Fridays are for New Stuff (Wednesdays, Too)

I love working on Fridays.  I used to miss out on all of the big packages when I only worked weekends.  Last week was especially good.

The new Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 50 is at the shop.  The Rowan site has a great slide show with all of the important details.  These are some of the pretties that caught my eye.

Have you guys seen this stuff?

Rowan Kidsilk Creation is a pre-knitted tube of Kidsilk Haze that you can use to make these crazy twisty scarves in about 20 minutes.

Seriously.  You can knit or crochet them, and the yarn comes with a pattern.  Rowan offers a tutorial on their website, which I highly recommend checking.  The process is not really even knitting, but the results are getting a lot of attention.  This yarn is a limited edition offering from Rowan, and we have all available colors at the shop right now, so get it while we have it.  It might not come back.

New and well-loved books arrived as well.  Ysolda Teague's Little Red in the City continues to be a popular choice.  The two copies we had left are likely gone by now, but we do keep ordering it.  Classic Elite Quick Knits is chock full of some of the best little projects that Classic Elite has offered over the past several years.  This would make a great gift, too, for a fellow knitter.

Connie Chang Chinchio's Textured Stitches is hot off the presses.  She has designed some very popular sweaters for Interweave Knits, Twist Collective, and a variety of books.  Her designs are classic with a little something to keep you engaged.  We are also freshly stocked with the ever popular Last Minute Knitted Gifts and More Last Minute Knitted Gifts, if you are so inclined.

Brand new to Close Knit: Cascade Lana Grande.  This yarn is similar to Rowan Big Wool for half the price.  At two stitches per inch on a US15, I think this is going to be a popular choice for our last minute knitters.  Sally used two balls of Lana Grande and a US15 to whip up Nancy's Charly Infinity Scarf. 

Also new to us, we have Cascade Kid Seta and Kid Seta Noir.  The Noir has little sparkles, which are notoriously difficult to photograph.

These would be great for Nancy's Poppy Flowers.  They knit up quickly and work really well as gift toppers or as gifts on their own.  We also have a shelf full of Magnum, some new colors of Noro Silk Garden, and these beautiful interchangable Dreamz needle sets from Knitter's Pride.  They are really reasonably priced, and they are very nice to work with.

And this week, a whole bunch of Classic Elite Liberty Wool!  If you fell in love with the little hats we have at the shop, come and get some while it's here, because the Liberty Wool does not last long.  These are the Umbilical Cord Hats from Stitch n' Bitch, and they are adorable.  These hats came from the same ball of yarn (yes, one ball = two baby hats), and they are definitely fraternal rather than identical.

Next time I will tell you about something beautiful that starts with "S" and ends with "crumptious".  I love Fridays.

Fall Arrivals: Aslan Trends, Little Red, and Kauni

New stuff is arriving!  Above is Del Sur, a super-bulky thick and thin yarn from Aslan Trends.  Imagine a big ol' scarf or the pointy elf hat from the cover of More Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

You guys loved the Royal Alpaca last fall, and we have a whole lot more in the shop right now.  This is one of the softest and finest alpaca yarns you can buy.  We have a sample of Nancy's lovely Lana Glove in the beautiful mustard yellow.  This yarn would be stunning for cowls, hats, gloves, or the most amazingly soft sweater you've ever worn.

 

We love Ysolda Teauge, and we have her newest book in stock right now, Little Red in the City.  This book is AMAZING.  There are seven classic sweater patterns, and the sizes range from a 30" to 60" bust.

In addition to the patterns, Ysolda outlines so many valuable techniques.  She really appreciates that simply making a sweater larger doesn't make it work for a curvy figure.  This book is packed with valuable design advice, illustrated in easy to understand hand-drawings and notes.  You could design a sweater from the ground up, or adjust one of her patterns for the perfect fit.  I can't even begin to describe everything in here.  Come by and flip through a copy before they are all gone.

 

Last but not least, a basket full of Kauni.  This lovely yarn is flying out the door, but we have more on the way.  More on this pretty stuff when we restock.

Some Very Collectible Pattern Books

New pattern books at the shop. These are the kinds of books that are so nice to have on the shelf, whether you buy them for yourself or your favorite knitter. Aside from the beautiful designs, they are very inspiring. Published by independent designers (which is also pretty cool), they styling and photography are really something to see.

Whimsical Little Knits 1 and 2 from Ysolda Teauge.

Peaks Island Hood from WLK2, which would be gorgeous in Rowan Kid Classic.

Veyla from WLK2 in The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering. We have a nice stock of this right now.
Smith, the knitted hedgehog, also from WLK2. The same pattern done up at three different gauges yields this little family. I feel these must be knit in tweed yarn in order for true hedgehoginess to be achieved.


Westknits Book Two from Stephen West. (We also have Book One.) So many cool accessories: hats, gloves, shawls, scarves, and other items that fit into several categories. The designs will give you lots of opportunities to play with color in whatever way makes you happiest.

(I'm linking to Ravelry for these because there are no details or photos on the designer's website yet.)

Bandwidth in Tosh Vintage.

Filbert, perfect in Debbie Bliss Glen or Rowan Purelife Renew.

Honegart, perfect for Spud & Chloe Sweater.

Transatlantic in Tosh Pashmina. We plan to restock this as soon as we can, but in the meantime, I'd suggest Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight pure alpaca.

Loxley would be great in Kathmandu Aran, perhaps the softest tweed I've ever used.

The Shetland Trader from Gudrun Johnston. So beautiful. Here are a few of the designs.

Norie in The Fibre Company Savannah DK, which we have in some pretty blues and a sunny yellow.
Shoormal, Shalder, and Solan.


I have several books in my collection that just make me happy, including the two St-Denis books, anything from Helga Isager, the Mason-Dixon Knitting books, Jared Flood's Made in Brooklyn, and the Last Minute Knitted Gifts books. I plan to make a few items from these collections, but I very often pull them out and flip through if I am in need of a little creative injection.

It seems like these new arrivals might have to find a place on the happy shelf, too. What knitting books do you turn to again and again to keep you inspired?

Projects Bags, Magazines, Books, and more Firefly

We have so much new stuff in the shop this week.

The fully lined project bags from Knit Purl Sew What? are pretty fabulous. Sally chose the fabric at Bolt, the bags are made here in Portland, and we have them for you at Close Knit. Good local happiness.



The Shetland Trader Book One from Gudrun Johnston. We have a few individual patterns, too, including the Moch Cardi and Hansel, a traditional hap shawl.

Whimsical Little Knits 1 and 2 from Ysolda Teauge.

WestKnits Books One and Two. (Ravelry link with photos and details here.) There is discussion that the second might be even better than the first. Thoughts?

The brand new Interweave Knit & Spin. Details on this soon.

Interweave Summer 2011. More from that soon, too.

You people love the Firefly! We have increased our stock so everyone can make the Firefly Bias Scarf. I'm so glad you all like it.


A shelf full of Cascade Ultra Pima. So lustrous and soft.

If spring is going to keep us waiting, maybe we should knit some sunshine.

I'll be back soon with details about the books and magazines. Also dates for a beginner sock class to prepare you for the advanced stuff you all want to learn at Sock Summit. And perhaps a little surprise announcement this week? You'll have to stay posted...