Archive for January, 2009

More New Books

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

We’ve unpacked some great new titles this week.  Check ‘em out:

knitting-socks-with-handpainted-yarns 

We have tons of handpainted sock yarn to go with the book.

knits-for-dogs-and-cats

Knit some cute new items for your favourite pooch or feline. This book was recommended by one of our most prolific knitters of togs for dogs…

crochet-dudes-designs-for-guys

The well-known Crochet Dude has published his own book.  A refreshing new collection of crochet projects for guys.

And some late-breaking news, we’ve just unpacked all the new Spring Rowan and Rowan Classic books and yarn.  Hard to choose from all the stunning options…  Details will follow sometime soon.

Our weekly special is Rowan Bamboo Tape, at 40% off the regular price.  A beautfiul yarn with a gorgeous array of colours.  Be sure to check out the Bamboo Tape Collection with loads of stunning designs for this yarn.

Still plenty of time for cozy winter projects or if you’re in the mood, pick up something fresh and new for Spring!

Sublime Adults

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

We have five more new Sublime books for children and adults, in addition to the two baby books we mentioned yesterday…

This one’s the Second Cashmere Merino Silk DK book 619:

619

With ten designs for men, women and girls.  The beauty of these designs is all in the exquisite shaping and quietly stunning colours.  The extraordinary softness of the yarn is emphasized with beautiful stitch details.  There are romantic and pretty designs for women and girls and simple shapes and textures, with elegant touches of simple cabling, for men. 

The Fourth Sublime Aran Hand Knit book 620 looks like this:

 620

With nine designs for men, women, girls and boys.  This book is all about luxuriously easy knits – effortlessly simple pieces for stylish summer layering.  There’s subtle modern styling for men and boys and gorgeously shaped knits for women and girls.  The designs are easy to make with knit and purl textures, ribs and the simplest cables. 

The Second Sublime Merino DK book 621 is inspired by chic nautical style:

621

With nine designs for men, women, girls and boys.  There are dashingly coloured stripes for women, pretty little cardis for girls and easy, casual designs for men and boys.  This book is full of fabulously flattering, modern shapes and easy to wear styles that are also easy to knit.

The Second Simply Sublime Organic Cotton DK book 622 has a quality of understated elegance:

622

There are fourteen designs for men, women, girls and boys.  Organic cotton is entirely natural and untreated – it’s been grown organically without the use of pesticides and gently dyed using environmentally friendly products.  These designs are beautiful, relaxed shapes combining exquisitely subtle shades and interesting textures.  The designs use simple stitches and subtle design twists for a flatteringly stylish look.

Last but not least is the Second Luxuriously Exotic Soya Cotton Hand Knit book 623:

 623

With fifteen exquisite designs for girls, boys, men and women.  Soya Cotton DK is a unique, natural yarn with a luxurious drape and an extraordinary softness.  It creates beautifully defined stitch detail and an incredibly smooth fabric.  This is a glamorous collection of simple fashion shapes for women, debonair styles for men and perfect little cover-ups for girls and boys.

I’ve just flipped through all five of these books and I can honestly say there are several garments I’d like to knit in each one.  They’re very versatile, with designs for the whole family.  You really can’t go wrong with any of them!

Sublime Babies

Monday, January 26th, 2009

We have two cute new Sublime Baby Books. 

The Fourth Little Sublime Hand Knit book 617:

 617

With twenty-one designs for babies to 3 years of age using Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK.  This yarn has been out on our shelves for awhile, it’s an exquisite Italian yarn, made from the highest quality natural fibres.  This delicate, soft and smooth yarn is also machine washable so it’s perfect for babies.  The designs include pretty cardis for baby girls and sporty nautical knits for baby boys.

And the First Little Sublime Baby Cotton Kapok book 618:

618

This one has fourteen designs for babies to three years of age, using the new Sublime yarn, Baby Cotton Kapok DK.  This yarn is a gorgeously soft mix of cotton and kapok.  Kapok is said to have a natural, thermo-regulating quality that will help keep babies cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  It’s lighter than cotton and feels incredibly soft to the touch.  There’s a beautiful colour palette and the designs are sweet as can be. 

We have a hard time saying no to any Sublime books, the designs are fabulous and the yarns are fantastic.  There are several more new Sublime books on our shelves, details tomorrow…

Tons of New Stuff

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Here’s a random list of some of the new products we’ve pulled out of boxes and suitcases this week…

We picked up some stunning new shawl kits in San Diego.  Art Yarns and Be Sweet have combined three of their beautiful yarns in one kit.  Gorgeous.

We also came home with some FiberSpheres:

spheresjpt

A great new tool that will hold and protect your yarn. The easily opening sphere allows yarns to be changed without cutting. And the smooth opening won’t snag or tangle strands of yarn. An excellent new concept!

We have the Namaste Mini Cozies:

minicozyjpg

A perfect little storage spot for your DP’s and crochet hooks.

And we unpacked stacks of new pattern books and yarn this week, including three new Sirdar pattern books.

‘Out of the Blue’ has thirteen casual designs for women, girls, men and boys in Denim Ultra, Chunky, Aran and Denim DK.  This book is bursting with easy knits and simple textures through to more intricate cables – designs to inspire every level of knitter.  And best of all, we currently have selected colours of all these yarns on sale at 40% off. 

‘Seaside Babes’ is a great new book for Baby Bamboo DK:

seaside

With fourteen designs for babies, girls and boys to 7 years of age.  There are cute lacy cover-ups for girls and several jaunty nautical styles for boys.  And we have several sunny new colours of Baby Bamboo like tangerine, peach and seaside blue. 

Be sure to check out ‘The Juicy Book’ with fourteen designs for women, men, girls and boys using Sirdar’s new Juicy yarn:

juicy

This one’s loaded with fresh, cool designs for spring and summer.  Juicy is a beautiful, silky blend of 80% bamboo and 20% cotton, in a mouth watering palette of deliciously fruity, summer colours like watermelon, papaya, citrus and coconut white.

We also unpacked some fabulous new Sublime yarns and books.  Details will follow soon….

Almost forgot our weekly special, it’s Online Rush at 40% off the regular price.  This one will knit up very quickly on 9mm needles.  A very soft, versatile yarn.

We’re so happy to see the gloomy fog disappear this morning. If you’re in Vancouver, enjoy the sun while it lasts…

California Dreaming

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Sadly we can only dream about the pool, the mojitos and the wonderful warmth of the sun we left behind. For the first couple of days Anina and I lay by the pool, soaking up the sun like lizards, while Kathleen and Becky energetically toured around town. On Saturday we dragged ourselves out of the sun and into the cave convention centre to check out the trade show. We blasted through the aisles for a full day and bought many, many lovely new things.

We stopped for a visit with Louisa Harding:

urban-yarns-jan-09-006

Another very sweet member of the Designer Royal Family. We begged her to come visit and she might make it later this year. Stay tuned for details….

We caught up with Jane Ellison and flipped through her fabulous new book, Mirasol 5, with several cool designs for men. Coming soon….

The Stitch Diva’s booth was one of our favourites:

stitchdiva1

Crammed full of inspiring items… We ordered loads of new patterns. We loved the Stashbuster Blanket:

urban-yarns-jan-09-008

Jennifer (aka the Stitch Diva) showed us the Tunisian Crochet technique used for this project. We ordered the hooks and patterns and we’ll offer a stashbusting workshop sometime soon.

There were clever displays:

urban-yarns-jan-09-002

And a fantastic new line of pewter pins, buttons and buckles. We loved this idea:

urban-yarns-jan-09-004

Accessorize your next hat with a pewter buckle!

The Knit Kit was a popular new item. It’s a compact device that’s loaded up with a tape measure, stitch counter, thread cutter, scissors, crochet hook, stitch holders and tip protectors. A very useful item to throw into your project bags.  They should arrive in a couple of weeks.

Best of all, we slipped a few new things into our suitcases and brought them home with us. Details tomorrow…

Inspiring

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009


A very hopeful and inspiring day, don’t you think?

Rowan Magazine 45

Monday, January 19th, 2009

They arrived in Point Grey today and will be in Edgemont by Friday. As usual there are many beautiful designs.

Despite the frost and fog, Spring must be on it’s way….

California Bound

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

We’re off to San Diego today for the TNNA show, in search of new treasures for Spring and Summer. The weather forecast is for highs of 24 degrees through the weekend so we have big smiles on our faces. The pool awaits us… We’ll post photos next week.

Don’t forget about our Kate Jacobs event next Thursday evening, January 22 from 7 – 9 p.m. Kate will give a talk and read from her new book, Knit Two.

Kate’s books have just arrived in Point Grey and will soon be in Edgemont so you can pick up a copy any time. Or phone and reserve a book if you plan on attending the event. Space is limited so if you’d like to join us, be sure to register sometime soon!

Rowan Spring Collection

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Can’t wait to see what Rowan has conjured up for Spring? Then drop by our Point Grey store and have a look at the Design Collection brochure and yarn shade cards. The brochure has photos of every design from Magazine 45 and the new Rowan and Rowan Classic books. Feel free to pre-order any books or yarn you can’t live without.
Sadly this info is not yet in Edgemont but we hope it will arrive sometime soon. Trust me, we’ve asked for it many times…

We have a new Rowan book on our shelves, Knitting Goes Large:

With a great selection of twenty different knits for all occasions and all seasons for larger women with varying figure types. Designers include Kim Hargreaves, Martin Storey, Wendy Baker and Jennie Atkinson. There are warm winter jackets, comfortable sweaters, cool summer cardigans and pretty evening cover-ups. The patterns come in six sizes, starting from size 16, so you’ll be sure to find something to suit your figure and your taste, all in classic Rowan yarns.

And our special this week is one of Rowan’s most popular yarns, the lovely Kidsilk Haze at 30% off. There are six beautiful colours on sale:


From the pale shades of ice cream (637) and fondant (630) to the deeper shades of elegance (577), jacob (631), nightly (585) and violetta (633). There are 23 pages of KSH patterns on Ravelry, definitely something for everyone.

Knock yourself out!

New Classes

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

We have some great new classes starting over the next few weeks.

Monday evenings in Point Grey, choose either Beginner Knitting, starting January 19 or Beginner Crochet, starting February 2. Both classes will be taught by Deanna Kruchensky and will run from 7 – 9 p.m. In Edgemont, get help with a current project at our Fix It nights. These single class sessions will be taught by Nicholas Jacques and will run on January 26, February 9 or 23 from 7 – 9 p.m.

We have several options on upcoming Tuesday evenings in Point Grey. A Fingerless Glove class starts tonight from 7 – 9 p.m. Or learn to knit a sock in just one day at Sock Boot Camp. The next SBC is scheduled on January 20 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Or if you’d prefer, learn to knit a pair of Fair Isle Mittens with Alexa Ludeman on February 10 and 17 from 7 – 9 p.m. Tuesday evenings are Knit Nights in Edgemont.

Wednesday nights are also busy lesson nights. Sivia Harding will start a Moebius Madness class tomorrow night in Point Grey from 7 – 9 p.m. In Edgemont we’ve scheduled Sock Boot Camps with Jackie on February 4 or February 25 from 6 – 9 p.m. And Donna LeClair will run a Finishing Class on February 11 and 18 from 7 – 9 p.m.

Sandra Dunkin will start a new Beyond Beginner Knitting class in Point Grey on Thursday, February 12 from 7 – 9 p.m. And if you or someone you know would like to learn to knit, Nicholas Jacques will start a Beginner Knitting class in Edgemont on January 29 from 7 – 9 p.m. After that, progress to the Beyond Beginner Knitting class that will start on March 5.

Get help with your projects on Friday afternoons in Point Grey at Christa’s Painless Projects, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. or Astor Tsang’s Knitting Q & A on Sunday mornings from 11 – 12 noon. Or learn all about yarn substitutions with Astor on the first Sunday of each month from, 10 – 11 a.m.

Check out our entire class schedule for further information about our lessons. Or contact our lesson goddess, Kathleen, by email or phone at 604-228-1122.

And try to drop by for our Knit Nights that run Tuesday evenings in Edgemont, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Wednesday evenings in Point Grey, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Escape your busy life and have fun knitting (or crocheting) with other local knitters (and crocheters). Hope to see you there!