One of our designer friends, Julie Turjoman (author of Brave New Knits) recently released her second book called Knits That Breathe, and we couldn't be more thrilled for her! We met Julie, by way of Sandy, one of our long-time employees. They used to work together at a yarn shop in the bay area back in the day and are longtime buddies. When Julie released Brave New Knits back in 2010, she came over to Reno to do a book signing and trunk show display at our shop. What a fun event that was! 

We are so excited to share Knits that Breath with you, which just came out in print last week and uses tons of great summery yarns including some of our favorites, Shibui Linen and Lorna's Laces Sportmate. We just love this collection of light and summery designs, so we did a quick interview with Julie to find out more about the making of the book. Here is what she had to say:

Knits That Breathe

1. Can you give us a super quick history of Knits that Breathe for our readers who might be new to your work?

All 12 garments in the book are designed with cool fibers that drape beautifully, and have moisture-wicking or breathable properties that help keep the wearer cool and comfortable. Some of the fibers will be unfamiliar to knitters, such as Outlast, SeaCell, milk and soy protein fiber - and others are warm-weather staples such as cotton, linen, and bamboo. All are well worth trying! Sizing ranges from XS to 4XL in some cases to flatter a wide range of figures.

Splash Cardigan

2. What was the inspiration for the book?

At Stitches last year, I overhead several knitters complaining that they could no longer wear their warm, woolly sweaters because they were always too hot, or too itchy. Having suffered from the same problem myself and being equally frustrated by the pile of sweaters languishing in my closet, I was inspired to take up the challenge and come up with solutions. I researched alternative and plant-derived fibers and then designed a collection of tunics, cardigans, tees, and more to give knitters some new options for wearing knitted garments.

Pochette

A little behind the scenes...

3. Do you have a favorite design (or designs) from the book that you’d like to highlight for us? What makes this design(s) your favorite?

The Pacific Coast Tunic (on the cover) was the first project I designed for the book, and it remains one of my favorites. It has wonderful movement and drape, and a flattering A-line shape with raised seams and pleats that make it special. I often wear it with a light tee shirt underneath, and get compliments on it every time. The Tencel Tape yarn from Prism was lovely to work with, and was new to me. Part of the joy of this book was experimenting with new-to-me fibers and blends to discover their cooling characteristics. I also really enjoy wearing the Zephyr tunic made from Lorna's Laces Pearl yarn. The yarn has a beautiful shimmer from the silk blend, and drapes softly. I enjoy designing top-down sweaters because they are nearly seamless, as well as including practical pockets in my designs - so this project is among my favorites because it has both of these features.

Pacific Coast Tunic

Zephyr Tunic

4. What kind of knitter would you recommend this book to?

Knits That Breathe is for every knitter who lives in a hot climate, or is sensitive to wool and other animal fibers, or who has an unreliable internal thermostat (i.e. hot flashes). My theory that "it's always summer someplace" is strengthened every time I get messages from knitters in Texas, Florida, Arizona and other hot parts of the country to tell me that they love the book. Of course, I also get great feedback from knitters who simply run hot, or whose hot flashes make it uncomfortable for them to wear designs made from wool, alpaca, or other heat-retaining fibers.

Still Waters

Iced Frappuccino

Flutterby Silk Tunic

5. What future projects are on the horizon for you?

I'm very excited about my next book, which is in production now. It will be released in late fall, in plenty of time for holiday gift-knitting. It's still in "secret" mode, but I can tell you that it's a collection of accessories with a fun and very stylish vintage theme.

Julie now lives in Chicago and spends her time knitting and designing. You can find out more about Julie's work on her website: www.julieturjoman.com or on Ravelry where her username is "juliebean." 

Also, Julie is kindly offering copies of the E-book version of Knits That Breathe to two lucky readers! Please leave us a comment telling us what your favorite design from the book is along with your Ravelry name. Two winners will be chosen at random next Wednesday, July 2nd and Julie will send you a PDF copy of the book on Ravelry. Only entries that include their Ravelry contact info will be eligible.

Updated 7/2/14- This contest is now closed. The two winners (thanks to random.org) were comment #'s: 9 & 18! They will be notified via Ravelry shortly!! Thanks for reading!

If you'd prefer a hard copy of Knits that Breathe instead of an E-book, you can purchase them on our website here. 

Happy summer knitting!
Kristen

Lately I've been seeing inspiration everywhere, especially out in our warehouse full of yarny goodness. But without patterns to inspire us, that yarn would sit untouched indefinitely and we certainly can't have that! Here is what has been inspiring me lately in the way of patterns (all from Ravelry with links provided below), and some yarn suggestions to accompany them:

1) With so many babies being born (all of my friends seem to be at that time of their lives) little fun baby and kid items are on my mind. I love this stack-able Army of Caterpillars from Fancy Tiger Crafts (an adorable LYS in Denver--if you live there, you should check them out!) and could see them knit out of Cascade 220 Superwash for washable durability. So cute!

Army of Caterpillars from Fancy Tiger Crafts

2) Bold stripes are super fun, but scalloped bold stripes are even better! I am a fan of Amy Miller's designs and I could see myself wearing Betsey, a lovely cold-weather wrap, knit in Tosh Merino or Tosh Pashmina Worsted this next winter. It's so bright and fun!

Betsey by Amy Miller

3) Shawls always tend to inspire me, so when I saw this unique take on bias knitting, I had to include it in this list. Freesia, by Annie Lee Designs (also known as Jumper Cables Knitting) is a simple design with a little unique twist for some added interest. This is just the kind of shawl knitting I love--mindless, but not too mindless. This design would be amazing in one of the stunning colors of Wolf Creek Wools Alpaca Sport (one of my favorite yarns!) or Lorna's Laces Sportmate (another favorite.)

Freesia by JumperCablesKnitting

4) Geology and knitting? What more could a science geek ask for?!?! I am a self proclaimed science nerd and I loved geological sciences in college. Later in life I found myself teaching the basic earth science principals to kids in an outdoor school setting and I rekindled my love for geology. I love how this shawl is inspired by the different layers of strata and has a variety of patterning in each section keeping it interesting to knit the whole way. What a lovely design! I would (admittedly) probably go with my old standby, Tosh Merino Light, to knit this shawl, but I am intrigued by some newer yarns we have in stock, particularly All For Love of Yarn's Opulence and Manos del Uruguay's Fino.

Geology Shawl by verybusymonkey

5) Lewis by Jaime A Besel, is a gorgeous summer piece with a bohemian feel. It's a summer to fall sweater that can be layered over tanks on cool summer evenings or worn all day long as the days grow a little cooler. The bamboo and wool blend yarn (the original pattern calls for Arucania Itata which is now discontinued) gives the garment a nice structured drape. I really love the shirttail hem. If I were to cast on, I would use either Classic Elite Vail, Frog Tree Pediboo, or Cascade Heritage Silk.

Lewis by Jaime A Besel

6) Lastly, I know it's too early to start thinking about winter knits, by I saw this finished sweater on Lori from Yarn Pop at VK Live in Seattle and I've been thinking about it ever since. This cozy sweater by Heidi Kirrmaier is knit in a DK weight tweed--warm enough to wear as an extra layer on a cold day, but not too warm to wear inside all day long. I may have to cast on this fall for some selfish knitting--perhaps in Rowan Felted Tweed or Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool... or if you live in warmer climes, you could easily get away with knitting this sweater in a cotton blend like Classic Elite Canyon or Rowan Creative Linen which would add a little more lightness and drape.

Snowbird by Heidi Kirrmaier

Lastly, I'm sorry this is a day late, I've been having blogger technical difficulties, but we need to announce the Kristin Omdahl The Finer Edge giveaway winner! The winner is:

Commenter #18: Carol said...

"I would most likely start with Pompeii Mobius."

Carol, please e-mail me at kristen (at) jimmybeanswool.com to claim your prize. Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting and thanks to Interweave Press for preview copy of the book!

I hope you all have a fabulous week!
Kristen

PS. Have you ever wanted to work in the needle arts industry or for Jimmy Beans Wool? We have a current job opening for a Project Manager position! It's full time and located on-site here in Reno, NV. To read more and find out how to apply, check out our Ravelry group listing here:

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/jimmy-beans-wool/2608203/1-25#5

Well hello everyone! Welcome to the final week of the Downton Abbey MKAL! It's funny, when I set out to do this, I didn't realize that PBS was planning to shorten the DA season by combining episodes 6 & 7 to make last week's mega episode and then airing the Christmas special (this week) as the 7th episode. In any case, the season was actually a week shorter than anticipated, but luckily, I planned to wrap up a week "early" so it all works out in the end!

Check out Rachel's finished gauntlets!

That said, I would like to thank you all SO much for joining me in this journey. It's been a blast and I've learned a lot and I hope you all have too. I am already cooking up the next KAL so hopefully you'll join me there as well.

So here is our final bit of knitting for the DAMKAL!

Thumb Gusset (continue working in the round):

Needle 1: Knit as follows-

• Round 1: k to last 5 sts, pm, k1f&b, k3, k1f&b,
• Round 2: k
• Round 3: k to marker, slip marker, k1f&b, knit to last stitch, k1f&b
• Round 4: k

Needle 2: Continue working in Rosebud Lace pattern picking up where you left off, starting with round 9. While you are knitting the thumb gusset, you will continue working this pattern for 12 more rounds ending on row 4 of the pattern.

Needle 3: For this section, you will no longer knit eyelets. At this point you should have a total of 14 eyelets. You will now just knit regular stockinette stitch on this needle until the directions say otherwise.

-Remove provisional cast on and place stitches back on your needles dividing the stitches evenly among the needles and rejoin yarn to resume working in the round. (This is a good opportunity to knit those 4 rounds IFyou missed them at the beginning.)
-Increase to 52 sts if you do not  already have that number on the needles by knitting a round and spacing your increases evenly throughout the row. Use your preferred method of increasing.
-Purl one round
-*k1, k1f&b; repeat from * to end of round. (78 sts now on the needles)
-Rearrange sts on the needles so that you have 26 sts on each needle.

Work Shell Lace Edging pattern as follows:
Shell Lace Edging Pattern

Rnd 1: *k2tog, k9, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (66 sts)
Rnd 2: Knit
Rnd 3: *k2tog, k7, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (54 sts)
Rnd 4: Knit
Rnd 5: *k2tog, yo, (k1, yo) 5 times, ssk; repeat from * to end of round (78 sts)
Rnd 6: Purl

*Repeat rows 1-6 two more times. (A total of 3 repeats)
Bind off and weave in ends. Feel free to block your gauntlet if you'd like. If you do, be sure to pin out the points on your lace edging. 

There you have it folks! The conclusion of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL. I truly hope you've enjoyed the journey and I can't wait to look through all of the finished gauntlets on the project page!! I will be formatting the KAL pattern over the next couple of weeks into a downloadable PDF complete with photos and charts so stay tuned. I should have that up in about two weeks. I will make sure that it gets a mention in one of our upcoming twice monthly newsletters.

Also, some of you may be curious about our next KAL. Well, we couldn't help but love having a theme based off of a popular series, so starting March 31st, we'll begin our Game of Thrones Mystery KAL complete with it's own custom color of Lorna's Laces! Stay tuned for more info in our Friday, March 1st Newsletter! I hope you'll join me!

With that I bid you farewell, until we meet again.

Happy knitting!
Kristen

Hi everyone and welcome to Week #6 of the Downton Abbey KAL!

By now, you should be pretty sure what will come next. Some of you may have even figured it out already! In any case, this week, I will take you all the way up to the thumb gusset and next week we will finish up the left gauntlet. Here are the directions for week 6:

*You should have just finished up your 4 rows of straight knitting. The next set of directions will be broken down by needle just like the directions in Clue #1.

Divide sts onto needles same as for right gantlet with 14 sts on Needle #1, 25 sts on Needle #2, and 13 sts on Needle 3.

Needle #1: 

Knit every round.

Needle #2 (Rosebud Lace Panel, 25 sts wide, OPTIONAL):



Needle #3:

Hi everyone!

Welcome to week #5 of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL! I hope everyone's projects are coming along ok. From what I've been observing on Ravelry, most of you are doing just fine and have been great about helping everyone out as well. Thank you to all of you for creating such a wonderful and positive community!

Elegant and functional!

I asked in the comments on my last post for folks to weigh in about what to knit next and I've decided to do a little of both. Many folks chose to reverse the pattern on their own and knit two at a time. I decided to address the lacing for the gauntlets as the main topic for this post. After the lacing, I'll include instructions for casting on and getting started on your second gauntlet. Hopefully this will cover both sides of the spectrum!

My gauntlet fully ruched.

So now that you have at least one gauntlet finished, you may be wondering how those eyelets will be used. Well today, we will be knitting a skinny i-cord to run through the eyelets, and tie with a bow to complete the ruched look of the gauntlet. Gathering the side of the gauntlet like this will help to tighten the fit of the gauntlet on your arm and will also create a feminine and ladylike fit as well that is appropriate for the time period in which Downton Abbey takes place.

Knitting this i-cord is quite simple and all you need is either two DPNs in the size you used for your gauntlet, or your circular needle in the size you use, preferably a 24" length or shorter and your gauntlet yarn. The shorter circular length will make it much easier to work your i-cord. If you would prefer, you can use a different yarn for your i-cord to create a fun contrast. Don't feel like you HAVE to use the same yarn as your gauntlet. However, should you choose to use a different yarn, I would recommend using one that is the same weight or lighter than the sport weight yarn you are using.

**Please note, you can't use straight needles to knit your i-cord in the method I am about to show you. It will not work.**

I-cord Instructions (Make 2):

Step 1: Using your US 3 needles, cast on 2 sts

Step 2: Slide your sts to the opposite end of the needle so that the stitch closest to the tip of the needle does NOT have the working yarn attached to it.

Working yarn is on the stitch to the left.

Step 3: Knit those 2 sts pulling the working yarn snugly on that first stitch to close any gap that might occur.

What it looks like when you pull it snug as you knit the first stitch.

Step 4: Slide your sts to the opposite end of the needle again.

Step 5: Knit those 2 sts pulling the working yarn snugly on that first stitch.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 & 5 until your i-cord measures 17" long.

The completed i-cord.

Step 7: To finish, knit those 2 sts together, cut your yarn, and run your strand through the loop to tie off. Weave in your ends and run your i-cord through your eyelets as shown in the photo below weaving in and out up one side of eyelets towards the thumb and back down the other so that both tails are on the same end when it's finished.Then cinch up your gauntlets to the desired fit and tie a bow to secure them. Wear while drinking tea out of fancy cups with your pinkey finger in the air!

How to lace up your gauntlet...

For those of you who knit two at a time, this is the end of the KAL for you! Now you can kick back, relax and enjoy the rest of the Downton season! The rest of us will be starting on our second gauntlets!

Beginning of Gauntlet #2:

**This part is the same as gauntlet #1**

Wow, what a week! It sounds like most of you got off to a good start with your gauntlets which is so awesome to hear! Episode one of Season 3 of DA was equally awesome but I won't talk shop here in case some of you haven't watched yet. I will say, that The Secrets of Highclere Castle special on PBS (about the castle where Downton is filmed) was also really cool. If you haven't watched that yet, I highly encourage you to do so. The history geek in me really enjoyed it.

Ok, so on to the reason you are all here--Clue # 2 of Lady Violet's Dinner Gauntlets! This week's clue should prove to be much easier than last week's since you are already familiar with the lace and eyelet patterns. I have absolutely loved seeing all of the WIPs on Ravelry in the Downton KAL Photo Gallery Thread by the way! It's amazing how differently the Sportmate in the Downton color can knit up depending on gauge and where you begin your skein. So many cool versions of the pattern! Not only that, but I love seeing how these gauntlets are shaping up in different yarns too!

Clue #2:

*If you are just getting started, please see my blog post for Clue #1 before reading this post.

By now, you should have knit four rounds in stockinette and then two full repeats of the lace panel and you should have eight sets of eyelets on needle 1. This is a total of 36 rounds.

Here is what you do next:

**Remember, you are working all needles' directions in the round at the same time. The directions are broken down by needle.

Needle 1: Continue working eyelet pattern for 24 more rows ending with a total of 14 eyelets. (If you have one more or one less, don't fret. Just go with it. The number of eyelets isn't super important as long as it's close.)

Needle 2: Work one more repeat of the lace section and then work rounds 1-8 of the lace section again.

Needle 3: K every round

Once you've completed this portion, congrats! You are done with the arm of the gauntlet. Next we will begin the thumb gusset. For those who aren't familiar with this term or have never knit fingerless gloves before, a thumb gusset is the part where you increase the number of stitches on your needles where the thumb will be. It's a method of shaping.

Thumb Gusset:

Needle 1: For this section, you will no longer knit eyelets. At this point you should have a total of 14 eyelets. You will now just knit regular stockinette stitch on needle 1 until the directions say otherwise.

Needle 2: Continue working in Rosebud Lace pattern picking up where you left off, starting with round 9. While you are knitting the thumb gusset, you will continue working this pattern for 12 more rounds ending on row 4 of the pattern.

Needle 3: Knit as follows-

• Round 1: k1f&b, k3, k1f&b, place marker, k to end of round.
• Round 2: k
• Round 3: k1f&b, k to last st before marker, k1f&b, slip marker, k to end of round.
• Round 4: k

Photo via Pinterest, source unknown

Well folks, the day has finally come! I don't think I've been this excited for something since my wedding day two years ago. Seriously. That's how much I love Downton. Many of you guessed from my hints that my favorite character is Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess and from the sound of it, I am not alone. She really does add such a lively element to the show, which is why I couldn't help but design this KAL project around her. 

The photo above features the accessory that inspired this KAL. In Season One, Lady Violet wears black, ruched, lacy fingerless gloves (though they were probably called gauntlets in 1912) to dinner and I couldn't help but be inspired to knit something similar but a tad more practical for modern times. Adorned with a Rosebud Lace pattern (inspired by her award wining roses) and some other pretty details that will be revealed as the KAL progresses, these gauntlets would surely please the Dowager Countess to no end. So without further adieu, I give you Clue # 1 for Lady Violet’s Dinner Gauntlets! 

If you are just now jumping in and have managed to miss my first blog post, be sure to go back and read that before reading this one. 

Alright, lets get this prim and proper dinner party started. Shall we?

Yep, I drew on my arm with permanent marker.

Well folks, this brings us to the end of Episode # 1 and Clue #1. This was a pretty big clue as I needed to set you up wit info for the entire project so this will probably be the longest post and set of directions in the KAL. Of course, if you have any questions or anything seems unclear, please feel free to private message me on Ravelry or post it to the Ravelry group! We are all there to help you!

I hope you all enjoy the first episode tonight and look forward to discussion on Monday! 

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS. If you would like to print this page, the easiest and best way to do it is to copy all of the text and paste it into a word document. Then, print the word document. Easy peasy. :) The PDF of the pattern will be available once the KAL is over.