Say Goodbye

As some of you know, we are eliminating Bernat, Patons, Sugar & Cream, and Phentex from our inventory.

Now calm down. Don't panic. It's really not that bad.

These are yarns that although they have been good for us, they can also be found easily through the big box stores, small craft stores, and directly from the distributor. Well, except maybe the Phentex. But I'm sure you can still find Phentex somewhere. That stuff will outlast a nuclear war. And we are on the search for a substitute.

We want to offer you yarns that you can't pick up that easily. Yarns that make you swoon. Make note; Remind Lori to get smelling salts.

It happens that yarns hit the chopping block, even the swooney ones in amazing colors. There's a lot of different reasons why either companies or stores discontinue making or selling a yarn. We don't like to see beautiful yarns die, but you get the advantage of this since you can pick them up at sale prices. Besides, by getting rid of the old, we make way for the new.

And although we would love to carry every yarn in the world, we just don't have the storage for that. I don't think the entire city of Lacombe has the storage for it.

So even our large store has to be choosy.

Bernat Super Value hit our chopping block and we no longer have any of it.

Like I said. Calm down, don't panic.

We did bring in beautiful acrylic yarns in a wide range of colors. You can't get these yarns at the big box stores.  So yes, you can still make your afghans!

This week we have a steal of a deal with a Bernat yarn. If you think that crochet thread is only for doilies and tatted collars, think again.

Look at the patterns in this book that we have!

To Wear

Lace Knit Shawl (3 balls)

Openwork Tunic (3-4 balls)

Pineapple Lace Shawl (3 balls)

Patterned Hexagons Bag (4 balls)
Frilly Cropped Vest (2-4 balls) 

For Home

Shell Stitch Curtain Panel (3+1+1 balls)

Patchwork Pillows (3+3 balls)

Alfresco Place Mat (1+1+1 balls)

 And what is this magic yarn that does all these things with so little at a now magic price?

75% OFF SALE

Bernat Handicrafter Crochet Thread

100% Acrylic, Lace Weight size 5

85g/339m/371yds

Regular Price: $3.60

Sale Price: $.90

That's right. Ninety cents. Which means you can make the lightweight easy care Openwork Tunic for 4 bucks!

But that can't be right, Anna. You can't make a top of any kind for 4 bucks!

Oh, but you can, when you get this yarn at this price.

Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee who knows that you can knit with crochet thread. Yep, yep, you can!)

Possible Spies and Military Leaders

I tried looking up James C. Brett to find out more information about the company.

There isn't any. This company has a beautiful website showing off  its yarns and patterns, yet any information about the company itself is a closely guarded secret.

We know it's based in Britain, and has its yarns milled in Turkey which seems to be the hot spot for yarn mills. Almost everyone goes to Turkey to have their yarns done. They must serve champagne and hors d'ouevres there while people relax by the pool. 

I guess I'll have to research turkey yarns sometime. 

We also know that the company started in the 1980's and that James C. Brett is a real person. But as far as knowing who the real James C. Brett is - that is a mystery. He's not even in Wikipedia. Undercover agent maybe? Royalty using an assumed name? Time traveler? We have no idea.

Sirdar on the other hand, freely admits who they are. They are another British company who also has their yarns done in Turkey. The company began in 1880 by the Harrop Brothers - and that explains why we have some beautiful yarn called Harrap Tweed. Tom and Henry started small using pure wool in their spinning company. It was Tom's son Fred who renamed the company in 1934. The name Sirdar comes from Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener who was the British Sirdar of the Egyptian Army. Sirdar is another name for "guy who tells people what to do and they do it".  Some people would say he was a leader. So you see, Sirdar claimed the title "Leader" in the yarn industry.

This is the same Lord Kitchener who created the Kitchener Stitch because he was concerned about the seam in soldiers socks.

So you can praise him or curse him depending on how you like the Kitchener Stitch.

And I bet you didn't know that a fierce military leader was also a knitter and designer. Tell that to the men in your life who think that knitting is too girly for them.

See, they can vanquish their foes in the day, crush beer cans with their teeth for dinner, and then spend the evening knitting socks and lace doilies.

Of course, you can do that too.

For this week, we've selected three different yarns all that have only one color left because we couldn't offer you just one yarn and only one color. Where's the choice there?

75% OFF SALE

James C. Brett Passion

70% Acrylic, 30% Wool

100g/146m/160yds

Chunky (5)

Regular Price:$11.00

Sale Price: $2.75

Sirdar Connemara

51% Wool, 49% Acrylic

50g/75m/81yds

Chunky (5)

Regular Price: $7.00

Sale Price: $1.75

Sirdar Squiggle

51% Wool, 49% Acrylic

50g/40m/43yds

Super Chunky (6)

Regular Price: $7.00

Sale Price: $1.75

 Posted by Anna Maria Junus - happy employee who has images of turkey yarn in my head. Anybody ever sheared a turkey?

Ooo La La

I love lace.

There is an art to lace with its beautiful repeat patterns that echo nature, and use symbolism, often to tell a story.

Remember those lace doilies and antimacassars your grandmother had around her home?

Hold it. You don’t know what an antimacassar is? No, it’s not about being against macassars – and that is not what it sounds like.

It was those bits of lace women would put on the arms and headrests of chairs to protect them and make them last longer. Back then men wore a lot of weird greasy stuff in their hair, because I guess they thought it was sexy for a woman to run her fingers through his hair and then use it to butter his bread. Antimacassars kept the back of the chair clean, although it did a rough job on that lace she so carefully made. On the arms it helped with the wear and tear of the fabric. Back then they didn’t change out their furniture every five years. There’s couches out there that have lasted like a hundred years, probably because they didn’t let their kids on it. So they weren’t like us, throwing everything out. Things were built to last, and even the doilies and anti-things did too.

People don’t use them anymore. Nor do they use real doilies either. Doilies just don’t fit into busy lives where we don’t even bother putting tea in teapots anymore. And even if you did use them you’ve got an instant reputation of being a fussy old cat lady, even if you’re not old and don’t own a cat. You might not even be a lady.

Doilies just aren’t in.

Or are they?

Actually, those beautiful doily patterns – and even if you don’t want doilies around your home you have to admit the patterns are beautiful – can be re-purposed
.

Shawls are huge right now. And they’re not just for fussy old cat ladies. Those old patterns make beautiful shawls. Shawls are fun to make too. One size fits all. Any yarn will do. And it’s a large area to play around with stitch combinations and colors. Shawl patterns are running amuck on ravelry and the rest of the internet, (isn’t that a fun word – amuck? It makes me think of that witch movie where Carol Kane jumps up and down saying “amuck, amuck, amuck”, and now both of us have forgotten what I’m writing about). Meanwhile, designers are getting inspiration from faraway lands famous for their shawls, such as Estonia and Ireland where entire families knitted exquisitely complex shawls while they cooked, cleaned, herded sheep, built barns, and shod horses. I don’t know how they did this. I keep looking for pictures of eight armed people but haven’t found them yet.

A shawl is the most important thing you can take on your travels besides toilet paper. Carry one in the bag that you take everywhere. It serves as a skirt at the beach, a sweater on a cool summer evening, a blanket for a nap, and a head covering for those times when you enter religious edifices that require women to cover their heads and shoulders. With a couple of knots it’s a market bag, or it can be a sun shade, or tuck it around your neck and under your coat for a scarf when it gets cold.

Shawls can be made from ethereal cobweb lace thread that fits through a wedding ring to great big bulky ropes of yarn. They make lovely gifts for the bride, or as reminder to the recipient that they are loved and you are thinking about them. You can incorporate hoods and pockets, and a few well-placed stitches will even make sleeves.

But lace isn’t limited to shawls and doilies and those anti things. Think curtains where you can let the light in but keep your privacy. Tablecloths – which are just great big doilies - table runners, bedspreads, gloves and trims can all be made using lace techniques.

Forget about coloring mandalas. You can actually make mandalas. Or try cable and lace patterns on a scarf. You can make tiny flowers and turn them into earrings, pins, necklaces and hair accessories that no one else will have and everyone will ask about.

So this week’s special is all about…arm knitting with great big bulky yarn.

No it’s not. I wouldn’t do that to you. Get you drooling all over lace and then do a switcheroo.

It is about lace weight yarn. Two specifically.

Noro Kirameki

60% Rayon, 25% Nylon, 10% Wool, 5% Cashmere

50g/495 yds/453 m

Regular Price: $13.00

Sale Price: $3.25

I made a lace scarf with one ball of this yarn for the store which caused all the bright colors to leave us. However we do have one color left. Number 4 is a soft pink shading into greens and browns. Lori says it reminds her of a rose garden. Definitely more subdued than the in your face vibrant colors, but lovely all the same.

Regia Lace

71% Wool, 29% Nylon

100g/656 yds/600 m

Regular Price: $16.00

Sale Price: $4.00

We have two colors of this one, and it comes with a free pattern that you can download from the internet.

And if you want to learn more about lace, there’s some sites on the internet. Piecework magazine, which I highly recommend for history buffs, often does great articles on lace making. Nancy Bush also has books on it, and there are tons of other books about lace. And by tons, I mean you could gather them up and they would weigh tons.

P.S. Not only can you make lace with crochet and knitting techniques, but we also carry tatting shuttles and a hairpin lace loom.

Posted by Anna Maria Junus – who thinks in her head she can accomplish a lot more lace making than she actually can – unless she lived several hundred years which would just add more lace patterns and yarns to her stash.

Sing Along: Everbody's Retreating For the Weekend

It's retreat season!

Some of you are avid retreat enthusiasts, some of you may have gone on an occasional retreat, and some of you are wondering if that means you can treat yourself in our store and come back the same day and treat yourself again. (By the way, the answer is yes.)

Whether you love to quilt, scrapbook, cross stitch or knit, there is a retreat out there for you. Think of it - a place to go with other women, away from the husband that can't find anything, the job with the crazy co-worker who won't take her meds, the children who see you as the chauffeur they're embarrassed to be seen with, your mother-in-law (no description necessary), the dog that spreads garbage throughout your home and lies in the middle of doorways, the mountain of housework because you don't have an Alice, and all those other responsibilities which leaves you wondering if you can just get in the car and leave, throwing your rear view mirror out the window.

I'm going on a retreat in a couple of weeks. This retreat has a very long weekend, starting on Wednesday afternoon and ending Sunday. Eleven meals prepared for me, long days of stitching or knitting well into the night, a possible massage and pedicure, playing games, and a chance to make new friends. The only thing better would be to go on a stitching cruise. And yes, they do exist - so do needlework and knitting tours in Europe - but that will have to wait until I turn into J.K. Rowling.

Since it's close by, I'm sure some of those retreaters will visit the store. We love retreaters. They tend to come in groups of four or five, and they ooh and aah. We like oohs and aahs.

Weekends in the spring and fall are perfect for retreats. In the spring they're an opportunity to build up reserves for the summer when the kids are home all day for two months, and in the fall they're a reward after you get everyone off to school again. It's a mini-vacation over a long weekend.

Speaking of weekends. Guess what's on sale this week? You can treat yourself and re-treat again!

75% OFF SALE

BERROCO WEEKEND

75% ACRYLIC 25% PERUVIAN COTTON

CHUNKY (119yds/110m/100g)  WW (205yds/189m/100g) DK (268yds/247m/100g)

DISCONTINUED COLORS

Regular Price: $8.50

SALE PRICE: $2.13

Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee who is also happy that she gets to go on retreat for a weekend)

Spring is here - even in Alberta.

We're still in a little shock over that. Some of us don't believe it and are waiting for the snowstorm that buries us forever.

In the meantime, people are dreaming of gardens. Personally I'm Medusa when it comes to plants, only instead of turning to stone, plants wither up and die right before my eyes, as if filmed with a fast forward camera. 

Still I love gardens even though actual gardening eludes me. As a needleworker, I can paint gardens with threads and as a knitter I can allow the beautiful colors to inspire me creating combinations I never would have thought of. After all, in a garden there is no such thing as colors that clash.

Knitting is for good weather too. After you've planted your flowers, veggies, fruits, and herbs, and trimmed your trees and bushes, and supported your ivy, and painted your deck, fences and furniture, you can collapse. And then you can get up and sit in the oasis you've created and knit while your significant other barbecues and the kids throw balls at your head.  

Knitting is portable. You can take it anywhere. A deck chair in the sun with cool breezes gently whispering through your hair, and a laptop for watching your favorite show or listening to music or a podcast is as good as a living room couch. 

Just don't take out that two year old afghan or that heavy wool cabled sweater. You will start to melt and will get mad at me for telling you to knit in the sun. I just got images of you sitting in your chair in a sundress screaming "I'm melting, melting..." and then being reduced to a puddle under the chair.

Let's not do that.

Nope, sun knitting is for lovely lace shawls, tees and shells, and light accessories made in cotton, linen, bamboo and sugar cane. It's for bright candy colors, ice cream pastels, and cool white. Sun knitting is for summer gatherings at the cabin at the lake, while with the family at the beach, moments in the backyard and long car rides (as long as you're not the driver). Let's not do that either.

So to celebrate spring and the inevitable coming of summer, the 75% off sale is on some of our cotton.  

75% OFF SALE

SIRDAR CALICO

60% cotton, 40% acrylic

50g 158m 172yds

REGULAR PRICE: $5.50

SALE PRICE: $1.38

SMC COTTON BAMBOO BATIK

50% cotton, 50% bamboo

50g, 120m

REGULAR PRICE: $7.50

SALE PRICE: $1.88

MIRASOL SAMP'A

100% organic cotton

50g, 110m, 120yds

REGULAR PRICE: $7.00

SALE PRICE: $1.75

Posted by Anna Maria Junus happy employee who wishes she had a cabin by the lake or a trip to Greece.

Rumplestiltskin Wasn't the Only One Who Spun Metal

We have a lot of Berroco yarn. When I say a lot, I mean like enough to yarn bomb every tree in Lacombe. Not that we want to do that. We like Berroco yarns and although trees are lovely, we feel that it is unnecessary to dress them in striped body suits, especially in exquisite Berroco yarns. Ceiling-mart yarns are good enough for trees.

Berroco is a family company. It began in 1809 by Jerry Wheelock in Uxbridge Massachusetts back when men wore knee breeches and powdered wigs. The mill produced woolen cloth although I doubt anyone was wearing a powdered wig while creating cloth. Powder in your woolens is probably not a good idea. It might make someone sneeze.

The company has been passed down through six generations, several wars, and the hippy era. The Wheelock family still own it, morphing it from a woolen mill to a distributor of fine yarns from around the world. So now instead of making cloth, they provide the materials for you to make cloth. 

Their website, Berroco.com, not only showcases their yarns, but patterns (including freebies), a blog, and knitting tips. Want to learn how to block? They have the info. Want to join a stitch-a-long? They've got that too. They also send out a newsletter to interested customers letting them know about the new yarns and patterns and they often enclose a link to a free pattern. 

According to our sales rep, we very well may be the largest retailer of Berroco yarns in Western Canada. Not that we're claiming it because we do not want to get into a Berroco duel with anyone. Although a duel with knitting needles might be interesting.  Hmm. I should ask Lori how good she is at fencing. She may have to defend her honor one day. 

We carry a lot of Berroco patterns too and if you're a Nora Gaughan fan, then you will love the Berroco books that showcase her work which range from stunning to kind of weird.

This weeks 75% off sale showcases a Berroco yarn. See, there is a reason why I've waxed poetic about Berroco. Okay, maybe not poetic and waxing hurts anyway.

Elements is inspired from the elements of the earth so it has metal names. Not to be confused with heavy metal which is really loud. This metal is much softer and doesn't hurt your ears and really isn't metal anyway.  Here's some poetic waxing from the Berroco website: 

Modern and sleek, Elements boasts a unique two-toned effect. A shimmering nylon mesh encloses soft wool, allowing the fibers to peek through and create a gentle halo of color.

Merle made with Elements by
Norah Gaughan

In other words - understated shiny stuff. It's quite elegant looking and people on Ravelry have created some beautiful projects with it. Norah Gaughan designed a gorgeous sweater. Look at that cable! It's like Celtic embossing found on ancient long forgotten churches that you stumble across on snowy days while looking for shelter or while wandering the wild woods with a sword by your side and riding your trusty steed with your wand hidden away in your cloak - that you knitted.

We had the book around here but it's gone now, however you can download the PDF pattern on the Berroco website. Here it is.

Merle Pattern

So download the pattern and hurry over to us to get the yarn. We do have enough, but only if you get here fast! Like really fast. Like sleep overnight in your car parked outside the store fast.

Remember that week when we sold out of our sale yarn by 1:00 on Monday? Now I'm not saying that will ever happen again, but who knows? We've often sold out by Wednesday. And then if you planned on knitting this pattern with that yarn, and you weren't here early enough, you would be very sad, and have to settle for something else in our store. Which would still be nice, but more expensive because it wouldn't be at 75% off.

Even if you don't want to commit to a cabled sweater, with all this glittery goodness this would also make a lovely shawl or scarf. Just enough shine without competing with the signs of Las Vegas.

We have four lovely colors in stock. Curium, Sulfur, Xenon, and Krypton which I think is the big brother of Kryptonite, the only thing besides emotional blackmail that can bring down Superman.

75% OFF SALE

BERROCO ELEMENTS

51% Wool, 49% Nylon

50g 153 yds/141 m

Regular Price: $14.00

Sale Price: $3.50

Posted by Anna Maria Junus happy employee who thinks that she would like to make a scarf using that cable pattern because it could lead to a magic Celtic church.

How Yarn, Cross-Eyed Lions, and Leonard Nimoy Become Part of the Craft Store

"The name of that one yarn reminds me of a 60's TV show about an African wild life refuge," I said.

"Daktari!" Lori replied, checking her cell phone for more information.

"You remember it too?"

Lori and I are one year apart age wise (she's older - had to say that) so a lot of our memories of pop culture are similar even though we grew up in different places in Canada. I realize I've dated us, but before you calculate our ages at somewhere in our nineties, I will say that 60's TV shows for us were when we were little kids and we spent a good portion of the 70's as teenagers. It does not add up to being in our nineties but does add up to an age that I myself am not comfortable with.

"Wasn't there a cross-eyed lion?" I asked. "Clarence," I said, suddenly remembering the name. "Clarence the cross-eyed lion."

Did I ever mention that my head is full of trivial pop-culture?  Sometimes stuff I don't even know I know. Like Clarence the cross-eyed lion. Or the 70's Old Dutch potato chips jingle that I found myself singing when I saw an Old Dutch potato chips truck. Do the Dutch even grow potatoes?

"Judy the chimp," Lori said, reading it from her phone.

"I remember now," I said.

"Daktari means doctor."

"I didn't know that. Makes sense though."

We work hard in the store. Yes, we do. Stop laughing. There's customers to wait on, stuff to count (lots and lots of little teeny weeny things to count but I'm not going there right now because we just finished inventory and that's rough enough without reliving it), stock to shelve, phones to answer, constant rearranging to make way for new product - although customers are convinced we do it for the sole purpose of confusing them - and Lori has responsibilities that only she can do. We also try and take time to just sit and knit, something you can't do in most retail stores where sitting and taking a break is considered laziness. Here, it's part of the job. Sometimes when we are sitting in the cozy corner on the couches in front of the window, happily knitting away, we end up with weird conversations, and with the glories of the internet, we look up weird things, like Leonard Nimoy singing "Bilbo Baggins" complete with hippie go go girls.

I am not kidding.

It is a real thing.

So what has this to do with yarn?

Nothing.

Other than one of our feature yarns has a name that reminds me of a TV show about an African wild life refuge that was on when I was a little kid and can barely remember except for the name of a cross-eyed lion.

75% OFF SALE!

We have two yarns this week. Lano Gatto Dakar. It's a bulky yarn made up of 51% wool, 44% acrylic, and 5% viscose. The other yarn is Diamond Luxury Collection Color Cascade Chunky. This one is 50% Alpaca and 50% Fine Peruvian Highland Wool.

Lana Gatto 

Dakar 

(50g, 55m/58yds)

Regular Price: $8.00

Sale Price: $2.00

Diamond Luxury Collection 

Color Cascade Chunky 

(100g, 120m)

Regular Price: $15.00

Sale Price: $3.75

Links to fun stuff so you know I'm not making it up.

Daktari

Leonard Nimoy singing Bilbo Baggins

Posted by Anna Maria Junus (happy employee with so much trivial information on the brain that I get most of the Gilmore Girls pop culture references).