KnittenKaboodle debuts at Tait's Harvest Shop and Greenhouse!

 

The leaves are now gone for another season, wrapping up a truly lovely autumn and our thoughts are starting to turn to the upcoming holidays.  Here in the Nittany Valley, Tait's Farm and Harvest Shop is the premiere destination for finding that perfect gift of distinction.  I am very excited to say that I have joined their featured local artisans, proving scarves, neck warmers, tote bags, aprons and spice trivets and coasters!  If in the area, or driving past on US322 just east of State College, please stop in and check out all the wonderful offerings.

http://www.taitfarmfoods.com/harvest.html

Fabrics from many sources:  Locally:  Stitch Your Art in Pine Grove Mills  www.stitchyourartout.com    ; Other:  Pennington Quilt Works, Pennington, NJ;  Sew Smart, Doylestown, PA   Yarns:  Forever Yarn   www.foreveryarn.com   , Doylestown, PA; Stitch Your Art Out, Pine Grove Mills, PA;



An assortment of Holiday Aprons

Aprons



Toille Tote



Assortment of Scarves and neck warmers (the silk-mohair scarves are already gone!)



Spice filled trivets made specially for Taits - lovely aroma with warm teapot on them





Fear Not "Handle with Care"

How do we care for and clean our fine woolens?  I've heard fellow shoppers say they won't buy woolens they can't put in the washer and dryer, which means they are basically restricted to acrylics and some superwash yarns, such as sock yarns.  Now there is nothing wrong with this approach, however it does eliminate whole classes of animal fibers such as cashmere, mohair, merino, alpaca, silk, and plant fibers such as bamboo to name a few.  Machine washing involves agitation, which causes fibers to stick together essentially closing off the spaces between each fiber.  The result is often called 'felting' or 'fulling' or just plain 'shrinking'.  Intentional felting is very beautiful, strong and interesting, but is rarely the desired result when washing your lovely alpaca neck warmer.


So what to do?  Hand laundering requires a small bit of patience, but is completely worth it when considering the preservation of your precious hand knits.  Here are the basic steps, thanks to Jacqueline Sava (inventor of 'Soak' wool wash)1:

1. Use plenty of water in the basin, never HOT

2. Use cool or cold water

3. Use a low suds/no rinse formulation wool wash.

4. Drain or empty excess water from basin before removing the item.
Carefully squeeze excess water out by pressing it against the basin
DO NOT LIFT the wet item from the basin when it is full or water -- this will stretch and distort

5. Place the item on a clean towel and gently fold the sides over the item. 
Roll the item in the towel to remove excess water - GENTLY to avoid distortion

6. Resist all temptations to WRING and TWIST .

7. Lay flat to dry, reshaping as needed -- it will stay the way it dries. Choose a place that allows air circulation but not in direct sunlight or on a heat register/radiator.
TIP: Flip the piece over and change the towel if damp halfway through the drying process

8. Protect your precious fibers from moths during the off season by cleaning them before storage and storing in a protective environment with cedar or other deterrents.

1  Knit Simple, Holiday 2008, pp. 20

Note: I've had good success for interim cleanings using the 'dry clean' products for your dryer.  But if you choose this route, follow the manufactures instructions carefully and watch the HEAT temperature, as heat is the enemy of precious fibers. 


Please feel free to email or call us with specific care instructions for any item you purchase from KnittenKaboodle.  We keep the labels from the yarn wrappers and can specifically address the content of your particular item.

For more information in interpreting the international care symbols, see this helpful link from Trendsetter Yarns  http://www.trendsetteryarns.com/symbols.htm . 

Meet A New Contributor!

Welcome to our newest contributing artisan, Betty Sebastian!  Betty joins us from lovely Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  Betty lived in Ohio where she worked as a bookkeeper, before retiring to HHI.  She has been sewing and enjoying fiber arts for many years.  She says that crochet is her strongest preference and a wonderful way to relax. 

Our first item from Betty is this lovely lap throw blanket!  It is rich in color and thick and warm -- perfect to throw over your shoulders or keep on the lap, a great way to ward off the first chills of autumn.  Find this little lovely on our website:

http://knittenkaboodle.com/handknits.htm



Lovely Hilton Head Island at sunrise



Classic Toille Totes!

The newest totes in the collection!

These are sturdy totes, simple design and styling makes them easy to carry and use.  They are great for carrying the knitting or needlework projects, with deep and roomy interiors with pockets.  Not a knitter? They are handy for shopping, carrying with errands or as a casual purse/tote.

For more info and product details, check them out at http://www.knittenkaboodle.com/ 

Summer Days are Waning

Late Summer in the PA Mountains (Bedford Springs)

Although it has been quite a few years since I went 'back to school', as these late days of August fade into September, I still can't help looking forward to autumn.  Living in the northeast, in a college town, this is reinforced as students fill the campus and town and band practice sounds bounce off the mountains.  As a knitter, this time of year also means getting out the sticks and wools and gearing up for the seasons to come. 

I am working on a lovely v-neck cable sweater from the Schulana #23 for myself (which I stashed back in the fall of 2008!).  But for KnittenKaboodle, I have some lovely new felted bags almost ready, as well as some new neck warmers and plenty of silk-mohair coming up.  Some new work is on the way from returning artists and a new artist is joining us with a lovely lap-throw blanket for openers.

As always, we are committed to fabulous fibers, good design and lovely works of wearable art.  Why not separate from the masses and crowds and enjoy a hand made item -- crafted by people who love what they do?

For knitters, I've just completed a new batch of my classic 'needle zip'. These popular little bags go into the knitting tote (or anywhere) and hold the items you need for day-to-day project work, including those straight needles that don't fit anywhere well.   This set features cheerful blues, greens, and yellows from wonderful fabrics by Amy Butler and Kathy Davis and a great lightly coated treated cotton from Westminster Fabrics.  Zip pull embellishments add some fun.  More colors from fall and winter colorways coming soon.  

Scarf Sticks!

I recently finished a neckwarmer and started searching for the perfect closures.  I really could not settle on any buttons that suited the piece and wished I had a small shawl pin set (most are rather large to accommodate larger stitches and pieces).  A stick pin would be perfect, but I wasn't about to donate one of mine to the project. I decided to fiddle with wood sticks, beads, stain and the dreaded glue gun to see what I could cook up.  The result was surprisingly rewarding and worked perfectly with the neck scarf.  I've made several more since and will continue to refine and create more over the next few months.  Some will be incorporated into original designs and some will offered directly for sale.  Check back on the website in the weeks to come! 

The neckwarmer is from a wonderfully soft and lovely yarn from Manos del Uraguay   http://manosdeluruguay.co.uk/silkblend.html   and trimmed with a mohair yarn from Habu Textiles.  http://www.habutextiles.com/ . Neckwarmers and other cool weather wearable art items will be available in late August.  If interested before then, please write to me at info@knittenkaboodle.com. 

New Products in Development!

 have written in the past about my passion for Rowan's Kidsilk Haze and recently found the wonderful book Silky Little Knits by Alison Crowther-Smith (called Little Luxury Knits in the UK http://www.knitrowan.com/patterns/rowan/little-luxury-knits.aspx).  It is chock full of lovely patterns and more importantly, inspiration!  I recently began exploring the addition of beads into my knitting and this book frequently merges both concepts.  This piece isn't for sale, but is my first exploration inspired by her concepts.  These techniques require some practice and I can't wait to make more!

Little neckwarmer in Kidsilk Haze - two colors of mohair-silk with glass bead embellishments and small button closures.