Yes, we do Gift Certificates

Don't know what to buy that certain someone for Christmas? How about one of our Gift Certificates? They can be used in either The Needle & Arts Centre or The Framing Post so we really do have something for everyone. And they come nicely wrapped, too!

It's Here!

We have at last received a much anticipated new yarn from Garnstudio in Norway. I, for one, have really been looking forward to seeing it in real life after reading about it on the Garnstudio website. Silke Alpaca is a blend of 20% Silk and 80% Baby Alpaca and is everything I had hoped for. As expected the colours are beautiful. It can be handwashed and knits to a gauge of 17 stitches and 22 rows to 10 cms (4 inches) on a 5 mm needle. The 50 gram ball contains 60 metres. The yarn is so new that Garnstudio/Drops Design have not yet published patterns specifically for Silke Alpaca, however, all their patterns that call for either Alaska or Paris are compatible. Check out the hundreds of patterns available free on www.garnstudio.com. Silke Alpaca knits up beautifully to a soft sheen and a wonderful "hand" - just remember you will need an extra ball or so as there is less yardage than either Alaska or Paris.

Hat in Woolly Bully by Estelle

Alison and I have been madly knitting ear-flap hats in a great yarn from Estelle. A wool blend, it is beautifully soft, comes in great colours and knits up quickly on 10 mm needles. Our hats can be knitted up in an evening. Really!!!!

The pattern is available in the store or we can mail it out with the yarn. All our "made in store" patterns are free with the purchase of yarn.

Click on the picture to take a closer look.

New colours in Ethno by Zitron

A yarn from Germany that has been around for a little while, Ethno is a luxurious wool blend (85% new wool and 15 % nylon). It is hand dyed so the colour variegations are quite subtle. A 50 gram ball contains 90 metres and knits to a gauge of 14 stitches and 18 rows to 10 centimetres (4 inches) on 5 - 6 mm needles. The yarn has a slight boucle which makes for a very cozy sweater. The new colours are wonderful and the yarn lovely and soft, so whether you want to knit a scarf or a sweater, you can be sure of a successful project. For a closer look at the yarn and patterns click on the picture.

News from the "Web Master's" desk!

A lot of effort is being put into the development of our web site - especially for yarn customers.
First off: if you want to see what's "IN" in New York this winter, click on this link! Read this and other links.

Secondly: we want to make your online shopping experience more comfortable. On the way to a "real" on-line shop, I added nearly all of the shadecards to our about 200 differnt types of yarn! This makes it easier to select the right yarn and colours for your knitting project. Just klick on the yarn names in the yarn page. More information (prices, availability and which yarns are on SALE) are in the works.

Expect some more changes to happen in the next couple of days and check the web site often.

Also, now with the gift giving season upon us, I have added new product information on gift items to the different department pages. One is this this brand new Pullover Knitting Kit from Zitron for $133 - georgeous colours and great yarn quality. The kit is good for sizes up to men's size.

Have a great knitting season!
Jurgen

For the team of the Needle & Arts Centre

A reminder!!

With all these beautiful new yarns on the market, I thought I should remind you of one of our old favourites. A yarn from SandnesGarn in Norway, Smart has been around for some time. It's a 100% wool which has been specially treated so that it can be washed in the washing machine, although the dryer is not recommended. The gauge is 22 stitches to 10 cms (4 inches) and a 50 gram ball contains 100 metres. The colours are beautiful and there are tweeds and variegated and well as plain. I am presently knitting my grand-daughter a striped vest with Smart from a great children's pattern book the company puts out. What little girl wouldn't like ponies or unicorns on her sweater or poncho and what little boy wouldn't like a fire truck or helicopter? There is even a pattern with pink spotted elephants. How cool is that?

Pretty in Pink Felted Hat

Cissel has knitted a very pretty softly felted hat for the store. It is knitted in SandnesGarn Tove which is a lightweight 100% wool yarn which felts beautifully. Ideal for a cosy winter hat. The yarn usually knits to a gauge of 24 stitches to 10 cms on 3.5 mm needles. Of course, for felting you are using a larger needle. The colours are lovely - mostly brights with a few neutrals. The cost for making this great hat works out to about $10.00 with yarn left over to start another one!! How about stripes? The pattern is available in the store or you can contact us by email.
And by the way, you can use the very same pattern for a cloche style hat in Patons SWS. This will give you a firm, sturdy hat without the turn back as SWS shrinks and felts so readily.

Delta Ceramcoat Decorative Paint

As well as stocking lots of beautiful yarns and needlework supplies, we also carry the full range of Delta Ceramcoat decorative paints. These paints are acrylic and clean up very readily with soap and water. They mix easily so you can create the perfect colour. For painting on fabrics, you can mix Ceramcoat with a textile medium to produce an easy to use and colour fast fabric paint. Of course, paint is no good without the means to apply it and, of course, you will find brushes and all the accessories and finishes you need to produce your works of art.

Twilleys of Stamford

Freedom Spirit is a new self striping yarn from Twilleys of Stamford (a very well known and old established UK company). The colours are among the best we have seen. The yarn is 100% wool and knits to a gauge of 22 stitches and 28 rows on 4 mm needles. The yarn is supported by a beautiful book. I bought one myself and there isn't one pattern I wouldn't like to knit. The patterns are very stylish and the sweaters for the most part come in a cropped and longer version. Click on the pictures to have a closer look.

New Yarn from Patons

Patons has come out with a great new yarn called SWS (Soy Wool Stripes). The yarn is made of 70% wool and 30% soy and knits to a tension of 17 stitches and 21 rows on 5.5 mm needles. The balls are 80 grams and contain 100 metres. The self striping yarn lends itself very well to multidirectional knitting which is becoming more popular as new techniques are developed. The yarn felts well and is well priced. All in all a very nice yarn. Oh, did I mention, the colours are beautiful. Click on the picture for a better look.

I shall have lots of new yarns to tell you about in my next posting. We are in the process of unpacking, pricing and finding room for some gorgeous yarns - many of them new to us and a few new colours for old favourites.

Old favorite - new colours

Marks & Kattens have extended the colour range of their Iceland yarn. A blend of 55% wool and 45% human made fibres, this yarn has a lovely soft tweedy look, flecked with a contrasting colour. At 11 stitches and 16 rows and knitted on 7mm needles, it knits up very quickly. A 50 gram ball contains 60 meters. I knitted a sweater for myself last winter in the creamy-beige colour - I think it took about a week!! Now I have seen the new colours, I may have to do another one. The yarn also makes a beautiful scarf.

Tonalita by Trendsetter Yarns

Self striping yarns in heavier (than sock yarn) weights are very popular this season and we have just received a gorgeous new yarn from Trendsetter. Called Tonalita and made in Italy, it is a 52% wool/48% acrylic yarn in the most delicious colourways. At 18 stitches to 10 cms. on a size 5.5mm needle it knits to an aran weight. The distributor sent us a sample sweater in shades of brown, orange, rust and pink - a detail of which is shown. We also have a few more patterns to choose from. The yarn would also make stunning winter scarves and shawls. This is just one of the many beautiful yarns we have received recently, as well as new colours in old favorites. Come by and check them out.

Sock Tips

With so many of you knitting socks these days, I thought I would share with you a few of the tips and tricks we have learnt over the years to make sock knitting easier. The first one involves the loose stitches that often occur when joining the round after casting on. If you slip the first stitch cast on onto the last needle, and the last stitch onto the first needle (in effect, crossing the stitches), then proceed with the ribbing, you will find you have a nice firm join. This tip works, of course, any time you have to join a round.

Next, we come to the heel flap. Whatever stitch you decide to use for your heel flap, try knitting the first stitch of every row. This gives a straighter edge for picking up stitches for the instep and makes counting the rows easier, also adds a little decorative detail to the heel. Talking about picking up stitches, pick up an extra stitch at the end of the 1st needle, right in the corner and also at the beginning of the 4th needle. On the first round, knit this extra stitch (through the back of the loops) together with the first stitch on needle 2 and the last stitch of needle 3. This should prevent a hole from appearing. This trick works well when you are picking up stitches for mitten thumbs!!!

Now we come to the toe and I know what a pain grafting can be. I avoid it as much as possible, especially when I am using fine yarn. Decrease in the usual manner to 12 stitches (or so), knit 2 together all around, break yarn, thread through the remaining stitches and pull up firmly, darn in end.

I know many of you will already be using some of these tricks and perhaps have a few more. We would love to hear them - anything that will make life easier!!

It's just like Christmas!

With boxes of new yarn arriving at least once a week, it's just like Christmas at the store. Several of the yarns are old favorites, but come in new colours. One of our new favorites is a yarn from Lang. It's called Mille Colori and is a 50% new wool and 50% acrylic blend. There is 92 metres on the 50 gram ball and it knits to 15 stitches/23 rows to 10 cms (4 inches) on a size 6 - 7 mm needle. There are several colours in each ball which gradually blend into one another. Estelle also provided us with a sample scarf and free pattern, so check it out. It's going quite fast, but we shall be ordering more.

Yarn is Not Enough

No, yarn is just not enough! You need good tools too and we carry a full range of bamboo and birch knitting needles. We have the Brittany Birch in double pointed, in both the short length for socks and the standard length. These DPN's come in a set of 5, which we find much easier to knit with than a set of 4, particularly for socks. I must admit the sock needles in size 2.50mm sell out almost as quickly as we order them, however many sets we order. Brittany also make
birch crochet hooks with wonderfully turned ends - truly things of beauty. We also carry their straight needles in the 10 inch and 14 inch lengths. All Brittany needles are guaranteed for 5 years.

Our bamboo circular needles come from S.R. Kertzer, in lengths from 40 cms. to 80 cms. If you have never knitted with wooden needles, you will be surprised how easy and comfortable they are, especially if you have sore joints or are just beginning to knit.

For the speed fiends amongst us, we carry the addiTurbo circular needles. Both Inge and I love using them. The cables never seem to get tangled and the transition between needle and cable is very smooth.

If you would like to try any of these needles, drop by the store and give them a test run.

Thank You

A big thank you to all who participated in our "Knit in the Park" event. We were thrilled to see how many knitters showed up and we hope that you all had as much fun as we did. Nearly 30 squares were completed and a few knitters took theirs home to finish, so it looks as if we shall have enough for an Afghan. Several of you mentioned that you would like to continue knitting squares and you are most welcome to drop by the store and sit a while, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Lois is in. Bring a lunch if you like - the tea and coffee will be on!

National Knitters Day - August 12, 2006

We are all hoping for great weather for our Knit in the Park. We shall be setting up in the Robert Ostler Park (across from the store) and hope that many knitters will join us, even for half an hour or so. Let's celebrate our craft - it has, after all been around for centuries. We will provide needles and yarn if you wish to participate in our project - a simple afghan for Yucalta Lodge - but you can also bring your own project. Someone from the store will be there from 11 am to 4 pm, so if you need a lesson or assistance, we shall be more than happy to help. We shall have iced tea on hand, but bring a lunch, if you wish, and a lawn chair if available. We are taking names at 287-8898

Knifty Knitters are in

They are back. We have just received a new shipment of Knifty Knitters in various sizes. The large size is back ordered, but should arrive soon. What are Knifty Knitters? Well, you remember the old fashioned spool knitting, sometimes called "French Knitting", Knifty Knitters are the same idea, but much larger. You can make hats, scarves, bags, afghans, even the body of a sweater. The kits come in their own carrying cases and include all instructions, the frame, the hook (which we also sell separately) and a tapestry needle. The yarn suggested is two strands of a chunky weight, so items knit up very quickly indeed. We have a frame out for customers to try, so check it out!! Click on the photo for a closer view.

Vero yarn from Naturally's of New Zealand

If any of you have seen the current issue of Knitter's Magazine # K83 (available locally), you will have noticed the wonderful little bag "The Paperback Rider". One of our suppliers, The Old Mill Knitting Company, suggests that the bag be knitted in their new yarn, Vero. Guess what!!! We have just received 4 colours in Vero today and it will make a bag every bit as beautiful as the one in the picture.

Summer Flip-flops

You have all seen the cute furry flip-flops that many of the young girls are wearing this summer. Wonder how they are done? Lois and I spent some time experimenting last week and you can see the result in the photo. It is a little awkward at first to crochet around the strap, but it didn't take long at all. We used flip-flops with straps about 1/2 inch wide, a furry polyester yarn (Boa by Bernat, but any "fun fur" yarn would work) and a 4 mm crochet hook. We found that for us single crochet worked the best. As we worked, we pushed the stitches together so that the strap didn't show through. The piece between the toes was not worked. A great gift for that special little girl in your life. Quick, easy and inexpensive, especially if you have left over yarn from knitting scarves.

Download these Charts!

Pam made up charts which you can download from our web site: for Yarn Weights and Needle Conversion.

We also issued our latest Newsletter. If you are not on our subscriber list yet, please subscribe!

Mark your Calendar for our Knit in the Park on August 12. More information in our newsletter and also Pam will keep you posted about this event in this blog!

Enjoy these Summer days - they are over so soon!
Happy Knitting, Jurgen

Inka Yarn

There has been a very colourful addition to our yarn shelves recently. A new yarn from Garnstudio has arrived. Inka is wool blend variegated yarn the like of which we have never seen before. It knits to the same gauge as Garnstudio Eskimo, so is perfect for autumn days and warmer winter days, which we all know are just around the corner. The pattern for the jacket is available free from the Garnstudio website - www.garnstudio.com - Look for catalogue #95, pattern #11. A peek at the Winter/Autum preview will show that more patterns in Inka will be coming soon.

One thing we do suggest is that you take the time to knit a swatch with this yarn - always a good idea in any case.

New colours in Drops Eskimo

Another new arrival this last week has been a few new colours in Drops Eskimo which is a yarn from Norway. It is 100% wool and is spun quite loosely. It comes in an amazing range of colours and knits up quickly on 8mm needles at a gauge of 10 stitches and 14 rows to 10 cms. Although it makes wonderful sweaters and jackets, we love it for felting. Our pattern for a medium sized tote bag has been enormously popular. The pattern itself is very basic - good for a beginner - and we suggest you use your imagination to create one-of-a-kind works of art. The photo shows a bag knitted up in three colours, then felted. The flowers are added in needle felting once everything is dry. Drop by the store or email us for a free copy - just mention you saw this on the blog.

New Yarn

We have just received some very interesting new yarn from Zitron called Fil a Fil. It is basically a fun-fur yarn with differing coloured "flags" added. We used just one ball to knit a scarf 3 inches wide by 56 inches long on 10 mm needles, 10 stitches and garter stitch throughout. As you can see the colours are just beautiful. A great small project to take with you while travelling.




Click on the photos for a closer look!

What about those socks!

We have received a new shipment of Trekking sock yarn in the wildest colours. Trekking is a very high quality yarn, 75% wool and 25% man-made fibre (for wear). The socks can be washed in the washing machine but should be dried flat. We knit ours on five needles, size 2.5 mm, and Lois has developed a very easy to follow pattern which is free with the yarn. Of course, if you need help, we can do that too. Socks are great to knit while travelling, and bamboo needles can now be taken on the plane.

We have also just received some new plastic needles from Drops. We just have the straight ones at present in sizes 5.5 mm to 12 mm and each size comes in a unique colour. They are very reasonably priced. Great for a beginner knitter and look pretty too.

We shall be receiving lots of new yarn over the next few weeks so I shall be letting you know as it arrives.

Sweater for Bianca

As promised, here is a photo of the sweater I knitted for Bianca and also the Lucy's Pocket - the perfect place for a special possession. The sweater is knitted in Drops Safran and the pattern is the "Sommer Sweater" pattern that Jurgen posted earlier. I changed it a little bit to make it more feminine. The yarn was very nice to knit with and since I started the sweater, we have a few more colours including that fresh green that everyone loves this year.

Summer wraps

Last time I wrote, I was wondering if Summer had arrived, now we know it has and we have been enjoying absolutely gorgeous weather here on the West Coast. Inge and I have been knitting summer wraps using the free pattern that Estelle Yarns provides. In fact at www.estelleyarns.com you can find all kinds of summer wraps and ponchos. We have been using Watercolours which is a beautiful 50/50 acrylic mohair blend - very soft and not itchy at all - and Malizia which is a ribbon type yarn with little flowers. Inge also added Whisper by Estelle which is a very fine yarn with long fibres - looks gorgeous. The triangular wraps knit up very quickly in garter stitch and are perfect for summer evenings (or air conditioned restaurants). A recent addition to our Estelle line is Mirage, which is a ribbon type yarn, and comes in amazing colours. A pattern for a summer poncho can be found on the Estelle website.
Send us a photo of your summer wrap, we would love to see it.

More from our Knit Café

Come in - Relax - Enjoy!

Our Knit Café exists for more than a year now, moved around in the store a bit and found a nice and bright niche in front of our store window display. There is always (free!) Tea and Coffee on. By the way, we prefer all kind of variations of the tasty and healthy Roibos tea from South Africa. Check it out!

The funny part is that more and more passers-by come in and think it's a real Coffee Shop and then flee the scene when we offer them a knitting lesson.

These are from left Cissel, our Norwegian friend, knitter and helper, Lois, our Needlework instructor and knitter, who knows every technique you never have heard of, then a customer, and Inge, the store owner and avid knitter, too.

Come in for a free coffee or tea, - knit, crochet, work on your Needlework - and chat, too! You may even rent needles for $2 (proceeds going to a local charity - NADIS); you get a first free lesson with the purchase of yarn. But this in not all.

Regular lessons are $5 if you bought your yarn in our store or $10 if you bring your own yarn which you bought somewhere else. Make use of the free refence Library in English, German and Norwegian. You may also browse our large selection Knitting Magazines laid out for your leisure and inspiration!

Here is Pam

You may have noticed that the last posting came from Pam. I have asked her to take over as the "publisher" of this yarn blog. Here she is:



Since knitting is still 99% a "girls" pastime, with Pam you will be able to talk knitter to knitter, whereas I am more a marketing guy, I have to admit (although I learnt knitting when I was 10 and really did knit scarves, mittens and socks - it still works).

If Pam allows, I will add a contribution every now and then. I am more busy now with the development of or web sites.... Happy knitting ... and chatting with Pam, too!

Summer is coming, maybe

I hope everyone has been as lucky with the weather as we have been on Vancouver Island these last few days. The spring flowers and sunshine are a reminder that summer is on the way and this is the perfect time to knit a cotton top or two in readiness for the warmer weather. Hi! my name is Pam and I am employed by Inge and Jurgen in the yarn department of the store. We have some wonderful cotton yarns in stock and more coming. I am presently knitting the child's summer sweater Jurgen posted earlier. I'm knitting in Drops Safran which is a lovely yarn that works up very evenly into a soft flexible fabric. The sweater is for a little girl, size two, so instead of the plain hem the pattern calls for I have made a picot edge by knitting 2 together, yarn over. When folded up and sewn in place, it will give a feminine touch. I chose orange with mauvy blue stripes. Sounds wierd, but it looks very "trendy". I just have one sleeve to finish now and it looks as if I will have some yarn left over. Enough to make a "Lucy Pocket" ( little shoulder bag), about 3 inches square. After all, a girl needs a purse!! The sweater is knitted in the round on a circular needle. I recently learnt a couple of "new"tricks for joining the cast on edge of circular knitting. You can either a) cast on an extra stitch and knit it together with the first cast on stitch or b) slip the last cast on stitch over the first cast on stitch, thereby crossing the stitches. Both work well. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks!!
If anyone has any tips and tricks they would like to share, we would love to hear from you.

Free Knitting Patterns and Tutorials!

Just in case that not everybody has found out yet: www.knittingpatterncentral.com is an uncredible source of FREE information for knitters.

It contains a well structured directory of Free Knitting Patterns, sorted by projects, then sub-projects and finally access to hundreds of other directories where the free patterns are from. It is easy!

Secondly, there is a separate directory for Knitting Instructions and Illustrated Tutorials. More: Tips & Tricks and a Featured Pattern of the Week.

Go check it out - buy your yarn in our Needle & Arts Centre - and HAPPY KNITTING!

PS: have you checked out our own web site yet at www.needlenart.com?

Join our Mailing List!

If you want to join the Mailing List of the Needle & Arts Centre, please go to the bottom of the Contact Us page of our Needle & Arts Web site: http://www.needlenart.com/id2.html - and you will get a welcome coupon, our newsletters and special offers. See you over there!

Free Summer Pattern!

Forget the Easter weather, think Summer!
This Children's Sommer Sweater for ages 2 - 14 is a free Garnstudio pattern. I can email it to you in a handy Word format, please contact me at jkettler@earthlink.net.

Jurgen

Welcome Spring!

I am feeling a bit "blog rusty" after focussing on our new web site www.needlenart.com for several weeks. The site has been widely expanded after my first announcement. Can you imagine that we now carry more than 170 different yarns in our yarn department?! We ourselves were totally stunned. Thanks to Pam for getting the complete list together which you find in our web site's yarn page. As I mentioned before: next will be our online e-commerce yarn shop for selected yarns.


With Spring and sunshine came new yarn. Our last shipment from Estelle brought lots of new Baby Yarn (King Cole , Sprinkles, Sapphire), the colourful Pelican yarn (see photo), the fancy Whisper yarn, and more shades of the soft Watercolour yarn (see sample). And much more... You got to feel it!

Easy Knit Baby Blankets

We borrowed this cute baby photo and added our own patterns to it. Ask for a free pattern! Come in and see our big Selection of Yarns for Babies and Children!

New Web Site; online yarn shop coming up

Haven't bothered you for quite a while...

I was pretty quietly working on a new web site and got it running: check out our store site www.needlenart.com . In a couple of days our online yarn shop will be starting and after that more and more products will be added to it. This is good news for our more remote customers who were urging us to offer them online shopping! More than that, we'll also open up a yarn shop on eBay for special yarns. I'll keep you informed!

Our yarn blog www.needlenarts.blogspot.com will furtheron be the way to share news and ideas with you. You will always find a link to this blog from the new web site. Check the last postings.

Cast on this Shrug!

Spring starts officially in a couple of days and we all hope for sunnier and warmer days. Doesn't this photo already give us a glance of summer? Many new patterns are coming in now, after most of the new spring and summer colours are already in. Keep on knitting!

The pattern for this shrug comes in two versions: for women or for girls. They are free for our Blog readers! Please let me know at jkettler@earthlink.net which one you'd like (or both) and I email them to you in a Word format.

Happy Spring and Happy Knitting!

Freebee for our Blog Readers!

You may pick it up in our store or drop me an email that you want it as a word file: you get a free pattern for the West Coast Thrum Mittens, see photo.
Pam assembled this mitten pattern and knitted a pair for Inge and myself for Christmas. We LOVE them! She can help you any time because the thrums are a bit tricky.

The natural fleece inside the mittens felts on exposure to water and wear and provides the warmest mittens imaginable - great for our west coast climate and for skiing!

Welcome to our store!

Hard to get all the beautiful yarns, the accessories, the scent of tea and candles, and the Knit Cafe on one photo. Take this snapshot, come in, relax, read our blog postings, give us your feedback!
Take this advice: please go through all the archived postings and see for example which own patterns we have to offer!

Our contact information:

• Needle & Arts Centre, 910 Island Highway, Campbell River, BC, Canada V9W 2C3
• phone and fax: 250-286-9717 or toll-free 1-888-588-7834
• email: jkettler@earthlink.net