For the little ones

May 8th, 2013

Spring is a time to enjoy the little things like little flowers and little lambs, and is a perfect time to work up adorable little baby gifts! Baby projects can be made quickly without requiring a lot of yardage, and are unique, unlike anything you would find in a big box store.

stacieknits2′s Be-Ribboned Bonnet

Cap’s Hat

Baby Bonnets

Spinnery yarns come in a wide variety of colorways, so you can work with the traditional blue/pink baby palette, go bright and bold, or stick with neutrals and match anything! The quickest projects for babies are probably booties or hats – of course this is dependent on the stitch pattern and your own skill! The classic Baby Booties offered by the Spinnery are also found as “Be-Ribboned Booties” in One Skein Wonders: 101 Yarn Shop Favorites. Baby hats are not just for winter! Together with the “Be-Ribboned Bonnet”, also found in the same book, you’ll have a gift ready-to-go! Cotton Comfort, our Wool/Cotton blend is a great choice for the sensitive scalp. Cap’s Hat and the Baby Bonnet patterns are simply sweet and just right for a carry-along project.

daisyknit’s Baby Leggings

Peanut

Blankie

If you have a little more time, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Leggings are a classic choice in Cotton Comfort or New Mexico Organic. The Pebble Yoke Sweater & Hat set is a charming set that so soft thanks to Sylvan Spirit. Peanut is an interesting knit that will keep your attention if you are waiting on the arrival of a new little one! A blanket pattern like Blankie, can be easily sized up for a crib or down for a car seat.

Harleyranch’s Striped Kitty

Eucalan Wool Wash

Have you tried making toys or stuffed animals? We have said before that gauge is important, but with toys there is a bit of wiggle room – using a lighter weight yarn will result in a smaller toy! Louisa Harding’s Cat pattern is made with rectangles of Cotton Comfort! This pattern is also part of the collection in Natural Knits for Babies and Moms, a book that has many more ideas for baby items in our yarns! Before you wrap up your baby gift, it is a good idea to give it a soak in a gentle wool wash like Eucalan. Eucalan has tips on their website for washing wool diaper covers, stuffed animals, and blankies!

We encourage you to pick up your needles and hooks and join us in a KAL/CAL this Spring for Baby Items, happening in our Ravelry group! Cast on between now and the end of May, your choice of baby item (or items) in Green Mountain Spinnery yarns. A random winner will be selected from the finished projects to receive prizes from Green Mountain Spinnery and Eucalan!

Tags: baby, baby blanket, baby booties, baby gifts, baby hat, baby toys, CAL, Eucalan, KAL
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A Shawl Showcase

April 24th, 2013

Spring is so here! Sure, Mother Nature could pull a fast one on us still and bring a few more grey days and a lot of mud, but instead we will choose to focus on welcoming spring with warmer weather yarns and colorful accessories. Shawls can add a pop of color to brighten your day while being an easy extra layer to keep the chills away.

The Green Mountain Spinnery has several cute and easy shawl patterns you should check out. The Septor Cowl, (above left) designed by Maureen Clark, is the newest in the bunch. This crochet pattern is worked flat, and then seamed to create an infinity loop style accessory and uses one skein of Simply Fine or Sock Art. The Catalina Wrap is another crochet design using 2 skeins of Simply Fine (center). If you prefer a knitting pattern, Simply Fine is also the yarn called for in the Gillette Shawl (above right). Gale Zucker took the photos of the Catalina Wrap and the Gillette Shawl as part of a recent photo shoot in Connecticut; you can read more about the experience on her blog!

Perhaps you are the type to be inspired by the leaves that are dotting the trees once again? The Leafy Lace shawl (above, left) will work up quickly in a DK-weight yarn, like Sylvan Spirit! The Summer Breeze shawl, (center, left), uses Simply Fine or Sock Art to make this lightweight cover-up in a gentle lace pattern. Two recent publications have included Simply Fine shawls as well. The Spring/Summer 2013 issue of the Twist Collective presents Spoleto, (center, right) designed by Sandi Rosner, and involves a lace and a touch of beadwork. The Flanders Scarf pattern, found in the summer issue of knitscene (above, far right) is a garter stitch scarf worked with lace insert and bobbled edge perfect for a take-along knitting project.

Here are a few more projects we discovered on Ravelry to inspire your needles and hooks as spring approaches! The Farmer’s Market Capelet, (above left) designed by Suzy Allen, uses Sylvan Spirit to keep the chill away on breezy mornings. Ravelry user Dodiraz also used Sylvan Spirit in her version of Veera Valimaki’s Different Lines pattern (above, center). Cotton Comfort was used in batyabeth’s Miami Beach Shawl (above, right).

We hope you will share your favorite shawl for Spinnery yarns in our Ravelry group or on our Facebook page!

Tags: Catalina Wrap, cotton comfort, cowl, Farmer's Market Capelet, Gillette Shawl, pattern, Septor Cowl, shawls, Simply Fine, sock art, sylvan spirit
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Friend of the Spinnery: Suzy Allen

March 8th, 2013

Photo by Suzy Allen

Today we would like to put a spotlight on a good friend of Green Mountain Spinnery, designer Suzy Allen. Suzy is the force behind Chain Two, a purely digital e-zine that focuses on the beauty of crochet. In addition to promoting these fashionable and modern crochet designs, she is a frequent participant in the Knitters Retreat weekends and a prolific designer.

From an early age she was surrounded by great handmade heirlooms passed down by her great-grandmothers. As she grew up, she began to notice hand knits everywhere she went and was frequently told “I made it”. Suzy was determined to learn how to make those items as well. Her mom taught her how to knit with a pair of chopsticks and yellow yarn when she was 11 years old. As she says, “While you couldn’t really make anything and she never taught me how to bind off, the passion stuck.” Years later, she found herself again with yellow yarn, and this time a purple crochet hook and a “Teach Yourself to Crochet in One Day” book. She taught herself how to crochet, with a bit of help from a family friend, while she kept her boyfriend (now husband) company during a hospital stay.

Suzy’s father was born and raised in Vermont. Her father’s family has a history of being in the state, farming and building houses, since the 1600′s! Her parents met in Korea, settled down in New York, and continued to summer in Vermont over the fourth of July. Suzy spotted a travel pamphlet for Green Mountain Spinnery at a Visitor Information center during one of these vacations and asked to go! When she was old enough to drive the car herself, she made it a priority to seek out the Spinnery! She says she was immediately captivated by the gorgeous colors, amazing textures and amazing machinery they had in the back. Her first purchase was a book with baby patterns, blue Cotton Comfort, and a Green Mountain Spinnery tote bag. She never misses a chance to stop at the Spinnery and her Green Mountain Spinnery stash continues to grow, especially because she now visits them at shows as well. When asked to pick a favorite, she says, “It’s probably Sylvan Spirit or Mountain Mohair. The Sylvan Spirit is awesome because of the stitch definition it gives and Mountain Mohair is perfect for colorwork. Those yarns are the first two I ever designed with as well. Every time I knit with GMS yarn I fall more and more in love. If home is where my yarn is, my heart is in Vermont! I feel connected to my family every time I knit with it.”

What’s currently on her needles? She is swatching up some great new designs with gorgeous Spinnery yarns. Her hint: I feel a cardigan and a hoodie coming on! You can find her designs on Ravelry where she is known as Chaintwomag and on her website, Chain 2. If you just can’t wait, you’ll want to check out several of her currently available designs: Fire and Ice, a crochet shawl (shown at the top of this post) worked with Simply Fine; Green Mountain Aran Mittens crocheted with Capricorn; Rhinebeck Boot Warmers which would be great in Weekend Wool; Putney Cowl in Mountain Mohair; and the Farmer’s Market Capelet in Sylvan Spirit. All photos by Suzy Allen Designs, used with permission.

Suzy may be a knit and crochet wear designer by night, but her day job is a physical therapist. These two passions are shared in a presentation she has given on the Retreat Weekends called Healthy Hands, Healthy Knitting. The form of stretching she teaches is called Active Isolated Stretching, which was developed by Jim and Phil Wharton who are licensed massage therapists out of NYC. This method of stretching not only helps to increase flexibility helps to increase blood flow as well. These stretches leave the stitcher more energized and ready to sit and stitch. She also covers optimal positioning while knitting as well as the best way to take care of your hands throughout the winter stitching months. A good stretch to help prevent carpal tunnel is flexing and extending your wrists.

Lets do it together, First Wrist Extensors:

1) Using your dominant hand, bring your fingertips up towards the ceiling (wrist extension) hold for 2 seconds (This is not the typical hold for 30 second stretch, this helps increase blood flow!)

2) Repeat 10 times

And for the Wrist Flexors:

1) Using your dominant hand, bring your fingertips down towards the floor (wrist flexion) hold for 2 seconds (This is not the typical hold for 30 second stretch, this helps increase blood flow!)

2) Repeat 10 times

March is also National Crochet Month and it is a great time to stretch your crafting muscles! We would love to hear about your favorite Suzy Allen design in our Ravelry group or on our Facebook page!

Tags: crochet, designer, designs, Suzy Allen
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Weekend Wool is Here!

February 21st, 2013

To those who work at Green Mountain Spinnery, it seems like we have been working on Weekend Wool for a long while. It is very exciting to hear the reactions of fans and friends to our new yarn as they get the chance to finally experience it as well. At Vogue Knitting Live, we were able to share the first skeins and a small selection of colors. The full color palette will be at Stitches West this weekend. If you are unable to attend the Stitches event, you can do your shopping online at spinnery.com!

Weekend Wool is 100% wool sourced from farms in New England and across the US. It features a blend of the soft wools from Rambouillet, Columbia, Targhee and Fresian sheep mixed with the lustrous fleeces from Corriedale, Montadale and Romneys. The result is a lofty yet durable yarn with great stitch definition. Many of our best loved colors appear again in this line along with lovely new dyed shades and harmonious naturals. We have been having some fun swatching too, each swatch in the photo on the right uses the same four colors: Lichen, Poppy, Pine Warbler and Natural Dark. Their placement makes them appear to be different!

With a new yarn often comes the question, what to knit first? With 140 yards in a skein, you will have lots of flexibility in selecting a project. The Great Meadows Hat is an excellent opportunity to play with the color palette (as you can see in the swatch picture), as is our Snowflake Hat pattern. Hats are not the only ways to play with color! The Gulfoss Sweater and Great Meadows Children’s Cardigan would look fantastic in your favorite choice of color combinations! The Spinnery’s Basic Mittens pattern and Ascutney Mountain Hat would also be fantastic in Weekend Wool. The way this winter is continuing on, IBH’s Toasty Socks are an excellent choice for a sturdy boot sock in this new yarn.

We hope that you enjoy introducing Weekend Wool to your stash and we look forward to seeing what you create! Please let us know in our Ravelry group or on our Facebook page!

Tags: patterns, Stiches, Weekend Wool
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Composing a Color

February 6th, 2013

There are several ways to get color on yarn. The most obvious is to dye the yarn after it is spun. The Spinnery does do this with several of its yarns including Cotton Comfort and Weekend Wool. Another way to develop colors is by blending different colored fibers together making what we call a “composed” color. This is how the shades in Mountain Mohair, Sylvan Spirit and Alpaca Elegance are produced.

Recently a custom spinning customer requested that we produce our Spinnery Sock Art – Forest in a custom color. She wanted a color that was reminiscent of a “wheat field”, so we set to work. First we look through some swatches to get some ideas of the range of colors to go for- this is the most intuitive part of this process and fun because it does reveal a bit about how individuals here see and respond to colors. Some people love greeny–yellows, some like a more buttery tone, some hate yellow all together.

cardtest3

Once a goal color is set the next step is to do some very small tests by measuring out different proportions of ingredient colors, hand carding and then spinning small test skeins. This process will get us to a base recipe for a test run of actual yarn, carded and spun on the mill machines. The test run of roving allows us to get a look at how the “real” color of the yarn will look. Now is the time to make adjustments. The roving can be cut off the spools and re-carded with added ingredients. If the color looks good we go ahead and make the yarn.

The yarns shown in these photos are very pretty but in the end the client had a slightly different color in mind. We started the process started again with more samples and test runs. In the end, the desired color was achieved and the Spinnery learned that the Forest sock yarn has a lot of potential for new colorways using the composing method.

Test run yarn is still good yarn, just a bit unusual. We often have test yarns for sale in our shop in Putney. The yarns shown here are also available on-line as the Spinnery Sock Art Forest Wheat colorway. It is a nice springtime yellow perfect for a light cardigan or a great pair of socks. We would love to hear your thoughts on color and see what our yarns inspire you to create! Please let us know in our Ravelry group or on our Facebook page!

Tags: color, dyes, yarn
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Indulging in 2013!

January 17th, 2013

We hope your New Year has gotten off on the right foot! Many people look for ways to re-energize and renew their spirit in January after excitement of the holidays settles down. Here at The Spinnery, we have a few ideas to help you accomplish this.

Our Winter Yarn Sale is going on now through the end of January (while supplies last). If you didn’t find any Green Mountain Spinnery yarns among your holiday gifts this is a great time to indulge and treat yourself! Maybe your stash was depleted when you knit or crocheted all those holiday gifts? Introduce a few favorites to your stash to inspire you as you consider your upcoming projects for 2013.

Our 2-ply worsted Wonderfully Woolly has been discontinued to make room for our new yarn Weekend Wool, a limited selection is available now! The full line will be available in February. Many of the best loved colorways of Wonderfully Woolly along with some lovely new shades will be featured in this blend of 100% wool sourced from farms in New England and across the US. The result is a lofty yet durable yarn with great stitch definition. Many of our best loved colors Lichen, Poppy, Deep Lake, and Pumpkin appear again in this line along with lovely new dyed shades and harmonious naturals. We will be bringing this with us to Vogue Knitting Live! in New York City this weekend, make sure you stop by our booth and be among the first to check out this new yarn!

Another way to treat yourself and re-energize your knitting is to participate in the Sugar Season Knitting Retreat! Join us at the Saxtons River Inn in Saxtons, Vermont, March 22 – 24, for a relaxing weekend of knitting and companionship. Our featured teacher is Amy Herzog of Fit To Flatter fame, who will lead the group in an exploration of the tools you need to produce sweaters perfect for your figure every time you pick up the needles. There will also be plenty of time to explore the area, shop at our yarn store and to sit and knit. The price for the weekend ranges from $430 – $550, depending on the room, and includes the cost of your room, the workshops and meals for the weekend.

We look forward to hearing about your yarn purchases and project plans in our Ravelry group and Facebook page. You can also share your excitement with other Green Mountain Spinnery fans are already signed up for the retreat. We will see you there!

Tags: Amy Herzog, sugar season knitting retreat, Weekend Wool, winter yarn sale, wonderfully woolly
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Tucking In 2012

January 1st, 2013

What a year it has been! Here at the Green Mountain Spinnery we are under a blanket of fresh snow and enjoying the calm and quiet that comes between the holidays and New Year’s. We wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that has happened in 2012 and let you know what we are looking forward to for 2013!

2012 had many highlights! Our beautiful bulky yarn, Capricorn, was introduced. Spinnery yarns were used in many wonderful patterns published by the Spinnery, independent designers and major publications such as Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Love of Knitting and Twist Collective, almost 50 in total! GMS also traveled across the country to bring our Vermont yarns to the many fiber festivals and industry events. Our Knitter’s in the Green Mountains Weekend was a big success with Amy Christoffers coming in to share her expertise.

In 2013 we will be introducing a new yarn, Weekend Wool. You are sure to enjoy this all-American, 2-ply worsted weight yarn which will be available in colors you know and love! Here are a few behind-the-scenes pictures of this new yarn in progress.

In the coming year we are looking forward to more fiber events and wonderful patterns! We hope to you will make a point to stop by our booths at Vogue Knitting Live! in New York City in January and Stitches West in Santa Clara, California in February. In March, you can look forward to a “Sugar Season Knitting Retreat” hosted by the Spinnery at the Saxtons River Inn, in Saxtons River, Vermont with Amy Herzog, of Fit to Flatter fame!

We enjoy talking with so many of our friends and fans in our Ravelry group and Facebook page. Being able to share photos from the mill or what we are working on, and hear about your projects makes what we do so much fun! We hope that you have had an enjoyable holiday season and are able to make time to pick up your needles or hook!

Tags: 2012, 2013, looking ahead, retrospective, Weekend Wool
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Meet the Designer, Eric Robinson

December 18th, 2012

Today we would like to introduce another very busy member of the Spinnery Cooperative. “Eric” Robinson (still known as Judy to her family) is responsible for many different areas at the Spinnery. She is the shop manager, and handles the ordering of non-GMS merchandise and organizing the shop staff. As our go-to, in-house computer person, Eric maintains the database and helps to moderate the “Friends of Green Mountain Spinnery” Ravelry group.

Eric learned to knit from her grandmother around age 8, when she used her somewhat misshapen first efforts to wrap Christmas presents. She blesses her Grandma every day for teaching her continental style knitting, although her family came from England. Around her home town, Eric is known as the “knitting doctor”; she has even been known to make house calls on occasion to solve someone’s knitting dilemma!

Friends of the Spinnery are sure to notice Eric’s energy when she is in the shop, working sheep shows or at knitting conventions. A firm believer in the quality of the Spinnery’s products, being in sales has always been a positive experience when it comes to Green Mountain Spinnery. If you ask her, she’ll tell you the more exciting and rewarding jobs relate to pattern writing and editing and knitting.

Eric started her work at the Spinnery filling in for vacationing shop clerks. Over the years she has become a designer, knitting instructor, tech editor, creator of graphs and schematics, and pattern grader. Her knitting designs, beginning with the best-selling Eric’s Glovelets, tend to include unusual (or quirky) construction elements, as she likes to look at things from different perspectives. Similar to Maureen, Eric designs on the needles, and she is not afraid to rip back and rework the design until she gets just the look she wants. One can also see from her experience as a high school music and chorus teacher is that working with teenagers has kept her vision fresh and her willingness to try new things is influenced by a younger sensibility!

Are you a devoted fan of Eric’s designs? On Ravelry, her most “hearted” patterns include Waterfall, On Your Toes Sweater, Anatolian Flip, and the Elfin Hood. Add them to your queue today and come over to our Ravelry group or Facebook page to chat about it or share your work!

Tags: Anatolian Flip, designer, Eric Robinson, Eric's Glovelets, Waterfall
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Spotlight on Capricorn Yarn

December 4th, 2012

Photo by GMS

Capricorn, our beautiful bulky weight yarn, is the result of an effort to find a wider use for an often overlooked ingredient: the fleece of mature angora goats. Like humans, angora goats’ hair becomes thicker and coarser as the animal ages. The super-soft luxury of Green Mountain Green and Simply Fine comes from kid mohair, the first clip from baby goats under 1 year old. Yearling and second–year mohair is coarser, but also very shiny. This quality adds to the fluff and shine of yarns like Mountain Mohair.

Photo by Marti Stone

Goats three years old and older are valuable as breeding stock but Mohair breeders have a more difficult time finding a market for the fiber. Older mohair is used for carpet yarns and wig making (for dolls and humans) because of its shine, durability, and beautiful dye absorption. The Spinnery began to work on a product that uses older mohair so that our small angora farmers would be able to have an additional market for their fibers.

The creation of Capricorn took a bit of trial and error. First we sorted through our stock of “grade B and C” mohair looking for the softest, shiniest fibers. We wanted to make a bulky yarn that was pleasantly fluffy but not too heavy, hairy, scratchy or shedding. After creating several test batches of yarn we came up with a blend of 35% mature mohair/65% fine American wool. Our first batch of pale grey sold out at Vogue Knitting Live in New York in January 2012. We now offer the yarn in three natural colors and a variety of dyed colors by Melissa Johnson.

Capricloak & Sweet Pea Coat samples Photo by GMS

The most popular pattern for Capricorn has been the Capricloak by Maureen Clark . The new Capricorn Caps and Steps and Ladders hats by Melissa Johnson are warm and quick knits for winter gifts. Other Spinnery patterns that would work up well in Capricorn include the Shawl Collar Snuggly and Spanish Tunic. Patterns from other sources that are great possibilities include the Sweet Pea Coat by Kate Gilbert in the Twist Collective and the Maku Wrap Cardi by Kyoko Nakayoshi from Cotton and Cloud.

Have you knit with Capricorn yet? We’d love to hear about it! Please join us in our Ravelry group or Facebook page – we love to see your photos and are here for questions you might have!

Tags: bulky yarn, capricloak, capricorn, capricorn caps, mohair, patterns, shawl collar snuggly, spanish tunic, steps and ladders
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Eucalan & Green Mountain Spinnery

November 16th, 2012

The goals of Green Mountain Spinnery are simple: to create yarns of the highest quality, to help sustain regional sheep farming, and to develop environmentally sound ways to process natural fibers. Did you know that one way we are able to do this is by using Eucalan, which is non-toxic, biodegradable and phosphate free? We are pleased to participate in the Eucalan Wrapture blog tour so we can share with you how we use this great product!

Here at our spinning mill, we do add spinning oil to the fleece before it goes into the carding machine. A final wash with Eucalan removes the spinning oil and allows the yarn to bloom. We do this in a center spindle washer that is filled with warm water and Eucalan. The skeins are place in the water around the center spindle and allowed to soak for twenty minutes. We keep the washer lid up. After the soaking, the machine is set to spin and spin out. The skeins are then hung on a rack to dry.

We also recommend using wool wash products like Eucalan on your finished items as well! The Eucalan line has several scent options, and the newest one is Wrapture by designer Kristin Omdahl, infused with the beneficial essential oil of Night Bloom Jasmine. Like all Eucalan scents, Wrapture contains a touch of lanolin to naturally condition fibers and keep static to a minimum. Here in New England, we’ve already had a taste of winter weather! When you dig out your favorite hat, scarf, mittens or socks give them a pre-season wash, and treat your handknits with the care they deserve!

We want to share Eucalan’s latest scent, Wrapture, with you! If you would like to win a 100mL bottle of Wrapture, please come on over to our Ravelry group and leave a comment in the Eucalan thread we have there. A winner will be selected at random on Friday, November 23, 2012.

Tags: blog tour, Eucalan, wool wash, Wrapture
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