On Friday the carpet should be installed, Comcast should be turned on and we will be ready to start the moving in process.

Of course we will be moving in without everything being finished, but I think we will be growing into the new location over the course of the next year.

In the meantime, here is the immediate plan:

Saturday night starting at 5pm we will be emptying the yarn bins. If you want to come and help then stop on by. It will only take a few people to load up the plastic bins full of the yarn in preparation for the move.This will allow the muscles to take down and reinstall the shelving units on Sunday.

Then on Monday we will need volunteers to help with the yarn bucket brigade. This should start at 1pm and will continue throughout the afternoon. If you have even an hour or two that would be a help. Call me , email me or atop by for further details.

Thanks, Linda

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We are working hard to get the new home for Northampton Wools ready. We have already spent three weeks cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, painting and more painting. Next will come carpeting and all new lights. A few final touches and the brand new space will be ready to move into.

On Sunday at 10am we are moving the first phase of the inventory from the cellar of 11 Pleasant St to the cellar of 29 Pleasant St. I will post pictures of the first yarn bucket brigade so that you can enjoy seeing it even if you couldn’t make it. There will be another chance for you to participate when we move the contents of the upstairs. Watch your email for when that will be.

I am so excited about the amount of room in the new space. My dreams are filled with ideas and plans for making the new Northampton Wools user friendly and knitter ready.

There is going to be a special place for a  little sit and knit and even a new coffee and tea service. I can’t wait to see it all in action, and I will keep posting as we make progress towards that day.

Thanks,

Linda

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Northampton Wools

Cape Cod Knitting

 

 

March 4, 5, 6 2011

 

Ambassador Inn and Suites

 

So Yarmouth

 

Here’s the Scoop about the hotel:

 

*$70 per night

 

*breakfast included

 

*pool, hot tub and sauna

 

Linda will give you hotel number when you

 

reserve your spot with her.

 

                     

Here’s the Scoop about the class:

 

*Toe up Socks Sat from 9-4pm and Sun

from 9-11.

 

*$85 for the class (patterns, instruction, a

 

needle) you supply the yarn.

 

*Learn Judy’s Magic Cast-on, working with

 

two circular needles, or the magic loop or

 

with double pointed needles.

 

*Both specific and generic patterns included.

 

*arrive by 5pm on Fri.

 

*travel to Frog Tree Yarns for refreshments

and shopping.

 

*knit and wine at the hotel both Fri and

 

Sat night

 

*lunch and dinner on Sat on your own

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Introducing Fuzzy Pearls, a new and fun yarn from Pagewood Farms. Indulge yourself in this amazing fur ball yarn. Of course the fur balls aren’t real fur- but they sure do look like it. The yarn is a bulky weight wool and the attached fur balls are acrylic. This little cowl is my gift to you when you purchase the one skein of yarn that it takes to make this really easy 2 hour project. It comes is several colors and is sure to add some joy to your winter wardrobe. Once you try this cowl on you won’t be able to resist!

This is the year of the Christmas stocking. I have been busy knitting up special orders using both new patterns and old. What treasures these stockings become. They are the epitome of Christmas tradition. Many people have brought in their treasured stocking from when they were young, and have asked me to duplicate it wither for a new baby or a new in-law. Take a good look at your stocking this year. It might be time to launder it in a gentle hand washing or it might need a few little repairs to keep it going for many more years in front of the fireplace. If you have a stocking that was hand knit by a relative, you truly have an heirloom. here are some of the stockings that I made this year.

 

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Adrienne, Maryanne, Bonnie and I are back in Northampton after spending the weekend at the Stitches convention in Hartford. If we saw you there, I want to thank you for stopping by our booth. If you didn’t get to the Market at Stitches this year then I really recommend you make an extra effort to attend next year. Next year will probably be the last year that Stitches will happen so close to home, so it may be your last chance to attend the market without the big deal of travel.

The four of us had a great time during the show. It is was a lot of fun meeting all kinds of knitters from all over the country. I hope those of you that bought a neck warmer kit enjoy knitting it.                                                                                                                             This was the most popular of the neck warmer kits. We still have some of the kits available in the shop, or you can get just the pattern and make one in every color.

The cocoon scarf attracted a lot of attention. Of course my daughter- in-law is really beautiful in it if I do say so myself. Knit with just 2 sks of Frog Tree Suri alpaca this scarf has a loop at one end to keep in all nicely in place. This green looks great, but the Suri comes in several luscious colors.

This is “Ali’s Sweater”, the second most popular pattern that we had at Stitches, and we still have the sweater in the shop. This is a basic worsted weight, raglan sleeved design, done in stockinette stitch. The buttons are Zebra and really  make the garment pop.

We are all gearing up for the return of winter. And the holidays are not far away, so plan your trip into Northampton soon. We can help you plan your late fall knitting, from small projects that are designed to warm the chins to larger garments that will decorate the body.

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This fall the knitting will be tweedy. As I unpack boxes of yarn I am delighted to find bags and bags of tweedy yarn. Who doesn’t love the idea of knitting a tweedy looking vest. Something simple but with crisp lines and lovely buttons. Or what about a very comfortable throw this on over everything cardigan vest that travels well and adds the finishing touch to every outfit?

Berocco’s Blackstone Chunky is one of those tweeds that has a wonderful hand and is a delight to knit.

You can even come on in and try this vest on.

Adrienne spent many days last week unpacking and sorting and displaying the new tweeds. One of her favorites is the Tiara Tweed from Plymouth yarns- here are just 3 of the 10 great colors that are on the shelves:

If this doesn’t make your knitting needles sing- I don’t know what will…

or maybe you want something a little more English? here is the Rowan Tweed from the Purelife collection- yummy!

So come and get some Tweed on, before it’s all gone.

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Diagonal knitting has always held a certain fascination for me. I’m not sure why, but whenever I knit on the diagonal I feel like it is going ten times faster then normal. The front or back of a sweater seems to be completed in half the time, and I am motivated to get the next piece on the needles and done very quickly.

It is a very impressive way to flaunt your knitting talents: the beginner knitter is astounded by your ability to turn knitting on its ear, the experienced knitter praises your ability to keep track of increases and decreases; and the non-knitter can’t believe you made that all by yourself .

This week I have added another level of simpleness to a slant-wise project. We just unpacked a new shipment of alp light and I spent the week end knitting up a diagonal vest. Alp Light does all the color work, you just have to do the knitting. The result is a piece that looks like you spent hours figuring out color, planning changes and working in ends, when all you really had to do was wind the yarn into a ball!

Here is what the final results look like!                                                                                                        

Simple summer project that is also easy and flattering to wear. Check out the new colors and ask for the pattern the next time you shop.

Keep knitting in front of the fan—Linda

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How is it possible that my DH is turning 60 in a few more days? Neither one of us can believe it, but there it is. He still makes my heart go bump- and he cleans up pretty good, right?

This is too big a birthday to go unnoticed so we have decided to celebrate with all our friends by having the biggest sale ever in the history Northampton  Wools.

                                                

On Saturday, June 19th from 10am until 5pm we will mark specific yarns down by 60%. These special yarns will be in baskets on the floor and table in the store. These are not our regular sale baskets. These are yarns that we have decided to pull from the shelves and support with inventory from the cellar.

                  

Mark your calendar and pull out those patterns you have been saving for just the right yarn. Bring them in on Saturday- ONE DAY ONLY- and get 60% off select yarns in baskets.

Because of the huge discounts on these yarns all sales are final and there are no returns allowed.

Plan on being at Northampton Wools early to get the best selection.

Happy Shopping,

Linda

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It is that wedding time of year and this year became special to us as we celebrated the marriage of our son Jeff to Pamela Wilson. We had two long weeks of partying since Pam is a west coast girl. We traveled to Ca to witness their marriage on May 29th. Then everyone traveled back here to celebrate in our back yard with all the family and friends on the east coast.

It was reason enough to bring the wedding dress that Jill Montgomery and I hand knit 8 years ago, out of storage. I have had it on display in the window of the shop for the past three weeks and it is satisfying to see that it is still able to attract the attention that it deserves.                                                                              And it is really holding up well. The only bride to ever wear it was my sister Donna, who got married in it 4 years ago. The directions for making the dress and a picture of Donna in the dress has been published in “Planet Wedding” which came out this spring. It is available from Amazon and is a collection of wedding trivia from around the world.

So celebrate your wedding or anniversary this summer and enjoy these photos.

Linda

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Northampton Wools Mystery Knit Along Join us this June and July for the very first Northampton Wools Mystery Knit Along. Come to the KnitAlong on either Thursday nights or Friday mornings and experience the fun and mystery of knitting something  completely different. I’m not giving out any clues, just come to class and get that weeks’ instruction; maybe even learn a new technique as you knit a THING. Seats are limited, so sign up now! Cost- $50 Class Dates: Thursday-June 10, 17, 24, July1  from 6-8pm. Friday-June 11, 18, 25, July 2 from 10-12.   Northampton Wools MORE: Items made will be be displayed in the store in August Join Our Mailing List! Northampton Wools 11 Pleasant St Northampton, Massachusetts 01060 413-586-4331

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