Cowgirl Yarn Blog

Lori has lots of new yarns in the shop, and Rowan tops the list! There are several Rowan yarns in the shop now, including:  Rowan Felted Tweed

 Rowan Scottish Tweed

Rowan Kidsilk Haze

Rowan Purelife Organic Wool Naturally

 Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds Collection

Also new in the shop is Lanaloft by Brown Sheep. If you are a fan of Lamb’s Pride but sometimes find that the mohair makes it a bit too fuzzy, then try Lanaloft. It is the same single-ply worsted weight yarn with a 100% wool fiber content. And the colors are spectacular. It even comes several gorgeous handpaints.

Plymouth also has several new yarns in the shop: Ranch, a luscious alpaca) and Rainshadow.

Lori has also added Karabella yarns to the shop’s collection. We have several of these soft, beautiful yarns.

Merino Lace

Aurora Melange

Stop by the shop and see the new yarns - just in time for your fall and winter knitting!

I’m a little behind on the blog – blame it on the summer doldrums. In the meantime, Lori has lots of new yarns in at the shop, and quite a bit of it is sock yarn. This is heaven for your local sock addict. The only problem is which one to try first!

Some of the new yarn is simply new colorways of old favorites. We have in several wonderful new self-striping Trekking colorways in, and they make you want to knit them all up just to see what they are going to look like!

Trekking has also sent up two new yarns. One of these is a new handpaint, Trekking Hand Art. The colors are fantastic, and it looks like a fun new yarn to knit with.

The other new Trekking yarn that we got in is Trekking Pro Natura, a wool and bamboo blend. This is a nice yarn and the colors are lovely.

If you have been wanting to start knitting socks but the small size of sock yarn is making you a little unsure, then the new Encore Sock yarn may be just what you need to get started. This is a self-striping sock yarn in a DK weight -somewhat heavier than sock weight.  It knits up on slightly larger needles than sock weight yarn does, and it is Encore’s usual acrylic and wool blend.

Encore Sock

Another new yarn we have in is Adagio, by Skacel. Adagio is a silk and llama blend and it is incredibly soft.

Adagio

Another new yarn in from Encore is Encore Boucle. It comes in lovely colorspun colorways and coordinates beautifully with the regular Encore. It is the same acrylic and wool blend that Encore is, so you can use them in the same garment. Imagine a sweater knit from the boucle with cuffs and ribbing made with the regular yarn!

Encore Boucle

There are more new yarns in, too, so come down and take a look!

After the parade on Saturday, hang around downtown for a while and come on over to the shop. Lori will have a tent out front with fiber artists and spinners. There will also be free knitting lessons for the kids at 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30, so if your child would like to learn how to knit, this is the time!

Also, Lori has red, white and blue yarn on sale this week, so check out what we have in stock in those colors!

Well, Christmas is about six months off, and if you’re a knitter, you know what that means. It’s time to start the holiday knitting, so that maybe we can avoid that last-minute rush to finish gifts and holiday decorations. You know the rush I mean – the one where you end up knitting all night the week before Christmas and then wrap up a box with an almost-finished project in it. Or maybe, on their first Christmas, your children’s stockings have been hung from the mantle in a partially finished, pinned together state with a ball of yarn still attatched to them. (Ask me how I know about this one. I have four children and I was a repeat offender. The children didn’t really mind, I know, because it’s all about the shiny lights that first Christmas, but the half-done stockings do look kind of funny in the Christmas pictures.)

So now is the time to plan ahead and start some of that Christmas knitting and we have just what you need to do that here at Cowgirl yarn.

Handknit Holidays is full of all sorts of wonderful projects. It has both great gifts and wonderful decorations in it and it will inspire you for years to come. This lovely ruffle scarf is just one of the many, many projects this book has to offer.

Another book full of holiday goodies is Holiday Knits. Pair up this book with some of our festive sparkly yarn and you’ll be ready for the holidays.

And then there are the stocking books. We have patterns and books for felted stockings and knitted stockings of all sorts of sizes and descriptions. These are very dear to my heart, because I love a hand-knitted Christmas stocking. Make one of these for someone you love and you are making them something that will last all of their lives. My adult children still have theirs, and I plan to knit stockings for their families too when that time comes. This book, Knit Stockings, will give you lots of ideas, inspirations and paterns for making your family these Christmas heirlooms. And what is better to knit a Christmas stocking with than some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride in wonderful Christmas colors?

Don’t forget that fair is coming up at the end of the month. Let’s fill that Open Category with all sorts of knitted items and show Albany County what talented knitters it has!

There’s a lovely new product at Cowgirl Yarn this week – Art Yarn. Lori has a selection of this yarn in, and it is beautiful.

The first of the Art Yarns is Ensemble. This exquisitely soft handpainted yarn is 75% cashmere and 25% silk. It comes in 100g hanks which contain 256 yards. There is also a variety of Ensemble that comes with beads in it – glittering beads set in their bed of silk and cashmere. Wonderful, wonderful yarn.

The second of the new Art Yarns is called Silk Pearl, which is 100% silk. It comes in 50g hanks, with 170 yards. It is delicately shaded, with the beautiful sheen of silk.

We also have a new book in that will make your fingers twitch to start knitting – Inspired to Knit. As the title says, it will truly make you want to start many of the projects in its pages right away.

And last but not least, we have fair books in. Stop by and pick one up and plan to enter your knitting in the open division of the Albany County Fair. Let’s show Albany County how many dedicated and talented knitters there are here, and set a good example for the 4-H kids!

Lots of us are heading outside this summer, whether it’s on vacation, to the ball fields to watch our loved ones play softball or baseball or over to Washington Park on Wednesday evenings to listen to our municipal band play. This calls for portable projects! These handy-to-carry-with-you projects have the added bonus of not overheating your lap while you work on them.

First in line for the portable project parade are mittens. I know from experience that you can whip out the cuff of a child’s mitten while waiting for all sorts of things. You can knit plain ones or patterned ones, whatever suits your abilities and style. We have several books to help you with your mitten knitting, and single patterns in the binders as well – the felted mitten pattern from fiber trends makes a truly toasty mitten.

If you aren’t sure you can knit a mitten in the round, or better yet, you’re teaching a child to knit a mitten, try this delightful little book by Robin Hansen – Sunny’s Mittens. Sunny has worn a hole in her mitten, and her grandmother teaches her to knit a new pair of felted ones for herself – she doesn’t even have know how to purl to do it! This book has the pattern itself in the back of the book and is a wonderful book for all ages! The author has several other mitten books that I highly recommend, including the mitten-shaped book and a book called Favorite Mittens. My family has been wearing her designs on our hands for many years now.

What are you going to knit these mittens in? Brown Sheep yarn’s Lamb’s Pride is my favorite mitten yarn. It is a warm, soft, feltable wool and mohair blend that comes in a rainbow of colors. Why not pick some bright spring or summer colors to make your mittens in, so that when it is cold and snowy, you can remember a warm day when the lilacs were blooming?

Hats are another great portable project. We have some fun books with hats patterns in them, whether you want to knit a simple watch-cap or toque, or want to make a funky tam.

 And yarns? Noro Kureyon’s wonderful color variations make a great hat. If you want something a little more understated, try the Shannon tweed by Tahki.

If you’re thinking of an even simpler portable project, try a scarf – you can make these as simple or complicated as you like and there are so many yarns to choose from.

For soft scarf, try my favorite yarn, Baby Alpaca by Plymouth.

Or if you want to play with color, try one of our new handpainted yarns, Magallanes by Arucania. It’s 100% wool and the colors are beautiful.

And then there is my favorite portable project - you know what’s coming, don’t you, from your resident sock addict? – SOCKS! We even have a sock pattern book called Knitting on the Road – Sock Patterns for the Traveling Knitter, a wonderful book by Nancy Bush, full of all sorts of  sock patterns.

 A sock kit is quick and easy. Just grab your pattern, a ball or two of sock yarn (and we have lots to choose from) and your favorite skinny needles, and knit away.  The whole thing fits nicely in all sorts of bags, and if you’re making a sock you know the pattern for, it will fit in a purse or jacket pocket!

By the end of the summer, you can have your whole family outfitted with new knitwear for winter, from head to toe, by working on your portable projects!

By the way, the Albany County Fair is coming up at the end of July, and it’s not just for the 4-H kids. They have an open category that anyone can enter projects in. It’s been looking pretty sparse in that section for the last few years, so let’s get together and show Albany County what its knitters and crocheters can do. Lori will have entry forms down at the shop starting sometime this week, so come by and get a form and enter your handwork in the Albany County Fair!

Summer – it’s filled with slow peaceful days or busy active days depending on your schedule. Any of these days can be lacy days with the lace yarns Lori has here at Cowgirl Yarn. The one that caught my eye this week is a brand new one – Baby Alpaca Laceweight by Plymouth. Now, baby alpaca is my favorite yarn anyway, and this new laceweight is wonderful stuff, soft as a cloud, and it comes in beautiful colors. I am thnking what I’d like to knit with it right now…

We still have plenty of other lace yarns, too – Merino Lace by Skacel, Harmony by Jojoland (I love the color shading in this yarn) and Suri Elegance – a 100% Suri Alpaca yarn.

Then there are the lace yarns that make you want to just sit and pet them – Superior by Filatura di Crosa which is 70% cashmere and 30% silk  and Kid Seta, a Kid mohair and silk blend. Yummy, yummy yarns.

If you want to knit your lace in something a bit heavier weight by still luxurious, try Pure SIlk by Debbie Bliss. This is beautiful silk yarn and the colors are lovely.

Well, you’ve found that special yarn that you really, really want to make something lovely and lacy out of. Now you need a pattern. We have some wonderful lace books including A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swanson.

Other books include several Interweave Press publications, Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls and Gossamer Webs. and Lace Style.

Don’t forget to check out the Addi Turbo needles, just perfect for knitting lace, and have fun creating your own lacy days this summer.

Cotton for summer! If you aren’t too sure about having a lap full of wool during warmer weather, think about cotton. Lori just got in several new cotton and cotton blend yarns in different weights and colors.

One of the new cottons actually comes as a kit – it makes up an adorable baby/toddler sweater and comes complete with pattern and 2 buttons: Cotton Kisses by Plymouth. The kit comes packaged with the yarn ball, and the yarn is 51% cotton, 42% acrylic and 7% nylon. It is nice and soft and we have it in several colors.

The next new yarn is Jeanee, also from Plymouth. This is another blend – 51% cotton and 49% acrylic. It is a worsted weight yarn with a nice feel to it and comes in a nice variety of colors.

If you’re looking for a finer weight cotton yarn, then look for the Dark Horse yarn, Desert Flower. This is 100% cotton and is approximately a fingering weight. Once again, there are several different colors to choose from. This would be very nice knitted up into a summer weight shawl or shrug.

And of course, there are always the old favorites, the 100% cotton Fantasy Naturale and the cotton and wool blends of Cascade Sierra Quatro and Brown Sheep’s Serendipity and Serendipity Tweed.

We have a trunk show in! Socks of every variety – socks in stripes, socks knit in pattern stitches, socks in all sizes – all sock patterns found in the book, are here for viewing.

 Ann Budd’s new book, Getting Started Knitting Socks, is the focus of the show.

And to add to the fun of all these socks, we have some brand-new sock yarns in the store!

Cervinia has some wonderful bold self-striping patterns.

Rockin’ Sox by Plymouth looks like a treat to knit with.

Here is another new yarn by Plymouth – Happy Feet. We just got in some wonderful new colorways for this. Don’t forget to ask about the free pattern for a baby hat.

An old favorite – Bearfoot by Mountain Colors – always has wonderful hand-dyed color selections in a nice soft yarn.

 Great new color ways, wonderful new yarns, a book full of new patterns – come down to the shop and take a look!

Well, the Flat Feet sock yarn by Conjoined Creations has come in, and I’m trying some out right now! This stuff is seriously fun. Instead of coming in a ball, it comes in a scarf-like knit sheet. You can see the color variations as they look already knitted up, and pick the one that appeals to you. Then, to use it, you start at one end and unravel it as you go to knit your sock. It even has a place in the middle where you can cut the piece in two and use both parts to knit two socks at once. What a neat idea!

I cast on last night – I am making a stockinette sock with a simple cable running down both sides of the leg. The yarn is knitting up nicely, with my usual needles (I won’t give needle sizes; I knit very loosely and usually have to go down several sizes from the suggested size to make gauge. Check you gauge.) It is interesting knitting with the yarn still crimpy from being in the knit sheet, but the instructions say to wash your socks (by hand for that very first washing) and block them when you are done, and the remaining crimp will go away. After that first washing, they are machine washable.

Another of the new yarns we have in is Dusk, by Filatura di Crosa. It is a cotton, acrylic and nylon blend and the colors are just fantastic. This yarn shades from color to color and looks wonderful knitted up. I have seen a hat – knit for our Laramie spring weather when you don’t necessarily need wool but still want a knit hat on – and it looks great.

We also have a new yarn in from Dark Horse – a 100% merino wool yarn in an Aran weight. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like another winner. We have it in a variety of variegated colors. Stop by and take a look!