Wedding Present

When Hannah got married on February 29th she and Jon requested creative, funky and handmade gifts. Well, the yarn shop ladies got together and got their creative juices flowing. I think we accomplished creative and funky with this beautiful afghan pieced together with lots of love and good wishes.

Everyone who participated made a square- or rectangle or something close to it- out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. We chose 1824 Cotton because it is easy to work with and there are so many colors to choose from. The ladies made all kinds of squares- they used lots of colors, fancy stitches, interesting ideas, added fun yarns and embellishments. It was so much fun to see all the different squares come in. All of this was done without Hannah's knowledge. People handed me their squares literally behind her back.  

I arranged and rearranged the squares on my dining room table for a week or two. I then started sewing the seams and adding in little squares where there were gaps. I then knit a garter stitch border around the whole blanket. The result is a beautiful, colorful, snuggly, sturdy, wonderful wedding afghan!
We all gathered around Hannah on Wednesday and presented her with our gift. I do think we succeeded in surprising her and she really loved our creativity.  We all had a lot of fun pointed out which squares we made and oohing and aahing over several exquisite ones. This was a very fun group project and I am so glad Hannah and Jon got married so we could make it for them!

WE LOVE YOU HANNAH!!!!!!

THE RETURN OF ONE FORTUNATE KNITTER

OK,  

I've missed you all... 

but now I'm back to show you a sampling of what I have been busy trying to accomplish.

These boot socks in lovely Regia Mosaic Color were finished and shipped off to a dear friend in Maine. Warmth and bright colors to help bring springtime in.

This treat in tilli thomas... If it wasn't so unique, I would wear this every day!

Meanwhile, I designed this new sweater for Three Waters Farm "Thick n Thin". That's Helga modeling, she's my new pal, and such a patient and unflinching subject. 

All of this piled up on my plate, and my favorite people came down from Maine to visit...

My dear brother, his lovely wife and those two beautiful people that they created!

We had adventures galore.

My niece Annie decided to learn to knit, so we made yarn out of leftovers in pink and purple, and away she went!

Just 7 years old and picked it up faster than I did at 23!

She made me one PROUD auntie!

And the best part, after a long week of knitting and playing hard, 

I even got some extra help around the shop!

Lucy Neatby Workshop

On April 30th Lucy Neatby joined us in Carrboro- and later in Raleigh- to teach us some of her tricks. There were many Oohs and Ah Hahs about the wealth of knowledge Lucy has about knitting. She is an inspiring teacher as well as entertaining and funny. We hope she will come back!

Lucy has the most interesting hair- Is it pink? is it purple? or blue? She also wears mismatched shoes and earrings. Being around her makes me want to be a little more colorful and perhaps try something new with my knitting.
Everyone enjoyed cupcakes during the break to celebrate my (Mary) birthday. What a great way for me to spend the day! My son, Evan, has the same birthday so we always have fun on April 30th!

Lucy brought many of her colorful creations with her. The work is flawless and you can't help but touch everything.

Her color choices are amazing. She is not afraid to take chances with using lots of colors in each project.

This piece looks like a painting of tiny flowers in a field.

This kitty pillow got a lot of attention.
Everyone loved this baby hat. Can't you just see it on a sweet little baby.

We will have Lucy come back on her next tour through the South. We do have some DVD's and handpainted yarn of hers in stock. We will also be getting more books and patterns of hers when we order at market this Summer.

Green Yarn

Today is Earth Day. It is up to all of us to do our part to conserve the Earth's natural resources.

Most of us conserve, reuse and recycle at home and we can all try to do as much as we can when we are at work and at play. We all try to conserve at the stores as much as we can. I did an earlier post on how I take all the boxes yarn comes in to the recycling center. I also take any packaging 

to the shipping store to be reused. At each of the stores we have a recycling bin for customers and employees empty bottles and cans. We use scrap paper for writing notes and encourage people to use their own bags or recycled ones for their purchases. We even have patterns to knit or crochet Market Bags  to make to take to carry your groceries home. Many of the companies we do business with are sending out bills and statements online to save on paper and postage. There are so many little things we can all do to make a difference!

This is recycled silk from Saris. Not only is it recycled yarn it is made by women in Nepal. So, when you use this yarn you are conserving AND helping women AND making something beautiful!

This is a beautiful Bamboo yarn from Gjestal. Bamboo is a wonderful, soft yarn that is a renewable fiber. It is a great fiber for lightweight spring and summer projects.

Bonsai is a shiny ribbon made from bamboo. It comes in many beautiful colors and makes a nice drapey fabric.

There are also lots of new organically grown and dyed cottons on the market now. 

They use less chemicals in the dying and processing. Most of the colors are really nice muted shades that get better with age.

This is Voile de la Mer from Tilli Tomas. It is made from Sea Kelp and silk. The colors are beautiful and it makes beautiful lace scarves and shawls.

                                                                                 
This is another Bamboo ribbon, Bali,from Tahki. Bamboo takes color very well in the dying process as shown in all these vibrant colors.

We also have corn fibers, soy silk, and sock yarn made with Chetin- crushed crab and shrimp shells.

Spring FO's

Here are some recently finished projects that customers have brought in to show us.

Barbie is looking good in her handknit garden dress.

Another pair of socks-this pair is made out of several left over sock yarns combined to make an interesting and unique sock.

This is a beautiful wool scarf made out of Joy- a self striping yarn. 
Here is Rebecca showing off her lace shrug made in 1824 cotton. This will be a great  addition to any Spring wardrobe.

This is a beautiful cardigan with a lace insert pattern. Love those 3/4 sleeves!

A beginning knitter made this checkerboard pattern baby blanket for the Linus Blanket project

out of Cotton Fleece. Thank you so much for your contribution!

Some little boy will LOVE wearing this tractor sweater!

This scarf is the first project from another beginner knitter. (My apologies for not having the picture the right way) This is a self patterning yarn that makes your knitting look extra good!

The next 2 pictures are of a versatile cardigan that will get worn and worn and will get tons of compliments.

This sweater was made with Keltic, a gently shaded soft wool in beautiful shades of pink.

Tina in Greensboro made and designed this fun scarf out of La Gran and Inca Marl. It is easy to make and fun to wear.

We love to see what you've made. Come show us!  We'll take a picture and share it with everyone! 

Show us your Socks!

SO MANY SOCKS!    SO MUCH SOCK YARN!      SO LITTLE TIME TO KNIT THEM ALL!

We love to see your socks!

Show us your colorful feet!

Show us what you can make out of all the wonderful sock yarns out there.

Come on in and show us your socks! We love to see them all!

Ravelry Meet-Up

A good time was had by all at the Greensboro Yarns etc... Ravelry Meet-Up on Saturday April 5th.





Samantha-above- won the prize for most UFO's. She had 13- her age- and one finished project. She is on the right path with her knitting!

Denise and Mandy tied for

the prize of most finished projects worn with 6 each

Mary won the prize for oldest UFO. This project was from the 70's and she has been trying to get around to finishing it for decades.

Denise won best in show for her beautiful green lace shawl.

The Raveler who came from West Virginia won for the furthest traveled to get to the meet-up.

We had lots of fun knitting, spinning, eating , talking and laughing at the 1st Yarns etc... Ravelry meet-up. We had so much fun that customers that came signed up for Ravelry on the spot and joined in on the fun. We will definitely do this again and hope that more of you can come next time!