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From our latest designs to our process, people and places behind them – explore what we’ve been up to and what’s yet to come.
In June I had lunch with Barbara, the new head of tourism for St. Mary’s County. She and I had chatted briefly over the course of several months when she attended the LBA meetings. She knew I owned the yarn store in town, and said that I should make an effort to wear the things I knit. “It would be great advertisement for you,” she offered.
I was like, “What do you mean?”
She thought for a minute and said, “Well, I guess I did move here in the spring,
We had a lovely knitter in the shop some years ago looking to knit for a basic sweater. “Top down,” she said, “with a round neck and long sleeves,” and added, “Preferably worsted weight.” Ginni found her a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern for a basic top-down sweater with a jewel neck and long sleeves. And what do you know--worsted weight. Perfect, huh?
The knitter looked at the pattern and slowly shook her head, “No, this one is not right.”
Unflustered, Ginni said, “Ok, so I can find you a pattern that is right, can you tell me what it is about this one that is not right?”
Did you get a puppy during the pandemic? A lot of people did. At least that’s what my friend, Norma said. She’s a vet, and she said that she has spent almost all of every day for the last year seeing new puppies. Of course. We’re home more, and we have time for a puppy. What could be nicer?
Other people started knitting. Some started knitting again. They learned a while ago and were regulars in the shop and then they weren’t. And now they are
We all have horror stories of beloved sweaters, blankets, scarves,, and more, destroyed by careless washing. I have done it myself, as I’m sure you recall from this blog post. In our effort to avoid felting them into oblivion, we treat our our beloved handknits with great care - perhaps too much care.
Wait, what? You can treat a hand knit with too much care? Yes, you can. Let’s talk about two main mistakes we make with our wool garments, and what to do instead.
I talked recently about sustainability and the different yarns in the shop that contribute to greater sustainability in the fiber world. First on my list was Noro, a company whose deep respect for nature flows through every fiber in every skein of every yarn.
Mr. Noro talks about the minimal processing his yarns undergo and the importance of maintaining the aspect of the raw materials that go into the fibers. You will absolutely see tiny bits of silk noile in Silk Garden, poofs of angora bloom from Okunoshima, and an occasional bit of dried grass will probably show up in Kureyon or Ito. It's part of the aesthetic, and it helps keep the yarn
A capsule wardrobe is a carefully curated collection of 30-40 really quality pieces that all look great, fit well, and go together in a myriad of ways, typically for a particular season. It’s kind of the holy grail for women who stand in front of a closet brimming with stuff and still have nothing to wear. It’s a great concept, but what about the stuff we knit? Do they fit in? How do you make it all work?
The answers are, yes, handknits definitely fit, and you have to make a plan and get some basics. Let's look
