Double Duty Kitchen Scale

When packing up my kitchen last April to fill the container that was headed to Finland, I didn't pack my measuring cups and spoons. I thought, we're not moving until the end of June... surely I will bake cookies or bread or something in the next 2 months? Needless to say, I didn't use those cups and spoons before our move, and then they just wouldn't fit in the luggage so we stored them in Vermont with a whole lot of other stuff. I figured I would just buy new ones when I arrived.

Of course now I live in the land of metric, so cups and teaspoons and tablespoons are foreign here, and so I was forced to invest in a good old digital kitchen scale. It's somehow easy to convert the measurements to grams and then just weigh it out on the kitchen scale. I'm not embarrassed to say that my brain just doesn't function in deciliters quite yet, nor does it work in kilometers, kilograms or degrees Celsius. And after 3 months of being here, I am STILL converting Euros to dollars in my head.

But the kitchen scale has been wonderful. I've managed to make some of my signature baked goods, sort of as a way to make it feel like home for the girls. I've had success with my special chocolate chip cookies, although now they are more like "chocolate chunk" cookies. 

They don't sell chocolate chips over here... the folks in the grocery store had NO idea what we were talking about. Solution: we're buying huge Fazer milk chocolate bars and cutting them up into small chunks. 

Yep, that says "200g"... these are HUGE!

And my banana bread, also with Fazer chunks, is quite tasty.

But the other night I needed my kitchen scale for another reason. I had a skein of Trendsetter Venus and wanted to make a scarf with it. This is a beautiful yarn that is made up of color coordinated pieces of different yarns. When twisted up into a hank, it's quite beautiful, as all of the yarns really work well together, However, if you were to just cast on 20 stitches and knit, you would end up with large chunky sections of each yarn. NOT a bad thing, just not what I envisioned for this skein. So I would the entire hank into a ball. (Note the old fashioned ball... guess who forgot to pack a ballwinder?)

I plopped it on the kitchen scale to see exactly how many grams I had. and started to wind back a smaller ball from the large ball. I checked off and on until both I had two balls that weighed the same amount. And then SNIP. Two balls, ready to be worked double stranded. 

What a great way to use this yarn and really blend the fibers.

It's still got a "chunky" look to it but it's way more subtle. I love it!

Here's the easy 2 row pattern:

1 hank Trendsetter Venus (split into 2 even balls and used double stranded)

size 11 or 13 needles - our choice (I used 11s but am a somewhat tight knitter)

Cast on 13 stitches

Row 1: (k2tog, yo) rep to last stitch, k1

Row 2: (ps tog, yo) rep to last stitch, p1

Repeat to end and bind of loosely.

Another tempting knitting magazine for fall!

contributed by Shawn

Oh I love the fall knitting season! Another great magazine for fall has just arrived at the shop!

The Debbie Bliss Fall/Winter Knitting Magazine has amazing new patterns to choose from so check them out when you make your plans for this fall and winter's knitting.

These bunny booties are adorable! They're a great idea for all those upcoming fall baby showers.

There are some great fair isle patterns in this issue.  I especially like this cardigan in neutral tones. 

Very helpful... is the accompanying article on color-work tips, which includes finishing strategies for professional looking buttonholes and seams in these types of projects.

My favorite section is full of whimsical knits for little people to enjoy.  I can just imagine the hours of make-believe that this little mermaid inspired cape-lette will provide for any little girl lucky enough to receive one for the holidays.

I thought my baby days were over!

Ok, these ADORABLE preemie hats are enough to make me want to have another child... and that's saying a lot because my baby days are WAY over people!

Every single hat in this picture was made by our customer Janet B. That's right, every.single.one. When we asked folks to make preemie hats for the NICU, we figured one, maybe two hats would be a nice donation. But 24!? We are speechless.

Janet told the gals at the shop that since my girls Helen & Sophie just turned 12 this year, she would make 12 hats to donate for each of them. Aw! That is so sweet, thanks!

The hats on the right are cupcakes. The box is decorated to look like a bakery box - isn't that the sweetest thing ever? I can picture lots of little cupcake babies up in the NICU...

Cupcake Hats

And the other box contains 12 completely different hats. Look at some of these. I love the little sheep with it's textured fleece, and the beautiful colors, and flowers and fruit! I envy the NICU nurses when they get to give these to new babies.

Janet, you went above and beyond. Thank you so much! Your hats are amazing and brought such smiles to all of us. I know they will be cherished by all the babies (and their parents!) whose heads they get to top!

Brrr!

The weather for the next couple of days here in Vermont will give us a real taste of fall.

As knitters and crocheters, we're thrilled. It's time to get those woolies out of summer storage and start enjoying them!

A little housekeeping for Charity

Some updates on some recent charity items...

Yesterday was a feel good day! We sent a check to the Vermont Foodbank for over $3,600. We pledged 25% of our sales over a several day period to the Vermont Foodbank, and we're really proud of our efforts, and of your support. 

We were so touched by the kind emails and letters we received. It's really clear that the beautiful state we live in has also touched many of you in one way or another. We know the Vermont Foodbank has always done great work, and now they're working even harder than ever to make sure that Irene-affected Vermonters don't go hungry. They are doing a great job, but contributions certainly help them.

And last week, a pattern designer named Suzy Allen-Wuttke from Long Island contacted us after she heard we were donating a portion of our sales to the Vermont Foodbank. She very graciously offered to design a pattern for us to sell to our customers, if we'd donate 100% of the proceeds to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund. This pattern is going to be available online in the next day or so (sorry! I've been hit with my first bad cold of the season here in Finland... yes, it's FALL already here and that means sickness!) Anyway, it's a great pattern and we are really excited to be able to give back in this way. Thanks Suzy!

And finally... preemie hats! Yes, we are still running our preemie hat contest and drive and we are accepting preemie hats through the end of September. We've had a bit of a slowdown in the preemie hat donations... I think that Irene had a bit to do with that. But it's not too late to whip one (or two!) up. For more information please read this.

Thanks again, we're proud to be here for all of you.

All colors of Voile de la Mer, now available

We are now selling every single, gorgeous color of Tilli Tomas Voile de la Mer. 

This yarn is a blend of silk and seacell (kelp!) and has been one of our best selling yarns for shawls. It's a luxury yarn that you'll definitely want to try. Read the reviews!

One Cable Mitts Class

contributed by Shawn

Not too long ago I was debating what to do with my latest "favorite skein". It was a single skein of the Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Hand Dye yarn in the Chocolate color. I just hadn't come up with a pattern or project to match it's lovely hand and color.   

Barb suggested I make the Blue Sky Alpaca's FREE One Cable Mitts and I agreed, I would give them a try.  These mitts are so nice to put on! I can't wait to wear them for raking the yard.

The best part is they are a simple single cable that crosses in one direction (reversed for the second mitt).  They knit up so quickly and I like them so much that we decided this would make a great project class this fall. So come join us in October, learn how to cable and make your very own pair.

This pattern only takes one skein of this scrumptious blend of wool and alpaca so it's a great gift idea.

Customer Project - Double Baby Shower

contributed by Shawn

What do you do for a double baby shower?! Well you knit little baby hats of course :)

Leslie brought these two hats in to show us the other day.  We love the Be Sweet Bambino Taffy cotton-bamboo blend yarn. It is so soft and one skein enough to make the Sweetie Pie Hat pattern. 

Bonus! This hat pattern comes ON the yarn label and who doesn't love a free cute hat pattern? 

These two hats needed to fit newborn babies so Leslie decreased the size a bit by removing one heart motif repeat.  

Tada! Just right to take to the double baby shower!

Fall Classes

contributed by Shawn

We have had customers asking for several weeks what classes will be offered this fall.  Well, since the Champlain Valley Fair is over and kids are back in school - that means fall is officially here!   

Watch for those leaves to start changing!

We've scheduled our knitting classes for this fall with winter gifts and projects in mind. Want to make a simple first hat, that goes quickly and won't discourage you? Why not delve into mitten techniques and make felted mittens for everyone you know. How about making a beautiful accessory for yourself or for a special friend? Our drop stitch scarf is easy, yet a bit scary, so let us hold your hand through the scary part.

If you are working on finishing some of your own projects, make sure you know how to seam properly! Our finishing workshop is always popular. If some of your projects are ready to gift but just need a little something special added to them, join us for our needle felting class.   

Sign up soon to reserve your spot before classes fill up. Don't forget if you don't see something that fits your needs you can always contact us for individual instruction!  

Calling All Knitters & Crocheters!

Two more days to make your purchase count. We are still donating 25% of our sales (through Wednesday 9/7) to the Vermont Foodbank. But here's another way you can help!

India, who used to work at our shop and then went on to continue teaching classes for us for several years, has relatives in Moretown, Vermont who were directly affected by Hurricane Irene. She's doing something to help, and we're trying to get the word out for her.

She just sent me an email yesterday and said, "We are feeling shell shocked here. Andy's down in Moretown today. The help and community response has been so wonderful, and then I remember the scope of the devastation and I just want to crawl into a hole. Doing the Warm Hats thing helps and gives me something positive to focus on."

Here is a message from India to our customers and community:

On August 28, Hurricane Irene visited Vermont. Although my town was spared the worst, many towns throughout the state suffered devastating flooding. My husband’s brother, sister, and mother narrowly escaped the rising waters of the Mad River, which inundated their home and their village, soaking everything in its path, taking out roads and bridges, and leaving behind inches of muck and piles of debris. 

My family was lucky. Many of their things, including their clothing, are salvageable. But many others are not so fortunate. Though it is still quite warm here, we all know that soon the weather will turn much colder, and people will reach for that favorite sweater or scarf, only to remember that it’s gone. 

I’m collecting donations of hand knit hats, scarves, mittens, sweaters, socks, blankets, baby items, and knitted toys, items for anyone from babies through adults, to distribute to flood survivors in Vermont and upstate New York. If you would like to ply your needles for people in need, please contact me, India Tresselt, at warmhearts2@gmail.com. Thank you! 

If anyone would like to drop things off at the Kyarns shop, we're happy to get them to India. Thanks!

Reminder: 3 More Days to Help Us... Help

Tomorrow is Labor Day, and as usual the shop will be closed. A lot of Vermonters are spending this Labor Day - a day usually filled with cookouts, end of season hikes, boat rides & family gatherings - helping other Vermonters clean up after Irene. People are pitching in and doing what they can to lend a hand and it's so heartwarming.

As a reminder - in case you missed it in our email last week, on our homepage or on our Facebook page - we have been setting aside 25% of our daily sales since Friday of last week from both the shop and the website. This money will be donated to the Vermont Foodbank, to help Vermonters who've been hardest hit. While we're not able to lend a hand and do the physical cleanup ourselves, this is a way we hope to offer some assistance.

There's still time to help, as we're running this through Wednesday, September 7th at midnight EST.

The cleanup in our state is ongoing, and the weather forecast for the next couple of days is dreadful, calling for 1-4" more of heavy rain in areas of Northern New York and Vermont, with more flash floods possible. This could bring more disaster to folks who've already been hit the hardest. We're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

Thanks so much for your support.

Followup to Shawn's post on Vogue Knititng Fall 2011

Thanks to Shawn, for a great look at some of the pieces in Vogue Knitting Fall 2011.

I wanted to point out to our customers that Vogue has a great way for you to see the pieces in a bit more depth. Sure, a photo in a magazine is great, but isn't seeing the garment modeled by a real person even better? And what about hearing a short description about it?

Well, if this sounds interesting to you, please check out VK360. Thanks to Vogue for this great feature!

Vogue Knitting Fall 2011

contributed by Shawn

The only good thing about the 12 straight hours of rain on Sunday, was that it gave me a chance to dive into the new Vogue Knitting Fall 2011. There are a lot of great things in this issue!

For those of you looking to "Shape Up!" there is an excellent article by Meg Swansen on 3 short row shaping methods that can help you produce professional looking handmade fitted garments.

Neutral Fair-Isle knits are featured lovely contrasts of black, white, and grey. I think the Nordic Gloves by Lone Smevik Soleng would be lovely knit in SMC Juvel Yarn. This yarn is new for us, and it's perfect for mittens and gloves because it is a superwash sport/dk weight wool.  Easy care is a must for winter hand wear here in Vermont!

The Nordic Yoke Pullover by Ruth Garcia-Alcantud is worked in the round from the bottom up and is shown here in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport Yarn which is a new favorite of our customers, both local and online. This yarn comes in an amazing array of colors, is soft and really reasonably priced.

Wenlan Chia presents 2 oversized sweater patterns knit in Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky Yarn.  The Striped Cardi 

and Striped Back Top are both great looking pieces.

I think my favorite is the relaxed-fit zip-front cape by Kristin Omdahl. Knit in in Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica Yarn, the openwork sides of this Lace Belted Cape become sleeve-like with the addition of a belt for a flattering sillouhete.

And there's a BONUS! Don't miss the GREAT article on brioche cable knitting by Nancy Marchant.  I really can't wait to try to knit this hat - stunning!

Knit in the round the hat features crossed stitches and linear decreases done in the two-color brioche technique.  Nancy's article "Crossing Over" describes everything in detail and even though I haven't tried brioche knitting yet with this article I know I can do it!