Unwind - Knitting for your body and mind

Thursday Knit-Alongs with Stephanie and WIPS!

I have definitely been on a project-starting kick in the last few months. I can't help it when there are so many new yarns coming to the store. I want to be able to tell you all personally what I think about each and every one of them. So I start projects that span the range from lace weight to chunky. And I do love each yarn so much. I know you will too. But then the problems arise -- I start getting antsy to finish a project. Yet nothing is far enough along to be near that 'almost finished feeling."

So won't you help me get some of these lovelies completed by joining me for Thursday night knit-along with Stephanie? Not only do I promise to stay sitting and knit with you, but we can egg each other on to get some stuff finished. And if I get up to say hi to a customer or to walk with my knitting, don't hold it against me. The girl can't help it.

Here is some of what I'll be finishing come Thursday nights:

The second in the Baudelaire pair. Adapted from Baudelaire in Knitty to fit Mia's little foot.

The second in the Spring Grass pair by Craftoholic to fit my bigger foot.
Steph of Craftoholic has given permission to share the pattern with you. Let's make it the September/October Sock-of-the-Month. Mine is knit in Rowan 4 Ply Soft. What will you make yours in? Click the link for the pattern. Charts are available in the store with yarn purchase. Just ask.

I've been a fan of Rowan's 4 Ply Soft for years but never had the pleasure of wearing it on my feet. It's what I like to call merino with squish.
If you've worked with Lana Grossa Bingo or the Filatura Zara line, then you know the possibilities of 4 Ply Soft. It comes in Rowan's range of rich, earthy hues and makes your stitches look GREAT. And you must love a yarn that produces great-looking stitches.

Looks much better on "His Feet" than on mine.

The second sock of the "His Sock" pair. Ron has been waiting MONTHS for the second sock. He was skeptical about wearing hand-knit socks
(the louse) until he saw and felt the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the "Jeans" colorway. Now he's practically begging for me to finish them. If you join us for knit-along Thursdays, I'll be able to finish, and my marriage will remain intact. Plus the Lorna's colors and hand is smooth and begs to be knit. Two skeins makes most pairs of socks. We love Lorna's!

That pretty much takes care of the unfinished socks.
I'm saving a photo of the very small bit of my newest sock project for another post, lest you think me totally insane.

We Didn't Drink This Kool-AId

Our Kool-Aid yarn dye workshop with Pam Wheat was so much fun, I had to share some pictures!

Our first attempts were in tiny practice hanks.

We had started with Gems Merino fingering weight yarn that we soaked in a cooler.

And then Elaine, Nancy, Lynne, Mary, Camille, Sherry, Rochelle, Pam and I brushed,

dipped and squeezed,

sprinkled and painted

our way to some truly beautiful hanks. At least as much fun as getting wet and colorful was seeing the creativity pour out of one another!

And by afternoon's end, we were inspired, relaxed, excited to get home and knit our yarn, and smelling of Kool-Aid.

We're repeating the workshop on Saturday, August 19 from 1:00 - 3:15 p.m.
Check out our website for all of the details www.unwindyarn.com/classes.

Hope you'll join us for all of the fun and unwinding!

Krislyn's Shawl

When one of our most creative customers, Krislyn Moore, got her hands on these beautiful yarns from Southwest Trading Company,
texture and color came together in this stunning shawl. The "Krislyn Shawl" is the ultimate, all seasons wrap. It's a 92 degree day today in sunny Southern California, and I was wearing this beauty over a simple black tank dress earlier today.

Krislyn looked in her stash and added about 65 yards of a slightly furry black yarn as a contrast to this colorway to make this voluminous version.
I'm a reasonably ample gal, and there is plenty of room to wrap and tie the shawl.
You can also use only the yarns in the kit to knit up a slightly smaller wrap.

The pattern is included with the kit, so all you need are US 15 needles, and you can have this lovely item for your own.
Six colorways are available, and with $45 worth of yarn at the closeout price of $27, you can't go wrong.

PINK

NEUTRAL

RED

BLUES

BLUES & GREENS

PURPLES

Knit Along with Unwind!

Spring is here, and summer is on the way. What do I knit? What to crochet?

Here are some projects that we had great fun doing up.
Join us at Unwind to make one or all at knit-alongs on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. throughout May & June.

Internet customers who are interested in any of these projects, please shoot us off an email, and we'll get you information including pricing, colors etc. We're sorry that these items are not yet on the web shop, but they will be.

This is Brigitte designed by French Girl Patterns.
Looks like crochet , but it's actual knitted from the top down on big needles. Wear it over a tank top or t-shirt with jeans or a great summer skirt.
The whole thing takes 4 - 5 balls of Rowan Cotton Braid (we've got four great colors in stock) and including the pattern costs $51.50 or less.

This is the luscious Silky Tie Wrap in ArtYarns Regal Silk and Silk Mohair. One our great customers, Krislyn, helped to finish it.
The pattern is part of an article in the Spring issue of Vogue Knitting. It's a fun piece to make, because the silk yarns slip through your fingers -- there is nothing like silk -- the play of the laceweight mohair against the silk is perfect, plus there is no sewing up.
The wrap uses ArtYarns Modular Knitting method which is fun and easy to master.

And to crochet.... one Be Sweet Ribbon Ball makes this adorable hat and scarf set!
Although those who see it always think it's for my daughter, I actually wanted it for me.
Ribbon Ball has all of those cute little ribbons tied right into the yarn.
Add a bit of yarn from your stash for the flower on the hat, grab and H hook, and you're set to go.

Crochet along this great set on Tuesday and Thursday nights in May and June from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. with Dez at the shop.
Pick up your Ribbon Ball and pattern at Unwind.

The MTA Sweater

A few weeks back I gave Karyn a challenge. Using one of our new closeout yarns, Duna, design the perfect top for Spring/Summer. Make it one that would flatter many figures and be fun to knit without complications. And by gosh, she did it.

And here it is -- The MTA Raglan! The raglan knits up in a flash in an aran weight cotton/acrylic blend yarn. The seed stitch columns in the body make the sweater flattering without any shaping. And the yarn makes it light as a feather. It's the perfect sweater for a brisk day out on the beach or waiting for the bus.

With seven sizes for busts from 34" - 44.5", the entire sweater can be made for $36 or less!! Can you believe it? Duna is available for $2.99/ball while supplies last. The MTA raglan pattern is available at the retail shop and soon to be online for $6.00. If you would like to buy the pattern online at www.unwindyarn.com/shop, let us know in the comments field of the order page, and we'll add the pattern to your order.

Quantities of Duna are as follows:

Bust Size # of Duna

34" 6 balls
35.5" 6 balls
37" 8 balls
39" 8 balls
41" 10 balls
42.5" 10 balls
44.5" 10 balls

Come on in, grab your pattern and yarn, and get started on this great summer top!

One Skein At A Time

Rochelle was working at Unwind one day, minding her own business, and then...

ONE SKEIN has inspired me.

It’s been awhile since I was truly inspired. After finishing a particularly large afghan last month, I’ve been dragging my feet over finding new projects. I wasn’t burnt out, just not quite sure where to begin again.

When ONE SKEIN came in this month, though, I hit inspiration pay dirt—tons of truly great projects. Some were practical, some were innovative, some were simply fun, but all were exciting. Best of all, the idea of “one skein” means affordable!
I flipped through the book saying to myself, “I want to make this and this, I need to make this and this, and I absolutely must make this and this and this,” knowing that I had the means, the ability, the time and the desire to do so. Naturally I immediately began work on no less than four new knitting endeavors.
My current queue of projects include:

1) Fabulous Cabled Footies (which is my first foray into the cable world) using 1 skein of Lorna’s Laces shepherd worsted;
2) Felted Bowls using 1 skein of Cascade 220 (yes, I said felted bowls);

3) Two baby hats using 1 skein of Rowan Cashsoft DK; and
4) The knitted Labyrinth Circle Rug using all my worsted weight stash yarn and remnants.
And I’m knitting them at the same time!

Honestly, I’ll work 10 rows on the footies -- enough for two complete cables -- then switch and knit a few stripes on my rug, then a few rows of the hat or the bowls, then start all over again. I already have one footie done and am starting the second!

Clearly I can’t help but gush my affection for this book. Luckily, Unwind is having a ONE SKEIN-along every Saturday in March, so I cannot only gush with fellow ONE SKEIN-aholics over this great book but also be inspired by fellow knitters.
Can’t wait to see you Saturdays!

- Rochelle

Camille Shawl Kit in Fantastic New Colors!

Have you made the Camille Shawl yet?  Well we're introducing some amazing new colors to this super-easy, big needle warp.  From left to right -- wine/camel, lavender/purple, blue/aqua.

Gifts of the Month - Another in the 50 Projects Under $50

This is Glitter Alpaca from Cherry Tree Hill. 214 yards of luxurious hand-painted alpaca with a hint of glimmer for only $15/hank. Plus with each purchase, you can choose a pattern for a simple lace scarf (1 hank), lovely socks (2 hanks) or a stunning stole (3 hanks).
All amazing projects under $50.

Our March Gift of The Month Class is the 1 hank Glitter Alpaca Lace Scarf. If you haven't tried lace knitting before, this is the perfect opportunity. The yarn is a dream to work with; you get to use reasonable sized needles, and Karyn is the best knitting teacher in town -- is I do say so myself.

Of Knitted Babes and Little Girls

Oh Little Girls!

Doesn't seem to matter how much of the tomboy factor exists in any of them; if you show them a doll, they're hooked.

The other day, my four and a half year old daughter, Mia, picked up her first Barbie doll. Upon successfully ripping off all the creature's designer duds, Mia says to me, "Mommy, where's her baby-hole?"

I beg your pardon? I realized quickly that Mia may be ready for Barbie and all of her nearly anatomically correct parts, but I sure as shootin am NOT! So what does a mommy who is a knitter and yarn shop proprietress do? I bring Mia to Unwind and show her some Knitted Babes.

Thank goodness for the babes and their handcrafted loveliness. They seemed to erase any desire for questions about ladies' parts. What a relief! Of course, now I feel required to make her one...or two. :)

These simple beauties are very easy to knit. And what an amazing gift for the girl (of any age) in your life. The Babes have been visiting Unwind, and even though they are leaving soon and continuing their tour, Unwind is still in full Babe mode. Our first Knitted Babe workshop was a ton of fun. Students gathered together to work through the beginnings of constructing their Babes. Picking yarns, choosing wardrobes and more.

If you'd like to join in the fun, drop by Unwind to pick up the Knitted Babe pattern book. Or buy it online at www.unwindyarn.com/shop. And if you're interested in joining in another Knitted Babe Workshop, let us know at info@unwindyarn.com. We'll be happy to set one up.

And for those of you who wonder about my delightful girl, here is Miss Mia's first trip to the snow! Literally 15 minutes spent of the highway to Mt. Pinos along Interstate 5. She's trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue. Of course, you can tell it is Los Angeles, as someone left a Doritos bag in the background. It wasn't us!

Passion or Obsession

So this is Odessa. A one-ball wonder made in one of my favorite yarns -- RYC's CashSoft. One of our great customers, Barbara, showed us the pattern, designed by Grumperina. You can find the pattern on Mag Knits. You could also make a fabulous Odessa with Optimum DK which we've got on amazing closeout on the web shop at www.unwindyarn.com/shop

As soon as I saw it, I had to start knitting. No matter that I am in the middle of one of my over the top, too many projects at once modes. And I had been so good for awhile. Besides, Odessa would take me one evening to make, and then I'd have a cute hat for my new longer hair. I spent short breaks during the madness of Unwind's No Football Super Bowl Party fondling all the Cash Soft in the store. I settled on a deep wine color that Rowan calls "Opulence." So this would be my reward for a successful Super Bowl Party. (By the way, hope you gals all had fun. It certainly looked like you did. :) )

So I get home with my Opulence and my 16" size 6 circs. And I start knitting.

Now this is where we can question whether we're dealing with passion or obsession.

As many of you know, I do my best to relieve you all of the guilt of what you like to call your yarn obsessions. You'll come into the store, sneaking around, trying not to touch anything. And then you admit your "obsession." I almost always attempt to reframe that as your "passion."

Of course, now I'm caught myself, being obsessive over this darn beautiful Odessa.

Too tired after the long day of the Super Bowl Party, I really only got an inch or two done that first night. But the next day --oh the next day! I'm knitting along as my hubby and I are driving to an appointment. Nearly 5" of the hat is finished. The end is in sight. I can pop this thing on at any moment now. And then, NOoooooooooo. I forgot to bring the double points! And the scissors! And the yarn needle!!

My inner knitter won't stop chanting,"must finish hat, must finish hat, wear hat now, wear hat now!"

So, have you ever tried to turn a 16" circ into a magic loop? You should have seen me. Twisting and turning that silly needle, trying to work the decreases. Please, please, please can I finish.

We stopped to get coffee. Could I break some drinking straws, and use those as double points?! I looked around to see if anyone had noticed that I was losing my mind. Can you believe that I managed to use that darn circular all the way to the end of the hat?

Then the blasted scissors. I rummaged around in the glove box for anything that could cut the end of the yarn. Aha!! Plastic knife. Gnawing away at my beautiful yarn and finally the plastic broke through. Wove the end in with my fingers, and voila!

So the top of my hat is a bit gnarly. It's still a beautiful hat. And I still say I'm a passionate person, not obsessed.

But you be the judge.