A Hat for your Honey - Worsted That is!

Have you been searching for the perfect hat pattern to use with Honey Worsted? The search is over!   Anne Hanson has designed a hat for everyone, the slofock.  The pattern has sizes to fit every family member and also includes a matching mitt pattern. 

Best yet it uses only one skein of our Honey Worsted!  Honey Worsted is our superwash worsted with a generous 250 yards.  It's machine washable with a soft and sqooshy hand, Honey Worsted is a versatile yarn for sweaters, accessories and afghans. Available in all 50 colorways.

 This versatile hat looks great knit up in both our variegated and Stonewash colorways.

Shown here in Black Truffle.

The brim can be folded up to keep ears extra warm when winter winds are blowing too.

I love all the ways this hat can be worn. Be sure to check out Anne's blog for pictures of David in his slofock.

Thank you to Anne for this fantastic design using Honey Worsted!

Cheers! ~ Lara

Harvest Moon Over Corfu

I really love designer Heidi Kirrmaier's work, so when Harvest Moon came out, I knew that I would make it eventually.



So a few days ago I dyed up a batch of Honey Worsted in Corfu, a deep Mediteranean blue with overtones of black. If I knit fast, this could be the perfect late spring sweater to throw on when the mornings and evenings are still a bit nippy.

One of the mods I am making is to put a zipper in place of the one button at the bottom of the garter ridge yoke. It is totally more my style and functionality. Anyway...I'm loving all this delicious stockinette stitch on US #8's. Just the break I needed from the two shawls I am 'almost' done with.

Next week I have a surprise to announce. It involves new yarns, that's all I can tempt you with...but it's very fun. :) Please check back!

Waylaidness

March went out like a lamb, and this is what was left behind. Ah...at last.



My only stressor right now is that we've had a fair amount of rain, and with the temperatures expected to hit 80 F. this weekend, I know that the grass will really take off. I swear I can lay awake at night and hear the grass grow.

My March Madness was fairly successful. I can't call it a slam dunk, but I did finish a few projects and get behind the hump on Paul's cardigan. Now we are in crunch time to get prepared for Maryland Sheep & Wool, so I've put a few things aside for awhile.

Our friends, All About Yarn will have loads of our yarns in their tent, E-3. If you are planning on attending, make sure to stop by and say hi. Both Paul and I will be there. We love to visit with new and old customers!

I'm working on a new pattern that will be released before Sheep & Wool. Here it is in Honey Worsted, colorway: 'Sprout', which seems apropos at this time of the year. We'll have the patterns and model on hand at the festival.



After Sheep & Wool is behind us, it is on to preparing for TNNA in June. This is the fall trade show where we are exhibiting again. It's a really great experience for us, as we get to engage and visit with our retail customers. I really enjoy this trip. We drive to Columbus, Ohio, which is a nice respite (note that I knit, Paul drives). There are several new things we are releasing for June, but more about those later.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Go March, It's Your Birthday!

(Doing the It's Your Birthday song and dance)

Okay, so I have to admit that I am a wee bit MORE than ready to get this winter thing behind us and move on to spring. The thought of throwing the windows open, shedding the winter coats and scarves and being able to see green pastures again, is extremely tantalizing.

And the snow seems to be slowly but surely disappearing. Daytime temps are going up to the low 40's and the days have been fairly sunny. Yippitydooda!

One of the projects for Ravelympics that I had committed to, was a free fingerless mitt pattern (like there just aren't enuf of those-teehee). But they're fun and this one is, well...free, so what the heck.



This little mitt pattern is called Flitt Mitts and comes in two sizes-S/M and M/L.

My version uses Shalimar Honey Worsted in two contrasting Stonewash colors, along with scrap yarn from my stash. My stash includes a lot of Ella Rae Classic Worsted, which is what I used for the embroidery.

I'm a huge fan of Kristin Nicholas' work, her use of color and her use of embellishment on knitted items. I highly recommend her three books, Kristin Knits and COLOR by Kristin and Colorful Stitchery for inspiration. And you don't want to miss her blog: Getting Stitched on the Farm, which is a symphony in color, warmth and wit.

You can download Flitt Mitts here on Ravelry.

Sweater Girl

Just a peek at the next project immediately following the Gherkin... St. James (rav link) by Tonya Wagner. This is a free pattern on Ravelry.

I'll be whipping it up in Honey Worsted, in the Signature Stonewash colorway: Concord Grape.

This is a great little top, made in worsted weight and perfect as a transitional sweater. It will be my first worsted weight sweater of the season, so I'm very excited to get on with it. Especially because the so very cute cap sleeves are just what I was looking for, and I don't want the fall weather to catch up to me (it probably will...oh well).

And while there is tons of idiot stockinette in the body, the finished product far surpasses that in pure interest alone. I think it will be worth the mindlessness.

Teasers and Pleasers

We've been pretty busy lately getting all our sheeps in a row for Maryland Sheep & Wool in a few weeks--May 2nd & 3rd for those who live under a rock. Find us in E-20 (All About Yarn's Tent).

We will be debuting our new Stonewash colorways-Damson and Sno Pea. They are very springy and I happen to love them both. We are also introducing several new patterns by the talented Hannah Six (she is Knitsix on Ravelry).

Teasers-one of the patterns uses Honey Worsted in some of the colors shown here. This yarn is superb and it holds up wonderfully. Not only is it machine washable, but it is soft and has a delightful hand. I love working with it.

Pleasers-This was Paul's idea and it is GRAND! For every skein of Shalimar yarn purchased at Sheep & Wool, you will have 1 (one) ticket put into the Raffle bowl for a Namaste Zuma bag! In Limited Edition Eggplant. Whoohoo! We adore this bag. 1 skein=1 ticket, 2 skeins=2 tickets, 3 skeins=3 tickets...get it!?

We will draw the winner immediately after closing on Sunday. And you don't have to be present to win!



As for coupons--sign up for the Shalimar Newsletter before Monday, April 27th and receive special coupons to redeem at Maryland Sheep & Wool. And watch for the newsletter to hit early next week. We'll be waiting to meet you!