All's quiet

...on the blog, at least. If you've walked into the store this week, you'd know it's been anything but quiet here. But when it comes to blog-worthy stuff, we're... well, kind of boring right now. Sorry. I do have one thing to relate - Patrick came by for a visit on Tuesday (after I blogged, of course) and he was wearing his Modern Aran Sweater:

The pattern is from The Knitting Man(ual) by Kristin Spurkland; which, incidentally, Patrick was a model in. Anyway, his version of the sweater was made with four skeins of Joseph Galler Inca Cotton in the color "Desert". Very nice and very tweedy. He admitted to me that he still hadn't wove in all the ends. Ha.

Otherwise, not much has been happening (again, that's blog-worthy). Maybe next time. By then the May Sock Club kit will be public and I can at least blog about that. Happy a happy weekend!

Can we pretend? (spoiler!)

I suppose I could have back-dated this post and no one would ever have known, but that would have been lying and, quite honestly, I doubt anyone would have believed it. So let's pretend instead that I actually updated the blog on Thursday and that we're right back on schedule.

First off: last Wednesday Patrick came in to finish up his unbelievable Seamless Yoke Sweater:

The pattern is in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Around and Knitting Workshop. Patrick adapted the pattern from his copy of Knitting Around. He and his "wife" made up a different Fair Isle pattern for the yoke and changed the ribbing to a 1x2 instead of a 2x2 but other than those teeny tiny details, it's the same pattern. Here's a shot of the yoke:

It kind of makes me think of a technicolor zebra*. Or, strangely, 1970s wallpaper. When Patrick came in he was already onto the neck ribbing and only had some minor finishing to do after that. I managed to drag it away from him to get a picture of it flat:

Do you see what I see? It's something indicative of extreme OCD or insanity or both. The sleeves match. Considering the fact that he is (probably "was" by now) knitting with Kauni, the odds of managing that are very difficult. The color of yarn, btw, is Kauni W-EH. I forgot to ask how many grams he'd needed. Sorry.

All madness put aside, I'm sure we all want to see it finished and modeled (hint, hint, Patrick). So maybe some cajoling will get him to wear it into the store.

Second: we have Wendy's recently completed Kauni mitts. I'm sure you remember Wendy and her EAT hat - if you don't, check this post out. The latest creative creation to come off her needles are a pair of Fair Isle and lace gauntlet-like mitts:

Admit it, they're awesome.

Made with Kauni W-EJ as the MC and W-EG as the CC. Wendy has told me that Kauni is her new favorite to work with, so we might be seeing many more improvised designs in coming months.

This is a Kauni-centric post, isn't it? It's interesting how projects can be tied together.

Third: Gratis Knits, please! The next Gratis Knits pattern is overdue. We're still looking for submissions. Seriously, if you have an original pattern for something springy click the link above and consider it.

Lastly, a bit of silliness. The photoshoot for the May Sock Club's pattern was last week, held at a super-secret location down the street. Hah. Here's Liz:

Who was this month's sock model. Thank you, Liz. And, just because you can already see it on ravelry by might not have yet, here's a SPOILER:

...

(feel free to skip this if you want to be surprised)

...

... our designer for May is none other than the reknowned and revered Cookie A. I've seen the pattern and it is lovely.

And I think that's everything that needed to be caught up. Cheers!

*It could happen.

A regal shawl, a wacky hat, and some colorful felting

I swear I was going to post this yesterday until I realised that we had a staff workshop in 10 minutes... so it got delayed. But we do have more photos for it!

First and foremost, prepare yourself to be amazed, with Duffy's (a.k.a. fiberqat) Queen Anne's Lace shawl:

Over 6 feet across and simply gorgeous. She was so (rightfully) proud of herself she brought it in to show off. A big 'thank you' to Tsipa (right) for helping Duffy hold it up during our impromptu photoshoot. And here's a center detail:

And the lovely edging that makes me think of peacock feathers:

Duffy said that it was an easy and very enjoyable knit. In fact, her ravelry notes compare it to "crack" (see link above). Hmm, sounds dangerous. Here's the pattern info on ravelry.

All in all, I think the best description is "wow".

Next, something completely different, is another amazing project that you have to see to believe... Wendy's most awesome self-designed EAT hat (okay, that's not what she's calling it):

Made with Kauni W-EM & W-EN for a friend who's a chef. Note the fork & knife motif as well as the inverted wine glass detail. Wendy is clearly crazy. In a good way, of course, but it must be said.

With those two projects, I bet I'm not the only one feeling like an underachiever right now. Oy.

In other, slightly smaller, FO news... we have NINE more cranes! Giving us 138. Almost half-way there. Keep 'em coming, guys!

And, finally, the reason this post was postponed last night... our staff Artfelt workshop. Here's us getting started with our base layers of wool laid down:

And here's the felting demonstration as best could be approximated (without a dryer on premises):

(with a peek at Lindsay's & Marjorie's unfelted pieces)

If you want to see more of the process, or pictures from our workshop, see our flickr page. I'll try and nag everyone to finished their projects over the weekend and bring them in next week for photos. Look for them in a week or two.

And that's everything, for yesterday today. Check back tomorrow for a sneak peek at our upcoming Mother's Day Special!

Such a lot.

I'd apologize for the tardiness of this post, but it was rather unavoidable. The past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the store what with a series of enormous shipments, some slight technical difficulties and a long-awaited visit from Catherine Lowe. But, before we get to all of that, we have a Boy-O-Boy cardigan knit by Elizabeth:

The pattern is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders and is here on ravelry. Elizabeth used ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in "Wasabi" for her project, though I have no information on how much she used or who the finished cardigan might be for (blame Sandy Kay, not me).

Next, we have another knitnotwar1,0o0 Crane Count and a little blurb from the creator. First, the update: 12 more cranes! Which brings our total up to 129 cranes and puts us at 43% towards our goal (and, yes, you can see all this information on the sidebar, but I wanted to mention it anyway). A couple of weeks ago, I emailed Seann about the origins of the name "knitnotwar 1,0o0" because we've received many an email with that question in some form or another. Here's Seann's reply:

It's a silly reason why it is 1,0o0 and not just 1,000...when I first started the project a dear friend of mine and I were talking and she thought that the project sounded very serious while knitting is generally so fun and relaxing. I certainly didn't want folks to only regard it as a super serious project (it really is fun to knit the cranes and the spirit of it is supposed to be happy and hopeful!) I started adding a "o" in the title to just visually trip up the weight of it so it was a bit more lighthearted looking. I don't know if it did the trick, but my friend noticed and it made her happy!

So there you go. It makes sense, considering the bittersweet aspects of the story of Sadako Sasaki and the new connotations attached to origami cranes after the second World War.

Now, moving on to more lighthearted topics, we have some new products that are so very awesome I can't but mention them.

Firstly, we have three new patterns:

• Skif June/ September/ February
• Skif Buttonback/ Swing
• CoCoKnits Pleated Ballet Flats

The new Skif patterns in particular are super exciting for a Skif freak like me. Sandy Kay and I are already talking about resurrecting the Skif KAL for this summer. How's about it, our devoted readers - yay or nay? We could meet monthly and have a yarn sampling party and who-know's-what else. Just a thought.

Second, we have a (small) library's worth of new books. Most of which are from Japan; our favorites include: Favorite Aran Knits (the cables in here are fabulous), Easy Knit & Crochet (check out those legwarmes on the cover!) and several new Amigurumi/ toy books.

Then, of course (you'll have seen this in the most recent Newsletter), we have Cookie A's highly coveted Sock Innovation.


Can I just say how much I love this book? I already have my own copy and am planning to knit at least half the patterns within. And, since we have "No Mean Feet!" tonight, maybe discussion of a store KAL isn't out of order. Anyone interested?

And, maybe, that's everything for today's belated post. Check back tomorrow (we should have some post-worthy stuff then), for a really cool FO Wendy just finished for a friend. Hint, it involves some amazing Fair Isle creativity.

Projects!

Have we got a parade of handknits for you today (some are finished, some are still OTN, but they're all looking good!). First off, we have Sue's children's bolero:

Knit with ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in Spectrum.

Do you remember Sue and her 110 Pullover? I certainly do have to wonder when does she find the time to knit all these sweaters? I mean, really. Last I talked to her, she was planning on making an adult bolero to match.

Then, after Sue dropped by to show off, Nancy came in for some advice on her Skif Heart:

Which I think is just lovely. She's been making it with Handmaiden Sea Silk, Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk (one of my personal favorites!) and Isager Wool 1. The hand of the three together is just luscious. I can't wait to see this finished (keep going, Nancy! you're sooo close). And, ha!, I found it in Nancy's ravelry journal.

Next, we had a visit from baby Mils, whom you might recognize from our April Staff Pick eCard:

She is so darned cute I want to squeee! whenever I see her photo. I managed to convince Mommy and Grandma to let me get a photo of her in her handknit booties with her (clearly) favorite teddy bear. The booties are from heaven knows where (maybe these?), since I couldn't get any info on them. But the bear pattern is from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby and is easily the cutest bear pattern any of us have seen.

And, last but not least, on the handknitting front, we have Sandy B's Easter chicken for her granddaughter:

Who I've named Henrietta, which has stuck (it fits, doesn't it?). Made with Rowan Handknit Cotton in "Slick" and "Nectar". Cute, huh? I decided she needed to be introduced to our Jamie, Gordon and Hugh chickens. Last I checked, they were getting on spendily.

And, truly finally, we have Mona's handspun "dewdrop" yarn:

It was made by beading the yarn as it was spun. Very fun. Mona has just over 9 oz here, which is decidedly enough for a variety of projects (which maybe she'll bring back for Show and Tell...). And, just so's we don't get annoyed questions later, Mona learned to spin the yarn during our Intermediate Handspinning Techniques class. Aren't you jealous? I know I am, it's so pretty!

And that just might be everything (for now) that I have photos of. Check back on Thursday for a knitnotwar update, new patterns, new books and more stashing updates!

Quickie

Today has been on the hectic side, so unfortunately blogging (which involves sitting at a computer undisturbed for some time) has been pushed off so many times that now it's 10 minutes to 6 o'clock and this post still isn't finished. Which means brevity is definitely the better part of valor right now.

First. Have you see our Easter basket? You know, the one in the eCard we sent out a week ago? This one, in fact:

Well, if you haven't and are in need of some Easter Basket Inspiration, drop by to see it in person. The eggs (painted, hand-felted, and hand-knit), bunnies and chickens are worth a visit...

Or so we're told.

Two. Since I have no customer projects from the past two days immediately available (alas), I am afraid I only have one FO to show off:

Which is, incidentally, a store sample in case you want to touch it or try it on.

Anyway. It's Porom*, by Jared Flood, knit up with Habu Textiles Bamboo XS-32 in "Green", which is not up on the website right now (it's a new color) but will be soon. I can tell you, quite honestly, that it is just scrumptious to knit with and the finished hat is lovely. You can also see more photos here.

Third, finally, the Josh Jakus UM bags are on display!

You may have seen our excited tweet when they arrived. Seriously, there are no words to describe how awesome these bags are. And, it's obvious from the admiration they receive from visitors, that we're not alone in our appreciation. We also have, by Josh Jakus, their line of felt accessories. Everything from a wine bottle cozy to the coolest eggflat you'll ever see:

It also makes a great yarn storage device/ centerpiece.

All of the Josh Jakus pieces are made with recylced industrial felt excess and are made in Berkeley. The designs are entirely modern, unique and perfect for a variety of purposes. We're certain that these will be very popular among knitters as they're both practical and stylish.

And that is everything I could cover in 15 minutes. Toodles until next Tuesday. Look for a Newsletter in your inbox tomorrow!


*We like the pattern, what can I say?