HRYC

Amidst the busy-ness of the end of year, Knitsch Yarns is now officially on sabbatical. (don't fret if you are one of the two or three people waiting on yarn, it will happen in my one last dye day that is lined up). If you want to nab any of the last few skeins, you have two options: pop by the Petone store (there is a handful of sock and worsted on the shelves). Or, enter a competition!

Some of these colours may or may not be in the prize pack. It's a mystery!

There's a slowly growing pile of Knitsch that needs a new home - some beautiful seconds, some original skeins from right back when I first started dyeing. A real spectrum of the five years that has been the Knitsch journey so far. They are all being added to a paper bag, a bag that may end up with you. 

How to enter? Just comment on this post! That's it. Make sure you do so by 5pm Monday 24 November, and i'll draw a winner on Tuesday morning. 

I want to say thank you for all the Knitsch love - it really means a lot. And I want to emphasise that this certainly isn't the end of Knitsch - oh no! I'm already thinking about what new yarn bases I might like to add to the range, how to change our processes and how to better keep up with demand when Knitsch returns late next year. I will also be selling Knitsch Sock at Unwind in March, and Knit August Nights in August. So you won't have to go entirely without. 

xx Tash

Hooray! We are super duper excited about the Christmas Party in Petone, and hope you are, too!

One of the most exciting things is we have a drinks sponsor on board - the excellent folks at Good Buzz Brewing have dropped off a bunch of their most delicious kombucha! I'm taste testing the Feijoa flavour and my goodness that is some tasty fizz. Added bonus: it has a whole bunch of stuff that's good for you in it. 

And what you're all waiting for: the specials!

10% off all Knit Pro

Artisan Seconds for $10 each (usually $17)

15% off any Ashford wheel or loom purchase made on the day

15% off Zealana Air Chunky

15% off all Ashford Tekapo, Naturally Haven and Mythral

20% off all Spud & Chloe Outer 

20% off Stitch Seekers books

20% off all buttons (excludes Buttons by Benji)

50% off Creating Original Hand knitted Lace books & Artisan patterns

And there will be a bunch of kits - DIY felt ball garlands, along with kits to make Dream Mitts, Flat Hats, Starfruit hats and Artisan Lace scarves all at special prices. 

Every purchase will receive a goody bag, and I must say they are looking pretty ace (and tasty). Need the details again?

Don't forget, pop around the corner to The Sewing Depot - they will have some really amazing deals for the day, too!

I had to laugh when Shelley sent her review, below, through. We had a fairly quick conversation about needle size when we started with the Kestrel, and several comments followed about Shelley's....shall we say, regret, about choosing 4.5mm needles. We had rather different experiences with knitting this yarn, although it seems to have won Shelley over in the end. Which just goes to show how important needle size is in relation to your yarn choices.

Now, Shelley:

Quince & Co Kestrel 

Swatch knitted on 4.5mm needles (recommended needle size is 5 – 6.5mm)

Tension: 4” square = 17 stitches x 28 rows

(washed and vigorously blocked several times before a wash and relaxed block).

I love knitting with linen. I adore the drape and sheen and that it get softer with every wear. So I was mildly excited about swatching the Kestrel. My issue with it turned out to be the tape ply construction. Granted, the recommended needle size is on the larger side, the tape should sit flat and create a lovely, drape and smooth stitch definition in the fabric.

I’m always fascinated to see how the heavier yarns knit up on smaller needles. I want to see how dense the fabric is, and how its definition changes (if at all). So for this sample, I decided to knit it up on 4.5mm needles. Not too much smaller than the recommended 5, but with the patterns on Ravelry recommending closer to a 6 or 6.5mm needle, I thought I could get honesty out of this one. And I did.

You need to be careful if your needles are a little on the sharp end, because you will snag the tape ply. It was a little crunchy to knit with, but linen always is, and there wasn’t much in the way of drape (being knitted on smaller needles, I didn’t expect there to be). The fabric on the smaller needle is substantial. Tape, however, not being plied, did twist quite a bit and created unevenness in the stitch definition.

So I decided on some washing and brutal blocking. I washed the swatch several times – both on a normal cycle and wool wash. Every time I put a load on, the swatch went in. Follow by a severe blocking and a steam-set. This settled the stitched into something more uniform, and softened it up. I washed it again, let it dry, and gave it a gentle set with the iron, for the measurements above. Putting it through the wash several times has done wonders for the drape and the feel of the fabric. I don’t have a drier at home, but I suspect that it would really come into its own after a tumble through the machine.

Having grumbled through knitting the Kestrel on smaller needles [and she really did grumble – tash], I started to really appreciate it after the washing and blocking.

I would consider it for cardigans or heavy t-shirt sort of patterns, such as:

Jane Richmond’s Gemini out of the Knitty Spring + Summer 2012 (watch the tension, but this could totally work);

or Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s Francis (written for 10ply silk, but again, would be elegant in linen);

Beautia Dew’s Petrie out of the Knitty Spring + Summer 2010 for an retro boat neck top,

or Louisa Harding’s Miss Kitty (although there are sizing limitations).

My outside favourite, and something I would consider knitting in Kestrel, is actually Jennifer Miller’s Pixie Vest (above) – the pattern is simple and flattering, and the linen would suit the stitch definition without growth being a problem.

My swatch has taken a beating, and it still looks good. I’m quite impressed with it.

Following our yarn review of Quince & Co Kestrel yesterday, here's a few ideas of what to make with a bit of the luscious linen:

Sweet Pleat by Hannah Fettig

Togue Pond by Pam Allen

Tolt Folded Bag by Veronika Jobe 

Quince & Co Kestrel is relatively new to our shelves, and being an interesting wee yarn that is unusual in this neck of the woods, it made sense to do a yarn review for it. 

The yarn: 

Quince & Co Kestrel

Composition: 100% organic linen

Structure: chain plied to a tape-like finish

Weight: 10ply / aran

Presented in: 50g / 70m skeins

Recommended needle: 5.5mm - 6mm

I'm up first, and a post from Shelley will follow.

Obsessed with every yarn that has even a whisper of linen, Kestrel was always going to be an interesting knit. We don't often get our hands on linen yarns in New Zealand, so there was no way I could resist the call of Kestrel. 

I opted for a larger needle size than Shelley, so my swatch is on 6mm tips which gives a gloriously holey fabric. The aim with this swatch was to embrace the drape, and investigate how the fabric moved with a bit more space within the stitches. As suspected, it was a very interesting yarn to knit with. While Sparrow, Kestrel's 4ply cousin feels quite hard in the hand, Kestrel's tape construction made for a much more pleasant knitting experience. The flatness of the yarn took a bit of getting used to - not in a bad way. It felt different to any other yarn which tends to have a roundness to it; despite being a heavy 10ply it slipped through my fingers like something much lighter.

Then, after knitting with it, I had a whole lot of fun. I boiled it*, washed it, rubbed it, threw it around, put it in the washing machine with a pair of shoes (which needed washing, it isn't that weird). Generally speaking, I gave it a pounding. 

It isn't particularly forgiving to discrepancies in gauge or stitch oddities, however after all the hardship I put it through these started to even out.  

Wibbly bits before.

And the drape, after. 

With linen, the more it is handled and washed, the softer it gets. This swatch certainly is a whole lot softer thanks to the multitude of washes it went through, and look how gloriously it drapes! 

Heading into summer, Kestrel would be great for light garments and accessories that also keep you covered when it cools off at the end of the day. Tomorrow i'll post some pattern ideas, for now, i'm going to throw the swatch around some more.

*Why boil it? Well I'd heard tell that it would help break down the linen fibres. Another way of doing this is to throw linen in the drier for a while, or wash it multiple times. I was curious about the boiling idea, and figured there wouldn't be much harm in trying.