YH Newsletter

Yarn Heaven Update February 17, 2012

2012-02-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

Good Rainy Morning to y'all! I don't know about anyone else, but I sure am confused as to what to be knitting on. Sweaters, t-shirts, tank tops? This week the weather has seemed to call for all of them, and people wonder why I have 2 dozen projects going at once!

The one I am the most interested in finishing is our Amelie Knitted/Crochted Jacket. Our students are working diligently on their jackets and I can't wait to see them all done. The color selections are just awesome and not one looks anything like another, that is what is so neat about this pattern. It is nice to see people using some of the fabulous yarns that seem to get forgotten, such as the Lana Grossa Cool Wool, also known as Merino 2000, Biosoja, the gentle self striping cotton blend, and some of the new mohair/silk mixtures. One side is done for me and I am hoping to get the other side finished this weekend. My goal is to be all done next weekend, just in time to start the Chris Blysma Summer cardigan! I keep switching back and forth between what material I want to use, there are so many choices! I have one swatch done in Scarlett, which is the most beautiful 100% cotton, next I am doing some in Mystik, which is a cotton/viscose mixture and than thanks to Deb Carlson, she asked if we could use Setanova, a gorgeous silk/cotton mixture, and I could have kicked myself for not thinking of that one on my own! The top is based on a gauge of 5.5 stitches per inch, sign up now as the class is filling and this is really a delightful sweater, what makes it is the simplicity of the wide rib stitches. Two projects in a row with button bands, first time I have ever stuck to a New Year's Resolution!

Let's talk about this crazy Ruffle Yarn Scarf craze...crazy isn't it? We can't even get pictures of the yarns on the website as they sell out way too fast. Our vendors were even caught off guard! We are all waiting for them to receive their shipments from Europe and hopefully in the next week or two we will be recieving many boxes of yarn! As many of you know the yarn industry has been hit very hard by the recession, many, many stores have closed in last two years. Most yarn stores are not ordering as much and our vendors are left with much yarn in their warehouses that we as yarn shops are not buying. Their money is tight also, so this year they brought in small amounts of yarn and waited until it was all sold before ordering more, in the mean time the new "scarf craze" took off and the vendors have placed their orders and we are all waiting to receive ours. So, thank you for your patience and understanding, it is on it's way.

We are working on the new class schedule right now and have had requests for a back to basics classs which would include pattern reading, that will be at the end of March. Our Sock Class is full, but it will be offered again in April or May. Brenda will be teaching the Diagonal Matrix Vest, which the model is in the shop and pictured here on Mondays starting in March. Gorgeous vest it is. We should have the class schedule updated by next week and will send out an email.

Special invitation to join our lovely Therapy Thursdays. We have a very large group of people and would love to have y'all join us. Therapy is anytime after 5:30 and be prepared for alot of laughter!

And a few knitting facts to end our update with:

Where did Arygle knitting come from? It was adapted from a Scottish Tartan! The orginal clan; Campbell of Argyll was the first inspiration for this kind of knitting, therefore the name.

What do the stitches in Aran knitting represent? Symbols of marriage and the fishermans life. The fisherman themselves would knit their own sweaters for cold days on the water. The Aran islands became very famous for their intricate knitting patterns.

Yarn Heaven Update January 12, 2012

2012-01-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
Finally 2012, after all the anticipation it is finally here! I for one am looking forward to a stress
free, healthy and happy 2012. Thanks to the wonderful staff here at Yarn Heaven
I was finally able to take a few days and make the trek to Hot Springs, Arkansas. I could not possibly have had a better
time. We stayed with our Scottish friend
Leslie and her husband Eric at their wonderful Alpine Inn! Our suite was stunning, the hospitality was
overwhelming and just to get to hug Leslie again was worth the 5 hour
drive. My husband and I dug for crystals
and brought back way more than I ever expected to find. Of course all of the digging left me with
severe back pain, but it wasn’t anything those mineral baths couldn’t make feel
better. I cannot wait to go back and I
hope it is very soon. Our friend Leslie
wants to move back to Scotland
as she is now a gramma of soon to be 4! Lovely grandchildren. I made a deal with her; the day she buys her
plane ticket to move back I will go get a passport (I hate flying over water)!
Leslie misses us as much as we miss her, so if you’re ever
headed to Hot Springs
and want an absolutely lovely place to stay, try the Alpine Inn and take your
knitting, Leslie would love the chance to knit a few stitches with a fellow
fiber enthusiast. I didn’t make any
resolutions except for learning how to do better button bands so I can do more
cardigans! Sticking with that
resolution, the first cardigan type garment of the year for me is the Amelie
Knitted or Crocheted Jacket. More on
that later in the update.

As you know we only moved about 4 months ago and we are
still changing and rearranging, trying to find the “best” look of the
store. We have already doubled our
classroom size and still have seating in the front of the store with a work
table. We have moved our books twice and
still see areas that could stand some rearranging. We have installed our camera system today. It made me sad to have to do this, but we
must protect our inventory the best that we can.

We have worked really hard on making the newsletter a bit
more user friendly and to have the ability of sending pictures with the
descriptions of the classes, I think you will be quite surprised, and there is
even a section to leave comments. We encourage
comments and look forward to feed back, as well as class ideas. Kate Baird contacted us on Facebook about a
class idea and it has been added to the class schedule. Along these same lines, Sparkle and Stitches’
blogs are updated more frequently and they also have comment sections, they
really pester me about checking for comments, so please leave them some! http://barkstopshere.blogspot.com/

What’s new and hot, well…..we hear and our shelves reflect
how much you loved the Rozetti Marina yarns, the update on those is…there is a
new style, it has the same mesh, but on the ribbon bottom, there are what the
company calls little bubbles along this edge.
It is in preorder status and we hope to have some in the next
month. Berroco’s Lacey yarn is very
feminine and fast to knit or crochet. It
has a very Victorian look to it when it is knitted and the colors are quite
Victorian. Plymouth
has come out with Metallic Joy. We
ordered it several weeks ago and are awaiting arrival in the country, there are
6 colors in the line and we have ordered them all. We also are stocked again on Signature
Needles, and the hit of the season, the Dreamz Needle sets are on their
way. We have 10 sets coming in the full
sets and 5 coming in the starter kits.
They are very nice needles, pretty to look at and the join is
wonderful. UPS just left and the Dreamz
sets have arrived.

We have a wonderful lady named Margo Sennett, she purchased
a knitting machine that had one owner. After purchasing the machine, she lost
use of her hand and cannot use it. She
would like to get what she paid for it.
$1500 and it comes with 5 boxes of books and patterns, has the ribber,
color changer and I believe is a King 960 (I might have that wrong as I cannot
find my notes). If you are interested
please email me and I will pass your note on to Margo.

Melinda Redding helps out here at the shop; she also sells
Silpada Jewlery on the side. If you are
looking for some nice, unique pieces of jewelry come on in and browse one of
the catalogs and place an order. If I
keep going I will have everything in the book!

If you know anyone that is looking to relocate their business,
or start a new one, we have an outstanding space in our little strip
center. The landlord does not want hair
salons or nail salons, but is open to interesting businesses. The location has been phenomenal for us and
we would love to have another fun business in our strip center. I have a key and can show you the location. I could not ask for a more honest, fair
landlord! (he also has spaces on Cooper St.,
close to Mansfield)

The last plug I am giving in this update is…if you are
looking for a trustworthy, honest, IT person that won’t charge you for your
first born, try Orli & Sons, located on Bowen Rd in Arlington.
This guy’s reputation preceded him and he is worth every dime I have
ever paid him. When we moved into our
new location we had to have Uverse to get on the internet, he came in and made
it all wireless; he saved me $300 on our surveillance cameras and is just a
true blessing.

Now onto the class schedule!
http://yhclasses.blogspot.com/
. Pictures, descriptions, a place for
comments! Yea! Our classes do fill quickly, so we ask that
you sign up early, if we have less than 3 people we will cancel the class. We have had many, many crocheter’s ask for
classes, the Amelie Jacket class is a perfect class whether you are a
knitter/crocheter or both. This jacket
is made in two pieces only! Knit from
cuff to center, and then seamed in the back center and buttoned in the
front. The crocheted version is done and
the knitted version is being worked on.
Our classes usually have anywhere from 6-12 people, if you do not like
big classes, let us know and we can set up a private time.

Thursday nights have turned into old home week! We love it, don’t see you for ages and
whoolah, here you are on a Thursday. We
love the new attendees, we love the forever attendees! And, we always have room
for more. Come join us, bring a project,
bring food, bring a sense of humor and a friend and be prepared for a good
time.

And from our friends at Ravelry we found this and thought
you all might enjoy it:

Acronym - a word made from the first letters of the words in a phrase or name, for example, CAL
for crochet-along, PIGS for Projects in Grocery Sacks.

Adopt - Ravelry term for accepting responsibility for editing a
yarn or pattern source

Ambistitcherous - Having the ability to knit in two different styles, e.g., Continental and Combined; OR having the ability to both knit and crochet.

ASJ - Adult Surprise Jacket (a group on Ravelry) pattern

BeauFO - A beautiful Finished Object

BFL - Blue-Faced Leicester, a breed of sheep

BID - Big Issues Debate (group on Ravelry)

Bicraftual - Able to both crochet and knit

Big Six - See Main 6

Bisoxual - Able to knit socks both top-down and toe-up.

Bistitchual - see Ambistitcherous

BKFF - Best Knitting Friend Forever

Bob - Ravelry mascot, adorable Boston Terrier boy, critter of Casey and Jess

Bobzillion - A really really big number, in honor of Bob (see above). Often used in love posts like love(bobzillion).

BMFA - Blue Moon Fiber Arts (yarn company)

BSJ - Baby Surprise Jacket (pattern) Wiki

CAL - Crochet Along

Chatterbox - Any Raveler who has posted at least once in some
Ravelry forum gets a chatterbox page and gets to be called a “chatterbox”. You
can get to this from your profile, over on the right where it says “x posts”.
It is a good way to see where you have posted recently, or find a post that you
have lost.

CIP - Crocheting In Public

Clap - Clapotis (pattern)

CLF - Crochet Liberation Front (group on Ravelry)

Clown Barf - a multi-colored yarn, either rainbow or a
combination of several contrasting colors

Code Monkey - A code monkey is someone who
writes computer code. The Code Monkey is Casey!

Colorway - The name or number assigned by a manufacturer to the
color (or multi-colored combination) of a yarn

CPaA or CPaAGG - Completely Pointless and Arbitrary (group on Ravelry)

CPH - Central Park Hoodie (pattern)

CPY - Crystal Palace Yarns (yarn company)

CTH Cherry Tree Hill (yarn company)

Darn Overs (DOs) - The ones you forget and have to tink back to. AKA @&%^#&%@!!

DB Debbie Bliss (designer and yarn company)

DISO Desperately In search of

DPN Double-pointed needles

DS Destash (sell unwanted yarn); also: Dear Son (referring to
one’s actual son; for DD, DH, DW see the general internet list)

Dyelot the number that identifies a particular batch of a
colorway

Earburn To create a magic link to another Raveler in a forum post, thereby triggering an email that alerts them to your post. (Origin: The linkee receives a notice that starts with “Are your ears
burning?…”)

EOR End of row or every other row

ETA Edited to add

EZ Elizabeth Zimmermann (designer)

FO Finished object
frog To rip back (for the sound “rip it, rip it”) by removing the needles from the project and pulling on the loose end of the yarn; also applies to crochet. Generally used when mistake is found below the row you are currently working, or when completely undoing an entire project
or piece. (see Tink)

Frog pond a storage place for knitted and crocheted things waiting to be frogged

FSOT For sale or trade

FTLOR For the Love of Ravelry (Ravelry main forum)

Gifted The act of giving yarn/items to another
for free.

GOFO A gorgeous finished object

Gophie The squirrel mascot of Rav, originally in a well-known photo from
National Geographic Magazine. Gophie is often added to members’ avatars.

HALFPINT Have A Lovely Fantasy Project, I’ve No Time

HBD Horizontal bust darts, also known as short-row bust darts.

HK Hazel Knits (yarn company).

HSY haven’t started yet (pronounced “hussy”)

IRL In real life (as opposed to “on Ravelry.”)

ISO In search of

ITR In the round

JAL Join Along

JMCO Judy’s Magic Cast-On

JSSBO Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off

KAL Knit Along

KIP - Knit(ting) in public

Knipping - A zero sum gain in knitting: the knitting and ripping cancel each other out.

Knooking A method of knitting using a modified crochet hook.

KL Knitting loom

KN Knitting Needle

KP Knit Picks (yarn company)

LK - Loom knitting

LPW - Lamb’s Pride Worsted (yarn)

LYS - Local yarn shop

LYSO - Local yarn shop owner

Main 6 the six forums that every Raveler is a

member of - For the Love of Ravelry, Needlework News & Events, Yarn &
Fiber, Patterns, Techniques, and Tools & Equipment

Magic link A forum feature that lets you automatically create
a link to a Ravelry page (yarn, book, pattern, project, group, or person)

MCY Mystical Creations Yarns (former indie dyer), now
also Mysterious Circumstances, Yo! (group on Ravelry)

MK - Machine knit(ting)

Muggle - non-knitter

Multicraftual - skilled in more than one craft muppet or dead muppet - those acrylic and fun fur yarns that resemble Elmo and friends while in the skein or, in fact, made up

NAYY - No Affiliation, Yadda Yadda

NNE - Needlework News & Events (the main forum formerly known as Needlework on the Net)

NotN or NOTN Needlework on the Net (one of the main 6 forums) - this board is now known as

Needlework News & Events

NoTN - Not on the needles

NWT - New with tags

OMB - Oh, my Bob (see Bob
above)

OOAK - One of a Kind

OP - Original post(er)

OPY - Other people’s yarn

OSFA - One size fits all

OTH - On the hooks

OTOH - On the other hand

OTN - On the needles

PIGS - Projects in grocery sacks

Plarn “Plastic” yarn, often made from plastic grocery bags,
but there are also some commercial types; all good for knitting/crocheting in
the shower.

PM Private message or personal message (Ravelry email)

Pooling - When one color in a variegated yarn bunches together in an area. See this post by Mlok for an example.

PR Peer review, a moderation tool used the Main 6

PSY Project seeking yarn (pronounced “sigh” as in “psychosis”)

PTB See TPTB below.

Puddling According to the Yarn Harlot, similar to pooling, but more like a blotch.

QUIRBLE QUeue In Ravelry Beyond Life Expectancy (courtesy of KreatureKat)

RAB or RAOB Random Act Of Bobness; from RAK, where the K stands for kindness.

Raveler a member of Ravelry

Raveloop that weird space time continuum flux that seems to happen at odd intervals for an indeterminate amount of time (i.e. the way time flies when looking at Ravelry)

SABLE - Stash acquisition beyond life expectancy

SAL - Spin along

SEX - Stash enhancement experience (or expedition) = buying yarn

SIP - sock(s) in progress

SKA - -Sock Knitters Anonymous

Skank - way of saying skein of yarn (skein+hank=skank)

Slurp - to pull in an image from another image server such as

Photobucket See also: HowToSlurp

Sproingy - soft and stretchable, springing back. Applies to yarn.

SSC - Slip Stitch Crochet, a type of crochet using only or mostly slip stitches. Also known as Bosnian crochet, Shepherd’s knitting, Pjoning, and Smygmaskvirkning.

SSS Second Sock Syndrome; or, Socks, Socks, Socks by
XRX Books

Stino Stinknormale Socken - (German abbreviation for just normal socks)

STR - Socks that Rock (yarn)

Tarn - AKA T-shirt yarn

Tink - -To undo knitted stitches by reversing the knitting
motion, effectively un-knitting the stitch. Used when fixing an error on the
same row you are knitting. (“tink” is “knit” spelled backwards) (see also
Frogging)

TLDR - Too Long, Didn’t Read

TPTB - The Powers That Be, i.e., Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather, Sarah, and Bob

TOAD - Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust

TWIR - This Week in Ravelry - Ravelry’s (somewhat) weekly newsletter, archived here.

TYWYK - Things you wished you knew (before starting a project, buying yarn etc.)

Unraveling - doing all the other tasks in life such as work, bathing, laundry, etc. when you would rather be on Ravelry.

UFO - UnFinished Object (usually a WIP that has been abandoned
or neglected)

Vibralope - The little envelope icon used as a message indicator on Ravelry; so named because it vibrates when a new PM comes in.

VLT - Very Longest Thread, a thread in the CPaAG(see above).

WIM - Work In Mind

WIP - Work In Progress

WoTA - Wool of the Andes (yarn)

WPI - Wraps Per Inch (number of times yarn will wrap loosely
around ruler or similar tool in one inch; more wraps indicates thinner yarn)

Yarn barf (yarf?) - 1)a big lump of yarn that accidentally gets pulled out of a new centre-pull ball, when you’re trying to find the end

2)The stuff produced by a novice spinner that bears a loose resemblance to yarn
but has no consistency of size or twist whatsoever.

Yarnie -independent dyer or spinner with a small business

YAS - Yarn Acquisition Syndrome

YH - Yarn Heaven!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2012-01-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

Goodbye 2011 and on to 2012! This is one year that I have many mixed emotions about. On one hand I am glad to see it go on the other hand, lots of great things happened, like our new location which we love more and more everyday. If you haven’t seen it yet, come on in and take a look around! Stitches has learned to climb the tree outside, (I missed it!! Darn it!) , if you haven’t noticed, both she and Sparkle have added to their blogs. They seem to have quite the sense of humor, those animals do!! I especially love it when they sit in the window and talk to each other about that they see outside! http://barkstopshere.blogspot.com/ and http://restofthetail.blogspot.com/

I am sitting here brimming with excitement as I type our last newsletter of the year. Part of that excitement is that I get to spend New Years’ Eve with my good friend and a friend to some of you…Ms. Leslie from

Scotland

! I will be heading out for Hot Springs in a couple of days to enjoy my friend’s hospitality and great company, I hope you all get to spend New Year’s Eve with someone that is special to you.

Melinda and I just put a great class schedule together. We have to admit, there are some great classes coming up and we hope you get to take them. I am going to spend this year working on my finishing skills (I hate finishing) and button bands (I hate button bands), so be looking for lots of classes in these areas. When I don’t like to do something I have found that for myself it is because I feel inadequate in my skill sets for that particular project, so it is time to put intimidation to bed and tackle those problems so that I will be better at them. The first three months of the year are really fun classes starting with:

Duct Tape Body! – Jan 7, 2012 - 10:30 - 12:30 - $25.00 plus t-Shirt. Duct Tape is Good for Every Body!! In this class you will need to bring an old t-shirt, we will provide the duct tape. Make your own mannequin form, for $25.00 and laugh until you know what happens! Seriously this class will be great to guide you in making your sweaters fit you!

Continental Knit – Jan 7, 1:30 - $35.00 + supplies. If you are a throw knitter (American way) and want to learn Continental Knitting, (European method) this is where you hold the yarn in your left hand and your hands never leave the needles. This is a faster method of knitting and better for your hands.

Entrelac Scarf – Jan 14 – 10:30 – 2:30 $10:30 – 2:30 $35.00 + supplies. In this class you start with learning to knit backwards!! Knitting backwards produces a purl in the back and a knit in the front! So if you don’t like to purl or don’t purl period, learn how my friend Jackie got around that by knitting backwards! Once everyone is comfortable we will begin the entrelac scarf. (Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the end result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.) There are so many lovely yarns to choose from to make this scarf; the store is your oyster! Once you get the technique down, you will be ready for the entrelac jacket (which Mrs. Redding as in mother in law got for Christmas from Melinda!) or the entrelac vest, or the entrelac shawl! So many possibilites!

Amelie Knit/Crochet Jacket – Jan 21, 28, Feb 4, 11 10:30-2:00, $65.00 + supplies – What a fabulous class this is going to be! You get to use five or more different kinds of yarns, 5 different stitches and you can either knit it or crochet it! So in this class we are bringing knitters and crocheter’s together to make the same exact thing. Won’t it be fun to see how they all turn out? The crocheted version is done and in the store. The Knit version is started. This class is already filling quickly, we have as many crocheter’s as knitters so don’t miss out on a wonderful opportunity to learn new stitches, try different yarns, and generally have a good time, updating your knitting or crocheting skills!

Hat with Crocheted Band – Mar 3, 10:30 – 2:30 $45.00 + supplies

– And in keeping with our theme, of combing knitters and crocheter’s, how about both in one hat! This hat has a granny square band and is finished with row of knits and purls! Andie is going to love hers when it is finished! Remember Andi P. Christmas isn’t over until the last gift is received! LOL

Two Socks on Circular Needles – Feb 18, 25 – 10:30 – 2:30, $65.00 + supplies. Come find out why this is such a popular way to knit socks. When you are done, you are done, no need to pick up and knit another one, both are the same size, same length and done much faster. We were so impressed with students from our last sock class. Debbie you amaze me, Leslie McKenzie, please join us for this class, just give me a call!

Whew, doesn’t that sound like a great class schedule? I am very excited about it and looking for any suggestions for classes you might like to see us have. If you have any ideas, please shoot us an email.

We have got lots of new little “surprises”, gadgets, accessories, whatever you might like to call them. The one I am most excited about is the Swatch Pockets. Stop knitting your swatches with the same yarn over and over. Put the swatch in a swatch pocket, label it and put it in your notebook. We also got a new little gadget called the Snip n’ Ruler. Measure your work and cut your yarn with the same handy tool. Come see your new scarf yarn, too. Sooooo soft.

Come see us soon. And don’t forget Therapy Thursday any time after 5:30 every Thursday night. They will resume on Jan 5, 2012. We have so much fun.