Martha and Yvonne are still at TNNA, but I asked them to send me a list of what they’ve ordered so I can share it with you all. Yvonne will provide all the juicy details about the yarn, the parties, and the ice cream soon.

We’re expecting massive restocks and new items from some of our favorites, including

• Dill Buttons
• Pagewood Farm
• LanaKnits
• Malabrigo, including the new Rios SUPERWASH, coming in September.
• KnitOne Crochet Too
• Cascade, including the new superwash sport
• Madelinetosh, new sock colors and new for us, lace weight.
• Lisa Knits
• Abstract Fiber
• Debra’s Garden
• Scarlet Fleece, including new laceweight yarn due in September
• Blue Sky Alpacas
• Chameleon Colorworks
• Dream in Color
• Heartstring Fibers
• Manos del Uruguay
• Addi
• ChiaoGoo, including the new sizes of bamboo needles for sock knitters
• HiyaHiya, including doublepoint needles

And brand new for us:

• Frabjous Fibers – new fibery goodness (one wool & cashmere blend and then there is also something with a little bit of angelina in it to give it some flash) (Merino Sparkle & Silky Cashmerino)
• Chica – Drawstring reversible project bag (SO cute)
• Miknitures – Knitted jewelry – pins, really
• Kollage yarns – square DPNs, with circulars to follow in October
• Unpatterns – Pullover, sock & hat patterns (based on the yarn & needles of your choice)
• Deep South – The new book Little Red in the City from Ysolda Teague, and both loose patterns AND the new book from Stephen West.
• And in Yvonne’s own words: This last one, Natural Dye Studio, is an import from England.  We are getting their sport weight, fingering, and a laceweight.  The fingering & sport are called Dazzle and the lace is called Angel.  It should arrive about the same time that the Stephen West book hits us (and possibly also the Ysolda book but I’m not sure).  We are also going to be the ONLY yarn shop in Pittsburgh to carry it and I think it is going to be FANTASTIC.  Amanda (dyer) uses all natural dyes (all plant based) and the colors are incredible — subtle yet striking.  I cannot say enough good about this company.  We really enjoyed talking to them and both we and they are extremely excited about this relationship.

Whew!

We’re thrilled to announce that spinning classes have returned to Natural Stitches! We welcome Nora to our Natural Stitches family with spinning classes beginning in July.

In August 2003, Nora learned to drop spin in Avella, PA at Weatherbury Farm’s Sheepfest. Her 1st drop spindle was recycled CD on a dowel rod and freshly shorn wool. She now has over thirty spindles!

In 2004, her father gifted her with her great-grandmother spinning wheel…as she is the last family member living on Butler County property that her family settled in 1816.

Soon thereafter, Nora took spinning wheel classes and promptly purchased her first modern wheel, an Ashford Traveler. Her next wheel was a Louet S75 and she is eyeballing her third wheel. Nora enjoys spinning on almost every wheel she tries. She spins solely for pleasure, not production!

Nora is an avid knitter (over 20 years) and recently completed her term as the Vice President of the Three Rivers Knitting Guild. Nora loves lace, shrugs and cardies, and Fair Isle–including the steeking portion–but Nora does not do socks! She hosts a Stitch ‘n Bitch called CranKnitters (on Yahoogroups) at the Cranberry Barnes & Noble.

Nora will offer  Beginning Spindle and Beginning Wheel in July, but will offer a variety of intermediate and advanced classes in the months to come. Read Nora’s class descriptions here. Our July class calendar is here.

Hooray!

“Drab to bleak is a perfectly valid color selection!”

I love gray, and so does Kelli! These colors were inspired by the winter sky, and served as a good reminder to me that beauty can be found in the darkest part of winter. For all of the others who love “drab to bleak,” we salute you!

We received many big boxes of loveliness today!

From Abstract Fibers, their Superwash Merino and BFL Roving:

Also from Abstract Fibers, their Superwash Sock:

And a big restock of the wonderful Pagewood Farms, including Alyeska and Denali, and some new colors of Willow Creek:

Your little Natural Stitches elves have been super-busy putting new things out on the shelves. New this week:

• Lots and lots and lots of spinning fibers from Louet and Harrisville, not “just” wool, but alpaca, bamboo blends, and yak!
• Brand spanking new from Blue Sky Alpacas, Multi Cotton, a subtle variegated version of your favorite organic cotton.
• A big restock of Louet Gems Sport, a yarn perfect for heavy socks and colorwork.
• Some beautiful baskets from Lantern Moon, and some perfect stocking stuffers, including new tape measures shaped like chickens and turtles.
• A new non-wool sock yarn, Bamboo from On Your Toes.

Stop in and check them out!

This month’s Color Choice basket is inspired by the ocean, in honor of all those going to the beach this summer. I used Dream in Color Classy in Beach Fog for my base color and built around it with other shades of the water and sky we have in the shop. By sheer coincidence, the day after I put the basket up, the latest shipment of Flat Feet arrived, painted in the same tones with fish, flip-flops, and beach umbrellas stamped on them.

Wherever you are, at the beach, in the mountains, or at home on a stay-cation, we hope you are having a happy summer!

I’m always fascinated how fiber goes from that puffy stuff in a bag to a finished knit object. Here, a blogger describes how she spun up our spinning teacher Carol’s Posy Toes roving into a fingering-weight yarn and then went on to design original socks with that yarn.  Thanks for allowing us to share the pictures on our blog, Jamie!

It’s no secret that many of us here love purple, but this month’s “color choice” basket is particularly special to me.  I knew I wanted the theme to be Mother’s Day but I wasn’t sure what direction to go in for the colorways. Inspired by the colors of the crocuses popping up in my yard, I chose purple because it was my grandmother’s favorite color and she is the one who taught me how to knit when I was seven. I made a bunch of what can only be called “blobs” and didn’t knit anything for years and years, but when I hit a particularly stressful time in graduate school and I needed something tactile to do, I turned back to knitting and found a lot of comfort in remembering her patient instructions on knit and purl. This basket is in honor of her.

Pagewood Farm Roving: Blue Faced Leicester, hand-dyed, comes in 4 oz twists.