Hat Attack

Are you ready for Hat Attack? It's a friendly 'Kill or be Killed' competition where the weapon of choice is a hat. You'll be assigned a target and given a pattern. Your goal is to knit a hat and mail it to your target before you are killed by receiving one yourself. The last assassin standing will be awarded US$500. worth of SWTC yarn. Sign up right here before September 16 and if you do, be sure to join the Hat Attack group on Ravelry.

Hat Attack is sponsored by SWTC to launch their new yarn, Therapi. It just arrived in our stores:


It's a gorgeous new yarn that's 30% bowlder (jadeite ) fibre, 50% fine wool and 20% silk. A very cool mix.

We also have more of the wonderful Indigo Moon Handpainted and Semi-Solid Merino:

Very nice stuff. And there's a bunch of DP WIP tubes from Nancy's Knick Knacks going out on the shelves today. The WIP tube is a clever little tool that holds your DP needles together with your current project to prevent the loss of needles and stitches. A fantastic gadget for all you sock-knitters.

We recently published our Fall Lesson Schedule. There are some fabulous lessons starting soon in both Edgemont and Point Grey. Check out the entire lesson schedule right here.

And our special yarn this week is Rowan Big Wool Fusion at 50% off the regular price:

Only $7.98 for a big 100g ball of pure wool. Fusion knits to the same tension as Big Wool so it can be used for any Big Wool pattern. It has a surface dye effect which results in some lovely subtle, muted colours.

Drop by, have a look at the new yarn and pick up a new project to knit over the Labour Day long weekend. We'll be open as usual in both stores on Saturday and Sunday but closed on Monday. Hope you have a relaxing long weekend!

What was in the Boxes?

Becky's been bustling around unpacking all the boxes and most of it's now on the shelves.

We have bags and bags of new Noro. Absolutely fabulous as usual. Our favourite is the Silk Garden Chunky:

We also love the new Silk Garden Sock and Maiko. And we've re-stocked a bunch of Noro yarns in our favourite colourways. Try knitting Interweave's Kochoron mittens with just one skein.

We also have loads of new Malabrigo Lace, Worsted Merino, Gruesa and Silky Merino. It all looks absolutely divine. Malabrigo Sock will arrive next week. And check out Malabrigo Book One, by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton:

There's tons of new Sirdar Snuggly DK and Baby Bamboo:

There are now sixteen colours of Baby Bamboo and we have most of them.... We also have some great new Sirdar magazines and leaflets. Like the fanatastic new Eco Wool DK Book II:

There are some fantastic new designs in this one.

We also loaded up our shelves with tons more Debbie Bliss yarn this week. New colours of Cashmerino Aran, Cashmerino Baby, Cashmerino Chunky, Cashmerino DK, Alpaca Silk Aran, Alpaca Silk DK and more. Her new yarn and books will be coming soon. Also her new magazine which should arrive in early September.

Speaking of Debbie, we're sad to report that she's had to cancel on our Whistler retreat, she's booked for surgery in October (nothing serious but surgery nonetheless) and her doctors have advised her not to fly that month. As you can imagine, it's not easy to fit into Debbie's busy schedule so the retreat is postponed indefinitely. Maybe next year... We're still hoping to schedule Jane Ellison for a visit, she's a great up and coming designer for Noro, Mirasol and many others. We'll keep you posted.

Jill's Lace and other Tidbits

That's Jill modelling a gorgeous shawl of her own design:

She used a combination of lace patterns from Vogue's Ultimate Knitting Book. It's knit with the luscious Handmaiden Sea Silk. Very inspiring...

And talk about inspiring, Julie's been knitting some beautiful capelets with Fleece Artist Dreadlocks. Just 1 skein, a beautiful buckle, a couple of movies and voila:

That's Julie modelling her capelet in Victoria. She's one of our regular mail order customers, now trusting Kathleen to pick out colours for her. She liked the fabulous colours of her first Dreadlocks shipment so much that she quickly ordered another 3 skeins. Julie's been busy knitting capelets for her friends and family, here's another version modelled by one of her friends:


We have the pattern (thanks Julie!) so just ask if you'd like one. Dreadlocks is one of our current specials and sadly we can't get any more so quantities are limited.

Our special this week is Rowan Plaid at 70% off. We mentioned this one a few days ago, it's a lovely, soft combo of wool, alpaca and acrylic. Only $7.79 for a big, beautiful ball, 100g, 100 metres. Can't go wrong at that price...

And late-breaking news, we have tons of new stuff going out on the shelves as we speak. Yesterday we received fifteen boxes in Point Grey and a bunch of new boxes in Edgemont as well. There's also loads of new stuff on the way like Malabrigo sock yarn and SWTC Therapi for Hat Attack. No time to tell you all the details but stay tuned for more info next time...

More New Rowan

We've unpacked another brand new Rowan yarn, Shimmer. When you get the urge to go glam, add a little glitter to a project with this sparkly new yarn.

We also have Kim Hargreaves FABULOUS new books, Heartfelt and Nectar. Kim has over twenty years of design experience and it shows. We're drooling over the designs... We're almost sold out of Heartfelt but don't despair, there are more on the way. They'll be here soon, just leave your name and we'll phone when they arrive.

And if you're knitting for babies these days, you'll love the new Rowan Milk Cotton Baby Collection. Another lovely collection of designs for little ones that's hard to resist!

Lazy Summer Days

We're loving the sunshine! The warm weather is even more welcome than usual after the long rainy winter we endured this year. It's very hard to sit inside at the computer while that glorious sun shines. So blog posts may be sporadic as long as the sun stays around...

Anina had some lazy summer days in July at her family cottage in Quebec, knitting natch:


She knit a great little boy's sweater with Sirdar Denim Chunky. Here's her nephew modelling:


We've always liked this design; it's not always easy to find a good boys sweater pattern. This one was recently discontinued so we'll happily photocopy our store copy for you without charge.

Anina also knit a great hoodie for her son, Luc, with the wonderful Rowan Plaid yarn:

This is a free online pattern from Lion Brand yarn, #10520. You can see more of Anina's completed projects on Ravelry. She's "aahknit".

Rowan Plaid is a great blend of wool, alpaca and acrylic with many fantastic colour combos. It's a discontinued yarn that's currently on sale at our stores for only $7.79. These are big 100g, 100 metre balls. Here's a close-up:

Love it.

And better late than never, our special this week is Rowan Kidsilk Spray at 30% off. This one's a sumptuous blend of 70% kid mohair and 30% silk. The beautiful variegated shades give an added depth to this lustrous yarn. It's a close relative of Kidsilk Night that's also on sale at 30% off. We're almost sold out of KSN and can't get more so if you want some, don't delay.

Now back to the sun until further notice...

Quick Study

Meet local knitting designer, Cheryl Niamath:

She's a fantastic designer whose first pattern, Fetching, was published in Summer Knitty 06. We have to admit, we were a bit surprised to see Cheryl in Knitty knowing that she'd knit her first scarf just two years earlier (bright green Garnstudios Eskimo, fyi). That's right, other than a few early attempts at knitting with her granny, this girl hadn't touched a set of needles before Summer, 04.

And now there are almost 7,000 ravelers who have posted Fetching photos. Unbelievable.

Cheryl's become a prolific creative force and we're loving her designs. Anina and Becky knit these adorable Sprout hats:


Becky knit the pale blue hat with Diamond Luxury Fine Merino Aran. Anina used Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran. A fast and fun project.

Cheryl's excited about her new Fall designs. Her beautiful skirt pattern, 'Inari' is in Fall Knitscene. And her gorgeous wrap design, 'False Modesty' was published in the first issue of Knotions, another fabulous new e-zine. She's even cracked Winter Interweave Knits with a fantastic mitten design. Very cool.

Kudos Cheryl! Your designs are incredibly inspiring. Keep up the excellent work.

Anina's Back

She's been knitting up a storm the last few weeks and photos have been promised. I've seen one item so far, it's the fabulous Ski Beanie from Son of Stitch and Bitch. This is a great hat for men or women, my darling Tween has already asked for one. I'm predicting this will be one of our 'must-knit' items for Fall.

In addition to promising photos, Anina has promised martinis and a full show of her FO's tonight. Can't wait!

Aslan Trends

A gorgeous new line of yarn with a beautiful book of designs:

And we love the dog...

We have four scrumptious new Aslan Trends yarns, Del Sur, Ecolana, Guanaco and Invernal. Knock yourself out!

Weekly Special

This week it's Rowan Scottish Tweed 4 ply at 30% off the regular price. That's only $4.87 for a beautiful 100% wool tweed. We have many gorgeous colours of this yarn on the shelves in both stores.

And we have some special little tidbits for Edgemont, there are a couple of colours of Rowan 4 ply soft on sale at 25% off. And we've added several sizes of addi turbo needles to the sale bin at 40% off. Sadly we can't keep every single size in stock, we have to say good-bye to some of them.

Check out all of our yarn specials right here. Then pick up a great new project to knit at the beach. Isn't this sunshine fabulous?

Fall Rowan Books and Yarn

It's always an exciting week when the new Fall Rowan books and yarn arrive. We'll never forget our first Fall season. The Rowan lovers were excitedly hovering as we unpacked the new boxes. And they soon walked out with stacks of full bags in their arms. You know who you are...

Well it's that time of year again. This week we received four new Rowan books, three new Rowan yarns for Fall and three brand-spanking new books from the Rowan Classic line.

There's a new book to go with the Cocoon yarn that we gushed about earlier this week. It has sixteen fabulous designs by Marie Wallin and Sarah Hatton.

There's also The Colourscape Chunky Collection with twelve beautiful designs by Sarah Hatton. This book showcases the stunning new Colourscape Chunky yarn with colours by Kaffe Fasset.

The British Sheep Breeds Collection features twelve easy to wear designs for the new Purelife British Sheepbreeds yarn.

And The Organic Wool Collection has twelve wonderful designs for, you guessed it, the new Purelife Organic Wool.

The three RYC books are Book 27 Winter Gifts, Book 28 Vintage and Book 29 Alpine. Gorgeous designs and photography as usual.

Be sure to phone or drop by this weekend if there's anything you can't live without. Some of it may not last long...

And if you have a chance, take a look at the new online knitting zine, the Twist Collective, with some fantastic designs. The first issue was published today. This one's going on my favourites list.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

PS If you're wondering about our holiday weekend hours, we'll be open as usual on Saturday and Sunday in both stores. We'll also be open in Point Grey on Monday from noon - 5 p.m. but we'll be closed in Edgemont that day.