Brights are in!

If any of you have been shopping for clothing recently, you've noticed the trend toward bright colors and neons. These colors have also been making an appearance in yarns & other knitting & crochet products, and opening each box here at the shop is definitely awakening our senses after as we head into summer!

Examples? Here's a bunch of the new Manos del Uruguay Alegria sock yarn. They've got a lovely mix of bright & neutral colors. Boy, do those bright ones make a splash!

These Berroco brights arrived the same day as our new Hadaki bags. What a feast for the senses!

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (back), Berroco Vintage (middle) and Hadaki Multitasker Bags

The Hadaki bags are new for us, and they're so much fun! The fabrics are all bright & peppy and are coated so they're water resistant and easy to clean. This is the Hadaki Hanging Roll - perfect for storing all your notions:

This is the Hadaki Multi Tasker - a great project bag:

And the Hadaki Hannah's Tote works as a large project bag, a gym bag, a beach bag, a weekend bag, you name it:

Customer Project - Vintage Crochet Blanket

contributed by Shawn


A lovely crochet project came through our doors recently and we wanted to share!

This is a blanket crocheted using Berroco Comfort DK yarn and adapted from a vintage pattern that originally called for crochet thread. The design looks beautiful in the black and white and our customer added tiny rosettes for a finishing touch.

Customer Project - Fun & Bright!

contributed by Shawn

I've always loved the bright fun colors that are available in the Jil Eaton CottonTail Yarn. Seeing them all on the shelf together is an inspirational burst of color for the senses. 

And so is this sweater! One of our customers recently came in to do a bit of shopping for her next project and she was wearing her latest creation incorporating many of the CottonTail colors. 

I love this Trapezoid Pullover that she created using the CottonTail and a Kaffe Fassett pattern. 

Sorry, I didn't catch explicit pattern source details at the time because I was too excited by the actual sweater!

Upcoming Fiber Event - VERMONT

contributed by Shawn


The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year, but if you have the chance to visit the weekend of May 18 & 19 you'll be in for a treat!  

The 18th & 19th is the "Farm to Yarn" Tour weekend and it features fiber producing farms to visit. This is a great way to meet the animals in our area of Vermont that create the wonderful fibers we love to knit and crochet with. Best of all? It's FREE!

There are 11 different sites this year and each farm lists the types of animals you will be able to greet and special activities that are offered during the tour weekend. For more information and a map of the area visit this link. 

Many of the sites are offering demonstrations like felting, spinning, shearing and other animal care. Many also feature fibers and yarns on display and farm products to purchase on site.

So if you are looking for some sheep, llama, alpaca, rabbit, or goat love... this is a great way to enjoy a weekend! Be sure to wear farm appropriate clothing and footwear so you can greet the animals and their farmers up close.

The Importance of Blocking

Enough said!

Dr Who Scarf combinations, in both wool & washable blends!

contributed by Shawn

This year is the 50th Anniversary (1963-2013) of the BBC's Dr Who television series. The demand for Dr. Who scarves is up and requests for knitting materials for these coveted scarves has been phenomenal in the past 6-8 months. We continue to order the colors for authentic replica knitting almost as fast as our suppliers can ship it! 

While customers continue to order the Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarns in sport and worsted weights for these scarves, some customers have been asking for machine washable alternatives. Because Plymouth Encore has such a good color range, we were able to find some close color matches for this scarf. A soft, easy care yarn, Encore will delight any Dr. Who fan. So if you are ready for a washable, wearable, wonderful Dr. Who scarf we’ve got you covered!

(Please note these colors are for the popular Season Twelve replica. See below for additional information and other television season alternatives.)

Dr. Who colors in Plymouth Encore Worsted:

• Brick (#212)
• Burnished Heather (#1445)
• Deepest Mauve (#960)
• English Fern (#045)
• Grey (#389)
• Golden Glow (460)
• Tan (#1203)

Dr. Who colors in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted or Nature Spun Sport: 

• Red Fox (#46)
• Saddle Tan (#123)
• Chocolate Kisses (#136)
• Wood Moss (#209)
• Goldenrod (#125)
• Spiced Plum (#142)
• Charcoal (#880)

Looking for patterns or alternate season color information for these scarves? Check out these sites: 

wittylittleknitter: dedicated to the knitting of the authentic Doctor Who scarf 

dr. who scarf

The Zombie Apocalypse has hit the knitting world

A customer came in recently and asked us to place a special order for this book: Knit Your Own Zombie by Fiona Goble.

Whenthe book arrived and I looked through it, I got a good laugh! I also made sure that Emily (Crafty Hedgehog) had a chance to see this since she knits so many different dissections.

Within a couple of days, all of our copies of this book had sold out. It's due back into stock shortly, so be sure to stop in  to check it out.

(Please note: the zombies call for using snaps and Velcro to keep their appendages attached - this enables you to take the arms and legs off as needed during a zombie attack. One of them even has a removable brain in case the others get peckish.)