Monthly Archives: June 2010

Customer Appreciation Days: July 1-6

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Thank you dear knitting friends for supporting us for 17 years!! Visit our website or stop in the store to receive your percentage off as follows:

As a special thank you to our valued customers, we’re offering a Progressive Discount at Knitting Today, online and in the store. The more you buy, the more you save!!

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$200.01 on up save 40%
The shopping cart will automatically calculate your savings when you click the Checkout button.
Sorry, but knitting machines and HiyaHiya Interchangeable Needle sets are not included in the Progressive offers.

Remember, any orders within the US over $70 qualify for free shipping increasing your savings substantially!

Thank you for keeping us in business!!!

Well, what do you know!

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Opal Kaleidoskop and Cotton 2010

I DO have a few things under my desk, thanks for asking.  They have been pillaged and plundered but there is still plenty left.   Waiting patiently to be checked in are Opal Kaleidoscope and Cotton 2010.  I am really digging the Cotton 2010.  The colors are somewhat muted and have a very soft look.  Soft to the touch, too.   See those two skeins with the yellow labels?  Whatever could that be?  Some special dye lot, perhaps?  Maybe a one of a kind colorway?  Hmmm.   I wonder? 

Susan's Opal

oh, wait!  I know what it is!  It’s me being greedy. :0 Take a closer look- do you see what it says? It says “Susan”.  That would be me.  Isn’t that positively shameful?   It’s just that sometimes we have yarn mysteriously disappear from the boxes, so if I really want something I have to put my name on it.  I have this (completely unreasonable) fear that if I don’t grab a yarn the minute it comes in then it will be gone and there will never again be a yarn that I like as much and I will have missed my chance.  I do realize how ridiculous this is, but I also know that I am not the only one who thinks this way so I admit it freely.   It’s why we all have a stash.

Just in case you think that is the only thing sitting around waiting on me, check out the Mauch Chunky.

Mauch Chunky – New Colors!

Some of these colors are new and will be on the website soon, a few are re-orders and will available again right away (as soon as I receive them).  We will have even more colors as winter approaches.  I know, who even wants to think of cold weather when it’s the peak of summer, but it is inevitable so you may as well have something to look forward to, right.  I really do have a love affair going on with this yarn.  The colors are so cool- never only one color, but subtle shades provide this wonderful depth.  Sometimes you don’t notice it right away, but as you get to really looking at it you notice the less prominent colors in each colorway.  Worth taking a look at.

AND.  The UPS man was just here with a box from Knit One Crochet Too full of re-stocks of  Ty-Dy Dots, as well as Ty-Dy Socks (I think some new colors), and some new colors of Soxx Appeal. 

Given all that is waiting on me- I am going to get to work.  I’ll update soon on my Tee for Two. Planning on picking up to knit the sides tonight. Maybe I’ll even takes some pics and get this project on Ravelry. One can always hope.

UPDATE:  The Mauch Chunky and Ty-Dy Socks (including the new colors!)  and Dots are checked in!  I’m so fast I can’t even see myself…

Cassidy progress

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image

Today, I want to knit…. Here is what I’ll be working on in between church, dinner with the family, finishing a stocking for a customer, and hopefully cruising Pretty Lake in the sunshine.

I did have to make changes and I don’t know if I told you about them. The sleeves start with a cable instead I’d ribbing. This necessitated changing the cast on number, the increase rate for my short arms, and maintaining the pattern. My calculations called for increases every five rows, yuck! So I’m doing then every other than every fourth row. I ned to have this sweater done by Stitches Midwest. Can I do it?

Did I mention….

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that I only work 2 days a week during the summer?  So when I said earlier that I would spend the next few posts updating you on what’s been happening lately I hope you didn’t take that to mean that these posts would be close together!  But seriously, would you rather I write about the things under my desk that I could be checking in, or would you rather I get them checked in?  Yeah, I thought so.  Plus, it’s been so long that I honestly cannot remember what it was I was going to share.  My brain seems to be melting like an ice cream cone in the hot summer sun.  Everything is all mushy and squishing together.

New Shepherd's Wool Colors!

 I have gotten the five new colors of Shepherd’s Wool that were revealed durning Lorna Miser’s visit (wasn’t that so much fun!!)  ready for purchase!  The colors are, from top to bottom, Harvest Wheat, Raspberry, Zinnia Pink, Frosty Blue, and Violet.  I’m thinking that the Harvest Wheat would be perfect for my next Noni bag.  I love the color but would look very, very, not good in it.  That’s what felted bags and slippers are for.  You may look like death warmed over in a sweater of a certain color, but you can get away with hanging it over your arm or sticking your feet in it, right?  My favorite color of them all is the Raspberry, although I must admit to waffling a bit between that and the Frosty Blue.  I wish there were a way to really let you see the color play in these new colorways.  They have such depth and you really cannot see that in a computer image.  If you’d like to have a look at the colors individually, click here.  Which one is your favorite?  What would you like to knit out of it? 

I worked with Tara yesterday and she is such a bad influence on me!  Not only did she let me know that there was still ice cream in the freezer but her Knit One, Crochet Too frenzy is contagious!  I have been happily knitting on a sweater (the name escapes me for the moment- more melting ice cream) but when the new patterns were ordered I was sorely tempted by the Tee for Two. 

Tee for Two with Blueberry Fields Ty-Dy

 Here’s the story.  I had seen this pattern on the Knit One, Crochet Too website and when we ordered the new patterns I couldn’t wait for this to come in.  I knew right away that I wanted to knit it- but thought I would wait.  Imagine my disappointment when I opened the box and saw that they had sent the wrong tee pattern.  (visualize a pouty lip, if you will)  Now, if you had been me, what would you have done when the pattern finally came in?  Don’t even pretend that you would have restrained yourself because I have the same disease that you do and I know you would have snatched it up.  Forget about waiting- I had to have it now.  I chose to knit mine in Blueberry Fields because the colors are more “me”.  I cannot wait to cast it on tonight.  I think it was very wise of me to put the other sweater on hold.  Who wants to knit with hot wool in the summer time?  Cotton makes much more sense, don’t you think?

Have a great knitting day!

Sisters . . . And A Rainy Day!

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Aren’t they the cutest things? What else is there to do on a rainy day at the lake?  Go to Knitting Today and work on their new sweaters.  I really never dreamed they would become avid sweater knitters at 15 and 17! 

And, for a close-up on what they are doing? 

Haley is a few rows in on Coraline.  Note the color coding work she has done on the chart. Each symbol is a different color so she can easily glance down to see whether it is an SSK or a K2Tog (or whatever happens on the purl side).  She’s also keeping track with her highlighter tape.  The yarn she’s using is Cotton Classic. 

Tara?  Well, she couldn’t resist and she did start the Ty-Dy Dots Cleopatra she blogged about yesterday.  I guess she thought about it all night and the first thing she did when she walked in was pick up the yarn and try to find the pattern for it.  Well, during knit night last night (she was on a babysitting job), I knew we had sold two of the patterns, maybe even the last one.  I mentioned it to her and she started tearing up!!  Seriously!  She said I only have thirty days to get it knit! Well, looking through the stack, I did find the last one [and I see online that the inventory isn't tracking the POS sales so need to fix whatever is happening or not happening properly there].  I cannot believe she is doing this.  She’s going to be knitting non-stop until fair! 

The fit on both of these tops are different for me.  They are both a-line shape.  Haley’s gathers at the bustline and Tara’s is gathered by the yoke shaping.  Haley has the complicated factor of adding in bust darts for her shape.  I’ve not sized out an a-line shape before so I’m pulling out the new trusty book on Sweater Design to make sure we’re measuring correctly.  What has been your experience with fitting an a-line?  Do you measure under the bust and knit to gauge?  Do you measure the bust itself and how much “a” do you want at the line? 

As for me? Forget time to knit.  I’m working on the brochure for MK Unite! July 29-August 1 and finalizing the luncheon for Lorna’s Day June 16 (which is now sold out, but we’re taking a waiting list so call 800-426-5098).

P.S.  I’m on my wait to TNNA — anything new you want me to look for?

P.P.S. Don’t forget about the giveaway, it ends June 19!

STOP THE MADNESS!

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OH MY! I am putting away the new Ty-Dy Dots yarn and Soxx Appeal. Gorgeous! Completely Gorgeous! I keep looking at Cleopatra Tank pattern wanting to make one! I need a project for fair, but I started knitting a hat (am quitting on it because I hate the colors together). I keep touching the Ty-Dy Dot and finding colors to match!!! I NEED TO STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys might want to buy it and get me out of this madness! ;P It’s too cute!!! Maybe, Mom will let me???? We need a sample made anyways ;P

What do you think, can I start it??

drumroll . . . and the winners are:

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Sandra Kleven and Cindy Clark!!!  Thank you everyone for posting your UFOs.  Email me, Sandra, and we’ll get your winning product out to you (Cindy — you can come in since you aren’t too far away :-) ).  Congratulations and thank you to everyone for posting!! 

There’s another giveaway at:

http://knittingtoday.com/knews/2010/05/19/packing-it-up/

It will end June 19. . . . maybe its your turn to win??  Those water bottles are so cool! 

Ty-dy restock + new

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Its here! The Ty-Dy cotton restock.  And, the new Ty-Dy Dots (shhhhh).  Also restocked a couple of  Ty-Dy Socks colors and am waiting on the backorders and new colors (and, shhhh, the new Sock Dots) to arrive . . . lots of fun stuff to work on.  Did I ever show you a picture of my Slant on Nature?  I put the pattern on top of the box so you could see it the original.  The mods I made were to make it a v-neck instead of a lapel and set-in sleeve instead of drop shoulder.  If you want to make those same mods, I can help you through them. . .

   

This Spring 2010 issue of Knitter’s  has a new colorway (in the shhh box) on the front, entrelac neckline — really a neat knit!

Oh, and for the sneak peak:  Ty-Dy Dots!

And, now for the new patterns that use those new yarns.  Notice the socks in the bottom picture done in Fair Isle?  It uses a solid strand of Sox Appeal (which is in another shhh box under Susan’s desk).  

Okay, so that’s the end of the Ty-Dy sneak peak .  . . . for those of you patiently waiting for the prize drawings, that’s up next . . . . just trying to figure out a snazzy way to count without doing it manually, but may break down and do it manually anyways.  Sometimes the back-end of software is not soo pretty to work with.  Lea-Ann

Knitting Pure & Simple

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I cannot believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted!  How does time go by so quickly?  Remember when you were a kid and a hot summer afternoon seemed to drag on forever?  I can very clearly remember (I was probably 8 - 12 years old at the time) climbing the tree outside my bedroom window where I would read for what seemed like forever.  When I got too hot I would come down for a drink to discover that it had only been an hour.  Give me a book or a knitting project now and that hour flies by all too quickly.  Seems like just a few days ago I was building a fire and here we are now- the kid’s have only a few days of school left, the garden is growing like crazy, and the pool is a lovely 84 degrees.  IT’S SUMMER for all intent and purposes!

Little Girls Sundress or Jumper

I’m sure you can all tell that we did fine without Lea-Ann.  No major catastrophe or mass confusion or anything.  Not that there weren’t ends to tie up when she came home, but we didn’t burn the place down or anything.  I will be spending the next few posts catching you up on what’s been happening around the shop. I think I will start with Knitting Pure & Simple.  We’ve re-stocked and gotten new patterns- one of my favorites is pictured at left.  I had a customer in today who bought the pattern and some Ty-Dy to make this for her daughter.  Won’t that be cute?  If you’d like to see all the Knitting Pure & Simple patterns – click here: http://www.knittingtoday.com/go.mvc?ID=pureandsimple