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The Venation Shawl - Ambah O'Brien

A few weeks ago the stunning Venation Shawl was published by Ambah O’Brien, in collaboration with us at Koigu! This stunning shawl is knit using one Koigu Pencil box, specially curated by Ambah herself (The Venation Pencil Box). The pattern uses a simple eyelet stitch, designed in a triangle shape. It uses all 10 different colours of the Koigu Pencil Box, making for an ever interesting knit project as you watch the colours unfold.

Since this is our first collaboration with Ambah, I decided to ask her a few questions to get to know her designing background!

How long have you been designing for?

“I've been designing knitting patterns for over 6 years now, my first was published early 2013.”

How did you start knitting?

“My mum taught me garter stitch at around 6 years of age. I would get her to cast on and off and made some very wonky blankets for my toys. Purl stitch was a great mystery to me. Over the years I watched my mother and grandmother create stunning garments but didn’t pursue it further.

Years later I was resigned to the fact that I would never become a knitter although I always loved and appreciated hand-knits. In 2011 a friend of mine opened her LYS with stunning hand-dyed yarns that were a revelation to me. I purchased some and admired them for awhile. She told me about Ravelry and I joined as a very rudimentary crocheter.

A year later in 2012, my son was attending a Waldorf School and had learnt to knit among other crafts, and I asked him to show me how. He was nine and made an excellent teacher, regularly inspecting my work and making me rip it out if there were any mistakes. I discovered the wonderful Baktus scarf pattern and made four in quick succession, using the gorgeous yarn I had purchased a year earlier. That was it. I was obsessed and started to make myself garments and scarves and a fast rate!”

What was your biggest inspiration for this design?

”This was such a fun project. I have long admired Koigu yarn in knitters projects and was thrilled when invited to do this collaboration. I was sent a gorgeous selection of yarns and started by creating my own pencil box palette. I was drawn to the Autumnal colours and decided to plan for a northern hemisphere fall inspired design. From there I started to think about leaf skeletons and creating a shawl inspired by this structure; so strong yet so delicate. The name Venation refers to this inspiration.”

What is your favourite Koigu colour?

”Oh my, only 1? It is really hard to choose, they all look so amazing. Nope can't choose - so for now I'll say the Venation pencil box set!”

At the shop we loved the box so much that three members of the Koigu team knit their own shawl, in various colours!

The following LYS’s carry the Venation Shawl Pencil Box, and/or the above alternative colour options.

Earth Faire

Marji’s Yarncraft - CT, USA

Yarnscout - MT, USA

Jimmy Beans Wool - NV, USA

Rustic and Refined - PA, USA

Needles n’ Pins - WI, USA

Knit Purl Yarn Boutique - AU

Yarn Glorious Yarn - AU

Woolbearers - NJ, USA

Sue2Knits - ON, CA

Soper Creek - ON, CA

Mont Tricot - QC, CA

Shall We Knit - ON, CA

Michigan Fine Yarns - MI, USA

Knit School x Gilmore Girls Fan Fest

This past Friday, we headed to Gilmore Girl Fan Fest in Unionville, Ontario, where we participated in the Knit-a-thon! With a room full of newbie knitters, we alongside the owners of Knit School to on teaching as many knitters as we could at the event! Along with teaching people to knit, we brought some of our favourite projects to show and demonstrate with knitting what you can create.

Launching of the Knit School:

The Knit School, is located in Too Good General Store, on main street in Unionville, as well as can be shopped on their website. Owners Lynn and Tara met at a LYS, and became friends through knit circles. Once the LYS closed, they saw an opening to open the Knit School. First opened in 2017, starting as an online store, which held occasional pop up shops, which would also include teaching and workshops. They only just recently took up permanent residence into Too Good General Store.

Next Event:

The next event is their shop launch on October 20th, from 9am - 11am.

Favourite Koigu Colour:

Tara’s favourite colour is #118L with #355

Lynn’s favourite colour is #718

You can find the Knit School at the Too Good General Store in Unionville (155A Main St)

Follow them on Instagram @knitschool and on Facebook

Pencil Box Collection 2.0 +

New Pattern Drop! Everyone loves knitting with Pencil Boxes, and now with 12 new patterns, you have all new projects to add to your queue. The Pencil Box Collection 2, includes project that not only incorporates a Pencil Box, but also an added skein or two of yarn to lengthen your project! This technique can be done with any of our boxes!

The Ballet Poncho

By Marji LaFreniere

Children’s Poncho

Knit using the Ballet pencil box.

Add to your Ravelry queue

Playtime Vest

By Maie Landra

Children’s Vest

Knit using the Playtime Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Carousel Sweater

By Maie Landra

Children’s Sweater

Knit using the Carousel Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

TerraStarry Night Over the Rhone

Designed by Maria Leigh

Knit using the Terra Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Nude

Designed by Unjung Yun

Knit using the Nude Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Dance Club

By Koigu Design Team

Knit using Dance Club pencil box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Dragonfly:

Designed by Joanna Clayson

Crocheted using the Dragonfly Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Wilbert’s Scarf

Designed by Wilbert Schouten

Knit using the Nude Pencil Box +

Add to your Ravelry queue

Beach Skirt

Designed by Joanna Clayson

Crocheted using the Beach Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Sweet Pea Tunic

Designed by Maria Leigh

Knit using Sweet Pea Pencil Box +

Add to your Ravelry queue

Fall Leaves Skirt

Designed by Kathryn Merrick

Knit using the Fall Leaves Pencil Box

Add to your Ravelry queue

Global Market Vest

Designed By Maie Landra

Knit using the Global Market Pencil Box +

Add to your Ravelry queue

List of LYS’s Carrying Pencil Box Collection 2:

(The Following Stores will have the new book as of Oct. 16th! Please contact them to pre order)

Marji’s Yarncrafts

Knit Purl Yarn Boutique

Yarn Scout

Webs

Jimmy Beans

More shops coming soon

September Design Loves!

It’s time for fall making, and so many beautiful design have been released over the past month we can’t wait to start making! I’ve rounded up some of my favourite designs, both for their use of colour and texture!

The Counterpoise Scarf, by Janelle Martin is knit using Koigu Skeinettes, in 22 different colours, two skeins each. Using Koigu Skeinettes you have the opportunity to use more colours and create greater colour contrast. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

The Charsi sweater by Camille Descouteaux, is knit using Koigu KPPPM. This sweater is absolutely stunning and has an excellent shape, a great sweater to work on colour mixing! As well, this sweater is written in both English and French! Find the pattern on Ravelry.

NEON is back. The Boxy Pullover by Maria Leigh, is lighting up the fall issue of Vogue Knitting. Knit in Koigu Kersti, this sweater is both comfy and stylish, and could be knit in any colour.

Of course we can’t not highlight a pair of socks, and these socks are adorable. Featuring beautiful bobbles, these socks will have your feet dancing. Knit in Koigu KPM, the Bobbie socks designed by Maven Crafted, are a great way to spice up your sock knitting. Find the pattern on Ravelry.

The Rockaway Pullover by Roni Halloran, is a beautiful sweater knit in Koigu Chelsea. This sweater could use any two contrasting colours to get the same effect. Find the pattern on Ravelry.

If you know of a new pattern that you believe should be featured, please put it in the comments below!

Colour Workshop With Taiu 3

Continuing to learn to paint with Koigu, this weeks colour tip is using a solid to extend your knitting. This tip can be exceptionally helpful with you are just nearing the end of your project and requires a little bit more yarn. Need a possible solution then finding the same dyelot of yarn? This should help!

Have you met the new line of Koigu yarns? Visit www.koiguorigins.com to learn more!

Tulips and Birch - Koigu Collector Club, May + June

May - Tulips

Whats more beautiful than tulips blooming in May? We’ve had a pretty chilly May so far, little growth in the flower department. However, many tulip festivals happened at the beginning of May, as they do annually, and wow are the photographs beautiful! This month, Taiu chose the inspiration for the Koigu Collectors Club to be a field of Tulips! You can see in the dyelot, hints of red and yellow representing the flowers, and the main colour of green. Find it in LYS now.

June - Birch

Featuring the inspiration of Birch tree’s, Taiu’s Collector colour this month is a base of black and white, featuring bits of darker green and lime green. Birch will be available in LYS’s coming soon!

You can find May and June’s colour’s at the following shops:

Grey Heron - Belleville, Ontario

Purlin’J’s Roving Yarn Co. - Kingston, Ontario

Yarn Glorious Yarn - Australia

Knit Purl Yarn Boutique - Australia

Soper Creek Yarn - Bomanville, Ontario

Hillsborough Yarn Shop - North Carolina, USA

Elegant Ewe - New Hampshire, USA

Sticks and Strings LLC - Michigan, USA

Ewe & Company - Tennessee, USA

Bonnies Kozy Knit - New York, USA

Cast on Yarn Studio - Ohio, USA

Yarnscout - Montana, USA

Strings and Stitches Yarn Shoppe - Georgia, USA

Marji’s Yarn Crafts - Connecticut, USA

Ewe-nique Knits - Michigan, USA

Haus of Yarn - Tennessee, USA

Spruce Shadow Farms Yarn Shop - Michigan, USA

Brave Dog Knits - Montana, USA

Sewickley Yarns - Pennsylvania, USA

Uncommon Threads - California, USA

Sheeps Clothing - Indiana, USA

Earth Faire - New Jersey, USA

Yarn Song - New Hampshire, USA

Yarnorama - Texas, USA

Leelanau Fibers - Michigan, USA

Shall We Knit - Waterloo, Ontario

Jimmy Beans Wool - Nevada, USA

Colour Workshop With Taiu 2

My hope is that you found our first workshop to be helpful, and that you gained some valuable information for picking colours. This week, is another trick in mixing colours from your stash!

Have some single skeins of KPPPM or Kersti “Koigu” for a while in stock? They don’t seem to fit in a fade or fashion? Let’s change it up! We are going to blend some colour thinking in a painterly manor.

Step 1: Pick 2 skeins that are in the same tone with similar qualities ie. one colour similar, a rainbow etc..

Step 2: our 3rd colour is in a lighter tone / contrast or darker It can give spark to your colours.

Step 3: We then twist the 3 skeins together and decide if we like the combo. Squint your eye and see if it is pleasing. If not sure try step 4

Step 4: With your camera place it in Black and White mode and see how your colours work.As you can see 1 &2 are very similar in tone and our 3rd sparks. You can also try this with a red glass.

Another Example: Here we show 3 skeins there are 2 rainbows and a pop green.

We now look at as a black and white. The green shows it is a different tone

Part of a scarf project - we have applied a repeat sequence to make the fabric look painterly

We look at in Black and White and see how are fabric is alive with tone change and highlight

Use the coupon code: mixing , to receive 50% off the scarf pattern purchase. Limited time only.

Colour Workshop with Taiu 1.0

Picking colours for your new project is not always easy. Over the next few blog posts with the help of Taiu @ Koigu, you will gain a few new tricks and tips for colour picking!

Lets say you have to colours, drastically different, that you love an you’d like to make a project with!

In order to blend these colours together you have to start pairing with one, and work your way to the final blue in this case. We start with a colour with similar pink and yellow orange as the first skein.

Transitioning to the next skein. The third skein /colour has more purple and still carrying the pink but in a smaller amount.

Getting closer to the blue. The next skein has navy and purple to carry over from the last skein and we are starting to introduce bits yellow to reach our green.

the next skein we introduce a green aqua shade, keeping hints of blue/ purple/ pink.

Now at this point if you have a 6 skein project you could end here. Or if you only need 4 or 5 skeins, then you can take either skein 3 or 4 out to keep the fade, while not ruining the effect. Our last skein/ colour to the blend has the aqua green with strong strokes of the blue/ purple and no pink.

Thank you for following along on our first colour workshop!

Local Yarn Store Day Custom Colourway Part 4

A look at all the beautiful colour which will be featured tomorrow on LYS day! See the custom colours, and where you can find them!

Sunshine Coast

Striped:

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario.

Yarn Cupboard, located in Janesville, New York.

Speckle:

A Good Yarn, located in Sarasota Florida.

Sheeps Clothing, located in Valparaiso, Indiana

Wildfiber, located in Santa Monica, California.

Tundra

Sheeps Clothing, located in Valparaiso, Indiana

Great Lakes

Speckle:

Ewenique Knit, located in Royal Oak, Michigan

Mosaic Yarn Studio, located in Mount Prospect, Illinois

Soper Creek, located in Bowmanville, Ontario

Sue2Knit, located in McGregor, Ontario.

Personal Threads, located in Omaha, Nebraska.

Garen Huis, located in Holland, Michigan.

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario.

North Field Yarn, located in Northfield, Minnesota.

Nautical Yarn, located in Ludington, Michigan.

Shall We Knit, located in Waterloo, Ontario.

Local Yarn Store Day Custom Colourway Part 3

A look at all the beautiful colour which will be featured tomorrow on LYS day! See the custom colours, and where you can find them!

Rocky Mountain

Striped:

Wool Trends, located in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Speckle:

Yarn Bar, located in Billings, Montana.

Sheep’s Clothing, located in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Yarn Scout, located in Bozeman, Montana.

Southwest

Speckle:

Sewickley Yarns, located in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Nautical Yarn, located in Ludington, Michigan.

Wasatch and Wool, located in Park City, Utah.

Stripe:

Unwind fiber, located in Lee Summit, Missouri.

Tinsmiths Wife, located in Comfort, Texas.

St. Lawrence

Striped:

Marji’s Yarncrafts, located in Granby, Connecticut.

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario.

Wool Trends, located in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Speckle:

Sheep’s Clothing, located in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Local Yarn Store Day Custom Colourway Part 2

A look at all the beautiful colour which will be featured tomorrow on LYS day! See the custom colours, and where you can find them!

Maritimes

Speckle:

Marji’s Yarncrafts, located in Granby, Connecticut.

Stripe:

Wooltrends, located in St. Johns, Newfoundland

New England

Speckle:

Yarns in the Farm, located in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.

Stripe:

Marji’s Yarncrafts, located in Granby, Connecticut.

Pacific North West

Speckle:

Handknit yarn studio, located in Hamilton, Ontario

Sheeps Clothing, located in Valparaiso, Indiana

Tinsmiths Wife, located in Comfort, Texas.

Shall We Knit, located in Waterloo, Ontario.

Stripe:

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario.

Fiberworks, located in Dayton, Ohio

Prairies

Stripe:

Unwind Fiber, located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Local Yarn Store Day Custom Colourway Part 1

A look at all the beautiful colour which will be featured tomorrow on LYS day! See the custom colours, and where you can find them!

Arctic

Speckle:

Passion Knit, located in Toronto, Ontario

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario

Cabled Fiber, located in Port Angeles, Washington

Striped:

Wool Trends, located in St. Johns, Newfoundland

Deep South

Speckle:

Ewe and Company, located in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.

Sticks and Strings, located in Lansing Michigan.

Village Yarn, located in Rochester, New York

Stripe:

Personal Threads, located in Omaha, Nebraska.

Great Plains

Speckle:

Grey Heron, located in Belleville, Ontario

Gulf Coast

Stripe:

Unwind Fiber, located in Lees Summit Missouri.

Speckle:

A Good Yarn, located in Sarasota Florida.

Personal Threads, located in Omaha, Nebraska.

Criativity, located in Largo, Florida.

The French Knot, located in Fort Worth, Texas.

Woolbearers, located in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

Fabs & More and the Whole 9 Yarns Local Yarn Store Day Feature

Fabs & More and the Whole 9 Yarns, is a yarn shop located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The shop participated in LYS Day last year, with many satisfied makers leaving with both custom LYS Day colours and yarns from the trunk show. This year the shop has a busy day with plans, “to host a trunk show with local indie dyer, Mitchell’s Creations, from Franklinton, LA. We also have other special exclusive colorways coming from other dyers including Dream in Color and Jems Luxe Fibers. We have free patterns that will be offered from Casapinka, Berroco and others.” What makes Fabs & More and the Whole 9 Yarns special is their location, as being one of the only yarn shops in the area.

Fabs & More and the Whole 9 Yarns has chosen the LYS day custom pencil box Old Town. This is a beautiful box, which can be used for any of the Koigu Pencil Box Collection Projects.

Yarn Cupboard Local Yarn Store Day Feature

Yarn Cupboard is a LYS located in Janesville, New York. This will be their first year participating in LYS Day with a Koigu collector colour and they are very excited. They are excited for this years event, and can’t wait to share specialty yarns, patterns, trunk shows, indie dyed yarns and local cupcakes!

The Yarn Cupboard chose the Sunshine Coast colour as their LYS Day colour. Looking to brighten up your knitting, this colour is beautiful! Find it at the Yarn Cupboard Saturday, for LYS Day!

Yarn in the Farms Local Yarn Store Day Feature

Yarn in the Farms is a shop located in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. The shop sells a wide variety of yarns, as well as hosts many in shop events and classes for the local community. This is the shop’s second year participating in LYS Day and they are very excited, as it is an awesome opportunity for local business’s as well as a community of makers to gather together. What make’s the shop special? “Yarns in the Farms is a special little shop focussing on natural fibers. We also carry many locally dyed yarns. We have a bunch of great classes, great teachers, and great staff.”

For LYS Day, Yarn in the Farms will have the specialty colours New England, in speckle. It was inspired by the inspiration board below, and is a beautiful colour for any project.

Sue 2 Knits Local Yarn Store Day Feature

Sue 2 Knits is located in McGregor, Ontario just outside of Windsor. The shop features a wide variety of yarns, as well as accessories for a variety of crafts. This is the shop’s second year participating in LYS Day, last year featuring Casapinka’s Local Yarn Shawl and Kelbourne Woolens / Laura Nelkins Adventura Shawl which were both a great success as well as a weaving demonstration.

Sue 2 Knits LYS Day colour is the Great Lakes colour way in a speckle. Great Lakes is inspired by a mix of the colours of the water and the stunning aspects of fall. Nothing is more beautiful than fall around the Koigu Farm, an inspiration for many of our colour ways. Find this exclusive LYS Day colour at Sue 2 Knits this Saturday!

This year Sue 2 Knits will feature the special Koigu LYS Day colour, along with this past months Koigu Collector Club colour way, Berroco’s LYSDay exclusive pattern booklet and Storewide Sales!

Yarn Bar Local Yarn Store Day Feature

Yarn Bar is a charming store located in Billings, Montana, featuring a large selection of various yarns and haberdashery products. This will be their second year participating in LYS Day, last year being the inaugural day where they had a fun and busy day.

Yarn Bar chose the Speckle Rocky Mountain as their LYS Day Colour. Inspired by the Mountain regions, and natural surroundings Rocky Mountain is a beautiful earthy colour. Be sure to purchase this special colour at Yarn Bar while supplies last on LYS Day!

What makes Yarn Bar unique from other LYS’s?

“Our bar theme is pretty unique - We have beer taps with yarn coming out them, plus a bar to belly up to. Aside from that, making each person feel welcome is very important to us; We want everyone to be able to experience “playing” with yarn!” - Linda and Sue

This year along with the special Koigu LYS Day colour, Yarn Bar will also be having trunk shows, local makers and a travelling dyer with their yarns in the shop. Yarn Bar often showcases local dyers as well yarns from around the world! Yarn Bar is still fairly young, LYS Day is the perfect event to come in and explore and find your next project!