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.

You'd never believe it, but...

We do knit. A lot. So do our customers (also a lot). Much of the time, this blog focuses on a variety of other yarny things (new shipments of yarn, visiting instructors, etc), but today we have a project-packed post* for your vicarious pleasure.

First, we have A (remember A? our very adventurous 8-year-old knitter...) and her very first finished pair of socks:

And side view:

Which, we were told by her mother, she had begged to be brought to the store and show off "all week". How awesome is that? She's clearly been bitten bad by the knitting bug, and we might just have the next EZ right here in Portland.

Of course, as soon as A took off her shoes to show off her socks, her little brother proudly pulled up his jean cuff to proudly display the Coriolis socks his mom had made for him:

To which his older brother announced that he had a ton of socks made by his Mom, too, but wasn't wearing any right now (but would be wearing them next time, if I wanted to take a photo then). I can tell that this is going to be a very knitterly family.

It was all very cute and quite endearing to see handknits so well appreciated.

After the Parade of Handknit Socks ended (always fun to watch, honestly), we had two deliveries of felted cranes for the knitnotwar 1,0o0 KAL. The first was by Mandy (who brought in eleven cranes, all made with Cascade 220):

And closely followed by Tammy, who was clearly not to be outdone, as she brought in sixteen cranes:

Personally, I think they're just trying to make the rest of us look bad. Or, it might be motivational, since I just bought yarn last night to knit even more cranes (my count is two, for those of you lamenting your lack of progress, please take comfort in the fact that you've probably outknit me by now).

In any case, these two knitters together were responsible for upping our crane count substantially. Thank you, Mandy & Tammy!

Next, at some point this week**, Farrah came in with her finished Porom (by brooklyntweed). For some reason it was modeled by Lindsay and not Farrah herself:

It's so cute and, well, French, isn't it?

Love it. Which might explain why Liz and I are each working on one ourselves. Anyway, back to Farrah's lovely hat, it's made with Rowan Felted Tweed and has some slight modifications from the original pattern - a reduced stitch count and it was knit on smaller needles.

And, finally, at the end of our list of ongoing & finished knits we have the Staff Projects:

For this week, anyway. I announced to all and sunder at some point this afternoon that I would be taking a group shot of any WIP's/ FO's provided to me by my coworkers. You cannot imagine the madness as my coworkers literally threw their WIP's & FO's at me. I suppose they were all so relieved that I didn't ask for a model, that this seemed like a reasonable request***.

I hate to start at 12 o'clock (top, center) since it's mine, but it makes the most sense. First (the socks) are a pair of socks (yes, obviously) made with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Tuscany". I made up the pattern as I went, and they're for my SIL. (closeup here)

Second, at about 2 o'clock, are Wendy's adventures in colorwork. A pair of gloves (not matched) from Selbuvotter and a lace'n'colorwork gauntlet she's making up with Kauni W-EJ. (closeup here)

Next, at 5 o'clock, is the i-cord cast on of Jenni's very recently started Mermaid cardigan. Pray for her, that's a lot of i-cord she's got to knit.

Then, stretching from 6 o'clock to 11 o'clock, is Marj's Cabled Rib Wrap. She chose to pair ShibuiKnits Baby Alpaca DK in "Rapids" with ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud in "Mist" and it is just gorgeous. There's no other word for it. I think we've all considered rolling in it, it's simply that luscious.

And, finally, at 9 o'clock we have Liz's Aeolian Shawl (from the most recent knitty), which she is knitting up with Habu Textiles Cashmere. If you want to stalk this project (who wouldn't, right?), here it is on ravelry.

Whew! I think that's everything (those are all the photos I have from the last week, anyway). Check back on Tuesday for photos of Beth Brown-Reinsel's classes this weekend and the updated crane count. Happy knitting!

*I dare you to say that three times fast.
** Dates, knitters, I need dates when you fill out a project information sheet. This also goes for staffers (yes, I know you read the blog, too)
*** Or I'm reading too much into this and they're all just really proud of their WIPs. Both are likely.

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!

From the trenches

By means of an iPhone, an iTouch and the Knit Purl server, we bring you images of the booth at Madrona:

And even a "closeup":

How cool is that? The Festival just started this morning, and will go through Sunday. You can see Darcy and Sandy Kay above. There are also more Madrona photos here, in which you might spot slivers of Micah and Sandy B (who, it seems, were a little more elusive).

Next, Micah finally relinquished his photos from Ruth's workshops...

Oooh, pretty. Love the Fair Isle hats. And Ruth's beautiful colorwork shawl:

Simply gorgeous. We now can sell the pattern, if you (like me) couldn't take the workshop but just love the design. Anyway. Back to pictures from Ruth's classes:

Though, I'm afraid that since Micah took the photos, I can't really tell you much about them. Sorry. They're certainly pretty... He put together a photo collection, if you'd like to see more of Ruth's workshops. It should be mentioned, while we're discussing Ruth and Madrona, that (through this weekend) we'll be offering a kit for Ruth's Summer Shawl. The kit includes the recommended yarns, Kauni W-EG and Kauni RR7, as well as the pattern and free shipping. Drop by our booth or call us for details.

In less exciting, but still interesting, news - we have another crane (and a half). We've been trying to knit some of our own up for the collection and they're quite fun to make. This might be addicting. I don't have a photo... maybe next time.

And, on that note, it's time to go and set up for tonight's Sip 'n' Stitch - we hope we'll see you here!

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.