As usual there lots of exciting new yarns and we have added some new lines and 
companies.To our Euroflax collection from Louet we have added Barcelona, Athens and
Heathers. These yarns are in stock with the Original Linen yarns. They are all 100% linen.
 Barcelona is the sport weight, Athens the worsted weight and Heathers, the chunky weight 
of variegated colors. Geneva is a long line linen in worsted weight and solid colors. In 
stock is also the new Merino wools in the Gems line. Quartz is the sport weight variegated 
colors yarn and Amethys tis the same yarn in a worsted weight.  The Merlin line of a 
merino wool/linen blend is the latest line from Louet. Avalon is a chunky solid color yarn 
and Camelot is the same as Avalon but has variegated colors. We also have a good 
selection of patterns to support these yarns.

Like Louet, South West Trading Company not only supplies us 
with yarns, but also spinning fiber. You have probably been reading 
about their new soy and bamboo fibers as well as their Optimum. 
Optimum is the stretched Merino wool that has be same micro 
count as cashmere. You have to feel this one to believe it, and there
 the added a plus of great colors. We have Oasis, the sport weight, and Phoenix, the worsted weight,  of the soy silk. We also have
Bamboo in both solid and variegated colors. These new yarns are 
causing a sensation in the yarn world. They also are supported 
with good patterns. South West Trading also has spinning fibers that include 100% Soy 
Silk, 100% Bamboo, Ingeo- a fiber made from corn and Silk Latte- a fiber made from milk. 
They have a nice Spinner’s sample pack with some of each fiber. Their web site is www.soysilk.com.

There are also new things coming from 
Chester Farm’s- Cestari. Besides the 2-ply,
3-ply, Yak Royal Blend and Cotton Blend that 
we love so much they have added Cestari
 Cotton/Wool/Silk Blend, Cestari Mohair/
Cotton/Wool Blend, Cestari Superfine Merino 
and Homespun Nubby to their yarn line. In addition they have Cestari Pencil Roving and 
Wool batts for spinning. Again there is wonderful pattern support.

Misti International Alpaca Yarns! We can’t begin to tell you how 
wonderful this yarn is! You have to feel it for yourself to know. We love 
this yarn! I have been working on a Shetland shawl using the lace 
weight and after knitting and pulling it out repeatedly for a week before 
I found a pattern that I was satisfied with and then after having knit a 
goodly portion had to pull it out because of a glaring mistake, the yarn 
knit up as if it had never been knit before. Adrianne knit a wonderful 
child’s sweater using a Country Child pattern in the bulky. Last Spring 
when we first brought it in, it came in only lace, sport and bulky weight but they have added 
many new colors and worsted weight yarn. The price is terrific too. Expect to see more of 
this yarn around in the future and look for magazine patterns using it. I expect my shawl to 
price out at under $30 and the center section is about a yard square. I really need to get 
going on the border.

You need to look at the wonderful yarns from 
Karabella Yarns. In 1993 Berta Karapetyan founded 
her company in NY, which top designers quickly made
 a yarn resource for their designs. In 1999 with her 
son she moved into the wholesale yarn area. Their yarns and patterns are often classic 
with a high design flare.  Look for silks, silk/cashmere blends, super boucle alpacas,
 merino wool/camel blends, merino/silk boucles, and kid mohair with their label. Carly knit 
a wonderful shawl with their Gossamer kid mohair/nylon/poly blend that has a metallic 
thread interspersed that takes only 3 balls.

Anny Blatt & Bouton d’or have pushed the natural fiber envelope to new heights. Not only 
do they have 100% machine washable wool but they are machine dryable too. We have 
this in sport, worsted and bulky weights. Adrianne has knit a cute funnel-neck top 
from the Hip To Knit book and the bulky weight yarn. And! they have introduced a machine 
washable 100% angora yarn. I have knit the sweetest little booties in mint green and white.
 What grandmother wouldn’t want to see her grandbaby’s feet in these booties? We have a 
number of Anny Blatt patterns books in stock for adults and for children. Don’t forget to 
look at the new angora, Muguet, ribbon scarf and Juliette cap kit designed by Lily Chin for 
both crocheters and knitters. Oh, and I mustn’t forget, There are now machine washable 
wool/camel and wool/alpaca blends from Anny Blatt.

Take a look at the new Fleece yarn from Knit One/Crochet 
Too. Adrianne has knit a darling baby cardigan from our 
house pattern in this soft chenille-like 100% polyester yarn. 
The colors are strong and wonderful and the yarn is soft as 
fleece. K1C2 has long offered some of the nicest yarns 
around and we are very proud to be carrying them. Among 
the better known of their yarns that we carry are Tartellette  
and Truffles. We are also carrying their kits and patterns.

 

Classic Elite Yarns-

There are a number of new Yarns from Classic Elite and some great new patterns. For those who have been disappointed in Classic Elites patterns for the last few years, there is a return to the classic style that the company was known for.  There are nice new colors in Bazic Wool, Inca Alpaca, Lush and Beatrice. We have also added some of their new yarns. Paintbox is variegated wool that felts wonderfully. Skye Tweed joins Beatrice for their Tweed patterns. Lou Lou and Parade are great fun for scarves and hats.

We have been carrying RaumaGarn from Norway since we opened. Some of you know about this wonderful Norwegian yarn and its large color selection, but it still remains a yarn little known in The U.S. Its tight twist makes it a perfect color pattern yarn. It has a rough hand at first touch but it softens while being knit. Not as well known in the U.S. as Dale of Norway but known equally as well in Scandinavia, RaumaGarn has a long history of making quality yarn and exciting patterns. Among their many patterns are the traditional sweaters of different regions of Norway. They produce a machine-wash baby yarn, and non-machine-wash yarns in fingering, sport, DK and bulky weights. It is the yarn most used in the book, A Garden Stroll, by Minnesota designer Lori Ihnen.

From Knitting Fever and Euro Yarns have new yarns from Noro, Debbie Bliss, Sirdar as well as their other lines. There is excellent pattern support.

Elsebeth Lavold has added an angora/ wool blend and a tweed to her yarn line and 2 new pattern books.

Maggie Knits has also added new yarns and patterns that should arrive soon.

Vivian Høxbro  says, “MY KIT-COLLECTION  This collection is created using Domino-Knitting as well as Shadow-Knitting.  I have worked especially with these 2 techniques and love working with them - but I will of course work with other techniques too.  I love techniques that are fun to knit and I want the garments to be interesting to look at and flattering to wear. With the color journey these techniques have brought to my life, who knows what the future might bring! It is important to me that knitting is amusing and great fun, as well as being truly knittable.  I cannot say that my designs are for beginners, but the instructions are very detailed and instructive, so - if you can keep a gauge - just get started.”. I can’t say it any better then she can. Both design and yarn make these exceptional kits.

It is with great pleasure that we add Vivian’s kits to those of her fellow Danish designer, Hanne Falkenberg and Australian designer Jane E. Slicer-Smith.  All three designers have boutique quality garments. Hanne’s and Jane’s patterns are not available except in their kits. Vivian’s new book is due out shortly and I don’t know if her kit patterns will be available in the book but her yarn is being spun by Harrisville Designs just for her kits and will not be available to buy separately.

Garnstudio’s Eskimo is now available in many more colors. This bulky, single spun yarn is wonderfully soft and easy to work with. It is perfect for Icelandic style patterns and great for felting.

Twins from Idena has new colors. At $3.25 a ball, this bi-color bulky is a real bargain. We have seen a lot of it go for baby blankets. Another new Idena yarn is Sorbe. I’m not even going to try to describe it but there is a very cute little girl’s sweater that Adrianne has knit that you need to see. Great pattern support for both of these yarns.

Marks & Kattens has added a wool twill this year in tweeds called Natura. It joins Feeling, the wool acrylic heather yarn from last year, as excellent sweaters for traditional knits. Again the pattern support is wonderful.

GGH has a number of new yarns this season. Relax is an alpaca blend boucle. Adrianne has knit a darling white jacket from a Rebecca Magazine using it. Nevada is a wool/nylon thick and thin in a super bulky. Savanna is a alpaca-linen/wool bulky. The yarns heathers from the fiber blend.

Among the great new yarns from Needful Yarns is Orsetto, a wool chenille that has great colors. Adrian knit an adorable baby sweater using the solid white and a variegated pink/peach.

Pichenette from Plassard  has joined other great Plassard yarns on our shelves. This is a super fine kid mohair blend and perfect for our Magic Mitten pattern. It is one of the finest mohair yarns of the many mohair yarns that we carry.

I know that there are many other yarns that I think that you would like to hear about but these should give you an idea of what is out there.

For those of you who like to knit with thin yarns or to blend yarns to create a new color, you need to see the 2 new lines that we have added in Shetland wool fingering weight yarn. We have carried Jamieson’s 2 Ply Shetland Spindrift for some time now. We have added Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Yarn and Digit, from Nancy’s Knit Knacks. Digit is a JaggerSpun yarn that has been washed. We have all of the colors of Digit in stock and a good selection of the other two.

NEW TOOLS AND GADGETS

We have 2 swifts to choose from now. Besides our lovely little table swift, we have the Oregon Wood Worker’s Swift. Although they are both table swifts, they are very different.

Besides the Digit yarn, we carry the Knit Knack Sacks, Knit Kards, Nancy’s Niddy- Noddy and the NKK Yarn Meter. All are from Nancy’s Knit Knacks.

From our old friends at Circular Solutions comes the Knitter’s License plate. You can attach it to your car or hang it on your front door. A fun gift for the knitter who has everything!

And for the sheep lovers! How about our sheep needle gauge or the sheep tape measure?

From Mango Moon we have two new items, wonderful bone and horn circular knitting needles. They come in a nicely made sewn pouch. A sewn Carry Bag is their other new non-yarn item. The first shipment flew out of here in two weeks and I have ordered more. Both are made in Nepal at the Nepali Woman Empowerment Group self-help program. www.mangomoonyarns.com/Nepal.html.