News – Handknitting.com News

International Lopi KAL!!

January 18, 2018 handknitting

What a surprise! Berroco, Inc. is now the North American distributor for Istex Lopi yarns, which of course we love, and they are planning a wide-open Knit-A-Long (KAL) for February and March. Here is the Berroco Blog post about the KAL. The meet-up place will be on the Berroco Group board, on the Lopi KAL thread. Why do I say International? Because we have been sending all sorts of Lopi yarn from Australia to Canada to Europe to be used for this KAL!!

One of the great things about Lopi yarns is that it is a quick knit. One of the great things about this KAL is that you can use any pattern and any weight of Lopi: Lopi-Lett, Alafoss Lopi, or Plotulopi un-spun yarn. All projects are welcome and there will be opportunities galore to connect with other Lopi knitters, from first-timers to experts.

We know how fun this is, because we held a KAL last year on our Handknitting.com Ravelry group for Audna in plotulopi, which was a huge success. So many beautiful sweaters.

Handknitting.com has been carrying Lopi yarns for almost 20 years. No matter what patterns, books, colors, or weights of Lopi you want we have them, and of course I am always available for questions and individual advice by email laurel@handknitting.com or by phone 307-200-0733.

Happy Knitting!

WOW! It’s a goat jam

December 11, 2017 handknitting

Mountain Goat traffic jam, that is. You can enlarge this as you like to see these beautiful animals. This herd has just come down from summer grazing meadows (about 13000 feet) to winter forage. This spot on the highway between Jackson and Alpine is about at 7000 feet. We always see them right at this spot both in late fall and

late spring. What you cannot see here is how incredibly steep the slope is on both sides of the road. That’s what the goats like, because predators don’t like the steep.

See the little ones that are about 1/2 the size of the adults? Those are the kids that were born last spring. Merry Christmas to the mountain goats!!

Wow! Vicuña

June 19, 2017 handknitting

It has been many years since we’ve seen any Vicuña yarn at TNNA. The vicuña is one of two wild camelids in South America, related to the alpaca. It is said that Vicuña fiber is the softest and silkiest in the world, and I cannot disagree. It is also very warm, which is of course how the Vicuñas survive in the Andes.

The fiber itself is very rare– there are not many animals, they are wild and have to be gently caught to be sheared. The fiber itself has to be manually picked over to remove the guard hairs, which is very labor intensive.

Naturally, this means that Vicuña yarn is quite expensive, and we were quite surprised to see some available.

Change in the air for the Needle Arts industry

June 30, 2016 handknitting

We recently were informed of some major changes in the distribution of a few popular yarns. Twenty years ago this sort of thing would never be discussed with the end customer (you!) but our world has indeed changed dramatically because of the internet and social media.

About a month ago, Westminster Fibers Inc. announced that it would no longer be importing and distributing any yarns in North America. The brands that you will recognize are Rowan, Regia, SMC, Schachenmayr, Schachenmayr Select (aka Gedifra), Istex/Lopi wools, and Butterfly Super 10 Cotton.

Of course this doesn’t mean that these brands will no longer be available to you– not at all! There are quite a few established companies interested in providing the import and distribution of these brands.

As for Handknitting.com, you already know that we are committed to all 5 Lopi yarns, and also to Butterfly Super 10 Cotton, and we promise to continue to provide them to you if at all possible.

While we wait to hear about the possibilities for future importers, we are working on a plan to make sure we will have enough of all these yarns to fulfill your orders for the coming season.

We think it is important for you to have accurate information, not rumors. As children we all played the game “telephone line” where a message is passed from one to another and by the time the message reaches the end of the line it has changed dramatically! Well, the internet accelerates and magnifies this effect. If you have any questions at all, please contact us directly by emailing Laurel@handknitting.com. Please do not rely on speculations on the chat and comment threads of the various social media sites for your information. We will do our best to answer all your questions honestly and in a timely manner.

Plotulopi Knit Along

October 30, 2015 handknitting

Hello Everyone! I hope you already know that we have begun importing Plötulopi, the classic unspun Icelandic wool. In celebration, I’ll be hosting a sweater knit-along in our Handknitting.com ravelry group for the beautiful Auđna pullover:

Isn’t that gorgeous? It is truly a special design, and has great design elements that are derived from the nature of the Plötulopi yarn.

This isn’t a beginners’ project; you should have some experience with knitting in the round, and with stranded color work like fair isle. On the other hand, you could very well learn some new techniques while we work through the sweater pattern!

Your investment in the project will depend on the materials you need, of course. You will need the yarn, Lopi Book #34, and US 7 & 9 circulars and dpns. You can see more details about this in my project listing.

There is no charge for this KAL. We have set up a kit package on Handknitting.com, but participation is not limited to people who buy the products from us. (If you are experienced with Plotulopi and have everything you need in your stash, that’s fine! We welcome your insights!)

I’ve been working and test knitting this pattern for the last month, and I will start posting my preparatory suggestions within the next week. Please help me spread the word with your friends who might be interested. Thanks so much, Laurel

[1]: http://www.handknitting.com/Audna_Plotulopi_Sweater_Kit_p/audna.htm

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Malou BiColor Cowl

November 15, 2013 handknitting

This is the drop stitch cowl I passed along to you last year, but reworked for 2 balls of Malou Bicolor. I knit this in one evening while watching a football game! Size 13 circular needle, 24″. Cast on 67 st, join circle by slipping last st to left hand needle and start 1st round by K2tog (66 st). You can put a full twist into the cast on row (shown), or leave the twist out as you prefer. Rounds 1 & 3: K Rounds 2, 4: P Round 5: Knit, double wrapping each stitch. Tip: be sure not to pull your second wrap tight! Round 6: Purl, dropping the extra wrap on each stitch. Repeat these 6 rounds 5 times, then repeat rounds 1-4 once and bind off loosely. Weave in ends, then snuggle up!

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Regia Zima 8ply Accessories

March 5, 2013 handknitting

We have just gotten a special purchase 8-ply yarn from Regia, and this pattern,

RegiaZimaColor Hat&wristwarmers 2 is free. Take a look at this:

Zima Color 8-ply is a quick-to-knit DK weight, but with all the desirable qualities of Regia sock yarn, including being machine washable! Just one ball (200g) is enough to make this set.

What a beautiful look, and it all comes automatically with the Zima self patterning yarn that changes colors while adding geometric pattern details. It’s reminiscent of the S&S Mexiko yarns that were so popular.

This is a limited edition yarn, so get yours today.

Wyoming wildlife….again

December 4, 2012 handknitting

While we were on a trip to harvest firewood, we came across a large herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep–what a treat! These sheep aren’t for wool, of course, but they are gorgeous. These two big rams were leading about 15 ewes and kids. If you look closely in the picture you can see another immature ram (the other white rear end) and the legs and lower body of a smaller kid behind the two dominant males.

Oh, and here’s a photo of our new truck:

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