Knitting

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Sheep(ish) Makes the Move to Bernat

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sheepish bernatI don’t know how much you know — or care to know! — about the business side of the yarn world, but last year the yarn company Caron was acquired by Spinrite, the company behind Patons, Bernat and Lily (which also bought the Elmore-Pisgah Company, producer of Peaches and Creme yarn, not too long before that).

One thing that has happened as a result of that is that Vickie Howell’s Stitch.Rock.Love. line of yarn is moving under the Bernat umbrella rather than continuing to be a Caron yarn. (So far the only yarn in the line is Sheep(ish), but at least one more is in development.)

Howell says on her blog that nothing is changing about the way the yarn is produced, the colors that will be available or the way she interacts with users of the yarn through online knitalongs and crochetalongs.

To celebrate the change, Bernat is offering a sale on Sheep(ish), which means you can snag it for 25 percent off the regular price. The yarn regularly retails for $3.99 for a 167 yard skein. Enter the code GIFT4YOU upon checkout to receive the discount. The offer is valid through the end of the month.

Are you a fan of Sheep(ish)? Spill it!

[Photo by Bernat.]

Comments

  1. I actually find it really interesting. I collect old knitting pattern books and you can see over time companies that were separate and had their own line of books merging. Based on the dates of the books I could probably make a timeline that shows when the different companies merged with each other. One of these days I want to do that.

  2. I crocheted all of the items ordered from my friends for Christmas gifts last year using Sheep(ish). The fingerless gloves, scarves and wraps turned out so nice and my friends told me the recipients loved them. I appreciate the yarn is soft and durable. The single-ply makes it a no-fuss yarn to work with.

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.