Alison's Spring Poem

We got some dream lines from a completely new manufacturer, an established yarn mill in Uruguay, many lines are hand painted, for sensational prices. When Alison put these new arrivals in the shelves, she got inspired by all the colour mixes:

• The weather is grand,
• so we think it's fittin'
• to introduce new yarns
• for Spring crochet and knittin'

Well done, Alison. Here you go! This is what she summarized:

Punta Yarns brings exciting and beautiful new lines of merino and mohair yarns from Uruguay. There are some solid shades, but we are particularly excited by the wonderful range of hand painted shades. Here is a peek:

Merisoft - is a 100% merino yarn with fantastic yardage. The label states it knits to chunky weight, but we suspect it's closer to an aran weight. It is available in 100g skeins which boast 197 yds, and comes in three ranges:
Solid, which retails for $10.95 (see shade card);
Space Dyed, which is a variegated skein, done in various colour ranges (i.e. rusts, blues, ..). It retails for $11.95 (see shade card);
Hand Painted, another variegated with a wider colour range. The hand painted retails for only $13.95 for 100g, which is an excellent price for a merino of this quality and colour variation. Here is the shade card.

If you like the look of hand painted yarns but want something that's a bit more easy care, try the
Lava Hand Painted - this is about the same weight as the Merisoft, but is a blend of 30% wool and 70% acrylic. It has the look and feel of pure wool and is an excellent value at $9.25 for the 100g/230yd skein, Check the shade card.

We would recommend both the Merisoft and Lava as a great choice for sweaters, children's wear and accessories. Both are exceptionally soft and can be worn next to the skin.

We had been saddened by the recent discontinuation of two of our favorite mohairs: Whisper by Estelle and Memoirs by Berocco - so we are very pleased to now carry
Kid Mohair Hand Painted - also by Punta Yarns. This is a blend of Kid Mohair and nylon and works up to a DK weight. It comes in a gorgeous range of handpainted colours and works beautifully into a scarf, shawl or the ever-popular fingerless mittens. The 50g skein has 246 yards and retails for $12.95. See shade card.

Once again: our Ball Winding Service

We are seeing more and more of our yarns coming out in hanks, and therefore have recently purchased and installed a yarn swift and ball winder. We can now wind the hanks into skeins at the store - this is a free service, one we are glad to provide for our customers!
We sell swifts and ball winders, too!

NEW Yarn for Shadow and Domino Knitting!

After Miriam's workshops on Shadow Knitting and Domino Knitting in January (see our earlier blog posting and also our book list) we ordered the perfect yarn for these techniques, which gained a lot of interest from our customers!

Harrisville Designs:

New England Shetland - We have had a similar yarn in worsted weight before and now are pleased to offer it in a finer sportsweight (6.5 stitches per inch). This yarn is the one which comes with the Vivian Hoxbro kits. This Shetland yarn is perfect for lighter weight summer sweaters, hats, gloves and even socks. It's 100% pure wool that wears well, and comes in a nice range of heathered colours (we didn't bring them all in but can order them). See our shade card of available colours. The 50g skein has 217 yards and retails for $9.25.

The Spring & Summer Yarns are coming!

Nearly every day now we receive a shipment and enjoy the new colours.

From Classic Elite Yarns:

Classic Silk - a yummy blend of cotton, silk and nylon, that knits up to a worsted weight. What a great hand! This silk/cotton combination has a great nubby look with a little sheen and a great natural silk feel. Used in fair isle, for stripes or as just a single color, it's a spring/summer weight that looks perfect for a Summer cardigan or sweater. The 50g ball has 135 yards and retails for $11.25. Check out the shade card.

Patterns are available in these Classic Elite books: "Round Pond" and "Curvy Knits Vol.1". Check out our books page and order them from us.

Merino plus Superwash

Merino Extra Fine - this new yarn from Garnstudio/Drops arrived weeks ago and nearly went under in all the recent new arrivals and our large yarn sale. For $6.50 per ball, considering that it is spun from finest Merino wool AND is super wash treated, this is an excellent choice for garments as well as kids patterns.

As usual, there are a lot of free patterns available in the Garnstudio library, as this one on the right. Check the shade card and read more about this yarn there!

Shadow Knitting and Domino Knitting Classes

All those who receive our newsletters (sign up at http://www.needlenart.com/) knew about the two weekend classes with Miriam Leth-Espensen which we had 2 weeks ago.

This is what Pam summarized:

January 10th and 11th saw customers and some members of staff enjoying an interesting and informative weekend with Miriam Leth-Espensen from Santa Fe. January 10th saw us learning the art of Shadow Knitting as defined by the Danish needle artist, Vivian Hoxbro (http://www.viv.dk/). January 11th was spent on Domino Knittting, the art of knitting mitred squares with no sewn seams. Both these skills could be defined as "advanced" techniques, but Miriams's down-to-earth teaching manner and friendly personality made the whole experience very enjoyable.

The Needle & Arts Centre carries Vivian Hoxbro knitting kits as well as her books on Shadow Knitting and Domino Knitting - you may order them online. Arriving shortly will be the Harrisville Shetland Wool that is recommended in the books and which form the kits. We also carry wool and cotton yarns that can be substituted.

About Miriam:
Miriam Leth-Espensen visited us all the way from Santa Fé, New Mexico! She is a renowned and inspirational weaver and knitting teacher. Read more about Miriam here!

About Shadow Knitting:
Add magic to your knitting projects! Read about this clever technique in Wikipedia or even better about Vivian Høxbro's book "Shadow Knitting" in this review. Miriam's class is based on this book and the Vivian Høxbro patterns. Complete shadow knitting kits are available in our store or can be ordered, as well as the book.

About Domino Knitting:
Miriam's class is based on Vivian Høxbro's book "Knit to Be Square", Vivian's second book on Domino Knitting. The beauty of this technique is that you can create any colour pattern you want. Read more about the book and this detailed review.

New Yarns in January: Classic Elite

From Classic Elite:
Summer Sox - a sock/fingering weight, variegated blend of cotton for comfort and merino and nylon for strength. Perfect for socks for the Spring and Summer days that seem so far away.
This would be a great choice for lighter weight knits such as tank tops or Summer sweaters, as well.
The 5o g ball has 175 yards and retails for $12.25 - check out the shade card.

From Twinkle Handknits (a Division of Classic Elite):
Soft Chunky - a super bulky 100% wool that is as soft as air, and knits up beautifully into sweaters, hats, scarves and other accessories. Here is the shade card.
The 200 g skein has 83 yards and retails for $26.95. Great free pattern for this yarn is available at www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_chunky_cabled_cardigan.php.