Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted

It's such a great yarn for felting and for mittens and hats. We have over 35 colors in stock and carry many of the popular colors  The green shades shown above include yellow greens (Lime Sorbet is a variegated, while Limeade is a solid color) and the bluer Persian Peacock.

Here are some of the red/violet/blue colors including the sweet shade of Periwinkle and that luscious Sapphire. Mmmm, great for a little girl's hat and mittens.

And here are some of the brighter colors, including the variegated color Elderberry Wine. Orange You Glad is always a punchy orange, often turned to in projects that need some warmth and brightness.

Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, made in the USA.
190 yards per 4 ounce pull skein
85% wool; 15% mohair

Little Zauberball Sock

I had fun knitting a little Zauberball sock. My favorite pair of big handknit socks (these are the socks that get tucked into my rollabout so my feet have some covering in cold hotel rooms) are Color 1507 in the yarn known as Crazy Zauberball.

Addi FlipStix are great for small circumference knitting like little socks. I cast on a bunch of stitches and ribbed for a few inches. Did a heel flap, turned the heel, and knit the gusset. A little foot knitting and a shaped toe followed.

Presto, Eduardo! There was the little Zauberball sock, and it was pretty much the miniature of my adult sized pair.

Zauberball Crazy -- sock weight yarn, 420 meters per 100 gram ball

Addi FlipStix -- set of 5 double pointed needles, one pointy end, one rounded end  I used the 2.75 mm size.

Hope this description gives you a glimpse of some fun little knitting ideas!

Happy knitting,

Wanda

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Originally posted in 2015

July KAL (Knit Along): Summer Mittens!

Who in their right mind would be thinking about mittens in the middle of the summer? Knitters! That's who!

We are delighted to offer "Unleashed," a convertible mitten pattern as the next Knit Along (KAL) from designer Michelle Hunter and the fine folks at Skacel. Michelle calls this project a gem with a handy flip top. This mitten will be perfect for texting, walking the dog, or even knitting outdoors.

Yarn for the mittens:  Simpiworsted by HiKoo, a 55% merino superwash, 28% acrylic, 17% nylon blend that comes in 140 yard hanks (100 grams). Gauge: approximately 4 stitches per inch on US #10 needles.

Needles for the mittens: US #6 and US #8 double pointed.

So-o-o, here's what we are offering for this project -- NEW needles and NEW yarn.

We have added FlipStix to our needle lineup. FlipStix are double pointed needles manufactured from high grade aluminum. They feature dual tips -- one end is an Addi Turbo tip and the other end is an Addi Lace tip. When you need to have that more pointy tip, you just flip the needle!

Addi FlipStix in 6" length

Simpliworsted comes in six colors of marl and four colors of multi colors. The yarn has generous yardage, crisp stitch definition, and unparalleled softness. Check out all these colors on our website, choose yours today, and place an order.

Simpliworsted Marl

Simpliworsted Marls, Simpliworsted Multis -- 140 yard hanks.

Knit Along website -- be sure to check it out before July 2nd!

Graywood Knits KAL FAQ blog post -- general information about our Knit Alongs

It's summer! We're knitting mittens! We're crazy! So what!

Happy knitting,

Wanda 

PS  Just so you know. Michelle is suggesting a solid color for this project, so I'm out on the limb offering the marls and multis here. If you'd like to follow her lead and use a solid color, consider using another of our excellent worsted weight yarns. I would suggest a superwash yarn like Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash. Try a red, like Shane's Red. You canot go wrong with a washable, durable quality yarn. 

PPS As always, you don't HAVE to use double pointed needles for mittens! You can knit this project using the magic loop method and a long circular needle, 32" length recommended.

Where Have You Been, Graywood Designs

It's been a long, long time since the last blog post and, yes, there is a reason for that pause.

Here at Graywood Designs we are making the shift from one website interface to another. The new site has some "backroom" features that we have been yearning for, so those of you who are regular customers will notice some new things.

Coupons. Yes, we plan to offer coupons via our Graywood Knits emails and our Facebook page. That will be kind of cool. Right now we don't have that capability and we know that many of our customers would appreciate some fun offers. Coupons will bring us that possibility.

Downloads. You will be able to download PDF patterns and knitting helps right on our new website. Our free patterns will be available there as well as our for sale patterns. 

Events. We offer four regular KALs (Knit Alongs) and those will be right up on our home page. Front and center, that's where we want our events to be, not buried three clicks deep on the blog or in a hard-to-retrieve email.

More yarn, more colors. The best thing about our website, though small, is the multiplicity of yarns and colors that we offer. We've expanded colors and yarns, and plan to add even more.

I say this somewhat guardedly, since having a lot of yarn is not the focus of the website. Instead, we strive to offer yarns for discriminating knitting -- natural fibers, blends of fibers, colors that go beyond the ordinary. And we strive to do that by bringing you hand picked yarns. We'd like a yarn purchase to be a reasonable purchase, yet we know that good results start with the best fibers that you can afford.

Excellence in Tools. Most knitters have lots of needles but only use certain brands and sizes from their stash. We are aware of the cost of the more expensive needles like the Addi Turbo line that we carry, but we also know that those myriad of hours that you spent knitting using really good needles will be hours of pleasure, not frustration. So, we stock premium tools that work. Period. End of sentence. No apologies here.

Finally, the new website will be coming on line sometime this summer, Lord willing and the creek don't rise! So I hope you will bear with us and be looking forward to the next best thing as we move from one "house" on the web to another one with a newer look. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, happy knitting,

Wanda

Hat Knit Along Starts July 3

Be ready for the next KAL from Michelle Hunter of KnitPurlHunter. The next project will be a two-color hat design. Michelle says this project (remember, it is always a surprise) is "brimming" with new techniques and that it is the perfect portable project for summer travels. 

Hmm, that sounds great! We are featuring 20 colors. You will find neutrals, some saturated colors, and HOT colors for summer on our website's choices of the yarn for this project, HiKoo Simplicity, a butter soft machine washable yarn. The photo shows 6 of the 20 colors that we carry. Just look at that purple! Red Hat Purple! Cool!

Here are the specifics:

Yarn: HiKoo Simplicity
Content: 55% Merino Superwash, 28% Acrylic, 17% Nylon
Skein size: 50 grams, 107 meters 
Label needle size: US #4-6, 5 stitches per inch

Hat size: The pattern is sized for baby (child, and adult). It uses two colors of HiKoo Simplicity.

Materials for KAL project:
+ HiKoo Simplicity - 1 (2, 2) hanks Main Color, 1 (1, 1) hank Contrasting Color
+ US #4 (3.5mm) needle – straight or circular
+ US #8 (5mm) 16" circular
+ US #8 (5mm) dpns or 32" circulars for Magic Loop method (for crown decreases)
+ Cable needle
+ One 3/4" button

If you want to guess at what Michelle's hat project might look at, HERE are some of her other designs.

And, if you just want to knit a hat this summer, try the Softie Hat, knit using one skein of sock yarn, that I designed. It is a free download on Ravelry and HERE is the link to my pattern. 

And, (whew, one more link!) HERE is the link to sock yarns on the Graywood Designs website.

Happy knitting,

Wanda

PS I couldn't wait to knit with this yarn so I started a scarf using Color 10 Deep Turquoise. The yarn is super soft, holds to the needles well, and flows through my fingers evenly. It is a delight to knit.

Serendipity Tweed Vest

I'm knitting a vest for cool golf days using Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed. The pattern is the same lace that I'm knitting as a cardigan for my daughter. 

The yarn is smooth and so pleasant to knit. Here's the link to the website where you can read more about this made in the USA yarn from the good folks at Brown Sheep in Nebraska. 

http://www.graywooddesigns.com/product.php?id=92

Walk In Wednesday -- April 30th

FREE Diagonal Squares Class -- Wed., April 30 -- 1-3 pm -- Graywood Studio

Join us this coming Wednesday for our first "Walk In Wednesday." There will be a FREE class in the afternoon. You can see and buy our website yarn in person.

There will be some discounts, just like on our website. We have a bin of charity yarn ready. Some of this yarn is leftover skeins, some has knots or nubs, and it is all great for one of a kind knitting.

We've discontinued some yarns and those are marked way down. Plus, there will be a free copy of our NRS Socks pattern for each person who stops by.

Wednesdays are the days that we ship orders from our website and we are guessing that a lot of you who live or visit the Thumb area of Michigan might like to see our shipping facilities and have a gander at all of the luscious yarns.

The FREE class will be a Diagonal Squares class from 1 pm to 3 pm. You'll learn how to knit a square with a center decrease that is connected by knitting to the next square. For the class, bring a pair of US #7 or 8 or 9 needles and one or two colors of worsted weight yarn. You'll need about 30 yards of each color.

So stop by and shop a bit. We'll be open 10 am to 4 pm. That's Wednesday, April 30, in Pigeon, at the Graywood Studio at 40B South Main Street.

Come around through the garden and in at the double door. Bring some knitting! We'd love to see you!

April KAL Shawl -- Week One

The April Knit Along (KAL), a shawl knit in HiKoo's Rylie yarn, started with a garter stitch tab that quickly expands through several yarn over increase rows into a semi circle shape.

I'm using the pale pink, Color #093 "Abalone," and am loving the way that the pattern work (star stitch) shows up. The first week's directions take you through Row 60 of the pattern. After I got that far, I slipped the stitches on to a holding thread and soaked the knitting. Then I folded it in a damp towel and stretched it out on a tile top table. The photo shows the results.

Week Two of this KAL will be posted on this Thursday morning at 9 am EDT. Michelle Hunter is the designer and moderator of the KAL.

Our studio knitting group has at least four of us knitting this project, plus we have shipped packages of this yarn to customers. What fun!

Abalone & Sea Grass, Rylie Colors

Anybody remember "The Thorn Birds" and Meggie's Ashes of Roses gown? Meggie, played by Rachel Ward, wears a lovely pink dress as she descends a staircase in their Australian bush farm house and falls in love with a handsome priest, played by Richard Chamberlain.

That's what Color #093 in Rylie reminds me of, a soft, slightly dusty pink, sort of like the Victorian Ashes of Roses in Meggie's costume in The Thorn Birds.

Color #093 in Rylie is called "Abalone" and you would need two skeins to knit the April KAL (Knit Along) shawl. Find out more on our BLOG or on our WEBSITE.

Here's another intriguing color, #089 "Sea Grass." It has a hint of teal, a blue green haze that is a subtle grayish green.

Rylie comes in ten colors. We have all of them in stock, ready to ship. This yarn is priced at $25.95, but with our 15% discount, you pay $22.06 per skein.

We charge $4.95 for Shipping & Handling, up to $75. After $75, S&H is free. I know, it's kind of nuts to price S&H that low, but we do, so order today!

Rylie, Featured April KAL Yarn

Michelle Hunter's April KAL will be a shawl knit with Rylie, a new yarn by HiKoo.

Rylie is a luxurious blend of baby alpaca, mulbery silk, and linen. Michelle tells us that the yarn is soft and strong and has lovely hand.

We have ordered all ten colors -- lovely pastels, beachy brights, and soft neutrals -- and all ten colors are in stock and ready to ship.

Michelle is using Color #085 "Sea" for her knitting. Other colors include: Kelp, Periwinkle, Freesia, Guava, Sea Grass, Driftwood, Sandbar, Pearl, and Abalone. There is a 15% discount on this yarn. For the KAL, you will need 2 skeins of Rylie.

HERE is the link to Rylie on our website.

You will also need a US #7 circular needle, 32" recommended.  Treat yourself to a new Addi Turbo circular needle for this project. The tips are smooth and the knitting is insanely delightful.

HERE is the link to Addi Turbo needles on our website.

Order your skeins and needle right away and be ready on Thursday, April 3rd at 9 am EDT for Michelle's very excellent April Shawl Knit Along!

HERE is the link to the Knit Along.

A few more clues from Michelle about this KAL project:

The shawl is a lace based pattern.
Michelle says it is suitable for the advanced beginner knitter.
The shawl is approximately 52" wide.
The gauge, after blocking, is approximately 20 stitches equals 4 inches in stockinette.

CoBaSi Comes in Multicolors Now

CoBaSi comes in five multicolors and they are luscious. The blue multi, #804, would go with denim and jeans. #801 and #802 are the brights in the colorway. Their green, blue, and violet would add pizazz to a sock project.

Browns are captured in #803 and #805, both yarns that are stay in the neutral tones.

CoBaSi is a wool free sock weight yarn. It has wonderful drape and would be great to use for a shawl or scarf. There is silk in the blend, so it has warmth.

CoBaSi Multi Colors

So Soft and So Elegant

Let simple and elegant be the watchwords for this easy to knit scarf.

Our Two Together Scarf Kit matches two soft yarns into one strand for a scarf that is fashionable and warm. We have watched our inventory for two yarns that live together well. Then we pre-wind them into a ball that makes a scarf that is sort of long, but not too much.

You'll have about 7-10 hours of pleasure when you knit this scarf. Choose from Lake Huron Teal or Maple Leaf Red.

Find out more at Graywood Designs, home of specialized knitting yarns and supplies.

January KAL is Coming!

The January  KAL (Knit Along) begins on Thursday, January 2, 2014. The project will be socks knit on one needle, two at a time.

I warn you, once you learn this method, you might not go back to knitting socks on double pointed needles. The long circular needle method is so convenient and eliminates the dreaded "ladder" that forms with double point needles.

Michelle Hunter, designer and knitting educator, will be posting four weeks of lessons for this KAL. Her directions are clearly written, supported by video instruction, and easy to follow.

Michelle is calling this project a "unique two at a time sock design."  She used CoBaSi for the toe up sock design, Crimple, that we knit last January for a Knit Along.

The project takes two skeins of CoBaSi, a non-wool sock weight yarn. Michelle's sample is knit using Color #12 Iris Blue, but you will find quite a selection of CoBaSi colors on our website. Color #13, Violette, is a lovely lavender and would be a good choice. My favorite blue in CoBaSi is Color #51, a dark blue named "Raffi."

CoBaSi knits up into a soft fabric with a smooth feel. It has a slight sheen and blocks well. The yarn is 55% cotton, 15% bamboo, 8% silk, and 21% elastic nylon. It is ideal for people who want to stay away from wool and wool blends.


The Knit Along project uses a 40" circular needle, US #1 (2.5 mm), or choose a needle that gives a gauge of 8.5 stitches per inch. MIchelle suggests trying out the Addi Turbo Sock Rockets for this project. Sock Rockets have long tapered tips and a smooth, flexible cable that makes them speedy for sock knitting using the magic loop method.

Here's the LINK to CoBaSi. There are twenty colors of CoBaSi available on our website.

Here's the LINK to Addi Turbo Sock Rockets. There are five sizes and we carry all of them.

Here's the LINK to the KAL page on the KnitPurlHunter website.

I hope that you will join the Knit Along. Remember that there is no charge, lessons are posted every Thursday, and there is excellent support on Michelle's website for the project.

Order your yarn and needles in December and get ready for some January sock knitting fun.

Happy knitting!

Wanda

Using Stitch Markers

Here's a pin (talked about in a previous post) from a Vera Wang clothing tag, being used as a stitch marker on a piece of lace knitting that I have going.

You can see that the rounded end is threaded through both legs of one stitch. Often when I'm absorbed in lace knitting I find that I forget what row I started on so I place a marker at the start of a knitting session.

That way, when I get up for a cup of coffee or a stretch, after 20-30 minutes of knitting, I can see my progress very clearly.

It's always good to know that an hour of knitting produced two more inches, or more, of knitted fabric.

I use split ring markers, too. I like how easy it is to place one and, then, to remove it. Split ring markers are great for marking the starting stitch in a round of knitting on a circular needle.

You will find this language often in the directions for the knitting designs that I write:

Mark first stitch of round using split ring marker. 

Move the marker up every 3-5 rows so that it follows the knitting.

Happy knitting,

Wanda

A Red Sweater for A Holiday

There are two great red sweater holidays -- Christmas and The Fourth of July. Here's Hannah's red sweater from Fourth of July 2011. She was almost two and this Elizabeth Zimmermann design was the perfect little cardi for a summer coverup.

The pattern is Baby Sweater on Two Needles (month of February project) from "Knitters Almanac" by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I knit it back and forth on a circular needle using Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted. The color is "Shane's Red." The lace pattern is gull lace. I found some sparkly red buttons.

Superwash wool is great for kids and for cardis. The sweater is worn over another garment, so there is no "wool worry," and the cardi can go into the washer and dry flat. Perfect.

Christmas is coming and this is a delightful project that can easily be finished by the holidays.

Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Superwash Worsted -- I used about a skein and a half.

Addi Turbo needles -- I used US #7, 24 inch circular to knit back and forth.

Knitter's Almanac on Amazon -- available in paperback.

More about this project on Wanda's Ravelry page

Softie Hat -- A FREE Pattern

It's exciting to introduce a new knitting pattern to the Graywood Designs knitting line. And, for the first time, one of our patterns is being offered as a FREE download on Ravelry.

Softie Hat is a a lightweight, fine gauge hat for women in one size. It is knit out of sock weight yarn, also called fingering yarn and uses almost all of a 100 gram skein of yarn.

The fit is snug around the ears, but loose in the body of the hat, so this is a design that won't destroy a hairstyle or flatten your bangs.

Softie Hat pulls down over the forehead for those really windy cold times. Or wear it casually tucked back for a stylish look.

The yarn that you choose will dictate whether the hat is sort of tight or a snug fit around the ears.

The Softie Hat design uses a small needle gauge for the ribbing. For the body of the hat, there are increases and a change to a larger needle to get the looser, softer fit.

Multicolored sock yarns (there are scads of these lovely yarns on the market now) knit up beautifully in this design and, for once, the yarn shows, for, instead of knitting two socks for your feet, you'll be knitting a special hat for your head!

Here's the LINK to the free Softie Hat download.

And here is a LINK to all of the sock yarns on our website, any of which will make a lovely Softie Hat for you.

Happy knitting,

Wanda

An Unlikely Stitch Marker

I found this unusually shaped safety pin attached to the last Vera Wang top that I bought at Target. The pin is sharp, but really stands out when I use it as a stitch marker for my knitting.

Isn't it neat to find something unlikely that works with knitting?!

Luscious Colors in Lanaloft Handpaints

There are some luscious colors in Brown Sheep's Lanaloft yarns. Made in both worsted and sport weights, this yarn is available in selected colors on our website.

Lanaloft is 100% wool and is single ply. It handles a lot like Lamb's Pride worsted which is also single ply, but Lanaloft does not have mohair so it has far less of the soft haze of Lamb's Pride.

Choose Lanaloft for your holiday knitting gifts. Lanaloft makes lovely hats, scarves, and mittens. Many of the colors coordinate well with the colors of outerwear that are worn in the winter. The yarn has a subtle striping effect, a lot like the sock yarns that knitters have come to love.

With the artful handpaint colors, you will have created a very special gift indeed.

Lanaloft worsted weight: 4.5 stitches per inch, US #8 needle; 100 gram,160 yard pull skein

Lanaloft sport weight: 6 stitches per inch. US #5 needle; 50 gram, 145 yards; pull skein

May we suggest a pattern?

The Zelda Hat, by Graywood Designs, uses one skein of Lanaloft Handpaint worsted.

Turn A Square Number Seven

Riff Blue color should be a tad bit more toward a denim-ish gray

I must be crazy about Jared Flood's hat pattern because I started another one. This Turn A Square is for Bill, my helpful friend who knows enough to repair my email disasters when I start tinkering with my laptop or a Kindle or mobile phone.

The main color yarn is Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Superwash worsted in Riff Blue (Color SW45). The accent color is Fortissima Socka Mit Bamboo, Color 103, used double. I like to do these hats on Addi Turbo 16" circular needles. Jared's pattern suggests two sizes, US #5 and US #7, one for the ribbing and one for the body of the hat.

The Riff Blue is available on our website (where I called it "Ruff Blue," by mistake!) Notice that the color is a tough one to photograph. It will not be as blue as shown in the photo. Think more denim. The light gray sock yarn is a leftover yarn. It is 60% superwash wool, 25% bamboo, and 15% nylon. It's in the Discontinued Yarn on the website, but there is only one ball left and it is 50% off the regular price.

Turn A Square Number Four

This hat will be the seventh one that I have knit. Max, Finn, Peter, Clay, and John all have Turn A Squares. The sixth Turn A Square, in pink for a girl, is in the decreasing stage. And this hat, for my friend Bill, is Numero Seven.

Turn A Square Number Five

I use the Lamb's Pride Super Wash because I absolutely love the feel of knitting this yarn and then, after washing the hat, the yarn plumps up and the hat is so soft and warm. The hat rolls up and tucks into a pocket so it is ready for windy or rough weather days. It's a great pattern.

Onward and upward with the Turn A Square hats!

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Turn A Square -- a FREE pattern on Ravelry

Another Turn A Square Blog Post

A Pause in the Blog

Dear Graywood Knits blog readers,

I want to let you know, in a few words, that I have been away from the Graywood Designs website and Graywood Knits blog for almost two months now, due to the death of my father, Stanley C. F. Hayes, in early May. Dad died on May 6th, a Monday, and the funeral was the following Saturday.

I am one of seven children and we all made it home to Wisconsin to be at Dad's side in those last few days. Dad had just turned 92 and was living alone, but with daily assistance for personal care and meals. We are fortunate to have had him through all of these years.

Some of you know that I write a daily blog that has been focused on my Dad. Since January of 2010, Dad received a daily email with the blog post. I would write a bit about something that I thought he might enjoy reading about, and I always included a photo. It was my way of staying in touch with him, even though I am in Michigan and he lived in Wisconsin.

You can find those posts at the blog, "From Under The Willow." In these days after Dad's death, I am still writing the Willow Blog. I am not sure where it will take me, but the daily discipline of putting words together with photography is an enriching experience.

I can testify, too, to the comfort of knitting in the midst of sorrow. I knit several baby hats during my weeks in Wisconsin and kept a summer scarf design on my needles. There have been several weeks in June now when I laid knitting aside in favor of gardening and art journaling. But the knitting always beckons and soothes.

Just the other night I took another hat off of the needles and worked in the ends. It's good to get done with a knitting project and move on to something new. I'm waiting for that "moving on" time as I grieve for my father. Knitting, I can finish. This weight of emotion moves more slowly.

So, I am back at the blog. There is a new Knit Along coming up on July 4th. That's what the next post will be about.

Again, thanks for following my knitting endeavors. I hope you will look at the website and, gee, maybe even place and order now and then.

Regards,

Wanda