Friday, September 26, 2014

New Magazines from Interweave: Knit.Purl & Make It! Knits


knit.wear takes a big step forward with the name change to knit.purl and a new cover design. The mission and vision for this special issue remains the same, however-a focus on simpler, stylish, contemporary knit designs with fresh studio photography and interesting articles. In this issue, we explore striking knit-purl combinations, big gauges, bold colorwork, tailored sweaters, cool accessories, and more. Michelle Hunter introduces us to "Navajo ply knitting," an innovative technique that allows for quick changes between single and triple-strand knitting, and then we step into the world of New York Fashion Week with the work of a budding knitwear designer. Handknit designer John Brinegar brings us two exclusive designs and talks to us about his work, life, and favourite yarns.



Make it! Knits gathers some of the best simple and quick knits from Interweave Knits and Knitscene magazines.
Intentionally chosen for their heavier weight yarns - from worsted to bulky - these projects are for the beginning knitter or those who simply prefer quick and thick knits. The patterns range from beginner to intermediate garments and accessories, and all of them include enough yarn information to make it easy to substitute from your stash.
Four articles focus on knitting pattern basics, knitting in the round, reading charts, and determining how much yarn you need for a project - valuable information for knitters of all skill levels.





Friday, September 12, 2014

New Online Feature: Gift Ideas



We've added handy a new feature to our online store - Gift Ideas! Lots of suggestions are included for all kinds of gifting, including things for Kids, Teens, Stocking Stuffers, Gift Certificates, and piles of other needles, tools and accessories, clearly organized and easy to find. You can also use our new Wishlist to collect your favourites and send them to friends and family.

New Stuff In Store & Online

NEW Yarn Noro Silk Garden Solo




Noro Silk Garden is a semi-solid version of our favourite self-striping yarn, Noro Silk Garden. The texture is enchanting - it's a single ply with a little bit of halo. The colour is a mottled semi-solid with slightly tweedy qualities (but it is not a true tweed).  It looks great worked on it's own or paired with a contrasting self-striping yarn like Noro Silk Garden. It isn't the softest yarn on the market, but it's comfortable to knit with and wear, and it softens up quite a bit with a wash in Eucalan
  • 45% Silk, 45% Mohair, 10% Lambs Wool
  • 50g/100m (109yds)
  • Worsted Weight
  • 4.5mm needles
  • 18 sts + 24 rows = 4"/10cm
  • Single ply
  • Semi-solid, tweedy
  • Made in Japan
  • Pattern Ideas 
















Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Next Yarn Swap: Sunday Oct 5


Yarn Swap

Our next yarn swap is Oct 5, 2014, from 1-4pm!

A yarn swap is a big eco-friendly redistribution of yarn, needles and other craft supplies. Bring in the crafty stuff you never want to see again and deposit it in one of our baskets. Poke around at all the other donations and take home whatever you from the doations. Don't be embarrassed by the quality of yarn you bring, whatever is left over is donated to charities like Street Knit, Sistering, Silver Circle Seniors Services, and Gilda's Club, most of whom prefer acrylic!


Saturday, September 06, 2014

New Yarn Noro Taiyo Sock



NEW Noro Taiyo Sock

Noro Taiyo Sock isn't a brand new yarn, but over the last year or so they've come out with some STUNNING new colourways which have made us give this yarn a second look. It's a wonderful, colourful, self-striping fingering weight yarn. It is soft and cool (there's very little wool in it), and is great for wear all year round. You can use it for socks, shawls, and wraps. We think it looks especially beautiful knit up in the Bermuda Scarf (it's really a wrap), Inspira Cowl (Free!), Joshephine Shawl (Free!), Mon Petit Gilet Raye (cute cardigan, also Free), the Petal CowlLanesplitter Skirt (Free), Entrelac Scarf (Free), or a Babette Blanket.

  • 50% Cotton, 17% Wool, 16% Silk, 17% Polyamide
  • Fingering weight/Sock yarn
  • 2.5mm to 3mm (US 2 to 3) needles
  • 24 to 26 sts & 36 to 38 rows = 4" (10cm)
  • Hand wash, lay flat to dry
  • Made in Japan
  • Pattern ideas
  • SHOP ONLINE





Josephine Shawl














Friday, September 05, 2014

Awesome New Features in our Online Store


Wish Lists
You can now create a Wish List in our store! Add any of our products to your Wish List and share it by e-mail (or just visit your favourite things).




Gift Certificates
You can now buy Gift Certificates (otherwise called 'Gift Cards') from us online, and they can be used both online or in store. You can purchase Gift Certificates/Cards in a variety of denominations, as well as for classes. When you purchase Gift Certificates/Cards online they will be e-mailed to you immediately. 



New FREE Pattern Random Stripe Pillow




This pillow cover is designed with knitterly pleasure in mind - there are no seams and there is no sewing involved. All of the techniques used (which aren’t all that special) are listed below and have links to good explanations/tutorials, some of which are pictorial, and some have videos.

Size
16” x 16” with pillow form

Gauge
15.5 sts & 26.5 rows = 4”/10cm

Materials
° MC: 2 skeins Noro Silk Garden, colour 245
° Pillow Form: 15 inches
° Buttons & sewing thread that matches buttons (ours were 28cm or just over 1”)
° Snaps (black) and matching thread
° 2 Stitch Markers (the locking type are best, we like Clover 353)
° Sewing Needle

Notions
° Dice or random number generator smartphone app
° Scrap Yarn
° 4mm crochet hook (for cast on)






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