While I was in Seattle for the Madrona Winter Retreat, I visited the Skacel warehouse and was given the opportunity to experiment with one of their new yarns, CoBaSi DK. 

Paired with another yarn they carry, Ambiente, I thought it'd make a really lovely linen stitch cowl... not just because of the color patterning in Ambiente being obscured by the solid main color yarn, but also because of the mixture of the two yarn materials. 

Ambiente is merino superwash, while CoBaSi DK is cotton, bamboo, silk, and nylon. The two of them combined create a layer that's warm (but not too warm) for cooler temperatures. 

It's a free pattern, available HERE. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Knitting!

Kyle

My latest pattern, Trenton, is now available in the special issue of Creative Knitting Magazine called Just-in-Time Knits. 
The goal with this design was to come up with a pattern that would make use of much-loved scrap yarns. In this case, it's worsted weight (Cascade 220), and there's a total of 7 colors specified in the pattern.

If you choose to be creative with your color selections, I suggest that the main (MC) and beginning/end sections (G) be solid colors so the seam will be less conspicuous. 

This pattern is available exclusively through Creative Knitting Magazine.

Happy Knitting!


Kyle

So... I made this colorful raglan pullover in August, 2009 out of a bunch of different skeins of Noro Kureyon and LOVED it for years. I loved how the sleeves didn't exactly "match" and that the craziness of the color changes made the knitting go very quick. (I finished it in 13 days)

Well, years have gone by and it was starting to show a bit more wear than I like... so one day last week I decided that I should felt it to see what the fabric would look like.

I'm quite pleased with how it felted... but now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. My first thought was to make a hat but it's too thick. Then, I thought perhaps make a bag? What do you think? The stripes are so fun and I really do want to cut and sew it into something interesting....

In other recycling-related news, I have found myself a bit distracted by my stash now that the book knitting is all complete. I found some skeins of yarn made from sari silk waste in the stash and decided that it's time to make something out of it. 

At first I thought I'd make a shawl, but then decided that a throw would be more practical for my house. I love how random the coloring is in these skeins! Because they're all a little different, I decided to separate each skein by a few rows of another yarn that's from my stash (a wool blend from Katia). 

It's all stockinette, and it'll be more difficult to haul to knitting groups as it grows larger (or at the very least it'll require a larger bag!) but I'm really enjoying the simple stockinette knitting on larger needles. I plan on picking up more of this yarn at Stitches WEST from my friends at Darn Good Yarn!

I haven't decided how I'll edge the throw yet... I'm guessing crochet of some sort, and probably with a light colored yarn similar to the Katia. Any thoughts?

Kyle

For those of you who haven't heard about it, the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival is an annual event that's chock full of really interesting classes, and a beautifully curated shopping venue. It takes over the entire Hotel Murano

The main classes fill up super quick, so mid January (now!) they also announce a host of fun "mini-classes" about various different topics. It's another chance to get in and learn something interesting. These classes are 90 minutes long, and are limited to 10 students each.

I'm teaching a mini-class on Sunday morning that will help you master the skills needed to work stranded knitting but with no floats on the wrong side. 

Sunday Morning
Session 2
9:00 - 10:30
Teacher: Kyle Kunnecke

Beauty on the Inside: The Key to Locked Floats
Ever looked at the "wrong side" of a stranded, hand-knit garment and see no floats? Do you wonder what was done to hide those floats and make it so beautifully finished? The answer may very well be what some refer to as "Armenian Knitting" or, what I call "Locked Floats". The technique is simple, and creates a wonderfully even fabric. In this class, we will first review how to carry floats across the back of the work (traditional), and then be introduced to this simple technique that results in a beautifully woven "wrong side". You'll learn some valuable tricks and leave inspired by the possibilities created.

Experience: Students should have basic knitting skills, including the ability to cast on, knit, purl and read color work charts.

Supplies: One skein each of two colors of worsted weight yarn (solid-color, wool yarns with medium to high contrast work best). Appropriately-sized circular knitting needles (bring a few different sizes or an interchangeable needle set) ruler, stitch markers, note taking materials, and usual knitting supplies.

Location: Camaretta in the Hotel

Check out all the mini-classes HERE!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend up in Washington, and can't wait to hang out with all the like-minded fiber enthusiasts!

Happy Knitting,

Kyle

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the one and only Benjamin Levisay (XRX) on his podcast, Fiber Hooligan! His podcast can be found HERE and you'll discover all kinds of interesting fiber-industry folks on his show.

Here's hoping you're having a great week!

KW

It all starts with yarn. In this case, I was enamored by the random craziness and color-changing fun of "Crazy" by Stonehedge Mill. My goal was to create an interesting (but not overly complicated) project that would show off this unique product.

I'm really pleased with the result. the pattern isn't difficult to knit, and the finished cowl is visually interesting. I'm not sure which part is more appealing; the color shifting yarns or the angled stripes. Either way, it's a cowl that I enjoyed making and am excited to share with you.

Is it a difficult pattern? Not at all. In fact, I found it to be perfect for knit night and tv watching. The color changing yarns kept cheering me on as I worked, and I found that a lot of progress was made each time I sat down to work. With this truly random yarn you have no idea what the next row will look like!

The pattern is available as a .pdf download HERE for $4.00. It requires techniques including provisional cast on, knit/purl, increase/decrease, following a simple chart, kitchener stitch, and applied i-cord. 

I. Love. Peru.

What a wonderful treat it was to get to celebrate my 40th birthday in this incredible country! I decided to break up the experience into a few different blog posts to spread out the fun.

First, after a quick overnight in Lima, we headed to the gorgeous town of Arequipa. Hilly and quaint, it's architecture made me smile from ear to ear.

Our hotel was the Casa Andina Private Collection; the building began its life in 1794. Beautiful, barrel vaulted ceilings and stone walkways welcomed us. The food was delicious and when we had dinner in the private restaurant it was probably one of the best meals of the trip.

The little shops in this town made me smile. I love seeing the souvenirs and offerings in different areas. It's interesting to me to see what locals feel is important enough to translate to product to sell to travelers.

One day we walked to Mundo Alpaca (Alpaca World!) - a museum/experience center where we got to spend about 20 minutes feeding the sweetest mini-herd of alpaca ever.

We learned about how they sort the fibers (it's one woman and a HUGE pile of fluff that she sorts by hand according to color, texture, etc.) and how the fibers are processed. There's also a museum of sorts showing older processing equipment... and a kind of "live experience" area where a couple master weavers demonstrate the craft of backstrap weaving.

I could watch these magic hands for hours. It's enchanting witnessing the lift..skip..skip...lift...lift...lift...skip of counting hands as they work through one pick of weaving. No charts...no notes - just tradition, experience, practice, and time.

Amazing.

We also might have gone to the Michell (yarn shop) store while there, and I might have purchased some alpaca yarn... just a skein or two ;)

Another adventure was the tour of the Monestary de Santa Catalina. Founded in the 16th century, it's really a city within a city. Chuck and I toured the grounds and learned about the nuns... where they slept, how they lived. The property has been restored because of tourism. (The monestary is still active, but the nuns live/practice in an area separate from the toured section.)

I ran out of space on my camera in this place. Everywhere we turned was another gorgeous photo waiting to be captured. After a while, I just allowed myself to enjoy the experience and it was really overwhelming how beautiful and peaceful the place was.

One of my favorite stories in the Monastery was about Sister Ana de los Angeles Montegudo  (the most famous nun from there) who lived and died in the 1600s. She is known for causing miracles and making predictions. She slept on a bed of nails (in the photo below) and the painting above her bed was done of her after her death (a common practice for nuns in the monastery). Read more about her here.

Outside of those walls, we encountered lots of local children and women carrying adorable little lambs. How could I resist!! - I posed with this lamb and its owners and learned that this sweet little baby is only 2 weeks old. They bring the lambs out for photography and bring a different one each day.

We also visited Juanita the Ice Maiden (no photos, but you can learn about here here) - She was a sacrifice left on top of a mountain somewhere around 1450-1480, and her quickly frozen mummy was discovered in 1995. It was interesting to tour the small museum and see the artifacts, as well as to learn more about the rituals surrounding her sacrifice. The most interesting fact I learned was that she walked for miles and miles, dressed beautifully, and seemingly went willingly to her death.

Heading out of Arequipa, here's a quick night shot of part of the cathedral on the square. I loved this city and didn't want to leave. It had so much charm and was really interesting. If I had gone home after these few days, I would have believed that the trip was worth it.

Little did I know what fun was lurking at the next destination!

...to be continued! :)


KW