Aimee Alexander Designs

The exciting Polkadotsheep event  is that Aimee Alexander has decided to launch a designer group on Ravelry. For those of you who may not know, Aimee is the owner of the Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe and Polkadotsheep.com. She is also a talented designer. The Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe Ravelry group has been the place to go to for support with Aimee’s pattern and it still will be that. But Aimee decided that it was time for her patterns to have their very own home on Ravelry.

So join Aimee in the Ravelry group, Designs by Aimee Alexander! There will be many familiar faces there if you have spent anytime in our Ravelry group. But there are a lot of unfamiliar (to me) faces as well. Aimee has designed many lovely baby blankets and I am discovering there are a lot of dedicated blanket knitters. I have spent the week looking at those projects. The group project pages will only be featuring Aimee’s designs. We are hoping this will be the go to resource for questions and inspiration. The group will eventually feature threads on each of Aimee’s designs (a work in progress) and sneak peeks of upcoming designs.

The Sea of Dreams KAL continues to move along well. A few participants have finished their blankets. Some have just joined us. We have had some great discussions of strategies for knitting lace. The praises of highlighter tape has been sung by someone other than myself. Here is a list of items that participants have added to their tool kits since they cast on for the KAL.

• Highlighter Tape
• Clover Split Ring Markers
• Blocking Wires (call the Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe to order, 888.262.6396)
• Chart Keeper

It is amazing how much the right tools can enhance your knitting experience. On the best way to make your knitting better is using the right needles for the job. For many, when knitting lace, sharp tips of needles are a must. If you have been bitten by the lace knitting bug, I recommend a Addi Clicks Lace or Lace long tips Kits. These kits are not exactly the same. So you need to consider your knitting and your usual choice of projects and read the product descriptions. Even if you aren’t that into knitting lace but know you like your needles to have pointy tips, these are the needles for you.

Addi Clicks Lace – long tips

I have been knitting on my Sea of Dreams blanket and my son’s birthday sweater. I must admit due to other unplanned circumstances, my son’s sweater might not be done by his birthday. To be honest, I am hoping it is too warm to wear sweaters by the end of this month (it has been rather chilly where I am the past two weeks). But we observed two bluebird pairs in front of our house last week, so I know it is spring!

Happy Knitting!

~Angela M.

Announcing the arrival of Malabrigo Rios

Frome top L clockwise: Lavanda, Lettuce, Pearl Ten, and Arco Iris

We are thrilled to be stocking Malabrigo Rios here at the Polkadotsheep and Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe. Rios has been a hit ever since it came onto the market. The fact that there are over 14,000 projects knit in it and has been stashed over 9,000 times on Ravelry attests to its wide appeal and use.

Rios is 100% superwash merino wool and worsted weight. Being from Malabrigo yarns, it is soft and comes in many kettle dyed  colors, both semi-solid and variegated. Currently we have 12 colors in stock but will continue to add to that number.  As a plied yarn, Rios will be a durable yarn with great stitch definition. It is also a great value for a hand dyed superwash yarn at only $13.65 for 210 yards.

A common remark about Rios is that it is a great yarn for kids. Adding machine washable 100% wool warmth to Malbrigo’s signature vibrant colors is a winning combination for children’s garments.

Is one of your knitting or crocheting goals for 2013 to knit a sweater for yourself or one of your family members? Malabrigo Rios would be a perfect yarn to use to meet that goal. So dig out all the patterns you have been mentally queuing that has a gauge of 4.5 to 5.5 stitches per inches and decide what color you love the most, then get knitting on that knitting goal before the end of January. That way you have plenty of time to knit or crochet with Rios for the rest of the year.

Another great project to use Rios is a baby blanket. Moms will appreciate that it is washable and babies will love being snuggly warm. Here is some of blanket designs from our popular blanket patterns designed by Aimee Alexander (click pictures for more information and purchase).

Rocky Coastline Blanket by Aimee Alexander

Harvest Moon Blanket by Aimee Alexander

Candyland Blanket by Aimee Alexander

Come on over to Polkadotsheep or go into the Knit ‘n Needle Yarn Shoppe to see all the currently available Rios colors.

I am planning to make my mother in law a new slouchy hat from Rios. So stay tuned for the color she choose and project progress.

Happy Knitting!

~Angela M.