YarnBlog

The project is completed. I hit a stumbling block on Sunday morning……. I did something I frequently tell new knitters not to do and that is continue knitting when too tired to really concentrate on Saturday night.

When I started work on the scarf on Sunday I had to unknit about 5 rows because I had a “loop” sort of hanging and absolutely no idea where it had come from or how I had actually made the mess. So by about 8pm I had finished the 7 repeats and on Monday morning was able to complete the last little piece of the scarf and cast off.

Interestingly the beginning is different to the ending of the scarf with two rows less done at the end because you omit the set up rows. This means that the beginning end has a little wave to it, and the end goes straight across. Not sure if Eugene meant that to happen or whether it is an error.

None the less the scarf will be blocked in the next week or so. I have made this as a gift however the Suri Alpaca is so delicious if I didn’t have more in my stash I might be tempted to keep this for myself!

I am about to continue knitting a gorgeous scarf called Shetland Chic which first appeared in an English magazine called My Weekly many many years ago. Last year I knit the same scarf using Jamieson and Smith 2ply lace weight yarn and decided to knit the scarf in stockingette stitch because one of the photos showed it done like that. About a month ago I realised I had more than enough of the same yarn to make the same scarf so this time I am making it in garter stitch which of course gives it a totally different look. While I love the look of the stockingette stitch when I attempted to graft the two ends together it did not look good, so ended up doing a three needle bind off which is quite nice and certainly lays completely flat. It will be interesting to see how the join looks when I do a graft “hidden” in the garter stitch.

What I want to know is how XRX Books Scarves-a Knitter’s dozen can have exactly the same scarf published in the book dated 2005 on page 56 designed by Mary Kay. In the front of the book it says it is against the law to copy etc. etc. without permission and yet I know my magazine copy came out well before the year 2000. There was even a kit offer from Jamieson and Smith in the magazine so I know that it had to be something they knew about as their address and phone number is included in the offer.

So why did XRX Books not mention Jamieson and Smith in the book, or mention perhaps that Mary Kay had previously designed it for other publications????? Someone involved with the Knitters Magazine is not being totally truthful about where they obtained the pattern from which seems to mean that they are not following copyright laws themselves.

Good morning,

Naturally like any “normal” knitter I have several things on needles but I am trying to complete a couple of things quickly so some will be UFO’s for a little longer.

One of the most pleasurable items I have on needles is the Hydrangea Lace Scarf by Eugene Beugle. I am using size 4 addi turbo lace needles and the yarn I have chosen is from Barefoot Alpaca Farm at Grass Valley in California.

It is lace weight Suri Alpaca in a natural brown colour and it is absolutely a joy to have it running through my fingers each time I pick up the needles. Eugene’s pattern has a wide and a narrow scarf, and I decided to do the wide one as I have so much of the alpaca to use.

Recently I discovered the Heirloom Knitting site in the UK and I have purchased a Hap Shawl Kit from them as well as two books and three other shawl patterns. If you enjoy lace knitting especially Shetland, you would really like the website for the patterns and yarn.

Sharon and Michael do a great job on mailing their products around the world and it is a pleasure to do business with them. Sharon’s research and historical knowledge about the lace and the area where it was so popular makes each pattern and book even more interesting.

This alligator looks great - and gets better every day.
The downside is the yarn is heavy and making the bumps is hard on my hands.
The result will be worth it, though.

I found a wonderful aligator pattern and decided to knit it for a friend’s seven year old son. His favorite colour is orange, so that’s what I’m using.

After the first few rows, I realised it needed to be on a larger needle. The yarn is extremely stiff - it has to be because of the pattern, but on the size 5 or 6 needle they suggested, it would have been as stiff as a board. So now I’m using an 8 and it feels better.

Its fun! You can see the nostrils and I’m doing the eyes now - they are really good.

Louet North America introduced a new yarn called Bonnie.

Bonnie is a multi-colour wool/silk blended yarn, 90% wool, 10% silk. It comes in 50 gram balls in ten different shades. That mix makes it soft and smooth. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear it is really good for felting and it probably knits up is beautifully.

Well what a challenge I thought this baby jacket pattern presented when it arrived in the mail from my Mum in Adelaide, South Australia!

Mum’s sister, who lives in England had made the jacket several times for work friends as everyone kept admiring it. Then when she heard my parents had a new great grand child due late 2006 she decided that it was time to finally part with the pattern.

My Mum was tired of knitting sweaters for Dad so she bought some baby yarn and started knitting the jacket. However the wrap three times around each stitch 15 times and the purl together 15 stitches gave her some problems so I ended up with the pattern, in California, instead.

I started the jacket April 1st and the knitting was completed April 8th… I bought Rowan Cashsoft Baby 4ply in cream which is wonderful to knit with and then used size US2 for the body and US1 for the yoke.

The pattern was completely addictive and once I did the first 10 rows for the back, the rest was easy. I had never done a wrap around three times before in 15 stitches, nor the purl together 15 stitches, but it was a lot of fun. Seeing the little “shells” pop up was really amazing.

The jacket needs to be sewn together now and I need to get some tiny cream buttons and ribbon for the joke. I might have just enough yarn left to make either the bootees and mittens or the hat.

Of course the great grand child was born safely 8 weeks premature November 2nd 2006 and is now far too big for this size 18-19 inch jacket. However I am sure that his parents or my other nephew due to get married in 2008 will have some more babies so the layette will be used some day soon.

Happy knitting

Sally Ann Gray

What a delight it is to have the Hanne Falkenberg trunk show in the store. We all enjoy trying the models on and deciding which new one to buy…. The last day the show is at Filati is tomorrow February 17th and the hours are between 10am and when we close at 5pm.

Janice, Alice and I have all managed to have coughs and colds recently. Judy was the only one this time who escaped the germs so thankfully she was able to work some extra days when we were all staying home to recover. We are all sick and tired of being sick and tired!

We are half way through the month of February so preparations are now under way for our March sale. In January we always think we have a couple of months to set up the sale area, and then suddenly February is upon us and then in the blink of an eye March is closer than we think.

Just two workshops are left for this season. On March 3rd Pat Clark is coming to teach a class for a beaded hat in the morning. Then in the afternoon Pat is teaching mitered knitting a technique that seems to be gaining in popularity this year. The very first workshop I did at Filati was mitered knitting and I really did enjoy both the atmosphere at the store and of course the wonderful class too.

Well I am going to have some dinner and then spend the evening casting on 345 stitches on size US2 needles for an Alice Starmore sweater called Cape Cod.

Happy knitting

Sally

I have been busy with various projects as usual, but have started a little jacket in a new yarn called P J’s by Knit One Crochet Too. The yarn is like stips of flannel material and knits up really fast and looks lovely. I am looking forward to seeing the jacket completed with the fun bottons I have chosen from the store this week. Alan needed a hat to wear on his walk to work each day, so last week I made him a beany out of one ball of Rowan Big Wool. I had made them for my nephew, his Mum, and a little friend of mine called Kameela last year and knew they didn’t take too long to make. It ended up taking 1 hour and fifty minutes to make Alan’s so he had one for the Monday morning walk to work when the temperature was around 30F.

Over the weekend I went “Shopping” in my walk in closet and found some Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK which I knew I had put aside for something. About 6 years ago my parents came to visit us here in Folsom and on their return trip to Australia one of their suitcases when missing. It has never turned up which was heartbreaking especially as there were several handknitted sweaters in there which I had made for both Mum and Dad. I have decided to use the Jaeger yarn to make the same Alice Starmore sweater that I had made for Mum before and would like to TRY and get that made for her before they visit here again in May. Or maybe I should make it and mail it to her this time…. I bought some yarn while in Adelaide which I hope will arrive shortly, I had it mailed instead of carrying it, and this yarn is to make my Dad a sweater too. He keeps saying he doesn’t need another sweater but he loved the vest I made for his 80th birthday so I know he really enjoys receiving new sweaters regardless of what he says. Actually Alan is exactly the same but I love to knit for him too.

The workshops at Filati are coming to an end for this year. We have another finishing class, a sock class, beaded hat class and a mitered knitting class the last two are in March and then it’s over for another year. We have had some requests for workshops in the Summer so perhaps if enough people call the store or email Janice we might just be able to arrange some for you. Of course the beginner knitting classes are Saturday’s and Wednesday evenings and the crochet classes also on Wednesday evenings are always on going. All you need to do is call the store and reserve a spot in the class, just remember to give us a little warning if you want to do the crochet classes as we have to get in touch with the teacher in plently of time.

And of course we are always pleased to see our friends come in and knit on Saturdays during the day or Wednesday evenings when the store is open until 8pm. I know the dark evenings make you want to stay in by the heater, but it is nice to have our tables full of friendly faces sharing their knitting and chatting too.

Happy knitting week
Sally

Alan and I are back from Australia and have settled back into winter! My parents are coming to stay with us for about a month in May which is something to look forward to. I gave my Mum a gift certificate from Filati a couple of years ago so she is looking forward to visiting the store for the first time.

Again I have managed to get too many things on needles. I am knitting a sweater for a friend in Sydney, I did one for Paul and now have to do one for his partner Rod. Naturally I bought yarn in Adelaide and have already got the body of the jacket knitted, but have to work out how long to knit the sleeves. Likewise I am knitting a Debbie Bliss jacket in the cotton aran and have a problem with the length of the sleeves. I am going to take both projects to the store on Wednesday and get Janice and Alice to help me solve those problems. My Aussie friend Jane, here in California, needed help with a vest she had knitted for her husband so I am helping her with that project too.

My new great nephew Romeo is now two months old and absolutely gorgeous. While in Adelaide I knitted a lovely matching jacket, hat and bootees for him with some Cleckheaton baby yarn, and I also knitted him a Schaefer jacket knitted from the top down. I still have the yarn for about three more sweaters for him and a blanket or two so I want to get them done before the Australian winter.

The shop has continued to be busy which is wonderful. We had a great sale just after Christmas and decided to keep a lot of the ’scarf yarn’ on sale as the ladies are certainly making scarves again. Wednesday nights have seen growth in the number of new knitters coming in for classes, and even Saturdays have been busy again keeping our Diane out of mischief. We have just a couple of workshops left including a felted bag, finishing, and beaded hat class going through to early March. Janice is thinking about having a couple of workshops during the summer months as a few ladies have requested classes at that time of year, especially the school teachers. It will be interesting to see how many ladies sign up once we get a programme together.

It has been very cold here the past three nights with temps down around 25F. We have been protecting the citrus trees we have and Alan has wrapped all the water pipes too. Hopefully tonight might be the last night with temps that cold, with a slight warming trend heading our way by Wednesday.

Hot chocolate time I think.

Sally

Hi everyone,

I am so proud of myself. Nothing like bragging is there… Janice finished and blocked three baby sweaters for me, and also did the same with three sweaters for me. One of them was knitted in a yarn by Cleckheaton called Rapid Ribbon and Mohair, long discontinued I would imagine as I bought it in Canberra in about 1995. Another was done in Eva by Adrienne Vittadini, again discontinued, but it looks fabulous knitted up in a Capelet designed by Norah Gaughan. The third project was also a yarn by Adrienne Vittadini this one is called Dianna and I completed a top down henley by Knitting Pure and Simple. What a feeling of contentment to have all those projects completed at long last. Now I am about to knit the second sleeve on a jacket project for Janice and all my half finished sweater projects will at long last be completed. I do have some scarves and shawls on needles but they are ‘newer’ UFO’s. Oh I also completed the little Deco ribbon bolero and it is gorgeous. I made it in the lurex stardust line and it really would make a wonderful evening bolero for over the holiday season.

Tomorrow we have a felted bag workshop which should be a wonderful class. Betsy is the teacher and it is one of her designs that the ladies will be making. Betsy is our class teacher on Wednesday evenings and I know her classes are always fun. The following Saturday October 28th Janice is holding her first finishing and blocking class for the fall workshop schedule. Last year we only planned two classes for her, but the response was so overwhelming that we quickly had to reschedule two more . So far two of her four classes are full and the other two in the New Year should fill in the weeks ahead.

I am just looking at the stash of yarn I have in full view of my desk…… Now I have six projects completed I can think about my next ’shoppong spree’ from the stash this time. The other Australian yarns are nagging me to become sweaters now they have seen the Cleckheaton yarn knitted up and that the sweater has moved into my wardrobe. This weekend I will spend some time going through patterns and books to find something special for two bags of yarn I know I have had since about 1992.

Well I need a cup of tea and a cuddle with Chester and Lester this evening.

Sally

G’day to one and all,

I have been reading the book the Yarn Harlot recently and one chapter has given me a guilty feeling. It was the one about the unfinished sweater talking to the rest of the yarn in the closet. Needless to say I organised all of my yarn and dragged out all of the UFO’s that were lurking in plastic storage bags. Last week I gave Janice four sweaters to finish and block, they were in addition to Dad’s v necked pullover that I have also completed. Guilt feeling is now over for a while!

On the needles now I have the deco ribbon bolero for the store, a Knitting Pure and Simple henley, a jacket by Classic Elite for Janice and some more baby things for the great nephew we are expecting December 30th in South Australia. I also have a couple of scarves and two shawls to complete but they can wait until after the baby is born and I have all the little things knitted for him.

October 1st saw Janice, Alice and I out in the “outback” of Grass Valley. Three Alpaca farms organised an open day for townies to visit and gush over these gorgeous creatures. Alan and I had spent an afternoon earlier in the year at Barefoot Suri Alpaca Farm where we had a fabulous time with Dottie and Ken. So on Sunday this was our first stop, because we knew the owners and also because it was the closest one to Auburn…. We all enjoyed our time there, Alice and I both purchasing alpaca lace weight yarn, while Janice bought a teddy bear made from alpaca. From there we went to Opus Two Alpacas across the other side of Highway 49. Again we were made to feel welcome and found it interesting that this farm had two Llamas in the paddocks with the Alpacas as they act as guard animals against wild animals. I bought a Teddy Bear this time which I have had to put on top of a cupboard as Chester and Lester decided they would like to play with it. We didn’t make it to the third farm A Star Alpacas and this was only because we all needed lunch and headed back to old town Auburn. Perhaps Alan and I will take a trip up to A Star Alpaca later in the year for a Sunday excursion.

The new yarns continue to come into the store each day, and if I hadn’t had a fright on Monday with just how much yarn I have in the spare closet, boxes and window seats I might be tempted to buy more for myself. I am being strong, this week, and concentrating on finding patterns for some yarn I moved from Australia to California in January 1997. I don’t want to move it back in storage bags so have got it all out on top of the window seats hoping it will give me some incentive located where I can see it each day.

Well I have to deliver some needles to one of our customers who happens to live in Folsom. How’s that for service!!

Have a great day
Sally

It seems to have been a fleeting summer this year. My short sleeved t shirts have barely been worn and already I am thinking about knitted sweaters to wear each day. I love this time of year with a cool start to each day and a slight chill in the evenings and I know my garden is enjoying the cooler temperatures.

So much new yarn has come into Filati in the last few weeks, it is like Christmas for knitters…. I have already put aside a bag of the new Rowan yarn called Tapestry for myself, and today when the Manos Del Uruguay yarn arrived with some gorgeous patterns, well, lets just say it was very tempting too. The patterns that arrived along with the yarn are very nice, lots of basic sweaters and jackets along with some really elegant throws too.

But back to the real world. I have just completed knitting three hats in Crystal Palace Iceland as the main yarn, and splash, squiggles or fizz as the trim on each of them. Over the weekend I will felt them using my Bosch frontloader, and then find three bowls to shape them and dry them on for a couple of days. I also have a lovely bolero to finish made in Crystal Palace Deco-ribbon and that pattern as well as the hats are available free on the Crystal Palace website. As felting is so popular I am also making a bag from a Vogue book with a new Ironstone Yarn which has just arrived in the shop.

Janice, Alice and I along with one of our customers called Alison have been busy making the estonian shawl by Fiber Trends. Alice made the first one, and then I started mine with Alison knitting in the shop together on Wednesday evenings. Janice then decided she rather liked the pattern too so made hers slightly longer as a gift for a friend. I still have to finish mine and have reached the first end of the nump pattern! Trying to knit all the things above for the shop as well as a vest for my Dad (he will be 80 in November) has left me little time for ‘numping’ but I will get the shawl done soon, I hope.

Three years ago I taught a young lady called Samia to knit and now at 13 she is knitting up a storm. She called me three Saturdays ago and asked if she could spend the day with me at Filati so that I could help her complete the bottom of the bag we had started together while she was on summer vacation. Samia had a great day with us and felt rather grown up going to lunch with Diane and Cathy. As well as getting the four double point knitting needles under control she also learned how to sew in the ends properly. Samia is the only person I have ever taught to knit and I have to admit that I am very proud of her progress. We don’t get together as often as we would like as she is very busy being in Grade 8, but her Mum told me that each night before she goes to bed she knits to relax after studying for so many hours. Sounds as though this hobby will stay with her for years to come.

I am going to see what Chester and Lester are doing as it seems a little too quiet downstairs and I left some knitting on a sofa.

So long for now,
Sally

Email can be a pain. Some of our sale notifications didn’t arrive and some of them ended up in bulk folders! So Janice decided to continue the summer sale for another week. Alan just changed the date on the website www.filatiyarn.com

We had a great week, saw lots of new people and many old friends.

The Fall classes are filling up nicely, including some really great beading and felting classes. I just finished making three felted bags and I really love them. Two are for friends and one is for me.

Where does the time go? Its August already. I seem to have missed a few months. Ive been kitting up a storm. Baby blankets, lace shawls, felted bags - its great to see them all take shape.

This week, the Filati annual Summer Sale is on. There is a huge selection of Fall and Summer yarns. I’ve got my eye on several things.

Some of the Rowan yarns have been discontinued, so have Louisa Harding, Curious Creek, Mountain Colors and others.

Today (Saturday 12th August), Betsy Coyne and Pat Clark, knitting instructors will be at Filati so you can ask questions and sign up for classes. Betsy Coyne is from “Cultured Purl". Her Fall classes are for felted items - be quick before the classes fill up. I made two felted bags recently and they both turned out really well. I felted them in my front loader Bosche washing machine and I’m really happy with the result. Pat Clark’s Fall classes are for beaded knitting and there has been a lot of interest so far.

The Filati Fine Yarns has directions to the store, if you need them.

I am so excited about Jo Sharp’s visit on June 17th to Filati Yarn. One of her new yarns for fall has arrived in the store and we have also received the new book for fall as well. Come rain or shine and in our case even if the temperatures rise above 95F I shall be wearing the new sweater I just knitted made with the aran weight cotton!!!! The very first colour knitting I ever attempted was a gorgeous jacket designed by Jo. I used her dk weight wool which at the time was the only yarn available in the Jo Sharp line. Even now each time I wear the jacket I feel proud to say Jo Sharp from Australia designed both the pattern and the yarn. I am sure the two hours, 1 - 3pm she will be in the store will fly, but we will all enjoy every moment of her visit.

Sally

We’re so excited! Next week, Jo Sharp will be in California.
Famous Knitwear Designer Jo Sharp to Visit Filati Fine Yarns

Good morning,

Well I did all the shops in the first Sacramento area Yarn Shop Hop and it has taken me a couple of days to recover. I was lucky enough to have a few days off from work so that gave me the opportunity to spread the stores over three of the four days. Actually it was four days because I worked at Filati all day on Thursday which was the first day of the shop hop. I finally turned my passport in on Sunday around lunch time at Cameron Park and then relaxed.

It was nice to see all the stores in this area carrying a wide variety of yarns and also supplies for other crafts as well. Now when we get calls at the store for non knitting supplies we know which names to give out instead of just the box stores like Beverleys and Michaels!!! I always support the speciality stores first no matter what I might be looking to purchase. This was a great opportunity to get all the information needed to keep the clients within the small business network.

I did use this shopping time to buy of course. My goal was to purchase a” Christmas gift” to knit in each of the 12 stores and yes I certainly achieved that very easily. I will of course need all the time between now and December 1st to get all the gifts completed for overseas friends and family members.

Just before leaving Cameron Park on Sunday I called in at a Quilt store to satisfy my other hobby needs. As I made my purchase I was handed a flyer for a Quilt Shop Hop in October. Although I might not have the time to do that one is was nice to see it advertised so far in advance.

Sally

Have I been knitting up a storm with the discontinued yarn by Sirdar called Kool Kidz. In the past week I have knitted two sweaters for our friend Devlin who was born in February this year, and one cardigan for his sister Bliss who will be four in September. I just started a new sweater for Bliss this morning and with any luck will have that one completed by the end of this week. The two for Devlin are age 6 - 12 months, and I decided to knit age 5 - 6 years for Bliss, because if they are far too large they can be stored until the following winter. When Devlin was born I had knitted a lovely top down cardigan in hand dyed pure wool yarn for him which Craig and Karen were thrilled with. However I decided that with the Kool Kidz yarn being completely machine washable and dryable why not make some quick easy sweaters for both Devlin and Bliss while the yarn is still in the sale area of Filati.
The Sacramento area Yarn Shop Hop is on this weekend running from Thursday through Sunday. Fortunately I have my long weekend off starting from Friday, so will attempt to go to all of the stores on the passport while I have the chance. The quilting world has been holding these fun weekends for many years and are they very well organised and extremely successful. Let’s hope this “copy” works well for the knitting stores and knitters when organizational problems have been overcome!
For those of you who knew him and those who didn’t know him, Filati’s greeter, Max, the german shorthaired pointer passed away on May 4th 2006. He had been a staff member for about 10 years and is missed by everyone. We have a new greeter in training at the moment called, Molly, a three year old Golden Retriever. She has always been described as a terrorist because she can and does cause havoc at home, but so far after three full days at work she is fitting in well with both the staff members and our customers. Obviously she has large shoes to fill and will never replace Max, however it is lovely to have her in the store and she is certainly bringing much laughter and joy back again.
The warmer weather in this region puts a halt on sweater knitting for a lot of people, however we are already seeing the fall range of yarns and patterns…… I am going to start knitting lace scarves and shawls over the next few months and may even try my hand at some of our new felted bag patterns with the idea of getting on top of my ever growing gift list for both Christmas and birthdays. All small projects which can be knitted in the warmer months and are quite portable too.

Sally