Introducing Hudson + West!
What a wild week, and if you caught our live presentation for the Have a Ball Fall Crawl, you'll know that one of the highlights was unpacking our order from Hudson + West.
Hudson + West is a newer yarn company, established in 2019. It's a collaboration between former Interweave Knits editor and designer Meghan Babin, and knitwear designer Sloane Rosenthal. The company name references their respective homes--Meghan lives in the Hudson Valley of New York, and Sloane is currently based in Colorado.
Yarn Folk is delighted to carry both yarns offered by Hudson + West. Fifteen subtly heathered colors express a sophisticated palette, and all are available on both bases.
While I love both yarn bases, Forge is the sample I knit with first, and is the reason the yarn is in the shop today. It is a round and lively yarn, a blend of 70% Merino and 30% Corriedale. Here's what Hudson + West has to say about this wonderful blend:
Forge and Weld are both made from a blend of 70% Merino and 30% Corriedale fleece. Merino is, by all accounts, the most numerous sheep breed in the world, and it’s probably the sheep breed you’re most familiar with. Merino fibers generally have very low micron counts, and tend to be quite soft, but also tend to have relatively short staple lengths, which tends to make them more susceptible to pilling. Corriedale, on the other hand, is somewhere between a long wool and a fine wool (the breed was created by crossing Spanish Merino ewes and English Lincoln Longwool rams), and produces, according to Clara Parkes’ The Knitter’s Book of Wool, “a smooth and extremely durable worsted[-spun] yarn.” Blending Merino and Corriedale fleece gives us the best of both worlds: the majority-Merino mix gives us great softness, loft, and next-to-skin wearability, while the Corriedale adds wonderful natural color and enough strength and durability for heirloom-quality FOs. Forge and Weld are spun in what’s known as a semi-worsted system, which combines some of the airy, delicate bloom of a woolen-spun yarn with the strength, structure, and stitch definition of a worsted-spun yarn, and lets the best natural qualities of both breeds shine through.
And though I knit with it second, the fingering weight Weld is just as delightful--I am working on a mosaic shawl with it right now, but I also can't wait to try it for stranded colorwork, and Evergreen is a specific shade of green I've been dreaming of for a sweater (pattern TBD).
As a final note, Hudson + West is a very designer-oriented yarn company, and what that means for us is that the range of pattern support is extensive, and really plays to the unique strengths of these beautiful yarns. You can see all of the collections to date on Ravelry, and on Wednesday, we will join in debuting the Autumn/Winter '21 collection.
Current open hours are Monday - Friday, 7am-3:30pm, and Saturdays, 9am-3pm.
In-store shopping: masks are REQUIRED for all guests over age 2. Thanks for your help in keeping my business open to the public!
…to learn (and do)
CURRENT CLASSES & EVENTS
Social Stitching via Zoom
Thursday, September 30th, 4:00-6:00pm
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/981942707?pwd=TExyQlRPWnB3OW40QkFZRCs5aVRtQT09 OR open Zoom and enter 981-942-707 for the meeting ID
PASSWORD IS 330044.
No Social Stitching October 7th--Yarn Folk will be open normal hours, but I will be travelling.
Knit a Marit!
October 1-31, Berroco Makers Facebook Group
Book Signing with PDX Knitterati, Michele Bernstein
October 23, 2021, 10-11am
More info (including book pre-orders) to follow!
...to anticipate
In addition to Forge and Weld, we have new yarns we haven't even had the opportunity to highlight yet! Dulce is one of the Fall 2021 yarns from Berroco, and this is yet another instance where making the swatch sold me on the yarn. It's a fuzzy blend of cotton, nylon, alpaca, and wool, and the chain-plied core is subtly variegated, while the "fluff" gives it an overall solid color. (Visually, it is most like a tweed, but without the textural variation of neps.)
Chiara is a gorgeous colorwork yoke sweater, and the design collection also includes an excellent cardigan, as well as a range of accessories.
Snowflake from Lang is another new, super-soft offering, especially appealing for winter accessories. It is also a cotton, nylon, alpaca, and wool blend, in a chunky weight. I used it for the Denali hat, and while my stitch count was accurate, my row count was not, and the resulting hat is a closer fitting beanie style. However, there was enough yarn left over that if you wanted a slouchier fit, you could insert a number of plain rows after the textured patterning but before the crown decreases. Whether close fit or slouchy, it would be a fun-to-wear winter hat. I also have a hunch that Snowflake would work with my (free) Rocky Canyon cowl pattern--and they would make a cute set. Denali takes one skein; Rocky Canyon would take two.
…to inspire
Are you a fan of entrelac designs? Or is it a technique you've wanted to try, but feel like you would enjoy some extra support in attempting? Perhaps Berroco's October KAL is what you're looking for! From October 1-31, the Berroco Team will be hosting Knit a Marit in their Facebook and Ravelry groups. Social media lead Margaux is a terrific knitter and an outstanding cheerleader, so it's always a fun and supportive atmosphere, and there will also be entrelac technique videos made available through Berroco's YouTube channel as part of the KAL.
We have six colors of Topaz available in the shop, and the shawl takes three skeins. With your yarn purchase, you also get a free download code for the pattern!
...to stitch
While I've only showed hints of progress up until now, I've been scrambling to finish my shop sample of Kuffel before my Hudson + West order arrived! Kuffel is knit with two colors of Forge--I chose Raven and Gold Leaf--but there are so many appealing combinations.
"This yoke is so forevvvverrr-taking. Why am I still knitting this yoke? There are so many stitches! At least it is stranded..."
Also in the "secret squirrel" queue, I've been quietly working on a sample using Weld. Laurel is a three-color shawl from Jen Peck, featuring always-compelling mosaic colorwork. I can't wait to get to the border! I am using Ash as my main color, and Juniper and Evergreen as the two contrast colors--I love the oh-so-subtle difference between them!
