More Pretty New Things

We might have overdone it a bit on our Spring orders. Just when we think we're all caught up, more boxes arrive. Oh well, keeps things fresh and interesting!

This morning we pulled the new Kureyon sock yarn out of the boxes. It's always exciting to see a new Noro yarn in the store. This one will be popular for sure.

We also have two fantastic new Debbie Bliss books, Prima and Coastlines. Prima has twelve designs for Debbie's new yarn, Prima, that's 80% bamboo and 20% wool. As usual, there's a beautiful range of colours. Coastlines has many new designs for other Debbie Bliss Summer yarns like Cathay, Pure Cotton and Stella.

Speaking of Debbie Bliss, we've been in touch with her about a possible Whistler retreat in the Fall. We hope to have more info in the next few weeks. Anyone interested? Let us know...

Koigu and More

Our second box of Koigu finally arrived. We now have all of the colours used in the beautiful Babette Blanket. We also have some gorgeous new multi shades of both PPMerino and Kersti.

A crocheter (We're I'm sometimes a bit slow on the name-gathering issue, sorry about that..) came in yesterday who has already whipped up one Babette and is onto a second bigger blanket for her daughter. She's going for a more muted effect this time. It's fun to compare and combine colours for such a wonderful project.

I recently knit the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch and Bitch with Koigu PPMerino:

The blanket's at our Point Grey store if you want a closer look. We have so many new colour options, I'm tempted to knit another. This is an easy mindless project that's perfect for simple zen knitting or while watching a movie or helping with homework (not so zen). This time I'd try knitting with one strand of a semi-solid together with a strand of a coordinating multi-colour for a more serene colour effect.

Our friend, Natalie, also loves to knit with Koigu. She's an amazing knitter who creates her own stunning designs with Kaffe Fassett as her inspiration. She's definitely developed her own style and her projects are always incredible jaw-dropping works of art. This is her latest Koigu creation:


The photo doesn't really do it justice, this blanket is unbelievably beautiful.

Speaking of artists, we've just received a fabulous new collection of handcrafted glass buttons and ring & stick pins. We were blown away by this artist at TNNA and just had to partake. These are gorgeous accent pieces that would be the perfect finishing touch for so many different projects. Photos will follow...

We've put lots and lots of new stuff on the shelves this week. I love the fresh, lively colours that come with the transition from Winter to Spring, like the tangy orange, peach, lemon and plum shades of Grignasco Infinity we just received. And we have some fun new colours of the Be Sweet Magic Balls:

There are zesty Spring colours bursting out all over the place.

Rain, rain go away...

Nashua Knits

We love the Nashua line of yarn and designs. This Spring we brought in the Creative Focus Cotton, a beautiful 100% mercerized cotton. It's an aran weight yarn with a cabled crepe twist for a bit of texture. And there's a nice array of fresh, lively colours.

We have the new Nashua book, Blossom, with twelve designs for babies:

Our favourites are the Cable Yoked Cardigan and the Easy Pullover and Cardigan. If you're looking for a baby project, you should check out these sweet designs.

We also have the new Nashua book, North American Designer Collection #6, with eleven great designs for women:

The cute Gansey Inspired Top is on display in Point Grey:

Hard to believe it's time to knit for Spring with the snow falling today. Don't worry, some warmer weather is on the way... We'll soon be casting off our winter woolies for cotton cardigans, sundresses, tank tops and other lovely lightweight garments. Can't wait!

Crochet Craze

Take a sneak peak at the Spring 2008 Interweave Crochet. Recognize some of the locations?


Yup, the shoot was right here in Vancouver. Looks like a fantastic issue. Excellent work, Kim!

If you've always wanted to learn to crochet, join our Beginners Crochet class in Point Grey that starts this Friday evening, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Just two classes and you'll be a happy hooker. Our entire lesson schedule is right here.

Check out the beautiful pillow that Astor Tsang recently completed. She used the gorgeous Colinette Point 5 and Giotto yarns. The pillow is crocheted on one side and knit on the reverse:


Here's a close-up of the crocheted side:


Join us in Point Grey on Sunday, April 27 at noon, when Astor will demonstrate the technique.

Our special yarn this week is Laines du Nord Cleo, at 30% off. It's a chunky cotton yarn, with 14 stitches and 18 rows to a 10cm square. We have a great range of cheerful colours. Enjoy!

Easter

Be sure to take note of our Easter weekend store hours. On Good Friday, March 21, we'll be open in Edgemont from noon to 5 p.m. and closed in Point Grey. Both stores will be open as usual on Saturday, March 22, closed on Easter Sunday, March 23 and open on Easter Monday, March 24, from noon to 5 p.m.

If you have a chance, bring your kids to Edgemont Village this week and have fun searching for bunnies. First find all 15 brown bunnies hidden in the shop windows, then enter to win one of three big Easter baskets filled with chocolates. My kids had lots of fun on their bunny hunt last year. Pick up your Bunny Locater Ballots at BC Playthings or Kidsbooks. The contest runs until March 21.

Isabella and Olivia recently visited our Edgemont store with their mom and drew these pictures for us:



Thanks girls! You're wonderful artists!

It's not too late to knit something for Easter. Here are a few ideas.

Our special this week is RYC Cotton Jeans, on sale at 30% off the regular price. This beautiful yarn is 100% cotton, perfect for warm weather projects. It knits to 19 stitches and 26 rows to a 10 cm square on 4.5m needles. Check out all of our current specials right here.

We're going to take a Blog Break for a week or so. Hope you have a great Spring Break and a wonderful Easter!

Lovely New Things

We opened lots more boxes this week. Our Handmaiden wall is now bursting with cheerful Spring colours. There are tons of new Bias Shawl kits:

Some new Stormwater Shawl kits:


There are also some new colours of Cashmere Cloche kits, Devins Toque kits and Stormwater Scarf kits. And there are many more skeins of the luscious Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk, Pure Cashmere and Great Big Sea. Yum.

We also unpacked a big box of Pick Up Sticks kits. We've restocked the Snugs kits for adults, kids and babies:

So cute and snuggly. There's also a new Felted Snuglets kit, they're cozy little slippers made for baby feet. These kits come with leather sole pads and an elastic closure.

We also have the new Felted Ripple Tote kit. It comes in three different colourways, with a zipper closure and handles. And there's a new kit for the most popular Pick Up Sticks hat pattern, the Bell Hat. Felt on!

We received Sivia's gorgeous new Norwegian Woods Shawl pattern:

Simply stunning. Knit this with a beautiful lace yarn like the Handmaiden Sea Silk, Zephyr Wool-Silk or Malabrigo Lace and you'll be a happy little lace-knitter.

We've restocked the wonderful Soak wash that's perfect for handwashing fine fibers. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, try Soak Scentless. It's highly recommended by Amy Singer of Knitty. We also have the new Soak labels. Each pack has twelve labels with four different phrases like, "Don't Lose Me", "Look What I Made for You", "Handknit with Love" and "I Made This". Best of all, Soak is made in Canada.

If you're a gadget girl or guy, check out the new products from Nancy's Knit Knacks. There's the Knit-Kard Set, the Electronic Row Counter, the Circular Needle Id Tags and the DP Wip Tube for DPNs. All very clever and useful items for knitting and crochet.

After opening all these boxes, we got down to culling our collection of needles. We're absolutely overrun with needles and we can't keep them all. If you're an addi-lover, you're in luck. We put a bunch of addis in the sale bins today at 40% off the regular price. Much as we'd like to, we just can't stock every single size....

Be sure to check out the Noni Spring Collection of flower and bag designs. We'll have some of these great new designs very soon. And we now have some of the paraphernalia that you'll need to finish the bags like the handles, rings and studs.

Take your pick, we have lots of Spring projects to choose from...

New Lessons

For those of you who expressed an interest in the Babette Blanket workshop, it's been scheduled for Sunday, May 4 in Point Grey from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Basic crochet skills are a prerequisite. Donna LeClair will get you going with a colourful square and then show you how to assemble the completed squares into a stunning blanket that will look like this:


We've scheduled another new class in Point Grey on Friday afternoons. Join Christa Giles for her "Painless Projects" class on March 14 and 28 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. If you already know the knitting basics, take this class to get help with a current project or to learn a new technique. Take one class or both, it's up to you.

Check out our entire class schedule right here. Have fun learning a new skill this Spring!

And be sure to have a look at the new issue of Knitty for some fantastic Spring designs. Very inspiring!

Specials

Our special yarn this week is RYC Cashcotton DK at 30% off. This is a supersoft cotton-blend yarn with 18% angora and 9% cashmere added to the mix. It knits to a 22 stitch gauge on 4mm needles with a generous 130 metres per 50 gram ball. Check out the new RYC book, Colour of Summer, with eleven Cashcotton DK designs:

This book has Cashcotton DK patterns for three pullovers, two cardigans, three bags, a throw, a matching cushion and a cute summer top.

And if you're looking for specials, be sure to check out our store sale bins. One bin is full of pattern books at 40% off. There's also a bin full of half-price leaflet patterns and another with needles at 40% off. We're continually culling our pattern books, magazines and leaflets to make room for the new ones. Today we added several new Rowan and Debbie Bliss books to the bin.

Here's another tidbit, do you know about our Customer Appreciation Wednesdays? To express appreciation to our loyal customers we offer pattern books, magazines and leaflets at a 30% discount every Wednesday, when the yarn required for a project is also purchased. This is a special offer to "those in the know" so you'll only receive the discount if you ask for it. If you can't make it to the store on a Wednesday, simply phone or email your order with payment details. So if you'd like to add to your library, tomorrow would be a good day to drop by for a visit!

What's New

We were so busy this week that our weekly special was overlooked. It's Filatura di Crosa Primo at 40% off. This is a versatile 100% wool yarn that knits to a 16 stitch gauge on 5mm needles. Have a look at all of our specials right here.

Good news, the stronger Canadian dollar is finally working it's magic on the price of yarn. Here are some examples: Noro Silk Garden has dropped from $12.95 to $10.95. Rowan prices are dropping like crazy: Calmer from $15.95 to $13.95, Kid Classic from $12.95 to $10.95, Romance from $12.95 to $11.95 and RYC Cashsoft Baby from $11.95 to $9.95. The biggest drop I've noticed is Rowan 4 ply cotton. We had it awhile ago at $10.95 and the new price is $6.95! The 4 ply cotton hasn't yet arrived, it should be here next week. We don't have time to re-label everything but we've adjusted the prices in the computer. So if you see two different prices on the same yarn, take the lower price.

Book and magazine prices have also dropped by 10 - 15%. We received some great new books this week. There's a new Noro book, two new Louisa Harding books and yarn, two new Debbie Bliss books and yarn and a new Mirasol book with a great new Pima cotton, T'ika.

We also received a big box of Koigu this week. We have many of the semi-solids required for the Babette Blanket. The second box with the rest of the colours is somewhere between here and Ontario, it should arrive very soon. Ingrid has already started her beautiful Babette, you go girl! Anyone up for a Babette crochet-along?

Community

Before we opened, I had the misguided notion that running a yarn store would be a piece of cake. Buy some yarn, a cash register, then spend much of the day sitting around knitting splendid projects. Well, let's just say I was a tad naive. We rarely (if ever) have the time to sit and knit at work. This week for example, we've been busy unpacking boxes, making new orders, talking to the bookkeeper, the accountant and suppliers about countless mundane details. Oh and did I mention, paying bills? There are a lot of those. Luckily our passion for knitting and the fiber arts keeps us excited and enthusiastic about our little business.

And this week, I've been reminded of one of the unanticipated joys of our job. Over the last four years we've seen the development of an amazing community of talented, creative and totally inspiring knitters and crocheters. All day long, we see a constant stream of happy and enthusiastic souls wandering around, oohing and aahing at the beautiful colours and textures of the yarn and the inspiring designs in the books and magazines. We've made lots of friends, kindred spirits who share our passion for knitting and crochet. And like any circle of friends, we share the joys and sorrows of our lives.

Yesterday we were sad to learn that one of our friends passed away in January. Judy was an amazing knitter and a lovely person with an incredible passion for her craft. Kathleen and I got a little teary-eyed as we reminisced about Judy's visits. I was happy to hear Kathleen on the phone with Judy's husband, Michael, encouraging him to come into the store for a visit on his own. He's part of our community and we hope we'll see him again. Michael, we're so sorry for your loss.

Thankfully the joys far outnumber the sorrows. Earlier this week we saw Kim Werker who is both excited and relieved to have wrapped the Spring issue of Interweave Crochet. She says it's a knockout issue, we can't wait to get our hands on it! It's been so nice to see Kim create a successful career out of her passion for crochet.

And check out the Yarn Harlot's recent praise for local designer, Sivia Harding. Sivia has taught classes for us ever since we opened, she was one of our first instructors. At that time she was a budding designer who had published a few patterns and now she's famous! Kudos Sivia!

To all of the members of the Urban Yarns community, a huge thank-you for your continued encouragement, support and inspiration. We love to hear your stories, gaze in wonder at your creative projects and share in your enthusiasm. We couldn't do it without you!

Learn a new thing this Spring

We've scheduled some new Spring lessons in both Point Grey and Edgemont.

We'll run a Beginners Knitting class on Monday evenings in Point Grey for 4 sessions, starting on March 31. Or if you're on the North Shore, you can learn the basics on Sunday afternoons in Edgemont for 4 sessions, starting March 23.

If you've already mastered the basics, try Beyond Beginners Knitting on Tuesday evenings in Point Grey for 4 sessions, starting April 1. You'll learn how to read a pattern and make your first sweater. BBK will also run on Sunday afternoons in Edgemont for 4 sessions, starting March 23.

We'll offer some specific project classes in Edgemont on Wednesday evenings. First up is a Fingerless Gloves class for 2 sessions starting April 7. Next will be Summer Tank Tops for 4 sessions, starting May 7.

If you have Knitters Block and are having trouble finishing a current project, consider registering for "Complete That Project". It's a 2 session class on Thursday evenings in Point Grey, starting April 3.

Friday afternoons we'll offer a Beginners Kids Knitting Class in Point Grey for 3 sessions, starting April 4. Invite a friend to sign up with your child to make it even more fun. The best kids class we've ever run was for 4 young friends who learned to knit together and had a ton of fun doing it. We recommend a minimum age of 8 years for this one.

Last but not least is Knitting Q and A, held most Sunday mornings in Point Grey. Get help with your current knitting project in a quiet semi-private lesson.

Check out our class schedule or phone us for more information. Many of these classes will fill up very quickly so sign up early to avoid disappointment. We hope you'll find something that interests you. And if you'd like to learn a skill that's not offered, please let us know! We'll try to help you out.