Quince & Co Core Wool 2018

CORE WOOL Fall 2018

Quince & Co

by Quince & Co

TABLE OF CONTENTS I NT R O 4 -5

GAUGE | L A R K 6 -1 3

T EXT U R E | CHI CK A DEE 1 4 -1 9

SQU I SH | O SP R EY 20 -29

CO L O R | FI NCH 30 -37

P R O CESS | PU FFI N 38 -4 3

R ESOU R CES 4 4 -4 5 CO NT R I B U TO R S 4 6 -5 1

W

hy Wool?

Founder Pam Allen began Quince & Co in 2010 with the idea of creating essential wool yarns for hand knitters. In the process, five core yarns, all of them 100% wool and produced in the United States, were developed, each with specific characteristics in mind.

Spinning yarn—like most things in life—is a matter of balancing opposing options. There’s durability, which requires a strong twist, tight enough to create a lockhold on thousands of minute fibers, squeezing out the air between and meshing them with one another. But a hard twist results in a yarn with little loft or give, equally important in a yarn meant for hand knits. A relaxed spin, by contrast, puts air in the mix, which allows for softness and “squeeze”— think about the squish of a pillow. Too gentle a spin, however soft the yarn it yields, will result in a yarn that falls apart or—yikes—easily pills.

So, balance. As with so much in life, balance is key.

Each of Quince’s core wool yarns was developed with a well thought-out structure, the result of careful balance and trial and error. Spanning a range of weights that each work within their own gauge ranges, our wool yarns derive their own unique characteristic qualities from both the grade of wool of which they’re comprised, as well as their ply structure. Each one has a particular distinction that we will be highlighting throughout this focus on our wool.

We hope you enjoy this peek into our world of wools—may this provide a window through which you can discover (or rediscover!) what we feel makes each one of our yarns truly special.

Pam & Leila

4

6

gauge: Lark weight: worsted number of plies: 4 fiber grade: medium-soft wool Lark was Quince & Co’s first yarn. Pam wanted to create the perfect basic worsted weight wool: A yarn that would make texture patterns pop, but without sacrificing a squeezable hand.

Squeeze a skein of Lark and note the cush. It’s spun with four plies to make it super smooth—the more plies, the smoother the yarn—but not so tightly spun that we lost joyful bounce and give. Knitted textures pop, and colorwork looks fantastic, colors mingling and sticking together. Lark is spun from a medium-soft fiber.

Elizabeth Smith’s Dale pullover is a perfect example of Lark’s perfect workhorse yarn status. Knitted at a classic gauge of 4.25 stitches per inch, Lark creates a beautifully balanced, durable fabric in plain stockinette stitch.

All of Dale’s little textural details stand out in perfect relief, thanks to Lark’s 4-ply construction.

7

DALE by Elizabeth Smith yarn: lark color: twig needles: size US 10

8

9

10

11

DUNE by Dawn Catanzaro yarn: lark color: petal needles: size US 9

RIDGE by Dawn Catanzaro yarn: lark color: chanterelle needles: size US 5

12

13

texture: Chickadee weight: sport number of plies: 3 fiber grade: soft wool Chickadee—aptly named. A spritely sport weight made with three plies for evenness. Each ply is spun just enough to provide clean stitch definition, but also— when knit up—a garment that is lightweight and soft.

It has a slight halo, not enough to obscure the stitchwork you want to highlight, but just enough to make colorwork stitches hug each other.

If we had done four plies, the yarn would have had an even finer, smoother look—but we liked the bit of texture: Not unevenness, per se, just texture that comes through in the knitted piece.

This is handknitting, after all.

And Chickadee does handknit textures in an absolutely irresistible fashion.

15

ETCHPLAIN by Isabell Kraemer yarn: chickadee color: iceland needles: size US 4

16

17

18

19

squish: Osprey weight: Aran number of plies: 3 fiber grade: soft wool A step up from worsted on the weight scale, Osprey is heavier than Lark, but not heavy enough to land in the category of a bulky yarn. It’s what is traditionally referred to as an Aran weight. Think of those lovely, substantial sweaters from Ireland, and you’ll picture a yarn like Osprey.

Osprey has three plies, and like little Chickadee, the texture they provide is gently visible in the finished garment. Spun with a relaxed twist to give the wool lots of air and squishiness, our Aran weight wool begs to be knitted up on a size US 10.5, or even larger, on US 11— block your project gently, and watch the stitches fill in.

Similarly made from soft grade wool as is Chickadee, Osprey is the ultimate in Squish.

20

21

22

Meander by Paulina Popiolek yarn: osprey color: delft needles: size US 10.5

23

24

25

26

Fluting by Whitney Hayward yarn: osprey color: fjord (left), glacier (right) needles: size US 10.5

27

28

29

30

color: Finch weight: fingering number of plies: 4 fiber grade: medium-soft wool Finch is a little sprite, a fingering weight yarn with spark.

Its four neatly twisted plies give the yarn a smooth, tailored finish that’s sturdy and hardwearing.

It’s soft to the touch, drapey, and perfectly balanced for even stockinette-stitch fabric. It’s supreme in delicately articulated texture stitches, cables, and lace patterns.

And its well-defined structure makes it great for pretty Fair Isle patterns. We chose Dianna Walla’s designs for her excellent use of color: Her Turlough hat, given in two distinctive colorways, shows off the use of color against a high- or low-contrast background, and with a seasonal feel to each one (autumnal and wintry). To round out the four seasons, Dawn swatched “spring” and “summer” colorways with similar contrasts (Shell with Malbec and Petal for soft spring, and Poppy with Stream and Aleutian for bold summer).

In choosing a traditional colorway of white Egret with cheery River and Poppy red, Dianna’s Drumlin scarf sings with her signature Norwegian appeal.

Color is one of many wonderful ways to take an original pattern and make it your own—choose colors that you love.

31

Turlough by Dianna Walla yarn: finch colors: honey, nightshade, gingerbread needles: size US 4

32

yarn: finch colors: crow, egret, bird’s egg needles: size US 4

33

34

35

Drumlin by Dianna Walla yarn: finch colors: egret, poppy, river needles: size US 4

36

37

process: Puffin weight: chunky number of plies: 1 fiber grade: medium wool Sometimes, it’s all about the process. The end product, less of a crucial aspect. Choice of material plays a more important role when we’re talking about process—what you decide to use becomes the companion on your journey.

A single-ply chunky wool, Puffin is a bigger yarn, meaning projects can be finished quickly. The beauty of a quick project doesn’t have to be about how little time it takes to knit up a sweater. It can be about slowing down and savoring every last stitch, taking the time to observe the sensations of wool on needles, passed through fingers, stitch by peaceful stitch.

Sometimes, it’s good to slow down and stay in the moment. Time slips away and anticipation fades into background noise. Many a favorite knit was less about the satisfaction of the completed object, and so much more about the experience along the way.

These tend to be the ones that keep you warmest.

38

39

Headland (cropped)

by Elizabeth Smith yarn: puffin colors: frost & storm needles: size US 13

40

Headland (tunic) yarn: puffin colors: storm & crow needles: size US 13

41

42

43

Core Wool Lark

worsted weight 134 yd [123 m] / 50g 4-ply

Chickadee

sport weight 181 yd [166 m] / 50g 3-ply

Osprey

Aran weight 170 yd [155 m] / 100g 3-ply

Finch

fingering weight 221 yd [202 m] / 50g 4-ply

Puffin

chunky weight 112 yd [102 m] / 100g 1-ply

46

contributors

/ 2018

47

elizabeth smith Elizabeth Smith is a knitting designer who has called the Portland, Maine, area home for the last 14 years. She learned to knit just before moving to Maine, and she turned her passion for the craft into a designing career 9 years ago. Her design inspiration comes from her love of combining a modern, simple aesthetic with a natural, earthy vibe—pairing these elements together into wearable pieces using simple knitting techniques. website: thebrownstitch.com ravelry: elizknits instagram/twitter: @thebrownstitch

dawn catanzaro Dawn Catanzaro is a sometime indie designer making her home at the very edge of beautiful Portland, Maine. By day she works as Pattern Developer for Quince & Co, and by night she knits into the wee hours, getting pestered by her irksome cats. ravelry: DCatanzaro

isabell kraemer Isabell Kraemer describes herself as “chaotic, sometimes nerve-wracking, tiny, cluttered with laughter lines, all-loving, creative, with never enough time to get all the ideas out of my head, always sketching, and a lover of all things related to fashion.” She lives in a small, medieval town in southwest Germany. Her aim is to design everyday items for modern knitters—casual with a little twist. She’s addicted to stripes and seamless construction. She doesn’t mind seaming, but likes the fit-asyou-go aspect of top-down knitting. website: owlsisters.blogspot.com ravelry: lilalu instagram: @lilalu72

48

paulina popiolek Paulina Popiolek’s passion for knitting stems from a very young age. Since the very first attempts she would experiment with different stitches and shapes. This interest slowly evolved into designing. Although trained in nutritional science, her fascination with design eventually found an outlet when Ravelry came into existence. What once was a hobby turned into a profession. Her patterns are now published on Ravelry and some publications and hard copies are available in selected yarn shops. She lives in Surrey, United Kingdom with her very patient husband and two cats. ravelry: PaulinaP

whitney hayward Whitney Hayward is a knitwear designer based in Arkansas. Wool-crazy and never not knitting, she gets the opportunity to explore both of those obsessions as the creative director at Twig & Horn and Stone Wool. When she isn’t furiously knitting, you can find her excessively adoring her dog Sam and happily playing the piano poorly. instagram: @whit_knits

dianna walla Dianna Walla is a knitwear designer and linguist currently based in MontrĂŠal. She is passionate about Nordic textile history and loves blending traditional elements with modern pieces. website: paper-tiger.net ravelry: diannawalla instagram: @cakeandvikings

49

Acknowledgements production /

photography / modeling / test knitting /

50

dawn catanzaro jerusha neely leila raabe hallie ojala-barrett leila raabe liz bahl hallie ojala-barrett barbara t. / betsy i. brenda p. / bri r. christina g. /crystal f. diane g. / glenna e. inge s. / jan w. josephine c. / karen a. kathy s. / katrine b. linda w. / nadia p. rachel w. / sally g. sue h. / suzanne w. terri h.

51

qu i ncea ndco.com