Kim Kearney, Author at Town End Yarns

Posted on 17th April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Milfoil by CoopKnits

This pattern has two complementary socks as the lacy patterns are reversed on the second sock. This is a straight forward pattern with the lace instructions charted and written out. The socks are knitted top down with a standard heel turn and Kitchener stitch to graft the toe together. To buy the pattern from the designer on Ravelry, click here.

I used about 50g of Poldale Silk and tipped the cuffs in some oddments of Whitbarrow in Spindleberry and Limey. I wouldn’t recommend using Whitbarrow to knit all of the sock as the fibres are too soft and fine to wear well. You could also use our Merino Twist 4ply, Cumbria sock or Somerset sock yarns.

Posted on 13th April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Water by Sylvia McFadden

This is a straightforward garter stitch shawl with lace inserts. The shawl drapes easily around the shoulders due to the short row shaping. I knitted this in Heron colourway of Whitbarrow Fingering yarn and didn’t block it too much as I wanted a smaller shawl. All the current colourways can be viewed here. You could also knit it in Somerset Sock yarn, Merino Twist , Cumbria sock yarn or Poldale Silk.

The pattern download may be purchased from the designer on Ravelry here.

Posted on 10th April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Reagan by Isabell Kraemer

Reagan is a lovely wrap cardigan you can throw on over casual outfits or your favorite dress. Feminine lace pattern combined with long sleeves and different styling options (see pattern on Ravelry for photos). Yo may view or purchase the pattern from the designer by clicking here.

This pattern has an interesting construction. The upper shoulder/back part is worked sideways back and forth in plain Stockinette stitch from a provisional cast-on. Stitches are then joined to knit the first sleeve in the round down to the cuff. Then the second sleeve is worked from the provisional cast-on in the round down to the cuff. After that body stitches are picked up from the long side of the back piece to work the fronts and lower back in Harebell Lace to the final length. I-cord finishing is worked last.

We knitted this in Alpaca Merino Light, which is a soft blend of alpaca and Falklands Merino wool.

Posted on 7th April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Waiting For Rain by Sylvia McFadden

Waiting for Rain is a lovely, beautiful garter and lace crescent shawl that uses an unusual short row lace technique. It fits perfectly over your shoulders and drapes in a way which is very pleasing to the eye. It’s worked top down with lacey increases. The pattern shows the single colour version, but the Ravelry download includes a ‘Hacking your Waiting for Rain shawl’ PDF. This includes instructions for how to do stripes, how to move or add lace panels, make lace panels larger, and how to do the fancy knit-on cast-off shown in the two colour version. To buy the pattern download from the designer on Ravelry, click here.

We used a 100g hank of Whitbarrow Limestone, Heron and Olive Lime to knit this three colour version. To knit it in one or two colours you will need two 100g hanks. Whitbarrow is our Fingering weight blend of baby alpaca, superfine Falklands Merino wool and Mulberry silk and is an ideal yarn in which to knit a supersoft, luxurious shawl. To see all the colours available, click here.

Posted on 7th April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Sous Sous by Norah Gaughan

I knitted Sous Sous in Thames DK which is a luxurious blend of baby alpaca, Falklands Merino and mulberry silk. The jumper has a boxy shape with loads of positive ease. You select your size by measuring your upper arm circumference.

Sous Sous is constructed flat in two separate pieces before joining at the shoulders and picking up for the sleeves which are also worked back and forth in rows. Shaping row 3 in the Front creates the bias which in turn sets the shoulder shaping.

You can buy this pattern from the designer on Ravelry here.

Posted on 2nd April 2020 by Kim Kearney

Fernet Branca by Thea Colman

Fernet Branca features a simple textured block motif, bookended by bold ribs and cables on either side of the body. On the back or front of the sweater, is a central spine. Cables are both charted and written. The sweater is knitted from the bottom up in 4 pieces (front, back, sleeves) and seamed at shoulders, underarm and sides. Seams are straight and simple. We knitted this jumper in our Alpaca with Shetland aran yarn in Turquoise. Although I really like the boxy shape of the pattern, I decided to lengthen it so I didn’t get a cold gap between the jumper and my jeans.

You can buy this pattern from the designer on Ravelry here.

Our Alpaca with Shetland aran yarns can be viewed here.

Posted on 31st March 2020 by Kim Kearney

Cascade Caps by Janine Bajus

We looked for a hat pattern which used as many colours of Merino Twist 4ply as possible and found Cascade caps by Janine Bajus. The Merino Twist 4ply yarn comes in ten shades and we’ve used five on each hat. These stranded colourwork hats are knitted in the round using 3.25mm needles. The pattern is for one adult size and you can adjust the amount of ease by varying the needle size.

To view or buy a download of this pattern from the designer on Ravelry, click here.

Posted on 31st March 2020 by Kim Kearney

Poet by Sari Nordlund

This lacy raglan top was knitted top-down using Poldale Silk 4ply. I altered the sleeves slightly from the pattern to three-quarter length with a shorter cuff. The top is knitted in the round with different charts for each size. The lacy pattern repeat is also written out, but you will probably have to refer to the chart to know where to start each row when increasing for the raglan. It was quite straightforward once I had separated the sleeves, but took a bit of concentration to begin with. I knitted a small size and used 2 100g hanks of Poldade Silk and 3.5mm needles.

The pattern may be found here on Ravelry to purchase from the designer.

Posted on 25th March 2020 by Kim Kearney

Coronavirus Update 25 March 2020

Although our retail shop is now closed until further notice, we are still sending out orders received online, by email or over the phone.

We are finding it difficult to send out orders as quickly as normal due to reduced hours at our local post offices, but please continue to buy from us.

Posted on 22nd March 2020 by Kim Kearney

Free Postage

Royal Mail is increasing its prices from 23 March 2020 and we have taken the opportunity to review our postage. Because everyone is staying at home where they can, we are offering free postage on UK orders over £35, over £50 to Europe and £75 to the rest of the world.