Here at the Sow’s Ear, there are few things we are as passionate about as the goal of providing you with everything you need for all your fiber crafting adventures. We curate and carry a huge range of yarn and tools, of course, but we are also very intentional about trying to improve our stock of something far less tangible: inspiration.
We are constantly working to keep our supply of handknit and crocheted samples fresh and exciting and accessible for all levels of crafters, and this month we are rolling out a new policy!
You buy the yarn, we buy the pattern.
It goes like this: if you fall in love with one of our samples and buy the yarn to make your own – whether that’s in person or via our online shop – the pattern is our gift for you.
Curating inspiration is a big job, and there’s always more to discover – and sometimes when a line or style of yarn is knew to us, we don’t even know where to start looking!
Enter the traveling trunk show.
When we start carrying a new line of yarn, or when the seasons are changing and we start looking ahead to using different fibers and creating different styles, we love to bring in a trunk show of finished garments and accessories to showcase that yarn. These are beautifully curated patterns that designers have chosen to best show off the versatility and capabilities of that yarn, and we find them incredibly inspiring!
All of us who work at the Sow’s Ear are knitting and crocheting all the time, helping each other and you find new patterns and expand our skills, and these trunk shows are like having another crew from another LYS come in for a week or two and say, “This is what we’ve been making, this is what we’re excited about.” It’s like having a window opened to a whole new source of inspiration and revelation as possibilities we might never have considered before become not just possible but really exciting!
(You might remember the silliness and joy that ensued when we opened the box of our Kelbourne Woolens Skipper trunk show – an experience that sold us on working with cotton yarn, which can be a hard sell for many of us!)
Introducing: Kelbourne Woolens Camper
Kelbourne Woolen’s fingering-weight Camper is the little sister of their DK-weight Scout, which we have carried and adored working with for a long time. Both are two-ply 100% Peruvian wool dyed in a breathtaking array of heathered solids from naturals to neutrals to jewel tones.
We love that Camper comes in 50g skeins, making it perfect for colorwork projects where you often don’t need a full skein of every accent color, especially for small projects like hats, mittens, or child-size sweaters.
One thing we were especially struck by is how lightweight the yarn is, it’s extremely lofty (the kind of thing where you want to toss the skein or the hat or even the sweater in the air a few times to get the feel for how airy it is), which means that even though the skeins are only 50g they have a very generous yardage of 200yd/skein.
That combination of light- and loftiness with the way it’s perfectly suited to colorwork reminds us of how Jamieson Spindrift behaves, and yet in the hand the yarn feels several degrees softer.
In fact the second thing you’ll probably notice after its airiness is how it hits that balance of feeling delightfully wooly and yet soft to the touch. Of course every person’s perception of scratchiness is entirely personal to them, but in a very scientific survey of several staff members, we think that Camper is a wool that most people will be comfortable wearing around their neck in a scarf or cowl.
(The third thing you might notice is its affordability; to continue the comparison from above, Spindrift retails for about $9/25g, while Camper is $9.95/50g.)
Come in and explore the more than two dozen eye-catching colorways that we have in stock! Inspiration guaranteed.
Through August 15th 2024 we are so delighted to be hosting a trunk show of garments and accessories that show off the way Camper is absolutely perfect for stranded colorwork designs. But since we only have the trunk show for a short time before we send it on to the next stop on its grand LYS tour, we’ve decided to immortalize it here, hopefully bringing you inspiration in whatever time you may be reading this!
All links below lead to Ravelry, and pattern descriptions belong to their designers. If you’re so moved that you decide to start one of these projects but can’t make it in to shop in person, you can make your purchase through our online shop and when checking out there is a field that says “Add a note to the seller” where you can tell us which pattern you’re going to make and your Ravelry name so that we can send it to you!
A quick housekeeping note about our free patterns deal: The pattern must be available for in-store purchase via Ravelry for us to do this. We try to keep on top of sourcing our patterns this way but occasionally designers change their selling platforms or discontinue patterns, also occasionally we’ll make a sample to showcase a print book or magazine, and we can’t offer those patterns for free. Also, this can’t be combined with other percent-off-type coupons, but you can still earn and redeem stars!
And finally a reminder that if a pattern lists a technique you’re not familiar with (provisional cast-on, steeking, even stranded colorwork) we usually have an upcoming on the topic, and are happy to help you find a teacher to schedule a private lesson if you prefer!
Camper Virtual Trunk Show
The Selbu Modern 2.0 Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn.
Selbu Modern 2.0 begins with a K1, P1 Ribbing. After the brim is complete, the body of the hat is worked in a stranded colorwork pattern from a chart. The chart is worked six times around. Integrated decreases shape the crown and a pom pom completes the look.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: sunflower heather 709 (MC), natural 105 (CC), 1 skein each.
Baxter Peak kid’s pullover by Kate Gagnon Osborn.
Baxter Peak is worked in the round from the bottom up. Colorwork adorns the bottom of the sleeves and sweater body.
After the sleeves and body are complete, the pieces are joined to work the yoke. Raglan decreases shape the yoke, then short rows are worked to raise the back neck. A colorwork pattern with integrated decreases is worked, and then a ribbed crewneck with a tubular bind off completes the sweater.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: mulberry heather 602 (MC), 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4) skeins, strawberry heather 690 (CC), 1 (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skein(s).
Ridley Creek Hat and Scarf set by Courtney Kelley
This classic hat and scarf set are worked in the round. The scarf begins with a provisional cast on, and the corrugated ribbing is worked once the main colorwork portion is complete. You may choose to work the scarf on double pointed needles or using the magic loop technique.
The hat is worked in the round from the brim up. After the brim is complete, the body is worked in stranded colorwork from a chart. Decreases in the main color shape the crown.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: 278 oatmeal heather (MC), 3 skeins. 602 mulberry heather (CC1), 614 scarlet heather (CC2), 667 coral heather (CC3), 709 sunflower heather (CC4), 336 mint heather (CC5), 330 meadow heather (CC6), 432 teal heather (CC7), 1 skein each.
Cumberland Falls Cardigan by Courtney Kelley.
Cumberland Falls is worked in the round from the top down. After working the collar, stitches are cast on to work a steek, and the yoke is worked in the round. The body and sleeves are worked in the round to the hem and cuffs. After completing the sweater, steek stitches are sewn and cut (see Useful Tips) and stitches are picked up to work the buttonbands. The steek is hidden in the folded band. We only recommend using 100% non-superwash wool for steeked garments.
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: navy heather 412 (MC), 4 (4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7) skeins, meadow heather 330 (CC1), orchid heather 519 (CC2), mulberry heather 602 (CC3), sunflower heather 709 (CC4), strawberry heather 690 (CC5), juniper heather 309 (CC6), coral heather 667 (CC7), mint heather 336 (CC8), teal heather 432 (CC9) and blue heather 425 (CC10), 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2) skein(s) each.
Laurel Hill Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn.
Laurel Hill begins with a provisional cast on, then a folded brim is worked in a K1, P1 Ribbing. Once the ribbing is complete, the provisional cast on is unpicked and placed on a spare circular needle and the stitches are joined to created a folded brim.
After the brim is complete, the body is worked in stranded colorwork from a chart. The chart is worked six times around. Decreases shape the crown.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: charcoal heather 026 (MC), graphite heather 034 (CC1), gray heather 058 (CC2), natural 105 (CC3), 1 skein each.
Presque Isle Pullover by Kate Gagnon Osborn.
Presque Isle is worked in the round from the bottom up. After the sleeves and body are complete, the pieces are joined to work the yoke. Raglan decreases shape the yoke, then short rows are worked to raise the back neck. Stranded colorwork with integrated decreases is knit from a chart, and then a ribbed crewneck completes the sweater.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: gray heather 058 (MC), 5 (5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9) skeins, plum heather 501 (CC1), orchid heather 519 (CC2), coral heather 667 (CC3), sunflower heather 709 (CC4), natural 105 (CC5), 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2) skein(s) each.
Moreau Lake Mittens by Kate Gagnon Osborn.
These intricately patterned mittens are worked in the round. The cuff begins with a Latvian Braid, and the rest of the hand and thumb are worked in stranded colorwork from a chart.
YARN
Kelbourne Woolens Camper: navy heather 412 (MC), natural 105 (CC), 1 skein each.
Which of these patterns is calling out to you? Drop us a comment here or on social media, we always love to hear from you! And we hope to see you in the shop before August 15th to check out these beauties in person! Stay tuned, there are more trunk shows on the way…
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