Tag Archives: gifts

More new kits from Dream in Color.

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Our newest batch of Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins is hard to miss, in three large overflowing baskets right in front of you as you walk into the shop, a stack of “Technicolor Cowl” kits just beside them. What you might not see as readily is another little display of new kits from Dream in Color, featuring two skeins of their 2ply BFL Cash/Silk.

Veronica of Dream in Color put together these kits with Lynn Di Cristina’s “Cumberland & Carey Park” shawl in mind, though the pattern is not included. Each pair features a deep charcoal paired with a pop of bright color.

There are so many patterns out there for fingering weight shawls in two colors; if these high contrast pairs catch your eye, consider also Melanie Berg’s “The Love of Spiders,” Veera Välimäki’s “Stripe Study Shawl,” Lisa Hannes’ “Laurelie,” Kirsten Kapur’s “Cladonia,” and Joji Locatelli’s “Pure Joy.”

Look for these kits in our Gifts section! See you at the shop.

New bags from Peeka Purl Designs.

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We love sourcing products locally when we can, so we’re excited to announce a brand new kind of project bag made just down the road from our shop, in Chapel Hill, NC, by our own Marsha Krzyzewski!

Marsha has been teaching here at our shop for years, offering classes in beginning knitting, the basics of cables, lace, short rows, finishing, fixing mistakes, project-based classes on socks, sweaters, mittens, shawls, and scarves and so much more. With all of those knitting skills in her toolbox, she’s also made room for sewing, and these little totes bridge those two crafts: a sewn bag designed for yarn and knitting projects, under the name Peeka Purl Designs.

Shaped like a cube with an open top, these bags have a strap for easy carrying, and are lined with white fabric to make it easy to see what’s tucked inside.

They’re flexible enough to tuck into a larger bag but sturdy enough to stand up on their own, just the right size for a small project or a few balls of yarn.

Come by the shop to pick up a Peeka Purl bag for yourself or a friend!

Akerworks Yarn Caddy.

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Meet our newest gadget: the Akerworks Yarn Caddy, a go-anywhere tool for holding your working yarn!

This yarn-holding spindle comes from Akerworks in Knoxville, TN, the good people who brought us the clever and popular Swatch Gauge. The Yarn Caddy is lightweight and portable, featuring a suction cup base and a gadget on the top regulating the yarn’s tension.

It comes disassembled, a little mesh bag with the Flat Pack Yarn Caddy pieces and a SimpleKate on the side. While it’s easy to assemble, it doesn’t come with instructions, so I took a few pictures while I was putting it together; click on the photos below for a full view.

Look for our display Akerworks Yarn Caddy in the center of the front room at the shop, and ask us if you’d like one of your own – we store them in the back room.

See you at the shop!

Cocoknits Maker’s Keep.

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This week, an eagerly-anticipated shipment arrived from cocoknits – a box full of Maker’s Keeps!

Cocoknits has reimagined their signature Knitter’s Keep as the Maker’s Keep: a silicone slap bracelet with a magnetic face, designed to keep your tools close at hand as you knit.

It used to come at a higher price, with a variety of notions; now it’s sold separately, so you can use the notions you have and prefer. The Maker’s Keep works well with metal darning needles and cable needles, cocoknits’ stitch markers and row counter, T-pins, and more – any steel accessories will cling to your Keep.

One new detail in this iteration of the Maker’s Keep is a set of measuring lines for inches and centimeters on the underside of the bracelet – a clever addition.

Look for Maker’s Keeps in our notions section here at the shop, and consider it a gift for the crafter who has (almost) everything this holiday season!