Cute Beanie!

 

 

Need a nice beanie? One skein of our Galler Prime Alpaca is going to get you THREE of these cute hats. THREE!

New Books!

 

These new books have us all inspired and ready to cast on! The new Laine (Rav link), 52 Weeks of Socks (Rav link), and Fair Isle Weekend (Rav link) would be great gifts for a knitter you love. Or for yourself. You deserve it. Especially this year.

Cestari Traditional

 

This is some gorgeous yarn, all made in the USA. The Cestari Traditional is an Aran weight wool from Columbia and Targhee sheep. The colors we get always depend on what the sheep have to offer!

Bulky For the Win!

 Do you need some bulky yarns at this point in the year? We got you.

 Galler Super-B is in the shop (and online) in these lovely muted tones.

Need some more color? Malabrigo Rasta should meet your needs! This one isn't in the online shop yet, so come on in or give us a call for this one.

New Stuff in the Shop!

Take a look at the new things we have posted in our online shop!

All the colors of the Essence of Autumn Prairie Sock

  Newest Making

Newest Pompom

Newest Amirisu

These special magazines never last long. Grab yours while we have them in stock!

Felted Tweed

Felted Tweed is such a classic! The colors are so rich and the yarn works up into the most lovely, flowy fabric. Take a look at all the colors we have available. With over 33,000 projects on Ravelry, it must be good!

Springs and Stone Mer-Yak

I do love a yarn with yak! It adds such a nice dark halo to the finished fabric. This beautiful Mer-Yak is hand-dyed in Washington state. If you love jewel tones, you should really take a look!

Amble

The new fingering weight Amble from The Fibre Co is alpaca and wool and very gorgeous.

There is a guidebook with a basic pattern and a lot of design options as well!

daylights and nightshades

Have you SEEN the daylights yarn from Harrisville Designs? It's the day time cousin to nightshades, which is such a cool yarn, too. Nightshades feature a black base with hints of color, and daylights is the white base with hints of color.

Sally has some lovely shots on the IG page, and you purchase it through our online shop!

Birch Creek Bandana

Loving the gorgeous and floaty Birch Creek Bandana Sally posted about on Instagram! Pop on over to see the pretty. It require two skeins of Soka'pii and one skein of Foxy Lady from Farmer's Daughter, both of which we have in stock in a beautiful range. Take a look!

Intermediate Sweater Class

Is it time to take your sweater knitting up a notch? Let Lisa help you get there!

Learn to knit the stylish Yume sweater from Isabell Kraemer. This pretty piece has a lace yoke and can be knit with short or long sleeves. It's knit from the top-down, so you can try it on as you go and there is no seaming or finishing!

Take a look at the class page for more information! Give us a call at 503-288-4568 to sign up!

So Many New Books

We have so many gorgeous new books for sale in the store and through our online shop. These are just a few! Go take a look...

Knit Your First Sweater!

It's sweater weather! Want to knit your first sweater to impress your friends and ward off the chill? Well now is your time. Adrienne will teach you how to make the fabulous Tea with Jam and Bread sweater, which offers so many options to fit your style. 

I have knit this sweater four times, and it's the absolute favorite of my teenage daughter. I have knit her the exact same sweater twice in the same colors as she has grown over the years. She is sitting next me wearing hers right now.

You can do stripes or solid, pockets or none, and the length and fit are easily customizable. You can make it more cropped and swingy or longer and fitted. It 's a great pattern.

You should be able to knit and purl to have fun in this class, and Adrienne will teach you how to increase and decrease, how to use double-pointed needles, how to read a pattern, and all kinds of other general tips and tricks to make you a better knitter.

Take a look at the class page here, and give us a call at 503-288-4568 to sign up!

Something Pretty from Harrisville...

 Sally is teasing us with this...

Ostra Cardigan!

So...Amanda made a gorgeous sweater using Retrosaria Beiroa, and she came into the shop to show us. I have been wanting to make this sweater since the moment I saw the pattern. Go check out our IG page for pics of her amazing sweater and adorable doggo.

Blanket Classes!

We are ready for classes again! All online for now, but we cannot wait to see you and help you along your knitting journey.

We are starting out with an old favorite! Check out Adrienne's Beginning and Intermediate Blanket Class that we are offering online. You will need to choose and order your yarn by the end of November so you have it in time for your first class in December.

Take a look at the schedule and course description. Give us a call to sign up!

Hello!

Hi friends! 

We are resurrecting the blog to bring you info about classes and what's new in the shop. Sally has been doing such a great job sharing all the pretty new things over on Instagram, so I'm going to link to her posts so you can see what she is sharing.

We are also trying out online classes, so stay tuned for more about that, too! I added Adrienne's blanket class already, perfect for beginning and intermediate knitters.

Let's start out by ending you to Instagram to see my all time favorite book if you like knitting for babies. Just check out the Balloon Pants. Looks like we have it listed for sale online, too!

I hope you have all been taking care of yourselves and finding some solace in your fiber arts.

OPEN MONDAY JUNE 15!!!

Close Knit has been closed for almost three months, and we sure appreciate how you have supported us during this time. THANK YOU! We miss your lovely masked faces.

We are finally opening to the public Monday, June 15th from 11-5. We plan to be open 11-5 Monday through Saturday, 12-4 on Sundays.

To keep us ALL safe and enjoy our time together, we ask that the following guidelines be followed:

 

~ If you have any signs or symptoms of illness, please refrain from coming into the store.

 

~ Masks are required of everyone in the store. Please bring yours.

 

~ Upon entering the store, hand sanitizer will be provided and required. This one is super hard, but we ask that you limit your touching in the store.

 

~ To maintain social distancing, we will be limiting the store to two customers at a time.  We ask that shopping be efficient and respectful to customers waiting their turn.

 

~ We are unable to conduct classes, host open knit night, or handle knitting to correct mistakes. We are looking forward to the day we can have all that in the store again!!

 

~ We will not have a public bathroom available at this time.

 

~ We are happy to help you shop on the phone and arrange curbside pick-up if you are ill or vulnerable. Don't forget, we have a new website for you to shop at home!

 

~ We are happy to wind yarn but will ask that you wait outside if time allows or arrange for a wound yarn pick-up at a later time.

We sure look forward to seeing you all again!  If you have any questions please call the shop at 503-288-4568.

 

The Close Knit Crew

Close Knit is Online!

Hello everyone!

So sorry to be absent for the last several weeks! I (Leah) have been a little swamped with my other job as a science teacher, and the blog has languished a bit as I tried to keep up there.

The Close Knit staff has been busy at work, taking your phone and email orders, popping packages in the mail, and facilitating safe curb-side pick-ups. We have been posting on our Instagram page with lots of ideas and new stuff and inspiration, and we have all certainly been knitting!

Our shop website looks a little different these days, as we join the world of online shopping! It is a slow process, but new yarns and kits are appearing regularly on the front page. We hope these will inspire you and give you an idea of what we have to offer in the shop, even if it's not time for all of you to join us there in the physical space yet.

Right now, we have someone in the shop from 11-1 every day to facilitate ordering and get packages ready, and you can email Sally at closeknit.sally@gmail.com with questions about yarn or ordering. We are monitoring and considering all of the factors as we move ahead, and we will certianly keep you posted about what our next steps will be.

We thank you all so much for your continued support of our little shop and our fiber community in Portland. It means the world to us that you continue to turn to us for your yarny needs!

Living in this Orange Sweater

So, I don't know about you all, but I am pretty much living in the same limited range of clothing right now. My daughter is calling my daytime sweatpants my "pandemic day pants," and I have been mostly been cycling through different versions of PJs with layers depending on how chilly it is. But this sweater has been with me since that surprising snow storm that graced us that first weird weekend before we knew what was coming.

This orange Felix Pullover is like a cozy hug on our chilly mornings, and it's light as a feather. I love the color that our sweet Melissa helped me choose. It's nice and cheerful, but still heathered and interesting. My dear friend made one in the loveliest of deep bottle greens, which she is also pairing with sweatpants.

The pattern is an easy knit by a fabulous designer, and my size large only used 8 balls of Lopi, which we have in lots of great shades. Just give Sally a call at the shop between 11 and 1 during the week or email her anytime to find out what we have in stock.

The design was so popular, the designer released a cardigan version, which I am pretty sure I need to make next. I'll definitely need to choose a color that goes with my pandemic day pants.

Call 503.288.4568 between 11 and 1 Monday-Friday!
Email closeknit.sally@gmail.com anytime!

nightshades

Pic borrowed from Rav pattern page.

Sally is thinking about making this cardigan in this yarn.

It's the Ginny cardigan from Andrea Mowry in Harrisville Designs nightshades, a gorgeous black Cormo base with a colored wool for a really cool and subtle tweedy effect.You will love this yarn, I promise. And we have all of the shades! Give us a call if you are thinking this yarn (and maybe this sweater) are for you.

I brought some of this home awhile back with a few possible plans, but now that I see that shawl collar, I think I might be sold on Ginny, too!

Still Yarning! Let's Make Blankets!

Friends! We will be available all week from 11AM - 1PM to take calls in the shop and pack up orders. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and shown us love. We cannot thank you enough!

We can mail yarn to you or deliver it on your doorstep (if you are close) or arrange a curb-side delivery. How about some ideas?

All of this Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica has us dreaming of blankets. Maybe this Library Blanket from Purl Soho?

Pic borrowed from Purl Soho.

So much freedom to make it just the way you like it. If you run out of one color, just sub in another and it will still be perfect.

Speaking of blankets, we have so much Noro for you to blanket your little heart out.

Our Noromania Blanket is amazing, especially with this beautiful neutral as one of the shades. You can't really go wrong here.

Emily designed a log cabin Noro blanket, too. Check out her Cabin Fever Blanket in Noro Kureopatora. 

Thank you for all of your orders! Email us at closeknit.sally@gmail.com or call us at 503.288.4568 between 11AM and 1PM Monday through Friday this week. We can't wait to see you all in the shop again soon, but we are so grateful for all of your support!

More Hours!

We are adding days for you all to get in touch and talk to us about yarn!

Someone will be in the shop today (Saturday!) from 11AM-1PM to help you choose yarn and colors and get orders packed up for you. We are also going to be available Monday-Friday next week from 11AM-1PM. That's every day next week!

Thank you so much for your patience as we navigate this whole crazy process. We know that it's not perfect every time, but we so appreciate your love and support. It is keeping us going! We are hoping these added hours will help make the process easier for all of us.

Give us a call at 503.288.4568, email Sally at closeknit.sally@gmail.com, or DM us on Instagram. We can ship packages or coordinate a curb-side pick up for you. We love you all!

Way To Go Wednesday

Hi friends! It's Wednesday, so one of our amazing staff will be in the shop from 11AM-1PM to answer calls and pack up some orders for shipping or curb-side pick up.

Pic borrowed from Purl Soho site.

I am feeling inspired by the Purl Soho Colorful Half + Half Washcloths that popped up on their website. We have plenty of lovely cottons and linens in the shop that would be perfect for this project. Seems like a nice thing to be working on when you need a little something soothing.

Maybe Cascade Hampton, a nice pima cotton/linen blend. Perhaps Cascade Noble, a mercerized cotton in lots of vivid colors. For a more rustic and slubby linen look, Zooey from Juniper Moon Farms might be really cool. I know we have a lot of nice shades of these yarns in the shop, and this project is a great way to use up every little bit of each color with the stripes and blocks.

Sally is thinking bigger projects on our IG page. Want to tackle an Isager sweater? Well we have plenty of Isager yarn and several books in stock. Call us or email Sally, and we can get a whole kit set up for you.

503.288.4568
closeknit.sally@gmail.com

We cannot begin to tell you how thankful we are for your continued support during this unprecedented time. Our little shop is bursting with love for all of you!

Making it Through Monday

Hey y'all! Someone is in the shop from 11AM-1PM today to take phone orders. Call us at 503-288-4568, email Sally at closeknit.sally@gmail.com, or DM us on Instagram.

Want to work on a blanket on this chilly, rainy morning? We have lots of Noro on the shelves, and we are eagerly awaiting more. Our Noromania Blanket is the perfect therapy for this uncertain time. Rows and rows of colorful garter stitch, and your colorways never need to match. Just keep knitting, friends!

PAUSE and a DEEP BREATH

This is the message that Sally posted over on our Instagram page on Saturday, 3/21:

I’m so delighted when the Trillium pop up in my garden. The simple sign of Spring outside my door makes it all feel alright...and normal. These days are anything but normal, I’m afraid. 

Close Knit is hitting the PAUSE button at closing time today. We have never ever, not once cancelled a day in the shop due to snow, sleet, or storm in 15 years. This one is different friends. We are pausing to get a grip on what this means to our safety, yours, and beyond.

We were delighted to cautiously see so many of you this week stocking up on projects because we all know that creativity, color and texture are healing for our souls!! However, every day this week seemed to need a course correction in how to safely deal with having a retail business, serve you all, and keep Close Knit chugging along. We do things the old fashioned way at the shop and we only sell face to face or on the phone. 

Sooooo, this week we are going to be in the shop just three days for a couple hours to take calls and messages on anything you might need or want. Our phone is 503-288-4568 and we will be in the shop Monday 3/23, Wednesday 3/25, and Friday 3/27 from 11-1. 

We can package up what you need and deliver to our curb or deliver it via USPS. We will be rethinking our approach in a week after a BIG DEEP BREATH! We hope to post things on Facebook, our blog and here on IG that inspire you, show you yarn in the shop and tell ya we are still here!👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋 PLEASE TAKE CARE ALL OF YOU!!❤️❤️

Take Care of Yourselves!

Hi y'all! We here at Close Knit sincerely hope that you are hunkered down and feeling safe and healthy in your homes. We are currently still open regular hours, but we are postponing our classes and pausing Open Knit Night for a bit.

Adreinne will be in touch with the monthly blanket class participants about a remote video class that she has been preparing for you. Don't want to miss out on that blanket square!

Since our fiber arts are what keeps some of us functioning, we want to be here for you! Give us a call (503.288.4568) and we can figure out how to safely get your yarn and supplies into your hands with as little contact as possible. We can make sales over the phone and meet you at the curb with your goodies, ship items, or even deliver to your doorstep within a few miles of the shop.

In the meantime, post your project pics on Instagram and use the #washyourhandsandkal tag to join the online knit-a-long. Let's keep our community strong, even though we all need to stay home to keep ourselves and our communities safe. Take care of yourselves, friends, and wash your hands.

Yakima

This pretty new Yakima from Plymouth is really cool!

It's a single ply fingering weight yarn with some lovely dark halo action happening thanks to the 15% yak content. Several folks on Ravelry are making a Belmina lace cowl/kerchief sort of thing.

I think I would try holding this yarn together with some mohair to pump up the dark halo affect.

I love this combo. It would make a nice Oslo hat too, perhaps? Any excuse to knit another hat.

Vacation Knitting

I don't know about you all, but January and February were some long months for me! I was lucky enough to ring in March at the lovely Oregon coast with a fire pit and a whole ocean close by. 

I was working on my Childhood pullover in Harrisville Shetland, and I am just smitten with these tidy increases along the shoulder. It's a good thing I like this yarn so much, because this is not going to be a speedy knit! Totally worth it, though.

Eye Candy

The crawl was a blast! It was great to meet so many new people and see all of those familiar faces. We are also exhausted.