Archive for June, 2009

Canadian, eh?

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

canada-mitts1

Alexa recently designed and knit these cool Maple Leaf Mittens.  The pattern and more information are right here.

Still time to knit them for Canada Day…

Take me to your Leader

Friday, June 26th, 2009

aliens

Grab a couple of skeins of Cascade 220 and knit these adorable aliens. A compact and portable summer project…

Spud and Chloe

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

spud-chloe

A brand new line from the makers of Blue Sky Alpacas.  With three superwash yarns and loads of fantastic designs.  Hook some tiny flowers with S & C Fine.  Or knit the cutest cupcake pincushion with S & C Sweater.  It should all arrive next week – put your name on our list if you’d like a call when we receive the boxes…

Our special this week is Rowan Kid Classic at 40% off.  An aran weight yarn that’s a soft and sensuous blend of lambswool and kid mohair, with a touch of nylon for strength.  Use Kid Classic to knit Shrug This, by Toni Kasper Weiner.  It’s a great shrug design that’s worked from the neck down so no sewing’s required.  You could whip this up in no time…

Canada Day

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

canadian-flag

Be patriotic and knit or crochet a flag for Canada Day, eh?

We’ll be open on July 1 in Point Grey from noon to 5:30 p.m. but closed in Edgemont.

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Tidbits

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

It’s a mixed bag of news today…

We’ve re-stocked the popular Knit Kits in both white and black.  And better yet the price has dropped to $24.95.  The Loonie has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past year which has played havoc with our pricing.  It’s regained some of it’s strength lately which should result in some price reductions.  Yay!

Point Grey Knit Nights will continue to run indefinitely.  Drop by any Wednesday evening from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. and join us for some knitting or hooking.  Pick up tips and inspiration from other local crafters.  There’s no need to register and there’s no charge.

Our special this week is Rowan Classic Baby Alpaca DK at 40% off.  This is a luxurious pure alpaca dk weight yarn that comes in lovely pastel shades and earth tones.  There are scads of dk weight designs that would work for this yarn and we’d be happy to help you find the perfect pattern.  Or grab a ball of Baby Alpaca together with a ball of Kidsilk Spray and knit a pair of Mrs. Beetons.  They’re beautiful Victorian styled wristwarmers with soft ruffles that look charming under a jacket sleeve.

If you have a little girl to knit for, take a look at this cute summer tee design using Rowan Calmer, one of our recent specials.  Check out all of our current Specials right here.

Our ‘Hundreds of Last Balls’ event is still on and we’re making good use of the black Sharpie today – prices are dropping.  Here’s the latest listDazzle, New Smoking and Tessa, among others, have dropped from $3.99 to $3.49.  Even better, Naturgarn has dropped from $2.99 to $2.49 and what’s left of R2 Fuzzi Felt is now $1.49 per ball!  Bargains galore…

Petite Purls

Monday, June 15th, 2009

petite-purls

A new online knitting mag with adorable free patterns for little tykes.  If you’re knitting for babies or children these days, you should have a look

Talent Among Us

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

We’re continually amazed at the incredible UY team of staffers.  Both stores are bursting with inspiring projects created by these clever crafters. 

Last week we were blown away by Valerie’s latest project.  (Valerie is a supremely talented knitter, crocheter and quilter who cheerfully welcomes fellow crafters to our Edgemont store two days a week.)  She recently entered an international quilting design contest sponsored by Linda Renshall Design Matters.  Each entrant received two fat quarters of hand-dyed fabric, two skeins of hand-dyed thread and two reels of coordinating rayon machine thread.  Then it was time to get creative!  Look what Valerie produced:

 valeries-bag

This beautiful bag is even more stunning in person. 

The competition was incredibly tough.  Linda Renshaw writes: “The task of selecting our favourite entry was near impossible with our top choice changing several times.  We spent a long time carefully looking at each entry to whittle it down to the top few.  Picking just one proved too much and so we have also awarded two runners-up prizes.” And one of the runners-up prizes was awarded to Valerie!  You can peruse all of the top entries right here. Congrats Valerie, it’s nice to see you receive formal recognition of your remarkable talent.

Be sure to take advantage of the expertise and creativity of our talented staff when you drop by one of our stores.  While writing this post, we received the following amusing and well-timed email from Donna, reporting on her happy experiences in our Edgemont store:

“”Every time I am in the store Jessica is there and she is incredibly helpful.  I am so impressed with her ability to inform, educate, enthuse and undo my mistakes with my knitting.  I am a brand new knitter (I have taken the first two beginner classes with Sandra (another star!) and I know pretty much nothing about knitting.

Without a cheerleader such as Jessica, I would have thrown down the wool I had bought, burned the pattern and just forgot the whole knitting thing entirely.  Instead, Jessica has offered help and has been so enthusiastic about the lovely wool and patterns in your store that I have spent enough money (2 new books, enough wool for 4 new projects and scads of supplies) to seriously worry my husband.  Although, he went to the store and got me a gift certificate which was sold by Jessica!  I think he is fishing for an Aran sweater.

Sandra is my second lifeline.  I was so confused a few weeks ago and incredibly annoyed with my husband and son for interrupting me (a particularly brutal Star Wars fight between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker) during a knitted lace sequence that if it was not for Sandra’s help, I would have given up!  She was so supportive and easy to approach and again I left the lesson enthusiastic about knitting!  Even with the frustration of learning something new and very outside of my abilities, she has been very informative and is constantly pushing the whole group to try harder and more complex things.  When the techniques work, the euphoria is visible on each new knitters face!

The other lady who works there is also lovely (I cannot remember her name) and has dropped a few skeins to help me with my knitting questions as well!

All and all a great team!”

Why thanks Donna, we’re happy to hear you’re enjoying Urban Yarns and most of all that you’re so enthusiastic about your new craft!  Be sure to send us photos of your finished projects, we’d love to see what you’ve been knitting…

Weekly Special

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

This week it’s Rowan 4 ply soft at 40% off the regular price.  This is a classic soft plied merino yarn that knits up beautifully. If you’re knitting socks these days, use 4 ply soft for  Hedera or Queen of Cups, two popular sock designs from past issues of Knitty.  And be sure to have a look at all the great designs in the new Summer Knitty.

We still have Hundreds of Balls on sale at $3.99, $2.99 and $1.99 in both stores.  We also have pattern books on sale at $3.99 and hundreds of leaflet patterns at half-price, $1.00 and $0.50.  These include designs by Alchemy, Blue Sky Alpacas, Fiber Trends, Sirdar and many more.  We have to make room for all the great new items that will soon arrive for Fall.  Like this cute new book by Debbie Bliss:

 mustache-kids

We’re also looking forward to flipping through Jenny Watson’s new Noro Mini Knits Two that should arrive any day has now arrived:

 miniknits-2

Put your name on our list if you’d like a call when something specific arrives.  Like Rowan Magazine 46, the Debbie Bliss Fall Magazine or whatever else you’re going to have to have…

Hundreds of Balls

Friday, June 5th, 2009

At Urban Yarns there’s always something new!  We find it hard to resist buying all the lovely new things we find here and there.  Like the new Dream in Colour Starry that arrived this week:

 starry-0012

We waited almost five months for this one and it was definitely worth the wait.  Starry is a sockweight superwash merino that’s spun through with 2% silver fibers for a subtle bit of glam sparkle.  Very lovely…

But I digress.  In order to keep buying all this new stuff we have to clear out the old stuff to make some room.  As you can imagine, after five years of buying yarn for our stores, we’ve accumulated tons of balls and skeins that are at the ‘end of the line’.  Twenty balls of this, thirty balls of that – you get the idea.  We have loads of tidbits that we’d like to send away to a happy new home.  It’s all great yarn.  We loved it when we bought it and we’re still very fond of it all.  But it’s seriously time to make some room…

So this week’s special is ‘Hundreds of Last Balls’ at grab-it-and-go prices.  We’ve made it very easy for you.  Prices are $3.99, $2.99 or $1.99 per ball or skein.  These are great yarns that you’ll likely never see again, discounted from 40% – 85% off the regular price!

Check out Elsebeth Lavold Classic Al and Silky Tweed, the glittery Dazzle and New Smoking, Online Tessa, Tessa Colour and Tessa Tweed, all at $3.99 per ball.  We have several Rowan yarns at $3.99 like All Seasons Cotton, Big Wool Fusion, Handknit Cotton, Plaid, Ribbon Twist and Soft Baby.   Even better, Diamond Luxury Alpaca Cashmere and Naturgarn are just $2.99 per ball.  And last but not least is R2 Fuzzi Felt at $1.99 – that’s 85% off the original price!

The entire list is right here.  There are many hundreds of balls in both stores but quantities are limited.  We suggest you move quickly if there’s something you can’t live without!

A New Twist

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Be sure to check out the Summer 2009 issue of the Twist Collective, with loads of fabulous designs.

If you’re liking lace these days, have a look at local designer Sivia Harding’s latest, Aphrodite, knit in Malabrigo Lace.  And don’t miss Artichaut by Anne Hanson.  Both are gorgeous designs.  We have lots more of Sivia’s leaflet patterns in our stores.

Local designer Holli Yeoh also has a cute design in this issue.  It’s Dizzy, a great kid’s sweater. 

Mr. Boy is a perfect top-down sweater for men or boys.  We have several DK weight yarns that would be great for this one. 

Uhura is a lovely little summertime top to wear on it’s own or slip over a T. 

And be sure to have a look at Niles and Cleo for a chuckle.  A pair of acid green crocodiles wearing little hoodies, they’re too funny!  We have loads of Cascade 220 if you want to give these a try….