The Wind-Proof Beanie

Alison came across this Beanpole Beanie pattern in Ravelry and Inge made it during the Holidays. This free pattern is downloadable from Ravelry courtesy of Rachel Weaver. If you cannot download it, email us.

The special feature is, that this beanie is knit in 2 different gauges and sits tight on your head. Good not only for the 'Windy City' but also for our sometimes pretty blustery West Coast. You also learn how to do the cabled rib pattern without a cable needle!

Inge knit this Beanpole Beanie with 2 balls of Rowan Classic Yarns Cashsoft Aran.

Linda's Sweater

... look how proud she is after she finished the sweater for her son. She visited the store to show the beautiful gift off, after several knit-along Saturday sessions here.

It's called "Guernsey Guys" from "Aran & Celtics Knits" (Best of Knitter's Magazine) and was done in Berroco Vintage. Congratulations, Linda!

Check our class and workshop schedule here.

Our First Yarn Tasting was a Success!

A couple of weeks ago, we had our first very well received Yarn Tasting of several but not all of the new Fall/Winter yarns. On November 6 we'll have the second Yarn Tasting. Please let us know which ones you'd like to check out in our store!

The first Yarn Tasting was well attended by 13 customers. They tested/tasted (fuzzy!) 13 yarns, some of them had been already stocked in the store for a while but were widely unnoticed. Some customers found yarns by trying, which they were always looking for. The participants knitted swatches for each yarn, which they passed around, together with an evaluation sheet.

Here is the list of tasted yarns:

• Alpaca Silk ; Baby Alpaca and Silk; silky, yummy, good yardage, firm and soft
• Evviva Colour ; Wool and Acrylic; fluffy, colourful, busy, fairly high priced
• Schulana Pacolana ; Wool, Alpaca and Microfibre; spongy soft, very cozy, good yardage
• Maggi's Linen ; Cotton and Linen; earthy, very fine, a bit rough
• Eskimo ; 100% Wool; spongy, soft, well priced, warm, good for felting
• Cincilla ; Wool, acrylic, polyamide; fuzzy, cuddly, elegant
• Polo ; Cotton, Acrylic; love it, excellent, smooth, fairly priced
• Tara Tweed ; Wool and Nylon; light, nice to knit, cozy
• Mosco ; Viscose, Mohair and Nylon; shiny, silky soft, pretty, a bit expensive
• Aran Tweed ; Merino and Wool; tweedy, soft, rustic, soft and firm
• Riana Big Color ; Wool, Acrylic and Viscose; fluffy, plush, tweedy, easy, earth tones
• Remix ; recycled Nylon, Cotton, Acrylic, Silk, Linen; tweedy, very soft, gorgeous earth tones
• Baby Merino ; extra fine wool superwash; lovely soft, creamy, luxurious, good value

Don't forget the next yarn tasting on November 6 at 1:30 pm!

New Fall Yarns 2010 - Overview!

Glad to be back, it's been a while since our last posting.

In the meantime, the new Fall yarns have arrived, which is a clear indication that Summer has come to a close. New colourful yarns will brighten up the darker months ahead of us and their incredible softness will keep us cozy, while the new fancy ones will lift our spirits.

All together we've got - can you believe it - 25 new yarn lines ... Alison did great write-ups for all of them which gives the best overview in one document ... Read More!

A Maggiknits Wall Hanger

For our B&B we needed a wall-hanging type of curtain for a connecting glass door. Inge modified the New Abbey Wall Hanger in Maggiknits Irish MK Collection Book 6: Home Interiors.

This courtain is knit in Maggi's Linen in Natural (about 13 balls), with 127 stitches cast on, without the tassels, though, but with the Maggi style stepwise bottom end.

It is hanging in the store now as one of the many projects finished here after Maggie Jackson's class in Spring. See earlier posting.

Colourful Kids Vest

Inge found this "KiddyColors" vest for cooler Summer or Fall days in the Summer 2010 Knitter's Magazine, page 42. She knit up this sweater with one 200g skein of Naturally Aspire, a chunky yarn (70% NZ wool and 30% Alpaca) which comes in beautiful colour combinations.

This vest in the photo is not blocked yet. One aspect to use this yarn is the contribution to Child Cancer Foundations with every purchase of Aspire.

The Seduction Srawl for warm Summer nights...

That's a hot name for a wonderful filigrane shawl which Alison came up with. You see it in this photo draped over a tank top (knit by Pam), closed with a matching Surina Shawl Pin. Both garments are knit in Berroco's Seduce (ah, that's where the name is coming from) and both look beautifully light for a warm Sommer night!

For this Seduction Scrawl you need 3 skeins Berroco Seduce, or approximately 300 meters of a similar worsted weight yarn, and 4.5 mm needles. Ask for the pattern and yarn.

Thank You Churchmouse!

Pam first saw this Welted Wristers pattern in the Churchmouse Yarns & Teas (Bainbridge Island, near Seattle) Newsletter and adapted it for yarn sold at the Needle & Arts Centre. She loves the pattern. We give it away with the purchase of yarn.

You will need:
- 2 balls Drops Extra Fine Merino (you need just over one ball so you can use oddments of yarn and stripe the welts or buy three co-ordinating colours and make two pairs).
- Set of 4.5 mm DPN’s or 2 x 4.5 mm circ. needles
- 2 markers

Contact us for yarn and pattern!

Project Linus Blanket

Our customer Brenda came in and showed us her just finished "Box Stitch Carriage Robe".
She crocheted it in our Baby Marble by Kertzer (she used 4 balls) and thought that the pattern came out nicer than she had expected.

You can find more information on the Linus Project (providing security for children through blankets) and find the free crochet pattern here.

Iced for cool Summer days

Alison found this FREE pattern in the knitty web site and since the "Iced Beauty" cardigan is knit in our Garnstudio Drops "Ice" (55% cotton, 45% acrylic), she liked me to post this information. Download or print the pattern, pick a shade from our Ice shade card, and order the yarn from us!

This is meant to be a not too warm cardigan for cooler days ahead of us, and sitting in this heat wave right now we can only dream of these days.... But we wanted the summer to finally kick in. Enjoy weather and knit on!

Next Class: Baby Surprise Jacket

Pam knit up this cute Baby Surprise Jacket from a pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann (see photo). Why surprise? You knit it all in one piece, you really don't know what you knit and where you are, but in the end it's this adorable baby jacket. Pam decided to offer a class for it which is not in our schedule yet.

Sign up for the class on Tuesday July 13th from 2 to 4 pm - the pattern will be available here. $10 to Pam, including a follow-up 2 weeks later.

The Moebius Cowl Hype

Wow, we had 12 (or more) knitters in the store on the 8th of June and Pam and Inge were busy helping them to start their Moebius Cowl - see also the posting below. All had fun and found that this small project (although a bit tricky) makes a perfect gift. In the meantime the number of cowls (by Inge and Pam) in the store grew, see photo.

We had some more inquiries in the meantime to repeat this class on a Saturday, in Fall ...

If you are interested to participate in a later Moebius Cowl class, please drop us an email and tell us which day of the week you prefer (best for Pam is Tuesday, but we take other days too), which time of day, and which season (Summer or Fall).

Our babies will appreciate this!

Over the last couple of weeks we got new baby yarns and patterns. Wonderful colours sitting on my desk, see photo. After having experienced our newly born grand daughter Chloe for a week beginning of May, even a guy's heart can warm up for cute kids patterns.

Jill Eaton Cottontail

New yarn fron Classic Elite: famed knitwear designer Jil Eaton (Minnowknits) has expanded her own yarn line with the addition of this aran weight cotton. The perfect choice for baby and children's knits, Cottontail is easy care, machine wash and dry, plus comes in a stunning array of bright colours. Use it in any of Jill's patterns that call for aran weight yarn. 90 yards per 50g ball, Cottontail sells for $9.25.

It's great for Sassy Skein patterns, too.

Filatura Di Crosa Baby: Bubble and Bubble Print

This is a novelty yarn at its fines in this fun new chunky weight yarn. A blend of superwash Merino and Polyamid, Bubble features a ladder stitch with evenly spaced tufts of yarn which add interest to your project. Add some fun to your baby and children's knits, or try it alone in a scarf or hat. Available in both solid or variegated colours, the 50g skein has 95 meters and retails for $11.95 (solids) or $12.95 (variegated).

Cashmere Moebius Cowl

Diane from Skacel gave us this hint and Pam and Inge just jumped on it and knitted their first Cashmere Moebius Cowl. It's a free pattern from Cat Bordhi (known as the author of several knitting books which we carry), which you can either download from http://www.catborghi.com/ or ask us for a free pdf file.

This Moebius can be worn many ways - draped over the head, circling the neck, or even around your hips! Inge used Schoppel's InSilk, but we carry a lot of other yarns which are perfect for this cowl: Loft, Nimbus, Fashion Silk, Lush, Fundus or Urban Silk. It takes you only 3-4 hours to get this perfect gift done!

Good Memories - Lots of Inspiration

The wine, cheese and appies on March 26 would have easily fed 10 more, but those who attended our (first ever) fashion show with Maggie Jackson thoroughly enjoyed what they saw. And the models had fun as well: friends, customers and staff of different ages and sizes.

It was Maggie's first visit to remote Campbell River (from her view, and people in Victoria had said to her "why in the world would you want to go to Campbell River?"). We made friends with this vulcano of an Irish fashion designer, had a wonderful fashion show as an introduction into her world, two subsequent intense workshop and even another bonus day with Maggie.

A number of projects were started spontaneously ("I think all I have knitted so far was boring" said one knitting pro). Maggiknits' very special yarns and pattern books are now available in our store, a Maggiknits knit-along starts on April 10th (interested knitters can also join at a later date) and we made tentative plans to have Maggie Jackson back in 2011 for workshops and/or a special retreat.

Please take in a couple of shots taken during this fashion show. The first photo on top of the posting shows Maggie Jackson (to the right).





































































































Many more photos were shot, but I am struggling to get them posted here. I will try to set up a slideshow.

Thanks to all helpers! The models were stunning!

"real" comments are appreciated!

Dear reader of our "Yarn Blog";

For some years now, this blog provides our customers and other readers with snapshots from our knitting world: new products, upcoming and past events, projects we found interesting, free patterns, personal stories, ... all information which complement our already information packed web site and monthly newsletters.

It turned out that this blog is read by many, but it did not develop into a chat blog, which is ok as long as the information and entertainment purpose is fulfilled and as long as it supports our business. It was an interesting effect, though, to see an unusual number of garbage comments on my posting of Maggie Jackson's workshops (below: "WOW", ...). This Wow must have attracted some internet predators.

Well, I rather would see the one or other "real" comment, either as a blog comment or as an email! Thanks for following my postings! Jurgen

Cute shoelaces from leftovers

I found this idea in one of the Knitting Daily newsletters and showed the write-up to our knitting ladies. "It's just an I-cord" was the response. I liked it, these I-cord shoelaces can make even these boots look cute!

One ball of yarn should give you many pairs of shoelaces, but this is a great idea to use up leftover sock yarns, for example. Want to have the little instruction sheet? Just email me.

The sun is shining...

Here's Alison's newest:
"The sun is shining,
so it seems fitting,
to sit on your deck
and do some spring and summer knitting!"

She also writes this: It's a sure sign of spring when the new colourful yarns are arriving. Here some great ones to get excited about:

From Schulana: Sierra
A double knitting cotton blend, dyed to give the effect of your favourite sock yarn. Sierra is a cotton/silk blend for softness and strength. We can see it working up as a great summer tank top, baby hat, or even a perfect pair of summer socks. Pamper yourself! The 50g ball has 110 meters and retails for $9.95. See shade card.

From Filatura di Crosa: Lovely Jeans
Get the look and feel of your favourite pair of jeans with this fabulous new cotton. The label says it works as chunky weight, but we suspect it would be great knit as an aran weight, too. Great colours and the comfort of cotton make this yarn a great choice for children's wear and spring/summer wearables. The 50g ball has 85 meters and retails for $9.95. Check the shade card. Be sure to check out the patterns designed for this yarn in two new publications: Filatura di Crosa "Cute Kids" and "Lovely Jeans". See this Chain Stitch Pullover from the book Lovely Jeans!

Other new pattern books from Filatura di Crosa, both for Spring 2010, are the "Classics" and "Fancy" Collections. See our book page. We are pleased to see that both books feature several crochet patterns in addition to their knitted ones.

From Schoppel Wolle: In-Silk
The luxury of silk is combined perfectly with the softness of Merino Wool in this gorgeous aran weight yarn that is a dream to work with. We see it as a hat and fingerless glove set, or in a shawl or sweater. A lady sweater size S requires 500g. Silk touches the wool while felting. It's an evenly smooth yarn in bright colours. The 100g skein is made up of 75% wirgin merino wool and 25% silk, and has an impressive 200 meters. In-Silk retails for $23.95 - see the beautiful shades.

From Riverstone Yarns: Mohair
We are pleased to see that mohair is making a comeback, and we are in love with this new worsted weight yarn that is made in South Africa and hand-dyed in Creston, British Columbia. Exceptionally soft, this yarn features a touch of wool and nylon for strength. The 2 ounce skein has 110 yards and retails for $16.25, the colour and texture has to be seen to be appreciated! There is no shade card yet, so come visit us to see this and all the other yarns, in parson.

WOW! Maggie Jackson Workshops in March!

For the weekend March 26th till 28th the Needle & Arts Centre has invited internationally acclaimed designer Maggie Jackson from Ireland for a fashion show and two workshops on creative knitting in the store. For those participants travelling from Washington or the Lower Mainland to our wonderful City we have arranged for special rate accommodations in B&B's and Cottages in walking distance.

Read details here and sign up at 250-287-8898 or toll-free at 1-888-588-7834 or info@needlenart.com. This workshop will fill up fast!

Wear it "Anyway" you like!

We found this unique hat pattern in Turvid's Blog. You may wear the hat in different ways, thus the name. See photos in the pattern.

The pattern knits up very nicely and quick with two strands of chunky yarn held together, like our Northern Chunky or Marble Chunky. Works equally nice with one strand of a super bulky yarn like Quick or Woolly Bully. Alison made the hat from one ball of Quick!

You may also email us for a pdf file of the Anyway Hat pattern! This pattern is for private use only.