Hand Dyeing Kits & BIG Berroco weekend coming up!

First up, a BIG reminder that Andra (our Berroco sales rep) will be here next Saturday from about 9:30am - 3pm. And we will be having a big Berroco sale that day in the shop! She was here yesterday showing me the new Spring '07 Berroco yarns (they are great!) and she brought up a LOT of garments - some from Berroco and some of her own, using Berroco yarns. We will have all of them for you to see in person. They are so inspiring!

Our favorite is the Foliage Fleur Shrug, from the cover of book #247. I wasn't too sure about this sweater from the picture. But when I tried it on I was sold. It is comfortable, cozy, lightweight, and FUN! We all agree, it's an awesome sweater. And it's here for you to see! Andra had just returned from Stitches and she said that jacket was the hit of the show. People were snapping it up right and left.

Another favorite is Andra's own pattern - the Cabin Lap Throw, which uses 5 different Berroco yarns and is a simple wave stitch. I put together 5 really pretty color combinations for the website and can't wait to knit one up for the shop. I think were going to do the blue colorway.

So next Saturday, November 18th, come in, get inspired and $AVE on Berroco yarns! If you're in a rut, Andra will get you moving on your holiday knitting. Bring needles if you want to swatch some yarns, or we'll supply them if you forget.

So Barb, Michele and I took home our Louet sock kits, and dyed our sock yarn this weekend. It was so fun to come in on Monday morning and see how each other's yarns came out. It is so much fun and it is so EASY. What a great project!Here are the steps. Soak yarn in Meadows Wool Wash.

Prepare dyeing surface with plastic wrap.

Lay yarn on surface, side by side.

Have fun with your colors (all three of them).

...TA DA!

Wrap each skein in plastic wrap.

Put all three skeins inside of two Ziploc storage bags.

Microwave for 4 minutes once, and then turn over, and another 4 minutes.

Take out. HOT! Squeeze out excess liquid.

Hang to dry.

When dry, wash again in wool wash. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Dry. ENJOY!

New yarns, samples and some acrobatic kitties

It's been a hectic week for me - each day I've been coming and going... dentist appointment, early pick up for Halloween, hernia appointment, teacher's conferences, etc. But we all worked hard to completely rearrange more than half of the sport/dk weight room. We had to make space for Colinette Cadenza, a 100% merino that is hand painted, and machine washable. It's so soft and gorgeous, and I REALLY hope it arrives today! If not, I will have to find another knitting project for the weekend. I am about 30 minutes away from finishing a little Minnowknits pattern with Berroco Pure Merino. It's wonderful to knit with Pure Merino, and at 4-4.5 stitches to the inch, it's quick too. Which is great because it means almost instant satisfaction... and not so great, since it means I am then out of a knitting project. (Hope the Cadenza arrives!)

We got in our remaining colors of Plymouth Tweed, so I was able to put those up on the website. Tweed is a gorgeous yarn from Plymouth. The colors are incredible, and the yarn is a soft 100% virgin lambswool. I can't wait to knit with this yarn.

Joy has been knitting samples for us now for a few months, and without her help, we would not be able to keep up with all of the new yarns we keep getting. Thanks Joy! The other day she sent us the Organik sweater and it is just gorgeous. We've been doing really well with both Organik and Terra, from the Fiber Company. Both yarns are beautiful, and wonderful to work with. This pattern for the Organik sweater is from Design Source Cotton Collection #1. It is a great looking sweater.

We sent her a Cabin Fever pattern last week and some Cascade Fixation and that should be back here tomorrow. Do you know that you can get 5 stitches to the inch on a 9 or a 10 US? And it looks great at that gauge. What a perfect sweater yarn for kids - comfy, stretchy and washable. Don't just think socks for Fixation!

Two of our sweaters in the shop (and online) have become best sellers. The first is the Cropped Cardigan which is made with two strands of Blue Sky Melange. We have this on the mannequin, and as soon as people see it, they want it. It's a really cute sweater, and because there is no button, it looks amazing with a Gita Maria pin at the neck. The second is the Shaped Cardigan - a Classic Elite pattern that we knit up with Berroco Ultra Alpaca. The sweater is SO flattering, and such a classic design, that it can be worn for years and years. The Ultra Alpaca was a perfect choice for this sweater - it has a beautiful drape.

Yesterday we received our Louet hand dyeing sock kits. These are so great! They're available in five colorways - reds, browns, blues, pinks and greens and they are the perfect gift for sock knitters who want to dye their own yarn! Barb took a blue kit, I took a green kit and Michele took a brown one. We're going to show the results of our dying next week. The yarn in the kits is the GEMS fingering weight yarn by Louet, a super soft merino yarn with a unique twist that gives it great loft, elasticity and stitch definition. These kits will hopefully be online by this afternoon!

We have a number of new samples in the works - a 3/4 sleeve woman's sweater out of Berroco Pure Merino, a very classic raglan pullover out of Cleckheaton Country Silk 8-ply, another Cabana Shawl.. but this time out of just one color of CTH Thick & Thin, a cute baby sweater with a nice lace pattern out of the new colors of Dreambaby DK, a lace wrap out of CTH Cascade Fingering... we are busy.

We also sorted through all of the donations we've received so far for COTS. Remember, we are taking donations of new, knitted items through December 20th. Then we will then take them to COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter) in Burlington. We've had a really nice response so far from our local customers, Remember - sweaters are welcome too! Maybe pull out that sweater you've never finished, that's been sitting in your stash for years, and finish it and bring/send it in. Hats, scarves and mittens are awesome, but socks and sweaters in any size are also nice! We will be giving away two $75 gift cards - one to a local and one to an internet customer.

Have you all started your holiday lists? Last night my daughters did, and they each have a theme going. Helen wants a lot of I-Pod things, including an I-Pod, and everything needs to be blue. Sophie is asking for an assortment of American Girl Doll accessories, like hair things, ice skates, crutches and bandages... It's pretty clear I need to help them to round out these lists so they are not putting all their eggs in one basket.

The best "toys" I have ever gotten them have been the kittens. They carry them around all the time. The other night they were handing out Halloween candy at the front door, while holding the cats like baby dolls in their arms. I kept hearing "Trick or Treat! AWWWW... cute kitties! Can I pet them?" I think the cats were more well received than the candy.

The cats love to be pushed around the house in the doll stroller. Helen even gives them pretend bottles... And all of this is tolerated by Maisy and Lucy (luckily).

They are even teaching them to read! (Lucy! Pay attention!)

So with all of this attention that is being showered on these little kitties, they will surely grow up to be well rounded cats.

I recently learned that they might have a future as world class gymnasts. I was watching TV and knitting the other night. They like to sleep on top of the entertainment cupboard, which is about 6 1/2 feet tall. The basement door was open, and when open, it is near the entertainment cupboard. All of a sudden I sensed that the door was moving and I looked over to see this:

What this picture does not show is that the door was moving. They were both balanced on top of the door, and with each movement they made, the door swayed back and forth. They must really enjoy it, as it's become a nightly routine.

UPS just came! I'm all set for my knitting this weekend - the Cadenza arrived!

You can't judge a yarn by it's label

I have always been a bit of a label snob. My sales reps laugh at me when I see and touch a new yarn, but then shrink away from it when I see the label. I always wonder why yarn companies come out with great new yarns, and then slap a cheap looking or badly-designed label on them. I have decided against bringing in new yarns simply because the label is so cheap looking that it detracts from the yarn itself. (It's all in the presentation, people!)

I almost didn't buy this new yarn from Plymouth. At first sight (not touch) I said "no way!" It wasn't so much the label this time, it was more the name... OH MY! Yes, with the exclamation point. Bad name. Really really bad name.
But then I touched it. And my reaction was... Oh My XXXXXX (put in whatever word you would use when something is BEYOND description.) This yarn is so soft, cuddly, scrumptious, cozy, velvety... well I can't pick just one adjective. I still think the name is awful, but I am a believer in the product. It's a great pick for babies and kids. Plymouth had some adult colors available in this yarn, but none of them were spectacular, so we're targeting it for kids with 8 kid friendly colors.
I started a little hooded pullover with it last night and loved working with it. It's on size 10 needles and very reasonable at just $5 a ball. And machine wash and dry!

SALE this Saturday!

Just a reminder - we are having a sale on all Rowan and Jaeger yarns this Saturday only in the shop (not online - sorry!) Our sales rep will be here and if you want to swatch Rowan or Jaeger DK & Sport weight yarns, just call the shop at (802) 288-9200 ext 4 to sign up for a slot. Bring your own needles (size 5 and 6 US) and you'll get to knit with the following yarns:

Rowan

Cashsoft DK

Felted Tweed

Silk Wool DK

Wool Cotton

Tapestry

Jaeger

Matchmaker DK

Roma

And ALL Rowan and Jaeger yarns will be on sale in the shop. If you swatch one of the dk/sport weight yarns and end up buying it, you'll save an extra 5% on that yarn.

Don't miss it!

A great new yarn and a borrowed stitch

I started a men's scarf last night out of Soffice, a new yarn from Lana Grossa. This yarn is fabulous! I can imagine a gorgeous men's sweater knit with this yarn... it's a blend of extrafine merino, cashmere and acrylic, and it's machine washable. I'm doing an easy stitch pattern on size 10 US needles. It's worked over an odd number of stitches - the first row (WS) is knit, and the second row (RS) is K1b (p1, K1b)* repeat to end. The K1b is knit 1 in the stich below. My sister called the other day from work, and a coworker of hers was knitting a baby sweater. This two row pattern was in the sweater, and they were having a hard time figuring it out (it does seem weird on the first couple of rows!) I swatched it up, and it's really pretty - sort of like a slipped rib, which doesn't pull in as much as a real rib. And both sides are attractive, so I'd go as far as calling it reversible.

I had been looking for a nice stitch pattern to work up in a men's scarf with Soffice, and so I chose this one. Sometimes when we help our customers figure out a stitch, we end up borrowing it for something of our own. Barb also knit a hat for her husband out of this yarn. Trust me, it's lovely!

Playing Hookey

Today I skipped out of work to join my daughters and their classes for their annual hike of Mt. Philo, about a half an hour south of us. There were more than thirty 6-8 year olds, a few teachers and 12-15 parents. We are so lucky to live in such a beautfiul state. Look at the view across Lake Champlain toward New York state!

And the leaves are just gorgeous. Especially when the sun comes out! Though we didn't have much of that today.

One more...

Leaf Peepers 5K

Well, today was the day! After THE most beautiful day yesterday, I woke up at 7am to the sound of pouring rain. It wasn't supposed to start raining until later in the day but clearly that forecast was incorrect. By 8am it had stopped raining and even looked like it might clear up a bit. When Barb and Michele picked me up at 9:30am, it was chilly (52 degrees) but it looked like a pretty good day for a run. Here's a shot of some smiling faces pre-race:We drove to Waterbury, and it started to drizzle. A few miles later, it became a steady rain. A shame, as the foliage is probably close to peak, and it was pretty foggy and we couldn't see much of it. We arrived in the parking lot, and sat in the car for about 10 minutes. NOT to escape the rain. Why? Well... we actually couldn't decide what to wear. How typical! Shorts or tights? Short sleeved shirt or long sleeved shirt? Or both? Rain jacket or fleece? We still had over 45 minutes to the start of the race, so we knew we'd be soaked, and we all wanted to start off as dry as possible.

We finally made our clothing choices, and headed over to register for the race. We checked in, figured out how to attach our chips, got our race t-shirts, used the port-o-lets, and headed back to the car to dump our jackets. We jogged over to the start, and waited under a tree until the gun went off. And then we ran. It was a lot of fun - and had the weather been better we would have had a gorgeous run through red and orange colored hills.

We each ran at our own pace, beat our previous times, and had a great time. We saw people of all shapes and sizes - further proving that you can do anything if you set your mind to it. We saw several of our customers from the shop who were running, and though I didn't see you Carlie, WOW I am impressed at your stellar pace in the half marathon. (I checked coolrunning.com for the results after the race.) You rock, and I am inspired to keep going.

In non-running news - I did my first needle felting this weekend. It's so much fun!

A great Christmas idea

Michele had a class last Friday for needle felting. She brought in two of her latest creations to show everyone - hand felted Christmas balls. They are adorable! The pink swirly ball was done with our Cherry Tree Hill Potluck Powder Puff roving. The snowman ball was done with Lamb's Pride (worsted or bulky, I forget!) Michele wanted it to have a more textured look than the pink ball, and it worked! So stay tuned! We are going to put together some classes in late October and November to teach people how to do these. Everyone in class was so excited that they promptly went downstairs and bought the rest of the needle felting tools, so we have more coming in today or tomorrow. I can't wait to try this!

Another set of twins

I had the day off yesterday, and picked up two of the cutest kitties - meet Maisy and Lucy. This was what they looked like more than 3 weeks ago when we went to pick them out. Yesterday they were a bit bigger - at just over 2.2 pounds each. They had a little visit to the vet, and then came home and crashed (in the LOVELY pink girlie bed that my daughters picked out for them!)They were successful in USING the litterbox, and also in PLAYING in it.
Today is a rainy Saturday so we're seeing a constant stream of knitters down in the shop. And we have a jovial bunch in Tom's Beginning Knitting class. It's always good to hear laughter coming from that class - it means it's a success.

Just in... new samples

The temperatures are nice and cool and we've seen a lot of people in this week looking for new projects. Barb finished her Diamanta Shawl out of Frog Tree and several people have picked that up for themselves. It is really beautiful - what an amazing pattern. Looks harder that it really is. Joy sent us a Malabrigo sweater - a cute shaped top down cardigan from Knitting Pure & Simple. It's adorable - that yarn really knits up nicely. We have a really cute patchwork scarf knit out of Frog Tree Alpaca - we just love Frog Tree. So much that we just brought in 6 new colors.
I was almost finished a cute short sleeved sweater out of Blue Sky Melange but oops. Checked my gauge at the beginning but not once I started knitting it. No WONDER it was like two sizes too big. It was so easy (a top down with nice ribbing at the bottom) but I just can't bear to re-knit it, so I am going to have someone else do it.

I actually finished my Koigu afghan the other night - I fringed it and it looks amazing. Picture to follow. Imagine my horror when I came downstairs this morning to find it in a heap on the floor in front of the couch. Helen or Sophie have to get a little better at caring for things, especially when I have made them! Another note on Koigu - all colors should be here by the end of next week. We cleared out a LOT of the old colors during our sale last week.

We can tell our newsletters have hit as the phone has been ringing off the hook with class signups, and people have been flocking in to see the new things.

Fall Newsletters... and parking reminder

The fall newsletters have been printed and are being mailed either today or tomorrow. We're about a week behind when we usually send them out - sorry! With a busier than normal summer, it took me longer to put it together, and then there were a couple of small delays at the printers. They go bulk mail, so they should start hitting your mailboxes in a few days. These get mailed to our in-store mailing list - they do not go out to email subscribers. Once they start hitting the actual mailboxes, I will copy and paste the text and put it up on the website for all others to see.

This week Betsy is off, so we're covering shipping for her. Yesterday it was SO busy with the Kersti sale. I was in shipping and it took forever just to box orders - we had pulled so much yarn that I couldn't even unload more than 1/3 of it at a time onto the shipping tables. Anyway, when I was in shipping, I realized that as Betsy is packing and shipping all of our orders each day, she really has a great view of the parking lot and who is coming and going. Yesterday our lot was full for most of the day, with lots of out-of-state cars. But also with a lot of locals. And at times, the air was tense with people jockeying for parking spots.

LOCALS - please remember to park in the Municipal Lot! Part of what makes us a great shop is the great following we have, and that following is getting bigger and bigger with people who drive a long distance to see us. They aren't familiar with the Municipal Lot, so when they drive into our lot and turn the corner and happen upon 6 or 7 cars, practically on top of each other, and then they try to get out of our lot (which is almost impossible when you have NO place to turn around)... anyway, I think you get my point. Let's make it easy for everyone to get in to the shop. And by parking in the Municipal Lot, you may have to walk... what, like an extra 20-30 steps? It's a good way to get in shape.

It also goes without saying... try to park responsibly (in the lines.) And those two little areas with bricks? Those are called sidewalks. As in FOR WALKING. Do NOT park on top of them - how can you expect people to get around your car? I can't begin to tell you what we've seen in the lot over the past week. Maybe it's just the cool weather, freaking everyone out and making them forget how to park, because they are MADLY rushing in to buy yarn. Whatever it is, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth a couple of times. Then park responsibly. Please.

Last night I finished a bulky bolero out of Reynolds Smile. It's really cute and worked up on size 11 needles in no time at all.

Now I've started another similar sweater out of Blue Sky Melange, a new heathered BABY alpaca that is SO lovely. It is double stranded on an 11. I know I didn't get very far last night, but I had to bring it in today so everyone could fondle it - it is like butter!

I am working on a herringbone scarf out of Blue Sky Brushed Suri. It's really gorgeous, but I am doing it on Addis and I probably should switch to Bamboo - it's a bit slippery. I also need to do some blocking - I have a little sweater out of Blue Sky Worsted that just needs blocking and one end woven in. And I have to block the Vintage Knits cover sweater - out of Felted Tweed. And that needs buttons too.

We sent a few things off to Joy to knit last week - a Malabrigo sweater, a little newborn set out of Blue Sky Royal, and a Classic Elite cardigan pattern done in Berroco Ultra Alpaca. She cranks through the samples and does a beautiful job, so those should be done soon.

Kim finished a cute kids hate (with earflaps!) and mitten set done in Encore Colorspun. That will be put online sometime this week. And she also did a simple (but beautiful) scalloped scarf with two skeins of Malabrigo. She is working on a pair of ribbed armwarmers in 2 colors of Blue Sky Melange.

India knit us a domino patchwork baby blanket out of Encore and Encore Colorspun, This is the blanket she is teaching the class on. It is ADORABLE! I just put it down in the shop today, and it's been the center of attention in the back room. What an easy yet perfect idea for anyone making a baby gift. The best part is that you can just make it bigger and it's an afghan. You can go crazy with colors, too. There are many great combinations.

Sheep & Wool Festival & things on sale tomorrow!

Well my girls are back in school after a somewhat rough start. Sophie missed the first two days (fever), Helen missed the second day (fever), and on the fourth day Helen slipped off the monkey bars, split her chin open and got three stitches. (The folks in the ER couldn't believe how brave she was.) I hope we're out of the woods for at least the next week or so! The Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival is at the Champlain Valley Expo Center this weekend. It is usually in October, but they moved it up by a whole month this year. We expect to be busy in the shop. We normally run our tent sale at the same time as the S&W Festival, but we are not having it this year for a number of reasons. But because we know we'll be busy with S&W go-ers, we've done a MAJOR pattern cleanout and are offering some great patterns for $1 or less! We also will have Lamb's Pride on sale (in the shop ONLY) on Saturday, as well as a NUMBER of other yarns at great prices.

We have a couple of great sweaters in on loan from Unique Kolours and Jaeger. This basic pullover is knit with Prism and is really nice. And this cardigan in Roma is adorable - the details on the trims, pockets, and sleeve cuffs are fantastic.

Many many new samples

When I got back from vacation on Monday, we all had a show and tell with the things we've finished recently. Betsy finished her Einstein Jacket (from the Knit Stitch) out of Lamb's Pride Bulky in Khaki #18. And believe it or not, it was cold enough last Sunday that she WORE it! She said it was really chilly and windy, and the jacket was perfect at cutting out most of the wind.

Michele brought in her Tara Jacket in Berroco Trilogy. The pattern is on the cover of Berroco Book #254/Trilogy. The jacket is just adorable - really flattering. She did a great job, and we can't wait for her to wear it! Barb brought in a number of things - she finished the lacy camisole out of Colinette Lasso. It's really pretty by itself, and would look great under a nice jacket for this fall/winter.

She also finished a really cool sweater (Lacy Sleeved Pullover) in Cleckheaton Studio Mohair 8-ply. The sleeves are worked first, and then you pick up and knit down for the front and the back. It's really a nice design with a great fit.

She started the Diamanta Shawl (she's using Frog Tree Alpaca) and brought that in to show us. It's so neat and fun to do. She's teaching a lace class on this so if you want to sign up, stop in or give us a call!

She's finishing the sleeve caps on a Giotto sweater that one of our sample knitters knit for us this summer. We thought there was an error in the instructions for the sleeve, and we called Colinette, but they never got back to us about it and so we're going to figure it out on our own. The sweater is adorable - with a ruffled collar and ruffles on the sleeves. Barb's mom was nice enough to make us the Strawberry Lace Scarf out of the Cleckheaton Studio Mohair (this is a NICE yarn!) It's really cute and a pretty simple lace pattern.
My little top down childrens pullover sweater is finished - we ALL love the yarn (Lang Mille Colori.) There are so many colors in each ball. It's a blend of wool and acrylic, and it's washable and soft. Perfect for kids and adults.Berroco sent us a little baby kimono sweater out of Pure Merino. This yarn is a big hit - so soft, washable, great colors. We love it. We just got in assorted wooden shawl pins from Frog Tree Alpaca. They are lightweight, so they won't pull too much on your shawl, and they work great on all weights of yarn. They are $38 and will be online soon.