KNews at Knitting Today Blog

Superbowl sunday

lea-ann — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:17:25 +0000

Can you believe its been seven years that we’ve been opening for a superbowl sunday pre-game party? Those discount footballs have seen a lot of money saved. It looks like the sun is shining, its about 22°, and we’ll be ready to go at 1pm. What’s the best memory you have of our party? Is it the food? The people? The savings?

Knit Happy Bundles now available!

lea-ann — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:58:26 +0000

Tara’s been busy uploading new collections to our ebay store. Each collection is slightly different so the price changes, but its an easy way to get the products in the colors you love.

If you are interested in something we have listed there, please let us know and we’ll pull it (why pay ebay fees for something we can sell you direct, right???)

Here’s the link to our ebay store: bondknitter

End of Year sale: Happy New Year!

lea-ann — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:28:52 +0000

Thursday starts the end of year sale at Knitting Today. We don’t make a habit of sales, except Superbowl Sunday, but I am anxious to start the year fresh with new yarn and project choices so there we go. If you are in the area, drop in and see what we have. The hours are noon to 6pm on Thursday and 10 to 4 on Friday. We’ll be closed then on Saturday and Sunday. I’d say I’ll be back with pictures before the end if the year but Tom and I are on our own for sale days, so we know that won’t happen.

Here’s my new project I started early. Its the Shawl Collared Cowl by Never Not Knitting (which is available in our store, btw, using the new Ravelry LYS Download service — one stop shopping, woohoo!). I’m using Jewel by Cascade, a hand dyed thick and thin. Lovely. Two starts though, cause the yarn was pooling and I didn’t like it

—–whoops, that’s not the picture! That’s my grandson and daughter on Christmas day.

– here’s the pooling part.

— here’s how it looks after switching yarns out every other row. I like it much better!

Have a safe and Happy New Year! Thank you everyone, for your patronage, your enthusiasm, and your friendship. Here’s to 2012.

Stash (n): a secret store of something

taralea — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:10:34 +0000

We all have a stash. I have a stash. Lea-Ann has a stash. Our stash just happens to be yarn! We bring that yarn into the house, put it away, buy more yarn we like, choose to use it for a purpose other than originally intended, decide to put the project aside and start something new, or just throw it in the stash bin and leave it as an unfinished projects. Here is my stash story:

Back in August, I bought Shepherd’s Wool for the Hayley Hoodie. I’ve ogled this sweater pattern for a while in the store and decided to make it since my sister, Haley, would not. I bought the yarn and was vigorously knitting it during my lecture classes in college. It was a top-down, cable edge design, and I got the hood done. I was working on the ribbing inbetween the hood and the shoulders when I stopped. I got bored, or maybe I just wanted to get DONE with something!

So, I started to pick up one skein projects. I knitted two headbands (Calorimetry from Knitty.com) for friends Christmas gifts, a ribbed scarf with odds and ends of Shepherd’s Wool interspersed with one matching skein of Noro Kureyon which I didn’t use it for it’s original intentions, a hat for someone else, etc. It felt good to knit those items. I set a small goal for myself every time.For example, the ribbed scarf was being made for my trip to Chicago. I learned that setting dates and times for these projects helped me finish them.

Some of those projects were not one skein, some of them were two! I bought Rio and knitted a 2-skein hat with that. I rummaged through my stash and found yarn from a sale a long time ago. I had started something and got bored with it, so I stashed that. When I came across it again, I searched on Ravelry for a pattern with my weight of yarn and found something I liked. The color of the yarn was pink, and I knew my sister-in-law would love it, too. I made her a cowl in a couple of days with that yarn (it’s a bulky weight).

The point is, stashing is just fine. We buy yarns and don’t want to knit what we originally planned but eventually find a new purpose for them and renewed determination later to get that project done. It’s what I did. Many of us do that. If it’s taking way too long to make a sweater or your bored, do a couple quick one skein projects. My motto at the store lately is “if we get something accomplished, we need to push the ‘easy’ button.” Reward yourself for getting it done. It helps. Don’t be worried about putting something down and picking it up later, Lea-Ann can help you figure out where you left off or write yourself a note saying what row, repeat, etc. you stopped on. I know that the Hayley hoodie will be picked up again someday. Just not yet…

What project have you started and stashed? What yarn are you stashing? Did you know we have a sale at the store on Thursday and Friday of this week? Its the ideal time to pick up some project yarn or enhance your stash!

Holiday Hunt Contest Winner!

taralea — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:33:03 +0000

It’s been a busy seven days while receiving everyone’s votes. We’re excited to say that Denise from Fort Wayne has won the Holiday Hunt! She entered all 7 days! The patterns of her choice were Woolly Snowman, Woolly Snowman Hats, and Woolly Accessories. If you participated in the Holiday Hunt, we did send you a special email

Thanks again for participating, and have a Merry Christmas!

-Tara and Lea-Ann

THE CONTEST HAS ENDED!

taralea — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:04:57 +0000

The winner will be emailed at noon.

Woolly Holiday Hunt Day 7 – Baby It’s Cold Outside!

taralea — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:08:16 +0000

Our inspiration, Baby It’s Cold Outside — so cold, your fingers turn a shade of blue, but what better to warm that cold baby in than a blanket made of yarn Ull fall in love with. Look at this flickr photo for inspiration!!

Use the bolded clues above to find the picture on our website at http://www.knittingtoday.com. Send the URL to customerservice@knittingtoday. and you’ll be entered in the drawing for a Marie Mayhew three-pack of patterns or projects (value up to $30). Submissions will close at 9am on Monday, and the drawing for the winner will be at noon.

The featured Marie Mayhew pattern today is Woolly Snowbaby! They are all decked out to keep warm while singing Christmas carols, don’t you think?

Comment below and let us know if you’ve enjoyed this scavenger hunt through the website. Did you get a chance to use the 40% off coupon we emailed those who entered? We have another coupon thank you gift coming, so check your email after noon on Monday!

Woolly Holiday Hunt Day 6 – He licked all the candy canes, ’til he turned them all green.

taralea — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:00:19 +0000

The “Grinch Who Stole Christmas” returns every year for an encore presentation. While looking at the pictured yarn, I was reminded of the lines:

When the Grinch discovered
There was no way,
To Keep Christmas from coming
On Christmas day,
He devised a new plan…

Though not quite as mean.
He licked all the candy canes,
‘Til he turned them all green.

But, really, he couldn’t take away the taste.

Use the bolded clues above to find the picture on our website at http://www.knittingtoday.com. Send the URL to customerservice@knittingtoday.com and you’ll be entered in the drawing for a Marie Mayhew three-pack of patterns or projects (value up to $30). There is one more clue tomorrow at 9am and the drawing will be Monday at noon.

In the meantime, imagine this beautiful Woolly Nest and Eggs added to your tree decor. While you’re at it, throw some scraps to the birds outside for their own nests. If you want a slightly smaller nest, there is the Woolly Nest Ornament Kit which includes everything you need including the poem. We just stocked the refill kits too, in case you want to make more than one. Our little pathetic tree is actually an ornament hanger display filled with greenery. I’ll take better pictures later to show you how cute the display looks with the Woolly Ornaments.

Woolly Holiday Hunt Day 5 – Animals Down Under keeping warm from ??? fur

taralea — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:21:06 +0000

Did you know both of these birds live Down Under? The Woolly Penguin, is sporting a wool hat and cap, with applied felt face features, but what is the Kiwi bird wearing? It is sporting fur from a ???.

First, identify what animal we’re talking about
Then, search for that animal on our website at http://www.knittingtoday.com – http://theyarnsisters.com/conservation/ will help identify the animal.
We knit Fetching from knitty.com with it, so it isn’t a fingering weight yarn. That eliminates a whole category of choices for you to look through.
And, we love this yarn because it is a “green” yarn.

So, putting those clues through the steps . . . you should come up with the hidden picture above. Send the URL to customerservice@knittingtoday.com (or if you’re having trouble, shoot us a message). You’ll be entered in a drawing for three Marie Mayhew patterns or project materials (up to $30 value). Drawing held on the 19th. Check back tomorrow for Hunt Day 6 and enter again!

Have you knit something with this yarn yet? If so, please share . . .

holiday hunt post delayed due to browser updating issues — please check back at 10am est

lea-ann — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:00:05 +0000

sorry! Darn Microsoft . . .