New This Week
Each week I will post here a quick review of what is new at the shop so you can get a quick update of new inventory, models, project ideas, events or classes scheduled, with links from each if you'd like to explore them in more detail.
Sept 29th...
A customer drew to my attention the fact that I hadn't removed the Events from the website that were posted here for events I had offered LAST year! So I cleared them out of the Events page just now and added a couple of free-bie sessions for this fall, so check them out if you're interested in learning something new.
It's a fun time of year when the new fall yarns begin arriving! Rowan Softest Alpaca last week; Loft mohair the week before; Rit'i alpaca boucle tweed before that!
This week new colors of Louisa Harding's Pouffe arrived. This colorful yarn in giant balls was new last year and a couple of colors sold out pretty quickly. It is a 1.5 - 2.5 st/inch knit that is light and soft and airy, rather than dense and heavy as many yarns of that gauge are. And it is more natural fibers than not so the lightess comes not from being high acrylic, but rather because of the technology in its spinning! Joany knit a great 2 color sweater out of it last winter (see gallery left) for the store model, but I think most people used it for scarves and cowls. It is really soft and light and will brighten up any dreary gray winter day or a black or grey coat! Check out all the colors here.
Sept 17th...
I knit up this no-brainer shawl using 1 ball of the Poema Mohair. Pick a shawl pattern you have and like for the shaping (booomerang, assymmetric, triangle, etc) and simple *k2tog, yo* every 13th row! So simple so if you're looking for a simple project to bide time while you decide on a bigger project for the fall, consider this one!
Loft, a new mohair blend that knits at a bulky gauge (3-4 sts/inch) arrived today. AND, a lovely new alpaca/merino blend from Rowan arrived at the end of last week and it is called Rowan Softest Alpaca!
Be sure to check them out - both would be great for a simple garment.
Sept 8th...
Just a reminder....we are CLOSED tnis Thursday (9/10) for some foundation work on the building.
Just have a few photos to share from my family dye day on Sunday. Maybe they will inspire you to do some this fall....or take it up next spring!
Sept 1st
Sept 2nd....
Rit-i arrived yesterday. This new yarn from Mirasol blends alpaca, fine wool, cotton and a bit of poly to create a lovely and soft, heavy gauge, but lightweight, textural yarn!
The label actually says you can knit it anywhere from 4-5 sts/inch on a 7 or 8, OR, 3.5-3 sts/inch on a US 10 - 10.5. So there is a big range of gauges you can knit it at. Personally, I wouldn't want it at 5, but I could see anywhere from 3-4 st/inch. Chris is working up a shawl using this yarn along with another new yarn (Loft Mohair) that hasn't arrived yet. So the shawl isn't finished, but I added a photo of her WIP here so you coulc see how it knits. I think she's on a 10. I could easily see knitting this on 10.5 - 11.
And I thought I'd introduce my new sidekick, Ivy, since some of you may see her at the shop when I'm working. She's another wonderful lab like Winnie from Heather Hollow Labs up in Hardwick, VT. She is 6 years old but has the energy of a 1 or 2 year old!
August 18th...
Summer Clearance Sale (including some nice yarns for fall/winter!) is Saturday August 22nd 10 - 5
Some new needle felting kits arrived - a great Phoenix Rising, Octopus, Medieval Knight and 4 Mountain Landscapes (which could be nice mug rugs!)
Rowan's Kid Silk Haze arrived. Not that we didn't already have lots of great colors of kid mohair/silk or alpaca/silk carry alongs already, but some of the Kid Silk Haze colors pair perfectly with Rowan's Felted Tweed. And there are some GREAT brights in this batch! Woohoo!
And 3 colors of a new long repeat gradient mohair/silk blend arrived - Poema Mohair!
August 26th...
I guess a customer lit into Chris yesterday because she looked online at our stock of Tough Love Sock and then came to the store and we didn't have the color she saw online and wanted. .
It's not ideal, but it happens. As a reminder......I only update the site once a week. We had just gotten an order in from Sweet Georgia and not only had I not updated the online site to reflect the new colors, but there was also a price increase with the new shipment.
So....the website is great for browsing and getting ideas and we usually have about 80-90% of what it shows, but sometimes the site and the reality are off a bit.
if you order online and we are out of a color, you will get an email telling you that and asking if you would prefer to pick another color or a refund. If you look online to choose a specific color and have no flexibility, before driving to the shop to pick it up, you may want to call ahead to be sure you aren't caught between updates!
The bottom line is, we do our best to have the website reflect the reality on the ground here, but you could be caught between shipments and updates. So if this is a long drive for you and you are interested in a specific color, call ahead.
Joany knit up the Ravelry pattern Pukis using Silk Garden Solo and the original Silk Garden long repeat for a really lovely wrap!
We still stock Eucalan wool wash for your sweater washing but I discovered this Vermont made product that is recommended BOTH for washing sweaters and scouring raw fleece. So if you have a fleece from this spring's clipping, you'll want to wash it before the winter arrives so stop by today and check this new product out! This is an item that we have at the shop, but I will not put online.
August 12th....
Chris crocheted up this cute summer tote using the Vegan Pineapple Rafia yarn and a free pattern that the yarn manufacturer, Katia, offers with the yarn purchase. It took just 1 skein and is crocheted in a herringbone stitch.
But for those of you who prefer knitting, a customer used 1 ball of the same yarn and this pattern for a seed stitch bag (Laura's Bag - pattern available at the shop) to knit up a shoulder bag. She brought it in to show Chris while I was on vacation and Chris said it looked great, but she didn't get a photo of it.
But the point is....there is a great pattern for this yarn whether you want to knit or crochet it!
The other project I left for Chris to work on between customers while I was on vacation, was a really simple mitten pattern which is available on Ravelry (Nola's Mittens) and I thought might be a good fall project for some of the new knitters in the fold. She said they were SUPER simple. With 1 skein of Falkland Chunky (or she used Falkland worsted and held a strand of Cumulus Alpaca Silk along with it for some extra warmth and softness), you can knit an adult pair.
So that gives you two options - if you want a simple and machine washable pair of mittens, use Falkland Chunky. If you don't care about machine washability and want to add a little something special, use the Falkland Worsted and carry along a strand of Kid Silk or Cumulus Alpaca!
August 26th...
I guess a customer lit into Chris yesterday because she looked online at our stock of Tough Love Sock and then came to the store and we didn't have the color she saw online and wanted. .
It's not ideal, but it happens. As a reminder......I only update the site once a week. We had just gotten an order in from Sweet Georgia and not only had I not updated the online site to reflect the new colors, but there was also a price increase with the new shipment.
So....the website is great for browsing and getting ideas and we usually have about 80-90% of what it shows, but sometimes the site and the reality are off a bit.
if you order online and we are out of a color, you will get an email telling you that and asking if you would prefer to pick another color or a refund. If you look online to choose a specific color and have no flexibility, before driving to the shop to pick it up, you may want to call ahead to be sure you aren't caught between updates!
The bottom line is, we do our best to have the website reflect the reality on the ground here, but you could be caught between shipments and updates. So if this is a long drive for you and you are interested in a specific color, call ahead.
Joany knit up the Ravelry pattern Pukis using Silk Garden Solo and the original Silk Garden long repeat for a really lovely wrap!
We still stock Eucalan wool wash for your sweater washing but I discovered this Vermont made product that is recommended BOTH for washing sweaters and scouring raw fleece. So if you have a fleece from this spring's clipping, you'll want to wash it before the winter arrives so stop by today and check this new product out! This is an item that we have at the shop, but I will not put online.
July 24th....
We got a restock of Felted Tweed by Rowan, and along with it, a few new "brights" to add to the collection bringing the color choices in store to 47.
Chris finished the Lamina Wrap (Ravelry pattern) using Zauberball Cotton. It is wide enough it can be a shawl as well and used 3 skeins. If you just wanted a scarf, you could cast on fewer stitches and make a nice length with just 2 balls. And while I had her knit it up using the cotton, it would be great in Zauberball Crazy too!
Joany finished the store model for Louisa Harding's Pouffe. It is so soft and cozy and took just 2 skeins to knit this size (which fits me) and there was enough of both colors left over that the body could be knit longer if you didn't want it cropped like the pattern is designed (it falls right at my hip bone). Or, you could just do 3 balls.
July 15th....
We got a restock of Ultimate Sock and Rios - both by Malabrigo - including some new colors they've introduced like Uruguay Blue and Melissa!
Also, a lovely cotton/linen blend by Urth Yarns is in stock at the shop in 5 lovely soft colors for the summer. It has been used a lot to knit the Sabai Top and also Breza (which is a similar tank top designed specifically for this yarn, Etesia). The Breza top takes 2 - 3 skeins depending on the size you knit.
Also, I just got a notice from Knitting Fever suggesting a nice small knitting project that is apparently an appreciated donation to food shelves - a soap sack knit using their Coastal Cotton (or something from your stash). If you click on the image, there is a QR code you can scan to get the pattern. We've got lots of great colors of Coastal Cotton in stock, so if you're looking for a quick project, this might be just the ticket!
July 9th...
A couple new colors of Chusku (corriedale wool) by Mirasol arrived with a restock of the original colors. This is a good value yarn with a great hand and some nice colors, so check it out!
Saturday, as part of hosting the GNYH, I will have some yarns in the back room on clearance, so stop by!
.
June 17th...
Quite a few new items at the shop this week!
These adorable Amitami animal kits now complement the popular knit and crochet critters kits I already stock. These are a particularly nice price point AND they include the crochet hook, stitch marker, wool needle and instructions along with the yarn! All for just $15.00! Great gift idea for someone interested in learning to crochet!
My order of Urth Yarns Harvest and Uneek arrived as well. Harvest is a superwash EXTRAFINE merino fingering weight that is naturally dyed and features 435 yards. And it pairs beautifully with Uneek, which is the same yarn but dyed in multiple colors in really nicely saturated colorways. I've got some pattern suggestions on the webpage that use these new yarns.
Lastly, I added a few new items to the growing sashiko supplies. Two different stencils that make making your own marks/design so much easier, and a variety of pattern designs marked on pattern paper that you peel and stick to what you want to stitch and then stitch and the patch pattern washes away in the wash (or as I learned leaving the store last week in the pouring rain....in the rain too!)
A couple new yarns arrived that feature long repeats in a sport or fingering gauge: Amitola (merino/silk) and Fuji (machine washable wool). They are great fun on their own, or pair them with a carry-a-long kid mohair for extra warmth and softness, or with VIP for an effect as shown in last week's sweater (see below).
I also got over 40 bags each of white and natural brown/grey locks washed and packed up for the felters that have been in looking for them! Not on the website....but available at the shop!
And we got a lot of natural dyes and mordants packed up and out on the shelves for those of you getting itchy, like me when I see plants like the Lupin in the garden all ripe for botanical printing, to do some summer dyeing! I don't have the dyes on the website, but they are available at the shop, so stop by today!
While on the topic of natural dyeing.... just a reminder that we are offering a weekend (Sat & Sun) workshop in July that covers all the intricacies of creating great colors (and making them light and wash fast!) from natural dyes AND all the fundamentals of botanical printing. Check out the classes page for details - if there isn't enough enrollment by July Friday July 3rd, I will cancel the class. I know a lot of people like to wait to the last minute, but this class takes so much advance work on my part to get all the materials ready for your notebooks (winding yarns, premordanting some, starting a few of the extractions that take a week for really good color, etc), that I do not want to spend 2 weeks of my time preparing "in case" there are last minute enrollees. So....if you're interested you need to register by July 3rd.
Roam by Plymouth...
In the face of lots of rising costs, its nice to be able to offer a new yarn that is a great value!
Roam is spun from Highland Peruvian wool and is recommended knit at 6 sts/inch. With just over 300 yards per skein, it is a great buy at just $9.99 per skein!
And to supplement the Malabrigo and Sweet Georgia hand dyed lines, I've brought back some Baah Yarns. I don't have these on the website, but some 9 colors or so are available at the shop.
Lastly, as many of you have heard, The Fibre Co has decided to discontinue its yarn production so while my supply lasts (I did just get in a few colors of Road To China and &Make aran this week) it is best for you to call the shop to order rather than order online as our inventory may be low or out of certain colors.
Introducing Sonnet!
Happy New Year!
Although frigid temperatures are reportedly on the way, spring is just around the corner! So if you're a knitter that likes to knit "a season ahead", I have some new spring yarns arriving!
Sonnet is a Plymouth yarn that is 60% merino and 20% each, silk and bamboo. So it is silky soft and comes in a lovely spring palette.
Also our "post holiday crush" reorders are beginning to arrive. Malabrigo Rios, Arroyo and Ultimate Sock arrived a couple of days ago (the new colors are out on the floor, but I haven't had time yet to update the website!). Cascade 220 and 220 sport should be arriving today or tomorrow. A needle and accessory order is due in on the 20th. A restock of the lovely Suri Alpaca is on its way, as are more foam felting matts for you needle felters (it has been shipped, but I don't have a delivery date on it yet.
Introducing Bohemia, by Katia
Fri Dec 12th....
A new yarn by Katia arrived this week. A blend of superfine alpaca and merino, with a touch of polyamide for strength, this yarn is soft, light and insulating.
Bohemia is not a traditionally plied yarn, but constructed in a way that yields a bulky gauge without the density of a traditional ply, for a cozy and warm, but lightweight sweater that knits up quickly at about 3 - 3.5 sts/inch on a US 10.5 - 11 (7-8 mm).
Equally great for a luxurious scarf or cowl as for a cozy sweater!
Pouffe!
Thu Nov 27th...
A new yarn from louisa Harding arrived for those of you who want a splash of color, a big quick knit, and an "oh so soft" feel!
Pouffe is 90% extrafine merino (with a 10% nylon binder) that knits up fluffy and soft and at 2.5 sts/inch!
Great for a scarf or cowl, but I also have a shawl and a sweater pattern!
Lore
I chose this pattern, Lute (Ravelry), to knit up a store model iin Lore (by Fibre Co) because we stock the Lore in both 100gm and 25 gm balls which makes it a great choice if you want to work with lots of colors in a sweater without having to buy a lot of extra yarn! Lore lofts a lot upon blocking, so be sure you block your gauge swatch before determining needle or garment size! The loft makes it a good insulator so it will be cozy to wear. And I have enough yarn to work up a multi-color hat.
Ciao Extrafine Merino...
5 or 6 new colors of Ciao, by Jody Long, arrived last week. If you haven't worked with this yarn yet, you should stop by today and drool over the colors, and pick 1 ball up to knit the Crema headband (Ravelry pattern) shown here. Chris rearranged the display since, as colors dribbled in, we just stuck them where there seemed to be space. When this new stock arrived, Chris took the time to rearrange the colors in a sensible way and even I (who ordered them all) had a totally new appreciation for the range and yummminess of this line!
Freia Squares and new colors of Cozy Alpaca Chunky....
Last week I needed to finish SOMETHING! You know how it gets - sometimes when you have too many projects going and most of them have a long ETC (estimated time of completion!), you just need a quick "filler" to feel a sense of completion!
So I went back to this hat, which I originally cast on in the spring to replace a similar hat I had knit years ago as a store model but donated to a silent auction this last fall. I am pleased with the outcome. I tweeked my original pattern and decided to use 2 of the Freia Mini Balls (instead of 8 different colors of the NFAC Fingering I had knit this hat in originally!). So simple but with a complicated look!
I'm writing up the pattern this afternoon before heading off to Iceland . Its time for the annual sheep roundup there and for some hiking and thermal spa soaking with friends! I'll be posting sheep and fiber related - or maybe other non fiber related things? - on our Facebook page, so keep an eye on that if you're interested in Iceland, the rettir (as the roundup is called in Icelandic), etc. We aren't planning any ice cave visits and have researched what to do in case we find ourselves in quicksand (one of my sisters is afraid of this!) but we will be riding and white water rafting in some pretty remote and beautiful areas (this is my third trip there, so I'm getting to know my way around).
Chris and Joany will be keeping the store going - and keeping Winnie from pining my absence. So be sure to stop by and see them and give Winnie a scratch behind the ears while I'm gone. I know that a new yarn for the fall, Colorspun, is shipping out today so there will be more new things arriving weekly.
New colors of the popular, machine washable bulky gauge Cozy Alpaca Chunky by Ella Rae arrived yesterday.
Huanui.....
I did what I said I would NOT do this year, and cast on for another sweater before finishing the ones already underway! I just couldn't help myself - I needed a no brainer project to knit while I streamed a subtitled film on Sunday night. I've wanted to knit the Huanui since I began stocking it a year ago. So I cast on a top down sweater and I'm loving the process. The yarn is so soft and strong, too. I decided to knit it on a US 7 (when blocked will be 4.75 sts/inch). and I'm going to work in a second color toward the bottom with a bit of stranded knitting. But since the top is just a single color and all I had to do was increase at the shoulders every other row, it was perfect for streaming subtitles. And I'm feeling so guilty about breaking one of my New Year's resolutions before January is even over yet, I'm going to sit down and assemble the pieces of the Lore sweater I finished over a week ago and have been avoiding ever since!
I know you know and understand about that!!!
Check out the Huanui - there's an interesting story behind the flock and the yarn. It really is a pleasure to knit with. Last week I had an out of towner in the shop taking a break from skiing and she was looking for what she called a "farmy yarn". Her mother was a spinner and knitter and she grew up visiting sheep farms and festivals and appreciates a "lightly processed" and more "natural", closer to the land sort of yarn than a lot of commercial yarns are. If you also appreciate a slightly less processed and more 'close to the earth" type of yarn, Huanui, Lore (Fiber Co), either of my Vermont yarns (Icelandic Lamb and Coopworth - not online) and Juniper Moon's Patagonia are great options to consider.