Fall preview: Berroco

This is the time of the summer when -- if you live in the same climactic zone that I do -- the irony is inescapable. It is, literally, going to be 90 or more degrees F here today, and yet I am writing a blog post telling you about yarns made of wool and other cozy, heat-inducing fibers. But it's fall preview time here at GKIYH and if you are an early bird, you may be interested in casting on a new project now in order to finish it by the fall. (Or perhaps you are just a complete whore for yarn, like me, and like hearing about what's coming this fall...)

Fremont by Cirilia Rose (Vintage)

You've heard me kvell over and over again about the terrific yarns and patterns Berroco has produced in the last couple years under Norah Gaughan's direction. So I won't blather on and on about it any more. Let's head straight for the good stuff: the yarn and patterns.

Ana, by Cirilia Rose (Remix)

This fall, we're going to see five new yarns from Berroco. Two are new weights of some familiar favorites, while three are brand-new yarns. While in the past couple of years, Berroco was producing a lot of all-natural fiber yarns, this year, almost all but one of the new yarns include some synthetic content. I wonder why this is: price sensitivity, given the economy? desire on the part of knitters for more machine-washability?

Daron (Remix)

Maybe one reason is the desire to source reused fibers. Berroco Remix uses 100-percent recycled fibers -- 27% cotton, 30% nylon, 24% acrylic, 10% silk and 9% linen, a pretty eclectic combination. The end result is a non-wool, machine-washable tweed yarn. It's heavy worsted weight, and you get 216 yds/100g for ten bucks a ball -- an alternative for the wool-allergic at a versatile gauge, and around the same general price point as the uber-popular Cascade 220. (Even those who are not allergic to wool may appreciate the cooler blend of fibers for wearing on less-frigid days.) Remix comes in twelve colors, about half of which are neutrals; the others tend to deep, rich shades like a rich ruby red and a deep orange, along with favorites like denim blue and buttercup yellow.

Abi (Remix)

If you are looking for a yarn to wear on freezing-cold days, you can try Campus or Borealis. Campus is a blend of wool, acrylic and a little alpaca (the exact proportions are 50% wool, 40% acrylic, 10% alpaca), in a bulky weight (handwash).

Lutt-Witt (Campus)

Campus is priced at ten bucks a ball, and you get 130 yds/100g, knitting at 3 sts per inch. The texture is slightly thick-and-thin, and it's got some multicolored plies, although the nine color combinations tend toward the subtler rather than the crayon box.

Bourtanger (Campus)

Borealis also knits at around 3 sts per inch,

Outre, by Cirilia Rose (Borealis)

and features a 60% acrylic/40% wool mix. Borealis is also a multicolor but with brighter combinations than Campus. It retails for $14 a ball, and you get 108 yds/100g, with 10 colorways.

Boyd (Borealis)

I mentioned in one of my TNNA posts that in light of the economic situation, I got the impression that some of the yarn companies were trying to reduce the risk of introducing brand-new yarns by bringing out newer weights of old favorites. It makes sense: if you know customers like a yarn, it's less risky to get them to buy a different weight of that yarn than one they've never tried before.

This fall, you'll find Blackstone Tweed Chunky, a bulkier version of Berroco's popular Blackstone Tweed. Like the original, BT Chunky is a blend of 65% wool/25% superfine kid mohair/10% angora rabbit fluff but instead of knitting at 4.5 sts to the inch, the chunky version knits at 3.5 sts to the inch. There are ten colors, again with lots of versatile neutrals as well as favorite shades like blues and rich red.

Emerson Pullover, by Norah Gaughan (BT Tweed Chunky)

Similarly, the popular Vintage gets a thicker sibling; Vintage Chunky retains the 50% acrylic/40% wool/10% nylon blend of the original, but knits at 3.5 instead of 4.5 sts per inch. Vintage Chunky debuts with a nice selection of 24 colors, with a brighter palette than some of the other new yarns. Vintage is labeled for gentle machine washing, always a plus.

One of the great things about Berroco under Norah Gaughan is the strength of the pattern support that is offered. This fall, Berroco is releasing seven pattern booklets.

Aquamarina by Norah Gaughan (Lustra)

Gaughan fans will be interested in Norah Gaughan Vol. 7, the latest installment of her designs.

Zolfo, by Norah Gaughan (Ultra Alpaca + Lustra)

The booklet contains 17 designs inspired by "crystals, geodes and gemstones," and uses mainly the popular Ultra Alpaca yarn, along with Lustra.

Stibnite, by Norah Gaughan (Ultra Alpaca)

A book dedicated to the new Remix features knits for the family -- children's as well as a few adult garments; the book dedicated to Campus contains basic pieces for women; the Borealis book is also women's garments, mainly sweaters, but with more dramatic style. A booklet containing Blackstone Tweed in original and chunky weights is devoted to classic garments for women,

Reid, by Cirilia Rose (BT Tweed)

while a Vintage original and chunky weights booklet looks like it was designed to appeal to a slightly younger demographic (with that adorable Cirilia Rose modeling).

Vashon by Cirilia Rose (Vintage Chunky)

The final new booklet is a combination of sweaters and accessories in super-thick Sundae and Peruvia Quick.

Berroco's fall yarns and pattern booklets are already being shipped to fine yarn emporia like Loop and WEBS.


More yarn previews and book reviews coming soon....

No-Bull Book Review: Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans

That Norah Gaughan is such a little minx! She's been creating fabulous, distinctive knitting designs (Knitting Nature is a wonderful book); she has revitalized the venerable Berroco yarn company by creating fabulous new yarns and a fresh sensibility; and as if that weren't enough, she's taken the "ack" out of acrylic by creating a yarn line, Comfort, that contains entirely man-made fibers --and has a lovely hand, good colors and terrific pattern support. [Please note that I will delete with great relish any comments that use the phrase "yarn snob." Go start a Ravelry thread if you want to debate yarn snobbery.] You wouldn't think that Norah'd have time to write a new book, but apparently she is one of those people who only needs two hours of sleep per day, for I was delighted to receive a review copy of Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans (Stewart Tabori & Chang 2010), by Norah Gaughan, Margery Winter and the Berroco Design Team.



I have been watching this growing trend of books devoted to a single yarn produced by a regular publishing company (as opposed to being published by the company that makes the yarn). Within the last few years, we've seen books dedicated to the gorgeous Koigu, a book with projects knit entirely in Cascade 220, a book devoted to the joys of Rowan's Kid Silk Haze, and now we've got a book of afghans knit entirely in Berroco's Comfort yarns. I am indeed curious to see whether this trend will continue (and if it does, what yarns will be featured)... but I digress. Let's give Comfort Afghans the No-Bull Book Review treatment.

Ethel (C)

The book is paperback, with fold-in covers, about 160 pages long, and MSRP is $19.95 (you can score it for $13.57 via the above link at the time of this writing). The book contains, as you surely figured out by now, all afghans: I counted 51 of them, 27 of which are knit and 24 of which are crocheted. Why so many afghans? Well, the introduction explains:

an afghan is the epitome of comfort. It is a staple of the home, the finishing touch that pulls together a living room or bedroom and makes it feel complete. But the usefulness of an afghan extends far beyond sofas and beds. An afghan easily transforms into a picnic blanket for a day at the beach; a wrap at dusk when the temperature drops; even a child's playtime tent.

The process of making an afghan is often as rewarding as the finished product, since there are so many opportunities to customize it to your personal taste and needs.

And if that weren't enough to convince you, remember that afghans don't suffer from sizing problems, even if you gain or lose weight; they tend not to go out of style as quickly as a garment may; and gauge often becomes less important since the afghan just needs to cover a lap or a baby or a sofa, without precisely calibrated measurements.

In terms of style, you'll find just about every kind of afghan and technique imaginable. As per usual with Norah Gaughan, you'll also find some extremely novel and creative patterns, too.

Like cables?

Textured Knots (K)

Fond of ethnic-inspired colorwork or redwork quilts?

Ukrainian Tiles (K)

Prefer your throws to be understated?

Ribbon (C)

You can also find modular knitting

Bright Star (K)

representational still life

Still Life (K)

embroidery and Tunisian crochet

Marrakesh (C)

texture

Weave (K)

a holiday-themed afghan

Mistletoe (C)

lacy stitch patterns

Lucy (C)

afghans suitable for babies

Little Waves (C)

partchwork-style squares

Gypsy Patchwork (K)

and of course the intriguing geometric motifs that Norah Gaughan is known for:

Swirl (K)

There are even afghans suitable for using up your odds and ends of yarn if you choose not to reproduce the lovely colorway that the sample is worked in:

Autumn Haze (K)

(this photo has "Free" written in the corner to remind you that if you go to the Berroco website, you can download a copy of this pattern for free, and in no way indicates a certain laziness on the part of the reviewer in neither rescanning the photo nor cropping out said "Free" notation.)

Before finishing up a discussion of the various designs, it's worth noting that although I've mentioned Norah Gaughan a lot, since she's the creative director of Berroco, other folks from Berroco worked together on the book and designed some of the afghans themselves. So here's a big shout-out to Margery Winter, co-author of the book and a former creative director of Berroco who is a very talented and experienced designer (she designed the lovely Ukrainian Tiles and Gypsy Patchwork afghans shown above, among others), and to the other members of the Berroco Design Team: Amanda Keep, Cirilia Rose, Donna Yacino and Brenda York.

Note that although the Table of Contents separates out the afghans according to which craft (the left-hand page lists all the knit ones, and the right-hand page lists all the crocheted ones) the afghans are not divided that way in the book; knit and crochet are intermingled throughout. I don't think this is a big deal, but if you are flipping through the book and looking for just knit or just crocheted afghans, you won't find them in separate sections of the book.

If you've used Comfort before, you're probably aware that it comes in multiple weights, from chunky through fingering. So I tallied up the patterns based on the weight of the Comfort yarn it uses. There are around 6 afghans worked in Comfort Chunky; about 5 worked in Comfort DK; and the remaining 40 or so are worked in regular Comfort, which is a worsted to heavy worsted (knitting at around 4 to 5 sts per inch depending on the stitch and needle size). Given the versatility of gauge, it would be fairly simple to substitute other yarns at these gauges, particularly since afghans give you some play in size.

In addition, I have only the usual flattering things to say about books that come from Stewart Tabori & Chang: beautiful photographs by Thayer Allison Gowdy, lovely styling, nice quality paper, diagrams and charts (including some in color) where appropriate, a few pages listing special techniques and abbreviations in the end. From my eyeballing the book, it looks like skill level will vary from afghan to afghan, given the range of techniques involved. Just as there's something for everyone in terms of taste, there's something for just about every skill level.

Comfort Afghans is, then, a beautifully presented book with an extremely generous selection of patterns for afghans and throws in just about every style imaginable, varying in skill level and with an interesting assortment of techniques. Whether you're an afghan aficionado or a fan of Norah Gaughan and Berroco, you can't go wrong with this book.

All photos c. 2010 by Thayer Allison Gowdy.

Update: Visit the Comfort Afghans blog tour here and get links to all the stops!

Fall preview: Berroco

I've come full circle when it comes to Berroco. Way back about ten (or more??) years ago, they used to have single-breed, all-wool yarns that I really liked; one was called "Wensleydale Longwool" and the other was some kind of Leicester. Then it seemed they started shifting focus to novelty yarns, the bumpy and the shiny and the bling-y, and I lost interest. (We won't even talk about the Berroco Chick.) Then Berroco did the smartest thing they've ever done -- they hired Norah Gaughan. (Whatever they're paying you, Norah, it should be MORE...)

Now I'm in love with Berroco again and completely transfixed seeing what kind of wonderful pattern booklets and yarns -- especially the all-natural fiber yarns like Pure Merino and Palace -- they come out with.

At TNNA, the lovely Cirilia Rose (formerly of WEBS), who now works at Berroco, showed us some of the new yarns and patterns coming this fall. Berroco definitely has gotten the message that the economy stinks and is offering yarns that feature good price points relative to yardage, which should make thrifty knitters happy. At the top of the list was Vintage Wool, a worsted-ish-weight blend of wool/nylon/acrylic that truly, really doesn't feel like it has 55% synthetic in it. (And I'm sensitive to these things!) The colors were nice, the hand was good and it's machine wash -- and a super price point, about six bucks for over 200 yds. (Good for kids' knits, with that machine wash thing, and some good fun colors.) Another new yarn is called Blackstone Tweed, 4.5 sts per inch, with a unique (for tweed) blend of 65% wool/25% superfine mohair/10% angora. Lustra is a 50/50 blend of wool and tencel, with sheen and a soft, single-ply construction -- another great price point, at $9 for about 200 yds of aran-weight yarn. Finally, Sundae is a bulky (around 2.5 sts to the inch) blend of 50% wool/50% acrylic, with plies of various colors, most of them on the conservative side. Another relative bargain at $9 for 62 yds, which is pretty good for yarn this bulky. In their existing lines, the popular acrylic/nylon blend, Comfort, now comes in heathered shades, and the lovely Pure Merino now comes in a "chine" or marled look.

I always find myself especially keen to see the patterns that Norah and her talented design staff cook up. Yes, there will be Norah Gaughan No. 5 and it looks like it won't disappoint, but I was also pleased to see a separate collection by Norah just for men. There was a cute pattern booklet for little girls featuring Comfort, and a great collection by Cirilia for tweeners, that hard-to-fit age when girls don't want "babyish" stuff but their moms don't want them wearing Brittney Spears/cleavage-hanging-out stuff either. That book features Vintage Wool and I certainly intend to get a copy for Miss Thang. (If she won't wear any of the patterns, I can roll it up and use it as a stick to defend myself....) There are also 3 other booklets devoted to the new yarns, one each for Blackstone Tweed, Sundae and Lustra.

So... get ready for lots of new lovelies from your friends at Berroco. It looks like the Berroco website has already started to feature teasers of some of the new yarns and patterns.