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…

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

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:

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

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…

We’re glad you’re enjoying our Knit Nights.  It’s a great opportunity to escape your busy life and enjoy an evening knitting or crocheting with other local crafters.

Knit Nights are scheduled in Edgemont on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (join us tonight!) and in Point Grey on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.  Teresa took this photo in Edgemont a couple of weeks ago:

Such happy knitters, thanks Teresa!

We’ve come across some fun stuff lately while surfing the web.  Here’s an eclectic mix of links…

Knit a cute ‘lil leprechaun to celebrate your Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day (or not!).  Patterns and photos are here and here. Or join an Irish Knit-A-Long.

Click here for a funny cartoon.

Betchya didn’t know that 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres.  Look here for more info.

And here’s a free pattern for a pair of beautiful Aran Gauntlets made with Aslan-Trends Guanaco.  We have lots in stock.

That’s enough fun stuff for today.  Now back to resolving a few troublesome tax issues and other such boring details that must be resolved before launching our new online sales website.  We plan to flip the switch later this week….

Check out our latest newsletter right here.  It’s chock a block full of all the latest UY news like our latest products, upcoming classes, specials and more.

If you’d like to receive our monthly newsletter by email, please let us know.  Just phone us or send an email.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!  Apparently there’s mixed rain and snow on the way for Vancouver.  Oh well, that’s good weather for knitting…

Knit the stunning wrap scarf on the cover of the Winter 08/09 issue of Vogue Knitting:

A guaranteed quick knit with two strands of Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky held together, on 15mm needles.  We have seven colours in stock, including Frost, the gorgeous ice blue shade on the cover.

We were sad to hear that Handmaiden Fine Yarn is moving back to it’s roots in Nova Scotia.  Jana, the Main Maiden, dropped by yesterday to say good-bye. 

Happily for us she brought with her several big bins bursting full of beautiful hand-dyed yarns.  Wools, silks, mohair, cashmere and sea cell, in pretty much every colour imaginable.  We have sumptuous new skeins of Lace Silk, Samira Silk, Mini Maiden, Maiden Hair, Lady Godiva and a bit of the brand new Handmaiden yarn, Sea Three, a beautiful aran-weight mix of silk and seacell.

Perhaps best of all, Jana gave us a few “I’d rather sell it than move it'” discounts.  And we’re passing these discounts on to you as our weekly special, all at 25% off the regular price.  There’s some luscious black 2 ply cashmere, with 300 metres per 50 gram skein.  And some gorgeous hand-dyed Sea Silk, 70% silk and 30% seacell, with a whopping 600 metres per 150 gram skein.  Last but not least is the stunning hand-dyed Angel Hair, 70% kid mohair and 30% nylon, with 400 metres per 50 gram skein.  Plus a few other bits and bobs that were lying around the Handmaiden studio.  These won’t last long…

Farewell Jana, we’ll miss having you around.  Be sure to drop by for a visit next time you’re in town!

Blog posts have been a bit infrequent lately as we’ve been hard at work putting the finishing touches on an exciting new project.  Please be kind, getting to this point was a kajillion times more complicated than one might expect.  We’d love to have more bells and whistles as well as a much longer product list – it’s a work in progress.  Should be operational by the end of the month…

In the meantime, Becky’s been unpacking boxes like crazy.  There’s tons of new Blue Sky Alpacas colours and designs.  Love the Sunday cardigan:

Two huge Mission Falls boxes were unpacked yesterday.  Loads more 1824 wool and some pretty new multi-colours of 1824 cotton.  Some gorgeous Indigo Moon hand-dyes came out of another box.  Also some fabulous Stitch Diva patterns and several new KnitWhits kits like the cute Elfin Booties:

We also have some cool new tidbits like Tunisian Crochet Hooks and  Sweater Blockers.

And don’t forget, our Stashbuster Sale continues until this Sunday.  Three more days to pick up some incredible bargains. 

It’s just a hubbub of activity around here these days…

We’ve extended our Stashbuster Sale to February 22.  We still need more room for all the lovely new things that are arriving daily.  So take an extra 10% off everything on our sale list.  All items that were 25% are now 35% off.  And yes, items that were 60% off are now 70% off.  Of course we’ve sold out of some things but there’s still scads of yarn bursting out of bins, boxes and cubbies all over our stores.

If you like incredible bargains this week would definitely be a good time to drop by for a visit.

That’s what it often feels like in our tiny office as waves of new boxes hit us with surprising frequency. 

We’ve unpacked some wonderful new items this week, including French Girl Knits:

Or if you prefer hooks to needles, check out Wrapped in Crochet:

A huge Cascade re-stock recently arrived.  Anina’s loving the Pastaza, she used it to knit some adorable Valentine hearts:

Look here for more info.  I’m tempted to tackle Jared’s Girasole blanket but I don’t really have time for it right now.  Please, help me resist, keep me away from the Pastaza…

We’ve just opened an enormous Blue Sky Alpacas re-stock with all the usual tempting suspects.  Sumptuously soft as always, with a glorious colour palette.

And yesterday we unpacked three big boxes of Garnstudio with loads of Eskimo, Alpaca and the lovely Lin.

There’s also Cherry Hill Sock yarn, stunning Tilli Tomas delicacies and a beautiful new line of shawl sticks, belt buckles and stitch marker necklaces.  Love the KNIT keychain:

Although we’ve been known to groan at the sight of a new wave of boxes, we’re always truly excited to see what’s inside.  Drop by sometime and share the excitement…