Cashmere Cast on Party: Sept 8th
We brought in some amazingly lovely yarns that are 100% cashmere or cashmere blends.  Cashmere is expensive, and can be a little tricky to work with so we wanted to give you a head start!

Cashmere is a luxury fiber for several reasons.  Cashmere comes from goats - really any kind of goat!  Most often it comes from Mongolian goats.  But what makes it cashmere is the softness and the micron count.  Cashmere is gathered from the underbelly of the goats in the warm undercoat they develop in really cold winters.  The harsher the climate, the yummier the cashmere.  With such a small amount per goat harvested each year, it is a rare yarn.  But scarcity alone does not make it one of the most sought after fibers.  Cashmere is very light weight and insulating.  Yet is breathes beautiful and wicks moisture away from the body.  The fiber is hollow which traps the air close to your body.  This can keep you warmer or cooler - in most places, one can wear cashmere year round (perhaps not the Inland Empire of SoCal!).

The drawback of the yarn, for hand knitters, is there is very little memory.  This means that every inconsistent stitch will be seen.  A few thoughts: knit with the material of needle that gives you the greatest control.  If your knits and purls are of different sizes, make your cashmere item in the round.  Add some texture so the piece is not 100% stockinette allow the eye to not find every inconsistency.  But even if your stitches are not perfect, you will LOVE the item!







YARNIVAL Class Schedule

Matching and Flexible Cast on and Bind offs with Ann Budd July 6th
While we may use a longtail cast on for 90% of what we do, there are times that you want the beginning and end of your knitting to match.  And times when you need them to be stretchy.  And how fun is it that there is an overlap of these two goals!  This is a two part class with a detailed handout.  Click here to register.

Intro to Landscape Embroidery with Rosanna Diggs July 7th
Embroidery is making a serious comeback!  If you are new to it or need a refresher, this is a great class.  The class includes a kit with everything you need!  Rosanna designs and creates the kits as well as teaches this fun class.  Click here to register.

Color Theory for Knitters and Crocheters with Yoriko Oki July 9th
Most of us love shopping for yarn and adding to our stash!  But choosing just the right color for a project can be tricky!  How do you choose colors to go with variegated yarns?  How do you make sure something will be blendy vs contrasty.  And so much more!! Yorkio Oki is a yarn dyer - with really lovely color sense! Click here to register.

Toe Up Sock with Roxanne Chavez July 10th & 17th
Roxanne is teaching a beginning level toe up sock.  It is in fingering weight yarn with small needles so please be sure that you are comfortable with small yarns.  This calls is ideal for existing sock knitters that want to try a toe up sock.  Click here to register.

Intermediate Embroidery with Rosanna Diggs July 11th
Rosanna Diggs is back teaching an intermediate level embroidery class.  You should feel comfortable with the basic stitches in embroidery or have taken one of her introductory classes before.  We are making a Stitch Sampler Pineapple.  Click here to Register.

Mitered Madness with Barry Klein July 13th and 20th
This class is not just about how to knit mitered squares.  In typical Barry Klein fashion, he takes this simple subject and dives deep.  You will learn all the ins and outs of mitered squares and how to design with them.  Several patterns are also part of the class.  Click here to register.

Granny Square Construction and More with Maridee Dangcil July 15th
Learn how to make two distinctly different types of granny squares.  While making them you will learn how to choose yarn for crochet projects, how to block, and how to seam.  All while making a lovely poncho!  Click here to register.

My First Crochet Top with Molly Conroy July 21st, 23rd, 28th, and August 8th
This 4 part class is designed to help crocheters crochet their first garment.  Molly will walk you through all the basics - choosing yarn and sizes.  How to create a schematic if the pattern doesn't have one and then use it to adjust the pattern.  And more!  Click here to register

Using Shirbori Techniques for Dyeing Yarn with Lisa Teichgraeber and Brigid Kumler July 22nd
Lisa and Brigid bring their creativity and technical knowledge out to play in this fun dye demo.  It is not just and every day dyeing of yarn!  They are using shibori type techniques to get really unique effects.  Click here to register.

Invisible Stranding (Ladder Back Jacquard) with Susan Rainey July 23rd
If you love to do stranded color work, you need to take this class.  Not all stranded colorwork projects space the color changes to avoid floats.  And when your yarns are vastly different colors, you can really see the carried color bleed through.  Susan teaches you how to avoid this using a very clever technique borrowed from machine knitting.  Click here to register

Beginning Spinning on a Spindle with Stephanie Flynn Sokolov - July 30th
Learn to spin yarn on a drop spindle - and so much more!  Stephanie will spend time explaining how yarn is made and also talking about the characteristics of different fibers.  This is also a great chance for a YARNO square!
Click here to register.

How to Knit a Top Down Sock with Molly July 24th & 31st
No sock experience needed!  Learn all the basics on how to knit a sock from the top down!  This includes a traditional heel and gusset.  We use worsted weight yarn so it is easy!!  Magic Loop is recommended.
Click here to register.

Stripes go Marching Two by Two with Nancy Lekx July 25th
You will never look at striping in the knitting the same way.  Nancy is known for diving deep into a subject and providing you with one of the best handouts ever!  You will explore three techniques: Shadow knitting, Slip Stitch/Mosaic Knitting, and Knit One Below. 
Click here to register.

Color Theory for Weavers with Yoriko Oki July 29th & 30th
If you are a weaver, you need this class.  Yorkio explains why weaving has such a different impact on color than knitting or crochet.  It is not just a lecture!  You will have practical experience playing with color on your loom. The class has an optional (but recommend) kit of Yoriko's yarn to play with. 
Click here to register.

Break Down of YARNIVAL

Lectures:

Grist - the word you have unknowingly searched for

Now imagine that you are following a pattern written for cashmere yarn that calls for 100g of yarn and you substitute with 100g of cotton.  You will soooo run out of yarn!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cleo-14

Successfully Working with Alpaca Yarns                                                          April 1, 2021

We have the joy of interviewing Jamie and Susan from Humming Oaks Farm on Thursday.  They have three fabulous Alpacas right in our area!  And have created some lovely pure alpaca and alpaca blend yarns.  We wanted to spend a little time talking about the properties of alpaca and how to make successful choices.  There are literally books written about this so I am just giving you my highlights!

Alpaca is soft - it is often referred to as the "poor man's cashmere."  Not that Alpaca is cheap!  It is still a luxury fiber and in the Andes is referred to as the "fiber of the gods."  The softness comes from the fineness of the fiber, the lack of scales, and the fact that Alpaca do not produce lanolin.  They do have guard hairs so if you have ever felt alpaca that poked at you it is because it was not well processed.  If you are wool sensitive you might find that you love Alpaca due to the lack of lanolin.  The possible drawback of the lack of scales is that alpaca yarns can grow and often do not have much memory.  Memory in yarn comes from crimp and alpaca can range from no crimp to lovely crimp - it never has as much as a Merino wool.  Combine the less crimp with the lack of scales and the finished project can grow.  Avoid this by using stitch patterns with texture, knitting at a slightly firmer gauge - but not so firm that you make the fabric mean.  Blends really help offset the growth while maintaining the softness.

Alpaca is warm and wicking - Alpaca is considered one of the warmest fibers and is almost twice as warm as wool.  Given the fact that we live in a hot place, you might wonder if it is right for you.  And it is very breathable.  If you ever wondered how Alpaca could live in the warmer climate of SoCal, it is because the hollow fibers also help insulate the critters from the heat.  The fiber is pretty water resistant.  Because it the fiber is hollow it will not absorb the water and causes it to dry faster, hence, alpaca is also a wicking fiber - meaning it will pull sweat away from the body.  And because it does not absorb water it is odor resistant!  So socks are an awesome choice - especially for alpaca blends.
 
Alpaca is a strong fiber - Alpaca is considered one of the strongest fibers to come from a mammal.  And it is a fiber that lasts the test of time.  Blankets in the Andes are passed from generation to generation.  This also makes alpaca really amazing for weaving!  And in fact the Andes textile traditions are steeped in woven alpaca.

Alpaca has fabulous stitch definition - And this is both a really positive and negative thing!  It will show off textured knits so beautifully.  And cables are lovely (although they add weight so use with some caution).  Lace is a beautiful way of extending this luxury fiber.  But, if you have any inconsistency in your tension, you will see every bit of it in your knitting so plain stockinette may not be your friend.

So what should you knit?  With pure alpaca, avoid items that have to fit and retain their shape - like hats.  Try you hand at scarves and cowls. Especially textured knits like Purl Soho's No Purl Scarf.  Or Isabel Kraemer's Gryer that is mostly garter.  Diamond and Willow Cowl is beautiful lace cowl.  The Beeswax Scarf is a beautiful blend of lace and texture - and would be gorgeous in Julio!  And anything with a Gansey patterning would be amazing, like the Inshore Legwarmers.  Gauging is always advised to see what the final product will look like.  Take the time to swatch to see if you will like it!

With alpaca blends - the sky is the limit!

One last thought - I loved this image that showed the difference between the scales in wool, alpaca, and cashmere:

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