Pattern Spotlight: Hanashōbu

When I first held Anzula’s new yarn, Gerty, in my hands, I let out a squeal. The 100% American Targhee wool felt amazing in my hands. It’s woolly, but also soft and light to the touch. It has spring to it and I knew it would be great for textured stitches. Charlie helped me choose 3 colors to design a cowl. The design was going to be launched as a kit at TNNA’s Summer Show on Sample It night.

Hanashōbu is a species of Japanese Iris. The colors that the Anzula team helped me pick out were perfect for the cowl’s name sake. I used Slate, Orchid and Violet for this cowl. The Slate which is a grey was used as the main color. 

I swatched for a while and ripped out many times before I settled on something I loved. The cowl uses a slipped stitch pattern and then lace.

Hanashōbu is knitted top down and begins with the collar of the cowl. The collar is knitted with a slipped stitch pattern which is meant to be folded down like a turtle neck sweater. The rest of the cowl is knit in a lace pattern that increases so that it flares out over your shoulders. There are minimal ends to deal with because the colors are carried as you knit it.

One of my favorite parts about this pattern is that you will have enough yarn to make a second cowl. It’s perfect for bff’s, mother/daughter, or sister gifts. As you can see, my daughter loves wearing her Hanashōbu. My sister also looks great in the cowl, too.

Gerty blocks out beautifully. It really retains its stitch definition even after a short soak and good block. Look at the pretty lace detail on the bottom of the cowl.

The pattern is now available on Ravelry here. From now until Sept 30, you can buy Hanashōbu for a discounted price of $4 by using the coupon code “ILoveGerty” at the checkout. For yarn shops that would like high quality print copies for their store, they can be purchased at wholesale through Stitch Sprouts 

You can see more of Angela's patterns on Ravelry and on her website.

Gerty is available in the shops listed below, all of whom are happy to ship!

Baskets of Yarn - Charlotte, NC - (704) 733-9053
Wasatch and Wool - Park City, UT - (435) 575-0999
Yarn Refuge - Reno, NV - (775) 384-1600
Knit One Purl Two - Rockford, IL - (815) 904-6030
Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - (234) 208-9482
Avenue Yarns - Albany, NY - (510) 526-9276

Special orders only: Swatches - Fresno, CA - (559) 435-2813
Special orders are dyed to order and are typically ready in 3-5 weeks.You can place a special order for Gerty (or any of our yarns) at your favorite local shop. See a list of shops here and our map here. 

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Written by Angela Tong On In Tagged , , , , , ,

Pattern Spotlight: Erba

Erba is a hat and cowl set that is super fun to knit and to wear. You get both in this pattern. The cowl is worked from the bottom up starting with the bottom ribbing, then transiting to the easy slip-stitch colorwork then back into ribbing. Button bands and buttonhole bands are worked last.

The bonnet shaped hat starts with an icord edge. Stitches are picked up for the slip-stitch edge worked flat, then transitions to the crown worked in the round. An applied icord is then worked along the bottom edge to finish things off.

You may not have worn a bonnet before but the advantages are plenty. These hats don’t mess up your hair like a traditional beanie. You won’t get the traditional “hat hair”. They also cover your ears, keeping them nice and toasty. Plus, they are super cute.

I added mini faux fur pom poms to the ends of each tie. You can make your own pom poms if you like, or use faux fur poms here too. I found my poms in the craft store as a key chain. I just removed the hardware and used the poms for my own purpose. The poms I found were on sale and cost $2.50, normal price was $5 for the pair.

The new Anzula yarn, Gerty was such a pleasure to use for this project. I was honored to get a chance to use this way back in January when it premeired at the Winter TNNA show. It’s a sproingy Targhee wool. The twist makes it bouncy and light and it takes Anzula’s vibrant color palette beautifully. I used Charcoal, Madam, and Paprika for my set, but with Anzula’s huge selection of colors, you have an unlimited palette of colors available to make this set your own.

You can find the Erba pattern on Ravelry here. 

Keep up on all things Heather:

Ravelry - www.ravelry.com/designers/heather-zoppetti
Blog - hzoppettidesigns.com/blog
Facebook - www.facebook.com/HeatherZoppettiDesigns
Stitch Sprouts - stitchsprouts.com

Gerty is available in the shops listed below, all of whom are happy to ship!

Baskets of Yarn - Charlotte, NC - (704) 733-9053
Wasatch and Wool - Park City, UT - (435) 575-0999
Yarn Refuge - Reno, NV - (775) 384-1600
Knit One Purl Two - Rockford, IL - (815) 904-6030
Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - (234) 208-9482
Avenue Yarns - Albany, NY - (510) 526-9276

Special orders only: Swatches - Fresno, CA - (559) 435-2813
Special orders are dyed to order and are typically ready in 3-5 weeks.You can place a special order for Gerty (or any of our yarns) at your favorite local shop. See a list of shops here and our map here. 

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Written by Heather Zoppetti On In Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Pattern Spotlight: Dividing Lines by Adventure Du Jour Designs

We're friends who met on Ravelry and now our knitting and designing is as entwined as our friendship and families. We had been friends for years and designing separately for just as long. We were always consulting each other on design ideas and knitting techniques. It only made sense a year ago when we decided to join forces and design together as Adventure Du Jour Designs.

We have learned over our collective 75 years of knitting experience that knitting is a social sport and experience. Recent years have only enhanced this as the internet and fiber arts events have opened so many doors for formerly solo knitters. As many close friends find, we have similar tastes in not only yarn but also what we like to knit. We've collaborated up to offer other friends like us patterns that are simple enough to knit in social settings yet interesting enough, in either yarn or pattern, to hold your excitement during the knitting process. The result is a shared of experience and souvenir marking a special time together.

 

Anzula Luxury Yarns is a favorite brand of ours. Who can resist those beautiful yarn bases and colors?? When presented with the opportunity to design with the newest yarn Ava, we were delighted and jumped! We are equally excited that Anzula will be offering Ava paired with Dividing Lines at TNNA’s Sample It! on June 10th in Washington DC.

As lovers of color and accessories, we had no trouble in designing something that would be as fun to knit as it is to wear. Dividing Lines, a convertible accessory, from wrap to cowl, is perfect for cool spring and fall days worn as a wrap and equally versatile as a cowl in the winter when bundling up under a jacket. With the right buttons on the decorative ribbing, Dividing Lines makes a statement no matter how you wear it. It's the only accessory you’ll need for your weekend trip because it brings a new look to every outfit.

This DK weight yarn, Ava was wonderful to knit with as it glided through our hands. The subtle shifts of color made the visual experience as pleasurable as the tactile. Ava knits into a fabric that is both soft yet sturdy. The real test is the final fabric and Ava did not disappoint after its proper washing. Ava held its shape while allowing the cashmere to bloom fully. Combined with the beautiful Anzula colors, the stitches flew off the needles.

Look for Anzula’s Ava and Dividing Lines at TNNA! The kits will be available at Sample it on the evening of June 10th! 

You can find more of our designs in our joint Ravelry Store, Adventure Du Jour Designs and our individual stores, Debbi’s The Stitches of My Life Designs and Marcy’s Steppingstone Fiber Creations. 

As we are fond of saying, Plan Your Next Adventure and Knit On! 

 

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Written by Marcy Vandale and Debbie Stone On In Tagged , , , , ,