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By Anna
The weather is warmer, the birds are singing, and the flowers are popping up from the ground. After a long winter worthy of a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, I couldn't be happier to shout “It’s spring!” However, my least favorite thing about this season is the way the sunlight illuminates the dirt that's been hiding all winter. It's time to fling open the doors and windows and give everything a good cleaning, and just as we peek into the nooks and crannies of our homes, it's time to take a look into the deep recesses of our project bags. I asked the staff to see what their oldest WIPs (Works In Progress) are; here’s what we all said.
- Anna: I have a bunch of old ones. My Ravelry Projects Page shows eleven works in progress, and um, many, in hibernation, but my most shameful are
- a Cobblestone sweater that I started for my husband back in 2008 (remember this piece on knitting for the men in our lives back in the Jan 2009 newsletter? ) and
- a baby blanket in Dream in Color Smooshy I started in February 2009 for an unborn baby....who is about to celebrate her first birthday. Whoops.
- Carla: I guess I'm getting better about this in my old age. Last year I finished a WIP that was 6 years old. That doesn't sound that old, but since I've only been knitting 7 years it was huge for me. It seems now that if I start a project and I realize I keep leaving it home when I'm off to work consistently for a couple months, I put on my big girl pants and rip it out so the yarn can be re-purposed. Now if I could just get into those bags I have packed in the yarn room with the yarn, pattern and needles all ready for me to grab them up and get knitting I would do great. Instead I keep doing the “Oooooh shiny” thing.
- Kelli: The Leaf Lace Shawl from Fiber Trends. Better things came onto my radar. It will eventually get finished.
- Martha: Ohhh boy......That would be my wolf sweater that I started back in... 1992 or 1993. I fell in love with the yarn (Yarns Brunswick Icelandic Wool), and the pattern, it had a howling wolf on the back. I've done all the pieces, and got stalled on the back because I found I don't like intarsia knitting. I know I should rip it and repurpose, but there are some fond memories in there. I know even if I finished it (assuming some of the yarn wasn't lost in the Great Flood of 2009), I have (ahem) outgrown the size I was making. Someday I'll get the courage to deal with this. :-)
- Melissa: Lizard Ridge Afghan, started April 2007, which isn't really that bad when you think about it. Why did I stop? Gauge issues between the blocks has brought me to a standstill as well as a blatant inability to remember how to count when it comes to the short rows, problems with how the colors were pooling...sigh. I'm sorry. I can't talk about it anymore. *sniff*
- Monica: My oldest WIP is my Constant Companion bag, which I started in December of '08. I love the pattern, and do hope to finish it sometime soon - I think it's the thought of all the i-cord bind-offs that is keeping me, but that's what we have Carla for. ;)
- Steven: The oldest WIP/UFO I have is my Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. I began it June 21, 2009. I haven’t finished it because there were too many mistakes in the third lace section to fudge and the wound was too fresh to rip it out myself. It has lived in my cubby since I began working at Natural Stitches, waiting for the day I felt strong enough to rip it back. Recently Yvonne did it for me, and it is back in line to get worked on. I plan on finishing ALL my UFO's that I have currently cast on before the end of April. (If I cast on anything new in March, that deadline won’t apply.)
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 Teri: the Milky Way Blanket, started November/December 2008, worked 20 skeins that winter, hiatus for warmer weather, in progress now. It WILL be finished by month’s end or I’m going to implode! [Ed.'s note: The infamous Milky Way has since been completed since we went to press! Including about a bazillion ends woven in!]
- Yvonne: The oldest WIP I have is the Mandala Shawl or Goddess Anniversary Knits Shawl. I started it June 15 of 2008. I really, really need to get it off the needles. You know, after I wrote that, I looked at my Ravelry page. I have a Scribble Lace Shawl thing that I started in July of 2007. I have Monkey Socks that I started in November of 2007. And yes, I'll probably finish all 3 of them. I don't know why I haven't finished them: the monkey socks because when I tried the first one on, it didn't fit, so I am dragging my feet (ha!) on the second one. The scribble lace shawl because it doesn't entertain me. And the Mandala shawl -- have you seen the charts for that thing?? ;)
My personal challenge for April is to finish as many WIPs as I can and (this is key) not cast on for new ones. Anyone else want to try? I think it will be refreshing to get things out of my project bags and on to their intended recipients. Plus, Yvonne and I are planning a KAL for May that is going to be so wonderful and exciting that, trust us, you will want to clear your knitting decks, so to speak, for this one. We will be cheering each other on as we finish projects in our Ravelry group, so please join us there! |
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What's New, What's Going On?
- Speaking of spring cleaning, Martha did a yarn bump, putting many yarns appropriate for springtime knitting on clearance. Come check out the bargains, including Rowan Calmer, Noro Chirimen, Classic Elite Premiere, and SWTC Tofutsies at 40% off.
- We have more Madeline Tosh! We received a surprise “bonus” box this week with assorted colors of Sock and DK.
- Did you know our Steven made an appearance on the Yarn Harlot's blog? Steven took up our Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010 challenge and knitted his first pair of socks for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and presented them to her when he was at home in Michigan on Spring Break. She said his socks were perfect!
- On the blog: ideas for Easter Bunny knitting, we return to our roots with an easy version of stuffed cabbage for the slow-cooker, and a sneak peek at our Show Us Your Shawl Extravaganza. Want more Natural Stitches? Find us in our Ravelry group, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
- Our first Steeking Workshop was a great success, and we’ve all come to agree, thanks to David’s wisdom, that “steek” no longer rhymes with “eek!” We have a few spaces left in the next workshop, on Saturday, April 3 from 1:00-3:00 PM. Call the shop at 412-441-4410 to reserve your spot! Yes, there will be a class in May.
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The Fibre Company’s Road to China Light: A Review By Monica
When Natural Stitches received its first shipment from The Fibre Company, Anna and I were working the floor together. Anna, who is much more “with it” than I am in terms of what all new yarns, patterns and notions are out there, immediately grabbed my arm and exclaimed, “Oh! Road to China!!” (to which my response must have been a blank-canvas expression), but indeed, when we opened the box, ooohhh.
 Road to China Light is as lovely as you could imagine any yarn to be. Its hand is soft, lush and the fiber has a beautiful sheen. The colors – oh, the colors – have gorgeous depth. The one that I was instantly drawn to was the Lapis. You could just get lost in the richness of it:
And now, on to the fiber content. This yarn is comprised of just about every luxury fiber you could think of. It is a luscious sport- to DK-weight blend of 65% Baby Alpaca, 15% Silk, 10% Cashmere and 10% Camel. What’s not to love about that? At this point you may be thinking, “Hmm, cashmere. Camel. Silk. Sounds too rich for my blood.” Well, don’t pass on by this article yet. For a mere 15 bucks a pop, this 159-yard skein of yarn will not empty your pocketbook. You too can indulge in its loveliness. You too can take it home and call it your Precious.
With just 2 skeins of this stuff I knit myself the Ishbel shawlette from Ysolda Teague’s Whimsical Little Knits pattern booklet (now also available at Natural Stitches!). The finished product had the most exceptional drape, and the yarn itself was an absolute joy to work with. I had no issues with the yarn splitting while working with it, and there’s been no pilling with the finished garment. Road to China Light gets a “thumbs up” from me all the way around. My “yarn by the numbers scale” on The Fibre Company’s Road to China Light (with 10 being “ooooohhhhhhhhh” and 1 being “um, ew”) would be:
| Hand in skein – 10 |
Colors - 10 |
Yardage/money ratio – 9 |
| Drape of finished object - 10 |
Ease of knitting - 10 |
Price for luxury - 10 |
Enough talk from me. We recently got a refill shipment and currently have a full range of colors. Come see for yourself!
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Getting to Know Your Natural Stitches Staff
This month, we spotlight Kelli, shop manager, mother of Evan, and a kind and generous friend.
Unlike the rest of the staff, you learned to knit specifically to come to work at Natural Stitches. Can you talk about that process?
All of the Natural Stitches staff were knitters before the shop opened, except me. I had a deep retail background, but knitting? The closest I had ever come was some cross-stitch and a brush with crochet. But anyone that knows me even a little, knows that I have a great loyalty to my work and customer service is second only to safety. So I couldn't possibly work in a field that I didn't know, so...I learned to knit. I like to think of it as the “sink or swim method.” I met up with a couple of knitting groups that Carla and Martha did regularly, and between books and what ended up being the original staff, I learned QUICKLY. The blessing? You skip crazy fad phases. The curse? You are surrounded by great knitters, but the gift is that I fell in love with it. I don't knit as fast or as much as some of the others, but love it all the same.
I think my way of learning to knit differs from someone who seeks it out by the fact that I wasn’t just learning the motions. I was learning about fiber, gauge, hand, merchandising, and inventory at the same time. It was a very "big picture" look at this simple piece of material that I was forming with my hands.
Why is your Ravelry name Knotan00b?
When I joined Ravelry, I could not think of a name to describe myself, so I asked my geek husband. He came up with n00bknitter. I said what's n00b mean? He says it’s geekspeak for new. I thought that was a great description as I has only been knitting a couple of months. So it went until the Christmas of 2008, when Anna said that she wasn't going to speak to me anymore until I changed my Ravelry name. I had just finished the Hemlock Ring blanket for my mother, and Anna didn't think my name reflected my skill level anymore. I had a terrible time the first go round trying to pick a name, so again I go to my geek husband. I explain the situation. He says “not new anymore? Let’s use that!” So knotan00b was born: still me but modified, just like my knitting continues to do.
For someone who hates having her picture taken, you sure have interesting portraits in the bathroom of Natural Stitches.
What do I say about the “Yarnabomber” picture? Many of our regulars have seen our edition of the Addi needles celebrity photos. The gallery is great and all the staff is participating. I HATE to have my picture taken. So my attempt was really more Kenny from Southpark but... staff and friends alike started in with “who’s the Yarnabomber?” So Yvonne came up with another idea for me and we nixed the Yarnabomber for good.
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And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!