Monday, February 6, 2017

Because You Need One More Project

Want to do a knit along?

Now I can imagine Buddy the Elf jumping up and down saying "A Knit Along! I want to do a Knit Along!"

We are excited about the Knitterati Afghan Knit Along by Cascade Yarns and Vogue Knitting. It's a mystery so we have no idea what it will end up looking like other than it's a bunch of squares and at the time of this post we've only seen two of the squares. Each square is designed by a different designer.

Mysteries are fun. I've always loved a good mystery. Although there's no murder in this one unless you get so frustrated that you use your needles as a weapon. We suggest that you don't do that and you leave your spouses intact.

The great thing about knit alongs like this is that you just have to do a little bit each week to keep up. So you don't have to stop doing your million other projects. I mean really, what's one more when you're already up to a million? It's already started but there's only a couple of patterns out right now.

Because it's done through Cascade Yarns, they suggest Cascade, however we have some really lovely alternatives and you can put together your own color ways because in knitting, you're allowed to do that.

I know! Put together your own color ways? It can be done! It calls for five colors, but that doesn't mean you can only use five colors. I've even seen people do the fair isle square in one color by purling on the knit side, so if you want to do one color you can. Or you can pick a whole bunch of colors. Do an entire garden of colors if you want!

And you don't have to buy all your yarn at once. You can buy a few at a time. Even dye lots wouldn't really matter

What are your favorite colors? Or, is there a room in your house that's just calling for a throw? Pick those colors.

So our suggestions:

For a less expensive throw, we have Cascade Yarns Anthem. Yes, a Cascade Yarn! It's 100% Acrylic Worsted Weight, costs only $6.00 a ball and comes in several lovely colors. It's our basic afghan yarn. Fully washable. 170 meters. We tend to run out of this fairly quickly so it's a good idea to get all you need if you can.

If you want a wool blend that you can throw into the washer, we have two beautiful options. Estelle Worsted, 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon at $10 a skein for 200 meters. It comes in lots of bright clear colors or neutrals.  Or you can choose Berroco Vintage. 52% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 8% Nylon, $11.50 a skein for 200 meters of worsted weight. This yarn comes in lots of dusty colors and neutrals which works great for home decor. It's also interchangeable with Estelle Worsted, so you can mix these yarns around.

You could splurge on alpaca. We have Ella Rae Cozy Alpaca. It's lovely and soft and comes in warm hues perfect for home decor. $13 a skein for 167 meters of worsted weight. 70% Acrylic and 30% Alpaca.

Want a cotton blend? Modern Cotton comes in beautiful colors. 60% Pima Cotton (the best), 40% Model Rayon. $10.50 for 191 meters.

And for you pure wool enthusiasts we have two superwash suggestions. Ella Rae Superwash Classic Wool is $11.50 for 200 meters and comes in warm tones. Rowan Pure Wool Worsted is $11.00 for 200 meters and also comes in warm colors. These two yarns are interchangeable with each other.

For those who love wool but don't want to pick colors, Lori has made up two kits for this afghan. One is pinks, purples and beige in Rowan, and the other is blues and greens in Rowan and Ella Rae.

Also if you wanted to make your afghan smaller and lighter you could make it out of a DK weight instead. We have Rowan Pure Wool DK for those who only want wool. Berroco Vintage DK for a wool blend.  Schachenmayr Bravo, Berroco Comfort DK,  and  Snuggly DK are acrylics and Sirdar Cotton DK is a pure cotton.

So there are lots of options. For more information you can go to Knitterati Afghan Knit-Along to sign up for the patterns. They are free the first week they come out. After that they are only a dollar, and that dollar goes to a worthy cause. From the ravelry site...


"Cascade Yarns® will be making a donation to Haiti Babi equal to the amount that it receives from Ravelry for the sale of this pattern. Haiti Babi, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to training and employing struggling mothers in Haiti. Rather than merely providing a meal or housing, Haiti Babi provides training and jobs to moms in Haiti so they can earn a sustainable living wage, provide for their children, and keep their families together. We encourage you to visit Haiti Babi’s website to learn more about their cause. In Haiti, one in ten kids lives in an orphanage, and 80% of kids in orphanages have a parent, or parents, who simply cannot afford to care for them."

So it's a win/win either way!

I've been eyeing the colors in the Estelle Worsted, so I'll be making my afghan out of that. The hardest part is choosing the colors. I love them all! So maybe I'll be doing a garden.

I know, I know, quit blathering away. You want to know what's on sale...

I mentioned Pima Cotton earlier. It's the best cotton with long staples. It's the kind of cotton used for luxury bed sheets that you find in hotel rooms and make you wish that you never have to get out of bed. We have it. Well, not the bed sheets. We don't do bed sheets.



75% OFF

DIAMOND LUXURY COLLECTION PIMA SOFT 
85% Pima Cotton, 15% Baby Alpaca
50 g/100 m DK

Regular Price: $7.00
Sale Price: $1.75


Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee who is thinking about growing a garden through her knitting needles).

No comments:

Post a Comment