Australian Superfine Merino by Cleckheaton – and a GIVEAWAY!

This month I had the opportunity to try out a new yarn – Cleckheaton's Australian Superfine Merino. It was such a treat to knit with these candy-colored brights! I found Cleckheaton's Superfine to be extremely soft and springy and a joy to knit with; it's silky and smooth and completely comfortable next to your skin. And this hat! It's pretty much perfect. As soon as I started knitting, my daughter asked if we could share it. HA. Definitely.

Australian Superfine Merino wool is recognized as one of the world's finest and is grown on specially bred Merino sheep that graze on sustainable grasslands. It is then lovingly twisted and dyed by the people at the Wangaratta Woollen Mills in rural Victoria. This magically soft merino warms you up in the cold and helps you feel cool when it's hot. But the best thing about this yarn is truly the softness.

This luxuriously soft and springy yarn comes in 30 amazing colorways – neutrals, brights and everything in between. You can see them all right here. The color combo I used to knit my 2 Colour Beanie was 14/Garnet and 52/Ice Green. Do you love this hat as much as I do? If so, you can download this awesome pattern for FREE.  :)

 

Another very cool bonus is the tag that comes with this yarn. First of all, it's letterpressed and completely beautiful. And! You can sew the ribbon to your knitted accessory/garment as a tag! Love that so much!

And if that's not enough eye candy for you today, check out all of the gorgeous patterns on the Cleckheaton Superfine website. Wow. Here are just a few of my favorites. (Visit to the website to download.)

GIVEAWAY TIME!

 

THE PRIZE

This super cool 'Knit It Yourself' Beanie kit!

Kit includes:

• 2 balls of Australian Superfine Merino yarn (in Cardboard and Cream)
• printed pattern
• project bag 

HOW TO ENTER

• Comment below telling me your favorite Australian Superfine Merino color(s).
• Like Cleckheaton Superfine on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. 

 

THE RULES

• Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only
• Giveaway is open until Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 11:30 PM CST.
• Comments must include a valid email address or Ravelry ID so I can contact you if you are the winner. :)
• Winner will be chosen via random number generator and will be contacted within 48 hours after giveaway ends.

A big thank you to Cleckheaton's Australian Superfine Merino for this wonderful giveaway. Good luck and thanks for reading! :)

Filigree

Lacy crochet + knit tops? Yes please. Take a look at this incredibly gorgeous preview of some of my favorite designs from Marie Wallin's new book 'Filigree.' This monochrome collection includes 10 designs using Summerlite, a new 4-ply Egyptian cotton yarn from Rowan. The combination of knit and crochet plus the genius construction of these garments is extraordinary. And you will absolutely love the photography in this book ... the flowers! Take a look.

Daisy

Hollyhock

Buttercup

Tulip

Rose

Lupin

Peony

Exquisite! If you're getting married or are attending a special event this spring, you absolutely must make Peony. It's mandatory. So gorgeous.

'Filigree' launches on Marie's website on Thursday, January 15th and will also be available from Rowan stockists soon. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

about

Hey! I'm Jen. Thanks for stopping by. 

If you've just landed here, this blog is mostly about crafting. Knitting. Concerts and music. (I might be the biggest metal-head you'll ever meet.) 

I am a graphic designer, a knitter, a blogger and a maker. By day, I am a stay-at-home mom and at night, I knit and work on freelance design projects. I'm passionate about sharing the love of knitting by teaching knitting classes in local high schools and workshops. I'm a huge fan of heavy metal and punk rock. And I like to travel and visit my friends who live far away. Architecture, graphic design, photography, fashion, typography and music serve as my inspiration. (Lots of music.)


SOME OF MY FAVORITE POSTS

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• Sometimes I am compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I receive compensation for the posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.
• This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

 

SEEN HERE

A vest for Noro Magazine

Photos by Rose Callahan and Paul Amato for LVARepresents.com

Ready for a dose of color? Check out the beauties in Noro Magazine Fall/Winter 2014. I was fortunate enough to design an oversized vest for this issue, which I spent lots of time working on last summer. (Which seems like ages ago!) Once again, it was such a thrill to ever-so-carefully pack up my knitted creation into a box and mail it off to New York City, and then wait to see how it would be photographed. Here it is, below.

 

Photos by Paul Amato for LVARepresents.com

Fun, right? This vest uses Noro Silk Garden Solo and Silk Garden Lite held together. Want to see more? Feast your eyes on these gorgeously colorful designs featured in the magazine. Noro's colorways are always so incredibly magnificent.

Photos by Rose Callahan and Paul Amato for LVARepresents.com

You can pick up your copy of Noro Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 at your local bookstore, craft store or yarn shop. (I happen to collect issues of Noro Magazine because they're full of such beautiful projects and I'm thrilled to add this one to my bookshelf!)

Still

My three favorite things this winter are: hot Tazo Passion tea, knitting while watching 'Lilyhammer' on Netflix, and looking at pattern collections by Kim Hargreaves. HA. But seriously, check out 'Still' by Kim Hargreaves. This soft and cozy collection includes 21 designs using Rowan Brushed Fleece, Mohair Haze, Kidsilk Haze, Fine Lace, Kid Classic, Kidsilk Haze Stripe, Cocoon, Lima, Felted Tweed DK and Felted Tweed Aran. Here are some of my favorites. 

Comfort

 Cold

 Darkness

 

Cosy (sweater) and Mist (hat)

 Hushed

Comfort (cardigan) and Mist (hat)

 Black

 Light

Mist

 

 Intense

 Tranquil

 Silence

'Still' is available at Kim's website and also at local knitting shops. Such a phenomenal collection;  gorgeous and soft. This might make a lovely gift for any knitter on your holiday list, fyi. Happy December!

You can purchase the book on Kim's website or at your local knitting shop. - See more at: http://knitionary.blogspot.com/2014/10/still.html#sthash.NIjh4a5I.dpuf

Wool and the Gang Snood Workshop

Few things make me happier than knitting with friends, so I was super stoked to have another chance to host a Wool and the Gang workshop here in Des Moines. It's hard to beat chilling out with fifteen of your friends on a snowy day, eating snacks and chatting the afternoon away.

The Des Moines Social Club was our headquarters once again and that sunshine coming through the windows felt lovely.



Our project was a snood, which could be knit in three different stitch patterns. We all chose our favorite shade of Crazy Sexy Wool and boom – snoods were born.

Snacks were eaten. (Duh.)

 

And the friends were chillin.

It was so much fun and now we all have something to keep us warm during this cold, snowy holiday season. Stay tuned because I'm hoping we'll do this again soon! Stay toasty and have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Ferris

A new hat for me! I've picked out five different things I want to make from Rowan's Big Accessories collection (because who doesn't like a project that you can whip up in an evening/weekend?) The first thing I had to make was this awesome hat, Ferris.

Ferris was designed by Sarah Hatton using Alpaca Chunky. (I used shade 73/Pigeon.) This was a super quick knit and if you're not familiar with this yarn, it is softer than soft. It has a rounded chain construction which gives it a bit of stretch and makes it incredibly lightweight, but it's also very, very warm. This hat uses exactly one ball of Alpaca Chunky and I'm in love with all of the natural colorways that are available. 

The next project I want to knit from this collection is Bandit, which is a super cool cowl with fur trim on the cover of Big Accessories. Check it out – it's so neat! What's on your needles right now? The time (and the weather) is right for knitting.

Rowan Loves

Wow, right? I just received a new stack of gorgeous Rowan publications on my doorstep, and I wanted to share this collection right off the bat. It's called 'Rowan Loves Kidsilk Haze & Felted Tweed' by Sarah Hatton, and it's kind of a big deal because this book is like no other. All 9 designs can be knitted in either Felted Tweed DK – or – Kidsilk Haze (held single or double) and all of the designs can be customized. It's so much fun to see the two yarn usage options and dream of all the possibilities. Just look...

9 designs, all classics with updated twists, have multiple options for customizing.  Plus every pattern can either be knit in Felted Tweed DK for a more casual look, or for a more glam look, knit in Kidsilk Haze single or doubled. - See more at: http://www.knitionary.blogspot.com/#sthash.eg84eO4D.dpuf

all 9 designs, all classics with updated twists, have multiple options for customizing.  Plus every pattern can either be knit in Felted Tweed DK for a more casual look, or for a more glam look, knit in Kidsilk Haze single or doubled. - See more at: http://www.knitionary.blogspot.com/#sthash.eg84eO4D.dpuf

all 9 designs, all classics with updated twists, have multiple options for customizing.  Plus every pattern can either be knit in Felted Tweed DK for a more casual look, or for a more glam look, knit in Kidsilk Haze single or doubled. - See more at: http://www.knitionary.blogspot.com/#sthash.eg84eO4D.dpuf

Sarah Hatton.nd it's a particularly unique collection because

The first pic (top) is of 'Gemma' knit in Kidsilk Haze ... and here is 'Gemma' in Felted Tweed DK. I love both looks! (Do you see how much fun this is?)

This is 'Karla' in Felted Tweed DK and 'Kate' in Kidsilk Haze.

Here's 'Kate' again, but in Felted Tweed DK and with a contrast edging + alternate neckline! 

 

This is 'Andrea' in Felted Tweed DK with long sleeves.

 

 And here's an adorable short-sleeved version of 'Andrea' in Kidsilk Haze.

Check out 'Jamie' in this gorgeous blue shade of Kidsilk Haze, called 'Trance.'

And this comfy, cozy version of 'Jamie' in Felted Tweed DK.

 

But 'Rowan Loves' isn't all sweaters! Check out 'Davina,' a gorgeous wrap.

 And 'Paula,' a hat that would look fantastic in both yarns.

You can pick up a copy of 'Rowan Loves Kidsilk Haze & Felted Tweed' at your local Rowan stockist or look for it amongst the many yarn shops online. And keep an eye out for more 'Rowan Loves' books in the future – we've heard that this will become a series. I've been poring over new Rowan designs each night before bed and I can't wait to share more soon!

Rowan Loves by Sarah Hatton will be available soon at your Rowan stockist, if not there already. Rowan Felted Tweed DK and Rowan Kidsilk Haze are very popular yarns and very easy to find.  Your local Rowan stockist will most likely carry a good selection.  My local yarn store, Uncommon Threads in Los Altos is always my first option, support your LYS!  If you don't have that option, there are many many many excellent online stores you can visit worldwide.  

I heard from Rowan that there will be a series of books called Rowan Loves.  I don't know what yarns they will be loving next, but as soon as I know, you'll know!

- See more at: http://www.knitionary.blogspot.com/#sthash.eg84eO4D.dpuf

knitXmidwest 2014

Ah! I'm so sad that our wonderful weekend of knitting is over! Last weekend was the second annual knitXmidwest knitting and crochet retreat, held right here in Des Moines. I co-hosted alongside these wonderful ladies, Jessica and Erica of Hill Vintage & Knits. Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend, taken by our talented pal Bethany Kohoutek.

 

 

 

It was so much fun, you guys. If you couldn't make it this year, definitely plan for it next November because this is truly a weekend you can't miss. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to knit and crochet with us! See you again next year. xo.