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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

That's GRANDE: one ball, one night, one hat

We offer these little bags containing one ball of Schulana Grande and a pattern flyer with 4 Beanie patterns. One ball of this soft bulky yarn (100g = 55m, 100% Virgin Wool), knit on a set of double pointed needles size 10mm (US15) makes one cable beanie in just one evening!

The yarn comes in a rainbow of bright colours - just right to bring some light into these darker winter days! Price: $21.95 Can.

Patterns to the yarns - that helps a lot

Good new yarns from Kertzer gets you prepared for the winter knits. Based on the success of yarns like Marble DK , Marble Chunky and Northern Worsted, Kertzer has added lines of new yarns and added pattern booklets for each of them.

These pattern booklets feature Marble Chunky and Marble DK and are $4.25 and $4.95 only:

Baby Marble - Marble DK has been a great seller, especially for children's knits, so this new DK yarn fits in perfectly with its colorful baby shades. Use existing Marble patterns or enjoy the new patterns (below) for this yarn. Like Marble, Baby Marble is 100% acrylic, making it washer-friendly. The 100g skein retails for only $6.95 and has about 268 metres. Great Value!

Northern Worsted Tweed - A fleck of color adds to the personality of this worsted weight, 100% acrylic yarn. The tweed shades coordinate perfectly with existing Northern shades, and it's a great choice for afghans, sweaters and other garments that require more frequent washing. The 100g skein has about 210 meters and retails for ONLY $4.95!

Northern Chunky - Like its worsted counterpart, Northern Chunky (new edition!) is made from easy-care acrylic, making it perfect for sweaters, blankets and accessories. This version knits up faster because of its chunky weight, making it a quick knit! Available in beautiful shades, a 100g ball has about 150m and retails for $4.95. See booklets left and below!

Tweed Montage - A beautiful new chunky weight yarn. Tweed Montage is a blend of colours that change gradually, combined with flecks of colour throughout, giving it the look of a muich more expensive yarn. It combines the warmth of wool (56%) with the easycare of acrylic, and it works up beautifullyin scarves, hats, sweaters. The 150g skein has about 225 meters, making it a great value at $15.95. Check the pattern booklets left and below (both $4.95).

Rejuvenation - A new 100% wool worsted weight from Kertzer, Rejuvenation is the perfect choice for sweaters, hats and warm winter accessories. Great for felting, too! Rejuvenation would work well when used with similar worsted weight wools such as Shepherd Classic or Drops Alaska. The 100g ball has 200m and retails for $6.95. 43 shades! (click on the name/link above); see shade books!

Sassy Skein Designs and more ...

Wow, what a time gap since my last posting. Talk about a busy summer!

New products from Sassy Skein came in. An innovative new line of children's knitwear, featuring bright colors and beautiful yarns. We are pleased to now have in stock several of the Sassy Skein pattern kits, which include the pattern, complete with educational "tips and techniques" plus necessary notions, such as buttons, decals and ribbon (no yarn). Most of the designs can be knit with one of our favourite cottons, "Super 10 Butterfly". We keep a wide range of colors in stock, so you can start on your new project right away for your favourite little one. The pattern kits retail for $9.95.

Also from Sassy Skein - Buttons! Many of our customers asked in the past if we carry buttons, but up until now it's been difficult to find lines that we were really excited about! The button line from Sassy Skein is truly one of a kind, featuring bright, fun designs that will dress up your knits for the young at heart. Buttons are individually priced. The perfect finishing touch!

We also received a shipment from Nancy's Knit Knacks, including more of the popular Double-Point Work-in-Progress Tubes (DP WiP Tubes), which allow you to store your partially done socks and needles in a handy protective tube. No more losing your stitches when you put work away! We first stocked these tubes last fall, but quickly sold out. The set includes two WiP tubes plus a bonus tube to store your double point needles, and retails for $8.95.

Capitán Hat

Alison found this hat pattern by Rosi Garmendia and knitted the hat for display in one night. The pattern is for private use only. Alison used a skein of our MistiAlpaca Chunky 2-ply. Looks great!

Rosi says: "Here’s a hat pattern that is easy to memorize and fits from a child to an adult with a big head or lots of hair! Knit this up in a couple of hours for a quick gift". Email us for the free pattern in pdf format.

Muse Hat

Alison found this (free) pattern a while ago and it's for private use only. Click this link to get to the pattern!

Sharon, the owner of the blog Shazzas Patterns writes: I love crocheted hats but unfortunately I cannot crochet. Many years ago I remember knitting a jacket which had a stitch pattern that looked just like crochet so after sorting through my old pattern books I found the pattern and used it to make my Muse Hat. Why Muse you ask? It reminds me of the hats that the beautiful wives / girlfriends of famous musicians and artists were always pictured wearing in my mums New Idea magazines during the '60s and '70's, complete with the false eyelashes and long hair.

Enjoy! Click on photo to enlarge.

Bear in Mind!

Our regular customer, Knit Cafe and knitting club member Jane did these cute beary garments, and the bears (it will be three) will be travelling soon to her granddaughter in England.

The patterns are available in our store. email inf0@needlenart.com or phone!

Piece of Art

Inge just finished this felted bag in wonderful colours. Not just "another bag", but one which catches your eye. It is called Janite, is for intermediate skill level and knit from 6 hanks of Berroco Jasper, with nice bobbles on colourful stripes.

You find this pattern in Berroco's pattern book #276 for Geode & Jasper yarns, containing sweaters and hats as well.

Click to enlarge!

free pattern: Nimbus Jacket

This is a free pattern from the Estelle website. Never been there? Go to our pattern page and find the links to most of our supplier's free pattern pages there.

Alison knit this Nimbus Jacket in Drops Eskimo. The smallest size (32" chest") took 9 50g balls. We have copies of the pattern in the store in case you don't find it online. Or just email us for help. It's a great little cover up for spring dresses or for cool summer knits. It could also be knit out of Drops Ice (cotton), Quick by Marks & Kattens or other bulky yarns.

As you can see on the sign: April's Yarn of the Month with a 20% discount is - Eskimo!