just a rainbow of projects

Or, more accurately, rainbow-colored projects.

To begin with, I apologize for the blurry quality of the following photos. I was trying out the smaller store camera, with less luck than expected.

On the right, I just wanted to let all y'all in Blogland know that we do have the NEW AlterKNITS Felt in stock and we also have the cool Wool Mix bags by Leigh Radford (the book's author & Portland local) available, too for your felting pleasure.

If you want an opinion about this book - we think it's fantastic. There are some amazing projects and techniques in here, so it's definitely worth browsing through and would even make a great coffee-table book.

Next... lessee, we have a very cool scarf being knit by Joanne that I wanted to show off:

Using a ball of the Kauni W-EQ Effektgarn and the traditional Feather & Fan Shetland lace pattern. It's just lovely, and very sqooshy to... well, sqoosh. We were all delighting in the color changes at the last Sip 'N Stitch I sat in on.

And, finally*, we just got in the 2008 Judy's Colors trunk show. OMG, these are amazing kits. Long-time customers might remember the fantastic Christmas stocking kits we had for sale last year. Well, this year's collection is just as imaginative and even more colorful:

We had a lot of fun hanging them up, too. Can you tell?

That's everything I've got for now. But, if you're in town, drop by to see the new yarns that will be showing up in the Newsletter and on the New Wall. I'm afraid I couldn't get decent pictures of them this time around, but they will show up on the blog... eventually.

*I apologize for the brevity of this post - we've got a lot happening this week! Look for the next Newsletter in your mailbox this Friday, for more information.

Ladies & Gents, it's time for another YarNews Flash!

We've got not one, not even three, but FOUR new yarns for your tactile pleasure. All arrived yesterday and were just put up on the New Wall. First off, temping us all greatly here, are the three new Art Yarns lines:

1. Top row: Cashmere Sock Yarn. 65% Cashmere/ 25% Wool/ 8% Nylon. 146m/ 146y per 50g skein with a gauge of 22sts = 10cm/ 4" on 4.5mm/ US 6 needles. Yummy. Can you image how glorious a pair of socks made with this yarn would feel? At the moment we only carry 6 colors (one of which was bought up immediately!), but we might be getting in more if it turns out to be as popular as it should.
2. Bottom row, left: Silk Pearl & Sequins. 100% Silk strung with glass beads and sequins. 71m/ 78u per 50g skein with a gauge of 17sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 5 colors. Don't get me wrong, I like this yarn, it's very fun and lovely to touch - but it strikes me as the perfect accessory for a European Discotheque. Still, would be a lot of fun to work with.
   
3. Bottom row, right: Beaded Mohair & Sequins. 80% Silk/ 20% Mohair strung with glass beads and sequins. 104m/ 114y per 50g skein with a gauge of 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 4 colors. A slightly lighter version of its all-silk sibling, but with a gentle halo. Still sparkly and fun, but probably quite a bit warmer for handknit garments.
   

Fourth on the New Wall is the latest Noro creation:

Noro Yuzen. "Yuzen" is actually a Japanese dyeing technique used to paint kimonos and paper for origami. This line comes in skeins, not balls, and features more subdued tweedy colors. It's absolutely lovely, and if it didn't have mohair in it I'd have bought a bag. In any case, the blend is 56% Wool/ 34% Silk/ 10% Mohair. Each 50g skein has 110m/ 121y with a gauge of 16 - 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". It's a solid worsted-weight that'll be great for winter garments.

And, finally, completely unrelated to YarNews...

A wip photo of my in-progress Seraphim Shawl, the "Manta Ray" as 3M calls it:

Made with Knit Purl's The Natural Collection yarn in a color best described as "Cochineal". Aside from a long-standing desire to make this shawl, I thought it would be appropriate to have it finished in time for Miriam Felton's visit in November. Yes, you heard me right. The designer of the Icarus Shawl and Juno Reginan Stole is coming to Portland to teach to two 1-day workshops at Knit Purl.

I really want to take the Intro to Lace Design class...

Anyway. It seemed a cool way to welcome her (okay, showing off) when she got here and a great reason to use the yarn I had originally stashed for this project in December.

Ahem. This wip might be a reoccuring topic over the next month... But it should be buffered with tons of YarNews, store workings and customer wips/ fos (which we haven't been seeing many of lately, where are you guys?).

slightly stunned, but pleasantly surprised

You remember the devastating news Malabrigo announced at the TNNA Summer Conference? We blogged about it and mentioned it in the July 15th Newsletter, so no one would be shocked that Malabrigo would be out of stock for a loooong time. Well, ha, Malabrigo decided to surprise and amaze us this week. We received not 1, but 5, boxes full of yarn from them:

(I only managed to get 4 in the shot)

Now, we had been told that we might be expecting some yarn from them at some point, but not to get too hopeful. Especially not when it came to the Lace Baby, because that was the line that was damaged most in the fire. Well, imagine our shock when we opened a box and saw these:

Bags upon bags of Lace Baby. Remarkably unscorched, too. And rather earlier than April 2009, the original send-by date we were given. How happy is that?

So, if you've been longing for Malabrigo yarns, for whatever reason, drop by the store (in person or online) and grab some before it's gone. I know I am.

In other news, I finally finally finally got this skein off of my spinning wheel:

4 oz, 320 +/- yards, Chameleon Colorworks Optim singles plied with Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk. Yummy. The Optim was in the colorway "Briar Rose" and the Tsumugi #34 "Curry". I loves it muchly. Here's a close-up:

Now all I have to do is find a project for it. It's a shame we're out of the Tsumugi in "Curry" (ignore the inventory, it lies), because this would be fun to have 8 oz of. That would be enough for a shawl. Still, 4 oz might be enough for a stole...

Hmmm. Time to use the ravelry advanced pattern browser, methinks.

And, because I managed to clear out 3 bobbins by finishing the lovely above, that means I can get back to the lovelies that Sandy B. and Fearless Leader brought me back from TKGA. 80/20 Alpaca/ Silk dyed by local dyer Abstract Fiber, whose products we're hoping to carry soon. Gorgeous stuff.

Maybe one of the skeins will be done in time for the next post. Along with a bunch of new yarns, books, and kits we've just received. Oh! So much to do, so little time.

FO pr0n & Skif KAL embarks

So much has been happening the past couple of days! Reorganizing after any knitting conference is always a huge undertaking, and we still have boxes of yarn sitting around waiting to be unpacked. Also, after getting another newsletter out, we are officially down to our last spot in the Sock Club. I have to admit, I began to wonder if we'd ever sell all 200 spots - but we almost have, and what a relief it is!

Well, mostly. We've been having some problems with USPS not delivering the September kits and the like. But, for the vast majority of our Club members, things have been moving along relatively smoothly.

Moving on. Patrick dropped by today to say "Hi" and to show off his super-hot, completely Rockstar, cardigan. The pattern is Oak from Rowan's The Organic Cotton Collection, and the yarn is Cotton Purelife in Quebracho & Cuba. Personally, I think the FO is goigeous:

He admitted that, technically, it wasn't truly a Finished Object as he had yet to find & sew on snaps. I still think it counts, since he could wear it. Am I right?

Next, we have a shop sample Patrick made for us, modelled by Enid: the Zenith Carpet Bag from Bag Style:

Knit with 3 skeins of ShibuiKnits Merino Alpaca. One minor alteration to the pattern: we decided to put the second set of smaller handles on the inside of the bag, for a more attractive look.

And, finally, a photo from the Skif CO Party on Tuesday night. I don't want to hear or see any comments about how we may look, since some people I won't name actually refused to be pictured at all. Cowards.

It was quite a lot of fun - wine, cheese and knitting, what else could one want? - and I think very successful. Quite pleasant all around.

Other than that? The new Fall Class List is up and the News & Events page updated. That's enough for now, I think.

Yarn evolution. felting sisters, and a glimpse of Enid

Going in reverse, just because widdershins is so much fun, let's introduce you to our newest employee at the Good Ol' Salt Mines Yarn House of Knit Purl:

Enid. I barely had to corner her or anything. What a refreshing change. Enid says "hi". She spins and knits, so expect to see her getting into mischief with the rest of us around here.

Next on the list (gotta keep this short, 500 million things To Do), the Noni Trunk Show has arrived:

We've got the whole new Fall line and a bunch of accessories for the patterns (handles and clasps for purses, etc) for interested knitters to peruse. An interesting aspect of this season is the sheer number of garments they released, instead of accessories. Most of them still retain the trademark Noni Dr. Suess-ish look, but in a more accessible way.

And, finally, here's something to make most knitters squee:

Optim Evolution.

Chameleon Colorworks has started dyeing Optim yarn for handknitters who don't spin (we also have their Optim roving). This stuff is gorgeous. I immediately bough a skein, in "Indian Wedding". The colors and texture are fantastic. As is the yardage - 154y to 2oz. I'm thinking a hat would be nice with my little happy skein...

Evolution isn't not on the website yet, but is on the New Wall, if you're desperate to try some. And, at $13.25 a skein, it's not an expensive experiment, either.

That's everything for now. More news on Thursday. I'll also bring out my Seraphim Shawl. Miriam Felton is coming to town to teach two workshops for us, and I thought I'd knit a shawl to celebrate. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

Introducing... Leslie!

A day late, sorry. But, hey, I got lots of pictures for you, 3 new yarns and a short introduction to our newest slave employee Leslie:

Who says "Hi", incidentally.

I had to corner her, she wasn't too enthusiastic about being photographed. I guess I've gotten spoiled with having Liz around, who can be badgered into modeling anything. If you see Leslie wandering around the store, it's not because she's a hardcore regular. So, with luck, expect to run into her often when visiting us!

We were lucky to be visited by Jenni & Co. yesterday. I barely managed to snap a very blurry shot of Ayanna "helping" us behind the registers.

The boys, who are older and more wary, managed to elude any photographs. Jenni, distracted by her two-week-old, was relatively easy to catch:

Kandyce also says "Hi" to everyone in Blogland.

"Relatively" directly referring to the way she kept turning away from the camera. Since the camera does not have an X-Ray setting, this made it a little difficult to get a mommy & baby photo that wasn't blurry.

Next, keeping up with store workings/ news, we've got THREE new yarns. Which are totally not up on the web, sorry, but should be soon. Two are on the New Wall, however:

• ShibuiKnits Superwash Merino Worsted. 100% 19 mircon Merino wool, superwash treated, 195y per 100g skein. $19.75, and available in 17 colors. We've been looking forward to the arrival of this yarn for months. So exciting. It's literally the worsted sibling of ShibuiKnits Sock.
  

• Noro Taiyo. 40% cotton, 30% silk, 15% wool, 15% nylon. 200m/ 220y per 100g skein. $18.25 a ball, and available in 6 colors.
  

And one is on the Sock Wall:

• Pagewood Farms' Bluefaced Leicester Sock yarn. 80% Bluefaced Leicester, 20% nylon. 450y per 4oz skein. $25.50 a skein and available in 8 colors.

LOVE this stuff, despite the nylon. I actually helped pick this one out. Pagewood Farms always produces beautifully hand-dyed yarns that have a really nice depth of color. Several skeins of this are so going into my stash. And, since it's a Pagewood yarn, it should be mentioned that this will likely be a limited-run yarn line. When we sell out of their yarns, we usually don't/ can't get them again.

That's pretty much everything that's new or new-ish. There are only 19 spaces left in the Sock Club, so we're very excited about that. And, with the SKIF KAL kick-off coming up, we're madly preparing for more SKIF-related fun.

September Sock released... spoiler alert!

Beware, beware! There art spoilers in this here post, that might catch the unwary most fiendishly...

Okay, they're not huge spoilers (my one photo is pathetically blurry and the other one I'm borrowing doesn't show the pattern in detail, mwahaha), but I don't want to ruin the surprise for those of you who are waiting patiently for your package in the mail. Which, incidentally, we sent out this morning:

Pity our mail carrier, Gina. She took the shock well, it must be said.

In other news, before we get to the spoilers, Tami came in to show off her Deep Blue Sea Sinuate Scarf (say that 3x fast) which she finished just over a week ago. She used Marnie MacLean's pattern and her own handspun yarn. The yarn was spun using two hanks of Fleece Artist Blue-faced Leicester, I think (the same stuff I made my muffin cap with). Seem to remember her buying them a while back. I'm sure we can all agree that the finished scarf is gorgeous:

I hope Tami will forgive us for the blurriness of the photo, we've been having technical difficulties with the camera again.

And, finally, last but not least...

I bring you SPOILERS...

Let's see, let's see. I don't want to ruin too much of the surprise, but also know that some of you are sitting on the fence waiting for the release to decide whether you want to join in the fun or not.

The September kit (both the yarn and the pattern) was designed around the popular Portland neighborhood, "The Pearl". The yarn was specially commissioned from Koigu and the pattern was designed by Portland local Sarah Pope. And I'll admit right now that my picture to the right isn't much of a spoiler, since it's so blurry you can barely see either the sock or the kit... but, hey, it gives all y'all an idea of what we're sending out this month.

Kim, a.k.a. akimbo on ravelry, has lent us the use of her photos, which are much nicer than mine (she used a photobox and everything).

(Bless her.)

I think that's everything important that's happened in the past couple days. If not, it'll pop up in the next post. Also, I'm going to corner our two new employees Leslie and Nancy for a nice photo and introduction.