A day with the grandkids

Just a quick personal note this time.  Jerry and I picked up Emma and Colton on Sunday with nothing particular in mind, simply determined to go in whichever direction the mood took us.  We ended up at Padilla Bay Sanctuary, where the kids had a great time looking at the different estuary aquariums and learning about fish, birds and estuary life in the kids' room.  What a nice afternoon.  We took a walk down to the beach, and I snapped this shot on the way.  It pretty much sums up the day.  Nice, peaceful and relaxing.

Too Little Time, Lots of New Developments!

I have obviously not checked in to the blog in a very long time...I promise to do better!  There are so many things going on ~ lots of new yarn that is exclusive to KJY.  A few months ago we converted our mechanical room into a dye studio!!  Yes.  That's right.  We have our own line of kettle dyed and hand painted yarns, with the appropriate label of Eweneek Yarns!  So far, we have two blends in fingering weight: Formidable: a superwash wool and nylon blend and Boo-Yah!: a superwash merino, bamboo and nylon blend.  Formidable has names such as Bridgekeeper, Holy Hand Grenade, French Soldier, Shrubbery, Elderberry...and Laura is taunting me into naming one Flesh Wound!  (Monty Python, anyone?)  Boo-Yah! has colorways called Storm, Glacier, Quicksilver, Maple Leaf and Spring Fling in the hand paints.  We've just come up with some semi solids that have yet to be named in beautiful blues, greens, browns and rust colorways.  Yum!

We also have Exquisite: a laceweight 50/50 silk and merino laceweight, and just received a new single ply superwash laceweight that is yet to be named.  The Exquisite is available in such colorways as Sea Glass, Storm, Kelp, Warm Sand, Abalone, Tidepool...do you see a theme developing??  In Aran weight, we are offering a single ply super soft wool we've named Malabarista with coffee themed names in honor of our Pacific NW coffee culture.  So far we have dyed Arabacia, Shade Grown, Mocha and Kona.  And just in this week: Treasure! That's the name we've given our beautiful silk and seacell laceweight, 700 yards of fabulous in each 2 oz. hank.  The colors are all going to be named after gemstones, and the first skeins are out of the dyepot and nearly ready to go.  I'm thinking Sapphire, Emerald, Pearl, Onyx, Topaz, Tanzanite...I think you get the idea :)

Here's a look at Boo-Yah! which is our superwash merino/bamboo/nylon blend in a fingering weight:

 

 

We are also in the middle of a major revamp of the website, so stay tuned for exciting developments in the very near future.  The new website will focus on our Eweneek Yarns and other exclusive items as well as Shepherd's Wool, great tools and our exclusive downloadable patterns.  I promise there will be more up to date blog posts, too.

Cheers,
Becky

Button, Button...Who's Got The Button?

We do! Just met with our local resin button artist (and I use that word seriously, these are works of art!)




The photo on the top shows the smaller individual buttons, the bottom photo is the BIG buttons that are on cards. These are lightweight, each one is individually hand made, and they are perfect when you want the WOW factor on a garment! The big guys are perfect for a hat, cowl, one or two button sweater...the smaller ones are ideal for cardigans. You won't find two that are exactly the same. Aren't they great?



Becky

Progressive Needles KAL

For those working on the shawlette for October, clue #2 was posted today at http://www.knitpurlhunter.com/ This is becoming a really beautiful project!

The yarn for the November project arrived today...Austermann Royal, which is a merino/nylon/silk/cashmere blend. Here's a peek, and if you want us to hold a color for you just call 360-755-7086. The project takes two skeins of the same color:

Unpacking a Cascade Yarns order today, and thought you might enjoy a sneak peek:

Eco Duo Alpaca Lace & Alpaca Lace Paints

220 Sport and....220 Superwash Sport

Mountain Colors Yarn Party Doorprize WINNERS

We have winners for the Mountain Colors Yarn Party door prizes!

Lonnie - New Mountain Fusion Teton yarn & hat pattern - colorway Mountain Sky
Jean - Warm & Wooly Throw Trio & pattern - colorway Clover
Lynn - Moguls yarn & Portland Hat pattern - colorway Cedar
Christina - Twizzle yarn & Knit Night sock pattern - colorway Gold Rush
Melanie - Half Crepe yarn & Lattice Scarf pattern - colorway Sandstone

Congratulations to all the winners! We had a great time!!

Zig Zag Cuff Tutorial

Stringing the beads

Thread your working yarn into a big eye beading needle. If you don’t have a big eye needle you can stop in and get one or call the shop and we can send you one. They are just $2.00 each. A dental floss threader or a regular beading needle with a loop of thread tied into the eye will do in a pinch. String 176 or 220 beads onto your working yarn. If you encounter a bead that will not slide easily onto the yarn, do not force it. You could break your needle or damage your yarn. Remove and discard that bead.

Waste Yarn Cast on

Choose a smooth, light colored, fingering weight yarn. Cast on 32 stitches. Start with a purl row and work 6 rows of stockinette stitch. You will be able to reuse this waste yarn tab to make additional cuffs if you work at least two more rows of stockinette stitch for each additional cuff you want to make. End after working a knit side row. Cut waste yarn.

Join working yarn and start working from the graph.

Row #1 is a wrong side row. Read the chart from left to right.

Slip the first stitch as if to purl (shown as “I” on the graph).

Join the working yarn and knit two stitches (two empty boxes on the graph).

Slide 1 bead up the yarn until it is flush against the right hand needle and knit one stitch (“B” on graph). The bead should be trapped on the horizontal strand between two stitches.

Knit one stitch (one empty box on graph).

Place a bead and knit a stitch (“B” on graph).

Knit three stitches (three empty boxes on graph).

Place a bead and knit a stitch (“B” on graph)

Knit one stitch (empty box on graph)

Place a bead and knit a stitch (“B” on graph)

Knit sixteen stitches (empty boxes on graph)

Place a bead and knit a stitch (“B” on graph)

Knit three stitches (empty boxes on graph)

This completes row #1

Row 2 and all right side rows are not shown on the graph. To work row 2 slip one stitch as if to purl with yarn in front. Bring yarn between the needles to the back and knit remaining thirty-one stitches.

Continue working in this fashion. Place beads according to the graph on the wrong side/odd numbered rows and work plain on right side / even numbered rows.

Repeat the graph 4 times for the small size, which will fit most women, or 5 times for a larger size.

After completing row 23 of your final repeat, cut the working yarn leaving a tail about 24 inches long.

Second Tab

Join waste yarn and work 6 rows of stockinette stitch starting with a knit row. Bind off all stitches or thread them onto their own tail. You will be unraveling these stitches as soon as you complete the graft.

Duplicate stitch grafting.

Thread the long tail of working yarn onto a tapestry needle.

Bring the beginning and the end of the cuff together with the beaded side out and the two waste yarn tabs held knit sides together.

Using the tapestry needle and working yarn exactly trace over the bottom, right leg of the first waste yarn stitch on the lower tab

and the top half of the first waste yarn stitch on the upper tab.

Then trace over the bottom half of the second stitch on the lower tab

and the top half of the second stitch on the upper tab.

Work across the row in this fashion.

Pay special attention to the edge stitches. Tighten the new duplicate stitches to the same tension as the surrounding work.

Unravel the second waste yarn tab. It should unravel completely and pull free of the cuff.

If you accidentally sewed through the waste yarn as you were sewing the duplicate stitches you may need to carefully snip part or all of the waste yarn to get it free.

Pull on the cuff gently to check for any loose or missed stitches. If any stitches are dropped and starting to run, unpick the graft. Pick up the cuff stitches and make a new waste yarn tab.

Remove the first waste yarn tab by snipping the tail where it is joined to the cuff and unpick the last row of waste yarn one stitch at a time.

When all waste yarn has been removed from the cuff, double check that the edge stitches are secure and weave in the tails of the working yarn.