Update July 2016

Dear visitors and friends,

this blog has not been actively used for a couple of years and for several reasons.

While the Needle & Arts Centre is thriving and actually moved into a bigger and better location in 2014, we feel that Facebook is the way to communicate with our followers. Plus, we updated our web site to contain more current information.

Please sign up at www.facebook.com/groups/needlenarts/  and get our fresh news and tips on a daily base!

Or, sign up for our about monthly newsletters, with announcements of events and containing free patterns. Best sign up on the start page of our web site.

Meet you over there - Cheers, Jurgen

  

See how good you are, compared...

Sorry about the long gaps in between my postings. Many interesting things which could be communicated... but lack of time. Double sorry!

Here's something funny for in between, which Alison suggested that I should post it:

click here
 
If you are a beginner and not content with this Knitting 101, don't despair. There are at least 2 things you could do:
1. come in on Tuesdays or Thursdays and learn how to knit. Buy your yarn and needles and pay only $5 to Lois or whoever is you teacher, and stay as long as you want. Experience shows that a week after this you finished your first scarf!
2. choose one of our many ready knit garments, buy funny hats or super soft Merino mittens for your loved ones. You find MANY ideas for Christmas gifts in our store!
 
Cheers, see you here!

Let the F/SUN begin!

A friendly ‘bombing’ took place on Pier Street in front of our Needle & Arts Centre. One of the still pretty naked planetrees was wrapped in colourful handknit scarves in preparation of fun things to happen around downtown this summer.

First, for the fourth year, the local yarn store is calling knitters and crocheters to gather along the sidewalk underneath the decorated tree for the World Wide Knit in Public event.

The Needle and Arts Centre is pleased to host the Campbell River WWKiP event on Pier Streeta again. Knitters and crocheters are invited to bring their favorite project and a lawn chair down to the store on this Saturday, June 11 between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm and take part in the fun. Weather permitted, the hosts hope to form a long line of crafters. Non-knitters/crocheters and those interested in learning are welcome as well! In case of bad weather all will move inside the Needle & Arts Centre and The Framing Post.

On June 18, Pier Street Association and the Downtown BIA invite all Campbell Riverites down to the first Campbell River Market Day SUNFEST. A Mile of market madness with goods, crafts, entertainment and fun in the sun starts a Pier Street and is marked by hundreds of sunflowers, all the way to Shoppers Row and 11th Avenue. The decorated tree will fit in nicely, as do all the recently installed downtown banners, and there may more such ideas pop up to brighten up our downtown for summer.

Later on, the ever growing Canada Day festivities will take place downtown, followed by the traditional “Knit in the Park” on August 13, where knitters and crocheters will produce slippers for the women at Ann Elmore Transition House.

We are so happy to see the sun finally here and sun, fun and colours are the ingredients to attract customers and visitors into our shopping area. We like to help to decorate our fair waterfront city.

For more information on the World Wide Knit in Public visit the website: www.needlenart.com/ and the WWKiP website, http://www.wwkipday.com/index.html, or phone 250-287-8898.

Fritidsgarn Slippers

Inge just did these snuggly felted slippers. We got the Fritidsgarn Slippers pattern from our friends at Nordic Yarn Imports, our suppliers of Drops, Marks & Kattens, Sandnesgarn, Zealana and Punta yarns. Inge used three balls of Fritidsgarn for these medium sized slippers and washed them 3 times to fit.

Great for the Summer cabin! Enjoy the sunshine!

You get this free pattern by contacting us.

Innovative Dress knit in Remix

Look at this cutie. Not only do we have this little dress as a sampler in our store, but Pam also knit it up in different colours.

Simo is an innovative dress for little ones. Short sleeves, pockets and a circular yoke make for a comfortable everyday garment, while a sewn-on scarf adds a little panache. You find the intermediate level pattern in Berroco book #303.

Made entirely from recycled fibers, Remix is a clever blend of cotton, silk, nylon, linen and acrylic, and knits up to an Aran weight. Soft to the touch, Remix is the perfect choice for kids knits, sweaters and accessories. Check out the designs in Berroco Book #303. Read more about the Remix idea in the shade card. Remix is machine washable and a great buy for the 200 meter, 100g ball at $10.25!

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!