new yarn

The wrapping paper is in the blue bin. The gifts are finding thier places. The new books are being enjoyed! And.. there is new yarn in the store!
Jo Sharp came and visited us last summer.
She showed us some of her new designs, and her new yarns.
The requests were sifted, and the winner is the Alpaca Kid Luster. This is a stunning 40% Kid Mohair, 30% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool combo.
Wow.
And Jo has departed from her usual deep jewel and earth tones. She is featuring a few super intense colors in the palate this time.


This is one of the sweaters that we saw in this yarn.

Come on in and feel how soft this is. Amazing.
Time to knit something for yourself.

Knitting Math

While knitting is, of course, creative. But it is mathematical at it's root. It is binary... there are two stitches, knits and purls. Here are some serious math minds who are taking it to the next level.

Holiday in San Francisco

I was overwhelmed by the number of you all who came by this holiday to wish us all well. Thank you, thank you. We are all so pleased to be spending time with you, and sharing your projects, your success, and hearing all of your stories. Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah.

Cotton Stria Sweater

Here is Glenda modeling her sweater. It's the cover sweater of Design Source "Cotton Collection 2". It's done in Manos Cotton Stria. It uses the technique of 'shadow knitting', switching between knits and purls in one row, creating the illusion of mulitple color changes. This is so elegant! We have a model in the store in light colors. And it looks fantastic in the dark colors. Nice choice!

The Weekender

I have a bag problem. I mean, I could have as many tote bags and purses as I could fit in my house. And I don't mean gracefully either. I love them.
We have one bag in particular that is great - and it's big. It's called "the weekender", and it's two tone silk. Beautiful. It comes in three colors. Come by and see it.

Little Lambs

Here are some non-yarn knitting gifts for the loved knitters on your list. And, these beauties are under $25!



Sheep soap - it's beautiful, french milled soap. The black and white come together in a beautiful gift box with a satin bow.


The wooly friends are tape measures! You pull the tail for the tape to come out, and push the stomach for the tape to retract.
This posted by the guage police. Check early and often for happy results!

The Bunny Beanie

How cute is this girl? And the little cap? One of our favorite little people modeling one of our favorite projects. It's our Bunny Beanie. In honor of the yarn for the kits being in stock, we had this photo shoot.

Noe Knit Flicks

Love Actually
Originally uploaded by katbaro.

Thursday night, 11/30/06 is Noe Knit Flicks. We'll be showing Love Actually. Once again our silver screen will be graced with Hugh Grant & Colin Firth...collective sigh please.

The movie starts at 7:00 so come early & grab your seat or bring a pillow for the floor. Of course, bring your knitting!

Sculpture Exhibit

The DeYoung has some work by Ruth Asawa exhibited through January 28th.
Here is how her web site describes the work: "These sculptures are made from iron, copper, brass and other types of wire. Asawa considers these sculptures three-dimensional drawings. Instead of the lines moving across the paper, the lines move through three-dimensional space. “I was interested in it because of the economy of a line, making something in space, enclosing it without blocking it out. It’s still transparent. I realized that if I was going to make these forms, which interlock and interweave, it can only be done with a line because a line can go anywhere.” If you could see these sculptures in person, you could view them at different angles and observe how they continuously change depending on your viewing angle. "

They are amazing. If you want to take a moment away this holiday season, I recommend a trip.

Knitting in the Dark

All of us have knit under less-than-ideal conditions. Normally, if you are lucky, you have a knitting chair with your stuff gathered round you. You have a hard project in the basket calling you to concentrate, and an easier one, for the better television viewing. Most importantly, you have good light!
Recently I was on my way to have dinner with my brother and his family, and I wanted to knit in the car. (For the record, I was not driving.) They live an hour away, so I feel it is a criminal waste of time if there is no knitting done in a free HOUR. But seeing as how it is pitch black before 5 pm these days, I did not have many options. I was working on a scarf on HUGE yarn and needles. To add to the challenge, I forgot my cable needle. Determined to knit on this car ride I just simply 'made do'. I used my sunglasses as a cable needle. And I knit in the complete darkness! The situation was so funny that I pulled out my camera to record the episode. Of course, the flash went off, so you cannot actually feel the pitch black. But you can see the sunglasses, and that alone is nutty enough!

I hope you had a great holiday, and took advantage of every spare minute you found yourselves with.

Happy Thanksgiving

There is so much to be thankful for.
I am wishing all of you a very happy holiday.

Cascade 220

Sue made this lovely sweater. It is Cascade 220 in a color called Mimosa. She modified the pattern by adding the beautiful Picot edging. (Note, the Picot bobbles are even on both sides. That is a mean feat.)
It shows what Cascade 220 can really do. It's not just for felting!

New Books!

We got six boxes of new books! Some of our favorites are back. And some beautiful new titles! Vogue Stichtionary 3
Yarn Girls Guide to Older Kids Knits
And lots more.

A Great Wrap Sweater

Here is Rhiana's first sweater. It's a wrap, so it will continue to fit while she works on her other "project". And afterward too.

A new Colinette blanket

Before I opened, I had to get a lot of samples knit for the store. I sent my Mom a Colinette "Absolutely Fabulous Throw Kit". She knit it up, and it was a cornerstone in our collection of beautiful things. Mom lives far away, and having her knitting around always makes me happy. One remarkable day, someone took the blanket. (I am still a little bit shocked by this !) Some people chuckled, and let me know that is "retail". Others dropped thier jaw in horror, and exclaimed that "knitters would never steal". No, of course they wouldn't. But then, that is a rediculous statement, isn't it? Do we have some sort of data to support the claim that "knitters are, by nature, "good" people" ?
As if the mere fact that you do a craft means that you subscribe to a higher moral code than the general public. Who is to say? Grad students out there: there must be a thesis in there somewhere?

While I may still be licking my wounds over this devistating loss, we had to move on. This time, instead of enlisting Mom, we took it on as a store project. (Thank you to ALL who picked it up!) This one is in the colorway "Sedona". Colinette dyes thier yarn by hand. And the colors are dramatic. They have put together some really brilliant, innovative combinations. They have recently started a 'colorway of the month' program. These are new combinations that we have never seen before. Some of the combinations they are doing are deeper and richer tones. As the name indicates, this blanket has the desert in mind. High heat. It's sand with accents of rich color. Beautiful.

Needle Felting Class

We had a needle felting class on Sunday. Kathy taught us how to make ornaments and how to embellish projects that have already been made. It was a wonderful diversion with wool, but no 'stitches'... sort of a side step from knitting.
Everyone had a supurb time. And the results were fabulous!!

Needle Felted Ornaments & Gift Tags

This Sunday's Holiday Preperation Party is all about needle felting. It is such an easy & fun skill & no knitting experience is required. Here's a couple samples we made yesterday.

Fun & Cute!

The End of the Noe Knit Mobile

My sweet car was stolen yesterday. From my street, if you can believe. I have to laugh. The back license plate is wired to light up in pink neon when the head lights are on. Bright pink to match the store sign. Can you imagine? I bet the fools who took it did not know they were glowing bright pink as the joy rode around greater South San Francisco!

Baby Blanket

Here is Sheryl's show and tell: a really sweet project. It's a baby blanket, with a pocket in the center, and a little knit teddy bear to tuck in there. Pattern: Vogue Knitting On The Go: Baby Blankets, Yarn: Crystal Palace Bunny Hop.

Happily Ever After

Fantastic.