Springtime is knitting time

Scarves are - you guessed it - indispensable at all times! I noticed it again on our short vacation to the Baltic Sea over Easter: the sunshine was very tempting, but I was always glad to have my Frieda scarf with me.

Fortunately, of course, tastes are different and knitting offers us every opportunity to make a garment to suit our own preferences.

Don't be afraid - the pattern is not difficult

That's why Melanie Berg's latest shawl design is definitely worth a look for all friends of slip stitches and color play: Blinding Lights is knitted from Balayage and Mohair Bliss by Pascuali - the beautiful color palette gives you plenty of options to find your color scheme.

The fabric owes its name to the idea of mosaic windows through which the sunlight shines. A wide variety of color nuances are revealed. With Balayage, you choose four different colors, plus a thread of mohair bliss that runs across the entire scarf. It therefore tends to stay in the background, but its composition (60% mohair, 40% silk) gives the design just the right cuddle factor.

By the way: When you buy the pattern, you will also receive a so-called Row Map. Melanie developed this together with her friend Chad Lewis, who works at a cancer center in Toronto (Canada). The idea behind it: Knitters who are currently undergoing chemotherapy, for example, and therefore have problems concentrating, can use this extra sheet of paper to give them a good structure to follow the pattern row by row. Of course, it is also a great way for everyone else to prevent knitting mistakes and continue to enjoy the most beautiful hobby in the world. No matter what the reason for lack of concentration may be - the Row Map is a great addition!

I'm currently making endless additions in the sense of "This is also going on the knitting list". As a result, I have great difficulty making decisions. My colleagues probably suffer the most because I'm always so close to deciding on a color until another project comes to mind. It's bad, really bad!

One design that is currently on my mind is the Cloud Blouse from PetiteKnit. I love light and airy styles like this and love looking at the matching photos and videos on Instagram.

Short rows are fun

We have created two kits for the light sweater - one with Tynn Silk Mohair from Sandnes and one with Mohair Bliss from Pascuali. The second kit has a looser knitting pattern than the original. For me, this works perfectly - but if you prefer a denser look, knit with three yarns and simply increase the number of balls in the shopping cart.

Always knit from the top down. First you work the upper part of the back in rows, while the shoulder slopes are shaped with short rows. Then both shoulders are worked separately, also with short rows (always a nice design trick to knit - believe me!). The shoulder sections are then joined to form the front neckline. Then continue in rounds to the hem. The sleeves are also knitted in the round and stitches are picked up again at the neckline for the collar. The perfect spring piece is finished!

The Big JUNA Cardigan from Lotilda, which Louisa already showed you in the newsletter, is also perfect for the current temperatures. But it's so beautiful that it needs to go back in the knitting room!

The cardigan is knitted from the top down in half-pattern. As you are used to from Tanja, you knit in multiple threads - in this case with four threads - on heavy needles. Here with a gauge of 8 mm (assuming a gauge swatch).

We have once again created two kits for you. If you love mohair, go for Tynn Silk Mohair from Sandnes. Everyone else should use Organic Brushed Alpaca from KAOS Yarns. Both yarns are brushed - so you will definitely get a fluffy result.

I discovered a cool sweater that suits both men and women at Pascuali. Alero is knitted with Puno Winikunka - a great year-round yarn made from cotton and alpaca. The color palette offers you many possibilities to accentuate the stripes of the design accordingly. You can choose a strong contrast or just a soft difference - both are possible!

Knit from the bottom up. To do this, cast on the stitches for the hem, knit the cuff and then work the body in rounds up to the armpits. Then knit the sleeves with an open cast-on and short rows; the front and back sections are finished separately. The shoulder-sleeve seam is joined from the wrong side using the 3-needle method (I love this!) so that the seam runs from the shoulders to the sleeve cuffs and creates a beautiful line. It's a slightly different knitting method than you're used to from many of our other kits, but (!) again, it's not rocket science and the result is guaranteed to reward you.

The new design by Veera Välimäki from Finland is even more colorful. We already have a small, fine selection of matching kits from her in the store - including one of our favorite children's designs: Gathering Stripes from Merino 120 by Lang Yarns.

The Neon Bliss Sweater, which I really wanted to pick up this week, is something for grown-ups. The stripes immediately put me in a good mood. Replacing the original yarn is not easy - but based on the swatch and the original colors, we decided to use Perla from Lamana. Here you'll find pink, rose and natural - or softer colors, just the way you like it!

The knitting is done from the top down. Intarsia technique is also used - you can see this best in the photos in the product, where the back is shown. If you have never worked intarsia before, this is a good place to start. The pattern are in English.

For all you wool and yarn hoarders out there (again: not me!), I have another tip from our maschenfein knitting group! A few weeks ago, Uta contacted me with her pattern for the ALL-IN sweater. What is it about? Using up leftovers!

If you click on the link above, you can download the pattern for free and browse through your stash. Maybe you'll find one or two balls of yarn that are still waiting to be used. Thank you Uta for your efforts and happy knitting to everyone else!

Roma has also just moved into our warehouse - one of two new arrivals at Lamana. The silk cashmere yarn with a running length of 160 meters per 20 grams is really, really classy! I was allowed to try it out at the fair and was thrilled. So soft and light, it's hard to describe.

The color palette is rather small, but offers a very nice selection of muted tones. Due to its composition of 80 percent cashmere and 20 percent silk, it is a high-priced yarn, but perhaps particularly ideal for delicate accessories. No matter what your dream project is - we will gradually introduce you to suitable ideas!

We are still waiting for the second new arrival - it has been announced for mid-April. Until then, you can still browse Como, Como Grande and Premia. There are new colors here!