Triangular Shawls by Evelyn Clark

Saturday Sureka came in from the state of Virginia,the last time she was in the shop I recommended Evelyn Clark's book on triangular shawls. That was about three months ago -one phone call later Sureka has two beautiful shawls. The red is the hand-painted EuroFlax from Louet Sale and the magenta is Karabella Yarns Super Platinum. And one is a gift for a very lucky person, Sureka is visiting NYC with her husband for the 4th of July weekend.

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This is a Great jacket for any fall season!

http://bit.ly/imhfeT  working link

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SHELL: DAY TO EVENING



Back view: in the round knit from the bottom up.

Front View: with a cable twist.

Just finished -  Karabella Yarns Silk Organznia Hand Painted

RED HOT

In celebration of Valentine's Week - All things red in the way of yarn will be 20% off and on top of that all books and pattern booklets will be 25% off. February 8th - 14th, 2010.

The LYS has moved... New location 335 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY bet. 3rd & 4th Street.

Save The Date

Event: World Wide Knit in Public Day

What: Jam Session

Host: Grace Shanahan

Start Time: Saturday, June 13 at 10:00am

End Time: Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm

Where: The steps of the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library

Leg Warmers, Gloves, Mittens, Socks, Sweater: Knit in the Round on 2 Circular Needles

Using two circular knitting needles

learn to knit in the round

- - in one lesson

Date: September 30, 2009
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Class Project: Leg Warmers
Materials : Oat Couture: Leg Warmers - choose from 3 styles, 3 sizes and 3 weights of yarn

Where: Stitch Therapy, 176 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, 718-398-2020
Price: $35.00

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Greatest benefits of circular knitting:

• Circular needles fit far more comfortably in the palms of your hands so you‘re not constantly fiddling with double pointed needles that slip and slide through your stitches.


• Circular needles are less unwieldy to use than DPNS - stitches rest safely on the cable of the circular needle.


• Don’t have to worry about losing a needle – I find the DPNS have a tendency to slide out.


• With two circulars you can knit a project of pretty much any size you don't have to worry about stitches dropping off the end of the DPN.


• Two circulars make a project very easy to carry along with you anywhere, and easier to knit in any situation--even while standing on the subway.


• Circulars allow you to move the bulk of the knitting closer to your lap, making it easier to balance. With a heavier weight yarn, this can make it a much more comfortable project.

THE BARTER SYSTEM

I have always said that "people buy your expertise" so in an effort to endure the economic condition of 2009 I have entered into barter arrangements and lent out my hands for services rendered.

In all I have committed to custom knit four or five items: one pair of purple tweed cashmere cable knit fingerless gloves; one tan alpaca lace beret; one aubergene alpaca lace shrug with a slite belle sleeve; a luxurious pair of long southwestern colored fingerless gloves made from alpaca, merino and silk; cable knit sleeves in Joker purple and green; and possibly one pair of socks.

The other day I started my third item "the lizzy" -- a spring/fall staple at the shop that has evolved into a stylish knit since its incarnation three summers ago - the neckdown shrug knit in the old faggoted lace rib is an effortless four row repeat and easily doubles as a scarf on a cool day.

I'm doing the knitting and in exchange received: a suitcase full of yarn from abroad; professional financial services; design and editing services; a Super Bowl poem, and time. The barter system in lieu of cash makes the exchange a priceless value between friends.

Superbowl Poem #3

2008 was a very fine vintage
Obama made history at home
Phelps at the Olympics

2009 so far a bit less certain

Burress fired his arm

a sure sign the economy is hurtin'

Enter Superbowl XLIII

featuring two teams

no less polar

The winter-hardened Steelers

versus the Cardinals

powered by solar

rewind a minute

to bygone yesteryears

when FDR urged us

to rise above our fears

in 1944 two opponents

joined lockers and played as one

as the country stood united

vs. the fascists to overcome

stitching together what men they could

Card-Pitt lost every game

until the boys finally came home

and they became opponents again

Back to the Future

fast-forward to the present day

past all those Steeler championships

lined up along the way

Not so for Arizona

who have suffered long and hard

whether in Chicago or St. Louis

it was never easy to be a Card

But a change is gonna come

a wise man once did say

through loops and twists and turns

the Cardinals might crochet

A Superbowl Shocker

a bold new look

proving that Larry Fitzgerald

is certifiably off the hook

But Mike Tomlin and his D

have spent a lot of time knitting

Terrible Towels into a Steel Curtain

they hope #11 will be hitting

Whether the Knitters or Crochet-ers

are bound to come out on top

there is only one place in Park Slope

they would both agree to shop

For the quality materials

and knowledge they need to prevail

there's Stitch Therapy: proud sponsor

of the 3rd Annual Superbowl Sale -- by John Lovrich

20% off all yarn and books from 12-5:45 pm.

I got schooled by a little green beret

You would think that owning a yarn shop would afford me the time to knit all day, but you would be wrong - the shop keeps me busy so I have to squeeze the knitting in where I can, but every day I find some time to knit, usually after the shop is closed. This summer a little beret named Portia by Louisa Harding caught my eye. I thought it would be a fun project for my customers to make, and that it would challenge their knitting skills.

I didn't love the fact that it was a flat knit but the beauty of the lace drew me in. I thought that with my 40 years of knitting experience this would be a quick, down-and-dirty knit. Wrong again. At first, I was going to knit it in a combination of yarns, and I got through the rib of the hat with no problem using a merino, silk, and cashmere blend with a mohair strand. The fabric had great body and the rib stood up on its own.

Beyond the rib was a row of increases and then it moved on to the lace. I began knitting two stitches together and yarning over in the sequence that was presented in the instructions -- okay, one row of the repeat down. Row two, not so fast - I didn't have enough stitches to complete the last repeat! I must have missed something on the last row. So, one stitch at a time I backed out of row two, reviewing the stitches from the previous row. No problem...or so I thought.

I ripped it out again and saw that row one again ended, but row two not so much. Reviewing row two with the pattern, I backed it out and knit it again. Okay, this time it worked. How that happened is a mystery. After ripping the hat five times I decided to Google to see if any one had completed this sweet little beret, and there they were -- pictures of two completed hats. It was definitely me having the problem, not the pattern.

Did I mention that I had emailed the Louisa Harding website to see if there were errata on Portia? The next day I came in to an email from Louisa Harding herself, letting me know that the pattern was indeed correct, and giving me instructions on how to read the [ ]'s *'s and ( )"s.

Two sentences into the email and here comes my ego. I have been knitting for over 40 years and trust me, I know how to read stitch instructions. The name of the shop is Stitch Therapy - this is where the name stems from -- being comfortable with your knit and purl combinations to execute a stitch pattern and not being afraid to attempt a beautifully challenging garment pattern. So I was ripping the beret out for the seventh time.

Okay - back to Louisa -- her email included a lace chart to use with instructions on how to read the stitch repeat -- and to not repeat the first knit one. Well, my friends, I was rusty, rusty, rusty in the art of translating the legend on a knitting instruction. Thanks, Louisa Harding, for taking the time to explain.

Three berets later (two for friends and one for the shop) I still love this knit and would do it again, now that I have mastered it.