What's New, What's Going On, What's Coming Up? To say that it's been a challenge to get around the past few weeks is an understatement. We are so grateful for the customers who braved the weather to come in, and for our customers who understood when we had to close for everyone's safety. We are trying to keep everyone in the loop through Facebook and Twitter if we have to close unexpectedly, so please become a fan (Facebook link) or follow us (Twitter link). As the snow melts and our roofs drip (and leak, oh dear), we are glad to find comfort in the fiber arts. We were thrilled when our yarn rep said she had new colors of Pagewood Farms available. Pagewood Farms yarns are outstanding for quality, color, and value for the money, and we are so happy to stock several new colors (particularly good colors for men) in the fingering-weights Denali, Yukon, and Alyeska. We have been busy bees working on our Knitting Olympics projects. Founded by The Yarn Harlot, the Knitting Olympics embraces the ideals of "higher, faster, stronger" and encourages knitters to challenge themselves by casting on and finishing a project during the timeframe of the games. Read about our journey on our blog! Frequent Customers may have noticed the hauntingly empty shelves in our handpainted sock yarn section. A mysterious sign invites customers to guess what "New and Stashworthy Yarns" might be put there. Well, we can't keep a lid on it any longer. The worst kept secret in town is that we will soon carry MadelineTosh Sock Yarn. We can't wait! (ed. Weather permitting this should arrive on TUESDAY, February 23rd!) And finally, a sneak peek for March: we're planning a Show Us Your Shawl Weekend Extravaganza, and Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone 2010 continues with a special workshop on steeking. Look for details on the steek workshop below, and stay tuned to the next newsletter for shawl news.

New Workshop: STEEKS! By David A. What is your immediate reaction to "STEEK"? a) Steek? Did you mean "steak"? b) EEEEEK! You want me to do what with my knitting? c) Bring on those scissors!! If your answer is either a or b, then you must "Expand Your Knitting Comfort Zone" by participating in Natural Stitches' Steeking Workshop. Steeking at its most basic is cutting your knitting for sleeve and neck openings. WHAT??!! Cut my knitting?! Yes, that sounds like an ominous deed to perform on a sweater that you've spent hours knitting. However, steeking has been done for many, many years and has been used most successfully by Scandinavian and Fair Isle knitters. The first Steeking Workshop will be held on Saturday, March 13 from 1-3pm and space will be limited to 8 participants. In the workshop, you will explore two (of many!) common steeking methods: crocheted steek and machine-sewn steek. The workshop will also cover why we steek, fibers for steeking, and setting up steeks. A sewing machine will be provided. Overcome your fear of steeking by stopping into the shop or calling today (412-441-4410) to register for the workshop. The cost is $25 per student. David's steeked Alberta Vest, by Jared Flood Before After As you all know, we are Expanding Our Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010. Intermediate and Advanced Knitters and Crocheters, tell us what new skills you'd like to learn! Email us with ideas at shop@naturalstitches.com

Caring for Your Handknits Continues: Washing Children's Garments By Anna They're the words every knitter-parent dreads: "Mom, there's something sticky on my sweater!" This time, my 3.5 year old had spilled chocolate milk on his beloved Red Sweater, the Tomten I'd worked on for almost a year. While this Tomten is made from Cascade 220 Superwash, and I knew intellectually it would hold up in my washing machine, I wanted to take special care with this particular sweater. Henry and I had picked out the yarn together when he was barely two years old and could say "WED" [red]. I'd chosen this Elizabeth Zimmermann design because he'd shown such delight in flipping through the pages of The Opinionated Knitter. Emotionally, I knew I had to hand-wash it. You'd think that suggesting hand-washing to any parent of small children would cause that parent to laugh and laugh and laugh. However, with the newer wool washes on the market, handwashing woolen items has honestly become not that big of a deal to me. I have a very inexpensive plastic tub I bought at Target (originally, it was meant to be a dishpan). When I have to handwash, I fill the tub with tepid – not cold but not as warm as room temperature water – and add a few capfuls of Eucalan. Eucalan comes in many different scents, including non-scented for those sensitive to smells, but I prefer the lavender. I swish the water and Eucalan together and put the garment in, letting the water soak in and cover it completely. Then I walk away and let the Eucalan do the work. On this particular occasion, Henry and I read a book and watched some figure skating on TV. There's no slaving over a washtub, and it honestly does not take that much more time than it does to sort out a regular load of laundry. After a few hours, I take the garment from the tub and put it in my washer to go through a spin cycle. Thanks to the miracle of Eucalan, there's no rinsing and wringing out of a heavy woolen sweater. Note: I have a front loader, so I trust my spin cycle. If you have a top-loader, you may want to put the sweater in a lingerie bag, or roll it out in a towel instead to press out the excess water. After a spin in the washer, I spread a towel out on my dining room table and lay the sweater out. In dry weather (and when my cat doesn't decide to use it as a cat bed), a sweater is usually dry overnight, if not sooner. And that's all there is to it! Don't be afraid to use wool for children's garments. The care is much easier than you may think.

Getting to Know Your Natural Stitches Staff This month, we begin a new semi-regular feature that spotlights a member of our Natural Stitches Family. Our first subject is Steven Ambrose, who has been with us since last summer. Name: Steven A Chosen craft: Knitting Time doing above craft: 1 year 4 months What other things do you do to keep yourself busy? I'm working towards my MA in English at CMU How did you learn to knit and/or crochet? My Knitting Origins I actually learned to knit twice. My original encounter with the fiber arts world happened during a 2 a.m. grocery run in Meijer. My roommates and I happened into the "yarn aisle" and stumbled upon a knitter lady. After expressing our interest in learning to knit, she literally taught us to knit right then and there. (e-wrap cast on, english style) that's what knitters are like. they need to spread the word. the yarn harlot was right. Things to note in this photo: long metal needles green fun fur yarn my long "college" hair the knitting lady's glasses the rapt expression on my face Unfortunately, we only learned the knit stitch, and when I tried to teach myself to purl, I kept doubling my stitch count (I didn't realize I needed to move my yarn forward). My frustration with purling coupled with a horrible experience at a local yarn store put my off knitting until the autumn of 2008. I was living in Chicago, working in a soul-sucking cubicle job and desperately needed some kind of creative outlet. A quick google on my lunch break and I found the lovely yarn store Nina. The store was so chic and beautiful and staff so helpful. They easily reignited my original passion and I haven't put my needles down since! What is your favorite fiber to work with? I love plain old wool. There something about a scratchy Shetland that makes me feel connected to our knitting past. What are your future fiber-related plans? To have my blog blow up like the Yarn Harlot's and get book deal out of it, after which my adoring fans will send me free yarn, knitted socks, antique spinning wheels, and signature knitting needles. But if you want a realistic answer, I want to learn more traditional knitting techniques (Fair Isle/Scandanavian colorwork, Aran cable, etc.), learn to spin well enough to merit the purchase of a wheel, and then knit sweaters from my handspun. Where do you get ideas for knitting/crochet projects? Customers, Ravelry, and see below What is the one knitting-related thing you can't live without? The knitting blogosphere. Reading the many many knitting blogs (I personally adore the Yarn Harlot, http://thedailypurl.com/, http://actiondetricoter.blogspot.com/ as well as the Flickr photostreams of people like hello yarn http://www.flickr.com/photos/helloyarn/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/yokooyokoo/ are a constant inspiration. Their humor and talent make me want to be a better knitter. What is the biggest knitting disaster you've ever had? My first scarf in bright green fun fur. I was 19. I didn't know any better. [Ed Note: No, there is no picture of this. Trust us, we have asked.] Want more Steven? Find him on Ravelry as StevenA.

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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