Is that finally Autumn in the air? Snuggle into some alpaca with this wonderful neck warmer. All it takes is one skein of Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky, pattern is free with yarn purchase. It makes a great gift idea!

As I’ve written before, it is always such a pleasure to see customers return to the store with their finished projects. The yarn leaves the store as an idea and sometimes we are lucky enough to see it “all grown up.” When I write up a Customer Creation post, I usually fill in a basic description of the yarn used and pattern, that is until I came across the knitting of Jim Schram. Jim’s knitting boggles the mind. It is beautiful in its complexity. So to completely buck convention, here is Jim in his own words, a true artist talking about his work.

The shawl below was knit using Malabrigo brand 100% cotton on size 3, 5, 7, and 9 circular needles. The triangle starts at the center base of the neck with size 3 needles, increasing the needle size during every pattern transition — Leaf becomes Rose becomes Ripple then back to Leaf again. Knitting each row creates several individual increases, thus forming the finished triangle.

The peach sweater below is a Christmas gift for my cousin, Michelle. It was knit using two colors of Malabrigo brand worsted 100% cotton on 24″ size 3 circular and dpns. The yarns were factory-dyed in solid and variegated pink, then later tinted peach using natural sandalwood powder, with alum and cream of tartar as the mordant. Two steeks were knit for the armholes which were later cut and machine-hemmed before joining the sleeves.

There are ten stitch patterns involved: Simple Seed, Lorgnette Cable, Twining Vine Leaf, Flame Chevron (sides under the arms), Diamond Cable-topped Crossed V, and Candelight stitches form the body, with frilly half-Horseshoe and Roman Stripe patterns at the waist, and Tulip Bud edged simple seeded cuffs. The princess-style sleeves have a Three-Leaf run with Diamond Cables containing a Double-Seed fill for visual interest. The background is simple reverse stockinette.

What you see is a gorgeous array of the latest test yarn from Malabrigo available exclusively at ImagiKnit

(Click on the photos for colorway information)

Gusanito, Spanish for “little caterpillar” is a multi-ply Aran weight yarn

Yardage – 130 yards

Gauge – 4 sts an inch

Fiber – 100% baby merino wool

Introducing the colorways of the new Malabrigo Sock Yarn, with more on the way!

	Chocolate Amargo, Violeta Africana, Velvet Grapes, and Eggplant
	Impressionist Sky, Solis, Caribeño, and Indiecita
	Lettuce, Turner, Alcaucil, and Stone Chat
	Terracota, Cordovan, Ochre, and Archangel

Yardage – 440 yards

Gauge – 8 sts an inch

Fiber – 100% superwash merino wool