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This week, Kathy is chatting with an in-studio guest: Amanda Jarvis, the new owner of Lorna’s Laces and Mrs Crosby! Lorna’s Laces is one of our absolute favorite yarn brands here at WEBS, and Mrs Crosby’s Reticule is featured in Twist Collective’s May issue. Listen to hear more about Amanda’s journey with fiber arts and her new role as owner of Lorna’s Laces!

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the Week: 

• Trendsetter Ecotone – closeout!
• Trendsetter Phoenix Print – closeout!
• Dale Garn Daletta – closeout!
• Cascade Ultra Pima– on sale in May!
• Scheepjes Whirl– on sale in May!
• Scheepjes Secret Garden– on sale in May!

Our Spring 2018 catalog is LIVE! Click here to view 

Upcoming Events

Planning a trip to WEBS? Come in between now and May 18th to participate in the WEBS Super Summer Giveaway! Shop in the store, and when you check out, you’ll receive a sealed envelope that contains a secret prize – don’t open it! Bring it back to WEBS between June 1st and June 30th and we’ll open it for you! Your envelope could contain WEBS goodies including a $250 gift card!! The best part? Every envelope is a winner – every single one! Don’t forget to come back!

Our favorite event of the year is coming soon!!! The WEBS Tent Sale is happening Saturday and Sunday May 19th and 20th! Protip: Come on Saturday so you can visit our Fleece Market!

Registration for the WEBS retreat is full and we are soooo excited! To join the waitlist, click here!

Reminders

Do you have a crafting resolution for 2018? We sure do! Tag your posts #WEBSfiberfollowthrough for a chance to be featured!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for lots of great new products, contests and fun!

Check out all of our upcoming Events here.

Our Anniversary Sale is coming to a close tomorrow! We’ve had two full months of incredible deals on yarns for knitters, crocheters and weavers, as well as needle and hook sets. With just over 24 hours before these sale prices end you have one last chance to shop these deals and build your stash for summer and even holiday knitting!

left, top-bottom: Tahki Cotton Classic Lite, Noro Taiyo, Knitter's Pride Dreamz Deluxe Interchangeable 
Needle Set and Cascade 220, Debbie Bliss Boheme, Lorna's Laces Solemate

right: Jade Sapphire Khata

Take home your choice of over 100 yarns and needle/hook sets now, at savings of up to 30%, while you still can! Wednesday morning at 12:00am they’ll all be full price again.

The second quarter of our Anniversary year is coming to a close and we have more wonderful people and companies to thank.

To Tanis Gray, Kristin Omdahl, and Franklin Habit
Thank you for unique and beautiful designs that showcase our yarn!

To Lorna’s Laces,
Thank you for making our yarn shine with your incredible colorways. There are still some skeins left, get some while you can!

To Schacht Spindle Company, della Q, and Marcy Vandale,
Thank you for the adding your special products to our celebration.

To Dena Gartenstein Moses, Virginia West, and Scott Norris,
Thank you for weaving textiles that bring out the best in our fibers.

To The Fine Arts Center on the Campus of UMass Amherst,
Thank you for opening your doors and letting us shoot in some gorgeous spaces.

Next Monday, July 7th, we’ll have all new yarn and patterns to share, don’t miss out!

As we approach the end of the 2nd Quarter of our 40th Anniversary celebrations we wanted to focus on the third design done in the Valley Yarns Huntington Hand Dyed by Lorna’s Laces, The Centuria Tam designed by Franklin Habit.

At the beginning of April we introduced you to our 3 new designs with Valley Yarns Huntington Hand Dyed by Lorna’s Laces. Our featured crochet design, the Sermilik Shawl, is from the wonderfully talented Kristin Omdahl.

Earlier this month we introduced our latest 40th Anniversary yarn, Valley Yarns Huntington hand dyed by Lorna’s Laces. Just as we did for the first quarter of 2014, we have partnered with some truly talented designers to bring you some fantastic patterns for this yarn. First up is Tanis Gray‘s Nikiya Cowl.

It’s time for the second round of specialty products to celebrate our Anniversary! We’re so excited to share our Valley Yarns Huntington hand dyed by Lorna’s Laces.

We’ve chosen 9 of Lorna’s Laces’ richest colors and they’ve dyed a special Ruby Slippers colorway for our Anniversary.

Three more designers have joined us to bring you stunning designs made with our specialty yarn.

Tanis Gray has designed The Nikiya Cowl, a swirling and delicate lace cowl, the ideal accessory for Spring.

Kristin Omdahl drew on her Viking heritage to bring us the Sermilik Shawl.

Franklin Habit has worked his magic again and found an historical counterpane pattern to translate into the modern Centuria Tam.

Della-Q has another limited edition bag for us with a print that is the perfect burst of color for Spring.

We’ll also have three more weaving drafts from long-time friends of WEBS, and don’t miss out on your chance to enter the Weaving Contest! Full details and contest rules are available on our website.

And we’ve still got so much more for you this year. Be sure to check out our 40th Anniversary Sale, going on now, and if you’re in the area join us for our Annual Tent Sale and Fleece Market in May. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Instagram, or on Ravelry for all the latest.

Check out what the staff at WEBS is buzzing about this week.

I recently knit a Danger Crafts monster with Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted and I really enjoyed the yarn. It is super soft and I love that it’s machine washable. The next time I’m working on a project that needs to be easy to care for, I think I’ll take a closer look at Shepherd Worsted. I just love the colors too! > Mary K.-H.

I’m really excited about my new pattern Myceria! Both the mittens and hat are made top-down so you can customize the fit and the little ridges at the cuffs and brim have an interesting construction and add surprising detail. I enjoyed working with Valley Yarns Williamstown. It’s so soft, has great drape, even in fairly dense crochet work, and the little pops of tweedy color kept me smiling through the whole project. > Sara D.

I wanted to knit a cowl for a friend and was searching my stash for the softest yarn I could find. Filatura di Crosa Superior was the clear winner with its lofty cashmere. A quick search on Ravelry and I found a simple free cowl pattern by Patricia Scribner and was off to knitting in no time. Now that its finished I know I will need to make one for myself. It’s so light and airy, and crazy soft. It was also a great simple project I could work on if I only had a few minutes. No counting or concentrating required. Sometimes you just need that kind of project. > Dena C.

My New Year’s resolution is to get at least one holiday gift done each month of 2012. For January I’m working on a pair of Gnome Mittens by SpillyJane for my sister. I’m using mostly Valley Yarns Huntington and a few colors in Cascade Yarns 220 Fingering. I’m also using my go-to mitten needles, US size 2 Pony Pearls. I can be kind of rough on dpns and these have great strength as well as flexibility. > Sara D.

Best of Handwoven Technique Series: Twills on Four Shafts – This soon-to-be released eBook from Handwoven features a set of placemats in Valley Yarns 10/2 Valley Cotton designed and woven by Barbara Elkins and originally published in the March/April, 2001 issue of Handwoven. The pattern is an advancing point twill on 4 shafts that could easily be mistaken for a lot more shafts! It’s really easy to weave and takes just one cone each of 3794 Burgundy and 2629 Ink. Or adapt it to a 60/2 silk scarf using 666 Burgundy and 635 Navy.

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This week the staff at WEBS is buzzing about…

1. I love Day Beret pattern from Knitbot’s Snack Size Series. I knit it to go in our holiday catalog and it was so fast. I think I started it on Wednesday and finished it by Friday morning. It’s great to knit over a weekend and add to your box of stashed gifts. I loved working with The Fibre Co. Acadia yarn too. I normally am not a fan of yarn with slubs, but for some reason, paired with the simple hat, I really liked it. I can see knitting another one (or three) in other colors, and maybe even playing with stripes! > Mary K.-H.

2. This knitting technique video I shot with Tina teaches you how to knit cables!  I’m about halfway through my first pair of Kelbourne Woolens Give a Hoot Mittens using Valley Yarns Northampton and I’m just about ready to knit my first cable ever!  This will be a great resource for me as a new knitter. > Lindsey P.

3. I’m excited to try the SMC Tweed Deluxe. It has and interesting crochet chain construction around a separate fiber core. As a crocheter the idea of crocheting a chain with a crochet chain yarn is so meta! > Sara D.

4. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted – Every time my sister comes up to visit she gushes about this yarn. Color #630 Bittersweet is her favorite and it’s definitely mine too. It’s super soft, holds up well and it’s great to work with, so it’ll be fun to whip up a Christmas present for her out of this yarn. It’s so soft against the skin, I think a cowl would be perfect. > Grace H.

5. Right now, what’s on my mind is the 8th Annual Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage! We’ve got a lot of WEBS staffers signed up for it and Cara and I are trying to gather a contingent of staffers to knit while walking it. > Kirstin H.

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Guest: Beth Casey of Lorna’s Laces chats with Kathy about the newest yarn from Lorna’s Laces – Solemate. This is a sockweight yarn that’s a blend of superwash merino, nylon, and Outlast. Outlast is a technological fiber that helps regulate your temperature – cools when it’s too hot and warms when it’s too cool. The yarn has a very high twist, similar to the Shepherd Sock because it’s such a well-wearing, popular yarn. There is some springiness in the new yarn, but it is a little bit smoother because of the content. Beth also talks about the newest colors named after iconic Chicago landmarks.

Check out the Lorna’s Laces blog.

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Noro Kureyon New Colors
• Noro Silk Garden New Colors
• Rowan Colourspun
• Rowan Magazine 50
• Rowan Nordic Tweed Pattern Book
• Rowan Dalesman Pattern Book
• Rowan Evolution Pattern Book
• Rowan Fine Lace
• Rowan Tweed
• Classic Elite Cresstone
• Classic Elite Vail
• Classic Elite Vista
• Classic Elite Avenue
• Classic Elite Pattern Books

Our next Crochet-a-long is Valley Yarns #414 Valley Cowl. This cowl was designed by Doris Chan and is written to be crocheted in nearly any of the Valley Yarns!