It's been so long since I've been a responsible blogger, that I'm slightly embarassed. O's winter sweater is done, and in use, and there is lots of gift knitting going on right now. I've given myself permission to NOT give knitted gifts this year if they're not all done in a timely manner or if it gets to the point that I'm not enjoying the knitting of them. Part of the greatness of a knitted gift is putting time aside for the recipient, and adding in pleasant thoughts with each stitch. It seems ridiculous to gift a mitten that has resentment, stress, and anxiety knit into it. We'll see how goes it. And hey, if I don't get all the gifts done this year, I'll be way ahead of the game for the 2010 holiday season! :)
I can't really give too many details on the gifts I'm knitting, since most of the giftee's read this, but I'll update with photos after they've arrived in their new homes. I finished a stocking for the mantle using the Universal Classic Worsted Holiday - It's a very basic acrylic and wool that has some tinsel like threads running through it. It comes in white, green, red, blue, and black. It was easy to knit with, and gives a little bit of holiday cheer to the stocking without looking overboard in the glitz department. O's fairisle stocking is going well. I finally have the colors all to my liking (I think...) and now there's just the stumbling block of not wanting to knit it for the 7th time to get over.
If you're looking for any gift ideas, I can offer some help. Come check out the 3 lovely stocking patterns in stock here; one basic, one cabled, and one with colorwork. I just received "Fiber and Fabric Mania!" a travel guide of yarn AND quilt shops across the country. It would make a great gift for your favorite roadtrip pal, or wanderer. I have some lovely new cashmere yarn on sale - Charmed by Classic Elite is a gorgeous blend of 85% cashmere, and 15% mohair that knits up at 4.5 sts/inch. Get 130 yards for just $21! Another lovely luxury yarn which recently arrived is Kumara by Classic Elite - 85% merino, 15% baby camel. 4.5 sts/inch, 128 yards/ball for just $11.50. There's a pattern for some lacy bed socks in the new Holiday Knits magazine which uses 2 balls of the Kumara. I've already cast on, and am really enjoying working with the yarn. "Knit Noel" is another great book that is available here. Over 55 patterns for gift giving, including a felted gingerbread man puppet, a chunky cabled scarf, and a tree skirt. (Guess who's already plotting an army of gingerbread puppets) The book is a steal at just $10 - that's like paying under 18cents per pattern.
We're starting a new KAL here soon, and I'll notify everyone about that within a week or so.
Happy Stitching,
Allison
Friday, November 27, 2009
Cheesy O
Friday, September 25, 2009
Learn To Crochet
It's no huge secret that I do more stumbling than stitching when I try to crochet, so I'm pleased to announce that Nan will be teaching a learn to crochet class here next month. See the cute camera/phone cozy above? Now you can make one too! If you know Nan then I don't have to tell you that she's kind, patient, a great teacher, and she knows her stuff. If you don't know Nan, you can trust that she'll be a great person to take a class from. The class is scheduled for October 10th from 9 to 12. (That's a Saturday, but there's no more tourist season AND the meters are down, so no excuses - come join us!) The class fee is $38 which includes a take home book of instructions, as well as the yarn and crochet hook. Bring your own beads/.bobbles/buttons to add to yours, or choose from our small selection. Call or email today to register, or better yet, come on in to pick out your yarn color. (phone, email, etc can be found on
the left-hand side bar)
Nan is also teaching a Hardanger Embroidery class the same day from 2 to 5. I don't have the details on the materials cost yet, but will update ASAP when I get that information.
Guess what - NO MORE METERS! Come enjoy the free parking downtown. (and the room to walk is nice as well!)
Happy Stitching,
Allison
Friday, September 18, 2009
New Yarn by Dragonfly Fibers
Hi All,
Just a quick update -
I just received (even more) new yarn from UPS. Have you seen and fallen in love with Dragonfly Fibers' yarns yet? Some of this beautiful yarn is now available here at Kitschy Stitch. I have some in sock weight, worsted weight, and dk weight, all in beautiful handpainted colors. And yes, I've already "stolen" one for myself.
I also recently received some Interweave Knits Weekend magazines. It's a new "in between" publication to keep you happily knitting until the next IWK issue is released. There are lots of nice projects in this issue, including some darling ruffled cuff pants or a shrug for a little girl. Since I have no use for them, someone else needs to knit them so I can admire the cuteness.
Happy Stitching,
Allison
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Why!?
"Why haven't you updated your blog?" That's the totallity of an email I received from my best friend last week. Not, "Why haven't you called?" or "How are you?" She simply wanted to know why I'm slacking off at work.
There are so many "Why"s which have kept me otherwise busy.
We have received all of our winter stock in with the exception of 4 yarns. That was a lot of boxes to sort through, and find room for. I must admit that I'm expecting my family to show up any day now to hold an intervention.
There have been quite a few knitting mishaps lately which I have enjoyed getting back on the right track. One woman's sweater was so cleverly designed that I cast-on for one of my own within hours of fixing it for her. Another woman's sweater was so interesting that I called the pattern designer the next day to place an order. Everyone thinks I'm the enabler since I have a shop, but really, you ladies are just as bad for me!
I had quite a bit of housecleaning to catch up on as well after working overtime on the shop. (There's at least one person out there who understands putting the laundry on hold till your sweater is done, right?)
Now that things are back to a "normal" pace, I'll be updating regularly again. I'll try to be better at multi-tasking in the future, but all bets are off when your boss is 1.5 years old too.
Don't forget that this month is the yarn crawl. 10 lovely shops along the Eastern shore are participating this year. That means, that for just $15, you're entitled to a 20% discount on all yarn in all of the shops. Plus, you get a little tote bag, and postcard/passport which you get marked off for each shop you visit. If you spend $25 or more in a shop, make sure you fill out an entry form to win a $25 gift card for that shop's weekly drawing. There is one lovely guest who I forgot to have fill one out. I've filled out one in honor of her, but don't have her contact info. If it's you, let me know so I can fix it! I have ladies at the guild on the job too. Each Wednesday is when I'll draw a winner, so check your inboxes then. Normally when you participate in a yarn crawl, it's just a group of friends driving all over to pet yarns at each shop, and buy new goodies. The bonus of this one is that no matter which shop you go to, the yarn's on sale! You can't beat that. I've never been to more than 2 shops which coincidentally had a sale on at the same time, so 10 is phenomenal.
Last little tidbit for now is that I now have a free hat pattern available. I make up hat patterns for my yarns I dye, and they've been popular with some of our guests, so i've typed out a copy which I can email to you if you'd like to knit one up. The pattern is for a bulky yarn with 3 sts/inch. (super quick gifts!) Email me, and I'll reply with the pattern.
Happy Stitching,
Allison
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sale ON!
No awesome picture to go with this post, cause there wasn't one suitable which was already uploaded, and it's been a long day.
I want to tell you that the Summer Sale is officially ON. I've marked down 10 lovely yarns, and the percentage off, grows the more you buy. (Really! I'm getting buried alive over here!) There's no discount smaller than 20% off though, so no matter how many balls of yarn you buy, you're still getting a good deal. The discount applies to each type of yarn seperately - if you buy 6 balls of Louisa Harding's Nautical Cotton, it's a better deal than if you buy 2 balls of Nautical Cotton, 2 balls of Araucania Lonco, and 2 balls of ONline Goby even though that's still 6 balls. Does that make sense? I want to avoid any confusion/heart break by making things clear from the start. I've tried to label things in a simplistic, easy to read manner, but it could be better so, as always, ask me if you need help - I'm glad to explain. The yarns on sale are cotton, or cotton blends so they're perfect for hot August knitting. I even have some ideas on what certain yarns should become, so if you need some inspiration, I'll try to offer suggestions. The sale starts when I open tomorrow (10 AM), and will run through the end of business NEXT Thursday - A week and a day.
Before I finally go knit for the end of the day, I have to tell you that I already have a huge bin full of the sale yarn waiting to find its new home in my stash. I'm truly a knitter at heart.
Happy Stitching,
Allison
Monday, August 3, 2009
And That's Not Even All of It!
Hi All!
Look what we received today! I can't tell you how overwhelming AND exciting it was to get so much Awesome yarn today. I'll be sorting through it all on Tuesday, and trying to make room (wish me luck). I know that I'll never be able to fit it all into the shop along with everything else on it's way for fall, AND my current stock, so it's a knitter's favorite thing - the (soon to be annual) "What Was I Thinking Sale"! I say "soon to be annual", because let's face it - as a knitter who's literally obsessed with fiber, and color, I'll most likely always order more yarn (Way More Yarn) than necessary. I just can't help myself, although I have to tell you that I'm getting better. I had a Very difficult time though not squirreling away a few bags of yarn from the new shipment - there's 3 bags who are calling so persistantly to me, that I'm sure they'll never make it into a proper bin.
So back to what you're Really interested in - I'm going to organize a lot of the cotton yarns tomorrow (Now, Today it's so late...) (Tuesday) and arrange them in the back to create a sale area. (Don't worry - I'll move them to the kitchen for Thursdays) When I have things clearer in my mind, and sorted, I'll post info.
In other news, I'm signed up to be part of the Eastern Shore Yarn Crawl! :) The crawl has 10 stores participating all along the shore. All you do is purchase a tote bag here, and you'll receive a postcard. You then get 20% off of yarn at each of the stores. When you go to each shop, you'll receive a stamp on your postcard, whether you buy anything or not (but who can resist more sale yarn!?), and there's talk about giving out prizes for visiting all of the stores. The crawl will be going on for the month of September, so start planning/plotting with your fellow knitters and crocheters about road trips. I already have one of my bags on reserve for Kathie and if you want me to reserve you one, give me a call, email, or stop on in. More on that all soon.
I've been dyeing a lot of yarn, and knitting with it, making sure that the yarn is as beautiful as possible. Soon, I'll be selling it in the shop, so look for that as well as all the goodies on their way for fall.
I'm scheduling lots of classes to start in September. I'm sorry that there were such slim pickings for a while. I'll definitely have a nice range of classes all throughout the fall and winter. I hope everyone's in the mood for learning something new.
Lastly, I'm going to be dedicating a small area of the shop to displaying handmade items for purchase. More on that to come soon.
