Monday, August 17, 2015

More Summer Knitting: New Dishcloth Yarns!

We have new yarns for all your dishcloth and tableware needs!

Nova Plus Four Seasons Cotton (75 m $2.50)


This is a very nice worsted weight 100% dishcloth cotton that comes in 29 beautiful colors.




Soft but strong, perfect for your dishcloths.











You don't have to limit yourself to dishcloths. Bags, pillows, table linens, and coasters can be made.

Just look at Lori's gorgeous pillow!








She made coasters from the leftovers.

Imagine a table runner or matching placemats. You don't have to worry about getting food on them, just throw them in the washer.

We also have a several booklets that would work well with this yarn. One of them is exclusively bags  which are very sturdy.

People will ask you where you got that purse and you can smile and say "I made it myself."



Red Heart Scrubby (85 m $6.30)

Clockwise from far left: Grape, Royal, Cherry, Orange,
Black, Coconut, Ocean, Lime, Duckie, Bubblegum

You've been asking for it and now we've got it! The perfect yarn to make your scrubbies! Surprisingly this yarn is not hard on your hands at all but it will help clean your pots. Use alone or pair it with dishcloth cotton to make the perfect scrubber. Worsted weight, 100% polyester.

Scrubby up close
It comes in several really bright colors. Hey if you have to wash dishes by hand then it helps to have cheery colors to look at, especially if you're like me. I don't have a dishwasher and my sink is nowhere near a window. I'm sure a man designed that.


We still carry Lily Sugar 'n' Cream dishcloth cotton in solids, stripes and twists. 100% cotton, just $3.20 for 109 m or 86 m.

Now some of you may wonder why anyone would want to knit a dishcloth. Aside from how excellent they are for washing dishes there are other reasons.

  1. Try out new stitch patterns. Maybe you have a pattern you're not sure about or a design in your head. Try it out on the dishcloth cotton and make a square before you delve into your expensive yarn. Or maybe you just want to experiment with new patterns. You still end up with a usable dishcloth.
  2. Learning how to knit or crochet? Or maybe you're teaching someone. Dishcloths are perfect. The weight of the yarn is easy to handle and it doesn't matter how many mistakes are made. It's just a dishcloth.
  3. A stack of dishcloths make a nice gift. They don't take long to make and you can either vary the colors or pick the color of the recipients kitchen. Think housewarming, newlywed, or someone setting up an apartment for the first time or starting over. 
  4. Make some dishcloths and/or other kitchen linens and stick them in a basket of kitchen supplies for a gift. Or you can put them in a basket of baby supplies.
  5. And yes, you can always make some for yourself. They will become your favorite!
  6. They are not too hot to knit! Dishcloths can be made all year round.
  7. And they are easy to take along with you anywhere.
  8. Plus, they don't take long to make. Need a break from that gorgeous but complicated lace shawl that is taking forever? Knit up a dishcloth and feel accomplished.
There are plenty of free dishcloth patterns on the internet. So have fun looking!

Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee who used to think that knitting dishcloths was dumb but doesn't anymore).






Saturday, August 1, 2015

Summer Knitting

"I don't knit in the summer."

"Knitting is a winter activity for when it's snowing outside."

"It's too hot to knit."

Well fellow yarnies, let me tell you, that knitting is for the summer.

Okay, you don't want to be knitting a woolen afghan on a hot day, nor would we ever suggest it. The last thing we want is people dropping from heat stroke. How would you then buy more yarn?

However, there are lots of things great for summer knitting.

Unlike other crafts, knitting is portable. You don't have to drag out the sewing machine to the garden and then find a table and electricity. You don't need special light. If something gets sandy you can easily clean it (after all you're making wearables). And there's no risk of a wet kid or dog knocking your beads and sending them flying everywhere.

Granted, you may not want to knit while water skiing, but you can still take the knitting to the lake. Although that is an interesting visual. Okay, I admit it. I went looking for people knitting while water skiing. Turns out no one does it. It might make a really challenging Olympic sport.

Aerobic Knitting
I did find this.

That's right. Knitting while doing aerobics. So if they can do it, you can knit in the summer.

Now, merino wool may not be your friend in the heat, - imagine being a sheep -  but cotton, linen, and other plant fibers are. They are cool and have great stitch definition.

And the projects you can make are endless.

Think small and or lacy. This is the time to pull out those finer yarns. Lace weight, sock and fingering, and sport yarns are great for hot weather knitting. You don't have a time crunch on your hands anyway. Or you shouldn't. Now if you've over scheduled yourself in the summer then you have bigger problems then finding time to knit.

This is the time to make that lace shawl you've been drooling over. Or how about those funky socks?

It's also a great time to get a head start on Christmas knitting. Toques and mitts are small and you can handle the wool for short amounts of time.

And you can easily do pieced afghans when it's only a square at a time. No big blanket heating you up.

Dishcloths and place mats are great summer knits too especially when you're working in cotton and linen.

So settle down in your garden with a glass of ice tea or lemonade and your ears plugged into your favorite music, knitting podcast, or audio book and enjoy. Hey you can tell yourself that it's time you read War and Peace.

Just one other thing. Road trips are a great time for knitting - as long as you're not the driver. Yeah, don't do that, even if you are driving through Saskatchewan.

Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee that doesn't let the seasons dictate when she knits).