From all of us at Classic Elite Yarns,
we wish you joy and happiness
(and lots of time with needles and hooks) in 2017.
Feel Good Knitting News
At this time of year, I hope you enjoy a bit of time sitting all snuggled up with a warm cuppa something, checking out yarn related posts from around the Internet.
Here are some that I've been reading...
The ever popular Mason Dixon knitting blog has this great story focusing on the Gilmore Girls design team. Ever wonder about all those hand-knits in the show? Wonder no longer.
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| Photo Credit: Elum |
Glamour magazine says you can swap out ugly Christmas sweaters for Statement Knits. But doesn't that take away all the fun?
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| Casey Kelbaugh for The New York Times
And this New York Times piece by Jennifer Miller introduces us to a Brooklynite who is making a career of yarn bombing and creating knitted art pieces.
Hope you'll enjoy checking these out. What stories have you found around the web about our favorite topic?
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Greenery
Pantone has announced it's Color of the Year for 2017. The winner is Greenery.
The revelation of Pantone's choice, unleashes a new jolt of creativity in us each year.
I've already rushed through the warehouse shelves, identifying the Greenery in our own yarns. It's fun to line up our own color swatches with some of pantone's suggested palettes.
Over the years, you've all shown a particular fondness for green as told in more than 8000 Ravelry projects in green Classic Elite Yarns.
Here are a few that especially caught my eye.
Ode to a Goat
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| Mohair Goat at the 1920 Oregon State Fair
This post celebrates fashion, mohair and La Gran, our flagship mohair yarn. Classic Elite Yarns has been producing La Gran continuously since the mid-1980s.
Mohair is fine and lustrous and has many of the good qualities of wool. It’s fairly soft and can absorb moisture yet still feel warm and dry. Knitted on a large needle, it’s lightweight and airy. La Gran is spun with a strong binder—a combination of wool and nylon—to secure it. The fluffy surface is the result of a good brushing.
Seventh Avenue had a love affair with La Gran in the 90s and the aughts. This amazing bubble sweater for Vogue Knitting was designed by Marc Jacobs (above) while Irina Shabayeva inspired with this intarsia beauty (below). Both make brilliant use of La Gran's loft and softness.
 
Whether it's Vintage Nicky Epstein (L) or Vintage Classic Elite Design Team (R), La Gran is always in style.
These gorgeous runway pieces show the timeless nature of mohair. It's simply always in style.
This week's free pattern is just one of a recent slate of free patterns we're offering in La Gran.
   
This is the season to become reacquainted with the goat, don't you think?
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Ornamentation
It's December! Let's be festive!
So many holidays and vacations and school breaks.
So much good food, friends and family.
Let's look to knit and crochet some cheerful holiday decor.
Up above is one of my favorite, fast projects. Susan Mills' Celebration Banner can be knit in any color combination to suite your particular festival.
Barbara Spencer Hawk's gift tag/ornaments are sized by using different weights of yarn. Try Liberty Wool Light, Worsted and Big to make three sizes and dangle them anywhere.
Robyn Chachula's crochet chanukiah/menorah is a fun way to get the kids involved in the holiday. The removable candles can be "lit" by the young ones without fear of fanning the flames. Make one in organic cotton seedling to keep it all natural.
Seedling would also work fantastically well in this face cloth by Emily Jagos. A lovely housewarming gift for any Chanukah party.
But these mini socks have won my heart. Knit in small bits of Alpaca Sox, they are super soft and colorful. Our free pattern works up so quickly, you can make a shoebox full of them in plenty of time for the holidays.
A relaxing long weekend
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| Rusty by Susan Mills in Liberty Wool Light |
There's not much better than a long, slow weekend -- the cooking is done, the dishes all stowed away. The others in my house are occupied with shopping, reading and generally leaving me alone. So what do I want to do -- not much but knit & crochet, look at pictures of knitting and crocheting and talk to knitters and crocheters.
I got it into my mind to start a new project and decided whatever it was, it had to be a rectangle. I don't want to think about shaping, my own shape being a bit larger after Thanksgiving! So I took to the Classic Elite Yarns' archives to select some of my favorite rectangles.
Jill Wright's clever Ravenna poncho is crocheted in yummy Mohawk Wool.
Cathy Payson's Avera is a scarf. Or is it a shrug? It's both, and I love it both ways!
The super soft Arietta in yak & wool has great stitch definition while being positively plush.
Self-striping, washable Liberty Wool is always fun to work with. Susan Mills makes great use of it in the Molly Scarf.
Susan is prolific, so it's no surprise I also love her Haystack Shawl in Mohawk Wool.
If I keep touring the archives, I will never get anything on the needles! So I choose Pumpkin Pie -- maybe because I had carrot cake last night am regretting my decision. Whatever it takes, right?
I love the leaf motif that Tonia Barry incorporated in to this classic scarf called Pumpkin Pie. Knit in luscious Inca Alpaca.
What will you be working on this weekend?
Classic Elite's Runway Style
Third Piece, a coveted accessory company specializing in hand-knit ready-to-wear statement pieces, offers seasonal accessory collections that are created to be stylish, innovative and luxurious.
Third Piece is now offering their super-bulky merino yarn
Funky Chunky, distributed exclusively by Classic Elite Yarns, to knitters so we can make our own boutique pieces.
Co-founders Carina & Kristen met at the gym.
After planning their weddings, they were both left with that
"what's next" feeling. Kristen helped Carina to begin selling her knit pieces and next thing you know The Third Piece was born. What started as a simple idea to make hand knit headbands has grown into a knitwear accessory company company that hopes to reinvent the craft of knitting.
look for Funky Chunky at these retailers - What will you make?
| Yarn Store Name | City | State |
| Jessica Knits | Scottsdale | AZ |
| Northcoast Knittery | Eureka | CA |
| The Little Knittery | Los Angeles | CA |
| Monarch Knitting | Pacific Grove | CA |
| Creative Ewe | Santa Clarita | CA |
| Compatto | Santa Monica | CA |
| Colorful Yarns | Centennial | CO |
| The Frayed Knot | Savannah | GA |
| Nina | Chicago | IL |
| Gentler Times Stitching | Naperville | IL |
| Three Bags Full | Northbrook | IL |
| Knit Stop | Indianapolis | IN |
| Magpie Yarn | Lexington | KY |
| Yarn's End | Hanover | MA |
| The Sheep Shack | Holden | MA |
| JP Knit & Stitch | Jamaica Plain | MA |
| WEBS | Northampton | MA |
| Another Yarn | Winchester | MA |
| Knitting Room | Birmingham | MI |
| The Wool and The Floss | Grosse Pointe | MI |
| Garenhuis Yarn Studio | Holland | MI |
| Sticks & Strings | Lansing | MI |
| Lila & Claudine's Yarn & Gifts | Mahtomedi | MN |
| Needlework Unlimited | Minneapolis | MN |
| Knittting From the Heart | Woodbury | MN |
| The Knitting Diva | Asheville | NC |
| Unwound | Blowing Rock | NC |
| Friends & Fiberworks | Candler | NC |
| Personal Threads | Omaha | NE |
| Patternworks | Merideth | NH |
| Yarn Song | Plaistow | NH |
| Knitty City | New York | NY |
| The Mermaid's Purl | Wickford | RI |
| Holley's Yarn Shoppe | Dallas | TX |
| Yarn And Stitches | Dallas | TX |
| Yarntopia | Katy | TX |
free designs in Funky Chunky
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