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August 16, 2007 to whet your appetiteI’m back from surprisingly warm Wisconsin; Jill and I have been busy unpacking boxes all week. Some of the treasures we’ve uncovered are:
Silk Lace from Claudia Handpaint. 1100 yards of hand dyed silk, one skein is enough for many of the shawl patterns we have on hand.
Sock yarn from Pagewood Farm. We have three colors in a superwash/nylon blend, and three more colors in a merino/bamboo blend. They’re all yummy. At 450 yards there’s plenty in one skein for a pair of socks or a scarf.
The Dream in Color worsted weight yarn, called Classy, is here. I’m working hard to get kits made for Tulip and Rocketry — get your name on the list if you want one ’cause they’ll go fast. A call or e-mail will do the trick, and we’ll notify you when the kits are ready. As if that’s not enough — we have copies of Cat Bordhi’s newest sock book, Janet Szabo’s volume on cables, Rowan 42 and a shipment of patterns from Iknitiative. It’s nice and cool in here, beat the heat and knit to be cool. Filed Under: What's New? August 2, 2007 and yet more…Remind me next year that this is not the time of year to go on vacation! I’m leaving early Saturday morning for a week-long family reunion in Wisconsin, and I’m afraid some of the boxes sitting here are going to have to wait until I get back. We’ve been unpacking as fast as we can. Here’s what we uncovered today…
Neighborhood Fiber Co. sent us three different yarns. Pictured here are, on the right, Studio Sock, Loft mohair/silk on the left and Penthouse Spun Silk on the top.
These are the other shades of Studio Sock that we received. I’ve already claimed one of the green skeins for myself. After all, somebody has to test knit this, right?
This is new Regia sock yarn, the Kaffe Fassett Collection. There are six colors, each dyed in two ways. The landscape version of each color makes stripes, the mosaic version is more mottled. They’re all lovely and all in stock. Knit Night will take place both this week and next. Janet and I will both be gone next week, but Jill has promised to hold down the fort while we’re gone. Y’all don’t have too much fun now, okay? Filed Under: What's New? August 1, 2007 Simply ShetlandYears ago, when it was still under the name of a famous Fair Isle designer, we carried Jamieson’s Shetland wool. I loved it then, I love it still. But other knitters moved on to other things, and so we did too. It’s been quite some time since Jamieson’s wools were a part of our lineup at Yarn Expressions.
The US distributor is now known as Simply Shetland, and they’ve developed two new yarns for the line, Lambswool & Cashmere and Silk & Lambswool. Selected colors arrived at our doorstep yesterday, chosen for use with the new book, Simply Shetland 4. We have other boxes, as yet unopened, hanging around over here. Check back tomorrow to see what’s in them. Filed Under: What's New? July 25, 2007 back to workI have so much catching up to do it’s not funny. I’ll start with words today and fill in with pictures tomorrow when I get back to the shop (I’m babysitting a sick freezer today). Since my last appearance here, we’ve received the majority of our fall order from Plymouth Yarns, which includes some very cool new yarns. Royal llama silk is a blend of, yup, llama and silk, giving a tweedy, almost but not quite smooth yarn. Yardley is an alpaca blend spun up into a small boucle. Very soft and drapey. Confusion just has to be seen to be believed. It’s several different textures in one yarn, perfect for scarves and hats. I promise, pictures tomorrow. We also have quite a few new books on hand, including Lynne Vogel’s Twisted Sisters Sweater Book, Knit Kimono by Vicki Square, Getting Started with Socks by Ann Budd and Stefanie Japel’s Fitted Knits. I understand there’s a box of books on its way to us from out west, with more new titles inside. Dream in Color update: I just talked to the folks at Dream in Color a few minutes ago. Our order is next on the dye tables, so we should have our worsted weight in about two weeks. The sock yarn hasn’t arrived at their studio yet, so our shipment probably won’t be here for another four weeks. I guarantee it’s all worth the wait. Knit Night is happening tomorrow night, and you’ll be treated to the premiere of two new yarns. They just arrived and aren’t out on the shelves yet. Only Janet and I have seen them. Dawn, honey, you’ll weep with joy over one of them, I guarantee it! Later this week we should see our order from Neighborhood Yarns come in. Sock yarn, lace weight mohair and sport weight silk, in an amazing array of colors. This new indie dyer promises to be a bright star in the knitting firmament. Filed Under: What's New? July 3, 2007 holiday hours, new and coming attractionsHoliday hours — We’ll be closed tomorrow, July 4th, to celebrate Independence Day. Normal hours apply for the rest of the week. New in the shop — Take a look at these pretties that arrived this week.
This is Soxx Appeal from K1C2, a brand new sock yarn. Merino wool, nylon and 1% lycra make for a soft and stre e e e tchy sock, that stays up! As you can see, we have a good supply of a dozen colors to tempt you.
This is Fino laceweight, from Alpaca with a Twist. A blend of baby alpaca and silk, it’s sensuously soft and well priced at $21 for 875 yards. We have more colors coming later in the summer, but we were happy to take the few colors that were in stock at the warehouse. EDIT — Boy, that went fast! The red’s all gone! Coming attractions — Many people have expressed an interest in finding unique, off-the-beaten-path yarns and fibers at Yarn Expressions. I’ve been working with several new, independent dyers to give you what you’ve asked for. Very soon we should have a shipment from Dream in Color, both their worsted weight wool and fingering weight sock yarn. We’ll be kitting up their popular Tulips sweater, and a new design in more “boylike” colors, called Rocketry. I think you’ll like the look and feel of these lovely hand dyed yarns. Last year I participated in a fiber of the month club run by Mama E at C*Eye*Ber Fiber Yarns, and liked it so much I began talking to her about carrying her yarns and fibers at Yarn Expressions. It’s taken us a while to come up with a plan, but we should have a variety of sock yarns and a selection of spinning fibers from her in the next couple of weeks. Erin’s sense of color and composition is top notch, and I’m really pleased to be able to bring these goodies to you. I’ve also just placed an order with Linda and Tom at Grafton Fibers. Linda’s blended batts are sought after all over the country — we’ll be the first shop in the south to carry them. Tom makes beautiful knitting needles and crochet hooks. I’ve ordered a few to test drive to see if they’re also something I’d like to carry. This shipment should arrive in a month or so. If there’s a company, large or small, that you’d like to see represented at Yarn Expressions, please be sure to let me know. I’ll do my best to bring in new yarns and fiber just to please you. Filed Under: Store Hours, What's New?, General June 25, 2007 it’s a brand new weekIt’s a brand new week and all the delivery folk in town just love us! Look what came our way…
Filed Under: What's New? June 23, 2007 Spin ‘n’ Knit Sunday, New Yarn, New ShawlsSpin ‘n’ Knit Sunday is tomorrow, from 1:00 to 4:00. Bring your latest project, bring your wheel/spindle; plan to have fun. This is a social hour, and we’ve been known to get a little rowdy. It’s too darn hot to be outside — come join us! New Yarn
If you guessed that the new yarn pictured last week was Colinette Jitterbug, you were right. We had our first shipment of this colorful sock yarn, and it’s been going like hotcakes! I had been reluctant to buy this yarn because of its short yardage, but my sales rep swears that you can get a decent sized pair of socks from one skein, so I decided to give it a try. There’s a pattern on the ball band, and I made the largest size, following the pattern exactly. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had used well less than half of the skein on sock number one.
This week we received our first shipment of yarn from Kollage, a yarn company based here in Alabama! The first yarn pictured is Cornucopia, a tape yarn made of, yes indeed, corn. It’s very lightweight and easy to knit. It will work well for summer tops. We also received a supply of Luscious, a fingering weight blend of cotton and lycra that’s perfect for warm weather socks. New Shawls and Other Show and Tell Just look at these beauties! This is Robin, who came to Knit Night last week with her Spinner’s Shawl made from, of course, her own handspun Shetland wool. Isn’t she lovely?
This week we had a visit from Beth early in the morning, because she just completed her Angel Lace Shawl. She plans to give it to a woman who has lost a child. What a touching, compassionate gift.
Bev Galeskas, owner of Fiber Trends, describes this shawl as “a wonderful reminder of all the angels in our lives — winged or otherwise.” I think so. I’d like to leave you with these pictures of Evelyn, an extraordinarily creative soul. Not wanting to waste a single bit of fiber, she takes all the little bits and pieces of yarn she has, chops them up in her blender and cards them in with her wool to spin. Look at the hat she wore to Knit Night this week! Isn’t it great?
Filed Under: What's New?, Spin 'n' Knit Sunday, Customer Show and Tell June 14, 2007 compelling reason #316 to come to Knit NightBrand new sock yarn! Never before seen at Yarn Expressions. Come by and find out what it is.
Filed Under: What's New? May 2, 2007 new arrivals and coming attractionsLook what showed up on our doorstep today…
If you have a picture of something you’ve made from Yarn Expressions yarn, send me a picture. I’d love to share it here. Coming Attractions Next month we’re expecting 30 one-pound bags of Mountain Colors Bearfoot mill ends. While they’re fun for making mix ‘n’ match socks, they’re also great for mitered blankets. Two pounds of Bearfoot (or Koigu) will make a good sized blanket. We’re setting up a two session class for Monday nights in June. If you’re interested, let me know. Addi Lace Needles We don’t have enough call for these needles to keep them in stock, but I’ve had several people inquire about them. I’ve decided to put together a special order on May 21. If you’d like to have some of these, please give us a call at the store. We’ll need a 50% deposit to place the order, with the balance due when the needles come in. They’re available in sizes 1 through 6 (metric sizes 2.5, 3, 3.25, 3.5, 3.75 and 4 mm), and lengths of 24″, 32″ and 47″. The 1’s and 2’s are $13.50 each, the other sizes are $15.95. I’m off to Arizona in the morning, to visit my mother. Thursday is Knit Night and Jill will be standing in for me. I’ll see you when I get back. Filed Under: What's New?, Customer Show and Tell April 19, 2007 Are you ready for some fun?Sorry I’ve been gone so long. Technical difficulties. They’re all fixed now. On to the fun. Do you see that button over there on the right? The one that says 2007 Knitters Retreat? That means we’re ready to take reservations! All the details are there, but just let me say that October in Tennessee is a little bit of heaven. The weather is (usually) just a little bit chilly so you need a sweater, the leaves are doing their color show thing… Where and when better to get together with other fiber enthusiasts to knit, crochet, spin, and have no other responsibilities! Speaking of get togethers, tonight is Knit Night, from 5:00 to 7:00, and Sunday is our Knit In, from 1:00 to 4:00. Come to one, come to both; it’s always time to knit! Filed Under: What's New?, special events, Spin 'n' Knit Sunday « go back — keep looking » |
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