New Feature: Kit of the Month

KIT OF THE MONTH

 Ta Da! Hat

Welcome to a new feature: Kit of the Month. The first kit is our Ta Da! Hat pattern. It shows off a favorite (and very on-trend) technique: double stranding with mohair. It’s a basic slim fit beanie style hat. No frills since the magic is in the alchemical blending of mohair and tweed. Kit uses Berroco’s Providence + Aerial. Our goal is to highlight a new kit monthly…or thereabouts. Sometimes life intervenes and our Kit of the Month may span a couple months….but our goal is to regularly spotlight fun, easy and useful projects as kits, list online. We like to leave wiggle room and allow spontaneous bouts of creativity to guide our choices.

Check our website for more  kits. Just search type “kit” into search bar and they’ll magically appear. (How did we function before we could search stuff?!)

Yarn Spotlight

Aerial and Aerial Color

Aerial came out last year but had new colors and a sibling added last fall. It's a soft mohair with wide ranging palette that blends perfectly with all the Providence colors. This year Berroco came out with Aerial Color, a few multicolored mohairs. You can pair Aerial +Aerial Color, or Aerial + Aerial. Or grab some stash yarn and Aerial to magically transform what we dread (our dull, boring stash) into something surprisingly fresh and fun! 

The beauty of this double-stranding technique: It bumps up the gauge and needle size! This means a fingering becomes more of a DK, a DK becomes more of a worsted and so on. If intimidated by thought of working with a single strand of fuzzy thread (mohair) just pair it up and bump up needle size. It’s kind of a great since we all need stashbusting ideas but at same time crave a little something new. Viola! Give double-stranding a go. We’re spotlighting mohair today but down the road watch for Kim’s current obsession with blankets, DK and marling. It’s same technique (double-stranding) but in a fun, addictive pattern. But these details are for another day, so stay tuned. Today it’s all about the beauty of ethereal mohair’s ability to elevate even the dullest, most basic yarn to something new and lovely. 

We love using a single strand of mohair held with other yarns. It's like magic! You can be bold or subtle with your color pairings. Often we're surprised at the end results. They don't always look like you thought they would together and instead by some alchemical yarnie magic...look amazing! It's fun to swatch, testing out different combos. Changing up the color of the mohair with the same base yarn, or keeping same mohair but swapping out the base yarn creates such variety. Then when you have a bunch of little swatches....stitch them up! You can always turn into a lovely pillow (because you can never have too many pillows!)  “Now where did I put all my swatches I made… (digging around numerous piles and bags….dumping basket on floor….Dagnabbit…where did you little dickens get to!?” Okay…can’t post photos of my test swatxhes…..they’re hiding. 

Getting back to pattern inspirations….. 

Freebies: 1. Corinna  2. Arrowsic  3. Ellsworth  4. Nigela  5. Lorraine 

Excited to see the brand new freebie, Lorraine. Uses Remix Chunky held with Aerial Color. Looks so smoothly soft, Can you see the subtle multicolor effect against the tweedy background of the turquoise Remix? Since it’s chunky works up quick on big needle. Other subs for the Remix chunky: Ultra Wool Chunky, Lanas Quick, Comfort Chunky. (Watch for future posts using this double-stranded technique with emphasis on color marling, bigger gauge, blanket project Kim is in love with at moment Addictive knitting and color play at its best…)

Few Favorite $$ Patterns: 6. Bloomfield  7. Pinora  

Both of these sweaters above show off Providence and Aerial held together. Other suggested combos: Sub Remix or Ultra Wool for an easy care version. Makes lovely slightly hazy, fuzzy fabric but not bulky so flattering and nice for our warmer/shorter winters. 

For new patterns check out the digital pdf collection: Aerial & Aerial Color Fall 2021  We’re planning to add more digital patterns to our website in upcoming months. For now you can call or email us if you’re wanting to purchase a specific pattern if it’s not listed for sale on website yet. 

Purchase Aerial here and Aerial Color here 

Purchase Kit of the Month: Ta Da! Hat here 

Providence

Another newish yarn we love is the soft, tweedy Providence. Berroco added a few beautiful new colors to expand out the range. A dk weight that plays perfectly with mohair to yield amazing items. It’s great on its own (awesome in lighter sweaters or cardigans perfect for our climate) or magic happens when paired with a strand of mohair. Endless combinations of colors created sometimes surprising results. Who knew such a seemingly delicate fuzzy strand could impart such transformations. 

Find more Providence patterns here 

Purchase here 

Mohair Subs: Ella Rae Silky Kid (more colors); Lang Alpaca Superlight (affordable). 

Base Yarn Subs: All the Remix, Ultra Wools, Lanas and Mercado lines. 

Welcome to a New Year! 

Looking forward our new Kit of Months, a return of our Pillow of the Month and hopefully a few classes come Spring.