Rose City Yarn Crawl: Passports and Prizes (and Snacks)

You all know about the prize baskets, right?  There is so much good stuff to win!

Just a sample of previous prize baskets, each basket is unique!

First, if you plan on making it to all of the shops on the crawl, you'll likely need a map and you'll definitely want a passport. As you plan your day, be sure to take a look at snack/meal/coffee/chill out opportunities in each neighborhood. The shops have all complied nice lists of our favorite places, and we love to support the other businesses in our communities.

As you make your way around Portland, be sure to get a stamp at each shop you visit. If you are able to fill the whole passport over the course of the weekend, you can turn it in at any shop to be eligible for the Grand Prize Basket!

Even if you don't make it to all of the shops, you are still eligible for the six prizes that each shop will be giving away. Just be sure to sign up at every shop to get your name in. There are more prize baskets, awesome kits, and gift certificates up for grabs!

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting this fun event. Have a great time crawling, and we can't wait to see you this weekend!

Rose City Yarn Crawl: Trunk Shows and Visitors

The Rose City Yarn Crawl starts up on Thursday! We talked about the patterns that will be available in the shops, but there is a ton going on each day.

Every year for the yarn crawl, we are thrilled to invite visitors to our shop to show of their gorgeous goods. These trunk shows give you a chance to try on garments, check out how certain yarns will work up, and be inspired by all of the fabulous things these folks are doing. Here's our line up for next weekend:

Endless Wrap, pic borrowed from BSF pattern page

Thursday: Lovely trunk shows from Blue Sky Fibers and Imperial Yarns

BSF Scandia Throw, pic borrowed from Rav page

Arrowhead Cardigan from Imperial yarns, pic borrowed from Rav page

Friday: Bumblebirch trunk show, Lisa Carney-Fenton of Handworks NW trunk show

Bumblebirch Heartwood Celestial, pic borrowed from website

Lisa Carney-Fenton's Slip Slidin Infinity Scarf, pic borrowed from Rav page

Saturday: Farmer's Daughter trunk show, and Lisa Carney-Fenton will be with us again

Farmer's Daughter Fibers, pic borrowed from FDF page

Sunday: Knitted Wit trunk show

Unicorn Eggs from Knitted Wit, pic borrowed from their Color Gallery

The hand-dyer trunk shows are so much fun! In addition to seeing the yarn worked up into lovely items, you'll get to meet the folks behind some of our shop favorites and really appreciate how much work and love go in to creating these beautiful yarns.

Eye Candy

Check out this pretty little Vidro hat in The Fibre Co Cumbria Fingering. So calm and soothing. It'll be in the shop this weekend for the Yarn Crawl if you want a better look!

Bare Naked Wools

You know we love the spectacular hand-dyed yarns and crazy cool textures, but sometimes we just want to keep it simple. Enter Bare Naked Wools. This is purely lovely yarn.

As they state on their website: "Our yarns create garments that are soft and luxurious. No chemicals, dyes, or harsh processing create durable fabrics that showcase the integrity of each fiber. Our yarns come from animals that are loved and doted on and mills that understand and appreciate their materials." It doesn't really get much better than that!

We are currently stocking the five natural shades of Stone Soup Fingering you see up above and five shades of Stone Soup DK seen below. These yarns are blends of all kinds of natural fibers, mostly wool and alpaca, with little neps and noils for some lovely rustic texture. The knitted fabric has such a soft hand, almost flannel-like.

This yarn cables beautifully, and it's nice and sticky for colorwork. Perfect for accessories, garments, blankets...as long as you like neutrals, you'll love these Bare Naked Wools!

Rose City Yarn Crawl: Patterns are Out

The Yarn Crawl starts a week from tomorrow! There is so much happening in our shop and all around Portland. First, let's talk about patterns...

The shop patterns have all been released. They theme this year was Waterways, and there are some really cute patterns for knit and crochet. From fish washcloths to bags to some gorgeous wraps and cowls, there is something for everyone. These patterns are available for free at each shop you visit during the crawl, and the yarn for each pattern is 10% off during the crawl.

Pic borrowed from Ravelry pattern site.

I have been anxiously awaiting Sally's Zigzag Gansey cowl, which she knit up in Imperial Yarns Columbia. We have a lovely stock of this Oregon-grown yarn in the shop right now. It is squishy and local and softens up and fluffs up so nicely with a wash. It's good.

Pic borrowed from Ravelry pattern site.

We also have a really cute crochet bag pattern by Melissa, the Sandy River worked up in Cascade Hampton. This sweet cotton and linen bag is just the thing for your adventures.

The patterns are all really lovely, and I appreciate how the different shops showcase yarns that are really special to them, from local Oregon options to favorite hand-dyed yarns. It's cool to see the shop personalities come through in their patterns.

Also, have you all been working on your Mystery Knit and Crochet-a-long patterns? All of the clues have been released, so it's time to get cracking. We can't wait to see all of your lovely creations next week!

Stay tuned for more information about what's happening in our little corner of the crawl!

Eye Candy

The Suri Alpaca Merino Glow looks like sparkles on the snow! This pretty laceweight is a Close Knit favorite.

Egg Press Bags

Do you all know Egg Press? You have likely seen their (often cheeky) letterpress cards in you local grocery store or boutique if you live here in Portland, although they have worked with companies all around the world. All of their beautiful things are made here in town, and they are truly lovely people.

We are so excited to have their gorgeous canvas zipper bags in the shop! These are great for knitting notions, project bags, makeup bags, snack bags...just about anything really. The designs are lovely and graphic, and the quality is top notch. If you love local and awesome, you should stop in to see these while they last!

Knit Your Heart's Desire!

In place of our regular Eye Candy, I'm here to remind you that Adrienne's Pick Your Project class starts tomorrow at 10AM! There are SO MANY lovely ideas for you to try out under Adrienne's capable tutelage.

Winter Games Hat

Want to make a sweater? Try out short rows? Make a sock? Try colorwork? Learn magic loop, grafting, tubular cast on? Play with brioche? All of these things are possible in this class! Decide what you'd love to try, and give a call to the shop to hold your spot. We can help you choose yarn and needles to get started and you will be well on your way to knitting your heart's desire!

Carbeth!

Hermione's Everyday Sock

Briochemistry

I've included a few inspirational patterns from Ravelry that have caught my eye just to get you thinking! All of the pics are borrowed from the Ravelry pattern pages, just follow the link under the picture for more information. Have fun!

Cotton Merino is Back

We have a fresh batch of Katia Concept Cotton Merino, including many new springy shades. This knits up in a cool, faded, mottled knitted fabric. We have a little swatch at the shop for you to see. 

Some cute projects are popping up on Ravelry using this yarn. 

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page.

I really like Quick Like a Snow Bunny, a freebie using 2 balls. 

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page.

The Lighthouse Hat ($4 pattern) uses Cotton Merino and a silk mohair to create a fluffy and sweet hat.

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page.

Big Fat Stratus ($2.95 pattern) uses Cotton Merino and a color-changing Aran weight yarn. I would totally do this with just Cotton Merino, or maybe mix it up with some Noro Taiyo for a cool striped effect. So many ideas!

Noro Restock!

Fresh Noro in the shop! We have Kureyon for you blanket-obsessed. 

Seriously, how many of you are knitting the Noromania Blanket? Or are knitting your third? It's a really good blanket. If you have not done so, please consider adding yours to our Ravelry page to show off you color choices and awesome knitting.

We also have Taiyo for fans of the cotton and silk content. This one just begs to be a bright and fun kid sweaters in my mind. It would be great for the Noromania Blanket, too.

Finally, the Kureopatora for you all who love our Color Therapy Cowl. The shades of this one are a little more subtle than the Kureyon, perfect for mixing and matching in a cozy cowl.

These fun patterns are free from us to you. We obviously love Noro! Pop in and fall in love with these beauties, too.

Eye Candy

I've been knitting away on the Knitter's Dude in Cascade Eco. I've had to teach myself a few new tricks to get to this point. Next up...steeking!

Ambiente

I'm loving all of these shades of Ambiente in the shop. This is a sport weight superwash yarn in some really cool self-patterning shades, perfect for hats, sock, baby sweaters...all the things!

We have this fun pillow to show off the colors, too. The front and the back are different to really showcase what this yarn does.

I used this to make some well-loved sock for my (adult-foot-sized) daughter with contrasting heels and toes. It may be a sport weight, but I knit these on US0s and they are wearing like iron. And my kid loves them, so it's a win all around. You will need two balls for a pair of adult socks. I added the contrasting heels and toes so I wouldn't run out of yarn. I would have been cutting it close without that feature.

Sally is talking about a restock of this yarn soon, and I think I need to get my hands on some more!