FO's, Friends & Flowers

It's been almost 2 months since my last post and in that time a few projects have been finished and new ones started. All I can say is that I believe life should be settling down for the foreseeable future so fingers crossed posts will be more regular.

Sunshine is a sweater that currently resides in the front window. It is knit out of summer tweed by Rowan and is from their book the Kasbah Collection. I really enjoyed working with the yarn and as a result the sweater came together quite quickly.


Another finished object is the felted laptop bag from Alterknits by Leigh Radford. Very quick and easy knit using Cascades Pastaza in three colors. I like that it holds my laptop tightly so that it is protected and doesn't bounce around at all.


And today we had one of our favorite visitors...


Thank you to my mother-in-law Ruth for bringing the shop beautiful flowers... and thank you to Heather for helping me plant them!! I am really pleased with our little patio....


The shop will be closed Sunday June 17th in honor of Fathers Day. We will be celebrating with our dads tomorrow. We hope all fathers have a great day!

An opportunity to help others...

Today one of our new knitters April, an alum of Virginia Tech, came in and told me about an opportunity we as knitters and crocheters have to help the VT tragedy victim's families. Mosaic Yarn Shop which is located in Blacksburg, VA is collecting 8"x8" squares to piece together into blankets. They are requesting soft yarn in Maroon, Burnt Orange, White or Black. (Machine wash is not necessary as the care instructions for the blankets will be hand wash)

You can view the Mosaic Yarn Shops request here.

If you would like to participate and donate square(s) Patricia's Yarns will have a basket to collect them. If you'd like to be included in the shipment please have your squares to the shop by Sunday May 20th. That gives us over 2 weeks... lets see how many squares we can do!!

they have arrived....

Some of you have been inquiring and now we can confirm... The Addi Lace Needles are here!! The obvious difference is the colors - you see gold needles with a red cable - the big benefit is the sharper tip conducive for manipulating lacework but not too pointy that you need bandages to protect your fingers.


They are the same hollow brass as traditional addis but are coated with a clear resin so they are gold in color and the cable is a transparent reddish color. We think they are quite attractive... take a look for yourself:


We have in size 1, 2 & 3 in the 24" length. More are on order and we hope they come soon!

Three Posts in One Day?

Yes! It has been a while, I know, but had to post this photo of Amy's youngest. The sweater pattern is from Ann Norling's Kid's Top-down Raglan for toddlers and Amy designed it herself to match the sweater worn by Joe from Blues Clues. She did a beautiful job and he is so cute in it!

Secret Vacation

Some of you may have noticed a change in shop hours last week. This is why...

My husband secretly planned a trip and took me me away... to Paris!

It was beautiful! And yes, I did get to bring my knitting! I brought a beautiful Rowan Summer Tweed Sweater from the "Kasbah Collection" that I am working on as a sample for the shop (to my size... wink, wink) as well as a Mother Bear which I am knitting below on the banks of the Seine.

Au revoir!

Settled in...

Patricia's Yarns has moved! We are happy to have finally settled in to our lovely new location, 107 Fourth Street.

The move began April 1st. Here is a shot of the former location before packing.... a cozy subterranean shop...

Some more photos of the move:

Margaux and Heather boxing up the yarn...




Has anyone seen Margaux?





Unpacking in the new space...

Success!

A special thank you to Margaux, Heather, & Becky for all of your much needed help!

We look forward to seeing you in our new home!

Lace Style & Mother Bear

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There are some new books at Patricia's Yarns this February. One of them is Interweave's new Lace Style. If you are familiar with their two other knitting must-haves: Scarf Style and Wrap Style then you'll know this book is chock full of great knitting patterns.

Two of the patterns we're particularly excited about are the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan and the Retro Shrug. We plan on making the Hepburn Cardigan with the Louet Gems Opal in a refreshing green. Gems Opal come so many beautiful colors that sure to make this cardigan a hit this spring. (not to mention it's Machine Washable!!)

We are also excited about the Retro Shrug and are planning on making that with the great Blue Sky Cotton. This luxurious soft cotton will make this shrug a great all year round knit.

Come on in and get to know this great soon-to-be-a-staple-in-your-knit-library book!

We're also excited to let you all know that our Mother Bear Project creations are in the hands of their deserving recipients! We want to thank again all those that came out to support this great project and hope we'll get to do this again soon!

The Time Out is Over!

If you haven't noticed we've been a little busy over at Patricia's Yarns. With new yarns, new books and new finished projects, 2007 has been a wonderfully busy year so far.

We've picked up a new line, Sheep Shop, at Patricia's Yarns. It's a luxurious two ply wool from Uruguay that we felt would compliment our Manos collection. We carry 8 lovely colors including a few varigated charmers.

We've also picked up Koigu Kersti in eight great colors. A heavier weight than the KPPPM, it is great for hats, socks, and scarves. Our KPPPM though has also been inspiring our customer with great knits. Our friend Amy knitted a scarf and hat for her daughter and used the left over to make one for her daughter's doll.


Amy also knitted herself a gorgeous scarf out of our Koigu KPPPM using double strands with the RYC Cashsoft DK. The pattern of the scarf is called Zig Zag Stripes from Scarf Style.


We also had lots of fun at our Superbowl Sale! Judy bought our Cascade Baby Alpaca, Rowan Big Wool & Biggy Print in shades of beige and browns to make a snuggly throw.


With all this there's still more... New Rowan summer yarns and Magazine 41 are in! Plus new pattern books like Favorite Knit Socks from Interweave and Couture Crochet will get your inspiration juices flowing!

A New Year and Trunk Show!

We are all so excited for 07 here at Patricia's Yarns. There's much that we've planned for knits this year... first of all is our new Jordana Paige Trunk Show! Come by to see all the bags in her collection including her color cards.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a New Year filled with new Knits!

Warm Hands

The cold weather has arrived and knitted up just in time (one day!) are these super comfy mittens by Blue Sky Alpaca. We love this quick knit and the Blue Sky bulky alpaca is incredibly soft. With just two skeins you'll be able to brave the (finally here!) cold weather. Both the pattern and yarn is available from Blue Sky.

Remember, a crochet chain between the mittens will ensure that you'll never have a single cold hand!

Lace Knitting

A new book has arrived at Patricia's Yarns, Victorian Lace Today. Chock full of traditional and yet modern patterns author Jane Sowerby has certainly ignited a lace reivial. The stunning photography will inpsire old and new lace knitters alike. (as will the range of simple to complex patterns!)

If you need more reason to come by and grab this book just go see the KAL!

Peaceful Knitting

November always brings out the feeling of Thankfulness and right on time as the bears are ready to be sent out to the Mother Bear Project. These 15 cuddly bears are eager to meet their counterpart!


The second of many charity knit nights was held at Carpe Diem on Monday night Nov. 2nd. This time around we were knitting for the Caps to the Capital. These crocheted and knitted caps will go to newborns in underdeveloped countries.

The planning stages for yet another wonderful charity knit event is well underway. If you have any ideas for a night or would like to help plan one stop by the shop or email patriciasyarns@yahoo.com.

Koigu is Here!

25 colors of beautiful, soft Koigu KPPPM is here! Come by and indulge yourself!

Babette's Sunflower Dress

Babette finished her Minnowknit's baby sunflower dress in Manos del Uruguay cotton stria. It's a great project for beginner knitters as you can learn a lot in the knitting and shaping of the dress.

Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria is a luxurious yarn to knit with. It comes in so many wonderful bright colors that would compliment any project.

Thank you Babette for sharing! We can't wait to see it on the little girl you knit it for!

Celebrating Socktober

In the spirit of Socktoberfest, Margaux has knit up Jaywalkers with the Trekking (XXL) color 100.



Socks can a be a very satisfying knit and aren't that hard to make. She knit these with Size 1 Addi Turbos with the magic loop method. She really enjoyed the colorway and how the colors pooled while she knit it.

Thank you for sharing your socks, Margaux!

Yarn, Stitches, and Pepperoni

What goes with Grimaldi's classic pizza? Why knitting bears of course!! In the first of many charity knit nights Patricia's Yarns and Grimaldi's teamed up to knit bears for the Mother Bear Project. This non-profit organization sends these bears to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations like South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia.



Sixteen knitters participated in the event. The bears were made out of Cascade Superwash wool and it's softness will be perfect for the hugs they will be receiving.

More charity knit nights are being scheduled.

Glowing Suri

Among the new fall additions at Patricia's Yarns is Blue Sky Alpaca's Brushed Suri. A combination of baby suri, merino wool and bamboo, it's silky soft to the touch. With 8 colors to choose from you can knit this up in a simple garter stitch scarf or use it in a simple pattern like Scarf Style's Misty Garden which is shown above.

It's sure to please this fall.

Hoboken Knits!

Welcome to the official blog of Patricia's Yarns!

More to come real soon!