YARN AMNESTY..BEFORE & AFTER

It seemed like such a good idea at the time..and even better now!  People would bring us their unwanted yarn and we'd give them store credit at $1/pound, then use it for charity knitting projects.  We had 2 at the old shop (fall of '08) and one last September for a grand total of (um) 890 pounds of re-purposed yarn.  To put that into perspective, most skeins are about 4 ounces (about 3560 skeins) or, from another view, it's within spittin' distance of a half-ton!  We're still happy to have your excess yarn and hotel samples (shampoo, etc.).

   The first 525 pounds went to law students in Grundy who learned to knit and crochet, making blankets, hats and more for CASA children.  Last fall we began a charity knitting group at the Abingdon Senior Center on Tuesday mornings.  Big ol' Southern breakfast (FREE!) at 9am, then knitting from 10-12.  Fast forward to earlier this month when several knitters and I turned over hats for all ages, scarves, afghans, and baby blankets to agency heads for distribution.
 For details, see this story and plan to join us soon.  http://www.gotricities.com/article.php?id=7008  Thanks for all your help....we can't do it without you!

Desperately Seeking Samples

  Well, not desperately exactly, but we'd sure like to have those little hotel samples of soap, shampoo, shower gel, etc. we all seem to bring home from trips.  We gather a supply and send them on to the local Women's Shelter.  Please bring them by the shop anytime and we'll get them to the shelter.

EYE-POPPER SOCKS

Think you’ve seen it all in the world of sock yarns? Not quite yet!, ‘til you’ve caught a glimpse of our new Footprints Yarn from Blue Ridge. 100% superwash merino…300 yards of gorgeous hand-dyed yarn and a separate skein of 100 contrasting yards for toe and heel. And for virtually endless possibilities of patterns using 2 circular needles, take a look at our “Socks a la Carte”. 22 cuffs, 32 bodies and 44 feet..How many possible combinations? I’ll leave the math to you!!

Not sock knitter? Use it for contrast on other sock/fingering weight ideas and let us see your projects. Beautiful colors...great idea!

Crochet Unanimous this Saturday

  That's right...it's the last Saturday already and time for our free crochet afternoon.
1-3pm we'll gather for Chain Gang, a sometimes boisterous, always fun group of hooked crafters.  Bring whatever you're working on for an afternoon of seeing what others are working on, tips and inspiration.  No charge, no reservations, just come and join us!

Sleepy in Seattle

  Here's what not to do.....fly clear across the country on the same day as Daylight Savings Time begins.  Kristine and I went to Seattle last week for a marketing seminar put on by Yarn Market News - and I don't know quite the word for it.
  Was it fun/interesting/intense being with 100 yarnshop owners from all over the country?  Absolutely!
  Was it restful? Nope, not a bit but the speakers were excellent, the new merchandise (books, patterns, yarns and equipment) coming out for spring is exciting and we had a great time! And it didn't even rain!!
  We walked all over the bottom end of Seattle (about the only wrong turn we didn't take would have marched us right into the water!!), took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island to see a grand little shop called Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, met our new Skacel rep (he of the much-anticipated ADDI LACE CLICKS), "Yarn crawled" through 5 totally dissimilar shops and generally kept our little red eyes open for new ideas!
  It was fun going but we're glad to be back and ready for spring!!

Coming soon...Addi LACE clicks

Hold onto your seats!  Your socks!  Your shawls!  There's great news coming just ahead of the daffodils!
  Addi's just put out a set of "clicks" interchangeable needles and cables for you people who love their little pointy heads and their non-slip finish.  The set has 8 sets of needles (sizes 4-11), 5 cables of various lengths and a connector to hook them together.  (I've personally never needed a 72" cable, but I guess you never know.)
  We've pre-ordered 6 sets and I'll post the news as soon as they're in.  You could knit an elephant cozy!!

Make Mine Gas

  I don't know how many of you might have seen this but it's super cute.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUFnH7KYMFE  Nothing earth-shaking, just a cute new take on how cozy and cuddly yarn can be.  See what you think and let me know if you have other ideas.  Check out the look on the cat's face!!!