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.