CATKIN....can't take it! Must make it! Let's have a Knit-a-long!

Joanna has had her eye on this gorgeous pattern for awhile – Catkin and it is currently the most popular pattern on Ravelry. A few local people Joanna knows are going to do it too, so she thought she'd see if there was interest in doing a Catkin Knit Along (KAL)?  Anyone interested?  I am!

I love it!  I love that there are buttons that allow you to wear the shawl as a cowl, a scarf, the possibilities are nearly endless!  This pattern would be lovely in either Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light or Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock. Check out all the color possibilities: Tosh Merino Light or Adorn Sock. 

A selection of colors from both vendors are available at either StevenBe or Yarn Garage, or we’ll be glad to put in a special order for your favorite combination, too.  We also have some sparkle possibilities...just so you know.

For everyone who participates in the KAL, we’ll be holding an online “Crowd Favorite” poll in September. The top two choices will each have the opportunity to have their finished Catkin displayed in either StevenBe or Yarn Garage for a month!

The online KAL is being held in our stores’ group on Ravelry – Fiber Friends of StevenBe and Yarn Garage. Join us for help/assistance as we all work our way through this exquisite pattern, or just to share the fun with others. You can also join us in-person on Sundays at Yarn Garage in Rosemount, 12-4 pm.

Hope to see you soon!

 

Want to join the fun but think the Catkin is too complex? Pick up some of the new Kauni Effektgarn at Yarn Garage or StevenBe and make a Revontuli! The yarn does all the colorwork, the stitches are much easier, and the result is still quite stunning.

 

Not on yet Ravelry? That’s OK – here’s how to join:

• Ravelry (link to www.ravelry.com) is a wonderful online community for knitters & crocheters. It’s free, but you need your own personal login and password. Just follow the link and click “join now!”
• Once in Ravelry, join the group for StevenBe and Yarn Garage. Go to the “groups” tab and search on “Yarn Garage”. Follow the link that appears and click on the box in the upper right corner that says “join this group”. That will bookmark it so it is easy to find in the future. It will appear on your “Forums” tab.
• The Catkin KAL thread is ‘stickied’ to the top of the forum – please post to introduce yourself.
• If you get stuck along the way, feel free to contact Joanna via Ravelry – she's JoCam1717. 

TNNA discoveries!

Well, Steven survived TNNA!  Wow!  TNNA stands for The National Needlework Association.  This is where Steven buys yarn for the next season.  You should see the things he brought back from the show!  He has fantastic fleece from Ozark.

They are fleece that were unusable for spinning.  They are too matted to spin well, so they get felted a bit more and then Ozark Handspun dyes them and sends them to Steven.  They are super cool!  Steven made one into a vest. 

He also brought ArtYarns Shawl kits that are so divine I can't stand it!

He picked colorways - Champagne, Minerals, and Wildflowers.  The kits make a shawl that uses a fine yarn intermixed with a sequin yarn.  It reminds me of the Kaffe Fassett shawl from Rowan Magazine #49.

Fabulous, right?!  It is a beautiful and clever combination of a fine weight mohair or silk with a heavier weight yarn for contrast.

When you go to cast on for either of these projects, why not use........

KnitPicks Needles!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Steven brought back KnitPicks straight, circular, and interchangeable needles!  For the interchangeable sets we have the Acrylic, Nickle-Plated, and Wood.  We are very excited to be carrying this line of needles.  Come on into either shop and see what the fuss is all about!

Speaking of fuss, you should have seen Joanna's face when she opened the box of Kauni yarn from Denmark!  I thought she was going to swoon from excitement!  It's a good thing Steven always has a fainting couch on hand for over excited knitters!  No,....I am just kidding.  He doesn't have a fainting couch on hand at all times.  That's just silly...........it's in the parlor.  Anyway, the Kauni yarn has a very long color stripe making it really great for Fair Isle knitting.  Also, knitter beware, the skeins are sold by grams and you need to make sure of the yardage and grams on each particular skein to ensure you get what you need.

Also, similar to Noro yarns, two skeins of the same colorway can look very different.  Don't always go by sight, instead look at the color number to verify that the skeins are the same.  

On the opposite end of the knitting spectrum.....

We received Tinseltown!  This is the sparkly sister to Rizos, which as you know, is the ruffling yarn. 

Can you see the sparkles?  Trust me, they are there!  We also received a replenishment of Flounce in many new colorways!

We got some great colors for summer!

Steven brought Knit Collage with him, too!  He even brought samples along with the yarn! 

Check out this Boho Fringe bag!  SOOOOO fun!  Click on the picture for a link the pattern.

The yarn is so whimsical and cute!  I am loving this cowl - click on the picture for another free pattern!

Are you overwhelmed, yet?  I am!  We are receiving shipments everyday with the latest and greatest yarn for the Fall/Winter season.  Yesterday we received 9 boxes and today we received 7 more!  We are busy getting all this great yarn ready for your consumption.  Stop in to ooh and awh over Steven's purchases!

Also, the Yarn Garage will be CLOSED Monday, July 4th.  Everyone enjoy the holiday weekend! 

StevenBe at TNNA

Hello my dear divas of major yarn useage.
I have spent a wonderful weekend stocking up on new finds for this fall.
Here you see me pictured with the famous Debbie Bliss and her daughter Nell.

What a fun and delightful visit we had. I left mama Christa to chat with her as
I scouted out new finds down the isle. Mom brought lefse for all the Scandinavians
from here local lefse factory in Blair WI. The gents from Dale of Norway and Swedish
Yarns had never heard of it. Joke was on us.

I can't wait to tell you all about it. I will hold court on Wednesday in Rosemount from 6-8 pm with the Wild Women of Wednesday and in Minneapolis on Thursday for Luncheon Lounge.
Make sure you make reservations for this on Wednesday and  Thursday but don't miss the Felted Trunk
show in two days with our guest from out of town. Email for Tuesday or Thursday to hold a seat.

AutoCorrect VS. Moss Stitch & All That Glitters Is Floozy

Friday night we had another fun Pizza & Purls class.  There was lots of new yarn and new books to talk about. Such as, this fantastic handspun from Knit Collage. 

It is perfect for the hats and cocoons in Welcoming Home Baby The Handcrafted Way.  SO CUTE!

We welcomed back, Kristi, who has been absent for six weeks!  Here she is with her finds:

 A black sheep yarn bowl and a Dream in Color Starry.  Here she is again with the Daybreak shawl she is making using Three Irish Girls and a strand of sequins.

I hope she doesn't look like a floozy when wearing her sequins!  Another Pizza & Purls attendee, Margaret, seems to like sparkle = floozy.  Anyone care to comment?  I think we are in serious danger of being accused of being floozy since all the yarn we got in had glitter in it! Like the Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere.....wait that doesn't have glitter.  That's just really pretty.  The Dream in Color Starry has glitter.

Here is Deirdre with her coveted Tulip Sweater that she is making for no one in particular.

She saw the Yarn Harlot's blog about it and ran into the shop demanding a Tulip Sweater kit.  I quickly produced said kit and she has not stopped working on it since.  She describes it as a "very satisfying" project.  I may have to buy a kit myself.  So tempting........must resist!

We laughed until we cried last night!  One of reasons for the laughter was Lichele's AutoCorrect debacle.  She had to rip out her Be Sweet Indian Summer Poncho repeatedly because her seed stitch kept getting off.  So, we decided she should do moss stitch since it may be easier to see.  She diligently wrote the pattern in her phone and the autocorrect on her phone changed her pattern from Knit 2, Purl 2 to Knit 2, Pork 2.  No wonder her pattern kept getting off!  We laughed and laughed!  Maybe you had to be there........

We also talked about the new Alisha Goes Round yarn that came in last week.

 This is the new colorway Alisha dyed for Steven called Tailfeathers which he wanted to look like peacock feathers.  I think it really does look like peacock feathers!  Steven's hair ALSO looks like peacock feathers.  He had it dyed blue, purple, and green.  I am not sure if he dyed his hair to match the yarn or the other way round. 

The camera didn't pick up the glitter in the yarn, but there is some subtle glitter throughout the yarn.  She also sent us lace weight yarn with glitter!  I don't think it looks floozy at all. What else.......Ack! I can't stop thinking about that Tulip Sweater!  Argh!  Oh!  It is my big brother, Jason's birthday today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!!!

WWKIP, SDA, & Unraveled DIY Festival

World Wide Knit in Public Day is Saturday, June 11th!  Come down to the Yarn Garage and sit out on the sidewalk and knit away the afternoon!

Friday, June 10th - Sunday, June 12th will be at our booth at SDA Conference.

This will be the first time we are participating in the this conference and we are very excited!  Steven will be at TNNA shopping for the Fall/Winter season, so the Yarn Garage/StevenBe kids will be doing the whole weekend by themselves!  Come out and support us!   We will have our typical booth full to the ceiling with fabulous things!  In addition, we are part of the Unraveled DIY Festival on Friday, June 10th from 6-9pm.

Stay tuned for more information!

We had a GREAT Memorial Day weekend!  Thanks to everyone that came to visit us!  We hope you all had a much fun as we did!