Yarn Test Kitchen – Whistling Kettle Tea Shop
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Happy New Year!
After a relaxing break for the Holidays we were all excited to gather in my kitchen for the first show and share of 2026. A new year brings new possibilities and over here at The Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen we are rather excited about all of the fabulous new yarns from the PNW that we have lined up to inspire you over the coming months. First up is a rather soft and cozy beauty that is hand dyed by Ben of the Nifty Knitter in Issaquah – Whistling Kettle Tea Shop.
Our January Yarn: Whistling Kettle Tea Shop is a soft and lofty 100% Rambouillet that has a truly American pedigree. Grown in Virginia, milled in Olympia and hand dyed by Ben, owner of The Nifty Knitter Shop, this non-superwash yarn is a great addition to the store’s Meeker Street range.
Whistling Kettle comes in two different weights: worsted with 200yds to the skein, and fingering weight with 365yds. We had two skeins of each weight to play around with this month and had a lot of fun creating our single skein projects that certainly bring all the cozy winter vibes that we need right now. My yarn testing fiber friends and I are delighted to deliver your January knitting/crochet inspiration!
Our Seasonal Baked Treat : Savory Muffins from Taming Twins
January. At this time of the year, I swing between trying to be healthy and craving comfort food. This month I went in search of a recipe that falls somewhere between the two. These cheese and sweetcorn savory muffins from the Taming Twins website certainly fit the bill. Packed with cheese, sweetcorn and chives they deliver the right level of comfort as a breakfast treat on a frosty winter morning, a tasty mid-morning snack and of course, a treat to serve up when you have friends popping in for coffee. There are all kinds of veggies you could add to the basic recipe – I have already baked a couple more variations for my family to grab when they need breakfast on the go.
Tester: Keeley – Yarn: Whistling Kettle Tea Shop. worsted weight Rambouillet, 200yds – Color Way: Sea Foam – Pattern: Travelling Cable Hat by Lara Simonson
Cables came to mind when I first saw my lovely skein of Whistling Kettle. Rambouillet is known for its bounce, softness and great stitch definition and this worsted weight yarn did not disappoint. It’s a plump yarn that feels on the heavier side of a worsted weight, but not quite an aran, and the result is juicy cables that are satisfying to knit and look fabulous.
Lara Simonson’s pattern has been on my “to knit” list for a while now. The traveling cable panel is a fun take on the traditional cable hat and is a quick but interesting knit. I love the way the cables begin at the edge of the brim! It’s a very well written pattern that I highly recommend if you are looking to play around with cable designs.
Yarn Tester: Caitlyn – Yarn: Whistling Kettle Rambouillet fingering weight, 365yds – Color Way: Island Rhythm Pattern: Florette Cowl by Purl Soho
Caitlyn in her own words: “I love to create, knit, crochet, anything fiber related is such a great pastime for me.”
This is such a perfect color for Caitlyn and a great example of the more saturated colors in the Whistling Kettle range. Island rhythm is a warm blue – ideal for a pop of color to bring the cheer to our PNW winter. Again, this fingering weight yarns leans more on the heavier side, and we all agreed it would be good choice for both fingering and sport weight patterns – fun to have more options!
The fabulous Florette Cowl is a new pattern from Purl Soho – a super fun accessory for the cooler months, but with springtime floral vibes. The original pattern is for a one piece joined cowl/capelet/mini poncho, and because Caitlyn didn’t have quite enough yarn from one skein, she adapted the pattern to make it an open capelet and added two jewel like buttons to bring the glamour. The Florette is knit flat using garter stitch from side to side and is shaped with short rows. The pattern is free on the Purl Soho website, and we think this fun design would look great in any of the Whistling Kettle colors – make a couple to match your vibe!
Yarn Tester: Yuki – Yarn: Whistling Kettle Tea Shop fingering weight – Color: Cherry Blossom – Pattern: Simple Socks from Crocheted Socks that Rock by Anna Nikipirowicz
Yuki in her own words: “I love knitting socks, crocheting and various artistic pursuits and exploring the PNW.”
Can we just take a moment to swoon over these beautiful socks? Sock loving Yuki couldn’t wait to test out her skein of Whistling Kettle yarn using her new book by Anna Nikipirowicz, featuring super-cool crocheted sock patterns for beginners. It’s hard to believe that these socks were made using a pattern designed for novices, they look so elegant. However, Yuki assured us that the instructions in “Crocheted Socks that Rock”, were so well written that this book is perfect for crochet enthusiasts looking for their first sock adventure.
Yuki adored her skein of Cherry Blossom Whistling Kettle yarn and was happy to report that it is a dream to crochet with and soft enough to bring all the cozy feels resulting in happy feet. She was inspired to embroider an adorable Cherry Blossom motif on each of the socks, and use some leftover Malabrigo yarn to give a complementary accent to the heels and toes. The result is a truly beautiful pair of socks to treasure!
Yarn Tester: Sandy – Yarn: Whistling Kettle Rambouillet, worsted weight, 200yds – color Way: Celie – Pattern: Keeley’s Cable Hat, or Cable 8 Hat by Kelly Gaffney
Sandy in her own words: “I started knitting again in 2021, after more than 20 years, by taking hat classes with Keeley at Nifty Knitter. Living right across the street makes it incredibly easy (and fun!). I mostly knit hats, they’re enjoyable, quick to finish and feel very satisfying. Knitting has truly awakened my creative spirit and brings me so much joy. Just as meaningful, if not more so, has been the connection with others who share the same passion.”
Sandy is a hat knitter extraordinaire, and she was excited to get her hands on the skein of Whistling Kettle to see how it would perform with one of her favorite patterns; a basic cable hat design that we used in a class many moons ago. The pattern isn’t published online, so we have subbed in a similar pattern suggestion from Kelly Gaffney. You can find it on Ravelry.
As you can see, the cables in the pattern turned out beautifully, and Whistling Kettle worsted weight was an ideal match for the pattern. Sandy loved the color way, Celie, a vibrant but gentle tonal purple that will brighten any frosty morning outdoor pursuit. The worsted weight yarn results in a super cozy accessory and we all agreed that the fingering weight version is also a great hat making option for our milder PNW days. Sandy is looking forward to more hat knitting exploration with Whistling Kettle!
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 Ben for providing us with such beautiful yarns to create this month’s projects – they were a delight! You can check out all of the Whistling Kettle Tea Shop range on the Nifty Knitter Website,or head to the Issaquah store.
Coming soon in the Yarn Test Kitchen: Hate The Cold
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