Haymarket in Whitewater

In last week's blog while telling you about the Lorna's Laces contest I talked a little about Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) wool as an introduction to protein fibers. Lorna's Laces Haymarket and 6 other yarns that we carry contain BFL specifically.

Yarns made from protein fibers are probably the most commonly used fibers by knitters in North America and Great Britain. Protein fibers are fibers harvested from animals, usually by shearing or plucking their coats. Sheep of course are what most people think of when they think of animals that give us fiber but there are many animals that humans have used for their fiber throughout the ages.

Most of the animals from which we obtain fiber have been domesticated for centuries and sometimes bred for certain characteristics. For instance; good muscling, wool/coat qualities, hardiness and docility. Many of the characteristics that we humans find desirable in a domestic animal are juvenile traits which tends to make an animal unsuited to life in the wild. Your typical sheep, for example, would not survive in the wild because it has been breed to continue to grow its softer undercoat and must be sheared periodically. Wild sheep shed this softer undercoat once or twice a year.  When left unshorn, a woolly, domestic sheep will eventually not be able to move and will eventually die.

Here are some of the animals from which fibers can be obtained:

Sheep:
There are hundreds of different sheep breeds the world over that produce all types of wool. Sheep are one of the oldest domesticated animals. I'll talk about specific breeds in various up coming posts but if you want to read about some you can at Sheep 101

Goats:
Just like sheep, goats have been domesticated for thousands of years and some are also dependent on humans because of the need to be sheared. The two main varieties of fiber goats are: Angora goats originated in the Ankara region of Turkey and yield mohair and Cashmere which yields cashmere fiber. Other common types of goats used for fiber are Cashgora (a cross of cashmere and angora) and Pashmina which is a breed of goat from high in the Himalayas of Nepal, Pakistan and Northern India from which a very fine fiber is harvested.

Rabbits:
Angora rabbits which been breed by humans for centuries are also from the Ankara region of Turkey and yield angora.
 
Camelids:
Camel
Llama
Alpaca (they come in two types)
     -huacaya (regular type of alpaca)
     -suri (these have long, silky coats that look a bit like dreadlocks)
Vicuna (likely wild ancestor of alpacas)
Guanaco (wild ancestor of llamas)

Various other animals:
Yak
Bison
Muskox - this is where Qiviut comes from
Brush tail possum
Mink
Cats
Dogs

Please let me know if I've missed an animal!  Fiber enthusiasts can be a creative lot, spinners in particular. I've known spinners to try to spin just about anything, including dryer lint!

Next week I'll spotlight one of these fibers.

Now to change gears a bit. It looks like we have quite a few people joining me to knit The Great American Aran Afghan! Anyone is welcome to join in, even if you've already started the afghan and just want a little company during your project. You can work at your own pace and knit as many or as few of the squares as you like. Beginners, don't be bashful, this is a great way to expand your skill without a big commitment.  Try the easier squares first, then try one that pushes you a little, you'll be surprised how much you improve.  Each square is knit one stitch at a time, one row at a time just like any other project.  Everything is composed of knits, purls, yarn overs, knitting 2 together, SSK, and some Make 1s, along with changing the order in which you knit stitches.  There is plenty of help if you join our Ravelry group thread. You can also come into the shop or email me your questions.

So far I've started with the square on page 22 of the book and I'll choose another square soon for September's choices.  So far, I've only had time to work a couple of inches of mine but the resulting fabirc is so soft and squooshy!  I'm using the new Cascade Longwood, in case you were wondering. :)

So come join us and we'll make this beautiful afghan together!


One little tidbit of good news if you're visiting us in Reno, the city has put up a new street sign at the intersection of McCarran and Capital Blvd!!!  This should make it easier to find the street where we are located. We love to meet our out-of-town customers and look forward to showing you around on your next visit!


Have fun, don't stress and enjoy!  I'm here to help as are many of our fellow knitters on Ravelry!

Please send your questions to askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

Happy knitting!
Terry

 Last week, I briefly mentioned that Lorna's Laces is running a contest.  To fill you in more on this fantastic opportunity to win free yarn I thought I would tell you a bit more.  First off, let me congratulate Lorna's Laces for having a gorgeous sweater designed by Deborah Newton and knit up in their new Haymarket yarn make to the cover of the new Fall 2013 Vogue Knitting!!!


Isn't it just stunning!!!

This colorway is 51n Island Blue and that magnificent interlaced cable up the front is applied.  So all kinds of new fun with this project! Also, we just ordered the Island Blue color (it should be here shortly) AND we've created a kit for this sweater as well so you can get started right away!!!

There are two chances to win so here's the specifics in their own words right from the Lorna's Laces blog:

"I'll give the  first person who sends me a photo of their finished Applied Cable Fisherman's Rib Top  (that's a mouthful) up to a sweater's worth of yarn for their next project. And the first person who comes up to me at Rhinebeck wearing one will get the same." 

So get those needles moving!  Rhinebeck (aka New York State Sheep & Wool Festival and it's held in Rhinebeck NY, but most attendees just call it Rhinebeck) is only 2 months from now!!!

Speaking of Haymarket, this gives me a great opportunity to start talking about some of the wool fibers commonly found in yarn shops!  What is Haymarket?  It is the latest yarn base from Lorna's Laces.  It is a single spun strand of 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool, 215 yd/100g, dyed up in the wonderful Lorna's colorways!  Now, this one is NOT superwash so handwash and lay flat to dry or dry clean.

You've probably started to see a number of yarns that are made from Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) and are wondering what a Bluefaced Leicester is!  Well it is a breed of sheep, originally from Northumberland County, England.  This is in the far north, on the Scottish border.  It is a large, handsome sheep with no wool on it's face and neck and a very roman nose.  The skin under the short hairs of the face is blue, this is where the blue faced part comes in.  It is a multipurpose breed in what growers call the Longwool breed category.  Multipurpose means it is an animal used for food, fiber, and for it's crossbreeding suitability to maintain hybrid vigor in the offspring.

The fleece of the Bluefaced Leicester has a staple length of 3- 6” (staple length means the length of the wool), a fleece weight of 3 to 6 lbs., and a fiber diameter of 56s – 60s count, or 24-28 microns, creating high quality lustrous yarns with beautiful drape. (I'll go into spinning counts and microns in a future post.)  Suffice it say at this point that this wool is not quite as fine and soft as merino wool but still soft enough for sweaters, hats and scarves.  It will also be slightly more resistant to felting than merino wool but should still felt beautifully. The fiber also take dye very well giving some very vibrant tones. As a spinning fiber it is an excellent choice for a beginner.  If you want to find out more about this breed of sheep you can go to the Bluefaced Leicesters Breeder Association for more details.


Haymarket would be another excellent yarn to use for your Great American Aran Afghan too! Don't forget, we're starting our first square next week and everyone online or local is welcome to join!  Feel free to begin posting in the Ravelry thread for this KAL too. 

Here is the info for the first square again: we will start with the square on page 22 of the book, designed by Carol Adams.

Supplies need will be:

-The Great American Aran Afghan book
-1 hank of worsted weight yarn
-Size US 6 (4mm) straight or 24" circular needle
-Cable needle
-stitch markers are helpful but not required


Gauge for all squares will average 19 st to 4" (10 cm) over stockinette on size US 7 (4.5 mm) needles.

When the owners of Cascade yarns were visiting us last week we realized that Cascade Cloud would also be an awesome choice for this project.  These chain construction of this wool & alpaca yarn will give fantastic stitch definition!  I've decided I'll do mine from the new Cascade Longwood!

Sunday, August 25th will be the first class in the local shop but I'm available by email whenever you need help or get stuck.  Just send an email to askTerry (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com.

It's cable mania time!!! ;D
Terry

Hi everyone!

It sounds like it's been a good week for a lot of folks and the KAL projects are flying off the needles! There has been a lot of talk of buttons on the Ravelry Thread and I love what folks have come up with. So many unique and beautiful buttons!

Several of you submitted your gorgeous FO's to me this week and I am so excited to show them off here. All of you did such a great job!

First up we have Cyprienne's Cowl! She used Cascade Pacific since she allergic to wool. Didn't it turn out great? She also has a knitting blog--Big Knitting Trouble. Feel free to check it out!

Cyprienne

The next FO came from LukaArcane who MADE her own buttons! How cool is that? I think they are perfect on her steely gray cowl!

LukaArcane

Luka Arcane

The next FO (knit in Lorna's Laces Haymarket) came from lauramv who actually got to wear her Water Dancer Cowl the other day when it SNOWED in CO! I guess winter IS still here in some places...

Lauramv

Lauramv

Next up we have neechee49's project. She hails from Belgium! I think it's so cool that we had so many international knitters join us for this KAL! :)

neechee49

parke

Thank you all for submitting pics of your FO's and allowing us to share them on the blog! I am sad to see this KAL end! As I mentioned in the last post, I will leave the GoTMKAL Threads on Ravelry active for a while so please feel free to continue the chat, otherwise I hope you all enjoy the rest of GoT season 3! Can you believe it's already 1/2 over?!?!

Also, don't forget that the final formatted version of the pattern will be available as a PDF on the Jimmy Beans Wool Free Patterns page on May 17th, in case you are waiting for it to come out to finish your project.

Thanks to everyone for being a part of this wonderfully fun MKAL!

Until next time, happy knitting!
Kristen

Hi everyone!

Whew what a week! I hope all of you were able to make it thorough the last clue ok. I know there were many folks hung up on getting the correct stitch counts at the front and back split, and I hope everyone was able to either figure it out, or at least move forward. Remember, if you haven't yet, make sure to take a look at the photo tutorial I provided to illustrate the split. I think a lot of folks found it helpful.

Another way to wear it.

Finished weaving the ends at the ballpark recently.

This week's instructions will prove to be much simpler. This clue will also be the final clue for this KAL. I think now it's time to tell you all what you've made. Most of you guessed it-- it is indeed a cowl! It's hooded cowl to be exact, because it can be worn up over the head (which explains the short- row shaping.) Not only that, but the buttoned flaps at the bottom allow you to open the cowl up to accommodate the shoulders a bit and give it a more customizable fit.


This design, as I may have hinted at, is inspired by Arya, who is one of my favorite characters in the books and the show. (We also named one of our chickens after her. Can you tell I am obsessed?) I am calling this pattern the "Water Dancer Cowl" in honor of her "dancing" lessons with Syrio. I find it highly appropriate that we all "needled" this cowl into existence using sharp sticks. I think Arya would approve. :)

Arya the chicken. She is our feistiest hen by far.

With that, here are the instructions for finishing your cowl:

Front view.

Back Flap:

-Pick up sts with your needle and join yarn with wrong side facing.
-K 5, P to last 5 sts, K 5
-Work in 4 row lace pattern until flap measures 5.5" from front and back split.

*Note, you will not work buttonholes on this flap.

Birds Eye Lace Pattern:



-Row 3: k5, k1, *yo2, k2tog (twice); repeat from * to 1 st before marker, yo2, k1, k5. (66 sts)
-Row 4: k5, p1, *(k1, p1) into double yo, p2; repeat from * to 3 sts before marker, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1, k5.

Back view.

-Once flap measures 5.5", knit 6 rows in garter stitch (knit every row).
-Bind off all sts.
-Weave in all ends and block.
-Attach buttons on back flap edges to line up with button holes.

And that's it! Your Game of Thrones MKAL knitting is complete! Next week I'd love to post a photo gallery of people's finished cowls so hopefully you'll all share your photos with me. :) If you'd like me to feature your finished cowl on the blog, please e-mail your photo to me directly: kristen(at)jimmybeanswool(dot)com. Please don't be shy!!! I can't wait to see all of your beautiful FOs!

Side

Front

Back

Also, I will be re-formatting the pattern, and having it re-edited, and taking nicer photos taken of the cowl in order to release the pattern as a PDF. I will try to have this all done by the middle of May, so stay tuned for that if you'd like a copy for your collection.

Lastly, I'll keep all of the Clue threads "Sticky" on Ravelry for the next month and a half so that folks who are taking their time with the KAL can still find them easily if needed.

I hope you all have enjoyed this KAL. I know I certainly enjoyed chatting with all of you and designing this fun piece for you all. I love the result and I hope you all do too. I know it's definitely time for summer now and it's warming up all over the place, but just think, next fall you'll have a beautiful new cowl to wear when it gets chilly again. I can't wait! Winter IS coming. Eventually. :)

Happy knitting everyone!
Kristen

Hi everyone!

Hope you have all had a great week! I know the short rows were confusing for some of you, so I hope everyone made it through mostly unscathed. :)

Ok, so you are probably tired of Game of Thrones memes by now but I saw this one this week and I loved it so I had to share:

From www.quickmeme.com

Heehee. Makes things seem a bit more innocent, eh? Also, in case you were wondering what the GoT characters would look like if they were cats, I have the answer for you:

From www.cheezburger.com

Is the cat they found for Jorah not the perfect match?!?! I love it!

Ok, back to business. In case you are just joining us for the MKAL. Here are some quick links to the previous posts:

-Gauge and Swatching
-Clue #1
-Clue #2

Alright, now on to clue #3! By this time you should have finished three sections of short rows and your last round was a purl round. Next we will knit three more sections just like the first three sections we knit before the short rows. Knit as follows:

Rows 1-8: Knit
Row 9: Purl

*Repeat twice more for a total of three times.

And that is it for clue #3. I know it's super simple, but we'll kick it up a notch next week with a little lace. :)

Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend and enjoy GoT tonight!

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS. Don't forget to check in on the JBW Ravelry Group and join in the conversation!

Source: HBO.com

Greetings GoT fans! Is everyone super excited for tonight? I know I certainly am--my hubby and I have been waiting with baited breath since the end of season 2 and we are preparing to join some friends for the big premier viewing at a local brewery this evening. We've been seeing tons of teasers from season 3 online as I'm sure most of you have as well. Ach! I am SO excited I can hardly stand it!

Source: The NY Daily News

I'm really excited to kick of the official knitting portion of the MKAL tonight, but I have to warn you, with this MKAL I am going to break you all in really easy. We are just doing some simple knitting in the round today, nothing too fancy, but it will set you up quite nicely for some short rows next week. :)

Also, I wanted to let you know that I understand that printing from this blog may be an issue for some of you with finicky browsers. I highly recommend that if you plan to print this post, to copy and paste the directions into a word document and print it from there. Printing from this post may result in many pages of stuff you don't really need. Once the MKAL is over, I will provide a downloadable PDF of the pattern, but in the meantime, the blog is the only way to get it. Let me know if you have questions about this and I am happy to help!

Alright, let's cut to the chase, I know what you are really here for and it's not to read my questionable prose. :) I am so excited for you all to begin knitting so here is part one of the MKAL of Ice and Fire!

Materials:
-2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Haymarket (or 430 yds of a worsted weight yarn)
-US 8- 24" (or shorter) circular needles
-1 stitch marker
-Some episodes of Game of Thrones to enjoy while you knit!

Abbreviations/Definitions:
-CO- cast on
-sts- stitches
-pm- place marker
-garter stitch (in the round)- knit 1 round, purl 1 round
-stockinette stitch (in the round)- knit every round

Directions:
-CO 120 sts
-pm and join for working in the round
Rnds 1-6: knit in garter stitch (see above abbreviations for instructions on how to knit garter stitch in the round)
Rnds 7-14: knit in stockinette stitch (see above abbreviations for instructions on knitting stockinette in the round)
Rnd 15: purl

*Repeat rounds 7-15 twice more.

And that is it for clue #1! I know, I know, easy and painless right? I promise to challenge you a bit more next week. In the meantime, kick back, relax, enjoy your Easter (that is if you observe) and als the premier! It's bound to be a good day!

Happy knitting,
Kristen

PS. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, I'll check in on Ravelry as both Jimmy Beans Wool and Marinade (my personal account) a few times throughout the day and this coming week as well. Also, remember that the JBW Ravelry Group will have a Thread for Clue #1 as well as for general chat about the show and MKAL. If you don't do Ravelry, you can comment on this post with a question, or e-mail me directly: kristen (at) jimmybeanswool (dot) com. Thanks again for joining us! :)

Hello and welcome everyone to the preliminary kick off of the Game of Thrones Mystery Knit-a-long! I am so excited to have you all here and I can't wait to see what everyone's projects look like! As promised, today I will go over some of the specifics of the MKAL (ie. how to participate, gauge, etc) and next week I will release the official first "clue" or piece of the pattern.



For those of you who are new to Mystery Knit-a-longs, we refer to each part of the pattern as a "clue" because the project itself is a mystery. You probably won't know exactly what we are knitting until about half of the way through and the design elements are definitely a mystery throughout until each clue reveals what comes next. For this KAL, I will release each clue on Sunday morning, starting on March 31st. Now, I know that the 31st is Easter and I apologize for the timing, but that is when the first episode of Season 3 of Game of Thrones actually starts. Hopefully this won't deter anyone from participating. You'll have an entire week to knit Clue 1 before Clue 2 comes out.

Here is some of the important, need-to-know info for the MKAL:

-Yarn: We are using 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Haymarket yarn in the "Winter is Coming" color or another color of your choice. If you would prefer to stash bust or use something different, you'll need about 430 yds of a worsted weight yarn.

-Needle Size & Gauge: US Size 8- 24" or shorter circular needle to acquire a gauge of 20 sts and 24 rows = 4" in Stockinette St. This gauge was unblocked and taken from my piece knit in the round.

*to knit a gauge swatch, cast on 24 sts or more and create a border around your 20 stitch stockinette section. This will help you get a more accurate gauge. Please adjust needle size if needed to get gauge. Feel free to swatch in the round if you find your gauge to vary significantly in the round vs flat.

-Skills needed: knitting, purling, knitting in the round, basic increases and decreases (yo, ssk, k2tog, k1f&b, etc.), simple lace using either written directions or a chart, and an understanding of short rows. If any of these skills are new to you, you might want to practice them a bit before we kick off next week.

-Ravelry: Be sure to check out the Jimmy Beans Wool Ravelry Group. For each blog post, we will create a new thread in the group specifically for help on that piece of the pattern. I'll also create a "spoilers" thread so that GoT fans can talk about the show or books freely without risk of spoiling the story for anyone. If you haven't read all of the books or aren't planning on watching the new season right away, be sure not to venture into Spoiler territory if you don't want to know what happens. I'll be staying out of that thread myself as I've only gotten through book 3. :)

-Remember that the Ravelry Groups are an intrinsic part of the KAL. Be sure to head there to ask for help from your fellow KAL participants. The group is the "community" aspect of the KAL and only works if we all participate.

-About a month after the GOTMKAL (short for Game of Thrones Mystery KAL) is over, I will release the full version of the pattern as a Free PDF on the Jimmy Beans Wool website on the Free Patterns page. It will be re-formatted and re-edited, much like Lady Violet's Dinner Gauntlets from the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL. It takes me that amount of time to properly re-edit the pattern, have professional photography done, and what not.

I am really truly excited for this KAL! I can't wait for the season to start and for you all to knit this little project I've cooked up for you. I think it's going to be a blast! Of course, if at any time you have a question for me directly, please feel free to e-mail me on Ravelry. I answer e-mails at the JimmyBeansWool account and also my personal account, Marinade, and I am always happy to help!

Lastly, I couldn't help but search around for a fun quiz we could all take to get a little more excited for season 3 (as if we really need it). I found two different quizzes for "What Game of Thrones Character Are You?" so I will share them both with you:

http://www.buddytv.com/personalityquiz/game-of-thrones-personalityquiz.aspx?quiz=500000095

http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/quiz/Churchill14/which-game-of-thrones-character-are-you/

I found the second one to be a bit more in depth. On the first one I was as Arya Stark and on the second I was Eddard Stark. I guess it's pretty safe to say I'm a Stark of Winterfell which is perfect because Winter is Coming, and I am ready. :)

Happy knitting