Archive for March, 2009

FO

Friday, March 27th, 2009

You know what it’s like when you convince yourself you can tackle a new project that’s maybe a bit harder than anything you’ve done before?  You decide you need a new challenge, psych yourself up and pull out your wallet.  That’s exactly what happened with our online sales website project and the challenging part definitely did not disappoint.  We feel like we’ve summitted Mt. Everest…

We’re pleased to finally announce that stage one of the UY online sales website is an FO.  So you can now go online whenever you choose to purchase your yarn, books, patterns and needles.  Or simply flip through the catalogue to see what’s new

The site is definitely a work in progress.  We plan to embellish the project as time and money allow.  We’ll be adding lots more products every week and additional bells and whistles are on our wish list.

If you’re strictly a ‘bricks and mortar’ type shopper who loves to touch and feel the yarn, try using the site as a reference tool.  Check out our complete specials list.  Or have a look at the latest products.  Flip through the pattern list and when you find one you like, check out the colours and specs for the yarn used in the pattern. 

If you’re an online shopper, you’re probably wondering about some or all of the following:

  • Stock counts are not displayed on the site because our online stock is shared with our Point Grey store.  We intend to be well-stocked in all products on the site, as much as possible.  We hope to be able to immediately fill your orders in most cases.  And if we can’t fill your entire order right away, you’ll quickly receive an email outlining  your options.   We’ll never charge your credit card or paypal account until your order has been shipped.
  • Shipping rates for Canadian and US customers are displayed on the site right here.  We wish the rates were lower but sadly we can’t control Canada Post’s charges.  We’ve averaged costs and in many cases, especially with larger shipments, our shipping rates will be less than Canada Post’s actual charge.
  • We ship orders every day between Monday and Saturday.  If your order is received before 1:00 p.m., we will try our best to ship and reply to your order that day.  If your order is received after 1:00 p.m., we’ll ship and reply to your order either that day or the following day.  We’ll let you know if all items are in stock and if not, provide alternatives and/or an estimate on when we expect to receive them.
  • Orders outside Canada and the US can’t be made online.  International orders should be sent to us by email to rebecca@urbanyarns.ca or by fax to 604-228-1133.  We will charge the actual Canada Post shipping cost to that address.
  • US and International orders are not subject to Canadian taxes.  Total purchases by Canadians are subject to 5% GST.  BC residents also pay PST on items that are not yarn, patterns and pattern books.  Maritime residents also pay Maritimes Sales Tax on all items that are not books.
  • Our online payment processor is Paypal.  If you don’t have a paypal account, you can very quickly register with paypal as part of our checkout procedure.  Payment may then be made by Visa, MC, AmEx or by transfer from your paypal account.
  • The first time you place an order, you’ll need to complete a brief online registration form.  The information you provide will be kept in strict confidence and will not be shared with any other organization.
  • Questions?  We’d be happy to answer them.  Just phone us at 604-228-1122 or email rebecca@urbanyarns.ca.

As an incentive to try out our new online store, we’re offering a 10% discount on all products, including specials, ordered online through to April 30.  Our online system can’t yet calculate discounts, so you’ll receive the discount in the form of a Gift Certificate for use with future purchases at our Point Grey or Edgemont store or with future phone or email orders.  Have fun shopping online!

And one last thing before signing off for the weekend, click here to read the Yarn Harlot’s latest laugh out loud blog post.  Too funny…

Angelic

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

This week we’ve received a bunch of stunning skeins from Fleece Artist.   A heavenly combo of Angel Hair and Merino 2/6 in beautiful hand-dyed colourways:

fa-special-005

Angel Hair is a delicate strand of subtle kid mohair fuzziness, made strong by the nylon content.  Merino 2/6 is a soft, tightly plied merino. Knit with a strand of each held together for a beautiful effect.  Or knit a pair of socks with Merino 2/6 and use the Angel Hair to liven up another project.  The possibilities are endless!

Best of all, Fleece Artist gave us a special price on this yarn so we’re passing the discount on to you as our weekly special at 30% off the regular price.  Look  here for more details.  And yes, you may now order online!  Go shopping at midnight if you’d like…

If you’re a sock knitter, you’ll want to check out the three new Online sock yarns we received this week:  Emotion, Harlekin and Relax.  Online sock yarns are always very popular with their vibrant colours, intriguing patterns and great price.

Ana Paula’s Masterpiece

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Ana Paula lives in Rio.  She occasionally travels to Vancouver and on a recent visit she discovered our Edgemont store.  We’ll let Ana Paula tell the story:

…in march of 2007  i was visiting vancouver…when i found your amazing store! all those yarns with amazing fibers, colors, the cool accessories…wow! so i had my first knitting class at the nort van store and, since then, i never stop! at this last summer i had classes with sivia harding and my “knitting mind”opened again with lace and beads!!! it was “love at the first site”!!!

kathleen is always helping me with my crazy shopping! (she’s the best!!!). even when i’m in brazil, she find a way to send me products!      (NB: Kathleen is our uber-friendly store manager who has developed a huge fan club with members all around the world!  She’s often heard chatting on the phone with one of her fans, helping to choose the perfect colour and project.)

So last summer Ana Paula chose some gorgeous Malabrigo Lace and tackled Sivia Harding’s Norwegian Woods shawl design.  She carefully followed Sivia’s instructions and eight months later, voila:

norwegian-woods-shawl-1

norwegian-woods-shawl-2

Stunning!

Back to Ana Paula:

thank’s to you i’ve finished the norwegian woods shawl from sivia!!! wow…took me 8 months…ops…but i’m so happy with the result! lace and beads are such a awesome combination and sivia’s patterns is beautiful….

i’ve attached some pics to show you my “master piece”!!!

our weather in rio it’s now like 35 celsius…(our condolences…?) so you can have an idea about how i “melted”during the pictures!!!

thank you very much for everything!

take care

ana paula

We love receiving happy notes with inspiring stories and photos of beautiful finished projects. Congratulations Ana Paula, your shawl is gorgeous!  We hope you’ll visit again this year.

Knitterly Events

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Looking for something to do this weekend?  You might want to drive out to Abbotsford for Fibres West where all sorts of knitterly things will be happening…

Or if you’re interested in the history of knitting, Canadian-style, you should plan on attending Tom Graff’s Mary Maxim lecture on Sunday, March 29, 2:00 p.m. at Hycroft.  Of course Mary Maxim sweaters were some of the most popular hand-knit garments in the 50’s and 60’s, decorated with Canadian icons like Canada geese, hockey players, leaping salmon and more.  You’re even invited to bring your own kitschy sweaters and share your Mary Maxim stories.  Should be interesting!

Almost forgot our special this week, it’s Araucania Quellon at 40% off the regular price.  This is a beautiful hand-painted chenille type yarn that comes in some gorgeous, vibrant colourways.  We’ve also culled from our bookshelves several titles to add to our sale bins.  We need room on our shelves for all the new spring books that have been arriving lately.

At last count this week we’d unpacked seventeen ginormous boxes in Point Grey.  And several more  in Edgemont.  Loads of new stuff is going out on the shelves.  Best of the bunch might be Nova Naturgarn, a chunky lopi-style yarn with a fantastic range of colours.  Great for felting, with 55 metres per 50 gram ball and only $4.95.

New for Spring

Friday, March 13th, 2009

Now that we’ve counted our yarn we’re back to unpacking boxes.  Tons of boxes…  There are loads of lovely new things going out on our shelves this week.

Louisa Harding has two beautiful new books.  First up is Deco:

louisa-harding-deco

A collection of twenty projects inspired by Art Deco design.

Next is Nouveau:

lh-nouveau

With nineteen projects inspired by Art Nouveau design.

Be sure to check out Noro Flowers by Jenny Watson: 

noro-flowers

There are nineteen fresh and feminine designs for various Noro yarns including Taiyo (we have some fab new colours), Silk Garden Sock, Silk Garden Lite, Kureyon Sock and the new spring yarn, Chirimen:

chirimen

A lovely DK weight blend of wool, silk and cotton.  Use Chirimen to knit this pretty sweater from Noro Flowers:

chirimen-sweater

We’ve been eagerly awaiting Jane Ellison’s latest, Mirasol 5 and it’s finally arrived:

mirasol-book-5

With some great designs for the new Mirasol yarn, Nuna.  Mens’ sweater designs can be elusive but this book has several fabulous ideas for your favourite guy.

Season’s Change is Aslan Trends’ new design collection:

seasons-change-2

And we have Aslan Trends’ pretty new spring yarn, Glacier Del Cielo:

glacier

A lovely DK weight, pure combed cotton.

Last but definitely not least is the new Debbie Bliss collection, Eco Fair Trade:

db-eco

With loads of fantastic designs for her new aran weight Eco yarn.  It’s 100% organic cotton with a sophisticated colour palette.  Use Eco to knit this simple raglan sleeved top for summer.

And one final note, be sure to check out the brightly coloured GoKnit Pouches that arrived in our stores awhile ago.  Read Clara Parkes’ recent review of these innovative bags right here.  Made with a durable nylon ripstop fabric, they have an interior loop to prevent tangling and are super cute to boot.

Enjoy the beautiful spring sunshine while it lasts!

Double Als

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

This week it’s a Double Al special, Elsebeth Lavold’s Classic Al and Chunky Al are on sale at 30% off the regular price.  Again, we’ve linked to our new website but please don’t try to order online – there are still a couple of bugs in the system.  The pest control should be complete very soon…

Both Als are soft alpaca/wool blends with a beautiful hand and a vibrant colour range.  Classic is an 18 stitch aran weight and Chunky is a bulkier 14 stitch weight.  Try knitting the jaunty Mystery Beret with two balls of Classic Al. 

Sadly these beautiful yarns are discontinued and we can’t get more.  So once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.

Spring Knitty

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Check it out!

Closed March 11

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Just a quick note to let you know that we’ll be closed in Point Grey on Wednesday, March 11, to count our inventory.  Probably our least favourite day of the year but it’s a job that must be done…

Cherry Tree Hill

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Stunning hand-painted and hand-dyed yarns from the green mountains of Vermont:

cherrytreehill1

Check out their fabulous Supersock DK, Select Supersock and Sockittome yarns.  And be sure to have a look at the beautiful Cherry Hill Tree leaflet designs in our pattern binders.

We also have several selections from the Indie Dyers line, yarns dyed by indie dyers from all over the world and distributed by Cherry Tree Hill.  These are uniquely dyed, one of a kind sock yarns like Fire Lizard’s Joy, Dragonfly Fibers Sea Sock, and 2D14 Duo DK.  

Grab a skein of Indie Dyed together with this new book:

knitting-socks-with-handpaints 

A perfect treat for yourself or a special gift for a friend!

Weekly Special

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

It’s a Double Noro special this week with both Silver Thaw and Transitions priced at 30% off the regular price.  We’ve linked to our new website but please don’t try to order online quite yet – the site should be ready in just a few days.  In the meantime, feel free to order by phone, email or best of all, drop by for a visit.

Silver Thaw is a beautiful aran-weight mix of wool, angora and nylon.   A great combination of warmth, softness and strength in the trademark Noro colourways.

Transitions is a gorgeous chunky weight mix of seven different fibres.  Have a look at the glowing description of Transitions in the Knitters Review.  Nuff said.

We have several excellent Noro pattern books with patterns for both Silver Thaw and Transitions.  There are also loads of inspiring ideas on Ravelry

And we have many more Noro yarns in our stores like Blossom, Cashmere Island, Kureyon, Niji, Silk Garden and Taiyo.  They’re all such fun to knit with, the intriguing colour changes provide constant inspiration.  But be warned, these yarns can be addictive…