January - 2008

January 29, 2008

What a great week for projects this was!  Look at the shrug Linda Michaels made - in two weeks!  She went away with some Noro Transitions and came back in with a great finished project.  This design is kind of addictive, because it's so unusual and at a certain point, it looks like nothing on earth so much as one of those diaper-like things that sumo wrestlers wear.  You have to keep going because you just can't believe it's going to turn out so well.

And Barb Werner brought in these beautiful mitts, made from a bunch of colors of Reynolds' Whiskey left over from a sweater.  Aren't they great?

Margitta Pfleger and Katie Perkins strolled in wearing new sweaters they'd just finished.  These sisters are amazing knitters - talented and prolific!  Margitta's was knit from Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in a beautiful sea blue, and Katie's was done in the same yarn but aran weight, in my favorite colorway, Brindle.

New at the shop this week was a pile of sock yarn from skacel.  Many favorite colors of Trekking are back in stock:

including the dark tweeds that Donna Guthrie used for her trellis lace scarf.  (If you've been waiting for them, don't delay.)  The price went up with this shipment, I'm sorry to say,  but they held the line for a lot longer than many other European brands.

Speaking of Donna, she's doing some lovely handmade needle cases and circular storage hangers - in her spare time.  (Believe me, she has none, but I think she sleeps two hours a night.)  I don't have pictures because they are snapped up as soon as she brings some in, but she's doing a few in Valentine fabrics that are absolutely adorable, so stop in to see them.

I've been working with summer yarns and I'm really not ready to show the things I've knit so far.  First of all, they make me cold to look at and second of all, I don't have the yarns for you yet.  Soon they'll be coming in the door and I'll show you what we've knit up.   I will show you these pretty socks, though, in Leaf Lace made from Panda Silk, a new fingering weight yarn from Crystal Palace that is a blend of bamboo, merino wool and combed silk.  It is absolutely gorgeous, smooth, soft, and really nice to knit with - no splitting and not too slippery.  I would love to have a shawl or even a little lacy sweater of this stuff.  I bought a color pack (2 balls of each color) and now have to think about which colors I'd like to stock, because this yarn is a keeper.  I think you'll love it!

These two new colors of Step sock yarn came in this week too, along with a couple old favorites that had been out of stock.  This is the yarn that's infused with aloe and jojoba oil.

I had to start socks with it: YUM!

Next week, if  all goes as planned, I 'll be able to show you the new Manos wool/silk blend.  Oh, man, it never ends - aren't we lucky?? Have a great week!

See you soon...

Trish

January 22, 2008

Yay, I'm back!  Remember the iPod that I was going to treat myself to?  Well, I did it (and love it by the way) but it meant an operating system upgrade, which went fine, but somehow screwed up my connection to the website.  It took a while to figure out what to do but that's history now.  I can tell you, every time I tried to update and read the previous post about 60 degree weather while it was about 20 degrees outside, I felt ridiculously out of step with reality.  I can imagine how a writer of printed materials must feel when they look back over their old stuff and think "Huh! Did I really write that?"

Since I last posted, everyone else in the industry went to The National NeedleArts Show in Long Beach, California last week to see what's new for spring.  I haven't read anything about a must-have yarn (but I'll have one for you - you'll love it!) Everyone who works at the store went out to lunch together - it was so much fun because we rarely get together all in one place at the same time. And things were buzzing at the shop, with so many folks working on interesting projects.  Here are a few that are finished (and I missed taking pictures of some very cute ones - they came in while I was busy and escaped my camera!)

Pam Ellenberger finished her Napa Pullover in this beautiful red tweed:

And Suzanne Biesecker made this beautiful little beaded bag - it's gorgeous and feels richly heavy with beads:

I've been working with summer yarns, of course, but because knitting with wool is my favorite thing to do, I intersperse the summer projects with things from winter yarns.   This little Curly-Q scarf is made from Noro Kureyon Sock yarn (modeled by Karen Walter, wearing a gorgeous sweater and no, I'm sorry, I should have gotten the yarn and pattern details but I didn't.)

Anyway, the scarf is cute and shows off the colors really well, and you could get two from one ball of yarn.  It works well with the Noro yarn because the color changes are so long.

And this is the Cape Ann Pullover, a design I've always wanted to knit and finally decided to do in Smart Mohair from Berroco.  It's a soft and only slightly fuzzy mohair blend that is machine washable, and it's on sale now.  Warning: The yarn has been discontinued by Berroco so when it's gone, it's gone.

There are lots of other yarns to use, of course, and the pattern is interesting and fun to do. Just enough cabling to keep you awake without driving you nuts with the cabling, the cabling, the cabling....

Spring yarns should start arriving in another couple weeks and I hope one more winter yarn will be here soon.  I couldn't live without it till next fall, so I ordered Manos del Uruguay's new wool/silk blend.  It's a light worsted weight and soft but has the same beautiful colorways as their wool.  Can't wait!

I know there's lots more to tell you - a celebration of fiber and textiles at the Museum in March, new ideas for classes and so many great projects - but I must get ready to go to the shop.  Hope to see you soon!

Trish

January 8, 2008

60 degrees on January 8 - I love it!  These few nice days in the middle of winter are like a little gift from Mother Nature, especially since we just get to enjoy them and we don't have to start digging gardens or anything else just yet.  I'm going to enjoy this day running around doing errands - but that's okay!  It's not windy, cold, snowy or icy - I'm happy.  Plus the boys are getting groomed today - they need it desperately.  <No, we don't - we smell great.>

 It's just whole different esthetic between canines and humans.

Okay, so much for my agenda - thrilling, wasn't it?  What's new at the shop?  Let's see - did I tell you the Noro Kureyon Sock yarn is in?  We got 5 bright colors - very nice.  The rest is on backorder.   It feels harsh in the ball, so I'm doing a little Curly-Q scarf with it to see if it softens when you work with it and wash it, like regular Kureyon does.  I'd do socks, but just finished a pair and my hands want something else to do.

We also got some Heather, which is a new sock yarn from Schaefer Yarns.   It's merino wool, silk, and nylon - soft, lovely and yes, expensive.  It's also recommended handwash, but I'm going to try it on handwash cycle in the machine and lay flat to dry, which is how I do most of my handknit socks anyway.  Thought I had a picture, but I don't, and frankly, the gals at the shop are snarfing it up pretty quickly, so if you want to try it (or just own it) come by soon.  Janet bought it in autumn colors and is looking for a leaf motif for a scarf.  Perfect!

Janet is really into top-downs right now.  I've seen 2 that she started and finished in the last two months, along with doing a bunch of other things!  And she's busy at work on a third that she's doing for herself, but will also be running a class in the spring.  She wore her top-down wrap sweater the other day - the color and fit are perfect for her, don't you think?

Linda Slovitsky did a great job on her Syncopated Fair-isle cap, in an autumn-y colorway of Koigu on a dark-brown background.

And Alice Batchelder brought in this pretty baby blanket, all done up with a crocheted picot border, for her newest granddaughter.

And remember Crayon Box jackets?  We did several classes for them a few years ago and then forgot about them.  Fran Krieger wore hers in the other day, and we remembered why we love them - she looked great!

And here's a little announcement that I've been given permission to make:  Many of you have been in classes or knitalongs with Patsy Gibney and her daughter Trish Nierle, and you therefore know how long Trish and her husband John have been trying to get pregnant.  They decided to quit trying so hard a little while ago and just take a break, and guess what!  Yes, Trish is pregnant and expecting in July.  We're all so happy for them!

Okay, time to start the errands, then catch up on paperwork.  I'm being such a diligent girl, I'm going to reward myself with an iPod today.  I've promised myself that I'm going to read more books this year, and the only way I can figure out to do that is to listen while I knit.  What could be more fun than reading AND knitting at the same time?  I'm excited!  (Okay, I admit, I don't get out much...)

Hope to see you soon -

Trish

January 1, 2008

Hi, I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and is enjoying a great New Year's dinner today.  I love, love, love New Year - a whole new year to plan and dream about and see how it all comes out.

It's been such a long time since I've written that I feel a little shy, like a blogging virgin.  Do people really care about what I write?  I guess the only way someone can do this is to assume that the answer to that is "yes." 

So here I go.

Now that all the end of the year excitement's over, don't forget to look at our classes.  There is still room in most, so start the new year out right - make something fun and learn something new! I'm especially excited about the "My First" series - these are quick and easy classes designed to teach one or two cool techniques and make a cute project to boot.  They all make cute gifts, too, so you can get a jump on next year's presents.  (Okay, that was uncalled for.  I know we all want to forget the whole extravaganza we just went through.)

Despite all the holiday craziness, I did manage to get a few pictures taken.  Unfortunately, since my memory banks shrink on a daily basis, I'm not sure who all the great projects belong to.  These beautiful felted bags were all brought in by the same person and I think it was Susan Drake, and I apologize profusely if I'm wrong!  Susie is an amazingly experimental knitter who loves to try edgy designs and tricky techniques.  Look at these beautiful bags and the wonderful purple scarf she made (it was the cover scarf from Vogue Knitting's 25th anniversaryedition, done in Claudia Handpaint):

If you've never felted before, get started with our "My First Felted Bag" class - just look what it can lead to!  So sorry for the terrible pictures - there was a sales rep in that day and I had complete yarn brain.

                        Notice the crystals sewn into the flowers - really pretty.

This picture is great - two terrific and very different projects successfully completed.  On the left is Jennifer Gensemer who finished a very intricate mitered diamond sweater in a luxurious silk and wool hand-dye just in time for the holiday season.  Jennifer worked hard on this sweater, which was re-sized to lengthen it (which, with this design meant everything changed!)  Patience really paid off - it's really lovely and fits perfectly.

On the right, Deb Koch looks elegant even in this relaxed Napa pullover.  The design is simple, but this was a hard project for Deb to finish, since she favors bright colors and close-fitting little tops.  But everyone needs a top like this - warm, comfortable, and neutral - and again, perseverance was rewarded.  I have no right to be proud because they did all the work, but I am anyway!

And one more long-term project to show you.  Theresa Schmal took on this long hooded cardigan for her daughter to replace a much-loved purchased one that was wearing out.  Many many Many MANY months of mock cable ribbing later and just look at how well the sweater fits and how beautiful her daughter looks in it.

It's immensely satisfying to see these successful projects.  Can you believe that 6 years ago I didn't know one single other knitter in Berks County?  It's unbelievable that we were all out there with no way to get together and now, I'm so happy to say, we've made so many friends and I hope you feel that you all have a place where your talents can blossom.  My main New Year's resolution is to use this year to make sure Yarn Gallery is a solid business that fills your every yarn-y desire, solves your (knitting) problems, brings you expert help and teachers, inspires you with new designs, and of course, supports moi and the boys.  We want to be around for a long, long time.

Happy New Year, everyone!  See you soon...

Trish