Knit Happens

So, you might wonder what exactly is making Elspeth look so gleeful? Is it just that she’s at the best job in the world and loves to show it? No. (She does, however, have the best job in the world… I’m just sayin’.) Still not seeing what’s making her so happy? Take a closer look at what’s in her arms… Lots of lovely, luscious yarn. Even better – lots of Fleece Artist! I called Kathryn early last week to tell her that we were out and wanted to place a large-ish order for Fall. I didn’t think we’d be getting any of it in this soon, though! While we didn’t get the whole order in, we still got in quite a few skeins – and still have a couple hundred backordered for us! If you have never knit with Fleece Artist, you must try it. Soft and lovely, each yarn is individually painted – so no dye lots… or even color names. Each time we get a batch in, half the fun is figuring out what each skein should be called!

As a lot of you already know, we’ve been getting in the Fall yarns and books by the truckload! (I’m sure our new UPS guy is not really happy with us right about now.) Aimee and I took a lot of time deciding exactly what we wanted to bring into the shop – aside from our staple yarns, of course. One of the lines we decided to bring back into the shop was the Tahki/Stacy Charles line. One of the yarns was so deliciously wonderful and soft that we knew we had to cast on and knit something with it. The Filatura di Crosa Superior is a soft cashmere/silk blend that is a joy to work with. Each ball has 328 yds – with that kind of yardage, you’d only need two or so for a shawl! There’s even a pattern for it in one of their pattern books that only takes 4 balls – for the largest size!

It’s a little late, I know, but I just have to thank all of you who came out to help us raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on Saturday! We had a great turn out and a fun time. It was such a rousing success that Danielle was able to get within $40 of her pledge goal… Congrats, Danielle!

For those who don’t know, Danielle is running the Nike Women’s Marathon on October 7 with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. For more information on Danielle’s run, click here. (The pledge totals on her page aren’t updated from the weekend… She’s a lot closer along than that page says!)

It’s no secret that alpaca is one of the most luxurious fibers around- sensuous, silky and softer than you’ve ever imagined. Eunny Jang, has called it the “poor man’s cashmere,” but I think alpaca deserves its own day in the sun!

With our newest shipment from Misti Alpaca, you can experience the almost unbelievable softness that is the Chunky, the Worsted (in solid and handpaints!) and the Laceweight- giving you options for shawls, scarves, hats and for the truly lucky- sweaters and vests!

Misti comes in sumptuous colors, has great yardage and makes wonderful garments for you and yours. With the Fall coming and the Holidays right behind, Misti Alpaca is a great way to bring some luxury into your life!

We are excited to announce a very special event to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Do you have a pattern you just can’t figure out? A stitch pattern that just doesn’t make sense? Have you put down your pattern ages ago and can’t quite figure out where you left off?

Come out on September 15th from 3-5 p.m. with your knitting questions, mistakes, and projects. A $10 donation will get you 15 minutes with our knitting expert (local knitting instructor Danielle Romanetti) and a 10% discount off your purchases for that day.

Help us support this wonderful cause!

WOW. That is all I have to say about last weekend. Thank you all so much for coming out during our sale. Not only did you guys get some yarn at FAB prices, you helped us clear some space for the incoming yarns… which should start arriving any day now.

With all that excitement over, however, I have finally been able to turn to getting the newsletter out and the class schedules up. The newsletter/class schedule email finally went out yesterday afternoon and the class descriptions went up on the site this morning. You will find the Fall Newsletter on the website on the Info page at the very bottom, just click and you can save it to your hard drive (it’s not there right this instant, but I am waiting for the file to convert – once it does, I’ll upload it). If you want to look directly at the classes we’re offering this term, click on the Class Descriptions link in the sidebar of the Info page… or just on this one.

We have already had a great response to the classes, about 5 minutes after I sent the email, we had people calling to register! (Many were before we’d even printed of sign-up sheets and put the new classes into the system.)

This term, we’re offering more classes than ever before. We’ve got the basics: beginning knitting, socks, finishing, etc., however, this term we’re also offering a bunch of skill related classes: cabling, how to shape/short row, modifying patterns, Fair Isle. You all have been asking for more of these and we listened!

I love the response and I hope that I hear from all of you who have been patiently waiting for class lists to go up. I know that a few of the classes start next week and we’re not cancelling those until the last minute, just so you have the opportunity to sign up. So, look at the list and give us a call!

At the shop, we often get requests for simple men’s sweaters. In addition to patterns written specifically with men in mind, we also like to tell people about some of our favorite women’s sweaters. Some of the best men’s sweaters I’ve ever seen started as “women’s” patterns. Don’t get hung up on the name of a pattern and you might find the perfect gift for the men in your life!

I just finished a wonderful sweater from this spring’s Interweave, Notre Dame de Grace by Veronik Avery. Shown here on my Dad (happy birthday!), this is a great example of a simple woman’s sweater reclaimed as an elegant garment for men. I left off the center button and tweaked the collar but otherwise, this sweater is almost exactly the same as written. You’d never know it’s “supposed” to be for a woman; it looks great on my Dad!

ps: I substituted Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed for the called-for alpaca to get a more rustic, masculine look for the sweater. Don’t forget about changing yarns and colors to totally revamp a sweater for anyone!