Quickie

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

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

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

Or so we're told.

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

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

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

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

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

It also makes a great yarn storage device/ centerpiece.

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

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


*We like the pattern, what can I say?

Show & Tell

This was going to be a very short post (where my knitters at?), but luckily I managed to corner Tilly, Martha and Liz this afternoon for an impromptu series of photographs. But, if all y'all don't start popping in with your WIPs & FO's we might be in some trouble soon (hint, hint). So, without further adieu, I present a small parade of FO's.

First, we have Tilly's Cherry Blossom Bag (made with Cascade 220, Cork Chenille & ShibuiKnits mango wood handles). Now, aside from it being absolutely lovely and very well done, it's important to note that this was Tilly's FIRST (I repeat, first) "real" (direct quote) project. How humbling is that?

And she also lined it herself*...

It's almost unfair, isn't it? My first "real" project was a lumpy hat. Am I alone here? What was yours?

Anyway.

Martha brought out her Easy Raglan Sweater so that we might 'ooh' and 'ahh' over it (which we did, it's adorable!):

The pattern is from The Expectant Knitter by Mary Connolly. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash in "Turtle" (which is such a great gender-neutral color, if I may say so). It's so cute!

And, finally, all I have to show for ten days of frustrating knitting is... another porom. Behold, the front of my tweedy porom:

...and the side:

Now I really must stress that the frustration was my own fault** as I misread the chart and didn't bother to swatch (I know, I know, bad knitter!), so my first attempt was simply enormous. Lesson learned, I got it. I'm about to embark on a dangerous journey because of how much we at the store looove this pattern... but that will come later.

Now, I was going to show all y'all Micah's knitnotwar 1,0o0 crane, but I forgot to take a photo of it. Maybe on Thursday, with the eleven new cranes we got in yesterday (did you see that we're up to 75?!). Until then, keep dry!

*Yes, that's a zipper in there, too.
**Not Jared's.

The Post That Never Ends

Not exactly. But since the blog hasn't been updated in almost two weeks, this is going to be one of those super-mondo-huje posts to catch everyone up to date. A slightly crazy idea, yes, but it should work. Now, since there is so much to cover, we're going to do blurbs instead of biographies. But, if you want to see more pix from this post, see our flickr account.

First, we have Farrah's magnificent Seraphim Shawl:

Which she brought to the Sip'n'Stitch on the 15th. I'm afraid that the camera involved does not enjoy after-dark photography, so the image is rather blurry. Sorry, Farrah! But, for readers interested in her shawl, here it is in her ravelry notebook.

The very next day, Ellen of Seattle stopped by to show us two of her favorite FO's:

Her Litla Dimun lace shawl, and the back:

She decided to add a purple border to her project (love it!) in order to give the finished shawl a little more pop. The entire effect was quite stunning. Then, of course, she had to make us feel inadequate when she pulled out her Pheonix Mitts, based off of a pattern in Selbuvotter:

Made with Jamieson's of Shetland Spindrift.

At some point last week (I don't have a info sheet, sorry!), Bobbie dropped by to show off her adorable collection of baby hats:

All made for newborns at the maternity ward of her local hospital (no, we didn't get the name).

Rachel came in last Thursday with her finished 'Rob's Socks':

Made with happiest girl! sock yarn in 1970's Rec Room. Personally, I love the pooling and flashing. I couldn't find her info on ravelry, but maybe they will show up soon? She made up the pattern, and it looks like it would be fun to try...

On Friday, Liz forced poor Jessica to show off her Gretel hat:

About which I can find no information. It's red. That's about all I know.

Moving on to a project I do have information about... Joan's New Kauni Cardigan:

Yes, that is the Joan Schrouder. After we admired her cardigan for awhile, Lindsay finally inquired about the pattern. It turns out that Joan did design the pattern herself, but told us that she wouldn't be writing it up as it was too difficult to convert into multiple sizes. Sad. It looked fantastic and also resulted in a stampede to the Kauni wall by all who were present.

Right after Joan left with her cadre of Seattle-Portland Yarn Crawlers, Tami came by with the cutest little FO's ever. She used the yarn we provided at a "Sample It" to make a collection of teeny tiny mittens, sweaters, hats and socks/ stockings:

I hope she'll forgive me for cropping the picture. The camera was misbehaving again. There's also the Worsted Bambino Hat in the group, but methinks the teeny tiny mittens will the 'awww' contest. If you want specs on each of the individual projects, see Tami's ravelry notebook.

Then, finally, the last of the FO's - two hats. Which Liz and Lindsay modeled, albeit grudgingly. Here we have some silly hat-ness:

Liz has an Ana Bandana made with Silk Maiden in "Peridot" and Lindsay chose the Road To China/ Flurries hat, which is a sneak-peak of an upcoming pattern. But, before the camera was put away, we made a pile of staff WIPs:

One cashmere/silk Qiviut Smoke Ring, an Esperanza scarf and Linday's earwarmer that is currently just an i-cord (that statement should make sense in a week or two). There are several other WIPs around, but many are Top Secret at the moment. So, to distract you from considering the implications of all that, here's the latest issue of Vogue Knitting:

Now available in the store, and featuring a pattern and profile of our favoritest photographer/ blogger Jared. Grab one while you can.

And, whoosh, I think that's everything. Until, well, tomorrow (in which we shall attempt to resume our regular blogging schedule) stay warm!

New and returned to the store

Before we get to the News items of this post, I've been asked to share photos of Jared's lecture:

For more see here. Or here. On the subject of the lecture, well... it was awesome. Jared shared some of his newest designs (not available for sale yet!) which he had just photographed that morning. Honestly, one of the hats is reeaally tempting. Oh, and on the OMG-How-cool-is-that?! news list, I'm very excited to announce that we've worked out a deal with Jared to sell hard copies of his patterns. Probably by the end of the month patrons will be able to buy his patterns in the store. Very exciting, I think. Personally, I'm really looking foward to buying a copy of Girasole and picking out the matching yarn, all in one go.

Anyway, back to Thursday night. I also have a cool (or should I say 'kool'?) shot from after the afterparty.... Adam's Koolhaas:


Made with ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in Wasabi (just so you can see how poor my photography and photo-correcting skills are). His specs are here. It was much admired.

Over the weekend (skipping Friday, Friday was a bit crazy - did you see the Newsletter?) We had The Long Awaited & Greatly Anticipated Return of Liz:

Which I couldn't really photo-document, as someone kept making faces at the camera or turning away (see above) just as I took a shot. Oy. But, rest assured, she is back and shouldn't be leaving for a while.

And, last but certainly not least, we have a new line of yarns! By the Sheep Shop Yarn Company, these are some quite lovely wool & wool-blend yarns that are kettle-dyed in much the same way as Manos del Uruguay, only in different colors and with a softer base yarn. You can also see the scarf I'm making for a Knit Purl pattern, modeled by Lindsay (who didn't squirm or make faces, it must be said):

So, that's everything that's happened since Thursday. Quite a lot, really. The Sheep Shop should (say that 3 times fast) be up on the web by the end of the week, if you're dying to try it. Until Thursday, knit or crochet happy!

About last night...

I've been asked ordered to tell all of our lovely Knit Purl blog readers about the dinner had with Jared last night:

From left to right: Sandy B., Kristin Spurkland, Jared Flood, Bing, Sara M. (moi), and Sandy Kay.

But I fear that were I to actually tell you what a truly excellent time we had... well, someone would take out a hit on half of us. Sooo... in all honestly, it was just awful. The food, the atmosphere, the company? Atrocious. You totally didn't want to be there.

Right.

Moving on to less volatile subjects (ha!), Jared's lecture is tonight and all the spots have sold out. I know for a fact that Lindsay just feels terrible having to tell people that, yes, there is a wait list but, no, we doubt anyone is going to cancel. But, hey, Jared's already agreed to come back and teach for us again this summer, so... maybe next time?

In news unrelated to Brooklyn or tweed, we just received a HUJE shipment of Habu. Wow. There're a whole bunch of Kusha Kusha scarf kits in this box that look really interesting. I might just have to try one. We also received some more Shippo Tail scarf kits (we've been back ordered for over three months), for those of you who have been fingering the shop sample and sighing tragically this past season.

Otherwise, have a great weekend!

the meltdown

The snow vanished, finally. Instead of a white apocalypse, we had this on Friday:

And, as of today, there is no snow on the ground downtown (thank goodness).

Other new bits and bobs:

• "An Evening with Jared Flood" tickets are officially available to registrants. Be sure to drop by the store and pick up your ticket(s) before the event!
• A super Top Secret update on the Japanese knitting books situation. We've heard back from Shufu no Tomo and our order of in-Japanese knitting books is due to ship on January 5th, after the Japanese New Year (Shogatsu). We're hoping to hear back from two other Nihongo publishers after the New Year, as well, so stay tuned for updates on those Japanese books we know you've been coveting.
• Last but not least, I have a reminder: the Gratis Knits deadline is THREE DAYS away. If you've been meaning to submit a cute hat or pair of wristlets, now's the time! Aside from eternal glory across the InterWebs, the winner will also receive a $50 gift card to the store. So, get typing!

And that's about everything that needed to be caught up. We should have Gina's socks and an Ana Bandana tomorrow, if nothing else.

socks and the News

Wow. Progress has been made. The Holiday Special is out and I can actually see the 'wood' surface of my desk in a few places. Jenni isn't so lucky at the moment, but I think we'll be able to see her desk sometime this week. Maybe after Thanksgiving.

Today I have some cool staff (and patron) projects to share with all y'all. First, we have Mike's sock, made with ShibuiKnits Sock in "Dragonfly". He wrote up the pattern and gave it to us to share, which we have since managed to lose (it's on a scrap of yellow, lined paper if you happen to see it lying around...), but here is the finished sock for your viewing (if not knitting) pleasure:

You never know, though, the pattern may yet show up on the blog. We just have to find it first.

Right. Continuing on with the sock parade, here's (short) Sandy's cashmere sock:

Knit with ArtYarns Cashmere Sock in color #2244, using the Waving Lace Socks pattern by Evelyn Clark in Interweave Press' Favorite Socks. There was a slight hiccup in this project. The finished sock ended up way too big for the size 4 foot it was intended for. Ouch. It's now a shop sample, if you want to come by and pet it. Or sympathize with Sandy's pain.

And while we're on the subject of store workings, I have photos from LaBrie's Nuno Felted Scarf workshop last weekend:

Yes, you are actually seeing drop-cloths on the floor. It looks like they had a lot of fun, though! The workshop was focused on a particular Japanese felting technique (nuno), in which wool roving is felted over loosely woven silk fabric (a silk scarf in this case). It makes for a beautiful, gauzy, and warm finished fabric. The process involves water and a lot of agitation, hence the blue tarps everywhere.

I hope some of the participants will bring their scarves in for us to admire...

Anyway. We're doing another Nuno Felted Scarf workshop on December 13th, because we couldn't fit everyone into the one last week. So, if you're interested, I'd recommend you register now before the next workshop fills up, too.

Next on the list of things to cover, our In the News bulletin:

1. Update on the Jared Flood Lecture. Slight recap: Jared Flood (brooklyntweed) has agreed to lecture on January 8th (I think I mentioned this). At the moment, we have narrowed the choices of venues down to two suitable options and are now looking at the logistics aspect of all this. I swear to you, we're working tirelessly on this and will have registration information up soon.
2. We just got another Oleana shipment in. I succumbed, and bought one of the felted wool blankets. It's so soft and lovely that I couldn't resist. There are also several new styles of wristers and scarves in stock, for those of us who only buy cold-weather garments when it's cold enough to wear them (ask me how I'm familiar with this habit).
3. We are currently out of stock of both the Elfin Santa Hat and Beaded Silk Star Christmas tree ornament kits. Honestly, I don't think any of us were expecting to sell out in a day. We have lots more of the yarn on order, but... well, there's going to be some delay before the ornaments are on sale in the store again. Sorry about that!
4. We will be closing early tomorrow, at 5 pm. Also, we will not be open Thanksgiving Day.
   

And, last but not least, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

slightly overwhelmed

We have so much going on at the store right now (what with the Holiday Special going out on Friday, visiting instructors to organize and the holidays approaching waaay too quickly), that everything is a little discombobulated at the moment.

On the subject of the holidays (and classes, technically), we can finally reveal the surprise ornaments from Sandy Kay's workshop last Wednesday:

The stocking was designed by Kristin Spurkland, the star by me and the wee Santa hat by Sandy Kay. And, yes, the Christmas ornaments will be available as kits (and another workshop!) for $12 ea/ or 3 for $30. The star pattern also has instructions for making a six-sided star or Mogen David, for those interested. The kits will be available online this Friday.

Let's see, let's see. We've got several Newsletter article updates:

1. Both of the Jamiesons of Shetland colorwork tams are sold out/ back ordered. Before I left the store on Friday, I made sure we had enough yarn for TEN tams. When I arrived yesterday morning... we had enough for one. Clearly I underestimated the level of interest in these two patterns. I'm sorry about that! We're working on getting the yarn and patterns back in stock ASAP. Please bear with us in the meantime.
   
2. Both of Jared Flood's intermediate knitting classes are FULL. There is a waiting list. Call us at 868-656-5648 (toll-free) with any questions. Also, if you want more time with Jared, he's agreed to a lecture on January 8th, 2009. Details are forthcoming. There will be an entrance fee (we're betting we're going to need to rent a very large space), part of which will go to charity. Stay tuned for more information.
   
3. Yes, the Holiday Special will be sent to all of our Newsletter recipients, I promise. Honest.
   

And, finally, Kandyce (Jenni's youngest) turned 3 months old today:

Aaaaww.

Feel free to plotz.