Happy New Year!

Wow! Christmas is over and done!

Now we can get to knitting for ourselves!!

30% off on all stock (except beaded stitch markers, knitting bags and Vickie Hartog patterns) continues until closing on Saturday December 29th.

Yes, despite a previous decision Kniterary will be OPEN this Saturday from 10AM to 4 PM.

The Birthday Club starts in January so if you haven't signed up drop in, call or e-mail me to get on the list. This club will entitle you to an extra 20% off one purchase during the month of your birthday.

Hope to see you in the store soon!

More Gift Ideas!

Stitch Markers!
Sheep tissues

and napkins!
Knitting magazines and patterns!

Knitting Books!

Instructional DVD's from Lucy Neatby!

Heather's Shawl!

Heather's Shawl!
Originally uploaded by kniterary

Heather just finished her shawl out of Berroco Comfort (2 balls) and Nashua Opera (3 balls).

Doesn't it look great?

Bravo Heather!!!

Ask for a Bootfly Knitting Bag !!

At Kniterary right now is an assortment of Bootfly Knitting bags.

These durable bags are reversible and have a pocket for you knitting needles on both sides.

Wouldn't one of these be great to get from your Santa??

Even more special would be to have one of our Gift Certificates in it!!

Or loaded with yarn?

Put one on your list!

Gift Ideas to Pass on to Family and Friends!

Lana Knits Hemp Kits. Comes in a neat little canvas bag that can be used as a project bag afterwards.

Handmaiden Sea Silk Storm Water Shawl. It comes with the pattern and 2 skeins of lace weight Sea Silk Yarn.

Bias shawl from Handmaiden. Includes pattern and 1 skein of Rumple Silk yarn.

Or tell them about the Kniterary Gift Certificates available in any amount!

A Field of Poppies

Lest we Forget

Vickie and Her Patterns

I would like to introduce you all to a most creative knitter. Vickie.

She has been creating unique knitting designs since before I knew her. AND...She writes down her creations into patterns. Her patterns (so far) are only available at Kniterary.

She has been creating fingerless glove patterns such as these.

and these
.

There are also a few scarf patterns.

Add to that a felted tea cozy and a felted bag!

What a talent she is!

You may have noticed that a pair of the gloves and the scarf I've shown are in Mosaic knitting. Vickie has agreed to teach a class in Mosaic Knitting in January. The cost will be $30. Particulars are still to be worked out and I will let you all know as soon as they are!

In the meantime come in and check out her inspired designs!!

Almost Halloween..

Wednesday is Halloween.
Boo!! Did I scare you?

That means that Thurday is November 1st.

That means that as of Thursday there will be 55 knitting days until Christmas!

Remember there are lots of quick scarfs and hats that can be done for gifts!

I have been knitting up a quick snuggly shawl from the Fond Time Farm hand spun, naturally dyed Alpaca. I am knitting it like a simple dishcloth pattern without the decreasing. When it gets almost as long as it is going to be I will do a row of yarn over, knit 2 together and then 4 more rows of knitting before casting off. I am really enjoying knitting this because it is quick and easy,and, despite the tight spin and rustic look to the yarn is is really soft and buttery. It is going to be one of the snuggliest shawls ever! So far it has taken 4 pucks of the Alpaca. The approximate cost to make it is $64.00.

I have also been knitting an argyle scarf with Hempwol from Lanaknits Designs. This yarn feels like it will be scratchy while in the ball but is really soft! I am loving knitting with it! Once the hemp washes I expect it will be so, so soft! I'll keep you updated. Because I am using 4 different colours (I am going to duplicate stitch in white stripes) it is taking 4 balls. At $6.49 a ball that is a scarf for $28.00. Actually because there will be lots of the green, red and white left at least one more scarf could be made cutting one scarf to $14.00!! I will write up the pattern for this As soon as I have finished the scarf I promise.

I was in Toronto yesterday to wish Lisa a happy birthday and got started on a Lopi bag for felting. I made some I-cord that I am going to tack on before felting for embellishment. Yes, I am going to write out the pattern for this too! Lopi felts wonderfully! This picture is the pre-felted look. I will post the finished look as soon as it is done.

New Classes are now posted on the classes page of www.kniterary.com. I have included some Sock Saturdays and Finishing Fridays. Go have a look! Prices are all reasonable.

I have been talking to knit designer and author Fiona Ellis and have booked March 22nd, 2008. for her to come out and do her "Twisting with the Cable Girl" workshop. It will be a 3 hour workshop from 1 - 4 PM and the cost will be $30.00. Fiona is a fun and inspirational teacher and I know that you will all love learning from her.

See you in the Shop!

Swift

Thanks to Geri,who graciously pick this up for me at Rhinebeck, there is now a Swift in the shop!

(For some reason I keep getting Geri's and Gwen's name mixed in my head!!! SO after Geri dropped this off for me yesterday I introduced her as Gwen! So sorry Geri! Lucy's name also escaped me while I was introducing her to Geri, so, my apologies to her too!! I try to get everybodies names right I really do!!)

Now that there is a swift to go along with the ball winder making balls out of the skeined yarns will be even quicker!

The fee for using the swift and ball winder will be 50 cents per ball or you can leave the skeins for me to do for 75 cents a ball.

I am in the process of organizing events for November and December. Among them will be Thrummed Mittens, Felted Christmas Pears, Finishing Friday and Sock Saturdays.

I will have sheets in the store for you to start making your Christmas Wish lists to pass on to your family and friends. There are also Gift Certificates available for giving!!

Remember Thursay is Sit N' KNit! I hope to see you in the store!

Jane Ellison In the Store!

The Lovely Jane Ellison was in the store this evening talking about Mirasol, the project and the yarn.

We all got started on our Hacho Carlos Gloves. I barely did but others seemed to be working hard. The Hacho Yarn has beautiful colours and a beautiful feel!

Earlier in the day my new store sign got put in! No more driving by before you realize you are there! Jane and I posed beside it just as the rain started to fall. We high tailed it back inside quickly as we could afterwards.

It was a busy and fun day! I look forward to bringing other designers in to do workshops!

Jane Ellison's Coming!

Wednesday, October 10th Jane Ellison is going to be at the shop. Ya hoo!

She is the knitting designer for Noro and Mirasol. And she will be at the shop for book signing and a workshop.

The Agenda is :

4 PM- Talk and Appetizers: Mirasol Fair Trade Initiative followed by

Books signing (bring any books you have by her!) Cost: $5.00

5:30 - 6:30 - Dinner with Jane.

An informal gathering with a light meal. Cost $5.00

7 PM - 9/10 - Workshop and Dessert

Carlos Gloves from her Mirasol Book Cost: $75.00 (less if you and a friend sign up together)

(when you sign up for the workshop you get the talk and dinner included)

Please email kniterary@hotmail.com or call the shop at (905)668-8368 to reserve your spot!

Headband Week!

This week has been my week of Headbands.

After I finished the Colinette hat I had enough left over from the skein to make a headband. (You can find the picture 3rd down.)

While I was knitting the headband I realized that a headband is actually a really good way to do a yarn sample. For one you get to see a large enough sample of how the yarn knits. For another I get to experiment with knit /purl designs at the same time putting ideas out there.

Headbands are a really quick small gift project. For the most part you can get 2 head bands out of one skein so those luxurious yarns like Noro and Colinette can be used for a drop dead look.

I am actually getting 3 head bands out of the Noro transitions. All 3 look very different because of the way the different yarns are put together. I should have a picture of the other 2 soon (or you can just come in to see them!)

New...The Estelle Twelve Yarn. Twelve different yarns in one skein and NO KNOTS! Two to three make a scarf. Perfect gift as is for a knitter to make a perfectly simple yet stunning scarf.

Coming soon is the felted pumpkin workshop! $20 for the class, patterns, yarn and the felting of one pumpkin. (There will be enough yarn for 2 pumpkins)
On October 10th Jane Ellison is here for the Carlos glove workshop.

The Gloves use the Hacho yarn from Mirasol. Hacho is the multicoloured yarn in the lower triangle. Carlos Gloves are knit in a new fashion. Sideways! Workshop costs $75.00 and includes a viewing of Jane's designs and a talk from her about Mirasol and her designs.

Colinette Iona

On the shelves is the luxurious Colinette Iona (a soft wool/mohair/silk blend).

I have been wondering what it would feel like to knit and look like once knitted up.

In the name of research I grabbed a skein to do a scarf.

To my surprise I found a great little hat pattern on the ball band!

Easy Peasy and quick. A great gift to knit up for Christmas or to gift a knitter with!

The feel is lovely and soft. The hand painted colours are to die for. And there is enough yarn left over to do a small scarf or a head band for those warmer times of winter.
For approx. $28.00 what luxury!

I think the hat would be nice without the ear flaps as well.

Ten more skeins in stock right now!

Mini Socks.

Saturday afternoon at Kniterary saw 5 students knitting their own mini socks. Every one seemed to enjoy the class and by the end were able to go home with one sock for their house elf and enough yarn to knit a second one.

Of course I forgot my camera so no pics. Sigh.

At the end of the class I asked if I should now run a series of classes for human size socks. There was a resounding "Yes". So you will soon be seeing regular sock classes that will run twice a month. The cost will be to buy a ball of sock yarn.

Next weekend...Felted bowls!

Jane Ellison Workshop

I have been offered a chance to bring Jane Ellison in to run a knitting workshop on Wednesday October 10th. Jane Ellison designs for Noro and the new Mirasol Peru Fair Trade line.

Jane Ellison worked with Debbie Bliss for a long time and has been designing for Noro Yarns for several years. She is doing several workshops across Canada and I feel lucky to be able to offer this workshop to you!

When designers do workshops they always bring samples of their work from books they have written. They are so fun to see because the pictures in the books rarely do them justice. It will be interesting to find out about her creative process and to learn a knitting technique from her.

The price ,which will be $75 to $100, will include any yarn that is used in the workshop. You will definitely leave the workshop with lots of inspiration and a new technique to try out.

E-mail me at kniterary@hotmail.com if you are interested!!

This is hopefully the start of workshops from knit designers around the world. I hope to be able to offer them once or twice every year.

Busy Week!

It has been a busy week at Kniterary!

The new stock keeps on arriving. This week Sublime Angora Merino, 2 Debbie Bliss yarns and more Noro arrived. Pictured is the Sublime Angora Merino. (ooh soft...)

I have also ordered some Malabrigo kettle dyed lace weight . It is so yummy! One skein has 400m so is enough to do a small shawl. The price is reasonable too (though of course it escapes me now).

Thursday night was the first Thursday Sit N' Knit of the season. I had wine and cheese for everybody. Seven lucky people got to take home door prizes!

There was a great turn out . Old friendships were renewed and new ones started. I forgot to take pictures. But here are some of the morning after.

This is 2 of the door prizes waiting to be picked up.

Aren't the flowers beautiful! I picked them up at the Oshawa farmers market along with some vegetables. Good place to get everything local!

The napkins are resting in their Muskoka chair guarding the dirty wine glasses.

I also started the pumpkins for the felted pumpkin class in October . Pre felted version is here. Soon to have the felted version. I am just waiting to have more to go in the wash before I do it.

The Kniterary Literary club met last night for the first time. We will be meeting the first Friday of every month. We talked about books and knitting and life. We are reading

The Birth House by Ami McKay this month. I am looking forward to it! Of course again no pictures. I will try to get better at getting my camera out at these events!

The first beginners and individual project classes begin today. Yeah!

Sock Class!

I have just added a sock class to the schedule.

Saturday September 15th, 1 - 5 PM
Cost: $20 (plus materials)*

You will be making a miniature sock that could be used for a Holiday season decoration or a key chain. While making the sock you will learn to cast on on double pointed needles, turn a heel, decrease for toes and kitchener stitch.

Email me at kniterary@hotmail.com or leave a comment or pop into Kniterary to register.
(*I will have the material cost set this coming week).

As soon as the Web Master allows me to update my web site it will be done!!!

Lots of new visitors to the shop today. Most of them found out about the shop through a friend. Keep on passing the word! Thanks to all of you who have!

More New Yarn

The Beautiful Hand Painted Mirasol Collection. There are also solids.

Colinette Silk and Wool will make some beautiful hats and scarves for Christmas presents!

Malabrigo Kettle dyed comes in stunning colours.

Malabrigio Aquarelle ! So gorgeous! A skein to a knitter as a present will be loved!

Fall Yarns!

It has been a fun few days at Kniterary!

New Yarn is arriving and I am unwrapping gleefully and putting the yarn out on the shelves.

First to show off is the Noro. Two wonderful shades of Kureon. Colours are spectacular and it is feltable. I have copies of a Noro Felted Purse Pattern for anybody who is interested.


The other Noro that I brought in is featured in a few Noro Pattern books that are also new.

Also in! Kaffe Fasset Sock yarn!! The colours are beautiful!! Very Painterly. The two colour mixtures are called Mirage and Landscape. 6 colourways of each

so it is possible to have unmatched matching socks!!

Last for today is the Uruguay Malabrigo. Hand dyed 100% wool yarn in these three stunning colours. They have to been seen in real life to get the full effect.

That is all for today! More to show you tomorrow!

Knit Camp 2007

The first Kniterary Knit Camp

is over!!

One young lady took part this year. She made her own knitting needles, dyed her own yarn and knit 3 items.

Here she is showing her 1st item, a headband, and her last item, a pouch.

I sent her on her way starting to knit a scarf with her hand dyed yarn.

While demonstrating koolaid dying and knitting techniques I completed this pouch as well. It was her gift for a job well done.

I will be offering the camp again next summer!