Could It Be? Fall?!?

 

We got a bit of a respite from the twins names Heat & Humidity heat last week. While it was lovely to be without them, Summer has come back for one last round (hopefully, one last round because really I can't take any more of this sweltering punishment!). However, Fall is in full force in the knitting world and what better way to realize it than to receive the new Rowan Fall magazine!

It arrived in the shop on Friday with a few boxes accompanying it of some new Nashua yarns. The rest of the yarn was still being packed and should arrive this week, if not later today! The three stories in Rowan's 48th issue are Nomad, designs with over-sized cables in loose-fitting shapes for men & women. Cables are everywhere as the focus of the garment while the construction is simple.  

To the right, Rambler; bottom left, Wayfarer; bottom right, Drifter.

Russian Doll focuses on colorwork and lots of it. This storyline is inspired by the folkloric designs of historic matryoshka nesting dolls and showcases a collection of floral & fair isle garments. Most of them have a look that makes you think appropriately of the very thing the colletion is named for, with the garments having shapes that cocoon the body. Think wraps, shawls, & layering tunics & vests when browsing through these pieces from your favorite designers including Kaffe Fassett & Marie Wallin.

To the left: Nonna

Bottom, left to right: Tamara Scarf & Gloves, Polina, and Lidiya/Lidiya Scarf   

Last but not least is Timeless, a story that shows that classic silhouettes have no age. You'll notice the emphasis on shoudler & sleeve details & vintage colors. No matter the age or the shape, these simple pullovers & cardigans are projects that will last long after you've weaved in the last end. Most of these designs are knit using Cashsoft 4 Ply and Kid Silk Haze, employing the less is more approach to the weight of yarn, ensuring that whatever the body shape, the fabric will flatter!

     

Top: Wanda

Middle: Agatha x 2

Bottom: Tara 

Well, hopefully that was enough to whet your appetite. Stop in and check out a copy near the front display and take a peek at the yarns featured inside along with the new Vogue Knitting Fall magazine!

Mountain Meadow Wool

Rosie's has been carrying yarns from Mountain Meadow Wool for a little while now, so we were excited to see that Interweave Knits highlighted it in the Fall 2010 issue's Yarn Spotlight.

This yarn is a particular favorite of staff members, here. The texture and natural hues are lovely, not to mention the ability for you to trace the yarn back to the farm it started from. The squish. The softness. The grays. The natural white. Everything about it makes us scream with glee!



We are currently carrying the Bulky weight, in natural white, the Worsted weight, in natural white, the Sport weight in three shades of gray as well as natural white, a Single ply in natural white, and a natural light brown/beige alpaca-merino blend. Stop on in and check out this lovely yarn in person. Many of us are scheming as to what projects to make with the Mountain Meadow.

What would you knit with Mountain Meadow?

[ photo credit: Andrea Mules ]

Can We Also Have New England Weather?!?

New England Knits has arrived!

This book has been the talk of the knitting town for some time now, and now you can have your own copy! We tried to come up with a book review for it, but it's been reviewed so much since it was put on Amazon's pre-order list and buzz began on Ravelry that we'd rather link to one of those reviews. We'll just show you some pictures!

The book has patterns that feature a few yarns we carry here in the shop: 

Here we have the Greylock Tunic in Rowan Purelife Organic Wool....

...the Lewiston Striped Vest in Cascade 220 (and with all of the colors we have of this yarn, you'd be hard-pressed to not find a combo. Maybe Cascade isn't your thing? Rowan Calmer, Manos Rittenhouse, Swans Island Worsted, O-Wool Balance, Nashua Creative Focus Worsted, Noro Kureyon, Shirakaba, Retro, (do I really need to name all of the worsted weight yarns that we have in this shop that could work for this pattern?!?)  & Dream In Color Classy will also work for this cute vest. The button hunt for this project might be just as fun as picking out the yarn. 

The worsted weight patterns continue! This is the cover sweater, the Middlefield Pullover. 

The Mystic Pullover is worked in the Fibre Company's Organik. Check out that side pocket detail? You like? 

The Providence Pullover is worked in O-Wool Classic, which is soon to come to Rosie's! If you can't wait, we have a bit in stock in large amounts at a really nice discount. Just pop in and ask for the really huge skeins of yarn....we'll point you in the right direction. 

The Salem Hooded Jacket features the Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica. Could you ask for anything warmer to wear this Fall/Winter season? That hood, the A-line shape, the texture.....I'd probably enjoy knitting the fabric more than wearing it!

Last but not least, we have the Whale Watch Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn (go Kate!) It takes 1 skein each of Canopy Fingering in Orchid, Fern & Macaw. You don't get 241 hearts on Ravelry with just any ole design!

So there you have it. Speaking of books, we have a new book shop on Amazon.com! We have a few back issues of magazines & older books on sale, but have been adding other books over the past few days and will be adding even more books. We'll still keep our yarn company books (i.e. Rowan, Classic Elite Yarns, Noro, Berroco) on the website, but most of the other books that come through the store will be available here! Keep your eyes peeled for some other new designs we have up our sleeve....heh. 

Crochet Friday

Yarn is made. Patterns are made to support said yarn. Some like to let the yarn do the work and keep the stitch pattern to a simple stockinette or some knit/purl combination. Other patterns want to show off the stitch definition and work cables and/or lace to make each stitch pop. I can't speak for anyone, but I wonder if anyone thinks of whether a yarn will look better when crocheted rather than offering only knitting patterns.

Well someone at Rowan realized that crochet is no longer the bald-headed stepchild of the craft world. That's been said for some time, but support is being developed to back up that statement more often it seems. The staff of Rosie's has never been crochet-discriminatory, but more of us have been picking up hooks lately.You can imagine that we were excited to see that Rowan 47 had crocheted garments. Not just some toaster cozy/pillow cover amalgamation made solely of granny squares, but things that you could wear with a pair of jeans, a pair of cute knee boots (brown always works), and go out the door feeling stylish without having tried too hard. 

Enter Cheery, an over-sized crocheted pullover with knit ribbing at the hems & neckline. As soon as I laid eyes on it, I knew I was going to make it. At first, I sighed. Summer Tweed is 70% silk/30% cotton. I will be completely honest and say that cotton isn't exactly my favorite fiber for knits. I like a bit of stretch in my sweaters and you just don't get that with a cotton/silk blend. So what do you do? You crochet!!!!

The sweater has a knit ribbing that is bound off before working the crochet pattern. The jump from knitting Summer Tweed to crocheting it almost feels as if you were working two different projects. (The ribbing does seem to go for a bit longer than you want it to, but it wouldn't be ribbing if it didn't, now would it?) After that's done, you crochet the body, which doesn't even take that long compared to how long it'd take you to knit it. Crochet isn't always faster than knitting, but this is one of those times when it is. 

Summer Tweed won't mind if you knit it. Rosie's regular Karen has nothing but amazing things to say about her Hey Teach cardigan. It's just something about the texture of the yarn that makes it feel lovely when you crochet it. Hopefully, by next week there should be a finished product with pictures to boot! Check out all of the Summer Tweed colors we have here! 

Last but not least, in something unrelated to Summer Tweed, check out the new First Fall Knitty! Milly is worked in Felted Tweed, Winnow calls for Louet Gems, the Coquille Shawl features the amazing Swans Island Fingering, and Lamina shows off Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend. It's good to see Fall things coming down the pipeline when the low for the week is 89 degrees!

Stay Classy, Philadelphia

Dream In Color Classy is back!

1st row: Petal Shower, Ruby River, Lipstick Lava

2nd row: Butter Peeps, Spring Tickle, Happy Forest, GoGo Grassy

3rd row: Midnight Derby, Dusky Aurora, Black Parade

The last time we got it, it seemed to fly out of the door so we made sure to get a few extra skeins of the colors we picked at TNNA. (Can I just say that being in a booth full of the stuff is an entirely different blog post?....aaahhhh.) Classy is sometimes referred to as a worsted weight, but it works well, if not better, at 4.5 stitches per inch rather than 5 stitches per inch.

If you need some patterns to get you going:

    

 

The Garter Yoke Cardigan (left) by Melissa LaBarre is a great sweater whose biggest size (unfortunately only a 40" bust circumference) only requires 5 skeins. The February Fitted Pullover (which goes all the way up to 50"! yay!) is one of those garments that can be worn with jeans and a t-shirt or over a nice blouse paired with a cute skirt or slacks.

The Baby Surprise Jacket is a great one-skein project for this yarn. Parents will love the fact that it'll be something to throw in the wash when the little one throws up all over your precious handknit item. (Just kidding, but they will appreciate this attribute.) If you like Elizabeth Zimmermann, then the Baby Sweater on Two Needles AKA the February Baby Sweater is another design to which this yarn lends itself to quite well.

There are many other projects that you could make using Dream In Color Classy. Go check them out here on Ravelry. Each $18 skein holds 250 yards so you're looking at a sweater with fewer skeins than you might need in some other yarns. Honestly, I don't know what else to say about it? It's handpainted 100% superfine Australian merino superwash.

This blog post is over. I think I'm going to choose which color to use for my own Garter Yoke Cardigan.

P.S.: We will be closed on Sunday, July 4th. Enjoy the holiday and your weekend everyone!

Soft Sea Wool, We Hardly Knew Ye

Dearly Beloved,

We are gathered by the computer screens to mourn the loss of Reynolds Soft Sea Wool. It had a good run here at Rosie's but we must say goodbye. It served its purpose as a yarn that was slightly heavier than Koigu, lending itself to designs for fingering weight as well as for sport. However, it was overlooked while younger, more impressive yarns came in and stole the spotlight. It is survived by Baby Cashmerino, Shepherd Sport, and Alpaca Sox.

Soft Sea Wool shall be missed.

Services will be held at Rosie's Yarn Cellar this Friday-Sunday. There will be a $4 per skein charge for those who would like a keepsake. There is also currently a viewing online.

Sorrowfully Submitted,
Rosie's Staff

P.S.: If you're interested in more sale yarn, stop by our Sidewalk Sale this weekend starting Friday, June 25th-Sunday, June 27th. You won't be disappointed!

Why Yes, We ARE Open This Memorial Day!

Rosie's will be open on Monday, May 25th from 12am-5pm, very similar to our Sunday schedule. 

 

This is the picture from last year's Memorial Day posting, featuring the always-hilarious DC. 

Maybe you just need to stop in and get a pair of needles and a small project for a road trip, or you're sticking around town and aren't interested in the millions of TV marathons (I swear, they show the same ones every year!). Do what's DC's hinting at and come see us! Remember, we will be open from 12pm-5pm. See you soon!