Featured Yarn :: Bighorn

Bighorn 

Jet black bamboo, navy wool, and a bright blue lurex make up this lightweight, fancy-looking yarn.
 

• Fiber Content: 56 wool / 38 bamboo / 6 lurex
• Yardage: 400 yards
• Yarn Weight: DK
• Amount on Cone: 8 oz.
• Care: Hand wash / lay flat to dry
• Pattern Suggestions: Horseshoes Cardigan

 Also available in our online shop!

Urban Craft Uprising is THIS WEEKEND!

Have you been wondering why we've changed our Facebook profile pic to the postcard for the 7th Annual Urban Craft uprising?


It's to remind everyone that this coming weekend is the hippest, funnest, most amazing indie craft show I could dream of being a part of.

There is so much cool stuff going on at the Urban Craft Uprising this year, you won't even believe it.  Check out the four-page spread in this week's Seattle Weekly, it has all the info you'll need about author signing and demo schedules, deets about the show, and even a sneak preview of the booth map so you can scope out all your favorite vendors!

See you there!

Featured Yarn :: Gold Spike

Gold Spike

This 100% bamboo yarn has incredible drape, softness, and sheen -- and combines rich shades of burgundy, black, dark and light browns. 
 

• Fiber Content: 100% bamboo
• Yardage: 350 yards
• Yarn Weight: DK
• Amount on Cone: 8 oz.
• Care: Machine Wash/Dry OK
• Pattern Suggestions: One Stitch Lace Scarf

Also available in our online shop!

FO :: Pine Forest Baby Blanket

Wow, if you've been on the hunt for that perfect go-to baby blanket, the one that is simple enough to mindlessly crank out but complicated enough to keep you engaged, look no further.

When I spotted the Pine Forest Baby Blanket pattern on Ravelry, I almost passed it up because the color turned me off.  It also looks remarkably similar to the February Lady Sweater, which I've already made, and for good reason: the two-row lace pattern is exactly the same as the one in this sweater.


I combated the similarity by winding up my yarn in one of the most babyish blends I've ever created.

Everything about this blanket feels good -- from the 9-row garter stitch border, to the simple alternating lace pattern that makes up the body of the piece, and a worsted weight acrylic/bamboo blend that is irresistibly squishy and soft.

What gives it this variegated rainbow effect is three strands of a tweedy acrylic that I'm loving -- it's got a lot of different colors going on, but when paired with a solid (in this case, a strand of lavender bamboo), it makes the variegation calm enough that only from a distance can you see the subtle stripes of color.

This will soon be in the possession of my friends Tim and Elizabeth's baby girl, joining us in the very near future!

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday at Yarnia

Yep, you heard that right.  Come and get your yarn shopping done early on Friday -- it will be worth your while!  All house blends of yarn purchased on November 25th will be 10% off at the register (applies to Bargain Basket yarns, too)!

We've got tons of new house blends all wound up and waiting for you (catch a sneak preview here), so come early!  

We'll also have coffee and treats waiting to help stave off post-Thanksgiving sluggishness, and if you're one of the first five customers of the day, you'll receive a little gift to add to your collection of accessories and notions!

We know this may be a big shopping day for many of you, so we'll also be having extended hours on Friday, opening our doors bright and early at 9 a.m., and staying open until 7 p.m. so that those of you who have to go to work on Friday can swing by and join us, too!

What's more, the very next day is Small Business Saturday, where millions of people all over the country are pledging to shop local the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  You too can make the pledge and keep it local during the biggest shopping weekend of the year!


AND, if that wasn't enough, you'll also get triple Supportland points for any purchases you make on either Friday or Saturday.  Read all about this awesome deal that Supportland is putting on to help you support your local economy this holiday season!

WIP :: Hoodie Gloves

Let me tell you about one of my favorite projects of all time: the hoodie gloves.  I end up making a pair of these every couple of years, because I really wear the hell out of them.  They're my go-to for biking gloves, and I wear them until they're felted, and coming apart near the palms from getting snagged over and over on this weird pointy thing that indicates what gear I'm in, and is unfortunately right on the handlebars.

But, they're so quick and fun that I barely even count it as another item in my queue to have to whip up another pair.  In fact, if we're really being honest here, this is my second pair this season.  I ended up not really liking the first pair I whipped up last month -- not because of the colorway but because of the gauge -- so I went back on my decision, wound up a new cone of the first blend I was contemplating,  and started anew.

Totally still love the yarn...just the size of the gloves at this gauge makes my hands feel like bear paws!


I love every stage of making these gloves, from the 20-row ribbed cuff...





To the easy-increase gusset...

To the cute little cutoff fingers...

And then of course the hood!

I don't even mind weaving in all the ends afterwards for some reason -- they tend to go quicker than I expect.


The pattern's for sale here at Yarnia, and now in our online shop as well! 

Featured Yarn :: Circus Circus

Circus Circus

Colorful strands of bamboo and merino are combined in this yarn, featuring greens, magenta, teal, and a light green metallic lurex for a little shimmer.

• Fiber Content: 70 bamboo / 16 wool / 9 merino / 5 lurex
• Yardage: 365 yards
• Yarn Weight: Worsted
• Amount on Cone: 8 oz.
• Care: Hand wash / lay flat to dry
• Pattern Suggestions: Hat Duo With Flower

Also available in our online shop!

Featured Yarn :: Ellis Island

Ellis Island

Navy blue bamboo is paired with dark purple and teal strands of wool to make this jewel-toned sock yarn.

• Fiber Content: 60 bamboo / 32 wool / 8 merino
• Yardage: 435 yards
• Yarn Weight: Sock/Fingering
• Amount on Cone: 5.5 oz.
• Care: Hand wash / lay flat to dry
• Pattern Suggestions: Nutkin

Also available in our online shop!

Adventures in Baby Knitting

Guest post by Dory

Dory is an avid crafter, and lives in Brooklyn, NY.  She is also the brains behind all of the graphic design work at Yarnia.

A long long time ago (actually, in April 2010, which I can tell you due to the quasi-miracle of Gmail search), I asked Lindsey to spin me up some yellow yarn to make the Que Sera sweater from Knitty. 

The yarn arrived and I got to knitting, but about 8 inches in to the body of the sweater I got kind of bored, and I wasn't thrilled with how bulky the worsted weight cotton was starting to feel. So I frogged it and knit about 40,000 pairs of socks and mittens while the cones of yellow cotton hung out in my stash.

But then, this past spring more than a few friends were getting ready to have some babies, and sweaters needed to be made! Wool can be a little overmuch for the tiny humans, and besides, it's unfair to parents to knit baby things in non-machine-washable fibers. So when I went hunting through the yarn bins for something cotton I rediscovered the yellow yarn from a year before.

A little bit of Ravelry hunting and I found the perfect baby sweater pattern: Baby Sophisticate! It's free, quick, simple, and oh-so-charming. I knit one up over the course of a weekend hanging out at the beach in Delaware, and sewed the buttons when I got home.



The buttons are just a handful of mis-matched things from my button jar that I was thrilled to use up I have a ton of buttons from my grandmother (many of which were her mother's I think), and I don't do that much sweater knitting, so it feels great to put them to use.

I had so much fun with this Baby Sophisticate that I quickly whipped up another -- this one isn't in Yarnia yarn, but I wanted to show off how easy it is to modify the pattern to be striped. The collar and button band is knit last so you don't have to worry about intarsia at the edges (which is something the Green Zebra sweater I once knit annoyingly required).



The buttons from this version I've been carrying around with me since undergrad, I think. They are certainly from a shop in Toronto called Courage My Love in Kensington Market that has an incredible selection of beads and buttons.

There are a tonne of great Baby Sophisticate examples on Ravelry, go check 'em out. It would be great to see more made with Yarnia yarn, too!

Join Us for Knit & Crochet Night!

Hey, all.  Fall's here, no doubt about it.  It's time to get knitting (and crocheting)!  And what better way to make your way through your WIP list than to hunker down with a bunch of other yarn-lovers and do it together!

This Wednesday, November 19th, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. is our next Knit & Crochet Night here at the shop!

Bring your patterns, projects, ideas, questions, and meet some other crafty peeps in the neighborhood!

Swing on by after work and we'll make a night of it.  We'll be here knitting from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and will have tea, wine, music, good company, and some little snackies to keep us going!

I know I've got LOTS of projects that I need to get off the needles soon...how about you?

Check out the event on our Facebook page for more info.

Featured Pattern :: G'Kar Gauntlets

Another new pattern that we're carrying in the shop!  Come on in and we'll get you all set with the right yarn for the project.  

This week...

Designed by Theressa Silver, now available at the shop!

Featured Yarn :: Gold Coast

Gold Coast

A bright blue slubby cotton is paired with a lustrous rayon in shades of gold and deep red to make this soft DK weight yarn.

• Fiber Content: 55 cotton / 38 rayon / 7 acrylic
• Yardage: 420 yards
• Yarn Weight: DK
• Amount on Cone: 8 oz.
• Care: Hand wash / lay flat to dry
• Pattern Suggestions: Chinook Scarf

Also available in our online shop!

New Class Scheduling System

Starting this week, we're changing up the way we schedule our classes here at Yarnia.

In the past, you've received email each week advertising the classes that you have specifically indicated interest in, which were being offered during the time slots you indicated you were available.

In order to streamline the process and make more class options available to more people, we will instead be sending out each week's class offerings in the form of a newsletter.

This means you may receive information about classes that you're not specifically signed up for, but these will all be consolidated into a single weekly email, rather than individual class offers that you'd needed to respond to in the past.

Now, you only need to RSVP to the classes that you do specifically want to attend.

The confirmation process will work the same way -- you should assume that a class is confirmed and happening only after you receive a confirmation email and supply list.    

Let us know if you have any input about this new system -- we're excited to be able to streamline the process for everyone and cut down on all the back-and-forth emails.

And in the meantime, here's a look at this week's current class offerings.  If you ever want to just check out what's on the docket for the coming week, go to our Classes page and click on the link at the top.

Featured Yarn :: Encore

Encore

This cotton/rayon blend is bright and cheerful with a combination of pink, peach, and orange yarns.  Soft, washable, and lightweight!

• Fiber Content: 54 cotton / 46 rayon
• Yardage: 390 yards
• Yarn Weight: Sock/Fingering
• Amount on Cone: 5.5 oz.
• Care: Machine wash / dry OK
• Pattern Suggestions: Playground Shirt

Also available in our online shop!