I can’t even remember how I got there, but once I was (online) strolling through Four Purls yarn shop I saw Anzula yarn on sale! Regular price, on average is $35 per skein, and I bought these three skeins for $24.15 each.
I believe I was searching for washable worsted yarn. Whatever, I snatched up these pretty colors: L-R, Temperance, Terra Cotta, and Seaside. I don’t have any project planned, but soon. Probably a hat or three.
Anzula on sale – couldn’t resist!
Four Purls also sells my favorite cotton yarn for making dishcloths. So I added more tropical colors to my stash. I’m making little cloths to give away at Christmas. Except for people who use sponges in the kitchen (yukko) they will be appreciated. See more colors in The Sassy Skein at Four Purls.
I needed new cotton yarn
Both types of yarn are favorites of mine. I first used a bit of Anzula for the Quince Wrap and fell in love. As is true for most nice yarn, it is pricey. I feel lucky to find a sale, and the yarn is really hard to find online these days, and colors are very limited. It may be due to Covid, I don’t know.
Four Purls offers free shipping on orders over $49 and the shop is close to me here in Florida so the package arrives in no time.
Dishcloths are something I always knit for myself, and sometimes for others. My best friend and my daughter always appreciate these little gifts. Since I have to order all my yarn online these days, I have kept an eye out for good yarn to use for cotton knitting. It’s always nice to give a pretty gift.
One day while browsing the Four Purls site, I saw The Sassy Skein cakes of colorful cotton – Key West Karibbean Kotton. I bought a few skeins of their bright tropical colors, and ended up loving this yarn!
Karibbean Kotton yarn skeins from Four Purls
This cotton is softer than the Lily’s yarn, and the end product is more springy, and the vibrant colors seem to last through washes. The cost is nearly double because the skeins are only 74 yards, but that way I can combine colors more often to make a bigger variety of cloths.
I do put this yarn in the washer and dryer – it will SHRINK. Make the dishcloths larger than you’d like because they will end up smaller.
Colors: Navy Pier and Key Lime
How I Knit My Cloths on A Circular Needle
Right now my favorite way of knitting a cloth, either small or larger towel size, is to make “ribs” so the cloth does not lay flat. This is easy to do with a circular needle – larger than a 16 inch. I usually use a size 6 US but I am a tight knitter. Another size may work better for you.
Using two colors (two-color cast-on), I cast on around 30 stitches and knit across. (Or cast-on one color and add the other.) Slide the stitches back so you are knitting on the same side with the new color. Continue knitting with the next color, whether it means turning the work or sliding it.
If you do this with three colors it’s also pretty, but the ridges are less pronounced. It’s fun to experiment. With the navy blue cloth, I began by knitting seed stitch for a few rows then added a few stripes of lime green. The rest of the cloth mirrors the pattern.
Ribbed dishcloths using two and three colors.
Knitting this way will create ridges in the work. It gives the cloth, or towel, some texture. I hand-wash all my dishes, and having a towel to set wet dishes on, that is ribbed in this way, helps with drying.
Ribs make the cloth thicker
If you are just getting started, I have written a page about free patterns and easy knitting projects, such as kitchen cloths, which you can find here.
Purl Soho For Free Stitch Patterns
The Purl Soho yarn website offers many free knitting patterns which are great ways to try out new stitches. I rarely jump in and knit the entire project pattern, but it’s simple to try out the stitch pattern on a smaller scale – say, a dishcloth. And, if I loved the pattern, go ahead and make something larger.
Pinterest and other knitting blogs often have free dishcloth patterns as well. It’s not hard to find little repeats to try for a small item.
The first cotton I used to knit dishcloths was Lily Sugar n Cream. It comes in lots of colors, including variegated, and it’s easy to find in Walmart, Target and on Amazon – my link goes to Amazon. It’s cheaper, and also a good option for kitchen knits.
A few months ago I visited the Four Purls Yarn Truck for the first time. I bought lots of wonderful yarn and learned a little about their store and the family behind it. Both daughters of the owners do their own hand-dying to create some beautiful hanks of yarn. It’s a family run store. I’ve met the husband and wife team, who are helpful and friendly, both times I have visited their truck stopover in New Smyrna Beach.
Outdoor tables full of yarn
My knitting experience with Emma’s Yarn was such a delight that I had to be sure and buy more when the yarn truck came to town.
Located in Winter Haven, in central Florida, the Four Purl’s yarn store takes road trips in their colorful yarn truck to share their wares with those of us who have no local shops. They show up in New Smyrna only a few times a year, but I am grateful that they do. It’s always nice to be able to handle yarn, and see colors in person!
Shawls and sweaters knit from patterns, which are listed on their tags.
Pattern Samples Already Knit
A rack of clothing was displayed at the outer edge of the yarn tables. As I browsed, I realized these were patterns (name of pattern on tag attached to item) already knit up for us to see. This is a clever idea and next time I may do some pattern browsing before I buy my yarn.
As it was, I already needed quite a few skeins for patterns I had in mind. Hand-dyed yarn is gorgeous, but it is not cheap. One must restrain oneself when surrounded by all that pretty yarn. As it was, I still bought a lot of yarn!
My purchase of Emma’s Yarn, hand-dyed in an array of beautiful colors
My Knitting Plans Using The New Yarn
Sun Kissed is a free shawl download which I have been planning to make for a while now. I’ve been waiting to find the right colors. For the time being I am thinking of using “Gatsby” (mostly white yarn with dark speckles) and “Farmer’s Market” (look at those colors!) to knit it.
Emma’s Yarn colors: Gatsby and Farmer’s Market
Even though I recently purchased Stephen West’s “Mohairino Medley”, I didn’t find the right colors at the Yarn Truck. But I do love a couple of WestKnits shawls and was thinking of the Sea Swell Shawl pattern in particular when I bought the three skeins below. Or, I may knit another favorite by Westknits called Slumber Shawl.
L-R color names: Malibu, Turtle Haven, and 10 Questions
I found a skein of “Denim” blue for the border color to finish up my Dewdrops Shawl. I began the triangle shawl with Emma’s Yarn in “Main Squeeze” color which reminds me of pink grapefruit.
Denim blue color ball of yarn to finish my Dewdrops shawl.
And inside the truck I picked up a DK weight skein in “Don’t Call Me Peaches” color (below). This one is part nylon, with merino wool, and I am using it to attempt a pair of socks – again. Emma’s “Simply Spectacular DK” yarn is combined here with some fingering yarn from my stash to make a heavy-weight pair of socks (fingers crossed). For some reason I gravitate toward peachy colors!
Sock Knitting
While I was paying, the husband of the Four Purls team mentioned that they would not be back to New Smyrna until next Fall. They don’t go out in summer, which I can’t blame them for. It’s a really hideous time of year here in Florida and no one wants to be standing around in the Florida sun. So I will have to use up my yarn over the next six months while I wait.
Hanks of yarn purchased from Four Purls
Four Purls sells more than Emma’s Yarn, but it turned out that that was the only brand I bought. I also picked up a gauge counter.
Summer in Florida is a good time to stay inside in the AC… and do some lightweight knitting.
Although I live in a busy area, craft stores, and in particular, yarn stores, are scarce. Sure there is a Michaels in Daytona, but who wants to go there? And they sell mostly synthetic yarn I think. New Smyrna Beach is a very built up area and there is nothing here. We did just recently (end of last year) have a new yarn store, She Sells Yarn, open up north in Ormond. That is not too far away, but still a drive on busy roads. I do plan to visit the store one day.
The largest yarn store in Central Florida is Four Purls and it is located in Winter Haven. BUT…and this is cool… they have a yarn truck which they drive all over to visit areas like mine to sell their goods. Every few months (except in summer) they travel the 2 hours it takes to get to New Smyrna and set up on the grass behind “Hottie Coffee” just off Route 1. What a great idea!
I’m so glad they do this, and I missed the truck’s visit in October because I was in New Hampshire. Happily, I made it to the truck to shop on their latest trek. Sure enough, there was beautiful yarn everywhere. I was so excited that I forgot to take truck photos for my blog! (But I got some in April when the truck returned). I did spend lots of money on some pretty yarn.
The owner explained to me that Emma’s Yarn was hand-dyed by her daughters, and the tables were full of Emma’s Yarn. I have begun the Dewdrops shawl using the color “Main Squeeze”, and it is pretty, made of merino and silk. The yarn containing silk is very soft and I do love it. Shortly after I began knitting the shawl, I realized I wanted a denim blue color for the edge. I’ll pick that up on their next truck trek to my area.
Yarn from Four Purls yarn truck – Main Squeeze is on the pink one.
Four Purls also sells yarn online, but it’s fun to see the yarn in person. They come back this way in April and I see myself spending money on lots of new yarn that day! And I will take photos….!
New England's Narrow Road 