New Colors of Broadway Ruffle Yarn, now in stock!

Because our customers have all been asking to be notified when each delivery of new ruffle yarns comes in, we thought it would save us time (and alert more folks), by posting it here. 

This will help, especially since some of these are going to be SOLD OUT for the season, once our quantities are gone. There is such demand for these yarns that the all the manufacturers we buy them from think there will be shortages again this year.

So today's new colors of ruffles are in Euro Yarns Broadway:

It's Baaaaack!

Close your eyes, and think back to a time about 5-7 years ago, when novelty yarns were all the rage. Eyelashes weren't just on your eyes, they were on your scarves, and in every yarn shop across the country, including ours. 

I'm not saying we're going to be overrun with eyelash yarns again, but novelties are definitely back for the coming fall and winter season. We've already seen the rage with ruffle yarns (and there are some interesting new ruffle yarns coming out soon, just you wait!) and now we're seeing some old faces back in the crowd, like eyelash yarns.

We have ordered several of the better eyelashes, and the first one has arrived. It's by KFI and it's called Flutter. We've got 6 colors that are quite beautiful. We could have ordered some crazier colors, but we really felt that to do eyelash right (right NOW) we needed to stick to more elegant, rich colors.

So get those brains a spinning! Of course you can add this to any old beautiful scarf yarn, and it will look great in a felted bag, and pretty in a necklace... but what new things will you come up with this time around?

Happy New Year!

It's been a busy week here in the shop. We've had so much fun seeing customers from out of town! And it's been great to see our local customers who are coming in to the shop with friends and family who are in Vermont for the holiday.

This week Barb and I have been meeting with sales reps every day, checking out new spring yarns. They are also showing us a few new wintery yarns that are available for immediate shipment. We did order some, so in the coming weeks you will see new sock yarns, new kids' machine washable yarns and new novelties, including a couple more ruffle yarns and even a yarn with feathers! (Trust me, the feather yarn is cool... it's not for everybody, but we felt it was unique and definitely worth bringing in for select customers!)

We've had fun sharing projects, too! I brought some projects back from Finland, including my Shadow Shawl:

and a cute little baby sweater I made using the new Berroco Versa yarn. The pattern for this sweater will be available soon.

Emily brought in the coolest mittens today - striped with 2 colors of Berroco Flicker. 

And even though these would have been nice and cozy with just the Flicker, she took it a step further and added a super cozy lining of Chic Fleece. This novelty yarn is mostly used for furry scarves, but Emily chose it as a liner because it's 65% superwash merino wool. So not only is it super soft and fuzzy (perfect inside a mitten) but it's also really warm. 

What a delight to slip your hand into this mitten, and be surprised by the lining that you didn't know was there!

A sales rep the other day showed us a great felted accessory bag that was knit with Noro Kureyon. It's a really great beginner knitting project and after felting, you attach it to a clear (or colored) vinyl accessory bag, like the ones we sell in the shop.

Shawn is our resident felter here, so I am going to save this for her to felt. Beginners, look for a class on this in the next couple of months!

The other day in the shop we were looking at the Trendsetter Dune yarn. I wanted to make a hat in it but I knew I'd need to combine it with another yarn that had some body to it. Barb and I grabbed several colors of Dune and went over to the Berroco Vintage shelf. There are so many excellent color combinations that you can make with these two yarns. Because the Dune is so gorgeous, we knew that a hat in stockinette would be the best.

The easy rolled brim hat I made reminds me of the old Chinchilla rolled brim hat we had years ago, only this one is kicked up a few notches!

Emily also made up a new scarf up for the shop. It's with the new Knitting Fever Broadway yarn, which has a neat metallic edge on it. It's been very popular so far, especially during this holiday week! 


I hope you are all working on some fun projects this holiday week too!

Barb is working on the Hitchhiker shawl in the Ella Rae Lace Merino yarn. She says it's so fun and addicting! 

And she just finished the Popcorn Baby Blanket out of Berroco Circus and Peter Pan Tinkerbell. This was such a quick knit, and remember there are excellent color combinations for this project. We just had some folks in today who found out their friend just got pregnant. They were picking out projects for newborns. This blanket is just the ticket.

Remember we are closing at 2pm on Saturday, closed all day Sunday, and we WILL BE CLOSED on Monday, January 2nd, so my staff can start of the New Year with a well deserved day of rest. Happy New Year!

A quick peek at some of the new fall yarns

New yarns, new yarns! From novelties, to super bulkies, and ruffles to chainette, we’ve got em!

This year novelty yarns are back, but they’re not like the novelty yarns of 4-5 years ago. They’re packed with different colors, fibers and textures. A couple of my favorites are Trendsetter Venus and Trendsetter Rendezvous. These are colorful and soft, and great for quick hats and scarves. (Excuse the watermarks!)

Another popular trend this season is using super chunky yarns like Berroco Link and Trendsetter Orbit… We’ve got size 35 and 50 needles for these yarns. Talk about instant gratification!

And ruffles are everywhere… We’ve got Knitting Fever Flounce, Knitting Fever Triana and Trendsetter Flamenco to satisfy all of you ruffle fiends. These yarns can be knit by themselves, but try adding in a few rows at a time to accessories for a really great look.

Another big thing this year… chainette construction yarns that knit up quickly and a warm and are super lightweight. Rowan Alpaca Chunky and Plymouth DeAire are two examples, and are both great for cozy accessories and sweaters.

Take me to the moon, if you want to...

Diana N. came in to the shop a few weeks ago to ask us for some assistance with a project and we all went 'Ooooohhhh!' the minute it came out of her knitting bag. One of Diana's daughters decided just after last Halloween that she was going to dress up as the Moon next year.

Well, we recently got some new yarn that just sparkles in a cool silvery way and Diana thought of course the Moon will need a scarf. So she bought a couple of balls of the Stacy Charles Crystal and is working a very simple garter stitch scarf to be part of the costume.

The photo certainly doesn't do it justice. She has since finished the scarf - and it's just gorgeous. We hope to get a photo of her daughter's complete outfit next fall!

Bling!

Last week's rain left me feeling a little "blah". I decided I need a little pick-me-up.

As my 16 year old daughter will verify, I do not have a flashy wardrobe. To combat the rainy weather blues, I decided to add a little bling to my wardrobe. But, I still wanted to stay within my comfort zone.

I grabbed a new pattern, Shirl's Mittlets by Cabin Fever, and a fun sparkly yarn, with just the right amount of flash, Lanalux by Lang. The pattern is great - it covers fingering, dk, worsted and aran weight! And I chose one of the new jewel tones.

The result: surprisingly soft hand warmers with just enough glitter to make me (and everyone who has seen them!) smile. And my daughter approves!

Are you seeing ruffles?

We're seeing a lot of ruffles around here. From bathing suits, to trims on sweaters, and now yarns that create their own ruffles! It's definitely a trend that's catching on. Today's novelty yarns hold an important place in the yarn shop. Everybody wants them, but they want them to be unique and special. Not like novelties of 4 and 5 years ago. I think you'll agree, these "rufflers" are certainly unique!

When my rep showed me the first yarn (Flounce, from KFI), I was completely unimpressed. To see the yarn in ball form, well, it just doesn't move you. But when you see THIS: you're sold in an instant. Flounce is not knitted like other yarns, though. You'll want to watch this little video before you start, to be sure you don't get off on the wrong track!

The Flounce scarf is so much fun. Two skeins makes a generous adult scarf - and one skein will work perfectly for a younger adult or kid - you would just use fewer stitches.

Another new yarn that ruffles is Filatura di Crosa Operadarte. Opera d'arte means "work of art" in Italian. What a perfect name for this yarn! It's a ribbon yarn that has a mohair picot along one edge and square eyelets along the other edge. By carrying it along with a main yarn, and working through every other square eyelet, you can create a delicate ruffle. Here's a little scarf/shawlette that Barb just finished using Superior and Operadarte (1 each).Pattern is free with yarn purchase. Just ask for it when you buy it!

Don't you deserve a little bling?

We're having a super special on Tilli Tomas Mogul... it's normally $28 on sale for JUST $16! That's 40% off! That's a great deal for this beautiful beaded wool. It's 80 yards of super soft wool strung with gorgeous glass beads. We have 5 luscious colors: Pinecone, Ruby Wine, Black Cherry, Iced Latte and Black.

Mogul is the same yarn as the very popular Tilli Tomas Flurries, but the beads are larger. This gives you way more BLING per square inch. I was really torn between Black, Black Cherry and Ruby Wine, but I ended up choosing the Ruby Wine. I decided to make a quick hat with a soft internal brim. For the brim I picked Bristol Yarn Gallery King George - one of the softest yarns (IMO) in the shop. I knit a little more than 2" in stockinette, did a turning purl ridge, and then changed to the Mogul.

Do you know that most eyelash-y or beaded yarns require a little work to have the full novelty effect appear on the stockinette side? That's right. The hairy stuff and the beads will always gravitate toward the purl side. So if you are doing a hat in stockinette stitch, more than half of your beads will end up on the inside. Don't worry about it. Just knit away, and at the end, flip your hat inside out and gently press each bead so that it goes through to the stockinette side. This will take some time, but it's SO worth it. This shows you my progress on bead poking.

I would be finished this hat, but dummy me... I grabbed two skeins of this yarn that did not match. You can see the difference: No worries, Tracy from Tilli Tomas is sending more Ruby Wine so I will be able to finish my bling-licious hat early next week. I can't wait to wear it!

Today we received new colors of Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica. Hopefully they will be online by tomorrow, but I can say they are SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! Unlike anything I have seen. Just you wait!

We were also supposed to receive our backorders this past Wednesday, but there was a screwup on their end, and they did not come. Nor were they in the boxes we received today. So... many frustrated phone calls later, we have been assured that the remaining yarns that we (and many of you) have been waiting months for, are in boxes that will be picked up by UPS today in Philadelphia and delivered here in Vermont on Tuesday of next week. We're very sorry. This is completely out of our hands and we're as frustrated as those of you who are waiting.

Have a great weekend!