Friday Nite Finishing Club

We had a great time with about 27 people who just needed that extra boost to get their UFO (unfinished objects) done. Our Finishing club is held on the last Friday of each month. Our first was on Jan 29, and the next is on February 26th.

Pre-signup is required and there is a $5 charge to cover the grub. Finishing club is from 6pm - 9pm. Please register by February 23rd.

Here are some shots of the girls working on their projects. Keep your eyes open for the girls with their finished projects.

You can also see them on Facebook by clicking the link and joining the "Fans of Uncommon Threads" group.

It's our 10th Anniversary!

I know it's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since the original 5 yarn girls opened the doors to Uncommon Threads at the tiny shop on Beaver St. Back then we were as surprised as anyone that people would want to come and learn to knit and share our love of yarn, knitting and fibers. We had a slow start, but after 3 years, we had out-grown our sweet little shop and found our current location on West Market St.

Now there are just 2 yarn girls, but we have wonderful yarnies that help us - Daun, Kim, Kim, Mary Anne, Vikki & Angela just to name the regulars. Kathy & I have the same passion for knitting that we did 10 years ago and are honored that you have continued to support us over the last 10 years so that we can continue to bring you all the amazing yarns that we've found over the years.

Join us next Friday evening from 5-8 for our anniversary kick off with trunk shows from Ally & Nettie Totes, Karen Paust and Suzen Craver. We will have yummies to eat and don't forget to bring your knitting!

Summer Wrap-up & A Taste of Peru

Wow! What a whirlwind this summer has been! We've had so much fun seeing everyone completing their February Lady Sweaters and loved watching so many new sock knitters tackle the Summer Sock Hop pattern. For those of you who joined us for the Sock Hop party last Friday night, thank you. What a great time we had! Who ever would have guessed there were so many creative places to hide a foot inside the store? And all the snacks -- yummers! And what exactly was in that "Not Egg Salad" dip? We promise to tackle Kim W. and find out the recipe. Look for it here next post.

In case you missed the sock hop, you missed the big premier of our two newest sock yarns, Mini Mochi and Melody. Both yarns are superwash and have the slow, gradual color changes that you have been requesting.

The Crystal Palace Mini Mochi is a single and comes in amazing bright varieties. The Jojoland Melody is a multi-ply heathered yarn that has beautiful depth.

If you did miss the Sock Hop, don't despair -- we have more fun coming this Friday. Join us for September's First Friday celebration on Friday, September 4, 2009. Festivities kick off at 5pm as we enjoy A Taste of Peru featuring a trunk show from The Alpaca Yarn Company. Many of you know Beth who is one of the co-owners of Uncommon Threads, but did you know she wears 2 hats - she also owns The Alpaca Yarn Company, distributor of many lines of alpaca products. We have lots of fun planned, including the premier of 2 new yarns by AYC, Astral & Halo as well as a trunk show with many, many yarns. We will have great samples to try on and show off, discounts on great Alpaca Yarn Company products & free patterns with the purchase of selected yarns. We will also have snacks, music by a real South American Gaucho, plus you will get to know the owner, dyer and designer at AYC and if we are lucky, and maybe even a visit from a live alpaca! Hope to see you Friday!

Product Update

We just got a boat-load of Malabrigo Worsted, Lace, Silky Merino & Sock yarn in. Don't delay, it won't be here long.

We've also just started stocking the Kollage Square Circular and Double Point Needles.

From Skacel, we have Bahia, a fantastic summer blend of viscose & acrylic has an amazing sheen and will show off your stitches like nobody's business.

From Crystal Palace, we now have Cotton Rich DK, which is a blend of cotton and acrylic that looks like it will hold up to kids or whatever you can put it up against.

We are expecting a shipment of Mini Mochi very soon. If you haven't seen this yarn, you don't want to miss it when it arrives. It is a slow striping sock weight yarn that is washable. Our first order was here and gone in just a few weeks.

Hope to see you soon for some summer knitting.

Finally, my first blog post (thanks, Mary-Anne). It has been so much fun making the "February Lady Sweater." Mine is finished and I have worn it at every opportunity. I have posted a photo of Beth and myself right outside our shop while wearing our lovely sweaters.
Now I am looking at "Hey Teach" which can be found on www.knitty.com How do you feel about that for a summer knit along? If you have any other suggestions, please drop us a line ... we'd love to hear them!


Some shop news... we now have the Square Circular Needles (1-10) and Square Double Points (0-3) from Kollage Yarns. Check out our recent book delivery and the fabulous Tahki Stacy Charles "Superior Crochet" with 8 designs by Doris Chan and Kristen Omdahl.
Happy Knitting,
Kathy

Finished Febuary Ladies

Sorry it's been a while since we've last posted. I decided it was time to get this sweater done and over with. I chose Malabrigo Merino for mine. It's wonderfully soft, warm and the color has so much character.

I hope your progress has been good. I am not the first to finish the Feb Lady, but I am the first to have a picture. I've heard about a few of them and would LOVE to post your pictures here.

After the yoke, the sweater pretty much just moves along. And finishing is a breeze - not a single seam! The directions don't tell you how long to make the sweater or the sleeves for that matter, but it is so easy to try on and see what looks best on you. I love the 3/4 sleeve and it was just perfect for this March day that can't decide if it will be soon be spring, or stay winter.

Please send us pictures, or post them here yourselves.

So you're done with the Buttonholes

I see there are several post regarding the February Lady from folks who have gotten done with their buttonholes. If you are like me, you probably thought that the yoke looks pretty small. Well, I've measured mine. I'm doing the second size and normally wear a sweater with a finished size of 36"-38". If you measure from the front neck edge down to the end of the garter stitch, you will probably get something around 6" before you start the lace. Another way to measure is on the diagonal "seam". That measured 7 1/2" for me. It's hard to measure the actual armhole opening at this point because it's still on the needles.

Remember, it may look better to complete the 3 more rows of garter stitch without the increases before you do the eyelet row. Just a matter of opinion. . .

You'll probably really enjoy the lace after all that garter stitch. It's an easy pattern to get into your head and the knitting goes really fast.

I'd love to see pics of your works in progress.