Inca Eco Baby Blanket by Gypsy Wools!

Barb Day from Gypsy Wools in Boulder, Colorado, recently contacted us to share her Inca Eco Baby Blanket pattern.  Barb opened Gypsy Wools almost four years ago (the shop's anniversary is March 17).  Her vision was to have a shop focused on hand dyed and natural fibers - not for any political or environmental reasons, but because she loved the feel and look of these yarns.  

Barb learned to hand paint yarns in the late '90s/early '00s, and while Gypsy Wools stocks her hand painted yarns, she has added other commercially dyed and hand dyed yarns to the shop to keep up with demand and offer variety to her customers.  She currently stocks Galler Yarns Asana Bulky, Heather Prime Alpaca, and Inca Eco.

Barb prefers not to dye or paint cottons because they can be fussy, and she loves the color options in Inca Eco. She chose Inca Eco for this blanket pattern because she loves the softness of the cotton and the texture of the thick and thin yarn.  When combined with her stitch pattern, it creates a baby blanket with a lot of texture and visual interest.  She also notes that Inca Eco knits up beautifully and wears well. (And we think that the organic cotton and low-impact dyes make projects that are very eco- and health-friendly for babies.)

You can find Gypsy Wools online on their website (which is currently under construction to upgrade to a shopping cart system), Etsy, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.  And, of course, if you are in the Boulder area, you can stop by the shop and see all the yarns in person!

Barb didn't have a picture of the original blanket available, so I started a gauge swatch in Inca Eco Denim to share with you today.

I love the diagonal texture this stitch pattern creates!

If you're having trouble choosing which color of Inca Eco to use for a great baby blanket, here are some suggestions.

For a classic pastel baby blanket, try Blossom, Bluestone, or Lavender.

For a more masculine look, try Bluestone, Denim, or Navy.  Add depth by using a different color for the border rows.

For less traditional parents, try bold colors like Aqua or Raspberry, or Espresso border rows with Rose.

Inca Eco Baby Blanket

  Knit Pattern

(c) Gypsy Wools, published by Galler Yarns with permission.

Finished Size

40" (101.5 cm) square 

Materials

Galler Yarns Inca Eco, (3.5 oz/100 g/140 yds/128 m) – 8 skeins 

US 10/6 mm 32” (81.25 cm) circular knitting needles or any size needed to obtain gauge

2 stitch markers

Yarn needle

Gauge

3.5 sts in pattern = 1” (2.5 cm). Exact gauge is not critical for this project.

Abbreviations

BO = bind off

CO = cast on

K = knit

P = purl

pm = place marker

sm = slip marker

st(s) = stitch(es)

Pattern Instructions

CO 126 sts.

Set up Rows

Row 1: Knit.

Rows 2-8: Repeat Row 1.

Pattern Rows

Row 1: K8, pm, (K2, p2) across to last 10 sts, k2, pm, k8.  

Row 2: K to marker, sm, (p2, k2) across to last 2 sts before marker, p2, sm, k8.

Row 3:  Repeat Row 2 once.

Row 4:  Repeat Row 1 once.

Repeat Rows 1-4 until blanket is approximately 1.5" (3.75 cm) shorter than desired length, finishing after Row 4.  

Border

Repeat Set up Rows 1-8 for border, removing stitch markers.  Bind off loosely.  

Finishing

With yarn needle, weave in ends securely.

Optional

For a longer, rectangular blanket, repeat Pattern Rows until blanket is approximately 50% longer than width.  Add border and finish as for square blanket.

Cabled Cozies Slippers Pattern by Stacey Gerbman

This week's free pattern is the Cabled Cozies Slippers by Stacey Gerbman in Galler Yarns Adorable.

These slippers are quick to knit with two strands of Adorable held together.  They showcase a beautiful cable along with moss stitch and ribbing.

The Cabled Cozies Slippers are super soft and sooth your tired feet after a long day.  The slippers also make great gifts!

The pattern includes a several process photos to help knitters.

Download Cabled Cozies Slippers PDF Pattern

About Stacey Gerbman:
Stacey has been working as a commercial textile designer for over a decade. She has been in love with needlecrafts since her mother taught her to crochet when she was 8. Stacey is a graduate of the Fashion institute of Design and Merchandising of Los Angeles.  While she has spent much of her career in the commercial carpet industry, she never left her love of hand knitting behind. Stacey is currently building up her website and can also be found on Ravelry as yarnitty.

All About Ewe Anniversary and Galler Yarns KAL!

All About Ewe in Clarke, NJ is having their first anniversary on Wednesday, February 6, 2013.  To celebrate, they will have many fun activities throughout February, including a knit-a-long sponsored by Galler Yarns!

The KAL pattern is Susie Rogers' Reading Mitts, available for free here.  These feminine fingerless gloves knit up quickly with two skeins of Galler Yarns Adorable, our luxurious blend of baby alpaca and silk.

To participate in the KAL, stop by the shop, or participate virtually with All About Ewe on Facebook or Ravelry.   To enter the giveaway, you must share your finished mitts in person at the store or online via Facebook or Ravelry by 10 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, February 28, 2013!  You must have purchased your yarn from All About Ewe, and you get two entries if you make your project with Adorable.

We can't wait to see your finished mitts!

Interview with designer Pam Powers

We were recently introduced to talented knitwear designer Pam Powers, who loves to use Galler Yarns Prime Alpaca in her designs.  Pam had some time to stop by for a quick interview.  You can find Pam online at her website, Pam Powers Knits, and on Facebook, Pinterest, and Ravelry.

Pam Powers.

Galler Yarns (GY): How did you first get started knitting? 
Pam Powers (PP): I was taught to knit as a child by my grandmother, but did not pick up needles again until about 6 years ago. I went to my LYS and was amazed by Rowan Magazine and how fashion forward knitting had become. I took a couple classes where I thankfully was taught to knit Continental style. 

Pam's Heliconian shawl pattern in Prime Alpaca silver gray and natural, available for sale here.

GY: What was your original inspiration for becoming a designer? 
PP: I wanted to produce unique and original hand-knitted accessories and garments like they sell at Anthropologie. I had been altering knitting patterns for fit and style, and realized that designing was probably not that much harder to master. 

Pam's Fouette shawl pattern in Prime Alpaca black and natural, available for sale here.

GY: Where do you find inspiration for your projects? 
PP: Mostly from fashion designers. I will see some kind of detail like a collar or a neckline that I am attracted to, and will try and translate that into a knitted accessory. When I come up with a new design, it's usually something that I envision worn with a certain outfit, and then I figure out how to build that out of stitches. 

Pam's Ruffled and Rouched scarf pattern in Prime Alpaca  silver gray and natural, available for sale here.

GY: What do you like about working with Galler Yarns Prime Alpaca? 
PP: Prime Alpaca is one of my favorite yarns. It's so deliciously soft and cuddly—I actually am sorry when I have to wind it because it's so wonderful as a skein. Despite being so soft, it has a good amount of body to it—most of my designs are textured and require this to maintain shape. I also like the large skeins—I know one skein will cover most accessories and having leftovers is not a problem because I'm certain it will be used for something else.

Thanks for stopping by, Pam, and for sharing your beautiful designs!

Happy New Year and 2013 CAL alert: Calm Cowl with Crochet Happy

Happy New Year to all of our fans and supporters!  We wish you the best for a healthy and yarn-filled 2013!

We have a lot of exciting plans for 2013 at Galler Yarns.  Some of them will have to remain secret for now (because after all, who doesn't love a yarn company with a little mystery?), but we're thrilled to announce that we will be sponsoring several crochet-a-longs (CALs) and knit-a-longs (KALs) in 2013.

The very first is the Calm Cowl CAL, hosted by TracyAnn at Crochet Happy in January, 2013.  If you haven't already checked out her website, it is a really fun place filled with crochet inspiration!  

Stop by the Crochet Happy Calm Cowl page or the Galler Yarns Ravelry group for more details on this fun CAL that starts tomorrow!  

Crochet Happy will be using Galler Yarns Prime Alpaca in Nutmeg for her Calm Cowl.  (If your local yarn shop doesn't carry Prime Alpaca, you can find it online at several shops including ImagiKnit, Knit Purl, and Village Spinning and Weaving.)  And did I forget to mention the prizes?  Galler Yarns will be offering 5 skeins of Prime Alpaca for a giveaway for participants in the CAL.

You can download the free pattern for the Calm Cowl by Suzana Davidovic here.  

See you in 2013!

Herringbone Cowl by Sarah Lora

Sarah Lora's latest design, the Herringbone Cowl in Galler Yarns Heather Prime Alpaca, is the perfect crochet project to keep you cozy as temperatures drop.

This scrumptious cowl can be styled in several different ways: around the neck, over the shoulders, over the head, or even as a skirt!  (Great cowl styling tips can be found in this blog post on Mary Jane Hall's Positively Crochet.)

The combination of front and back post stitches creates a rich texture.  Sarah chose colorway 204, which she refers to as butternut squash.  The Herringbone Cowl definitely looks yummy to us!

Download Herringbone Cowl PDF pattern here

About the designer: Sarah Lora is the crochet designer behind Ball Hank n' Skein.  She spends most of her daily life caring for her two preschool children in the Portland, Oregon home she shares with her husband Felipe, his mother “abuelita,” and their wild, rat-catching rescue dog Sage. She also works part-time as an attorney at Legal Aid Services of Oregon in the farmworker program. Every other spare second is spent crocheting!  Sarah is a self-taught crocheter with an eye for simple design and great colors.  You can find her online at her blog, her Etsy shop, her Facebook page, and on Ravelry (as fesa1234 and on her designer page).