Those crisp days of fall...

Those Crisp Days of Fall KAL and CAL

The smoke is clearing, kids are back and school, so you have more time for knitting and crocheting. And we have a great new knit-a-long and crochet-a-long for your crafting pleasure.

Judy has a hush-hush secret pattern debuting at Fiber Fusion in October. Mondays from 1-3 pm, October 22-November 5, Judy will be teaching different skills each week to help you create a work of art.

The crochet-a-long with Kim will be Mindfulness by Elena Fedotova. The shawl looks amazing in Malabrigo Mechita, and it’s a free download on the Malabrigo website. We have many fingering weight yarns that it would look great in. The CAL will be held Thursday afternoons, from 1-3pm October 18-November 1. Week one, we’ll cover magic ring, using a chart in conjunction with directions, and when to go your own way on a pattern. Week two, we will be practicing more chart reading, surface design, and decreasing across multiple stitches. Week three, get tips on finishing or come with your completed project, and we’ll block it together.

Sign-ups are starting now. Each session will be $5 for personalized instruction and good conversation.

New and Exciting

After the success of our designs for the LYS tour this year, I asked our own Kim Birum to come up with some exciting crochet designs throughout the year. We’re happy to release the first of these September 1. It’s a small shawl/poncho—you decide—in a beautiful Huckleberry Knits gradient. The braid pattern is worked first, and then the body is a simple open-work grid. While it’s lovely in a dk gradient, it would look elegant in a solid or turn it into a fade with lovely speckles from Hedgehog Fibres, Baah, or Intrepid Otter.

The pattern is free with yarn purchase in the shop and can also be found in Kim Birum Designs on Ravelry for $5.

Making Room for More

With the new season and the new school year, we’re getting organized and making room for some great new yarns. That means it’s time to say goodbye to some old friends and favorites. We have cashmere, wool, cotton, and alpaca all on deep discount in our clearance section. These beautiful yarns have been reduced by 30, 40, and 50 percent. Come and get them before they’re gone. At these prices, they won’t last long.

So what are we making room for? I’m so glad you asked. We’ve found some gems.

Have you seen the Ella Rae Rustic Lace Quad? This wool/silk blend is 1,257 yards (No—that is not a typo) of peaceful grays from dark to light. When the kids are arguing, you’re hustling to practice, your spouse is working late again, this is the soothing yarn to take you away from all the chaos.

Or maybe you’d like to wrap yourself in 100% pure printed silk. Rustic Silk is another new find from Ella Rae. I think it would look amazing coupled with some Juniper Moon Findley in the Birds of a Feather shawl by Andrea Mowry.

And finally, you know how much we love Blue Sky Fibers in general and Woolstok in particular. Well, when we saw Woolstok Jumbo, we had to get some. If you want instant gratification coupled with glorious squishability, you have to check this yarn out.

Holiday Knitting and Crocheting