GIFT Alert! New Notions from Finland Have Arrived

A couple of weekends ago on a Sunday, I went to a HUGE craft show here in Finland. I wandered around for hours and saw some of the most amazing handicrafts, from holiday ornaments to wooden spoons, beautiful hats and clothing, yarns, handmade candles, wooden stools, etc. While I loved absolutely everything I saw, my favorite find was a little needle gauge made from recycled plastic. 

The booth I bought it from had a lot of really cool knitting accessories - needles sizers, stitch markers, gauge checkers, etc. All of the items were made from recycled plastics, and my hand needle sizer was packaged inside a piece of newspaper that was cleverly folded into a flat little bag. What a genius way to recycle newspaper and save the world from one more plastic bag.

I got to talking with Aleksi, the man at the booth and told him I owned a yarn shop in the states and that I was always looking for unique (and practical) items to add for my customers. After a few minutes we had agreed that I would email him the next day and order some goodies to sell at Kaleidoscope Yarns.

The next day he was traveling back home after the craft fair, but we exchanged several emails about my order and by Wednesday, it was all set. He had packaged everything up and sent it to Vermont. Eight days later, I was talking to Barb on Skype and Elwyn, our postal carrier, came upstairs with a package that needed a signature. I heard him say, "This is from Finland" and knew that it was my notions order.

I could have just let Barb open the box later, but I wanted to see her reaction. Everything was packaged - again - in folded Finnish newspapers (I told Barb they should try to read them!) It was really neat to see her open each newspaper bag and see these accessories for the first time.

In addition to the Hand Needle Gauges (like the one I bought) we've got Owl Needle Gauges that have one more hole (for US15/10mm). Did I mention we've got both US and metric available?

And this small Knitter's Tool is great - has slots for measuring 3mm-4mm (metric only) needles and a WPI (wraps per inch) tool.

This small square Gauge Checker is a great idea... we know many folks are not keen on checking gauge, but this is SO cute that if you buy it, maybe you will remember to use it? (We're hoping anyway... make it a New Year's Resolution!)

And since we all were kids once - and maybe some of us still are - check out these little Lego stitch markers! Each set of 4 includes four different colors.

Or, opt for a set of whimsical Finnish road signs. The ones pictured here are all the same sign, but each set includes 4 different road signs - like "tractor crossing", "train", "moose", "stop", and more. They're funny!

I hope you all like them! It was really fun to find some unique new products over here that I could send back and offer to all of you. Thanks SO much to Aleksi for working so quickly to get these shipped to us. Now we've got them in time for the holidays!

Oregon Woodworker Table Swift

contributed by Chrissy

Like many knitters, I was obliged in my early years to rely on various forms of assistance when winding hanks of yarn into more easily usable skeins.  If a friend or relative was not nearby, I often resorted to chairs, and in some instances my own two knees to help hold my yarn as I wound.  Not an optimal arrangement. Definitely not comfortable. 

I was so excited when I tried the Mama Bear woodentable swift from Oregon Woodworker.  This swift is beautifully crafted from solid hardwood.  It is fully adjustable for a wide range of hank sizes, highly portable, and easy to store.  The best part though was its smooth and quiet operation.  My winding literally flies by in minutes, especially when the swift is paired with a table clip ball winder.  

As a novice spinner, I also appreciate how the Mama Bear Swift can reverse to create hanks of homespun right off my bobbins.  I love multifunctional items, especially when they free up my time for more knitting and spinning!

Frabjous Fibers – New Bags!

contributed by Chrissy

I confess.  I love bags.  All shapes and sizes.  Bags help me contain what my family lovingly calls my “piles” around the house.  

I am particularly in love with the new notions bags from Frabjous Fibers.  These scenic organizers are fun and functional. The pastoral scenes are whimsical, and beautifully crafted, and what knitter doesn’t appreciate the animals who feed our fiber habits? 

Plus, it is easy to feel good about products from Frabjous Fibers.  They are a local, Vermont company whose mission includes actively supporting women’s cooperatives and educational programs in Nepal and India, and working to sponsor the creation of safe reliable jobs for women.  What’s not to love?

Très mignon, ces moutons!

New colors of Sheep Tape Measures from Lantern Moon! In addition to the ever popular white, we now have beige and black.Several other new (non sheep) styles are also now available.

Don't be scared of lace!

Lace knitting seems to bring out some of the most interesting opinions in the shop. Some people love it and some people hate it. Others are intrigued, but just plain intimidated by some part of the process whether it is the materials, tools, or pattern. So I thought I would share some things that can make lace knitting feel less intimidating, or a lace project feel more friendly.

You see there are some secrets (now keep this quiet!) to those comments that I hear all the time
about lace knitting in the shop.
Oh the yarn is so thin or slippery!
Oh the charts are so hard to read or follow!
Why is it so hard to keep track of my pattern or the number of stitches in each repeat?
Well...

1. Light. Yes, light. Lace is by definition a delicate open fabric and it can be difficult to work if you don't illuminate it. Why work in less than optimum conditions? Please don't try to knit lace in a darkened room in front of your television. But, if you do insist on sitting in a less than bright place to work on your lace, at least use the right tools! A Mighty Bright LED lamp clipped close to your project will give you better ligthing, but won't disturb anyone else near you....

2. Stitch markers. Yes, stitch markers. Nothing like knitting 400 or more stitches only to find at the end of the row that you must have mis-counted something earlier in the row. The tiny little Lace & Sock Rings are perfect! Place these between your repeats and you will tell almost immediately if/when you've lost your place.

3. Highlighter Tape. I don't know whose brilliant idea this was, but come on! You can't beat it. Removable, "re-stickable" tape that comes in different colors. Put it right on your pattern and the CHART so that it looks as if you've just used a highlighter pen to mark the row you are on. Cover the row below and the row above just to increase the odds of following the correct row of your chart!

4. Lace Needles. Addi Turbo makes needles specifically designed for working lace. These needles have a finer more tapered tip to help you with your delicate stitches and those finer yarns. They also have a special coating to increase the friction (not too much!) of slippery yarn moving over your needle. The nylon cord is extremely supple just like the regular Addi needles, and they come in lengths all the way up to 60" so you can fit all 10,000 stitches on your needle.

5. T-pins & Blocking Wires. There is nothing more disapointing than starting a gorgeous new lace pattern only to realize that your knitting looks like a giant blob of very fine fabric that bears no resemblence to the beautiful photo in your pattern. Don't fret! Everyone's lace projects appear bloblike until they have been blocked. Do yourself a favor, relax, brew a cup of tea, breath deeply and continue bravely on. Be content in the knowledge that t-pins and some sort of blocking wires (exhibit A or B) will help you achieve great things with your finished piece.

Now doesn't it seem like lace could be a great new adventure for your summer knitting?

Light...
Airy...
and not so scary!

A new electric ball winder

Recently one of our notions suppliers sent us an electric ball winder to test. I've been meaning to give it a try for a couple of weeks now, but never had the time. Now that I'm home with sick kids, it was the perfect opportunity.PROS
It's from Boye, seems to be well made and sturdy, and retails for just $89. It has a nice big suction cup and a great carrying handle. It was super easy to set up, and once I plugged it in and turned it on, it started to wind automatically.

I tried the different winding speeds, and found that it was very easy to adjust. And even though I switched the speed numerous times during the actual winding process, it made no difference to the tension in my finished center-pull skein.

This winder would be great if you did a lot of winding. If you really mind cranking the lever on the regular ball winders, this will certainly save wear and tear on your arms, hands and wrists.

CONS
There's a certain WHIRRRRR that I'm used to when I'm using my regular winder. It's the sound of the winder winding and the swift turning and it's actually a pleasant sound. The electric winder is a bit on the loud side... a little jarring.

Even when I had the winder working at the highest speed, the umbrella swift was still turning rather slowly. I was actually worried that the swift was going TOO slowly, and that this would cause a problem. So the motor is going quickly, but the yarn isn't being wound any faster.

I'm not sure I felt comfortable leaving the room - or even taking my eyes off it - while it was winding. Perhaps with more use I would be?

Hey Buddy! You're back!

Guess what? The Namaste Buddy Cases are due back in stock this Friday! Yes, these sweet little items will be back in the shop, and we've ordered a lot of them, so we'll see how long they last this time.

The Buddy Cases were one of the most popular gift items right before the holidays, and it's no wonder. Every knitter needs a place to store all those little notions that get lost in the bottom of our project bags. And the Buddy Case is magnetic! So your scissors and tapestry needles stay neatly in place when you open it up. It also has a sweet divider to keep things neatly in one half or the other.

The Namaste folks were really thinking when they designed this case. It can be used to store just about anything, from makeup to iPods, earbuds and more. See?

We have all been coveting Buddy Cases for ourselves, but we decided to hold off since they were in such short supply. We wanted to let our customers have first (and second) dibs on them. It's not really fair for 5-6 Buddy Cases to go home with us when they're in such demand, is it? Hopefully this Friday we will each be able to buy our own...

So if you weren't lucky enough to get your own Buddy Case this past holiday season, stop in anytime after Friday afternoon and pick one up.