Several area knitters traveled to Cape Cod this past weekend for the third annual Cape Cod knitters retreat. They learned how to knit with beads as they knit in the round to make a beautiful hat.

After lunch we tackled a lace scarf triangle pattern that challenged everyone to learn to read a chart. Enjoy the photos and we hope to have you join us next year. Linda

Cape Cod Knitters Retreat

March 22, 23 and 24, 2010

Come play, learn and chat, knit and drink, soak in a hot tub, and visit with knitting friends.

Bayside Resorts

West Yarmouth

Mon: Arrive by 6:oo pm on the 22nd.

Visit, eat and shop at Frog Tree Yarns.

Knit until sleepy.

Tues: Beaded Hat Class (learn several ways of knitting with beads).

Taught by Bonnie Otto

9am-1pm

1pm-2pm lunch

Lace Explorations- Learn some basic lace techniques as you create a sampler scarf

2-5pm

Taught by Linda Daniels

Wed: finish up with lace

9am-12noon

$55 for a double room $110 for a single

$95 fee for the classes (some materials included)

Call Linda at Northampton Wools to register and for hotel reservation information.

413-58-4331 

Ahh June. Beautiful weddings, flowers in every garden, late nights on the deck, star gazing, cookouts and the first swim in the pond. Not this year.

Instead there are puddles all over the yard, the grass is nearly a foot high and my husband is seriously talking about sheep as lawn mowers since he has to dodge rain to use his lawn mower.  I’ve never seen so many mushrooms growing around our yard!

At the end of May we put up the backyard screen house and the umbrella on the deck. These are two of my favorite places to be all summer long.

I sit in the screen house and indulge in a good book on tape while I knit away a few afternoon hours. I enjoy the heat and really appreciate being outside after all the indoor hours of winter. I am pretty unhappy this year. At least give me some heat so that I can loosen up the knots in my back!

For the very first time in spring we have the opportunity to knit our way into summer. It’s been cold enough to keep an afghan project in your lap, and chilly enough to warrant a sweater almost every day. There are no excuses for not prolonging the knitting season this year.

These soggy days are the perfect time to dive into the stash bins. Look for the little projects that can be done over a cloudy weekend. How about using up that odd skein to make a quick hat? Wrist warmers and even mittens will always be useful this coming winter, or even as a gift for that special person.

Take advantage of the weather to clean out the yarn bins and keep a little knitting handy to get you through to the sunny days. I sure hope they come soon!

See you in a nice clean store,

Linda

I am a huge proponent of taking your knitting everywhere. I can’t imagine traveling without the comfort of a new project; the soft feel of my favorite rosewood needles against my fingers, the faint shush of wood against wood, and the wonder of a wool strand creating fabric. I travel with knitting even when we are just doing the errands. I count myself lucky that my husband likes to drive- everywhere- and I get to knit while we pay some bills, visit the library and pick up whatever stuff we dropped off last week. My husband never complains and the truth is that the older we get the more the knitting helps keep my mind off the traffic and his driving.

It almost goes without saying that I take my knitting on the plane. We have all faced the hours of travel time with a certain joy, knowing that our time will be well spent with needles and yarn. Those long, dull flights turn into precious, uninterrupted moments of pure knitting pleasure. We can be forgiven if we exude a certain smugness as we disembark the plane; we have something to show for our air time and many others do not. This is knitting time that we take seriously and woe to the one that interferes with this time; unless that person is a representative of a government or an airline. Here comes the needle nightmare story. For the last few years domestic air travel has been relatively knitting needle friendly. So we knitters have continued to take our knitting with us on vacations and business flights. Traveling overseas, however has presented another whole set of issues, mostly occurring when one is trying to reenter the country. I have been told stories of the removal of needles from knitting when the knitter was trying to board a flight in Mexico, I had stitch holders removed from my knitting kit in Frankfurt; but nothing hurts like the story I heard on Thursday.

One of the students in the Thursday night class was returning from a two week vacation in Ireland with a knitting friend. The two couples had a wonderful time touring Ireland and seeing all the sights, but were ready to come home. The friendly knitter had her knitting in her carry on and was looking forward to finishing the sock that she had on two addi circular needles. However, the Irish authorities were concerned about their sharpness and were ready to confiscate them. She begged them not to take the stitches off the needles and then watched in horror as they calmly cut the tips off both sets! Oh the pain! Oh the waste! Oh the cost!!! Let’s share a moment of silence.

So the lesson is to use some caution and bamboo needles when you travel, even if you have been told that it is alright to bring knitting on the plane. We don’t need to lose any more addi’s in such a horrible way.

See you in the Shop-

Linda

Welcome back sweet sunshine, growing grass, blooming flowers and the sound of birdsong in the morning. I am always so happy to finally have the door open in the shop all day. it feels like an open invitation to the world to come in and browse.

That is exactly what happens on a warm spring day in Northampton. Many out of towners come to the town to stroll the sidewalks, grab a snack and a beer in one of the outdoor venues, window shop and listen to street musicians. Everyone is out in full force, guitars and steel drums, flutes and bongos; if you visit Northampton you will experience a fully active downtown like no other. I am very grateful to be a part of this wonderful place and encourage you to come to town to have your own Noho experience.

When you visit Northampton Wools you may see a new face. Kim has joined the crew here and is doing more than her share to keep the store looking and feeling great. When the shelves are stocked to their fullest, the patterns are all in order and everyone is smiling, then we know Kim has been at work. Kim is ready to help you choose your next project, answer your knitting questions or help you select a gift for your favorite knitter. I am very pleased to have Kim as part of Northampton Wools and I think you will be too.

Classes are still going strong. Look for our spring/summer schedule on the classes page of this site. We will be offering several different short classes this year and I think they will be a lot of fun. The Thursday night advanced class spent the last session measuring and comparing and learning how to make a sweater fit. We had a lot of fun with tape measures, and learned a big lesson in reality when it came to writing those measurements down. The big bonus is that everyone will now make sweaters that will fit them perfectly- even down to the wrists. The Wednesday morning knitaholics are sharpening their “read the knitting” skills. Several of them are working on the Perfect Stranger sweater and are discovering the joy of being able to read the stitch on the needle rather than being locked into every row on the chart. This is a very freeing lesson and one that I always encourage our students to learn.

Roberta Evans brought one of the new lambs-Mable- to the shop just three days after the lamb was born. Mabel needed to be bottle fed and that meant a feeding every few hours so into Noho came the baby. The Friday morning class got to enjoy seeing Mable bounce around and even got to hold her. The Gazette came and took a photo- I hope you saw it. For the rest of the week people called to see if Mabel was still in attendance. Mable stays at home with her cousins now and is enjoying the spring sunshine up in Ashfield. Roberta has been a very busy spinner even in the middle of lambing season. We now boast a big basket of handspun yarn from Brooksong Fibers (Roberta’s farm name). This is a true local yarn; grown and raised, harvested and handspun right here in the valley. Roberta even puts the name of the sheep on the label. Next time you are looking for a gift from the valley think about this yarn.

Now for the best part of the weekly blog; introducing the Northampton Wools Make Me a Better Knitter Advice.

If you don’t always carry a knitting tool kit with you when you take your knitting on the road, be sure to throw a small crochet hook into your knitting bag. This simple tool can serve many purposes; use it to pick up sts, use it as a cable needle, use it as a stitch holder(put rubber bands on the ends to keep the sts from falling off). You can even use it as an emergency tape measure. Did you know that the average crochet hook is 5 1/2″ long? Store that little bit of important info away in the brain and you will be able to estiamate lengths with the crochet hook. The lowly crochet hook can also be used as a coffee or tea stirrer, or two of them double as short chop sticks in case you are on a very long car trip.

Have fun with your knitting and keep in mind that spring and summer are great knitting times just because the light is do much better!

See you in the shop-

Linda Daniels

How many times have you tried to make a sock? How many pairs of hand knit socks do you have finished? How many sks of sock yarn do you have in your stash? Don’t we all have yarn that shouted at us when we walked by, yarn that made our feet shiver with glee at the thought of being cuddled by it, yarn that pleaded to be taken home and stroked, stared at and eventually knit with?  Spring is definetly the time to start knitting with these little hanks from heaven. In the hopes of getting you started on your new or next sock project, Northampton Wools is offering classes in the latest sock knitting technique. Join Decker as she shows you how to wind your way around sock knitting with one circular needle. Your sock knitting will never be the same once you learn the secrets of this technique.  Just imagine the ease of transporting your sock knitting to the beach, or the mountains, taking it on the train or in a plane. No more worries about dropping a double pointed needle and watching in horror as it rolls away under the seat in front of you.  No more jabbing yourself ( or the person next to you) with those nasty little points. Sock knitting will become the most transportable, most comfortable and most amazing type of knitting that you will carry around this summer. Sign up soon because this workshop will fill in anticipation of summer hours filled with knitting socks. Mon  April 21(6-7); April 28(6-8) and May 5 (6-7).

When you stroll by Northampton Wools take a look at all the socks in the window. Knitter’s magazine and several yarn companies have joined together with Local Yarn Stores to celebrate knitters love of socks by sponsoring a sock design contest. If you have ever created a sock then you should think about entering the contest, you could win $6000! That’a a lot of moola for a little pair of socks. Northampton Wools is the official site for Colinette Yarns sock entries. We carry every color of  JITTERBUG, the Colinette sock yarn. The type of socks that you can enter using the Jitterbug are children’s socks and adult fair isle patterns. Think of the fun you can have working with different colors of one of the most colorful sock yarns our there. You can pick up contest details at the shop or find them online at www.knittinguniverse.com. Some of the Thursday night Knotty Knitters gang are already planning their entries, don’ t let them be the only ones from the Northampton area to do so.
Okay, so the reality is that very few of you will actually design and knit a pair of socks to enter in the Knitter’s contest. In  recognition of that Northampton Wools is sponsoring our own sock contest. ONE-OF-A-SOCK is the name of this little happy stab at getting you to knit socks. All you have to do is knit one sock, don’t worry about making the dreaded OTHER SOCK, just have fun making one. We will collect and display the entries in September and the winners will be chosen by popular vote. So come on and join in the fun of sock knitting and you just might be a big winner is our little contest.

Just a quick reminder- this year’s fashion show will be on September 21st. Mark your calendars and check the events page for more info starting next week. Here is a baby sock done in Jelly Beenz. Surely you can knit socks more exciting than this!

Happy Valentine’s Day. Hope your sweetie remembered you in a special way, and I’m sure that some of those sweeties were lucky enough to receive some kind of knitted goody as an I Love You gift. I’m thinking of how lucky the gift getter would feel to get a pair of hand knitted socks. This past week as Adrienne and I trudged into the shop to shovel the sidewalk I was reminded of how much I love a pair of wool socks, especially ones that I have knitted myself.

There is plenty of time to get some done before the end of this cold, wet winter. Check out the classes page for a listing of the sock workshops that are scheduled for the next 2 months.

Once you have decided on a class, be sure to run to the store before the end of Feb. Right now we are having our annual 20% off yarn end of winter sale. That’s right, all the yarn in the store is on sale for 10% off the original price. Some of the yarns we have even marked down 30- 40% off. The new cottons are starting to arrive and we need room of the shelves. This sale runs through the end of Feb, but don’t wait too long or that yarn you have been eyeing won’t be left in the bin.

This weekend is definitely a big one for NewEnglanders. What a match between the Patriots and the Giants. You know by now that I am a diehard Patriots fan; I hope to be curled up on the couch knitting some simple stst while I watch and cheer the Patriots onto their 4th Super Bowl win. Check out the Patriots sweater in the window. I am hopeful that I will have to suplicate stitch the year 08 onto the sleeve of that sweater on Mon morning.

In celebration of this truly American annual event we are looking forward to the excitement of our 6th Super Bowl Sale. From 1pm-5pm on Sunday, Feb. 3rd all the in stock yarn will be 30% off. Yes, I said 30% off. This sale applies to all the yarn in the store, no special orders or layaways. This is the day to buy that beautiful cashmere or silk yarn that you have been eying for several months. Be sure to get here early so that you will have first pick. See you in the yarn bins, Linda

Clara Parkes has written a book that every fiber fanatic will love to own. Clara is the force behind KnittersReview.com, an e-newsletter that features articles about yarn and the industry and many articles about knitting. If you aren’t familiar with this site, check it out and sign up. It offers a wealth of information. Clara actually knits with and blocks many of each seasons new yarns and offers a very truthful evaluation of the yarn. She will recommend projects for the yarn and make suggestions about the best way to care for the item once it is completed. There is quite a following on the site and the forums are always full of good, happy yarn talk.  The book is a treasure trove of information about just where that yarn comes from, how it is gathered, treated and eventually turned into the knittable stuff you see on the shelves. If you ever wondered what it took to make that heavenly fiber in your hand, then this is definetly the book for you. On top of all this great information there is an entire section of really inspiring knitting patterns. Some of today’s best known designers have contributed patterns that perfectly show off the yarn used. From cool fingerless mitts to a fabulous felted Lotus bag, there is sure to be several items that you’ll want to make and keep for yourself. Check out the book, it is well worth the money.

Can there ever be enough sock yarn? Not according to the many of you that love to knit socks. In order to keep the sock knitting population happy and knitting, and in order to keep the feet in the valley warm and toasty, I am constantly on the hunt for new sock yarn. Some of the old favorites continue to reinvent themselves. Opal Socks has introduced an entire new pallette of colors for the upcoming season. These colors are already on the shelf so don’t be afraid to look for them.

The box that the mailman carried in today looked like an ordinary cardboard box. How was he to know that what he was carrying could qualify as treasure in the sock knitting world? Decker and I eagerly tore open the top to discover a whole new world of color. I am pleased to introduce Madelinetosh sock yarn to the valley. The colors are bright and fun. One sk, at 430 yds, is plenty to make a pair of socks that every sock wearer will ache to own and priced at $24, every knitter will want more than one. My favorite is rhubarb, Decker is going to knit tonight with bearded iris, but your choices also include fireside, plum tree, jade, kale, lichen and so on. How can you rsist? The colors will make you want to knit socks even if you’ve never knit them before.

Maggie, Adrienne and Bonnie have spent the weekend restocking all the bins. The shop looks so pretty when they are done and it means that the yarn is easy to see, find, and touch. We are all knitting like mad to get the new models up as well. Remeber to tell me that you’ve looked at this blog the next time you come in. And be sure to plan your next project before the snow arrives.

Yours in Yarn,

Linda

I don’t know why that expression has been zinging around in my head for the past few days. Maybe I am really in the mood for some new projects. Every day I get to think and dream about the next project because I am constantly planning new models for the shop or getting new orders for custom knit items or designing new garments for Frog Tree Yarns. This year I have been asked to complete several designs for Plymouth Yarns Bristol Yarn line. That means that over the next 2 months I will be hard at work creating new sweaters just for them. You will be able to see these designs as they are created by waltzing into the shop and asking about them. I’ll be happy to show you what ideas I have and I will be excited to get some feedback from customers.

I hope you have a new project waiting in the knitting basket. Aren’t you itching to cast on? Don’t you want to see the first few rows appear so magically under your fingers? I love starting new projects and I feel the same urgency as you to get that new yarn on the needles. There is even a certain amount of joy in picking (or finding) just the right needle for the yarn. Bamboo or rosewood, circular turbos or regular inox??? There are so many wonderful choices, it’s not just about the knitting.

The end of January brings another exciting adventure for Northampton Woolettes. We are about to embark on the first Northampton Wools Knit Away weekend. It will be held at the Bayside Resort Hotel in West Yarmouth. We will be knitting all day Saturday and some of Sunday on mitered pieces. Most exciting of all is our special invitation to FROG TREE Yarns on Friday night; where we will be wined and hor’douerved while being let loose to explore all of the different alpaca yarns that make up the FROG TREE line. This will be a very special night as Jim P. will be there to tell us all about next year’s trip to Peru. Please call the shop if you are interested in joining us. It is not too late to attend.

Even though the snow is falling and the temperatures are dipping’ I am thinking about summer knitting. In the next few weeks the cottons will be showing up on the shelves. This year is a big year for anything “green” so look for organics, environmentally safe and bio-friendly yarns. We already have an organic cotton wool blend from Vermont Organics and two ecologic yarns from Rowan. As you well know, it is never too soon to start that summer knitting.

If you are like me and love to settle by the fire on a cold Sunday afternoon with a little knitting in your lap and the PATRIOTS on the TV (alright then, how about a good old movie?) then may I recommend a pair of baby booties or a baby sweater? January and February are perfect months to get a little present done for that baby that you know is coming this year. It you are anticipating an invitation to a shower in June; wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that special hand knitted gift started now? The baby store is brimming with ideas and samples to help you choose just the right thing for that soon to arrive dumpling. Don’t worry about that boy or girl thing; today’’s mothers love bright unisex colors, or are more open to every color on every baby. We’ll show you some great alternatives to the standard mint green or yellow, and you’ll be proud as a peacock when your gift is opened at that shower! In the mean time I wish us all a very Happy New Year filled with love and peace and knitting!

Yours in Yarn,

Linda

Linda and staff.