As promised.

Eric's crocheted hats. There are three in total (third one is under the skein). Eric joins our knitting groups on occasion and he is always making the most creative crocheted items.

Norah has been working on this lace project for a close friend. It is a scarf but I took a picture of a small section so you can really see the lace detail. Norah also spins and has spun yarn and then knit it into socks.

That wasn't the only completed lace project Thursday, as Patty finished her lace wrap. Here it is on a Lantern Moon hanger.
Here is the close up of the lace detail.

Have a great weekend!
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Thursday Night Update


We had a few friends over tonight for Thursday Night Knitting. So, I will post tonight some highlights of the evening and then post a few more items tomorrow on lace projects completed by Norah, Patty, and some hats made by Eric.

Let's start the recap: Heather has made progress on Pure Merino to knit the Justina skirt pattern that is in Berroco: Norah Gaughan Volume One. She started this skirt three weeks ago, and it is looking fabulous.

Nancy (she's grinning on the left hand side) stopped by and a couple of her friends joined her for shopping and knitting. Nancy and Jen
are working on scarves.

Geri was working on the pidge. This is for a buttoned mini scarf. If that sounds something you might be interested in you can try the Mini Scarflet (Smidge).
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Competitional Knitting?

I found this video on the German Knitting Competition 2007. Enjoy and keep on knitting (but you don't have to knit as fast as the woman with the red and yellow scarf).

New Yarn: Misti Alpaca

Oh, alpaca! Looking for a quick knit that is decadent for a loved one this holiday? Look no further, we have Misti Alpaca Chunky.

This 100% alpaca skein is smooshy and soft, and knit at 3 stitches to the inch makes this bulky and a simple pattern perfect for scarves. Each skein has 108 yards. Your question is what are some simple patterns:
Ribs and Ruffle Scarf
Quickie Cowl
Diagonal Rib Scarf

We also received Misti Alpaca in laceweight.

It knits at 28 stitches to four inches with 437 yards in each skein. You could try and make Kiri with this delicious yarn.


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FInal Sale: Allzeit

Allzeit is a acrylic/nylon blend which is machine washable in a worsted weight. It knits at 20 stitches=4" and each skein has 132 yards.
At $3.00 each, this makes for a great baby sweater or blanket.

Some have asked if we still have the plastic stash/storage bags for $1.00 and yes we still have some left. They are perfect for yarn stashes as the yarn lies flat (translation: you can stack bags on top of bags on top of bags).

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Weekend Wrap-Up

Sunday was a quiet day with visits by many old and new faces. As some folks prepared for baby blankets, other stopped in to make a holiday basket for loved ones, and we had folks in mid-project picking out buttons and new projects.

Lisa picked up some Claudia Handpainted in sport weight th other day and knit this sock in one day. It is going to be house socks.

Kelly also spent some knitting time working on her lace scarf in Mongolian Cashmere which looks fabulous!
We always enjoy seeing everyone's projects as they are working on them or done. Stop by and let us see your FO (finished objects).
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There are so many websites popping up that offer free patterns (in fact we have posted a few links to the site on the blog) but don't forget that a lot of yarn manufacturers will also offer free patterns. Berroco has a great website that offers free patterns, a blog, and a newsletter.

The free pattern library is organized by type, crochet, level of skill, and by yarns. The blog is written by Norah Gaughan the author of Knitting Nature and is very interesting because she talks from the design perspective. The newsletter will discuss news yarn and patterns.

Enjoy and Knit on!
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New Yarn: Sulka

One customer stopped by the shop and picked up this skein and proceeded to say, "Heaven! This is heavenly!" And they are so right!
Sulka is a yarn from Mirasol. The yarn is 60% Merino Wool, 20% Alpaca, and 20% Silk and each skein has 55 yards.

As posted the other day, two skeins would make a lovely cowl. In fact, this pattern came to our attention today, The Quickie Cowl. The Quickie Cowl calls for Misti Alpaca Chunky (which ahem we have but that post is for another day).

However, if you are looking for another quick project try Le Slouch Hat which would use around 3 skeins.
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and delicious meal and good times with loved ones. We will see you on Friday!

Loved,

The Stix Crew

Correction to date-
Sunday 12/02/07
from 2PM-4PM we will be hosting a book signing by author
Mary Beth Temple - "The Secret Language of Knitters". SRP $9.95
A note on weather- if the weather is bad , please call ahead to make sure we are open- There seems to be a possibility of snow or sleet for Sunday.

Mary Beth will be reading excerpts from the book. The Secret Language of Knitters was listed in Knitty's Fall 2007 section of Cool Stuff as Amy Singer stated, "Keep a copy handy and pass it quietly to those who need it so they don't feel left out." This book makes a great gift for yourself, knitterly friends, or swap pals.

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Let's talk: Cowls

Here is Sunday's recent cowl made in Claudia Handpainted in Sport weight yarn.

The beauty of the cowl has several layers. A cowl keeps your neck warm, it is stylish, it is a quick knit and doesn't require a lot of yarn. If you are looking for immediate gratification or if you need that emergency hand made gift OR if you have some luxury yarn but not a lot, try making a cowl. And since we haven't had links for free patterns on the site for a while here are a few cowl patterns:

For the accessory lovers, try the Neck Hug Recipe.

For the crocheters, try the Mossy Cowl.

For the cable enthusiasts, try the Three Seas Cowl.

For the Masterpiece theatre fans, try the Neckwarmer.

For the Jane Austen fans, try the Victorian lace and ribbed neckwarmer (Thanks to Bezzie for pointing this one out, click here to see hers).

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Store Hours This Week

As everyone is either in the process of preparing for the Thanksgiving meal or arranging transportation to arrive at the Thanksgiving meal, we just wanted to update you on the store hours.

We will be open this week:

-Tuesday from 10-5
-Wednesday from 10-5
-Thursday closed
-Friday from 10-5
-Saturday from 10-5
-Sunday from 11-5

If travelling far, try bringing a mindless project with you. This may not be the best time to tackle a lace project, but a simple stockinette sock or patternless scarf might be a good thing to have handy if stuck in traffic (while you are not the driver) or if your hands get itchy before or after the meal.
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A little bit of...

One finished object. This was a lovely top down sweater that was brought into the shop by a customer who was wearing it.....

and she was working on a new sweater in Kochoran which Sunday, Louise, and I were admiring.

Sunday was a pleasant day with snow flurries dancing around in the morning and just chilly weather setting in the afternoon. The perfect weather for knitting.

I promise I will post some new yarn this week as well as another recommended website.
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One of our customers brought in her Noro vest for her husband. The vest still needs some minor finishing on the right arm opening. The vest looks great, but it just needs some buttons.

So, everyone goes to the button wall. Ideally, we would have loved these buttons. The square shape picks up the squares of the entrelac and the wood has a rustic look which is appropriate for the Noro yarn. Unfortunately, the color was not a match for the sweater.

Next buttons. The color is a little better. This particular customer did not want shiny. These buttons did not make the cut.
The finish, shiny or matte, will either complement the look of the garment or not.

The buttons she did like were these.

They have a rustic appearance, they are not shiny, and it may be difficult to discern in this photo but they are beige in the center and a light brown around the edge which picks up two of the colors in the vest.
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Thursday Night Update 11/15

Thursday Night was hopping. In addition to the usual Thursday night crew, we also had a special Holiday Sale. It was a busy night while some stocked up on Colinette kits, needles, and sweater quantities of yarn, others prepared for the upcoming holidays. As I was busy helping with the sale, there is not a lot of photos of FO's (finished objects).

So, here's what I was able to take before the madness....

Debra's new Noro jacket. This was done relatively quick. If you remember Debra was debating using grey for the collar, but instead went with a pretty purple.

And the back view with a quick modeling pose.
If I am correct this was cast on a Wednesday and finished on the weekend.

Lastly, white chocolate chip cookies with cranberries.
These were gone by the end of the night.
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Holiday Sale


This Thursday- November 15th from 7PM-10PM we are having a Holiday Sale.
15% Off your purchase.
Hope to see you there!
There are a number of stores on Glenridge Avenue participating so beware of parking problems
FYI = you can park in the permit spots in the lot after 7PM.
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Yarn Resource

Bookmark Yarndex into your favorites. Yarndex is a great website that is a database of yarn manufacturers. You can search for yarns based on the name, manufacturer, gauge, type of material, and more. They also have a lot of the color cards for the yarns listed. It's great if you are looking for gauge for a particular yarn or let's say you liked a yarn but couldn't remember the name of the colorway.

Watch this space! Tomorrow, we will have an exciting announcement about an event in the shop this Thursday, November 15, 2007.
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Sunday Wrap-Up

Marcia stopped by Sunday afternoon with this lovely baby blanket for her soon to be new granddaughter.

The blanket is a Debbie Bliss pattern knit with Debbie Bliss yarn. She is almost done and this is how much she did in two weeks. It gets even better, she's already knit one in blue for the granddaughter's brother. Twins!
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Pictured below is the larger part of the Nicky Epstein trunk show which includes a variety of felted items from purses, a dog coat, baby booties, and one of our favorites a bunny rabbit.

This collage selects a few pieces to highlight from the show.
Of course, to really see the details come in and stop by the shop.
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