Spinnery News

Fresh skeins and a new cardigan

Our new colors of Cotton Comfort are ready for online sales!  These beauties were a hit when we introduced them at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival.  From left to right we have Aubergine, Gingerbread, Duffel and Pine.

 

That lovely tweedy texture is created by the resistance of the cotton content of the yarn (20%) to absorb the dye that the wool soaks up like a sponge.  We feel that our four new shades bring some exciting new autumn colors into the spectrum that you already know and love.

And to help celebrate the launch, we have a new cardigan pattern to share with you so that you can cast on with these skeins without delay!  Our Windrow Cardigan, seen below in the new Gingerbread color is a quick knit and a great wardrobe staple that could work through 3 seasons here in the Northeast and year round in warmer climates.

This is a cropped top-down seamless pattern that you’ll be able to try on as you work, ensuring a perfect fit.  You can easily modify the length of the body and the sleeves for a sweater that is just right for you.  We love it paired with a t-shirt and jeans or over a me-made dress that you adore.

Above, Kate is wearing the size 38″ with about 2 inches of positive ease.  The pattern includes sizing from 35″ to 50″ and requires between 5 and 7 skeins of our DK weight yarns.  We’ve also knit it up with our 100% wool Mewesic in the Mean Mr. Mustard colorway and love the way it turned out!

Here, Kate is wearing a model that has about 8″ of positive ease for a looser fit some may be more comfortable with.  The seeded rib texture wraps around the back of the neck and down the front of the sweater to be joined around the waistline for a bottom border of texture that will match your cuffs.  It provides some visual interest on an otherwise stockinette background that is as quick to knit as it is easy to wear.

We hope that you’ll take a closer look at our new colors as well as this new pattern this week as you continue to plan your winter’s projects!

Make a hat day

Yesterday, Friday September 15th was make a hat day.  And just in case you didn’t cast on we thought we would offer you a few suggestions so that you could get started before the week’s end and join the fun!

Melissa Johnson’s Hat Quartet patterns are some of our best selling patterns this season.  The four patterns were created for our 2016 Project Club and kitted up for the members who signed up.  They became publicly available earlier this year, and we’ve been delighted to see how much folks are enjoying their projects.

Each of the patterns feature different Spinnery yarns.  Going clockwise from the top left, Winter calls for four colors of worsted Mountain Mohair, Spring calls for four colors of Sylvan Spirit, Fall calls for four colors of Mewesic and Summer calls for three colors of Cotton Comfort.

Much of this beautiful stranded color work requires less than full skeins, so you will have extra yardage available to make additional ones by alternating your colors.  This could be a really fun way to start your holiday knits, do a bit of charity knitting, or use up some stash yarn that has been waiting to be put to a good use.

Ease your way back into larger cool weather projects with an accessory (or two) that will be off your needles in no time!  Happy Knitting!

Up next…

We’re pleased to release a second new pattern designed by Larisa Demos this week: the Flat Iron Cowl.

This cozy cowl features a feathered lace stitch pattern that reminded Larisa of the Latte Art created by her favorite baristas at a Bellow’s Falls coffee house.  She named her design after the Flat Iron Exchange where she meets with other local crafters every Thursday evening for a stitching gathering that shouldn’t be missed.

Our favorite version of her cowl can be knit up with 4 skeins of deliciously soft Green Mountain Green.  The soft neutral tones of this yarn make it the perfect match for any outfit.  And snuggling into our finest fiber is a true pleasure.  Even better than that first sip of a perfectly drawn latte.

You can see that the cowl acts as a bit of a caplet with enough volume to surround your shoulders with soft warmth and cozy comfort.  The pattern is worked from the bottom up with written instructions and a chart to simplify the lace work.

We made several samples of this beauty this summer, because we were so smitten with it, so we can confirm that it also knits up beautifully with 3 skeins of either our Mountain Mohair or Weekend Wool.  On the left you can see it knit up with Blizzard Mountain Mohair and on the right, is a fun bright version created with our Orchid Weekend Wool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any of these lovely versions would be the perfect accessory to wear to a last minute gathering to meet friends for coffee.  Whether or not they are knitters, you’ll be the envy of the group!

Stay tuned as our new patterns keep coming!  We’ll have two new sweater patterns for your consideration releasing in the next two weeks.  We can’t wait to hear what you think of them.

Our first new pattern for fall!

Our needles have been flying this summer as we’ve been working to get new patterns ready for the upcoming fall festival season.   Our goal has been the start of the  2017 Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival which kicks off next weekend at 10am on Friday September 8th.

We’ll have a fun selection of new offerings to share with visitors including some new sweaters, and cowls as well as a few shawl project kits!

And, there will be new colors of yarn on display!  We’ll have 4 new shades of Cotton Comfort, 4 new shades of Alpaca Elegance and 2 new shades of Sock Art Lana.  All of these yarns will become available on our website in upcoming weeks.  We’ll post updates on Facebook and Instagram as we have skeins washed, twisted and labeled for sale!

In the meantime, we have a stunning new pattern that we’re releasing today, so that you don’t have to wait!  Larisa Demos designed a breathtaking shawl for us that you won’t want to miss: the Mercury Rising Shawl.

This garter stitch crescent shawl is worked from the top-down with regular increases on every row, creating a generous wing span without bulk!  This beauty was knit up with two contrasting skeins of Spinnery Simply Fine, which is comprised of the finest fiber we work with.  The fine wool and yearling mohair is as soft as a cloud!

The contrasting wedge sections of stockinette are created with staggered short rows for a pop of color and texture variance that makes this design so appealing.  We’ve also knit this project up with our Sock Art Meadow to great effect.

We hope that you enjoy your long holiday weekend with a few leisurely hours spent with a project you enjoy.  We’ll continue working on our shop samples so that we have a wealth for you to choose from.

Knitting Local in Vermont

You may already know that 65% of our production is focused on custom lot spinning.  In addition to yarns you can find in our shop, we create yarns for small farms, indie dyers, weavers and local yarn shops all around the country.  These are not yarns that we sell directly, instead they are often found at Sheep & Wool festivals, local farm stands or farmers’ markets and occasionally in local yarn stores.

This work allows us to foster a rich fiber shed, ensuring that you have a greater chance of finding yarn that is spun from fiber grown near you.

Last weekend, when Larisa and Maureen visited Must Love Yarn’s new location at Suite 2 at 2438 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT, they brought with them a Spinnery Trunk Show of yarns that featured locally hand painted skeins as well as some organic skeins that were sourced from a flock in New Haven Vermont.

We love the new space that partners Angela, Kelly and Jennifer have moved into.  Maureen snapped a few photos of the new space that couldn’t be more welcoming, bright and open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were delighted by the rich selection of locally sourced yarn all ready on the shelves at MLY.  Some of which is highlighted in a local newscast that aired last week that you can find here.

And we were proud to note that several of these skeins were spun here at GMS!  Blue Heron Farm is a family run organic farm located in Grand Isle, VT that makes lovely skeins.  And our friend Jessica of Dillner Hillside Farm (who occasionally provides us with delightful mohair fiber) has skeins of her yarn among Must Love’ Yarn’s local selection.

For some fun inside information, you can take a virtual tour of the newly expanded version of the shop by watching the video below.


We learned that there are plans afoot to soon offer spinning wheels, so in upcoming months there will be even more the learn, love and share.

As the foliage season draws visitors up into Northern Vermont, we hope that you’ll get a chance to visit this newly expanded local yarn shop in Shelburne.  If you miss the chance to find single sourced local yarns during this Fall’s festivals, a visit to Must Love Yarn can provide you with some terrific Vermont grown and spun yarns worth trying.  And on the way, you can visit our Mill in Putney, VT to see what we’re spinning!

A Special Event!

Our friends at Must Love Yarn have moved and are celebrating their Grand Re-opening this Saturday.  We’ll be there with a special Trunk Show for the festivities!

If you are in the Burlington area, or are making your weekend plans, add a visit to this terrific LYS, located in Suite 2 at 2438 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT 05482.  We’d love to see you there!

Larisa and Maureen will be there from 1-4 pm on Saturday August 19th with a special selection of Spinnery treasures to share.

These will include a mouthwatering selection of our handpainted fingering weight yarns like the one shown above that has been knit up into a classic Hitchhiker shawl designed by Martina Behm.  You can find a copy of the pattern on Raverly available for purchase directly from the designer.

A single skein of any of our Sock Art or Simply Fine yarns will knit up quick as a wink into a light summer accessory like this one that you’ll adore.

We’ll also have on hand several new project kits and a pre-release sneak peek of a new Spinnery pattern, the Mercury Rising shawl!  This garter stitch crescent shawl was designed by Larisa Demos and was inspired by this spring’s Knitters’ Weekend featuring Bristol Ivy.  If you aren’t able to join us for this weekend’s Trunk Show, you’ll have to wait a few weeks for more details…

We hope to see you in northern Vermont in a couple of days for this very special occasion, or at our Mill in Putney any day of the week.

A possible Rhinebeck Sweater?

The newest issue of Interweave Knits arrived in the shop this week and we’re delighted to find a stunning cable sweater pattern within its pages that calls for Spinnery Weekend Wool.

Jennifer Owens has contributed the Highway 61 Pullover, and it is a showstopper!  Knit up with the Poppy colorway of Spinnery’s Weekend Wool, this classic cabled Aran has atypical figure flattering shaping.  This feminine touch makes it a modern classic.

© Interweave

The pattern has a generous sizing range from 36″ to 52″ bust, calling for 9 – 14 skeins of our Weekend Wool.  The full color range shown below gives you a mouthwatering range of choices.

And what a sweater to be wearing at Rhinebeck, where you’ll be surrounded by appreciative crafters who will understand the skill involved in every loving stitch.

 

The  Highway 61 Pullover is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed; which means that it could travel beautifully.  Perhaps making it a great project for any end of summer travel plans you have on the calendar for the next couple of weeks?

We hope that if you decide to cast on for this beauty, or any other, that you’ll bring your project with you (finished or not) to our booth at any of the upcoming Sheep and Wool Festivals on our calendar, so that we can see what you’ve been working on.

Customer Feedback

We love hearing back from you all about working with our patterns, our yarns or your visits to our mill and shop.  It is very helpful for us to learn from you what works and when something doesn’t.  It helps us develop our products to best serve your needs!

It’s always fun to see our friends’ handknits.  It can be inspiring to see what our yarns become.  Recently our friend Opal from Indiana reached out to us to tell us about her experience working with our Mountain Mohair.

© carrie bostick hoge

She worked up a Lila sweater designed by Carrie Bostick Hoge.  Pictured above is the beautiful top-down pullover that features a wide open neck and flattering a-line shaping for a comfortable fit that you’ll love to wear.  We don’t yet have photos of her finished sweater, but she wrote to us at length about her experience with our yarn:

“I wore my sweater throughout our gloomy spring. It was a bright spot while I awaited some dry air and sunshine. I wore it daily, probably 30 wears in all, and there are no pills; truly, it still looks brand new. I am so pleased. It always feels risky spending good money on yarn not knowing how it will hold up, but it turns out the Mountain Mohair was an excellent investment!

It is next-to-skin soft for me, which was a relief. It is not terribly soft in the skein. It bloomed and softened wonderfully with a wash. It is lofty and lightweight, but a perfect warmth. Not too warm indoors and perfect for brisk walks.

The mohair halo is feminine and cozy, and I do not find it itchy even at the neck and wrists. I have worn this sweater nearly every day for 2 weeks, and it looks great! No pilling, despite my very clingy toddler who is either on my hip or crawling all over me on the couch all day. The sweater looks great and is holding up beautifully. It’s just a wonderful sweater to throw on.

I think this yarn is a wool-lover’s yarn. When I wear it, I find myself reflecting on the wonders of wool: such warmth in such an airy garment, so cozy, so beautiful and lustrous. If putting on good wool makes you happy in this way, then you’ll like this yarn!

I look forward to using it again in the future. The colors are so beautiful. Please don’t stop making it!”

 

It’s back!

We’re very pleased to share with you the grand return of our undyed Grey Maine Organic Yarn.  This Spinnery staple has been out of stock for several months while we’ve waited for a crucial fiber delivery.  And this week, we put the finishing touches on a fresh batch of this scrumptious yarn!

The wool for these skeins comes to us from the Noon Family Sheep Farm in Maine.  Their organically raised flock is a commercial mix of Columbia-Rambouillet-Leicester-Suffolk, and Friesian.  You can read a bit more about the farm in the first of three blog posts that Hannah Fettig wrote last summer as she and her husband Abe launched their own limited edition organic yarn line with fiber sourced from the same flock.

The skeins in this week’s batch still smell of hay giving you a sense of the pasture as you work with the yarn.  It’s like taking a little holiday to the countryside.  As Kate twisted and labelled skeins for sale, she found herself daydreaming of creating a lofty woolen shawl with this yarn that would hug her shoulders this winter and surround her with the smell of summer.

Ravelry has some terrific pattern ideas for this yarn.  You may also want to consider Amy Christoffer’s Coolidge Cardigan, which was originally designed in the Spinnery’s Vermont Organic.  Her design combines a rich seed stitch texture with ethereal lace and is a perpetual crowd pleaser among our samples in the shop.

If you wanted to play with all three undyed shades available in the Maine Organic line, you might want to consider a neutral version of the Spinnery’s Gulfoss sweater, or you may want to take a quick browse through these pattern suggestions.  Shannon Cook’s Bradway Shawl makes the top of Kate’s list!

Thank you to those of you who have patiently waited for these skeins to return.  We have dozens ready to ship and we’d be delighted to get some into your hands without delay.

Top five reasons to visit Putney, VT this summer

Putney Vermont is not your typical small New England town.  We’ve got much more to offer than a post office, general store and gas station.

There are no less than 3 intimate world-class theaters providing diverse cultural events from classical music Master Classes (at the Yellow Barn) to award winning Puppetry (at the Sandglass Theater).  We have a rich offering of local eateries.  And there’s us!

In an effort to entice you to our corner of Southeastern Vermont as part of your summer getaways, we wanted to share a few of our favorite things to do in and around town so that you could plan on making a full day trip out of a visit to our Mill.

5.  Spend some time in the great outdoors!  You could enjoy a quick hike to the top of a nearby peak.  Lauren popped up to the top of Putney Mountain on Thursday afternoon, to check on the rams that are grazing there.  She snapped this photo, and we know that you’ll love the view from up there as much as these fellows do!

We are also a few hundred yards away from the Connecticut River.  There is a boat ramp at the end of the road that runs right past the Spinnery.  Bring your equipment and spend a few pleasant hours on the water where it’s cool.  If you don’t want the hassle of travelling with a boat in tow, there are canoe and kayak rentals available in nearby Brattleboro at the Vermont Canoe Touring Co.

4. The Putney Farmers’ Market gathers in front of the Putney Co-op on Sundays from now until the first weekend in October from 11am – 2pm.  You’ll find fresh produce, live music, locally made crafts and various snacks that may provide a delicious lunch or ruin your appetite for supper!

3. You can find some sweet maple treats and souvenirs to take home at Hidden Springs Maple’s Farm Store.  This local gem can provide you with syrup gathered from a variety of local farms, and their free maple syrup tasting table allows you to try before you buy.

 

2. Green Mountain Orchards’ pick your own blueberry fields and raspberry brambles have opened for the season.  And their peaches should be ready for harvest in the next couple of weeks.  Their early morning hours can give you a chance to arrive in the cool morning and bring home a quantity of fresh berries to fill your freezer before the heat of the day may drive you towards cooler activites.

And last but not least…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  A trip to Putney wouldn’t be complete without a visit to our Mill and Shop!  While some members of your group may be drawn to our shop filled with brilliantly hued skeins and wonderful patterns; others in your group may enjoy a chance to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

We can provide free tours of our production floor from 9 am – 2 pm Monday – Friday to groups smaller than 8.  Many a traveller has been lured out of the car by the promise of antique machinery, MacGyver worthy repair solutions, and yankee ingenuity.

We’d love to see you and we hope that you’ll bring your Spinnery projects along with you, so that we can see what you’ve been working on.

New pattern suggestions for Cotton Comfort

We find that we and our friends reach for skeins of Cotton Comfort to work with as summer heats up.  Our DK weight blend of 80% of the finest wool we work with  and 20% organic cotton grown in Texas is a delight in the hands.  It has a comforting elasticity, a nubby texture and a color palette that is second only to our Mountain Mohair.

We wanted to use this week’s post to keep you up to date on some fresh new patterns that call for Cotton Comfort from some of Raverlry’s most popular designers.

Julie Weisenberger (of Cocoknits fame) recently publish Rosa, a figure flattering top-down pullover that is sure to become a classic.

© Cocoknits

The pattern features the Cocoknits Method of construction, “a commonsense system for knitting seamless, tailored sweaters from the top down. The Cocoknits Method is explained in detail in the book, Cocoknits Sweater Workshop by Julie Weisenberger, which includes 9 core patterns. The book is a necessary tool for knitting this and the other Cocoknits Method patterns.”

On a side note, Kate tried out this method of construction by knitting a version of Julie’s Antonia/Antonio sweater and was delighted by the clever construction and perfect fit created by this (new to her) English tailoring technique.  It creates a shoulder seam that the weight of the sweater can hang on, that sits a bit behind your shoulders for a more accurate fit and a better silhouette.  The anatomy of the sweater more closely mimics how our bodies move.  You’ll recognize the  look from machine knit sweaters in your wardrobe.

For those of you who would be more likely to wear a cardigan, you may want to consider taking a look at Asscher designed by by Christina Danaee as part of her StoneCutter Collection.

© Olive & West Photography

“The Asscher cardigan is an open, raglan cardigan featuring an angular eyelet pattern across the back. The eyelet shaping at the shoulders is echoed in the pattern on the back and the ribbed eyelet trim of the front. Green Mountain Spinnery’s Cotton Comfort yarn has a slight fleck of color creating a tweed-like appearance, and makes a perfect all-weather garment. Make one in any color to throw over jeans and a t-shirt, your favorite dress or layer with a flannel in colder weather.”

We agree that it looks like a perfect layering piece.

On the smaller side, is a kiddo knit for you to consider.  Summertime is a perfect time to select smaller projects that are easy to transport on your summer holidays.  New to Ravelry is Nemunoki designed by Simone Kereit, with sizes ranging from 3M to 2 years.

© Simone Kereit / OwlCat Designs

This darling little top could be worn as a wee dress and then layered over leggings as a tunic, extending its wearability.  We love the bright pop of color created by the slipped stitch texturing.

We hope that summer’s heat doesn’t prevent you from your favorite past time, and that the right project can keep you happily stitching (perhaps in front of an air conditioner) all season long.

What’s on our needles this week

We know how much fun it can be to take a look at what other people are working on, so we thought we’d share the “wips” on our needles this week.

While many of us are guilty of working on a handful of projects at any given moment, these are the projects that came to work with us this Thursday in the hopes that a few stitches could be worked at lunch or when our machines were humming along with occasional intervention.

Tracey is about a third of the way through an elegantly simple vest that will become a new wardrobe staple this fall.  She is working on His Vest designed by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, with a few pattern modifications to adjust the length for a personalized fit.  She selected the Mean Mr. Mustard colorway from the Spinnery’s Mewesic line.

This lofty DK weight 100% wool yarn is a pleasure to work with and will make a lightweight and yet warm layer that will be perfect for in between season temperature swings.  Her pattern is worked flat from the bottom up, and seamed before the finishing touches of the ribbed v-neck and armholes is worked.

Kate is making some headway with her Clio pullover designed by Elizabeth Doherty.  Kate chose to work with the undyed Silver colorway of our Cotton Comfort.  The addition of 20% cotton in these skeins lends lovely nubbiness to the textured stitches and should make the fabric drape just a bit for a flattering finished piece.

Clio has a top-down, seamless construction that allows the knitter to try it on while in progress. The pattern includes instructions for two lengths making it a versatile option for everyone.  Maureen is also working on a version of this sweater and we hope to share photos of both finished projects soon.

Kate hopes to have this sweater complete in plenty of time to cast on another of Elizabeth’s designs before she arrives in October to teach at our Knitters Weekend.  We love having plenty of samples available to try on so that our friends and fellow students can find new project inspiration and leave the weekend knowing exactly which size of the pattern they want to cast on for.

Megan is very close to finishing a beautifully neutral version of Melody Hoffman’s Kimono pattern.  She selected the Fawn color of our Weekend Wool for a cozy, slouchy shrug that will go with every outfit.

“The pattern is very easy and comes up in three different sizes.  It features a little bit of lace, a lot of stockinette, and a very addictive slipped stitch panel on the back (a video is provided to help you execute the slipped stitch. It is knit flat, like a large rectangle, and a little bit of seaming brings the sides together to create the opening for the sleeves.”

So elegant!  We hope to share photos of her finished project when it is off her needles.

And last but not least, Larisa is putting the finishing touches on a new cowl pattern that will become available this fall.

Her infinity cowl design features an organic lace pattern inspired by the beautiful Latte Art to be found on the beverages served at Larisa’s favorite cafe in Bellows Falls.  This sneak peek shows her project with the Orchid colorway of our worsted weight Weekend Wool.

Check back here in several weeks for more details on this upcoming design!