We have only a few spots left for this Sunday’s program: LACE EDGED VEST. We will be focusing on the lace part, although of course we will give you guidance to complete the entire vest. And we promise to post a picture of the finished product tonight when we get home. How great is this pattern? We have already made two summer ones, and a fall/winter can’t be far behind. As always, the program is free and runs from 2-4 PM. Just give us a call so you have a seat!

Want a perfect yarn for it? Check out the new NEUTRAL COLORS of NORO YARNS. We received the colorway in both SILK GARDEN and KUREYON, and our lovely customer Eileen has already bought enough SILK GARDEN to make the vest described above!

Also in, new patterns from BLUE SKY ALPACA and a lovely SAGE colorway of their ALPACA/SILK.

Don’t these students look proud? They should! Check out the baby hats they made in the ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS class. Four hours of lessons and they can knit, purl, and seam a hat!!!

And we are almost finished with an upcoming SUNDAY IN THE SALON sample. Thanks to KATHY CEA for turning us on to a great way to learn lace and chart reading, the LACE ANKLET shown below iis in progress. Join us in August for this program—we think these will make a great gift for the tennis player or even walker in your life:

TAGUA NUT BUTTONS are gorgeous! We are now stocked with 24 colors of this unique accessory. Derived from the TAGUA (IVORY PALM) tree in the Amazon, the fruit is carved and dyed for many uses. You can purchase these buttons knowing that you are supporting the employment of indigenous people and helping to maintain the trees.

And on a less P.C. note, we also have restocks of IVORY, PINK, AQUAMARINE, and BABY BLUE Baby Cashmerino, the ultra soft/machine washable sport weight yarn from Debbie Bliss.

The SUNDAY IN THE SALON is filling fast. Come join us and learn how to knit the HAIKU or SONNET sweater from knitty. You will practice your knitting math and have lots of fun, we promise. Give us a call to reserve a spot from 2-4 on SUNDAY.

We had just settled down to knit for a bit when a new UPS Guy walked in (Javier must be on vacation) with four ginormous boxes from LANTERN MOON! Guess Bruce was telling the truth when he said they were fully stocked. So come check out the new needles (straight and circs, including 40” cords!), bags and accessories. We are in love with the ASHLEY bag and the new BIRTHDAY CAKE measuring tapes.

XRX books has weighed in with our TNNA order: VICTORIAN LACE TODAY, SHAWLS AND SCARVES, SALLY MELVILLE’S KNIT STITCH AND COLOR KNITTING, BABIES-TODDLERS: A KNITTERS DOZEN, AND BAGS; A KNITTERS DOZEN are all in stock. Need inspiration? Books from three major publishers should do the trick!

And our SUNDAY IN THE SALON program resumes this weekend with the adorable and fun HAIKU sweater. We made this in a toddler size and can’t wait to start the adult version, SONNET. This is a great sweater whether it is your first or fortieth! Come learn all about gauge and knitting side to side. You can use any yarn and corresponding needles, so feel free to come in ahead of time for the pattern and some guidance about fiber selection. As always, the program runs from 2-4 PM and is free of charge; just give us a call to let us know you will be here!

Well, we can’t fault the book dealers at TNNA!!! They have been quite speedy about their shipping; yesterday we were greeted with two boxes from INTERWEAVE and RANDOM HOUSE. We feel very well stocked in the book department now, thank you very much.

Back in stock the indispensable reference KNITTERS COMPANION. We continue to love this small but mighty spiral that fits so neatly in whatever knitting bag we carry and containes the answers to all sorts of knitting questions. If you don’t have this, pick one up before your vacation! You will thank us later.

And from Random House: BIG GIRL KNITS, MASON DIXON KNITTING, RUNWAY KNITS, YARN GIRLS GUIDE TO KNITS FOR OLDER KIDS, NATURE BABIES, AND INSPIRED CABLE KNITS. The last is our favorite book from the amazing FIONA ELLIS, who will be back at the shop to teach this fall. We have made two sweaters out of this book already, and have all our materials lined up for a third. We have peeked at the other books as well, ok, drooled over RUNWAY KNITS. Come on in, sit at the table, and peruse these beauties. You will be inspired….

Our SUMMER NEWSLETTER will be out via email tomorrow. Not on our mailing list? Simply scroll down to the lower left side of this home page and sign up. Be sure to follow the prompts and respond to the email you will get from us-this assures us you want to be on the list!

Huge boxes awaited us, and what treasures were within! First up, books from MARTINGALE: Knitted Shawls, Stoles and Shawls; Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques; Saturday Sweaters; Silk Knits; Top Down Sweaters; More Sensational Knitted Socks; Special Knits from Just One Skein; 365 Knitting Stitches a Year; Modern Classics and Sarah Dallas Knitting.

And from SCHAEFER YARNS, fabulous new colors of LAUREL PIMA COTTON as well as beautiful colorways of ANNE SOCK YARN, SANDRA, and ELAINE. So come on in and match up a pattern from a new book with one of these gorgeous yarns!!!

The goodies from TNNA keep coming! Today we received a box of books from STERLING PUBLISHERS: GORGEOUS KNITTED AFGHANS, LACY LITTLE KNITS, TODDLER KNITS ON THE GO, and SHAWLS ON THE GO. We have glanced at a few of these and let out a huge sigh of relief-they are indeed as nice as we remember from the show. And we also received two great reference books: KNIT 101 and VOGUE QUICK REFERENCE.

Also in, new buttons and clasps from BLUE MOON and RENAISSANCE BUTTONS. We confess we haven’t had a chance to check these in yet as we have been off this week for a brief respite, but we promise to have them done by Saturday! In the mean time, be sure to swing by the shop—Marietta has been working all week and has brought the ever-growing MAXIM.

Sometimes we knit to improve skills, learn something new, or challenge ourselves. And sometimes we knit for just plain fun. We are having a blast with the HAIKU sweater, the subject of our SUNDAY IN THE SALON on JUNE 24. First off, the design is amazingly clever. It is knit side to side and looks like this when all but the sleeves are complete:

And then, WHAM! you fold it over and voila! A sweater:

How much fun are we having with this? So much so that we have decided to make the adult version, SONNET, next. We are going to use the yummy metallic wool that we will have in the shop this fall from BLUE HERON YARNS. Stay tuned!

One of our best sellers from last season, BLUE SKY ALPACA/SILK yarn is back in stock. And if you are looking for a yarn to knit into a lace shawl or top, check this out. It is a sportweight fiber so you are on a decent sized needle, and the fabric created is just elegant. The colors, according to KARINA, are magnificent. And we have terrific patterns in as well.

For those of you who signed up for the NONI BAG class, we have copies of a terrific article that appeared about NORA BELLOWS in a British knitting magazine. Please ask for a copy when you come in to pick out your pattern and yarn. And as a reminder, please do this ASAP. We have to send your choices into a distributor so that you have the right purse handles, snaps, zippers etc.

And here is the response from the lovely folks at SWTC:

1) If you’re allergic to shellfish, don’t eat the yarn! (just kidding!) We’ve actually not had a single complaint about any allergic reactions. When someone is allergic to shellfish, they are allergic to the iodine that is found in the shell. Since the Chitin fiber used in TOFUTsies doesn’t have any of this iodine in it, you shouldn’t have a problem. Also, Jonelle’s dad is extremely allergic to shellfish and we tested the yarn on him for a little while. If your customer is still iffy, maybe they could tie a bit of the yarn around their wrist or ankle for a day to see if they develop any kind of reaction. 2)

We don’t have any info about the yarn being Kosher. Since the fiber is manufactured in China, I don’t believe it is Kosher. Sorry! If there is anything else you need, please just holler!

Could you ask for a quicker answer??????

Let the games begin. Javier the UPS Guy will certainly earn his keep with us. Today he brought in three boxes filled with our first TNNA arrivals: DENISE INTERCHANGEABLE NEEDLES (the pink ones to benefit Breast Cancer research), TOFUTSIES from SOUTHWEST TRADING COMPANY, and some really cool new gadgets from NANCY’s KNIT KNACKS.

So a word about the latter two arrivals. First, we have emailed SWTC with two very interesting questions regarding the use of CHITIN in the TOFUTSIE sock yarn. As many of our incredibly knowledgeable customers knew, Chitin is a substance found in the shells of crustaceans such as lobster and shrimp. So if one has a shellfish allergy or keeps kosher, should she/he refrain from using this yarn???? Very interesting points. We will keep you apprised of SWTC’s response.

And from NANCY of NKK (yes, there is a Nancy), we applaud her for continually coming up with really cool gear. We purchased COLOR WHEELS from her—no more questioning color combinations—this wheel is a stunner. Look for a class utilizing this in the fall. We also bought ROW COUNTER PLUS, an electronic gadget that keeps track of three separate row sequences-perfect for shaping and things like sleeves. We thought her DPN TUBES were the cleverest new item at the show—a plastic tube that keeps all your DPNS straight while stored and allows your project to emerge from the base of the tube unharmed. Finally, we are restocked with her popular KNIT KARDS which contain all sorts of useful information and tips on a circular ring that can double as a key ring.

Wow! It’s always such a nice surprise to see our fall orders pour in—there is nothing like the hand of alpaca, the vivid colors of autumn yarns, and the anticipation of new designs to get us jazzed up. And the timing was perfect. We finished our last spring/summer project this morning!!! On to fall.

Javier the UPS Guy delivered nine boxes to us today-eight from Rowan and one from SKACEL containing the much-awaited LACE NEEDLES. The Rowan offerings included a lot of yarn:

And once we got organized and got to work, we were able to determine that we now have in stock: REGIA BAMBOO SOCK YARN (yummy), CREATIVE FOCUS CHUNKY, WOOLY STRIPES (we have a great windowpane sweater pattern using both of these), FELTED TWEED,TAPESTRY (yo, Paige!!!), KIDSILK HAZE and NIGHT, BABY ALPACA DK, CREATIVE FOCUS KID MOHAIR, SILKY WOOL (our favorite yarn last season!), SCOTTISH TWEED ARAN and CHUNKY, IVY (sparkly yarn, our downfall), VIGNETTE, and WOOL COTTON. Much more is due, so if you don’t see the colors you want, keep watching the blog. And we received some terrific books including VINTAGE KNITS, which is positively elegant.

Doesn’t the WOOLY STRIPES look great in the bin?

And despite our energy, there is still yarn all over the place. But is that bad, really??????

AMANDA HALL, who was the first to respond to our query in the TNNA report. Amanda, who knew that chitin is the sustance derived from the shell of shrimp, crayfish etc. wins a $10 gift certificate to the shop! And we gained the satisfaction of knowing that so many on our mailing list actually read our emails!!!!]

We are busy unpacking nine boxes of yarn and books that arrived from ROWAN today!! Check the blog later for pictures and updates.

We have been busily working on our annual TNNA Report which should be in your email boxes by late tomorrow. To pique your interest, we present a few photos we took with our own little digital camera. First up, check out this fabulous shell made from SILK GARDEN. This pattern, from BLACK PURL DESIGNS, caught our attention immediately. What a great beginner/Sunday in the Salon project, huh? We bought several of their patterns:

And thanks to our lovely customer Liana, we spent a lot of time with the TWISTED SISTERS women. Their designs are sophisticated and dramatic:

We matched up their variegated JAZZ yarn with corresponding hand-dyed solids as well as their DAKTARI cotton:

And the show wouldn’t be complete without seeing old friends. We have had COLINETTE yarn since the day we opened, and we can’t wait to get their new worsted weight IONA:

Our summer fantasy? To learn to crochet well enough to make these fabulous pillows. We bought four kits for customers who love to crochet:

Stay tuned. The report will contain lots of information regarding trends and purchases. Not on our email list? Sign up on the bottom left of this page. Make sure you follow all the prompts, ok?

Well, this got us in the mood for tomorrow’s show—four new colors of NORO SILK GARDEN. We know you want to see them, right? So we will load the photos tonight when we get home (we don’t have the software here!). Two are quite manly, so get that male vest or sweater pattern ready!

Also in, the JUNE ABFAB KIT. Just gorgeous.

And finally, our newest employee—MAXIM. We feel that he was responsible for at least half of our sales today:

Isn’t this beautiful? Our friend TORRE stopped by last night to show off her FAIR ISLE BAG that turned out so well she has decided NOT to felt it! We think it’s a wise decision:

Want to learn how to do this? Stay tuned. The wonderfully talented PAIGE is planning a series of morning workshops in the fall when she returns to the store. FAIR ISLE is not as hard as it looks, and Paige will guide you through everything you need to know about this beautiful color technique. In the mean time, if you want to tackle this yourself, you can check out the pattern for TORRE’S BAG in the SALLY MELVILLE COLOR BOOK.

And speaking of Sally, we will undoubtedly bump into her this weekend at the annual TNNA show. We are off to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow for the market. The shop will of course remain open, thanks to our wonderful staff. Check the blog next week to see what goodies we bought for the fall. Our annual report will be the cover story in out summer newsletter out the following week.