Yarn Test Kitchen – August 2024. Sun Soaked Sister Yarn.
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Welcome to our August Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen!
We are in the height of summer here in The PNW, and everywhere is breathtakingly beautiful! It was fun to get outside for this month’s show and share to enjoy the rather lovely weather. It’s appropriate that our featured yarn for August is Sun Soaked Sister. This beautiful yarn is lovingly hand dyed by the very talented Susan, co-owner of Rainy Day Yarns in Gig Harbor. Sun Soaked Sister brought us so much sunshiny happiness – beautiful color ways to work with on generous fingering weight skeins. Janell and Caitlyn even managed to make tops from just one skein – fabulous!
Our August Baked Treat: Easy Peach Galette by Ree Drummond
Two things led me to this delicious and super easy bake. The first was a trip to our local supermarket. When I walked through the door and saw the Peach-o-rama promotion, I knew I had to feature these glorious fruits from Eastern Washington in the August YTK.
A quick online search led me to a “Peach Galette”, recipe from the Pioneer Woman website. The galette originated in France and since I have been glued to the Paris summer Olympic Games over the past couple of weeks, it seemed like the perfect bake for the season. A galette is simply an open flan, a flat pie without the top crust. This recipe from Ree Drummond is easy to follow with great results. I substituted the pie crust for puff pastry and instead of the recommended vanilla ice cream, I served it with marscapone. One word: yum! Now on to the yarn. . .
Tester: Keeley – Pattern: Every Day Socks by Rachel Houlahanis – Color: Christmas Confetti
I do love a sock project, so I was excited to have the opportunity to test this lovely sock yarn that’s hand dyed by Susan. It was love at first sight when I saw this cute speckled colorway. It has a slight retro vibe, and reminded me of socks I wore as a child. The yarn knits up beautifully and was a joy to have on my needles. I always use wooden double pointed needles to knit socks. I love the vintage vibe I get whilst knitting, (this is how my Nan knitted socks), and this yarn glided across them bringing me so much happiness.
The Every Day Sock is a great summer sock pattern – who doesn’t want/need a pair of shorty socks at this time of year? Quick to knit and great to wear, they have a raised cuff at the back (made with short row shaping), a reinforced heel, and a supportive arch. Perfect as a fashion item or when you need durability.
I am always on the hunt for a matching pair of sports socks every morning before I put on my sneakers and head out for a walk. I’ll be wearing these for the rest of the summer and beyond!
Yarn Tester: Caitlyn- Pattern: Summer Solstice Tee by Katrina Barnes – Color: Fallen for Fall
Caitlyn in her own words:”I love making things I can put into my wardrobe rotation. Accessories are fun too, but there’s just a great satisfying feeling reaching for knitted tops in my closet.”
Up to a size 48 inch chest tee from one skein of yarn seems almost too good to be true, but that is exactly what Caitlyn achieved with the 437yds of this beautiful Sun Soaked Sister yarn! The lace at the top of the body helps to make the skein go further but it just keeps on giving for the stockinette in the body. This is a great pattern to have in your repertoire for hand dyed skeins and it showcases this Fallen for Fall color way perfectly. We all fell in love with this stunning color way and it made us feel excited for the beautiful fall colors to come.
Caitlyn’s top tip for this one skein knit is to complete the sleeve ribbing before knitting the body. In that way you can settle in for some relaxing stockinette without having to worry about how much yarn to reserve for the sleeves. Are you reaching for your yarn and needles right now? We are!
Yarn Tester: Janell – Pattern: Tip Top Tank Fine by Maker Maker – Color: Color Me Happy
Janell in her own words: “I’m a lifelong maker that has bonded with knitting like no other craft! I knit daily as a creative outlet and for the benefits from the side effect of stress relief. My knitting library is impressive both on Ravelry and on the shelves of my 1925 farmhouse. My personal goal is to create and publish an original design on Ravelry. . .soon“
This is a great summer tank and Janell styles it perfectly. Janell knit this project in July when she visited the Sequim Lavender Festival and received many compliments on the pretty yarn – not at all surprising, it’s beautiful. We were all impressed with how these variegated hand dyes knit up to create such pretty colored fabric. The colors and tones are even with no color pooling in sight.
The Tip Top Tank is a great summer project. To make sure that her skein worked to maximum effect for the pattern, Janell began with a provisional cast on, knit a couple of inches of stockinette and knit the straps. By that point, approximately 50% of the yarn had been used, so she just kept knitting the beautiful lace design until the end of the skein, adding a sweet picot edge bind off as a personal touch. Gorgeous!
Yarn Tester: Kristen – Pattern: Cosmopolitan Ear Warmer by Ana-Maria – Color Way: Color Me Happy
Kristen in her own words: “When I’m not crocheting for the Yarn Test Kitchen, I’m teaching myself to play the accordion, writing a play, and playing squash with my sweetheart (who I’m teaching to knit – so exciting!)”
This was definitely one of Kristen’s fingers favorite yarns to work with, and “Color Me Happy,” feels like the perfect PNW color for her. Kristen moved here because she loves the rain, and this elegant gray with speckles of rainbow captures the relaxation and excitement she experiences from our beautiful region.
The crochet pattern was good, and looks more complicated than it actually is. It is easy to size and adjust to your preference. The lightweight yarn results in a great year round accessory for our milder climate – it looks fabulous too!
The ear warmer used up half of the skein and Kristen plans to crochet a pair of mittens with the rest so that she can look at her hands and feel a sense of happiness from this fun color way!
Sun Soaked Sister yarn has been a joy to knit and crochet with, and everyone in this month’s yarn test kitchen has fallen in love with the beautiful color ways in the range. Huge thanks to Susan for letting us experience this lovely yarn!
If we have inspired you with this month’s Yarn Test Kitchen projects, a trip to Rainy Day Yarns & Mercantile comes highly recommended, or you can shop online at www.rainydayyarns.com.
Coming next month in The Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen: Fat Sheep Fiber, worsted. We can’t wait to share our makes with you!
Yarn Test Kitchen
Your Monthly Yarn Review
One of my all time favorite knitting activities is a “show and share”, with friends – it’s a perfect way to seek ideas, gain inspiration and get helpful advice. This is the idea behind the yarn test kitchen – I hope our projects will have you reaching for your needles as we bring you our ideas on how to turn those neglected single skeins of yarn in to “One Skein Wonders”, and inspire you to try new yarns that are produced and sold across the Puget Sound Region.
Oh, and I’ll also be sharing monthly baking recommendations as we go. After all, who doesn’t love a slice of cake or baked good? Yum!
Happy reading!
Keeley