Mermaids ~ new pattern release!

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are doing well. We are having a rainshower-filled weekend, very off and on. We had dinner at Evan and Molly's house last night. Along with his brother and dad, he built a new deck on the side of his 100-year-old house and we tested it out with a cookout. They strung white lights and he found a small picnic table for free and he built two benches to go along with it. It is all kind of cozy and perfect. We enjoyed each other, as always, and shared a delicious meal and fun stories. The rain held off until right after dinner where we went inside to chat more and some watched the last inning of the Brewer's game. All in all, it was a successful summer night.

Well, I have a new pattern for you. I have been thinking about knitting a mermaid pattern for a long time, years in fact. I don't know why I didn't ever get around to it until now but I am glad I finally did. I really like the results!

There are Mermaids Kits available on Barrett Wool Co. with lots of options to make one or all three and there is a Mystery Item that can be added to your kit, as well. This item is a useful tool that goes along with the kit. I think you will love it. 

Click here to check out the Mermaids Kits on Barrett Wool Co.!

The Ravelry pattern for Mermaids is on discount right now through July 27th, 2018. The pattern price is set at $3.50, no code needed. After that it will be priced at $5.00. 

Click here for the Mermaids pattern on Ravelry!

The Mermaids are knit with our Home Fingering Weight yarn.

Here is the Mermaids pattern information that might be of interest:

Beaches, waves, warm sunshine and of course, Mermaids! In these warm beachy months of summer it seemed the right time to create an adorable trio of Mermaids. These little mermaid dolls are knit seamlessly from the bottom-up with the arms, fins, ears and crown being picked up and knit on. The instructions provide exact placement for all of the appendages and eyes and instructional photos are included to help along the way. There is a necklace of pearls (or maybe French knots!) embroidered on afterward and there is a video tutorial link for this technique included in the pattern.

Instructions include simple guidelines for making a Merman, if interested.

I hope you enjoy knitting these lovely little Mermaids. They make for a joyful set!

Finished measurements 
9-inches tall

Yarn 
Barrett Wool Co.’s Home Fingering Weight (100% American Wool; 370 yards 338m / 100 grams). Samples use the following colors:

Mermaid #1: 
Hair color: Wishing Well (blue)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Priscilla 
Skin Color: Bear 
Tail Color: Wood Violet

Mermaid #2: 
Hair color: Priscilla (pink)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Wood Violet 
Skin Color: James 
Tail Color: Wishing Well

Mermaid #3: 
Hair color: Wood Violet (purple)
Bikini, Fin and Crown: Wishing Well 
Skin Color: Tattersall 
Tail Color: Priscilla

Needles 
US size 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles

Materials 
6mm safety eyes (2) 
Dark pink embroidery floss for mouth 
Polyester fiberfill

Gauge 
7.5 sts per inch /9 rows per inch in stockinette stitch

My favorite part of seamless toy knitting is working that final stitch and having the toy be completed in that instant! That is a satisfying moment. 

The Mermaids Kit is really adorable! If you give the kit a try, I hope you really enjoy it. 

One last thing I want to mention is the necklace in the photo above. My longtime friend Sheri and her daughter Whitnie are making these necklaces called We Are One. Part of the profits is donated to Global Giving. You can get We Are One stamped in your language of choice. I have purchased several of these for family members and I have my own. I chose Spanish as the language, Somos Uno. I loved it because at that family dinner last night we were all wearing our We Are One necklaces and I felt the sentiment was true, near and far. 

Click here to find out more about We Are One necklaces!

Have a great week ahead. I appreciate you all so much, Knitters.

xo ~ susan

Sweet Bee and Flower + Making No. 5 / Colors

photo credit: carrie bostick hoge

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Spring has finally sprung here in Wisconsin. It is supposed to be 60 degrees today. It seems hard to believe and it will be hard to not feel like grabbing my winter coat when I'm heading out the door. I am looking forward to some warmer temperatures as I'm sure many of you are, too. 

I have a new pattern out this weekend. It is called Sweet Bee and Flower and I'm really excited about it. It is in the new issue of Making Magazine No. 5 / Colors which is an incredible magazine filled with projects and inspiration. We have some fun things going on to celebrate the little bees and flowers over on Barrett Wool Co. 

The Sweet Bee and Flower kit is our first pre-order kit!  The kits will be sent out in about 4-6 weeks as we are waiting for our new shipment of yarn. If you order the Making Magazine No. 5 / Colors along with your kit, we will ship you the magazine right away and the kits will be shipped separately and for free as soon as they are ready.

Click here for the Sweet Bee and Flower Kit!

We will keep you updated on the kit pre-order status as we anxiously await our new batch of yarn! Thank you for your patience and we know it will be worth the wait.

Click here to find the Sweet Bee and Flower on Ravelry!

Also, you can order Making No. 5 / Colors by itself and we have Making Magazine Numbers 1-4 available in the Mercantile! These magazines are collector's items that you won't want to miss.

Click here for the Mercantile for the Making Magazines!

photo credit: carrie bostick hoge

Here you can see the full Sweet Bee and Flower project. There is a flower cozy to hold a little sweet bee. These are knit in Home Fingering Weight yarn on US size 2 and 3 needles. There is no seaming as everything is picked up and knit on which makes it a slick and fun project. 

I had to share the beautiful cover of the Making Magazine No. 5 / Colors. It's so spring-y and fresh!

One last thing, there is a discount going on for all of the scissors over on Barrett Wool Co. If you enter SCISSORS at checkout you get $1.00 of every pair of scissors purchased. The style in the photo is our newest pair called Vintage. I think these are my new favorites. 

Click here for the BWC Mercantile and all of our scissor selections!

Have a great week ahead, Knitters! Next week I am off to teach at Galiano Island for a knitting retreat. I can't wait for this one. It is run through Knit Social and they always do an excellent job.

I'll be back soon with more...

xo ~ susan 

New Patterns!

photo credit :: evan anderson

Hi, Knitters,

Happy weekend to you all. I hope you are doing well. I have a new pattern release and a pattern that's coming up soon, plus a couple of kits! 

The pattern that is currently released is called Cozy Mouse and it is found in Taproot Magazine, Issue 26 :: Heal. Barrett Wool Co. has the magazines and adorable kits available right now. 

Click here to find out more or to shop Cozy Mouse Kits!

Click here to find out more about the Cozy Mouse Pattern on Ravelry!

Isn't this a beautiful cover? I love it. Click here to see more about Taproot Magazine!

photo credit :: carrie bostick hoge

The other pattern I have coming out is called Sweet Bee & Flower. This adorable knit toy is coming out in Making No. 5 / Color in a few short weeks. Barrett Wool Co. will have kits and the magazine available for purchase and I'll keep you posted when it all becomes available. 

Click here to find out more about Sweet Bee & Flower on Ravelry!

photo credit :: carrie bostick hoge

The Sweet Bee & Flower project is knit in Barrett Wool Co.'s Home Fingering Weight. 

photo credit :: carrie bostick hoge

So sweet and fun! This is a perfect companion toy for the Butterfly & Cocoon toy. 

photo credit :: evan anderson

Lastly, there are some Loopy Sweet Sheep Kits in Birch (white) available in the shop, too!

Click here to find out more or shop Loopy Sweet Sheep Kits!

Have a beautiful Sunday! I'll be back soon with more.

xo ~ susan

Stitches West & Loopy Sweet Sheep Kits

Hi, Knitters,

I have a few fun things to share with you. First, I am going to be teaching four workshops at Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia, on Feb. 9-10, 2018. Click here to find out more!

And Barrett Wool Co. is hitting the road! We are heading out to Santa Clara, California, to vend at Stitches West on February 22-25, 2018. Not only will this be our first large event for vending but we are thrilled to be combining forces and sharing a booth with the one and only Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting. We are really looking forward to this upcoming event and we hope to see as many of there as possible. Please stop by our booth, #1336 and 1338, to say hello and to see our Barrett Wool Co. yarns in person.

Hope to see you there!

Click here to find out more about Stitches West! 

I launched a new kit yesterday over on Barrett Wool Co. Here is some information about the kit:

Click here for the Loopy Sweet Sheep Kit!

I've updated an "oldie but goodie" pattern called Sweet Sheep and added an adorable double-loop stitch to the body. I think the Loopy Sweet Sheep looks like it is sitting in a cloud of wooly loops! It's so much fun. The original Sweet Sheep version is just as cute in plain stockinette stitch if that's what you prefer. Using the Wisconsin Woolen Spun Worsted Weight is beyond perfect for this project. The finished Loopy Sweet Sheep is so squishy and adorable. Trust me, it so good you can't stop squeezing it! 

The Kit Includes:

• Enough yarn in our Wisconsin Woolen Spun worsted weight to make one Sweet Sheep. We have three colors for you to choose from: Birch, Quaker Gray and Stone.
• An additional printed page of instructions from Susan to go along with the original pdf pattern on how to add the double-loop stitch to your Sweet Sheep. 
• An optional printed Ravelry download code for the Sweet Sheep pattern, since some might already own the pattern.
• You will also be given access to an exclusive tutorial video by Susan on the Double-Loop Stitch used in the Loopy Sweet Sheep. The exclusive video link will be sent to kit purchasers in a separate email.
• A tin of 20 assorted color stitch markers.
• Black embroidery thread for the face.
• The kit comes packaged in a hand stamped cotton bag.

Loopy Sweet Sheep Kit in Birch

Loopy Sweet Sheep Kit in Quaker Gray

Loopy Sweet Sheep Kit in Stone

Also, there are still some of the Little Hearts Minis Kits available. I made this kit to go along with the free pattern Little Hearts (click here!).

Click here to find out more about the Little Hearts Minis Kits!

This kit is so much fun and perfect for Valentine's Day decorating and/or gifting. 

I've been doing lots of behind the scenes knitting on a couple of projects for publications that will be out in the near future. I can't wait to share more.

I hope to see you at one of my upcoming workshops or at Stitches West! Have a great Sunday, Knitters. I'll be back soon with much more....

xo ~ susan

Sleepy Kitten Set Kits + Sleeping Bags

Hi, Knitters,

How is everyone holding up? I hope your knitting has been successful and if you are knitting any seasonal gifts, I hope they are finished in time. I have one hat and one last mitten to finish up in the next day or so. Wish me luck.

I just wanted to let you know that we have re-released the Sleepy Kitten Set Kits over on Barrett Wool Co. We are pretty excited about it!

Click here to find out more information or to purchase the Sleepy Kitten Set Kit!

We are also offering Ready-Made Sleeping Bags in the same fabric as in the photos which is really fun and exciting. These little sleeping bags can be used for any small knit toys, not just the kittens.

Click here to find out more or to purchase the Sleeping Bags! 

Click here to see the Sleepy Kitten Set on Ravelry!

In the kit we've included enough yarn to make both of the kittens as seen in the photos and the separate nightie. The yarn is our Wisconsin Woolen Spun which is a real favorite around here. 

You can include the Making Magazine No. 4 / Lines with your kit or not if you already have it. The magazine can also be purchased separately in our Mercantile. For now, this is the only place the kitten pattern is available. In six months it will become available in my Ravelry pattern shop for individual purchase. 

Click here to see Making Magazine No. 4 / Lines!

Have a wonderful weekend ahead, Knitters. Thank you for the amazing fun and support, as always. I'm sending love and good wishes to you all. 

xo ~ susan

Anniversary Specials, New Colors & Sven!

Hi, Knitters,

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving for those who celebrate? We hosted at my house this year and it was a wonderful relaxing time with our loved ones. I really love the Thanksgiving holiday so much. I hope you're all having a nice weekend. It is unseasonably warm, too, very strange. I think it was 60 degrees yesterday in Madison. It doesn't seem quite right but we did enjoy it.

I can't believe a year has passed so quickly since we opened our family company. I don't know if I've ever worked harder or loved any job path more than the making of Barrett Wool Co. It has been wonderful and exhilarating, to say the least. So I want to thank you for participating, following, supporting or just watching the development of our little wool company. It has been a grand adventure and we appreciate you being a part of it. 

Some new things have arrived in our shop. We have just released 10 NEW colors in our Home line of yarns. The 10 colors range from soft neutrals to deeply saturated shades. I love them all and I think they round out our color range of 25 incredibly well. We have several new shades of gray, plus camel, teal and navy, the lightest shades of peach and pink, and my most favorite green ever! We have come up with fabulous color names, too.

Check out all of our new colors in Home Fingering and Worsted Weight by clicking here!

So in the spirit of appreciation and excitement we want to celebrate a bit by offering some fun deals for you over on Barrett Wool Co. I'm going to list them right here to keep it simple. The codes/specials are available now through Monday, November 27th, 2017. 

Click here for Barrett Wool Co.

1. For International sales of $54 or more we have a $3.00 discount shipping code to enter at checkout: INTERNATIONAL

2. For U.S. sales we have FREE shipping on all sales of $54 or more with this code at checkout: 

HAPPYANNIVERSARY

3. All Ravelry Barrett Wool Co. patterns are now 50% off with this code at checkout: 

HAPPYANNIVERSARY    Click here to check out the BWC Ravelry Pattern Shop!

4. We now have Carol Anderson's autographed Sven Scandinavian Pattern Booklets available for purchase in the pattern section of BWC! Click here to check out the booklets.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. I hope you find lots of time for your knitting. Are any of you getting your Christmas tree this weekend? We are heading out to the tree farm at some point to cut down our tree. It will be a long season of holiday cheer and decoration due to the early Thanksgiving holiday which is welcome around here.  

I'll be back soon with more.... 

xo ~ susan

September Story

Hi, Knitters,

It has been such a full and busy summer and I know like everyone else I can't believe it is already September. I thought I would start today by sharing a quick family photo of our crew at my nephew's wedding a couple of weeks ago. This photo was taken right after the outdoor wedding ceremony in the same park. It was lovely and we had such a good trip. We made a week long vacation out of it and we loved the San Diego area so much. It is so beautiful and the landscape is interesting and varied. We enjoyed a few different beaches and the ocean and the hiking (we went to a state park but I can't remember the name of it). We stayed at a house in La Jolla. The neighborhood had winding hilly streets and houses that were unbelievable. It was all good!

I hope your August was a good one, too.  

A fun development has come about. Kelmscott Designs is a Canadian company that makes fun and little scissors. The owner, Paula, has designed and created a new pair of snips in my honor. She asked my permission and sent me design samples along the way. And just a few days ago we were sent a sampling of the finished version. 

The new scissors are called Susan Scissors and I just love them. I was already a big fan of the Kelmscott tiny scissors. I have a pair in pretty much every project bag I own and I love traveling with them because they are TSA approved. 

We are making a small preview selection of the Susan Scissors available in the Barrett Wool Co. Mercantile right now. They won't be available anywhere else for a couple of weeks!

Thank you to Kelmscott Designs for the Susan Scissors. What an honor.

Click here to find out more or to purchase a pair of Susan Scissors for your project bag!

Next up we have the Elida hat by Tanis Gray! This is the third hat in a small collection by Tanis for Barrett Wool Co. The Elida uses all four of the colors that were used in both the Vidar hat and the Erland hat. If you have one skein each of Barrett Wool Co. Home Worsted Weight in Marmalade, Snowy Pine, Field and Peppercorn, you have enough to make all three of these fantastic colorwork hats by Tanis Gray. 

So we decided to do a fun bundle deal over on Barrett Wool Co. 

If you purchase four skeins of Home Worsted Weight in any colors and add the three hat patterns (Vidar, Erland and Elida) to your cart you will get the three patterns for free by entering the code TANIS at checkout!

How fun is that? 

Click here for the Elida hat information on Barrett Wool Co.!

Click here for the Elida hat page on Ravelry!

Click here for Home Worsted Weight yarn!

Elida is so beautiful. The brim starts with a 1 by 1 corrugated rib that switches colors. Then the hat moves into a pretty motif repeat that changes background colors as you work up toward the top. 

The tops of Tanis' hats are always so beautiful and fun to knit! 

Now, I came out with a new toy kit for the Egg to Owl pattern. I didn't get a chance to mention it here and there are still some kits available in the shop. 

If you aren't familiar with this reversible toy pattern you start with an egg and you end up with an adorable owl. The photos below show you how it works. I'll meet you at the other end!

Click here to find out more about or to purchase the Egg to Owl Kits!

This is the perfect fall knitting project. They are cute and fun and nearly seamless.

Click here to see the Egg to Owl pattern on Ravelry!

I am excited to say that we have added a few new colors to our Wisconsin Woolen Spun yarn line and I am pretty excited about them. Pebble, Laurel and Fable are the names. Here is a little description:

Pebble is a dark and stormy charcoal gray, deep and rich.

Laurel is a glorious medium mossy green, lush and hopeful.
Fable is a happy and full shade of purple, strong and lovely.

These new colors are available in the BWC Mercantile right now until we get them added to the regular Wisconsin Woolen Spun yarn page on the website.

Click here to see the new colors and to find out more!

And I am working on a new red cardigan! I am almost done with the first sleeve. Details to come.

Have a good long weekend, Knitters.  

xo ~ susan

Butterfly & Cocoon Kits!

Hi, Knitters,

Happy Sunday to you all! I am still taking entries to win the skein of Wollmeise yarn. 

Click here to enter. I will pick a winner in a couple of days!

I want to quickly let you know that I have a new kit available on Barrett Wool Co. They went up on Friday in the shop and they sold out really fast. We have just added a few more in the shop so if you want one act fast because there aren't that many left.

Click here for the Butterfly & Cocoon Kit on Barrett Wool Co.!

This pattern of mine originally appeared in Making Magazine No. 2 / Fauna, which is such a beautiful magazine. We sell all three issues of Making Magazine in the Mercantile on BWC. So if you purchase the kit you have options for the pattern: no pattern (if you already own it) included, or a Ravelry download code included, or the Making Magazine included.  

A little about the toys. Both the cocoon and butterfly is knit seamlessly from the bottom up. The original samples were knit in a sport weight yarn. The new samples are worked up in Home Fingering Weight, which is a heavier fingering weight yarn. I went down one needle size from what is recommended in the pattern. I knit the cocoons on a US 4 and the butterflies on a US 2. 

Click here to see more about Home Fingering Weight yarn!

This worked out beautifully and the toys look and feel just wonderful. 

The Butterfly & Cocoon Kit Includes:

• 25-gram skeins in the following colors of Home Fingering Weight: Ellie Gray, Wood Violet, Grassland, Priscilla, Field, Marmalade, Bluff and Picket Fence. Enough yarn is included to knit at least 3 butterflies and cocoons.
• Three pairs of 6mm black safety eyes with plastic washers.
• Black Pearl cotton for mouth and optional eye embroidery.
• Tin of 20 colorful stitch markers.
• Packaged in a hand-stamped cotton bag.

Okay, knitters, have a beautiful Sunday. I'll be back with much more soon....

xo, susan

Mittens in June & more kits!

Three Color Bulky Twist Mitten Kit

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all doing well. We have lots of action going on at our house this week and upcoming weekend. So much so that I haven't had a lot of time to knit. I have some new designs in the works though, so that is fun.

I want to let you all know that we have lots of some of our most popular kits in the shop over on Barrett Wool Co. right now. Just last night we posted more of our Three Color Bulky Twist Mitten Kits in the shop! This is one of our favorites.

Click here for more information or to purchase the Three Color Mitten Kit!

Three French Hens Kit

The Three French Hens Kit has also just been listed again! You can purchase the kit with or without the Taproot magazine where the pattern appears. The pattern is only available in the magazine right now. 

Click here for more information or to purchase the Three French Hens Kit!

Owen Hat Kit

Our super popular Owen Hat Kit comes with the yarn, the pattern, and a beautiful polka-dot handmade pom-pom to top off your hat. The pom-poms are made by yours truly! 

There are three different color choices for this hat kit.

Click here for more information or to purchase the Owen Hat Kit!

Two color version of the Owen Hat Kit in blue!

Two color version of the Owen Hat Kit in red!

Wildflowers Cap Kit

We have Mary Jane Mucklestone's gorgeous Wildflowers Cap Kit from Making Magazine No. 1 / Flora in stock, too! The kit can be purchased with or without the magazine, or with a Ravelry download code for the pattern or without any pattern included and just the yarn.

Click here for more information or to purchase the Wildflowers Cap Kit!

There are several color choices for this kit, as well. 

The Wildflowers Cap Kit with Hazelnut contrast color!

The Wildflowers Cap Kit with Peppercorn and Picket Fence!

The hat and photo of the hat above is by @kellythecarelesscat. 

Flower Fairy & Leaf Sprite Kit

Lastly, we have some of the Flower Fairy & Leaf Sprite Kits available! This might be my favorite kit. It's just so sweet.

Click here for more information or to purchase the Flower Fairy & Leaf Sprite Kit!

Flower Fairy & Leaf Sprite Kit

Enjoy your weekend ahead everyone! I'm planning on a fun giveaway next week here on the blog so be sure to check back if you are interested. The weather is beautiful here so I plan to get outside and I hope you can get some fresh air, too.

xo ~ susan