Do You Really Have to Ask?

Yes, there's Knitting Circle tonight. It's not too late to equip yourself with some sanity-preserving knitting before you go off to see the family.

No, we're not open on Thursday.

Yes, we're open Friday -- regular hours, 10 - 7.

Yes, we're open Saturday -- regular hours, 10 - 6.

Yes, we're open Sunday -- regular hours, 12 - 5.

Yes, we'll listen to your stories of cooking crises; no, we won't help you eat the leftovers!

Don't forget to knit with balls tonight!

This evening, Michael del Vecchio (known in the blog world as Tricky Tricot) will be signing copies of his book, Knitting with Balls: A Hands-On Guide to Knitting for the Modern Man.



He'll be starting around 6 ish and staying until 8. Sadly, we do not believe he will be accompanied by any of the studly models featured inside his book, but having met Michael at Stitches, I can assure you that he is loaded with charm and plenty studly himself.

Diarufran

Hey! For all you Diakeito freaks (and I mean that in the most loving way) we just got three new colors in! More later...

We're Baaa-aack!

And we have all kinds of new goodies!
The Smith Island Pattern Factory patterns were a HUGE success, so much so that I ran out of Parthenope and Beatrix on Saturday. I have hard copies of Maude in the shop though.
We had all manner of new and luscious Black Bunny in the booth and came home with more! Get your behinds in here and check it out! Ed has knit up a cute baby hoodie in the black bunny bulky that is super cute. Everyone loved it! But, how couldn't you love anything that came from Ed's needles? Oh oh! and we have some new shelves! I love it.

And 55 POUNDS OR NEW KOIGU! Oh yeah, baby. And it's damn good.

We came back with so much new stuff that I don't have photos of it all, but if you come to knitting circle you will see it all, live and in person. Here's a rundown:

Nature's Palette, a vegetable dyed organic wool, similar weight and spin to the koigu but with a softer, more lofty feel.

NEW BLACK BUNNY! But of course. We have a bunch of the DK weight, which is 100% merino and perfect for babies (machine washable and hand dyed, the woman is mad!) and is great for a heavier weight sock. And you need more sock yarn, oh yes you do! There are too many feet in the world not wearing hand knit socks. Get knitting! We also have new colors of the Black Bunny Bulky and a great new Rosie Knits pattern written just for it for a easy cabled hat and mittens. There is also the ridiculously cute top down sweater that Ed made. It's construction is similar to the Elaine Hooded Baby Jacket but the gauge different here and the knit side is the right side, among some other ingenious changes.

Shokay, the Tibetan word for "yak down" is just that, yarn spun from yak down. It's worsted weight, as soft but stronger than cashmere (codeword: not as much pilling on your pricey sweater) and from a fair trade company. The money for this yarn actually is making it into the pockets of the workers, herders and village folks. Take that Nike!

Victorian Lace, the new book from XRX (those wacky folks who brought you A Gathering of Lace) by Jane Sowerby (who is a lovely person, by the way) is to die for. For real. This book is so right up my alley that I am pissed that I didn't write it. She took actual Victorian era lace knitting patterns and reproduced them with charts and updated instructions we can all understand. The woman is truly a mad genius and I wish I could do her grunt work.

New issues of Piecework and Spin-off are in, just in time for our drop spindle spinning class this sunday (because maybe you, like me, bought some beautiful roving and have no freakin' clue what to do with it, although I have looked at it every morning since I bought it on Friday).

Nature Babies by Tara Jon Manning, one of our favorite gals. This book uses all organic and naturally dyed yarns. There are cute knitted projects and a lot of cool felt projects for dolls and toys, also some sewing projects for those of you who are venturing out into the world of *gasp* fabric!

Oh oh oh!! New sock yarn (as if we didn't already have enough, but when is enough, really?) We have some new luscious jewel-toned colors of Silky Sox and Soxie from Great Adirondack.

I know I am forgetting fifteen other things...

Oh and again, it's Wednesday, so there's new Anne. Okay, in all fairness it got here last wednesday, but we were all packing the truck like mad so no one got to see it.

grrr... and i keep trying to load more pictures and it won't let me! Curses!

Knitty D and the City at Stitches

Hey! We're at Stitches!
We saw a lot of you over the weekend and hope to see some more familiar faces today because our favorites, Knitty D and the City
will be in our booth meeting and greeting at 11:00 today!
We have had so many great folks at our booth this weekend, Michael Del Vecchio author of the fabulous new book Knitting with Balls was visiting us and signing books yesterday ( he is sooo NICE!) and he'll also be at Rosies on...the 11th? I don't have my calender with me. More on that later. Anyways, I'm running late to the convention center! See you there!

Stitches is here....

Don't forget: if you're at Stitches, please stop by the Rosie's booth and say hi. We'll have lots of handpainted goodies, including Anne and Andrea and Koigu and some Black Bunny stuff, too! Not to mention a great selection of Manos and some Nashua Handknits yarn. This year, Stitches is being held at Baltimore's Convention Center. Bring the family and drop 'em off at the Aquarium so you can have some uninterrupted market time...

Y'all wanna learn some stuff?

We teach stuff! How convenient.
New classes for November and December are as follows:

Fear Not the Circular Needle (or, Free Yourself From the Straights! my suggestion, which got vetoed)
Thursday the 16th of November from 5-6 pm, $40 includes materials
Learn how to use circular needles to either knit in the round (i.e., make a tube) or back and forth, just like you do on those pesky straight needles. What's the point of a circular, you may ask? Well, the top five reasons to use circular needles are:
1. You will never lose one
2. You will not injure your neighbor on public transportation
3. You can knit in a lazy boy recliner more comfortably
4. It keeps the knitting more centered with your body, putting less strain on your wrists.
5. Your knitting will immediately look more complex and therefore more impressive.
What else could you ask for?
In the one-hour workshop you will be given yarn and needles to make either a scarf or a pair of legwarmers. No real knowledge or expertise required; just know how to cast on and knit.


Fixing Mistakes (or, What to do Now I've F-ed it All Up, also vetoed)
November 19th from 10am-noon, $40
Learn what to do when your knitting looks crazy. How to pick up dropped stitches, un-knit, avoid making holes, cover up your mistakes when it's totally too late and avoid it all in the first place without resorting to not knitting at all. We can make it better, I promise. And would I lie to you?

Baby Sweater Workshop (or, My Friends and Relatives Won't Stop, How About Yours? also, Surprise Surprise, vetoed)
I don't know about you but I can't make baby gifts fast enough this year and frankly, I am sick of making simple boring baby blankets. A sweater is cuter, more appreciated, and FASTER to knit!! Especially for a newborn -- I mean, they are TINY! This class will meet for three consecutive weeks:
December 1, 8 and 15th from 5-7 pm, $60 plus cost of yarn.
We will all make a simple baby cardigan out of lovely soft yarn of your choice. You will love it, you will make it over and over again and it will be great. Really.

Top Ten Reasons Why the Saturday Crew Will Miss Tina Dreadfully

All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Tina's Saturday shifts at the shop. We always knew she would move on some day, and it is with great regret that I tell you that last Saturday was Tina's last day.

Here are the top ten reasons why the Saturday Crew will miss Tina dreadfully:

10. Because her energy and enthusiasm make even the grayest rainy day fun.
9. For introducing us to the wonders of Borat.
8. Her always funky and creative sense of style.
7. For managing to look unbelievably great no matter what knitted item she models.



6. For telling us humorous stories of her encounters with the famous and near-famous (Adrian Brody, anyone?).
5. For teaching us how to yell "DOG!" in Vietnamese.
4. Because she's always ready to order lunch, thus saving us from Wawa food.
3. Because no one can take ten bucks' worth of crap from Target and turn it into a spectacular window display like she can.
2. For knowing exactly where any particular skein of yarn is at any given time. ("Have you seen the apple green Naturewool?" "Bottom shelf, A section, right under the Cascade 220.")
1. Her lessons in urban street slang gave these wannabe crackas mad street cred.

I know, right?

Unclaimed Freight

Somewhere in the last two weeks, the shop acquired a navy or black London Fog windbreaker. It doesn't belong to any of us. If you think it might be yours, please call or stop by to identify it!

And will the person who called me last week (or possibly the week before) to ask if we'd found a bag with brand-new shoes in it, please call again? I was mistaken when I said we had not. (All those of you who didn't leave a new pair of shoes behind, don't get excited: we'll be asking callers to identify the shoes in question, and besides, they're probably not your size anyway.)

Didn't Freud say that leaving things behind was the sign of an unconscious desire to return to that place?

HOLY CRAP!

I love it when these things happen on Wednesday.
Brace yourselves!
We have Anne--in matching lots of 10 skeins!!
Oh yes, you heard me right. Not two or even three the same. 10.
Get your butts down here.

STITCHES!!

Well, things are gearing up around here for Stitches, which is at the Baltimore Convention Center this year. It'll be interesting to see which of our Philly die-hards will make the trek now that it's not a quick train ride away! It's always insane trying to figure out what to take and what to leave here and all that is compounded by the fact that once we're in B'more that's it. Odds were that at least once, if not five times during Stitches someone would leave the floor that night with a list of things to pick up at the shop and bring with them the next day. No such luxury this year. Many lists are being made in preparation for the mass forgetting of important things. The saying goes something like:

People who want to appear clever rely on memory, people who get things done make lists.

Emphasis on the word appear. I don't know who said that but I always liked it.
OH! and we have those $2 off Stitches coupons so get yourselves in here and pick up a stack. We've had the most redeemed coupons for a few years running, I think, and I don't want to loose my title. I never played sports so I have to get my dose of healthy (or absurd) competitve spirit somewhere.

Also, don't miss some of the great sites that Baltimore has to offer. I grew up in Maryland and spent many a teenage evening running the streets of Baltimore. Do try and squeeze in some of the more cultured sites like these.
See ya there, hon.

Don't forget today's booksigning!

Shannon Okey and Kim Werker will be at the Cellar today from 4 to 6 to sign.... um, whatever books they feel like signing. See you there!

What Would You Do?

Suppose you had reason to believe that a yarn from a reputable manufacturer was mis-labelled as to fiber content. Suppose the inaccuracy was in a direction that would likely diminish the perceived value of the yarn. Suppose it was, no matter what the fiber content, a good-quality yarn: soft, easy-care, good stitch definition, good pattern support. A yarn that sold fairly well--not your best-selling yarn, but not your worst. (Oh, by the way--in this dream, you own a yarn shop.)

Now imagine that someone brings it to your attention that it's illegal to sell inaccurately-labelled yarn. Not just illegal like someone could sue you because they felt they'd overpaid since the yarn isn't "really" cashmere, but illegal like the government could fine you $5,000 for each skein sold.

What would you do? Sell it without labels, as "mystery yarn"? (Not strictly legal: yarn must be labelled for fiber content, weight, etc.)

Throw it in the dumpster out back? (Seems an awful waste: it's still good yarn.)

Donate it to the next worthy charity that comes knocking? (It's not suitable for all purposes.)

Take it home and add it to your private stash? (There's a space issue. We're talking about a significant amount of inventory. And do you want to knit at the same gauge for five years after you retire?)

Leave it on the shelves, on the grounds that experts are still debating whose fiber-content tests are more accurate? (Strictly speaking, it seems that you're liable even if nothing's been "proven" in court, as long as you had reasonable cause to suspect.)

Require each customer who purchases the yarn to sign a waiver of their right to sue, should the yarn prove not to be the stuff they thought it was? (Again, we're not just talking about civil suits; the long arm of the law could still come after you.)

In case you're wondering: yes, there are two ways in which the supplier could have assumed the responsibility for the situation: by providing a very specific legal warranty that the yarn is in fact accurately labelled, or by acknowledging that the yarn is not accurately labelled and providing replacement labels indicating the true fiber content. Let's assume for the moment that neither of these bail-outs from the supplier is forthcoming.

The really unfortunate thing* about this is that it's still good yarn no matter what its contents. But there doesn't seem any way to continue to make it available to customers without exposing the seller to potentially disastrous consequences.

So what would you do?

[*Note: I'd almost written "The tragedy about this is . . . " But then I thought better of it: this isn't a tragedy in any way, this is just some combination of greed, dishonesty, and pettiness. And one reason it's all going to go so badly--and stay tuned; believe me, it's going to go badly--is because so many people are going to behave as if 3% or 5% or 7% cashmere in a yarn, or not, is the equivalent of the Watergate coverup.]

Good Knitting Weather

I find it harder sometimes to follow up on finished objects than to show works in progress. Here, for instance, is the completed hat made of unspun Black Bunny roving:



If you want to make one like it, come to the workshop tomorrow at 1:00. Bring a set of dpn in some large size (anything from 10.5 to 15 should be fine).

Carol gave me a whole bag of new rovings yesterday so everyone would have plenty to choose from, and they're gorgeous. (Big surprise.)

Let me be the devil on your shoulder

Trying to decide what to do with your evening? It's knitting circle tonight and we have new Anne.
'Nuf said.

We got workshops...

We still have a few spaces left in Brandon Mably's workshop, so call Rosie's ASAP if you want in. Bring scraps of miscellaneous yarn and medium-sized needles to swatch with. We also have a preview copy of Brandon's new book, which will arrive for sale in a few weeks. Cost is $125, for a 9 to 5 workshop (with lunchbreak, natch).

Please note: the shop will be CLOSED for most of the day Thursday to allow the workshop participants uninterrupted teaching time, EXCEPT for 12 to 2 and 5 to 6 p.m. Please plan accordingly!

If you can't make it on a weekday, consider taking our Knitting with Unspun Roving class, this Sunday, October 8th, from 1 to 5 p.m. You'll learn how to knit with all that yummy roving that has not technically been spun into yarn yet -- enabler alert: once you know how to do this, you can indulge in some of the gorgeous fibers you'll see at Rhinebeck and Stitches. Bring size 10 to 13 needles, double-pointed (or two sets of circulars). Skills needed are casting on, binding off and knitting in the round, so this is a great class even for inexperienced knitters. Roving from Black Bunny Fibers, too. $40. Call the shop to reserve a place.

Erm.....

A few entries ago, we posted about a booksigning at Rosie's. Due to less-than-ideal wording, we will try once again:

Shannon Okey and Kim Werker will be at Rosie's Yarn Cellar to promote their books:

Shannon and Kim wrote Knitggrl;
Shannon wrote Knitgrrl 2;
Kim wrote Get Hooked; and
Shannon has a forthcoming book from Interweave Press, Spin to Knit. (Holy moly, these women are prolific. They're also lots of fun, not to mention pretty darn talented.)

So stop by for booksignings and general merriment, pick up a copy of some of these titles and/or show off your projects.

October 12th, tentatively scheduled for 4 to 6 (look here or call the shop closer to the date for a definitive time).

We apologize for any confusion.

More temptations: sinfully soft baby alpaca in luscious colors

Look what I found when I came into work this morning:



Four gorgeous shades of 100% baby alpaca, called Alpacita Fine, by Autumn House Farms, unbelievably soft....

Finished Objects of a Different Sort

Awhile back, I mentioned a new project: The Noshi Knitting Monograph Series. Well, only two months later than we thought we'd be ready, it's here. The first two monographs are available for purchase, as PDFs or hard copy.

(Let me be perfectly clear: my partner in crime was completely punctual, and her article was proofread and as-near-perfect-as-humanly-possible well before our self-set deadline. I was the one who thought a week and a half would be adequate time for what turned out to take more than a month.)

But we're now officially launched, and feeling very good about the whole idea: a forum for impassioned writing about knitting where the writing is as important as the knitting and the knitting doesn't have anything to do with what's "hot" or "hip" or "now".

Ta-da!

Just in.....Alchemy Haiku

Isn't it gorgeous? We just got a shipment of Alchemy Yarns Haiku. It's 40 percent silk, 60 percent mohair, and each hank is 25g/325 yds. Recommended gauge/needle size is 5 sts to an inch on US 7s but this yarn's going to have a lot of versatility. $18 per skein, in several multi and nearly solid colors. Yum!