An Education

Last week Joan McGowan Michael came and taught a special class for the Rosie's staff on fit. It was and all day workshop where we all made a "block," which is a schematic of one's exact body shape. We used t-shirts instead of muslin, which is more typically used in fashion, because it would mimic the stretch that a hand knit would have. There was lots of pinning and stapling, Stacy even nearly stapled Kate's t-shirt to Kate's torso,

and by the end of the day we all had front/back and sleeve true to life schematics of us! It was really amazing. We learned things like how to add darts, create short rows to compensate for a bust or belly or bum so that the hemlines on sweaters will fall evenly and how to take REALLY good measurements. Jen is now wondering how to continue knitting the three or four sweaters she has on needles knowing what she knows now, to rip or not to rip? I feel similarly.

Friday Joan did a class for customers, which was less intensive, but designed to teach folks how to adjust patterns to their needs. Whether patterns aren't written for your size at all or if your top is a 4 and your bottom a 16, you can knit sweaters that fit if you just take the time to adjust the patterns. I think everyone really got the knowledge and confidence to knit the things they really want to wear. Fear not the short row, it is your friend.

We are also happy to discover that Joan wholesales her White Lies Designs patterns, which are not available as PDFs online. Her philosophy is that a knitting pattern should be a real tangible thing, on nice firm paper with a great photograph. A good pattern is worth the wait, and I have to agree. The attention to detail in her patterns is really lovely. Stop in and take a look at them and get a little help from our staff creating your own perfect fit!

Ohh...yummy!

We got just the thing to cheer us up when we arrived to work this morning sopping wet. Seriously, my clogs FILLED with water while I ran from the coffee shop to Rosie's. Ew! This great new yarn filled a void in our lace weight inventory. It was my TNNA homework from Lisa. My task? Find a yarn suitable for lace shawls that isn't as thin as, say Misti Alpaca Lace (875 yards to 100 gms) and not as heavy as something like Koigu (350 yds to 100 gms). And this is what I found. Hand Jive Nature's Palette Lace Weight Silk and Wool. The same natural dyes we came to love in Nature's Palette but in a lighter weight (655 yds to 100 gms) and with 30% silk. The colors are lovely, bright and scream spring. The natural dyes are rich and subtly shaded, although I wouldn't say it's a variegated yarn.





We also got some nice patterns which you could use for the Nature's Palette Fingering including these Cafe du Monde Glovesand this Spanish Lace Shawl would be great in either the Fingering or the Lace Weight. The pattern on this is very similar to Parthenope so I couldn't resist getting it.

Just in from UPS

New yarn arrived on Friday from Lorna's Laces, it's the new Green Line DK.  An organic yarn that is also naturally dyed, for now.  

Natural dyes are a great thing.  They are just that, natural, not chemical.  I have to applaud Lorna's Laces for doing the right thing, though.  They are discovering that the resources they are using to dye the yarn naturally is more detrimental to the earth than just using traditional dyes.  They are having to use a mordant, which all natural dyes need to make the dye colorfast.  A mordant can be different things and changes the color outcome of your dye.  Iron, urea, chromium and copper are an example of a few.  Some mordants have the problem of being toxic in and of themselves.  Because they were using a mordant there was an extra step in the dye process which used twice as much water as their traditional method of dyeing.  And the natural dyes required extra rinses to remove all the dye, using more water still.   So, this batch of the Green Line DK we have is naturally dyed, but in the future it won't be.  The wool is still organic, that won't change.  And isn't it technically MORE green without the natural dyes?  I applaud Lorna's Laces for being honest about their use of resources and deciding that they were really going to go green, and not just a facade of being green.  It would be great if more companies, across the consumer board, would do this.  Selling green and buying green isn't always greener.  

On another green note, Wendy finished knitting her Tangled Yoke Cardigan in Felted Tweed (color 154 Pickle) on Saturday.  We had a great time picking buttons and fudging the pick up count on the button bands.  

Looks great!

New Yarn From the Fibre Company, Canopy

Canopy Sport is new this season from The Fibre Company.  50% baby alpaca, 30% merino wool and 20% bamboo. 

Don't let the name fool you, this isn't a true sport weight yarn, it's knitting at about 7-9 sts/1" as is evident in Jen's traveling stitch sock, detail below.  Try it out for your own socks, bamboo will give it strength while the alpaca gives it warmth and buttery softness.  Bear in mind these won't be every day wear kind of socks, the alpaca is to tender for that.  But on a chilly night or while cuddling up with your favorite reality tv show, these will really do the trick.  

And at 200 yds per 50 gms it is a totally reasonable yarn for a lace shawl.  Spring is HERE and it's almost time for my favorite fashion moment, the tank top and lace shawl.  Once blocked I think this yarn will have a lovely halo which will give it some added warmth, without getting heavy.  The bamboo gives it a deep sheen that gives the color a subtle varigation that increases the color's depth.  It's hard to convey online but if you've seen how the Road to China sometimes takes dye then you know what I mean.  

BJWMSE

So we've got the pattern of the month up and running, and soon all of our Rosie Knits patterns will be available to download from our website! There's nothing like immediate pattern gratification. And although The Baby Jacket With Moss Stitch Edges will still be The Baby Jacket With Moss Stitch Edges, we'll be abbreviating it wherever necessary with Emily's suggestion of BJWMSE. So much more consise, and Kate will always be able to find the file on the computer in the office. Thanks for playing the name game with me!

Check it out!

Shibori Knitted Felt

Shibori is a resist dye technique from Asia. It is usually indigo dyed fabric and the resist (like tie-dye) is created by first folding or pleating (for more geometric designs), stitching items into the fabric (like little seeds for a dotted effect) or scrunching or wrapping the fabric before submerging the fabric into your dyebath. It creates beautiful designs that are one of a kind and naturally elegant.

So when Shibori Knitted Felt by Alison Crowther-Smith arrived on the UPS truck the other day I was suprised and curious. It's not Shibori like above, which is indigo dyed, but the knitted fabric is manipulated to create textural pattern, instead of dyed pattern. There are some really lovely artistic pieces in this book like

this beaded and felted scarf. Felting with yarns that shrink and yarns that don't in the same piece is a technique that she is using, almost like a knitted seersucker. Also, tying beads into the fabric before felting creates new textures. There is an example from a knitter in New Zealand here, to give you the idea. If you are a knitter who loves to felt, or who is looking for some new techniques to add to your repetoire this is the book for you. It's got great patterns and ideas for taking your felting to a whole new place! Check out a preview of the book below and then stop into Rosie's to take a closer look.

http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/Shibori_Knitted_Felt/preview.asp

Whip Your Knits Into Shape!

On April 11th Joan Michael McGowan, author of Knitting Lingerie Style and owner of White Lies Designs, will be teaching at Rosie's.  Check out the details here.  Joan is a maven of shaping and we couldn't be hosting her at a better time. Here's why:

Remember the scarf craze? I do. I remember talks with Lisa over coffee in the morning before the shop opened that went something like this (but those of you who know us know that I am leaving a lot out):

"What happens when the scarf craze is over?"

"Well, we'll lose some customers but I bet the ones who stay will become really excellent knitters."

This was around the same time that Wendy and Christina were in a beginner's class and

Lisa predictions have held true. The knitters we have kept as customers are some of the best knitters in the area. Creative and technically proficient and not afraid to take on a challenge. Last summer was definitely the Summer of Lace, and the winter has been focused a lot on colorwork. I've been thinking a lot lately about what comes next and I've figured it out. It's what I always wanted...we've become sweater knitters again.

I remember when I first started working in knitting shops in 1997. Everyone made sweaters. Customers would come in and say, "I need 11 skeins of Galway for this sweater [pointing in big hardcover Starmore book]." And all I did was pull colors and get yarn from the backstock. They were the days of Kristin Nicholas intarsia sweaters and Alice Starmore's cables. It was great. I cast on a lot of sweaters in those days, admittedly many of which are still on needles in tupperware. I should have seen it when we sold our weight in Felted Tweed this fall for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I should've known when the books we were ordering stopped being titled things like "Learn to knit! Ohmigod!" or "Super Funky Kooky Knitting" and became "Selbuvotter" and "Knitting Lingerie Style" or "Fitted Knits". These were real knitting books that didn't assume you were an idiot. They had complicated patterns and were confident you could follow the patterns or intuit what was being done and making your own alterations. Wonderful. And now we are going to take you all one step further. Lisa has wanted to do a class with Joan Michael McGowan for YEARS! She got in touch with her 3 or 4 years ago and asked her about coming to Philly to teach a group of knitters who could really keep up with her. Being on the west coast, Joan doesn't make it out our way often so the plans to have her come out kept being put on hold. A couple months ago she got in touch and said she would be out our way on business and would love to come and do a workshop. We were totally psyched. Those of you familiar with Joan's work know she is a shaping genius. She comes from a fashion design background and has devised great methods for applying design room fitting techniques to knitting. This class is going to be great for all of us who have been knitting sweaters and wishing we could modify them for our bodies. She says she is "...dedicated to the concept that large is just as lovely as little, and there are many styles that show off your shape..." no matter if that shape is flat-chested or ample. For instance, I know that I am very short waisted and when I do a pattern with waist shaping I always have to do lots of math to adjust the shaping so that it's actually happening at my waist, and not around my hips. Some of us are constantly adjusting shoulder shaping or wondering if we need to add some short rows at the bottom edge of the back of a sweater for fitting, um...the, ahem, derriere. Maybe patterns you love never seem to be sized for you on either end of the size chart, or one part of you is a medium and another part of you is an extra large. Whatever your body type, you should be able to enjoy knitting yourself sweaters that fit and look great. Joan Michael-McGowan is going to help us do this. Get out your tape measure ladies and gents, we're going to whip our knits into shape!

It's Gotta Be Better Than This!

As many of you know, one of our favorite patterns around here is the Baby Jacket with Moss Stitch Edges. As I toil away at the computer day after day, trying to format our patterns for download on the website, I cannot stop thinking that there must be a better name than this. Yes, Baby Jacket With Moss Stitch Edges is consise. It correctly describes what you will, in fact, be knitting. But it's gotta be better than this! It needs a new name. Something cute, but not cutesy. Something catchy but not annoying like a jingle in a commercial that after you see it the 7th time makes you want to microwave your head. So that brings me to this blog post. A lot of you have knit "Baby Jacket with Moss Stitch Edges" so help me come up with a good Rosie Knits name for it before I start loosing sleep.

Now I'm having second thoughts. Maybe Baby Jacket with Moss Stitch edges is a great name. (I have to confess that this part of the post is being written after a good night of sleep. The top half I wrote yesterday!). I took Queenie for a long walk last night--without the baby!-- and had time to think about it. Maybe being obvious about a pattern name is good. Who can tell what a pattern with a crazy name is? Something called "Shmooty-hoo" could be anything, a sock, a hat, a tea cosy--who knows? And all these fancy names of things--are people just looking up words in a dictionary? Pulling a number out of a hat and turning to that page of a thesaurus (which always seemed to me should be an all-knowing dinosaur, by the way). Care to chime in with your opinion on the issue?

New Rowan! Purelife Organic and More...

We've just gotten in the Spring Rowan! There is a new line of yarns, Purelife Cotton. It's a naturally dyed 100% Organic Cotton. I really think that Rowan is doing it right too. There is an article about the producers of the cotton in the new Rowan Magazine, #43 which is also in a the shop. There's a book to go with the new cotton, The Organic Cotton Collection

the book retails for $17.95 and has great sweaters for women, men and kids. There's even a great dress in young adult sizes!
These are the colors of Purelife Cotton. The muted colors are due to the natural dye process. I think these are great colors for babies (but of course I have babies on the brain right now!) and I know a lot of people who are looking for organic cotton for baby items. The fact that the dyes are natural and not synthetic chemicals just makes the idea of a super soft baby sweater or blanket even better. And at $10 for 131 yards it is totally reasonably priced comparable to other cottons.
Also in is a new book for all sizes and styles using the classic All Seasons Cotton, which has a new palette this season. They've been swapping colors in and out for years and I'm hoping they've finally settled on a good classic palette.

These are the new colors of All Seasons Cotton below. There are still some old favorites though! The new colors will hopefully be available through our website by Monday.

These are the three new books from RYC. There are also some great new color additions to the RYC Cashcotton 4 ply and DK and the Natural Silk Aran, which in my humble opinion is a great all year round sweater yarn for those who can't do wool.

These are the new colors in the Cashcotton DK. They are definitely filling in the gaps for the much requested "kids" colors. And finally a red! It's a great rich crayola red, the computer screen isn't doing it great justice.

And in the 4 ply they have given us the same red and the addition of a great bright orange.

Orange and red again round out the additions to the Natural Silk Aran. This is really a great yarn, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves this season! Take a look next time your in.

There aren't any books for it this season but there are new colors of Bamboo Soft

and Bamboo Tape.

Both of these yarns are 100% bamboo fiber, making a great soft and drapey fabric similar to a rayon but better because it's all natural and bamboo is a renewable resource using less energy to produce than cotton, which rayon is a byproduct of. Check out the Bamboo Tape Collection from last year and also RYC Nature which has great Bamboo Soft patterns.

See you soon!

Out With the Old and In With the New

Rosie's is having a SALE!
Honestly, after having UPS deliver 5 boxes of yarn from Rowan we realized we needed to get room on the shelves for it so LUCKY FOR YOU a great selection of our winter yarns will be going on sale starting today! Time to say goodbye to that holiday knitting blues and get something nice to knit a sweater for yourself.
Here's what we've got for you:
Cascade Yarns "Dolce," a great basic with a little bit of luxury, at an even better price! Originally $7 per skein for 109 yards at 5sts/1".
SALE PRICE? $4.80!
And also from Cascade is Autunno. This is a great quick hat or scarf yarn, in great bright jewel tones giving a modern tweedy look. 99 yds/50gms, 3.5-3 sts/1".
Original price $6.75, SALE PRICE $4.05
From Elspeth Lavold is Chunky Al, a 50/50 blend of Peruvian Wool and Alpaca spun as a super soft single ply. 82 yds/50gms and 3.5 sts/1". We also have some patterns for this yarn designed by Elspeth Lavold and at $4.90 a skein (orig. $7) getting a sweater's worth is totally reasonable!
This next yarn was a great quick decorative scarf yarn for the holiday season. Just enough glitz but still a nice warm and lofty yarn. 44yds/50g, 2.5sts/1". Original price $7,
SALE PRICE $3.50! (Now that's a great deal!)
And for a couple of years now Korall has been our basic machine washable bulky wool, but with the Karabella Aurora Bulky that's in now the Korall seems sadly redundant. It comes 2 ways, solid and Fancy (tweed).
Korall original price $6.50, SALE PRICE $3.25
and Korall Fancy original price $7.00, Sale Price $3.50

And alas, though it feels like the end of an era, we say a fond farewell to our old standby, Auracania Naturewool. This yarn has served us well through the years. Many a great basic sweater was knit out of this softly tonal yarn. Now it's time to say goodbye. 242 yds/100gms, and 5-6 sts/1". Original price $9,
SALE PRICE $7.00

Project of the Month - Travelin' Mitts

You can now buy Rosie Knit's Patterns online - well, almost! We're working on it! You can buy the above pattern by clicking on the "Buy Now" Button, and you will indeed, buy it now.

The Travelin' Mitts are made with one skein of Road to China, the most deliciously scrumpcious yarn we've had in a long time. Ok,the yarddage isn't great (80 yards), and it's on the pricey side - $24 - but, for a one skein project, it is so worth it. This 65% Alpaca, 10% Cashmere, 10% Camel, 5% Yak, 10% Soya Fiber that knits up at 4 to the inch on size 7 needles, comes in the following colors:




















Still scratching your head, even after seeing these colors??? Come on! Just think of all that holiday knitting you did for other people. Think of that gift certificate you have burning a hole in your pocket. It's time to buy something for yourself!

And, if you don't like the Travelin' Mittens (although what's not to like??), we have several other one skein projects in a little booklet we made:

Is your neck cold? there are 2 neck warmers:

The Lacy Victorian Colloar

And the Winchburgh Collar, yum!

There's also a headband, but I took a crappy picture, so you'll just have to come in to see that one. And, if you do come in, and you do pet the road to China . . . maybe you'll need 2 one skein projects, 'cause you just can't get enough of this decadent fiber. Hey, it's less fattening that chocolate, and if your usual treat is a Chanel lipstick, which is $24, this is way better than a lipstick that's just going to melt in your purse anyway.

Special Delivery

So, we got a box. Well a few boxes, but here's the gist of it all.


What's that? Who is that woman?














Ahhh, now it all makes sense.




















Here it is ladies & gentlemen. Come and get it!