busy, busy, busy 'round here

But I thought I might mention Three Things:

1. Some lovely cashmere-y sock yarn arrived this afternoon for our lucky, lucky Sock Club members to enjoy sometime this year (not next month, though! we have something equally special planned for November...)
2. Eyebobs are on the website, including three new styles. Check out the Eyebobs page for more details.
3. Our "Ten Reasons To Love October" Sale is still going strong. If you missed our newsletter last Friday, check it out before all the yarn is go-o-one!
   

A day late, true, but with extras!

Like, oh, KAUNI!

It just came in this afternoon. We're excited, you can tell. See? If I had managed to blog yesterday, you blog-readers out there wouldn't have known we had Kauni back in stock until next Tuesday.

In further stock updates, we tweeted yesterday that Tosh Sock is back in stock (look at all those pretty colors together!). If you've been coveting one (or more) of the colors that literally ran out of the store earlier this summer, I'd grab some soon if I was you. Personally, I am contemplating enhancing my stash with a skein in "Wash".

And, while we're on the subject of Madelinetosh, I'm going to try and make this next photo less of a non sequitor:

In lieu of actual customer and staff project photos (c'mon, peeps!), I finally pulled out my OTN mitt (and matching hat) that I'm making with Madelinetosh Merino in "Corsage". No making fun of the desk clutter will be permitted. But you can feel free to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the pretty watercolor effect the yarn has - my coworkers definitely have. It's just scrumptious to handle, to boot. Definitely ideal for cool Fall and Winter weather (a scarf would be nice...), which probably means that even more Madelinetosh is going to end up in my stash.

Dangerous stuff, this.

Anyway. Have you seen that our Calendar of Events has been updated? We have all sorts of amazing and wonderful classes planned this Fall. From felting miniature Jack o'Lanterns to Kitchen-Safe Dyeing, we've got you covered (generally with wool). Check it out and register for a class or two, you'll be glad you did!

Moreover (while we discuss website updates), a Newsletter & eCard archive has been added to the website. It's small right now (limited to the last two months), but we're working on archiving the last year's worth of Newsletters and eCards there.

And, finally (is it really 5:30pm?), an eCard went out this afternoon with information about a two-week special offer and preordering Cat Bordhi's next book. See your inbox (or click here) for more details.

Until next Tuesday, have a great weekend!

A promise kept.

I'm so proud of us - managing to blog on a day like today (in the midst of Sock Summit preparations, launching a new website and general day-to-day chaos) as promised. First, we have a lovely FO, knit by Leslie:

The "Amber" Vest from Amimono. Made with two strands of Isager Wool 1 and two strands of Alpaca 2 held together:

And knit on size 11 needles. It looks amazing when modeled (hint, hint, my coworkers!) in a very rustic Bohemian sort of way. Helga Isager has the most funky and earthy styling. Maybe someday, if we're lucky, we'll catch Leslie wearing it and I'll snap off a "live" shot.

Next, we have some silliness beauty to share. Katie (also known as nonsie) brought in the Summer Shawl she's working on:

And decided to pretend to be a mermaid. 'Kay. I missed this one, so I have no explanation. Moving on...

We've had several customers call about our ad in this issue of Interweave Knits (now available, btw), wanting to know what the yarn is - and what color. The yarn is ShibuiKnits Sock in their new-ish color Zinnia. Which is, err, out of stock - so... sorry!

Next on the list of updates, we received a HUJE shipment from Fleece Artist:

That included a new yarn (Silk Bamboo), several new colors of Great Big Sea and Sea Silk, as well as favorites that were backordered until, well, yesterday! So, if you're in need of some lovely Canadian hand-dyed goodies, we've got 'em. And be sure to check your inbox for a Newsletter on Friday that will have a special offer and information on the new yarn line and colors.

And last, but not least, you're invited to our upcoming Portland Designers Showcase:

See the original (full-sized) version here.

This Friday night, one of our Sock Summit Special Events, we'll be hosting a collection of designers not to be found elsewhere; including, but not limited to:

• Leigh Radford
• Kristin Spurkland
• Chrissy Gardiner
• Marnie MacLean
• Star Athena
• Judy Becker
• Lee Meredith
• Larissa Brown
• Sarah Pope
  
• and more!
  

The event in free. Take this rare opportunity to socialize with many of the designers who have appeared in Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, Twist Collective and Knitty over the years. We'll hope to see you here!

Losing track

Two weeks since the last post. Too much has been going on around here to keep track of. So, I'm just going to cover what I have photos of. Unfortunately, I can't find the notes I took to correspond with certain photos. In particular, I've given up on finding the information I had written down on this little cutie:

Too adorable for words, eh?

A couple weeks ago a very nice young lady came in to show off her recently finished sheep. I believe she had made it for a theatrical production. Dear knitter, if you read this blog, I'm really really sorry I lost your info! Please feel free to send it to me again and I'll post a correction ASAP.

Next on the list of worthwhile blogginess (I think I just made that word up), we received a gianormous shipment of Malabrigo this week:

NINE boxes in total, all crammed full of yarn in colors we haven't seen in months. Drop by the store or website to grab some for yourself before it's gone. But, before you do that, check your inbox tomorrow for a special offer!

Truly wicked yarn pr0n

I'm evil, I know it. But, see, if I sell the yarn to customers it won't end up in my stash. It's all about the self-preservation, see. And believe me when I say some of it has already found a new home in my Stash Containment Unit. The new Habu is particularly tempting.

The first on our list of Must-Have New Yarns are from two powerhouse favorite dyers: Schaefer Yarns and Chameleon Colorworks. Direct from Schaefer's dyepot, we have the coolest of the cool in their Memorable Women Series - the Memorable Knitters. Next to it is Twinkle Toes (by Chameleon), which is a luscious, shimmery half-superwash merino, half tencel blend:

At the moment we have 3 of the 4 Memorable Knitters Series: Mary Walker Phillips, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Emma Jacobsson. Dorothy Reade is still on order. If you're a hard-core sock knitter, you'll going to want to grab these soon as I predict they're going to go fast (and not just into my stash).

The Twinkle Toes is a little more whimsical in nature, dyed in many of Chameleon Colorwork's most popular colors plus two new themes: Ophelia and Lavender Fields. Again, I have a feeling that these will run out the door fast, but this line promises to be more long-term.

Next on our list of yarny goodness are on the recently refurbished New Wall: Abstract Fiber & Araucania. Two lines of handdyed loveliness.

Abstract Fiber is well-known by most Knit Purl customers, but Araucania is a line we're less familiar with. 100% cotton and handdyed, it'll be great this summer...

And, finally, the last of our new yarns... Isager's summer lines:

And wall. They have so many yarns we decided they needed their own wall. Anyway, back to the new yarns. For this summer they've put out six new lines:

1. Bomuld (100% mercerized cotton)
   
2. Viscolin (linen/ rayon blend)
   
3. Bomulin (cotton/ linen blend)
4. Hoer (100% linen)
   
5. Alpaca 1 (100% baby alpaca, lace weight)
   
6. Hoejlandsgarn (100% Shetland lambswool)
   

We still have several colors on order, so expect to see the wall fill out over the next two weeks. And, quite possibly on the blog, a Hoejlandsgarn WIP I'm contemplating. Also to go with the yarns are the next Amimono 2 and Marianne Isager Spring/ Summer books.

In less tempting news (but still worth ogling), we have a pair of finished Wishbone Socks:

The pattern is by Nancy Bush and was featured in the Mar/Apr 2008 issue of Piecework Magazine. I'm afraid that the information concerning these socks has been lost (I'm truly very sorry about that!), but I think I remember them being knit with ShibuiKnits Sock in "Wasabi".

And, very nearly finally, we have some...

Announcements:

1. Our annual Spring Sale starts Thursday! Drop by the store for huge savings on all your favorite yarns, door prizes, a free needle case with purchase and more. See our Events page for more details.
   
2. [Some colors of] Kauni back in stock. Kauni EQ is still on order. But we do have one NEW color and some old favorites, such as ES and EV.
   
3. A collection of new habu yarns have arrived: Silk/ Wool A-113, Silk Cashmere A-190, Wool Pom Pom (N-60), Natural Cover Cotton (A-184), Kusaki Zome (A-4), Stainless Steel Thread (N-48), Ramie (A-166), Jersey Tape (A-189). All of which are so new they aren't on our website (or, in some cases, Habu's either); but, if you'd like to drop by the store or give us a ring, we'll be glad to help you.

And, lastly, just because:

We've been having fun with all the different fuzzy mohair yarns we carry. Shown: Habu Kit 110 and Knitty's Ice Queen knit up with ArtYarns' Beaded Mohair & Sequins (sparkly bling, eh?).

That should be everything. Check back on Thursday (sale, sale, sale!) for more news about the, yes, sale, LeBrie's Nuno Felted Scarf Class and... well, whatever happens between now and then.

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!

time to play

We're sending out a large newsletter tomorrow, so "distracted" doesn't begin to describe us downstairs folk.

But, for your amusement (and ours), please check out the poll on the right-hand sidebar and vote. I'm very curious to see which entry wins. Maybe we'll even have a finished version of That Gizmo by the end of the poll - anything's possible, right?

Other news? Not much, other than...


We just received a GIANT box of Malabrigo Sock yarn!!

Yummm. I'll admit it now, I just grabbed four skeins. Drop by this evening (Sip'n'Stitch tonight!) or tomorrow to snag some for yourself.

Now I've got to get back to the Newsletter.

can't stop

Holiday Special to finish. But here are some photos 3M took of the spinning class Tuesday:














Have a good weekend!

Wool with a twist

The night before last (Tuesday), was the second class in my Introduction to Handspinning course. It went swimmingly, by all accounts. Even better, 3M managed to catch the moment when two knitters became handspinners (my other two students managed to avoid being photographed). Unfortunately, I didn't think to get their permission to post their faces on the blog, so here's two photos of their first skeins:

aaaand...

It's always a magical moment when a person holds something they've just realised they made themselves. Think about your first knit or crochet project - can you remember the shock that it was something other than a lump of tangled yarn? Handspinning is much the same. You take a sheep's hair and twist it and somehow it all turns into something other than a giant knot.

Anyway. It was a great night. We also went over the process of making a sheep's fleece more spinable. I.e. carding. 3M and the ladies found it so fascinating that I thought you might, too.

First came the hand cards and wool combs - both of which are used to basically brush the locks of wool into a fluffier state that is easier to spin. The next lesson was the drum carder:

Which is the mechanized, and much quicker, way to process a fleece. (I actually shouldn't just single out sheep, since we also carded alpaca and goat hair, too.)

Anyway. Everyone left with a pile of wool (or fiber as the case may be) that she had carded or combed herself. Spinning it is the homework for the next class. I'm evil, I know. If you want more pictures from the class, 3M took a bunch that are all up here.

photographs under halogen

I figured that I better dash any hopes that you, beloved reader, might have had for decent photography immediately. The workshops with Miriam Felton this weekend were fantastic, the pictures of said workshops are significantly less so.

Anyway. I took the Introduction to Lace Design class and it was completely worth sitting for six hours, charting lace on teeny-tiny graph paper. I think we all learned new tips and tricks that will come in very handy with future projects.

But, before I begin to wax eloquent (trans. "bore you to tears"), I thought I might mention Sandy's upcoming Surprise Ornament workshop.

Tomorrow night (Nov. 12), 6:30 - 8:30pm, participants will knit one of three mystery Christmas ornament patterns and take home the kits for another two. The yarn above is used in the ornament I designed for the class. We still have a couple of spots left, if you want to make a special holiday gift for a friend or family member. Or, if you just want three really cool handknit Christmas tree ornaments for your own tree.

Now back to the lace, and bad halogen/ flourescent lighting photos:

We had quite a few early birds. They (well, the whole class) were treated to a display of many of Miriam's designs, which were arranged around the room for inspiration.

Once everyone had arrived and imbibed some caffeine, we were given several sheets of graph paper and blank charts. We were instructed to choose a lace motif (or two...) that we wanted to use:

Between everyone in the class, I think we had nearly every book on lace, stitch patterns and designing there is for knitters. Books were being passed left and right, charts were being diligently reworked and we were all getting writer's cramp.

By the end of the workshop, I had two charts (for two different shawls, I'm ADD). Here's the crazier chart I created:

Miriam seemed quite impressed with my display of lunacy. I forgot to get permission from the other students, so we won't be showing their charts today.

Next came the swatching:

Where we all tried out the first few rows of our individual designs and did one of many things: rip (I did that twice), change projects to cool down, switch lace yarns (again, twice), continue on with knitting, or...rechart. It was kind of interesting to see how people reacted to their own swatches.

All in all, I think everyone enjoyed the class and left happy with their designs. I hope so, anyway. I can't wait to see if all the participants finish their projects or go on to design something else.

And, with that little narrative, I am leaving you to work on the upcoming newsletter. Ooh, and on Thursday, maybe we'll have a photo or two of our mystery ornaments...

hand-dyed goodness

I'm sorry, time is short again, this will be a brief post.

First on the list: silk lace yarn.

Silk Hues.

Hand-dyed for Knit Purl. It's 100% silk with 440 yards per 50g skein and it's available in about a gazillion colors. Niiice stuff. Sandy Kay is knitting Anne Hanson's Gust with a skein of it:

... in Barbie™ Pink.

To each their own, I guess. It's actually a lovely color, honestly. Just pink. Very pink.

And, finally, we've got roving:

Lots of it. All hand-dyed by Abstract Fiber of Portland. This will be on the website (next week-ish) for those of you far away. We have 10 colorways in 3 fibers: Blue-faced Leicester Superwash, Alpaca/ Merino/ Silk, and Silk/ Cashmere. All are just gorgeous and terribly tempting. I just know I'm going to walk out of here with a looot of roving very soon.

Ooh! We're also supposed to receive a shipment of spindles tomorrow. Our handspinning section is growing quite steadily. Drop by on Saturday to see it in it's inaugural beauty.

And now I must away. Have a good weekend!

Isager & Lindsay

Ooor... more accurately, for our purposes, Lindsay and Isager.

Lindsay is our newest staffer and a recent grad of the U of O (Go Ducks!). I cornered her in front of the ShibuiKnits Wall (I'm evil, yes, I know) so all y'all will be able to identify her when you come in and need help or a yarn fix or whatever...

(above: Jenni's pick)

...aaand mine*.

Lindsay is also our newest resident crochet expert. So, if you have a problem with a project, she might just be able to help you (unlike the rest of us). She also weaves, but that probably won't come up as an advice issue any time soon.

Please play nice, we'd like to keep her.

Moving on. We've got more new yarn! In a yarn store, I'm sure this isn't anything surprising. Except, well, it's an entirely new company. And oh-so-pretty. Introducing Isager, yarns by Marianne Isager:

At the moment, we have the Isager Wool 1 (a.k.a. Spinni), which is a lace-weight 100% wool yarn and Isager Alpaca 2, a fingering 50/50 alpaca/wool blend that is just plain sumptuous and perfect for color-work. They've being flying off of their respective shelves and hooks, so drop by soon if you'd like to try some.

*I said I'm evil, deal with it.

Ladies & Gents, it's time for another YarNews Flash!

We've got not one, not even three, but FOUR new yarns for your tactile pleasure. All arrived yesterday and were just put up on the New Wall. First off, temping us all greatly here, are the three new Art Yarns lines:

1. Top row: Cashmere Sock Yarn. 65% Cashmere/ 25% Wool/ 8% Nylon. 146m/ 146y per 50g skein with a gauge of 22sts = 10cm/ 4" on 4.5mm/ US 6 needles. Yummy. Can you image how glorious a pair of socks made with this yarn would feel? At the moment we only carry 6 colors (one of which was bought up immediately!), but we might be getting in more if it turns out to be as popular as it should.
2. Bottom row, left: Silk Pearl & Sequins. 100% Silk strung with glass beads and sequins. 71m/ 78u per 50g skein with a gauge of 17sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 5 colors. Don't get me wrong, I like this yarn, it's very fun and lovely to touch - but it strikes me as the perfect accessory for a European Discotheque. Still, would be a lot of fun to work with.
   
3. Bottom row, right: Beaded Mohair & Sequins. 80% Silk/ 20% Mohair strung with glass beads and sequins. 104m/ 114y per 50g skein with a gauge of 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 4 colors. A slightly lighter version of its all-silk sibling, but with a gentle halo. Still sparkly and fun, but probably quite a bit warmer for handknit garments.
   

Fourth on the New Wall is the latest Noro creation:

Noro Yuzen. "Yuzen" is actually a Japanese dyeing technique used to paint kimonos and paper for origami. This line comes in skeins, not balls, and features more subdued tweedy colors. It's absolutely lovely, and if it didn't have mohair in it I'd have bought a bag. In any case, the blend is 56% Wool/ 34% Silk/ 10% Mohair. Each 50g skein has 110m/ 121y with a gauge of 16 - 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". It's a solid worsted-weight that'll be great for winter garments.

And, finally, completely unrelated to YarNews...

A wip photo of my in-progress Seraphim Shawl, the "Manta Ray" as 3M calls it:

Made with Knit Purl's The Natural Collection yarn in a color best described as "Cochineal". Aside from a long-standing desire to make this shawl, I thought it would be appropriate to have it finished in time for Miriam Felton's visit in November. Yes, you heard me right. The designer of the Icarus Shawl and Juno Reginan Stole is coming to Portland to teach to two 1-day workshops at Knit Purl.

I really want to take the Intro to Lace Design class...

Anyway. It seemed a cool way to welcome her (okay, showing off) when she got here and a great reason to use the yarn I had originally stashed for this project in December.

Ahem. This wip might be a reoccuring topic over the next month... But it should be buffered with tons of YarNews, store workings and customer wips/ fos (which we haven't been seeing many of lately, where are you guys?).

slightly stunned, but pleasantly surprised

You remember the devastating news Malabrigo announced at the TNNA Summer Conference? We blogged about it and mentioned it in the July 15th Newsletter, so no one would be shocked that Malabrigo would be out of stock for a loooong time. Well, ha, Malabrigo decided to surprise and amaze us this week. We received not 1, but 5, boxes full of yarn from them:

(I only managed to get 4 in the shot)

Now, we had been told that we might be expecting some yarn from them at some point, but not to get too hopeful. Especially not when it came to the Lace Baby, because that was the line that was damaged most in the fire. Well, imagine our shock when we opened a box and saw these:

Bags upon bags of Lace Baby. Remarkably unscorched, too. And rather earlier than April 2009, the original send-by date we were given. How happy is that?

So, if you've been longing for Malabrigo yarns, for whatever reason, drop by the store (in person or online) and grab some before it's gone. I know I am.

In other news, I finally finally finally got this skein off of my spinning wheel:

4 oz, 320 +/- yards, Chameleon Colorworks Optim singles plied with Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk. Yummy. The Optim was in the colorway "Briar Rose" and the Tsumugi #34 "Curry". I loves it muchly. Here's a close-up:

Now all I have to do is find a project for it. It's a shame we're out of the Tsumugi in "Curry" (ignore the inventory, it lies), because this would be fun to have 8 oz of. That would be enough for a shawl. Still, 4 oz might be enough for a stole...

Hmmm. Time to use the ravelry advanced pattern browser, methinks.

And, because I managed to clear out 3 bobbins by finishing the lovely above, that means I can get back to the lovelies that Sandy B. and Fearless Leader brought me back from TKGA. 80/20 Alpaca/ Silk dyed by local dyer Abstract Fiber, whose products we're hoping to carry soon. Gorgeous stuff.

Maybe one of the skeins will be done in time for the next post. Along with a bunch of new yarns, books, and kits we've just received. Oh! So much to do, so little time.