Summer Yarns, Summer Projects, Summer Fun!

The weather is starting to get warmer and kids (not to mention adults) start dreaming about summer vacation. Some of us set our needles down during the endless summer days, while others get a jump on the next holiday season of gift knitting. We do our best here at Knitterly to provide you with inspiration to keep those needles clicking merrily away. When it gets warmer, our urge is to set down the wool and pick up lighter fibers. Just in time for May, we have some awesome new yarns in stock.

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Kirstin from Muench Yarns dropped off Lana Grossa’s Linea Pura Latte and Organico, two summery yarns in DK and aran weight, respectively. The hollow center of the yarn maintains a great light drape with all the benefits of cotton yarn. They’re perfect for patterns like the Ribbed Lace Bolero and QL slouch hat.

Ripple yarn from Tahki and Tempo yarn from Filatura di Crosa are flying off the shelves! The weekend wrap by cocoknits is extremely popular in these two yarns, letting the simple pattern show the texture and color of the Tempo and lets the Ripple show off its drape. Also try the Adrian in Ripple, a great summer garment if there ever was one!

Isager has come out with their newest yarn: Plant Fiber 1. It is a lightweight 2 ply 70% ramie, 15%hemp, 15% bamboo blend spun in Italy. With a drape somewhere between that of linen and cotton this yarn has a lovely sheen that shimmers enticingly in the light. Isager plant fiber yarn is ideal for lightweight summer garments and accessories, and we are one of the few stores to carry it.

Habu yarns are always a pleasure to knit with no matter the season. We have plenty of their silk blend, stainless steel and bamboo in stock & ready to become wraps, tanks and scarves.

During May we are also looking forward to welcoming Julie Weisenberger back to the shop. We will be hosting her trunk show filled with the latest designs from cocoknits on May 20th at 2 pm. Earlier that day she will be teaching a class on European Finishing Techniques. It’ll be a day filled with great designs and a wonderful designer. For more details see our website.

Swans Island

Yes we do! We have Swans Island yarns in -stock, fingering, worsted & chunky. I love this yarn! I’m making a sweater using the worsted weight and made Paige a Bandana cowl in the chunky.

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13 little chickens

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We had such a nice day at the Antique Faire on Sunday. Lots of  fun people came by, many of them our customers, we all like similar things, good yarn, & good junk. We raised some money for Jesse thanks to all the donations from the Reid family and Muench yarns.It was really hot, lots of red faces were coming in the shop to cool off….good for making new customers. I could be one of people traveling from state to state buying good junk and selling it at street fairs. I just love old things and imagining what I can re-purpose them into. I’m really blessed to have a business that I can use the old to display the new. Fun! Old things keep me inspired, and make me smile.

We sent off 13 little chickens today to their new homes. It was so fun having baby chicks for the Butter & Eggs day parade. I will so do that again!

On the yarny side…..I’m working on a blanket using “Vintage” from Berroco it’s really nice. I’m not usually a fan of  acrylic wool blends but this one feels just right to me it comes in good colors,  good next to my skin, & a pleasure to knit with, I vote yes on this one! I’m still working on my Swans Island sweater( I love love love this yarn) it’s just on hold for a bit while I sample with some of new summer yarns so Swans Island sweater and spring/summer samples are on the way. Wish I could knit faster!!!

How to Celebrate Mom

“Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world.” -Kate Douglas Wiggin

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There might only be one mother, but there are lots of women who deserve a bit of pampering around Mother’s Day. Why not forgo the flowers and breakfast in bed and treat her instead to something she wouldn’t splurge for herself? A set of interchangeable needles from Knitter’s Pride could be just the ticket – she can take time away from the mundane chores of everyday life and go wild, casting on as many projects as she dares. A soft smooshy skein of Dream in Color’s newest sock yarn with cashmere blended in pampers hands while it’s being knit and feet after knitting with it. We also have plenty of yarn, needles and bags waiting to make her smile. The real gift that lasts a lifetime is yarn!

If you want to make some lasting memories with mom, join us and artist Anna Corba for a creatively charged afternoon crafting an artist booklet. On May 12, 2012 between 2 pm and 5:30 pm we’ll be getting crazy with glue and scissors, beeswax and paper as we learn collage techniques and a simple sewn binding to create a 6″ x 6″ artist journal. $65 includes the class, materials and kit needed to make one artist journal. This book makes a perfect keepsake for yourself or a perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Anna Corba is an artist whose Found Cat Studio can be ‘found’ in the San Francisco area. Her aesthetic reflects evidence of the human touch using antique ephemera to create pieces both functional and beautiful. Childhood summers spent traveling Europe has imbued her current work with a foreign mystique. Crumbling yellowed grammar book pages, vintage sheet music, layered and distressed images all come together to form striking tableaus that give the viewer a sense of history and story. Let her creative magic rub off on you May 12th. 

Come in early for your knitting and crafting needs (Mother’s Day or not). Please note, we will be closed Sunday, May 13th. Happy Spring!

crazy chicken lady

I thought it would be so fun to have baby chicks in the window at Knitterly for Easter and the Butter & Eggs Day Parade. My husband made an awesome cage out of metal scraps and old elevator controller doors, Cool! We got 15 sweet little fuzz balls. They look so cute in the window! An actual tourist attraction! They were carted back & forth from their cool cage at Knitterly to my house every night for safe keeping ( incase it got too cold for them in the shop at night) handled with lots of love & care by my grandson Waylon, fed only the best organic chick feed, & special heat lamp for warmth,so much fun……but then before I knew it they turned into prehistoric looking teenagers! They were too big & kinda smelly for the window sooooo what else could I do……..get more fuzz balls! The teenagers are safe and sound in the second cage my husband made for them which now resides in the middle of the “chicken embassy suites” in my backyard. This crazy chicken lady now has 16 fuzz balls, 15 teenagers, & 5 egg laying lady chickens. Yikes! We will keep 4 of the teenagers & most of the other teenagers are going to Knitterly family members.The newest sweet little fuzz balls( which are the cutest ever) are up for sale at the Antique Faire the day after the parade. I thought since so many people wanted to buy the first set of cuties we might as well get another batch and sell them as a fund raiser for my nephew Jesse, just4jesse.com.

Here are some pics of all the gals

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What do you do with Habu?

When Julie Weisenberger learned to knit in Germany she never considered she’d find herself linked to fiber company from Japan. Habu textile creator Takako Ukei has said that Julie’s style is simple and reflects the beauty of the yarn. Her easy flowing garments are nearly begging to be knit with Habu’s various and unique fibers. Her inspiration comes from real women, interesting construction and fun yarn. Yes, they include a lot of stockingnette but that means they can be knit just about anywhere with minimal effort. Knit while watching a movie, in that interminable board meeting, or on the bus and POOF! you have a ready to wear garment that looks like it came off the rack at Anthropologie.

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Julie is teaching a few classes here at Knitterly on April 22nd. First from 2 pm until 3 pm she’ll show you how to adapt Japanese knitting charts for your own American patterns. Chart your written pattern so you can see where you are with a glance (rather than reading through paragraphs). Working a pattern this way also increases your ability to move back and forth between Japanese and Western patterns. She will bring a pattern for us to chart but feel free to bring one of your own to practice on toward the end of class.

Then from 3pm til 5pm will be the Habu yarn tasting! In this class you’ll be able to swatch with a variety of Habu yarns, combining two, three or even four strands to see what magical textures you have the ability to create. Habu has unusual fibers such as: stainless steel, copper, raw silk, pineapple, nettle, as well as old favorites in new form: wool, cotton and linen. Students should bring a few sizes of needles focusing on sizes they prefer to knit with. The cost for the class is $35 and a materials fee of $15.

cocoknits patterns might not be the most interesting project on your needles but the ones you’ll wear day after day.

Scarf in a Scarf anyone?

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Quick to knit

Several ways to be worn

Affordable

Wow sounds like a perfect Mothers day gift to me!

on the farm at Knitterly

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the farm will be at Knitterly till May!

Baby Sweater

   My sons school has it’s spring auction coming up this month. Let me just say that I love the school. His teachers are wonderful! Little Mr has grown so much since September. His social skills have improved;) no more bonking his friends on the noggin or “roaring” in their faces like a lion (well mostly not he’s a tenacious little guy!)

  Anyway, I have decided to knit a couple sweaters for the auction. KID sweaters haha. Come on people I’m no MS (Martha Stewart) I won’t be busting out adult sweaters anytime soon.

  Top down is the only way to go – for me. I like to be done when it looks like a sweater. The finishing is so fun on a top down. Wide button band? Hood? Collar? Lots of possibilities. I’m not sure what I’m doing for the one that’s currently on needles. Its pink and soft and chunky and…. Mmm.

   I love hoods on kids sweaters, it’s such a cute look. I already have a blue baby sweater knit in Malabrigo. That yarn always surprises my how soft it is. How is wool so darn soft?! I washed it too and it’s perfect. A little finishing touch of buttons and that little guy is ready to be auctioned.

   Knitting can be perceived differently outside its own world. I hope that these are good for the auction and find happy homes.

   I’ll add some photos of my finished work soon.

   Happy spring. Happy Easter. Happy Knitting

XO

  Ash

Washington Trip

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You can, much to the pain of my family and others who know me, quite often hear my opinion of blogging,tweeting, FaceBooking, pintresting, well you get it. As you have probably already figured out this isn’t Shelli….Nope, not Ashleigh,  it’s Shelli’s husband and Ashleigh’s Dad, Jeff. And in spite of my opinions on modern means of communication, one of my duties as underpaid stock boy at Knitterly is whatever it is Shelli needs to make her life easier. Because she needed a vacation it was my duty (even though I’m on vacation to0) to write the blog, so she could just vacate.

We flew into Seattle, from Santa Rosa, it’s so nice to only drive 25 minutes north to catch a plane. After a  fairly nice plane ride, we landed at SeaTac Airport about 12:20. We took a drive around Seattle, Shelli hadn’t been since she was young, so we made a few stops including The Pike Street Market. The weather was cold but nice. We spent a couple of hours being tourists, and couple more hours being  lost.

Our actual destination was Whidbey Isl. about 30 miles and a 15 minute ferry ride northwest of Seattle. We were told if we drove south that we could take a beautiful, just slightly longer ride out to the island, rather than taking the ferry. let’s just say that’s not really how it worked. But it was all good, it was beautiful. And fun, we got to see a lot of the area and we were in no hurry to get any where. We did unfortunately hit a bit of the commute and, because of our adventure in being lost, we ended up in a line at the Mukileto ferry landing waiting for the 6 o’clock ferry and the the 6:30 ferry, the parking lot was so full we didn’t on the first ferry. We did get on the next ferry and got to the inn at about 7:00pm.

The room was a corner room facing north so although we got morning sun it wasn’t direct so we could leave the blinds open and enjoy the view without being woken up too early. The accommodations at Inn at Langley are amazing, and go beyond what you would expect for a room at this price. We’ve stayed in more expensive rooms and gotten less. I highly recommend Whidbey Island and Inn at Langley to any one whose has never been. The island is about 35 miles long and 1.5 to 12miles wide and there is a lot of beautiful countryside to see, but honestly for a relaxing get away you could spend a week or so at Langley and never have to get in the car except to head back. The people here are extremely friendly and helpful. The island is slow paced and we literally saw only 3 people on cell phones the first day we were here.

Very easy going. Very relaxing. Well I’ve fulfilled yet another one of my duties and thank you all for your support and patronage, and if want a really relaxing vacation in a very relaxing place, give Whidbey Island, and the Inn at Langley, a try. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.