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LYS Tour - The Knitting Tree LA

Local Yarn Shops provide community, education, friendship, and social connections. These past months have been challenging for small businesses; everyone is finding their own way to adapt. I wanted to use this blog to offer a series of postings, featuring some fabulous yarn shops and share their stores. I hope you enjoy my virtual yarn crawl. Shannon Dunbabin The first stop is The Knitting Tree, LA , located in Inglewood, CA. Annette Corsino-Blair and Bruce Blair have for owned the shop for the past 7 years. Annette is a veteran of the local yarn store world. Previously, she owned Amano Yarn Center based in Venice, CA from 2004 to 2009. 2002 marked Annette’s personal involvement into the craft of hand knitting. Annette began teaching friends and neighbors how to knit. Word quickly spread and soon she had 20 people in her kitchen on Monday nights. Annette, along with two friends, started Amano Yarn center in 2004. Prior to this, Annette’s resume consisted of experience as an artis...
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Fixation Arm Warmer/Hand Cover

During the shutdown one of the Local Yarn Shops we work with suggested I design an arm warmer that can be used as a hand cover for opening doors, pushing shopping carts and other times that you need to touch something while out of the house. The idea being that you could pull it down and back up on the top side of your hand when you wanted to have something as a barrier between your hand and an object. This is particularly helpful when there is no convenient place to wash your hands or hand sanitizer available. They can be worn on your arm or scrunched on your wrist. Fixation was a natural fit for this project - mostly cotton with just a bit of elastic that has the added bonus of being easy care. You can make a pair of the small or medium with one 50 gram ball. The larger size will use a bit more than 1 ball. The pattern is pretty simple - just knit in the round with a bit of ribbing at each end.   Gauge Approx 6 sts/inch (unstretched) in stockinette...

A Year of Giving - May - Fixation Picc Line Cover

For May, Carly in our office suggested I make a PICC Line Cover in Fixation Splash.  PICC stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter - a long IV line that is inserted in the arm and ends in a vein the chest near the heart. These are intended for long-term use for delivering medications, chemotherapy or other IV fluids. The exposed part of the line should be covered when not in use. What is provided to cover the PICC line is usually not very comfortable or durable.  Hand knit covers are a great alternative because they are comfortable and look more like a knit accessory than a medical dressing. Many hospitals will accept these. One organization that is distributing PICC line covers to medical centers for Cystic Fibrosis is The Finding Jenn Project . Fixation is a DK weight blend of cotton with just a hint of spandex. We chose Fixation Splash because the cotton is breathable and the spandex is stretchy to allow comfortable movement of the elbow. We will be gi...

A Year of Giving - April - Cantata - Hackensack

For April, I made another hat in Cantata - a fun, multi-season yarn with a unique construction (a cotton cage with superwash wool blown inside). A heathery-denim look pairs well with great stitch definition in this soft, lightweight yarn. The stitch pattern is a swirling, slightly lacy rib that moves in a diagonal direction. We will be giving away 3 kits of 2 skeins each (enough to make 2 hats) - 2 through Facebook and 1 here on the Blog. To enter on the Blog, comment with your favorite color of Cantata. The winner will be selected on Monday, April 22, 2019 at 3 pm PST. Materials 1 hank Cantata (70% Cotton/30% Merino Wool - 218 yds/100 g) - #13 (Purple) US 7 - 16" circular needles US 9 - 16" circular needles and DPNs Stitch Marker Yarn Needle (to weave in ends) Abbreviations K: Knit P: Purl K2tog: Knit 2 together YO: Yarn over Sizes Teen/Small Adult, Med/Large Adult With US 7, Cast on 80, 96 sts Join in the round, careful not to twist ...

A Year of Giving - March - Anchor Bay - Pannonica Slouch

For March, I made a lacy slouch in Anchor Bay , one of my favorite yarns. It is an ultra-soft and versatile blend of Superwash Merino and Cotton that is fabulous for a variety of projects - from babies to adults in both knit and crochet. We will be giving away 3 kits of 2 skeins each (enough to make at least 2 hats per kit) - 2 through the Cascade Yarns Facebook page and 1 through the blog. To enter on the blog, comment with your favorite spring knitting project. The winners will be drawn at 3 pm PST on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Materials 1 skein Anchor Bay (50% Cotton/50% Merino Wool - 262 yds/100 g) - shown in #22 (Chrysanthemum) US 4 - 16" circular needles US 6 - 16" circular needles and DPNs Stitch Marker Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl YO - Yarn Over K2tog - Knit 2 Together SSK - Slip, Slip, Knit 2 Slipped stitches together Gauge 7.5 sts = 1" in K3, P3 - US 4 Finished Measurements  15, 16" unstretched at brim...

Year of Giving - February - Cherub Chunky Wave - Introspection

For February, I made a quick hat out of Cherub Chunky Wave - a new color effect for Cherub Chunky with a gradation wave. Cherub Chunky Wave is a nylon-acrylic blend that is easy care - machine wash and dry making it perfect for charity knitting and gift giving. We will be giving away 3 kits (2 skeins of Cherub Chunky Wave in each) - 2 through the Cascade Yarns Facebook page  and 1 through the Blog. To enter on the Blog, please comment with the last person/organization you gave a handmade item to. The winner will be drawn at 3 pm PST on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Materials 1 skein Cherub Chunky Wave (55% Nylon/45% Acrylic - 137 yds/100 g) US 8 16" Circular Needles US 10 16" Circular Needles US 10 DPNs (Double Pointed Needles) Stitch Marker Yarn Needle Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl K2tog - Knit 2 Together Sts - Stitches Gauge Approx 4 sts = 1" in Stockinette (unstretched) With US 8 circular needle, Cast On 63 , 72, 81 sts (Child, Adult ...

A Year of Giving - January - Baby Llama Chunky - Lush Life Scarf

This year we will be featuring a pattern each month with the theme of giving. For each pattern we will give away enough yarn to make the project and draw a winner. Each month will feature a new pattern and we will select a winner from the blog and a winner through Facebook. This month's winners will be selected on Monday, March 28 at 3 pm. To enter on the blog comment below with your favorite project to make for giving. This month, we are featuring a scarf I designed in Baby Llama Chunky  - Lush Life Scarf. I started crocheting again in December since I was unable to knit for a while after elbow surgery. I wanted to create a gift for a neighbor that has been a wonderful friend to my family. I thought a dressy scarf would give her warm and a hug when she needed it - with the added bonus of being in her favorite color. Materials 3 skeins Baby Llama Chunky (100% Baby Llama - 109 yds/100 g) - shown in #19 (Acai) J Hook (6 mm) Yarn Needle Gauge 12. sts x 5.5 rows ...