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.