6/30/09 Soft, beautiful buffalo yarn from Buffalo gold arrived today. Skacel just announce that the addi lace needle now comes in a 16" circular. They are on their way.
6/25/09 So much to tell you. Square knitting needles from Kollage came today along with the gorgeous new Pieceworks magazine. I have also been very busy creating kits. Kits come with the yarn and the pattern to do your project. They should make a nice quick way to get a project started. I found a "Knitting in the Nordic Tradition" book by Lind. It joins other vintage (code for out of print) books/magazines we carry in the store.
Newly in: patterns from Heartstrings
Unicorn fiber wash/rinse
Yarns from Southwest TradingCo - Terra, Marisopa shawl(bamboo), Xie, Yang
(if you can't wear wool, you really should try terra. It is a blend of cotton/bamboo)
DVD's with a year's worth of Interweave Knits magazine (2005-2006).
6/13/09 Knit kits are in. Also coming soon zoe sock yarn from Shalimar
6/7/09 It was a beautiful day here. There was an article about Yarnia in the Canton Repository and I got a lot of new people who stopped by for our knit/crochet/spin in public day because of it. The article says the store is closed Tues. That was wrong. I am closed Sunday and Monday. If some of you reading the post today didn't make it in today, I hope to meet you soon. Please know that although, the store will be open June 11-17, I will be at the TNNA convention and then to see my daughter in New York. So if you come to Yarnia for the first time during those days, please come back soon so I can meet you. There is a new class list on the website and there are printed class sheets next to the front door. I know I will be adding a Sat gansey sweater class taught by Willie and there will probably be more classes added from some of my other teachers so keep checking.
Thank you to Joe Raffino from the Southwest Trading Company. He brought suitcases full of garments today done with the various SWTC yarns. It was a wonderful chance for everyone to check all the things SWTC has to offer. Vespera, terra, Xie, bamboo oh my.
6/6/09 Check out the symbols and standards for knitting and crochet
I find the chart that compares stitch gauge, weight etc useful. I still think the best way to get an item that fits is to use stitch per 4 inches. The other ways of categorizing yarn are too broad if you want something to fit. They are fine for a scarf but saying to "just use worsted" is not specific enough for a sweater. Also, you should always recheck how things are going once you cast on and start working. Gauge swatches are useful but if you poke at them enough they will tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth.
6/4/09 Check out the Vogue magazine 360 degree video. They took videos of the projects from their magazine and put it on their website. Ever done a project and your not sure what it is suppose to look like on the side or back. Here is the answer.
The new summer issue of Living crafts arrived.
Anne Hanson from Knitspot has added 2 new scarf/shawl patterns. I have created a summary list to help you find the yarns/yardage you need.
6/3/09 My yarn market news sent me information about a grass roots movement to encourage people to support their local shops. Some of you might find this an interesting website
6/2/09 Sock knitters check out the classic elite web newsletter. Cookie A has done a sock for this edition. I have her book sock Innovations in stock. If socks interest you, you should check out this book. It went into its second printing faster than any book I remember in recent years. Not into socks? Check out the web newsletter past issues. I have the classic elite yarn if you want to try any of the patterns out. I have finished a sampler scarf from all the little classic elite sample skeins my yarn rep left last week. I really loved working with some of these yarns. The Kumara was so so soft and the stitch definition was wonderful in all the yarns.
The new Marianne Isager classic knit book finally arrived along with amigurumi knits.
5/28/09 New Colors of Harrisville Designs (made in the USA) Shetland 2 play arrived today. Also in today, new patterns from ChicKnits.
5/27/09 Go Knits Bags arrived today. These have a great nylon ripstop fabric that makes them so strong to carry your projects in. They cinch up and come in a variety of sizes.
New books arrived including the new Elsbeth Lavold book 17 Small things matter collection. I shouldn't start a new project but this book is calling to me. I love this designer.
Purse kits , yarn holders, large (size S and U) crochet hooks etc from Bagsmith are in. If you are looking for a fun summer activity to get some exercise check out this link from the Cuyahoga Valley National parks. It is a hiking challenge . I doubt I could them all, but I thought I might try out the short ones and go from there.
5/20/09 New arrivals: Hand Knit Heros comic book/pattern issue 1 and 2 arrived today.
Nantucket Bags
5/19/09 Today's arrival: Pearl from Lorna's Laces
stitch gauge from Debra's Garden (It looks like a nautilus shell)
5/15/09 Kits from Artfelt just in.
Patterns from Two Old Bags came in this week so the Lucy bag is back in stock. I have short size 10.5 needles or learn the emily Ocker (pinhole )cast on to start the bag. Once started this is a great bag for beginning knitters.
Drop Spindels came in from Louet recently. I have a small selection of fiber in stock, but I can get anything fiber, tool or yarn you want fro mLouet. I love the cones of linen they carry.
5/14/09 Many sock yarns from Opal came this week. 6ply and regular sock weight join the ones from trekking. Besides socks the 6 play makes great hats/mittens. You get all sort of self striping/fair isle patterns and you never have to change yarn colors. I have several yarns from OPAL that are no longer available many places, so if you have been hunting, I just might have it. Check out opal site http://www.tutto-opal-isager.com/I also carry the Isager line. Marianne Isager has a highly anticipated book coming soon. There is a cute little girl dress done in the Isager yarn. I have the pattern. Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise pattern has been updated. There is finally a child size to the pattern. I still have the baby and adult as single patterns as well. I also got the latest wool gathering that has great hat patterns. See schoolhouse press site for more details.
5/10/09 Green yarns (Sprout, Soltice, Allegoro) from Classic Elite arrrived with great pattern books (John's Bay, Heron Island, New Harbour, Round Pond, Curvy Knits).
Learn how to crochet a picot edge on your crochet or knitting on classic elite's website.
4/28/09 New yarns from Feza just in.
4/26/09 More magazines came in. The 5th anniversary issue of Wild Fibers, the latest interweave knits and the May/June Issue of Pieceworks all arrived Fri and Sat. This issue of Wild Fibers has a Jared Flood vest in it and the Pieceworks has lace knitting.
4/21/09 the May/June Issue of Pieceworks is a special issue about textile for historical reenactment. For sock lovers, it includes a pattern for civil war socks. For shawl people it has a sontag and there is also an undershirt pattern. There are a number of quotes from historical pieces including a letter with the phrase "commend me to a knitting wife".
4/17/09 Check out Susan Anderson's Blog. I carry her books in the store. She has some very cute patterns like the bunny washclott and elfante on her website and th books are a great resource. Elfante would be a great way to use up leftovers of your cascade/ella rae classic/kaleidescope yarns that you bought here.
I was looking over some of my old patterns recently and I was reminded of a way to get one quick. You use two strands of worsted weight yarn (we have gems, ella rae, dark horse, cascade superwash, dale of Norway,etc) and use a bigger needle like a 10 or above for worsted yarn and you can get the project done very quickly.
I have been working on a tofusies baby sweater which is fingering weight on a size 7 needle. Remember to look at your knitting and trust your eyes. I use a size 7 because it gives me the fabric I want, you might need to use an 8. Trust your own opinion on what looks good to you.
4/16/09 French scarf kits arrived today from Claudia Handpaints along with a couple of shrug patterns called shuggity shrug and ElleMyra.
4/3/09 check out http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4917058nIt talks about a Mayo clinic study that shows knitting is good for you. I would assume it holds for crochet as well.
3/31/09 check out the latest issue of Twist Collective which is an online magazine.
http://twistcollective.com/2009/spring/magazinepage_042.php I have in stock many of the yarns used in the various patterns.
3/12/09 The new Yarn from Lorna's Laces called AhHaa just came today. See the lorna's Laces blog for their description. http://lornaslaces.blogspot.com/2009/01/cats-ahah.htmlThis yarn was designed by Cat Bordhi for teaching. The colorway helps you to "see" the knit stitch better. It would make a great yarn for beginning knitting. Funny thing.... when it came in today, it reminded me of the very first yarn I used to learn to knit on almost 40 years ago. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that Cat Bordhi and I are about the same age. Along with the Ah Haa yarn came new shephard sock yarn.
Nashua handknits has a new updated website. If you go to their site http://nashuaknits.com/and register, as a thank you, you can download a lace cardigan pattern from Kristin Nicolas and a tank top from Helen Parsons. Nashua is one of my vendors so let me know if you need the yarn for the pattern. The classic elite trunk show goes on to the next store at the end of this week, come check it out. (see link further on down this page) Noro shipment of Kureyon and silk garden came in. Also if you want to see the yarns in the latest Debbie Bliss magazine, I have Prima, eco and the louisa Harding Grace hand dye. I got a new felt book by Jane Davis. There is a felted fedora pattern in there that I want to try. Simple knits by Ann Budd is in as well as the visually knitting tips book. If you are interested in a book, please ask. I probably have it in my personal library and can show it to you. I can always order it if it is not currently in stock.
2/25/09 I found some really great videos on youtube today. Put Cat Bordhi in the search field. Cat is a great teacher and she has some really informative videos there.
http://www.youtube.com/She has some great books that would be good for your knitting library.
2/20/09 Stitchkeepers by Rollie arrived today see the knitters review on this handy tool http://www.knittersreview.com
2/17/09 New books from Classic elite (see http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/pattern) arrived along with one of the new verde collection yarns Allegoro and soltice see http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/category.php?category_id_5=1&season=%25&weight=%25&action=Search I'm a sucker for linen but this new yarn with its cotton and linen combination should make a really nice fabric and be fun for the knitter to work with.
2/3/09 New patterns from a new vendor arrived today. Penny Straker designs are not new to knitters just to Yarnia. See http://www.pennystraker.com/catalog.html
2/2/09 Interesting knit stitch fact: In garter stitch, every ridge (2 rows made a "ridge") is equal to one horizontal stitch wide. This means for example, that if you have a 10 stitch cast on and work 20 rows, you will have a perfect square.
1/30/09 New books from Dale of Norway just in. New baby books and patterns for kids and adults. I also got patches for those who want to put the authentic patch on the dale of norway sweater they just made. There are people signed up for yarn club on both Tues evening 6-8 and Thur 11-1. Please sign up if you want to join the group.
1/24/09 Eucalan is a no rinse wool wash. This great product cleans and conditions your fine washables. It is also a great to aid in felting because it requires no rinsing.
Eucalan comes in 4 scents Lavendar, eucalyptus, grapefruit and unscented and comes in 100ml(3.3oz), 500ml(16.9oz) and a 4liter (about a gallon) size jug. I also have trial packets that are great for trying the product and to include with those hand made items when you give them as a gift. You can see more details about the Eucalan products at their website http://eucalan.com/ Just in......wool from bula, polar and cubby. These are local border leceister and romney sheep. I have the wool from these 3 sheep in the format for those spinners who like to "spin in the grease". I also have 2 oz total washed and prepped wool roving from the same farm. I have pics of the sheep that I can show you and you can tell they are kept in a clean and happy place.
We have been working on inventory and it seems like there is always another stack to count so there will be more bins on sale next week. While doing inventory, the yarn is being moved to new locations. Previously the store was organized mostly by company. The rowan was all together, the classic elite, etc. Now the store is mostly organized by gauge. Most chunky yarns are together, most worsted, etc. As always if you don;t see want you want or enough of it to do your project, please ask. In most cases the bins represent the "in stock" color choice. The extras are kept in bags. It is actually easier to find all the skeins needed for a project this way than to have to dig through a bin.
1/16/08 I just got a certificate of compliance from Harrisville Designs about their metal looms. Their looms are made/painted in the US and do comply with the upcoming regulations effective Aug 09 that limit how much lead can be in a toy. Because they can closely monitor the manufacturing process since they are made and painted nearby, the can be sure that they will always comply. Eventually, you should be about to see their compliance certificate at their website. As per usual, being the consciencious company that they are, they are ahead of the requirement. FYI, they also tested some of their looms that were already produced and they passed as well.
1/15/09 New zitron trekking xxl sock yarn in. Lots of darker variegated shades and color 126 brach candy a desirable but hard to find color is back. New skeins of Harrisville Design shetland and highland came in this week as well.
1/13/09 I just got in a couple of copies of The Mitten Book by Gottfridsson. As the cover says it is has delightful Swedish country mitten patterns with traditional designs. This book was created because Hermanna Stengard's Gotlandsk Sticksom book that perserved a collection of knitting patterns tied to Gotland was out of print. The Mitten book is also no longer in print.
It must be my day for history because the new Piecework arrived. This is the 3rd historical knitting issue and it includes an alice starmore wee baby bonnet and how to knit a sock in a sock among other articles.
1/9/08 I just found the most useful index of helpful websites on a california knitting guild website. http://sonic.net/melissk/sckg/tips.html
I also discovered that somehow the knitting help website that I always recommend to students is not listed on my website link page like I thought it was. See http://www.knittinghelp.com/
When I teach beginners, I present both continental and english (throw) style of knitting. I also mention the combination style, but do not teach that style. I think it is better for most if they choose to learn it after they have a better understanding of how stitches are seated on the needle. I also have a video that teaches portuguese style of knitting that uses a pin guide. There is no such thing as knitting for a right handed or left handed person. The point is to find a style that you understand and that allows you to hold your hands/shoulders/body in a relax position and that allows you to move smoothly back and forth from the knit to the purl stitch. Your knitting style should not create joints that are white or tight. Lefties or righties should be open to try each style and find what works for them. The links from this page could help you to explore ways to enhance, change or speed up your knitting style or refresh your memory if you havn't picked up the needles in awhile. You may wonder "why take a class if I can learn off the internet". Classes allow for a teacher to watch what you are doing and help you figure out where you are going wrong. Teachers and classes help you to put all the bits of information together and process it in a way that the internet can't. I do love the idea that my beginners can go on the net if they get stuck. Of course, they can also always come in for human help as well. The internet is a great tool, but I don't think it will ever replace having a good teacher.
1/8/09 Just in sock yarn....solid opal sock yarn. Perfect for the person who does not want stripes or variegation. New colors of hunderwasser series came in both sock weight and 6 ply. You can make socks of the 6 ply, but it so also great for making hats and baby sweaters. On route, is claudia handpaint socks (including the "steeler" sock, sorry browns fan, she doesn't have that color yet), and sterling sock from Kramer yarn.
We have started on inventory counting and it suddenly seems like a good idea to put yarn on sale. THe more skeins we count, the more we would like to sell a whole bunch and not have to count it. so come see what is on sale.
12/31/08 Gotta get in one last posting for the year. A local farmer recently supplied the store with clean shetland roving in 4 colors (natural, undyed). He also has a very nice wool in angora goat, shetland, romney and leicester for you spinners who like to "spin in the grease". He preps this so it it pretty nice for this style of wool. We have spin classes coming up in March and the clean prepped roving is great for our "thrum" classes. Have a Happy New Year!
12/19/08 5 free sock patterns from knitting daily if you sign up for newsletter (or you just get them if you are already signed up by clicking on download button as long as you have adobe reader program on your computer) http://www.knittingdaily.com/5-Free-Knitting-Sock-Patterns/
12/11/08 Namaste order came in today. http://namasteneedles.com/products/There is a color choice in the binder bags again in stock. Need a nice small present... the new mini cosy and buddy case would be perfect. They have also made the cosy in a shorter size. Perfect for crochet hooks and sock needles. Need a bigger present.... a set of blocking wires is a nice gift. Of course there is always interchangeable needles mentioned below that make a nice gift. Two big boxes with new colors of ella rae amity (yarn content is same as Encore) and ella rae classic (5 stitch per in wool) came in today.
I got some beautiful new samples up. From Skacel there is a cardigan in fashion silk and one in seta bella. From Vermont organic there are 6 pieces - hat, cardigans, mitten, stocking- done in vermont organics lovely organic yarns. There is an example that shows how soft their wool washes up. There also a new Noro cotton blend scarf to look at. Several of these models will not be up for long so don't wait too long to check them out.
I got some beautiful new samples up. From Skacel there is a cardigan in fashion silk and one in seta bella. From Vermont organic there are 6 pieces - hat, cardigans, mitten, stocking- done in vermont organics lovely organic yarns. There is an example that shows how soft their wool washes up. There also a new Noro cotton blend scarf to look at. Several of these models will not be up for long so don't wait too long to check them out.
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