Knit Happens

Starting this Friday, February 29, and continuing through this Sunday, March 2, we are having one BIG Leap Year Sale!

Selected items will be priced from 50-90% off! (Hey, we need to make LOTS of room for all of our Spring merchandise…) I can hear you now, “Well, Holly, what’s going to be on sale?”… however, we’re not going to tell you – at least not right now. You’ll have to come in and see this weekend – there are going to be some fab deals. (Discounts won’t be set in stone, either. Aimée and I may decide to mark something down more on Saturday or Sunday, so you’ll have to check in with us!)

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Old Town with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, so why not make a whole day of it and come down to get a yarn-y fix?

**Prices will be good only on in-stock merchandise and will not apply to special orders. No other discounts will be applied. Insatiable Knitter Cards (and receipts) will be marked this weekend, but no redemptions. No sale merchandise will be held under the counter. All sale items will be clearly marked and are final sales.**

Due to technical difficulties, we weren’t able to bring you a new Pattern of the Week last week, but we’ve got two great new patterns for you this week!

Come in this week, buy the pattern and materials to make it… and we’ll give you 10% OFF!!! (But hurry, you only have a week to get the discount for these patterns!)

Our first pattern this week is the Top Down Ear Flap Hat from Y2Knit. Knit this in worsted weight, bulky, or super bulky yarn – everybody needs a warm hat this time of year!

Difficulty: Advanced Beginner – knitting in the round

Recommended Yarns:
Worsted: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Manos
Bulky: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky, Tahki Bunny, Universal Deluxe Chunky, Misti Alpaca Chunky, Rowan Little Big Wool
Super Bulky: Rowan Big Wool
(photo credit: Y2Knit)

For our second pattern we have the lovely Simple Elegance Lace Scarf from Jade Sapphire and Bad Cat Designs – this would be a great gift for Mother’s Day! (You’ve got to plan ahead for gift knitting!)

Difficulty: Adventurous Beginner – basic lace techniques (go on, give it a try!)

Recommended Yarns: Jade Sapphire 2-ply Cashmere or 2-ply Cashmere-Silk

We just got more of the Jade Sapphire Cashmere-Silk in the most gorgeous colors, come check it out!

(photo credit: Jade Sapphire)

Wowza!

Talk about speedy!

All the slots for the yummilicious Yarn Tasting for March 21 are filled now,but we’d be happy to put you on the waiting list. Just give us a call at the shop at 703-836-0039.

Mmmmm…Yaaarrnn Taaastiiiing!

Finally!! The Winter/Spring 2008 Newsletter is up on the Knit Happens website and class registration is open. We have our popular Beginning Knitting and Sock classes and, after a long absence, we are once again offering crochet. So, point your browser to : http://www.knithappens.net/imageuploads/Spring08Newsletter.pdf and check out all the exciting new offerings.

In March we have a special treat: our first ever yarn tasting. Take a look at the description and if you’re interested give us a call right away, this event is filling up quickly (which means we will undoubtedly offer it again).

Thanks for your patience as we worked to craft a schedule of classes that will meet the ever increasing creative needs of our customers.

Here they are, our first Patterns of the Week!

Come in this week, buy the pattern and materials to make it… and we’ll give you 10% OFF!!! (But hurry, you only have a week to get the discount for these patterns!)

For this week, we’ve chosen two quick projects to warm up your winter!

Our first pattern is the Camellia Sweater from Glampyre Knits – a fast knit on US11’s perfect to wear over a longsleeved t-shirt or buttondown for some extra warmth this time of year!

Difficulty: Advanced Beginner / Intermediate – simple lace and straight seams.

Recommended Yarns: Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky, Misti Alpaca Chunky

(photo credit: Glampyre Knits)

Our second pattern is for all you crocheters – the romantic Valentine from French Girl Knits.

How sweet would this look warming your shoulders over a pretty party dress? Tres belle, tres jolie!

This will work up quickly on a K and L hook – you might even finish it for Valentine’s Day!

Difficulty: Advanced Beginner

Recommended Yarns: Rowan Kid Classic, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, Misti Alpaca Chunky.

(photo credit: Rain Grimes & French Girl Knits)

Please join Operation Helmetliner for a “knit-in” each Saturday in February from 1-4 pm in the National Museum of the Marine Corps’ Leatherneck Gallery in support of Knitting For Marines. Both knitters and crocheters are welcome and patterns will be provided. All helmet liners will be sent to Marines stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please bring your own yarn and needles:

• US size 6 and 8 circular needles (16”) and a set of US size 8 double pointed needles (or size to get 4.5 st/inch with larger needles) or K and H hook (or size to get 4 st/inch and 5 rows/inch with larger hook).

• 100% wool (superwash is fine) in brown, black, charcoal, olive drab, or tan. Only 100% soft wool yarn will be accepted, because our Armed Forces are not allowed to wear synthetic fibers outside the wire. Wool is inherently non-flammable and won’t melt against the skin in the event of an accident and is warm even when wet.

The objective of Knitting For Marines is to make at least 100 liners during the month of February. For those of you who would like to get started early, both the knitting pattern and crochet pattern are available for download.

If you need assistance with getting the correct type of yarn, yarn is available at the museum, donated by Knit Happens. Or, come in to the shop and we will give you 10% off yarn and needles for this project!

If you are not able to attend any of the Saturday sessions at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, but still want to knit helmet liners for Marines, you may send your finished liners to:

National Museum of the Marine Corps
ATTN: Ben Kristy
2014 Anderson Ave
Quantico, VA 22134

Please come out and knit for the troops!

We’ve got literally hundreds of great patterns in the shop, and we’ve been trying to think of a way to let more people know about them – we know you don’t have time to look at every single pattern while you’re busy shopping for yarn!

We’ve been talking about one idea for quite a while (since way back in 2007!), and we decided it’s finally time to do it!

You may have seen Lime & Violet’s Sweater of the Week and Shawl of the Week… well, we’re going to do something similar.

Each Monday, starting next week, we’ll post a pattern or two here on the blog. We’ll tell you why we love it and suggest some yarns you can use for it. But wait, there’s more!

Come in during the week the pattern’s posted, buy the pattern and materials to make it… and we’ll give you 10% OFF!!! (But hurry, you only have a week to get the discount for that pattern!)

We hope this will give you some great ideas for projects that you might not have seen before!

A lot of people are calling 2008 “The Year of Fearless Knitting” (and crocheting, too!) – so try something new, you may find yourself creating something beyond your wildest dreams!

Stay tuned, we have LOTS more new ideas that we’re going to be unveiling soon!

Hey everyone,

This darn weather seems to have knocked out our phone systems. (I was wondering why the phone has been so quiet this afternoon…) Aimée just got off the phone with Verizon and they say that the phones should be back up within the next 24 hours – however, it’s Verizon, so I’ll believe it when I hear a dial tone.

If you need to reach us immediately, send me an email (knitgirl at gmail dot com). I have my Gmail pulled up and will be checking it all evening. I’ll update this post once I know the phones are up and running again!

Thanks everyone – remember, tonight is Knit N Nosh, so come on in, grab a bit of food and some wine and settle down to knit.