Pattern Spotlight: Juniper Spur by Taiga Hilliard

Every now and then, a designer creates something totally and completely perfect. That’s how I feel about Juniper Spur by Taiga Hilliard. A couple of months ago she asked if she could design something with our Squishy Skeinettes and asked for a couple of different sets. I was a little confused about the packs she chose. I couldn’t see how they were going to work together.

juniper spur taiga hilliard anzula squishy rainbow mini skeins skeinettes shawl

She used all the right colors, and left out all the ones she didn’t need. A couple of weeks ago she send us this shawl and we were all instantly in love. Sooo, Becca and I realized we needed to make a new pack of Skeinettes especially for this shawl.

Squishy Skeinettes Chain in Rainbow

Squishy Skeinettes Chain in Rainbow

And because Becca is obsessed with blue, she put together these gorgeous Ocean Blues…

Squishy Skeinettes Chain in Ocean Blues

Squishy Skeinettes Chain in Ocean Blues

You can find the pattern for Juniper Spur on Ravelry here. Make sure to check out how amazing that fringe really is.

I love Taiga’s original combo, but I know I have some dark side friends, so I paired them up with Charcoal as well. Which one is your favorite? Tell me which one and why in the comments!

If you’re ready to cast on you can find Squishy Skeinette Chains at these LYS:

Four Purls in Winter Haven, FL

Yarn Refuge in Reno, NV

The Knitting Store in Oceanside, NY

Knitting Off Broadway in Fort Wayne, IN

DMarie Knit & Fiber in Prairie Du Sac, WI

Yarning for You in San Marcos, CA

If you don’t see a shop near you give one of these shops a call. I’m certain any of these shops would be more than happy to mail yarn to you!

Pattern Spotlight: Zora by Jennifer Wood

I’m one of those knitters that always has at least 2-1,000,000 things on the needles. Of course, there’s always one project that pulls my attention more than the others, and Zora has been one of them.

I. Love. This. Shawl.

I only had to cast on a few stitches to get started, one the reasons I love shawls so much. There’s enough going on to keep me interested, but not so much that I can’t take it with me. Once you get it going, it’s so easy to “read your knitting” which means I can look at the pattern less. I don’t get to completely ignore the pattern, but I’m not staring at it counting every stitch. Some good stitch markers and I can even watch some not-too-intense TV. (GoT might be a bit much for this pattern, but honestly, who can knit while watching GoT?!)

zora jennifer wood woodhouseknits wood house knits anzula squishy miniskeins mini skeins skeinettes temperance citizenskein yellow grellow gray grey

Jennifer started with our Squishy Skeinettes in Citizen Skein, our gray gradient pack, and added a skein of Squishy in Temperance for a pop of color. I put together more color combos I thought would work really will with this pattern; Citizen Skein and either Alice, Au Natural, Garnet, Poppy, or Temperance. What do you think?

You can find Zora Yarn Bundles in these shops:

  • The Tinsmith’s Wife in Comfort, TX

  • Knitique in Elk Grove, CA

  • Swisher’s Yarn Basket in Danville, PA

  • The Nifty Knitter in Issaquah, WA

You can also special order these from any shop that carries Anzula. We have a few ready to go, so if you’re quick, there’s no wait! (Shop owners, you’ll find these in stock now in our wholesale shop here. Shoot me an email if you need access).

The best thing about this shawl is how easy it will be to wear once it’s done. This shape is so comfy and easy!

zora shawl03.jpg

We love working with designers, so if you have an idea, tell us about it here! We welcome submissions from all levels in any fiber craft.

Pattern Spotlight: Point/Counterpoint 4

I’ve been in a gray mood lately.

I’m not really talking about state of mind, though there has been some of that, too. But I’ve been gravitating toward a palette of neutral grays lately as a solid basis for playing with geometry.

My name is Mary Hull, and I’m the designer and podcaster behind Kino Knits. One of my proudest projects has been the Point/Counterpoint series. Four times now, I’ve paired up with another designer to create a collection of four accessories. My partner and I each choose a yarn and independently create an accessory. Then we swap yarns and photos (but not pattern instructions) and use our partner’s first design as inspiration to create another to pair with it. The result is two accessory sets with one item in each by each designer. The concept and process always get my creative juices flowing in completely unexpected ways!

For Point/Counterpoint, Volume 4, I was delighted to partner with Lisa Ross of Paper Daisy Creations. We decided to go rainbow for one set and gray in the other… and for my first design, I pounced on a set of gray Anzula Squishy Skeinettes.

Citizen Skein runs from a light gray to a dark black, and the temptation, of course, is to use them in the gradient as presented in the pack. However, I’ve never been that interested in doing what’s expected in my knitting! I find it much more interesting to break things up, and in the Parallelograys hat pattern, I went for maximum contrast.

I’m really delighted with this hat. It’s visually striking and comes in seven sizes, and the cashmere content in the yarn makes it a real treat to wear. It’s knit in the round, and I played with stitch counts to make the parallelograms occur naturally. Plus, when you knit it, you’ll feel like you’ve pulled off a little sleight of hand, because a shifting round marker makes it nearly impossible to find a color jog between rounds.

Lisa then used photos of Paralellograys to create the coordinating Lateral Quadrants mitts in five sizes. Instead of parallelograms, these mitts feature high-contrast colorwork squares elongating into rectangles for a flattering look. Coordinating, but not matching… which is exactly the point of Point/Counterpoint. It’s a sweet little set with high impact.

And if you’re not in a gray mood, Anzula Squishy Skeinettes come in bright colors, too. Two sets will be all you need to make the hat and mitts (for most sizes).

Point/Counterpoint, Vol. 4, is available through the Kino Knits Ravelry store starting August 30. The entire pattern collection (both monochrome patterns, as well as a rainbow shawl and rainbow mitts) is just $5 through September 30 with Ravelry checkout code RAINBOW

Also, join the Kino Knits and Paper Daisy Creations Ravelry groups for all our latest news! For example, the Kino Knits Ravelry group is hosting a Point/Counterpoint, Vol. 4 knitalong (KAL). Knit any item from the collection by October 31 for a chance to win great prizes – including yarn from Anzula and other dyers, rainbow project bags, and themed stitch marker sets.

You'll find a list of shops that carry Squishy Skeinettes here

Now go play!

#pointcounterpoint4 #parallelograys #berelentlessmitts #makeyourownluckshawl #lateralquadrants