Such a lot.

I'd apologize for the tardiness of this post, but it was rather unavoidable. The past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the store what with a series of enormous shipments, some slight technical difficulties and a long-awaited visit from Catherine Lowe. But, before we get to all of that, we have a Boy-O-Boy cardigan knit by Elizabeth:

The pattern is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders and is here on ravelry. Elizabeth used ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in "Wasabi" for her project, though I have no information on how much she used or who the finished cardigan might be for (blame Sandy Kay, not me).

Next, we have another knitnotwar1,0o0 Crane Count and a little blurb from the creator. First, the update: 12 more cranes! Which brings our total up to 129 cranes and puts us at 43% towards our goal (and, yes, you can see all this information on the sidebar, but I wanted to mention it anyway). A couple of weeks ago, I emailed Seann about the origins of the name "knitnotwar 1,0o0" because we've received many an email with that question in some form or another. Here's Seann's reply:

It's a silly reason why it is 1,0o0 and not just 1,000...when I first started the project a dear friend of mine and I were talking and she thought that the project sounded very serious while knitting is generally so fun and relaxing. I certainly didn't want folks to only regard it as a super serious project (it really is fun to knit the cranes and the spirit of it is supposed to be happy and hopeful!) I started adding a "o" in the title to just visually trip up the weight of it so it was a bit more lighthearted looking. I don't know if it did the trick, but my friend noticed and it made her happy!

So there you go. It makes sense, considering the bittersweet aspects of the story of Sadako Sasaki and the new connotations attached to origami cranes after the second World War.

Now, moving on to more lighthearted topics, we have some new products that are so very awesome I can't but mention them.

Firstly, we have three new patterns:

• Skif June/ September/ February
• Skif Buttonback/ Swing
• CoCoKnits Pleated Ballet Flats

The new Skif patterns in particular are super exciting for a Skif freak like me. Sandy Kay and I are already talking about resurrecting the Skif KAL for this summer. How's about it, our devoted readers - yay or nay? We could meet monthly and have a yarn sampling party and who-know's-what else. Just a thought.

Second, we have a (small) library's worth of new books. Most of which are from Japan; our favorites include: Favorite Aran Knits (the cables in here are fabulous), Easy Knit & Crochet (check out those legwarmes on the cover!) and several new Amigurumi/ toy books.

Then, of course (you'll have seen this in the most recent Newsletter), we have Cookie A's highly coveted Sock Innovation.


Can I just say how much I love this book? I already have my own copy and am planning to knit at least half the patterns within. And, since we have "No Mean Feet!" tonight, maybe discussion of a store KAL isn't out of order. Anyone interested?

And, maybe, that's everything for today's belated post. Check back tomorrow (we should have some post-worthy stuff then), for a really cool FO Wendy just finished for a friend. Hint, it involves some amazing Fair Isle creativity.

no longer down, and definitely not out

You may have noticed some interesting glitches in the website over the past week, but hopefully they have been rectified permanently. The site has been moved over to a new, more reliable, server that promises to be less flaky. So, if you sent us an email over the weekend (that bounced back) or tried to check the site for info on an upcoming class and saw this:

From the knitting community at knit purl

We very sorry if it caused you any inconvenience. But, the good news is that the site should be faster and more accessible than ever.

In other (more knitterly) news, we have just been positively overwhelmed (in a good way) by knitters at recent Sip'n'Stitch and "No Mean Feet!" nights. Last Thursday I took an extremely blurry shot of the group:

I think we ran out chairs, actually (which is always a wonderful phenomenon).

This is a very positive (and encouraging) trend all around, considering the state of the world/ economy.

But, moving on to everyone's favorite part of each post* - our customers' projects. First, we have Evon, who came in on Saturday with her first finished knitting project:

The Rasperry Liqour bag (#125) by Noni, knit with Cascade 220 in "Lavender". Did I mention that Evon is 8? She's also in the Beginning Knitting Class! The bag just looks perfect, she did an amazing job on it. It's awe-inspiring how many young knitters visit us with their FOs these days. Just fabulous.

Then, this afternoon, Haven dropped by to show up her in-progress Swallowtail Shawl:

Being knit with Catherine Lowe Merino 1 in "Smoke". I am told (since I didn't get to see it in person) that the shawl was bloody amazing in the Merino 1. And, ha!, I managed to find Haven's ravelry notebook and the shawl information. Just in case you're interested...

And that is everything pertinent at the moment. We have a super-gianormous Newsletter going out on Friday (look for it, there're going to be some interesting articles!), so that project is looming large in everyone's minds. Until next time, in which we will discuss Cool Socks, enjoy the sun while it's out!

*I think it is, anyway. It's the section we get the most feedback on...

Sock-centric

Sock knitting seems to be taking over the world.

Well, the knitting world, anyway. Aside from a truly exceptional "No Mean Feet!" last night (record turnout!), we've just got word of a new limited edition series from Schaefer Yarns, Sock The Vote...

If you're not allergic to mohair, you can get a skein (or two!) of sock yarn dyed for your favorite politician/ politician's wife in the Presidential race. I'm not bitter that it only comes in Anne, no, not at all. Grr.

If we're lucky, this yarn will be in stock soon (it's on order).

But, back to "No Mean Feet!", we got pictures proving that sock knitters are indeed on the rise. We had to enlarge our knitting circle twice last night - welcoming several new visitors:

It was, as always, lots of fun. I wish I could go add more to this post, but a Newsletter went out on Friday and we are just drowning in web orders. Until Thursday, happy knitting!

lagging behind

We're really sorry, guys, that the blog's been so... well... boring recenty. The Blogger and I have been extremely busy as of late with also sorts of things, like:

• revamping the website in general,
• photographing (and color correcting) all the new goodies we've received,
• organizing the sock club,
• battling demon slime monsters,
• and building a new, super-high-tech, web site.

All in all, it's been an exciting couple of weeks. To start with, we've had two very successful No Mean Feet nights in a row, with all sorts of knitters coming in to show off their socks:

Then we had the International Quilt Market Trade Show from May 16 - 18 at the Portland Convention Center. Now, some people might think that since it was a quilting show, it wouldn't affect us. Ha! We were happily overrun with visitors from all over the world: Spain, Japan, and Canada were the most memorably represented. Especially since we were visited by the Ladies of Scent - the creators and owners of Soak Wash. I made The Blogger and Fearless Leader pose with Jacqueline and Patricia for a photo, as proof:

(Left to right: The Blogger, Jacqueline, Fearless Leader, and Patricia)

It was so cool meeting the ladies behind such a fantastically inventive and fun fiber-based company. They were very friendly and showed us some of the new projects their working on. They were frighteningly good sellers, too, since they also managed to talk us into buying a starter pack of their Labels of Love (not available online yet, sorry!). Which added another product to be photographed onto The List. See? We have been busy.

In fact, we've been so busy, we broke one of the cardinal rules of blogging. We forgot to get a picture of a knitter and her blog address. The guilt! A lovely lady came into the store to show off a project she had knit with ShibuiKnits Sock she had bought from us. She had made the Mamluke Socks (by Nancy Bush) for an expecting mother and had worked out a matching hat for the expected one:

It was an amazing amount of work. The original sock pattern is based off traditional Middle Eastern mosaic and knitting motifs - including, quite especially, the word "Allah" in Arabic in bands around the ankle and toes. Our intrepid knitter had tweeked the stitch patterns to fit onto a baby's hat and had included the "Allah" band around the brim:

Aside from being completely awe-inspiring and beautiful, I was stuck by the connection this project had with thousands of others from the past. Traditionally, friends and relatives of expectant mothers would make all sorts of prayer-infused gifts to protect her and her unborn child through the pregnancy and birth. The pairing of the two gifts seemed perfectly synchronized and poetic.

And, of course, The Blogger and I were so enthralled by the FO's we forgot to get all the info you all'd want to learn more about the project :( Sorry! Hopefully, our talented gift-knitter will leave a comment with more details.

Sadly enough, that's not everything that's keep us from you. I couldn't recount half of it, to be honest. May has been a very colorful blur. But The Blogger and I do know that we owe you several posts - like this month's Rock Star Knitter and a couple of True Plies. We'll try and post those as soon as we get the chance.

Honestly.

Oh! And before I forget, again, to post this - the deadline for Gratis Knits: Summer 2008 is on June 1. The Submission Guidelines are here. And, really, guys, it doesn't have to be a complicated pattern - our most popular ones have been the simplest. To be perfectly honest, I'd looove to see a summery headband or kerchief pattern come across our inbox...

No Mean Feet tomorrow night!

Just a little reminder to all our lovely PDX-area readers: No Mean Feet will be turning heels together tomorrow night! 6 - 8 pm at the store; tea, coffee and snacks will be provided. No fee or purchase necessary - just an enthusiasm for socks!

(Please note: this is NOT a class, and no instruction will be provided - though I'm sure everyone will be willing to help one another :D)

Sock it to us!

Our Monday night sock knitters group needs a better name than "the Monday night sock knitters", so (for the past few days) we've been taking suggestions. Here's the poll to cast your vote (new suggestions are welcome, as well). And comment on the ravelry thread for a chance to win a skein of yarn!

Meaning

Pick a name, any name...

Rockum Sockum Club Sock In Mouth Socks-a-million! Sock it to Me The Soxy Knitters Club What the Sock?! Socks Appeal No Mean Feet Socks Stars Monday Night Sock Knitter's Club Other: View Results

Another Noro sock

That manages to make mine look rather simple and plain (but that's okay):

My socks are happy with their simplicity, I'm sure. Shown above is Sarah, one of our Sock Knitters Night regulars, showing off her latest finished sock - knit with Noro Kureyon Sock S185. She plugged in a very pretty stitch pattern, courtesy of Barbara Walker, and tried out one of Cat Bordhi's mind-blowing heels and toes from New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

Seriously, if you want to challenge yourself and destroy any preconceptions you had about sock knitting, check out this book. Ms Bordhi must be some sort of super genius, or something.

What were the rest of us knitting? you ask. We-ell, I'm afraid we were mostly the vanilla or ribbed sock knitters last night. Maybe I should bring in Pomatomus or Firestarter next time...

Sock Knitters meetup TONIGHT

I nearly forgot to post a reminder again*. Sock Knitters meetup tonight, 6 - 8 pm, at Knit Purl*. I think the discussion tonight will be about SSS and Cookie A's Monkey pattern :)

Feel free to drop in/ by and knit with us! Beginners welcome, as are more experienced sock knitters to spread the joy of socks.

*It's nearly too late now, too, but never mind that.