Hello!
This week I'm unveiling the June Club Yumi Kit featuring the Wee Bit Scottish Socks!
Exclusive Pattern:
Wee Bit Scottish Socks
When I think of Scotland, I think of Loch Ness, bagpipes and tartan kilts. While I have seen some really fun patterns for stuffed Nessies, the tartan kilts were what spoke to me when trying to decide on a design concept for the Scottish Highlands Club Yumi Kit.
I’ve been itching to design a sock pattern for a while now and a tartan pattern seemed the perfect time to create one using the Mosaic technique. Only one color is used per row to create this intricate colorwork which becomes intuitive after the first couple repeats. This way you can relax into your knitting while producing a finished pair of socks that is anything but plain vanilla in looks.
This fun sock pattern is written for 9 sizes: Child’s Small - Men’s Large & features an all-over plaid mosaic knitting pattern in a cuff-down construction with forethought-afterthought heels. This pattern was written for a solid & variegated yarn but looks really lovely with high-contrast semi-solids as well.
This is an intermediate pattern, but don’t shy away from it if you haven’t tried mosaic (slip-stitch) knitting before. The most important thing to remember is to keep your tension even & to have fun with them!
Want early-bird access to this pattern?
Register to become an Alpaca or Silk Patreon through the YumiYarns Patreon page & you will receive the patterns through email when the Club Yumi members receive theirs each month. When the patterns launch on Ravelry in September, you'll be sent a link to download them or add them to your Ravelry library as well.
Featured Yarns:
Baah! La Jolla & Wendy Roam 4-ply from Athena Fibers
This month instead of partnering with an indie dyer, I've partnered with my local yarn store, Athena Fibers, to bring you a gorgeous color/yarn combination!
My favorite part about shopping in an actual yarn shop is that you can combine textures, brands and colors in a way that is almost impossible online. The ladies at Athena's let me have free reign to shop around for the perfect combination of yarns for these special kits and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I know that sometimes it can seem like we're breaking some unspoken rule if we mix brands/plys/etc. If this is you, I hope that this kit helps to encourage you to break away from that mentality and to just play as you shop. I'm infatuated with these yarns and this pattern and I know that club members will be, too!
The Baah! yarn is in their special hand-dyed club colorway that was released back in November 2017. Their club colorways aren't repeated and aren't sold online, just through local yarn stores. Athena's happens to be one of the stores that gets a few bags of each colorway each month & they almost always sell out completely before the next shipment arrives so I'm thrilled that we were able to get enough skeins to use in this month's kits.
This special colorway was one of my favorites because I love the bright pops of oranges and pinks agains the neutral background. The La Jolla base has a subtle shine and it contrasts beautifully with the more matte finish of the Wendy Roam 4-Ply. Rydal is the colorway that I selected for this secondary color because I love the depth in this soft, heathered grey sock yarn. It's amazing on it's own, but when combined with the La Jolla in the Wee Bit Scottish Socks, both yarns really shine.
Want to see the yarns in action with the Wee Bit Scottish Socks? Check my Instagram account for updates on my socks-in-progress!
Special Gift:
Happy Knitting Journal
If you're going to be traveling around the world, you're going to need a passport. This month Club Members received a Happy Knitting Journal so that they can record their projects and the details of their knitting adventures! I've added them into the YumiYarns.com shop as well so now non-members can join along, too! (Buy yours here)
Even though we're in the digital age and we have all sorts of tools & apps (& Ravelry) to record our projects, I'm still a big fan of putting pen to paper. I like sitting with my cup of coffee in the morning before the rest of the household wakes up & just writing out my projects. It's a chance for me to think over how I'm going to go about making the thing, what kind of materials I want to use, who it's for, why I'm making it & any other thoughts that pop into my head along the way. I love having this physical record of what I've done & where I've been. I hope that it brings you the same amount of joy when you use it as well.
Happy Knitting,
Shaina ^_^
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 October-December 2018 trio of kits: Loving Local! This trio of kits will highlight locally produced yarns from the Midwest of the United States. Some are undyed & some are naturally dyed, but all are absolutely gorgeous! 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.
PS: If you would rather have a reminder closer to October, please sign up for my e-mails so that I can reach you. I'll never spam you or sell your information, we're friends and friends wouldn't do that to each other.