Interweave (Rosie's) Knits Winter 2009

The Winter 2009 issue of Interweave Knits is here and a few of our favorite yarns/designers have made their way into this issue!

Alma's Scarf by Mareike Sattler caught my eye as the perfect wrap to selfishly knit when all of the holiday craziness is over (New Year's Day here I come!). It is sure to please lace knitters as well as knitters who like a fair amount of texture in their projects.  It uses five skeins of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend and the color shown here is Topaz. Is it not your color? Not to worry since we carry all of the colors of Silk Blend for you to choose from, which can all be found on the website!

The Bells of Ireland is another wonderful cardigan by Courtney Kelley. Knit using The Fibre Company's Road To China, it's perfect for wearing next to the skin due to its fiber content. I could take up a huge chunk of blog space and explain all of the benefits of this yarn, but the ladies at Kelbourne Woolens have already done that for me here. They're actually doing a post on each yarn and its qualitites. I think this is awesome because even though the information is on the label and you can ask your LYS what type of project would showcase the yarn, it's great when the company takes the time to do so, in depth, about their yarns.

 

Rittenhouse 5-Ply Merino has been making its presence known in the Manos del Uruguay yarn family. Marilyn Murphy designed this simple scarf with two skeins of Rittenhouse, with an edging that features reversible cables. This particular issue of Interweave Knits highlights reversible cables, which really pop with the help of the plied merino. Come in, grab your favorite color and get knitting!

Last but not certainly not least, is Bridget's article about the "joys" of knitting gifts for loved ones. We have all promised someone knitted gifts at one time or another. Here's the question I pose to you: Do you finish? Do you deliver? Bridget tells a tale of attempting to do just that, and by knitting socks no less! Maybe it's just me but I thought socks come in pairs...meaning there have to be two of them. Sigh. Gift knitting might be better left to Bridget.

Drop by and we'll have your copy of Interweave Knits Winter 2009 ready for you when you come into the shop!

THANKSGIVING HOURS!

Hello Rosieblogs readers! This is just a notice  that we'll be closed  for the Thanksgiving holiday (we hope you enjoy yours!), but we will be here to take care of your yarn needs on Friday, normal Rosie's hours from 10am-6p! We'll also be operating under normal Rosie's hours throughout the weekend.

Lisa posted this at the beginning of our November newsletter and  I liked it so much, I thought I'd post it again....

It's November, a month of sumptuous feasting.  Here's a Thanksgiving menu made entirely of yarns I'm grateful for: After an appetizer of smoked salmon, we might have grouse instead of the usual turkey.  I'll prepare my stuffing by sauteeing portabellos and celery in butter and seasoning it with sage, sage, sage and more sage.  I'll make a gratin of squash, both butternut and acorn, baked with cream; serve roasted beets dressed with mustard; and grill some asparagus.  We'll drink a nice merlot.  For dessert, our pies will include rhubarb as well as the more traditional pumpkin (with lots of cinnamon, and rum raisin ice cream).  Just to show off, I'm considering a lemon souffle with clementine-lime sauce.Hope you enjoy the bounty of the harvest this season!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM ROSIE'S!

Waulking Song Mittens

This month's Project of the Month is the Waulking Song Mittens designed by our own Johanna Marshall! The name of the mittens comes from the Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung by women while waulking.

Waulking, the Scottish name for fulling, is a step in woolen cloth-making which involves the cleansing of cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. This involved a group of people beating newly woven tweed rhythmically against a table or similar surface to soften it. Simple, beat-driven songs were used to accompany the work. A waulking session often begins with slow-paced songs, with the tempo increasing as the cloth becomes softer. As the singers work the cloth, they gradually shift it to the left so as to work it thoroughly.

Here's how these mittens came to be. It all began when Jenna, Johanna and I (lots of J's here) had originally planned to each take a wheel of Cestari Pencil Roving and see what resulted for each of us. We often used Cestari when teaching people how to use a drop spindle, but didn't know what else could be knit, having a certain level of substantiation. There are patterns that call for unspun icelandic wool that would probably suit this yarn just fine, but there had to be something else.

Jenna's project was a bust, as was mine, but Johanna was quite successful in coming up with something. She decided to take two of her favorite things & put them together by knitting mittens at a larger gauge than needed, and fulling them. The result is one of the warmest pair of mittens I've stuck my hands into.


You can knit & full them and leave them plain or you can embroider/embellish them as you please. An awesome blog to find free patterns daily is Hand Embroidery Network.  Sublime Stitching also has some great patterns for sale on their website that made me a bit weak in the knees, too.

The pattern is available for download on the Rosie Knits page and the Cestari roving is sold at about $2/oz. Most of the wheels are 3-5oz, making this a super-affordable project! Cestari might not get an encore performance in the shop, so snag a wheel or two while the getting's good!