Our March Spin-and-Knit-In was this past Sunday. The monthly meet has been a tradition for some time, but this was my first time attending. There were regulars who also attend our weekly knit night, as well as at least one other person new to the Spin-N-Knit. I really enjoyed seeing others working on yet another aspect of the fiber arts…spinning! I feel very fortunate to work in a wonderland of yarn. What makes it truly special are the times like Sunday when I can enjoy the camaraderie of others who enjoy all the fibery goodness.

I have carded, combed, and spun a little fiber myself but never seriously pursued that part of the fiber arts. Everyone on Sunday really seemed quite good. They were all spinning some beautiful yarn. In the photo above our friend Bethany is spinning some fiber from the Hoobody Fiber Club offering for December, a blend of alpaca, silk, and merino in the colorway Meg named “Silver Bells”. I thought it looked as if Bethany was spinning ice and snow.

Hoobody?

If you haven’t yet heard of it Hoobody Fibers, and the Hoobody Fiber Club, are both exclusive to Yarn Expressions. Hoobody Fibers are hand dyed fibers and sock yarns created by Meg and sold only at Yarn Expressions. The Hoobody Fiber Club is available as a monthly subscription. Each month you’ll get four ounces of hand dyed beauty. You can choose to receive either spinning fiber or sock yarn, or both! Shipments are made monthly. Colorways are exclusive to the club for six months. While the number of subscriptions available are limited, we do still have a few spots available.

Ravelry

If you haven’t already joined Ravelry, the social networking website for all enthusiasts of the fiber arts, I would highly recommend that you do. There are many different ways you can utilize the site, the most powerful of which are as a means of sharing knowledge, patterns, resources (yarn swap!), and getting in touch with people of a like mind. According to Wikipedia, Ravelry had 600,000+ members worldwide as of January 2010. Yarn Expressions has its own group on Ravelry which acts as a sort of virtual knit-night-spin-day. If you decide to give Ravelry a try, be sure to look me up!

I’ve discussed both the Spin-N-Knit-In and Ravelry together in one post because they are both part of the fiber/yarn community. It is very difficult to create art in a vacuum (and dusty!) without the interaction of others and the knowledge of artists who have practiced the same craft. Both the community that is part of Yarn Expressions as well as Ravelry (and this blog for that matter) afford a way for us to interact, share ideas, and gain much more enjoyment from our craft than a book or website alone could offer. If you’ve been reticent to come to a knit night, or cautious about joining an online community such as Ravelry, I encourage you to dip your metaphorical toe in the community water and see how it can be a benefit to you.

Here’s hoping that the rest of your week is a good one.

~Bill

As you may have already heard, we just got in a limited amount of Koigu Braided Roving! The colors are beautiful. Hopefully the photo gives you a good idea of the color variations, but as always, seeing it in person is even better. It’s here just in time for our monthly spin and knit this Sunday. Come on down and spin some of this great roving!

Also new to Yarn Expressions is some extraordinary yarn from the Imperial Stock Ranch. The Imperial Stock Ranch, located in Oregon, has been sustainably producing yarn for over 135 years. We’ve received two varieties from them: Columbia, a worsted weight yarn, and Tracie, a fingering weight yarn. Both yarns are “mulespun”, a process that produces yarn that is soft and lofty. All the colors are earthy, including blacks, blues, browns, and white/cream.

In the photo above you’ll see that Meg has already knitted some of this great yarn up to give you an example of how it will look. The shawl she’s created is the Gaenor pattern by Corrina Ferguson. You can see the shawl when you come in to take a look at this yarn. We also have a few patterns from the Imperial Stock Ranch that are great for their yarn.

As Spring approaches a knitter’s thoughts often turn to creating garments or items that will be great and perhaps help keep you cool in the warmer weather. We just got in the full color range of Jill Eaton’s Cotton Tail yarn. You may be familiar with Jill Eaton already from her Minnow Knits patterns. The Cotton Tail yarns are great for both kid and adult knits.

As I mentioned in the newsletter we just sent out, we’ve gotten a lot more of Prism’s Kiwi yarn. The colors include such names as “Cabernet” (seen on the far left) and “Tumbleweed” (far right).

I should also mention that we received a wide variety of patterns from Unpatterns. I love these patterns because they give you the tools to design and/or make simple garments (socks, pullovers, hats) using any yarn, any gauge, and any size. They seem like great guides that will help you create your own design or adapt someone’s pattern to your specifications.

We hope you’ll stop by the store soon to see all of the great new yarn and patterns we have available.

See you soon!

~Bill

While we may see them often, and often times knit with them while they are there, you may not get to meet them at all. That’s why we do our best to make sure to set aside time during the week and at least one weekend a month to relax, knit/spin/crochet, trade stories, and share triumphs and tribulations.

The monthly Spin and Knit will be this Sunday, March 7th, from 1-4pm at Yarn Expressions. Bring your wheel, your needles, your hooks (crochet or pirate) and join us for what will hopefully be a nice somewhat Spring-ish afternoon.

If you can’t make it on Sunday, perhaps you can come sometime on a Thursday? As many of you already know we have a Knit Night every Thursday from 4-7pm. The night also gives those who can’t get to the store during regular hours a chance to browse and shop.

Come and join us!

The box of Prism yarn barely got in through the door and opened before some of its contents started going back out the door with happy customers. The thirteen colors of their Merino Mia have gotten lots of oohs and ahs. More colors of the Merino Mia are on the way. Several customers have plans to create a lace wrap designed by Laura Bryant that’s perfect for this superwash sock yarn.

Arriving along with the Merino Mia is Prism’s Kiwi, a textured cotton blend that is great for spring and summer knitwear. Our initial shipment was just three colors, but we just got a second shipment of many additional colors. The Kiwi yarn is brand new for 2010.

Be sure to come down to the store to see all of the colorways of both the Merino Mia and Kiwi yarns.

Be sure to come on down and get some yarn and a pattern. Bring it to knit night!

I didn’t design the pattern I’m using, but if you like you can see the scarf I’m making from the Archangel colorway as it progresses.

The colors are even better in person, believe me!  This bulky single ply wool weighs in at 90 yards per skein and will be perfect for warm snuggly accessories.

(pardon the lens of my camera reflected in the window)

Nice, huh?  You’ll be much more interested in this next shot, I’m sure:
There are goodies from companies we’ve dealt with for years, and some from companies that are brand new to us.  As you can see, there also are some new books on the horizon, and some new bags from Namaste.  I’m going to work on a newsletter over the next week (I’ll still be away;  I have to check in on my parents in Arizona on my way home), and I’ll give details of some of these goodies, and will have more pictures to share.  I have one parting shot to share with you…

Mountain Colors has come out with a new sock yarn — superwash merino/nylon blend, nice tight twist, same gorgeous colors.  They sent me a sample skein before Christmas, and this sock has been my travel knitting.  I’m working on sock #2 now, and am loving it.  We’ve received some of the colors I ordered already, and more will be arriving in a week or two.  When I talked to Val this morning she said it was moving fast, so get thee to the store if you want to see it in person and fondle some before it’s all gone!

• I’ll be out of town tomorrow
• they’re predicting snow for the Valley

I’m canceling Knit Night for January 7th.   I’ve told Donna/Jill/Val to close the store at 4:00 so everyone gets home safely.  If the roads are bad, no one’s going to want to be out buying yarn anyway, so why jeopardize the safety of my staff when they could be home knitting, right?  So if you’re thinking of heading to Yarn Expressions Thursday or Friday, give us a call first.

On Saturday, January 30th she’ll be leading a class called Textured Colorwork in the Round.  This class will introduce knitters to the Bohus style of colorwork, which utilizes knit and purl stitches to create a multi-dimensional color pattern not attainable by using knit stitches alone. Students will learn the basics of two-handed stranding as well as tips for incorprating their own textured colorwork designs into a basic sock framework.  This class begins as soon as we close for the day (4:00) and runs for three hours.

On Sunday afternoon, beginning at 1:00, Chrissy will help us explore the Basics of Toe-Up Sock Knitting.

Saturday’s class is open to all intermediate knitters;  Sunday’s class is open to all intermediate knitters who have successfully completed at least one pair of socks.

Registration is open now, and you can sign up online.  We’re offering a package deal, saving you 10% when you sign up for both classes.   As always, space is limited so register soon!

All of us here at Yarn Expressions wish you peaceful, joy filled holidays.  Celebrate!