Luscious Cashmere and Silk

We've been gushing about the Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk ever since it first arrived in our stores a couple of months ago. It's a sumptuous mix of 65% cashmere and 35% silk. We often have customers do a 'touch test' of this yarn and it never disappoints. It's simply divine. Knitters Review recently described this yarn as an 'extraordinary cashmere'. And Clara Parkes has touched a lot of cashmere. Read the entire review right here. Here's a hat pattern that uses just one skein of SMCS. The hat is on display in our Point Grey store.

Knitters Review also likes Lantern Moon's new Sox Stix:

Here's the review. Sox Stix are 5" rosewood or ebony dp's, sizes 2 to 3.75 mm, that are packaged in a cute organza fabric pouch. One of these sets would be a great 'needle and notion' bag to accompany your latest sock project. They'd also make a great gift for a fellow sock-knitter.

And if you've caught the pervasive sock-knitting bug, you should check out the Knitters Review top-four picks of the many recently published sock books. We have three of these books in our stores. The popular Getting Started Knitting Socks, by Ann Budd, has a wonderful collection of tips and techniques for any sock-knitter, from beginner to experienced:


Amongst the many great sock patterns in this book is a versatile basic sock pattern that's provided in 5 different yarn gauges and 5 different sizes.

Interweave's Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs is a collection of nineteen of the best sock designs from past issues of Interweave and Spin Off magazines:

In addition to the wonderful patterns there are some very useful technique illustrations.

And then there's Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book:

This book has some sock-knitting history, great technique descriptions and twenty-five beautiful patterns. A very handy feature of this book is the "sock calculator" that allows you to modify two basic sock patterns, one top-down and one toe-up, for 3 different yarn gauges and 10 different sizes. Casting all modesty aside, Vogue calls this book, "...the most complete guide to sock knitting ever published." Check it out and see if you agree.