The Yarnery Blog

Follow us on Twitter!

2012-01-21T10:53:00.001-06:00

If you follow us today before 6pm we will drop your name in the hat for a fabulous prize! Names drawn from followers beginning at 11am and 6pm January 21.

Classes you will surely want to be in...

2012-01-09T11:04:00.007-06:00

Lots of classes starting this week! Download your copy of the class list at yarnery.com.

If you love the colors of roving but aren't a spinner the Roving Cowl workshop is for you. It starts this Saturday, January 14.

Another class you might like... Socks, Two at a time. What's this, socks done two at a time, it can't be done! you might be saying. But we say, "ah, yes! It can be done." Join Sarah Rye on Wednesdays beginning January 18th and you too will be master of all things socks.

12 Gifts of Christmas...

2011-12-13T10:00:00.002-06:00

. . . for the yarn lovers in your life, and most importantly, you!

The Yarnery elves have made your holiday shopping easy, with twelve carefully chosen kits to thrill everyone on your list. Six gifts are featured this week - another six will show up next week.

Whether you're shopping for a knitting master or an aspiring crocheter, you can stop in and be on your way in minutes. Even better, if you're looking to make some last-minute gifts, our kits eliminate the hassle and guesswork. As a bonus, each kit represents at least 10% off the retail price of its items sold individually!

This weeks kits:

For the Crocheter
Keeping Them Warm
Everything for Spinning
Craft Activism Mittens
Knitter on The Go
Kids Can Knit Too

Who needs a silly partridge in a pear tree? Yarnery kits are all you need to make your season bright! Stop in to see us, and grab a k(n)it to go!

The Winter 2012 Class Schedule Is Here!

2011-12-06T20:12:00.006-06:00

This may be the best gift of the season: a new class schedule filled to bursting with great new classes! This is our biggest and most varied class schedule yet; you'll find lots to do and learn, both for yourself and your friends. In addition to the tried and true (beginning knitting, lace, color work), we have the classes you've asked for, exploring new techniques and materials: knitting with roving, knitting mawata, flat surface and nuno felting, working with Japanese patterns, drop spindles, and a great weaving weekend. Plus, the ever popular Marie Mayhew's embellishment series returns. Download a copy of the schedule here, or stop by the shop and pick one up; then call or stop in to get signed up. This is a fiber-filled time of year and classes fill up fast; don't miss out!

2nd Annual Holiday Boutique

2011-11-02T08:55:00.001-06:00

November 11-13, 2011
Friday: noon-8pm, Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday: noon-5pm
Located upstairs at The Yarnery

FEATURING
Martha Alvarado – hand dyed shibori scarves
Theresa Gaffey – knit and crocheted items for the entire family
Dan and Virginia Sattler-Reimer – dry goods
Angela Radzyuk – hand dyed spinning & felting fiber
Melinda Macey – quilts
Angie Paulson – beaded stitch markers
Sarah K Walker – handmade bags and jewelry
Robbin Firth – artistry in needle and wet felting, silk and wool
Scott Rohr – oddments
Kate McCreight – hand dyed fiber
Jean Christensen – handknits
Amy Ellen – dilettante

10% of all proceeds wil be donated to Second Harvest Food Shelf

Mitten Fairy Kick Off

2011-10-20T06:38:00.005-05:00

We're kicking off The Mitten Fairy with a Knit Night

Friday, Oct 24 from 6:30-8:30pm
840 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN

Mitten Fairy time is here again. Bring your charity knitting and join us as we start our campaign to keep kids warm.

Limited yarn and patterns will be available for crafting donated goods, or bring your favorites.

Munchies and water provided.

Donations of knitted or crocheted mittens, hats and scarves of any size will be accepted through December 31, 2011. As always we will also be accepting yarn donations for Knitting for Others.

New Fall Yarns

2011-10-10T12:07:00.009-05:00

Every week this fall, the shop has received at least one new box of yarn. While they are all lovely, some are more anticipated than others. Last week it was the Habu and this week…new Madelinetosh! Yeah!

Tosh Merino Light - This gorgeous fingering weight yarn is 100% superwash merino wool with 420 yards per skein. We have ten colorways currently on the shelf with no guarantees how long they will last!

Pashmina – This fantastic 75% merino, 15% silk and 10% cashmere machine-washable yarn has 360 yards of sport-weight splendor per skein. Ten vibrant colorways are on the shelf. Walk through the front door with your hand outstretched straight ahead and you should be able to grab some goodness!

While you are looking at the Pashmina, you’ll also notice two new Rowan yarns in our lace weight section – kidsilk creation and kidsilk haze stripe (colours by Kaffe Fassett). Here is some more information:

Rowan kidsilk creation – This 70% super kid mohair and 30% silk yarn is put up in a tubular netting construction that stretches to about 5 inches in width and is eleven yards long. The ball band has a pattern on the reverse side to knit or crochet one scarf. Very clever! We have a shop model so you can see the final result and our knitter reports it will only take an hour or hour and a half to complete.

Rowan kidsilk haze stripe (colours by Kaffe Fassett) - 460 yards of kid silk haze with Kaffe Fassett stripes and a pattern for a scarf on the ball band. Don’t really need to say more, do I?

The Arrival of Habu

2011-09-27T15:07:00.007-05:00

Habu? What’s that?

”Ever since I begun weaving, I have been in love with the textiles from Okinawa. When I founded this business in 1999, I needed a name, which is easy to remember & pronounce. Our name, "habu" comes from a name of a very poisonous snake, which is unique to Okinawa. In original characters, "ha" means "wave." "bu" means "fabric It is named so because when it moves, it moves like a fabric.” – quoted from Habu website

A poisonous Japanese snake was the inspiration for naming a textile/yarn company that has been intriguing customers with their unique fibers and fashion-forward designs. Their exploration into fabric gauge, drape and texture has resulted in expanding the ways we knit garments. And other designers have picked up on the trend. Come in to the shop and see our expanded selection of yarns from Habu and patterns ideal for knitting with them. List of our Habu offerings:

1/8.5 cotton gima – 7 colorways

2/17 tsumugi – 13 colorways

fine merino – 20 colorways

A-20 silk stainless steel - 6 colorways

Michelle Edwards

2011-09-14T08:33:00.002-05:00

Reading and Book Signing

Friday, September 16, 2011
2pm and 6:30pm

A Knitter's Home Companion is an illustrated collection of stories, patterns, recipes and readalongs. We are lucky enough to have the author, Michelle Edwards, here at the Yarnery.

Michelle will be doing two readings. One at 2pm and one at 6:30pm. Mark your calendar so you don't miss it. We will have samples of the cute patterns and some tasty treats prepared from the book.

Fall 2011 Classes Begin

2011-09-13T08:26:00.001-05:00

The Fall 2011 Classes start tonight at the Yarnery! What new skill are you learning this fall? Which new project is getting started? Or finished?

Here are a few of the first classes coming your way:

Beginning Knitting on Thursday nights starting September 22 or on Monday nights starting September 26
Advanced Beginning on Thursday afternoons starting September 22 or our popular Punchcard classes every Tuesday morning at 10:00 am and every Thursday night at 6:00 pm
Learn entrelac while knitting a small purse starting Monday nights September 19
Try an intermediate-level sweater starting Wednesday nights September 21
Dye a silk scarf and add silk roving with needle and wet felting techniques on September 27

The list of classes is much longer…check out all your options on our schedule.

knitspot

2011-08-22T13:15:00.012-05:00

Anne Hanson's Knit Designs are showcased under the brand knitspot. While many people have come to know and love Anne for her sock patterns, she loves to knit sweaters out of sock yarn, too! Her patterns are known for textural elements and fitted styles that showcase your yarn and figure.

We have a new shop model gracing our walls - Sprossling, designed by Anne Hanson and knit by Yarnery staffer April.

The yarn she chose was Cascade Heritage Silk, a lovely new addition to our sock/fingering weight room. We stock sixteen colors of this 85% merino superwash, 15% mulberry silk yarn. With 437 yards in a 100 gram skein, it only takes three skeins for a small, four skeins for a large or five skeins for a 2X size. You get the idea...a little goes a long way!

Maybe a cardigan isn't what you had in mind? Here are a couple of modern sweaters using the same weight yarn:

Bel Air

Henley with a Twist

Which knitspot pattern will you be making this fall?

Knit and Crochet Show - Don't Miss It!

2011-07-29T11:31:00.003-05:00

Guest blogger Sarah, here with a reminder to join us at the Knit and Crochet Show.

It is at The Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis and if you are going swing by the shop to pick up a buy one get one coupon for the entrance fee. We had a preview shop last night and it was a lot of fun. It's nice to meet knitters and crocheters from all over!!

We hope you will come on down and visit our booth!! For more detailed information about the show visit knitandcrochetshow.com

See you at the Show!

Rowan Magazine 50

2011-07-21T17:19:00.002-05:00

Today is the day... Rowan Knitting and Crochet Magazine 50 has arrived!

Stop by to check out this great new addition to the tradition that is Rowan! Hint: we have some new Rowan yarns, too!

Check out the New Books

2011-06-29T17:47:00.008-05:00

4th of July is less than a week away. Yes, the calendar has been double-checked as it certainly doesn’t seem like we’ve had a month of summer already! Small knitting projects are always a good idea for summer knitting as they are portable, don’t cover your entire lap with wool and are quickly finished. Another good idea for summer is to check out the new books and get ideas for future projects. We’ve been getting shipments of new books, and here is just a sampling of new titles on our shelves.

55 Christmas Balls to Knit: Colorful Festive Ornaments by Arne and Carlos

Our first shipment of this title sold out within the first week, but we have more in stock. Written by a Norwegian and a Swede, this book takes traditional patterns and puts them on Christmas tree ornaments. Rumor has it they may be addictive; similar to potato chips in that you can’t make (eat) just one!

Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd

Ann Budd does it again…another great pattern book with all the basics plus innovative designs from fellow designers. Some booksellers say this title hasn’t been released yet, but we have a pile of them at the shop just waiting to be purchased!

knit, Swirl! By Sandra McIver

Check out this book’s unique designs that are easy to knit but look more difficult based on their clever construction. Beautiful photographs will inspire you to make at least one of her lovely creations.

Norah Gaughan Collection by Berroco Volume #9 and St-Denis Spring 2011 Issue 3

Both of these collections of patterns have been very popular, with earlier versions selling quickly. Stop in to see the latest in the series!

World Wide Knit in Public Day!

2011-06-11T09:15:00.001-05:00

World Wide Knit in Public Day!
Saturday, June 11, 2011

Join your friends at The Yarnery by participating in two ways:

Bring a lawn chair or blanket to the shop between 10am and 6pm and show the world what you can do with sticks and string!
Submit a photo of yourself knitting in a public place to yarnery@gmail.com.

All participants will be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes.

Go forth and KNIT OUT LOUD!

It's Here! It's Here!

2011-06-08T06:36:00.007-05:00

No, not the ice cream truck…although that does sound good, too! We are talking about madelinetosh tosh DK. We just received a new shipment with a huge box full of yummy colors for your next sweater project.

Here is a list of all the colorways hanging in our display:

Parchment
Tern
Glazed Pecan
Violin
William Morris
Duchess
Tart
Amber Trinket
Posy
Blue Gingham
Ink
Mare
Fjord
Georgia O’Keefe
Cedar
Moss
Terrarium
Lichen

As of this writing, there is more than enough for a sweater of any size in each of these colorways. But we can’t guarantee how long that statement will remain true!

Staff Pick - Lynn

2011-06-04T06:51:00.008-05:00

Yarnery staffer and very experienced knitter, Lynn, is making our staff pick this time around. Her favorite? Rowan’s Kid Silk Haze (KSH), a lovely blend of 70% super kid mohair and 30% silk. For those of you who know Lynn, this should come as no surprise! She has completed many projects using KSH; alone or held together with another yarn. She loves combining it with sock yarn like Claudia’s Hand-painted Sock Yarn for sweaters, knitting it alone for light-weight summer tops, and combining lots of colors in mitered squares or stripes. The possibilities are endless! One of the things Lynn likes best about KSH are the colors - “they are so amazing!”

Let’s get more specific with some of Lynn’s favorite projects:

Rowan Knitting Magazine #43 has a beautiful pattern by Sarah Hatton named Eerie. This lovely short-sleeved lace pullover requires only 3 or 4 skeins of KSH and would make an excellent summer knitting project – light, airy and soft.

Modern Quilt Wrap by Mags Kandis from Folk Style is a colorful, mitered square scarf/wrap using nine KSH colors. Gorgeous use of colors in a whimsical style…don’t feel you have to use the colors called for in the pattern!

Lynn also plans to make Wentworth by Kaffe Fassett from Rowan Knitting Magazine #46, using sixteen colors of KSH. This light-weight beauty will be a lasting classic!

While these projects are big and beautiful, KSH is also the perfect complement to almost any hat, scarf or cowl project. When held together with another yarn, KSH softens the colors and texture and adds a bit of the mohair warmth our Minnesota winters demand.

We have a Yarnery motto - Everything is better with Kid Silk Haze!

New Additions

2011-05-16T19:47:00.013-05:00

The deliveries have been rolling in over the past few weeks as we re-stock perennial favorites and welcome new additions to our yarn family. The newest arrivals have a created a bit of a stir, so we want to show them to you before they are gone!

The first to note is a limited edition of Overberg from the Fleece Artist

Gorgeous 100% merino lace-weight yarn hand-dyed by the Fleece Artist experts in colorways ranging from some soft tonal skeins to many with multiple vibrant colors. The skeins are lovely and long, with 1100 yards of yarn for your next beautiful project. Limited means exactly what you think it does…when it is gone, we won’t have any more.

Fleece Artist also sent us some new sock yarn – BFL Sock – made with 80% blue-faced Leicester and 20% nylon. At this moment, we have 19 skeins in a wide range of colors.

Also, as mentioned in our email, we have a new fingering and lace weight from Sun Valley Fibers from Mt Horeb, WI (that some of you may have discovered at Yarnover this year).
Here are the details:

Sun Valley Lace 80/10/10 – with merino/cashmere/nylon – in 800 yard skeins.
Sun Valley Fingering 80/10/10 – with merino/cashmere/nylon – comes in 400 yard skeins.

See you soon!

Knitting Mawata

2011-05-05T06:17:00.007-05:00

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a knitting trendsetter. When she mentions a pattern or a yarn on her blog, readers click through her link to the designer or supplier and buy the project she featured. This is especially true if something is “new” and gorgeous! “New” is a subjective word, as often the featured project isn’t newly-created, but merely unfamiliar to most people reading her blog.

Silk is not new. It has been around for centuries and is loved for its softness, lightness and warmth. The current trend in silk is mawata or silk hankies or silk caps. Yes…three words that are used interchangeably to refer to a pile of thinly layered silk cocoons that have not been spun. Mawata is a word that comes from the Japanese and means “to spread around”. Silk mawata are cultivated silk cocoons that have been degummed and stretched over frames to dry. If the frame is a square, the resulting pile of stretched silk cocoons is called a silk hanky. If the frame is bell-shaped, the pile of silk is called a silk cap. Different shape, but same process and fiber.

Stephanie featured mawata in her blog and showed how the dyed silk hankies turned into lovely, soft and bumpy silk mittens. A new trend began and we decided to jump on the bandwagon! Our summer class schedule offers two sessions of Knitting with Mawata taught by Gretchen Funk. This two-session class will show you how to start with mawata, create a knittable strand of fiber, and end up with a gorgeous hat or cowl.

The first class is on June 9 and 16, and the second class will be held August 4 and 11. We have sourced lovely silk caps from a local dyer in three colorways available to class participants to purchase. One of the silk caps is currently on display in the shop. Warning: if you touch it, you’ll be hooked! Call 651-222-5793 or stop by the shop to register for a class.

The Sale Continues....

2011-04-27T15:37:00.009-05:00

Our spring sale started this week and continues through Saturday, April 30th.

A good selection of yarn is still available to help you enhance your stash including the following clearance yarns marked at 35% off:

Fine Milk Cotton (70% cotton, 30% milk protein; 7 1/2 stitches = 1")
Milk Cotton DK (70% cotton, 30% milk protein; 5 1/2 stitches = 1")

Solstice (70% organic cotton, 30% wool; 4 1/2 - 5 stitches = 1")

Malabrigo Organic Cotton (100% organic cotton; 4 1/2 - 5 stitches = 1")

Poppi's Worsted (100% Icelandic wool; 4 - 4 1/2 stitches = 1")

Colourscape Chunky (100% lambswool; 3 1/2 stitches = 1")

So if you have wanted to knit with these yarns now is the time because when they're gone - they're gone.

SPRING SALE

2011-04-21T06:35:00.021-05:00

Next Week.....

Spring Sale
April 25-30

Yarns
20% Off
Except Brown Sheep, Cascade and Malabrigo labels

Clearance Yarns
35% Off

Books and Patterns
20% Off

In stock merchandise only

Here's a peek at a few yarns that have been discontinued and will have the bigger discount during the sale, but colors and quantities are limited so plan accordingly.

Lenpur Linen (75% Lenpur; 25% Line; 5 1/2 stitches =1")

Swan's Island (100% Organic Merino; 7-8 stitches = 1")

Wool Bamboo (50% wool, 50% bamboo; 5 1/2 stitches = 1")

See you next week!

Shop Hop Thank You

2011-04-16T17:16:00.010-05:00

We'd like to extend a big Shop Hop Thank You to.....

All who participated in Yarn Quest 2011: A Fiber Journey. This was the biggest turnout yet. It was so much fun to see everyone out for the love of fiber.

Everyone who made donations to the food shelf. At the Yarnery alone, we collected over 300 lbs of non-perishable items and $120. It warms my heart that we were able to provide so much to the Second Harvest Heartland, especially at this slow time of the year.

Angela Radzyuk of All for Love of Yarn for dying our limited edition yarn. She was a pure joy to work with and dyed one fantastic colorway.

To all the sponsors who donated (click here for a complete list) to the Grand Prize and First Prizes. The response was overwhelming. Take a look for yourselves at the Grand Prize

and one of the First Prizes

We hope you had fun. I know we did and look forward to having you join us again next year. And speaking of next year, both the 'Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop' Ravelry group and Facebook page are permanent and will be updated when further information is available.

Don't Forget the Food Shelf Donation

2011-03-23T08:25:00.009-06:00

An important part of the shop hop is the food shelf donation. It is a great way to give back to the community - especially at this time of year when the need tends to be higher.

Some suggested items are:

Cereals
Canned meats
Canned fruits
Peanut butter
Dried beans
Rice
Soups
Flour
Sugar
Honey
Baby food
Toilet paper
Toothpaste
Soap

You can download a full list of suggestions on our Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop webpage. If you would rather donate cash to the food shelf that is accepted too.

Also, don't forget for every store you make a donation you will collect a unique charm relating to this year's travel/journey theme. These charms can easily be made into stitch markers or collected and worn on bracelets, necklaces or pins. In fact, if you make it to all the stores a free display pin is yours too.

So before you begin your 2011 Yarn Quest adventure, stop by your local grocer and stock up on your donations. Help us to make this our biggest donation to date!

Staff Pick - Melinda

2011-03-13T07:43:00.007-06:00

My staff pick is Cascade 220. While it may not have the cachet, the magazines, the luxury fibers of Rowan or Classic Elite yarns, 220 is one of my favorites. This worsted weight 100% Peruvian highland wool has 220 yards/100 grams. It's a great value at $6.85 a skein. The color range is huge, with both solids and heathers. You couldn't ask for a better felting wool. The hand is lovely--soft but not too drapey. 220 works up well for both texture and colorwork patterns. I just finished "Skylark" from Kim Hargreaves' Cherished and was reminded what good stitch definition you get with 220.

My co-worker Virginia is a fan of 220 for colorwork. Look at her fantastic fair isle cardigan and Babette blanket and you'll see why.

Last fall Cascade introduced 220 Sport. The same great yarn in a 164 yards/50 gram skein. It knits up at 5-1/2 to 6 stitches per inch. I gave it a test knit with a vest I designed for my husband using motifs from Lucinda Guy's Knitting Motifs for Babies and Kids.

The sport weight is every bit as nice as the original 220. In fact, I so enjoyed working with it that I've started the "Nasty Dog Dragon Scarf" from Scarf Style.

At $4.00 a skein, I'm tempted to collect all the colors just to have them on hand. If you prefer a superwash wool, Cascade also introduced 220 Superwash Sport. This 100% superwash merino wool has 136 yards/50 grams for $6.00. While I haven't knit with it yet, it's on my short list. I'm thinking a pair of mismatched striped socks or a baby gift. I know I won't be disappointed.

2011 Minnesota Shop Hop

2011-03-05T07:05:00.006-06:00

Yarn Quest 2011: A Fiber Journey – Let the Adventure Begin!

The fifth annual Yarn Shop Hop is April 7 - 10, 2011. This is the biggest Shop Hop yet with nine of the Twin Cities’ area best yarn shops participating. To begin your fiber journey, pick up driving directions and an entry card at any one of the shops listed. At each shop, get your entry form stamped and pick up a free pattern for a unique Yarn Quest 2011 knitting project. A completed entry form, stamped at each and every shop, qualifies you to enter the drawing for the Grand Prize valued at over $2,000 of knitting supplies or one of nine First Prizes full of knitting goodies. At the same time you can also enter your name for exciting door prize drawings at each shop. The first day of the Shop Hop is Thursday, April 7^th. You can complete the Shop Hop all in one day or spread it out over four days.

LIMITED EDITION YARN: To enhance your fiber journey each shop has commissioned a limited edition hand dyed yarn. Each shop will have its own yarn that will be featured in the free pattern given to shop hop visitors.

HELP STOCK LOCAL FOOD SHELVES: Each shop will have a limited quantity of unique, collectible charms that will be yours in exchange for your donation of cash (the suggested donation is $5 per shop) or non-perishable food items to a local food shelf chosen by each shop. If you prefer, you can make a $5 purchase at each shop to qualify for the charm. In addition, your completed entry card along with the qualifying donation or purchase will entitle you to a pin to easily display all your charms (only one purchase is required at the final stop for that shop’s charm and the pin). Come early while supplies last.

PARTICIPATING SHOPS: Amazing Threads, Coldwater Collaborative, Darn Knit Anyway, Lila and Claudine's, A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, Shepherd's Choice, Skeins, StevenBe, The Yarnery

New Shop Models

2011-02-26T06:56:00.009-06:00

Good things come in groups – bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates and Yarnery shop models. We’ve got some fun new items on display to give you ideas for your next project. Stop in the shop to take a closer look!

Gisella - from CocoKnits - made with Noro Kirameki, a 60% rayon, 25% nylon, 10% wool and 5% cashmere lace weight yarn, and Rowan Kid Silk Haze, a 70% mohair and 30% silk lace weight yarn, held double throughout the project.

Neap Tide - from Mary Lou Egan - made with Frogtree Pediboo, an 80% merino and 20% bamboo fingering weight yarn.

Stamford - from Martin Storey in Rowan Casual Classics - made with Cascade Ultra Pima, a 100% cotton dk/sport weight yarn.

Serving Tray - from One More Skein by Leigh Radford - made with Rowan Summer Tweed, a 70% silk and 30% cotton aran weight yarn.

Featured Artists

2011-02-16T14:09:00.020-06:00

The Yarnery loves to have new stuff to share with customers. Yes, we have the wonderful workhorse yarns like Cascade 220 and Lamb’s Pride Worsted and we have classic patterns by Nancy Lindberg and Yankee Knitters for many projects. But sometimes, don’t you just love to find something different and unique?

Our current featured yarn artist is Angela Radzyuk and her hand-dyed yarn from Waseca, MN. Her company is called All for Love of Yarn and she has several lovely yarns dyed in shaded solids and multi-colored versions.

We have three of her fingering weight yarns featured in the shop right now:

Opulence – 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon
Weight/Yardage: 100g/430yds

Sumptuosity - 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight/Yardage: 100g/432yds/3 Ply Fingering

Nogi - 90% Superwash Merino Wool, 10% Nylon
Weight/Yardage: 125g/475yds Fingering

We have also just added a couple of new designers to our pattern collection. Adrian Bizilia of Hello Yarn fame is a mitten genius.

Her Fiddlehead Mittens pattern

and the new Flocked Mittens are now in stock.

Yarnery staffer Peggy has recently made a great pair of Fiddlehead Mittens and offered a comment, “I have to say that this pattern has not just been beautiful, but also very well written.”

The other new set of patterns is from Thea Colman of Baby Cocktails. Her well-designed garments are favorites on Ravelry and we have stocked the following five sweater patterns and a pair of mittens, including Nantucket Red,

the Golden Vintage Cardigan,

and one of her newest designs, Mulled Cider.

Her patterns come in a wide range of sizes and seem to balance fit and style with straightforward construction and a bit of challenge to keep you from getting bored.

In researching our new pattern designers, we noticed one thing they have in common in addition to great design style – they both live in Massachusetts. Welcome to Minnesota and we’re glad you decided to join us!

Finally, thank you to both Adrian, Thea and Thea's photographer, Caro Sheridan (aka Splityarn) for the use of their photos.

Sock Yarn

2011-02-03T11:26:00.004-06:00

Everyone has a favorite type of project; the kind they find themselves coming back to time and time again. Some people primarily knit sweaters, others knit mittens or hats. A particularly avid group of knitters are sock lovers. They love the portability of the project, the quick gratification of completion (although let’s not get into second-sock-syndrome), and the multitude of possibilities in yarns and patterns. The other thing they have discovered? Hand-knit socks are very different from anything you can buy in a store. They are so much better – custom-fit, warmth, breathability, and whatever color/pattern suits your style. There really is no substitute!

To fill the dreams and busy hands of sock knitters, we stock a huge variety of sock yarn for your pleasure.

Here’s a list of fingering weight sock yarn in house today:

Adirondack Silky Sock
Alpaca with at Twist Socrates
Berroco Comfort Sock
Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine
Cascadae Heritage
Cascade Heritage Paints
Cestari 2-ply Sock
Cherry Tree Hill Fingerpaints
Claudia Hand-painted Yarns Fingering Weight
Conjoined Creations Flatfeet
Crystal Palace Mini Mochi
Crystal Palace Panda Cotton
Crystal Palace Panda Silk
Crystal Palace Panda Soy
Dream in Color Dream Club Starry
Dream in Color Knitosophy
Dream in Color Smooshy
Dream in Color Starry
Fleece Artist Merino 2/6
Frogtree Pediboo
Handmaiden Casbah
Jawoll
Jawoll Aktion
Koigu
Louet Gems Fingering
Malabrigo Sock
Mountain Colors Bearfoot
Mountain Colors Crazyfoot
Opal Hundertwaffer
Pico Accuardi Dyeworks
Plymouth Sockotta
Prism Saki
Regia 4-ply Sock
Regia Flusi
Regia Hand-dye Effect
Regia World Ball Color
ShiBui
Skacel Flying Saucer
Skacel Fortissima Mexiko Cotton Stretch
Skacel Sockina
SkacelTrekking XXL
Twisted Sisters Petite Voodoo

Is this enough sock yarn for you? No, because we have another great one coming soon…madelinetosh tosh sock. This lovely 100% superwash merino comes in “luscious glazed solid colorways”. We’re looking forward to tosh sock’s arrival. But, we obviously have a lot of choices to keep us busy while we wait!

Staff Pick - Theresa Gaffey

2011-01-27T06:16:00.010-06:00

Theresa Gaffey, local knit/crochet designer and co-manager of The Yarnery, is our featured staff pick this month. Her choice? Ultra Alpaca by Berroco. This wonderful worsted-weight yarn is 50% Super Fine Alpaca and 50% Peruvian Wool put up in 100 gram skeins with 215 yards. Berroco produces 70 shades of solids and heathers to tempt you, and we regularly stock about 40 colors (special orders are always welcome for the others!).

With so many worsted-weight yarns to choose from, why pick Ultra Alpaca?

Theresa states, "The color range is gorgeous and it's priced well at $9.25. Ultra Alpaca's blend of wool and alpaca combines the best of both fibers--alpaca adds drape and softness, the wool keeps the yarn from getting too heavy. I've knit and crocheted hats, mittens, scarves and a sweater (see photo below) out of Ultra Alpaca and loved working with the yarn for every project. My next project in Ultra Alpaca? A felted bag. The next time you're looking for a good worsted weight yarn, check out Ultra Alpaca. You'll fall in love with it. And if you are looking for a lighter weight yarn, check out Ultra Alpaca Light. Same great yarn in a dk weight."

Theresa's February Lady Sweater

What is Ultra Alpaca calling you to knit or crochet?

Thank You!

2011-01-13T08:09:00.005-06:00

THANK YOU!

Over 200 items – hats, mittens and scarves – were donated this year to the Mitten Fairy and Hats for the Homeless campaigns to warm the heads and hands of St. Paul area school children and homeless adults. We received donations from near and far, from one item at a time to piles of mittens with some matching hats! The generosity of people taking the time to make things by hand to give to needy strangers is heartwarming and greatly appreciated. We are happy to serve as organizers of this project and couldn’t do it without you.

A couple of items of note:

If you have a Yarnery punch card from your donations, please stop in during January to use your discount on your entire purchase (not just one item). They expire on 1/31/11.
If you want to make more items, we do accept donations all year long.
In addition to hats and mittens, we have recently received an email from the Women's Advocates Shelter on Grand Ave, requesting scarves for their clients (18 adults and 25 children). Please drop off at the Yarnery by 2/28/11.

Stay warm out there and thanks again for helping others to stay warm, too!

January Classes

2011-01-05T18:02:00.011-06:00

In so many ways, January is similar to the Septembers of childhood. Septembers were about starting school - getting back on a schedule after a fun break, resolving to do well on goals for the year, and learning new things. January is the same, except colder. Although the Yarnery can help you with all your knitting and crocheting goals for the year, we are especially good at helping you learn new things. Our class schedule for January through April is filled with classes for all skill levels and interests. Check out our January offerings:

Class ---------------------------------------- Start Date
Beginning Knitting ------------------------ Saturday January 22
Beginning Knitting ------------------------ Wednesday January 26
Beginning Crochet ------------------------Thursday January 13
Beginning Weaving Weekend --------- Saturday January 29

Advanced Beginning --------------------- Monday January 10
Adv Beginning Punchcards -------------Tuesday Jan 11, Wednesday Jan 12 and Thursday Jan 13

Top Notch Knitting Techniques -------- Monday January 10
Socks: Cuff Down Magic Loop ---------Thursday January 13
Embellishment Workshops ------------- Thursday January 13
Norwegian Mittens ------------------------ Tuesday January 18
Thrummed Mittens ------------------------ Tuesday January 18
Felted Footwear --------------------------- Saturday January 22
Bavarian Twisted Stitch Hat ------------ Saturday January 22
Inserting a Zipper ------------------------- Sunday January 23
Intermediate/Advanced Projects ------ Tuesday January 25

See full descriptions of the classes on our class schedule. Call today to reserve your spot before the class fills up. We take a maximum of 8 students per teacher. What new skill are you learning this month?

New Books for the New Year

2010-12-30T09:57:00.011-06:00

The holiday season is winding down. We’ll be open on New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and closed New Year’s Day. What are you going to knit while you watch the Tournament of Roses Parade from sunny Pasadena? Or during the Bowl games? Stop in to check out these new books and cast on a new project to start your year off right! Sweaters, socks, lace…whatever you prefer to fill the longest month of the year in Minnesota – January.

Knitting in the Details: Charming Designs to Knit and Embellish by Louisa Harding

Touching Elegance by Kim Hargreaves

Cherished by Kim Hargreaves

Knit. Sock. Love. by Cookie A. and Laura Kicey

Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World by Margaret Stove

Country Weekend Socks: 25 Classic Patterns to Knit by Madeline Weston

Malabrigo - New Colors

2010-12-15T16:28:00.006-06:00

Just in time for the holidays, we have received two large boxes of Malabrigo yarn! For those of you waiting for the shelves to be re-stocked, now is the time to stop by. Here are some of the new colors we received:

Rasta (in our super bulky section) arrived with 4 colors to restock our shelves – Abril, Azules, Porrinho and Black. Make a hat in one session with this thick and lovely yarn!

Worsted arrived with 5 new colors for our store – Nostalgia, Forest, Milonga, Kaleidos, and Polvoriento. Lovely colors for all sorts of projects – hats, mittens or scarves.

Sock arrived with 2 new colors for our store – Candombe and Playa. Need a present for a sock knitter or perhaps you’d like to add this to your list?

Stop by and admire the new colorways before they are gone. What weight will you want?

New DK/Sport Additions

2010-12-09T07:09:00.014-06:00

The shop is humming with activity! Many knitters and crocheters are getting one last skein of yarn to finish up a project, and others are buying bulky yarn and just beginning a quick holiday gift. While these shoppers tend to dash in and then hustle home to finish their knitting, another set of customers has a different agenda. They are looking for a project to fill their holidays with knitting or crocheting while they sit on planes, in cars or on sofas at relative’s homes. Because they aren’t in a hurry and don’t need bulky yarn to finish in time for the holidays, this blog’s for you!

New Additions to Our DK/Sport Room

Epiphany by Cascade Yarns 60% Royal Alpaca, 20 % Cashmere, 20% Silk put up in a 100-gram skein with 273 yards.

One word for this yarn…gorgeous! Come and touch for yourself.

Cascade 220 Sport by Cascade Yarns 100% Peruvian Highland wool put up in a 50-gram skein with 164 yards.

All the great things you like about the original Cascade 220 worsted, only in a sport weight. This yarn works well alone or in a multi-color project with a wide selection of colors.

Cascade 220 Superwash Sport by Cascade Yarns 100% Superwash Merino Wool put up in a 50-gram skein with 137 yards.

Soft to the touch, great colors and machine-washable make this yarn perfect for kids and adults who don’t want it to feel like traditional “wool”.

Tracie by Imperial Stock Ranch Yarn 100% American Columbia Wool put up in a 4 oz. skein with 450 yards.

This 2-ply sport weight yarn is from an historic ranch in Oregon. Their website says, “All of our wool is specially milled without harsh chemicals or extreme temperatures, leaving it comfortable, soft and pure.” We are stocking several of the lovely colors and neutrals in this gently-processed yarn.

Also, in the month of December, with your purchase of Tracie yarn you will receive a free scarf pattern designed by Mary Lou Egan.

Everlasting by Dream in Color 100% Superwash Australian Merino Wool put up in 100-gram skein with 275 yards.

This brand new, just out of the box 12-ply dk weight yarn arrived this week. Plump and round and lovely! Sorry…no photo yet.

tosh DK by madelinetosh 100% Superwash Merino Wool put up in a 100-gram skein with 225 yards.

We oohhed and aahhed over this yarn so much that we sold out of a few colors very quickly. Fortunately, another shipment should arrive any day.

Naturally Soft Merino by Millamia 100% Extra Fine Superwash Merino Wool put up in a 50-gram skein with 137 yards.

Read our previous blog about this yarn here.

Introducing.......Scott

2010-12-01T13:37:00.010-06:00

It is hard to make an announcement online. No trumpet fanfare, no long procession to a podium before the gathered paparazzi, and absolutely no applause. Aaahhh, wouldn’t applause be nice once in a while? Well, here goes anyway… …

Announcing our newest sales clerk extraordinaire, Scott.

Look familiar? He might look familiar because he has been around the shop for years co-hosting Men’s Knit Night. Or, he might look familiar because his face was splashed across the Taste section of the Star Tribune this week as the WINNER in the 8th Annual Holiday Cookie Contest (if you bring in the recipe, I’m sure he will autograph it for you!). Congratulations, Scott!

Scott also has good taste when it comes to yarn. We asked him to make a staff pick for a favorite yarn and project from the shop. His recommendation is any colorwork project using Kauni yarn.

Kauni makes any multi-yarn colorwork project easier by changing the color for you so two strands of yarn is all you need. Scandinavian hats, mittens and sweaters are a good option, or consider any Fair Isle design. Kauni works well all by itself or it pairs nicely with Rauma’s Finullgarn. With the many colorways, the options are unlimited!

Holiday Boutique

2010-11-23T06:32:00.019-06:00

Join us next week-end during the following times as we host our first holiday boutique.

December 3rd: noon-8pm
December 4th: 10am-6pm
December 5th: noon-5pm

This is one event you won't want to miss as 8 of our staff and friends will sell their handmade items just in time for the holiday gift giving season.

There will definitely be knit and felted items

but you can also expect to see quilts

made with adorable fabrics,

skirts made with hand-dyed fabrics,

accessory cases,

adorable shirts with whimsical embellishments and more! Because you never know what else this creative group will have to offer.

Also, in the spirit of the season, 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Finally, if all that wasn't incentive enough, as a special treat, Sandi and Kara Younkin, owners of Bars Bakery, will be donating free samples of their wonderful bars during the Saturday boutique hours.

Happy Thanksgiving and we hope to see you next week-end!

Knitting for Others Knit Night

2010-11-13T06:20:00.004-06:00

Bring any of your knitting for others projects (mittens, hats, squares) and join Sarah this Sunday, November 14 from 5-7pm for a Knitting for others Knit Night.

Remember, for every object donated to the Yarnery for Others you get a punch on your punch card good for a discount in January on a one time purchase!!

Everything is Better with Kid Silk Haze

2010-11-08T20:26:00.015-06:00

Everything is better with Kid Silk Haze (KSH)!

For some people, everything tastes better with a little butter. For others, it is chocolate. And there are even some who feel everything is better with bacon. For knitters, we know the real truth…everything is better with KSH.

While there are many things you can make with KSH all by itself, the wonderful combinations with other yarns are almost unlimited. For years at the Yarnery, we've had shop models and staff sporting sweaters from KSH and Koigu. It is a lovely combination, but we didn’t stop there. Check out some of our more recent delights:

Theresa Gaffey’s Inniskillen Stole #186 is a gorgeous combination of Claudia’s Handpainted sock yarn and KSH.

KSH works with any sock yarn.

Alpaca with a Twist (pink) and Dream in Color (blue)

We have Theresa Gaffey’s Hazy Hat #107 pattern and her SuBeran #59 Mitten pattern,

Fleece Artist Merino 2/6

both made with sock yarn and KSH.

Theresa Gaffey’s Elfrieda's Ruched Scarf #197 is made with Malabrigo sock yarn and KSH.

Designers and famous knitters other than Theresa Gaffey are also combining a thin, mohair/silk blend with another yummy yarn. The Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, recently featured Madelinetosh dk and a mohair/silk blend in a hat for her daughter.

Tosh DK

Noro’s Kirameki, a self-striping rayon/nylon/wool/cashmere blend, and KSH is our most recent combination. Yarnery staffer, Peggy, is making the CocoKnits pattern Gisela. Check out her great start in the photo below.

What is your favorite KSH combo? Stop by the shop and see if you can pick just one!

The Joy of Felting

2010-10-22T10:02:00.011-05:00

If you are searching for a book and type in “The Joy of…” you get a wide variety of topics such as cooking, painting, sox and even pigs. Surprisingly, there is no book titled, “The Joy of Felting”. Well, there should be. Felting fits so many different needs for the creative knitter. Here are just a few:

1. Felting changes the fabric from soft and stretchy to dense and durable.
2. Felting covers up small errors or inconsistency in gauge.
3. Felting is usually done on smaller items so you can finish projects quickly.
4. Felting is usually done knitting on larger needles so you can finish projects quickly (see #3).
5. Once your item is done felting, you can still add more creative detail with needle-felted embellishment.
6. Felted items are “cool” – you don’t get comments from people like “did your grandma make that?” (no offense to all the cool grandmas out there!)

Where to start? Try something easy like a felted bowl made with Lambs Pride Bulky. Theresa Gaffey’s Black Mountain Felted Bowls #174 are quick and easy and come in several sizes.

Mittens are another great option to keep those fingers toasty warm. Theresa Gaffey’s Fargo Felted Mittens #64 can be made for hands of any size.

A hat?

A bag?

A snowman?

Or even a hot water bottle cover!

What are you waiting for? Felt something this weekend!

Mitten Fairy 2010

2010-10-15T06:34:00.003-05:00

Calling all Mitten Fairies! It is time to start your knitting needles and crochet hooks on a Mitten Fairy project to benefit the St. Paul area school children. Each fall, we gather homemade mittens, hats and scarves to give to children in need at the local schools. The need is greater than ever this year. To encourage you to make a few more than last year, we will be having a Mitten Fairy punch card. For every handmade hat, scarf or mittens donated before 12/31/10, we’ll punch your card for a 2% discount. The discount grows as you knit more for others. Donate 3 items – 6%, 7 items – 14%, up to a maximum discount of 20%. In January, you can stop by the shop with your punch card and use your discount on a one-time purchase of in-stock items.

Who says there is no reward for being nice?! We will also be having a couple of social events at the shop for Knitting for Others. You can come and chat while you are working on your Mitten Fairy projects. We’ll keep you posted on the dates and times for those sessions when they get on our calendar! Thanks in advance for any donations you can make…some kids won’t have a pair of mittens or a hat if we don’t knit them.

Do You Like Prizes?

2010-10-11T11:35:00.003-05:00

Just a little incentive... For the person who sends in the most squares for The Promise Blanket... there will be a prize. Details to follow about what the prize is, but I can guarantee yarn love!!

So when you send in your squares make sure there is a return address if you are from outside the Twin Cities Minnesota area.

And if you are bringing your squares in, please keep them together with a tag that has your name and phone number and email on it!!

Also, there are more incentives to come from The Yarnery so stay tuned...

I should add one thing... the due date for squares in order to qualify for the prizes is November 15, 2010!!

Holiday Knitting

2010-10-08T10:09:00.008-05:00

Holiday knitting? Baseball isn’t even over yet! If planning ahead isn’t your forte, consider this your reminder. Start now. You won’t regret it!

Suggestion #1: Felted Boxes from Mason-Dixon Knitting

The first book by Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner has several great gift knits - from washcloths to log cabin blankets. But a favorite for one Yarnery staffer is the felted boxes. They knit up very quickly with two strands of Lamb’s Pride Bulky and make an excellent gift when filled with post-it notes for a teacher or friend. We have copies of the book available at the shop and 80 shades of Lamb’s Pride Bulky.

Suggestion #2: Hazy Frills Neck Wrap from Gifted

This great gift knit book by Mags Kandis also has several great ideas. One suggestion to try first is the Hazy Frills Neck Wrap made with Kid Silk Haze. With 33 colors of Kid Silk Haze on the shelves, we feel quite certain there is at least one color that will work for you!

Suggestion #3: Mother-Daughter Mittens from Color by Kristen

Kristen Nicholas has a wool/alpaca/mohair worsted-weight yarn called Julia. When she writes a book, she features this great yarn. Come in and check out her latest book and the many color combinations that will work in this fun pair of mittens.

Chunky, Chunky, Chunky

2010-10-03T07:47:00.012-05:00

Chunky…bulky…these are words with lots of positive connotations, right? Only in the yarn world do people think “Great” when they hear chunky and bulky. “Great” because it means the project will knit up quickly, keep a loved one warm and be fun to work with along the way.

Our bulky room at the shop is overflowing with new yarn choices for your chunky fall fashions. Below is a brief description and photo of the newest options, but don’t forget we have the classics like Lamb’s Pride Bulky, Malabrigo Chunky and Misti Alpaca Chunky (to name a few), too!

Blackstone Tweed Chunky – 65% Wool, 25% Superkid Mohair, 10% Angora Rabbit Hair –

is a “tweed for the discerning knitter! This super soft yarn has all the rustic appeal of a classic tweed yarn but with a high dose of mohair and angora. With wear these garments will develop a soft and fuzzy halo.” – Berroco website. Click through to check out the shade card.

Vintage Chunky - 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon –

“this machine wash blend features a wide color range, an incredibly soft feel and yardage that goes on and on. Its unique fiber blend makes laundering a breeze and perfectly suited for easy care garments for both children and adults.” – Berroco website. Check out the shade card for Vintage Chunky.

Rowan Purelife Renew – 93% recycled Wool, 7% Polyamide - we already blogged about this unique recycled yarn here.

Chunky Mochi – 80% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon –

is the big brother to Mini Mochi and Mochi Plus and comes in 14 slow striping colors. This yarn has quick gift knitting written all over it; scarves, hats or neck warmers would be great in this soft and colorful single-ply yarn. The colorways are shown here.

Creative Focus Bulky – 75% Wool, 25% Alpaca –

this thick yarn could easily be called super bulky with 9 stitches in 4 inches on a size 15 needle. The 25% alpaca gives the yarn softness, additional warmth and a bit more drape than its 100% wool counterparts and makes it perfect for a wide range of warm winter garments. Colors are shown here.

Rowan Drift – 100% Merino Wool -

is super chunky, soft roving yarn with eight marled colorways. Knit on the same needle size range as Big Wool, there are already many pattern options for this gorgeous new yarn. Check out their colour range here.

madelinetosh

2010-09-23T14:40:00.018-05:00

Have you ever heard so many great things about something – like a movie – and when you finally see it, you’re disappointed? It got so much good press and positive reviews that your expectations were through the roof, and then reality didn’t live up to the hype. Or you discovered you’d already seen all the good parts of the movie, because those were the clips they showed in the trailer advertising it. Has this ever happened to you?

This same phenomenon also happens with yarn. Between Ravelry and blogs and reviews, a yarn sometimes gets a reputation before you get to experience it yourself. And if it seems that everyone loves something, you wonder if it is really true or are the dissenters afraid to speak up because the “experts” loved it. The skeptic thinks, “Is it really that good?”

Madelinetosh, hand-dyed yarns from Texas, has been getting rave reviews and people are crazy for it. At the shop, we waited impatiently for our order to arrive so we could get our hands on this awesome yarn. It arrived on a Thursday and on Friday one staffer snatched up several skeins to start a Tea Leaves Cardigan, a top-down sweater created for madelinetosh Dk yarn, as a shop model. So, inquiring minds want to know, does it live up to all the hype?

Yes.

The colors are saturated and gorgeous and the yarn is smooth and wound just right. Here is the official description from the madelinetosh website:

“tosh DK is a 100% superwash merino wool, available in all of our luscious glazed solid colorways, with a generous 225 yards per skein, working up at a versatile light-worsted gauge tosh DK is perfect for sweater and accessory projects. Each squishy soft skein is hand-dyed in small dye lots and machine washable.”

Check out some of the colorways available at the shop:

And a look at the swatch, showing tosh DK's versatility at gauges between 5-6 stitches/inch.

We also carry tosh lace, a 2-ply 100% superwash merino yarn with 950 yards per skein. All the same goodness as tosh DK only in a finer weight.

Stop by the shop check out the models, choose your favorite colorway and decide for yourself if this yarn lives up to the rave reviews!

The Promise Blanket 2010

2010-09-14T10:29:00.008-05:00

Oh, it's that time of year again!! Guest poster, Sarah, here with news about the Promise Blanket...
The Promise Blanket is a charitable project that began in 2008. Our ongoing mission is to provide comfort to people through handmade blankets.

Beginning September 2010, along with providing blankets for a specific organization, we will also be accepting squares all year round. - with a formal “drive” each fall at The Yarnery. As squares come in, blankets will be put together and homes will be found where the blankets are needed.

Because of your continued generosity we will be donating blankets to The Anna Westin House. At the house adolescents and adults with eating disorders can focus on recovery in a homelike environment created by the region’s most experienced eating disorders organization: The Emily Program. (www.annawestinhouse.com)

Questions about the Promise Blanket can be emailed to sarah@promiseblanket.org.
A small sampling of free patterns are available at www.promiseblanket.org, however, any pattern that you love, we will love too!!

How can you help? We would appreciate any of the following:
• A 7 1/2 inch square (blocked) made of machine washable worsted weight yarn (please weave in ends).
• Donate any of your left over machine washable worsted weight yarn to The Yarnery.
• Mention our project on your website, blog, store, class, etc.
• Join the Ravelry Group!
• Join us at The Yarnery for an “old-fashioned” sewing bee to seam the blanket together (dates to be announced later).

I am also working on getting a Knitting For Others knit night together where we can start working on squares and visit at the same time! How lovely. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for all the support you have given in the past years.

Photography Workshop

2010-09-03T09:17:00.008-05:00

She’s back! And this time she has even more ideas and more time for her students! We are so glad to be hosting Gale Zucker again this year. She will be teaching a weekend workshop on photography for knitters this September 25th and 26th and space is limited to ensure a quality experience for all. If you’re not familiar with Gale’s work, go to www.gzucker.com and review her portfolios. Be sure to look at the “she shoots sheep shots”...hard to resist if you are a fiber enthusiast. She’s done it all – newspapers, magazines, books, corporate work – with her specialty being location photography. Check out the workshop details below and call the shop at 651-222-5793 to reserve your space today.

Photography for Knitters Weekend Workshop with Gale Zucker
Saturday September 25 – Sunday September 26 10am-4pm with a one-hour break for lunch
$275

Two days of photography amidst the yarn, with a field trip to a historic farmstead. This will be a special, hands-on digital photography workshop weekend for anyone wanting to improve their images of fiber-related projects and the world around them. Photographing with the end goal of using your images online will be emphasized, but this workshop will benefit anyone who has a passion for both photography and fiber.

Time will be split between slide talks, demonstrations, hands-on photography exercises and some computer work on the images. Time will also be split between the classroom setting and enjoying the beauty of the Gibbs Museum, a historic farmstead, as a backdrop and subject for some of our images.

A Visit from Lorna Miser

2010-08-27T06:29:00.004-05:00

Lorna Miser, founder of Lorna’s Laces yarns and author, will be at The Yarnery on Thursday, September 2 from 6-8:00 p.m. Lorna created Lorna's Laces in 1986 after her love of sewing evolved into a love of all things spinning, dyeing and knitting. Since selling Lorna's Laces in 2003, Lorna has been designing knitwear for numerous yarn companies, magazines and her own books. Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting is her first book, filled with patterns and stories for and about knitting.

Her new book - The Knitter's Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn - is due out in November 2010.

Lorna will bring along samples from both of her books and share stories from her knitting life. Stop by to visit with Lorna and be one of the first to preview the samples from her new book!

Renew, Revive, Remix

2010-08-19T06:42:00.007-05:00

The recycle symbol tells us to reduce – reuse – recycle. We can use this is many areas of life…but knitting? While there are examples of reduce and reuse in knitting (who hasn’t frogged a project?), let’s concentrate on recycle.

Yarn companies have created wonderful yarns blending recycled fibers. Here are a few of the new ones we currently have on the shelves:

Renew

Rowan Purelife Renew is a tweedy, chunky yarn comprised of 93% recycled wool and 7% polyamide. It knits up at 3½ stitches per inch on US 10 needles with 82 yards in a skein. We carry the entire color palette of eight choices with such quirky names as Tractor, Trailor, Pickup, Garage, Diesel, Digger, Truck and Lorry. The yarn colors don’t seem nearly that industrial to me, but you’ll have to judge for yourself!

Revive

Rowan Purelife Revive is a dk weight yarn with 137 yards per skein. The Rowan website describes it as “made from used garments which have been selected according to the silk, cotton and viscose content. These are then carded to make regenerated fibre, which is then spun into this beautiful, high quality yarn, which gives life to new hand knitting designs.” The fiber content is 36% recycled silk, 36% recycled cotton and 28% recycled viscose. We have all of the available colors – Quartz, Pink Granite, Ironstone, Marble, Granite, Basalt, Rock and Pumice – on our shelf, waiting to be reused in a project for you.

Remix

Berroco Remix is a blend of 30% nylon, 27% cotton, 24% acrylic, 10% silk and 9% linen that knits up to a heavy worsted weight gauge of 4¼ stitches per inch on US 8 needles. The Berroco website explains how this new yarn is made: “a new, 100% recycled yarn made using a low-impact manufacturing process patented in France. Remix is the result of over a year of collaborative work between mill and textile engineers. Garments and high-quality commercially knit fabric panels left over from the ready-to-wear industry are collected from across Europe and sorted by fiber, then color. Because these pieces are pre-dyed, there is no need to dye them again, which saves water and prevents water pollution. Instead, colors are created by carefully blending garnetted fibers. Garnetted fiber is the result of shredding old textiles to make a new, fleece-like fiber that is ready to be spun into a new yarn.

A tweedy, rustic look makes this an ideal candidate for casual knits, and its machine washability means any garment will be low maintenance and hard-wearing. Finished garments are immediately cozy, with the feeling of well-loved jeans or your favorite old tee-shirt.” We carry all twelve of the tweedy colors in skeins with 216 yards.

With dk, worsted and chunky options available,

there is a recycled yarn ready to be used in your next sweater project this fall!

Yarns on Stage

2010-08-12T09:40:00.003-05:00

October 16th, 2010…put this date on your calendar right now.

Presenting…drum roll, please…Yarns on Stage – a unique event featuring 10 of the hottest hand-dyed yarns exclusively dyed for this event all unveiled on a single day in yarn shops worldwide. Who is included? Here’s the list:

• Alpaca with a Twist
• Cherry Tree Hill Yarn
• Claudia Hand Painted Yarns
• Conjoined Creations
• Dream in Color
• Pico Accuardi Dye Works
• Prism Yarns
• Shibui Knits
• The Great Adirondack Yarn Company
• Twisted Sisters

The Yarnery will be featuring Yarns on Stage, and we can’t wait to see the yarns when they are delivered! For a sneak peek, go to www.yarnsonstage.com and check out Sidney the Sheep in each of the colorways. Remember, we’ll only get a limited supply and when they are gone, they’re gone.

Dream Club

2010-08-02T15:09:00.005-05:00

Need something to look forward to this August (and each of the next 9 months?) Welcome to Dream Club!

Dream in Color Yarns, quality hand-painted yarns spun and dyed in the U.S.A., is starting a Dream Club through your Local Yarn Shop (that’s us…The Yarnery). New specially-dyed yarn in in colors exclusive to those participating in the Dream Club will be shipped the first week of each of the ten months along with a special pattern. Below is a schedule of what to look forward to each month:

August: Flash-Dyed Smooshy with a Hat Pattern
September: Groovy with a Pattern for Slipper Socks
October: 70% Merino/20% Cashmere/10% Nylon sock base with a Pattern for Fingerless Gloves November: Starry with a Sock Pattern
December: Veil-Dyed Smooshy with a Sock Pattern
January: Groovy with a Hat Pattern
February: Starry with a Shawl Pattern
March: 70% Merino/20% Cashmere/10% Nylon sock base with a Sock Pattern
April: Flash-Dyed Smooshy with a Scarf Pattern
May: Veil-Dyed Smooshy with a Baby Sweater Pattern (this may change)

Call or stop by to see what color arrived today. You don't want to miss this opportunity as the quantities are limited and you may never see this color again.

New Patterns

2010-07-23T05:55:00.010-05:00

Some people start projects by falling in love with a yarn and then they search for a pattern that will work with it. Others have a pattern catch their eye and then find the perfect yarn to pair with it to make their ideal project. Regardless of which method is your favorite – yarn first or pattern first - we have some great new patterns in the store. Below are two collections we’ve added of single patterns, one focused on adult women and the other on babies and young children.

Cocoknits by Julie Weisenberger

Cocoknits features patterns for women that are fresh and uncomplicated in design. The description from her website captures the essence of her design philosophy: “My aim is to reach creative knitters who want a finished product that says something unique about their personality. Each pattern is meant not as a rigid template but as a guide, a jumping-off point from which you can determine your own style through choice of texture, color, shape, and embellishments. I hope that you will find cocoknits an inspiration as well as a resource.”

Heirloom Stitches by Donna Higgins

heirloom noun heir-loom 1: something of special value handed on from one generation to another.

The detail in the design elevates these childrens patterns from functional to adorable and special. They might have a cute ribbon or a flower around the button, a lacey edge or a ruffle. If you are lucky enough to have a little one needing hand-knits, these patterns might be just right for an heirloom!

Entrelac Envelope Purse

2010-07-14T11:19:00.004-05:00

You know how every once in a while you see a project that combines a yarn with a technique in such a cool way that you think “Wow!”? But then your next thought is, “That must be hard.” Well… we’ve got a great, new project to show you from our newest teacher, Gretchen Funk, and it looks way more complicated than it really is.

Entrelope: the Entrelac Envelope Purse is Gretchen’s latest design. It combines just one skein of the self-striping Mini Mochi and the entrelac technique, to create a small envelope purse with an i-cord border. Creative and clever all in one.

Interested in learning how she made it? She is teaching a 3-session class at the Yarnery on Tuesday evenings in August starting on the 10th. Her new pattern is included in the class. Stop by the store to see the sample hanging up behind the counter. Or if the photos are enough inspiration, just call 651-222-5793 and sign up now.

Cubust KAL

2010-07-08T14:10:00.002-05:00

Calling all Cubist Sock KAL'ers... get over the Ravelry, upload your photo and leave a post to the KAL thread under the Yarnery group and we will award a prize!!

MillaMia

2010-07-06T06:12:00.012-05:00

Here in Minnesota, many citizens love the connection they have with their ancestry and all things Scandinavian. Lutefisk, lefse, Swedish fish and Volvo all sell well in the Twin Cities. In our knitting world, we have Selbuvotter mittens and Bohus sweaters and all sorts of traditional Scandinavian designs to keep us busy remembering the past. What about the present and future?

Let me introduce you to something new and exciting from Sweden – MillaMia, a new company focused on contemporary children’s patterns and soft merino yarn. Two sisters from Sweden (currently residing in London) started MillaMia in 2009 to fill a gap in the market for stylish and modern knitting patterns for babies and children. Their style is clean and contemporary, distinctively Swedish with a bright, fun edge.

They have published two books:

Bright Young Things

The Close Knit Gang

The patterns are vibrant and playful, developed for all levels of knitters to create a variety of clothing and accessories.

The yarn? It is a sport-weight merino made in Italy. MillaMia’s description (as quoted from their website) sums it up well – “Naturally Soft Merino Yarn is made from 100% extra fine Merino Wool. Its super soft feel makes it ideal for babies and young children, and the lovely twist on the yarn means that the resulting knitted fabric has a great stitch definition.” The swatch in the store shows the gauge at 5¾, 6¼ and 6¾ stitches per inch and the yardage is 137.

While knitting the swatch, our Yarnery staffer commented that the yarn was very easy and fast to knit, very round construction with a lot of bounce and no snags or splits at all. Best of all is how soft the finished fabric feels and it is machine washable.

The colors are in three distinct groups, but can be used together in quirky and fun combinations as shown in their books. First we have some lights.

Then we have some darks.

Finally, we have some brights.

Stop by and see the latest Swedish sensation!

4th of July

2010-07-03T06:15:00.001-05:00

We would like to wish you all a safe and happy 4th of July.

To allow our staff to enjoy this holiday with food, fireworks, family and friends we will be closed for the day. We will be back to our regular schedule on Monday, July 5th for all your knitting needs.

New Gaffey Designs

2010-06-28T06:16:00.009-05:00

The Yarnery’s own, beloved Theresa Gaffey creates well-written knitting and crochet patterns with classic designs perfect for the advanced beginner. Some designers have a few patterns to their credit, others have several, and then there is Theresa…her latest is pattern #209.

Let’s take a peak at a few of her recent patterns: TG Pattern # 203 – Anne’s Crocheted Scarf is a great pattern for sock or fingering weight yarn. The open feel and lightweight nature of this pattern make it a perfect choice for summer knitting and year-round wearing.

TG Pattern #205 – Stella’s Baby Blanket is an interesting, geometric pattern that is easy to knit and fun to give to the newest baby in your life. Our shop model blanket was made out of Crystal Palace’s Bamboozle, a soft worsted-weight yarn made from bamboo, cotton and nylon. This machine-washable yarn comes in a wonderful array of colors and we have recently expanded our stock.

TG Pattern # 206 – Slouchy Beret is a current take on an old classic. Made from Rowan’s Lima yarn, this worsted-weight hat has the perfect slouch factor due to the wonderful drape in the alpaca-blend yarn.

TG Pattern # 209 – Ribbed Boot Sock is another worsted-weight project for your needles. Good hiking socks can be hard to find, so make your own out of Berroco’s Vintage yarn. This acrylic, wool and nylon blend is soft, yet durable, and comes in several solid and heathered colors.

Stop in and look through all 209 Theresa Gaffey patterns in the two full binders in our pattern closet. If you want them autographed by the designer, here’s a tip…she is the Tuesday night clinician!

For those of you who aren't able to stop by the store, we have all of Theresa's patterns available in our on-line store. And we are taking it one step further..... Over the next month, we are working very hard to make all of Theresa's and a few other local designers patterns available for purchase in pdf format for your instant gratification.

Return from TNNA

2010-06-17T19:30:00.007-05:00

We have barely returned from TNNA and already new yarn has started coming in.

The first to arrive is Kauni, a fingering weight wool from Estonia with L O N G color changes.

Each skein is plentiful (over 140 g) to ensure you get the full effect of Kauni Effektgarn. Check out what Sally, Shelly and Stephanie have done with it.

Other new yarns to look for:

Madelinetosh - both DK and lace weight hand-dyed merino
Millamia - a new merino yarn from Sweden with great kid patterns
A dk weight wool from Imperial Stock Ranch- a 140 year old family ranch in Oregon priding itself on sustainability
Crazyfoot - a new sock yarn from Mountain Colors
Cherry Tree Hill striping sock yarn
Classy from Dream in Color
and a few other surprises.

All this and

new bags from Namaste,
gadgets from Hiya Hiya,
a new magazine from London
new hand bar from LaviShea, a cottage company in Colorado

What will arrive next?!?!?!?

KAL - Cubist Sock

2010-06-08T06:36:00.005-05:00

Sometimes good ideas come in waves, tripping over one another as things just fall into place as if you had planned it that way all along. This seems to be the case in our Yarnery world over the past couple of weeks. We launched a Ravelry group at about the same time as Interweave Press released a free Cookie A. sock pattern – Cubist Socks. How are these related? A sock knitalong (KAL)!

Please join us in exploring Cookie A.’s pattern and creating your very own Cubist socks. Our KAL will be hosted by Sarah W. on our Ravelry group. She will be knitting her Cubist socks out of Claudia’s Handpainted sock yarn in the Scarlet O'Hara colorway, although we also have Koigu sock yarn if you want to be even more like Cookie A.

You can find the Cubist pattern on Knitting Daily's website here and cast on as quickly as you’d like. Please leave a comment in the Ravely group to let us know you are joining the KAL and check in often to see everyone’s progress. If you have finished at least one sock by July 5th and have posted a photo on Ravelry, you will be entered in our KAL contest to win a prize. Finish both socks? You get two entries for the prize.

Ready…set…knit!

Ravel What?

2010-06-03T11:14:00.006-05:00

1. I love yarn.
2. I love patterns.
3. I love technology.

How many of you found yourself nodding along until you reached the third statement?

We are fiber artists, casual crafters, and makers of analog creations in an increasingly digital world. Instead of fighting the technology wave, knitters and crocheters have begun to embrace it and carve our own unique home in cyberspace.

Ravelry is that place.

You’ve probably heard of sites like Facebook or MySpace, even if you haven’t had the desire to try them out. Ravelry (www.ravelry.com) is a social networking site for US! It’s a reference tool, organizer, and virtual knit night all rolled into one. Like an onion, this website has many layers; you can use it a little, just to give your creative arsenal a little zing, or you can dive in headfirst and document every ball of yarn and needle and book and project and…. Prepare to smell like the onion!

Let me show you a few ways Ravelry (a.k.a. Facebook for Fiber Fans) can enrich your crafting:

Imagine you have a yarn in your stash that you purchased because of its unsurpassed beauty and fantastic price, but have no idea what project would be suitable. You can search for the yarn on Ravelry, and in a few keystrokes see a photo gallery of projects made by other Ravelrers using that very yarn. Inspiration.

Maybe you have one (or two or more) projects on the needles. You can enter each of your WIPs with details such as the pattern source, yarn and needles used, and photos of your work. This becomes not only a record of where your 16” US 8 went, but an archive of your completed projects for future reference. Organization.

Say you have a need or longing to make a cardigan for yourself, but can’t find a pattern that floats your boat. With a few clicks you are shown many styles of sweaters, which you can filter to find the garment of your dreams. Motivation.

The internet is an invaluable resource for us, and you don’t have to be a member of the Geek Squad to make it work for you. Feel free to find me at the shop if you have any questions – I’ll gladly be your Rav-enabler!

- guest blogger Angie
“Meema” on Ravelry

Ravelry Group

2010-05-29T07:37:00.009-05:00

At long last, we have started a Yarnery group on Ravelry.

Anyone who joins us by midnight Thursday, June 4th will be entered to win a prize. Also, we will be having a knit along using this group starting in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for details.

Tell all your friends and come join us for some fun.

Have a great Memorial week-end and please note, we will be closed on Monday, May 31st.

NEW, NEW and more NEW

2010-05-25T10:18:00.006-05:00

There was an article recently in the daily paper about the impact of using the word “new”. Apparently, “new” attracts a lot of attention and prompts people to take action. Just for the record, this post would have contained many “new” labels even if the article hadn’t been published!

The Yarnery has a new teacher with a new class making a new pattern (for our store) out of new yarn. Who knew?

New Teacher: Gretchen Funk
Gretchen learned to knit as a young girl from Bee Doermann, owner of the Berry Patch yarn store in Afton. Bee also employed her to work in the store during some summers. Gretchen has attended Meg Swanson’s knitting camp four times and carries the unique distinction of being half of the first father-daughter combo to attend when her dad, Lars, joined her in the fun. Check her out on Ravelry as GretchenFunk.

New Class/Pattern: Mondo Cable Shell/Vest
Gretchen’s first class at The Yarnery starts next Thursday evening, June 3, at 6:00 p.m. She will be guiding her class through the Chic Knits Mondo Cable Shell/Vest pattern featuring top-down construction, a few cables and shaping options for this advanced beginning level class. This 4-session class is perfect for students wanting to go beyond scarves and hats to make their first garment, but is also fun for knitters with more experience who want to try top-down construction.

New Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed Aran
One of the best things about this pattern is its versatility. It looks great on people of all sizes! Want to pick wool and knit a cool weather vest? No problem. Already tired of 95 degrees and humidity and thinking cotton might be your choice? Make a summer shell. You can check out the many yarns people have chosen for the Mondo Cable Shell/Vest project on Ravelry. Gretchen’s model features Rowan’s Felted Tweed Aran, a lovely combination of 50% merino wool, 25% alpaca & 25% rayon. A great cotton-blend option is Rowan’s All Season’s Cotton, a soft and bouncy 60% cotton & 40% acrylic/microfiber yarn in lovely solid colors.

Check your calendars and call the shop today at 651-222-5793 to register for Gretchen’s new class. Be in the first group of students to welcome her to the Yarnery!

Unpacking

2010-05-16T07:41:00.010-05:00

Wow! May is half over and as the old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” Fun? Doing what? Unpacking boxes, boxes and more boxes. After our Annual Inventory Reduction Sale ends and the counting is finished, we get to unpack boxes and stock the shelves with many things – replacing favorites and welcoming new items. Here are just a few things you might want to check out!

Rasta, Malabrigo’s latest great yarn, is sitting on a shelf in our Super Bulky section. 100% single ply merino wool dyed in colors you will love! Our store swatch was knit in Archangel and looks equally great at three different gauges – 2, 2.25 and 2.5 stitches per inch. It is very soft and lofty; perfect for a warm hat or scarf to curb winter’s chill. One of the best attributes of this new yarn? Your project will be done before you know it! You can finish a basic hat in an evening while watching your favorite baseball team or chatting with your knitting friends.

St. Denis Magazine Issue #2 – Spring/Summer 2010 is also on the shelves. Sixteen projects from multiple designers make this a wonderful addition to your pattern library.

41! shades of Ultra Pima are sitting on the shelves in all their colorful glory. We already featured this yarn in a former blog post so we won’t gush again, but now we have even more luscious colors to pick from for your lightweight summer project.

Power Cables: The Ultimate Guide to Knitting Inventive Cables by Lily Chin was supposed to arrive in June, but it came early! A book description as quoted from the publisher: “Basic twisted stitches, complex interpretations of cables, reversible cables, adding texture and color, turning stitches around, constructing cables with I-cord, and wrapping stitches to create the illusion of cables are some of the integrated techniques detailed in this guide. Contained within are more than 15 original cable patterns for pullovers, jackets, bags, socks, and accessories. Also included is information on a new charting system for predicting cable behavior as well as tips on cabling without a cable needle, choosing the best yarns for specific cable effects, and designing original cable patterns.”

We also have some wonderful new shop models recently knit by Yarnery staffers. Come and check out their finished projects!

Tank Top in Silky Alpaca Lace

2010-05-11T11:03:00.005-05:00

Guest poster, Sarah here. Just checking in to let you know about a new shop model that I finished.

Digging through piles of knitting books I came across One Skein by Leigh Radford. I had forgotten how cute this book is. Lots of great projects that can be made with just one skein. I like.

So when I came across Tank Top, I thought... that's not one skein. But the skein she chose had 1250 yards in it. So, ok. But instead, I chose Classic Elites Silky Alpaca Lace and I AM IN LOVE!!
The yarn is so nice to work with. Soft to the touch, works up fast and the colors are so great. So I grabbed a couple skeins and went to work.

And the result... fabulous. The model in my photos is my pre-teen daughter, however I made this shop model in adult size 34" and it looks so great some ladies at the shop.

So next time your in, stop and touch the Silky Alpaca Lace Tank Top and then grab a few skeins, the book and get knitting!!

Shop Hop 2010

2010-05-02T20:13:00.007-05:00

April Showers mean new yarn flowers are blooming at the Twin Cities’ six favorite yarn shops. The fourth annual Yarn Shop Hop is May 21 to 23, 2010, so make a date with your knitting friends! To begin your journey, pick up driving directions and an entry card at any one of the shops listed. At each shop, get your entry form stamped and pick up a free pattern for a unique Yarn Flowers knitting project. At the same time you can also enter your name for exciting door prize drawings at each shop. A completed entry form, stamped at each and every shop, qualifies you to enter the drawing for the Grand Prize or one of six First Prizes. The grand prize is a Knitting Basket and the First Prizes are Knitting Bags; all are filled with knitting and crochet goodies galore. The first day of the Shop Hop is Friday, May 21st. You can complete the Shop Hop all in one day or spread it out over three days.

LIMITED EDITION YARN: To celebrate the blooming of spring’s yarn flowers the shops have commissioned a bouquet of stunning, limited edition hand dyed yarns. Each shop will have its own color that will be featured in the free pattern that will be given to shop hop visitors.

HELP STOCK LOCAL FOOD SHELVES: Each shop will have a limited quantity of collectible flower charms. To qualify for the charm you will need to make a donation to the local food shelf designated by each shop or make a purchase. In addition, your completed entry card along with a qualifying donation or purchase will entitle you to a 2010 charm (only one purchase is required at the final stop for that shop’s charm and the 2010 charm). The food shelf donation can be in the form of non-perishable food items or check.

PARTICIPATING SHOPS: Amazing Threads, Coldwater Collaborative, Needlework Unlimited, A Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, The Yarnery, Zandy's

Don't forget....

2010-04-30T09:07:00.010-05:00

Our sale ends today at 4:00pm.

And you don't miss the opportunity to purchase some these (and more) at 40% off.

Naturlin

Yarni

Silk Cotton

Remember the more you buy, the less we have to count tonight. And more importantly, the more room we will make for new yarns.

Japanese Knitting Inspiration

2010-04-22T19:43:00.014-05:00

April is Severe Weather Awareness month in Minnesota and a whirlwind has definitely swept through the Yarnery. Since the beginning of the month, we’ve released our spring/summer class schedule, started our Annual Inventory Reduction Sale, participated in Yarnover and hosted two wonderful guest teachers. That list doesn’t even include all the business-as-usual stuff like ongoing classes and customers and phone calls and clinics and knit nights. Whew!

One set of merchandise was very popular at Yarnover and we want to let you know we have even more options at the store – all at 20% off during the sale. I’m referring to our collection of Japanese books. Currently, we have 61 books in stock including stitch dictionaries,

projects large

and small.

Many people are afraid to even open the Japanese pattern books. What if the patterns are gorgeous and you’re tempted to try one? You’d have to be crazy, right? Yarnery staffers have done just that…fell in love with a pattern and just had to knit it despite the language barrier. And they have loved the results! Here is a picture of one staffer's gorgeous vest made with Rowan’s Cocoon yarn:

The appeal of the patterns has resulted in our Yarnery Japanese help sheet with links to websites that help decipher yarn weight symbols, the ABC’s of Japanese knitting and general information on interpreting patterns. With much of the patterns done with charts, it really is easier than you might think. Stop by the shop, peak inside the books and ask for our Japanese reference help sheet. You’ll be knitting Japanese patterns like a pro before you know it.

And don't forget, the sale continues through the end of the month (April 30th at 4 p.m. the doors close and we count, to be exact).

Annual Inventory Sale

2010-04-09T11:30:00.010-05:00

Coming Soon......

YARNERY
ANNUAL SALE
Everything
20% OFF
with Select Clearance Yarns
30% OFF or more
As Marked - Final Sale

In stock merchandise only. Sale runs from April 15 - 30.

We will close at 4:00pm Friday, April 30th for inventory and reopen on Saturday, May 1st at 10:00am

Also, a sneak peak at yarns that have been discontinued and will have a bigger discount during our sale, but colors and quantities are limited so plan accordingly.

Rowan Scottish Tweed DK (100% wool; 5 1/2 stitches = 1")
and Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply (100% wool; 6 1/2 - 7 stitches = 1")

PureLife Wool DK (100% organic wool; 5 1/2 stitches = 1")

See you Thursday.

European Influence

2010-03-27T05:57:00.008-06:00

We have many new titles on our bookshelves and we want to share some of our favorites with you.

The Haapsula Shawl: A Knitted Lace Tradition from Estonia by Siiri Reimann and Aime Deasi is a gorgeous hardcover book filled with photos, charts and knitting from Estonia. Clara Parkes' review referred to it as the perfect complement to Nancy Bush’s Knitted Lace of Estonia book.

Northern Knits: Designs Inspired by the Knitting Traditions of Scandinavia, Iceland, and the Shetland Isles by Lucinda Guy is a new paperback book filled with a variety of patterns for sweaters, socks, hats, gloves and more that draw on their heritage yet look modern and fun.

Eesti labakindad ilma laande laiali – Estonian mittens all around the world by Aina Praakli is another hardcover book you’ll want to add to your knitting library. Wow…who knew there were that many lovely mittens.

Stop by and browse our bookshelves. Be careful though, it is kind of like a candy counter only without the calories!

Creative Focus Linen

2010-03-18T16:23:00.007-06:00

Blends – aaahhh - the beauty of combining two things to form something wholly new but with properties of both base elements. Our shop is full of wonderful blends and we have a new one to add to the mix – Creative Focus Linen.

This latest offering from Creative Focus is a blend of 50% cotton and 50% linen in 100 gram hanks with 220 yards. At a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch on a US 7 needle, this medium-weight yarn works well for many patterns. There is also a pattern book from Creative Focus exclusively featuring this new blend.

The cotton keeps the linen feeling softer rather than stiff. The linen adds texture and sturdiness to the cotton to keep it from sagging. The combination is rather like washed denim – soft and comfy, yet not too limp. While this yarn will work for anything from tanks and tees to cardigans,
an all-purpose hoodie to transition between seasons and for cool summer nights might be worth considering. Come in and explore the options for this versatile blend.

Fleece Artist Silks

2010-03-12T06:46:00.001-06:00

UPS, Fedex and the U.S. Postal Service make regular deliveries to our shop. Some days we only get a box or two; other days we may get eight or more. After we sign for them and the delivery person leaves, we peruse the outside of the box and return address to determine the contents. Yarn? Needles? Books? Which one to open first?

If a box says Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden, it is snagged immediately and ripped open with anticipation. Why? Because we know there will be something in the box that we haven’t seen before. Their hand-dyed, one-of-a-kind skeins of beautiful yarn are always a delight to unpack. The last box was even better than most – four types of silk yarn we’ve never had in the store before. Wow!

Introducing our new arrivals:

Mulberry Tussah – 216 yards per skein of 50% mulberry silk and 50% tussah silk with a gauge of 5 stitches per inch when knit on US size 6 needles.

Maiden Hair – 270 yards per skein of 67% silk, 23% kid mohair and 10% nylon with a gauge of 5 stitches per inch when knit on US size 6 needles.

Lace Silk - 650 yards per skein of 100% silk with a gauge of 7 stitches per inch when knit on US size 1½ needles.

Flaxen – 270 yards per skein of 65% silk and 35% linen with a gauge of 6 stitches per inch when knit on US size 4 needles.

Adjectives to describe these lovely yarns include vibrant sheen, deeply-saturated colors, soft hand, variegated and near solids, textured and many more mere words. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, touching these silk and silk blends is worth at least double a picture! Stop by and check these out before they are gone (we received 10 skeins of each type). This spring just might be silk season in St. Paul.

Arnhild Mitten Event

2010-03-05T06:28:00.009-06:00

Back by popular demand, Arnhild Hillesland (our favorite Norwegian from Iowa) will be stopping by the Yarnery on Sunday March 14th from 2-4 p.m. to demonstrate how to design a two-color mitten.

You are welcome to come, listen, take notes and see Arnhild’s samples. Or for a more in-depth hands-on experience, knit a 2x2 ribbed cuff (56 stitches) on sport weight Strikkegarn yarn before you arrive and you’ll be ready to start knitting your design while getting help from Arnhild.

We are offering this workshop for FREE, but would like you to register so we can plan accordingly. Call the shop at 651.222.5793 to let us know if you would like to attend. Bring a friend and enjoy an afternoon working with Arnhild. We’ll put the coffee pot on so we can sip a cup while we knit!

March Madness

2010-03-03T12:39:00.005-06:00

March has arrived! Spring is in the air with bright sun and dripping icicles. Memories of state tournament-induced snow storms during past Marches are forgotten as we shed our down coats and get the mail in just our sweaters. In a few short weeks, we’ll turn our clocks ahead and days will immediately seem longer and sunnier.

Spring is also a great time at the Yarnery. Our huge Annual Sale begins on April 15th. As long-time customers know, everything in the shop is marked down at least 20%. Yes, everything – books, needles, yarn, accessories – and some items are marked down even more.

Before our huge storewide Annual Sale, we have March Madness. Basketball? No, we are not talking about basketball. Our March Madness is a customer rewards punch card.

During the month of March, you can have your March Madness card punched for every dollar spent in the shop. When your punch card reaches $150, it becomes a ticket for the Pre-sale Event on Wednesday April 14th from 8-10 p.m. At the Pre-sale Event, you’ll be able to shop our Annual Sale the night before and treat yourself to some great deals. Stop by the shop soon and get your March Madness card. We’ll answer any questions you have and show you our new spring yarns, patterns and books.

Rowan 30th Anniversary Exhibition

2010-02-25T19:24:00.004-06:00

Next week brings a special knitting event to the Twin Cities and we’d like to share the invitation with you so you don’t miss out on all the fun!

Rowan 30th Anniversary
Exhibition - A Retrospective

Friday, March 5th, 2010
6 to 8 p.m.
(presentation at 7 p.m.)
TEXTILE CENTER
3000 University Ave.,SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Join us to celebrate Rowan’s inspirational use
of color, texture and pattern in handknitting
over the last 30 years. Many garments from
Rowan Magazines 1 through 44 will be on
display. Learn about the talented designers
who created these works of art.
Wear whatever you’ve created using
Rowan yarns.
Enter to win lovely door prizes.
10% discount coupons will be available to use
at your favorite Rowan retailer.

We look forward to seeing you at the event and as you use your 10% discount coupons at our shop. What Rowan sweater or yarn will you be wearing?

Addi Click Envelope Case

2010-02-22T06:48:00.001-06:00

The addi Click interchangeable needle system came on the market last year to rave reviews and huge customer demand. The initial version of the addi Click system came with a covered storage tray case about the size of a deep shoebox lid. Portable? Yes. Compact? Not exactly. In the second version of the addi Click system, Skacel changed the design of the case to be considerably smaller.

Our initial shipment of the new envelope case (needles not included) has arrived and is available at an introductory price. This is Skacel's promotion to allow customers who have already purchased an original set of addi Click needles an affordable, more compact case. Call the shop or stop by to purchase your new case while supplies last.

Ultra Pima

2010-02-11T18:18:00.006-06:00

A yarn shop is a wonderful place to hear what people think about different yarns and fibers. Whether the conversations are direct or merely overheard while standing near someone, everyone has their favorites and many people love to share their thoughts. Some people like alpaca because it is so soft and warm; others prefer wool for its durability and springiness. There isn’t enough space on this blog to get into the discussions about which type of wool is the best. Silk, angora, camel, bison and many other fibers get people to ooh and aah while rubbing the skein against their cheek or neck.

What common yarn fiber is clearly missing from this list of favorites? Cotton. Why? Because very few people say, “Ooh, my favorite yarn to knit with is 100% cotton.” Instead, people say how they need it for a wash cloth, baby clothes or a summer shell. They say it is sometimes splitty or rough or like knitting with a thin rope with no give. These comments have also been heard by yarn companies and there are lots of cotton blends on the market to overcome the inherent drawbacks of pure cotton. Our shop has cotton alpaca, cotton silk and cotton wool, to name a few.

So should we give up on the dream of a perfect cotton yarn - one that is soft and slippery, easy to knit with, and makes you say ooh and aah? Don’t despair. A new yarn arrived that is an awesome cotton! Ultra Pima Cotton by Cascade Yarns is on the shelf in our shop.

It looks great sitting there with a slight sheen. But it is even better once you touch it and feel how lovely it is against the skin. It comes in generous 100 gram skeins with 220 yards in more lovely, saturated colors than you can imagine (53 to be exact, but we don’t have room for them all). It knits up at 5½ to 6 stitches per inch to make a perfect fabric for warm weather wear.

Come on in, rub the gauge swatch with your fingers

and see if you ooh and aah like we do!

Spring Rowan

2010-02-04T19:20:00.017-06:00

The calendars have flipped over to February and yarns shops know what that means – spring! Yes, you read that right. If the first day of spring is March 21st and you count backwards for how long it might take you to knit a little spring-like sweater - let’s say one month – and you want some time to ponder patterns and yarn, the time to shop is now.

Rowan always knows how to help a knitter find something new to knit and this year is no exception. Our spring Rowan books just arrived and they are filled with wearable, fun designs.

Here are the choices: Rowan Knitting and Crochet Magazine #47

Rowan Summer Crochet

Rowan Casual Classics

Rowan Kids

Rowan Miniature Classics

Finally the last book, Rowan Purelife Recycled Collection, features 16 designs for women and men made with Rowan’s new yarn Revive.

Revive is the first recycled yarn under the Purelife label and is made entirely from recycled clothing. Discarded clothing is separated into different fiber contents (silk, cotton and viscose), shredded and finally spun into yarn. It's eight enticing and nature-inspired colors are sitting on our shelf. Come on in and check out this unique yarn.

Annemor Sundbo - Antique Embroidery Class

2010-01-29T06:06:00.019-06:00

Interesting people with unique backgrounds are always fun to meet and talk with about their lives and passions. Within the knitting and fiber arts community, we have many teachers, designers and authors we enjoy reading about on their blogs or twitter or Ravelry. Occasionally a few of them come to town for an event or class and we get to put a voice to their written word and photo. Rarely do we get to greet a guest from Europe, hear their lilting accented English and learn from their background and heritage in a hands-on class. February 22nd is one of those special nights!

Annemor Sundbø will be joining us for one night only, Monday, February 22, 2010 from 5:00-9:00 p.m. to teach a class on antique embroidery.

Annemor is a textile designer, teacher of weaving and author. She owns and operates a knitting workshop "Ose Ullvare" in Setesdal, about 110 km from Kristiansand, Norway. She ran the last remaining shoddy factory (a factory where wool was recycled by tearing apart existing wool fabric and re-spinning the fibers) in Norway, Torridal Tweed og Ulldynefabrikk, from 1993 to 2006. It all started in 1983 when Annemor wanted some experience in a small scale woollen mill. The owner agreed to train her on one condition ... Annemor had to buy the factory first!

The storage bins in the old factory were a treasure trove of knitting patterns and cultural history. Annemor unraveled the fascinating history of traditional knitting by investigating a pile of knitted rags. This rag pile reveals the close historical ties between everyday knitting in Norway and traditional knitting in Europe as described in her books: Everyday Knitting: Treasures from a Rag Pile,

Setesdal Sweaters

and Invisible Threads of Knitting.

Annemor was also a key reference and guide to the popular Norwegian mitten book Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition by Terri Shea.

Here are the details of the class:

A Hidden Secret: Setesdal Antique Embroidery-Løyesaum
The world famous Norwegian "Lusekofte", the "lice patterned" sweaters, originated 150 years ago and have been used up to our days as part of the men's folk-costume in Setesdal. On the cuff and around the neck is special embroidery called "Løyesaum".

Photo courtesy of Annemor Sundbo

The industry has tried to copy this technique and the result is so widespread that most people think this is the original decoration that belongs to the genuine "lusekofte". However, the industry has never been able to make the individual touch as the hand stitched antique embroidery. The real "løyesaum" technique is more or less a hidden secret in Setesdal where the sweater was "born". Setesdal is a narrow valley. Up to the 1950`s it was quite isolated. This colorful folk art embroidery has given Setesdal the name "The Nordic Peru".

The Løyesaum-class will introduce you to the technique by embroidering a pincushion as the class project.

The embroidery is a "free" folk-art like writing poems. These embroideries are never copied, they are always individual expressions. If you are interested in trying this traditional needlework, call the Yarnery at 651-222-5793 today and register for this class. The $70 registration fee includes a pincushion kit for the class project. Spots are limited to ensure a quality teacher-student ratio, so don’t procrastinate and miss out on Annemor!

Kumara

2010-01-12T09:56:00.013-06:00

While there are many ways to survive the last half of January in Minnesota, knitters know the best way – scoop up an armful of soft, warm yarn

and knit a cozy sweater.

Luxurious yarns containing camel fibers are all the rage this winter and Classic Elite’s Kumara deserves the excitement. While many ultra-soft fibers like baby camel aren’t known for their durability, Kumara is a blend of 85% extrafine merino and 15% baby camel that has been constructed with three 2-ply yarns cabled together. Lots of softness with wear-resistance and great stitch definition built into the structure!

Yarnery staffer, Virginia, knit the sweater in the photos from Wendy Bernard’s pattern Indigo Playmate published in Custom Knits. When asked what she thought about Kumara, she quickly responded, “LOVED it!” She found the yarn to be very soft and easy to work with, very light and lofty. Then she added the seal of approval all yarns crave - “I would definitely knit with it again.” Stop by the shop to see the sweater and pet some Kumara. We have ten colorways waiting for you in the worsted-weight section of our store. Which color will you prefer?

Nordique

2010-01-12T09:52:00.016-06:00

We received a wonderful box full of wool garments last week. A bit late for the holidays, but just in time for some cold January knitting! What was in the box? A trunk show of colorwork, texture

and lace

in garments knit out of only one yarn – Nordique by Veronik Avery. All of the garments are from the new St-Denis Fall/Winter Magazine 2009 with many notable designers, including Pam Allen, Jared Flood, Franklin Habit and Ysolda Teague.

Although the trunk show has moved on to it's next destination, Barbara, a Yarnery staffer, also knit the Abstract Leaves vest which still remains in the store.

She found the yarn to be very easy and fast to knit with due to its well-spun, smooth ply. The wool is very springy and has great stitch definition. This stitch definition is easy to see in the textured and lace pieces shown in the photos above.

Nordique comes in 50 gram balls with 150 yards of 100% wool. It knits up with a gauge of 24+ stitches in 4 inches, depending on needle size.

We are currently stocking 30 colors from the Nordique palette to tempt you with possibilities.

Swans Island Organic Merino

2010-01-08T07:28:00.024-06:00

Off the coast of Maine is an island

photo courtesy of Swans Island

with sheep that grow thick, lanolin-rich fleeces

photo courtesy of Swans Island

used to make gorgeous hand-woven, naturally dyed blankets to cover your bed and throws to warm your body.

These heirloom blankets are painstakingly created by artisans and retail for several hundred dollars. As described in their blanket brochure: 'Setting up each loom takes four days. Between the warp and the weft, up to 3456 knots are tied by hand. Yarn is spun onto bobbins; the bobbins are installed in shuttles.

Photo courtesy of Swans Island

It takes nine hours to weave a queen-sized blanket and as many as five more to pick out the last of the chaff by hand…Swans Island blankets embody the old idea that the more care and effort that goes into something the better it will be.'

Wow! Lucky for us, Swans Island is now making yarn with the same attention to detail and quality.

Here is a description of the Swans Island process directly from their website: 'Swans Island Yarns are a certified organic merino yarn that is naturally dyed. The yarns are spun in Maine. They are mordented with non-metallic mordents, and then skein dyed with natural substances such as Indigo, cochineal, madder, weld, and other plant dyes.

photo courtesy of Swans Island

All of the coloring is done in small batches in our dye house on the coast of Maine. They are color fast and look like they come out of the natural world.'

Mary Lou Egan, Yarnery teacher and knitting designer, has been knitting with Swans Island and thought it was like knitting with swan’s down – a soft woolen fabric used for making baby clothes. She describes it as light, soft, and evenly spun with deep color. People who saw her knitting with it wanted to pet the yarn. Her end result is this wonderful fir cone shawl.

Now if one local review isn’t enough to pique your interest, check out Clara Parkes’ review of the worsted weight version here.

Currently, we have ten colors of the Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering weight (100 gram skein, 580 yards per skein) in stock. Stop in to see this special yarn and Mary Lou’s beautiful shawl.

A Mitten Fairy Thank You

2010-01-05T08:33:00.009-06:00

No one can argue the need for warmth on this sub-zero January day, and what better way to stay warm than with hand-knits! Many thanks to all the wonderful people who made mittens and other winter accessories for our Mitten Fairy project this year.

Over 50 items were donated to warm the hands, heads and hearts of St Paul area school children.

Give yourself a little pat on the back if you took the time to make and donate warm woolens for the Mitten Fairy. The children really appreciate it!

Even though our campaign is officially over, winter is not. So we will continue to accept and donate any additional items you may drop off.

This is a season of giving.

2009-12-24T10:29:00.005-06:00

Guest poster, Sarah, here with a very wonderful story of giving. This past month I was lucky enough to help my daughter's 4th grade class learn to knit. When her teacher, Mrs. Applequist asked me what compensation I would like I told her that I thought the class should put together a blanket for The Promise Blanket and KidsCan of MN.

So every day for a month these kids worked and worked on getting pieces large enough to make a blanket. There were some kids who were very good knitters by the end, and some that were...well, let's just say they tried and tried.

For those kids that were "triers" some fleece was donated and they made some tie blankets.

And for the kids that got some knitting done...

a blanket. A crazy, lovely, lopsided but full of love blanket.

I felt honored to be a part of this assignment with my daughters class. Watching the kids work so hard and then watching them (or rather, feeling them) knock me over as I brought the finished blanket (fresh from crocheting an edge). They were so excited to see the piece that they had worked on and how it fit into the whole. which is a lesson in itself. We all are little parts of a whole, aren't we?

I was very proud of them and I know Mrs. Applequist was as well.

And finally a quick thank you to all of the teachers (you know who you are), who came to give assistance every day.

So in this season of giving, please remember that we can all give a little. Because a lot of littles make a BIG!!

Wares from Jennie the Potter

2009-12-19T06:45:00.019-06:00

As promised, a sampling of goods has arrived from Jennie the Potter. Just in time for last minute holiday shopping.

Jennie is a local sweetheart who hand-crafts knitting themed pottery. Each and every piece is hand thrown and hand painted!

She can frequently be found at local and national fiber festivals and craft fairs and was featured in Knitty.com this past summer. Read her story here.

We are thrilled to have bowls, both large and small,

mugs

and buttons, some round

and some square.

As the Yarn Harlot recently mentioned, 'anything from Jennie the Potter' is a good gift idea.

Finullgarn by Rauma

2009-12-17T06:21:00.022-06:00

A new rainbow of color from Rauma arrived recently. This time in the shape of Finullgarn, a lighter weight wool knitting at 6.5 stitches to the inch.

There is Red, Orange, and Yellow

Green

Blue, Indigo and Violet

Along with 24 additional colors to sit on our shelves.

Another aspect of Finullgarn that captured us was it's ability to felt. It felts fast and beautifully with not a stitch left to be seen.

Woolly Acorn by Marie Mayhew

But the best part is the light and airy fabric that you get as an end result; unlike any other we have seen.

Of course, what's a yarn without patterns. Below are a few we have in stock.

Leafy Mittens,

Setesdal Pullover and Hat

and the Rosenlund Jacket

Update

2009-12-11T06:24:00.005-06:00

A few updates worth mentioning

Our Mitten Fairy program has been extended through December 31st. As winter hit us in the face this week, we all know how important warm accessories are this time of year.

Also, we have added a page for our Wish/Want/Covet gift registry on our website. This will allow you to download and complete the registry page in the comforts of your home.

And remember as a BONUS, if your registry is successfully shopped by December 24th, you will
receive a one-time 10% off coupon for your next birthday as our gift to you!
(Not to be combined with other offers or on sale merchandise.)

Still don't have many gift ideas? Tune in next week when I announce the arrival of goods from Jennie the Potter!

Fair Isle class cancelled, Tuesday, December 8

2009-12-08T14:15:00.003-06:00

Due to illness the Fair Isle class for tonight is cancelled. Class has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Gadgets

2009-12-03T14:59:00.029-06:00

Over the past few months our best selling items haven't been skeins of yarn but handy dandy gadgets. Some have been so popular, it's been hard to keep them in stock. Since these little tools make great little presents, it's time to highlight a few for this gift giving season.

The first gadget of note is the Handi-tool from Bates.

This little gizmo was first brought to our attention by Ruthie Johnston, one of our beloved and regular customers. It's crochet hook end is great for picking up dropped stitches and it's other pointy end is helpful in knitting or unknitting in tight spots. In a pinch it can even double as a cable needle. It seems that Ruthie always has one in her pocket. As you never know when a knitting emergency may arise and you'll need to use it.

Another must-have item is the Perfect Notion Case. These little wonders open up to 6 individual compartments to hold all of your knitting accessories. Each one snapping shut to keep your notions organized and safe. Not in heaps at the bottom of your knitting bag or spilled out on the floor.

If you happen to have little girls in your life, you may want to consider one of these to hold all of Polly Pocket's accessories. Especially the sparkly pink version. Just saying.......

Now, on to these brilliant treasures, the mini clip light.

You can clip these bright lights to your pattern, your sweater or shirt, or even your seatbelt. With it's rotating light you're sure to cast a beam and enlighten your knitting in any darkened area such as a plane, car or movie theater.

Finally, this needle and hook gauge has become one of our favorites.

Not only does it cover a wide range, from 000 to 19, but it's accurate.

Now I can't go on about gifts without introducing our new Wish/Want/Covet gift registry.
This holiday season we will begin a gift registry as a courtesy to our customers. Stop in to fill out a registry form so your friends and family members will know exactly which skeins of fibery goodness (or tools or patterns or books or...) make your heart beat faster.

As a BONUS, if your registry is successfully shopped by December 24th, you will receive a one-time 10% off coupon for your next birthday as our gift to you!
(Not to be combined with other offers or on sale merchandise.)

Reminder

2009-11-22T15:39:00.016-06:00

It's time for my annual reminder.

We are continuing to accept donations of a warm accessory for our annual Mitten Fairy campaign. December 1st is our target date for the first delivery but we will continue to accept donations through the end of the month.

Photo courtesy of Scott Andre

Even though it was a beautiful and mild week-end we all know it won't last long. Once the weather turns, there will be many kids without the proper attire to shield against our winters. So any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Friday Workshop

2009-11-15T06:17:00.029-06:00

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

2009-11-04T12:54:00.020-06:00

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

2009-11-01T14:44:00.006-06:00

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

2009-10-23T09:55:00.010-05:00

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

2009-10-19T08:54:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-14T10:01:00.011-05:00

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

2009-10-09T08:22:00.023-05:00

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.

Help Wanted

2009-10-02T06:28:00.001-05:00

We are looking for a friendly individual who has knitting and/or crochet experience with availability to work week-ends. If you or someone you know may be interested, please stop by the store and fill out an application.

Lima from Rowan

2009-09-30T10:39:00.019-05:00

Meet Lima.

This new yarn from Rowan is a beautiful blend of baby alpaca, merino wool and a little nylon with a funky I-cord-like strand rather than the usual plied strand. It is available in twelve colors of grays, greens, blues and browns which are perfect for the cold weather ahead.

This yarn glides through your fingers as you knit and has a slight nubby texture in the finished fabric.

I can't even begin to describe how soft, warm and snuggly it is. In fact, as I was carrying around the model on Monday it occurred to me that this yarn would make quite a wonderful and luxurious afghan. Makes me want to curl up with a good book or knitting project just thinking about it.

Of course, Rowan does not disappoint with their pattern support. The Lima Collection is one of their best books this season.

It has 14 designs for this yarn and highlights it's ability to showcase texture. Case in point.

Lima has really proved to be a winner for Rowan. I'm not the only one who thinks so. Jared of Brooklyn Tweed raved about it here and Clara Parkes also recently reviewed it here. But the real proof is in the fact that Rowan is having a hard time keeping this yarn in stock.

Patterns, Patterns and more Patterns

2009-09-20T21:29:00.031-05:00

Over the past several months we've added 3 new pattern lines to our selection. The first, ChicKnits, was brought back from TNNA after seeing all the great garments on display. ChicKnits is a line of top-down, in-the-round sweaters. These patterns are stylish and offer a wide range of sizes. Some of the designs include the Mondo Cable Cardigan,

Sandrine

and Basic Chic Hoodie.

The next line of patterns, KnitSpot, was brought back after the Sock Summit. As stated previously, her patterns range from socks

to sweaters

to shawls.

and more.

32 designs in all are on hand at the store.

Our latest addition is from Stephen West. Stephen is an up and coming designer from Chicago. His Daybreak shawl is getting a lot of attention over at Ravlery.

It is written in 3 different sizes has 3 main color segments and uses fingering weight yarn.

With all the handpainted and/or variegated fingering weight yarn on the market, the color combos are infinite.

One of his newest designs, Little Colonnade, also showcases handpainted fingering weight yarn for a great little shawlette.

It also can be worn wrapped around the neck for another stylish look.

The pattern is written in one size but can be adjusted by adjusting the weight of the yarn or knitting more or less repeats of the column lace. I predict Little Colonnade will be a big hit too.

September Book Special

2009-09-09T06:31:00.036-05:00

With the fall season officially here, we have a flood of new books rolling in. As previously mentioned, there are the new books/booklets from Rowan, Berroco and Classic Elite. Along with the new international titles we ordered while at TNNA.

Also appearing are Knitted Gifts from Ann Budd,

the highly anticipated re-release of Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting,

Men's Knitting from Erika Knight

and Debbie Bliss's Booties, Blankets, and Bears.

There's also a number of new sock books including Knitting More Circles Around Socks

and Designs for Knitting Kilt Hose reprinted by Schoolhouse Press

For the crocheters, we have Tasty Crochet

and Arimugumi Two.

Wait, that's not all..... additional new titles are on the way including The Knitter's Book of Wool from Clara Parkes,

Color by Kristin by color expert Kristin Nicholas,

Susan Anderson's third book, Itty Bitty Toys,

and Crobots

just to name a few.

So where am I going with all this? In order to make room for all the new titles, we are having a September Book Special.

It's simple. For every $100 spent in a single purchase on regular priced merchandise or classes, you will receive a free book from our section of selected titles. It's truly a win/win. You receive a free book for simply shopping for your new fall project or Christmas knitting and we reclaim some shelf space to bring in even more new titles. What do you have to lose? After all, tis the knitting season.

Labor Day - Closed

2009-09-04T07:42:00.003-05:00

A reminder that we will be closed on Labor Day, Monday, September 7th to allow our staff to enjoy a non-laboring day with family and friends. We will return to our regular hours on Tuesday. This also includes the return of our Tuesday evening clinics from 5pm-8pm.

Enjoy the long week-end!