As we come to the end of the year, we’re also coming to the end of our latest cycle of knitting and crocheting classes…so here’s a question for the readers:

• What kind of classes are you interested in taking?
• Is there a specific skill you want to learn?
• Is there a specific pattern you want to knitalong in a class to help you on the way?
• Is there a class we’ve offered in the past that you missed and would like to take again?

Please comment to this entry and let us know! We can’t promise to offer them all, but this will give us an idea of what our customers are into at the moment!

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Oh, and guess what showed up today in the mail? Those Knit Lite needles! We have them in the three sizes shown in the photo…

If you are wondering about holiday hours, we’ll be open regular hours the rest of this week . Next week we are closed on Monday and Tuesday, December 25th & 26th and then we resume regular hours.

So, Happy Holidays to all, no matter what you celebrate and we’ll leave you with a little Tilli Tomas silky eye candy…

Firstly, Happy Hannukah and for those still seeking Christmas gifts (or additional Hannukah gifts!), we have some great new gift items that arrived in the store today!

First off - we have the 2007 Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar!

They sell out quickly, so get one while you can!

Also just in, Knit Klips!

These are handy new finishing tools that you may have seen featured in the latest Vogue Knitting, Knitters Magazine Crochet Today and even knitty.com. They’re designed to go smoothly through your stitches so you can easily line up rows and stitches. And since they are easy to open and close, there’s no struggling with pins or worrying that they will fall out while you seam.

If you’re into needle felting, we already have needles, roving and some kits, but today we received Clover’s Needle Felting Mat, which some people prefer over using foam:

Know a budding spinner or someone who’d like to give dyeing a try? We’ve got two kits from Louet that will fill that need:

The Drop Spindle Kit comes with a Louet spindle, 1/2 lb of three colors of fiber (dyed or natural), detailed instructions and a sample bottle of Meadows Wool Wash.

The Hand Dyeing Kit comes with three 50g skeins of Louet Gems Merino (superwash!), three coordinating dye colors (Blues, Greens, Browns, Pinks and Reds - come in to see what colors we have available on-hand!), a squeeze bottle for application, a sample bottle of Meadows Wool Wash, instructions for dyeing and a sock pattern!

We have tons of great knitting bags as well, which you can give alone or filled with other fibery goodies. You can see a sampling of them at our online store! We have Lantern Moon, Offhand Designs, Jordana Paige and more!

And, of course, there’s always a Yarn Barn Gift Certificate.

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So, here in Connecticut we’ve been getting some really nice weather this past week, even with some sporadic rain. We haven’t needed our coats…just a nice sweater or fleece has been warm enough! We know it can’t last, but we’ve certainly been enjoying it. Although some Christmas snow would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Well, forget about it. All you need to get (or have others get for you) is a…

Yarn Barn Gift Certificate!

Get it in ANY amount you want and you can either pick it up in-store or call us at 203-389-5117 or toll-free 1-877-299-5245, pay by credit card and we’ll mail it out for you anywhere in the US!

See? Easy shopping.

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Oh, and if you liked the Vivian Hoxbro kits we featured in our previous blog post, they’re all available from our online store now, where you can check out all the current colorways as well…just click here to see the full list >>

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We’ve also got one more class before the end of 2006 - Needle Felted Snowmen or Gingerbread Men! The class is this Saturday, December 16th, from 11:00am-12:30pm, so call us to sign up before it’s too late. Here’s one of the little guys, worked up by the instructor:

We also have a few of the Felted Pears worked up, packaged and ready for purchase for a quickie gift for $5 each. Say you made it…we won’t tell!

We’ve been having the pleasure of displaying a bunch of samples for various Vivian Hoxbro kits, many of which use shadow knitting techniques. All the kits are made with New England Knitters Shetland yarns unless otherwise noted. You really have to see these in person, but here’s a sneak peek to lure you in:

Cables is a one-size swingy sweater with deep slits on the sides and multi-textural elements (as you can see in the artsy closeup).

Using modular knitting techniques, this one-color vest called Ida uses texture and open areas to create visual interest. This kit uses a 50/50 silk/wool blend and comes in three sizes.

Knitter’s Angles is uniquely constructed and wraps around easily for any size.

One of our favorites, the Rainbow Jacket is a comfortably boxy jacket that comes in two sizes: S/M: 49″ or L/XL: 56″ (finished measurements).

Want more shadow-knitting-action? The Shadows Jacket is perfect. Comes in two sizes, 39½” & 42½” (finished). I would wear this with a shawl pin to really show off the shadowing in the front!

I can say from personal experience how well the Wing Shawl III keeps you warm without falling off your shoulders (after wearing this to dash out and bring in the sign one evening).

And lastly (for the samples, at least…we have more kit types than samples!), the Zig Zag Vest, knitted modularly with just a touch of color.

All of the above will be added to the online store shortly, or else come and visit us to try them on yourself!