Monday, December 26, 2011

Koyo

Our good friend Amy Swenson has just released a new shawl pattern, Koyo.






















The design was originally part of her Year of Lace series back in 2010. She'd planned it for a Fall release, but we all know how things go sometimes. We're happy to see it any time.

Here's what Amy says about it:

Autumn is, without question, my favorite season here in Ontario. The landscape is painted brilliantly in shades of pine, flame orange, and maple red. And even a simple drive in the country has me gasping a little from all the beauty.

Koyo, the Japanese word for “autumn leaves” is inspired in part by my new home here in Ontario, and in part by my first trip to Japan in late November 2000. So late in the year, I was shocked and surprised that the maples around Kyoto were in full, peak, color. I spent a day climbing to the top of one of the temple complexes that overlook the modern city, marveling at the reds and oranges, and golds.

















Among the things I love about this design: the delicate top border, the gentle deconstruction of leaves into an organic ripple, and the inset details at the points and corners.

I also love the size. At 70″ x 34″ after blocking, it’s just big enough without overwhelming the wearer.


Lovely.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Sportmate It Is!

Thanks to everyone who took part in our little game to name our new yarn.

In an overwhelming landslide, Solemate's new sibling will be called Sportmate. We thought it was pretty clever and so did everyone else. Of the three choices, it got over 55% of the vote!

I have to say that I might like this yarn even better than the sock weight. It's really squishy and bouncy and just begs for a squeeze. Our winner, Rudi, will be getting a sweater's worth!

I'm going to be casting on the Rule of Three Shawl from Interweave Knit's Accessories in it tonight.














The pattern calls for a fingering weight yarn so Solemate would work but I want fuller and lusher so I'm going to bump it up to Sportmate. Since it's a shawl, it'll still fit.

I'm not going to be able to show it to you for awhile. I'm using one of our new colors and we're keeping them under wraps until January.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Half Moon Vest

I don't know whether I've told you that Lorna's Laces dyes yarn for Bijou Basin Ranch. Carl and Eileen are two of the nicest people I know. (Except for the part where Carl talks about himself in the third person. That's a sure sign of the crazy.)

Here's another great after the holidays ME project that's you'll find in the Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Crochet. Dora Ohrenstein's Half-Moon Vest uses 4-6 skeins of Lhasa Wilderness in Hunter. There's something vaguely '60s era hippie going on here that I'm really liking.

Dora is going to be spending a little time with us in our booth next month at TNNA. I'm really looking forward to seeing her.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Winter Interweave Crochet

My mother says that December 26th has always been her favorite day of the year. I can understand that. She's a worrier by nature and making sure six kids were happy with their Christmas experience is no small feat so she was glad when it was behind her for another year.

I thought of her when I found out that the new issue of Interweave Crochet will be hitting newsstands on December 29th. Perfect timing for us all to get back to our "me" projects. The holiday gifts will be a thing of the past so we can take a deep breath and make something for ourselves. We deserve it.

This issue has two project that use Lorna's Laces yarn. The first is The Aslan Shrug by Brenda K. B. Anderson. Depending on the size, it's just 2 or 3 skeins of Shepherd Bulky.






















Lorna Miser designed the colorway Aslan way back in 1996. She named it after her cat by way of c.s. lewis. Aslan is a central character in a series of books known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

The other project is Patsy Harbor's Red Twig Knee Socks. These are crocheted using Shepherd Sock in Butterscotch and Cranberry.

















I haven't had a chance to look terribly closely at the magazine but there are several pairs of socks that are really lovely. I'm intrigued by the crocheted socks. Fun stuff.

The last thing I'm going to call out is a sweater by and old friend, Judith Swartz. Judy was the first editor of Interweave Crochet. Back in the day, she worked at my LYS too. It's not in our yarn but it's still darn cute.

Friday, December 9, 2011

We're Expecting!

We all loved Solemate so much that we decided it deserved a sibling. The ultrasounds have been done and we know many things about this bundle of joy.

















1) Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 grams)

2) Length: 9720 inches. (270 yards)

3) Composition: 70% superwash merino and 30% Outlast viscose.

4) Gauge: 6 sts/inch

5) Bathing Instructions: Cool water.

6) Color: All of them.

They told us we can't take it home until we give it a name. Would you please help?

Just like the last time, this will be a two step process. Here are the details.

Send your entry to contest AT lornaslaces DOT net with the subject line reading "New Yarn Name". We'll narrow the choices down to our three favorites by December 15th. Then we'll email a ballot with the top three to our newsletter subcribers on December 16th and let you vote for the winner. If you don't get our newsletter, you can sign up here. Voting will close at 12 noon central time on December 21st.

In case of multiple entries for the same name, we'll use a number generator to pick the ultimate winner.

You're probably wondering about the prize, aren't you? How about enough yarn to make a nice sweater sized project. The winner can pick the pattern and let us know how much they'll need and we'll send the yarn along.

Please keep in mind that we're not Publisher's Clearinghouse. Contests and giveaways aren't what we do every day. I'm trying to make things as simple and fair as I can. You could probably find a loophole to exploit, but let's try and play nice and just let this all unfold for what it is...fun, fun, fun!