Fading Lines Cardigan Kit High Twist Sock Yarn Pigeonroof Studios

Designer Lara Smoot has had some really fun Game of Thrones-inspired collaborations with Tennessee-based indie dyer Babs Ausherman, better known as Miss Babs. Lara's latest designs are inspired by none other than Babs herself, whose "likeableness and charm come out in the beautiful yarns that she dyes," Lara says. The three-piece set includes mitts, a cowl and boot toppers, which can all be made from just one skein of Miss Babs Yowza! The simple cable pattern on each of the pieces can work well with fun variegated colorways, such as Zombie Prom and Funny Papers or semisolids like Vlad's Red and Blackwatch. All three patterns in the Babalicious set are available on Ravelry for the introductory price of $5.99.

If you're going to make a cowl, mitts and boot toppers, why not make a hat? Brangien, a new pattern from KarenDawn Designs, is inspired by a character in the medieval love story Tristan and Isolde. The hat is knit in fingering weight yarn and features a cable panel on a background of textured moss stitch.

Karen, a veteran knitter, works full time on her small business Hemlock Springs Soaps, crafting goat milk soaps in fun-sounding scents like Dazzleberry and Sexy Man, as well as lotions and potions — including an Arnica Muscle Rub for your tired knitting hands — out of her farmhouse in the New Hampshire woods. The products are made in small batches with ethically-sourced ingredients.

Buy your Valentine, or yourself, a floral or dessert-y treat that lasts and lasts. To mark the holiday of love, Alicia of Sweet Sheep Body Shoppe is offering 10% off your purchase of $18 or more through this Sunday, Feb. 15. Use the code love10 at checkout for a discount on two lotion bars or a gift set of three lotion bar samples.

We knitters do love to collect shiny objects… So, here's another indie dyer to obsess over. Dami of Magpie Fibers launched at the end of last year, and brings bold gradients to luxurious bases. The name Magpie Fibers actually comes from the vintage part of Dami's jewelry line, made up of flea market finds that she up-cycled. So, pretty perfect for the items we'll add to our stashes.

If you want some color in your winter wardrobe, and not just on your cheeks, try Vinterbär, a new cowl pattern from Laura of Fiber Dreams. Swedish for winter berries, this new design, worked in the round, features folded hems and three different Swedish colorwork motifs. Receive 15% off with the code VINTERBAR on Ravelry and Love Knitting.

The latest Broadway musical-inspired colorway from Eternity Ranch Knits is loverly. Shades of grey, burgundy, pink, red and black/white speckles merge on superwash BFL to mark the transition of Eliza Doolittle from a common flower girl to a lady.

BeesyBee Fibers recently listed some fiber, including some of her old favorite colorways. Get them on 19 micron Merino, BFL/Silk blend, Falkland and more.

Go beyond Merino. Katie of Sylvan Tiger Yarn, who dyes with natural dyes out of Yorkshire, England, has tons of fibre from a number of different British sheep breeds in her shop, including the soft BFL, the "sheepier" Jacob, woolen-spun Shetland and the shiny Wensleydale.

Stay super warm in Sundance, a new colorwork mitts pattern from Lara Smoot Designs. The sample was knit up in Knitted Wit's Victory DK in Wild Orchard and Naked, but they can easily be resized by going up or down a needle size or two, or by using a lighter or heavier weight yarn. Use coupon code stupidgroundhog for $1 off of Sundance on Ravelry through Sunday, Feb. 15.

It's not a new iPhone, but this new electronic gadget from California will wind up the knitting world. Dyer Carrie of Alpenglow Yarn is preparing to launch the SkeinMinder, a device that automates motorized skein winders, stopping them when the desired yardage has been wound. A Kickstarter campaign will launch later this month, with plenty of yarny rewards. Carrie will be demoing the device next week at Stitches West.

Even if you do knit socks, here's a great way to show off your love of knitting from head to toe: Lisa, AKA The Knitting Artist, provides the canvas sneakers, which are dyed in the color of your choice and embellished with her hand-drawn stockinette "fabric."

If you live in the Northeast, you probably want to reach into your screen and grab that cowl. It's probably not necessary, as Lexi Parisse's new River Run Cowl, inspired by rocks and rapids, is a quick knit in super bulky yarn. If you don't need something quite that warm, check out her new Peaks & Valleys Cowl, which is less chunky and more elegant.

Sock knitters looking for something different should check out the latest from June Pryce Fiber Arts: gradient double knit sock blanks. If you're not familiar with blanks, they're long knit rectangles that easily unravel from one end, so you can knit directly from the blank, or wind a traditional center-pull ball. These have been dyed in subtle gradients, with plenty more colors on the way.

Breakfast just got better. Anne Hanson and the crew at Bare Naked Wools have some new delicious colors for their Better Breakfast Blend, a dehaired alpaca that can be tolerated by even the most sensitive skin. I got to pet it at last year's Rhinebeck Trunk Show and can definitely attest to its softness.

It may not be spring yet, but Linda of Kettle Yarn Co. is already prepared. She's introduced colorful new shades of her luxurious BEYUL yak/silk/Merino. See and pet the new yarns in person if you're going to the Unravel fiber festival in the UK or l'Aiguille en Fête 2015 in France.

Here's some "frogging" you'll be happy to do to your knitting. The Rib-It Frog Hat from Knitwise Design has an adorable and subtle frog knit out of cables and is offered in three sizes, from toddler to adult. And, it's 20 percent off through Jan. 31 with the code "frog."

Sometimes less is more, but definitely not when it comes to yarn. Bijou Basin Ranch has increased the yardage on Lhasa Wilderness, their yak and bamboo blend, from 180 yards per skein to 250 yards at no extra cost. Grab one or several of their beautiful Outlander-inspired Outlandish colorways.

Vogue Knitting Live always tends to sneak up on me, but it never fails to supply me with a ton of knitting inspiration and remind me why I decided to pick up my first pair of Clover needles several years ago.

I didn't end up taking any classes this year, like I have in the past. The ones I was particularly interested in (with Amy Herzog and Kate Atherley) sold out pretty quickly, and some others conflicted with plans I had with friends that I see far less often than I should. But, between meeting some new-to-me indie dyers in the marketplace, discovering some special skeins and taking in the fabulous Stephen West & Steven Be fashion show, this year's VKL — my fourth — was pretty epic, and definitely very indie.

While last year was all about Dragonfly Fibers and Neighborhood Fiber Co., this year I made sure to check out the newest indie additions. One of the first booths I went to was Pepperberry Knits. I had already heard of the company through my friend Stacy, who now lives in Idaho, where Pepperberry is based, and she had introduced me to owner Heidi recently over Facebook (Stacy also just started working for them, which makes me extremely jealous). Heidi, a redhead with a personality to match her brightly-colored yarns, told me about how she once decided to unravel and reknit a vintage Cashmere sweater, which led her to decide to sell Cashmere exclusively.

The Pepperberry booth was so fun to photograph, and not just because the light there was actually pretty good. It was filled with such vibrant colors, and the Cashmere in the samples hanging up just seemed to glow. I particularly liked the Fun Size Bundles that were available to make a few different striped cowls and infinity scarves, like Lucy and Lydia.

Jill Draper Makes Stuff has been at VKL NYC for the past few years, but I made it a point to visit her booth because I had a sweater quantity of her Hudson (Made in the USA superwash Merino) on my list to make Yelena Dasher's new West End Girl.

No sooner had I finally decided on a color (a beautiful orange called Spessartine) when I was tempted by something new — Jill's Rifton gradient skeins. They were dyed up just in time for VKL, and Jill explained that the browns and greys were the natural wool, while the oranges and pinks, or aquas and blues, were added to the fleece before the yarn was plied.

The Heidi & Lana booth really impressed me. I went there expecting just to see their pretty snag-free stitch markers, but I loved the kits that this Ohio LYS had on offer, including one for owner Margaret Craig's Passage, which came with yarn from Spincycle Yarns and handmade fabric buttons for a shawl/scarf that can be worn several different ways.

I also enjoyed meeting Angela of MollyGirl Yarns, a relatively new dyer based in nearby New Jersey who has fun music-themed bases and colorways, like Rolling in the Deep and Pink Bullets, and some unique bases (her limited-edition Meet and Greet was an amazingly soft alpaca/silk/linen blend). She had the help of her boyfriend for her first-ever show, and it was fun to see her excitement at being part of this crazy knitting event.

In the middle of the Saturday madness, I spoke with Carol of Black Bunny Fibers, who taught the Yarn Substitution Made Easy class on Sunday. Carol told me about the clubs that she'll be cooking up in the near future.

And I had to snap some pics of the Kismet Fiber Works booth. I became a huge fan of this Virginia-based company when they came to VKL for the first time last year, and stunned me with their baby camel/silk and Merino/silk blends that make their colors extra stunning.

Of course, I admired the colorful knitted teepee and the Seven Wonders of the Yarn World, which Marsha of One Geek to Craft Them All captured perfectly on her blog (I wish I'd taken pictures of the awesome yarn earrings and geeky stitch markers in her booth!), and the refrigerator full of knit produce and cheeses — with the way my stash is getting these days, this would probably be the only way I'd ever have that much stuff in my fridge.

You can see some more of my VKL photos on Instagram.

I'm going to be spending the next couple of days surrounded by lovely yarn at Vogue Knitting Live NYC (instead of just looking at pictures of it). I promise to come back with plenty of pretty pictures to look at (you can also follow Indie Untangled on Instagram to see more). If you're going, be sure to check out some great tips from Maria of Subway Knits. In the meantime, have a look at these stashing opportunities:

Christine of Skeinny Dipping has loaded her shop with tons of new yarn, and it can be yours for 10% off through Jan. 23 with the code UNTANGLED10. There's also a pre-order event going on through the 23rd. Info on bases and pricing in the SkeinnyDippers Ravelry group. Unfortunately, the discount doesn't apply to pre-orders, but don't let that stop you from getting what you want.

Cedar Hill Farm Company has introduced a new base called Journey, and it definitely looks transporting. This super soft, 4-ply superwash Merino is ideal for lacey and cable-y socks and shawls. The yarn is hand painted in very small batches of three and four hanks to ensure that colors are vivid and uniform. And these are some special colorways, named for exotic locales. So, even if you don't get a chance to travel to, say, Avignon, France, or Glen Coe in Scotland, you can still infuse your knitting with the local color.

Did somebody say Chocolate Soap? Oh yeah, that was Sarah of Silk Road Needle Arts. With the Idaho winter and dye pots doing a number on her hands, Sarah decided to create a Carrot Seed Hand Balm. Then, she branched out into cold process, hand milled soap, including French Rose with Chocolate Chip and Chunky Monkey.

Because I know your stash has at least a few random, lovely single skeins of fingering, here's a great pattern that can take you through winter and beyond. Lara Smoot's new Sugarplum infinity scarf has a simple lacy stitch pattern that shows off hand-painted yarns particularly well, but is also great for semisolid colorways. The intro price is $2.99 on Ravelry until Jan. 20.

While I'm not promising that it will be easy, I'm pleased to be able to give you a little head start: Margaret of French Market Fibers, will be having an Etsy update today (Jan. 9) at 10 a.m. Central. It will be her first major update in over a year, since she took time off from dyeing to be a stay-at-home mom.

A woman after my own heart, Tami of Eternity Ranch Knits has begun a Year of Broadway Musicals and Grease is the word for January. If you're too pure to be pink, the skein of BFL or Sparkle sock yarn is dyed up in both pink and black, to represent the Pink Ladies and the T-birds, along with blue, yellow and red. If you're a Grease fan, the worst thing you could do is miss out on this colorway.

Indie Untangled newcomer Debbie of Hampton Artistic Yarns, who dyes on Long Island's East End, has a bunch of new speckled sock yarns for sale. This photo is of a sock project that Debbie worked on with one of the skeins while on a recent vacation to Punta Cana. While many of you would give anything to be on a beach right now, a pair of socks with this lovely yarn should warm you right up.

You can't have enough men in kilt— I mean, enough Outlander. And if you're an Outlander-obsessed spinner, June Pryce Fiber Arts has you covered. Aside from an Outlander mini-skein club, they also have a Spin to Knit Scarf Kit that mixes Claire- and Jamie-inspired colors.

There are only a few spots open in a year-long Outlander yarn club from Canon Hand Dyes and Spark!, organized through the {among friends} Clubs. The six packages, shipped every other month, will include an Outlander character-inspired skein dyed by Amy, a pattern, a project bag and a set of coordinating Spark! stitch markers.

Now through Feb. 1, C.Whitney Knits will be offering Valentine's Day Mystery Skeins. Two variations are available: the dark and sensual "St. Valentine's Day Reds" or the light and fluffy "Candy Hearts." If you order more than one of the same colorway, all skeins will match unless otherwise directed.

KarenDawn Designs has released patterns for the Chaucer-inspired Palamon Hat and Arcite Cowl. Both feature two slip stitch patterns, which makes this a great design for variegated or semi-solid yarns. Knit with a worsted weight yarn, these are quick knits to help keep you warm this winter (and with temps in the Northeast dipping below zero, I can appreciate that!). The patterns are available on Ravelry separately or together as an eBook and are 30% through Jan. 15 with the coupon code 'Emelye'.

When I first saw Duck Duck Wool's Boys and Berries colorway, I knew I had to have it. The opportunity came at the Rhinebeck Trunk Show. There wasn't a whole lot left when I finally got to visit Sandra's table, which had been mobbed. And there it was: the shiny pink-purple that most people who know me would call a Lisa Color.

I would have taken a bunch of skeins, but there was only one lone skein of 50/50 DK. In deciding what to make with it, I found a couple of people had made Tin Can Knits' Gather Cowl. I had the pattern since I made the hat for my nephew.

I cast on while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and finished late last night. It still needs a quick block, otherwise I would have it on right now. It is the color of my dreams, and now I have to decide on a way to get, and use, more of it.

The other project that's ready to be blogged about is the Aphasia I finally blocked this week in anticipation of finally giving it to its recipient. I knit this scarf for Carmen, who lived with my family in 1998 as an Italian exchange student. She got married in May and my parents were supposed to go to the Roaring '20s-themed wedding, but my mom was having heel pain and they decided to reschedule for September. My husband and I were all set to go with them, but then he ended up having back pain that turned out to need surgery. Luckily, Carmen and her new husband decided to take their belated honeymoon in the U.S., and just flew in last night!

I have to thank Melissa Wehrle, aka Neoknits, for handing off her leftover Straw Sea Silk after I was running out perilously close to the end. I ended up meeting her in Midtown to get it when I thought I'd be flying out to Italy that next week. I finished it anyway, and it's been sitting in the To Block pile.

Though it probably won't be quite warm enough for our winter, I'm definitely glad to get to give it to her in person.

Perhaps I've been knitting with fingering-weight yarn, and making sweaters, for too long. I've forgotten the pleasure of having an FO in three nights.

My first Indie Untangled KAL project, Alex Tinsley's Horloge, is the first in a series of cowls I'm planning to make. I used the Skeinny Dipping Silky Worsted in Mulled Cider that I picked up at the Rhinebeck trunk show. The silk really makes the color shine and the cowl itself has the perfect amount of drape, just enough to sit well under my winter coat.

The pattern, with two easy cables every other row and knit inside out to minimize the number of purl stitches, was just interesting enough. I can definitely see it being a great gift knit and I'm already thinking of picking up some Rustic Silk Worsted from Pigeonroof Studios to make one for my friend Sharon, who's allergic to wool.

Also, if you haven't checked out the Indie Untangled KAL thread you may be enticed to participate by a whole bunch of new prizes, including two patterns donated by Lara Smoot, a $25 gift certificate to Lakes Yarn and Fiber, a Sweet Sheep lotion bar, a $24 gift certificate from Inner Yarn Zen, a 240-yard High Twist Sock mini-skein set from Pigeonroof Studios and an Autumn Basket kit from Laura Aylor.

I'm definitely looking forward to wearing my new cowl to Thanksgiving dinner, where I plan to work on Cowl No. 2. Speaking of which, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, filled with tons of knitting and all of the things you're thankful for!

(Also: stay tuned for a roundup of great Black Friday/Shop Small Saturday/Cyber Monday deals from a bunch of Indie Untangled vendors! If you sign up for the newsletter, you'll get that list in your inbox super early.)

I had intended to write a whole post about fall sweaters, maybe even share my favorite examples of cable-y goodness from Rhinebeck, but thinking about sweaters right now is kind of overwhelming, especially after finishing a sweater, a DK-weight shawl and a baby blanket last month. I'm feeling like knitting some small winter accessories, cowls in particular. I realized the other day that I only have a couple of go-to cowls and I need to remedy that. And, very appropriately, A Playful Day is doing a Selfish Single Skein Along starting Nov. 21 and I picked up a lot of single skeins at Rhinebeck.

Since my family is Jewish, and my friends and I have taken to going on movie/dinner/karaoke outings instead of exchanging holiday gifts, I don't usually have a crush of holiday knitting. I am making an exception for my husband, who recently underwent spine surgery and who definitely deserves a handknit. When I picked up the skein of Western Sky Knits Willow Sport at Gauge + Tension last month, I knew I would knit something for him. In searching for a unisex cowl that would work well in a variegated color, I found Chrissy Prange's Turning Stone, which you can see as a WIP above.

Here are some more pattern suggestions, whether you're knitting for someone else or decide to be a little selfish (hey, you deserve it!). Psst: Many of these patterns will be discounted 25% starting today until Nov. 21 through the Indie Design Gift-A-Long, which you can learn more about here.

Fingering

Song of the Sea by by Louise Zass-Bangham

The Keep Calm Cowl by Lexi Parisse

Frost in Bloom by Lara Smoot

Shallows by Bonnie Sennott (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Sport

Rhodes by Kimberly Voisin (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Firenze by Elizabeth Elliott (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Like the Tides Cowl by Stefanie Goodwin-Ritter (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Dorigen Cowl by Karen Robinson (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

DK

Flambeau by Sara Gresbach (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Ceramic Flowers by Mademoiselle C

Gather by Tin Can Knits, with a sample made in Duck Duck Wool 50/50 Merino Silk DK by The Knot House, a LYS in Maryland. My choice for the DDW I picked up at the Rhinebeck trunk show.

Careen by Katya Frankel (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Hunter Cowl by Brenda Green (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Worsted

Symbiotic Cowl by Hanna Maciejewska (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Exakta Cowl by Stephannie Tallent (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Whitby Place by Keya Kuhn

Windrow by Bristol Ivy (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Aran and bulky

What You Wish by Terri Kruse (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Lansbury by Shannon Cook (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

Heirship Cowl by Deirdre Lejeune (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

White Leaf by Alicia Plummer (Part of the Indie Design GAL)

See all of these, plus many more of my favorites on Ravelry and Pinterest.

I don't know about you, but after this past weekend, I could use a massage or something else soothing. Something like Lexi of Queen Bee Fibers' newest pattern. Her Keep Calm Cowl, which uses 400 yards of sock yarn, is available on Ravelry and as a kit with Knits All Done's exclusive Zen Yarn Garden "Keep Calm Keith" yarn.

The Countess Ablaze Twelve Caesars Collection continues tonight at 7 p.m. UK time with limited-edition colorways inspired by Vespasian, who ruled the Roman Empire from AD 69 to AD 79 and brought calm after a civil war.

OK, so this might be the opposite of calm, but trust me, you're going to want to keep the French Market Fibers Etsy shop up on your computer. After taking some time off from dyeing her incredible New Orleans-inspired colors to have a daughter and be a stay-at-home mom, Margaret has taken out the dye pots and will occasionally be adding a few skeins at a time. And let me tell you — it will be worth the stalking effort.

Krista of Pigeonroof Studios has unleashed several new yarns and colorways. The new bases include Rustic Silk Worsted, which is 250 yards of pure silk with a lofty, almost woolen feel, perfect for garments and accessories for the wool-allergic. Krista is also now offering skeins of Superwash Merino Singles, around 440 yards of a non-plied superwash Merino that takes dye beautifully, and a new Made in the USA yarn, seen above, called American Squishy DK, which is, as the name implies, very plump.

Knit it with the pointy end: Continuing with her Game of Thrones-inspired designs, Lara Smoot recently released Arya's Needle, a shawl pattern named for the slender sword Jon Snow gifted to his sister before leaving to join the Night's Watch. Pair it with the custom Arya colorway made especially for this design by Miss Babs.

Fading Lines Cardigan Kit High Twist Sock Yarn Pigeonroof Studios

Source: https://indieuntangled.com/tag/cowls/page/10/

Share this post