Bella Knitting

Natures Colors

Laura

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. It's the time of year when the days are noticeably longer, the kids start a count down for the number of school days left (we have twelve and a half to be very precise), and even gardeners in northern states (and most of our friends in Canada) can plant their annuals with out worry of frost.

We spent quite a bit of time outside touring San Francisco with visiting family. I was drawn again and again to the color of the gardens. The riot of colors is in full bloom in this part of the world but I was charmed mostly this weekend by the soft and subtle colors of nature. The gorgeous grasses swaying gently in the breeze, the variety of texture and shades of similar colors.



In a coincidence similar to Sarah and Ingrid's I opened these photos from Leslie when I came back from a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge. Love the subtle colors. I've added the three photos Leslie sent to our Log Cabin Flickr page. Good job Leslie! Thanks for sharing.

Sports Fan Knitting

Laura

As those of you reading the blog for awhile may have noticed, I am a sports fan. I love watching football in particular but like many of you spend hours upon hours at my kids sporting events as well. When we went to Stitches West this year half the booth was dedicated to baby projects and half to sports projects. It was fun to see the wide variety of team that knitters (and their guys) attending this California convention supported. For the second year in a row the Midwest was well represented and we sold out of Green Bay Packers colors (last year it was the Minnesota VIkings fan in attendance).

With all this fun, we've spun off the sporting collections to a new sister web site --> SportsFanKnitting.com. We've have our favorite Karabella Aurora 8 in colors for all the teams pro, college and high school. We are working with out local high school for ideas for their dance team too.

Playing with Color

Laura

One of the things I like best about visiting my LYS is getting ideas on yarn and color combinations. That's why we like to add recommendations to our web site whenever we can.

Now that I have the store web site under control, I've been able to get to a few things I've been meaning to do. The top item on that list was adding Pima Tencel color combinations for our very popular non-garter Log Cabin blanket. With summer babies on the way it seemed like the perfect time to get this done and what fun we had  with balls of yarn spread all over the table shuffling colors this way and that.

The blankets use four colors, so we combined a little of this with a little of that, loving this one, rolling our eyes at that one. Trying the unexpected just to see how it worked. In the end, after some voting we picked ten options in three palettes; Bold, Pastel and Natural.

I fell in love with some of the pretty spring pastels, now all I need is a baby to knit for! With a bit of new nifty I was able to add a page showing all the related Flickr photos. Fun.

You may not be building a Log Cabin blanket right now but I bet you might just have a bit of stash around. You might be surprised at what works together - so take a peek.

Double Dutch, Chunky Style!

Sarah

I knit one of Arlette's Double Dutch hats a while back, and it was so fun I knew I'd be making more. That's saying a lot, coming from me, since I tend not to repeat the same patterns very often -- but the knitting of this is clever and different, and it's a hat, so it doesn't technically count as a new WIP. (Yes, I made that rule up. It's kind of like the rule that sock yarn doesn't count as stash. It works.) So I worked on other things, and waited for the right combination of yarns to occur to me.

The other day, I was high off of the rush that comes with completing a UFO that's been in the pile for a long time (this one, if you're wondering) and contemplating new projects (despite the number of UFOs in hibernation) when I walked past a basketful of yarn and noticed these two colors of Cascade Venezia, sitting side-by-side. Perfect! So, I cast on (making up my two-color cast-on as I went along, which explains the wonkiness) and began a new Double Dutch. I want it to be big and slouchy, so I'm using size 10 needles and only subtracted about 8 stitches from what the pattern suggests (all patterns are suggestions, right?) and it looks okay so far. It may end up being a little too big and slouchy, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. For Science.

I don't think it's up in the store yet, but Laura has some of this yarn in three or four different colors (including the two I'm using), if you're interested in trying out your own super-chunky Double Dutch. If I get lazy, I'm going to cast off after knitting a few more inches and call it a cowl, which should be really cute and cozy. Or I might still do a hat, but change it up by doing a gathered top instead of the swirly decreases. I do loves me some swirly decreases, though...decisions, decisions. I'll let you know how it goes!

Viking Down Under

Here is one of our rampaging Vikings. Shhh, you may not have noticed yet but they are slowly taking over the world so lock your doors at night and batten down the hatches.

This little Brunhilde is Down Under, although she looks more like a lover than a fighter. Her name is Freya - just perfect!! :)

A New Pattern and a Sneak Peek

Sarah

I have been a  busy little bee lately, and I'd like to share some of what I've been working on. First, I'm very excited that Ravelry has started up its pattern-hosting service -- it's just one more great feature on an already awesome site. I've opened a pattern store for some of my original designs, which you can check out here. I've put up the pattern for this sweater, which you may recall from a post a few months ago.

It now has a name -- it's the Woodside Pullover, named after a charming little nearby town -- and the pattern is available for download via Ravelry for $7.50. The six sizes given in the pattern range from a 32 to 48 inch chest measurement; I think it's a good unisex pullover, so I wanted to include the smallest and the largest sizes I could without having to do weird things to the stitches. (I do have some tips in the pattern for extending the size range by working at a slightly smaller or larger gauge, for the knitter who loves to modify.)

Of course, not everyone is equally keen on the Noro Kureyon which I used, so I included some suggested substitutions in the pattern. When Bella Knitting starts carrying the complete project in a few weeks, you'll be able to choose from Karabella Aurora 8 or DiVe Autunno, both of which are very soft. We carry the former in a lot of great solid colors, if you want a sweater that's all about texture, and the latter is a super-soft self-striping yarn with wide repeats. I'll let you know when this option becomes available, of course.

And now for the sneak peak promised in the title of this post...you know how I did a tutorial on yarn overs the other day? Well, I've designed something for Bella which uses a lot of them! It's being test knit, and we're working on the pattern, so it should be ready soon! The version shown here was knit in Cascade Venezia Worsted, which I swear knits like buttah. It's a totally dreamy 50-50 wool-silk blend. Of course, since Bella Knitting is all about the options, there's going to be a second great yarn choice and an option for using beads...but I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'll share more when there is more to share.

 

Hold on to your Hats!

Laura

Introducing the Double Dutch Hat by Arlette Thibodeau

Ready set go!  Run, don’t walk  - grab your needles, two colors of yarn and your phone (more on that later). This is  a 2-color brioche hat designed by our creative friend Arlette Thibodeau for Bella Knitting as part of our Independent Designer program.  We first introduced Arlette in our blog as a fabulous photographer. She has taken some of our best photos. 

You’re going to want to get this pattern and try it right away. Really, trust me on this one. We never push our patterns but we demonstrated this at Stitches West from dawn to dusk, and every time we put down the needles someone else wanted to see it.  We had groups, small and big, peering over our shoulders to see what was up and demonstrated until I was hoarse. I’m not sure I ever had so much fun at a trade show!

It's knit with two colors, one in each hand and results in a completely reversible hat. “But, Laura”, you say (or are at least thinking),  “I know I've seen this before and it used two hands also so what’s the big deal?” 

•    Both colors are used in every round. The other techniques pretty much work with one yarn and carry the other. You end up knitting two rounds to get both colors. Not in this case, both yarns are used in every round.

Take a quick peek at the short video and you will see why it is so fun and why we call it the “Double Dutch” hat.

[Video temporarily removed since some people were having a hard time with it. Video link is on web site until we fix this. }

Pretty nifty, so what else is different? …

•    The decreases work perfectly on both sides too. I picture Arlette sitting up late at night trying to figure this one out. It is quite the accomplishment.

Working with two color and two hands is a bit challenging – the knitting technique itself is not hard, it’s the going in two different directions (the whole walk and chew gum at the same time thing) that makes it so fun to figure out. We tried it in a group the first time and recommend you do the same (that's why you need the phone - to call your knitting friends). You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll make fun of each other … then suddenly someone will cry “I’ve got it”. As we mentioned on the video (yes, there is a video - we would never leave you alone with something new like this) it takes about 45 minutes for your fingers to catch up with your brain but you’ll enjoy the ride.

Here is the NY Football Giants hat I knit after they won the Super Bowl this year. They were also super popular at Stitches and you'd be surprised how many different teams people support.Once we get going we are planning a Ravelry Knit Along. So stay tuned.

More on the hat support below …

Hickory Dickory Dot

Laura

Few things at Stitches were cuter than this picture! Can you see the bit of drool on his chin? I just want to gobble him up.

Logan (a.k.a. Lolo) belongs to Anny Purls and is about to have his first birthday. We are super happy to be working with her. This Hickory Dickory Dot sweater is knit with our favorite Karabella Aurora 8 yarn. This color combo is called Prairie Mouse. The Teddy Bear below is sporting Wine Country Mouse. The other mouse colors are pretty cute too. I am really hoping someone knits City Mouse and sends us a picture.

It was a blast to listen to all the comments from passers by. They would ahhh at the picture then come take a peek at the sweater we had  hanging in the crib (Anny was nice enough to send it to us for Stitches). Everyone loved the lap shoulder design and it gets even better ... the mouse squeaks! Yup, there is a bit of batting and a little squeaker in there. So many kids were delighted by the squeak that I myself was delighted it was still there on Sunday evening!  We are including a squeaker in all our projects because it is so very fun.

Looks like the mouse for this guy was out looking for cheese (to go with his wine) during this photo. Lots of thanks to Rachel (Naptime Knits) in Connecticut for knitting this sample for us - it finished it's journey out west in the knick of time!

We have updated our home page with this project. It is so very pretty. Knitters can buy just the pattern or the project with yarn and that squeaker.

A bit more on the Bella Baby wall at Stitches West below ...

Ravelry Rocks

Sarah

Even though it has a way of vacuuming up huge chunks of time I need for homework, housework, and knitting, I love Ravelry. I've come across tons of projects to add to my (already overburdened) queue, I have fun in the forums, and I love checking out other people's project lists, stashes, and queues. It's voyeurism, but in a totally nice way. We knitters are friendly folk, after all.

One of the coolest things about Ravelry is that, as a designer, I get to see other people actually knitting my patterns. If someone mentions they've had a problem in their "notes" section, I love that I can comment or PM them and help out. And, of course, I love seeing happy FOs! Megan sent me this adorable Baby Brunhilde shot for the customer gallery, and I just had to share. Too cute!

Football Heaven

Laura

I love football - both American and that other football game the rest of the world plays that we mistakenly call soccer. That's why this was the perfect football weekend for me.

First up, our daughter's soccer team played and won Saturday afternoon. It was their first win in about eight games so we were all very happy for them. More importantly they did it without subs, without their only goalie (broken arm), and with a back up goalie who left sick at halftime. Mostly we were pleased they did not give up and really encouraged each other. Afterwards we headed straight to the Stanford football game. They won (also one of their first) and I met a fellow knitter at the pregame tailgate party [*knit one, sip one* repeat until beverage is gone and spouse replaces it for you].

I have also for the first time, bought the NFL Game Day whatchamacallit TV package. Yippee, yippee. It means that I can watch the Chicago Bears and NY Giants all the way from the west coast. Appropriately, I am knitting one of our Sports Fan Scarves in Chicago Bear colors. It's for my daughter's teacher, also a Midwest transplant. I do have a tradition of knitting a scarf for the kids' teachers, usually at the end of the year, but this teacher is a fanatic Bears fan and it is football season so here we go. I love this teacher already because, some how in just two weeks she has taught my daughter organization, something I had failed to do despite two years of encouragement (a.k.a. nagging).

Even Karabella Yarn helped make this the perfect sports weekend. We carry Aurora 8 in colors for just about every pro and school team out there but Karabella was missing a nice dark red (especially a problem when Stanford and 49ers are your local teams) but a problem no more. They sent me an advance copy of the new color card and yes! it is there. Stanford scarf next. Now all I need is some nice 10 degree Chicago weather.

p.s. I'm looking for some great photos of student groups (teams, cheer leading  squads or fans) in our sports scarves so if you have some in mind (4 or more people) we'll give you a significant discount on the yarn if you promise some pictures! Send a note to laura@bellaknitting.com if you're interested.