Yarn Gallery Blog

Yippee! I can upload pictures again, but first, if you missed the post from last week, be sure to update your bookmarks/RSS feed and any other preset for the blog from http://blog.yarngal.com to http://www.yarngal.com/blog.

The MadelineTosh has arrived and the afghan gals snagged a bunch of it.  I’ll have to reorder right away because I was at the store this morning (ordering fall yarn – gosh, so fabulous!) and saw that the carton was half-empty.  Still some wonderful things in there and I’ve got my eye on a skein of Tosh Sock that absolutely rocks.

Reminder: The shop will be closed on Sunday, May 30.

Let’s catch up with some older photos:

This is the Springtime Bandit shawl that I mentioned several weeks ago, a free pattern on Kelbournewoolens.com.  It’s pretty, fun, quick, and frankly, mine looks better than theirs, probably because of the blocking.  It’s a good pattern.

This is my Let’s dance a fandango! version of the Horizontal Feather and Fan shawl, a pattern that Janet teaches in her beginner lace class.  I used Noro’s Furin and inserted a few rows of Trendsetter’s Cha-Cha, and it’s just plain fun.  Fran Krieger is doing a beautiful version in off-white, very, very pretty.

Here are some photos that might get you into a class this summer.  First is Yuko Lewandoski’s version of the Adult Surprise Jacket.  The colors are bright but overall the effect is tailored and elegant.

This is Janet’s version of the shrug she’s teaching in her Mother-Daughter Design a Shrug class.  It’s too cute in a combo of Jelli-beenz and Fizz:

And here is the toe-up sock in progress, from Karen Walter’s class this summer.  It may be finished this week – it’s sort of like a striptease, every time I see her she shows a little bit more!  (This week she was in to raid the MadTosh before anyone else got their paws on it.)

Carol Whitcraft is knitting like a madwoman for her first great-grandchild.  Look at the beautiful blanket and this perfect little sweater in Jeannee, a soft cotton/acrylic blend.

And Karen Shearer’s granddaughter came in in her Baby Surprise, and even though we’ve shown her before, I had to take her picture again.  You can see why, can’t you?  Do you love the little pants or what?

Anne Nordhoy is an A-one knitter who knits like the wind and does the most intricate colorwork as naturally as you and I breathe.  She and her husband host an auction and fundraiser for the Y every year, and she knits many beautiful treasures to auction off.  Here are a sampling of what she’s offering this year.  They’re just too remarkable to remark on:

A Trio of Christmas Stockings

Thumb Detail (a boy and girl) of a Pair of Mittens

A Multi-Stitch Baby Blanket

Christening Gown and Bonnet

Delicate Lace Shawl

A Child's Ski Sweater

Child's Sweater

See what I mean?  It takes your breath away!

Enough for one day… see you soon!

Trish

This post won’t be long because I have a lot of computer work to do today, but I just want to tantalize you with a few projects from our summer class schedule.  First, though, I’ll show you a couple of projects that turned out really well, and tell you not to miss David Ritz’s latest in the post just below. Another gorgeous piece from David!

Carol Sullivan finished her Napa Pullover, and since it’s kind of yucky and cool today, she may even be getting some use from it before summer hits.  She used Kathmandu Aran and did a beautiful job: She chose an Annie Adams pewter shawl pin to secure the collar, which sets it off perfectly, even though it’s difficult to see in this photo.

Karen Wenrich is making a pair of bright purple socks for a young friend – they are such happy socks that I had to snap a picture of the first of the pair: Isn’t it purty?  She’s using Magic Loop, which she’ll be teaching this summer.

And Stephanie Fishkin brought in a wonderful baby blanket that she designed and knit in Nature Cotton and Patagonia, two Araucania yarns that are chunky and funky and perfect for a soft and comfy blankie.  She always has the blankets monogrammed at Initials Only.

All right, now for some glimpses of summer class projects!  That’s the computer work I have to accomplish today – I must get going on the schedule, signup sheets, web page, orders for materials, etc.  There’s a lot of work in putting a full boat of classes together, and we rarely repeat except for a few basics – we try to keep it fresh for you!

We seem to have a theme for summer: nearly every project we looked at had some amount of lace involved, so we went with it!  Janet is going to teach a simply beautiful feather and fan shawl, which Karen Wenrich is modeling here.  Janet used Noro Silk Garden  but this would be lovely in any lush yarn:

And Karen also models a sweet beret that Karen Walter is going to teach, made out of Fibra Natura Mermaid.  It’s a wonderful blend that got a nice review on Knitter’s Review:

Donna Guthrie made and will teach this great vest, made in Sublime Organic DK Cotton:

and Donna is also showing off a market bag that Karen Walter made and will teach.  It uses mitered squares with “cutouts” and is really a neat bag.  I love the two-tone handle.

Lynne Nagle will be teaching some beautiful crochet projects: a really gorgeous diagonal scarf, shown in Silk Garden a cute crocheted and felted handbag, and a pretty lacy shrug.  There are many more, including the on-going Great North American Afghan, beginner series, finishing classes, a lace shawl knitalong  with 2 shawls to choose from, and a pretty top-down tee with a demure lace panel. If I make serious progress today, I may have the schedule up by next week. You’ll get an e-mail if you’ve subscribed.  If not, do it here!

This past week was the last week (until fall) for the fabulous gals who work at the store, so I’d like to say thanks to Becky Lawrence, Janet Kakareka, Karen Walter and Karen Wenrich for all their great help and expertise this past season.  I’ll be on my own in the shop for the summer and I’ll miss them.  I’m sure you will too since you may have to wait for help with your problems.  My advice:  take a class to stretch your skills, or knit something fun and simple this summer, and just enjoy!

See you soon…

Trish