31 January 07 - 12:47Stitch & Bitch, Newsletter
Our newsletter and class schedule for February
and March are now available on the website. This week we are introducing Knit
Clinic with Tammy, a walk-in format help time for all levels of
knitting!
Join us for Stitch & Bitch, this Thursday,
February 1st, from 6 to 8:30pm. Bring your knitting and join us for
snacks, drinks, and relaxation.
Stitch & Bitch is a social night, so if you need to bring in
a specific project for help, call us to schedule a separate time for
assistance. If you run into a little snag on your project while you're at
S&B, you'll be surrounded by many friendly knitters glad to offer their
advice.
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25 January 07 - 09:49Lace Knitting
So I was looking at the basket of Sea silk yesterday, and wanted to make a great lace scarf. I searched through my stitch guides, and tried several lace patterns, but none of them really showed off the sea silk they way I had wanted. So I looked some more, and finally tried an old favorite, feather and fan. This is a lace pattern as old as the hills, found in countless patterns, and is popular for a good reason: It always looks good!
So I knit several repeats last night and was very happy with the results. When I checked my e-mail this morning, I found a link to a lace knitting primer from Knitter's Review (good timing!). And after going through the basics of various decreases and lace techniques, it has a pattern for .... a feather and fan scarf! Clara's pattern is basically what I did, I just did two repeats across instead of one since Sea Silk is a finer yarn. Try this as an intro to lace, you'll love the results! It also answers the question of what to make from one luscious skein of Sea Silk!
And here's an odd San Diego photo, of a dollhouse I saw in the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park:
I couldn't tell if she was knitting; those looked like bent up needles, but I wasn't sure. The dollhouse was passed on from generation to generation starting in the late 1700's through the late 1800's. It was made from two packing crates and was full of tiny handmade wonders.
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24 January 07 - 10:24New Stuff- socks & silk
Hey everyone, I'm back! It's so good to be home. I missed my house, my bed, my pets, my shop, and all of my Knit Nouveau folks!
I'll post pictures as soon as I can, ADDED PHOTOS TODAY! but here's some quick news about recent arrivals:
Tofutsies sock yarn- Wool, SoySilk, cotton, and chitin, an unusual fiber made from shrimp and crab shells with natural antibacterial properties. One skein will make a pair.
Panda Cotton sock yarn-Bamboo, cotton, and elastic in a springy blend. We have great multis in stock.
Handmaiden Sea Silk- new shipment in stock, just out of the box yesterday, fresh from Canada!
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock- tons of colors back in stock.
Helen's Lace- gorgeous multi-colored silk wool blend lace yarn. Try the free pie wedge shawl pattern on the skein label!
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17 January 07 - 22:56San Diego Adventure
Ok, so I had a great post typed up yesterday, with links, and jokes, and fun stuff, and my server ate it. Aahh, technology. So I'll give it another try now!
The show/yarn market was lots of fun; tons of colors and textures to take in, so much I'm surprised I didn't go into sensory overload petting yarn. I met some great new folks (Kaffe Fassett!!!! Aaah! The Mick Jagger of knitting! Rockstarrrr!!!) as well as familiar faces. I saw some great new yarns in gorgeous natural fibers, think great blends and new textures of soy, corn, hemp, organic cotton, bamboo and more. There'll be goodies arriving over the next couple of months, just check the website for new posts or stop in to see the newest arrivals.
I got to see the new Lace Style book (Interweave Press) featuring the new Retro Redux Shrug by.... Me! I'm thrilled with this book; it has lovely designs that I can't wait to knit.
Yesterday we visited a sweet shop in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego, The Grove. It was an eclectic mix of yarn, books, and gifts. I picked up some lurve-ly hemp yarn and chatted with the owners, who recommended lunch at Vagabond. This restaurant was amazing. The food and decor were a funky world blend and it was just right. After lunch we wandered over to Balboa Park to check out the artists' studios there, and got to see glass blowers at work! It was mesmerizing; and at the end, the artist was not thrilled with the piece, so he shattered it! Ripping out doesn't seem nearly as bad in comparison.
We wandered back to Little Italy for dinner, and after a bad pick on a too-trendy bistro (blech!), we salvaged the evening with dessert and wine at Filippi's Pizza Grotto. Old-School Italian, nothing fancy, just cozy and warm and bustling. And good cannoli! We're going back tonight!
We saw whales today! Chris and I took a whale-watching cruise, it was cold on the ocean but tons of fun! We saw gray whales (including a baby!!!), dolphins, sea lions, and harbor seals. Chris took lots of photos, but my little point and shoot camera wasn't up to the task so I just enjoyed the view. It was awesome!
Don't forget Stitch & Bitch is this Thursday; I'll still be out in San Diego but Julie, Kristin and the rest of the gang will be wonderful hostesses!
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03 January 07 - 17:37Stitch & Bitch 1/4
Join us for Stitch & Bitch, this Thursday, January 4th, from 6 to 8:30pm. Bring your knitting and join us for snacks, drinks, and relaxation.
Stitch
& Bitch is a social night, so if you need to bring in a specific
project for help, call us to schedule a separate time for assistance.
If you run into a little snag on your project while you're at S&B,
you'll be surrounded by many friendly knitters glad to offer their
advice.
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