Naloa KAL starting this Saturday Aug… 30th…!!

This last month has been a huge roller coaster ride for me as I have moved house/city and have relocated next to the British seaside! Your parcel of yarn-y goodness will now be winging to you from the lovely Hastings:

Hastings castle on the day I arrived!

With all the moving palava I realised only the other day that I’d made an error on the Naloa KAL start date. Huge apologies for the confusion…  We will be casting on TOMORROW – Saturday August 30^th, running to  Saturday October 4^th.

BEYUL fingering shown in ‘yurt’ and ‘turquoise tarn’ colourways , image © EastLondonKnit

There are still kits for the shawl on the shop…

Naloa by EastLondonKnit – detail, shades of BEYUL image © Kettle Yarn Co.

…and see the KAL group page for details of all the fantastic prizes!

I can’t wait to pick this project back up! The shawl will be my holiday knitting as I am taking a full 2 weeks off starting Sunday.

If you order any yarn after tomorrow please be aware that shipping will be delayed until September 16th while I am on leave.

 

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Naloa shawl inspiration from EastLondonKnit

The ELK, herself, EastLondonKnit, has been kind enough to offer to help me out for the next few weeks as I am swamped with some personal stuff! Here she is for her first post, discussing her inspiration for Naloa! Thanks Renee!

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Hello!

When Linda told me she had a new, exotic yarn base made of silk and yak and that she was working on a palette for this new yarn inspired by Tibetan traditions, I was so excited!  The richness of tone and hue were visually intoxicating and I was only too happy to design something to compliment the beautiful combo of yarn and colour.

 

After much debate, we decided the undyed Yurt and the gorgeous Turquoise Tarn were destined to be a new shawl.

 

Now I have never been to the Himalayas, so I have no idea how accurate Google’s depiction of the beauty of the place is, but it looks stunning.

 

This is a Himalayan Tarn from Adam Elliot’s superb photography blog.

A beautiful image of a tarn from my neck of the woods.

I love the naturally bright blue green of the tarn against the stark, rocky mountain landscape, and took the water as my inspiration.

 

The summer-time weather dictated something lovely and lacy.  For this shawl, I wanted the ‘work’ to be right-side only— in other words, every WS row would be simple purling; I wanted the rivulets that radiated from the centre all the way to edges to create a distinct and easy-to-follow structure, and I wanted some variation on simple stripes. I began to swatch…

 

…and sketch….

 

 

And it wasn’t long before it came together. In the end, I think I managed a shawl that is enjoyable but not complicated to knit, which shows off a gorgeous yarn.

Naloa shawl by EastLondonKnit, image © EastLondonKnit

Happy knitting!

Renee

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You can find Renee on her website or blog and follow her on Twitter or Instagram.!

Naloa shawl now available – and impromtu London trunk show!

Renee Callahan’s breathtaking Naloa shawl is now available for purchase on Ravelry! A simple, elegant shawl, this is a top-down triangular shawl with streams of stacked eyelets running out from the centre to wavelets of lace in the border. Designed to be knit with 2 skeins of BEYUL fingering, Naloa features a simple alternation of colour to bring out the beautiful flow of the lace pattern.

As a little added bonus for anyone in the London area this weekend we are also holding at mini-trunk show at the EastLondonKnit studios for the annual arts festival Hackney Wicked:

You can drop by, enjoy the festivities, try on the sample and even purchase some Kettle Yarn Co. yarn to start the shawl! Renee will have some BEYUL in studio for you to see and fondle in person.

 

We are planning a marvelous Knit A Long (KAL) for this beauty which will start on Saturday August 9th and will run to the 13th September and will have some AMAZING prizes for various fun things. We’ll give you more details next week when we’ve worked them out.

Check the blog for details next week and get your Naloa Kit now in the shop while they last. I am planning on taking a bit of a break from dyeing through August, so skeins are limited for the time being!

yurt / turquoise tarn

yurt / electric amaranth

yurt / iceberg

yurt / sacred saffron

Unveiling my Veil

I’ve been knitting up a storm lately in preparation for the summer shows and  have gotten a bit behind with sharing. My most recent FO is the stunning Veil of Leithen shawl by talented designer Renee Callahan, otherwise known as EastLondonKnit:

I knit this beauty up in less than one skein my new, delicious yak blend BEYUL in colourway Yurt  – which I still haven’t had time to announce properly, but will get around to it in the next few weeks…I promise!

This summer shawl is a lovely top down mesh which finishes in a subtle lace edging knit on all at once.

A mix of the softest yak down, silk, and superwash Merino this blend is just perfect for this delicate shawl. You can see the delicate yak down halo and subtle lustre on the yarn in the photo below!

Renee is currently hosting a KAL with prizes in the Unwind group Ravelry page so you can join in there to win and see FOs.  You can also wear your Veil of Leithen at Unwind Brighton on the 12th/13th July for a chance of winning a prize at the show!

Warm things on the way…

I have been working hard to get a quick knit kit together for our next KAL – a super simple, and QUICK, Brioche Hat!! Shown with pom or without below, the pattern is unisex and can be made as a beanie or slouch hat for those last people on your xmas list. Note: This pattern is free for a limited time with any purchase of Kettle Yarn Co. Aran yarn!

 

The pattern is nearly ready for release and I hope to have some ready to hand out with yarn purchases at the Pompom party on Dec 6th!  It is a really quick knit and should knit up in a few hours…the prototype in size medium took 2 nights and this is while working out kinks, so should be much faster for you!

The kits will include a mini skein of fingering for the pompom in a contrasting colour and one of 3 Kettle Yarn Co Aran yarns – or you can just go for the solo skein for the non-pom option:

Lomond Aran – a buttery soft fluffy blend with  a gorgeous halo (pictured in the prototype photos on this page)
60% Baby Alpaca
30% Merino
10% Bamboo

Banff Aran – a slightly more wooly/sturdy blend, which still has a bit of downy Alpaca halo
55% British Bluefaced Leicester/ 45% Baby Alpaca

Or for those of you needing superwash hats:

Wimbledon Aran – a smoother, more compact blend of soft warmth
100% Superwash Merino

I’ve started a Brioche Hat KAL thread on the Kettle Ravelry group page, so if you are interested in taking part and want your yarn asap for gift knitting, leave a message and we’ll get you sorted out with a kit!

Nov 1st = knit along!

Today is the big launch day for the first Kettle Yarn Co. KAL of the beautiful Charm shawl by Juju Vail!

[photo: Juju Vail]

My lovely moderators and I have got some tutorial-type, in-depth instructions to help everyone start on the group pages and will be on hand to offer any help needed if you have a question.

There are more lovely fingering, sport and heavier yarns being added to the shop this weekend that will work for this pattern…a handful of brights:

[Westminster fingering]

A slew of pseudo neutrals:

[clockwise starting with the big image – a new hand-painted Westminster fingering  – ‘Median’, 100% British SW Bluefaced Leicester DK OOAK, and Islington fingering – ‘Nutkin]

And some heavier weights for warmth:

[Above, BFL/Alpaca Aran – OOAK grey/rose, more Wimbledon sport – ‘Tournament’ grey, and Kensington fingering- ‘Denbigh’.] 

..it’s never to late to start!

Charm KAL and shop update

I had the good fortune the other day to try on the ‘small’, one skein, size of the shawl at Loop on Thursday. Not only did I get to try it on and discuss its construction with the designer herself, but Juju , bless her, then spent a goodly amount of time taking photos of me and finally managed to catch me not gurning! Amazing!

As you can see in the photo, the small is remarkably large and the crescent shape makes it perfect for covering that vulnerable v in most jackets that always leaves your neck freezing in cold weather. I think it even wrapped around three times!

I also found out when talking to Juju that the shawl is knit all-in-one, so there is no adding the trim at the end – perfect for lazy knitters like me – and much quicker for holiday gifts! Though she did say it would be very easy to stripe the body of the shawl and have a solid border, or to hold two yarns together for the body and one for the edge, like I’ve been thinking of doing all along.

For those of you that might of missed it I updated the shop on Saturday and there are now more fingering colours available for the Charm Knit A Long starting November 1st. There is more ISLINGTON and KENSINGTON and, last minute, I even dyed up some WESTMINSTER hand painted with a new colourway for the KAL (Hyde green shown below):

KENSINGTON – Barkerville

CAMBRIDGE – Felix

WESTMINSTER -Brunel

ISLINGTON – Magdelene

WESTMINSTER – Hyde

WESTMINSTER -Florence

I know there are a few new people joining in the KAL and if you haven’t seen the group page already, check it out! Can’t wait to start!

Pairing, pairing and more pairing…

So my mind has been whirring with choices for the Charm knit-a-long (KAL) and I am still undecided on what yarn(s) to knit mine in. I think it is just the issue of an ’embarrassment of riches’ and having way too many choices. ;-?

But as promised the other day, here are yet more yarn pairs to help you if you are having the same problem…

A strand of this warm golden caramel lace Westminster (Cardamom) held with the BFL/Alpaca light fingering would make for a subtly blended yellow . The fabric quality will be beautifully drapey and very warm. I’d finish the edging with the grey but you could try either.

I have several different shades of yellow dyed up for the update this coming Saturday, and yellow/grey is one of my absolute favourite combos! How about a Kensington mustard yellow (Wells – will be posting this to the shop on Saturday Oct 19th) and an edging in a shimmering Islington grey (Blighty)? The Kensington in the body would be warm and full, while the silky edging would give it a nice finish:

For all us green lovers holding a strand of spongy Falkland (left) with a strand of lighter Bloosmbury green in the crescent will create a lightly marled effect with a thicker, spongy and warm fabric. You could then edge with either the light green lace or the darker fingering.

Then a super luxurious option I have been considering for my mother…a large size in Westminster Butternut with an Islington Blighty edging! Super drapey and luxurious to wrap around and around like a big, warm hug!

I will leave it there for today but will try to get more pairs with the new batch of yarns ready to show you next week! If you missed my past posts on yarn pairing you can see more examples under the ‘yarn pairing’ category. Remember if there is something specific you are after, just email me through the blog and let me know.

Happy planning, all!

First Kettle knit-a-long!

For those of you who haven’t been following along on the Kettle Yarn Co. Ravelry group chatter we have decided to start a knit-a-long (KAL) to share some fun and help each other along while knitting up Juju Vail’s beautiful new shawl Charm!

A simple garter shawl with some lovely details this pattern is going to be great for some quick holiday gift knitting! This pattern will look great in a number of different weights with all that garter and there are two sizes which use either one skein or 2 of fingering weight, so more options for all of us.

I am toying with the idea of using Islington in light silver blue/grey ‘Vestige‘ for the crescent with the warmer, woolier natural Bloomsbury edging. Think this would be a subtly stunning classic with a traditional feel, the shine and drape of the Vestige contrasting with the fluffier crunch of the Bloomsbury lace edge.

Or a little bit more of a contrast Islington in a deeper grey ‘Blighty’ crescent with a fluffy lighter grey BFL/Alpaca lace edging perhaps… And thinking for both of these first two you could reverse the colours and get 2 small shawls (ie. One with dark crescent/light edge, and other with light crescent/dark edge)? One for you, and one to gift? Just the way I like it! OR you could stripe the two colours across the body of the shawl and use one for the edge…

Another similar pairing option  with a bit more zing, perhaps? Pair Bloomsbury ‘Coram’ green held together with Islington ‘Brunswick‘ teal— and then a Brunswick edging?

But then I think how beautiful and slightly more edgy/young/hip the shawl would be in a simple crisp, delicate lace like Bloomsbury in  screamingly bright blue ‘Montague‘.

Then….THEN another part of me wants to knit up a simple, one colour, super fat, squishy Charm with some Wimbledon sport weight in ‘Darwin‘!

Oh no. I am doing it again, aren’t I?? I have taken more shots of possible yarn pairs for this project and will post suggestions over the next few weeks, as this post is getting out of control! Can you tell how excited I am about this KAL?

We’ll be casting on November 1st, so pull out your Kettle Yarn Co. skeins and join us then! More chatter on the group pages…