Yarn Test Kitchen – Cozy Craft Coven
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Welcome back to The Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen!
Something stripy this way comes in the Yarn Test Kitchen this month, but these beautiful yarns from Cozy Craft Coven are definitely not just for spooky season. Here at The Woolpack, we think you will want to craft with these yarns all year round. Self-striping sock yarn, but not a pair of socks in sight in this month’s show and share. Here are the latest makes from the Yarn Test Kitchen.
Our April Yarn: Self Striping Sock Yarn from Cozy Craft Coven
Cozy Craft Coven was founded in 2024 by talented hand dyer Kelly Ballard Pierce. Located in Kent, the Craft Coven specializes in vibrant hand dyed yarn, super-cool craft kits and witchy themed notions. This month the yarn testers and I were treated to four marvelous skeins of self-striping yarn and it’s fair to say that we all fell in love with it. The saturated dyes, blend of tones/hues plus consistency in the color changes make this range a joy to knit with. A soft fingering weight that is 75% merino and 25% nylon, this yarn will deliver durability as well as comfort for your toes, but here at The Woolpack we relished the challenge of creating other stripy delights with these fun skeins. We are excited to share them with you!
Our Seasonal Baked Treat : Pumpkin Muffins by Joy Food Sunshine
Here at Woolpack HQ, I am back in my pumpkin era. Yes, I love everything about them – shape, color and of course, flavor in baked goods. This recipe comes with five-star reviews and a promise that it only takes five minutes to mix and 25 to bake – my kind of recipe. It was indeed incredibly easy to assemble the ingredients, mix and bake resulting in deliciously moist muffins with just the right amount of pumpkin spice and cinnamon to savor. I added cream cheese frosting, after all, who doesn’t love that finishing touch?
Tester: Keeley – Color Way: Kitchen Witch – Pattern: Simple Chevron Stripe Scarf: by Karin Martinez
The colors in my skein are just so perfect for this time of year, and I adore the name “Kitchen Witch”. I love knitting socks and although I think these colors would make a fun pair, I decided that these purples, oranges, yellows and greens needed to be on show. The simple Chevron Scarf is a fun, relaxing knit with just the right amount of texture. It’s designed for a single skein of self-striping yarn and the zigzag stripes formed beautifully as I knit showcasing the vibrancy of the colors and the skill of Kelly’s dyeing. A single skein would make an adult scarf approximately 72″ long and 6″ wide, but part way through I realized that my seven-year-old niece would adore this scarf, and I decided to make it in a child’s size. It will be delivered to her when I visit my family and friends in England later this month just in time for Halloween.
I also had a hankering to knit a pumpkin as often happens at this time of the year. With the remaining third of a skein, I doubled the yarn cast on 48 stitches, knit a tube and created this rather jolly decoration which will join others that I have knitted over the years and decorate our home this fall. If you would like to knit your own, you will find Cozy Craft Coven patterns available on Ravelry.
Yarn Tester: Caitlyn – Color Way: Summer Bouquet – Pattern: Whippet by Janet Charbonnier
Caitlyn in her own words: “Crochet and knitting are always taking turns in my crafting life, but either way, I love working with all kinds of yarn.”
Caitlyn found so much happiness in this skein. These vibrant joyful colors are totally her, and she was inspired to create this fun and versatile crocheted scarf – a great way to showcase the skein! Longer color changes in the narrower sections and shorter ones in the wider section added interest to the design of the scarf. It is finished off by casting on around the edges and adding an i-cord. The combination of the cleverly dyed yarn and the interesting pattern result in an elevated version of the “skinny scarves” that are hugely popular right now.
Originally designed by Janet from Acorn Street Yarn Shop in Seattle for the 2024 Puget Sound LYS Tour, this pattern has a great local connection too!
Yarn Tester: Talia – Color Way: Green Witch – Pattern: Pincha Shawl by Pinpilan Wangsai
Talia in her own words: “Although I learned to knit over a decade ago, I didn’t start making more complicated patterns until last year. I still get excited casting on a new project and watching it come to life.”
Talia’s version of the Pincha Shawl is a true showstopper and highlights the versatility of this self-striping yarn perfectly. The Green Witch color-way evokes the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and we all saw different aspects in the design of the shawl – feathers, falling leaves and a celebration of nature. She found the pattern to be an engaging knit – the design is formed by knitting short rows and this technique worked in harmony with the color changes in the skein to create a beautiful scarf that she is excited to wear throughout the fall.
Talia’s pattern choice inspired all of us to check out other colors in the Cozy Craft Coven self-striping yarn range – oh the possibilities with this fabulous pattern!
Yarn Tester: Peggy – Color Way: Seattle Sky – Pattern: Slippery by Stephanie Lotven
Peggy in her own words: “My Mon and Grandmas taught me to crochet when I was little, then after my son was born I decided to learn to knit and learned from a book. Several classes later, now I can teach knitting.”
Firstly, how wonderful does this color way look on Peggy? Secondly, how appropriate is the name – Seattle Sky? As Peggy said – our skies change from gray to blue rapidly! This was another great choice of pattern that highlights the versatility of a self-striping yarn. Slippery by Stephanie Lotven, is designed specifically for a color changing skein as an alternative to sock knitting. This cowl pattern keeps the rows short, so that the stripes meant for socks appear at the neck. It’s knitted in three seamless panels that form vertical and horizontal stripes punctuated by slipped stitches to form a fabulous design that is also interesting to knit.
Top tip from Peggy – check out Stephanie Lotven’s book, “Knit Happy with Self Striping Yarn.” It’s bursting with fabulous patterns for your self-striping fiber favorites.
As always, if we have inspired you to knit/crochet any of the featured patterns, simply click on the pattern name to head to Ravelry.com. You can also find all of the Yarn Test Kitchen featured patterns on our Ravelry Projects Page – PSWoolpack.
Huge thanks to Kelly for providing us with such beautiful skeins – they were a delight! You can check out all of her beautiful hand dyes on the Cozy Craft Coven Website.
If you would like to check out these yarns in person, Kelly will be at BTown Yarn in Burien with a fabulous Cozy Craft Coven trunk show from October 11th to 12th.
Coming soon in the Yarn Test Kitchen: Lavender Sheep Yarn.
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