Now that the weather’s nice and you’re wandering around downtown enjoying the fresh air, don’t forget to stop by Cowgirl Yarn and take a look at all the colors and textures and wonderful ideas we have in the form of yarn, just waiting to inspire you. Bring your knitting and sit down and knit with us for a while!
Lace makes a wonderful summer project. The yarns are lightweight and the project won’t heat up your lap on a warm summer day. And when you’re done, you have a nice shawl or scarf to enjoy when the cool of autumn comes around again.
I’ve been trying my hand at lace. Since (sock addict that I am) I am accustomed to knitting with fingering weight yarn and tiny needles, going down to a laceweight yarn hasn’t been too much of a step. I can even knit it on slightly larger needles then the 0’s I usually use for socks! And Cowgirl Yarn has everything I need to knit lace.
In addition to the lovely laceweight merino - Merino Lace by Skacel - that I am using right now, there is also a very pretty space-dyed lace yarn, JoJoLand Harmony. It shades beautifully and delicately from color to color.
Don’t forget that we carry Addi needles, which are perfect for lace knitting – they are smooth and nicely pointy, just right for working with fine yarns.
There are plenty of books with wonderful patterns to choose from, including Meg Swanson’s A Gathering of Lace, Lace Style, and a book on Prayer Shawls.
Of course, if you want to try out lace without purchasing an entire bookful of patterns, you can browse through the binders of individual patterns. There are quite a few lace patterns available to buy, at all ability levels. I just got the Spinner’s Shawl pattern by Fiber Trends. I am currently spinning the wool for it – Alpine Meadows fibers, which we can order for you – on my new spinning wheel; then I will knit the shawl. Pretty exciting stuff!
As one of your resident sock addicts, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out another of the wonderful sock yarns we carry. Right now I am knitting a pair of socks out of Opal sock yarn, some very pretty self-striping wool. Opal is a nice light fingering weight, and it is knitting up beautifully. I love knitting the self-striping yarns. The stripes pull me right in and the next thing I know I’m almost finished with the leg of the sock because I just have to see what it looks like after the next stripe! Opal really has some winners in the self-striping department.
We will be getting in the new Flatfeet sock yarn soon – so don’t forget to check in the shop for it!
Finally, we got in a huge assortment of new yarns by both Aurucania and Noro – handpaints in alpaca, wool, and silk blends – all just gorgeous! Stop by and take a look.
