Merry Christmas

On behalf of all of us at Noe Knit, we wish you a bright and wonderful Christmas! May it be filled with classic hand knits, and wonderful loved ones to share them with.

There is still time:

Are you on a mission for a few more quality presents?
A hat is the answer. There is always time for a hat.
This is an exclusive pattern, designed by Chiaki, shown in Andean Prime Alpaca.
We have the pattern, the yarn and the needles available.

Or you could knit up a scarf. This is the great last minuted knitted gift; luxurious and rich. This pattern is in Pam Allen's book Scarf Style. We have the velvety yarn "Touch Me" in a wide range of colors.

Come on in, and infuse some peace into an insaine rushed schedule.

Lessons

Sue had a lesson with two girls. (Here, they are doing the long tail cast-on, of course.) They made the most wonderful noises. There were squeals of excitement, and jokes shared. They all had a lot of fun.


Then, in came a hat with one missing twist in a cable. We did a lesson in pulling cables out.
I started to take lots of pictures, and make a tutorial. But, others have gone before me, and done WONDERFUL ones. I'll point you to Yarn Harlot's example.
So, I focused on the lesson rather than on the photography. And I never took an "after" (sorry)We had a good time, and the hat left fixed, and the repair was imperceptible.

So, if you are working on a project, and you hit a road block, bring it in before your rip the whole thing back. There just may be a solution.

Young or young-at-heart, problems or just new skills, call us and book a private lesson. We'll take your knitting to the next level.

Peppermint Twist

These are a limited addition tape measure. They are so sweet!
Perfect stocking stuffer!

Fashion Show Thursday

We are having a fashion show Thursday. Bring your sweaters that you've done. Bring the sweaters that you've started. Or just come and see and soak up inspriation for what is possible.
6:30 is the social hour, and 7:00 pm is the actual "show".

Give us a call and let us know if you can make it.

piles of Manos

Look at what came in. Loads of Manos! Beautiful.

Thanksgiving

The Turkey is in place.
The veggies are ready.
And some nice purses/knitting bags, waiting to go home.
As you get ready to get your food collected, and gather your family around - we wish you a wonderful start to the holiday season.

Knit Smarter Not Harder: part II

Knit Smarter: Part II

With November being NaKniSweMo (national knit a sweater month) we have seen a lot of work on some pretty exciting projects. Many knitters have stepped up to the challenge of doing something “bigger”.

And in all of this sweater knitting, there are some tried and true lessons that keep rearing their ugly heads. Let’s review those.

Gauge: (How many stitches per inch are you getting?).
This is different than “did you do a gauge swatch?” The answer, of course, is “yes”. You did a gauge swatch. And then you cast on and started knitting like crazy. And while it was so gratifying to watch you project grow – how is your gauge now? Have you started knitting tighter? Or have you gotten looser as you go faster? Check and check and check.

Measure your work:
Many knitters come in and smile broadly as they pull their work out, and proudly show it to us. We are always so delighted to see everything. Then every once in a while, the work comes out, and my stomach drops into my shoes. One sweater this week measured an impressive 67 inches in diameter, and another was a scant 36 inches. So we had both sides of the same problem demonstrated. And in each case, the owners had followed the pattern to the letter, and had not added or dropped stitches.
67 inches of sweater will gather and ruffle on the circulars, so if you see quite a lot of ruffling, stop and measure. Are you getting what the pattern called for? Are you getting the finished measurement you had hoped for? And the inverse is true as well. If you lay your sweater out, and it “looks small” then it may be. Are you getting what the pattern called for?
There were two very distinct reasons for the problems above. In the sweater that was too large, the knitter had done some yarn conversions that were set to work out perfectly, but then followed the pattern for the finished size she wanted, not the yarn she was using. Sadly, we pulled it out, and started over. And for the smaller sweater, there were two issues, one was that the knitter was in a hurry to finish in time for the November deadline, and her gauge got a little bit off. And the other was that there were errors in the pattern that we did not know about before we started! (!!)

Use the Internet:
If you are thinking about doing a sweater, do a little research before hand. Look around for people who have knit the project before you. Is there a picture of them in the garment? How does it look on them? How did their color choices play out?
And most importantly, did they have any trouble with the pattern?
You are looking for errata; the name for errors in a pattern. If you google the name of the sweater and errors or errata, you can see if other problems have been spotted. This five minutes of research can save hours of heartache.

And speaking of research have you checked out Ravelry? It’s a new knitting site. It’s kind of face-book-meets-flickr-meets-a-knitting-blog. You can post photos of your stash, join a local group, and ask questions. The best part of all is you can see everyone else’s finished projects – by name, or knitter, or by yarn! How fantastic to see the color choices, yarn substitutions, and different figures in the different sweaters. It is really a win. I tell you all this, because you have to “join” Ravelry before you can look at it. All that involves is signing up, and waiting in the que. Don’t worry if there are 12000 names ahead of you. The folks at Ravelry knew they had a good thing, but they didn’t know it was THAT good. They were overwhelmed by the number of sign-ups. I think they have now hired about 40 extra people, and have been staying up late at night just to get everybody on the site without technical issues.

As always, if you are having problems, bring your project in. (bring it in before you rip it back. If you come in and say to us “I had a problem with the sweater, and I need help to figure out what I did wrong” And then you show us piles of yarn that used to be your project, we are going to be at a loss. )

Finally, how about a fashion show? We’ll have a sweater celebration fashion show on November 29 at 7:00 pm. If you started or finished your sweater bring it in, and see all the wonderful projects for yourself.

KidSilk Aura

Rowan has come out with a new yarn this fall called KidSilk Aura.

For fans of kidsilk haze, it is just as yummy, but three times as thick. So projects that you work up will come along in reasonable time.
When ever a new yarn comes out, we hold our breath to see how the pattern book will be. Rowan has been going through some wild streak lately.
Rowan fans remember things like this happening.
So when we opened the new book and saw the beautiful classic sweaters, we were delighted! There are at least 4 projects in there that I want to cast on immediately!
Come on in and see it.

Fun Fur, and a bolero

We do love our little people. On Halloween, we had some special visitors.

First of all, Amy brought in Teddy to show us what is certainly the best thing we have ever seen fun fur EVER do. She dressed the whole troupe in Gryffindor gear. And little Teddy is Hedwig, the white owl. FANTASTIC!



And our own little princess came in for a visit. She has taken to carrying a purse. (albeit one that holds a stuffed puppy dog.) She has on a pink fairy skirt, a hand knit bolero, and a purse on the crook of her arm. Could anything be better? And our friend Maisy dreamed this up on her own. She is not imitating behavior she is seeing in her house. I can assure you that neither her mother nor her father prances around with a hand bag on the crook of their arm.
(Thanks for showing us your FANTASTIC creative costumes!)

Nano Cozy

Here is one of my favorite 9 year olds, Mina, with her finished Nano Cozy.
We knit after school together, and I am learning about things that "kids these days" are into. (Peek-a-pooh)
We just started a pair of leg warmers for the American Girl Doll.
We'll be sure to share our progress.

Felted bag

This purse has taken over the project lists!
It's fun, it's colorful, there is a pattern, but it is not too challenging.
Chiaki wrote the pattern, and is even offering it as a class. So many students have brought their bags in to show us! (Here is Amy's. Beautiful.) It has been very exciting. I don't want to ruin any surprises, but there will be a whole lot of these wrapped up this holiday season. Come on in and have a look at the sample.

New Yarn, new yarn, and new new yarn

The fall is so fun at the store. Everyday, loads of new yarn comes in. Today it was the mother lode.
We got lots of bunny hop. That is a bright, spongy, cable plied yarn that has an element of Angora. AND it's machine washable. It was premiered last fall. And has been a best seller ever since.

Also in the box was a brand new yarn called Merino 5. The name is the content of the yarn (Merino) and the stitches per inch (5). It is really beautiful, and, yep, it's machine washable.


And finally, we'll continue SOCTOBER with a brand new sock yarn. Here it is, cotton, Bamboo, and a little bit of elastic. WOW. It's called "Panda Cotton"

Harry is BACK

Socktober continues to bring us wonderful treats!
A new shipment came in from Lorna's Laces yesterday. And in among the treasures is a new batch of "Perry Hotter" yarn!
It is flying off the sock shelf faster than a Nimbus 2000. Call and we'll hold a pair aside for you.

Another Red Light Special Hat!

Haydee worked on the final decreases in class last night.


And then she finished her hat!
What a GREAT accomplishment!

Socktober - new sock yarn

We continue to get exquisite new sock yarn. Each new load is more beautiful than the last. This batch is from Lana Grossa.


And this is seta Cashmere:
65 % Merino,
15 % Silk
16 % Polyamide
4 % Cashmere
Machine Washable
The merino and cashmere together make this yarn wonderfully soft. The polyamide makes it long wearing, and the silk gives it a touch of luxury and a hint of sheen. It is a beautiful yarn.

Clapotis

Lauren Finished her Clapotis.
It is fantastic.

She chose Nicole, an Adrienne Vittadini yarn. This yarn is a departure from the yarn that Kate originally picked. That is a brave thing for a knitter to do. And that gamble is rewarded with an exquisite textured garment with an amazing drape.

Hat for Halloween

Rebecca was commissioned by friends to knit a tinkerbell hat for their daughter. It will top the costume off perfectly!
DARLING.

Hemlock Ring Blanket

Recently our friend Brooklyn Tweed showed us a ring knit blanket. (August 18th)
It is a 1942 knit doily pattern. Jared took the pattern, and charted the repetition to make it bigger than a doily. Our friend Kay saw this post, and was intrigued.

So she did not one, not two, but three of them.

!!!!
Here is one before it is blocked. While it is still beautiful, in an architectural way, this still illustrates the beauty of blocking.

Thanks for sharing your lessons and your results with us Kay! You are one busy knitter.

More Hats!

Kalona finished a hat (and used double points on the top!)

And Hunter is wearing Rebecca's handywork!
She modified the Fruit Cap pattern to make a pumpkin! Excellent job!

Knitty

There's a new Knitty up.
Among the patterns is a pretty lace blanket pattern, Totally Autumn.
Have a look.

A First Hat

Kelly finished her first hat today.
If you would like to learn to do a hat, check the schedule for the next class! You could have a project like this finished in only 2 sessions.
Congratulations Kelly! We can't wait to see what you do next.

Cup Cake Anyone?

Can you BELIEVE these?

This artist/chef is illustrating one of my main tenets in life: "If you can't eat it or wear it, don't waste your time on it."
Have a sweet weekend!

Addi Turbo

You've been asking for them. It seems these gleaming beauties are in a class by themselves. Call, or come by to get the size you are looking for!

Absolutely Fabulous Throw Kit: Ivory

Our LOVE of Colinette's Absolutely Fabulous Throw Kit continues. Here is one I finished in Ivory.

A Beautiful Sweater

Susan Conrad is one of Noe Knit's first customers. And a favorite with all of us.
She is a PROLIFIC knitter. I mean, seriously, if there were a world speed championship, she would certainly win, because the woman is producing some very serious garments, ALL the time.

Here she is showing us the Nantucket from the cover of Interweave Knits, Winter of 2006. It is done in Taos, color 8. The color changes do not obscure the amazing cable work and texture of this sweater. Stunning!

MAKE magazine

MAKE liked the BBQ window as much as we do!
Wow! Excellent job Kathy!

The BBQ window

Here is our latest window, by our friend Kathy!
Complete with ants, corn on the cob, and of course
of course... beer.