We’ve re-stocked all of our Lantern Moon needles, baskets, and buttons this week. We’re really excited about the new 12″ Rosewood Straights – an absolute dream to knit with! In addition to the 12″ straights, we also have 14″ Rosewood Straights, 7″ Rosewood Double Points, and 5″ Rosewood Sox Stix.

Lantern Moon baskets are great for stashing yarn  and “on-the-go” projects. The Twisted Seagrass baskets are always popular as they can close completely with the drawstring closure. Another popular product is the extremely versatile rice basket that is pictured below. Use it to display, carry, and store all of your knitting goodies!

Most of the Lantern Moon products are hand made in Vietnam. These handcrafting skills such as woodcarving, basket weaving, and silk weaving are traditional techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. In addition to providing women and their families with a steady income and a sense of self-reliance, this company inspires globally conscious living.

The baskets are always the first to go, so come check them out in both stores!

And just a side note that we’re in the process of upgrading our system to help serve you better. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few glitches with some of our emails coming through. If you haven’t heard a response to an email that you’ve sent in the past 24 hours, please call us with your enquiry and we’d be happy to help! This problem should be fixed by tomorrow morning – so please just bear with us…

Anyone who knits and has seen the movie, The Big Lebowski, must have been impressed by the beautiful sweater worn by Jeff Bridges.   If you have yearned to make that sweater since then but couldn’t figure out the pattern, your wish has come true.  After much consternation,  Andrea managed to design The Dude pattern which is available for free on her blog.

This sweater can be knit using Naturegarn which we currently have on sale at $1.99 a ball.  You will need 24 balls of the main colour and 7 or 8 balls of the accent colour.  Do the math and you have a beautiful sweater for an unbelievable price of about $75.00.

Thank you Andrea for your great pattern.

Don’t miss out on this beautiful book full of fantastic patterns for fall and winter in earthy autumn tones.

Other new books  include;

Design It, Knit It by Debbie Bliss along with new yarn and colours
Sensual Knits by Yahara Ferreira
Luxe Knits by Laura Zukaite
Knitting in Tuscay by Nicky Epstein…..and many others.

We have also received some new Debbie Bliss, Rialto DK; as well as some beautiful colours of Noro; Malabrigo and Mirasol.

We are receiving shipments daily so come on in and see what’s new!

Come meet Jan, the new co-owner of Urban Yarns,  this coming Wednesday, September 23rd at our Point Grey location and the following Wednesday, September 30th at our Edgemont location, and receive $10 off any purchase over $50.00.  There are lots of new yarns, books and patterns to choose from for your Fall projects.  We’ll also have some nibblies to enjoy while you browse. Jan is really looking forward to meeting everyone!

For a whole new meaning to the term stag, here’s a quick and simple button scarf project that Alexa dreamed up on her travels across Canada.  She was inspired by the wildlife and wanted to reflect the great Canadian moose in her design, although the only moose she actually saw was in the Manitoba museum.  For this novel pattern, modeled here by Jessica from our Edgemont Village store, she used 2 skeins of Spud and Chloe in an earthy tone called flannel, however, there are lots of other colours you can choose to create your own signature scarf. 

Come pick up a copy of her pattern and some Spud and Chloe and this uniquely Canadian scarf will be finished in no time flat.

Looking for one to two skein patterns that make great gifts?  If so, this  book by Leigh Radford will be a keeper for your library.  The patterns are unique, well written and easy to adapt to various yarns.  Not only that, you can create a project with luxurious yarn guilt free!

This unique book by Judy Summer introduces a whole new world of sock knitting.  Included are 30 patterns featuring Japanese stitches in a wide range of designs from short to long, fine to bulky, and simple to complex.  For all you sock knitters out there, this is a must see.

Vintage lovers take note.  This book by Kristen Rengren is spectacular.  She has researched and collected more than 40 heirloom patterns from the 1920’s to the 1950’s to share.  She has also included interesting background information on the history of each pattern.  And, the babies featured are absolutely adorable. 

Other books we just received are:

Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor
The Knitchicks’ Guide to Sweaters by Marcelle Karp and Pauline Wall
Knitting Weekend by Melanie Falick
Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Knitting New Mittens & Gloves by Robin Melanson
Alterknits Felts by Leigh Radford and…
Greetings from Knit Cafe by Suzan Mischer.  Check out the Lacy Skirt Alexa made from this book.  Super comfortable and oh, so feminine. 

Cleo (pictured on the right) had a friend visit her the other day. Melanie brought Frieda (pictured on the left) over to play in the garden. Cleo and Frieda wore matching hoodies, but why not play around and make a whole wardrobe for your cute crocodile friends! Take a look at the pattern here, pick up a few colours of Cascade 220, and you’ll have one of these cuties knit up in no time!

Chilly was also playing outside. Anina knit him on an extremely cold June day… hence the name! Check out Anina’s ravelry page for more info on this darling dino. She used Noro Kureyon, but we’ve got lots of machine washable options as well.

Along with this great Prehistoric Pals pattern, we also have the Safari Friends pattern from Knitting At Knoon. Your kids are sure to love these!

For you iPhone and iTouch users, did you know that there are specialized applications available for download to help you with your projects?  Some are free and others cost only a few dollars.  We counted at least 14 Apps that can do everything from tracking your completed rows to maintaining an inventory of your needles, crochet hooks, yarn stash, and swatches.  Just search in the App Store using the word “knit” for a listing of available applications.

Have you seen the new Knitty?

We just love this new issue with so many great designs. Mi Escuelita kids cardigan is a perfect “back-to-school” project for the fall. Try this one out in the Gems Sport Weight or the Mission Falls 136 Merino for a great washable cardi for the kids!

And don’t forget that tonight we’re having our big Fall Stitch ‘N Bitch kick off. Join us tonight (sept 11) from 7-9pm at out Point Grey location for a glass of wine and some nibbles. See you there!

To all of you “Louet lovers” out there, our  special this week is Gems Bulky at 20% off. We’re also throwing in Gems Fingering (colour: kelp, 1912). Gems Bulky is a 100% washable merino wool knit on a 6mm needle. We have eight beautiful colours to chose from!

These yarns will only be on sale for the next two weeks, so  stop by or call us to make sure you don’t miss out!

And another piece of exciting news… Jared Flood’s book will soon be on Urban Yarns shelves! Made in Brooklyn looks like a beautifully put together book with thirteen designs for men and women. From sweaters, to accessories, to lace… we know this book will be a sure hit with everyone!

Please email or call if would like to reserve a copy, and check back for more details when it arrives!

I would like to formally introduce my wonderful new partner at Urban Yarns, Jan Leard. An adventurous soul by nature (see lovely photo), Jan is also one of those rare beings…a born and raised Vancouverite!

Jan has been a good friend of both mine and Kathleen’s for many years. A true craft genius with knitting and quilting being 2 of her true passions. When not crafting or enjoying time with her family, Jan is an avid gardener, cyclist, crazy mountain biker (one of my cycling ladies…) and minder of a menagerie of pets.

To welcome Jan, and kick off our Fall ‘09 Stitch N’ Bitch season we invite you join us this Friday September 11th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at our West 10th location. If you haven’t met Jan yet, we hope you’ll come introduce yourselves and have a glass of wine to officially celebrate her arrival.

Jan steps into Leslie’s shoes as Leslie departs to enjoy well deserved, endless hours of knitting at her leisure. After all the systems were set up and endless hours of fine tuning that she has contributed to our success over the years, we wish her the very best with all her future endeavors.

Leslie’s latest project is currently on display in the window of the West 10th store and is creating quite the buzz. We hope Leslie continues to share her gorgeous projects with us and she promises to stop by from time to time to replenish her stash.

Here’s to a wonderful season at Urban Yarns and a great start for Jan.