CoBaSi Yarn at 20% Off

Mmm, here are bags of CoBaSi, the non-wool sock yarn that we have added to our website! This yarn is the first 2013 Featured Yarn and is available at a 20% off discount.

The first KAL (Knit Along) of 2013 uses CoBaSi for a toe-up sock pattern that is a delight to knit.  The socks take two skeins of yarn. You'll have a pair of non-wool handknit socks for less than twenty dollars. That's a good deal for knitters.

We carry twenty lovely colors of this fine yarn.  There is a great range of colors. Some of our favorites are pumpkin (069), moss green (008) and yellow gold (057). There are four different blues ranging from soft blue to a medium navy.

Order some today and enjoy using CoBaSi.

The Heel Is Done -- KAL Week 3

The KAL (Knit Along) for Crimple, a toe-up sock design, is finished through Week 3. Michelle Hunter, designer from KnitPurlHunter will publish Week 4 today and I will be ready to finish my sock. I've been using a long circular needle (2.5 mm or US#1) and doing the magic loop method of sock knitting.

Here's the sock with Week 1 (cast on and knit the toe), Week 2 (knit the foot), and Week 3 (knit the heel) completed in the CoBaSi yarn that we are carrying at Graywood Designs.

Now is a great time to begin this project since you can see all four steps of sock knitting and will know just where your knitting is headed. The CoBaSi is a non-wool yarn that flows through your fingers softly and evenly. It is a joy to knit..

Buy the yarn HERE -- Graywood Designs. We carry 20 colors! If you live in the Pigeon area, you can stop by our shipping office at 40 South Main on Mondays to purchase this yarn. Anything we carry on the website (yarn, needles, patterns, books, GW publications) can be purchased in Pigeon. The office is open 10 am to 4 pm. It is a good idea to call ahead -- 453-2311 locally or 888-453-4554 Toll Free.

CoBaSi is a 2013 Featured Yarn and, as such, is 20% off.

Follow the KAL HERE -- KnitPurlHunter.

Read more about the Knit Along HERE -- Graywood Knits blog

Happy sock knitting!

Wanda

Toe-up Sock KAL (Knit Along)

Join the Knit Along (KAL) from our friends at KnitPurlHunter and learn how to knit a toe-up sock! We are carrying the yarn used in this project, CoBaSi, a non-wool sock weight yarn, on the Graywood Designs website. You will need three things: 1) Internet access and some time to knit; 2) 2 skeins of CoBaSi yarn; 3) 2.75mm needles. That's it!

A Knit Along is a delightful change of pace from the hurry scurry of the holiday months. You will learn new knitting techniques and be making a practical pair of socks. What fun!

Here are some of the specifics about participating in a Knit Along:

• There are four lessons, each posted on the four Thursdays in January.
• The pattern includes photos and online video instructions.
• There is no fee to participate. The KAL is FREE.
• Designer Michelle Hunter will reveal a photo of the project in the last step. Until then, you can watch your knitting progress and anticipate what it will look it when finished.
• You can enter a contest to win cool prizes from Skacel, the distributor of the yarn. Find out about the prizes by reading the Contest Overview on the Skacel website. 
• You  need two skeins of CoBaSi. We offer a 20% discount on this yarn!
• You need 2.75 mm size needle(s). You can use double pointed needles, two circulars, or the magic loop technique (long circular needle).
• We suggest Clover bamboo double point needles OR Addi Turbo circular needles.
• The KAL started Jan. 3. A second post appeared on Jan. 10. Order your yarn NOW and enjoy the KAL!.

CoBaSi Colors

We are carrying 20 colors of CoBaSi on our website. Here are some of them.

We know that we are a bit late at doing the Knit Along, but we are not letting that stop us from knitting. 

We are expecting our full shipment of CoBaSi on Monday, Jan. 14th and are taking orders right now for this new yarn Check out the rest of the colors at Graywood Designs and then join us as we knit along with KnitPurlHunter and make toe-up socks!

Two Fall Knitting Projects

Dear Knitters,

 

Do you need a few ideas for fall knitting? Here are a two projects that don't take a lot of time but are pleasurable knitting with great results. 

Finny's new hat is the Turn A Square hat by Jared Flood. The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry.

I used Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Superwash worsted weight in two colors for this hat. The main color is  a bronze and Cactus is the second stripe. This yarn is a 2012 Featured Yarn in our studio. Read more about it on our website where you will find 14 colors and a discount on this yarn.

My Ravelry projects page will tell you more about Turn A Square hats that I have knit. Read about how I have knit this pattern for both guys and boys, just by changing the needle size of the body of the hat. You can purchase this yarn at  the Graywood Designs online site.

This is the Tudora neck warmer, sort of a cowl, sort of a scarf. It uses less than a full skein of worsted yarn and can be knit in one or two sittings.

The pattern is available on Knitty, an online knitting magazine, and includes some cabling as well as a clever bind off technique.

I used Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Superwash worsted (again) but would knit this a second time with Brown Sheep Lanaloft Handpaint worsted. Look at the color "Precious Stones" for a luscious blended handpaint look.

Both yarns are available at our online shop, Graywooddesigns.com where I have hand picked a selection of colors from the Brown Sheep charts. The choices run toward rich shades and heathers. Take a look and see if you can find something to knit with at Graywood.

Happy fall knitting!

Wanda

Another Luscious Yarn

The Brown Sheep people have done it again. Their Lanaloft Handpaint yarn is luscious and a joy to knit. We are carrying eight of the handpaint colors in both worsted and sport weights

• Wine Fire -- red to burgundy to almost purple
• Twilight -- gray to denim blue to deep taupe
• Grape Vines -- touch of mauve to heathery blue and gray
• Precious Stones -- deep teal to toned down red violet with hints of forest
• Platinum Plum -- ever so slightly purple but mostly taupey brown
• Razzmatazz -- intense red violet and teal with deep purple
• Autumn Run -- gentle teal and mauve, some leaning toward dull apricot
• Plantation Fall -- red brown with forest accent and russet 

One skein of worsted (160 yards) will make a lovely scarf or pair of mittens or a hat. The sport weight skein has 145 yards and will make our Topknot Hat.

The Graywood Designs website has photos and more details, plus there's a bit of a discount. Shipping is only $4.95 per order.

Brown Sheep Lanaloft Handpaint Worsted

Update: Boneyard Shawl

Boneyard Shawl on the lawn -- wrist watch in upper right corner

In progress, with maybe 30 grams of yarn yet to be knit from the formerly 100 gram ball, my Boneyard Shawl project is coming along. Elizabeth Zimmermann is so right about a  laceweight yarn project being the perfect take-a-long knitting task. I'm not looking at a chart or counting as I knit, so I can keep up a conversation and still knit.

I moved the stitches onto two long needles this week and spread the shawl out on grass. The longest side is almost 40 inches already and, as you can see, I have some knitting to do yet.

This scarf/shawl has given me pleasurable knitting hours in Great Britain, Wisconsin and Michigan. Whether on a bus, sitting by the lake or riding in a car, this is my 2012 summer knitting project that relaxes.

The specifics:

• Yarn: Lace Ball, 100 gram ball
• Needles: US#5 circular -- 40"
• Free pattern: Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West, found on Ravelry.com
• First blog post about my Boneyard Shawl

Coming Soon: Topknot Hat Pattern

My Topknot Hat pattern is almost ready for prime time. Several knitting friends (and sisters!) are currently knitting from the written pattern. Their experiences help me know what adjustments can be made to make the pattern easy to use. Two proofreading gurus are also working their wonders, God bless them.

I have knit four of these little gems myself and have two more in progress. I like to knit from the patterns that I write before I release the design. That way, I will know if I can follow my own directions. Believe me, there are times when I write pretty crazy stuff for knitting.

So, stay tuned. Topknot is almost ready. You will find it on my Ravelry pattern site which is right HERE.

This pattern uses either worsted weight or sport weight yarn. The design is knit using a 16 inch circular needle, US#4 or 5 or 6, depending on the weight of yarn. As usual, you can adjust needle size for your own knitting. The body of the hat is textured and the top is finished with a knot that's knit with I-cord. Funky and fun.

 I'm finishing the hat on the upper right in the photo now. That hat uses Brown Sheep Lanaloft Handpaint Sport yarn, a luscious yarn that will appear on our website this fall. The color pictured is Razzamatazz, a purple/gray/burgundy multicolor that will be in the Graywood Designs online store soon.

So, just a peek! Enjoy!