There’s nothing more refreshing, especially when it’s suddenly hot again. Yes, that brilliant pink color is just from a few raspberries!

For two glasses of lemonade:

• 3 lemons (save slices for garnish)
• simple syrup
• 6 ripe red raspberries
• sparkling water

Juice the lemons and add simple syrup to taste (I don’t put much in; you will probably want more). Combine with the raspberries and ice in a shaker. Shake well and strain into two tall glasses with ice. Fill with sparkling water, stir, and garnish with lemon slices. Add vodka if you must for an adult beverage, but this is a treat all by itself.

Two new Louisa Harding pattern books just landed!  They are full of flirty, feminine knits featuring her scrumptious Kashmir and Thistle yarns.  Here are a few ideas that would be perfect for the coming fall:

from Violet Sky

Pansy hat and Mirabilis scarf/wrap photo courtesy of Louisa Harding

Made with either Thistle or Kashmir Aran, Mirabilis is the autumnal version of the popular scarf/wrap pattern Osprey (from Belle, knit with Mulberry Silk).  It would be a great first cable project!

Top it off perfectly with the Pansy hat, a combo of ribbing and cables with a small knit rosette accent.  A glass button from Moving Mud would look gorgeous.

from Blue Monday

Tuesday tunic photo courtesy of Louisa Harding

Tuesday can be knit up as a tunic or dress in Kashmir DK.  The tunic version, shown above, is brightened up with beads.  Both versions feature lace panels with written instructions.

photo - Stonehedge Fiber Mill

Do you know where your yarn comes from? We do, and we’re here to tell you about it!

Stonehedge Farm is a 150 year old working farm in Michigan, owned by Debbie and Chuck McDermott since 1988. (Hi Debbie and Chuck!) They thought that since Chuck was retiring, it might be nice to have some horses, and maybe a few sheep for their daughter’s 4-H project… you know, nothing big.

photo - Stonehedge Fiber Mill

100 sheep and 10 years later, Debbie, a shepherd, spinner, and fiber artist, started Stonehedge Fiber Mill, providing custom fiber processing services as a way of adding diversity and value to the farm. Her goal was to be able to process 500 pounds of fiber a month. Sounds reasonable, right?

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Within the first year of operation, Debbie realized that the milling equipment she had purchased couldn’t meet her needs and was too high-maintenance. (I think I may have dated her milling equipment back in college…) What to do? Well, if you want it done right, do it yourself!

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photo - Stonehedge Fiber Mill

Enter Chuck, with a 30 year background in production methods and engineering, and Stonehedge Fiber Milling Equipment Inc, was born. (You know, just a few horses, maybe some sheep… nothing big.) With the equipment that Chuck produced, they were soon able to process over 1500 pounds of fiber a month.

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Naturally the next step was to start producing their own yarn!

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photo - Stonehedge Fiber Mill

Shepherd’s Wool is made from fluffy soft Merino wool, dyed in the wool to Debbie’s specifications and then blended and spun at the mill, allowing Debbie to create beautiful heathered and marled colors.

The yarn is worsted spun, which makes it smooth and durable, with great stitch definition for lace, cables, and textured stitch patterns. It’s also great for colorwork and felted projects.

Debbie is now producing Shepherd’s Wool in both worsted and fingering weights (and we’ve got them both!)

I’m thinking of some colorwork mittens for the winter, how about you?

photo - Kate Gilbert

photo - Tuulia Salmela

Kate Gilbert’s Bird In Hand pattern uses worsted weight yarn in two colors, knit firmly for warmth. Cozy! Register for the class here.

Tuulia Salmela’s Deep In The Forest Mittens use fingering weight yarn in an unconventional asymmetric design – the designer points out that one advantage of this is that if you make a mistake that no one will notice!

 ”Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence.” — Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting Without Tears.

photo - Schoolhouse Press

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Elizabeth Zimmermann, (fondly referred to as EZ by many knitters), the original Opinionated Knitter.

Back in the 1950s, when everything was New! and Modern! and The Future! and the tradition of hand knitting being passed down through families had waned, EZ started publishing a newsletter called Wool Gathering.  Typed out by hand, with her own little sketches and hand-written notes, it brought EZ’s personal brand of humor and no-nonsense approach to knitting to a new generation of crafters.

EZ debunked the idea that knitting had to be hard and involve complicated patterns using flat pieces and lots of seams. She popularized the concepts of seamless knitting in the round on circular needles and creating one’s own perfectly fitting garments without patterns based on a few simple calculations. Most importantly, she encouraged knitters to think for themselves, to experiment and “unvent” new techniques, and to knit fearlessly.

EZ herself was so fearless that when knitting publishing companies wanted to change her patterns from knit in the round to the same old knit-flat-with-seams, she simply started her own publishing company, Schoolhouse Press. Now over 50 years later, Schoolhouse Press, now run by EZ’s daughter Meg Swansen, still provides instruction and quality knitting materials to knitters all over the world. EZ’s books, including The Opinionated Knitter, Knitter’s Almanac, and Knitting Without Tears, have become classics that are the staples of many a knitter’s library.

Join us in celebrating EZ’s centennial birthday at Stitch in Space on Thursday, August 12 – we’ll be kicking off our EZ 100th Anniversary Lace Knitalong with pie and plenty of lace yarn! Lace not your thing? Knit up a Baby Surprise Jacket or one of EZ’s other patterns.

And as EZ always said, “Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.”

We always get really excited to see the new patterns in Twist Collective. Really, really excited. So excited that Lesley was up at 5 AM checking them out! (We know this, because we all got an e-mail from her. At 5 AM.)

Here are some of our favorites (it was really hard to pick out just a few!) and our picks for yarn to use with them.

Lallans by Christa Giles

LH Kashmir Aran in Bark and Coral Pink

photo credit - Jane Heller for Twist Collective

This colorwork hat can be worked top down or bottom up and will knit up fast in a worsted weight yarn.

Our yarn picks: Louisa Harding Kashmir Aran, Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool, Cascade Pure Alpaca.

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Gwendolyn by Fiona Ellis

photo - Jane Heller for Twist Collective

Berroco Blackstone Tweed in Wintry Mix, Rhubarb, Clover Honey, Salt Water

This great cabled hoodie can be made as a pullover, a zip-front, or a buttoned cardigan. The little pop of color at the edges really makes this!

Our yarn picks: Berroco Blackstone Tweed, Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool

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Kiloran by Cirilia Rose

photo - Marten Ivert for Twist Collective

Danielle must knit this. We have decided.

This adorable dress has back button detailing and a removable lace panel. (Make different colors to change the look!)

Our yarn picks: Louisa Harding Thistle & Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk, or make a tweedy version in Berroco Blackstone Tweed & Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.

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Coventry by Jan Hurwitz

photo - Marten Ivert for Twist Collective

This beautiful cabled A-line cardigan is done in Miss Babs Yowza in her Coventry colorway, but would look gorgeous in other colors too!

Our yarn picks: Miss Babs Yowza, Berroco Pure Merino DK, Queensland Rustic Tweed

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Promenade by Mary-Heather Cogar

photo - Jamie Dixon for Twist Collective

LH Kashmir Baby in Aqua, Miss Babs Yummy Sport in Indigo Bunting, EL Silky Wool in Fluorite Blue

This sweet scoopneck top features a back tie detail and puffed sleeves. (Yes Danielle, we know you are anti-puffs.)

Our yarn picks: Madelinetosh Pashmina, Louisa Harding Kashmir Baby, Miss Babs Yummy Sport, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool

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Orange Pop by Norah Gaughan

photo - Jamie Dixon for Twist Collective

Shepherd's Wool in Brown, Antique Rose, Creamsicle, Zinnia Pink, Red

Super-poppy Fair Isle flash! There are so many great color combinations that you can come up with for this one!

Our yarn picks: Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool, Cascade 220 Superwash, Berroco Vintage

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Tolovana by Marnie MacLean

photo - Caro Benna Sheridan for Twist Collective

Fiberphile Super Squish Sock in Tanker, The Natural Dye Studio Dazzle HT in Wisteria

A pair of lacy, leafy shawl patterns that can be worked in laceweight or fingering weight yarns.

Our yarn picks: Any of our gorgeous hand-dyed sock yarns from Madelinetosh, Dragonfly Fibers, Fiberphile, The Natural Dye Studio, and Malabrigo. Or in lace, Neighborhood Fiber Co. Pagoda Lace and Penthouse silk lace, Dragonfly Fibers Squishy Lace and Dance silk noil, Miss Babs Yasmin