Hello!
This week I'm announcing this month's Club Yumi Kit, the Kindly Hosts Shawl Knitting Kit!
This pattern is currently only available as a part of the Kindly Hosts Shawl kits that were sent to subscribers and that I've stocked in the YumiYarns shop. If you'd like an e-mail reminder when the individual pattern is released on May 1st, please subscribe to my e-mail newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
"Leaf and branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Lorien that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make."
- Galadhrim Elf in Lothlorien
(The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkein)
Putting the thought of all that we love into all that we make. As hand-knitters and crafty folk, isn't that what we should strive for as well? We don't make things by hand because it's fast or easy. As we work on a project, we become intimately acquainted with each and every stitch. Every inch of yarn becomes familiar to us as it runs through our fingers.
I love the thought of putting happy feels into our handknits as we work each stitch so this pattern was made to highlight two beautiful yarns that will make your heart sing. Frequent color and patterning changes will hold your interest while you work and 3 sizing options let you decide just how big or small your work of love will be.
The Kindly Hosts Shawl begins at the center on DPNs with a tutorial for Emily Ocker's Circular Cast-On. It progresses through 4-5 ever-increasing sections of lace patterns designed to represent some of the elements of nature loved by the elves in Tolkein's novels: flowers, trees, and streams of clear water rushing over pebbles. The shawl finishes with a color-blocked knitted-on edging that creates the illusion of intarsia, but is actually just worked with one color at a time for simplicity's sake. (All stitch patterns are both written-out and charted.)
In the sample, I've added a stitchable butterfly button from Katrinkles (or is it a moth from Rivendell or Mirkwood?) because I find the shawl more wearable with it and because it makes me smile. (A button is included in the Club Yumi Kits & I have a small handful left in the shop.)
This month my lovely friend, Heather, owner & dyer at T & H Fiber Works has made us a very springy duo of yarns on her Bling and Glitz Sock bases! Lichen (green) is dyed onto her Glitz Sock base (gold sparkles) and It Fell Like Lightening out of a Clear Blue Sky (blue) is dyed onto her Bling Sock base (silver sparkles). I love the way that these yarns turned out so so much!
Lichen is a regular colorway in Heather's shop and one that I gravitated towards immediately. We came up with It Fell Like Lightening out of a Clear Blue Sky to pair with it for this kit and (because we are both nerds) we decided that this kit needed to have Lord of the Rings overtones. Heather came up with the colorway name thanks to a quote from CS Lewis when J.R.R. Tolkein's book series was first released: "It's like lightning from a clear sky!" And I decided that the pattern had to be for a pi-shawl in honor of the iconic door at Bag-End (and as a slight nod toward Boromir's sheild in the movies). Upon re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring, it was the cloaks from Lothlorian that inspired me in writing the pattern, but the color selections and creation were very much Shire-inspired.
If you haven't read the Lord of the Rings (or watched the movies) and all these references have been lost on you, I will give you a non-nerd version of our planning. We envisioned gently rolling, green hills glistening with dew on a bright Spring morning where there isn't a cloud in the sky. I think that Heather did an excellent job of recreating this vision in yarn form and I can't wait for you to get these skeins into your hands to see and enjoy for yourself! You can pick up your individual skeins in the Yumi Yarns Shop.
Club Yumi Subscribers
Come meet Heather for a Live Q & A!!
Date:
March 17th, 2018
Time:
7:00-8:00 PM CST
Place:
This is your chance to ask Heather whatever you can think of about her colorways, her processes, her non-fiber interests or anything else that comes to mind. If you can't make the live session, please post questions in the thread ahead of time & she will answer them during the live session. After the live session has ended, I'll compile everything into an interview format & will post it to the blog at a later date.
Heather is one of my favorite fiber friends and a fellow nerd who loves combinging color, yarn and all things geeky in her creations. I hope that you're all looking forward to this as much as I am!
Not a Club Member? If you purchase a Kindly Hosts Shawl kit, I'll send you an invitation to the Q&A so you can join in the fun as well!
I'm a sucker for a good lotion. I love it in all forms, but I especially love ones that I can toss in my purse or knitting bag for emergencies and ones that can double as a lip balm are the absolute best! This month subscribers were treated to a travel sized pot of Bee Amazed's lovely lotion pots in the Original (unscented) version. It's also available in Lanolin, Lavender and Tea Tree scents which are all lovely. (My personal favorite is Tea Tree.) This little gem checks all the boxes for a perfect knitting bag staple and it's super smooth without being greasy.
I don't have any more of these amazing lotion pots in stock but there are still a few ways that you can get your hands on them. Peggy and her sister Sue often vend together at events so if you're in the US Midwest, you can look for their booth listing as either Bee Amazed or PS Products. Or you can order directly from Peggy via the Bee Amazed Facebook Page.
In case you were curious, each kit that went out this month included:
1 - 438 yd skein of T & H Fiber Works' Glitz Base in Lichen (Green) (75% Superwash Merino / 20% Nylon / 5% Gold Stellinia, fingering weight)
1 - 438 yd skein of T & H Fiber Works' Bling Base in It Fell Like Lightening out of a Clear Blue Sky (Blue) (75% Superwash Merino / 20% Nylon / 5% Silver Stellinia, fingering weight)
1 Printed Copy of the Kindly Hosts Shawl Knitting Pattern
1 Digital Copy of the Kindly Hosts Shawl Knitting Pattern
1 Travel-Sized Lotion Pot from Bee Amazed in the Original (unscented) scent
I do have a few kits left in the shop so pop over if you would like to snag one for yourself before they're gone!
If you're bummed that you missed your shot to get in on this round of kits, pop over to the Yumi Yarns Shop and snag a spot in the June-August 2018 trio of kits: Across the Pond! Spots are limited and I can't guarantee that there will be any remaining kits at the end of the pre-order so if you're thinking about signing up, I'd do so sooner rather than later.
Happy crafting,
Shaina ^_^
PS: If you love the Kindly Hosts Shawl pattern, please sign up for my e-mails so that I can notify you when the individual pattern is released on May 1, 2018.