Yarn Test Kitchen – June 2024
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Welcome to our June Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen!
I am happy to be back in my kitchen with fabulous friends tucking in to baked goods and talking about our favorite things – yarn, knitting and crochet.
We were all beyond excited when yarn dyeing genius Debie from Serial Knitters donated freshly dyed yarn on a new base for us to test. Echo Lake Tweed is a fingering weight yarn that just feels like luxury. With 52% Mulberry Silk, 24% Superkid Mohair, 20% Merino and 4% Viscose for touch of durability, this is a supersoft yarn that is a joy to knit with. The silk gives each skein an enticing sheen and an exquisite drape. We could not wait to get making!
Before we head to our show and share, a quick mention for this month’s featured baked good.
This month’s freshly baked treat is a featured monthly recipe from the King Arthur Baking website – The Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant. Where I am from in England, Elevenses is a thing. It refers to that mid morning snack, usually something baked that will see you through to lunchtime. 11am was the time we gathered and so a new take on a morning pastry felt appropriate.
It’s super quick to make (yes, you can use ready made puff pastry), and the chocolate filling recipe is easy to follow with delicious results. This is a great recipe to have in your baking repertoire when you need an easy to prepare crowd pleaser. It was served with strawberries to make it just that little bit healthier.
Now, on to the yarn!
Tester: Keeley – Pattern: Tinsel Mitts by Andrea Mowry – Color: Tourmaline
Having diversified from my usual color choice in last month’s yarn test kitchen, I was back in familiar territory for June – anyone who knows me will tell you that I love a green or teal yarn. The YTK testers chose their colors first, but I was delighted that this teal shade was the last to go, and was all mine to create with.
The first thing I knew was that I wanted to be able to see this beautiful yarn when I wear it, so socks were out of the question. I knitted a scarf for last month’s YTK, so my thoughts turned to mittens because I’m not in a hat frame of mind at this time of year. I love knitting mittens – my hands are always cold, and I love to give them as gifts – who doesn’t love the gift of warm hands? The idea of doubling the yarn was also interesting to me. Many of us buy skeins of hand dyed fingering weight yarn because they are so appealing, and knitting two strands of fingering at once is a great way to lighten your yarn stash.
The Tinsel Mitts pattern is simple and easy to follow. It allows the yarn to shine, and the column of slip stitches along the center gives interest to the design. These mittens feel totally luxurious, and the fabric that the Echo Lake Tweed creates is suitable to wear with a smarter coat in the colder months. These are far too smart to wear when dog walking – I love them!
Yarn Tester: Laura – Pattern: Purl Soho Simplicity Scarf – Color: Jaminess.
Laura in her own words: While I’ve spent several decades making a life in the various arts, somehow I never really tried my hand at fiber until the Covid lockdowns hit. I was bored. I bought some cheap knitting needles, sat down in front of YouTube, and haven’t looked back since. One thing, of course, has led to another, and now it’s not just knitting: I can barely move for looms, spinning wheels, bags of fleece, and oh my the lovely bins of yarn…!
Laura really let the yarn shine with this beautiful scarf. The fabulous color way works perfectly as a neutral to wear with a range of outfits, and the variegated almost metallic accents add interest to lift the scarf. We were intrigued by the name of the color way – “Jamminess”; what did it refer to? Debie filled us in; it is named after Janet and Mary, the owners of Acorn Street Yarn Store in Seattle. Debie created the color specifically for her trunk show at the store during the Puget Sound LYS Tour.
We all loved the drape of the fabric which made the Simplicity Scarf elegant and comfortable to wear, perfect for all seasons. It’s a relaxing knit and great for using up the whole skein (Echo Lake Tweed has a generous 437yds), just keep knitting and purling. Simplicity!
Yarn Tester: Caitlyn – Pattern: Yolanda Head Scarf by Cosmaudi – Color: Spring Desert
Caitlyn in her own words: I knitted last month, but crocheted this month! I love both crafts! I swap between them as the mood strikes. either way, I’m loving every yarn I come across!”
This super cute headscarf pattern had been on Caitlyn’s “to make” list for some time and when she saw this beautiful Echo Lake Tweed yarn, she immediately knew that the time was now! The yarn is lightweight and lends itself perfectly to a crochet project, keeping the fabric light with a soft drape. Just like a knitted lace project, a crocheted lace accessory is a great match for this yarn. Caitlyn’s finds the Yolanda a versatile accessory – as a headscarf you can tie it under the chin, or behind the back of the head. It also looks fabulous as a bandana style neckerchief.
Caitlyn fell in love with this color way – Spring Desert, which reminded her of home in Arizona. How lovely is that?
Yarn Tester: Janell – Pattern: Mantunuck by Martha Wissing – Color: Jamminess.
Janell in her own words: Making has forever been a focus in my life. In 2006, after seeing alpacas at a festival, I found my needles, and knitting took center stage. Its portability fit perfectly with my role as an on the go Mom and now Grandma. Working at The Nifty Knitter has connected me with people who share my passion and are OK with hearing me talk about my yarn! My other obsession is thrifting. Finding yarn in a second hand situation is my favorite thrill.”
Janell is a big fan of Martha Wissing’s patterns, and immediately thought that the silky, drapey Echo Lake Tweed yarn would be perfect for this beautiful capelet that she plans to wear over a linen dress that she recently thrifted. The original pattern has a cowl at the front and because she wanted to wear it in the summer, Janell made some great modifications to the original design, turning the capelet around so that the cowl became a shawl collar. Such a great idea! The antique style buttons were used to enhance the vintage look while hiding the beginning of round changes at the same time. The result is stunning and showcases how this yarn is a fantastic choice for lace designs.
We have all loved sampling this beautiful yarn from Serial Knitters and think it would be fabulous for larger lace knit or crochet projects. You can find Echo Lake Tweed and Debie’s other hand dyes on the Serial Knitters Website.
It’s always fun to find inspiration from other people’s makes, whether you are looking for something relaxing and simple, or more of a challenge. If you get a group of fiber friends together they will always bring something different to the table and that is the beauty of the Yarn Test Kitchen.
Join us next month when we bring you ideas for single skein wonders using Octofibers hand dyed yarn exclusive to Rainy Day Yarns in Gig Harbor.
Yarn Test Kitchen
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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