O, Canada

Those Canadians really know their yarns and we have some goodies to prove it.

First, a lovely alpaca/shetland laceweight for shawls arrived Barb at Wild Geese Fibers in lovely Saskatchewan:

Each one has a natural undyed color of alpaca making up 90% of the fiber content and 10% of a dyed shetland wool, giving the yarn body and loft. Above is a natural white with a seafoam color of shetland.
Above is a natural, rich brown (my photo doesn't do it justice) with a bright pink shetland giving the yarn a warm sitting in front of a fireplace drinking cocoa feel. I know it's 80 degrees out.

This one is my absolute favorite. It's a natural black (which is really just super dooper dark brown) alpaca with a crazy tealy blue shetland. It's such a deep lovely color. Again, my flash has ruined it.
Next up, we just got a bunch of beautiful yarns from Handmaiden. 4 new colors of Seasilk, great beach knitting but also these new colors of Mini Maiden a lace/sport weight 50/50 wool and silk that is hands down on of the best on the market. The sheen is unbelievable, I can't imagine that the blend is really 50/50. The feel makes it seem like there has to be more silk in it! It's really pretty spectacular.

We also got a new summery yarn from Handmaiden called Flaxen. It's 65% Silk and 35% Linen in super soft and subtle hand-dyed colors. We were thinking, obviously, Clapotis for summer or some other similar wrap for chilly boardwalk evenings. I only have one picture of it though because my camera decided it was done working for the day.

Koigu Mill Ends

Anyone who gets here to help me shelve the new Koigu gets first pick at the 5 bags of Koigu mill ends!!

Very Belated Maryland Sheep and Wool

Well, I know, I promised pictures from Maryland and the scoop. It's a bit late but I've been doing a lot of catching up around here from all the things that didn't get done last week because we were gearing up for the trip. It only took 5 days for things to get back to normal.

I apologize in advance for not having more pictures to show you but I really am horrible with a camera and unlike the great bloggers out there I never stop and think, "Oh! I should take a picture of this for the blog!" Instead I only took pictures of the sheep dog trials. And Lisa only took pictures of her kids. So now you know where our hearts truly lie.

I should have taken a picture of the mobs of people on the sidewalk in front of Rosie's at 7:15 in the morning. There were a lot of folks here and everyone was very punctual (yeah!). There was coffee out on the sidewalk, and tea, and lovely boxed breakfasts from Picnic who do a great job every year bringing us the food, even though we are often late with the final count. Everyone got on their buses, with only a few snags (note: next year ALL the buses are leaving at 7:30!) and we were off, leaving poor Judy behind to tidy up the shop because she is really a better person than the rest of us, go Judy! (and THANK YOU!!). We raffled off exciting prizes on the bus and people seemed to really enjoy getting free knitting related stuff, imagine that! We raffled off books, yarn, Rosie's gift certificates--all kinds of fun stuff. Good times were had by all, until we got the phone call. I got a phone call from Lisa, just as we were pulling off the highway, who had gotten a phone call from (I think) Wendy saying that the Koigu people weren't there. Maie had broken her ankle, which we knew, but Taiu was still hoping to come to MS&W, but unfortunately was unable to make it. I braced myself to make the announcement on the nifty bus microphone and surprisingly it went over okay. Not one person rioted, which was secretly what I was thinking may happen. Whew!

Everything continued without incident until we were on the road up to the festival when a small car decided it would be a really good idea to pull out in front of a charter bus, running us off the road momentarily but we were fine--three cheers for Tropiano bus drivers!!

We arrived safely and everyone scattered to SHOP! My purchases were minimal this year. Some socks that rock, but only 2 skeins, and some superwash merino from Brooks Farm. So soft, so lovely. And then there was the food. I ate a lot. It was good. That's all I'm saying.

The ribbon chips were the winner this year. They were cool, right? Maybe I'm just easily amused. All in all it was a great time, and the border collies enjoyed it too.

Note: for normal pictures from MS&W that aren't all of animals go to Carol. She's better at this than me!

Public Service

I know you are all thinking that this is going to be a Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival entry but it's not. That's gotten bumped to tomorrow's list of things to do, partly due to the fact that I left the stinkin' camera at home like a space cadet. It happens. No, today's post is for the greater knitting good of all humankind.
As you may know, we here at Rosies are hosting a Charlotte's Web Knit-A-Long (KAL). There has been much confusion and ripping and some crying at kitchen tables over the, um, lax instructions. So here is my attempt to clarify what is supposed to happen for all of you Charlotte's Webbers out there.

The chart on the back of the single pattern is incomplete. If you have the book you are in buisness--the entire chart is there so this only applies to those of you agonizing over the chart on the leaflet pattern. The motif repeat is the shaded area on the chart. Think of the beginning of the shaded area as the first * of an instruction that would be worded, "repeat from * to * to the last _ number of stitches." The end of the shaded area is the second of those *'s. The motif repeat is not, in my mind, the same thing as the shawl repeat. This means that there are a certain number of rows that repeat themselves to allow you to add additonal motif repeats to the shawl. The shawl's repeat happens from row 11 to row 25. Essentially, once you have the beginning set up you repeat rows 11-25 on the chart OVER AND OVER again along with the mantra of the motif repeat across each of the corresponding rows. So row 11 is THE SAME THING as row 27. And row 13 is THE SAME THING as row 29 is THE SAME THING as row45, etc. You are just adding two additional mantras of "*knit one, yarn over, ssk, yo, [sl1, k2tog, psso], yo, k2tog, yo*" for every shawl repeat.
Here is my advice to you: Get a pencil and a piece of paper (or sit at a computer) and write it out from row 11 to row 25 using the *'s where the shaded area is on the motif repeat and put each row on an index card (Judy's brilliant idea) labled 1, 2, 3, etc. or a, b, c, etc or however you want and put the pattern away until you get to the end of the shawl. I can't write it out here because it's a copyright infringment but row 11 should look like this:
k2, yo, *k2, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1* repeat from * to * to last stitch, k1, yo, k2.
Good luck.

Only a few days left....

'til Maryland Sheep & Wool! It's starting to hit me how soon it is, and I'm getting more and more excited. (If you haven't signed up yet, as of 7 pm Wednesday night, we have about 5 seats left. Call the shop ASAP if you are interested, at 215-977-9276.)




From your pals at Rosie's, who've been to more than a few fiber festivals, here's our list of tips for newbies:

1. Be on time. Rumor has it that a gung-ho bus captain (ahem, me) left at the appointed time even though a passenger wasn't back. We have only a limited amount of time and the buses sometimes have engagements that begin after we return, so we have to be sticklers about departure times. We also have had people tell us it can take a while to find a parking lot that is open at 7 or 7:30 a.m., so if you are driving, plan on leaving yourself some extra time to find a spot.

2. If you have any food issues, be sure to bring some of your own. You'll find lots of lamb, and more fried stuff than you'd believe possible



but not so much in the way of, say, fruit or veg. Plus, the lines are often long and who wants to spend an hour waiting for a fried lamb-kebob when there's yarn and rovings to fondle? Water bottles are also good to pack.

3. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Also a sunhat wouldn't hurt.

4. Dress in layers. It can get stifling hot in some of the "barns" when they fill up with people, and it might be a little cool in the morning.

5. Possible things you might wish to bring: an extra tote bag, chapstick, your checkbook (ha!), a pad and paper, a list of yardages/gauges for potential projects, tissues, handi-wipes, any medication you need, some advil or tylenol just in case, some knitting or reading material for the bus, camera and extra batteries and/or film.

6. Meet up with some of your favorite knitbloggers at 1 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday) in the grassy field next to the big building in the back where the Koigu ladies usually are.

7. For the particularly anal-retentive prepared, visit the official vendor list, print out a map and circle your must-see destinations.

8. And the cardinal rule of the Rosie's Maryland bus: No. Livestock.
We mean it. No matter how fluffy the bunny or wooly the lamb, no matter how much that alpaca bats its eyelashes at you,



we will not transport livestock across state lines.

Have a wonderful time! Can't wait to see you there.

Stacy and the Bee

Spring has sprung all over lately, and this morning it was VERY apparent. A gi-normous bumble bee ambled in and went straight for the Koigu. We watched for a while as he flitted from bin to bin, trying desperately to get nectar from all the bright colors. Stacy finally (and bravely) cornered him in the window, where he was checking out the koigu "flowers" Wendy made for the window, and set him free.

If I were a bee, I'd go for the Koigu too.

Charlotte's Web KAL

So, I didn't think it was going to happen, but it is! No one had called to sign up for it but this week we have had a flurry of Charlotte's Web activity and the Knit-A-Long is on. It's tonight from 5-7, and every friday night until we are done. Come on by any friday evening and join in.

I've already got my colors picked out:

Soysilk and the needles

I couldn't resist it. The violent shocking horrible purple, it called to me even in my sleep. I dislike purple in most cases. I find it too whimsical for the kind of person I like to think I am. But this purple, the most horrible amazing purple, I NEEEEDED it.

So I got some and cast on for the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

Looks good, no? I love it. It's wonderful and I don't even have to concentrate because someone else has already figured out the pattern. How wonderful. I sometimes have this thing where I think if I am going to spend the time to knit something I may as well design it myself but I needed a well deserved break--and Wendy egged me on Saturday. You may have noticed from the picture that I am in fact using mismatched old ratty straight needles. It's true. I was having a throwback moment to those days before I have all the lovely needles at my fingertips, when the only needles I had were my grandmother and great grandmother's hand-me-downs in an old Folger's can. All mismatched and warped and bent. Ah, the old days. Now there are so many different needles on the market the mind reels. I don't even know what I like anymore. How can I? As soon as I think I have found the greatest needle ever and started collecting something even better comes along. My poor Crystal Palace circulars, once they were my treasured needles and now they are dusty and neglected in the bottom of the needle box of doom (that tangled box I rummage through to find the right size). Then I moved onto the Inox coated aluminum, then onto the addi turbos and now I am having a quiet love affair with the Lantern Moon needles, not the straight ones, just the circulars and particularly the double points. They are the perfect double point, except for the awful packaging, but it has everything to do with displaying them and nothing to do with knitting. I did manage to knit up to the point you see in the photo on those mismatched and bent straight needles and then I gave in. I switched to the lantern moon rosewood. So much better.

Elizabeth Zimmerman fans,

Your attention please.

Has anyone noticed that there is a wrap version of the "Baby Surprise Jacket" in the new Vouge Knitting for Summer 2007? Meg Swansen found the notes for this adorable version in her mother's journals, unpublished and overlooked all these years. How cool is that? Very cool.

Conjoined Creations

So yesterday was a long day in the sometimes dreary world of retail. It mostly gets that way when it's really nice out and I'm in. But we got to have the door open for most of the day, which was almost as good as actually being outside, especially when all the leaves and dust from the street would blow in the door. Then it was really like being outside, in a less fun way with a lot of sweeping.

But! My day got brighter when a giant box arrived from UPS. My first response, "ugh." My second? "Cottage Creations!" These are the people who made lighthearted fun of us all during TNNA in San Diego in...whenever that was. (Brain is fried, I gave up the caffeine. Why? I'm an idiot apparently.) We, especially I, spent a lot of time in their booth and by a lot of time I mean multiple days for long stretches of time. They have a range of about 5 billion colors all of which you can get in Dark, Mid, Light and Pale. So multiply 5 billion by 4 and that's really how many they have. Then you can also have them make you custom multi colors out of any of those 20 billion colors. So then it just becomes too many colors to even imagine. You can see why I spent so much time there. And here is what came of it:
100% soy silk in a lace weight in all these lovely colors:

And as if that wasn't enough they also custom dye soy roving with any of the 20 billion colors in any combination. We got some Soy silk roving and also some Optim (which is merino wool where the staple length has somehow been stretched giving it even more lustre.)

As Promised

I said I'd do something about knitting, with pictures, and here it is: from the first session of the Entrelac Sock Class a week and a half ago. Everyone--really, everyone--was wearing wonderful handknit stuff. Unfortunately, all of the pictures were blurry except this one of Sherry wearing Geyl and Jim wearing a sweater he designed.

So you should just imagine Wendy in her turtleneck-with-sleeves (sleeves-with-turtleneck?) from Wrap Style, Karen in the Half-Square Shawl, Barb with an Alligator Wrap, and Christina wearing--hey, Chris, what is that scarf? I can tell it's Noro, but I can't see any more than that.

The cast-on is definitely the trickiest part. We tried a couple variations. Eventually, everyone got it, and repeated it enough times to feel like they'd still know how to do it when they got to the second sock.

Working the entrelac was no big deal--working entrelac never is. It's easier in the round, because you don't have to worry about side triangles. This particular pattern has a couple unusual characteristics: in most entrelac, the first stitch of every row is slipped, but not here. Eunny Jang, the designer, says that the slipped stitches decrease elasticity. A couple people experimented with doing it either way and they found no difference. The slipped stitches make it easier to pick up the right number when starting the next block, though, and working all the stitches (rather than slipping them) seems to lead to gaps along the picked-up edge. So some people are choosing to slip them anyway.

Second, on each round, the stitches for the first block are picked up in the reverse direction as all the other blocks. That is, if the whole round is going to be full of blocks picked up purlwise, the first block is picked up knitwise. And vice versa. This seems to be a function of where the yarn ends up at the end of the previous tier, and facilitates carrying the yarn up the inside of the sock rather than cutting and rejoining it every time. That's a worthwhile change, though a little confusing at first.

From here, it should be smooth sailing for all until the heel begins.

Here's a picture of Wendy's toe and Courtney's. They've both got the same Koigu multi. Wendy's olive solid is Reynolds' Sea Wool, and Courtney's mustard is a solid Koigu.

Stay tuned for more!

Help Wanted

Exciting opportunity for employment in the yarn industry. Seeking individual with strong knitting skills and excellent customer-service skills for job with Philadelphia yarn distributor. Half-time, full-time, or something in between; not evenings or weekends. Cheerful, detail-oriented, reliable, and/or physically strong all pluses. In addition to customer service (primarily phone), responsibilities will include shipping; bookkeeping; and designing handknits.

Send resume to fairmountDOTfibersATgmailDOTcom, or Fairmount Fibers, 915 N. 28th St., Philadelphia, PA 19130.

The sooner the better.

New Autumn House Sock Yarn

We have new colors of the Autumn House sock yarn, in some new colorways that we've never had before. Some of them are a little brighter, some our old favorites.

They also have a new sock yarn, Specks and Spatters, which is the same gauge and available in the same colors but has little slubs of color for extra kick!

Very cool.

Cranky

Let me preface this by saying that it's not much about knitting. But because I'm still thinking about this episode a day later, and because it ties in to some themes that have come up for discussion before, I'm going ahead anyway.

A customer (let's call her "Customer A") was in the shop browsing, choosing some yarn, looking through some books. A second customer (let's call her "Customer B") came in to look for some buttons.

Customer B wasn't sure whether I was the same person who'd helped her pick out the yarn on her last visit (I wasn't). She asked my name, and I said, "Lisa." She looked more closely at me and asked my last name. I said, "Myers." "Oh!" she said. "You wrote the book! I've seen it in the library."

"Yes," I said, "that was me."

"You have a Ph.D. in English!"

"Yes," I said, "I do." It's difficult to know what else to say to a comment like that.

"Wow. A Ph.D. That's hard."

Now, at this point, I'm frankly groping. On the one hand, she's correct; graduate school is incredibly difficult and the achievement of completing a doctorate is one I'm proud of. On the other hand, I was raised to be modest, and I'm just not comfortable saying something like, "Yes, it was, and I worked like a dog to do it." Also, I'm not sure that it's more difficult than lots of other things--like owning one's own business, or giving birth, or writing a book--not to mention any of the very difficult things I have no firsthand knowledge of, like running a marathon or having a life-threatening illness or being a nun.

But while I was struggling for a reply, Customer A chimed in, "Well, but it's not like math."

Take a moment to consider your own response--spoken or unspoken--to that.

I'm afraid you can't compare your response to mine, because I said nothing at all. I was completely stuck. And frankly, it wasn't the rudeness of it that hit me first. It was the hypothetical Barbie-style sexism of it. (Remember the talking Barbie doll that was re-designed after people protested that one of her sentences was "Math is hard"?) Do we still all assume that math and science are inherently more difficult than the humanities? Or are they just assumed to be more difficult for women?

In a comment on a post not that long ago, I was taken to task for belittling women's achievements by claiming that knitting is easy. I disputed the specific accusation (there's easy knitting and there's hard knitting, and I don't think saying "We're all smart enough to do this" is dismissive of the effort involved in it), but I'm right there with the overall point: many girls are taught that modesty is becoming, and this can lead to an unwillingness to claim credit when we deserve it.

And I guess I'd have to say that the score was Sexism 2, Feminism 0 here yesterday--once because I couldn't find a way to acknowledge my achievement without feeling like I was bragging, and once because I couldn't say, "Hey, you don't really think advanced math is harder than advanced literary studies, do you?"

Why am I blogging about this, which has so little to do with knitting? Because I feel bad about not being able to speak up yesterday--and about hiding my silence behind some phony idea that, as a shopowner, I'm prohibited from saying anything critical or unpleasant to a customer. I also think that's why some people around here didn't want me to blog about it: the point is not the anonymity of the customer(s), but the taboo against saying anything negative to or about any customer, ever. It's fascinating to me the way traditional retail policy dovetails with a traditionally "feminine" upbringing.

Sorry, no tidy insightful conclusion is forthcoming. But I promise that the next post will have knitting, and pictures.

March Newletter

Our March newsletter is available online here!

So much new stuff, I'm gonna plotz.

Okay, I come in this morning, and even though I was warned by Courtney's post yesterday, I see this:


bags and bags of new Koigu. I want to strip down and roll in it naked, but out of consideration for our customers, not to mention that pesky L&I inspector, I'll hold back.

I also found this:

bags of Rowan's new Bamboo Tape, in the most luscious spring colors. Okay, some All-Seasons Cotton sneaked in that photo but you can see a bee-yootiful indigo-purpley color on the right.

They tried to disguise this bin of new Reynolds Soft Sea Wool



by putting it on a shelf with the sock yarns, but I am too slick for them. This is a lovely new 7-to-an-inch wool, and we also have a great book that is all sock patterns to go with (including some patterns for men). Here's a link to our website if you can't stand it and want to buy some.

And we also have the 3 new RYC books with lots of Martin Storey patterns: Coast, Mother and Baby, and Nature.

Keep in mind that I've only been in the shop about twenty minutes. There's no telling what else I'll find as the day wears on. So stop by and see us this weekend!

Once more, with feeling...

So the other day when we got in 20 dyelots of Koigu we were totally excited.

Imagine how we felt when 30 more showed up at lunch time.

.

Thoughts on Visiting Elsewhere

I went with a small group yesterday and we had a pretty darned efficient shop crawl (er, research expedition): 6 yarn stores in 6 hours. Of all the interesting things that we saw and thought, the one that's sticking with me now is this: when, at the end of the day, we asked each other the following questions --

Which did you like best?
Where would you shop if you lived here?
Where would you want to work if you lived here?
If you could own any of them, which would it be?

--though there was some agreement about the answer to any one question, the answers were significantly different from one question to another. That is, for any of us, the place we'd want to shop (the place we'd call "our" knitting shop, if anyone asked), wasn't necessarily the one we'd choose if someone said, "Any one of these can be your shop. Just pick."

I don't know what to make of that. But I find it really interesting.

Anyway, we're back now. Sorry for any difficulty yesterday.

Rosie's will be closed this Tuesday

Warning: if you have a jones for yarn or need a needle, stop by today. Rosie's will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 27th for a special staff "in service" meeting. Sort of.

Anyway, we apologize for the inconvenience and assure you that we will be open regular time Wednesday morning.

Koigu's here y'all!

Hey everyone.
I nearly fell over today when UPS brought us 50 million boxes of yarn (and some other things too). I was trying to help customers find yarn, reload the website (page by page...ugh.), sweep up the broken flower pot, answer the phone and whatever else. "AHHH! NO MORE YARN!" I thought. We have enough yarn! We don't need more! and then,
what was in the two biggest boxes?

Koigu.

And all was well.

Yeah, yeah I know

Alright, I admit it.
I did it.
I crashed the entire website.

But it needed it! It deserved it!

Okay, no it didn't.
But! Now that it's is crashed, you will see more and more NEW and PRETTIER pages!
I know, this isn't the usual way to update a website but I suppose we don't do things the usual way around here. Now I have to go back to busting my ass reloading all the webpages...
Lisa's gone for the day...maybe she won't even know it happened?
shhhhh...

One of Those Days

Ever have one of those days when you're kind of bored with everything you're working on and just have to try something new?

We thought Fleece Dogs was one of those books that lots of people talk about, some people buy, but no one actually makes anything from. Think again. The mutt on the right is mine. I only stabbed myself with the felting needle once.

P.S. The strangest thing about this book? In the preface, the author explains that, while "fleece" may suggest the soft fabric used for jackets and so forth, it also means the unspun wool of sheep. You don't say.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!!

Sheep and Wool Fever is on!
Finally, you can sign up for the RosieBus to whisk you away bright and early Saturday May 5th to the Howard County Fairgrounds to revel in all things wool!

TAKE the RosieBus Saturday, MAY 5th to the
MARYLAND SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL!
The biggest, bestest farm and fiber frolic on the east coast, and you can knit on the way down and check out everyone’s finds on the way back. (Or just nap.) We always have a great time – don't miss it! (Check out the vendors at http://www.sheepandwool.org/)

Bargain Ride: comfy seat and coffee and good company on the bus -- $40

High Flyer: all of the above and a Rosie’s backpack of goodies and a delicious boxed breakfast! (Scone, fruit salad, fresh squeezed oj) -- $55
--Pay online here!
New this year: We’re going to have a Rosie’s Raffle on the way down!
You get 2 raffle tickets included in the price of the Bargain Ride and 4 tickets if you’re a high flyer! The raffle prizes include:
Knitting Color by Brandon Mably
Black Bunny Sock Kit
A Colinette Vintage Kit
Rosie’s Stash Box (a bunch of random yarn and patterns from OUR stash!)
Books, yarn, patterns, magazines and more!!
(and you can pick it up at the shop or we’ll ship it!)

Call or email to reserve your seat. Your payment confirms it.
Departures from Rosie's: 7:30 am, 8 am; departures from Maryland: 3 pm, 4pm

SEE YOU THERE!!

Holy moly: lots of cool books are in!

I apologize in advance for the surfeit of exclamation points, but we've got a bunch of the new spring books in the shop -- several of which I've been waiting for quite eagerly.

Hot off the press: No Sheep For You, Amy Singer's new book compiling sweaters, socks and other garments without a single speck of wool in them. Amy's allergic to wool and decided to put together a book showcasing fibers other than wool, including bamboo, cotton, silk and more.



Lace Style, Interweave's latest in the "[fill in the blank] Style" series. Twenty-some patterns making excellent and creative use of lace patterning including socks, sweaters and more (including a great sweater by one of my personal faves, Veronik Avery).




And Favorite Socks, a beautiful spiral-bound compilation of some of Interweave Knits' favorite sock patterns. It's my understanding there are some new patterns, too, but it's worth it to have this gorgeous book that will lay open at the spiral binding to knit from, especially if you're like me and have already drooled your back issues of IK to pieces. (Plus I want to do everything I can to support publishers bringing out great collections of socks, like this one.)



And I haven't even mentioned some of the new Rowan booklets that I found on the shelves when I came in this morning: The Tapestry Collection (making optimal use of the gorgeous wool/soy blend that self-stripes); Little Treasures (adorable baby and toddler patterns); The Bamboo Tape Collection; and The Kasbah Collection (with lots of Summer Tweed patterns).

P.S. I'm just about to shelve five skeins of Black Bunny wool/nylon sock yarn, in some really cool muted colors including Twig, Wagon Wheel Couch (don't ask), Dad's Tie, and more...

[I know, I know, the photo quality stinks (can you say "overexposed"?), but hey, I'm a dyer, not a photographer....]

Save the date!!

And just to be sure you don't miss out:

Save the DATE!!

Call out sick NOW!!

On May 2nd, the Wednesday before the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival



Maie Landra of Koigu Wool Designs and author of Knits from a Painter's Palette, will be teaching a color and technique day-long workshop for Rosie's Yarn Cellar!!


All the details, other than the day are TBA.

Sign up for the bus to Maryland Sheep and Wool coming Soon!! (hopefully tomorrow!)

And on that note, here's a list of classes that will be coming up for Spring!
Call the shop at 215.977.9276 or email courtney@rosiesyarncellar.com to sign up.

Beginner's Class begins February 22, Thursday nights 6-8pm for 6 weeks. $125. all materials included!

Sunday Workshops

You knew it was coming...

March 4th, March 18th and April 1st, Entrelac Socks: We have given in. We are doing a three session class on Eunny Jang's entrelac knee socks. Week one: Learn to cast on to work entrelac from the toe up, learn to carry the yarn between squares to avoid having ends to weave in, and get help with technique. Week 2: Turning your heel in entrelac. Week 3: Top triangles and finishing, including how to make the cord and tassle. Choose your two colors of Koigu, pick your needles and go! Materials not included in cost of class, $20/session.
March 11, Spinning with a drop spindle: We provide the spindle and roving (that's wool before it's yarn) and you learn drafting, spinning and plying to create your own unique yarns. $45

March 25, Felted Bags: You will knit a bag in class and learn all the tips and tricks to sucessful shrinking at home with your washing machine. We've all done this accidentally, now make it useful! $40, materials and pattern included.

April 8, Crocheted Kippot and Kufi: These two headcoverings are easy to make and are wonderful for gifts to friends and family. Learn how to crochet a basic kippot or kufi headcovering in this class, and get some tips for designing your own. Basic crochet skills a plus! Materials and pattern included, $20.

April 15, Beaded Lace Scarf: In this class you will learn how to knit with beads and make a gorgeous light spring scarf. The kits, from Swallow Tail Creations, include everything you need! A great project class, $35 materials included.

Also, starting April 13th, that's Friday the 13th (woooo...scary!) we'll be beginning our in shop Charlotte's Web-a-long! Friday nights from 5-7 pm will be a knit along where we can all gather and stress out about what colors to pick and where we screwed up the pattern, and with any luck make it fun and painless! The Charlotte's Web Shawl is a Koigu Design's classic, and is newly revised and reprinted in Maie Landra's book, Knits From A Painter's Palette. RSVP to courtney@rosiesyarncellar.com.