We recently received a big shipment of the Zephyr Laceweight Wool-Silk yarn. It’s a beautifully soft blend of 50% merino wool and 50% Tussah silk. There are some great new colours.

Alison knit this gorgeous Peacock Feathers Shawl with the Zephyr Laceweight:

Here’s a close-up:

This was Alison’s first laceweight pattern – what a stunning accomplishment! Alison told us “… it was very straight forward to make and to block. I simply adhered to all D. Siemens’ instructions, right down to the needle size et voila, a lovely shawl!” I’ll say. More from Alison on the shawl’s esthetic appeal, “…it has a sheen and is gossamer-like transparent…” And did we mention, simply exquisite?

We have some other beautiful Fiddlesticks patterns, including the Lotus Blossom Shawl:

And the Paisley Long Shawl:

Inspired yet?

Today’s featured yarn is Rowan Kid Soft, on sale at 40% off. Kid Soft is 70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair, 4% nylon. Knitters Review called this yarn “truly exquisite…it’s a luxuriously soft but ‘wooly’yarn with the perfect combination of depth and sheen.”

We also have the Rowan Kid Soft pattern magazine with 4 great patterns for only $6.95.

We recently re-stocked some of our popular Gedifra specials. We have some new colours of Beauty Cotton, Living, Ombretta and Wellness.

Check out the specials page on our website for all of our current and upcoming specials.

I loved this blanket pattern the moment I saw it. I bought the yarn right away and started knitting. It was challenging at first but once I got going, I adored knitting it and couldn’t stop. It’s an excellent pattern, with links to useful technique pages like this one on blocking techniques. I used Kureyon no. 185.

“Ta da”, here’s the finished blanket:

And here’s a close-up…

I was lazy and didn’t do the edging. Maybe one day… If you’d like a closer look, the blanket is on display in Point Grey.

We love all the Noro yarns and we recently ordered a new one, Silk Garden Light. This is a DK version of the current aran-weight Silk Garden. It’s 45% silk, 45% kid mohair, 10% lambswool, 125 metres per ball and knits to a 20-22 stitch gauge on 4.0 – 4.5mm needles. We’ll start with 5 colours, 2013, 2028, 2030, 2031 and 2033:

A terrible photo, I know, but it’s the best we have. Come into the store for a better look, it should arrive any day.

Bunches of sock kits! This big box full of gorgeous Fleece Artist Bordello sock kits and Tilting Block sock kits arrived this week.

We also received more of the beautiful Colinette Jitterbug sock kits.

Jennifer took Sivia’s recent Coriolus Sock Class and knit this wonderful pair of socks:

Check out the lovely subtle pattern and the ridges that hug her calf. No slouching socks here. Jennifer used Cascade 220 yarn, just one skein for the pair. The pattern is from Cat Bordhi’s popular new book, “New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One”:

Thanks for sharing, Jennifer.

Sivia was one of our first visitors when we opened our Point Grey store over 3 years ago. She’s been teaching lessons for us ever since.

Sivia is both a talented designer and instructor. She designs beautiful lace and beaded knitting patterns. We received a big shipment of her patterns this week, including the Gothic Leaf Stole, the Angel Pearls Beaded Scarf, the Hanging Garden Stole, the Follow the Leader Faroese Shawl, the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl and the gorgeous new Waves in the Square Shawl. If you’re a lace knitter, you will adore these patterns.

If you’d like to learn how to knit lace, you should register for Sivia’s new class, “Lace Knitting for the Adventurous Beginner” on Wednesday evenings, Oct. 17, 24 and Nov. 7, 7-9 p.m. You’ll learn how to knit her popular Diamond Fantasy Shawl. Check out the Yarn Harlot’s review of this shawl. She gave the pattern a “10 out of 10″. Cara called it the most gorgeous thing she’s ever knit. You’d better make time for this class…

I recently found some photos I’d intended to put on our website. They never made it to the website so I thought I’d post them here.

Back in June, we attended the TNNA convention in Columbus, Ohio. One evening we were at a cocktail party with lots of store owners, suppliers, designers and other industry folk. Debbie Bliss came over to say hello. (As some of you know, we hosted Debbie for two days last November while she was here on a promotional tour. We had a fabulous time and have stayed in touch.) Anyways, Debbie introduced us to her friend: “I’d like you to meet Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton”. Okay. “Hi Cornelia, very nice to meet you.” We chatted for awhile, then two other women joined us. “And this is Jane Ellison and Louisa Harding”. Seriously. “Hi Jane, Hi Louisa, lovely to meet you, may we have a photo?”

There we are with the Designer Royalty, from left to right: Debbie, Jane, Cornelia, Anina, Leslie and Louisa. Sadly, we look like we just came from the beach. Due to a teensy scheduling error, our party clothes were left at the hotel.

The next day we saw Debbie at the convention. There’s Debbie trying to help with Jenny’s problematic sweater project. Jane Ellison is assisting:

It’s a Debbie Bliss pattern and Debbie Bliss yarn, why not ask Debbie for help? Unfortunately they didn’t solve the problem. Oh well, we tried.

Now for some late breaking news about our “Crochet Me” event on October 23, Point Grey store, 6-9 p.m. Julie Holetz, crochet designer extraordinaire, will be up from Seattle for the event. Julie designed the beautiful plaid scarves and felted messenger bag in Kim’s book. She also designed the Fat Bottom Bag pattern in Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet, The Happy Hooker. We almost have a full house registered for this event so if you’d like to attend, please sign up right away.

Our customers are a constant source of inspiration. We see countless amazing projects in our stores every day. We’re looking forward to sharing with you some of these knit and crochet masterpieces. Please send us your photos by email, we’d love to post them.

Linda T. is a regular. She’s a beautiful knitter who often arrives with a bag of lovely knitted items to show us. It’s so much fun to see all of her beautiful creations.

Linda loves her Blue Sky Alpacas. This cardigan was knit with the luscious BSA Royal. It’s a pattern from the Debbie Bliss book, Pure Silk.

Isn’t it stunning? All together now, ooooh, aaaah…

This beautiful shrug was knit with the popular BSA Alpaca Silk yarn. It’s a pattern from the same Debbie Bliss book.

Thanks for sharing, Linda. We can’t wait to see your latest treasures. Please drop by again sometime soon…

Today’s featured yarn is Rowan Big Wool, a pure merino, super chunky wool. We have eight colours of this beautiful yarn on sale, at 30% off. It knits up quickly on 12 – 15mm needles.

We have some great books with Big Wool patterns. New for Fall, 2007, is Newshapes:

This is a fantastic book with 15 designs featuring Big Wool and Little Big Wool, by Sarah Hatton. We love the “pea coat inspired jacket” on the cover.

We have many other books with Big Wool patterns, including Big It Up, Big Just Got Bigger, Bigger Picture and The Next Big Thing, with lots of great patterns for cozy scarves, hats, bags, vests and sweaters. You’re sure to be inspired to pick up your needles and knit some lovely things…

Take a knitting lesson and learn a new skill this Fall! We have lots of classes starting this month:

Mondays
Edgemont Village: Sock Boot Camp
October 15; 6-9 p.m.; $25.

Tuesdays
Point Grey: Beyond Beginner Knitting
October 16, 30, November 6, 13; 7-9 p.m.; $95.

Wednesdays
Point Grey: Lace Knitting for Adventurous Beginners
October 17, 24 & November 7; 7-9 p.m.; $85.
Instructor: Sivia Harding

Thursdays:
Edgemont Village: Aran Block of the Month
October 18, November 22, December 13, January 24, February 21, March 20, April 24;
6-8 p.m.; $140.

Point Grey: Sock Boot Camp
October 11; 6-9 p.m.; $25.

Sundays:
Point Grey: Knitting Q & A
Every Sunday; 11 a.m. – 12 noon; $20.
Instructor: Astor Tsang

Point Grey: Aran Block of the Month
October 14, November 18, December 9, January 20, February 17, March 16, April 20
2:30-4:30 p.m.; $140.

For more details and a complete list of lessons, check out our class schedule.

Check out our collection of earth friendly fibres from the Southwest Trading Company. Both UY stores currently have displays of earth-friendly SWTC yarns, sample garments and free informative handouts.

We recently received the SWTC “Amaizing” yarn, made of 100% corn fibre. Corn fibre is a completely natural, renewable resource and is wholly biodegradable. The yarn is very soft, the colours won’t fade and it is machine washable and dryable. This is a perfect yarn to use for children’s garments, baby blankets and baby clothes. Just wash those spills away in the machine. Come to think of it, I should knit myself a sweater with this one…

We also have the SWTC “Pure” yarn, made of 100% soysilk and dyed in gorgeous, rich jewel colours. Soysilk fibre is made from the soybean residue remaining after tofu is produced. Soy is another natural, renewable resource that is wholly biodegradable. Soysilk fibre feels as soft as real silk and has a shiny pearl-like lustre.

One of our most popular new sock yarns is SWTC “Tofutsies“, a yarn containing the chitin fibre. Chitin is made from the shells of shrimp and crab! It’s extracted from the shells discarded by the commercial seafood industry. This yarn has natural deodorizing and anti-bacterial properties. Shouldn’t all socks contain this fibre? If you love to knit socks with Tofutsies, check out the Tofutsies Sock Club.

You should also have a look at the SWTC yarn, “Love“, made of 70% bamboo and 30% silk. Bamboo is another natural and renewable resource that is processed free of any petrochemicals. It’s cool to the skin and comfortable to wear, with a beautiful drape and softness.

For your next project, choose one of these beautiful, earth-friendly fibres and Go Green with your knitting!