The second issue of Yedra Knits launched around Indie Untangled last year and I’m thrilled to be a stockist! The issue is inspired by tarot cards, and is filled with patterns for shawls, sweaters and other accessories in vibrant colors, stunning and creative photography and features on Barcelona and Madrid LYS Miss Kits and a great interview with dyer Aimée Gille of La Bien Aimée.
Debbie of Murky Depths Dyeworks has new colors of her Caspian Fingering, a Merino, alpaca and nylon fingering that was a hit when she debuted it at the Indie Untangled show last year.
I’ve finished and finally blocked my Pressed Flowers Shawl with Botanical Yarn and it’s easily become one of my favorite knits! There are still a few kits left with this beautiful color combination from Sophie, who recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help her fund a new shop on wheels.
Shellie has released two new designs, ZENA and LA GRAND, a shawl and wrap that create a cozy cocoon of slipped stitch broken rib.
To get ready for warmer weather, Anastasia of Cashmere & Coconuts has released the Summer Lovin’ Collection, bright colors available as a set or individually.
Join the Purl Scouts! Augusta of AdKnits recently released a new collection of camping- and scouting-inspired products, including merit badges, stickers, T-shirts, totes and a knitter’s compass keychain.
The Plies & Hellhounds Wicked Seeds monthly club is inspired by poisonous plants and their lore. The first colorway, Lily of the Valley, will be released and ready to ship tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET.
Natalie of Fiberdog Fibers has released new fleece-to-skein yarns, including Purple Stars, a sportweight Corriedale that is part of what will eventually be a rainbow collection.
Mary of Lyrical Knits looked to one of her (and my) comfort watches, Schitt’s Creek, for her latest sweater design. A follow-up to her Fold In the Cheese hat, The JazzaGal is a top-down pullover that features a round yoke with a cascading, teardrop lace pattern. It’s designed to be knit with a strand of fingering yarn held together with a strand of laceweight mohair, or if, unlike David Rose, you can’t pull off mohair, you can use a heavy DK/light worsted yarn. The JazzaGal is available on both Ravelry and Payhip at 30% off with the code preciouslove through this Monday, January 17.
Chantal runs a small batch indie-dyed yarn company called Je Laine Yarns in Montreal. While it’s not a new operation, the pandemic has shifted her in-person-shows-only approach to the development and launch of an online shop. Bases include the popular Bella, a luxurious single-ply made with Merino, Cashmere and silk.
Eve of Holly Dyeworks has released Eden, an appropriately-named gradient cowl inspired by the Garden of Eden, and beauty of creation. It’s knit holding two strands of sock/fingering weight yarn or one strand of DK. The sample pictured here is done in Eve’s Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Mini Skein Set.
Bring some sparkle to your winter with Anzula’s Lunaris base, a luxurious blend of 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Stellina.
Show off your love of indie yarn with these new project bag fobs from Katrinkles, made custom for Indie Untangled! And get a fob for free with a purchase of $50 or more from the Indie Untangled shop through February 14. Just put the fob in your cart and the discount will be applied automatically.
Lauren of Miami Fiber Co. just had a shop update with new colorways and fades, including this beautiful purple one that would be perfect for a Comfort Fade Cardi.
Cowgirlblues has colorful yarn bundles for the Sweet Dreams Shawl by Jane Renton, with recorded Zoom knit-along sessions for step-by-step support.
Sara of La Cave à Laine is starting the year with her Bundles of Joy. Each week of January she’s releasing a curated collection of bags that are bundled together with a 50% discount to bring you joy. The first bundle is inspired by (much-needed) sunshine.
Natalie of Fiberdog Fibers is running a clearance sale on her handspun yarn and spinning fibers.
The debut of the May collaboration from this year’s Indie Untangled Where We Knit yarn club couldn’t have come at a better time. Petra of Black Elephant and designer Jimenez Joseph, both in England, based their collaboration on the promise of new growth, via gardening and visits to the local farmer’s market. Petra created this cheerful, complex tomato-inspired colorway called Pomme D’Amour, and Jimi used the squishy Superwash Merino DK-weight yarn to design a cowl of the same name, with twisted and slipped stitches echoing tomatoes on the vine and a woven basket.
This special colorway is available to preorder on Indie Untangled today through December 17 and it will ship in mid- to late January. Just in time to create and cozy up in your bright red-orange “love apple.”
Crystal of Milly’s Knit Designs (a designer for the Where We Knit 2022 yarn club!) has new colorwork patterns out, The Hidden Falls Pullover and the Miss You More cowl. She is also donating a portion of her sales for the month of December to Sisters United, an organization run by Candice of The Farmers Daughters Fibers that supports indigenous communities.
Monica’s current favorite yarn is her Gothfarm worsted weight, which is perfect for gifts and comes in four different naturally-colored bases, including Ultisol, an auburn brown that blends cinnamon red alpaca fleece and dark Zwartbles wool, and Terra Preta, a deep soil brown made from a tri-blend of dark Shetland wool, Jacob wool and alpaca fleece.
Looking for small gifts for your favorite makers? Amy’s Trinket Shop is loaded with a variety of stitch marker sets. They’re available in both gold and silver tones and in closed and locking stitch marker options.
I’m thrilled to open sign-ups today for Where We Knit 2022. This quarterly club, which will begin shipping in February, brings together four dyer/designer dream teams: Plies & Hellhounds and Milly’s Knit Designs, Émilia & Philomène and Marion Em Knits, Neighborhood Fiber Co. and Julie At Work, and Kokon Yarn and Eri Shimizu.
Each pair will collaborate on an exclusive colorway and an accompanying accessory design inspired by their favorite spots to whip out their WIPs. Their inspiration photos are shown in the image above, clockwise from top left, and you can read more about these in the listing.
Aside from the yarn and pattern, each shipment will include a surprise gift from a third small business. The Zoom interviews will take place after each installment ships out, with the live version and recordings open only to club members.
You have the option of a one-time payment for a discounted price or payment each quarter, and there’s also an option to purchase the club as a gift for a special knitter in your life, if you want to avoid the holiday shipping rush. Sign-ups run through December 31, 2021.
Starting next year, I’m planning to offer assistance to low-income members of our community, so that they can participate in the 2022 Where We Knit yarn club, while fairly compensating our participating dyers and designers.
If you feel you have enough yarn in your stash already, or would like to provide a holiday gift to a fellow maker, please consider sponsoring an installment. You can fund half of a one-month installment, a full month installment or a full year of the quarterly club. Contributions will be anonymous, though please note that they are not tax deductible.
If you’d like to apply for or nominate someone for a grant, you can do so here.
Fans of the TV series Schitt’s Creek will get the name of Mary Annarella’s latest hat pattern, Fold in the Cheese. But you don’t need to have watched the show to enjoy this quick slipped-stitch hat. It’s also on sale for 40% through November 28.
Giulia and Stefania of Lanivendole are celebrating autumn with warm yarn and hot drinks. Their Campfire “flash” club includes hand-dyed skeins of A Stormy Blend DK and an enamel mug featuring an illustration by Little Pine Alice. Sign-ups run from today, November 19 at 6 p.m. CET to November 23 at midnight CET.
If you’re looking for gift ideas for your favorite yarn lover, or need to give someone in your life some hints, Jill of Jilly & Kiddles has compiled a gift guide with ideas ranging from stocking stuffers to splurges.
Lauren of Miami Fiber Co. has opened preorders for her Witcher Sock Club, inspired by the Netflix series, and the Textures Sock Club, inspired by the unseen beauty in everyday objects/surroundings.
The Woolen Women Fibers Woolen Winter Picnic celebrates the warmth of winter with single skeins and kits.
Sara of La Cave à Laine has a new line of hand-dyed project bags using lovely Lithuanian linen.
While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are readying for winter, the all-women team at Capetown, South Africa-based Cowgirlblues can help you get ready for spring. Their Joys of Spring shawl kit comes in three color combinations of Kidsilk mohair/silk and Merino Lace Single.
Victoria and the Eden Cottage Yarns crew have a ton of news to share, including a new batch of Milburn DK, British Superwash Bluefaced Leicester wool blended with silk, new batches of hand-dyed Brimham High Twist (85/15 Superwash Extrafine Merino/nylon) 20g mini skeins and Rosedale 4ply gold sparkle sock.
Elizabeth of Knitting Lizard Fibers has been experimenting recently and has a bunch of one-of-a-kind skeins in her shop. There are also mini skeins in singles or sets and single skeins on various bases.
We’re so excited to share the winners of this year’s Indie Untangled make-a-long! Over three months, there were a total of 175 entries, including 21 in the sock category and a whopping 39 in the adult sweater category, and only one in the blanket category. This week, we selected 19 winners in 10 categories via random number generator. Here is their beautiful work.
Mary Annarella’s latest release is the perfect transition piece. Called Yellow Brick Rodeo, this is a quick knit that lets you take advantage of a show-stopping variegated colorway. The spiraling zigzag pattern is simple and worked with sporadic slipped stitches. Once the yoke is complete, the stockinette bodice and sleeves are easily lengthened. The pattern is on sale at a 30% discount through tomorrow with the code lionsandtigersandbears on either Ravelry or Payhip.
Michelle of Crafty Flutterby Creations has added Sincere Sloths to her menagerie of end minders, which can keep your ends tidy, store yarn for repairs, tame your joins, or make a handy portable color swatch.
Soak is known for it’s amazing garment care products (it’s the only soap I use for my handknits and delicates) and they recently released hand sanitizer! They come in perfectly portable 3 oz. and 8.4 oz. bottles and are now available to preorder on Indie Untangled.
Get to know more about Zwartbles, the European breed that offers black wool with a red undertone. Monica of Gothfarm Yarn uses it for her Ultisol base, a 2-ply worsted weight that’s also available as spinning fiber.
Aside from the list of more than 20 indie dyers and makers we’ve lined up for Indie Spotlight — our next virtual show taking place from May 14-16 — we’re making the Spotlight virtual lounge a destination where you can meet and hang out with your fellow crafters and special guests. We’re excited to announce that Gigi and Jasmin from the Knitmore Girls podcast will be joining us for a meetup during the show!
Your $7 ticket includes access to our Spotlight lounge, where the Knitmores will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday. In case you miss it, the session will be recorded and available only to registered attendees through the end of June.
Dana of Un Besito Fiber is dreaming of the days that she can throw some clothes in a backpack and taking off. Her Dreaming of Paris Snack Pack helps scratch that travel itch. The bakery box of a dozen 10-gram minis in 75/25 Superwash Merino/nylon fingering are inspired by the soft, dreamlike colors of a springtime in Paris image. And they’re all wound up into balls and ready to knit or crochet on your next adventure.
Liz of Yarns by the Bay is a dyer based in Melbourne, Australia, who creates fun, often bright colorways on Superwash Merino/nylon fingering and DK. If you happen to live Down Under, Liz offers free shipping within Australia.
Orders close this Monday, April 26, for the Summer Sock of the Season Club, a collaboration between Jilly & Kiddles Yarn and BritStitchery Design. Club installments include one full skein of an exclusive colorway, a club exclusive sock pattern and two surprise extras.
Megan of Megs & Co has finally found the luxury yarn of her dreams. Her Bluefaced Leicester Lux Fingering, or BFL Lux for short, is a blend of 70% Certified English Bluefaced Leicester Superwash wool, 20% silk, and 10% Cashmere. It’s ideal for sweaters and special garments.
Emily of Kitty With a Cupcake has published her first garment pattern! The Sucker Punch Shrug uses two colors of yarn to create a bold garment. Save $1 through April 28 to celebrate the release.
The April installment of the Teton Yarn Company’s full moon colorway series celebrates the Pink Moon, named after one of the first wildflowers to bloom after the snow melts. Featured on 100% Superwash Merino Mountain Sock, it goes live today at 6 p.m. MDT.
For our next virtual event, Petrina and I decided to go back to the roots of IU and provide a platform for newer and super-indie yarntrepreneurs.
We’ll be showcasing nearly two dozen small businesses at Indie Spotlight, which runs from May 14-16!
Spotlight vendors launched their businesses in 2019 or later or have fewer than 10k Instagram followers. Register now for access to virtual vendor booths that will feature video introductions and tours, photo galleries, and access to special products and discounts. You’ll also be able to meet dyers and makers during interactive shopping sessions (if you miss any, they will be recorded) and schedule one-on-one shopping appointments, where you can get help choosing colorways and deciding on patterns.
There will also be snacks…
I hope you can join us!
Today’s the last day to preorder Kraeo’s Setting Sun colorway for Knitting Our National Parks, inspired by sunset at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland, a peaceful place just a 45-minute drive from both Baltimore and Washington, DC. It’s available on Little Sister Fingering, a Superwash Merino single-ply fingering, and Mama Bear DK, a luxurious blend of 45% baby alpaca, 45% 19.5 Micron Merino and 10% silk.
Jillian’s recent love obsession with plants inspired these adorable succulent stitch markers now available in the WeeOnes shop, along with glow-in-the-dark aliens with a tiny spaceship and a set of knitting cats.
Who wouldn’t want to head off to Sheep Camp?! Dyer Meghan of Native Fibers, an Indie Spotlight vendor, is collaborating with designer Jennifer Berg of Native Knitter on the Sheep Camp Sweater KAL, which launches April 23.
Natalie of Fiberdog Fibers created her Rainbow Stars minis from raw Romney fleece that she washed, picked, carded, dyed and spun herself! Each set includes seven 20g minis.
Sharon of Garage Dyeworks also dyed up a different take on the rainbow. Be Yourself is now available on her 100% Superwash Merino. called Auto DK.
Editor’s note: Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, known in Hebrew as Yom Hashoah. I asked Lea Stern, a knitter and longtime Indie Untangled follower, to write about her Green Sweater project to memorialize the Holocaust. You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry.
In 2003, I was invited by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to attend a preview of a new exhibit called The Hidden Children. As the name suggests, it was about those children who were hidden or removed from parts of Europe during World War II and the Holocaust. They were given up by parents who were desperate to preserve the lives of their children and too often, these were the only members of a family to survive. I attended this event with a friend and colleague of mine who had himself been a hidden child in Holland. There were many stories in this exhibit of fear and tragedy, but there were also stories of supreme sacrifice and bravery.
What caught my eye at the museum preview was a small green sweater knitted for a young girl by her paternal grandmother. The girl was Krystyna Chiger and she had lived in Lvov, Poland. Her family had a comfortable life there, with a large apartment and a busy and popular textile shop, across the street from another fabric and wool shop owned by her maternal grandparents. Krystyna was a bright and inquisitive child who, as she tells it, would do mischievous things. She would unravel the little green sweater that her grandmother was knitting for her when she set it down and went out. She would ultimately receive a scolding but she would persist in her tricks nonetheless.
When the war broke out, Lvov was occupied by the Russians under an agreement with the Germans. When the Germans reneged on this agreement and invaded this part of Poland, things went from bad to worse for the Chiger family and the Jewish community. They were forced to give up their home, business and nearly all their possessions and were moved into the Jewish ghetto. It was from a window there in their small living space that Krystyna saw her grandmother who had knitted her sweater being taken away on a cart to Janowska concentration camp where she perished.
After several years, on May 1943, the final liquidation of the ghetto began. All its inhabitants were to be transported to the Janowska camp and what would have been their certain death. Krystyna’s father, and several others, in anticipation of this event had already begun to prepare a place for them to hide in the sewers below Lvov. And so on that night, Krystyna, along with her mother, father and 3-year-old brother descended into the sewers. They were not able to take much with them, but Krystyna took her beloved little green sweater with her. What they all thought would be a short sojourn in the sewers turned out to be 14 months. While many who sought refuge there died, the Chigers, helped by three Catholic Polish sewer workers led by Leopold Socha, survived and — so did her sweater. After some time in Poland, she went to Israel where she became a dentist, married and had two sons. She is now Dr. Kristine Keren and she and her husband live on Long Island, New York.
While her sweater is nearly 75 years old and bears some stains and holes, it is remarkably well preserved considering its age and journey.
Reengineering history
When I saw the sweater I felt that I had a duty to try to reengineer a pattern for it so its history would remain alive. After a bit of convincing, I was able to set up a time to come and directly examine the sweater with the museum exhibit curator, Suzy Snyder, and Cynthia Hughes, head of textiles. I determined gauge and took many measurements, notes, drawings and photos that would assist me in figuring out the stitch pattern. It was a simple knit and purl pattern and I spent many hours searching for it in every available stitch collection I knew of. I was unable to find a previously published form of the pattern in any collection. I thus assumed that it was something that Krystyna’s grandmother had made up or was a popular pattern commonly known but not written. Fortunately, I was able to reproduce it on my own after having been able to examine the sweater closely.
After many hours of test knitting swatches, I needed to choose a yarn for the project. I thought this would be quite easy as I know some very talented hand dyers. After some thought, I realized that while they may be able to more accurately reproduce the color as it is now, specifically hand-dyed yarn may be difficult for knitters to obtain.
Since the sweater was knitted around 1939-1940 in Poland, I knew from my studies of historical knitting that we would need a very basic wool. A luxury yarn would not have been readily available in wartime, nor would it have been used for a child’s sweater. Considering the horrific environmental conditions it had been subjected to, wool was the obvious choice.
I chose Quince & Co. Finch, a fingering-weight 100% wool that had great stitch definition and the largest palette of greens. The original sweater is faded and stained, but many of Quince & Co. greens were quite close. Additionally, if one wanted to knit this sweater in something other than green, their broad color palette was excellent.
Dr. Kristine Keren with the test-knitted sweaters.
Once the sweater pattern was created, I had two sets of test knitters. One used the first draft to evaluate the pattern for errors, understanding of directions and readability. The second set of knitters used the final pattern to make sure there were no errors before publication. I donated the copyright for the pattern to the Holocaust museum where it is currently for sale in the museum bookstore as a hard copy along with a display of Krystyna’s book, The Girl In the Green Sweater, and one of the test-knitted sweaters. Since the museum does not have an online store, they have allowed me to sell copies of the sweater on Ravelry. All proceeds from the sale of the pattern are donated to the museum.
In December of 2014 I traveled to New York to meet Dr. Keren and tell her the story of recreating her sweater. Her husband, Mr. Marion Keren, is a mechanical and civil engineer and enjoyed the process of “reverse engineering” a sweater! He is also a Holocaust survivor and they were very open and kind in inviting me into their home. I brought her a timeline of my whole journey. I showed her my notes, early photos, drafts and swatches. I presented her with a finished copy of the pattern and let her choose one of the test-knitted sweaters that reminded her most closely of her original. The curator had told me that it had been difficult for her to give up her sweater but she had graciously donated it to the museum. When she chose one of the copies, she held it up and said, “Now I have my sweater back!” It was a very emotional and fulfilling moment.
Lea displaying the ribbons her Green Sweater earned at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.
With this project largely completed, I have reflected on what this project has meant to me. This sweater represents triumph over prejudice and intolerance. It is a grandmother’s love for her granddaughter and the devotion the granddaughter felt in return. I am a physician and have been fortunate to have lived a wonderful life in the United States, mostly protected against the type of injustice that has too often pervaded the world. I had a brilliant mother raised in northern England who taught me many types of needlework, but particularly knitting. I am fortunate to have been able to use these skills to do this project.
My hope is that this small green sweater will be knit again and again. I hope the story of Krystyna Chiger, her family and the brave men who helped them will be told over and over and as such the sweater will be a small piece of living history. The green sweater should be a reminder to generation after generation of what happens when intolerance is allowed to fester unchecked and as young people wear it, we can open a discussion about what it represents and why it is so important to never forget. Suzy Snyder commented in a television interview she and I did about this project that the survivors won’t always be with us, but the things they’ve left with us will continue to tell their story. My hope is that small things like this sweater will somehow make a difference.
This week, designer Mary Annarella released a much more fashionable version of the mid-aughts Snuggie: Cozy McBlanket. This sweater is essentially a blanket with sleeves, but Mary has worked her magic with some cleverly placed short rows to help it curve around your shoulders and neck for a better fit. It calls for five colors of sportweight yarn, and I’m sure you can find some that are prettier than the fire-engine-red fleece I was sporting in Winter 2008.
We have a lot of fun new things planned for you at our upcoming virtual event, Indie Across the Pond! In addition to shopping for amazing yarn, you’ll also be able to:
• Have tea with Amy Florence of Stranded Dyeworks and the Stranded Podcast — she’ll be joining us Friday from the east coast of Scotland to kick off the show!
• Show off your smarts at virtual trivia!
• Enter our KAL/CAL and win prizes from Indie Untangled and some of our awesome sponsors: Garthenor Organic, La Cave à Laine and Yedraknits!
• Hang out and meet our fabulous vendors in a casual environment at Saturday and Sunday’s teas!
There are still spots available for our free bingo event on Saturday, March 20 at 3 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. CET, hosted by Indie Untangled event producer Petrina Hicks. This is a popular event, so register soon!
Jillian of WeeOnes has several brand new stitch marker sets including dinosaurs, arctic foxes and the latest installment of the surprise markers with a spring theme. And to celebrate Jillian reaching 10K sales on Etsy, get 15% off your order with the code YAY10K.
March comes in with a sale! Everything on the Liverpool Yarns site — 100% Shetland fingering yarns, kits for shawls and accessories, patterns and project bags — is 20% off through March 14.
Michelle of Crafty Flutterby Creations has new additions to her menagerie of end minders, which help tame your loose ends, including playful pups, curious kittens and — special for March — Mindful Manatees.
Emerald of Stardust Fiber Studio has released part two of her Greek Gods collection. This collection contains nine main colorways, each based off a deity from Greek Mythology, and two special features. A matching stitch marker set is also available.
Victoria of Eden Cottage Yarns just had an update of Pendle 4ply, a classic yarn that’s pure Superwash Merino. It’s available on 20 colorways, from deep and rich to the soft and pale. There’s also a spring sale going on.
Monica of Gothfarm Yarn has five types of roving in stock, including Cirrus, a pencil roving made from blended Jacob and Shetland sheep wool, and Coopworth, Navajo-Churro, Ultisol and 100% Jacob Sheep roving.
Bonnie of Yank Your Yarn has some Big Clippy progress keepers, which are oversized, movable single stitch markers featuring a 21-23mm lobster clasp for use on your chunkiest knitting and crochet projects.
Sharon of Garage Dyeworks has a new colorway called Mahalo.