Knit Happens

Kim Hargreaves’ Heartfelt!

Out of 21 patterns in this book, there are twelve that I want to knit NOW! (How cozy does this Haven scarf look?)

I’ve admired (okay, lusted after!) Kim Hargreaves’ designs for ages, but up until now, they were only available as kits from her website – now we have a whole book’s worth of patterns!

These are elegantly simple designs, with just a hint of modern edge plus a touch of vintage romance – this book would make a great gift for your favorite knitter for Valentine’s Day. (We won’t tell if you decide your favorite knitter is YOU!)

I also heart… Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book!

Wow. If you like knitting socks, are thinking about knitting socks, have ever seen a sock, or just want to learn about socks, this is the book for you. (Or me. Valentine’s Day, remember? Hint hint.)

From the (beautifully illustrated) history of socks, to the anatomy of hand-knitted socks, to everything you need to know to design and knit your own toe-up or top-down socks, as well as some stunning patterns, this book has it all! (We only have a few left, so hurry in!)

And I heart… Rowan Magazine 43!

There are over 40 patterns, divided into 3 fashion stories:

Heavenly – ethereal and romantic designs (lots of Kidsilk Haze!)

Weekender – fun retro-mod 60’s & 70’s (groovy, baby!)

Elemental – inspired by the colors and textures of nature (feel relaxed?)

And of course I heart… “The Que” from Della Q!

Not only are these circular needle cases cute, the pockets for your needles are numbered so you can keep the sizes organized. Brilliant!

We have them in pretty silk stripes, romantic floral-embroidered silks, and three smashingly stylish tweeds!

The best part – we have the adorable “Lily” bag in the tweeds to match. (Stay tuned, we’re getting more great Della Q bags in.)

What a great Valentine’s gift these would be! (I like the black tweed… just sayin’)

I always heart… books!

We’ve got lots of other great romantic-themed books (Vintage Knits, Romantic Style, and Knitting Lingerie Style come to mind) or if you’re feeling more racy than romantic, spice things up with Domiknitrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape or Naughty Needles: Sexy, Saucy Knits for the Bedroom and Beyond.

We didn’t leave the crocheters out either, because we’ve got Amy Swenson’s new book Sensual Crochet: Luxurious Yarns, Alluring Designs.

These 25 stylish, sexy designs make even crochet-phobic me want to run out and pick up a hook – these are not your granny’s squares!

With patterns to flatter a variety of figures, this book may be too hot to put down!

Do you heart cute… or should I say… Kyuuto?

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi is here!

Knit or crochet an adorable little cutie for your favorite cutie – sure to win your Valentine’s heart.

Kawaii! (Japanese for “cute”!)

And don’t forget, this Friday marks the return of Knit and Nosh!

After months of patiently waiting, Kim Hargreave’s Heartfelt is finally in stock! UPS dropped it off less than 30 minutes ago – and of course I had to blog about it for all of you!

Since the demand for Heartfelt is so great, we will be doing 1 day only holds on the book… We will, of course, ship to you if you’re not in the area (or if you just want to make sure you get your hands on a copy). Though we have 40 copies, I expect to sell through them quickly!

The book retails for $29.99 – and if you’ve seen the cover on Kim’s site, you’ll notice it’s a tad different. When Rowan decided to sell it to the US markets, they decided to change up the cover art. Also, any errata that you may have read about is included with the book. (That’s definitely nice to not have to worry about.)

Stop in, take a look – or give us a call! We hope to see you all soon…

It seems like I asked this last year too… I go to TNNA and when I come back, it’s halfway through January! Of course, this year I came back to snow. A huge contrast from sunny Long Beach, CA – the weather was so gorgeous this year that we actually got to spend Monday sitting on a beach, knitting, of course. (I know, how cruel of me to post that picture on the beach…)

Well, the wonders of sunny Southern California weren’t just confined to the beach – the Long Beach Convention Center had some pretty fab things as well. For those who have no clue what this TNNA thing is, it’s a trade show held twice a year for retailers (like us) to look at and buy new things for our shops. Aimée and I have always had some pretty good luck finding new items for the shop – hey, TNNA in Columbus was where we found Karida and her fab yarn!

Anyhow, as Aimée had a lot of work to do (you know, for that job of hers that pays the bills), Steph got to go with me instead. While we have a lot of fun at TNNA, it is a lot of hard work. Miles are walked each day in search of the perfect content for the store… at the end of the show, you feel as if you had run a half-marathon, full tilt. And, boy, did we find stuff for the shop!

Next week, we should be getting the first of the shipments in. First up, from Gita Maria designs, we were able to purchase more of the bone Knit Sticks we had this past Fall. Those things just went so quickly – and they have so many uses! Hopefully, they’ll get the dark Knit Sticks back in stock soon – we all loved those.

At the end of the week we should be getting a large-ish shipment from Della Q bags. We have carried her bags before and had such a great response that we needed to get some more of them in stock! To the left is one of her new bags – the Molly messenger bag. It’s got a ton of room and pockets on the inside, but it has such a sleek silhouette that even the smallest of people can wear it without the bag overwhelming them. We also brought back in her circular needle cases and a few other bags we hope people will love as much as we did.

There’s so much more we brought in – but we’ll post about all of that as it comes in. Let’s just say that eco-friendly is the buzzword of the year and we saw some fabulous things (yarn, bags, books, etc.) that met the challenge. We may have even brought in a little fiber for spinning… maybe.

So, the holidays are fast approaching and I’m sure that you all want know just when Knit Happens will be open – just in case you need some time away from… the hecticness of the holidays. Or a yarn fix. So the following will be our holiday hours through the beginning of the year.

• Wednesday, November 21 – we will close at 3pm to help our families out with Thanksgiving dinner.
• Thursday, November 22 – Thanksgiving Day, store closed
• Tuesday, December 25 – Christmas Day, store closed
• Wednesday, December 26 – Boxing Day, store closed
• Tuesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day, store closed

In addition to these hours, just as a heads up, we will be closed Wednesday, January 2 through Friday, January 4 for inventory. (If a day isn’t listed – like Christmas Eve – it means that we’re following our regular shop hours.)

**I am going to try to “sticky” this to the top of the page, so you may receive this in your Bloglines or GoogleReader multiple times. I apologize in advance.**