Archive for February, 2010

Luxury Yarns and Trunk Show

Friday, February 26th, 2010

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Bijou Basin, Buffalo Gold, and Qivuik are the newest additions to our collection of luxury fibre lines.

Can you think of a yarn which is as soft as, or even softer than cashmere? Well we’ve got one for you to try… Yak! Yak is an extremely warm, yet lightweight yarn. Bijou Basin sent us three different weights of their luxury yak yarns:

Laceweight – 100% Yak
Lhasa Wilderness – 75% yak / 25% bamboo
Himalayan Trail – 75% yak / 25% merino

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Vogue Knitting chose this next yarn from Buffalo Gold as one of their Holiday 2009 top picks.  Lux is a beautiful yarn made from 45% bison down, 20% mulberry silk, 20% cashmere, and 15% tencel. Tencel is a regenerated cellulose fibre made from dissolved wood pulp. Creamy, silky, and springy are some of the words that they used to describe this yarn.

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Qiviuk is what you’ve all been waiting for! We received this in a variety of colours. The blend that they’ve  put together for this one is 80% merino, 15% qiviuk, and 5% mulberry silk. Qiviuk is the undercoat of a Muscox, an animal native to the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and Greenland.

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The other three yarns that we received from Buffalo Gold are:

Heaven – 100% bison down
Earth Lite – 90% bison down / 10% nylon
Earth – 90% bison down / 10% nylon

We have some great samples from the Trunk Show in the Point Grey store right now! Come and take a look while they are here, and feel these gorgeous luxury yarns all knit up.

And just a quick note that we will not be open tonight for Stitch and Bitch or late night shopping. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you. Our hours over the weekend are as normal (Saturday 10-5:30, and Sunday 12-5)

For all the lace knitters out there…

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Mini Maiden is one of our most popular yarns for shawl and lace knitting. We just received a nice big box, bursting full of this lovely yarn!

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The ten colours that we have for you to chose form are boreal, hemlock, raspberry, woodland, peridot, sangria, nova scotia, midnight, cezanne, and pewter.

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As you can see, this yarn has amazing stitch definition and will look great in either a simple or complex lace pattern.

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Try knitting Evelyn Clark’s Swallowtail shawl with only one skein of Mini Maiden. Or try the Norwegian Woods shawl or scarf by Sivia Harding. Alison has kindly let us borrow her  sample in sangria to keep in the store for a while. Come by and take a look, and feel the softness of this amazing yarn!

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We’ve also got lot’s of Lace knitting books in stock at the moment. Get inspired by taking a look at Victorian Lace Today, Lace Style, and Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls.

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And on special this week, we have the Fleece Artist Harvest Jackets at 25% off! We only have a small selection of these kits, left, so get them before they’re gone!

GCC: Progress Report

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

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The sweater has become all consuming. Although I managed to whip through the back last week the progress since then has been slightly slower going. I had a minor mishap with the sleeve: 1/2 way done before I realized I hadn’t been doing the increases and had to rip back to row 9. Ripping back colourwork is painful. Don’t find this out for yourself though, just take my word for it!

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The other setback has been that chart work is not portable or conversable knitting (I made up that word, let’s have it catch on). While I’m sure there are individuals in the world who can chart and talk and watch hockey all at the same time I am unfortunately not one of them. That being said, I couldn’t just not knit ANYTHING while waiting 3 hours to see the Colbert Report so I had to continue work on a little garter stitch project.

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I’m using more of the lovely Sweetgeorgia yarn, this time it’s Tough Love Sock in the colour Honey Fig. Something about naming yarn after food is intriguing to me. I’m not even sure I love purple on the best of days but I was immediately attracted to this skein. Weird. I think it’s in the name. The pattern is Multnomah and it’s quite nice. It’s a simple pattern to start, just some increases, then it gets into the feather and fan lace at the bottom. I’ll have to pick up something else conversable when I get to that point I think.

To make a Multnomah of your very own you will need:

1 skein Sweetgeorgia Tough Love Sock

3.25mm (US3) needles (I like the addi lace for this project, 24″)

The pattern, which is free here

With that little side track and the setback in the sleeve I have completed the back, almost all of one sleeve, the cuff of the other sleeve. and part of the right front. I think this might be why my Mom calls me the queen of almost. When I have almost finished something it tends to reside in the finished side of my mind. Then, when I have to gift and item or bring it to the shop I realize it’s not REALLY finished. There is still often a little sewing, some buttons to put on, or ends to weave in. Sometimes late at night (almost always). Ah well, such is the life of a knitter! I’m off to watch some curling and rib my heart out!

—Alexa—

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2010 Commerorative Sweater kits

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

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Anina’s  commemorative  2010 sweater is finished and has been proudly placed in the Point Grey store window. This is a traditional Norwegian sweater which has a lot of fun techniques. Anina has been kind enough to offer some of her time to anyone who needs help with this pattern in particular. Please feel free to give us a call and set up a time.

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This gorgeous ski sweater is made from Dalegarn Falk; a 100% machine washable wool with a 24 stitch gauge. We’ve made the sweater into kits which comes with the yarn, a zipper pull, and an official dalegarn 2010 patch. The book is free with  purchase of the adult size kits! This all comes in a really nice  and very useful wicker basket. Unfortunately we can’t sell the books separately as they are the last ones that are available in North America. With that in mind, you might want to get these kits while we still have a few left!

Amanda is modeling the sweater in the two photos above. She said she felt really nice and warm while she was wearing it! Below in the left, is a part of the fair-isle pattern. The red and whilte really seem to pop nicely against the black. On the right hand side is the Dalegarn 2010 commemorative patch.

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A little fun outside in the sun to pass the day away…

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Shibui Knits

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

shibui-005Look at what was in our very first Shibui box!

To the left are the semi-solid colour-ways and below we have three of the fluid colour-ways. Shibui is a great company based in Oregon. Here’s a little bit about them taken from their website:

“We scour the world to find unique, hard-to-find combinations of fiber and texture, and then dye them in an array of rich, flattering tones. Our goal is to provide a texture palette in addition to a colour palette. Our blendable textures with their dyed-to-match colours will spark the imagination of any knitter.”

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We’re so excited to be carrying their yarns and some of their fabulously designed patterns. Remember, this is only the first box to arrive… many more to come!

This Week’s special is Sirdar Peru at 40% off! We have 4 colours to chose from and loads of great patterns to match!.

GCC: A Challenge

Monday, February 15th, 2010

I joined the knitting olympics. I know, I know, it wasn’t enough to challenge Anina to a sweater knitting competition, no. I had to take things one step further. I am so enjoying the wonderful exciting atmosphere of this city and I am awed by the way our athletes are pushing themselves to the limit. That in mind, I decided to accept the challenge posed by the Knitting Olympics.

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What are the knitting olympics you might ask? They are a challenge to all knitters to get their knitting game on. While our athletes are pushing themselves to make personal bests and to land on the podium you are encouraged to challenge yourself to a knitting project.  For the record: I’m not comparing the years of hard work athletes spend training etc. to a 2 week knitting project, that would be silly. For the full details you can check out the Yarnharlot’s post about the Olympics here. She explains all the details.

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I spent yesterday wandering the crowds downtown and this afternoon cheering on our women’s hockey team, but other than that I have been glued to CTV enjoying every televised moment of the games. Of course, I couldn’t let my hands idle so I am plugging away at my own challenge: The Dude.

I spent this summer with some of my cousins in Winnipeg and we thoroughly enjoyed drinking White Russians and watching The Big Lebowski. I came across the pattern on Ravelry a while ago and this 2 week challenge seemed like the perfect time to pick it up. I cast on Friday night while Wayne (no last name required) lit the flame. I have almost finished the back in the first weekend so I am at least somewhat on track. There are, however, some things I should have considered before embarking on this project:

1. 1×1 rib. Not just the  cuffs, not just the bottom ribbing. The WHOLE THING. Seriously.

2. Charts make it slow knitting while watching the games and also lead to a lot of ‘wait, what just happened!?’

3. Aren’t I supposed to be in another sweater competition of sorts?

These are all things that should have probably been considered more seriously before Friday but as it stands I am attempting to finish 2 sweaters by the closing ceremonies. Good times.

I am not, however, the only one at UY who will be embarking on this journey, almost all the gals have cast something on! Here’s the list:

Jan will be working on the Burberry Cowl

Anina will be making Sahara, by Stitch Diva (and a Reindeer sweater)

Amanda will be making Prairie Boots

Kalin will be making the Playtime Hoodie

Sarah will be making the Sea Vines Vest by Fleece Artist

and I will be makeing The Dude (large size with Cascade Eco)

You can follow our progress,  get all project info, or join us through our Ravelry group

PS: The Reindeer sweater is coming along

PPS: doesn’t it look like I’ve accomplished a lot with these detail photos? What a faker, I haven’t even finished the back!

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Moving Mud

Friday, February 12th, 2010

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From the Moving Mud studio, we just received these gorgeous buttons, shawl pins, and stick pins. These pieces of art are hand-made with the inspiration of nature around the Mad River Valley in Vermont. Each button or pin has a unique, “one-of-a-kind” design, and no two pieces are the same. Above are the flat buttons, and below we thought we’d try out some of their round buttons since the different textures on these ones are amazing! Any Moving Mud products are sure to be a great compliment to your own piece of art.

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And just a quick note that we will close at 5:30pm today (Friday) instead of 9pm. Have a great weekend!

Firefly

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

classic-elite-0021Firefly is the newest addition to our Classic Elite collection. This yarn is made from 75% linen, and 25% viscose and is knit on a 3.75mm needle. It has a lustrous sheen and is going to be great for spring and Summer projects!

We also brought in two new books from Classic Elite. The first is Picnic with simple, yet elegant designs. Ballet wraps always look so elegant to me and this one is done in an 18 stitch gauge, so it would knit up fairly fast. Take a look:

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The second book is called Curvy Knits Park Street. This is a great book for fuller figures including four fabulous essentials for your spring closet. My favourite is the drape front cardi. I think it’s such a simple and casual design that can be worn dressed up or down with a pair of jeans, like in the photo below.

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Our Special this week is Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed at 40% off. Remember those cute mitts that Kalin made from Interweave Accessories? This yarn would be perfect for that project!

GCC: Love in the Air

Monday, February 8th, 2010

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Valentines is upon us , whether we like it or not! I generally ignore this holiday except to enjoy the pretty tulips my husband usually remembers to get me. This year I came across a pattern I found both hilarious and intrigueing. I just surfing around Ravelry, minding my own business, when I came across this cute valentinesy pattern for mittens. I figured they would knit up fast and be both funny and kind of functional. I do like to hold hands.

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These mittens are designed for the hand holding couple. Those who like to take walks in the chilly winter/spring air. There are two separate mittens for the non-holding hands and one mitten (somewhat shaped like an anatomical heart, not sure if this is on purpose) for holding hands in. It’s designed with 2 cuffs but one mitten part. Hilarious. I’m not sure if I will use these mittens myself or if I will gift them to a cute couple. I thought they might make a funny winter wedding gift. Or maybe an anniversary present…..

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To knit up a pair of Handholding mittens for yourself or someone you love you will need:

2 balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in red (machine washable, what a great perk)

1 ball of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in white

4.5mm and 5.5mm double pointed needles

Some waste yarn and stitch markers

The pattern, which you can find here.

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On a slightly less lovey topic I though I would inform the knitting public of a certain competition. It’s a sweater battle. Anina and I have decided to duke it out knitting style. We will both be knitting the Reindeer sweater from Canadian Living. I will be using Dream in Colour Classy (as pictured above) and she will be using Eco Alpakka. We will be knitting different sizes (small for her and large for me) but I think I can handle it. Unfortunately this is how far I am: this is the back ribbing.

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Of course, the minute I agreed to the competition on Friday and Anina headed home for the night I got the votes of confidence from the rest of the gals on staff. “You are never going to win, what were you thinking?” Kynna asked me. “Anina is a crazy fast knitter, this will not end well” Amanda informed me. Well, I’ll just have to give up sleep! Kynna and Amanda are also working on the reindeer sweater (possibly at a more reasonable pace). Kynna is using Cascade Eco Plus and Amanda is working in Viking yarn. Can’t wait to share out finished products!

The pattern for the sweater can be found here.

Illusionist

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Continuing from the last entry, I thought I would post some of the gorgeous photos Venus shared with me…

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Venus knit her sample in the “secret agent blue” colour-way. Unfortunately we’re out of stock in that colour, but will re-order next time. With 11 beautiful colours to chose from though, there’s bound to be something for everyone! This shawl will be on display in the Point Grey store once it’s finished. Well done Venus!