Berroco: Vintage Baby Line Expands

Few years back Berroco introduced a great baby yarn: Vintage Baby. It's a true "baby" yarn, meaning sport (think in between sock and dk). We love it. It's adorable little mini skeins (50g), washable and awesome colors. 

Now they've added Vintage Baby Handpaint. Sweet little hanks in same baby friendly yarn in rich, tonal multicolor or perfect splatter, speckles. Use separate or together since the colors blend perfectly. As with it's Vintage Baby, this new line perfect for all things baby but now with a touch of fun.

Berroco's pattern picks for both lines include a variety. There's garments and blankets (knit and crochet), of course. Here's brand new freebie, Wren. A cardi using both solid and handpaint; top-down construction.

If you need a faster project the hat, booties or even toy elephant work. You can never have enough booties. Plus it's a great way to dip your toe into making socks. 

We think using the wee Minutia patterns for a sweet garland or daisy chains make unique baby gifts too. You can easily turn this into a mobile for over baby's crib. 

Have a gander at our past blog posts: Vintage Baby Trunk Show We had this in shop couple years back and fell in love with all the patterns:

 Vintage Baby Collection 2023.

Vintage Baby Collection 

I've STILL got a Kirby (still) on the needles (stranded on sleeve island) and (weekly) I plan to tackle mastering Frankie, (on my crochet bucket list). My Kirby WIP is further along now than seen in blog post. It's just waiting for me to finish the sleeves.....( "I just need to finish these stupid sleeves!). The blog post highlighted 5 WIPs. To my credit...the Fuzzy Mustard JoLo-ish baby cardi I actually finished last year and it's working it in the shop! 1 out of 5 done not so bad! LOL [Scroll down the blog post for one of my favorite tips: IC cords in lieu of stitch holders/waste yarn.] 

You can find our Vintage Baby and Vintage Baby Handpaints online or in the shop. It's a great yarn when you need smaller amounts, baby/kid friendly and don't want to break the bank! 

Other lines of note: Berroco Vintage Sock and WYS Bo Peep Luxury DK. Also superwash. The WYS distributed by Berroco and works great with all the Vintage Baby yarns. Great when you want stripes!

New Year, New Make-Alongs

Tale of Two Sweaters 

Our Winter KAL was planned for Jody Long's Enya  But twice is nice, so we now have two options to choose from!  A second group chose Noro Sia, a very popular Noro pullover.

KAL starts Jan 9th. As usual our Make-Alongs are free to join and receive 15% discount on supplies, with free pattern included. We meet weekly on Thurs 12-2pm to work together. Our KAL's usually run a couple of months so from Jan-March these are what we're working on! 

Enya 

Option 1: Enya is a bulky, fast coatigan style knit on #15...yes nice big needles = fast finish (hopefully)! Choose from this season's new Andeamo Twist (marled) or Andeamo (solid). Jody had this sample at his Fall Event to try on and many of us loved how this fit. Bonus is fact it'll go quick since it's a super-bulky. 

Kim: "I've cast on and it's fast-going! Just an hour and I'm already halfway up the back! But trick: Can I sustain momentum and actually finish it" LOL

           

       

Enya Details

• SIZES: S (M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)
• To fit bust: 32-34 (36-38, 40-42, 44-46, 48-50, 52-54) in
• Actual measurement, at underarm: 37½ (41¾, 46, 51, 54, 59½) in
• Full length, from neck shoulder point: 27¼ (28, 28¾, 29½, 30¼, 31) in
• Sleeve length: 18 (18, 18½, 18½, 19, 19)in
• Needles: #11 and #15 
• Gauge: 9.5 stitches and 12 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
• Yardage: 875 - 1225 yards (5-7 hanks Andeamo Twist or Andeamo)

Sia

 

Option 2: Sia was worn by Tilly (shop mannequin) all last winter and it's found in Noro Magazine #19. Many customers were inspired to tackle this pretty easy, set in sleeve, minimal shaping boat neck pullover in Madara, a lovely Noro tweed. The worsted/aran weight yarn not as fast a knit, but the pattern a fun yet easy "spotted" stockinette pattern, so not too boring. Only a little bit of shaping at neck for this boxy pullover. A perfect winter cuddle-up kinda sweater. 

                 

Sia Details

• SIZES: S (M, L, XL) Size S in photo
• Bust: 45 (47, 50, 53)“  
• Length: 22 1/2 (23, 23 1/2, 24)” 
• Needles: US #6 and #7 
• Gauge: 17 sts and 24 rows to 4in on #7
• 5 (6, 6, 7) x 100g hanks of Noro Madara 

Tale of Two Shawls

Berroco's Crochet-Along!   Jan 23-Feb 29th

Thanks to the Berroco Designers, we also have two crochet shawl options when they host two very different style crochet shawls from Jan 23-Feb 29th. You can follow the designers progress, get tips, etc on  Berroco's various social media spots (FB, Instagram,Blog).  You can also join us for our weekly group sessions Thur 12-2pm for companionship, encouragement and cheerleading! Now's a great time to try your hand with expanding your crochet skills. 

We have plenty of Carousel and Aerial in stock for Alegria. We don't have Mistico, but Dulce a perfect sub yarn for the Houdin shawl.

The Alegria shawl is made with Carousel and Aerial held together. Carousel features color flowing all through the plies giving off an overall balanced look, while Aerial gives the shawl a soft and cozy halo effect. The finished shawl is made up of 100 crochet motifs joined as you go. Finished Measurements Approximately 25" / 63.5 cm on all sides. Berroco Carousel:3 balls #4423 Dunk Tank Berroco Aerial: 4 balls #3454 Lilac.

Houdin is a beautiful lace shawl with an all-over pineapple motif, crocheted from the bottom point up. Houdin is made with the light and airy Mistico. Brushed alpaca creates a soft halo while the cotton, wool and nylon core seem to illuminate flecks of color in this gorgeous yarn. Houdin by Alison Green Approximately 68" / 172.5 cm wide and 25" / 63.5 cm down center (sans fringe). Berroco Mistico:  3 balls #2538 Utopian (Our Sub Suggestion: Ducle). Hook, size H / 5 mm or size to obtain gauge. 

Here's what you need to know about the Berroco CAL

• Runs January 23 - February 29

• There’s no need to sign up! Just purchase the pattern and yarn, and join Berroco designers on social media for check-ins and giveaways.

• Get 50% off the Houdin and Alegria shawl patterns on our website and Ravelry with code BerrocoShawlCAL (code expires on 2/1)

• Tag your posts with #BerrocoYarn and #BerrocoShawlCAL on Facebook and Instagram so we can see your work in progress and finished pieces!

• Join Mel, Emily and Casey for weekly live check-ins in our Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok pages. The first LIVE is on 1/24 at 1 PM EST.

• Want more connection? Join our Facebook or Ravelry groups to share your progress and to ask questions.

• Want to learn to crochet? Get started with our How To Crochet Basics video.

Let's get Makin'!

OMG Love at first stitch! Berroco Talara

New Yarn Alert: Berroco Talara 

I'm in love! It's the squishiest, softest yarn to work with. Immediately cast on a striped scarf with all the colors! Tube scarf to make it even easier to finish. It's going to be a big long, warm, colorful tube to wear all winter.  It's a chainette style yarn which creates a bouncy hand, but got to say....a bugger to rip back. But I love it so much...all's forgiven!  

Last spring at our rep appt this yarn sucked me in right away. Rep Betsy had sweater on the needles and I couldn't stop squishing it, delighted with how cozy it works up. I'm dreaming of lovely cardigans and pullovers I can live in all winter. 

Color palette is just lovely. Hence my decision to use ALL the colors in a super stripe scarf! I couldn't decide which to use....so they all get used!

Okay...enough gushing. Here's the skinny: "Talara is a delightfully lush and charming mid-weight yarn made of 100% llama. It’s soft to the touch and easy to work with, has a bouncy texture, and creates a fabric that has next-to-skin comfort." Pattern booklet #446 Talara features lovely designs. Especially handy are Maitake and Porcini, two hat-mitten sets; one knit and other crochet! Perfect for gifting.

Maitake (knit)

Porcini (crochet)

Cremini, a lace cardigan and Morel Vest both wardrobe building sweaters. Tartufo wins hands-down for cuddliest weekend sweater.

All Berroco patterns available here online. We also print out single patterns if you prefer. Just contact us (email is best) or pop into the shop. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of my latest WIP!

Kim's Super Striped Tube Scarf Wonder 

New Noro Summer 2023: Akari, Akari Solo

Akari & Akari Solo

Yum! This is the soft, silky fluid Noro Akari in lovely "solid" complimentary shades. For customers who eschew Noro's rougher, naturalistic texture....we hand them Akari or Akari Solo. Blend of 26% silk, 21% cotton, 15% rayon, 14% mohair, 12% wool & 12% nylon. It's high rayon content provides a lovely soft touch and perfect drape. 

Imagine the squeals when our latest shop samples arrived from KFI. It was a Thurs Sock KAL day so there was a cacophony of delightful "squeees" as we all fondled this: 

Meet #18 Bisect. The beauty of this little top-down pullover: written for stripes of both Akaris, or just Akari Solo. Looks just as lovely in the solid version. The sample is SO soft and squishy! A true revelation at how gorgeous both Akari yarns are for sweaters. 

Pattern in the latest Noro Magazine #22. Great issue chock full of many pattern potentials future projects (see patterns here). We now have shop samples of #12 Assateague (Sonata & Sonata Shima) & #14 Spectra (Haruito). More on these new summer yarns in a later post. But they're great cotton Noro! Perfect for warm weather projects. The Spectra cardi would be perfect in Akari Solo for cool weather. 

Noro Magazine #22 Spring/Summer 2023

Find Sonata, Sonata Shima & Hariuto in shop. Coming soon to website. 

Akaris Pattern Ideas: Nighshift 

The Nightshift pattern is a long-popular Andrea Mowry staple. It's addictive knitting at it's best. Noro is a perfect choice. Our shop sample used Akari + Silk Garden, in that super-popular colorway that's always out of stock. Now with Akari Solo even easier. Just pick 1 color of each. Hardest part is choosing with color combo! 

We prefer to use just 2 colors and 40 row repeat option. Streamlines the pattern to 1 pg (Six color version is 11 pgs!). Makes it much easier to knit. Still: Keep diligent notes as you go! It's very easy to mess up the pattern if you're not paying attention! Unless you're wanting practice "tinking" back.  

Closeup: Kim's Nightshift Shawl (shop sample)

My pattern notes literally resemble hieroglyphics as I charted my progress. But I loved it and the slipping, sliding, and genius edging (beautiful technique for semi-cord edges). 

 

If triangle shawl not your thing....try the smaller Shift cowl. Same basic technique and look, but in a kerchief style cowl. These make great gifts and excellent way to use up stash. Andrea always has loads great new techniques so plenty of learning takes place. Fortunately she posts many videos on her website to help. Or even easier.... Shiftalong hat. These take DK or fingering so Akari won't work. But Noro Silk Garden Sock and Silk Garden Sock Solo perfect subs.