A big huge thanks to everyone who came out to our Debbie Bliss event and also to our staff who continues to rock the free world with their awesome-ness.  I know, “awesome-ness” is not a word but it is in my vocabulary and sometimes you just need a created word to express yourself.  At least I do.

The day was not as full-of-Bliss as we had hoped.  Debbie and Trisha from Soho Publishing encountered more than their fair share of traffic jams, accidents, irreverent police and the like that slowed their journey to WEBS.  Nobody likes to be late and I think we all have our 15 minute window of tolerance.  Yes, that was truly tested.  For those who couldn’t stay my deepest apologies and I know Debbie and Trisha join me in just feeling awful.  For those of you who had the opportunity to stick it out – what a great time we had!

Debbie truly gave a dynamic talk encompassing all aspects of her design process and experiences.

We tried on garments:

That red coat is a new design from Debbie’s Fall ’09 Collection.  It’s knit in a new yarn – Luxury Tweed Chunky and I am so in love with it.

Debbie fielded questions:

And signed copies of her latest book Design It, Knit It:

Don’t forget that books are now part of our discount program!

A grand time was had by all.  I’ve received several lovely emails today from customers – some who stayed until Debbie arrived and others who had to leave.  I cannot tell you how appreciative I am of our very understanding customers.

Next up is our Lexie Barnes Classic Collection Launch Event tomorrow night (Thurs 6/25) from 6:00-7:30pm.  Lexie lives locally so I am confident we want experience any delays in her arrival   Plus, we are the exclusive retailer for these bags for the next few weeks so if you want to be seen with one of the coolest bags of the season, you better make your way to the event or get shopping on-line!

Kathy

Hi Everyone

Just a quick post today, but one that is jam-packed with important info, so please read on!

• This Tuesday, June 23rd, we are thrilled to welcome Debbie Bliss back to WEBS!  I realize this is short notice, but these are the kind of things that happen at TNNA.    Debbie will be at the store between 12-2pm on Tuesday previewing the fall issue of the Debbie Bliss Magazine.  She will be bringing with her many of the garments from the issue for you all to see, try on, etc.  We’ll be serving a light lunch.  Come on down to the store and enjoy an improptu but spectacular event.  As always, the event is free, we only ask that you register so we have a headcount for food and seating.   We’ll have plenty of copies of Debbie’s latest book, Design It, Knit It on hand as well for you to purchase and have signed by Debbie.  Our gratitude to the folks at Soho Publishing and KFI for making this event happen.

 

• Thursday evening, 6/25 we will be welcoming Lexie Barnes to WEBS!  Lexie has just launched her Classic Collection which is exclusively available at WEBS for the next few weeks.  Lexie will be at the store from 6-7:30pm to launch the collection.  We are very excited to have the opportunity to debut this stunning collection of bags from one of our most fave designers.  The shop is open until 8pm and we’ll have plenty of bags on hand for you to purchase.

 

• Wedged between these two rock star events, WEBS will have the distinct pleasure of recognizing some of our very own rock stars.  We’ll be holding our first “graduation” from our Expert Knitter Program.  The five ladies have completed an extensive educational program as well as a final  Capstone project.  Let me tell you, their designs are absolutely breathtaking.  I’ll be blogging more about this later this week, so stay tuned!  Congratulations to our graduates!  We are so excited to celebrate your amazing accomplishment with you on Wednesday!

 

• Finally – and this is an important one folks – WEBS RETAIL STORE WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY JUNE 29TH!  That’s right!  We are closing on a regular business day.  We will be replacing all of the carpeting in the store next weekend and we know we’ll need Monday to put everything back together.  Please be sure to pass this on via your own blog, Twitter, Facebook – whatever means you have.  You will still be able to shop on-line or call into Customer Service.  It’s just the retail store itself will not be open.  If you are interested in helping us put everything back together on Monday, please email Steve.

 

• Oh – and just in case anyone is wondering – we will also be closed on Saturday, July 4th.

Kathy

P.S.  We’ll be announcing the Berroco contest winner tomorrow!

P.P.S.  Happy Father’s Day to all of the Dads with an extra special wish for Jackson & Jonathan’s amazing Dad

The newest issue of Knitters Magazine is out and it’s a great edition! 

 

I sometimes find Knitters a hit or miss for me personally.  As I flipped through the summer issue there were a number of projects that jumped out at me.

First is Kathy Zimmerman’s designed Point Set Match is a beautifully feminine cardigan.

 

I love the stitch pattern and the point detail along the collar, cuff and hemline.  Knit in Nashua Handknits Creative focus Silk the cardi is offered in five sizes up to a 2X and requires anywhere from 14 to 20 balls.  Not a small project by any means, but fabulous just the same.

Next up is Vanilla Leaves is knit in Rowan’s Lenpur Linen.  a cotton/rayon blend that was introduced in Spring 2009, the yarn is the perfect choice for the it’s great stitch definition and cool feel.  It also provides the right amount of drape for this stylish tunic – knit using a different blend or 100% cotton, the look and fit would not be the same.

 

I love the leaf motif that forms the bands around the bottom of the garment hem and sleeves.  Also designed by Kathy Zimmerman, Vanilla Leaves is offered in 6 sizes and requires 10 to 17 balls (though if you are knitting the largest size I’d buy one extra as the yardage is too close for comfort in my opinion).

Now, to my absolute fave – Sine-cosine.  This is one of those designs that I would buy in every color if I saw it in a store. 

 

Designed by Ginger Smith, this breezy, sophisticated tee has more to it than you might think at first glance.  According to the magazine, this garter stitch top is brilliant in that “Diagonal knitting merges traingles into miters that then grow into a lovely play of texture and color”.  Berroco Latitude is the yarn of choice for this project.  A stunning yarn that was introduced in Spring 2009, Latitude has a slight tonal color variation and just a hint of texture.  Sine-cosine is designed in 4 sizes and requires 7 to 11 balls.

Last, but not least is the darling Party in Pink.  I don’t have any little girls to knit for, but if I did, this one would definitely be on my list.

 

Designed by the Knitters Design Team, this adorable jacket utilizes simple slip-stitch stripes to achieve the smock-like top.  I love the colors they used.  Party in Pink is knit in Palma from Tahki/Stacy Charles which is their 100% Organic Cotton.  Offered in children’s sizes 2(4, 6) you will need between 7 and 10 skeins.  

There’s plenty more packed into the summer issue – these are just a few highlights.  I hope one of these projects makes it onto your summer knitting list and I’d love to see pictures when you’re done.  I’d also love to know which patterns you like best from this issue – let me know in the comments!

Kathy

This week I had the chance to talk with Eunny Jang Editor of Interweave Knits.  She was in Cleveland recording the third season of Knitting Daily TV.  We had the chance to talk about the spring issue of Interweave Knits, her Blooming Cotton Scarf (kits available on our site) and a sneak peek of the summer issue.  We also had the chance to catch up with former Interweave Crochet Editor Kim Werker. 

Steve had some new yarns to talk about as usual and even slipped in some info on our upcoming 35th Anniversary Sale.

Finally, Pixie and I are winding down the Chicken KAL.  We’ll finish that up next week!

Listen to this week’s episode or download from iTunes!

Enjoy!

Kathy

In Knitscene that is!  Have you checked out the latest issue yet?  The winter 2008/spring 2009 issue has been out for a couple of weeks now and this is the first chance I’ve had to blog about it.

 

I was tickled to open it up, get all the way to page 7 and see this profile:

 

We *heart* Courtney and Kate and were so excited to see this article about them.  In case you don’t know they are the owners of Kelbourne Woolens, the exclusive distributor of The Fibre Company Yarns.  These ladies are not only smart, but the kind of people you just want to be around.  Check out the article to learn a bit more about them but also be sure to check out the yummy yarns from The Fibre Company.

Get to page 42 and there’s a book excerpt from the upcoming simpleStyle by Ann Budd.  Now, I’m going to be honest, page 16 and 22 had me pretty smitten when I first went through this issue so I really didn’t pay much heed to the excerpt.  Until today.  Today I received my advance copy of simpleStyle.  Trust me, I’ll be talking much more about this book.  It’s a keeper!

But I digress, back to page 16:

 

Not only is this a design featuring our very own Berkshire Bulky, but it’s the amazing work of Carol Sulcoski.  Yes!  THAT Carol! She did that gorgeous design with one of our yarns!  I feel like one of my kids just won some sort of competition! 

Not only that, the cardigan is featured as part of a story on buttonholes:

 

The beautiful shaping and the stitch pattern makes it seem that this cardigan was NOT knit in a bulky yarn!  We’re going to be reknitting it ourselves in a different color (just to mix things up and give options) and it will be featured in our next catalog!

My heartfelt thanks to Carol for choosing Berkshire Bulky.  We’re far from the only game in town when it comes to yarn and we love how she made one of our babies shine! 

One last tidbit.  For those of you who listen to our Ready, Set, Knit! podcast, you know that last week Jonathan celebrated his 8th birthday.  The boys had a couple of days off from school so we headed to Boston for some birthday festivities.  Here’s one of Jonathan’s best buddies shopping at Copley Plaza:

 

And a few others admiring the view:

 

Then, it was off to the Bruins game (the first for the boys):

 

Other than the Bruins losing, it was a great time!

One last picture.  Jonathan requrested that I post this.  His finished Lego Taj Mahal:

I’d love to know what you think of this issue of Knitscene and especially the Stacked Rib Cardigan!

I’m hoping to have a fun surprise for you all tomorrow.  Be sure to check in!

Kathy

Just posted is the preview for the Fall ’08 issue! Check it out here http://interweavecrochet.com/issue/2008/materials_fall08.asp#ridgeswing.

The designs are really beautiful and I have to admit to being partial to the Stepping Stones Cardigan by Kristin Omdahl. She used our Valley Yarns Deerfield and the finished cardi is really stunning! Can’t wait for the issue to arrive.

More updates from Twist are coming too!

Kathy

The Fall issue of Knitscene is out!

 

It is now in a larger format, which I think it is great. There are several interesting projects in the issue, but there’s one that I am particularly fond of:

 

This is the Matryoshka Stole. I love the design, I love the beads, I love the size. What I really love is that it is knit in our own Valley Yarns Stockbridge! But what makes this even better is that it was designed and knit by Cirilia who works for us in the store, has designed for us and has model in our catalog!

Even more exciting – Cirilia is profiled in Knitscene’s “One Cool Knitter” feature.

If you haven’t picked up the fall issue yet, stop by the store or you can order it on-line.

Oh, and for those of you intrigued by that sweet capped sleeved sweater Cirilia is wearing in the article, I know where you can get it! It’s the Gallery Jacket, and it’s also designed by Cirilia. The yarn is our own Valley Yarns Sheffield.

Congratulations Cirilia! We are very excited for you!

Kathy

NOTE: This post was started on 7/31 and never finished. Rather than start a whole new post, I am going to finish off the two drafts I have and then get things current)

We have received in so much yarn the past few days, it is mind boggling.

Besides yarn, we have books, patterns and magahttp://yarn.com/webs/0/1/0/4-0-1203/zines flying in at warp speed.

Two highlights – the two things that garnered squeals and general giddieness amongst the staff more than anything else. It has been hard to be focused, to say the least. The Vogue 25th Anniversary Issue is awesome and I suggest you get on-line or stop in the store asap to pick yours up. We had an out of town (really, out of country) visitor today and even that person, who is not a knitter, was thrilled to score a copy. THAT’s how hot this issue is.

We are very disappointed to announce that our event on Sunday, August 12th with Adina Klein, editor of Vogue Knitting has been cancelled. We will hopefully be able to host Adina at the store at another time.

Then, Rowan Magazine #42. It.is.spectacular. I am particularly fond of the Kaffe Fassett design on the cover. For any of you planning to attend Stitches East, Kaffe will be in our booth on Thursday evening starting at 7:00pm to sign books, etc. He is giving a talk earlier in the evening, check out the Stitches schedule for more info at http://www.knittinguniverse.com/.

More later.

Kathy