New This Week: Extrafine Merino from Urth Yarns

February 27, 2024

I purchased both Jenise Hope's Persian Dreams Worsted (knit) pattern and Jane Crowfoot's Mystical Lanterns Blanket (crochet) pattern in anticipation of a Leap Day cast on. Right now, I'm leaning toward starting the Mystical Lanterns Blanket in Berroco Vintage Baby or maybe Scheepjes Stone Washed (or hey, maybe both). Looking at the Persian Dreams pattern, I think I may do a hexagon or two to see what I think about a long-term commitment, and use those as pillow tops. Are you joining me in starting an epic project?

There is still space available in the Berroco yarn tasting event scheduled for Friday, March 8th (just a little over a week away). Sign up here. There's also an at-home option, where the tasting kits are shipped to your home. You can order those here.

…mark your calendars

Social Stitching

Every Saturday, 2-4pm

A reminder--if you're feeling poorly, please join us again as soon as you're feeling better!

Make It Scandi Sweater Makealong

January 13 - February 29

We'd love if you could send a photo of your finished--or not--MAL project to ann@yarnfolk.com.

Leap Day Cast On (informal)

February 29

Do you have a BIG project you've wanted to start? A big blanket, a complicated sweater, or something else? Start it on Leap Day, and you can work on it for four years before the project has its first birthday! 😎

Berroco Spring 24 Yarn Tasting

March 8, 4-6p

We'll be sampling Berroco's new spring yarns, and there will be a door prize drawing for a project made from them. Register here.

Weather Delay

In support of Groundhog Phil's prediction for an early spring, we're shortening this to a TL;DR version: if the weather seems extra-annoying, check social media and Google for possible weather-related updates.

…new in the shop

Yarn Folk is now a stockist for Urth Yarns, and last week we received:

Uneek Worsted, an S-on-S plied extrafine Merino superwash wool. It's round, bouncy, and self-striping!
Harvest Worsted, in rich solids that combine beautifully with Uneek Worsted, as in the Color Your Pixels scarf.
Spiral Grain Sport, a superwash Merino marled gradient. Two skeins make a reversible Dubblo beanie.
Uneek Sock Kits, in both adult and mini sizes--you get two pre-wound balls that begin the stripe sequence in the same place, plus a QR code for a toe-up sock pattern. The adult kits have two 220 yard balls of self-striping sock yarn, and the mini kits have two 125 yard balls. (Socks not your thing? Take a look at Fancy Pants or make a fantastically striped Musselburgh hat!)

You'll love the rich colors, soft hand, and playful stripes and gradients found in these yarns, and Urth Yarns plants a tree for every skein sold through Trees for the Future.

…to inspire

As winter slowly begins to fade, we often find ourselves needing just a little warmth about the neck, and a look at the scarf patterns bubbling up to the top of Ravelry's "hot right now" view show that many of them have a couple of things in common: they are long and skinny, and they are made with really wonderful fibers. Because many of them are clearly accessories, rather than full size scarves, the time and yardage required is more modest.

Olga Putano's Distance Scarf is pictured above (and is also available in a DK version); other beautiful options include the Sophie Scarf (knit), the small size of the Weekend Waffle Shawl (crochet), Scarflette (knit), A New Path Scarf (crochet), My Little Lace Scarf (knit), and more.

As for yarn options, these are perfect opporunities to use a bit of cashmere (Lamb & Goat, Smooshy Cashmere, Essence of Autummn Heather Sport/DK); a fingering held with a mohair/silk blend (Purl Talk Fuzzy Thinking and You Soxy Thing are dyed to match); a silk blend like Malabrigo Susurro or Symfonie Luna; or any of our hand-dyed Merino wools (Kim Dyes Yarn Brioche DK, Madelinetosh Tosh DK, Farm Twist, or Tosh Merino Light, Baby Cat Yarns, or Apple Fiber Studios Gala).

...currently stitching

A few short rows, and then the hem edging (same as the neckline and sleeves). Will Autumn Alpine be finished by the official end of the makealong? Maybe!

Over the weekend, I made a sample of Tin Can Knits' Beloved bonnet (sized for babies through adults--the shop sample is the toddler size). I used Vintage Baby Handpaints with a new carry-along yarn, Bella Pom Pom. It adds vivid color, and the mini poms give the finished fabric a fun texture. There's plenty left over to test it out with different yarn weights 🤔 (Baby mannequin heads: still weird!)