You may remember the free pattern I posted a few months back using Classic Elite Kumara.  Well they’re back with another fabulous free pattern.  I think it would look so scrumptious in white.

You can wear it as a big lovely cowl

Kumara is 85% Extra Fine Merino/15% Baby Camel, 128yd per ball, Knits at 4.5 sts over 4 inches on a U.S. size 9 and sells for $10.95.  Because of its short staple length the camel adds a lovely halo when blocked. The merino component is dyed before the yarn is spun with undyed camel hair. The blend of dyed and undyed fibers makes soft, muted colors. Kumara’s six twisted plies yield great stitch definition.

It also functions as a snood.

Designed by Pam Allan, Classic Elite’s creative director, this pattern leverages simple and very structural garter stitch and is a fabulous use of short rows.  Pam forgoes the wrap and turn technique, thus simplifying the short rows, and allowing the eyelets to become a design element in this piece. The simplicity makes this a great first project for someone new to short rows.

Download it here.

As you know we absolutely love Spud & Chloe yarns.  They’ve been a big hit since they day they arrived in the shop and of course Susan B. Anderson who authors the Spud and Chloe blog continues to provide us with inspiration.  She’s given us a fabulous little holiday buddy with the Tiny Elf pattern

Seriously cute huh? Photo courtesy of Susan B. Anderson

Susan structured this pattern as a holiday knit along so it was super fun to see him develop.  However the pattern is all together on the site in one place now and you could definitely pull this one off before the holidays.  Only takes bits of three hanks of Spud and Chloe Sweater.

You can download the pattern here for free.

During Sharon Brant’s recent visit she brought along the cutest little softie called Pete.  Pete is the cutest knit reindeer made from Alpaca Cotton.  He’d make a great gift for anyone on your list or a cute addition to anyone’s holiday decorations.

Seriously cute huh?

Mazie was anxiously watching me “yarn” this little guy over our Thanksgiving vacation to the west coast.  You can visit him at the shop until she wants him back again.

On a snowy day like today, Pete is already decked out with snowflakes

Download the free pattern for Pete here.

There is nothing like a gift designed to keep you warm and cozy and these thrummed mitts fit the bill.  The thrumming technique has been a very popular class and workshop around Seed Stitch and we hope to have another one scheduled in our January February class sessions.  Stay tuned.

However, if you’ve done this technique before or a quick book study, then you can tackle these mitts in time for a holiday gift.  The pattern, designed by the talented Helene Driesen, is a Seed Stitch exclusive.

Seriously great huh?

These were made using Lamb’s Pride Bulky and some multi-colored roving from Louet.

Here you can see the fluffy thrumms that keep your fingers warm

We have some great multi-colored roving in the shop and lots of color options in the Lambs Pride Bulky. Swing by and we can help you on your way to the perfect mitss.

One of my favorite yarns I saw when I was in Columbus OH earlier this year at our yarn retailers meeting TNNA, was Kumara by Classic Elite.  I could not stop smoothing this yarn as I walked around the show and found myself coming back to it again and again as I poured through my samples upon returning to the shop.
It’s now on the shelves and I think will be a favorite for many of you too.

This yarn is 85% extra fine merino, 15% baby camel with an amazingly marshmellow-y handfeel and lovely bloom, but will also have fabulous stitch definition.  The 50g ball has 128 yards and knits at 4.5 stitches per inch on a U.S. size 9.

To celebrate this yarn, I thought I’d share with you a great quick project and wonderful gift idea that you can surely get done before the holiday season.

Kumara Hand Wamers Free Pattern

These hand warmers only take two balls and are a reasonable little piece of luxury.  If you’ve never knit with Camel fiber before it’s incredibly soft with a micron count as fine as some cashmere’s.  Seriously great yarn!

Download the free pattern here.

As we approach the holiday season I’ll be sprinkling in gift giving inspiration.  Some of them will be projects to give as gifts and others will be gifts for the favorite fiber artist in your life.

First up: Opera Gloves!

The Opera Gloves pattern from Mac and Me is perhaps one of our all time favorites.  They fit like no other glove, are comfortable to wear, and an amazingly versatile pattern.

Shown above are two great modifications.  On the left is the full glove, but our Michele made flip finger so she could use her iPod.  On the right are mine where I made them fingerless after the thumb gusset increase.  Soooo many possibilities with this pattern.  The left is made with two skeins of amazing Koigu KPPPM and the right is one skein of Ambiente for the arms and one of semisolid Koigu KPPPM for the body of the hand.

We are also offering a fab class on this project that starts this coming Monday November 9th from 6:30-8:00.  Check the website for more details and call to register.  Margie is an amazing teacher and everyone who has taken one of her classes has been so excited!

Anyone would be lucky to recieve these as a gift.

Well I guess this must be a free patterns stretch at a yarn tale because I want to share another one with you today.  Many of you know the amazing work of Leigh Radford and her fantastic books One Skein, AlterKnits, and AlterKnit Felts and now another great one just out on shelves (to be on our shelves shortly) called One Skein More.  It looks like it will become a staple on our book shelves.

30 projects all completed with one or two skeins

As you may also know from previous posts here, Leigh has been one of the driving forces behind the amazing patterns and kits you see at Seed Stitch under the Imperial Stock Ranch Line. If you haven’t seen them yet, you need to come in and check them out. The yarn is great to work with and the projects are so fun. In fact our slipper class coming up in November is using the kit from ISR. Well Leigh has given us knitters a little gift. She’s designed this pattern, found over at Design Sponge, using ISR.

Great knit cover for recycled jars!

I can’t wait to whip these up. Of course this is an ideal use for the fab yarn from ISR, but could also be a great stash buster. Check out the pattern details over at Design Sponge. If you haven’t read Design Sponge yet, it’s a must read. I’ve been a devoted reader of Grace’s blog for years now. She’s amazingly talented and she and her new editorial team always provides me with inspiration.

Note: Photos courtesy of Leigh Radford and Design Sponge.

Rowan has come out with a new yarn this season and it’s absolutely scrumptious, Alpaca Cotton.  It’s a blend of 72% Alpaca and 28% Cotton, this yarn is soft and light, yet warm.  It knits at 16 stitches over 4 inches and each ball contains 148 yards.  You may have admired the beautiful store sample shawl in the shop.

There is a great pattern book, Winter Solstice, to accompany this yarn, but also wanted to share this fantastic free pattern made with Alpaca Cotton.

Free Pattern - Amber

This is knit with two colors of Alpaca Cotton knit together at the same time.  It’s a beautiful garment.

You can download the free pattern here.

Purchase the yarn and book here.

If you’ve been in to see us over the last couple of weeks you’re sure to have admired the amazing afghan and bag that are part of our center display.  It’s the creation of our very own Michele Bonner.

Each of these leaves was knit individually when she lived in England and then sewn together.  The edging she choose to knit as well is amazing.

We’d love to offer this pattern to all of the friends of Seed Stich for free.  Happy yarning!

So you may remember when I first found this glow-in-the-dark yarn.  As a recap, it’s not necessarily a fine fiber, but it certainly is a MUST have fiber for any yarn store located in Salem MA.  So many customers are working with this product I think we’ll set the whole city a-glow soon.  Andrea whipped up this fantastic hat, pattern courtesy of Hello Yarn, with our glow-in-the-dark NightLights for her daughter Vika who was in need of a skateboarding hat.

Is this seriously awesome or what?

If you’ve not yet checked out Hello Yarns patterns, you should.  She’s a great designer and this fantastic Skull pattern is a free download from her site.  This yarn would be great in the glow-in-the-dark Nightlights and either the Jill Eaton Minnow Merino or the Rowan Wool Cotton.