October 2009
Alright, some of us can get a little obsessed knitting. Amy has been knitting like a maniac
since last spring. Here she is with a couple of sweaters for her husband (one she has her arm around in the photo) and way too many for herself. It’s hard not to when you work in a fabulous yarn store. Stop by the shop to see a few on display. We know of two more in the works that are nearly finished. And yes, she does have a life besides knitting!
Want to see more? Next week it’s Kim, then Marilyn on deck.
Lorilee is knitting at home evenings on a pair of pants- her son’s request. After he wouldn’t back down, she’s started with this:
….and, it’s a Calvin!
Sara and her husband Chad had a baby boy October 19. Calvin Robert is reported to have a tinge of strawberry coloring in his hair. All are well.
Cast On Special this week- Hats and Mittens
We are nearing the end of October and according the weather people in our community
we haven’t had one 70-degree day, a new record. It must be time to knit hats and mittens!
This week’s Cast On Special will feature hats and mittens of all sorts. They make great holiday gifts for anyone on your list. Stop in to see the many samples we have on display, including a new set by Kim. She made the cowl from Nicky Epstein’s new book Mother-Daughter Knits, and paired it with mittens from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves. For the cowl and mitten cuffs she used Yarn Hollow hand-dyed ‘Buzzi’, and for finishing off the mittens she used two different colors of Nashua ‘Paradise’ held double. Remember pattems, books and yarn for a hat or mitten project will be 10% off this week, through Saturday, October 31.
Hearts = Love
City Knitting customer Caroline C. is adopting little girl from Haiti after the first of the year. As she lives in an orphanage with 130 other children, Caroline has decided to deliver heart-shaped cushions to each child in the orphanage. And she requested our help. Already 70 colorful hearts are hanging from the shop rafters. Our customers are an incredibly warm and caring bunch. If you are interested in putting some of your stash yarn to good use, here’s a great way to do it.
Here’s one heart pattern link. If you are not on ravelry.com, stop in the shop for a pattern by Cathie R.
Return of Sockfest, November 17- 28
Sockfest returns- with gifts, a competition, and a prize. We’ll be collecting customer samples through Tuesday November 17th. Please bring in as many single socks as you like (okay, we can hear the sighs of relief, folks) to display. It must be from yarn purchased at City Knitting, or hand-spun from fiber from us. Everyone who loans us a sock or more will get a free 3.3oz. bottle of Eucalan wash for bathing their knitted goodies. We’ll have unscented, grapefruit, lavender and eucalyptus scents to choose from while they last.
Now for the contest part. Many of you took Cookie’s design class last year, or are just plain brave enough to wing it. We’d like to see what you’ve come up with. City Knitting customers will get one vote each, until the reception on Tuesday night, November 24, 7:00 PM. The top vote getter will be awarded sock yarn of their choice- for two pair!
We’ll also have socks as our Cast On Special those weeks.
Classes
We have some openings in upcoming classes. Check the classes tab at the right for full descriptions. Continental Knitting with Lorilee this Friday afternoon, October 30.
The Magic Loop Class with Kim teaching sock construction using the magic loop method of knitting in the round- so valuable for your whole knitting life- Saturday, November 7.
The Afghan Class on November 16 from 7-9 pm features a beautiful entrelac floral
pattern. Kim chose to do this square using several different colors and it is stunning (and on display on the class boards at the shop).
Call the shop to reserve your spot in one of these classes. Feel free to comment below if you’ve taken these classes already and can recommend them.
The clog class on Saturday is full with a waiting list.
Since it is slipper knitting season, we want to let you know what is going on with our favorite yarn for clogs. Ironstone has been advertising new Harmony colors, which we ordered for you back in June. They were delayed in August and again in September. Now we are told December. So, not willing to hold our breath for that one, we are stocking as many of the available colors as we can. In addition, you’ll notice the Nashua Creative Focus Chunky bins will be filling back up again this week or next. Although this yarn costs a bit more than the Harmony, the yarn content (alpaca & wool) and palette are spectacular.
Zauberball and Zauberball Crazy
All colors are back in stock. If you want to knit the cover mittens from the October issue of Knitter’s Magazine (which CK does not carry), we have that colorway in stock.
That’s one fine Hank
Lastly, some of you who’ve met him may enjoy reading this story about CK’s eldest sock knitter-man, Hank.
-City Knitting
294b
- October 26th, 2009
- 5:38 pm
This week’s Cast On Special is a bit of a treasure hunt. We are offering 10% off any purchase of yarn that has alpaca in its content. Now for the treasure hunt part – find the yarn on the shelves! We have given a little help by marking some cubbies with a pink triangle stickie but who knows we could have missed a few. Alpaca is a South American animal that resembles a small llama. They have been bred specifically for their lovely silky fiber that is warmer and less scratchy than sheep’s wool. This fiber does not contain lanolin so it won’t repel water like wool. Many yarn companies are adding alpaca to wool creating a wonderful yarn to work with. Good luck hunting, and check our displays for project ideas!
Our book sale created so much interest that we thought we would offer another 40% off sale this week. This time it will be purse accessories and patterns. Yarn is not included in this sale but straps, snaps, suede bottoms and all of our patterns will be 40% off through Saturday the 24th.
Berroco Vintage Wool (100g/217y, 5sts/inch, $6.00/skein) has been restocked. This is versatile superwash wool from Berroco that comes in a wide variety of colors.
We are awaiting a shipment of Cascade 220 (100g/220y, 4.5- 5 sts/inch, $6.65/skein). It should be in today or tomorrow. Come in soon to pick out yarn for your holiday projects. This yarn always goes fast. [edit: arrived and stocked onto the shelves today by Kim.]
New books arrived last week and there is something for everyone! The Enchanted Sole – Legendary Socks for Adventurous Knitters (Janel Laidman, $25.95) offers “recipes” for whimsical socks. Another new sock book is Toe-Up! (Chrissy Gardiner, $24.95) is a collection of “patterns and worksheets to whip your sock knitting into shape.”
In preparation for the cold winter months we have available Hat Heads (Trond Anfinnsen, aka Knitkid, $22.95). This is a compilation of 50 hats for 50 heads with lots of design tips.
New Twists of Twined Knitting (Laura Farson, $26.99) offers a fresh look at the Swedish technique of twined knitting. Beautiful hats and mittens are featured in this book. Lorilee got to chat with Laura in Portland as she took Lorilee’s Seismic Socks Class at Sock Summit. The designs work up quickly in worsted weight wool and make such a stable, sturdy fabric. Try your hand at this technique, and, when you do, pick up the variety of bobbins Laura prefers. City Knitting carries them.
Back on the shelves is Twisted-Stitch Knitting (Erlbacher, $28.00). This book sold out immediately so stop by soon if you are interested in picking up this fabulous stitch dictionary.
Amigurumi Knits (Singh, $19.99) is a delightful collection of cute mini knits. From underwater creatures to miniature vegetables this book has it all.
Are you tired of knitting socks and sweaters? Would you like to give another garment a try? Handknit Skirts (Ward and Hiatt, $27.95) has everything from beaded skirts to skirts with a bit of flare at the hem. A great way to round out your knitted wardrobe this fall.
Don’t forget when you have a knitting question and it’s after hours our website has links to great help videos. Just look for the “Knitting Nuggets” tab on the right side of this page. If you can’t find the answer to your particular question there try Google-ing for helpful videos.
- October 20th, 2009
- 2:27 pm
Dear City Knitting Friends,
Our book and sample sale continues through Saturday, October 17. We still have many great book titles and oodles of patterns and booklets as well as 10 samples eager for a new home.
Since some of you missed the e-mail news last week, we will continue with Colourscape as our Cast On Special this week. Colourscape is a beautiful striping chunky yarn great for many projects. We have several samples on display to get your creative juices flowing. Remember any Colourscape yarn and pattern bought this week is 10% off.
Its time to clear out our sale area! This week anything on the sale racks is 50% off. We have sock yarn, baby kid mohair, yak/bamboo blends, tweeds, linens and some really cool kits waiting to be picked up at great prices.
New yarn from Yarn Hollow is on the shelves. First we have Squish (4oz/434y, 61/2sts/inch, $20.00), a Merino superwash, bamboo and nylon blend in amazing multicolored hanks. You will want to add this one to your sock yarn stash.
Then there is Photograph (8oz/500y, 5sts/inch, $34.00). This yarn is 100% wool Blue Face Leicester and oh so soft. With all the beautiful colorways to choose from and the incredible yardage on each skein it will be easy to find a project for this yarn.
And finally, we have Buzzi (4oz/70y, 21/2/inch, $17.00) a chunky yarn with with lots of zip. A great choice for the Bette Hat, a free shop pattern.
Back on the bookshelves is the popular Natural Knits for Babies and Moms ($21.95).
For all of our friends in the Chicago area and those of you who may be in Chicago on Saturday, October 17 please come visit us at YarnCon from 10am-4pm. YarnCon at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse is a one day fiber event. We will be there with our Cuts of Lamb gear as well as patterns and books. As YarnCon’s website says, this is a place to promote, sell and celebrate yarny arts. If you’re in Chicago on the 17th, stop in and say hi. Just FYI, the shop will also be open as usual from 10-4 this day.
Thanks for all who made the LNYP last Friday so much fun. The yarn, the people, and the food were all great. And, no mystery plates were left behind, a first!
We are still awaiting news from Sara. She doesn’t know if its a boy or girl. We’ll let you know.
-City Knitting
2034
- October 12th, 2009
- 12:18 pm
Dear City Knitting Friends,
We’ve had a little trouble being certain everyone who wants to
receive our newsletters is receiving them. (Gmail customers
especially, for reasons I don’t understand.)
Here’s what we’ve decided to do:
All newsletters can be found, from now on, here on our website
city-knitting.com. They will also begin to archive here.
We will continue to use our current mass mail system to simply send
you a notice that a new newsletter is posted on our website, where you
can read it any time. The newsletter content will not be in the mass
mail.
Those of you who like to print the newsletter will be able to
highlight it on this web page and choose to print the selection
highlighted.
Here’s what you can do:
Add Lorilee[at]city-knitting[dot]com (Replace [–] with the actual
symbols.) to your address book of your e-mail account, so we can be
accepted. Otherwise, your mail may reject us as mass mail spam.
Let us know how this works for you.
Thanks,
City Knitting
- October 12th, 2009
- 11:34 am
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Dear City Knitting Friends,
LNYP
Late Night Yarnie Party is this Friday the ninth, 7 pm to midnight.
You know the drill. Bring your own chair. (We have bum-holders for
about 20. Attendance is 30-50. Do the math.) Bring a small something
to share- please don’t everyone bring something, we’ll have too much
food. Doors open AT 7:00. I’ll open the lobby so you can line up
inside in case it rains. Register is open, but knitting help IS NOT
available from staff. It’s a party night for everyone. Nursing babies
and knitting children are welcome, kids running around are not. So,
there it is. We’ll see you. (I overheard Kristin threatening Shirley
for smoked chicken dip, just saying.)
Books
We still have plenty of great books and patterns marked 40% off. Many
of our shop samples were claimed quickly, so a few more were added for
this week. This sale lasts through October 17 so there is still time
to pick up a bargain.
We also have some new titles on our shelves that you will want to
check out. Norwegian Handknits (Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel, $30.00)
is a collection of thirty patterns for colorful folk mittens, socks
and scarves. All of these patterns have been inspired by the
collection of traditional Norwegian knits found at the Vesterheim
Museum in Decorah Iowa. This museum has an extensive collection of
textiles and handknits made by Norwegian immigrants and their
ancestors. Not only are there great knitting patterns in this book but
there is also lots of cultural history including recipes. Fortunately
the authors left out the recipe for Lutefisk!!
There are two new books featuring lace patterns. The first is Knitted
Lace Designs of Herbert Niebling (Eva Maria Leszner, $28.00). This
book is loaded with exquisite knitted lace tablecloths and doilies.
The second is Knits from the North Sea (Carol Rasmussen Noble and
Margaret Leask Peterson, $27.95). This book features patterns for lace
scarves, shawls, and stoles in the Shetland tradition.
A must have stitch dictionary is Twisted-Stitch Knitting (Maria
Erlbacher, $28.00). Twisted stitch knitting provides incredible
definition and depth to knitted work. This dictionary uses black and
white photography so that the pattern design can be clearly seen and
the charting seems straight forward and easy to use. Edited to add:
Since writing this, we have run out. We are ordering more, so please
call to reserve one from the next shipment.
And finally, A Fine Fleece (Lisa Lloyd, $30.00) explores the
differences between handspun and commercial yarns. The book has over
twenty-six projects using the yarns side by side. Each project is
chosen to show the yarn to its best advantage.
Cast On Special this Week
This weeks Cast On Special is Rowan Colourscape yarn. We have two
Rowan Colourscape books with great patterns and several individual
patterns designed by Lorilee that are beautiful using this yarn. Buy a
pattern and/or the yarn for a project in Colourscape and get 10% off
your purchase.
Class updates
Classic Socks, three sessions beginning Friday afternoon, has room
for one more student.
Holey Squares Scarf Class this Sunday has room for four more.
Sock Yarn Blanket (join the craze) has room for more.
Afghan Square Class on the third Monday night of the month has room.
Seismic Socks, learn to strand color vertically, has room on Saturday
October 24.
Convert to Continental either Saturday afternoon October 24 or Friday
afternoon October 30.
Felted Clogs (Fiber trends) has room on Saturday, October 31. Learn
so you can make them for Christmas for your family and friends.
More details are on our website, or ring us up at 616-454-9276.
Sock Knitters
Thanks to a customer with whom we had this discussion this week, we
want to pass along a nice tip about Cat Bordhi’s new Personal
Footprints book. If you are someone who ruins socks quickly just by
wearing through the heel, you’ll want to try patterns from this book.
Since you first knit a toe to heel capsule, the heel is accessible for
reworking after the fact. So, you can do two things. You can either
rip and re-knit just the heel if it wears out. Or, you can add the
reinforcing nylon to just the heel. Many don’t like using the nylon in
traditional socks because it gets worked in the round, and shows on
the sock instep. Not true here, because the heel is knit independently
in the round. Cat also suggests knitting twisted stitches in those
hi-wear spots. Give it a try. We ordered more Wooly Nylon today, and
will have it soon.
This cool fall weather just begs for a knitting project, can’t wait
to help you find the perfect one for you.
-City Knitting
1a7f
- October 11th, 2009
- 11:14 am
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