Cable Limerick Contest - VOTE!

We have to admit to some shock and awe over the fact that we had over 20 entrants (and 35 entries!) for our Cable Limerick Contest.  Who knew so many knitters were fans of poetry?  Well, after a strenuous "nomination" process (think the Academy Award... in which the staff of Knit Purl is the Academy), we have five contestants for our top prize, a Cabled Rib Wrap kit, and two runner-up prizes ($25 Gift Cards).

To vote for your favorite limerick, leave a comment (or reply to this post) and we'll tally up the responses.  The deadline to choose is midnight (PT) on Monday, January 25, 2010.  Please only vote for ONE limerick/ entrant after reading all five choices.  So, without further adieu, here are the nominees:

A
You’re a knitter and that’s undeniable.
Your devotion to the art is reliable.
        When your dreams through the night
        Are of handspun delights,
To some it may seem certifiable.
- Carol Y.

B
The bane of the knitter’s enjoyment
Was lost-cable-needle annoyment.
          So, She fashioned a sheath
          That attached to her teeth,
And held it for ready deployment!
- Anna-Lisa K.

C
 At ninety McGee took up knitting.
He knit day and night without quitting.
        “I am cabling fast
        To make up for the past.
And if I had teeth, they’d be gritting!”
- Carol L.

D
 There once was a brown sheep named Mary,
Who had lovely fleece but was quite scary.
       When getting a shave,
       She never behaved
And therefore remained quiet hairy.
- Karen F.

E
She thought that merino's divine:
He couldn't tell cashmere from twine.
       Their romance expired,
       When she finally tired
Of casting her purls before swine.
- Kim F.

Thank you for your input.  And, to everyone else who entered, thank you so much for participating!

Bad blogger, no cookie.

We were doing so well for so long - a post every Tuesday and Thursday every week - and then I broke stride and it all went to h3ll in a handbasket. Well, no more!, we will have regular posting again even if Jenni has to follow me around and harass me all day. Hopefully that won't be a problem soon enough (we have a big surprise in store!), and we're also talking about broadening the blog to include posts by other staff members and customers. [fingers crossed]

Until then, however, we have some catching up to do. First things first, did you know that we have 33 members in our Girasole KAL on ravelry? Moreover, we had quite the group at our most recent Girasole Knit Night!

Very exciting. And because we enjoyed the last Knit Night so much we'll be meeting tomorrow night, July 22nd from 6 - 8pm. If you're participating in the knit-along and would like to come and knit with us (we have A/C and treats!), you'll be more than welcome.

Next, we have three projects to show off (actually, we have more than three, but I can't find the info on them...). First, Jane came by to grab some needles, but she was wearing her Everyday Wrap, so we made her pose because it looked so good:

We're sure you'll agree. For those of you wanting one of your own... Jane's wrap was made with two skeins of ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud and the pattern is free.

Second, we have Terri's in progress Longbourn Socks:

...which, I'm sorry to say, I have almost no information on. Terri, if you read this blog, please feel free to shoot me an email (info[at]knit-purl[dot]com) and I'll post additional details.

Finally, we have Jenni's in progress Advent Calendar:

Made with itty-bitty baby socks! Adorable, no? I think, as of yesterday, Jenni's onto sock number eleven. Only thirteen left (never fear, we'll get a shot of the finished collection).

And that's enough for today. Until Thursday, stay cool!

Girasole KAL!

Hey, have you heard? We're starting


on July 1st! Sandy Kay and I already have our yarn (Isager Højlandsgarn) and are gearing up (actually, Sandy Kay has cheated and started early). Sandy Bingham and Brook are talking about participating - both with be using ShibuiKnits Sock, I hear - so you'll have not one, not two, but four staff members available for help or support whenever you need it!

If you've ever wanted to try this pattern or a Shetland circular shawl, now's your chance. But the KAL ends on July 31st, so you'd better decide soon! We'll hope to see you at one of our KAL knit nights (TBA) or in with your wip or fo...

Such a lot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Firstly, we have three new patterns:

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

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

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

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


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

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

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?

BIG News

We have good news, Great News, in fact. And LOTS of it. So much, in fact, that it's going to be divided into two posts (sorry, it had to be done).

First, get ready to squee!, as the KnitPod is officially, well and truly, available for sale.

Isn't that just beautiful?

Shown above in Maple, the only reason these are actually in stock is that I/we've forbidden staffers to buy the first few made. Get one (or two) before the next lot comes in. These things are so special, you'll probably want several. Made with locally-grown hardwood by M.W., a Portland-area woodworker, each KnitPod is one-of-a-kind and truly is a work of art. Now, since there are only four KnitPods in existence at the moment, after the first four are sold, they will be sold on pre-order basis. M.W. has promised that it will take no longer than 2-weeks for order turnaround, so get ready to carry your socks in style and with an easy mind - never drop stitches, break yarn or bend/ dull your DPNs again!

Second, Kauni is BACK IN STOCK. Grab some while you can.

Third. We have 90 cranes!

Melissa dropped off 13 today.

But, since we still need more (and a reason to party), we're hosting a Crane Knit Night this Thursday during our regular Sip n' Stitch. Drop by the store to knit (a crane!), earn store credit ($1 for every crane knit that night), drink champagne and feast on chocolate and strawberries. We'll also have door prizes and giveaways... just because we can. Come by on Thursday night, it's going to be awesome!

Now I must hasten away, as my Intermediate Handspinning Techniques class starts in 5* minutes. Check back for more exciting news!

*Make that 3.

A definite sense of accomplishment.

You may have noticed an eCard somewhere in your inbox this morning. It must be said that this particular eCard was several months in the making. We ordered Boutique Knits, at Lindsay's request, some time ago and had to wait while it was backordered. One copy came in and two shop samples were started. Finally, oh finally!, we had both the samples and the books in the same place at the same time and... well, an eCard was made.

Shown right is the truly awesome Sideways Grande Hat, modeled by Liz. You have to admit it looks fantastic on her. (For those who are interested, or may not be on our mailing list: the yarn is ShibuiKnits Merino Alpaca in "Mulberry", one skein.)

Next, on our list of recent accomplishments - we have 64 cranes! Many of these cranes (42 to be exact) came in this past weekend, during our Annual Sale.

Thank you, everyone, who has knit a crane (or two or twelve) and brought them by! It really, truly, does make our day to see these little felted birds come through our door.

With 64 cranes, we are approximately at 21% of our goal (look! a new widget on the sidebar -->). To some this might not seem as a major achievement, but we know better. Knitters across the country (and across Portland) have been donating their time, energy and stashes to be part of a large-scale project and it's amazing. So many of our donors have denied payment for their efforts, which really says so much about how generous knitters can be. But, since we still need 236 cranes, we're have a knit night to outdo all knit nights - our Super Crane Knit Night on April 2nd.

Since it's on the same night as our weekly Sip'n'Stitch, we'll be providing all our regular treats with a bunch of extra enticements thrown in. Come in for door-prizes, rewards and many other fun goodies to reward all the participants.

And, finally, we have one more thing to be proud of: Beth Brown-Reinsel. World reknowned for her research on traditional knitting, we've managed to snag her for a whole weekend (this weekend, actually) to teach two of her most popular workshops on historic Scandinavian garments. Both classes will include tutorials on a variety of techniques and skills necessary to the completion of each garment.

The first, The Danish Nattrøjer, will focus on blouse construction. Discover how welts and gussets can turn a blocky garment into something fitted and how to incorporate your own design into the pattern.

The second, Norwegian Mittens,will cover everything from knitting Fair Isle (or stranded colorwork) with two colors of yarn, mitten construction using a traditional thumb gusset and "seam" stitches. This class in particular is highly recommended to knitters who couldn't register for Ruth's Fair Isle workshop last month. Norwegian Mittens is the perfect chance to learn Fair Isle while knitting up a pair of mittens for next winter (or a Christmas gift!).

For now, that's everything. Next time (tomorrow), we have several beautiful customer projects (or, hopefully will, if I can find the camera) as well as an update on a variety of very interesting staff projects.

A flurry of activity

I'm sorry we haven't updated you and the InterWebs in so very long... I went to Stitches West and planned to blog from there but got sick. It didn't work out in quite a number of ways. Luckily, my intrepid coworkers took photos for your visual enjoyment.

First, we have a shot of the Cool Socks! workshop with Lucy Neatby (she's the one with hot pink hair):

...which I understand was a smash hit. It certainly looks interesting (Lucy always includes video/ projector demonstrations, which you can see on the wall in the background).

Next, we have Sue's absolutely glorious Habu 110 pullover:

So named because she used the pattern from Habu Textiles' Kit 110 and substituted Handmaiden's Sea Silk in "Periwinkle" for the body and Habu Textiles' Gear Linen in "Black" for the hems. The finished effect was just amazing, and the photo hardly does it justice.

And, finally, we have Sarah's IP (in progress) Garter Stitch Aran Pullover, from the Japanese book Men's Knit:

Which is looking mighty impressive, if I do say so. Sarah mentioned that she had worried about the sizing of the pattern (as it is Japanese), but the sweater seems to be coming out perfectly roomy and (honestly) delicious. She's knitting it with Debbie Bliss' Rialto Aran in "Dusty Blue", which is not on the website yet I'm afraid.

Lastly, today, I took a picture of all the lovely cranes we've been sent (or given in person) for the knitnotwar 1,0o0 kal. Amazingly, three arrived from Boston just yesterday! And four from California a week or two ago. These cranes are just flocking in from all over the place...

Of which many are noticeably red. Interesting phenomenon.

Now, it's admittedly still a small flock of cranes (we have 22 at count). But I am told by our many hardcore customers, volunteers, and several staffers that there are many more cranes OTN or unfelted at home. Sandy Kay and I are also talking about hosting another KAL night or two in the next couple of weeks. We'd really love to make our goal.

But we shall see what happens over the next month. Check the sidebar for updates over the next week or so!

Oops?

Last Thursday was a bit hectic, so no post... sorry about that. We're going to catch up quickly, though, you might want to hold onto your hats!

Let's start off with the cranes. We've received lots of positive feedback for our knitnotwar KAL and have already collected cranes for the installation. Here's one knit by Melissa:


We've been hearing that they're quite quick to knit up (Sandy Kay made one in half an hour with scraps of Shetland Spindrift), so here's hoping we'll make our 300 cranes goal by March 31st! (Now, I haven't been given a total of all the cranes we've collected, so the sidebar hasn't been updated yet - check back on Thursday.)

Next, Lynne came to visit us and brought the blanket she's knitting for her son:

The Ombre Alpaca Blanket from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Knit up with 12 skeins of Joseph Galler Prime Alpaca and Peruvian Tweed, 6 colors in all that are held together to create a lovely gradation from cream to chocolate brown. Here's a close-up:

Aaaand... even closer:

(Liz had fun taking pictures of this one)

If you're interested in making your own, Lynne owned up to the fact that she's making her son's blanket larger than the pattern, so you'd probably only need one skein of each color. Possibly. There might be some math involved in confirming that...

Next, from Folk Shawls, Sheila brought in her finished Celtic Lattice Vest:

and back:

She made it for a friend who is a surveyor and travels the world (surveying, presumably). Sheila thought that the lovely Celtic knots resembled mapping terrain. I'd have to agree. The vest was lovely (sorry about the blurry photos), and made with Kauni W-EV and Hifa 2. Just gorgeous. Lucky friend, eh?

And, last but not least in the 'pretty photos' catagory, we have a giant heap o' Tanglewood handspun yarn:

(isn't that just yummy?)

Brought to us by the Ladies of Tanglewood Fibers themselves, as we will be representing them (and Abstract Fiber, Happiest Girl! Dyeworks, Ruth Sorensen, Handworks NW and Lantern Moon) at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival this weekend. If you're in the area, please drop by and say 'hi'! I'm sure the ladies (and gentlemen) at the Knit Purl booths (#'s 38 & 39) will be glad to meet some of our blog readers.

Finally, I've been asked to mention the upcoming Loop 'N Hoop 2009 on Thursday, March 26th. We've been invited to bring 25 knitters to the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns game. Tickets will be available for $25 each at the store. Included with each ticket is a goodie bag (put together by Portland LYSes) that will be available at the door. Please note that space is limited (5 seats have already been stolen by employees) and there will only be 200 seats total for knitters to reserve.

Until Thursday, keep warm and dry!

As it is Thursday...

Another day, another post. And have we got a worthwhile project for all our loyal blog readers. If you've checked out the News & Events page recently, you'll know that we're helping knitnotwar with their 1,0o0 cranes project. At the moment, we have 700 cranes strung and floating in our side display window, if you'd like to see them.

(it was cold outside, so sue me)

Anyway, if you do the math... 1,000 - 700 = 300. Which means we are trying to gather 300 cranes for knitnotwar by May 1, 2009 - the tentatively schedule installation date. As I know for a fact* that we have 100 subscribers to this blog alone, if every single one of you knit just one crane, we'd have a third of our cranes done.

There's a free pattern online (it's also in the book Knitalong), if you're interested. We'll also be hosting two knitnotwar 1,0o0 Nights on February 4th and March 4th (6 - 8pm), for knitters to drop by and knit in cozy company. There will be a prize drawing on March 31st for everyone who donated a crane. I am told the Grand Prize is worth around $100, if that piques your interest...

And here we have a closeup of the cranes:

And here are some of the incumbent cranes:

Because I had a camera and sort of know how to use it. Please feel free to drop by the store and pick up a printed version of the pattern (and see the cranes in person). I'll also have a running count of the cranes donated on the blog's sidebar. Or, if you're outside the PDX area, do contact us about sending a crane or two in by mail. Thanks!

See you on Tuesday!

*Don't ask how. Ve haff means of finding things out.


ETA @ 4:57pm:
I have just found out that we will be rewarding participants with $0.50 in store credit for every crane they knit. Sooo, if you knit 30 cranes, you'll get $15 in store credit! It's my understanding that a single crane takes only 20y of worsted weight yarn - so they can be made with scraps really quickly. We'll find out how quickly fairly soon, I think.