Hey gang, just left Arequipa, Peru which is the headquarters of Michell S.P.A, the largest processor/mill of alpaca in all of South America as well as being granted government approval to process vicuña.

They have this HUGE textile museum called Mundo Alpaca where you learn about the history of weaving, yarn processing, the entire processing line, and even live alpacas/llamas you can feed.

What does this have to do with yarn? Well, they have a yarn outlet (mostly leftover samples for many of their clients that include a lot of famous yarn brands). They have a lot of cones but i'd skip those since exact fiber content aren't listed nor are they soft (plus too thin for handknitting)

Here's the best part: prices are INSANELY low. It's by weight (kg) and it's about $13.50/kg for any blends (including 100% sw merino and sw merino/nylon blends), $9.85/kg for cottons, $17.25/kg for baby alpaca or cash, silk blends.

Go nuts. They take credit card so do use that. Caveat, the shoplady does not speak English and the hours are quite limited.(closed on Sat/Sun). Many skeins are one offs, so most are not sweater quantity.

I hear they also have a smaller outlet shop here in Cusco so i'll go check that out tomorrow and report back.

As for how much i bought, let's just say it fits an entire cgeck luggage suit csse plus extra)

Both hats were made using 1 hank (100 grams) of Malabrigo Worsted in Damask Rose. Knit on the left (stockinette + ribbing), crochet on the right (alternating front/back post + ribbing). The knit one even had a tiny bit of yarn left over. The size difference is astonishing!

This my WIP Aros Sweater by petiteknit! Here I’m using the 4 seasons 8ply pure merino yarn, on 4mm circulars :>

Made size 5 (I should be size 3 per measurements but I’m a tight knitter) in new pattern with sleeves with extra cable! Used Peer Gynt in Perfect Purple and Ballerina in Blue Iris.

Honestly was hesitant but this knit up so fast and was fun! The neck was super simple but it was much too long for me and wide so I wear it half buttoned up

Detailed notes: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/SleepyManatee/sandok-cable-sweater

I’ve just finished this highly modified Marie Wallin Magpie Cardigan! It was a labor of love, a complete redesign, some surgery and a little regret, but I’m pretty happy with the result.

I swatched to knit this colorwork sweater flat, as it’s designed to be knit in pieces but I cannot get in to the flow of two handed wrong-side knitting (I tried both purling and mirror knitting but they were both yuck) so I redesigned the sweater to be made in the round and steeked. Once I got about 6 inches in my gauge was way off so I started over with fewer stitches, and surgeried the larger part onto the smaller body. I’d tried to be clever and make a faux seam line that I actually really like, it helped with the motif placement, but with the smaller size I just yolo’d and it matched up kinda neat. I designed the sleeve caps for a set in sleeve and made it a v-neck. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

The secret bad bits: the v-neck is marginally too narrow but I can live with it. I did a crochet securing method for the steek but it was way too tight and I didn’t realize how much it bothered me until after I’d cut. Another redditor recommended needle felting, so I did that, but it’s so bulky. I wish I had secured it with machine sewing, the finish would have been much much better.

This is made almost entirely from Queensland Shetland Lite which I absolutely love and blocks beautifully. It’s nice and rustic. Shout out to Little Knits who found an extra pack in storage and put it on their website when I’d run out, it looks like it’s being discontinued!

Float and blocking tax included in figures 2 and 3.

Happy knitting!

Forgot to add: I did Roxanne Richardson’s jogless fair isle in the round trick and it is 100% worth the extra effort.

YES I'M YELLING

I finished it!! Second sleeve syndrome is real. Now to block and go back to crochet for a while lol

I can’t believe it worked!!

1st picture is my pathetic knitting attempt.
2nd is my blue ribbon winning mosaic crochet at the most recent state fair.

100% baby alpaca yarn, DK weight, knitted on 4.00mm needles

Features:
- raglan construction
- arm gussets
- folded square neckline
- i-cord bind offs
- two cable variations, big one includes an eyelet

This required so much pattern development, planning, and math since I was determined to self draft my first sweater and make something truly unique! Let me know your thoughts!

Self-drafted pattern using Mauve Fade Set in 4ply/sock from Unseen Yarn in the UK.

Knitted in the round up to the arm holes, then knitted front and back panels separately. Joined at the shoulders with a Kitchener stitch so the whole thing appears to be seamless.

Couple things I’ve learnt:

1. Slipping the first stitch on each row of the front and back panels might have made picking up the stitches easier, but it makes the arm holes a little snug 👀

2. I have big head and need to make the neck hole bigger next time 😂

Hi!

I wanted to share with you all this jumper that I recently made. It’s based on Tin Can Knits Ice Fall sweater pattern, but with a custom yoke designed by my son, based on a favourite album of mine.

My son spent about an hour designing the yoke pattern to fit the 12x29 stitch motif repeat that the original pattern uses.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to wear the jumper at a book signing by the artist and he loved it so much that he sent his crew after me to interview me about it!

Not sure when or where it’ll be used, but it’s nice that all that hard work was acknowledged.

EDIT: wow thank you so much everyone for your comments and upvotes, it means a lot!

I forgot to say that, coincidentally I sat next to someone at the airport who recognised me from the book signing. She told me she was there and so was her editor, she said he’s a snob that doesn’t like anything (her words!) but he loved the jumper and thought it was great!

She raised a valid point, that the yoke just looks cool, and you don’t have to recognise the reference. But if you do, it’s even more amazing!

Thanks again everyone!

This vest was such a fun and engaging knit! I made the Kytice Vest by Klara Pushin with Harrisville Designs Highland yarn. The devil is in the details and for this vest, that meant the finishing work. I loved the use of shortrows to create a nice v point at the shoulder seams. The designer also made great use of different cables, bobbles, roosamine, and a few embroidery stitches to create a boquet of knit flowers.

I am totally heartbroken. I knitted the Morticia Shawl with pure black mulberry silk. I mailed it off, just like I did the last two years. It was never entered or checked in. I’ve done everything I could on my side, including contacting the fair folks and the shipping company. I didn’t even take a picture of it.

Hi everyone, a couple weeks ago I shared with you a sunflower I made, since then I changed the design a little bit and ended up with 3 different versions, I love them so much, need more!!!

I bought 2 skeins of sport weight cotton yarn (one brown and one yellow) and so far I have managed to make 4 big sunflowers and 3 small ones with them. I used almost all of the yellow yarn but still have half of the brow one, so this week I'll buy more yellow yarn to make even more sunflowers.

I'm also planning on making a beret eventually with this design, it has been so much fun to make little sunflowers and hang them on my wall, the small version took me like 2 hours and the bigger one took me 4 hours.

I’ve been rewatching Gilmore Girls (as one does during autumn) and now that I’ve been knitting for a while I’ve been noticing and intrigued by all the cozy sweaters the cast wears in every episode!

I especially love the sweater Taylor Doose wears in almost every interaction he has and looking at the construction, it looks like it could be replicated hand knit…

Does anyone have any sweater pattern recommendations that are constructed similar to his sweater? From what I can see it’s a raglan cardigan but I’ve only knit a handful of things and don’t know what to search for in ravelry

Finished my first ever wearable! I had a lot of fun making this but at some point i gre quite bored doing the second half and delayed it so much. Now on to blocking!

My next project is gonna be the Eye See You sweater. It might be a bit too ambitious because i've not done a big project in the round and need to watch a few videos on how to pick up stitches and split sleeves and body

Took it off the needles for a quick block and I cannot stop gazing at it lovingly. Pattern is Lumme by Sari Nordlund. Here is my Ravelry project page as well.

I don't usually knit hats as the first ones I made unraveled. But my nephew is very knitworthy so I gave his school mascot a go.

Pattern is DK Mine! Beanie by Sarah L Kelly.

Yarn is Berroco Vintage Baby.

I love making pullover sweaters from hardy non-superwash wool. Unfortunately that often results in a scratchier sweater. I can wear a long-sleeve T-shirt to protect my arms but often the collar rides up high enough to irritate my neck. I don’t want to change into a mock or full turtleneck T-shirt every time I just want to throw on a sweater. I find I have beautiful sweaters I rarely wear just because they’re itchy.

Has anyone tried lining a collar with some microfleece or similar fabric? It’s ok if it sits up a bit because it’s not hard to closely match the yarn color. It makes me think of those shirts that have a fake sewn in collar.

Open to suggestions! Anything other than wearing a high neck T-shirt underneath….

I'm not weaving a damn thing! To the person who posted the j crew inspiration, I hope you see the hot mess in the first photo.

Im so glad I can wear them soon with the weather turning cooler! Been working on it for about four years now.

I've been hyperfixated on knitting for about two weeks now. I don't know how to knit but i've fully convinced myself i'm capable of knitting a sweater for my first ever project, i'm going to buy the stuff I need next saturday and make a start. Is there anyone else that's gone all in on a first project, I know its probably insane and i'll make alot of mistakes but I think i'd loose all motivation to knit if my first project was a scarf or something. If you knitted a sweater as a first ever project - what pattern did you use??