FO Parade

Over on the TUT Ravelry group, we've been enjoying some very inspiring knitalongs. The Lace knitalong has just finished and ran from 1st March - 30 April 2012. The rules were simple: in order for your project to qualify it needed be any lace pattern or laceweight yarn from The Uncommon Thread. The results were amazing, just take a look at some of the beauties that were shared.

Knitasaurusrex completed a beautiful As You Wish shawl in just one skein of Posh Fingering. This shawl was a test knit for the designer, Boo Knits, and the colourway featured is 'Quiet Folly'. The long ripples in the simple pattern repeat of this shawl really show off the subtle variations in the colour of this yarn.

Lizoid worked up a really stunning Semele in two skeins of Silky Merino Fingering. The pattern is from Asa Tricosa and is offered in a range of sizes. Lizoid worked hers up in the colourway 'Dartmoor', a wonderful green tone that seems to suit the green foliage in her garden! Lucky Lizoid also has plenty of yarn left over so we expect to see more lovely green projects in her future.

Raphael used a club colourway to work up a truly amazing Silhouette shawl. The design is by Diana Rozenshteynand is a simple lace repeat on a top down shawl that gives a lovely lace finish. Raphael worked hers up in Silky Merino Fingering in the colourway 'Cerulean' and enjoyed the knit so much, she's cast on another already! It looks absolutely perfect for warmer days ahead.

Stringygirl's Henslowe in BFL Sock is absolutely lovely. This vibrant shawl uses the ' Jonquille, Mais Pas Gentille' colourway and makes great use of the stitch definition that comes from the BFL's plied texture. Henslowe is designed by the very talented Beth Kling and is a wonderful elongated curve with lacy edging. Another great knit to head into summer with.

Another green project that got a lot of attention was Audephil's Holden Shawlette. The Holden Shawlette is designed by Mindy Wilkes and makes use of a single skein of fingering weight yarn. Audephil worked hers up in another club colourway, 'Habitat', this time in Lush Twist a wonderfully bouncy MCN blend.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Lace KAL and if you would like to see more inspirational projects, please pop along to look at the thread here.

Next Update

For those of you who haven't yet put the date in your diary, the next TUT update will be on Friday 1 June 2012 at 4pm. There will be lots of lovely yarns so I hope you get a chance to drop by. To check your time zone, please click here. 

Don't forget to bookmark the shop and to keep up to date with all the latest news, please follow my twitter feed, sign up here on the blog for the newsletter or join the Ravelry Group.

Parquet Tiles

A little while back I was fortunate enough to chat to Rose Beck, a wonderful designer who is best known for her stylish shawls and accessories. She has just published a pattern using TUT yarn as part of her 'Archi- Textural' Collection.

Parquet Tiles uses between 400-700 yards of sport weight yarn, depending on the size you wish to make. Rose used Merino Sport, a 100% Merino 5 ply yarn which is machine washable and provides great stitch definition. It worked wonderfully for this shawl as it involves interesting texture and shape. 

The subtle diamond pattern of this elegant shawl is easy to work as it uses only knit and purl stitches. The narrow triangle shape is knitted side-to-side, and instructions are included for both a symmetrical version and an asymmetrical version, which has “stripes” along one side for a more graphic visual effect.

It's absolutely lovely and I'm thrilled to have my yarn featured in Rose's wonderful design. 

PomPom

A while back I wrote a blog post about a lovely new shawl I was test knitting in one of my yarns. I am so proud to be able to announce that my yarn has been featured in a brand new UK magazine. Pom Pom will be a quarterly publication that will feature patterns, crafty tutorials, recipes and all sorts of interesting articles. 

In this first issue, you will find Meghan Fernandes' beautiful 'Wick Lane' Shawl which features one skein of Silky Merino Fingering. This triangular shawl is worked bottom up and features strong lace details. The colourway used in the issue is 'Brassica' and I am also sharing my test knit that I worked up in a new base that I was trying out but decided not to use in the shop as I have so many other wonderful fingering weights.

I also spied a lovely test knit from the first issue that Meghan did in BFL light DK (exclusively stocked by Loop) for the Netherton Cardigan, designed by Lydia Gluck. Meghan used 3 skeins of this subtle semi solid yarn in the colourway 'Peat'. 

 I'm so excited about this new publication and wish the girls at Pom Pom the best of luck!

New KAL

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while will know how much I love stripes so the current KAL in the Uncommon Thread Ravelry group is perfect. This time we've chosen to go for stripes as so many people seem to be enjoying knitting more than one colour and combining TUT yarns in new and fun ways. 

The KAL started on the 1st May 2012 and there is already lots of inspiration and chatter. Come and join in! It runs until 30th June, so plenty of time to go still!

Mignon

Loop have just released single patterns and their very first pattern features The Uncommon Thread yarn! This adorable unisex baby cardigan uses engineered cables to give it a wonderful shape. Knit from the top down with just one skein of yarn, the pattern includes options to fit 3-6 monthes, but can also be made for a newborn if you knit it in a lighter yarn. 

The sample shown is knit in BFL Light DK, which comprises 100% British Bluefaced Leicester. This yarn can be used for patterns that call for either Sport or DK weight yarn. Smooth, soft and lustrous, Bluefaced Leicester is a strong, resilient yarn that can be worn right next to the skin. The colourway shown is 'Into Dust'.

The pattern is available on Loop's website along with the exclusive TUT DK base that Loop stocks or alternatively, you can purchase the PDF pattern for download on Ravelry. 

Cameo

I recently finished another striped shawl: 'Cameo' by Paulina Popiolek. This shawl is knitted in a garter stitch with striped and lace sections and features a simple picot border which is worked together with the main body. This is a really easy pattern to customise and takes approximately 2 skeins of a sock weight yarn.

The original pattern has examples worked up in one solid colour as well as options for two or three contrasting colours. I chose to work mine up in two contrasting colourways as I love stripes. The yarns that I used for this project are Viola Merino fingering weight in the colourway 'Chimney Smoke' and I tried out on French Market Fibres Merino Fingering weight in the colourway 'Endymion'. I love working with handdyed yarn as they maintain my interest and keep me eager for more knitting. 

I worked with the Viola until I ran out. That gave me 17 stripes, so I then worked an extra repeat of the lace chart to give this lovely large shawl. I have worn it everyday since I finished it.

Meadowsweet

Dani from LionessArts has been busy creating a new pattern collection, 'On the Moors' which features a number of beautiful knitting designs, one of which makes use of TUT yarn.

'Meadowsweet' is a textured beret that uses less than one skein of worsted weight yarn and is available for both adults and children. Dani made her adult version using a skein of Merino Worsted in the 'Plata' colourway. This super soft single ply is an incredibly versatile yarn and really well suited for showing off interesting stitch details as well as providing warmth and comfort.

Other patterns in this collection include the Dry Stone Cowl which suggests Super Soft Shetland) as one of the recommended yarns and a range of legwarmers, cowls, scarves, gloves, and hats. Well done Dani, this is a lovely collection!

Plume

I have always enjoyed Lisa Mutch's patterns and recently finished one of her shawl design's called 'Plume'. Plume is a typical Lisa design: contrasting colours and varying textures that make for very enjoyable knitting. I worked mine up in Tosh Merino Light in the colourway 'Silverfox' as well as some NorthboundKnitting Superwash merino fingering weight in the colourway 'Chanterelle'.

I love the dramatic points on the shawl and the strong use of colour and I'm now debating whether I might put an extra repeat onto the shawl to make it even bigger. I absolutely love larger shawls and find that I wear them so much more. I won't mind spending more time on the shawl either as I found Lisa's pattern so clever and I have left over yarn which is always nice to finish up completely.