Annual Inventory Sale!

Posted by Julia on July 1, 2013

As many of you know, July is our annual inventory sale month. From the 1st to the 31st, everything in the shop is discounted by 15%, with the exception of classes and yarns that have already been discounted. If you’ve had your eye on a special skein, or have been planning a big project or two, now is the time to take the leap!

Take the July sale as an opportunity to try a yarn you’ve never tried before, to finally get some Mountain Meadow Wool Cody or Titus on your needles. You might also take advantage of the sale by stocking up on a favorite yarn you’ve used and loved before, like Malabrigo Rios or Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

It’s not just yarn that’s on sale, either; you’ll get 15% off needles, hooks, books, bags, notions and accessories during our July sale, too. Whatever it is you’ve been wanting, come by the shop anytime during the month of July to get 15% off your purchase!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on sale items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!

Color Affection.

Posted by Julia on June 28, 2013

On the drive back from TNNA, I finished knitting Color Affection, a shawl made in three shades of Titus.

Many of you have probably run into this pattern before. Maybe you’ve made one yourself, or one of your friends has made one, or maybe you’ve perused the 9,300+ Color Affections on Ravelry. It’s an asymmetric, crescent-shaped shawl in lace or fingering weight yarn, knit all in garter stitch stripes. Increases and short rows create the curvy shape, and much of the pleasure of knitting it is in seeing how the colors play together.

Titus, a fingering weight blend of Wensleydale and Bluefaced Leicester wools and British Alpaca, is fuzzy and creates a gently draping fabric at this loose gauge, a perfect match for Color Affection. The pattern, written by designer Veera Valimaki, calls for 385 yards of each color; each skein of Titus has only 350 yards, but I decided to try it with one skein of each anyway, and cross my fingers that I had enough to complete the shawl as written. Luckily, I finished with yarn to spare.

At the shop, you’ll find this Color Affection hanging on the wall below Wingspan. Come by to try it on for size, admire Titus, and plan a Color Affection of your own. If there’s not a color combination in Titus that wins your affection, consider Isager Alpaca 2, Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering, or Sincere Sheep Equity Fingering. See you at the shop!

Vogue & Creative Knitting.

Posted by Julia on June 26, 2013

Two new magazines have made themselves at home on the teacart: Vogue Knitting and Creative Knitting.

Vogue is full of garments, from sweaters and dresses to cowls and other accessories. There’s a collection of cropped sweaters, a group of intarsia sweaters, and plenty of other patterns to keep your needles busy in the coming months.

Creative Knitting is focused on circular and seamless knitting this issue, and is peppered with tutorials as well as projects that suit the subject.

Come by the shop for knitting inspiration, and to peruse these latest publications. See you there!

Headed home.

Posted by Julia on June 24, 2013

Sunday was another long day of walking up and down the aisles here at TNNA, talking to vendors, and placing orders. We’d spent Saturday night swatching new yarns to see how we liked them, and oh, how we loved them! Though we didn’t get much sleep, by Sunday morning, we were ready to pick out colors and invite these new yarns to the shop.

Along the way, we ran into one of our heroes, Clara Parkes, a writer, designer, and expert reviewer of all things fiber. We told her how very many times we’ve followed her lead on new products and yarn, like Titus and the Lilly Brush, and thanked her for all that she does.

We were a little star struck.

It’s been an incredible trip, and meeting Clara Parkes was the cherry on top. Now we’re heading home to the shop, which will be open Tuesday morning, as usual. See you there!

Scenes from TNNA.

Posted by Julia on June 22, 2013

Here in Columbus, we started another day at TNNA with early morning classes. Anne took a business class with Andrea Marquis, our sales rep for Mountain Meadow Wool and Yarn Hollow. Rosi and I both took “Learning to Love Intarsia,” taught by designer Sally Melville. The technique was brand new to me, and Sally made it clear, doable, and exciting. From there, we went to the market floor, where hundreds of vendors had set up booths filled with yarns and garments. We went from booth to booth, checking out new products and catching up with some of our favorite companies. Along the way, we spotted a few designers we recognized, the likes of Amy Herzog, Stephen West, Grace Anna Farrow, and Anne Hanson. It’s been an exciting, inspiring, fabulous day; here are some scenes from the market floor.

To market we go.

Posted by Julia on June 21, 2013

On Thursday afternoon, Anne and Rosi and I piled into the car and headed to Columbus, Ohio. The National Needle-Arts Association holds an annual conference and trade show in Columbus every June, an event we often refer to simply as “TNNA.” TNNA is where we do the majority of our fall and winter yarn ordering for the shop, and where we look out for exciting new products and project ideas. We also take classes, both in technique and in business, and we come home even more inspired than usual to be in the business of yarn.

This morning, we had our first classes. Anne studied “7 Techniques to Instantly Make You a Better Knitter” with designer Cat Bordhi. The seven techniques are all used in one of Bordhi’s patterns, a cabled cowl, which Anne and the other students will create during this day long class. Meanwhile, Rosi brushed up on finishing techniques with Chris Bsylma, skills that we all benefit from revisiting from time to time.

I took a class with Melissa Leapman called “Crochet for Cowards,” aimed at knitters looking to pick up new crochet skills. Until this morning, all my crochet skills were self-taught, and it was useful to check those skills with an encouraging instructor. We practiced chain, single, double, and slip stitches, worked on flat swatches and in the round, and started two projects: a purse and a hat. Most helpful of all was troubleshooting common crochet pitfalls, like extra stitches, loose edges, and turning chains. I left feeling more confident, one of the loveliest possible side effects of a needlework class, and spent lunchtime practicing a new-to-me stitch pattern, “crochet seed stitch.”
Tonight, we’re looking forward to Sample It, an event that allows us to purchase samples of all kinds of new products, from yarns and patterns to bags and other accessories. That way, we can try them out before we decide to buy them for the shop. It’s always a bit of a feeding frenzy, with a long line outside the door and plenty of activity within. That long line is where I’m headed next; I’ll report back tomorrow from the market floor!

Three new knit samples.

Posted by Julia on June 19, 2013

Over the weekend, Amy dropped off three new knit samples, each one the subject of an upcoming class.

We’ve seen this Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern made up in Zauberball Starke 6; here, it’s shown in Noro Silk Garden in shades of blue, green, and purple. The self-striping yarn really highlights the short-row construction of this garter stitch scarf, and the aran weight yarn knits up quickly, creating a cozy accessory.

The Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf class meets two Saturday afternoons in August; read more about it and sign up on our website.

This Inspira Cowl is knit with two different colors of Noro Kureyon in a simple stranded colorwork pattern. It’s a generously sized cowl that is shaped to hug the neck and accomodate the shoulders. The Inspira Cowl is an opportunity to learn to knit in the round, make decreases, and work a two-color stranded knitting pattern. Class meets two Saturday afternoons in September; head over to our website to sign up now.

This last sample, a fair isle tam, is made using one self-striping yarn, Noro Silk Garden, and one solid color yarn, Plymouth Galway. The solid color recedes into the background and the self-striping yarn pops out as the main pattern color, giving the look of a many-colored fair isle garment without having to weave in all those ends. I’m sorry to report that Amy’s Beginning Fair Isle Tam class is already full, but the pattern is free from Knitty.com, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions should you decide to tackle it on your own. And if you’re set on learning fair isle knitting, including weaving in all the ends, take a look at Anne’s Introduction to Fair Isle class, which meets Wednesday evenings in July. She’ll even teach you how to bravely cut your knitting, creating steeks!

Come by the shop to see all three samples, and the yarns used to create them. If you hurry in today, June 19th, you can even get the Noro yarns at 25% off, on this last day of our Going to Market Sale! See you at the shop.

Show and tell.

Posted by Julia on June 17, 2013

Time for another round of show and tell, where I get to show off all the incredible things folks are making with yarns from HYS. I’m always pleased by the variety of projects you all are working on, from skirts to scarves, from sweet knits for babies and children to sophisticated garments for adults.

Abby knit this three tier skirt for her daughter’s fifth birthday, then kindly brought her in to model it for us. The yarn is Cascade Ultra Pima, a dk weight cotton that is sure to stand up to all the twirling and playing and other five-year-old wear-and-tear that it’s meant for.

Robin sent us this photo to share a pair of baby blankets she made for a soon-to-be-born set of twins. The pink one was made with Plymouth Select Worsted Merino Superwash, and the blue one was made with Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran. Both are soft, squishy, machine-washable wools that are perfect for cuddly blankets like these.

Margie saw the Argosy scarf hanging on the wall at the shop and decided she wanted to make one. Not two weeks later, she had finished two Argosy scarves, one in Noro Matsuri and one in Noro Silk Garden Light. Both dk weight yarns self-stripe in those signature Noro colorways, but Matsuri is mostly cotton, with a bit of wool, and Silk Garden Light is a blend of wool, silk, and mohair.

The results are slightly different in terms of stitch definition, but equally striking, with their diagonal stripes and geometric openwork. Want to make an Argosy scarf of your own? Amy is teaching a class on the subject in July, where you’ll learn chart-reading, lace, cable cast-on, and other skills. Read more about it and sign up on our website!

Pat fell in love with this color of Araucania Chacabuco, a textured bulky weight cotton yarn, but wasn’t quite sure what to make with it. She took it home, found a simple poncho pattern, knit it up, and then came back to show us what she’d come up with. Because of the boucle texture of this yarn, a simple stockinette stitch is all that’s needed to show it off; the yarn is interesting enough without a complicated stitch pattern. The resulting garment is soft and surprisingly lightweight for such a thick cotton–a success.

Thanks to all the knitters and crocheters who share their work with us! Over and over again, Anne and I are wowed by what you create. Keep the show and tell coming!

The Lilly Brush.

Posted by Julia on June 15, 2013

Many of us who love working with squishy, soft yarns have had to face the fact that those yarns often pill. Fine, short fibers feel soft to the touch, and it’s those fibers that are the first to be pulled out of the yarn with abrasion, creating little puffs that stand out from the fabric while clinging to it. Fibers with longer staple lengths will not pill as quickly, and the same goes for tightly plied yarns, but the sad reality is that pilling is a part of life for nearly all knitted garments, especially those that get lots of wear–sweater armpits, for example. If we can’t avoid pills altogether, our best defense against them is removing them once they arise. Here’s a new tool for just this task: the Lilly Brush.

This is yet another product that we can thank Clara Parkes for bringing to our attention; she recently reviewed the Lilly Brush on her excellent blog, Knitter’s Review. The bristles on the Lilly Brush pick up stray fibers and pills as you brush it across your garment. Anne and I put our sample brush to the test on her adult-sized Baby Surprise Jacket, made in Berroco Peruvia, an aran weight single ply wool. Single ply wools are particularly prone to pilling, as are sweater armpits, as I said before, so we started there.

After a good Lilly Brushing, Anne’s sweater was good as new–still fuzzy, as single ply wools are, but looking fresh and pill-free. I bought one for myself and put it to work on one of my softest and most pilled sweaters, made in Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering. It’s a favorite sweater, one I wear all the time, and because of that, it’s pilled quite a bit. I’d made peace with the pilling, accepted that pills are the price we pay for soft sweaters, but with the Lilly Brush in hand, I declared war on the pills and brushed until the fabric looked smooth again. I love the result!

The Lilly Brush is designed to be gentle enough to remove pills from natural fibers without damaging the fabric, and as a result, it’s a little too gentle to work on synthetics. According to Clara Parkes’ review, even yarn with only a 10-20% nylon content was too synthetic to succumb to the Lilly Brush. This suits us just fine, however, since we stock only natural fibers at the shop, save for those sock yarns that really benefit from that 10-20% nylon content.

Come by the shop to pick up a Lilly Brush of your own, then pull out your sweaters and brush the pills away. See you at the shop!

Knitter’s Pride: Dreamz, Cubics, and Karbonz.

Posted by Julia on June 13, 2013

When it comes to needles, knitters have all kinds of opinions and preferences. Some prefer the light weight that wooden needles offer, others like the sturdiness of metal. Some insist on a pointy tip, while others stand by their blunt needles. Everyone seems to agree that in circular needles, the join must be smooth where the needle meets the cord, and the more pliable the cord, the more comfortable the knitting experience. One needle cannot be all things to all knitters, but Knitter’s Pride is a company that offers many different kinds of needles to suit knitters’ many needs. We’ve been keeping three of them in stock: Dreamz, made of laminated birch, Cubics, made in an ergonomically-designed square shape, and Karbonz, made of carbon fiber. This week brought an enormous shipment of all three.

Since we first began stocking them, Dreamz have become our best-selling needles. They are pointier than many wooden needles, and less costly, too. We carry 6″ Dreamz double points and circular needles in 16″, 24″, 32″, and 40″ lengths, in sizes from US 0 to 17.

Knitter’s Pride Cubics are also made of laminated birch, but with a square needle shaft rather than round. Many knitters have asked us, “What’s the point of square needles?” The answer is that some find it more comfortable than a traditional round needle shaft. While a round needle shaft can roll between your fingers as you hold it, a square needle shaft gives your fingers an edge to rest on, so that you needn’t grip as tightly.

Many knitters have said, “Huh, I’ll give it a try,” and many have come back for more. We have Cubics double points in 6″ and 8″, and circular needles in 24″ and 32″ lengths in sizes US 2.5 – 11.

Karbonz are the newest of the bunch, and have quickly become quite popular among knitters who appreciate a sharp point and a sturdy needle. Named for the carbon fiber they’re made of, Karbonz are lightweight and warm to the touch like wood, but sturdy and sharp, like metal. Their surface isn’t as slippery as your typical metal needle, either, making them kind of a “best of both worlds,” with positive qualities of both wooden and metal needles. We have Karbonz double points in US sizes 000 – 4, and circular needles in 16″, 24″ and 32″ lengths in a new wider range of sizes–all the way up to US 10! We ordered a few in every size and length, and most have arrived, but a few were backordered; if you’re hunting for a particular size, give us a call and we’ll check our supply.

Come by the shop for all the needles you need as well as your yarn. See you there!