New shades of Fingering

(top to bottom) Cabin Fever, Watermelon, Whirled Peas, and Kelly Girl.

And French Scarf Kits

(left to right) Lipstick, Maple Leaf, and Caribbean Blue, with a lovely pattern that works up like this

in a jiffy (it’s an easy knit!)

Fingering is $13.50 a hank, and French Scarf kits are just $42 (pattern and yarn in a nifty tote).

Hurry hurry! Their stuff NEVER lasts!

Despite the incessant snow outside, it appears to be changing seasons a little inside at ThreadBear. Spring/Summer merchandise is starting to arrive, and I think you’ll like what you see for the upcoming warmer weather knitting and crocheting.

Just in this week, more from one of our favorite vendors, Blue Sky Alpacas, in the form of their awesome Dyed Cotton yarns. We have a generous restock in the solids, which you have loved for several years. This spring, however, they introduced something brand-new for the line

The same Dyed Cotton base, but in a multi (called, appropriately enough, Multi Cotton). Six shades (all in stock), 100-yard hanks (smaller than the regular stuff), but the same price point ($9.70). There are new patterns for spring as well

and the above two I am madly in love with. The Everyday Hoodie (on the right) is worked in Dyed Cotton and looks just as comfy as can be–a very good ….everyday…sweater. On the left is a cute one-button cardi with a little bit of swing to it, and you use anything that knits up around five stitches to the inch (their Skinny Cotton, or Cotton Classic, Premiere, or other options). Good stuff from good people!

Lest you think we’ve lost our minds in these parts and have forgotten cooler-weather knitting, how about a quick-knit hat

that’s made with a free pattern from knitty.com called Shroom that Rob made in an afternoon, using a single hank of Cascade Magnum (under $20 for the project) and big needles. Or maybe a toasty warm cardigan is more your speed. Check out Marynia

stylin’ in her beautiful finished garment made from Philosopher’s Wool using a pattern from Cheryl Oberle’s “Knitted Jackets”. This was her first attempt at steeking (the body was knitted in the round, as a tube) and she came through with FLYING colors.

Bring by your latest feat of knitting or crocheting and we’ll be glad to snap a picture to share with folks. We **LOVE** to see what you are up to and share in your success. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

So I think I’ll share two different batches with you today…first off, my own handiwork

That’s the result of my dyeing run on Thursday night, after the shop closed for the evening. I had a GREAT time in the back, working all by myself with no interruptions, enjoying the quiet time and being creative. It took a few days to get them all rehanked and labeled and ready for sale. And of course, over the weekend several of them found good new homes, too! How about a quick run-down of what’s still here, as of Monday evening.

First off, I use two bases. The first we call “Rob’s Hand-Dyed Sock” and it’s 100% superwash merino, in a nice tight twist. Four-ounce hanks are 490 yards, and it’s a great option for anything calling for fingering-weight yarn. Here’s the goodies

Left to right, they are Firestorm, Easter Corsage, Pink Flamingo, and Orange Marmalade. I had fun playing in nearly monochromatic families of colors (and several others are now gone, including a YELLOW one and a GREEN one that were ultra-bright..I use caps for emphasis!). The second batch of Rob’s is more multicolored

And you have Joker on top and Tealberry Pie below. The Tealberry Pie nearly went home with someone on Sunday, but I think she decided on a nearly solid option instead.

As for the other base, it’s called “Black Dog Sock” (in honor of my departed lab, Connor), and those are also 100% superwash merino in four-ounce hanks, but they’re 560 yards due to the twist being not as tight as the other base. Here’s what’s available in this option

Again, left to right they are Blueberry Pie, English Garden, Blue Skies, and Spring Flowers. But wait–there’s more!

In the form of Forest Glen, Spring Lawn, Pink Elephants, and Monarchs in the Sky (like the butterflies–just pops of orange in a blue background).

I also did up a batch of over 50 of my mini-skeins

which are 25-yard, hand-dyed skeins of superwash merino (this batch is the same base as “Black Dog Sock” if it matters). They’re $1.25 each and we can do as many or as few as you’d like!

The bigger, four-ounce skeins are ONE OF A KIND (I don’t do multiples and I don’t exactly repeat colourways–it’s all freehand stuff!) and run $22.50 each. Hurry hurry–they won’t last long.

A batch of Prism arrived yesterday as well, including four shades of their awesome Merino Mia (190 yards, two-ounce hanks, superwash merino, $15 each)

From left to right, we have Tutti Frutti, Peacock, Cantina, and Marina (new to us), and since we received full bags, that means eight hanks of each at the time of this writing. Also in the batch was some Gossamer (935 yards of lace-weight mohair, $36 each)

in (top to bottom) Tumbleweed, Portofino, and Harvest, along with

Coral Reef (top) and Garden (bottom). There’s a great free pattern with purchase (just ask!) for a ruffled scarf that uses the yarn doubled on a 5mm (US 8 ) needle that’s just beautiful!

Also freshly available from Prism–four-ounce bags of mill ends of Merino Mia! We have 26 of them as of last night, and they’re sure to go FAST. For the past week, staff has been rewinding larger skeins into smaller mini-hanks that are perfect for blankie knitting or any other modular/mitered projects that call for sock-weight yarn. One of our staffers is going to knit Diamond Patch Mittens out of some she picked up recently, using a different color for each module. BRILLIANT! Four-ounce bags are $19.50 each, which is a substantive savings over buying full hanks (two ounces/$15) as well as getting a nice assortment of colors, too!

Well, that should catch you up for now! If you need anything, you can always stop by and pick it up. But if you’re reading at a distance and see something you cannot live without, please be in touch at (866) 939-BEAR (2327) and anyone here will be more than happy to enable!

It has been awhile since I posted here (big understatement, I know), but look for regular activity again, as I’m back in the saddle, having “re-found” my voice! Sorry for the gap–there were other issues that had my attention, but I like the refocus! I’VE MISSED YOU!

You want needles? We’ve got needles!

A nice restock of bamboo circs and dpns arrived on Thursday (2/18), filling many of our gaps and shoring up supply on the really popular sizes (16″ ones for hats……it’s definitely a hat-kinda season in these parts!).

There’s also something NEW NEW NEW on the hooks, for your knitting (and pocketbook) pleasure

Those are the new RED LINE needles from Chiaogoo. The tips are stainless steel and the cords are a new, VERY flexible cord with a great join and smooth finish. You’ll LOVE these for magic loop as well as regular knitting, but the price….OH, the price….just $7.99 a set (smaller sizes like 0/1/2 are jut $6.99). WOW! Come test drive a set today and pick out some of your favorite sizes and lengths. We’ll have a full complement of them shortly, as this was a test batch and they passed with FLYING colors! More arrive on Monday/Tuesday, including a bunch of smaller sizes (perfect for socks and magic looping!)

And with your new needles, why not work with some of this great stuff?

That’s some fun On Your Toes Bamboo, a sock-weight yarn that has absolutely NO ANIMAL (wool) in it at all–perfect for summer socks, wool-allergic friends, and kid garments (machine wash/dry)….and there’s a cute jumper at the shop made in this yarn, as well as a booklet with several other great ideas. These are the two new shades, Blue Jeans and Lime Light (guess which is which??). Also in the boxes

more Marble Chunky (nice restock, and it’s going FAST–hurry/scurry in to get some! Plus there’s a fun new pattern collection for a different yarn that knits at the same gauge, so we’ll recommend it for Marble Chunky

for some fun home dec projects. And to round out the delivery, how about some

Baby Marble DK, a fun easy care yarn that works up between 20 and 22 sts/4″, or perfect DK/light worsted weight. From left to right, those are BM2, BM4, and BM3. I recently took some to make an adorable Baby Surprise Jacket (in BM3)

that took just BARELY into the second skein (at $5.99 each, not too shabby). That means there’s plenty for a matching hat/booties, too! All for under $15!

Stay tuned–other goodies arrived late this week, so I’ll be posting again VERY shortly! WELCOME BACK!

The new goodies, they are streaming in…..and I’m way behind in sharing them with you! Here’s my favorite delivery this week

HOORAY! Sabrina’s back from “the dead” (or at least from a really bad case of H1N1). She’s not full strength yet, but she’s gaining on it, without question. We’re glad to have her with us……and that she’s healthy again.

Today’s deliveries included a big box of Cascade wools (several shades of their super-bulky Magnum, more Cascade 220, and a little bit of Superwash 220) and two new WINTER MAGAZINES! Interweave Knits and Spin Off have released their latest issues, and both are jammed with lovely things. Knits has a big section on cabled projects, another on colorwork (mostly stranded knitting), and several other great accessories and more, plus articles on reversible cables and Cowichan sweaters. Spin Off has seven drafting techniques, how to decide whether a 2-ply or navajo plied yarn is better for your purposes, a section on small gift-knitting projects, and more. Both issues are wonderful and worth the price ($6.99 for Knits, $7.99 for Spin Off).

You want yarns? OK

That’s part of the HUGE delivery of Lana Grossa Meilenweit sock yarns

that now pack our shelves. Lots of new options in various patterning styles (Allegro, Primo, Solo, Men), more colors of some of your favorites (Seta/Cashmere, Tweed, Fantasy), and restocks in various others that keep selling through (Merino Print, in the 2110). They’re a great value at $15.95 for a 100g-skein that makes a pair of socks for most feet. Lots of great options!

Speaking of sock yarns, we did get some Schoppel Socken Klecks this past week

This is our ONE AND ONLY DELIVERY of this yarn, as they are no longer producing it. It’s a fun pre-knitted piece that could double as a scarf until you were tired of wearing it and then transformed into socks via your own hands (just joking–but I bet you could!). $19.95 each, and they’er going FAST!

Lastly, I leave you with a new model garment

That’s the Cabled Swing Jacket made with Bergere de France Magic Plus, a lovely wool blend that’s machine washable. It’s great on lots of different body types, so if you’re local or semi-local, be sure to come by and try it on. It’s STYLIN’!

More soon–I promise!

In large part because of this

That’s what’s in the oven at my new home right now–a peach-cranberry cobbler. It’s a variation of one of my favorite recipes. Quick and easy, I altered it by doubling the dough part and made a simple syrup on the stove this morning of sugar and water boiled down, with a cinnamon stick added for flavor, and when it was reduced enough I turned off the heat and added a bag of fresh cranberries.

It’s headed to the shop with me shortly, as tonight is “Santa’s Workshop”. That’s our way of supporting holiday gift knitting/crocheting by providing a safe space, away from prying eyes and family members needing things. Come by, make some serious progress on your gifts, and enjoy the company of great people and some fun snacks! See you there about 6 p.m. !

One of my favorite things about owning a yarn shop is seeing the successes that my wonderful custo-friends bring by and share. I get to OOOOH and AAAH at beautiful projects and it provides great inspiration for me as to new projects I might want to make and/or new ways to combine patterns and yarns we carry. So let’s take a look at some of the GREAT things I’ve snapped pictures of lately.

First off is Ruthann,

who’s modeling a Coloring Book Shawl (yes, we carry it at the shop). This is a great project for sock knitters and those who collect sock-weight yarn, as it uses seven different colourways in amounts from 125 yards to 525 yards (so the potential to use up leftovers or that single 50g skein that you just HAD to have!). I’ve seen them blendy and I’ve seen them done in STRONG contrast, and all have been striking, large, comfy shawls, but Ruthann used some stash, some Jitterbug, and some of my hand-dyes with a great finished result!

Awhile back, Jeannie shared her sock creation with me

and reminded me that it was made with yarn that I dyed! AWESOME! I haven’t seen but one or two other socks knitted up from my hand-dyed yarn, so I was quite grateful that she shared with me.

Next on deck is Kay

who shares with us her wonderful Baby Surprise, made with Shibui Worsted. She also shared the beginnings of her newest project

which is part of her taking our “Simple Swing Coat” class with Marcia. We’ll see a GREAT finished project soon……very soon. Right, Kay?

Julie is a talented knitter who tackles a wide range of projects with her typicaly fearless approach to things. She teaches for the shop as well (intarsia, modular knitting, etc.) and is an accomplished knitter–fair isle, cables, intarsia, and more. Well, check out her latest project

called “Walk In The Woods” from the book “Inspired to Knit” by Michelle Rose Orne. Made in Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica, it’s a stunning garment in person (and it hangs in the shop for awhile…to inspire folks to tackle intarsia projects and/or to take Julie’s class). Who wouldn’t want to look this fabulous

and have a great warm jacket for the upcoming cooler weather (wait–it’s already here!).

Finally, Sabrina worked up a sock to show off how the Jarbo Raggi (aran-weight sock yarn) works up and also to serve as a model for her upcoming class

“Beginning Socks”, an all-day introduction to sock knitting, from start to finish! You’ll work with heavy-worsted weight yarn and a fun pattern from Cottage Creations to create a child-size sock that covers all the steps necessary to make socks out of any yarn for any foot. Perfect for those who can’t make a multi-session class, Sabrina’s here to help you through this boot camp for sock knitters–you meet from from 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday, December 5th.

There’s a few new bags at ThreadBear,

fresh from a rep visit on Monday. There’s two styles right now (kinda larger lunchbag style–the red, button, and beige ones, and they’re $28 I think…….; and the wider bag with longer straps, which should be like $36, I think). They’re all hand-sewn here in the US in the Bay Area, in a fair-trade/living wage environment. Fabrics are all repurposed and have their original “story” on the back of each tag.

More in my next post–you’ll see some GREAT stuff!

Recently, I did a dye run on a Friday afternoon. I was in a particularly bad mood, so I thought some color play would be helpful, and I worked with the remaining 65 mini-skeins that were wound by my wonderful staff to create these

some beautiful and bright bits of color that come in my standard 25-yard hanks (perfect for mitered square knitting). Then I moved on to full 4-ounce hanks of sock yarn

I didn’t like them much in the hank, but rewound they’re quite nice. I’m pleased! Both are on the Black Dog base (100% superwash merino, 560 yards in 4-ounce hanks, $22.50 each).

Since I was in a bad mood and didn’t like what I had dyed in terms of multis, I went for nearly solids for the remainder of the time spent dyeing. Those I did a good job on (if I do say so myself). First part (again all on Black Dog base)

and these (on Rob’s Hand Dyed base, or 490 yards in 4-ounce hanks, 100% superwash merino, $22.50)

The Persimmon isn’t that frightening–just a crimson orange that’s awesome. The Plum Dandy is quite beautiful in person–much more ruddy plummy jeweltone shade. The Orchid is a vivid, beautiful fuchsia/orchid shade that just doesn’t do well in digital photography, but trust me, it’s lovely.

Another photo to share with you……Tuesday marked the arrival of more grey goods for me to dye up, in the form of cone yarn (both Black Dog and Rob’s bases). There’s now six pounds (three of each) to be wound into smaller portions (25-yard penny candy and 65-yard candy bars). The bulk of the winding is done by one person in these parts, and here was her commentary to me,

upon unpacking a three-pound (5,880+ yard) cone of yarn with her name, all over it! Thanks, mystery finger……but everyone out here appreciates your hard work in making minis for us!

In the mean time, here’s a photo to share with you

of an amazing sock-yarn mitered-square afghan, knitted by Kathy (a different one–this one’s a customer from Indiana) and shared with us earlier this week. Is that not amazing? She’s starting each square with two rows of black yarn, then going into the colorful stuff for the remainder of the square. This imparts a VERY stained-glass look that is quite beautiful. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

And if you crave any of the hand-dyed goodies above, please be in touch with the shop (866-93-BEAR or by e-mail) and we’ll do our best to help!

The wonderful and amazing Ben

our adorable UPS guy, brought all sorts of wonderful things today. New magazines

that’s the new issue of Fons & Porter “Love Of Knitting”, the holiday issue. It’s full of great projects of all types, and this is starting to be the favorite magazine of lots of folks in these parts. Very knittable designs, nothing overly complex or overwrought designs…just good, wearable garments.

Got some new sock-weight yarn in today

That’s K1CToo Crock-O-Dye, which is 65% superwash merino, 20% nylon, and 15% silk, and is kettle dyed in 100g/416 yard hanks, for $18. We have just the one colourway (Teal) in stock right now, with more to come (nine in all) if there’s positive response to it. I like it and will try to knit with some ASAP. It’s uber soft and really pretty. Come and get it!

Also in the delivery was a couple boxes of love from Tahki Yarns

including several shades of Donegal Tweed, restocks on two great pattern booklets, and some emergency yarn to finish a sweater for another customer (they found two skeins of a discontinued shade in the warehouse, so gramma can finish a cute sweater for granddaughter). See why we love Tahki? Great people, great yarns!

Another batch of goodness that came was some Black Forest Naturwolle

that I (Rob) am going to knit up into a sweater for myself. It uses a main color and a constrasting color (in small amounts on the trim) and is a simple pullover. Soon….I cast on for it tonight…swatching and knitting will follow!

New model sock!

That’s in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Merino Print, shade 2110. It’s a newer yarn that’s 90% supewash merino and 10% nylon (instead of wool, it’s merino……yum……) There is an appreciable difference in softness to the yarn verus the “wool” version. And we have lots of different colors and patterns on the shelves waiting for you to come and pick some up!

A big delivery of Addi Turbo needles showed up on Friday

The skein of yarn is on top for perspective/size….but inside is $3,500 worth of knitting needles. Yes, $3,500 in that box, that small box. So if you’re ever curious what it costs to adequately stock a yarn shop, particularly one of this size…..think back to that box the size of a laundry basket that’s $3,500 worth of merchandise! LOL. We’re well stocked on lots of sizes again, and out of a few since the order was placed. More coming next week….for sure!

More goodies soon…….thought you’d like to see these………