Memorial Day Knitting

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

So what does Memorial Day have to do with knitting?  A lot, in fact!

Memorial Day started as a day to honor soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War, and later it was expanded to include the fallen in all wars.

Sojourner Truth knitting, 1864

During the Civil War the government issued socks for the soldiers.  They were awful, and soldiers quickly learned to write home to their wives, mothers and sisters to send them good-quality, hand-made socks.  The Spring 2012 Knitting Traditions magazine has an excellent article on Civil War sock knitting, as well as two patterns for socks originally published in 1864 and 1865.  The magazine includes the original patterns, plus versions updated with modern knitting terms.

WWI Poster, 1917-1918

The knitting tradition continued through all of our country's wars.  The American Red Cross especially encouraged knitting during WWI and WWII.  There is a page on their museum website with some really interesting and original knitting patterns from World War II. 

You don't have to go back in history to help our troops this weekend.  A number of groups provide an opportunity for military charity knitting.  Socks for Soldiers, Inc. is a good one, and Ravelry has charity knitting groups including We Care Stitchers and Soldier's Angels.  You should also try your local knitting guilds and church groups.

When knitting for soldiers the military often requires 100% wool.  Wool blended with a polyester, and even some wool that has been "Superwash" treated, will melt when exposed to fire - causing major skin burning.  I often recommend Brown Sheep Nature Spun 100% wool to knitters making helmet liners and hats for our troops in the Middle East - nights are cold over there!  I also like to recommend Suzy the Shepherdess fingering weight 100% wool yarn to those knitting socks for soldiers - and all sock yarn is 15% off through the end of May!

Knitting for hospitalized soldiers (afghans and lap blankets are popular) often requires acrylic so that they can hold up under rigorous hospital washing.  I recommend Berroco's Comfort and Knit One Crochet Too's Nautika, both acrylic and nylon blends.   

Have a great weekend!

The Curiously Foldable Tetra Stadium Blanket - And the Yarn is 20% Off!

The Curiously Foldable Tetra!

Hi Everyone! When we first saw the Tetra blanket designed by Jolie Elder, our reaction was “a blanket . . . . Yawn!” But when we looked at the pattern we discovered an incredibly interesting design technique ... obviously more than your grandma’s afghan!

The Tetra Stadium Blanket is a convertible, curiously foldable blanket that can take on many shapes.  It is constructed by knitting four blocks with two colors that are then folded and seamed. The finished blanket can then be folded in a number of different ways, creating unique two-color geometric patterns. You can even fold the blanket into a pouch to carry your supplies to the stadium! There are several ways to fold and use the Tetra Stadium Blanket:

Folded into a stadium cushion.

• As a flat blanket, the Tetra is double-thickness with a pinwheel pattern. This is good for draping over legs.
• Grab it in the center, and the Tetra will self-fold into a square striped four-layer pad, useful for making a warmer and more comfortable seat.
• Push one corner up inside the opposite corner, and the Tetra becomes a large triangular pocket or sling, good for hauling pompoms, victory foam fingers, or treats.
• Lay the triangle flat, and fold the two acute corners to meet at the right-angle corner. This produces an 8 layer cushion, perfect for when the game goes into overtime or extra innings.
• Push one edge up inside the opposite edge (two corners inside two corners), and the Tetra becomes a rectangular four-layer pad, useful for two people.
• Finally, challenge bored family members to find new ways to fold the blanket. The loser has to make a trip to the concession stand!

Jolie has videos on her blog Knot Knecessarily Knitting to demonstrate this great design, and here is the Ravelry page.

20% Off all Simplicity Yarn!

Each blanket uses two colors of Skacel’s Simplicity yarn, 8 skeins each ... the DK weight yarn is a soft 55% superwash wool/28% acrylic/17% nylon blend and is machine washable. Shop from over 60 colors of this versatile yarn ... or choose one of our pre-packaged Tetra Stadium Blanket Kits. We all “huddled” around and decided on eight popular color combinations ... either way, the Simplicity yarn is on-sale at 20% off, so the project cost is about $94.    

Word Geek Alert:  So what does the word "tetra" mean?  The name comes from the Greek word meaning a combination of four.  Appropriately named, you'll knit four squares and attach them in four different directions.  

Bonus: Free Shipping, and if we ship to an address outside of Illinois, no sales tax!

Another Bonus:  Whether you get the kit or choose your own colors, all Simplicity yarn is 20% off!

P.S.  Check out Jolie Elder's Serpentine Scarf pattern too!
 

New Exclusive Color - Sugared Violet!

Spring Flower Toe-Up Socks

Hi Everyone!

I have a new exclusive color from Mountain Colors Yarns ... I call it “Sugared Violet.” It's a blend of pretty purples and blues, with just a hint of green.  I like the color so much I asked our friends at Mountain Colors to dye not only the ever-so-popular Crazyfoot sock yarn, but also their great Winter Lace Jr, and Alpaca Blend yarns. I was so inspired by the new color I designed a new sock pattern, the Spring Flower toe-up socks, perfect for the Crazyfoot!

Spring  Flower Pattern

Not into socks? ... no problem! I designed a new lacy shawl pattern for the Winter Lace yarn ... the “Sugared Violet Shawlette.” It’s a lovely classic design that is shaped to fit perfectly around your shoulders. I also whipped-up a new pattern to go with the Alpaca Blend ... an elegant pair of wristlets featuring a horseshoe cable. Not very spring-like, but I was inspired!

Horseshoe Cable Wristlets

Bonus: Buy any skein of our exclusive FiberWild! colorways and get the matching FiberWild! e-pattern free!

Another Bonus:  All sock yarn, including the new Sugared Violet in Crazyfoot, is on sale for 15% off through May 31st!

And Yet Another Bonus:  You always get free shipping to the US and Canada on all orders over $75!

Spring Classic Elite Yarns and Pattern Booklets - 20% Off!

Hi Everyone! Spring is here, and so are the yarns and patterns! In celebration of Classic Elite publishing two of my new patterns, we decided to put all Spring Classic Elite yarns and pattern booklets on Sale at 20% Off through April 30th. 

With such an assortment of spring yarns, it’s hard to choose. My favorite new yarns for the season are:

• Sanibel - 42% Cotton / 58% Viscose tape yarn
• Cotton Bam Boo Print – Cotton / Bamboo in great colors
• Seedling Handpaint – 100% Organic Cotton with nubbies

But all of the spring yarns have been very popular in the store!

Classic Elite has matched their pattern booklets to their yarns, so we have 15 spring yarns paired with 15 new booklets. Each booklet has 4-5 patterns, or you can purchase the individual patterns from the booklets as downloadable electronic PDF files. The booklets are 20% off ($7.96 on sale), but not the PDFs ($6.00 each) ... your choice!

I am proud to have my pattern, Sorbet featured on the cover of the Double Scoop booklet! The Sorbet sweater is made from the soft, 100% cotton tape yarn, Katydid. Another one of my designs, the Rockaway sweater, is in the Beach Day booklet, featuring the yummy yarn Cotton Bam Boo.

Check out these links to Ravelry.com for the Double Scoop and Beach Day booklets ... see what others are saying!

Perfect for spring knittin’ ... call or drop note if we can help! ... Amy

A Great Deal on Liberty Wool Print Yarn - Plus a Free Pattern!

Liberty Wool Print "Flower Garden"

Hi Everyone! We've fallen in love with Classic Elite's "Liberty Wool Print" yarn. Introduced last year, the yarn has been such a hit that Classic Elite is releasing two new colors every month through June.

Liberty Wool Print "Violet Glen"

Liberty Wool Print is a soft worsted weight, machine washable 100% wool yarn. It is a self striping yarn in a huge assortment of colors and ON SALE at $7.99 a ball! Okay, it's not a spring yarn, but can we still get excited anyway?? We have over 20 colors to choose from!

"Any Great Patterns?" Besides the zillions of worsted weight patterns available, Classic Elite has published two pattern booklets ... "Accents" and "Palette,"  and now each pattern in the pamphlets is available as individual electronic downloads!

Free Pattern with Your Purchase!

"How About Free Patterns?" Yep, Classic Elite has been hard at work with a set of free electronic patterns. Buy your yarn from us, and get one of these 12 patterns of your choice free!

"Patterns on Ravelry?" We checked ... Ravelry.com has over 1,300 projects made from Liberty Wool Print ... the project ideas are endless!

Check back to see the new colors as they become available!

Call or drop a note if we can help!  
                                         Amy

Exclusive Colorways from Mountain Colors - Plus a Free Pattern!

Hi Everyone! We have been working with our friends at Mountain Colors to introduce new, exclusive, available-only-at-FiberWild colors for our customers! This spring we will have two new colors available in three of our favorite Mountain Colors Yarns - CrazyFoot, Bearfoot and Alpaca Blend. These exclusive colors are a “limited edition” ... limited quantities for a limited amount of time!

The first color is “Wisconsin Tango,” a snazzy blend of green and yellow inspired by all kinds of spring events and colors, like St. Paddy's Day, the return of warm weather in Green Bay, and Sean even says it reminds him of his favorite lawn tractor! Whatever the inspiration, the Crazyfoot and Bearfoot yarns are perfect for a spring pair of socks, and the worsted weight Alpaca Blend is ideal for lots of my favorite patterns.

“Patterns” you say? ... to compliment our new colors, we created three simple, quick knit accessory patterns ... a simple hat, a cool scarf and of course, an easy sock pattern ... Bonus: In the month of March, when you purchase the yarn, get one of these three e-patterns free.  Just let us know which pattern you would like when you checkout!

Watch for our next exclusive colorway in April!! Call or drop a note if we can help!

Build Your Knitting Skills with Building Blocks . . . and the Yarn is on Sale!

When we found out that Michelle Hunter was publishing a new book, we had to get the details!  As a veteran of two very popular Knit-Alongs sponsored by Skacel, Michelle has turned her attention to helping the beginning knitter with her new book "Building Blocks." This book is for the knitter who wants to "Build" skills one "Block" at a time!

"Building Blocks" is a series of 12 fun patterns that will increase your knitting skills starting with simple knit and purl stitches. Your confidence will grow as you progress through several major knitting principles. Each block pattern focuses on new stitches and techniques in a sequential fashion that "builds" upon the previously learned skill. Knitting techniques for each block is supported with video instruction by Michelle on her website www.knitpurlhunter.com.  This book has been getting great reviews on Ravelry!

Bonus: Pick from over 50 colors of HiKoo's SimpliWorsted yarn! The yarn is a soft, machine washable worsted weight yarn (55% Superwash Wool / 28% Acrylic / 17% Nylon).  Here's the REAL bonus: the yarn is 20% OFF, any quantity! 

• For the solid version you will need 10 skeins, one color
• For a two-color version you will need 5 skeins of 2 colors
• For a multi-color set of the squares you will need 12 skeins, each one a different color

At the end of the book you will have 12 blocks ... piece them together to make a great afghan, baby blanket, pillows, whatever you decide!

Have fun knittin' ... Call or drop a note if we can help!