Friday, May 30, 2008

Show and Tell Friday

I'm sure a lot of you have heard about the Central Park Hoodie pattern that has become so popular. Well, Laurie has only been knitting about a year and she has really taken on many challenges. She brought her finished hoodie in to show me. She's a brave girl...by making a garment with a zipper! Way to go, Laurie!

And Kristina...aka Lace Queen...brought in these cool socks that she made. She got the pattern from a gal in Germany. Very nice...and I love the colors.

Mary Beth made a pair of the felted slippers using the Fiber Trends pattern. They turned out nice as well as her beaded scarf that she made out of Crystal Palace's Panda Silk yarn. It was really gorgeous. She also brought in the Best Friend Doll that she made. She thinks it looks like Brooke on American Idol. What do you think??

And finally, Sue made a couple of chemo caps for her friend. I love the colors on these and they were very soft. By the way, don't forget we are still collecting chemo hats for the Caris Hospice. You can drop them off at The Yarn Haven any time.

Well, since I'll be at Market next Friday, we won't have a Show and Tell day for 2 weeks. But I'll try to blog early next week before I leave on Thursday. Don't forget to let me know if there are particular yarns that you want me to check out at Market!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

School's Out Sale

We've gotten the yarn ball rolling this summer with a School’s Out Sale from Wednesday, May 28—Saturday, May 31!

Everything in the store will be 10% off...with selected items up to 35% off! Even more items have been added to the sale bin…because new yarns will be arriving soon.

Come guess the number of yards in our great ball of yarn and you could be the winner of a great prize!!

This is a great time to come in and select a summer project to be working on during your vacation.

Name My Dolls contest...

I've made a couple of the Best Friend Dolls and I'd like some help in naming them. One is a knitter and the other is a crocheter. Put your suggestions in the comments section this week and if I pick your suggested name, then you'll win a special prize.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Show and Tell Friday

Once again it's Friday and Show and Tell time. Are Fridays coming faster for you all these days??? It seems like they are to me. I must be getting old. :-)

Anyway, I have 3 new finished projects to show you. First of all, Pam made this darling sundress for her granddaughter. It is a Plymouth pattern and she made it out of the Plymouth Wildflower DK yarn in the colors that her granddaughter picked out. It's adorable...and so is her granddaughter.

Then Donna graciously made this chemo cap to donate to the Caris Hospice that we support. It is made out of none other than Noro's Silk Garden. Wonderful colors. It will make a nice hat for some man dealing with cancer. By the way, that is one of their main requests...hats in colors that are more manly. If you've got some yarn in your stash that you no longer need, why not make a chemo cap! We accept donations here at The Yarn Haven.

And lastly, we have Jan's summer shell. The pattern is the Lacey Vee from Cabin Fever and the yarn she used was Tahki's Cotton Classic. She modified it a bit...which shows she has a creative side. Looking good!

And on a more personal note...I have to share with you about my grandson's first trophy. He started playing soccer for the first time this season. He's only 4 1/2 years old, but very athletic for someone so young. I haven't been able to go to his games because I always had a class to teach on Saturday. But this past Saturday...his last game...I knew I just had to be there. Thankfully, I didn't have a class scheduled, so my dear sweet hubby came over to watch the shop so I could slip over and see him play. It brought back wonderful memories of when my kids played soccer many years ago. This week they had a party and he got a trophy for his efforts. As you can see from the picture, he was so excited and proud. I think he had fun because he wants to play again in the fall.

This weekend will be quite busy for us. We have our 34th wedding anniversary on Saturday, my son-in-law's birthday on Sunday, and a picnic planned on Monday. It should be a fun and busy weekend. Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as well!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Here it is!

OK...I had to go take a picture of the Baby Surprise Jacket to show you what it looks like before finishing. Actually, I did not sew up the seams on the model in the shop. I wanted to be able to show folks just what it looks like when you finish knitting it. Isn't that cool! I think the BSJ class is going to be so much fun. If you're interested in learning how to make one of these adorable jackets, stop by the shop and sign up!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Show and Tell Friday

This week for Show and Tell I thought I would show you some of the projects that I finished on my vacation...plus a day or two. :-)

The first one is the summer sweater made out of Kollage's Corntastic. This yarn is made of 100% corn fiber. Feels a bit like cotton. I think the sweater turned out nice...although making an adult sweater out of DK weight yarn is not my favorite thing to do. But I'm pleased with it.

Next is the Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's pattern. This was a very challenging pattern to follow. Mainly because it was written in 1968 and because it is so unique. I wish I had taken a picture of the jacket before finishing. But it looked something like this...just a big blob of knitting. But with a couple of folds, you have a darling little jacket. EZ was a genius! There will be a class on the BSJ coming in June. I even developed a spreadsheet for the class so that the pattern would be easier to follow. There's also an Adult Surprise Jacket pattern if you don't have little ones to knit for. This was a very fun project and one that I'm sure I will be doing again...and again.

And lastly, I made a Wonderful Wallaby hood and jacket for my granddaughter. This pattern's sizes goes from size 2 up through adult sizes. I'm going to make one for each of my grandsons as well. And I'll be having a class on the Wallaby later on in the summer.
















So that's my Show and Tell for today. Hope to see you all at the Friday Night Knitting Club tonight!!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

I'm Back!!!

Wow! It seems like forever since I've written on the blog. Last week's vacation was just what I needed to get me jump-started for another year. It was a beautiful week weather-wise at the beach and I could just sit and watch the ocean for hours on end. But I also got several things accomplished. I read THREE books! Can you believe it?? I bet it's been over a year since I read a book and I used to be an avid reader. And I completed TWO of my knitting projects...the Baby Surprise Jacket and the summer sweater I made out of Kollage's Corntastic. Both are now on display in the shop. I should finish up today on the Wallaby hooded jacket I made for my granddaughter for Christmas. I'll have that in the shop on display until December. I will, hopefully, have some photos for you in the next day or two of my projects.

It's unreal all of the little details that need to be done to get caught up after being gone for a week. I do have to say that the gals who watched the shop did an amazing job. I've had several comments about the great job they did from some of you. So thank you ladies. I couldn't have done it without you!!

And last, but not least, my wonderful husband did a super job of not only working his own full-time job, but coming over every day to close out the books, and getting our granddaughter to preschool and back each day (which included making lunches, getting clothes laid out in addition to making sure she had her bath each day and getting to bed on time...along with her Bible story time at the end of the day). Whew! It makes me tired just to write it all down. He even stayed late at the shop on Saturday so that the Sit 'N Spin group could come on their regular 2nd Saturday time. David...thanks so much for doing all of this and for giving me the opportunity for the last 10 years to go to the beach with my girlfriends. You're the best hubby in the world!!

And now to the news that I promised before I left. Remember several weeks ago when I sent out an email asking you to go to someone's blog and leave a comment on something you liked about The Yarn Haven. The shop that got the most comments would receive the opportunity to open an account with this lady who hand-dyes her yarn. Well...(drum roll please)...WE WON!! Thanks to the many kind comments that folks left, The Yarn Haven won the account. Dianne from Creatively Dyed Yarns will be at our shop on Tuesday, July 15. She and her daughter will be here all day showing off her beautiful hand-dyed yarns, garments she has made, and also...giving a hands-on demonstration on how to dye yarn using koolaid. So mark that day on your calendar and plan to come visit the shop. More details will be given as we finish up our planning for the day. You can check out Dianne's yarns at her website. Yeah! I'm so excited! Thanks Dianne! And thank you to everyone who left...or tried to leave...a comment. I appreciate all of you so very much!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Show and Tell Friday

We really have some creative knitters and crocheters here at The Yarn Haven. I'm always amazed at some of the things that they make. Today I want to show you what Bethany, Sarah and Amanda have made.

Bethany hand-dyed her own yarn to make these beautiful socks. Didn't she do a good job? We also have another pair of socks she made...as well as some Komi mittens from one of Charlene Schurch's patterns.

Then I made Sarah throw her leg up to show off the sock she had made. I can't remember if this was one that she hand-dyed as well or not. But it is equally as beautiful. I love the colors.

And Amanda croch
eted a baby set for her future sister-in-law of this darling little hat, booties and scratch mitts out of Plymouth's Oh My yarn.

Just a few of the very creative people we have roaming around The Yarn Haven lately. Hope you'll bring in your finished project and I'll showcase your creativity also.
I won't have a Show and Tell next Friday or be bloggin at all next week as I will out of town...at the beach! Yeah! I'm taking a much-needed vacation so that I'll come back rejuvenated and ready to get back into the business of running the yarn shop. By the way, the shop will still be opened while I am gone thanks to several wonderful ladies who are filling in for me. And don't forget the 25% off sale on selected items that will continue until Saturday, May 10.
We had a great time tonight at the UFO night at our Friday Night Knitting Club. A lot of people came and many of them brought UFOs....some that were started many years ago! I think for the summer we might have UFO Night on the first Friday night of each month. Maybe we'll get some of these projects finished up by the end of summer.
Well, I'll try and blog again a week from Monday...and let you know of some exciting news for The Yarn Haven. Have a great week!