Be Sweet scarf

Last Wednesday was my 14th wedding anniversary. Marc was involved in a big seminar all week, so we took a rain check on a night out, and went on Saturday, instead. We took the girls and went for a lovely meal at The Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero. It was my second time there, and definitely NOT my last. I've mentioned it to more than 10 people in the past few days, and they've never heard of it.

So, I'm spreading the word. It's one of those great finds that, once you finally eat there, you can't imagine HOW you never knew of it's extistence before. If you are a local - give it a try on your next special night out. And if you're visiting the area, it's a nice place to put on your list of things to do.

Here's a shot of some amazing appetizers - some yummy tuna and some delicious crab cakes.

It was a delicious meal, as always, and the drive to and from South Hero couldn't have been any more gorgeous.

We got a nice family shot on the way back. What a beautiful spot we live in...

And now, may I present my Be Sweet scarf - 1 Magic Ball and 1 Ribbon Ball - knit lengthwise - 120 stitches on a size 11 needle.

LOVE it. What a fun knit - and that's an honest opinion from a non-mohair person. I really liked knitting with the mohair! It looks very boutique-y! These yarns should be online tomorrow, but our locals and quilt show visitors have already snapped up half of the first shipment. We're reordering today!

And magically, it appeared

That's the Be Sweet box we're talking about. It was delayed in MA last week, and I checked our incoming UPS log this morning, and it was no longer showing up in the system! We'd been tracking it all the way across the country, and POOF - it was gone. We were a bit concerned, but we waited until our UPS delivery came, and as I said, it MAGICALLY appeared.

And speaking of magic... these are the Magic Balls. They are incredible! Barb was unloading the box and a customer from Canada bought several Magic Balls, Boucle Mohairs and Ribbon Balls before she could even get them all unloaded! She was down for the big Quilt Show this week, and was excited to see the Be Sweet and Tilli Tomas yarns.

I started and finished my Janine Hat this weekend. SO cute. And really fun to knit. If you're tired of the same old same old hat knit in the round, try this one. It's in Jasper (one of my FAVORITE merinos) and was a really quick knit. I chose a new fun color of Jasper and I quite like it! Not like I can wear it for a while though. What I really need is to knit myself some sort of rain hat.I also finished a really pretty lace scarf - knit with the Tilli Tomas Milan. It's a gorgeous blend of merino, silk and cashmere, and can you believe I knit this out of just ONE skein? That's right. It's 6"x42" and I wouldn't want it any longer. At $16.50, that's a deal (or steal?) The pattern is being printed and will be ready within the week. Then it will be online as well.

Claudia Handpaints

Brand new - what bright and fun colors! Come on in and check them out!
They'll be online next week.

Edited to add - they're online now!

Good news, bad news

Well, I always like to start with the bad news... to get it over with. The Be Sweet shipment ran into a weather delay somewhere along the way, and it won't be in until Monday. Boo hoo. Okay, moving on....

The good news, well, really the GREAT news! Some of you may have seen a little survey that now pops up on our site from time to time. Now don't worry, you don't HAVE to take it. Just click the NO button and it will go away. I just turned it on Wednesday morning at 6am. And within 24 hours I had hundreds of responses. (That's just the beginning of the good news!)

Lots of you spent time writing comments about what you loved about our site. We are so thankful for the feedback - it's so satisfying to know that what we do is appreciated! The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, though there were a few great comments that we are already addressing...

A few of you said you don't like the fact that our pattern booklets (ie: ones that have instructions for multiple sweaters, etc on the inside) did not show detail pictures from the inside of the booklets - they only showed the front cover. Hey, I agree!

If it were EASY to get all of those images we'd do it in a heartbeat, but it's not always that simple. Some companies can get us the images on CD. Others tell us to get them from their websites - but then we have to do a "save-as" on hundreds of images. I don't mind that, but there are only so many hours in the day. And then there are some companies that don't do CDs, and don't have detailed websites. That means we have to SCAN all the images ourselves. So we're right back at the "only so many hours in a day" thing.

But, I'm happy to say, that even though it's way more time consuming to get these images posted on the site, I hear you, and we're doing something about it. Look at what magically happened to many of our Berroco pattern booklets this morning!
Next up, Classic Elite, Tahki, Nashua Handknits, Rowan, Colinette and Manos. I have some CDs coming, and pretty soon we'll have way more info for you on our pattern booklet pages.

So a big thank you to those of you who made the comments. We can't be EVERYTHING to EVERYBODY, but we really do try to be the best that we can be.

Be Sweet Friday

I'm SO excited - our UPS log says that our Be Sweet shipment is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Kalen and I moved some things around in the front of the shop this morning to make some space. We have several yarns coming, but most of them are only coming in a few colors - the rest will be here in a few more weeks.

BUT the Magic Balls - the ones I am MOST psyched for - are coming tomorrow in all but 2 colors that we ordered. YAY! Can't wait to play with it!

Baby washcloths, in organic cotton

Today we looked out the window to find an intruder in the front yard.
It's not everyday you see a backhoe digging up a big section of your front yard. There is quite a bit of roadwork in the village this summer, which has really NOT affected any traffic, much to my surprise. On our street they're just replacing the water main that's located on the other side of the street. They're trying to find where they can attach the temporary water supply to our house. And guess what? They can't find it. :)

They could run the temporary supply in through a basement window, but then the window would be open for over a week, and the building would be unsecure. Not good! Also, I didn't think my customers would appreciate stepping (or tripping) OVER an annoying water hose each time they came or left, so I told them to keep digging. I feel very UN-stressed about this. Hey, it needs to be done. Sure, it's an inconvenience and it makes a mess, but why waste time worrying about it? So I'm not!

My latest project is a set of organic cotton baby washcloths. What a great idea for a baby gift! I chose three balls of the Rowan Purelife Cotton (which is on sale this week, online... by the way!) and made my first one in half double crochet with a single crochet edging. I really like it! I'm going to knit one next, but I need to come up with a pattern first. I like these because the yarn is so soft, and it's organic cotton dyed with all natural plant dyes. The shades are so soft - they're really lovely. I think three balls will make a nice gift of 3 washcloths, a tiny hat and perhaps even a set of booties. Not bad!



This is the first week of summer for us. The girls are spending the week at a camp at UVM. So far so good. Their favorite part is archery - though Sophie says she still hasn't gotten her arrow on the board. But wow, what a great attitude she had about it. She still loves it, and she just keeps trying harder. I love when you see that kind of personal growth in your children!

Today was SO busy in shipping. We got the Norah Gaughan books in yesterday. We have shipped over 60 of them and we have another 70+ coming in tomorrow and almost all of them are spoken for already. LOTS of international orders. We've sold a lot of the other Berroco pattern books as well. They are just GREAT this season.

"A little late... but with lots of love" -or- "A wedding gift, completed"

Either would be a good title to this post! A customer of ours - and it's been years now, so let's also say "friend!" - Lindsay B. just emailed us the other day, with proof that her never-ending-afghan-knitting-and-putting-together project for her sister and brother-in-law has finally been completed! She used Plymouth Encore and Encore Colorspun, and made millions (ok, I'm exaggerating) of squares. Portable? Yes. An easy knit? Yes. A finishing nightmare? Yes again.


Read her email to us, below. Can you just FEEL how excited she is to be FINITO with this project?

Hello Kyarns Ladies!
I just wanted to let you know that I FINALLY finished my sister's wedding blanket - only a year late, but who's keeping score? Attached are a couple of photos of the blanket in its new home and with its new owners... apparently I'm psychic because I chose the colors and started knitting the squares before my sister and her husband picked out their new living room furniture - and it matches perfectly, as you can see!
Thank you so much for all your help, especially Kalen and Michele, for helping me choose colors, pep talking me when I thought I was done and discovered I had only knit half of the required number of squares, and for
showing me how to sew all 221 squares together. It was definitely a team effort and if Laura and Chris ever get divorced, I get the blanket back - and I'll bring it in to show you in person!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lindsay B
(and Laura and Chris F)


Thanks Lindsay, for letting me share your email. I intentionally cropped this detail shot of the blanket - no offense to Laura and Chris! But look how GORGEOUS those seams are!!! Even on the underside, they are a sight to behold. So it's another success story - GREAT job Lindsay!

A shawl fit for Graduation Day

Several weeks ago, I purchased a new dress for Andrew’s graduation. The graduation is this Sunday. The dress is sleeveless, and you never know what the weather will be like in Vermont in June, so I thought it would be nice to knit a shawl to go with it.

So about two weeks ago, on my day off, I made a special trip to the shop to look for the perfect yarn. And I found it! In the basket on the front table we had one skein of Tilli Tomas Rock Star in the color Novea Melon. It matched perfectly with the dress, and the beads on it were a spectacular color! I figured I'd need one or two more skeins, so I went upstairs to check the back stock.

Bad news. It was the last skein we had. Barb called Tilli Tomas, and got even more bad news. That color had been discontinued! So I had to figure out how to use just one skein, mix in something else that worked... and then what kind of pattern would be suited to two colors, and still work with my dress?

I had lots of help from Barb and Jill and we came up with a solution - I added a skein of Pure & Simple in a complimentary color. As you can see, the finished shawl is gorgeous.

And believe me, it was quick! I was pressed for time, and easily finished this in time for the big event. I’m not one for lace work and I did make a couple of mistakes. But I brought it into work, and Barb helped me get back on track.

And since we've already had several customers asking about it, the pattern is now ready!

TIP

Barb also gave me a great tip for lace knitting! Run some dental floss through your row every 10 rows or so. If you drop a stitch, you can easily pull your work back to the dental floss, without worrying about royally messing up!

Berroco Fall yarns have hit the building!

Today we received (almost) our entire order of Berroco fall yarns. We got new colors of Jasper and Peruvia (yum yum!) and Geode, Palace, Pure Merino DK, Peruvia Quick and a few colors of Cuzco. So we have NOT yet gotten the Inca Gold and the rest of the Cuzco, but they'll be here soon.

The patterns for these yarns are SO great this year. Norah Gaughan's Volume 3 just blew me away when I saw it. She did an amazing job on this collection - we've been taking orders for the books and hers (as usual) is the front runner. We have a number of them that were ordered in the past few days and they were ordered from people in England, Australia and New Zealand... and of course the US as well. Norah - your fans are all over the place!

I can't wait to knit with these yarns! I just love the new colors of Jasper (that was a favorite yarn of mine this past winter!) and Geode has to be my favorite new yarn. But it is hard to choose - they are all amazing.

Check them out - they're already online. Pattern booklets too. My swatches will be re-photographed - I had to borrow them from Berroco's website the other day and their swatches aren't as detailed as the ones I post. So by the end of this week I should be able to get that done.

I will edit links here later. Our site is down at the moment... that whole Level 3 Communications thing has been most problematic for us. Hmmmm.

WWKiP

For all you Burlington area knitters, mark this Saturday on your calendar! It's WWKiP (World Wide Knit in Public) Day.

That's right - head on down to City Hall Park at 10am on Saturday. Bring your knitting (crocheting, whatever!) and a blanket if you mind the ground, and join fellow yarn enthusiasts for some public knitting and fun.

There are free bathrooms nearby, and the Farmer's Market is going on - so don't miss it!

All organized by Tara from Burlington. Be sure to meet her and thank her in person on Saturday!

What's coming for fall

We're back. What a whirlwind trip. We left Burlington on Friday morning and landed in a sea of fog, clouds, low ceiling, etc. in La Guardia. All sorts of delays getting into and out of La Guardia. The joys of summer travel, when it's 90 degrees (plus!) outside, and the threat of major thunderstorms can really screw up your trip! We were lucky to only be delayed by about an hour or so, and when we landed in Columbus and stepped outside to grab a cab, it was like being smacked in the face with a really WET, really HEAVY, wool blanket. Heat and humidity like I don't care to experience again. (But hey, now it's in Burlington!)

Going into the show at 8am on Saturday, I was really hoping I'd be WOWed by something. And I wasn't disappointed! We had a private early (pre-show) meeting with Nadine from Be Sweet. I had seen Be Sweet yarns before, but I was thrilled to get the opportunity to sit down with Nadine for an hour, one on one. In addition to having some really wonderful and unique products, her company has a BIG warm fuzzy behind it - and we love the warm fuzzies. Be Sweet brings stylish, environmentally friendly yarns and accessories to socially aware consumers. They support job-creation programs in South Africa that help empower female artisans and villagers by giving them the means to support themselves. Some of the yarns we already stock, like Manos del Uruguay and Frog Tree, have these social missions as well. And when you combine a great product with a great story, you have a great addition to your product offering.

In the past few years, our customers have been asking more questions about yarns. Not only regarding content and gauge, but where is it made? Who makes it? Does the company do anything to give back? Or are they just in it to make money? We have found that people are interested in the story behind the yarn, and that's a good thing. I ordered several of Be Sweet's yarns - and I'm so excited to get them! We will have the Magic Ball (my favorite!), the Ribbon Ball, the Boucle Mohair and the Knobby Ball. Plus some really great patterns and some super fun Ostrich Feather tips - to attach to fringes. I'm sure you can't even BEGIN to imagine it just from reading this, but Nadine's yarns were the most fun and gorgeous (for me!) at the show, and I'm so psyched for when they arrive.

I also bought some other really great things, that will be a wonderful addition to what we already carry. So here's a preview of just a FEW of the things I ordered. They'll be arriving this summer, for fall:

• Lorna's Wool Needle Felting kits (this will be a class) - so fun for kids and adults. GREAT gift ideas.
• Awesome new Stitch Diva patterns (these are always top sellers!)
• Eastport Alpaca - this one is really fun, and comes from nearby Maine, and some beautiful Maine alpacas. And it's US made all the way, and we like that, too!
• Jil Eaton MinnowMerino - 100% merino, super wash in great colors for kids! Really nice book and patterns too.
• NAMASTE - Yep, I'm SO excited for this. Two bags - the Newport bag and the Laguna bag, and the SO hip Cali Clutch. I think my personal bag collection (already huge) is about to get bigger.
• Loop-d-Loop Moss - a really fun blend of extrafine merino and nylon. Technically a sport weight (on the label anyway!) but Teva Durham uses it on larger needles and the result is fantastic.
• Tahki Donegal Tweed - an old classic, and one that you folks have been asking for, so we're bringing it in!
• Tahki Montana - a 100% pure new wool in all natural colors. Some great patterns for this yarn!
• Filatura di Crosa Superior - a heavenly blend of cashmere and silk - amazing sweaters and scarves and more are made with this yarn.

There are more, but I'm going on and on and really have to get some work done!

We came away with some neat pattern ideas too, and we'll start working on those in the next few weeks. I think I'll be doing a lot of knitting in the near future!

A great baby gift

This spring we decided to change our stock colors of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. The new colors are SO great, so I was tempted to knit a little sample out of one of them.

I started with the Blue Sky patterns and immediately found the perfect one: The Baby Bonnet & Socks. I picked a fun color and took it along with me on a trip to visit my mom in CT. It was so quick - in fact I just finished up the I-cord ties and now it's done.

The pattern is written in two sizes. It's a great idea for all of those baby showers that seem to come up each summer!

Wet weather, wet wool

I'm off today but since the weather is pretty WET, I decided to stay inside this afternoon and finish up a few knitting projects. They are actually finished, but just need to be felted.

Saturday afternoon, as I was leaving work I grabbed some odds and ends from the felting basket, and started the Noni Oven Mitt. I made a size small, and took her advice... in the pattern she suggests tying square knots where the stripes start and end. I usually weave in all the ends, even though it's a long process. We'll see how her method works after it's felted. So this is what the inside of the mitt looked like after I finished knitting it: Then I tied my knots, which neatened it up a little:
Certainly looks cute from the outside, doesn't it?
That oven mitt was so quick that I decided to make another one (size medium) for one of the girls' teachers. I did modify the thumb, as I didn't care for the Noni directions. Remember, knitters... a pattern is only a guideline. Do what you need to do to make it work for YOU.
I also finished the Noni Yummy Lunch bag last week, so this will go into the machine at the same time as the oven mitts. I have a feeling that the lunch bag is going to be huge. The finished size listed on the pattern is more like a felted COOLER than a lunch bag. I mean, who eats THAT MUCH for lunch? So we'll see when it comes out of the wash... it's running right now.

Another thing I have to wash is my awesome Sin City scarf. I chose a simple reversible rib stitch which was easy and quick. I was told that this yarn MUST be knit on size 8 needles, and that you need to wash/dry it so that it felts a bit. Okay, sure. So I'll try that. This is pre-wash:
The girls are just getting off the bus, and now the basement smells like wet wool. Not a great smell when you walk into the house. Maybe it will prompt them to clean the litterbox? It does sort of smell like that... to the untrained nose, that it.

And YAY! I guess I'm allowed to start something new!

One Hot Item for Summer

As soon as the Side to Side Cardigan sample came into the shop a couple of months ago, it became the new "must knit" project for summer. In fact, our shop mannequin (LOLA!) is currently modeling it as I write this, and as she normally hangs out right by the front door, she's been getting noticed A LOT in this top. And noticed by people of all ages, shapes and sizes!

Just a couple of weeks ago we had a gal in her early 20’s who had to knit this top. She was in with her grandmother, who decided that she’d make one, too. And today we had a woman in her 30's buy yarn to make it, and another in her 50's. See? ALL ages!

I think the fact that it is knit with the Tahki Cotton Classic really appeals to a lot of people. The colors of that yarn are amazing. And it's SO soft. Though it’s knit double stranded, it’s got a really nice feel and drape.

This sweater is such a classic style and shape that it really looks good on all body types. You can dress it down with a tank and jeans, or you can wear it to a wedding with a cute summer dress and a long necklace; the choice is yours!

Welcome Sin City!

We carried Plymouth Sinsation a few years back, and now they have introduced Sin City - a lighter weight version of Sinsation with the teeniest fleck of glitz. I took home 2 balls of it last night and started a short scarf. I'm on size 8 needles and it's amazing to knit with. SO SO soft and really quick. I should be finished this evening.

Hope to put the yarn online in an hour or so. It's so hard to photograph that sparkle!

Tomorrow I need to felt my Noni lunch bag, it's been done for a few days now, but I had SO much laundry to do, that I couldn't spare the machine for a felting cycle. I also have to felt the handles for the Fair Isle Tote bag that Barb knit. It is beautiful, and has become a very popular kit in the shop. I think next week I will kit it up in some fun colors for our internet folks.

One week ago tomorrow we ran our Vermont City Marathon Relay - we've now got the pictures to prove it! What a gorgeous day it was - a big contrast to the wet and windy weather we are experiencing this weekend.

Here's Warren at the beginning - looking good:

and at the end of his leg... he really pushed himself hard!

Here's Michele at the beginning of her leg - what a gorgeous background in this shot! Lake Champlain and the Adirondaks behind... WOW. If it could be like this every day!

Here's me after 5 miles, with just a 1/2 mile to go, weaving in and around Waterfront Park:

And crossing the finish - big sense of relief!

Here's Kalen, who ran the whole marathon - what a great shot of her in downtown Burlington, at the beginning of her race.

Upgrading the swift

I've had my umbrella swift for years. Eighteen years to be exact. And though I may have craved a wooden one many times over those past 18 years, my swift was working just fine and I really couldn't justify the upgrade.

But the past 6 years have been hard on my trusty old swift. Six years of owning the shop have meant more knitting, which means more winding. It started making some funny noises a couple of years ago but it still worked. (Kind of like the garbage disposal that sounded like it was grinding wood and metal scraps... the tech said I could spring for a new one, or plug my ears each time I turned it on. I plugged my ears.)

There's another reason my swift has fallen on hard times. Any knitter with kids knows... a swift can be a real treat for children. They know it's not a toy, but if you leave it set up on the table, and you leave the room for any period of time, even mere minutes, you can be sure that when you come back into the room, that swift will be going faster than you've ever had it going before.

So, lots of use, a bit of abuse... and my swift finally kicked the bucket. So now I am able to upgrade to my new wooden one. Hopefully the kids are older and wiser now. We'll see.

A must see in Vermont

My mom and I have started a tradition. It's been years now, not sure how many? Each spring we take two cars and head to the Von Trapp Greenhouse in Waitsfield. Two cars, you ask? With gas at $4 a gallon how can I justify it? Well, my mom and I are both plant fiends and this is our major annual purchasing trip of the season.We simply cannot fit our purchases in just one car. We take Helen and Sophie and have a "ladies who (buy plants and) lunch day." It's always so much fun - well, not so much fun for the girls. They actually think it's fun at first, when they go around picking up all of the spent blooms from the grounds. That wears off after about 10 minutes, and then they are quite bored. But how can you be bored with this to look at?I repeat myself many times, saying "Just a few more minutes. Gan and I are doing our best to be speedy." When of course we're not, really. We are both overwhelmed at the wonderful things we see each year. I could go to a greenhouse closer to home, but it IS a tradition, and quite frankly, the selection and quality of the plants is totally worth it. They grow all of their own plants from seeds, cuttings or divisions. No imports here. Just homegrown Vermont. And the scenery, well, that's another reason I go.My visit here each year really signifies the start of summer for me. So I guess now I am ready. Bring it on!

Knit One RUN, Purl Two Too!

Today was the 20th Anniversary Key Bank Vermont City Marathon. Kyarns had a relay team last year, and it's become an annual thing. We wanted some fun shirts that would set us apart from the rest... and this is what I came up with:We had four women and one man, so I had to make a men's version as well:

We got a LOT of comments on the shirts as we were walking around the waterfront today, both from people who knew the shop, and from people who just thought they were funny. A few people even asked if we had any for sale. Hmmm, let me think about that.

We started off the marathon weekend with a bib pickup for the people on our team. We met at my house on Saturday evening, for a quick meal and a logistics meeting. We wanted to calculate the approximate time that it will take each of us to get to the handoff, so that we'd know when we had to be at each exchange zone. Of course, you have to remember that most people end up running faster during a race than they think they will. And that's what happened for us this year.

Our team was Warren (our Cascade sales rep), Barb, Michele, Alice (my good friend and running buddy), and me... running in that order. We asked Warren to join the team several months ago, and he agreed, thinking it would be fun, and a great way to get back into shape. He was working hard on the getting in shape part - until he had a couple of house rennovation incidents... involving scaffolding, rusty nails, knees, infections, etc. So he didn't get to start his real training until about a week or two before today. He arrived in town on Friday, with a lot of enthusiasm for his 3.1 mile leg of the race. Unfortunately, he must have been SO excited to get here, that he completely forgot his running shoes. A trip to Dick's and $90 later, he was ready for the race.

So we figured out when and where we'd meet and where family members should be to cheer us on. We also had a "call" system in place - so that when runner #1 tagged off to runner #2, we would call runner #3 to her know the time... so she could have a more accurate estimate of when to be ready. And it all worked really well.

It was the MOST gorgeous day. Perfect weather, great crowds, lots of fun. We were only EIGHT SECONDS behind our time from last year (DARN!) but we had such a blast. It was really a great "team" activity! It's so fun to be there working together to reach a common goal, and supporting each member along the way. We all ran better than we thought we would, and we're already looking forward to next year!

A Piece of Vermont

Today I started thinking about all of the great folks from out of state who will be visiting our shop in the next few months. They come from miles around just to visit our shop, and we are so glad to have them! It's always fun to meet people who are visiting our beautiful state. They always say how lucky we are to live here... and well, we agree.

We always like to have some special yarns for these folks - as most of them want to take home some yarn that will remind them of their visit to Vermont. We do have some Green Mountain Spinnery that is very popular with our out of towners, and the Cherry Tree Hill yarns, which are dyed just a few hours from here, are also a big hit. But I'm always looking for more yarns that have Vermont ties, so...

today I called Jessie Raymond, owner of A Piece of Vermont, in Middlebury, Vermont. She has been hand dying yarns in Vermont for several years now, and so I talked with her about getting some of her beautiful yarn in our shop. She has a number of fibers that look really interesting, and she handpaints these yarns in an array of gorgeous colors. I decided to try one of her sock yarns - a blend of superwash wool, bamboo and nylon, and it looks amazing! We've settled on about 8 colorways to start, and depending on how they are received, we'll take it from there. She does have some 100% Vermont Fiber, but I'm waiting to see that in person. Maybe it, too, will end up on our shelves?

I normally buy in really large quantities for the website, and that means I need to have large amounts of the same colorway (sweater quantities, etc) even in hand dyed yarns. But with A Piece of Vermont, I'm going to do it differently. These will really be one-of-a-kind "grab it when you see it" yarns.

In talking with her I realized that we both went to Middlebury College, and pretty much graduated in the same year. We didn't know each other then - so much for it being such a small school! But I am thrilled to be doing business with her, and eager to meet her face to face. I'm just as eager to get my hands on her yarn!

The perfect wedding shrug

Months ago (I think it was back in the fall?) a customer and friend of ours, Kali, came into the shop looking for a yarn to use for a wedding project. Her wedding. And the project was something she wanted to create - sort of a shrug - to wear with her dress.

She had envisioned some sort of lace pattern and we discussed the idea of making a rectangle and seaming it up so it fit like a shrug. Then we started looking for the perfect yarn. She wanted a white (or was it natural? - can't remember!) yarn and we were talking about adding something with a little glitz. It took me a few minutes, but I pulled out a skein of Tilli Tomas Disco Lights, and she fell in love. What could be more perfect than 100% spun silk, pre-strung with petite sequins?


She bought a few skeins and then went home and came up with a gorgeous lace pattern. She simply knit a rectangle and folded it in half and seamed for each arm. I think you'll agree it is stunning!

I didn't get to see a picture of it on the big day, but I did ask her to bring it in to the shop recently so we could check it out. I'm sure it looked incredible at her wedding, but it also looked great with jeans and a tank! A perfect example of a yarn (and pattern!) that works with many outfits.

Thanks, Kali... for sharing!

Leftover sale, now online!

So our sale went really well on Friday and Saturday! It was so great to see all of you who came - there were old faces, new faces, Ravelry faces... we had a good time catching up with everyone. We moved a TON of yarn, which is nice... and now we can't wait to start getting in the new fall yarns....

BUT WAIT! It's not even summer yet, so I won't rush you. Plus, we do have some "LEFTOVERS" as promised, and they are now available on the sale page of the website. So for any of you locals who missed the sale, and for all of our kyarns.com customers, have at it!

To tempt you, there's:
Manos - 31% off
Ultra Alpaca - 33% off
Cascade 220 - 37% off
Peruvia - 34% off
Malabrigo Chunky - 34% off
Blue Sky Cotton - 57% off
Ole Ole - 60% off

and a lot more, so don't miss it! A bulk e-mail goes out tomorrow morning, and then things will be flying out the door.

I have to thank EVERYONE who worked for us on both days, both current regulars (Barb, Michele, Kalen, Alex, Bob) and past regulars (Suzie) and special helpers/friends/customers (Kali & Betsy). We couldn't have done it without all of you! THANKS!!! (until next time...)

I guess I felt like felting

May is always a tense month. It seems as if there are so many school things that are all scheduled around the same time... meetings, reading restaurants, sports, Brownies, Girls on the Run, teacher meetings, birthday parties, etc.


Add to that the daytime sales rep meetings that I have (it's fall buying season!) which can last 3-4 hours at a time, and a big anniversary sale that we are getting ready for. It's a bit overwhelming at times.


So I've felt a bit burnt out each evening after all of these things tugging me in different directions, and the knitting mojo has suffered. The other day I felt I needed to start something to get it going again.


I've done a LOT of felting in my 25 years of knitting. I love it because it's really pretty mindless and quick. Perfect for my current frame of mind! So I decided to break down and knit the Noni Yummy Lunchbag that's been tempting me every day for several weeks now.

I was a bit startled to find out that it takes a whopping SIX skeins of Cascade 220. That's a lot of yarn... but I broke down, because it's really adorable. And it is supposed to be naturally insulated, and I imagine it would last a LONG time.


So I dove in. I found that it was excellent practice for knitting continental, as I used my left hand for one color and my right hand for the other. I know how to knit continental, but it's not my method of choice, as I was not taught that way. I just prefer to throw my yarn. But I must say, I am QUITE the picker now, and I did a wonderful job on that section of the bag - very even tension, it looks great.

Koigu + Cats = Catastrophe

A Koigu remnant. Part of my stash. Inside a zippered bag in a big wooden chest in the family room. Safely hidden from two feline frolickers who get into all sorts of mischief between the hours of 8am and 6pm, when the house is quiet and all humans are at work and school.

Cute cat. Sitting in a little wooden doll high chair. Looks so sweet and sleepy eyed and well behaved.

Koigu catastrophe.

Do my cats have super powers that enable them to lift a heavy wooden lid, take out my bag of Koigu, un-zip it, and remove a ball of yarn? That would be cool, but no. It turns out Helen and Sophie have been working on something for Mother's Day for me. I don't know what it is, as it's all been behind a closed door up in Sophie's room all week. But apparently they were using my Koigu scraps for some sort of decoration and left the bag un-zipped... and the door open.

Mystery solved. Koigu salvaged. Cats scolded. Bag re-zipped and hidden, again. Until next time.

P.S. Koigu is on sale. While supplies last. Online only.

6th Anniversary Sale - next weekend

Just another reminder, next Friday and Saturday (May 16-17) is our 6th Anniversary SALE!

Here are the details:

• Because we have SO MUCH STUFF on sale, we can't fit it all in the shop. And because the weather could be iffy, we are having it in our WAREHOUSE next door.
• There are great deals in BOTH the warehouse, and the store.
• All items in the warehouse will be mostly at closeout prices (BIG SAVINGS!!!)
• There will be one register in the warehouse, so there could be a line at times. Cash, checks, and credit cards (Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover) accepted.
• There are plenty of great deals… but we can only fit a certain number of people in the warehouse at one time, so again, there could be a line. (Good chance to meet your fellow Ravelry buddies and to convert others…)
• Everything in the shop will ALSO be on sale.
• There will ALSO be some items in the shop at closeout prices.
• You should plan to hit both the shop and the warehouse so you don't miss anything!
• We will be asking that all bags are left outside of the warehouse and the shop. We are probably NOT doing a bag check this year due to lack of bodies, so please leave backpacks and other bags in your cars.
• DOOR PRIZES!! We have some great ones!!
• All leftover items will be listed on the sale pages of our website for our internet customers, and locals who missed the sale
• Hours on Friday are 10am-4pm
• Hours on Saturday are 9am-4pm
• There is some road work going on around the Five Corners. You may need to be creative with your parking - check the Municipal Lot first and if that's full, here are some other options. Parking lots (Municipal Lot and a stealth - always empty - lot on one way School Street are marked PL. Side street parking is marked P.) If it were me, I'd park & walk!

That's it for now.