Artyarns

Before the art of knitting comes the art of yarn


My Cart

Blog

Guest Post: Evelyn Lorenzini Discusses Her Ruscella Shawl

by artyarns on

Today we have a special guest post from Evelyn, who designed a gorgeous shawl out of Ensemble Glitter Light color 195 silver. Artyarns loves working with independent designers. Please contact us if you are a designer interested in a collaboration!

I had water in mind when I started designing the Ruscella Shawl.  I was inspired by the thought of a summer vacation on the beach, walking in the water with a warm breeze sweeping over the ocean, watching the waves leave their ripple marks on the sand.  The two border patterns have a wavy look and the name of the pattern is Ruscella, which means a stream or a brook in Italian. Working with the Ensemble Light yarn felt like water flowing through my fingers.

 

This simple construction makes this shawl a quick knit. The border is worked first, over 29 stitches to begin with (a few increases within the 16 row repeat takes it to 32 stitches at the center of it.) Stitches are then picked up on the side of the shawl to form its body. This pattern comes in 3 sizes and the first 2 can be worked using only one skein of the Ensemble Light Glitter. The smaller size has a few special elements: a hem and an i-cord to tie it and keep it in place. For the larger size, using a skein or two of the Artyarns Beaded Silk Light for the border and switching to the Ensemble Light Glitter for the body would make an absolutely stunning piece.

 

I’m in love with how beautifully the lace stitches came out in this yarn and how the silver glitter adds a feel of luxury, something very special – a piece to cherish for years to come. I love this bold colorway (color 195) of red and purple blending throughout the rows. This project could also easily be turned into a wedding shawl with in an ivory or white colorway (color 250). The large skein makes it easy to work this project. You will cut the yarn only when you are done with the bind off!

Let this design inspire you and take you to your happy place.

Evelyn is offering a special discount for Artyarns blog readers! Get 10% off on the Ruscella Shawl with coupon code JUNE2014.  Valid until June 30th.

Artyarns 10th Anniversary Contest #4

by artyarns on

The May contest starts today!  We’ll choose two winners to each receive one Duets Kit or Duets Silk Kit in the colorways Ocean Life (left) and Silver Lining (right). These are brand new kits that incorporate two of our yarns in different weights.  Duets contains one skein of Silk Halo twisted together with Supermerino, while Duets Silk contains Regal Silk and Supermerino.  They are both gorgeous in the skein, and in the finished product, as well!  The labels on the kits contain a website and coupon code to retrieve the patterns for free.  Iris designed two complimentary patterns for the kits – a cowl and a scarf:

Are you interested in winning this month’s prize? If so, please tell us your favorite Artyarns color – what inspires you about this color?  What does it remind you of – the beach? A fruit stand in Mexico? A sunset you once saw in Wyoming?  Leave a comment below with your entry.  We will choose our favorite response. The criteria are for your post to be interesting, descriptive, and genuine  – so write carefully and colorfully! We will choose and announce the winners May 29th.

Artyarns 10th Anniversary Contest #3

by artyarns on

When most people first learn to knit, they pick up an inexpensive ball of yarn, some random needles, and knit, rip out, knit, rip out, until they can eventually make a swatch without any mistakes.  From this point on, a new knitter may decide to graduate to yarn that they find appealing, both visually and tactilely.  If this knitter is lucky, they will eventually find their way to Artyarns! In our opinion, it is the pinnacle of luxury yarn.

I remember my first experience with Artyarns – Iris had just created the now very popular Ensemble Light, and gave me a skein in color 310 to knit the Undulating Leaves Shawl. I handled it very delicately because it felt so precious!  Once I started knitting with it, I loved the softness and shine of the cashmere/silk blend.  It was so exciting to know that I was creating something that was going to be very special once completed.

Our third contest revolves around this idea of first experiences.  We want to know the story behind your first interaction with Artyarns.  Did you see a friend knitting with a skein and fell in love? Did you see it at a shop?  What was your first project using Artyarns? Which yarn did you use? We are interested in knowing your story!  Make it engaging and creative – this will not be a random drawing.

NOTE: This contest is only open to those who have physically knitted or crocheted (or otherwise crafted) with Artyarns yarns only.  Please leave your entry in the comments below, and make sure you leave your email address or Ravelry id so we can contact you if you win. The contest is open until April 20th.  Only one entry per person, please.

Now for the prize: the winner will receive the beautiful skein of Ensemble Light in color 2225 shown above, along with the physical pattern book Ensemble Light Collection, vol. 2, as well as a digital copy sent to your Ravelry library!

We’re so excited to read your entries!  Please allow a bit of time for your comment to appear, as they are moderated.

 

-Samantha

Winners of Our Yarn Inspiration Photo Contest

by artyarns on

We received some really creative and gorgeous entries (you can see them all in our Facebook album), and here are the winners! In first place was Suzi M.’s orchids with Rhapsody Light and Beaded Mohair & Sequins in color 904, which received 140 likes! Our runners-up were Emily M.’s impressionist painting and Ensemble Light color 502, and Tracie B.’s fish and Ensemble Light color 135.

Suzi has won 2 skeins of Beaded Pearl & Sequins, and Tracie and Emily have each won a copy of our 2013 Knitalong Collection Book!  Congrats the winners, and thanks to all who entered and voted!  We have another contest coming up in April, so keep you eyes peeled on April 1st for the contest details and to find out what you can win!

Spring Knitalong Jacket March 2014

by artyarns on

During the month of March, I’ll be hosting a knitalong for this jacket:

  

It is a very simple design that is knitted from the bottom, kimono style, up and around, in one piece.  Here’s how:

Step 1: Start with the Right Front.  Complete the Right Sleeve by using a Knitted Cast On to add stitches to your needle, then knit it right up to the shoulder.  Place the stitches on a holder or waste yarn.

Step 2: Continue with the Left Front.  Complete the Left Sleeve by using a Knitted Cast on to add stitches to your needle, then knit it right up to the shoulder.

Place all the stitches on a single needle.  Knit the right front, add stitches for the neckline with a Knitted Cast On, then knit right across the left front.  You are now ready to work the back.

Step 3: Complete the sleeves by knitting as many rows as you knitted on the front.  At this point you can join the sleeves on each end by taking an extra needle, picking up the sleeve stitches from the cast on row, and using a 3-needle bind-off bind the stitches together.

Do the same on both sides.  Or you can wait to seam the sleeves later.  Whatever you prefer.

Step 4: Continue to knit down the back, and you can actually attach the sides on each row as you come to it, to avoid seaming later.  Again that is optional.

This schematic shows you the dimensions of the finished jacket:

 

Let’s talk about materials:

I used Beaded Mohair and Sequins for the pink jacket, color 1024 Metal.  For the blue jacket, I am using Beaded Silk Light color 903 Gold.  My recommendation is any of our beaded yarns, like Beaded Mohair, Beaded Mohair & Sequins, Beaded Silk Light, Beaded Silk and Sequins Light.

If you are substituting yarns, I suggest using the heaviest Artyarns yarn you can find.  Perhaps Silk Rhapsody, Ensemble 4, Supermerino, would make good substitutions.  You cannot use any laceweight yarns like Cashmere 1 or Silk Mohair–they are just too thin.  If you try using Ensemble Light, Rhapsody Light, or Regal Silk, I hope you are an experienced lace knitter, because it is not that easy to knit such thin yarn in lace on such big needles.  Also, you should make sure that you are getting the gauge, and chances are you’ll need to go up a needle size or two right from the start.  I recommend starting each side with a beaded yarn and ending with it too, so that the jacket is not too “flyaway” light.

GAUGE:  10 stitches and 11.25 rows = 4″ x 4″ —- Tight knitters beware, you will need to knit this in a very very open manner or your jacket will be way too small.  Although I recommend size 11 needles (I personally used 10’s), many will need to go up to size 13 needles to get the required gauge.

I like using clingy needles with this type of knitting–I avoid metal, and enjoy the Knitter’s Pride Karbonz or any bamboo needles.

Want to join the knitalong, please click here for the instructions:  https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spring-jacket-knitalong

We have a discussion group here where you can post any questions:  https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/penny/18yarnsart-knitalongs-and-patterns/2853697/26-50#46

Happy knitting, and I hope you join me.

Artyarns 10th Anniversary Contest #2: Yarn Inspiration Photo Contest

by artyarns on

If you’ve been a fan of ours on Facebook, Pinterest, or Tumblr, you may have noticed the beautiful photos of  Artyarns yarn colors juxtaposed against photos of nature or art that contain similar color themes. These have been very popular and are quite fun to put together! Our next contest centers on beautiful photos of Artyarns.

photo credit: Fabulousyarn.com

 

photo credit: fabulousyarn.com

In honor of our 10th Anniversary, our second photo contest will be to submit your own yarn inspiration photos to us.  It doesn’t have to be a collage, but it does have to be your own yarn photo, and it has to be a beautiful shot. You must, of course, use Artyarns yarns. If you would like to submit a collage like the middle photo above (not required), it’s best to use a smartphone app.  Here is a free one for iphones, and this is one for the Android platform. You can also create a collage on your home computer using a photo editing program like Photoshop. The key is to put your best photography skills to work. Try a bunch of different angles, under different types of light, to get the best shot you feel you are capable of.

How to enter:

 Your entry must contain a photo of Artyarns yarn(s) that YOU TOOK (whether from your stash, your friend’s stash, or the local yarn shop’s stock). Email the photo to webcontact@artyarns.com and a note mentioning the color and fiber in your photo.
 We will accept up to 3 entries per person.
 This contest will end March 20th. On that date, we will put all of the photos into an album on Facebook and open it to voting. VOTES COUNT! We will choose the winner based on the number of likes/shares it gets.

Prize:

 

We will have a total of 3 winners.  The grand-prize winner of the contest will win the 2 gorgeous skeins of Beaded Pearl & Sequins shown above (a $148 value)! Two runners-up will each win a copy of our 2013 Knit-Along Collection booklet (a $19.95 value)!