It’s almost Thanksgiving (really snuck up on us this year, didn’t it?) and the weather has really chilled up. Which is bearable especially because we can wear all our warm and cozy handknits again! Yay!

In looking through our Noro stock, we found that there is definitely some neglected stock that needed some spotlighting. So, we went through some Noro volumes and put together a few kits, ready to go from the store! One has made it onto the online store - a really cozy turtleneck made from Kochoran. We’ve packaged this with color #40:

In store (and soon to be on the store, if they don’t sell before we get a chance!), there’s two Aurora kits with which you can make either a lacy shawl or a lacy tank from Noro Volume 18. We’ve packaged it with colors #3 (shown in picture) and #2 (the color used for the tank top)…I think #3 will be especially striking for the wrap!

We have the last of our Noro Yoroi as well — just enough of the neutral-toned #3 for the first size of the cowled turtleneck in Volume 17. There’s also a kit for any of the sizes put together with color #5. After that I think we’ve got just enough for another sweater out of color #5 as well…then that’s it! Get ‘em while they last!

Well, I suppose that is our contribution to “Noro-vember”, lol…Happy a very happy, safe Thanksgiving, everyone!

And so, the store spinning wheel is geared up and ready to go for the class on Wednesday. Had a slight problem in that the tension knob has gone missing, so we jerry-rigged one using a dowel and two staples, lol. Heh. Well…it works!

We’ve got some neat new arrivals…Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes is one of them…

Soft and stripey…gotta love it. We also got a bunch of different Nashua pattern books as well.

We also got this bit of lovely from Lantern Moon:

Now that’s a stocking stuffer, eh? This little confection is a 72 yard ball of 100% silk ribbon in shimmery colors. It is made of cut strips of silk taffeta and hand-tied every 2 yards into a continuous strip. This yarn is a result of a collaboration with designer Leigh Bradford and we have a nice, simple scarf pattern to use with just the one ball. There are also patterns for a small clutch, a silk pillow, lamp shade and a lapel pin! Even the names are yummy - blueberry, bittersweet, butterscotch, raspberry, melon and blue ice!

And speaking of the holidays…we’ve got some fun Regia sock yarn for just that reason.

Yeah, we know they’re Nation Stripes, but they totally work as Christmas or Candy Cane socks also! For fun we also got in some of the black and yellow for any bumblebee lovers out there!

Stay dry out there — looks like we’ve got a weekload of rain to look forward to this week!

Today’s deliveries brought us a new big box of Ozark Handspun in a bunch of new colors! This is a thick-thin-curly-random kind of yarn that makes the funkiest hats and scarves (or whatever else strikes your fancy!)!!!

And in honor of this new arrival, I present our blog’s first FREE PATTERN! Using one skein of Ozark Handspun and one skein if Bulky Lopi (or equivalent), you can make this fun hat, designed by one of our own:

Click here to download the Ozark Hat Pattern (.doc)

As the holidays approach, we get more and more cool giftie items in stock. Such as these Zecca scissor fobs:

Also just in, are Zecca point protectors and scarf/hair pins!

Coming up in classes, we have Spinning on a Wheel on Wednesday November 15th - if you’re interested, sign up quick! Students will learn how a spinning wheel works and the basics on getting started with spinning your own yarns.

In other news, today’s actvities included building a new glass display case where you will find such gems as the aforementioned Zecca items as well as other shawl pins, knitting-related jewelry and more! Also, cool new gift items are being added to the online store today including a drop spindle kit, a dyeing kit, and several felting and needle felting kits. Fun to make…fun to give!

Come on in - it’s better than being out in the pouring rain we have going on today. Yick!

So, anyone else going to be thrilled when Election Day 2006 is over? *raises hands* We’re all pretty tired of hearing campaign ads in general. Luckily, we have new yarns to make us happy:

The yarn hasn’t been released to us yet, but we were lucky enough to get a 10g sample of this new machine-washable sock yarn from Colinette yarns! It’s called Jitterbug and is a fingering-weight yarn that will come in 289yd-skeins (100g). It’s 100% “easy care” merino - machine wash cold, and they recommend line dry - and it’s quite soft and cushy. I made up this random sock as a sample for the store - no pattern as it was entirely improvised and I’d be surprised if it actually fit a baby, but it’s about that size and serves its purpose to show of the yarn!

We already have some of Colinette’s DK weight easy care merino, Cadenza, in stock, for which there is also a pattern book. As always, both yarns are dyed up in Colinette’s own beautiful hand-painted colorways.

Oh, and that giant mitt? It’s been felted:

Cute Lantern Moon Bee tape measure used for scale again, of course. Now, I admit I was a little confused in the previous post - in fact this is meant to be a decorative mitten, like a stocking, for the holidays, but it would certainly work as an oven mitt as well and we ARE offering the felted oven mitt class!

We also just got some new skeins of Schaeffer Elaine - perfect for making this cute little jacket:

The pattern is free with purchase of yarn and will be offered in our online store shortly…like in an hour or so. Check out the new colors we just got:

So, we have this class coming up for making a felted oven mitt, and naturally we need a sample to show off. The sample is ready to be felted:

Is that not to-scale enough for you? ‘Cause it makes a great ski mask, too…except for the seeing part, that is…

The class is going on Monday, December 4th from 7:00pm-9:00pm and is great for all skill levels. This sample will be coming home with me to get properly felted, so look for it next Monday at the latest in the store. More classes are, of course, listed online if you click “Classes” in the navigation above.

We’ve started to add some items from our Clearance area to our store…whew, we have a lot of sale yarn. Barely a dent has been made, but more is certainly to come. Everything we put up in the SALE area online is 30%-40% off - and of course, in-store, single balls are 30% off and sealed bags are 40% at all times. Just ask where to look next time you stop by.

I’ll tell you, the time change is really evident when we’re working at the store…just not used to it being dark before we close up for the evening!

AND we were so pleased to recently have Annie Modesitt at the store for a special workshop and booksigning! Thank you Annie!!!