Recently, we added another group of talented knitters to our growing line-up of graduates of the Expert Knitter Certification Program!  The evening of celebration was wonderful and the garments designed by each program member are inspirational.

Some of the amazing details:

Congratulations to all of the graduates! We are so proud of all of your hard work, and in awe of your creations!

Thanks, also, to all of the current program members, friends and family of the graduates, store staff and mentors who were able to join us for the graduation ceremony.  You helped to make graduation a splendid event!

Hi Everyone

Tomorrow is the start of the I-91 Shop Hop which runs through Sunday, June 26th!  This event has been months in the planning and the last weekend in June has seemed so far away but it’s finally here!  This is the first Shop Hop and we’re anxious with anticipation!

Here are the details you need to know:

1.  There are 11 shops participating in the Hop.  The 12th store, Knit or Dye in Brattleboro, VT had to bow out due to the arrival of a new, wee knitter.  A list of the shops can be found on our Ravlery page or Facebook page.

2.  To participate, you need to purchase a Passport for $5.00 at any of the shops.  On the back each shop has a place to “stamp” your passport to prove you’ve been there.

3.  If you get to all 11 shops, the final shop will take your back panel and enter you into our Grand Prize Drawing!  The Grand Prize includes a ton of yarn, books, patterns, etc from our faboo suppliers but it also includes a $100 gift certificate FROM EACH SHOP!  That is $1100 in total and that’s a lot of yarn, books & tools!!

4.  Each shop will be having a daily drawing as well for some great gift baskets full of yarn, books, tools, etc.

5.  Some shops are doing demos, some will provide snacks and other fun things.  All shops will have goodie bags to give out.

It should be a super fun weekend and we hope to see many of you hopping into WEBS!

Enjoy!

Kathy

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Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Noro Summer of Savings
• Noro Aya
• Noro Furisode
• Noro Nobori
• Noro Volume 29, Volume 27, Flowers 2, Noro Kids
• Noro Sock Garden Sock
• Nashua Best Foot Forward Closeout
• Regia Kaffe Fassett Design Line 4-Ply Discontinued Colors
• Kertzer On Your Toes Closeout
• Regia World Ball Closeout

Guest: Meta Nisbet, owner of Metaphor Yarns in Shelburne, MA. She is also one of the founders of the I-91 Shop Hop. Meta talks about her shop, how it got started, and what you can find there as well as in the Shelburne area. You don’t want to miss out on this shop on the Shop Hop. You’ll find yarns from local farms as well as commercial yarns.

The Shop Hop is in one week! June 24th-June 26th. At Metaphor Yarns, you’ll find a number of demonstrations over the weekend. They’re hoping to put a tent on the front lawn to show off yarn basket making, two sleeves at once, painting on silk, I-cord, dyeing, and spinning. They will go on throughout the weekend. Metaphor Yarns is also launching a new vest kit (vests are their specialty).

Make sure you stop by, shop, and get your passport stamped!

Valley Yarns Preview with Kirsten Hipsky

Some crocheted goodies:
#400 October Mountain Cardigan – a lovely lacy crocheted cardi in 2/14 by Sara
#384 Golden Baby Blanket – Out of Goshen, has both knitting and crochet in the same project.

Some beautiful knitted sweaters:
#396 Masonic Street Cardigan – a stunning reknit in Colrain, from the classic Green Street Cardigan. I think it worked out really well.
#380 Boothbay Lace Pullover – a sideways, one-piece lace pullover in Southwick, ribby and flattering

Some unexpected knockout accessories:
#403 Jambalaya Shawl – I sort of just knit it on a lark, wasn’t sure it would even have a place in the catalog

WEBS is lucky enough to host a trunk show from Polly Macc designs through the end of next week.  We just wanted to send you a little sneak preview and let you know what all the customers have been excited about!

Baby knits seem to be on everyone’s mind. The most sought after pattern is the Brother/Sister Infant sweaters. These tiny sweaters are knit in a sock weight yarn. In an ideal world I would use Prism Merino Mia Layers, in a practical world I would use Berroco Sox.

Next is the Children’s size Brother/Sister sweaters. I would knit this DK weight sweater in either Dream in Color Everlasting 12 ply DK (fancy) or Plymouth Happy Feet DK (practical).

While we’re on the subject of babies I couldn’t resist adding the teeny-tiny Soft Preemie hats. These little guys are knit in two colors of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, which I fully support. How adorable!

But don’t take my word for it, come take a look at these yourself!

Cara

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Guest: Margaret from Green Mountain Spinnery, one of the stops on the I-91 Shop Hop. Make sure you don’t miss out on this stop in Putney, VT. It’s a unique experience because all of the yarn they sell is made at their mill in Putney. They are in their 30th year of producing yarns. You’ll also get a chance to see how the yarns are made. All of the yarns are spun in Putney and all of the fibers are grown in the United States, with the focus on New England fibers. At the shop you’ll also find great mill ends and experimental yarns, which are always fun to pick up!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Rowan Kidsilk Aura Closeout
• Rowan Pure Cashmere DK Closeout
• Rowan Silky Tweed
• Cascade 220 Superwash Sport
• Noro Hitsuji
• Shalimar Breathless
• Lang Jawoll Magic Degrade

• WEBS’ Blog
• Herdy Salt & Pepper Shakers

History of WEBS

Barbara’s “little lie” was that she wasn’t planning on leaving, even though she said she would. It has worked out wonderfully because she has been able to travel, design, weave, and work with our long-time weaving customers.

We’ve gone from three computers to too many to count! We’ve also gone from an informational website to one you can place orders from. No more cutting samples – we have four knitting catalogs and a couple weaving catalogs. The building has morphed quite a bit as well!

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Guest: Laura McSweeny of Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT. Laura is the creator of the Shop Hop and she chats about how she came to open her yarn shop. She focuses on changing the negatives she found while yarn shopping and turning them into positives in her shop. The have great classes, a living room with a fireplace, and offer help to customers. They’re also a big part of the community, both locally and across the globe.

Some of the yarns Creative Fibers loves and carries includes a huge selection of Koigu, and Tahki Cotton Classic in over 80 colors! They also stock Jade Sapphire Moonlight. Creative Fibers also has a twice a year retreat.

Make sure you stop by Creative Fibers on your Shop Hop, and if you can’t make it to the Shop Hop, visit Creative Fibers when you can!

Summer Classes are up!

Tina, our Education Manager chats about classes

June 23rd, The Crochet Dude will be here!

Gale Zucker will teach you how to take pictures of your fiber and projects!

We’ve got great crochet classes, knitting classes, spinning class, and weaving classes, plus fiber camp for kids!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Trendsetter Dune Discontinued Colors
• Queensland Collection Joey’s Baby Silk Closeout
• Queensland Collection #12 by Jenny Watson
• Noro Kirameki Closeout
• Noro Love by Jane Ellison
• Mirasol Sulka Closeout Colors
• Mirasol Book 17
• Classic Elite Inca Alpaca Discontinued Colors
• Classic Elite 9121 Wharf
• Elsebeth Lavold Silky Flamme Discontinued Colors
• Elsebeth Lavold Book 13

 

History of WEBS

Art taught Business Management at UMASS and retired in 1988 and went to work at WEBS and help it grow. One busy Saturday, Art wanted to use the restroom at the back of the house. He had to physically leave the building and go in a different door! That was the turning point for a move. There was also yarn stashed off-site, which was difficult.

They started looking for new places, and Art brought Barbara to 75 Service Center Rd. and her first reaction was “no way!” It was an old telephone company building that housed trucks and it needed a lot of cleaning. Where our front window and door is now was a garage door. They moved into the building in 1991.

Hi Everyone:

When Knitting It Old School was published last year, I was excited on many levels.

1.  I was thrilled that Caro & Stitchy were being published.  They are super talented and lovely and I was just happy that good things were happening for them.

2.  I knew there were a couple of garments in the book featuring our Valley Yarns.

Always awesome to see our yarns turned into something inspiring! But it’s even better to see them on real people:

Caro in her Rudie and her adorable hubby in his Pump Jockey

 

3.  Last but not least – The Dress.

 

I talked about the Go-Go Granny Dress on Ready, Set, Knit when I interviewed Caro & Stitchy.  Yes it’s kitschy but there was something about it that just tickled me.  I’ve actually referenced it on a couple of occasions on the show.

Then the haters came along.

Okay, not haters per se but customers & friends who emailed or pulled me aside in the shop and said “Okay Kathy, please tell me you don’t REALLY like that granny square dress, tell me you were just saying that for the show and because the authors were in the studio with you”.  I heard this same comment MANY times in various iterations.

For the record:  I REALLY LIKE THE GO-GO GRANNY DRESS.

Think what you want but I don’t care.  This is a classic case of passing judgment on a garment without giving it a chance.

Look:

That’s Caro & Stitchy and our dear friend, teacher and EZ disciple Annie F.  Annie is an AH-MAZE-ING knitter.  Seriously.  Look at her ROCK the dress.

I tried it on too and love it even more!

I saw Annie the next day and we chatted about the dress.  We discussed how great the dress looked on her.  she did point out that that everyone in the store LOVED the dress on her,  but she was wearing it in a “safe zone” surround by her peeps.  Good point.  Maybe she (and I eventually) will get strange looks or snickers when we are walking down Main Street in Noho in our dresses but that’s okay. (Maybe walking down Main Street together wearing the same dress at the same time, albeit in different colors and most likely different yarns isn’t the absolute best idea ever)

She bought yarn to make the dress at the event.  She’s using Cascade 220 Sport instead of Cotton Classic.  This was a personal choice, she doesn’t like crocheting with cotton.  I haven’t decided yet.

I realize that this particular garment may be an extreme example but try to keep in mind that even with the best models, stylists and photography its hard to judge garments without trying them on.

Also – when I’m excited about something here on the blog or on Ready, Set, Knit, it’s genuine.  For those of you who are longtime podcast listeners, you’ll recall I broke up with Silk Garden on the air.  I respect the yarn and its loyal following but we are not friends.  I just tend to chatter about the things I like vs the ones I don’t.

Do you have a knit or crocheted garment in your collection that you love but can’t believe you ever would?

Kathy

Hi Everyone

It’s been a busy month  here at WEBS.  Lots of exciting things happening here on the blog too!  Thought I should check in with a quick update.

1.  J1 & J2 both attend schools that do not have traditional school vacations, rather they have one long break in March.

2.  When you are a working parent and your kids are out of school for 3+ weeks it forces you to do one thing:

We had a lovely trip with exceptional weather.   Of course, now we’re going to pay for it with an April Fool’s Day snow storm predict.  That Mother Nature really thinks she’s something, doesn’t she? (Note:  I would have posted more pictures but I guess I didn’t realize that Jackson only wore 2 t-shirts the entire trip – both with the name of his school on them.  Safety then cleanliness I suppose. . . . )

3.  Prior to school ending, J2 celebrated a wonderful 4th grade tradition known as the Colonial Ball

So adorable.  The pictures of the dancing don’t even come close capturing the moment.

4.  Hockey season ended.  Sort of.  Don’t ask, just humor me.

5.  I also got to speak at Fiber Camp Boston just before heading south.  It was a blast and my friend Guido & his intrepid team deserve huge kudos for making this event happen.  Fiber Camp Noho anyone??

6.  We hosted our first ever Author’s Day on 3/27.  It was a great event.  It was the brainchild of our faboo Store Manager Karen.  She came up with the idea and ran with it.  The day was perfect down to the very last detail.

7.  I did some knitting on vacation which I’ll post about when completed.  Which will be soon.  Really.  Stop giggling.  I can still hear you.

8.  Lastly, I’m going to leave with with this shot from the Author’s Event.  I will be discussing one aspect of this picture in detail in my next post.  Stay tuned.

Kathy

P.S.  The lambs in today’s Free Pattern are too cute!  Kirsten & Sara – you guys out did yourselves!

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Guest: Guido Stein of Boston Fiber Camp and the podcast It’s a Purl Man. Guido chats with Kathy about the upcoming event. This is an un-conference where the sessions are put together by the participants in the conference. Guido explains how this un-conference works.

Steve chats about Stitches West and Kathy tells us why she couldn’t make it out to Stitches this time around! There were 11,000 people at the show. Valley Yarns Charlemont, Valley Yarns Valley Superwash and Valley Superwash DK, as well as Valley Yarns Northfield all did very well.

Stitches South in Atlanta, GA is coming up in April, so if you’re nearby, come see us!

New line of bags and pouches that we just brought in. Check out the Chic-a line.

Yarns

• Rowan Savannah
• Rowan Panama
• Rozetti Marina
• Katia Tul
• Cascade Dolce Closeout
• Cascade Lana D’oro Paints Closeout
• Di.Ve’ Autunno Closeout

Join us in the store on Thursday, February 3rd, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, for a fun opportunity to try out Cascade’s wide array of yarns!

Bring along your knitting needles and crochet hooks in various sizes, because Cascade Yarns will have all of their yarns available for “tasting” – even yarns we don’t currently carry!  The evening will be a wonderful time to play with a yarn you’ve been eyeing on our shelves, or perhaps to discover a new favorite.

We’ll have snacks and giveaways, as well as garments for trying on.  This event is free, but we do ask that you register so that we know how many “tasters” to expect. You can register in the store, or by contacting Customer Service at 413-584-2225 or customerservice@yarn.com.

With all of the snow we’ve been getting in Massachusetts lately, Pastaza has been catching my attention as a strong contender for a cozy, super warm, cowl.  Maybe Thursday’s opportunity to swatch will be just the thing to get me to cast on…