Our 43rd Anniversary Sale is beginning to wind down, but there’s still time for big savings. Stock up on some of our favorites before the sale is over! 

Classic Elite Yarns Chalet is an undyed bamboo and alpaca blend with a chainette construction in a bulky weight. Anything you knit in Chalet will be warm and cuddly, with an unbeatable softness and drape. Try knitting the Color Block Bias Wrap from Classic Elite. The neutral colors and graphic stripes will give your outfits a bold, modern look.

A WEBS favorite is Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Wool. We can’t get enough of the nubby texture and stunning colors to select from! We love the Silk and Saltwater pullover from Lyrical Knits, with a flattering shape and simple ribbed texture that would look fantastic in any color – bold or neutral. This sweater is the perfect backdrop for Silky Wool.

Complete with a fresh, contemporary color palette, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino is an ultra-soft machine-washable blend of Merino Wool, microfiber, and cashmere – there will be no need to worry about knitting something for the new baby! The Cable & Lace Cardigan from Debbie Bliss is an adorable short-sleeved cardigan with a delicate horseshoe eyelet lace motif that’ll be easy to dress up or down.

For tremendous yardage at an affordable price, Eco + from Cascade Yarns is the way to go. With a generous 478 yards per hank and a sale price of $16.49, Eco + is a no-brainer – many projects will only need a few skeins! Pick a neutral and a few bright colors to make Tin Can Knits’ Pop Blanket*.  

*Original Pop Blanket is knitted using Eco + as the main color, and Noro Kureyon as the accent. 

Scotland from Tahki Yarns is a 100% Merino wool tweed with a soft, slightly felted appearance. Scotland is a DK weight, and would be a fantastic choice for the easy-to-wear Big Sister cardigan from When I Grow Up. This seamless, open-front sweater combined with the soft color palette of Tahki Scotland, will be a welcome addition to your wardrobe.

What will your next great project be?

The WEBS 43rd Anniversary Sale ends on May 31st, so stock up while you can! And don’t forget- we offer our WEBS Discount to everyone, every day, in-store and online! 

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This week, Kathy talks with Sarah Scully, owner of Vermont Natural Sheepskins, who will be hosting a new retreat this fall, Vermont Craft Tours. This week-long event for twelve attendees,  will be held from Sunday, September 24th, starting with a welcome dinner and will end the following Sunday morning, October 1st after a breakfast. You’ll be able to attend workshops, tour studios, and visit farms in a gorgeous rural setting. Instructors include leaders in the industry, like Amy Cristoffers – design manager at Berroco! This intimate retreat is a fantastic way to sample what fiber arts have to offer, including knitting, dyeing, and spinning. You don’t have to be an expert – it’s all at your own pace!

For more information, including pricing and registration, click here.

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

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This week on Ready, Set, Knit!, we have two special guest hosts! Amy Greeman, our education manager, and Leslie Ann Bestor, our spinning and weaving manager, are filling in for Steve and Kathy, who have been working in Europe.  This week’s guest is Carson Demers, a physical therapist who also teaches knitting and spinning, designs patterns, and has a book coming out in the coming months called Knitting Comfortably: The Ergonomics of Handknitting. Carson will also be teaching some classes at WEBS in May! Listen to hear more! 

 To check out what Carson will be teaching, and to enroll in some (or all!!) of his classes, click here!

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

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This week on Ready, Set, Knit!, we have two special guest hosts! Amy Greeman, our education manager, and Leslie Ann Bestor, our spinning and weaving manager, are filling in for Steve and Kathy who are working in Europe. This week, Amy and Leslie Ann are talking with author and spinning instructor Jillian Moreno. Be sure to listen for information about the WEBS Spinning Summit, happening in September where Jillian will be teaching, and find out more about her new book Yarnitecture! Read all about the WEBS Spinning Summit here, and reserve your space here! 

Also, today marks the first day of our 43rd Anniversary Sale! Stock up and save up to 50% on over 100 yarns and accessories now through May 31st.

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

This week I thought I’d share some of my favorite yarns from the Anniversary Sale this year. I knit and crochet but these yarns are versatile enough to be perfect for both and they all make great stash yarns for future, unknown projects!

I love a good one skein project and Frosted Leaves from Louisa harding is just that! A simple, repeating leaf motif with a garter stitch border that shows off the stunning self-striping colors of Amitola Grande, this pattern is one I keep in the last minute gifts folder. Not only is it a free pattern but the yarn is a heavy worsted weight and one skein completes the project. During the sale that means this whole project only costs you $17.49! Amitola Grande is a single ply yarn with a blend of 80% wool and 20% silk, you get warm fluffyness from the wool and strength and shine from the silk, and there are some gorgeous colorways here.

I’ve made several projects with yarns from Mrs. Crosby and Train Case is one of the best.  A blend of  superwash merino, nylon and Outlast – that futuristic rayon fiber technology that continuously interacts with your body to moderate your temperature and keep you from being too hot or too cold. The future is here! not only that but it’s machine washable. The hand dyed colors of this yarn are just stunning and sometimes you really need to just let them take center stage. And sometimes you need a project that has lots of visual interest when finished but doesn’t take a lot of brain power in the making, I can’t keep track of a complicated project and pay attention at my daughter’s softball game! The Color Affection Shawl is just the right fit, lots of easy-peasy garter stitch and simple stripes to keep you going without too much effort, and the result is a stunning shawl!

The Jo Sharp yarns are just some of the classiest yarns I have in my stash. Silk Road DK Tweed is an incredible blend of 85% wool, 10% silk, and 5%cashmere in earthy, organic tones with pops of tweedy color. The two-ply structure and fiber blend knit up into a fabric with a beautiful hand and great drape but it still has a good amount of body. I love this yarn for garments. I am also a big fan of versatile patterns and the Wide Collar Vest and Cardigan pattern is just that. Take your pick of a cropped cardigan or a longer vest, both with generous lapels. The vest seems like the kind of layering piece that I would wear a lot! Loose and casual with a tshirt and jeans around the house, or more tailored and belted with dress pants and a button down shirt for the office.

Finally, Berroco Ultra Alpaca is one of the first yarns that I stashed and I keep finding ways to use it, it’s just that good. With over 40 incredible colors, in soft heathered solids from striking jewel tones to classic neutrals, there’s color for almost every project you can imaging.  The Avocet B sweater, a free PDF, is one that’s been in my queue for a long time and this might just be the right time to cast on. An incredible comfy cardigan in all-over garter stitch, I might just live in this one!

So there you have 4 of my favorite yarns from the May portion of our Anniversary Sale. What are some of your favorites and what plans are you hatching for them?

Our Anniversary Sale isn’t just for knitters looking to stock up on stash-building workhorse yarns! Each year we have quite a selection of unique yarns that are perfect for garments and accessories with incredible texture and color, and these yarns are often an excellent addition to the weavers stash.

Tempo from Filatura Di Crosa works up into wide stripes of color, but these stripes are no plain-jane solid colors! The yarn is made from 3 plys, one is a two-ply, multicolored print with nubby tweedy bits, wrapped with two different colored thick-thin plys that gradually change color. While that seems like a lot happening in one yarn it results in a muted blending of colors that give your knits a sophisticated yet rustic quality. And, it’s a cotton blend so it’s perfect for warmer weather! Working with 2 colors of Tempo, and creating wedges with short rows, the Boticelli Top is an interesting but not overly complicated pullover to knit. Interchangeable front and back are seamed at the sides and shoulders for a reversible top that is eye catching and comfortable.

Another great cotton yarn for summer is Schachenmayr Tahiti. This fingering weight yarn has beautiful color shifts in variegated shades and it’s totally machine washable! Just 4 balls of this yarn knit into the gorgeous Sundowner Shawl. The pattern is FREE and you can choose from two sizes. This yarn would also make a beautiful warp yarn for a shawl or scarf with a gradient effect!

With subtle, tonal colors and a shifting series of fibers, the chainette or woven tape-like construction of Classic Elite Yarns Sanibel lends textural interest to even the simplest stockinette pieces. The Lady Londonderry capelet is a lovely layering piece for when it’s not quite warm enough to wear your favorite summer dresses but you just can’t wait! Worked from the bottom up in a classic feather and fan stitch, this little piece features a wide rib neckline and a button closure for a fun retro look.

Also from Classic Elite is Santorini, the same base yarn as Sanibel but in a cheerful array of variegated colors. Put the two together for fun accessories with tons of colorful drama. Nonamesset scarf does just that with modular knit triangles that are joined as you go!

And don’t forget that I mentioned the weavers! These yarns create beautiful texture and color in your weaving. Here you can see we’ve used them as weft yarns paired with a simple warp of Juniper Moon Farms Zooey, a gorgeous linen blend.

So how will the colors and textures of these yarns inspire you? Tell us in the comments!

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This week Kathy talks with first time guest, Beth Hansen. She, and her husband Kevin, are the owners of Hansen Crafts, makers of the Hansen miniSpinner.

Learn how a sailing trip in the South Pacific lead to the creation of their signature product and how their “retirement” has turned into a successful business venture.

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

I had a brief, ugly learning-to-weave moment about ten or so years ago…I had a full-time job that was a long way away, I had two young children, and I had to travel constantly. Of course that was a perfect time to learn a very complicated, time-consuming (albeit fascinating and beautiful) fiber craft…NOT.

After that, I passed coned yarns without a second glance. However, I saw an oldie but goodie today that made me reassess the coned-yarn prejudice. Valley Yarns 2/10 Merino Tencel, aka Colrain Lace, seems to me to be an eminently sensible yarn to knit or crochet (or weave) just about anything in any season. And luckily for all of us, it’s part of the Anniversary Sale this month, priced at $17.49 a cone, reduced from $24.99.

Although technically a lace weight yarn, it has been knit reliably at about 7 stitches per inch, which to me is fingering and that makes a big difference. It’s not a fine, fine yarn that will slide off your needles and flummox you in a stitch pattern. It will hold on to those needles, and give you some feedback as you stitch, which I don’t find in a lot of lace weight yarns. The blend of merino and tencel gives it both body and a subtle sheen, making it drape beautifully.

My fascination for cowls would be satisfied with the Valley Yarns Forget-Me-Not cowl, made in Colrain Lace. It’s a quick knit and because you have so much yardage on a cone, you could make several from one purchase! I would probably choose a nice neutral such as Grey Olive, but you could really make a design pop with some of the brighter colors; there are a lot to choose from.

Have you ever knit with a coned yarn? Tell us your projects in the comments, below.

I have to tell you, even I was surprised by the luxury fibers in this year’s sale! We have 6 yarns with cashmere!

If you’re looking for a workhorse yarn for incredible garments that has just a little extra oomph we’ve got two choices for you.  Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran is a classic,  a machine washable blend of 55% Merino Wool/33% Microfibre/12% Cashmere in over 3 dozen saturated solids is perfect for trend defying garments and accessories that you’ll wear for years. And if tweed is your thing then Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed couldn’t be better. A softly plied and lofty blend of wool, silk and cashmere in tonal tweeds for classically rustic garments, and shawls you want to wrap up in all year long.

DK is a versatile weight equally suited to adult and children’s garments and accessories and there’s no reason to shy away from a little bit of luxury there. Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK is a touchably soft blend of merino wool, silk and cashmere for a yarn with lots of bounce and shine! With over 30 colors to choose from it’s ideal for colorwork projects. And if you want a little hand dyed color in your cashmere stash, pick up a few skeins of Mrs. Crosby Hat Box. the color wizards at Lorna’s Laces have dreamed up all new colorways reminiscent of exoctic locales and travels.

On the finer side, if you’re a lace or shawl person Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere is another gorgeous hand-dyed yarn with a superwash merino, cashmere and nylon blend that would be gorgeous for shawls and durable enough for incredible socks! But my favorite of the cashmere yarns in this sale has to be the Greylock from Valley Yarns. This beauty is 100% cashmere, lightly spun and plied for an airy yarn with the slightest halo. It’s soft and squishy with an incredibly generous 300 yds in each ball.

That Greylock is honestly calling my name, and the JoSharp has my wheels turning. Which yarns will you be adding to your stash?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

That’s right it’s time for WEBS Anniversary Sale and have we got some great deals for you! Starting April 1st you’ll save on yarns from Cascade, Plymouth, Classic Elite, Lorna’s Laces, Regia, Dream in Color and more! We’ve got special prices on needle and hook sets, limited edition sock and hand dyed yarns, unbelievable coned yarns for weavers and some of your favorite Valley Yarns. Check out the full Sale Preview here for all the details and visit Yarn.com on April 1st to fill your cart!