CORRECTION:  Brain dead again -- Friday hours are 10 to 6!

february went out like a lamb for cherry hollow farm!  as you all know, mathilda birthed twin all white boys named buddy and peachy on february 22 and no-name mama birthed an all black girl (not yet named) on tuesday, february 26 while i was teaching at franklin.  and i'm happy to announce that both mamas are taking very good care of their little ones.

WHAT'S NEW?

FINALLY nightfall arrived on february 19th.  i only received a partial order and i have just a few left.  i decided to try making the hitch hiker out of the sock yarn (which comes divided in two balls).  my original plan was to start with the black, work through the copper to the end of the first ball, start with the copper on the second ball, and finish with the black; however, as my work was progressing, i decided to end it after finishing the first ball and make it into a hitch hiker-ette.  the lighter weight and smaller size makes it perfect for spring and summer.  so in keeping with the spirit of frugality, i am willing to split the sock sets and sell each ball individually.

knit collage yarn:  similar in funkiness to the pagewood yarns, knit collage adds flowers and shiny embellishments directly onto the yarn which then gets knitted right in.  check them out at their new home in the kitchen cupboard here at the shop.  knit collage furnishes free patterns with purchase of the yarn as well.  

gypsy wool yarns fresh from boulder, colorado - all handspun, hand dyed yarns made in the mountain state.

the lavender fleece yarns straight from the farm in midland, michigan.  natural colors and natural fibers - leicester longwools and icelandic lambs wool yarns.  a rare find!

oh yes and wear your sunglasses to the shop because new lighting has finally been installed with more to come soon.

NEW BOOK:  elizabeth zimmerman's knitting without tears.  elizabeth was a very well-known knitter who passed back in 1999.  she revolutionized knitting and i feel like she speaks for me in many ways.  she was a very relaxed knitter and hated purling almost as much as i do.  her book is witty and informative and is an enjoyable read.  stop by and pick up a copy.  supplies are limited.

ON SALE:  

raspberry hill alpacas 50% off sale has been extended; pagewood farm rustic spun is 20% off; and all those ruffle mesh yarns are 20% off.

february's door prize winner was bobbi hineline.

CLASSES CLASSES CLASSES!

at long last and after much cajoling, classes have been scheduled.  march/april/may classes are:

needle felted easter eggs:  

two large easter eggs and all materials will be supplied.  you may design however you like.  this class is being offered two days but select only one please.

friday march 22 1 to 3:30 and saturday march 23 1 to 3:30

       instructor:  laura tepke      

       cost:  $30 includes materials

Learn to Knit Socks:   Class will cover basic sock construction: ribbed cuff, heal flap & turn, foot length, and toe.  Students should be comfortable with both the knit and purl stitches.  Class will meet for three 2-hour sessions with a week break between classes 2 & 3.  Students should bring a set of 8-inch BAMBOO double pointed needles (size 3) and light worsted weight yarn of choice.  I recommend the bamboo needles because they are very light and therefore do not fall out of your project easily.  

thursdays april 4, 11, and 25 from 1 to 4

             instructor:  sally holbein    cost:  $50 

amazing stitches:  learn bumps bobbles and beads today! this will be a monthly class where students will learn three new items each class including different stitches, different ways to increase, decrease, cast on, etc.

      saturday, april 13 from 1 to 2:30  

      instructor:  toni ritchey       cost $10

silver stitch marker:  make your own lovely stitch marker with real silver

        tuesday, april 16 at 1:00

        instructor:  maia olivenstein

        cost:  $60 includes kit

              

machine felting:  Come join us for a day of fun and learn a new technique called machine needle felting. You don't have to have a machine, it is supplied for you. you will need to bring two pair of scissors - one pair of embroidery scissors and the other pair to cut fabric and paper.  The price of the class includes the use of a machine and your kit.  You can bring other items such as ribbon, beads, embroidery floss and buttons to embellish your piece.

Bring a bag lunch this will be an all day class.

 saturday, April 20th from 10:00am-5:00pm

 instructor:  laura tepke          cost: $81

(class size limited to 5 people, so sign up soon)

crochet edgings and embellishments:

 Learn to crochet a variety of edgings and clever embellishments.  Using basic stitches to enhance your knitted, woven or crocheted pieces, they will be transformed into fiber art. 

Please bring some crochet hooks and scrap yarns.  

wednesday, may 8 from 6 to 8

instructor:  rhonda pegg

cost:  $25

Freeform Crochet

Let’s play with basic crochet stitches in this class to create imaginative “scrumbles”.  These unique sculptural forms can be used to make hats, purses, anything goes!

Please bring some crochet hooks and a variety of scrap yarns.

wednesday may 22 from 6 to 8

instructor:  rhonda pegg

cost:  $25

BEADED PIN/PENDANT

 You will be fashioning a beautiful beaded pin or pendant as you learn the backstitch,peyote stitch and fringing techniques - beading around a button.  You may just, then, raid your Mother's and Grandmother's button box to create a family heirloom.  This technique involves working with thread, fine beading needle and small beads.

saturday, may 11 from 1 to 5

instructor:  dotty westerveld

cost: $45.00 includes the kit

garden path silk scarf kit:  this kit comes from pagewood farms and is perfect for spring and summer.  kit includes one hand-dyed silk scarf, die cut silk felt flowers, and mini skeins of pebbles yarn.  you will be supplied with needles and backing for use during the class.

          saturday, april 25 from 1 to 3

          instructor:  toni ritchey

          cost:  $40 includes all materials 

other classes are in the process of being scheduled for summer/fall:  knit/felt a sheep, other amazing stitches, wet felted bowl of cherries, blocks. updates will be sent out with further information or it will be on the website which will be up and running by march 15. 

DATES TO REMEMBER:

thursday, march 7 at noon:  purlin girls at the bean

thursday, march 21 at noon:  dolly llamas at raggz

friday/saturday/sunday, march 15, 16, and 17:             Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet

store hours:  tuesdays march 12 and 26 - KA 1-5

              fridays march 1, 8, 22, and 29 from 1-6 

              (NOTE closed friday, march 15 for the festival)

birthday wishes go out to alice chelen and kay farabaugh!

see you soon!

t

nightfall has arrived!!!

today i was pleasantly surprised to receive a partial order of the fibro fibers nightfall yarn i have been anxiously awaiting since i ordered it in november!  here's what i received so far:

4 pair of the sock sets (2 in cyan and 2 in copper)

8 balls of nightfall in the DK weight (2 balls of each color)  cyan, deep teal, royal blue, and robin's egg blue.

these are going to go pretty fast.  i am under the impression that the worsted and sport weight will be arriving in a couple of weeks.  the hitch hiker or any shawl can be knitting in any weight.  if you remember the cyan hitch hiker i knitted (check out the last blog entry) was in cyan and it was sport weight.  all you do is use a different size needle.

don't dilly dally if you're interested in any of these.

correction

oops!  friday hours are 10 to 6!  my baaaaaaaaaaad

well if you believe that groundhog, there's a light at the end of the winter tunnel.  its also time to tap those maple trees.  i am very excited about it this year since i missed out last year due to an early thaw so i got the trees tapped today.  since it was too cold this morning for the sap to run, nothing was coming out but later in the day i had about 1/2 inch or so in the bucket!  woohoo

monte brought up an interesting point the other day at the purlin girls gathering.  she leaned over and said 'i want to thank you for the gift of knitting.'  i was taken aback by it to be honest with you and welcomed her and laughed it off.  

but later in the day, after i thought about it, i realized that the knitting truly has been a gift.  it is a great way to be creative as well as productive and the friendships which have formed through knitting will last forever, or at the very least for many years to come. we've been through a lot together and at our gatherings we have so much fun, the room is bursting at the seams!

monte has been stricken with duffer fever:

well my first ad was in the february 6 pgh knit and crochet email blast.  they didn't put in the text, only the photo and unfortunately it listed my shop as being located in pittsburgh but the phone number was right and when you click on the ad, it takes you here to the blog with the correct information.  already i received a comment from someone who saw it!  it has since been corrected.  also i do have a half page ad being placed in the festival brochure.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!

loads of new cascade close-outs have arrived including baby folio, lampedusa, dolly, and prisma.  these yarns are $1 and $2 per skein and i'm sure they will go fast, so come on by and check them out.  they're on the porch with the other sale items.  

and in an attempt to reorganize, i've moved items from the regular price shelves to the bargain bin including a stash of cascade bulky leisure in select solids and variegated at an unbelievable price of $3.  the content is 35% superfine alpaca and 65% pima cotton.  other various yarns, including red heart baby yarns have been reduced.  these are all nice yarns and will make a great addition to YOUR stash instead of mine!

i am planning on phasing out acrylics and man-made yarns  to specialize in natural fibers.  i will be carrying some blends but for the most part i want to stick with my true passion - natural, mostly local, one-of-a-kind, organic and handspun yarns not readily found.  there are so many creative spinners out there and my plan is to help them out by purchasing their creations and offer them here. these folks rarely sell wholesale, which is totally understandable, as they are all spun by hand (not mass produced) so i wont be able to offer them at the discount my other yarns are.  at the present time, i carry willow mist acres, snowberry & lime, and a yarn from germany.  i'm hoping to expand my selection soon.

i am currently working on a noro sweater using sock yarn and a series of wrap and turns, thus making wedges in the sweater.  its beautiful so far.  funny story - tom was in the kitchen the other night and i heard him cursing about water being on the counter and floor and he called for me.  well, at that moment i was working on a wrap and turn and informed him 'NOT NOW I'M COUNTING!'.  if only i could have seen his face. 

SO WHAT'S BRAND NEW?

ARTWORX ORIGINALS - colorful, handmade one-of-a-kind buttons from north carolina in new colorways.  OZARK handspun - this yarn is right up my alley with its thick/thin, bit of sparkle, and loose curls here and there in unique color combinations and is dyed and spun in the ozark mountains.

NEW COLORS in noro kureyon and malabrigo rastita and FIBRA NATURA 100% LINEN.  also some new handspun yarn from snowberry & lime from the UK.

oh and before i forget - january's door prize winner was sylvia elliott.  sylvia is in florida presently; i'm sure she'll be pleased to know her name was drawn.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:

thursday feb 21:  purlin' girls latrobe coffee bean 12-3

tuesday feb 26:  knitters anonymous 1-5 here at the shop

saturdays feb 16 and 23:  craftique knitters 10-12 at craftique in greensburg

thursday feb 28:  dolly llamas here at the shop

date tba:  close knit girls

fridays the shop is open from 1 to 6

REMINDER!  the pittsburgh knit and crochet festival is march 15, 16, and 17.  i have a full load in my car now but we could form a convoy for those who are directionally challenged.

birthday club shout out! 

february greetings go to:  linda lang, donna whiteside, carolyn and trish fiore, cathy rosensteel and holly holbein.  belated january greetings go to:  cathy peters, ardis mock, eugenia shipe, linda jones, marge jackson, jennifer le, tina blake, and rosemary abeles!  (sorry january girls for being late - it slipped my mind last month).  please be sure to pick up your $5 birthday certificate next time you're here if you havent already used it.  and if i dont have your birthday, dont forget to sign up.

next newsletter i will have a complete listing of my upcoming classes. so long for now! 

"knitting" around the world:  

french "tricot"

german "strikke" 

italian "maglia"

spanish "punto de media"

norway "strikke"

russian "trikotazh"

arabic "hayyak"

february 1 2013

"life is a stocking, grandma says and yours has just begun.

but i am knitting the toe of mine and my work is almost done."          (19th century rhyme)

the best four-letter word ever --  D O N E!!!  i finished anthony's socks! unfortunately, when i was doing the kitchener stitch for the toes, the unthinkable happened - the yarn broke!!!!!  un-kitchener stitching is not an easy task.  it took me a half hour just to undo it.  then i had to start a new strand to finish thus leaving me with two extra ends to weave in.  ah well after a mere 14 months, they are done and on their way to my son with a note stating that a little drop of love was knitted into each stitch. 

i'm so happy to have finished, i have decided to start another pair and teach myself the magic loop method doing both at the same time.  i will use a size 0 needle 40" long.  monte is rolling her eyes about now but its totally understandable. these will be for my daughter with a lovely rainbow colored alpaca tye dyed yarn i purchased several years ago to make socks for her but, as is my usual MO, i realized after a couple of inches that they were big enough for an elephant.  so off they went into the corner not to be revisited until now.  but this time, i'm not telling her that i'm starting them thus no disappointment when and if it takes me two years (or more) to completion!

february is here and with it we celebrate groundhog day, valentine's day, lambing season, and hopefully at the end of the month tree-tapping.  i am hoping those warm days havent tricked the trees into getting their sap running early - i missed tapping my trees last year because they budded in january and once they bud, the sap is bitter and rendered unusable.  this year you can be sure i'm keeping my eye on my maples.  2011 was only my second year tapping and i collected about 60 gallons of sap.  the ratio is 40:1 meaning 40 gallons of sap cooks down to 1 gallon of syrup but i had enough to last me all year and share some with my kids.

i am anxiously awaiting mathilda to lamb, which could be any time now but with all that fluffy wool, its hard to tell if its her fleece thats poofy or her!

upcoming dates to remember:

thursday feb. 7  purln girls at noon at the bean in latrobe

monday feb 11:  2-4 greensburg fiber arts meet up at panera in greensburg

tuesday feb 12   knitter's anonymous 1-5

tuesday feb 5   close knit girls 6-8 panera

fridays open 10-6*

*note now open til six

WHAT'S NEW AT THE SHOP?

from hiya hiya:  new circular needles in assorted sizes as well as some interchangeable sets in both metal and bamboo.  the new thing now are the shorter needles, formerly called 'lace tips' and they are really much easier to work with, especially with the short 16" cords.  hiya hiya also carries 'sharps' which have a sharper point.  its about time i carry a better variety of sizes.

what else is new?  pagewood farms has done it again with a funky, new thick yarn called 'mo puffs, pictured below along with a new shipment of flora fina in every color available:

also if you are a fan of pagewood's rustic spun (an especially thick/thin yarn which is not easy to find), they are discontinuing this line and i was able to secure 11 skeins of it, so when it's gone, its gone.

and last but not least, raspberry hill alpacas has added a heavy weight natural light grey alpaca yarn to their selection, which is still being offered at 50% off for a limited time.

in keeping with my intent to carry unusual and artful yarns, i will soon be carrying ozark handspun as well as knit collage yarns.  these yarns are not readily found and i am very excited to offer them.  also soon to arrive will be fibro fibers.  i picked up a couple of skeins in north carolina and just finished a hitch hiker using nightfall.  check out this photo below and see how beautifully the color changes - all hand dyed by a young woman in north carolina.  stunning!  

i'll keep you posted as soon as my shipment arrives.

as you may or may not know, i am a member of the pittsburgh fiber arts guild and they had a meeting and potluck last thursday at the pittsburgh center for the arts.  rhonda, cathy, donna, and roberta accompanied me and it was a lot of fun.  they had a stash-buster chinese auction and everyone brought things they no longer needed.  items ranged from yarns to fabrics to buttons and baskets.  tickets are purchased and you put them in the bag of your choice.  our darling donna kept complaining as we were perusing the tables 'i never win anything....'  well guess who walked away with two HUGE bags of yarn and a bag of fabric????  she was smiling from ear to ear, like the cheshire cat.  it took all of us with full arms to get the loot we won up the stairs and into the car - which, by the way was filled to the gills.  i was lucky enough to get to talk to barb grossman (founder of the pittsburgh knit and crochet festival) and we were able to talk about my upcoming ad.  i'm very excited, as this is my first adventure in advertising.

once the weather breaks (march-april) i am going to try being open one evening a week to accommodate those who work weekdays.  right now i'm thinking the evening will be wednesday.

my patterns have all been three-hole punched and filed into appropriate binders, so next time you stop in, check them out -- i have been collecting patterns for at least seven years and i am happy to share them with you. by the way, i'm still missing a few books from the lending library, so please double check to see if you may have one buried under some yarn somewhere.

my last completed project is a fair isle hat.  the hat will not be felted but seeing mary and paula's fair isle knitting bags gave me the urger to do fair isle again.  as is usual for me, even though i went down a needle size and actually did a gauge swatch, the hat is a little big even for my gargantuan head.  so now to decide what to do with it - perhaps lightly felt it or find someone with a bigger head than me if that's possible?

it looks like something out of a dr seuss book or perhaps alice in wonderland....  colorful though - keeping with my 'winter doesnt have to be drab' theme.  

i did learn something while making the decreases for the top of this hat.  instead of simply knitting 2 together, the pattern called for 'slip 2 stitches, k1, p2sso' thus decreasing two stitches at a time and it has a different look as well.  try it some time.  

also if you notice the blue picot edge?  that look is achieved by knitting 5 rows, doing one row of k2tog, yo,  then knit the next 5 rows and when the hat was done, it is folded at the yo row thus producing this picot edge!  

ok everyone, nuff said.  happy valentine's day to you all!

t

1.18.13 blog

oh my - i've been having so much fun that i forgot my newsletter was late! 

still working on the website and upcoming class schedule. i think you will be pleased with the variety of classes i have planned. my newest additions will be classes on crochet edgings, free-form crochet, an evening sock class, and an evening beginning knitters class.  may i remind you to please sign up for these blog updates by entering your email on the sidebar and please give me feedback to let me know how it works.  what happens is if the blog is updated, you receive notification; no new update, no new email.  my ad will be in the pittsburgh knit and crochet email very soon!

new this month:  

a sampling of handspun, hand dyed yarns from germany as well as the UK.  they are a little pricier but well worth it!

also new are some new colors in various funky yarns from crystal palace in shades of white/ecru and blue/green.  they are called 'treasure packs' and 2-4 skeins of various yarns in color schemes are put together.  there are a total of about 50 for each of the color schemes.  some really pretty stuff.

the newest member of our gift shop family is local zentangle artist and fellow knitter sylvia elliott. sylvia's knitting/sheep-themed cards are her original work on her own watercolor background.  

arent they wonderful?  you wont find them anywhere but here and the greensburg art center.

i was the lucky recipient of a visit from a new gang of fiber artists called 'the craftique fiber art group'.  these ladies meet at craftique in greensburg every saturday morning at ten and all are welcome to join them any time.  sylvia (who makes the zentangle cards), was kind enough to bring them over on saturday the 12th so we could meet.  so around ten, i was working on the computer (i was attempting to update my blog at that time) and heard this noise which kept getting louder and louder.  as i got up to see what the racket was, in pours 11-12 ladies!  what fun - it was just like when the tazmanian devil spun into a cartoon and back out again!  of course you all know i only have 8 chairs and have only had the pleasure of running out of chairs once before then!  wonderful ladies, all with different stories, knitting/crocheting experiences, but all fun-loving and wanting to learn more.  after they all left, the shop was much too quiet!  thanks ladies - now don't be strangers!

you'll also notice the next time you visit the shop, that i have a new handrail!  donna's husband constructed it for me and it looks great!

the tuesday night knitters club has decided on a name for their group:  they are now known as the 'close-knit girls'!  the perfect name!

laura mcquire showed me a new 'site' for knitting information.  its called new stitch a day.  check it out with this link, which you can sign up for daily updates: 

newstitchaday.com 

dates to remember:

tuesday, 1/22 1-5 knitters anonymous at raggz

tuesday, 1/22 6-8 close knit girls

thursday, 1/24 12-3 purlin girls latrobe bean

friday, 1/25 shop open 10-5

i am now the organizer of the greensburg fiber art meet up group.  we meet once a month - the second monday of the month at 2 at the panera in greensburg.  our first meeting was january 14. if you're interested, you can join the group at this link and be kept abreast of happenings.

at our last meeting, we had ladies who quilt, tat, knit, crochet, felt, stained glass, paint, knook, weave.....  it was a good time and we all learned something from each other.

today was a busy day at the shop and i had the pleasure of seeing monte (and dale), paula, and mary.  i've missed the last few purlin girls meetings so it was so nice to see them.  i hate to say that unfortunately i wont be able to make their next meeting on the 24th, as i will be at the pittsburgh center for the arts that day.  but i truly hope to be there in february.

something new that i will be starting in february will be pizza night one friday a month.  details to follow.  

the end is in sight for those socks i've been knitting for my son's 30th birthday (he is now 31) and plan on having them done THIS WEEK to send to him before he moves to portland.  thanks monte for your encouragement!

one last question:  if i knit fast enough, does it count as exercise??