Friday Workshop

The store was full of energy and enthusiasm as we welcomed Patty and 8 of her friends from Iowa for an afternoon workshop.


Patty contacted us a few months ago and asked if we would put together a workshop for her and her friends while they were in town for a girls week-end. We were thrilled and happy to oblige.

Since there were some non-knitters in the group, it was decided the best technique to learn was needle felting. And the best teacher was the charming and always creative Marie Mayhew.

Although there were some uneasiness at first, Marie did a great job encouraging everyone. Before long, they were well on their way to sculpting needle-felted pumpkins.


Not only was this a great way for a group of friends to bond and enjoy the afternoon, everyone created a keepsake of their trip to Minnesota.


Seeing this group enjoying themselves has inspired us to encourage others to do the same. So, if you and your friends and/or family are in the area for an extended stay and want to spend an day learning and creating (felting, crocheting, knitting, weaving etc), let us know. We would be happy to design a workshop for you as well. You may contact us at classes@yarnery.com.

Twist

We are happy to welcome Twist, Malabrigo's newest yarn, to our shelves this week.



Twist is similar to Malabrigo's original worsted weight yarn in the fact it is 100% merino wool but differs as it is slightly thicker, knitting up at 4 stitches to 1 inch and, as the name implies, has a plied or 'twisted' stand.

As always, the colors are fantastic. There are some of our old favorites like Lettuce



and Velvet Grapes



but some new colors have appeared as well. Let me introduce Tender,


Cookie



and Sotobosque.


If you are in the mood to knit a hat this winter, Twist is a nice variegated option for either Theresa Gaffey's Earflap hat




or Jared Flood's Quincy hat found in the Made in Brooklyn booklet.


Speaking of, we are adding a Quincy hat class this month taught by Susan Rainey. Watch for our next newsletter for details.

The Season for Scarves

The beginning weaving class just finished up here at the Yarnery, and we're amazed that just 4 weeks from start to finish these students have learned to become wonderful weavers! Here are a few of the scarves that Jen, Cindy, Nanette, Julie, and Jess wove, using everything from Casbah to Misti Alpaca to Claudia's Handpaint. Each scarf is unique and woven on the Beka rigid heddle loom. Next time you're in ask Jess how many scarves she's woven. Last count was 5 or 6!



The weavers aren't the only ones busy working on scarves. One of our customers sent this photo in. She's knitting Clement's scarves (Theresa Gaffey Designs #173) as presents for the upcoming holidays. She's says it's a great way to use up stash and those odds skeins from the sale bin.



And speaking of warm knitted items...
Don't forget to bring in your mitten donations for the Mitten Fairy.
The weather is turning cold, and the need for warm items is even greater this year than last. Hats, mittens, scarves, any warm items will be welcome.

Color by Kristin

We are happy to be currently hosting the trunk show for Kristin Nicholas's new book, Color by Kristin.


The trunk show includes pieces large and small, from this cuffed sock and mitten combo


to a knit and embroidered bag


to the kids sweater shown on the left, modeled by Kristin's daughter, Julia herself.


Each piece has Kristin's signature colors and a number of them include her embroidering work as well. But don't dilly-dally to come view the pieces because come next Tuesday this show will hit the road and be off to it's next yarn shop destination.

The Promise Blanket Complete in 2009

Guest blogger Sarah here with news from The Promise Blanket. I know that you all have been waiting (hopefully none of you have been holding your breath) for news of completed blankets. Well the wait is over...


Thanks to AnnMarie, Bobbi and Martha we got some of the blankets finished the night of the "sewing bee". However, the rest took me a little longer than I expected to finish... but finished they are.

Do you see your square?

I will be getting in touch with Pam from KidsCan this week and delivering the goods.
We had 170 squares and were able to put together 10 blankets. I only need 5 more to finish a final blanket... any takers? We also had one complete blanket (thanks to Mary Lou). So I will be delivering 11 finished blankets to KidsCan. Not too shabby!! (If any more squares roll in I will be adding them to this last blanket and sending it when it's complete.)

So thanks again to those of you who made squares and thanks to those of you who donated travel toothpaste, shampoo, soaps and lotions! I think we did a good thing here. I hope that the blankets bring comfort to the kids and our thoughts bring comfort to the parents.

Thanks again,
Sarah W

Mittens and Hats

It's time to once again kick off our Mitten Fairy campaign.

As in past years, we will be collecting mittens of all sizes through December 1st at the store. These mittens will then be donated to area public schools to help keep kids, who may otherwise be without, warm this winter.

In our first year of this campaign, 48 mittens were collected. Year 2 brought in a total of 142 warm accessories. Will year 3 continue with an upward trend? I know we can do it as the generosity of our community is unlimited.

In addition, we are also collecting adult sized hats to help with the Hats for the Homeless project supported by our staff members friend, Martha Brand.

Now let's get knitting (or crocheting) and flood the store with warm winter accessories.

Strikkegarn and Norwegian Workshop

This lovely bouquet of color is brought to you by Rauma's Strikkegarn.


And because the sun was cooperating, a close up.


You may have noticed these lovely hues in our dk weight area recently.


Really, how could you not? Over 40 deeply saturated colors are now perched on our shelves having found their way here from Norway via Arnhild's Knitting Studio in Ames, IA. This yarn is perfect for creating a classic durable Norwegian sweater


or accessory that can become a family heirloom handed down through the generations.


To help showcase our latest addition, Arnhild Hillesland, a native of Norway, will be teaching a one day Norwegian Hat workshop at our store on Saturday, November 7th from 10am - 5pm. This workshop will not only teach the basic stranding technique found in many knitted Norwegian garments but will also include a bit of Norwegian knitting history and tradition. As Arnhild said in her charming accent, 'I can't help but not talk about it'.

If you are unable to attend the workshop, you can also meet Arnhild during our November 6th Knit Night from 6:30 - 8:30 when she will be our special guest.

Call the shop for more information and/or register for the workshop. Please note, depending on class size this workshop may take place at William Mitchell.