nice, but wasn’t speaking to me.

#34-Med. Blue, #139-Turq, Green, #3-Grass Green

Then I did the blue, multi, green combination and knew I had a winner. The colors were pleasing to my eyes and the pink in #139 would add extra instance.

With my colors selected, I dove in. My right arm got a bit of a work out winding all three skeins consecutively, but it was worth it to do it now so I won’t be stalled when I reach the color changes in the pattern.

12 rows in!

It seems most people work from light to dark as the sample shawls in the pattern show. Following the trend, I cast on with the green yarn.

I’m already 12 rows in, whoo-hoo! I might have confused my M1L and M1R a few times and I might have grabbed an incorrect strand here and there when working them, but I don’t think anyone will notice when I wearing it.

At least, no one besides my husband should be close enough to me to notice and he doesn’t knit. (haha!)

I can already tell the Ella Rae Lace Merino was a great choice for this shawl pattern. In addition to being soft, it has a lot of spring and life as I’m knitting. This makes it easy to manipulate the knit fabric as I’m twisting and turning it to work all those increases.

The green will be my companion for a while longer before I reach the first set of stripes. Then the real fun will begin!

Have you made the Color Affection shawl? Was it easy for you to select colors?

Tags: Color Affection, shawl, WIPs
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In Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012

March 3, 2012 in Debbie Bliss, Sublime

The change of seasons is always an exciting time for knitters and crocheters.

New yarns are arriving in local yarn stores almost daily. Your LYS might even be putting their winter yarns on sale to make room for those summer treats, giving you two reasons to stop by for a visit (as though you need an excuse in the first place).

And, as if all those new yarns weren’t stimulating enough, new issues of all your favorite knitting (and crocheting) magazines start appearing.

A potent combination to encourage you to finish off those winter projects and start thinking about lighter garments to welcome the new season.

The Spring/Summer 2o12 issue of Vogue Knitting hits newsstands March 6 (although subscribers have already received theirs and I’m hearing people have found it in stores).

We’re excited that our yarns are featured in two of the patterns.

(Yes, we’re always excited to see our yarns in the knitting and crochet magazines. We can be a little excitable around here. I blame the yarn fumes.)

The apple of your eye?

This is the issue cover for which you’ll be looking.

(I think I’ve been watching too many fairy tale based TV shows because I’m worried her apple might be poisoned.)

Color Zig-Zag Top

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012, photo by Rose Callahan

First up is the Color Zig-Zag Top designed by Katharine Hunt.

Isn’t it adorable? Stripes are all the rage this season, but can also be timeless.

A simple design, but you know the chevron stitch will make for interesting knitting. Once you get the pattern established you should be able to knit on auto-pilot.

This top uses Debbie Bliss Eco Baby, a 100% Organic Cotton yarn available in 24 colors. Stick with the mellow sea-side colors in the magazine or make your own colorway.

Yarn quantities are as follows:
For Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
Amounts: 3 (4, 4, 4) balls in #16 cream
3 (3, 3, 4) balls each in #20 sea foam and #15 gray
2 (2, 3, 3) balls in #05 turquoise
2 (3, 3, 3) balls in #06 green

If you start knitting now, you’ll be ready for when the warm weather finally returns.

Semi Circle Shawl

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012, photo by Paul Amato for LVARepresents.com

Next is the beautiful Semi Circle Shawl designed by Lynette Meek.

Lace shawls are great additions to your wardrobe. They are nice to wear around the house and also get a lot of attention out in public. People will be impressed with your knitting skills when they see you wearing this one.

This shawl is knit in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk 4ply. This soft, snuggly yarn is a 75% Extrafine Merino, 20% Silk, 5% Cashmere blend available in 12 colors.

The shawl in the magazine uses five balls in color #1-piglet.

You can learn more about both patterns (and the other projects in the issue) on the VK 360 website.

Once you scope them out, head out to your local yarn store to pick up your supplies.

First the new Debbie Bliss magazine, now the new Vogue Knitting, any day now we’ll be hearing about the new Interweave Knits issue!

Can you feel the energy returning to your needles?

How does the changing of the seasons affect your knitting? Share your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Tags: magazines, shawl, sweater, womens
2 Comments »

Spotlight Debbie Bliss Party Angel

November 21, 2011 in Debbie Bliss, shawl

Debbie Bliss’ beautiful Angel yarn is ready for the holidays with the addition of a touch of metallic polyester thread.

The new blend is called “Party Angel” and comes in ten colors, five with a silver color and five with a gold color. Party Angel is a 72% Superkid Mohair, 24% Silk, 4% Metallic Polyester blend, that comes in 220 yard (25 gram) balls. The suggested gauge is 5.5 sts per inch on a US 5 needle.

Debbie has released a leaflet with two patterns featuring this yarn.

This beautiful stole takes five balls of Party Angel. What a dramatic addition to your holiday outfit this will be!

It will be warm on your shoulders, but lightweight enough to comfortably loop on your arms if the room is warm.

The stole is shown in color #1-Black, silver.

If shawls aren’t your style, this pretty shrug should suit your needs. The simple design lets the sparkle of the yarn shine through.

People will admire your outfit, but you’ll know it was easy to knit each half and sew them together in the middle. The collar adds some warmth and structure.

The shrug is shown in color #6-Fuschia, Gold.

The original Angel yarn has six new colors. Angel is a 76% Super Kid Mohair, 24% Silk blend that comes in 220 yard (25 gram) balls and also has a suggested gauge of 5.5 sts per inch on US 5 needles.

With the same yardage and gauge you could easily substitute Party Angel in a pattern originally calling for Angel.

Remember those cute children’s patterns in the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Debbie Bliss Magazine? I bet little girls would love a version with a little glitter!

As always, you can find this yarn and the accompanying patterns at your local yarn store.

When you finish your project, share a picture with us on our Facebook page!

Tags: shawl, womens
2 Comments »

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