Play Now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Guest: Kathy talks with Donna about her path into the knitting world, she began as a computer tech writer and at the prompting of a friend began to transfer to writing about something she loved – knitting! She now writes books and teaches as well as tech editing for independent designers and translating German knitting books into English. She has a new book in the works on knitting in Lithuania with history, culture and telling that culture’s story through knitting; similar to her book Arctic Lace.

Donna has also worked to develop 2 different apps for iPad and iPhone. First there was the Knit Companion app and her newest is Travel the World of Knitting with embedded stitch video tutorial and a collection of new patterns.

Steve’s Yarn Picks

39th Anniversary Sale Highlights

• Berroco Blackstone Tweed
• Grignasco Merino Silk 25
• Regia Hand-Dye Effect
• Valley Yarns 8/2 Tencel

• Plymouth Yarns Trabajos del Peru
• Classic Elite Pirouette Discontinued Colors
• Classic Elite Seedling Discontinued Colors Solids and Handpaint
• Classic Elite Sprout Discontinued Colors
• Classic Elite Yarns Fresco Discontinued Colors
• Liberty Wool Discontinued Colors Solids and Prints

Upcoming Events: 

Join us at  Stitches South! this week in the Renaissance Waverly Hotel & Cobb Galleria Centre April 11-14th in Atlanta, GA.

Don’t forget about the Tent Sale on May 18th and 19th!

The Third Annual I-91 Shop Hop is happening June 27-30th.

 

Classic Elite has two great new yarns for Spring 2013!

Classic Elite Yarns Mesa is a worsted weight, 100% cotton, machine washable yarn. WEBS carries all 14 colors dyed in subtle tonal shades that lend depth and interest to your finished garments. This yarn is perfect for casual summer tops and baby items.  Classic Elite also offers a 4 pattern collection that takes advantage of the tonal color shifts of Mesa: Classic Elite 9212 – Mesa

Classic Elite Yarns Canyon is a DK weight, 85% Pima Cotton/15% Alpaca blend that is also machine washable. Canyon is a summertime addition to Classic Elite’s Mountain Top collection of naturally hued yarns. The fiber blend gives this yarn beautiful drape and movement that make it perfect for 3 season garments. Classic Elite 3211 – Canyon offers 4 patterns that take advantage of the natural colors and unique fiber blend of Canyon to produce beautiful lace and crisp stitch definition.

Play Now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Guest: Kathy and Betsy talk about the new Classic Elite Book: Shawls, Wraps and Scarves. Betsy and several of the designers will be here at WEBS to introduce you to the book and designs on January 24th, be sure to register now!

Betsy and Kathy also discuss the versatility of the items featured in the book, and how adventurous you can be with these simple shapes just by varying your yarn, color and stitch choice.

If you are in New York City you can see Betsy at Vogue Knitting Live today!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Noro Takeuma
• Noro Koromo
• Tahki Marina
• Tahki Pixie
• Regia 4-Ply Arabesque Color Closeout
• Regia 4-ply Concerto Color Closeout
• Cascade 220 Paints Discontinued Colors Closeout
• Plymouth Yarns Pasea Discontinued Colors Closeout

• Vogue Knitting Winter 2012/2013
• Debbie Bliss Magazine Spring/Summer 2013

Play Now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Guest: Kathy and Kristin discuss her new yarn Color by Kristin, her first design collection with this new line of yarns (all of the designs in the first book are named after her cats), and the fantastically popular Sebastian Gloves.

Kristin will be teaching a 2 session class on these gloves in November.

One lucky student will win a copy of the new pattern collection as well as one skein each of the 20 different colors from the Color by Kristin line!

Play Now: 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Guest: Kathy and Betsy discuss the process of bringing a yarn to market, from sourcing and choosing fibers and color palettes, to deciding on weight/gauge and plying, as well as final presentation of the finished new yarn.

Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool Light.

Steve’s Yarn Picks:

• Euro Baby Babe Speckle
• Sirdar Folksong
• Regia Angora Merino
• Blue Sky Alpacas Royal Petites
• James Brett Marble DK
• Feza Piquant Closeout
• Feza Alp Virgin Closeout

• Our 6th Annual Bus Trip to Rhinebeck
• An Afternoon with Franklin Habit - in Store Only

We often have trunk shows in the store so our customers get a chance to check out the patterns from different companies in person and even try them on. Since we’re not able to share this in person with all of our customers, we thought we would try out a little show and tell similar to what we do with Valley Yarns. This is a quicker peek than we give those patterns, but we hope this will be helpful too!

Recently, we had the trunk show for Classic Elite 9167 Sanibel. The patterns are available in the book, but also individually as PDF downloads. Classic Elite Sanibel is a blend of cotton and viscose that stripes in tonal colors and also has both matte and shiny textures. It is incredibly soft and has a lovely drape that is perfect for warm-weather projects.

Island Breeze

This is a drapey, openwork pullover with a ballet neckline. Because of the open stitchwork, it stretches to fit a range of sizes, though some of use would prefer a different size. One comment most of us made when we tried it on was “oh, air-conditioned.” The openwork let the breeze in, so even though it is long-sleeved, it’s still a cool top.

Dolphin

The construction of this cardigan has a capelet, sleeves, and fronts all worked in one piece. It is then attached at the neck edge. We weren’t sure how the capelet was going to work in this garment, but we were all pleasantly surprised with the look of the cardigan.

Captiva

This simple cardigan has bracelet sleeves and shows off Sanibel’s color, and drapey finished fabric. As everyone tried it on, we found ourselves saying “that looks great!” It is a lovely basic to have in your wardrobe.

Bayou

Top has a leaf decoration at the shoulder. This small detail makes this seemingly simple short-sleeve top stand out. The front and back are identical. The top was comfortable, but some of us would have preferred to have the sleeves a different length.

In the Sanibel booklet, you’ll also find the Periwinkle headband and the Flamingo pullover. The sample of Flamingo we had didn’t quite fit most of use, but looked lovely on Dena!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this peek at the trunk show. We plan to do more as the arrive and share other store samples we have.

Hi Everyone,

This week’s free pattern is the Dandelion Lace Shawl from the folks at Classic Elite. It is knit in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace. It is a beautiful blend of alpaca and silk that works up into lightweight and airy projects.

The pattern offers three different shawl sizes each taking just one back of the main color and one of the contrasting color. The sample is a size small, which is a great size for a little shawlette or to wear as a scarf. The largest size is 54″ wide and 21 ½” deep at the center point.

The dropped stitches on the lace border are fun. If you’ve ever knit a Clapotis (from Knitty.com), you know how much fun it is to drop stitches on purpose!

I love that you can make this shawl your own by choosing the color you like, or even knitting it in just one color. It would make a lovely gift too, since it is time to start thinking about that. (I’ve already started making a list in my head, we’ll see how much of it I get done.)

Click here for a link to the free pattern. If you’re not already subscribed to Classic Elite’s Web-Letter, sign up. It’s a great way to get a free pattern delivered to your inbox every week!

Happy Knitting!
Mary

This week the staff at WEBS is buzzing about…

1. Wendy Knits Lace – I’m a fan of knitting lace and Wendy D. Johnson’s blog, so when this book arrived, I was super excited. There’s a great range of projects – lots of shawls and scarves, but also hats, mittens, socks, and more that use a variety of weights of yarn. I happen to have a rather large sock yarn stash, so I’m looking forward to knocking some of that down with projects from this book (Esplanade Mittens and Mairi Tam, I’m looking at you!) The Vortex Spiral Shawl or Afghan is stunning! Knit in fingering weight, it’s a lovely shawl, but knit in worsted, it’s a spectacular blanket! The first part of the book also features great information for knitting lace – decreases, increases, joining, picking up stitches, and so much more. > Mary K.-H.

2. Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 4ply – My dreams have finally come true, we have a heavier weight cashmere in a whopping 34 colors. I love everything this company makes, especially their high quality, lustrous cashmere. Customers have long clamored for heavier cashmere in a range of colors, so have at it! > Cara S.

3. I’m excited about Kirsten’s Valley Yarns Silverscape Cardigan. It is such a simple silhouette but with clean, dramatic lace details. I don’t often knit sweaters but I’m working this one up for my Mom for the holidays. > Sara D.

4. Classic Elite Panache pattern book – This is a great pattern book for scarves, shawls and wraps. Different yarns can be used. I made the Grace shawl in Pirouette. It made a lovely lace shawl. > Marion H.

5. When Leslie Ann brought her latest weaving project, I immediately fell in love with her woven set of towels. I love how soft they feel and the beautiful twill pattern repeated in each towel. She put a long warp of Valley Yarns 8/2 Cotton on her loom. And then switched colors of Valley Yarns 8/2 Cotton Linen for each towel. I just happen to have both of these yarns at home and a very lonely loom that would be happy to have a little attention again. > Dena C.

Drumroll please….

Our lucky winners for the Classic Elite Mountaintop series giveaway are: Antonia D. and Rachel S.

Please contact me at csharpes@yarn.com  with your mailing addresses and I will send your pretty packages along.

Thanks to everyone for your participation and enthusiasm! We hope you’ll take the time to check out this luscious yarn yourselves.

Cara

Fall is a time of great anticipation for knitters. So many new yarns and booklets, so many new options! The employees at WEBS always get excited to see what Classic Elite has up their sleeve. They are so generous with our staff that they come every season to introduce us to their new yarns and designs. What fun! We couldn’t leave you out in the cold, so here’s a little something to catch you up…

Classic Elite’s new Mountaintop yarns feature natural undyed fibers in lightly varying hues. There’s something special about getting natural fibers in the store, it feels like sheep and wool festivals, crisp fall air and all the fun that comes with it.

Crestone & Vista are interchangeable worsted weight yarns at 100 yards per 50 gram hank. Both yarns knit to 4 3/4 stitches per 1” on a US 6-7. Crestone is a natural marled 100% wool and Vista is a 50/50 blend of superfine alpaca and wool with a range of solid naturals. Crestone is delightfully crisp without being too “rustic”, and Vista is very similarly constructed with a slightly silkier surface.

The Crestone and Vista booklet (#9148) features several designs we showcase in our store. The Alpine Meadow Sweater is knit in Crestone, constructed with a slight a-line style featuring a textured panel down the front.

The Highland fling shawl is knit in Vista, a small long shawl that easily doubles as a cozy scarf.

Vail is a light sport weight yarn at 6 3/4″ stitches per 1” on a US 3 , 70/30 baby alpaca and bamboo viscose, with a put up of 236 yards per 50 gram hank. Vail offers six natural colors and can be knit at various gauges. The baby alpaca and bamboo lend itself to a light sheen and a silky hand. I felt the swatch for this yarn and it has a baby soft feel…I would almost liken it to cashmere in a quick squish test.

Vail is included in the Panache booklet, a collection of accessories with various Classic Elite yarns. Flair, our store sample, is a wide lace scarf with a lovely drape. I love petting this piece, it makes me long for colder weather and time on my hands.

We hope you love these yarns as much as we do. And to help shout it from the rooftops we are doing a little giveaway! Want these spectacular natural fibers in your hot little hands? Comment below on what your favorite accessories are for the winter and which of these yarns you’d like to use for them. Make sure to post before Sunday,  September 11th to participate.

We’ll chose two lucky winners to receive a pattern booklet with enough yarn to make either the Flair scarf in Vail or the Highland Fling shawl in Vista! Winners will be announced Monday, September 12th!

Happy Knitting

Cara