January Greatest Knits

Haven't done this in a while... sorry! Here are the greatest (hits) knits for January!

Kits
Manos Desert Throw Kit - This has been so popular for years now. Probably because there are so many gorgeous color combinations that can be made with all of the wonderful colors of Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica that we carry! I've noticed a lot of these kits going home for the winter with different folks.

And several people have substituted washable alternatives, since they've been worried about how the recipients may end up caring for the finished project. (Try Mission Falls 1824 Wool or Berroco Vintage if you want machine washable. They have great color cobos, too!)

Yarns
madelinetosh, Madeline Tosh, madtosh, Tosh: no matter what you call it, it's been HOT this month. We now carry 4 madelinetosh yarns: DK (this used to be called "Worsted"), Sock, Lace, and Pashmina (which just arrived last Friday). No question about it, madelinetosh yarns are the current favorite. We couldn't keep the colors in stock from our first shipment and the second shipment, while just in, is going fast! All of these yarns are very soft machine washable wool that comes in amazingly dyed colorways. You'll have to knit with it to believe it! (NOTE: In addition to what we order for the shop, we are happy to special order Tosh yarns. Any yarn, any color. This is not on our webiste yet, but will be once we figure out the best way to do it. Please call us for details.)

We have two samples here in the shop: Barb's Kiwassa Shawl knit from one skein of the Lace, and Jill's World War II Hat from one skein of the DK (formerly Worsted).

Notions and Needles
Kollage Square Double Pointed Needles - We've reordered these over and over, and they are still flying off the shelf. The feedback we've gotten is that these needles are amazing and really do help prevent hand fatigue.

I've used them to knit some of Craftyheghog's Stuffed toys and really enjoyed them. Other customers are now addicted to the short double points for smaller projects like socks. Come in to the shop and try them - we have a set on the counter to test drive.

Knit Kit - All in one, and one for all. There is a tool for every knitter contained in this handy little case. This is becoming everyone's favoirte traveling companion because it is TSA approved!
It includes folding scissors, point protectors, stitch markers, a crochet hook, thread snips, measuring tape, and row counter.

Projects
Alice Cowl - Knit from our new Road to China Light yarn. New colors for this yarn are now in stock, and they have so much depth to them! Great jewel tones to compliment a wonderful free pattern design from the Fibre Company for this cowl - just the thing since it has been in the negative temperatures here in Vermont. And by the way, cowls are the IN thing!

Best Picks

People always come in to the shop and ask us what other people are knitting. So we thought we'd do a show and tell for you on the products that have been really popular over the past month:

Best Pick for Kits:

Scarf Kits Galore! The Pagewood Farms Tinkerbell Needle Felted Silk Scarf Kit, the Be Sweet & Artyarns Synergy Shawl Knit Kit and the Jade Sapphire Cashmere Scarf Kits (for Him or Her)

All of these kits are really grabbing attention in the shop. We have some gorgeous samples to fondle and purr over if you have a chance to stop in. There's such a variety of fiber goodness in these four kits, and they come in such wonderfully tempting colors that everyone is ogling. Come in and see these before the selection is gone - they'll make a great gift or an outstanding conversation piece for yourself. (I know not enough of us create FOR ourselves and all of these kits are great values! Now I just have to finish my own cashmere scarf...)

Best Pick Patterns:

Norah Gaughan volume #5, Berroco Book #288 Blackstone Tweed, Jane Ellison's Queensland Collection Book #9 (featuring some of the most handsome new men's designs!) AND Queensland Collection Book #10

Best Pick Accessories, Notions, & Needles:

The Namaste Mini Clutch, especially in Black or Eggplant (this is a super supple PVC-free faux leather mini clutch with a shoulder strap-check 'em out) and the Kollage Square Double Pointed needles in both 5" and 7" lengths. We're still getting great feedback about these needles and how much people love trying them out both in the store and as additions to needle collections.(Yes, there's a set on the counter for you to try!)

Best Pick Yarn(s):

Berroco Vintage Wool and Kollage Half & Half are the favorites of the month! Vintage Wool continues to be a strong choice for customers because it's so soft, and they can't believe it's a washable acrylic/wool/nylon blend. We added more new colors, too, so we've rounded out the pallet a bit for those of you looking for more options. And Half & Half is milk protein mixed with wool. NO, you can't drink it, but people are amazed that it contains milk. And once you touch it, it's on the counter waiting to be rung out.

A summer snowman

We've passed the six month mark for Christmas 2009. For me that means it is time to start thinking about what I would like to accomplish in my knitting world before December looms any closer. I have a few things on my needles already of course and plans for more. (No peaking, you'll get to see them soon enough!) Even though we are finally getting some nice summer weather, I'm thinking warm wool presents for friends and family.

Two weeks ago I got a start on a tiny little project that is just perfect for setting the winter mood. I took home Malabrigo Worsted in the natural color, and Snobuddies, a Knitting at Knoon pattern. I also grabbed a set of the square Kollage double pointed needles. I quickly knit up the baby snobuddy that evening before I headed out with some friends. I stashed it in my knitting bag along with the roving I'm using for stuffing, the needles and the Malabrigo. I did not zip the knitting bag. I SHOULD have zipped the knitting bag.

When I came home that night to relax and start one of the larger snowbuddies, I pulled out the roving, the needles, my wool and the pattern and got started. But the baby snowbuddy was no longer in the bag. Hmmmm.

Small woolen snow people generally do not go exploring by themselves. And despite the recent high temperatures, I don't think that this one melted. I looked everywhere for the tiny little creature. I used a yard stick to retrieve all the cat toys from under the refrigerator and stove. No luck. Baby snowbuddy was MIA.

Apparently tiny snow people are great cat toys. I'm sure Indigo had NOTHING to do with the disappearance.

Now a couple of weeks later, we have the completed snowbuddy family (not quite decorated yet!) I was sure to zip my bag this time. Check out the earmuffs!

Staying Connected

Vacation time! Here we are at our camp in Maine again. We make a summer trip here each year. This year we, together with Marc's sister - who also owns the camp - decided to forego some of life's little luxuries. Specifically TV (which we didn't really care about), a land line phone, and internet connection. And add to that - we use AT&T for our cell phones, and there's no AT&T service here. (Can you hear me now?) So we're completely NOT connected. Which is nice, in a way. So to connect, I must come to the library, which is only open 2 days a week for 5 hours a day. Luckily, they recently installed wireless, which is free and accessible from the parking lot. Last year I would laugh each time I drove by the library - it would be closed and there would be 2-5 cars parked out front. The people in the cars had their computers out, checking email, working, etc. And this year, I'm right in there fighting for a spot!
We went kayaking today on the Sandy River - and got up early to beat the rain, which has now returned after a two day break. It was the girls' first trip, and we went with Marc's aunt, who is a seasoned kayaker up here! We had the most amazing time. Thanks Maddy!And now it looks like more rain off and on for the rest of the week. So tomorrow we may trek in to Freeport - haven't been there for years.

I only brought two projects with me on this vacation. I started Cormorant before I left, and completed the first sleeve. I always start with the back, then the fronts, and then finish up with the sleeves. But several knitters I know do the sleeves first, and you know? I think I like it that way! I cruised on the first one and am well into the second one. The pattern calls for Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine. I wanted to make something that was machine washable, so I substituted Vintage Wool for the Ultra Alpaca. A lot of the colors are the same in these two yarns, so it was an easy substitution.

I also started a scarf out of Noro Silk Garden. This scarf is so simple, yet with the two colors of Silk Garden, it just keeps changing. It's really mindless and easy to knit. If you haven't seen this scarf and want to try it, you can see it (and the free pattern) on Brooklyn Tweed's blog.

I am using the Kollage square circular needles and I love them! I'm using a size 7, and when I'm finished the scarf, I'm going to swatch the Vintage Wool on them. I am using size 7 Addis on my sweater, so it will be an interesting experiment to see how different my gauge is on Addi 7's and Kollage 7's. Hmm. Stay tuned.

Kids Camp - Day One

This week is our kids' knitting camp here at the shop. Because my kids are attending the camp, I decided to un-involve myself in the actual teaching! You know how your children can get more frustrated around you than they do around others... so Shawn is our camp director and Emily is her right hand. We've all been working for weeks to prepare for the camp - luckily there will not be much prep work before our August 3rd camp - since we've already done it all!

We had 6 kids this morning - all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Shawn took them all into the classroom and they started the day learning about different fibers. What an enthusiastic and smart group of kids! There was lots of discussion and laughter... they played a game where they matched up the picture of the animal with the type of fiber it produces. There was some confusion (and giggles, of course!) because an alpaca = alpaca fiber, a llama = llama fiber, a cow = cow fiber... NO WAIT! That's not right. A cow produces milk, and milk is a fiber in some yarns (like Kollage Half n Half). Anyway, there were lots of laughs about the "cow yarn".

They also learned that angora comes from an angora rabbit, but not from an angora goat. Cashmere comes from an angora goat. So it's not all as easy as it sounds, but they all mastered it and moved on to swatching. We have a great swatch notebook, and each child is creating one of her own.

They won't finish this many swatches this week, but all the instructions are there and they can take it home and round out their own swatch notebook long after camp ends. Look at this concentration!

And smiles. We like smiles!

Tomorrow is dye-day. They will each be dying 3 small hanks of Cascade 220. These are some examples from Suzie, who is coming in to co-teach on this topic with Shawn and Emily. This will be a fun activity!