The Whole Nine Yarns

What To Knit First?

When the end of summer comes in and we start getting all kinds of great wool and patterns in, I realize that I am beyond lucky to be doing what I do. I get to see (and feel) all of the wonderful yarns and patterns that come in and do a lot of dream knitting.  Luckily, my job is to share it with you, so you can have it, too!

This week, we're thrilled about a lot of new things, as always. First up are the Small Balls and great patterns from Pick Up Sticks. I love the idea of the Small Balls - as the label says, why buy 220, when you need 65? If you love color work, small projects or just yarn, you're going to love seeing these little gems in person.

Along with the Small Balls, we've gotten in the cutest patterns from Pick Up Sticks.  Jenna's already working on the Flora Doll and accessories, but the little boots are just about as cute. Come in and see for yourself!

Now, hold onto your hats, because I think you're going to be pleased with these new books from Sublime.

 

No one does baby patterns like Sublime - and now no one does bright colors like them either.  There are bright pinks and oranges, along with a true purple that will make you smile.  I can't tell you how much attention the baby in your family will get with these knits!

Another one of the favorites around here are our clear TWNY project bags.  You'll be glad to know they're back in stock, along with a new size that can hold at least one big project.  It's rectangular and would easily hold a bag of yarn; there's also a grommet to feed your yarn through so it will be safe while you're working! These bags just don't look their best in pictures, so you'll have to come in and see them.

Speaking of bags, I am pleased to tell you we've gotten in a lot of great new purse handles!  There are lots of styles in stock, but maybe this one will show you how great they are:

Some of you may be saying, where's the spinning stuff, Debi? Not to worry! We've gotten in great new Momi bats by Catherine - how can you resist these cupcakes of fibery goodness?

She even includes samples so you can see what's possible with each box.  And speaking of possibilities, what do you do with your handspun? Stuck for ideas? Well, Interweave Press is here to help. Just check out this book, hot off the presses.

Even if you don't spin (yet) the projects in this book will excite you and get you in the mood for gift knitting.  Or maybe for sneaking in a project for yourself!

Speaking of doing something for yourself, I want to encourage you to check out our new class in continuous strand weaving. It was a huge hit at Christmas in July, but we have a few spaces open. It's fun, easy and a great way to use up stash yarn you've been saving for just the right project. The picture below shows a shawl made on a loom like these - just wait to see what else you can come up with!

I always hate to end these posts by saying that's all for this week - after all, I write these on Tuesdays and there is so much more to come every day!  Thanks for reading and I hope we see you in the shop soon!

Debi and the rest of the TWNY gang

The Cat is out of the bag!

The Cat, the one and only Cat Bordhi, will be at our store September 26 and 27!  For those of you who aren't familiar with her, Cat is one of the most inspired minds and admired teachers in the knitting world.  Doing socks on two circulars was only the beginning of her brilliance.  Her new book, Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters, will be out in time for her classes here and we can't wait.  Better than that, she'll be teaching a class of the same name on Saturday, September 26. On September 27, she'll be teaching Finding the Fountain of Fresh Knitting Ideas - if there's anyone who can tell you how to find fresh ideas, it's Cat. We love her and can't wait to see her again.

Now, Cat said recently that she thinks all knitters should learn to spin, even if it's just a little bit.  Well, you already know I agree with Cat on that one - just look at some of the new fiber we've gotten in!  Here's the Targhee roving from Mountain Colors:

 

And then, there's all the lovely new roving from Gale's Art. We have her Chocolate Swirl rovings, along with the Blue Faced Leicester and the black Blue Faced Leicester rovings. We also have her silk hankies! If you haven't tried spinning silk in this form yet, just imagine spinning in these colors!

 

Look at the shine - and the color. Wow.

I don't want you to think that the only thing we've been getting is fiber - not at all!  The fall yarns have been rolling in and it just keeps coming!  We're really excited to have added Shibui Knits to our line up.  The patterns, the colors, the Silk Cloud and the sock yarn - oh, my.  Really, how many times can I say beautiful?

  

Can you guys imagine how hard it is to have a knit shop and let all this wonderful stuff LEAVE??

All knitters love yarn, but I happen to know they also love their tools. And ways to organize their tools. That's why I got so excited when I saw these tool rolls from Ashland Sky. There are several different versions - ones made to hold your double pointed needles, ones to hold your circulars, ones to hold your straights. My favorite, though, is the one that can hold everything!

 

Imagine, you could have all of your needles in one place - and be able to see if you've got them all. There's a flap at the top to keep the needles in place and then you just roll it up. Tidy and ready to come to knit night!

Oh, before I go, I wanted to let you know that we have joined the Twitterverse. Follow us at TW9Yarns and find out what comes in before anyone else!

Debi

Ho Ho Ho!

Hello again!  Last weekend, we celebrated our annual Christmas in July and I think it's safe to say we all had a jolly time.  Our instructors were there, with simple and quick knits to get holiday knitting off to a roaring start!  Here's Caryn, my manager and the main crochet teacher; she also organizes all the classes, so I think you can imagine how much I appreciate her.

We had BJ with her "I Got Your Lace" shawl and Ginny with her "Tam-tastic" pattern.  (I'd show you pictures of them, but they were surrounded by customers the whole time!) Here's Judy with her continuous strand  weaving; she'll be teaching that this fall for us!

 But I don't want you to think that's all the news for this week.  We've been receiving regular visits from the Man in the Brown Truck!  Just Monday, he dropped off four HUGE boxes from Berroco. The new pattern books are so fabulous, but the yarns are just as good.  Here's Sundae, a bulky weight yarn with amazing depth of color:

 

See what I mean? I'm also in love with their Vintage Wool, which comes in such a great range of colors and is washable! Oh, and the Lustra - a wool tencel blend with shine and softness to make you just need this yarn!  The patterns are also just so good - a range of wearable things no matter what age you are. 

 

And then, just when we found room for all of that wonderful yarn, along came the boxes from Aslan Trends.  They've launched three new lines of yarn, all kettle dyed. There's a sock weight, a worsted weight and a bulky weight all in the same colorways. With that, you could either mix and match yarns in one piece or have socks that perfectly match your sweaters!

 

The other thing I love about yarns like this is that they can make a simple sweater really look special.  We had one customer who bought the purple worsted weight to make her first garment - a vest.  It is such a basic pattern, but it will pop in the yarn she chose. Who says basic has to be boring?

On a final note, I want to encourage you to check our class listings from the main store site. We have 15 instructors and they are always coming up with new projects. We've also added two new instructors. Melissa will be teaching the Bianca sweater and Louise will be teaching the Botanica Medallion cardigan from the summer Vogue. Welcome to both of them!  The shawl below is the Limbo shawl which was designed for new knitters.  It will teach you everything from gauge to cables, to lace, to seaming.  Just look for it on the August calendar!

 

Keep knitting and thanks for checking in with us!

Debi and the rest of the TWNY gang

Summer is a great time. . .

to sit inside and play with fiber.  I know, I know, people love their gardens and being outside before it gets to hot - I do, too. But I also know that here in Georgia, it's going to get TOO hot to be outside if you can help it.  That means, naturally, that it's a great time to play with yarn and fiber. Heck, you can play with fiber outside, too, since you can really get a fleece dry fast when it's 100 degrees!

I was inspired by the weather to dye some fiber - another great thing to do outside.  We have a dye kitchen in the store, but it's so nice to have plenty of fresh air blowing through the dye fumes.  I dyed some Polworth fleece I got from Australia.  Polworth, for you folks who are not-yet-spinning, is a wonderful long-stapled fleece with a high crimp and a very fine staple.  It's a joy to spin and to knit with. The results of my dyeing are below and are ready to be purchased at the shop.  Please come save me from myself. 

Speaking of saving me, I have to show you some of the wonderful products we've gotten in.  We're carrying organic cotton baby sweater and blanket kits from Appalachian Baby.  Cotton is more than a great choice for the South - it's great year round for layering no matter where you are. We also have the alpaca hat and bootie kits that come in keepsake boxes, perfect for giving.  The only dilemma will be if the mother-to-be is a knitter - will you knit it yourself or let her do it?

We've also gotten the cutest bags from Attenti. Several are more dignified and practical, but the one that made me order it for the shop is this one:

It made me laugh every time I walked past it and has caused a couple of customers to let out screams of joy.  Believe me, it's even more fun in person!

Oh, and great buttons from Gail Hughes.  Some of you may have seen her at Stitches South; we did and made a point to look for her at TNNA.  She has the most creative resin buttons - great for kids and grown ups. I've said it before and it's still true - great buttons can make a simple sweater special. 

 

And once we saw the buttons, we talked about all kinds of uses for them - on a felted hat, clustered on a sweater shoulder like pins, making eyes for animals out of the round ones. What will you think of?

And now for a special feature - Do You Know This Yarn? The only real problem with having a store full of great yarn is keeping track of it all.  With so much, you cn be sure there are hidden treasures all over this store.  So, can you guess what this is? Leave a comment or ask next time you're in the shop - I bet you'll be surprised at what it is!

Finally, I hope you've all got Christmas in July on your calendars!  This Sunday, July 19, from 1-4 PM, we'll be having demos, previews of fall classes and more. For $5 at the door, you'll get a folder full of great patterns that will help you get started on your holiday knitting. This could be the year you finish it all before Christmas Eve!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a couple more hours until it's really cool enough to go outside.  I think I can get a few rounds done on my sweater before then!

Is It Tuesday already?

Welcome back!  It's time for our regular Tuesday update.  Just so you know - we'll be updating at least every Tuesday, but maybe more often.  Sometimes, it's just too hard to wait to let you guys know about new stuff.

We've been working hard this week planning our annual Christmas in July event.  Sunday, June 19, from 1-4 PM, we'll be helping you to get an early start on your holiday knitting.  Many of our instructors will be there, displaying simple patterns that make great gifts and showing you previews of their fall classes; there'll even be a discount offered on class supplies purchased that day.  For $5 at the door, you will get inspiration, lots of patterns and some serious new knitting mojo. Oh, and sweet treats to eat.  Can you think of a more fun way to spend a hot Sunday afternoon in July?

Now, to reward ourselves for all the work we're doing to get ready for Christmas in July, we're having a PurlJama party this Friday night!  We had one back in December and it was so much fun that we had to have another.  So, put on your favorite pj's, grab some knitting that doesn't need you to pay too much attention and get to The Whole Nine Yarns at 7 PM this Friday, July 10.  There's no charge for this event, but if you want to bring a dish to share and whatever you feel like drinking, that would be great. We'll be keeping an eye out for those of you who make an extra effort with your outfit - there could be some good stuff in it for you!  See you there! (Teddy bears are optional.)

Now, I just got a delivery from my favorite man in brown - my anniversary Schacht Matchless spinning wheel in cherry is here!  I have to get out my tools and play!

So, wow.

It's that fabulous time of the year - the time that yarn store owners, employees and customers look forward to. It is the time when all the new product from TNNA begins to flood the store!

First and fabulous, we've gotten the Spud & Chloe line in from Blue Sky Alpaca. If you haven't seen these yarns or their adorable patterns, you're missing a treat. The yarn comes in three weights: Fine, Sweater (worsted) and Outdoor (bulky). The Fine is a wool/silk blend, while the Sweater and Outdoor are wool/cotton blends. Fabulous for this area of the country, but that's not the best part. All three of these yarns are machine washable!  That's right, even the wool-silk. Clever yarn with the most adorable patterns. I've been saying that the Spud & Chloe line is like Gar-animals for knitters - each yarn type has a different color tag and each pattern has this color on the packaging. No wondering which yarn is right for which pattern.  Just match the colors and you're set!  How clever is that?

 

Also, the Spud & Chloe  blog offers free patterns. Be sure to keep an eye out for the adorable frog pattern that's coming soon.  There's already a precious cupcake that would make for a non-fattening birthday present.

Now, I don't want you to think that this is all we've gotten in. Apart from getting in all the new colors in Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden, we've gotten a great book in from Noro: Mini Knits. It's full of patterns that would make fast projects and great gifts.  It's a great time of year to be thinking of all the Christmas knitting you want to do - or simply to remember that it is going to get cold again and you'll want a nice warm something when it is!

We've gotten in some wonderful buttons. While I was at TNNA, I ordered some wooden buttons from Frog Tree.  We also have new buttons and buckles in horn from Durango; in fact, we got amazing metal, mother of pearl, and inlaid buttons from them, too. I really think that a fabulous button, or buttons, can change your piece from a "nice" to a "WOW", whether we're talking about a whole sweater or a purse.

Speaking of wow, I'mreally excited about the newly expanded fiber section of the store. We've added natural and hand dyed mohair, Cotswold, Blue Faced Leicester and Cormo-Mohair to the store. All of that color and texture makes me long to spin. Or maybe just to dive headfirst into the fiber!  (Is it wrong to want to cuddle fiber?)

 

We've also added some new roving from Frog Tree; it's a Merino-Bamboo blend that shimmerswith color and just wants to glide through your hands. I want to try some out on one of the wheels in the shop, but should I choose the Schacht Lady Bug or the Majacraft Rose? Or just use a trindle? What a great problem to have!

And then we have great Mango Moon yarns. The Batik is actually strips of fabric which workup into a great knitted fabric. There's a brand new free pattern for a vest in this yarn - just ask us for it.  We've also gotten the Charka yarn, made from viscose and cotton with beads and stones already on it. So fun.  There's Ragg Silk, strips of 100% recycled silk, and Elements, a yarn spun from sari silk. All of these make great whole projects or add fun accents to others. It has to be felt to be believed. What's keeping you?

 

I think I hear the UPS truck coming.  I'll get back on the blog soon and let you know what he's brought!

Hello World!

Hello fellow knitters and fiber enthusiasts! Welcome to the new Whole Nine Yarns blog.  Stay tuned for my first real post, with news from the summer yarn market, TNNA. I've ordered lots of goodies and they're starting to come in. When I can get out from under the boxes, I'll tell you about it all.