• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

A Few Good Yarns

March 12, 2015 1 Comment

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

There’s nothing like happy yarn mail to make your day. Indie yarn shop A Good Yarn Sarasota sent me a few yarns to review recently, and I was so excited when they arrived! I received one hank each of Dream in Color Jilly yarn, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport. Being the swatch addict that I am, I knit up a little 4×4 inch stockinette swatch in each yarn and blocked them. The photos are of each swatch post blocking.

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied. A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

A Good Yarn is located in Sarasota, Florida, but thanks to their large online presence, they’re a shop I was a fan of despite being a Chicagoan. One of the unique things A Good Yarn Sarasota offers is exclusive colorways of yarns that knitters know and love. All three of the yarn colors featured in this post are among their exclusive colors. What’s seriously cool is that all of these colors are either inspired by the underwater photos taken by the owner’s husband, places around the Sarasota region, or teams local to the area (or call the area home during spring training).

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn in Scarlet and Grey / Bucs (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

The yarn above is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Scarlet and Grey (a.k.a Tampa Bay Buccaneers colors). I am a native of a state (North Dakota) that’s entirely lacking a pro team, I never really got into sports. Sports chick or not, I really dig the red and grey striping in this yarn! Lorna’s Laces is a favorite yarn company of mine (they’re based in my adult hometown, Chicago!), and their sock yarn is yummy to work with. (Sorry for all the parenthesis here! Ha!) It’s so soft, and the really even striping has me hankering to make a fantastic baby sweater, hat, or of course, socks. I really can’t wait to cast on some selfish socks with this ASAP.

Dream in Color Jilly Yarn in Cabbage Patch (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

Next , I tried the lovely Jilly from Dream in Color in the custom Cabbage Patch colorway. If you visit the custom colorway page for this one, you can see the photo this yarn is inspired by, and it’s so good! You can absolutely see the color connection between the fascinating photo and the finished yarn. You can see in the swatch I knit with this how the color changes throughout in a nice, subtle way. This yarn is single ply, which would be great to show off some nice lacework. With 880 yards per skein, you could knit an impressive Stevie Nicks-style shawl! (#personalknittingbucketlist)

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Yarn in Grape Jelly (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

Lastly, I tried Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in Grape Jelly. Oof, I love me some grey and purple, you guys! This yarn, much like Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, is nice and soft. With the more modest yardage compared to the 800+ yards of the Jilly, I’m really leaning toward a baby project with this yarn. Last year I blogged a couple baby blankets (here and here) during a 14-baby baby boom among my friends and relatives, and now that all those babies are turning one, this yarn might need to turn into a baby raglan pullover for one of them.

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

The yarn featured in this post was provided by A Good Yarn Sarasota in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: a good yarn sarasota, dream in color, exclusive colorways, jilly, lorna's laces, shepherd sock, shepherd sport, yarn review

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « How to knit drop stitch, garter slip stitch & diagonal basketweave
Next Post: Picks of the Week »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Manos del Uruguay Sami & Marla – Double Yarn Review and GiveawayManos del Uruguay Sami & Marla – Double Yarn Review and Giveaway
  • High Desert Yarn Review & GiveawayHigh Desert Yarn Review & Giveaway
  • Manos del Uruguay Cabrito Yarn Review & GiveawayManos del Uruguay Cabrito Yarn Review & Giveaway
  • Brown Sheep Stratosphere Yarn Review & GiveawayBrown Sheep Stratosphere Yarn Review & Giveaway

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. Marilyn

    March 13, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Sock yarns are simply yummy! Thanks for introducing us to these three yarns/colorways. Stunning!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Never miss a tutorial with these short & sweet monthly updates.

Find Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi GustadDiscover Unique Items

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
🧶 Really into intarsia
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop the latest patterns ⤵️

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
.
When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
.
HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
.
#handsoccupied #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration #craftcloset #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #craftroomdecor #crocheter #latchhook #knittersofinstagram #wip #wips #hangingstorage
It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
.
What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
.
Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
.
#handsoccupied #yarnreview #manosdeluruguay #knitting_inspire #crochet #yarngiveaway #knitters #yarn #crochetersofinstagram
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
.
In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
.
P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you add a stitch in between two columns of stitches that leans to the left. Similar to an M1L, LLIs allow you to increase nearly invisibly.
.
To learn more about lifted increases, including when to use them and how they differ from Make 1s, head to the 🔗 in my profle. 
.
Have you ever used lifted increases? I used M1’s almost exclusively for a long time when I needed to inc between stitches, but when I designed the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern, I needed something that would allow me to increase a lot near my cast on, and M1’s resulted in edge curling. The more you know! 🌈 
.
Yarn: @lionbrandyarn Wool Ease from my Stash / Neddles: @boyeyarncrafts - Just remembered these are the needles I learned to knit on at age 8. 😂
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #learntoknit #howtoknit #sweaterknitting #knitinspiration #knittersofinstagram #liftedincreases
Last week I got to hang out with my family & helpe Last week I got to hang out with my family & helped babysit my red-headed niece and nephew. So here’s some plane knitting, and a couple pictures (shared with permission) of my babysitting adventures.
.
Lessons learned: 1️⃣ Trying to knit around 2 toddlers, 2 cats & 2 large dogs is pretty hard. 2️⃣ I learned during water color time that pink and black make “colorful black.” 🩷🖤 3️⃣ Toddlers do NOT care about your rainbow sorting of their toys. 4️⃣ Toddlers are very good at finding mischief in a very short amount of time, what a surprise. 😂
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #placesyoucanknit #knitters #knitinpublic #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy