Stora Dimun KAL By Yvonne It started so innocently… Yvonne: I want to cast on 449 stitches. Anna: You’re nuts. A few weeks later: Yvonne: I still want to cast on 449 stitches. Anna: You’re still nuts. But then the next week: Anna: I, too, want to cast on 449 stitches. Yvonne: HA HA HA. What, you ask, could have brought about this exchange? I have wanted to cast on for the Stora Dimun shawl from Cheryl Oberle’s Folk Shawls for as long as I’ve had the book – which has been at least two years, if not longer. I brought this up to Anna, and you can see what happened. Before we knew it, Carla wanted to knit one, Kelli was asking about it, and a customer brought her copy of Folk Shawls in and said that while she was working on the Irish Diamond shawl currently, she wanted to knit the Stora Dimun shawl next. Suddenly, a knit-along was born. The shawl is named for Stóra Dímun, an island in the southern Faroe Islands. The island is accessible from sea only during periods of clear and calm weather, but regular helicopter service is available twice a week through the whole year. Faroese shawls are uniquely shaped. You cast on stitches for the outer edge of the shawl (not just the top or just the bottom), and work regular decreases every other row to form a triangle with a center back gusset. The effect is two triangular sections with knitted-on borders, joined by a center panel. Additionally, the shawls are knit in garter stitch – no purling required! After hashing out some upcoming projects and events, we have decided to start the Stora Dimun Knit Along. If you are interested in participating, we are casting on our 449 stitches starting May 3. What you will need: Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle About 1125 yards of DK or sport weight yarn. Our suggestions: Nature Spun Sport (7 balls); Louet Gems Sport (5 skeins); Malabrigo Silky Merino (8 skeins); O Wool Legacy (4 skeins); Alpaca Silk (8 skeins); Dream in Color Smooshy or Starry (for a smaller shawl) (3 skeins). You are only limited by your imagination on this one. Want a light, airy shawl? Choose a laceweight, such as the JaggerSpun Zephyr or the Alpaca With a Twist Fino. Want something heavier? Choose a worsted. Can you imagine this in the Cascade Ecological Wool? Please consider joining us for this knit along. We’ll be available for help at any time, but are planning to make Saturday afternoons “Stora Saturdays” so that you can take advantage of focused (well, as focused as we can get) knitting time.

What's New We’re pleased to carry new beaded stitch markers by Urban Bear. Travis of Urban Bear utilizes materials ranging from glass to natural stones to crystals (and even seashells) to create these unique knitting accessories. We’re hosting a trunk show! Dream in Color, makers of Smooshy, Starry, and Classy showcase these stunning yarns in a variety of garments. You have to see for yourself how these amazing veil-dyed colorways knit up. We also just received new colors of Smooshy for spring! We’re so excited! Skacel has sent us wallet cases for the Addi Clicks. For those of you who have an older set of Addi Clicks or are buying them ala carte, here is a portable case for your needles!

Spotlight on Crochet: Welcome to Annette! Natural Stitches welcomes Annette as our new full-time crochet teacher! I learned to crochet when I was really young; I don’t actually remember learning, but I do remember making lots of squares as a kid. My mom then showed me how to do a zig-zag/chevron pattern and I was just floored at how neat that was and immediately started to crochet it. I just kept going and going and it was soon an afghan! There were a few years where I didn’t do much with yarn, but when I first met my husband, he inspired me to get back into the yarn crafts. Our apartment was soon filled with cute amigurumi critters and hats galore. I just love making hats and it’s not uncommon to whip out a simple one during a Steelers game. I have expanded into other items: lace shawls, pillows, etc, but the amigurumi and hats still remain my favorite things to crochet. They really flatter the shaping abilities that crochet grants you and are generally pretty quick to make (great for “instant” gratification!) The Flower Pincushions were shown to me by Steven and are a favorite of Hello Yarns. The pattern was written in Danish, but luckily for me, I’m Danish! It took a little help from my parents for some of the technical terms, but I was able to write up a translation of the pattern and whip up a few store samples of the pincushions. They are so much fun to make, offer a lot of options for personalization, and are almost instant gratification. It’s also a great use for scrap yarn and lonely buttons. It is a simple and fast project great, for beginners looking to make something more than a scarf but not ready to tackle the more difficult pattern, and it makes a great gift, too. The Flower Pincushion class will make its debut on Saturday, May 8. To sign up, give us a call at 412-441-4410. See the full range of crochet classes Annette will offer on our class schedule for April and May.

Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010: Quarterly Check-In Back in January, we challenged ourselves and our customers to step out of their fiber comfort zone and resolve to develop new skills in 2010. It’s time to check in and see how we did for the first quarter of 2010. Anna: I’ve done none of the things I said I was going to do, but I’ve been learning to knit lace without markers, block lace on my own, and in general become much more comfortable with lace-knitting. Martha: I started a pair of socks! I still can't look at green/white/red, so nothing on the stocking front yet. Monica: I didn't have any resolutions for expanding my comfort zone, but my resolution to buy less yarn and work projects from stash yarn that was all ready to go kinda went down the drain already. As far as learning new skills, though, I am working on my first toe-up sock, a lap throw which has a crochet edging in there (I don't crochet), and the lovely Yvonne hooked me up with my own blocking boards so I can more easily block my own things now. So yes, comfort zones are indeed being expanded! Steven: Things I’m doing now to expand: lace edging, blocking a circle, a new crochet project. Trying not to cast on new items is the hardest thing! Yvonne: My resolutions were to clear out some UFO’s and learn color work. I have cleared out one UFO (the monkey socks). I haven't done any color work yet, but I have printed out some patterns with color work, so I guess that's a step in the right direction...isn't it? How have you challenged yourself? Wondering about ways to break out of your comfort zone? Check out our list of classes here at Natural Stitches in April and May. Try steeking with David on May 8. Work on Amigurumi with Annette in April. Learn to knit with beads in Carla’s Beaded Gauntlet class. Whatever your skill level, we have something to challenge you.

Show Us Your Shawl We were amazed, humbled, and awed by our customers during our Show Us Your Shawl Extravaganza. Here’s a peek at everyone’s extraordinary shawls; get all the details on our blog here and here.

From the entire staff of Natural Stitches, we wish you happy knits, creative crochets and splendid spinnings. And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!

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