Urban Craft Uprising this weekend!!

Seattle's largest indie craft show, now in its fifth year, is holding its first ever summer show this coming weekend, at the Seattle Center! The winter show we did last December was such a hit, that Yarnia will be having a booth at this year's summer show as well! We'll have tons of pre-made "house blends" of our yarn in a multitude of colors, textures, and weights, with many options for custom ordering and gift certificates as well. (And don't worry, we'll leave a plentiful supply of cones here at the shop as well, as will remain the machine, for all your custom yarn creating needs!)

And if you make it up to Seattle for the show, not only will you get to visit Yarnia's booth, but you'll also get to partake in all of the following...

* FREE admission!
* Special workshops
* Crafty author signings
* Unique handcrafted items
* Over 100 of the best DIY crafters, artists, and designers
* Clothing, jewelry, gifts, baby items, toys, paper goods, housewares, and much, much more!

For more info, visit www.urbancraftuprising.com.

Lindsey, and awesome volunteer Beth, getting ready to carry the Yarnia banner in the Division Street Fair parade this past Saturday

Division/Clinton Street Fair This Weekend!

Looking for something fun to do this Saturday? Check out the Division/Clinton Street Fair, this Saturday from 10 to 5! In addition to performances, contests, and demonstrations, there will be 50+ vendors all up and down those two main streets, and an eco shuttle that will be operating all day!

The day kicks off with a parade that starts at 50th Street and passes right by Yarnia, where we'll have snacks, drinks, and air conditioning going all day long.

This weekend also marks the debut of our new next-door neighbor, who's opening up a gallery right here next to us, and collaborating with a bunch of other artists to show their work -- come have a look!

Sock Summit Weekend at Yarnia

As you may already know, this summer Portland will be home to the first ever Sock Summit, taking place at the Oregon Convention Center the weekend of August 6-9!

We've chosen not to have a booth in the marketplace, opting instead to keep our resources here at the shop all weekend, especially for those of you coming in from out-of-town, who may not otherwise get to see the machine in action!

We also know you all have busy schedules with classes, panels, and other fun events going on all weekend, so we're going to have some special extended hours here at the shop that will help to accommodate all of you! Specifically, Yarnia will be open until 9 p.m. the evening of Thursday, August 6, so those of you not attending the Sock Summit Opening Ceremonies can come on by and have your yarn made up after hours!

Here's when we'll be open that whole week/end:

* Wednesday, August 5: 11am-6pm
* Thursday, August 6: 11am-9pm
(special extended hours!)
* Friday, August 7: 11am-6pm
* Saturday, August 8: 11am-6pm
* Sunday, August 9: 12pm-5pm

Thursday's The Day!

When's the best time to come see Yarnia for yourself? We'll be happy to have you anytime that we're open...but if you decide to come in on Thursday, we'll make it worth your while! All day Thursday, August 6, including our after-hours party (see below), you'll receive:

• 10% off any purchase of pre-made sock yarn (does not apply to custom-wound orders)
• 15% off any pre-made cones in our bargain basket

After Hours At Yarnia!

We know you might not have time in your busy sock-reveling schedule to come by the shop during the day, so on Thursday night we're going to have an after hours party where you can take your time and put together your dream yarn! Thursday We'll be open until 9pm that evening -- with food, drinks, and merriment begnning at 6pm!

Check out our website for the best way to get here from the Convention Center, and updates about that weekend as it gets closer!

90 Degrees??

That's how hot it's supposed to get today, which means this is probably the least appropriate time to share with you blanket pictures, but these are a few that I've actually been sitting on for months, a project that I finished back in April for a good friend's wedding that finally just happened this weekend!

So after much anticipation I present to you...

Girasole, by Jared Flood :: 1800 yards :: 2 lbs., 10 oz. :: bamboo/merino/cashmere

This is by far the best lace project I've ever worked on, and though it is a massive undertaking (particularly the knitted-on lace edging -- this is a deceivingly interminable part of the project), I would heartily recommend it for any aspiring lace knitters wanting to get in on the game.

It features the perfect combination of simple, repetitive stitches (and increasingly longer rounds, so that after the first few repetitions on each round you probably won't need the chart anymore), and satisfying variety so that every few rounds you're doing something totally new, which is exciting to watch materialize.

It's also a great way to dive into chart reading if that's been intimidating for you in the past -- though there are a number of different charts in this pattern, the instructions are very clearly written, there are only a few basic common symbols, and the order of charts is easy to follow.

In short, I can't say enough good things about the Girasole.

In fact, I've got another wedding coming up in September, and I've already started on my second one...