Twisted » Knitting

Mazama Shawl

Emily — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:10:42 +0000

This shawl was originally published as part of Twisted’s Shawlette Club in November 2011. Now it’s available to everyone either in our shop or on our webstore!

This nature-inspired shawlette features three different lace leaf motifs and is named after Mt. Mazama, the ancient mountain that exploded to form southwestern Oregon’s spectacular Crater Lake. Your finished object will be just as stunning!

This design has several fun details: a knit-on border, a subtle swallowtail shape with two points at the bottom edge instead of one, and a small peak at the back of the neck. Worked as written, this petite shawlette uses a single skein of sock yarn. However, it can easily be expanded into a full-size shawl with extra yarn simply by adding additional pattern repeats.

Yarn: 400 yards fingering weight yarn. Sample shown in one skein of Black Trillium Fibre Studio BFL Sock Yarn (100% superwash merino wool; 400 yards/366 meters per 115 gram skein), colorway Portland Rose.
Gauge: 24 st = 4” in stockinette. 24 sts/38 rows = 4″ in body pattern un-blocked.
Needles: US #5/3.75mm circular needle, 24” or longer.
Notions: Stitch markers, tapestry needle.
Skill level: Intermediate.
Size/Finished measurements: 20″ tall x 44″ wide, measured after blocking.

Buy your copy today either in our shop or from our web store for $6.

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Happy New Year! Memory Lane Post #1.

Shannon — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:01:02 +0000

Wow. It’s 2012, people. 2011 was quite a year for Twisted. I’m going to spend the next few days reviewing some of our favorite things from 2011, so be prepared to take a Twisted trip down memory lane…

We’ve had great new teachers and classes added to our repertoire, including the super-popular Tunisian Crochet (we’ve got one coming up on January 7th, from 12-3pm, and there are still a few slots left). Tunisian Crochet may just be the next big thing, folks.

Amazing new products, like the phenomenonal Madelinetosh, in an ever-expanding line (we now carry Tosh Merino, Tosh Vintage, Tosh DK, Tosh Merino Light, Tosh Prairie and Tosh Sock. We are quite sure we’ll be adding more and more of this yarn in the coming year.

We met the super-lovely Sarah from Plucky Knitter at the fantastically fun Sock Summit, and started working with her, carrying her knock-you-on-your-booty Primo Fingering and Worsted. This yarn is pretty flipping fantastic – a great ply, a soft yet firm hand, and such a wonderful softness…

We’ve got new things from old favorites, like the awesome, gorgeous and useful knitting mugs from our friends Jampdx. Meghan and Jenn gifted Emily and I each with one, and, even though we have a million and two coffee mugs at home, I find myself washing my hand-thrown Jampdx mug pretty much every day, just so I can enjoy my morning coffee in this fabulous piece of art.

And, as a reminder, we are open regular hours today (9am-8pm), so if you need any of these items, or anything else for that matter, come on by! We have hot tea, comfy couches, friendly staff, and the best darned yarn in the universe!

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Albers Community Blanket – a Charity Project with Leigh Radford

Shannon — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:22:27 +0000

Please join local knitwear designer Leigh Radford in knitting blankets to be donated to those in need this winter! Knit just one panel of the Albers Stash Blanket – Leigh will be gathering a team to assemble and complete the blankets. Blankets completed here in Portland will be donated to P:ear, Cascade Aids Project and Raphael House. If enough panels are completed, Leigh will expand the list of recipients, adding non-profit organizations outside the Portland-metro area.

If you’d like to coordinate your own effort and donate a blanket within your community, please send Leigh photos of your work in progress and completed blankets as she’ll be posting photos of everyone’s efforts as this project progresses.

How to contribute: Download free pdf of pattern and knit one panel. This is a great project for using up yarn from your stash – follow the color chart provided or create a color palette of your own.
Download pattern: On Leigh’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/leighradfordauthor). Access pattern by clicking “Albers Stash Blanket” on the menu bar to your left.
You can drop off your completed panels at Twisted, or message Leigh (onemoreskein@leighradford.com).
Due date: Panels need to arrive in Portland/OR by January 31, 2012.
Questions? OneMoreSkein@leighradford.com

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New Club – 2012 Mad About Tosh Club

Shannon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:06:58 +0000

We are super excited to debut this brand-spankin’ new club, which is replacing the Single Skein Club here at Twisted. It’s a yarn-and-pattern-only club, no extras, but fantastic yarns and designs. You get a skein of insanely gorgeous Madelinetosh yarn (one month, you’ll even get our exclusive shop colorway! This club will be the first place this color will ever be available!!) and a pattern by a fantabulous Twisted designer. We’ve already seen a few of the design prototypes, and, whoo-hoo, they are fantastic!

Month-yarn-designer combos are subject to shuffle around a bit, due to availability and what-not, but here’s an idea of what you’ll be getting:

February 2012: Shawlette in Tosh Merino Light by Shannon Squire
April 2012: Mittens in Vintage by Star Athena
June 2012: Cowl in Prairie by Kat Buckspan
August 2012: Hat in Tosh Merino – designer TBD
October 2012: Fingerless Mitts in Tosh DK by Emily Williams
December 2012: Socks in Tosh Sock – designer TBD

The 2012 Mad About Tosh Club will be $150 for an entire year ($180 shipped US/Canada, $210 international).

If you want to join the fun, please sign up online, or email us, or call us at 503-922-1150.

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Anne-tarsia in the Round with Anne Berk. Starting 12/4, 1-3

Shannon — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:48:07 +0000

Intarsia is traditionally worked back and forth, and can incorporate many colors in the same row, knit with one color at a time. Projects are usually worked flat and seamed. Over the years, Anne has been asked if it could be done in the round, and the answer was “you could, but it is so complex that it isn’t worth the effort”. Then she sat down and figured out a more efficient method that really works! Amaze your friends by doing something that common knowledge says cannot be done, and make a fabulous pair of Zig Zag Socks! $60

Date/Time: Sundays, Dec 4, 11, 18; 1-3pm
Materials: Two colors of fingering-weight yarn, highly contrasting is the best. Size US 1 needles, either DPNs or circs as needed to knit in the round.
Included: Zig Zag Socks pattern by Anne Berk (if you wish to learn intarsia in the round without doing this project, we can contact Anne and work out an alternate plan for you)
Homework: Knit the ribbing as directed in the pattern, in whichever color your prefer
Prerequisites: Previous experience with intarsia is required for this class.
Skills learned: Intarsia knitting without seams.

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Bluegirl Knits Harvest Collection Trunk Show

Shannon — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:05:08 +0000

Monday, November 14th – Sunday, November 20th

Nichole Reese from Bluegirl Knits has a great new collection out, and we’ll have all of the knitwear and patterns in the shop all week!

Stop by, check them out, and get 10% off. Plus, Nichole herself will be here, teaching 2 classes on Saturday, November 19th: Secrets of your LYS from 10-1 ($30) and Peek at Steeks from 2-5 ($30).

More info below or on classes.

Secrets of Your LYS

Want to learn all our deepest, darkest secrets? Yeah?

Well, you're never going to believe what I heard about Emily the other day…

Oh, wait. I'm being told those aren't the secrets Nichole Reese of Bluegirl Knits will be sharing this Saturday. Ahem. Forget I said anything.

Interested in learning to be your own best LYS employee? Nichole will be teaching this class from 10-1 on November 19th, during the weekend of the Bluegirl Knits trunk show! (You can also check out her great new Harvest collection and get 10% off the designs! Yay!) The class costs $30 and you'll need nothing fancier than some paper and a pen. Give us a call at 503-922-1150, email class@twistedpdx.com, or drop by the shop to sign up!

Take a Peek at Steeks!

Nichole Reese SWEARS that steeking just SEEMS super duper scary and awful. She says it's really awesome and easy. She says it's gratifying. She says anyone can do it. Nichole can help make sense of putting scissors to your knitting (really, she can), and instill the confidence you need to cut the project you have just devoted hundreds of hours to. Seriously. What are you scared of?

Join Nichole for an introduction to steeking, aka taking scissors to your knitting. This traditional colorwork technique can be used for many purposes and is not as scary as it sounds! Come learn about why you want to use steeks and how to best utilize this technique in your knitting. This class will empower you to think differently about your knitting and your scissors!

Date/Time: Saturday, Nov 19, 2-5pm

It's $30, and you can give us a call at 503-922-1150, email class@twistedpdx.com, or drop by the shop to sign up! There IS some homework, so please make sure you ask about that when you sign up.

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Beyond Toes Trunk Show and Book Signing Event

Shannon — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:27:28 +0000

Yippie!! Trunk Show this weekend! Sunday, November 6th from 2-4pm, come on by and meet Judy and Vivian and as many of the designers as can make it!! Snag a copy of Beyond Toes and get it signed!!

There’s still time to check out all the samples from Judy Becker’s amazing new book, Beyond Toes. Listed out, for you, are the reasons you should swing by Twisted this weekend:

1. Judy Becker is a Portland treasure, and this book is a labor of love for her. She is THE Judy, you know, the one from the Magic Cast-On? Yeah, THAT Judy.

2. There are many fantastic designers highlighted in this book, and lots of them are local. So many Pacific Northwesterners! Check out the Ravelry page to see all of them, or, better yet, snag a copy of the book for yourself!

3. Vivian shot all the photos! Yes, OUR Vivian! The uber-talented Spindleshanks. The fabulous designer, photographer, and Twistedista. HOW EXCITING!!

4. We are hosting the Trunk Show October 31st through November 6th, so you can try on garments, pick out yarn, and even, on Sunday, November 6th, rub elbows with Judy and all those local designers. The Trunk Show is Sunday, November 6th from 2-4pm.

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Blissful Knits

Shannon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:36:49 +0000

We’re pretty excited to be working with a new-to-us Indie Dyer, Blissful Knits and Dyeworks. Right now, we have one of her bases, Inspire, which is an 80/20 Merino/Nylon Blend. Her colors are fantastic, this base is superduper soft, and we are falling head-over-heels for Raya and what she does to yarn.

Inspire Sock by Blissful Knits is $20 a skein. We don’t have her colors listed on our website, so coming into the shop is really your best bet, but if you’d like to order some on our website, click on over and let us know what color familes you are interested in.

All of Blissful Knits and Dyeworks yarns are hand dyed in Raya’s small fiber arts studio right here in Portland. She employs different painting and dyeing techniques and loves to experiment with color. Raya specializes in fine and luxury yarns and makes every attempt to locate US based fiber suppliers.

Inspire Sock Details:
Fiber: 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon
Weight: Fingering
Gauge: 6-8 sts per inch
Needles: US 00-2 (1.75-2.75 mm)
Weight: 100 g. skein
Length: 430 yards/393meters
Care: Machine wash gentle or hand wash cold. Dry flat.

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Purple Hat Parade!!

Shannon — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:32:23 +0000

Emily had this great idea to give another push to the Purple Hat Campaign: take a quazillion photos of the resident baby in some of the hats we have received at Twisted. Vivian shot, Astrid modeled, Star did a goofy dance in the background for a bit, and we were all once again amazed at the generosity of our sister and brother crafters…

All hats are due either to Twisted or to Legacy by the 26th of October, so you’ve got a bit of time left…let’s all work together to ensure all babies born in November in the area get a purple hat, and their parents get information about the Period of Purple Crying and prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome…

Inspiration follows (sure, I’m a bit biased, but isn’t she the cutest thing you ever did see?)…

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Irish Girlie Knits!

Emily — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:40:24 +0000

Twisted now carries Irish Girlie Knits patterns!

Carrie Sullivan, aka Irish Girlie Knits, is a blogger, sock-obsessed knitter, and designer known for her deceptively simple, perfectly gorgeous designs such as Cotty and Summer Wind.

In addition to her self-published pattern line, Carrie has designed for sock clubs and yarn companies such as Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club, the Woolgirl Sock Club, The Plucky Knitter Classics, and Kollage Yarns. Carrie will also be teaching at Sock Summit 2011. Her knitting adventures, as well as her two cute doggies and ever-growing sock yarn stash are blogged about at We Do Not Have A Knitting Problem.

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