Final Class at A New Yarn

[Written February 7, 2010, and post-dated for chronology's sake.]

One of my favorite local yarn stores, as you know, is A New Yarn: a non-profit yarn store associated with the Northwest Women's Shelter and benefiting women who've suffered domestic violence. Sadly, A New Yarn closed in March 2009. I don't know all the details except that it was very sad because the yarn store itself was doing really well both in terms of its community-building and in terms of the books... the closure seemed to have more to do with the non-profit itself and its real estate.



So although I had been scheduled to teach a sock class in February 2009 and an entrelac pillow class (from an original design) in March 2009, I only ended up teaching the sock class.

As is my practice, I knit along with the class. This group picked up Judy's Magic Cast-On quicker than some of the other groups. One of the women in the class, who spoke almost no English, came in the first day wearing a delicate hand-crocheted tank top that was so exquisite I considered honing my crochet skills. Recognizing that I don't have time to really practice a new handcraft, instead, I knit my socks in an orange yarn to remind me of her brilliant tank.

These socks knit up quickly, but they sat until August waiting for me to finish the stretchy bind-off and weave in the ends. (The new job went into its intense spring schedule, and I was just pretty sad about A New Yarn closing.) And then they sat again -- unworn -- until January 2010, when I finally got the camera out and took some pictures.

But, inspired when I put a hole through the toe of my Anti Pro Natura Socks, I finally got all the pieces in place, took the pictures, and started wearing them! They've moved into steady rotation as a favorite because of the yarn's comfort and breathability in the half boots I wear.

I'm planning to catch up the blog on my fiber exploits from the last year. I may have been swamped at work, but I did still manage to get a couple projects made... and I made some fun acquisitions and had some other accomplishments. So look for more soon!

Stripes of Sunshine Socks

Pattern: Mash-Up Magic Toe-Up Socks (MUMTUS) by Zhenya Lavy (workshop pictorial, Ravelry page, downloadable PDF of the condensed pattern)
Materials: OnLine Supersock, orange, #789/69772
Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm
Primary Stitch Count: 68 (gauge 8.5 st/inch)
Started: February 2009
Completed Knitting: March 2009
Finished: August 2009

Little Cakes for Patty Cakes!

The Girlio has asked me to make her some fingerless mitts. It was inevitable. After all, she'd seen me make a pair for myself last fall. And earlier this summer, her father knit a pair of orange Knucks for himself to match his Honda Rebel for those crisp, early summer morning drives to work.

I decided that the bright, green singles I posted pictures of on my Greensleeve's Katherine's Cup spindle last June would be the perfect fiber choice for C's mitts. But first, I had to ply the 170 yards of singles. The result:

Nearly 85 yards of squishy, 2-ply worsted wool, drop-spun and plied on my Katherine's Cup spindle. I picked up the roving at A New Yarn earlier in the spring. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the spun hank before I divided and wound it down into these two sweet little cakes—I know this isn't the best way to display my work. I was just so excited to get the fiber ready to be turned into warmers for C's ever-growing patty-cakes!

I wouldn't normally have thought to make mitts for her in this color, but I found inspiration in this great fall jacket we found her for the first day of third grade.


The jacket looks perfect for all her puddle-jumping antics when Seattle's sunny summer turns to autumn rains later this month!

The color shifts from dark green, through a bright kelly, and into peeks of a cheerful yellow. I'm pleased with how the yarn turned out and look forward to posting pictures of the finished mitts, which I'm pretty certain I will design myself.

Now I need to find a nice pair of puddle jumpers to complement her ensemble!

Looking Forward to Fall

Last week I finalized my fall teaching schedule at A New Yarn. I'm offering two classes: Magic Loop Socks and Cables & Twists (details below). Also, the shop will be featuring my MUMTU Socks and Tweedy Cabled Cap patterns as give-aways at Seattle's 4th Annual Stitch & Pitch on Thursday! (You know that the nationwide Stitch & Pitch phenomenon actually got its start here in Seattle in 2005, don't you? Even though it was driven by retail stores, it's yet another reason why Seattle rocks!)

I stopped by A New Yarn yesterday to get this:


Five skeins (one's buried) of yummy Queensland Kathmandu DK in deep purple with flecks of white, blue, pink, and red. I will be knitting up a shop sample of the Tweedy Cabled Cap with one of these skeins. The others are for a scarf I'm designing to match.

Claudia, Program Manager of A New Yarn, will be posting the new class schedule next week. For now, here are the basics:

Magic Loop Socks
October 11, 18, and 25
10am - Noon
Learn to knit two socks at once from the toe up with this clever method. Course includes a lesson in Judy's Magic Cast-On. Join us as we make the Mash-Up Magic Toe-Up (MUMTU) Socks, which will give you a customized fit with whatever yarn weight or needle size you choose.

Cables & Twists
November 8 and 15
10am - Noon
If you love the look of cables and twists but haven't tried them before, now is your chance. Join us as we knit the Tweedy Cabled Cap to learn the basic techniques of making and moving cables and twisted stitches. We will learn methods of crossing stitches both with and without a cable needle.

Sympathy for Marie

Today's post has no pictures or happy updates. Instead, I ask that you please send your good thoughts, wishes, and prayers to Marie, who was involved in a very serious car accident July 1.

Marie and her sister, Betty, are regulars at A New Yarn and both took my magic-loop sock class last month. I had received an email about the accident shortly after returning from our camping trip, but I hadn't gotten many details and had no idea how very serious it was. Last night at A New Yarn's Wednesday knitting circle, I got an update from Betty. Absolutely nothing has been confirmed regarding the accident, so there's still a lot of speculation. What's known for sure: Marie (and her older-model, smaller car) found herself up against two massive (think gravel and bucket-style) trucks at an intersection on the road to her home.

As I understand it, the accident involved hills, locked brakes on one of the trucks, blocked view of the area around the intersection, bright sunlight, and a driver who didn't know the roads or intersections there very well. The bucket-style truck, with locked brakes, T-boned Marie, knocking her car back out of the intersection. Then the gravel truck misjudged what it would take to get around the accident and hit the bucket truck... just perfectly enough to send it tumbling, upside-down, to Marie. That's what's been gathered so far about how it happened, anyways.

Marie is still in the hospital. The situation has been critical, has involved numerous surgeries, and will require lots and lots of time for recovery. It's sad and scary.

I first met Marie at A New Yarn's pre-Mother's Day sale. She is, among other things, a fiber enthusiast, a sheep and alpaca rancher, and proprietor of Slug Ranch Fibers in Snohomish. (An enterprise she told me started when her daughter came home one day x years ago saying she was going to raise a sheep for her 4H project... it's grown from there. In addition to building a large barn and working her fiber business, she and her husband also learned how to shear their own animals. Can you believe it?!) I've seen Slug Ranch fiber for sale at various shops around the city.

Every time I've spoken with Marie, I've been impressed by her eagerness to share helpful information and to bring other people along to the next step in their knowledge and love of all things fiber-related. At our first meeting, she told me about a spinning guild in Snohomish and then invited me to bring my spinning wheel to the New Yarn knitting circle the following Wednesday and spin with her. Marie is a remarkably fast spinner. She's the type of knitter who's deeply curious about new techniques, who's fearless in her approach of a project—whether based on a well-loved pattern or a new chart. She always seems to have tireless energy, and she definitely has a great sense of humor. She's interested and interesting, and the combination of Marie and her sister around the knitting table is a force to be reckoned with!

Betty was working on some serious lime-green bed socks for Marie last night and was in good spirits. To be honest, I would have been surprised to see her in anything but good spirits. She's that kind of lady!

A New Yarn has a comfort shawl in-progress for her. Anyone can drop by the shop and knit a few rows. It's a simple, triangle pattern in decreasing garter stitch. Three yarns are being worked— sometimes at once, sometimes solo—in a variety of fiber types in denim, frosty blue, and white. If you are in the north Seattle area and have an opportunity to visit the shop, I encourage you to come knit on the shawl. Claudia, who runs A New Yarn, would like to have the shawl finished before Marie is discharged from the hospital. Sorry, I don't know the date... but I don't think it's going to happen very soon.

I knit on the shawl a bit last night. Then, amazingly, my daughter asked to knit on it. She did a fantastic job, and at 8 years old, I suspect she's the youngest to contribute some stitches. If only I had brought my camera.

I am very sad for Marie and her family.

Have You Any Wool?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the massive wool haul I scored at A New Yarn, but I hadn't gotten around to taking pictures yet. At long last, I can share with you the glory that is my MIL's early birthday present to me!

First up, the darker wool I've already posted pictures of in some spun-up skeins.


As you can see, the 5 ounces I spun barely made a dent in this >5-pound monster, which I had selected as my learn-to-spin practice fiber because... well... with such a luxury of fiber, I knew I wouldn't be hurting too much if I royally messed up a bunch of it.

There's a nice silver/grey in with all that dark brown. See?


It's really a joy to work with this wool. In perusing fiber at Weaving Works last week, I decided that it's probably Romney. I'm open to being wrong about that, though. It would help if I took samples of each of these fibers in for comparison's sake.

Up next, the pretty fawn-colored roving of unknown origin:

This weighs between 3 and 4 pounds. My scale stinks, so that's the closest weight I can get until I make my next trip to the post office.


It's the softest, smooshiest of the lot, and I love the color. I'm excited to work with it but plan to wait until my spinning gets a little more consistent. I'd love to make this into a sweater for myself. Even have an idea or two in mind!

Third up is this gorgeous white stuff:


It's between 1 and 2 pounds, and it's decided not to stay in any kind of neat, tidy formation like its darker cousins.


I really like looking at it...


...but I'm not sure what it will be like to spin...


...because it's not nearly as soft and squishy as it looks. In fact, it's the scratchiest of everything I've shown here. I don't have a clue what kind of fiber it is. Again, a sample taken to Weaving Works should clear up that question.

That was "the good." Now for "the ugly":


I say ugly only because the locks aren't all spiffed up into roving. There are some really pretty colorations here. Dark brown at the base (is that what you call it?) with redder tips. I don't have any cards or combs yet, so I'm not quite ready to tackle this project. Someday! It weighs about 2 pounds.

So there you have it: The most amazing, fortuitous fiber find I could possibly have imagined. Strike that... I couldn't have imagined it. We bought this fiber before I got my spinning wheel. In fact, it's what inspired me to "take a peek" at what was listed on Craigslist that lucky evening.

Yessiree, this fiber has already made a wonderful wonderful impact on my life—and I still get to spin it!