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By Yvonne Warning: Some of the images you see in this article may be disturbing. When we last left our sweater, it had been left to soak in the washing machine for another 24 hour period, with Power Scour being directly applied to the stains. Let’s see what’s happened since then. 
I see spots After the direct application and soaking, I again used the spin cycle to get the water out of the sweater. When I pulled it out, I was happy to see that most of the stains were gone. There were a few that were still kind of prominent, so I repeated the direct application process and (can you guess what I’m going to say next?) soaked the sweater for another day. This was what the washing machine looked like: 
Not as bad as the first time around! Improvement, no? So, where does that leave the sweater? Like this!  
I will say that there are a couple of places that still need some work – the right cuff, for example, and a small area near the bottom ribbing. I can say, though, that I’m much happier with how things look, and Bill is very happy to have his sweater back. 
Let’s review the important things here: If you (or a loved one) stains a wool sweater, get to the stain immediately. It is very important to know what the stain is, because that will help in the treatment of it. Immediate rinsing with cool water will likely prevent most stains from setting in hard, like Bill’s did. If you need the heavy duty stuff, aka Power Scour from Unicorn Fibres, we are able to special order it for you. Never, ever bleach a wool sweater – we'll cover what happens with that in a future issue of the newsletter, when we do a little myth busting of our own. Finally, never, ever let your husband’s occupation deter you from knitting him a sweater. He may just wind up loving it more than that old college T-Shirt he keeps hidden from you in the back of his sock drawer! |
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You’ve seen the sample sized packets of SOAK in the Celebration scent and we’re very happy to announce that we now carry full-sized bottles of Celebration! We have many, many new books, including Best of Knitscene, Weekend Hats, Estonian Mittens All Around the World, Custom Knits 2, Cutest Ever Baby Knits, Finishing School: Master Class for Knitters, Beyond Toes: Knitting Adventures with Judy's Magic Cast On and Wendy Knits Lace: Essential Techniques and Patterns, just to name a few. Plus, we have the premier issue of Knit.Wear and more copies of Little Red in the City! If you've missed the square circular needles from Kollage, it's your lucky day, they're back in stock! Craving new yarn? We are thrilled to welcome Mohair Mountain, a bulky mohair blend from Universal Yarns, and Lorna’s Laces Solemate, a merino/nylon/Outlast blend sock yarn that helps to regulate body temperature, to Natural Stitches! We also have received new colors of Tosh Lace, Scarlett Fleece Trinity and Universal Yarns Marina. |
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Our pre-inventory sale was a huge success and we’re ready for our annual inventory. Natural Stitches will be CLOSED from October 24th to October 26th while we count all the things. We cannot let you in to the store during this time period for any reason: not for a yarn shortage, not for a needle or hook emergency, not for that very important button. |
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Imperial Stock Ranch is a family owned and operated ranch located in Shaniko, Oregon that has been using sustainable practices since 1871. We are very proud to carry a yarn that is truly American made! Imperial Stock Ranch Tracie 2-ply When I was handed my ball of Imperial Stock Ranch Tracie, I was a little underwhelmed. It felt like a very solidly wound ball and I thought "Great, it'll be all stretched out and lifeless. Super." Then I could only find straights in an appropriate size (3 mm for me) and I seemed destined to row out, but I was on my way. Tracie is a two-ply wool yarn. The plies are loosely spun together, which isn't a look I normally gravitate toward, but this yarn really won me over. This is a yarn with a certain terroir if you will – yes, a tad rustic and yes, a tiny bit of vegetable matter, but with a great sense of place (discussed in greater detail in the new issue of Knit.Wear at the shop) and none of the scratchiness you might assume from a rancher's yarn. By the time I finished knitting my large square I was sold. I also made a granny-based motif in crochet to see how I liked the yarn for something completely different and although I felt my F hook was perhaps a tad bigger than appropriate, I liked the results in crochet as well. Please come in to the shop and feel the samples! There is so much squish to it! (One knitter even named her sweater “Squishy Squishy” on Ravelry.) I spent most of my swatch sighing that I wasn't steeking it and I think some stranded knitting would be lovely in the Tracie. The end of row turn never felt so wrong. It turns out that my rowing out was non-existent and I have seldom enjoyed plain stockinette so much. No really – CUSHY. Come in and feel the swatch! Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia 2-ply There is much excitement at Natural Stitches over the arrival of the Columbia 2-ply and its little sister, Tracie. The excitement began when Yvonne and Martha returned from TNNA. Space was cleared on the shelves and for weeks, I waited in great anticipation for the arrival of the Columbia 2-ply. My interest in this yarn was further increased when Twist Collective published the Delius Vest in their Fall 2011 issue. When the yarn arrived, I snatched up several skeins and began swatching as soon as I got home. My journey with this yarn did not go very far. After several rows, I began to itch and realized that the lanolin content of the yarn was too much for me to handle. For a person who loves to knit with sheep wool, I was very disheartened that I could not use the Columbia 2-ply. I powered on through to finish the swatch since I wanted to share my impressions of the yarn with you. For lovers of “rustic” yarn (yarn which is minimally processed and is very close to the farm from which it was sourced), the Columbia 2-ply yarn is the perfect yarn for you. For those of you who are ambivalent about “rustic” wool (and don’t have an allergy to lanolin), you must give this yarn a try. The origins of Columbia 2-ply is enough to satisfy rustic yarn lovers but the soft hand of the yarn will capture the attention of die hard Merino wool lovers. Columbia 2-ply is one of the few commercially available mule-spun yarns available in the United States. What does that mean? A mule spinning machine produces yarn that is similar to the draft-twist-release motions of a hand-spinner. A true woolen spun yarn results from this method of machine spinning. Woolen spun yarns are much loftier than their worsted spun counterparts. Loft is very evident in the Columbia 2-ply. Experience it for yourself – pick up a skein of Columbia 2-ply and you will notice that size of the skein belies the weight of skein. Natural Stitches stocks ten colors of the Columbia 2-ply and I think that these are some of the best colors Imperial Stock Ranch has to offer. To me, all the colors exhibit an “earthy” undertone which reflects the natural processing and dyeing of this yarn. My favorite color of the group is the undyed Natural skeins and that creamy white would make a beautiful Aran sweater. Despite the personal lanolin issue, the Columbia 2-ply knitted up beautifully with few issues. The yarn glided on and off the needles effortlessly with no splitting or snagging. I did encounter two knots in the skein I used but that is to be expected with a rustic yarn. The knots were only on one ply and were easy to deal with (the knots were so small and appeared to be part of the yarn’s texture so I just left them alone). The label recommends a gauge of 4.5 stitches on a US8 needle which will produce a firm, durable fabric. While I am not a tight knitter, going up just one needle size should produce a drapier fabric. Washing a garment made out of the Columbia 2-ply should be done with some extra care. The woolen spun characteristic of the yarn means a potential of accidentally felting your knitted fabric. A wash will definitely result in a fabric with a soft stitch definition – the stockinette stitches of my swatch bloomed. Additionally, the loft of the yarn causes the fabric to float on the water. Care should be taken to avoid agitating the fabric when fully immersing the handknit in water. In the wash water, there was no detectable bleeding of the dye; however, the water did not stay entirely clear. I attribute the dingy color of the water to some of the spinning oil washing out of the fiber. The story of Imperial Stock Ranch is a fascinating one. On your next visit to Natural Stitches, take some time to read the display board that is next to the yarn. You will surely be inspired to use Columbia 2-ply for your next project!
Zizmo refereed the Imperial Stock Ranch yarn review. To the left, on the Tracie swatch, we have Zelda represented by Himmie. On your right, on the Columbia swatch, we have David represented by Steve.
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By Connie 
Simple Fingerless Gloves Have you just learned to knit? Tired of just knitting rectangles for scarves? How about a quick project that would make a great holiday gift and lets you get creative? Try our simple fingerless gloves class. These knit up quickly and only require simple knit and purl stitches. You can embellish them in any way you want. Do you like buttons? Add some. How about embroidery? That will work too! Pick up some ruffled lace at the fabric store and add it to the cuffs. And stripes? Of course! Once you have completed your embellishment, you will finish the project off with mattress stitch. As a bonus, working mattress stitch on this smaller project will also get you ready to put together your first big sweater project. This class will be held on Saturday, October 22nd from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. Call the shop at 412-441-4410 to register. Basic Mittens on Magic Loop or Two Circulars What is the magic loop? Have you heard others talking about it but were afraid to ask? Does it sound like a secret technique that is only available to a select few? Not yet ready to try it by making socks with fingering weight yarn? Join our basic mitten class. You will learn to knit in the round using the "magic loop" method (or you can use two circs if you'd like). The mitten pattern is provided and will make up to an adult size mitten using worsted weight yarn. This project is knit with needles smaller than usually recommended to make a thick, warm mitten that will keep your fingers cozy this winter. And, if you don't want to make full mittens, you can use the same pattern and stop at the fingers. Add a couple rows of ribbing or garter stitch and you have a great pair of fingerless gloves! You can take this class Saturday, November 5th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Just call Natural Stitches at 412-441-4410 to register. |
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And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!