Yarn Gallery Blog

I jumped the fence this weekend and went off to see my sister and her daughter.  I hope I didn’t inconvenience anyone, but the shop has been so slow – it’s that time of year, I don’t mind! – but it’s a little bit boring and so when they called and asked me to come and play, I did.  The boys palled around with their golden retriever cousins and the humans watched DVD’s and got crafty with fabric and boxes and bows.  It was fun, and I hope you all had a good time over the long weekend, too.

Look at one of the new things coming for fall:

Big balls of soft and chunky tweed with gorgeous color ranges from Lang Yarns.  I can’t wait to see what we can make from it.  One ball scarves for sure, but I think maybe 3 balls for a great sweater.

I bought a bunch of fun stuff from Crystal Palace, including Mochi Plus, a sweater-weight version of Mini-Mochi, the sock yarn, for which I also have new colors coming, and some pretty new variegateds of Panda Silk fingering weight, for socks, shawls, and more.

Berroco has some interesting new yarns this year.  I bought some more Palace, their very luscious silk & wool which never got out of the back room last year (but sold well nonetheless!)  Blackstone Tweed is new and has a nice traditional look, a soft melange of wool, mohair and angora in a somewhat serious range of colors – very nice for this jacket from Oat Couture

which I thought of, but Berroco’s collection for the yarn is very good, too.  I also bought a yarn called Sundae.  I bought a ton of yarn called Sundae.  I hope I really like the yarn called Sundae because I can’t remember a thing about it.  Oh well, I’ll get another look at TNNA.  Norah Gaughan has two collections out for fall, one of which is her typical kind of theme – nature – and one of which is for men.  The men’s collection is great, period.  The other – well, if you like her designs, you’ll like this collection.  Me, I haven’t quite forgiven her for the mess of a design I knitted from Vol. 1, but I’m giving her another chance.  But if I have to rip and re-purpose the yarn just once more, Norah and I are through.

Look at Jennifer Gensemer in her pretty top knit from Laurel cotton from Schaefer Yarns. She said, but this top is old (a couple of years), but I said, baby, the body is new.  Jennifer looks so great – she says she gave up Diet Coke and it made all the difference in her eating. I wish I drank it, so I could give it up, too.  Darn.

And here is the belle of the blog this week.  Meet Emma, Lynda Slovitsky’s granddaughter, modeling a pretty little bolero that Lynda made for her out of Ty-Dy cotton.  I love the way she looks in it, don’t you?  Shoes, headband – she knows how to dress it up!  Lynda did such a great job, modeling this tiny little jacket on the Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Adult Surprise Jacket, which she made for herself last fall. (shown below)

Both have a great fun sense of style, n’est-ce pas?

That’s it!  See you soon…

Trish

Just finished a session with my favorite sales rep.  I know you don’t want to hear it, (yeah, I should complain about shopping for yarn, right?) but all those decisions make me crazy.  I’m as much (if not more) of a yarn-crazed nutjob than you all, and I want at least half of what I look at, and there’s no way I can afford it.  I of course bought way too much anyway, but it’s beautiful, gorgeous, fabulous stuff, and I think you’re going to love it!  Here’s a glimpse of a new yarn from Classic Elite called Kumara:

Lustrous, with a soft halo, cabled, in beautiful colors.  I can’t wait to knit with it.  The only problem is that I’m afraid that I bought something very like it from Rowan.  I’ll have to take a second look at both of them at TNNA to see just how similar they are and which I like best.  When I love something, I love it totally and will buy it from anyone who sets it in front of me.  Then when I’m going through things and looking at snips I’ve taken, I think, “Hmm, just how many alpaca/silk blends did I buy, anyway?  And are they all aran weight?” Plenty of time to narrow it down, if I can bear to!

In case you are one of the persons waiting for Addi Clicks, the latest update from their US distributor is that Addi is having a problem getting the packaging from their supplier.  The Clicks reside in a black simulated leather case with slots for everything to fit into perfectly – gotta love those Germans!  So, the bad news is that the next shipment of Clicks probably won’t reach the US before the end of June.  The good news is that production of the needles themselves is proceeding and so when Addi receives the  packaging, they should be able to ship a boatload of the sets and fill all or most of the backorders.  I’m still waiting for mine, so I feel your pain.

I also had a little romp through Fleece Artist’s yarn list, and have some beautiful things on order.  How are we feeling about hand-dyed yarns these days?  Although I recently find myself just a bit reluctant to knit a whole sweater in full glorious color, I still think that for accessories that have impact, a beautiful hand-dyed luxury yarn can’t be beaten.  Have you seen the long fingerless gloves on the runway in the fall fashion shows?  Very chic!  Cowls, hoods, fingerless gloves, neckwarmers – all will be big this fall and all are great small projects to splurge a little and get a big return.

Donna Karan showed everything with high necks or big collars, big shoulders and these fur gauntlets.

Burberry showed almost everything with scarves or cowls, including indoor pieces.

And Pringle’s of Scotland always has amazing sweaters – look at these huge embossed leaves – in cashmere, of course!

Oh, so fun to dream.  What we will knit for fall?  I’d like to find a fabulous coat with great stitchwork and a really chunky yarn.  I’m afraid it will make me look like Cousin It tangled up in a pile of yarn, but hope springs eternal in the terminally short.  Maybe if I can just get the hang of stilettos….

Okay, enough with the dreaming of fall.  Here are some beautiful completed projects that are wearable and definitely braggable:

Carol Slifka finished her Pearl Buck Jacket, and it’s just perfect.  Such a great color for her – can you tell the jacket matches her eyes?

I love the back pleat – it’s the reason I just had to make this jacket, too.

Rochelle Mann finished this sweater in a color that looks just stunning on her.  Check out the details in this self-designed beauty, expertly knit in Cotton Classic:

Robin Lapi is a novice with a great eye for style and yarns.  She did this easy-to-knit vest in beautiful Donegal Tweed Chunky from Debbie Bliss: Right in style with a face framing collar.

Ginny Stufflet came in with this great felted tote, and didn’t even notice that it was perfectly complemented by her outfit: 

And I have to mention our classes again.  This jacket is “Ivory Leaves” from Knitted Jackets by Cheryl O’Berle.  Many people bought the book to take the Cuzco class, and this is another beautiful example from the book.  Janet did the knitting – it’s lovely and I must say it is equally lovely to wear!

There are many choices of classes this summer, so be sure to take a look.  You’re busy now, I know, but when you have time to look, they may be full!

Okay, I’m beat from yarn shopping, so I’m going to sit and knit on my pup tent – er, I mean vest.  I’m on the button bands so the end is in sight!  Then, I think it will be a pretty pair of socks in something not gray!  Don’t forget, I’ll be closed this coming Sunday, May 24.

Have fun, enjoy the weather, and I’ll see you soon…

Trish

Such yummy weather – I feel so light-hearted today.  Must be working outside, or maybe it’s being nearly finished with the summer class schedule.  Just a few loose ends to weave in and it will be ready.  We’ve worked really hard to bring you new classes that will be educational and stretch your skills, but at the same time, be fun and have beautiful results.  I still hope to have it up on the Class page on yarngal.com by Friday – but we’ll see! I’m thrilled that Lynne Nagle’s basic crochet classes have filled up, and hope all of you crocheters out there want to learn a few new tricks, because we have a couple great project classes coming up.  Knitters, get ready for lace in every guise and at every level – lovely pieces. Make holes in your knitting deliberately.  It’s fun!

Anyway, I’m tired of thinking about classes.  I’m getting excited about TNNA – I’ve put off all sales reps (who started calling me in March, for Pete’s sake!) so I haven’t seen any new yarn yet.  I’ll see a couple people before the Big Yarn Show in June, but there are some lines that don’t have reps in this area (or if they do, the reps concentrate on areas with lots of stores, where their gas money goes further – reps usually pay their own expenses and it hasn’t been easy to make any money the last couple seasons.)  Anyway, now that I’ll have time to think about other things, I’ll also have time to get into trouble with buying yarn.  I’ve already been flitting around the Fleece Artist and Handmaiden sites, and my computer screen is covered with drool.  Gotta have some, and you will, too!  Choosing is always the biggest problem.

I’ll put this into the e-mail that will go out when classes are ready, but I’ll mention it here, too:  The store will be closed the Sunday before Memorial Day (May 24).  It’s always slow that day and last year I made a note to myself to close and enjoy, and I’m going to.  I’ll also be closed the week of TNNA, from June 8 – 16, and also from July 4 – 14.  I told you that I wanted to take it easy this summer, and even though I don’t have any great plans, I just want downtime to mess around my house and go hither and yon if the opportunity arises.

I have some pictures, but forgot to bring the camera home, and I’m just sick of messing around with the computer, so forgive me this week, will you?  I hope you’ll hear from me in a day or two.  Meanwhile, enjoy this beautiful weather!

See you soon…

Trish

This post won’t be long because I have a lot of computer work to do today, but I just want to tantalize you with a few projects from our summer class schedule.  First, though, I’ll show you a couple of projects that turned out really well, and tell you not to miss David Ritz’s latest in the post just below. Another gorgeous piece from David!

Carol Sullivan finished her Napa Pullover, and since it’s kind of yucky and cool today, she may even be getting some use from it before summer hits.  She used Kathmandu Aran and did a beautiful job: She chose an Annie Adams pewter shawl pin to secure the collar, which sets it off perfectly, even though it’s difficult to see in this photo.

Karen Wenrich is making a pair of bright purple socks for a young friend – they are such happy socks that I had to snap a picture of the first of the pair: Isn’t it purty?  She’s using Magic Loop, which she’ll be teaching this summer.

And Stephanie Fishkin brought in a wonderful baby blanket that she designed and knit in Nature Cotton and Patagonia, two Araucania yarns that are chunky and funky and perfect for a soft and comfy blankie.  She always has the blankets monogrammed at Initials Only.

All right, now for some glimpses of summer class projects!  That’s the computer work I have to accomplish today – I must get going on the schedule, signup sheets, web page, orders for materials, etc.  There’s a lot of work in putting a full boat of classes together, and we rarely repeat except for a few basics – we try to keep it fresh for you!

We seem to have a theme for summer: nearly every project we looked at had some amount of lace involved, so we went with it!  Janet is going to teach a simply beautiful feather and fan shawl, which Karen Wenrich is modeling here.  Janet used Noro Silk Garden  but this would be lovely in any lush yarn:

And Karen also models a sweet beret that Karen Walter is going to teach, made out of Fibra Natura Mermaid.  It’s a wonderful blend that got a nice review on Knitter’s Review:

Donna Guthrie made and will teach this great vest, made in Sublime Organic DK Cotton:

and Donna is also showing off a market bag that Karen Walter made and will teach.  It uses mitered squares with “cutouts” and is really a neat bag.  I love the two-tone handle.

Lynne Nagle will be teaching some beautiful crochet projects: a really gorgeous diagonal scarf, shown in Silk Garden a cute crocheted and felted handbag, and a pretty lacy shrug.  There are many more, including the on-going Great North American Afghan, beginner series, finishing classes, a lace shawl knitalong  with 2 shawls to choose from, and a pretty top-down tee with a demure lace panel. If I make serious progress today, I may have the schedule up by next week. You’ll get an e-mail if you’ve subscribed.  If not, do it here!

This past week was the last week (until fall) for the fabulous gals who work at the store, so I’d like to say thanks to Becky Lawrence, Janet Kakareka, Karen Walter and Karen Wenrich for all their great help and expertise this past season.  I’ll be on my own in the shop for the summer and I’ll miss them.  I’m sure you will too since you may have to wait for help with your problems.  My advice:  take a class to stretch your skills, or knit something fun and simple this summer, and just enjoy!

See you soon…

Trish

gathered yoke sweater, originally uploaded by yarngal628.

Just finished my Gathered Yoke sweater . i used 10 balls of Hempathy.
It was an easy sweater to knit. The gathered yoke feature was a cool
feature. Im going to start the ruffled edge top using superior yarn
in purple.

cya soon

David Ritz
sasa007@ptd.net