In a mere 6 months...

...Stitches Midwest will be in full swing!  Good news - we are looking into chartering a bus to take knitters to Stitches Midwest on Saturday 27 August!  Current game plan is to have the bus depart from HERE at 8 AM and depart from Stitches at 4 PM.  That should give participants 6 hours to shop, drool, and shop some more. 

Advantages to taking the bus instead of driving include:

• it will cost less than if you drove yourself (round trip gas, tolls, parking come to about $45, at present gas prices);
• you can knit going there and back (not such a good idea if you are driving)
• you will be surrounded by other knitters
• you'll receive a free tote bag to put your loot in

We estimate the price per person will be $35 - it may be less if we get a really big response. Stay tuned for more information as the date gets closer.

just a reminder

Last year I lost my father and Katmandu.  This week I am sending out three sympathy cards, one to a friend who lost her mother, one to a friend who lost her sister, and one to a friend who lost his son.  Without evangelizing or waxing maudlin I want to remind everyone that today is all we have, so never miss a chance to say "I love you" to the ones you love. 

still more about new stuff

This morning it was 13 degrees out when I left for the shop.  Seems cold, until you consider that it was 24 degrees warmer than when I left the house yesterday.

The Artyarns Cottonspring has arrived and it is heavenly!  It is selling very fast, too, so I will be ordering more soon.  If you go onto the Artyarns site and see a color you would like me to order, I will be happy to do so.

The Interweave Knits and the Knitting Traditions Spring 2011 issues have arrived.  I am going to add a new feature to the newsletter, beginning with the March issue: The Yarn Exchange.  In short, it is a list of patterns in recent magazine issues and the yarns I carry that may be substituted if I do not carry the recommended yarn.  I hope you will find this helpful.

Purls of wisdom:  If it ain't broke, it probably isn't ours.

new stuff

Greetings fellow knit-cicles!  New arrivals at the shop yesterday include Linsey, a cotton linen blend from Berroco.   The solids are heathery due tot he different rates at which the cotton and linen fibers take up dye.  The multis are self-striping (similar to TyDy).  At 114 yards and $8.00 per skein, Linsey is a deal.

Pattern support for Linsey is fabulous!  Not only does Berroco have some killer patterns in their new booklet, but I also have the Nora Gaughan volume 8, and this is packed with gorgeous patterns for Linsey.  It also has patterns for Pure Pima, Berroco's 100% pima cotton yarn, which will be arriving at the shop later this spring.

I have several new individual patterns in, too, mostly for summery garments.  A new pattern vendor is C2knit, who produces amazingly simple and classic patterns that are perfect for cotton or linen blends.

Lest the thought of summer-weight garments make you shiver as you look outside, I have also gotten in some very cool hat patterns from Nancy's Knit Knacks.  These are Fair Isle patterns, and very classic.  One is reminiscent of the hat worn by Flick in "A Christmas Story"; another has a thistle pattern that will appeal to anyone with a drop of Scottish blood.

Later this week a new shipment of Artyarns should be arriving - Cottonspring, the only cotton yarn I have ever lusted for.  It is lovely, soft, and the Artyarns colors, of course, and to swoon over (does anybody actually swoon anymore?).

Any SciFi fans out there?  I am a total scifi and fantasy geek.  A customer ordered some bulky yarn for a hat and it turns out that the hat in question is the one worn by Jayne Cobb in Firefly!  I got the free pattern on-line and am offering the yarn and pattern in kits for $30, including a pom-pom maker (the hat MUST have a pom-pom to be an authentic Mrs. Cobb's cunning hat!).

I am also pleased to say that last Saturday's Super Scarf Knit In and Potluck Lunch was a huge success.  So many beautiful scarves being knitted, and so many really nice knitters.  We had a blast - I may make this a regular event, perhaps on the first Saturday of every month.  Of course it wouldn't be as elaborate, but I'm sure I could manage to bring in a crock pot of stew or chili or such once a month.

Well, off to the showers with me.  Knit happy!

Groundhog Day 2011

Greetings knitterati!  If, by some fickle alignment of the stars and weather satellites, the blizzard predicted for tonight actually comes to pass and we receive the 12+ inches of snow forecast, the shop will not open on Wednesday 02 February 2011.  In conditions like that it is best everyone that does not absolutely positively need to be on the roads stay off them, including myself and my customers.

Should we not receive all this snow the shop will open as usual.

On the plus side, no groundhog will see his shadow tomorrow....