Perhaps this new base yarn is spun by Unicorns...!

Prism has a new base yarn for their sock yarn, Saki , and I think it may perhaps be spun by Unicorns, from cloudstuff.



Of course you can't feel the softness of the yarn with this photo, but you can get a good idea of the parrot colorway! And trust me when I tell you... this new base yarn is fantastic. If you've been steering away from Saki because you had heard the base yarn is too rough, you may want to swing by and feel this up. You won't regret it!

The Hanks Question of the Week

Continuing with last week's question about what types of classes you prefer (workshops vs. projects), are there any particular specific classes you'd like to see us offer in October through December?

August is for Jack

Continuing with 2008: A Year in Scarves... we have August is for Jack. This scarf was knit with two skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino (shown in "Camote" and "Matisse Blue") on size 4 straight needles. As I was making this we were all talking about other colors in which it could be worked up; while I chose Orange and Blue for the Florida Gators (my father, Jack, was a hard-core Gator fan), I would love to see someone make this in a red and black combo.

As with our other scarf patterns, this one is easily customizable; one could easily make it wider/longer by using a larger yarn and needle.



The pattern is available for download here, and the Ravelry pattern page is here.

Green-- no; Red Gable

I'm a bad blogger-- I realized I never posted about this over here...



Yarn: Prism Tencel Tape
Needles: Size 6 circulars (4’s for ribbing on sleeve)
Pattern: Green Gable
Notes: Super easy pattern, and great yarn for Florida. It’s a marriage made in knitty heaven!

Class: Intro to Dyeing Techniques

August 9 and 16, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $50 | Materials Included

Can't find that perfect colorway that you'd like to crochet or knit a pair of socks with? Learn to dye your own using a couple different techniques, and almost as many color options as you can think of.
Due to the small area in which this class will be held, class size is limited to three people.


Classes do fill up early; so please reserve your space in the class by paying in advance as it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate walk-ins. All classes limited to five people unless otherwise stated. A minimum of 2 students is required for most classes to take place – some classes may require a higher minimum, please call or email us for more information. If the minimum for a class is not reached, we will cancel or reschedule the class and a full refund will be given.

Are you my mommy?

UPDATED 7/26/08: The sock has been reunited with the knitter! YAY!

Found: one sock


Is very lonely; misses owner (and mate). Has been hanging out in yarn store since around Monday (possibly left on Sunday by an SnB-er?). Call (352.338.7222) to claim!

Upcoming classes

Classes for August and September!

(Please note that the previously offered Top-Down Raglan class has been moved to October; dates and times to be announced later)

Knitting 101: Learn the Basics in 3 Hours
Saturday August 2, 2008
or
Saturday September 6, 2008
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $25 | Materials Included

Intro to Knitting 1 (The Knit Stitch)
August 2, 9, 16, and 23, 2008 (Saturdays) 2-5 PM
or
August 27, September 3, 10, and 17, 2008 (Wednesdays) 6-8 PM
$100 | Materials Included

My First Knitted Hat
August 11 and 18, 2008 (Mondays)
or
September 11 and 18 (Thursdays)
6-8 PM | $65 | Materials Included

Introduction to Dyeing Yarn
August 9 and 16, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $50 | Materials Included

Introduction to Entrelac
August 16 and 23, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $50 | Materials Included

Introduction to Cables, Slipped, & Twisted Stitches
Saturday August 30, 2008
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $25 | Materials Included

Intro to Knitting 2 (The Purl Stitch and Cables)
August 30, September 6, 13, and 20, 2008 (Saturdays)
2-5 PM | $100 | Materials Included

Sock Knitting using Double Pointed Needles
September 13, 20, and 27, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $75 | Materials Included

The Hanks Question of the Week

Let's talk about classes (previously we've talked about your dream class).

Do you like classes that are one-day workshops? Or multi-week classes? Do you like general classes on learning new skills, like how to steek or do a buttonhole? Or classes based on a specific project, like a shawl or a cardigan?

Friday Five: Five more locally owned places we love

Sweet Dreams
If you like ice cream and you've never been here, get off your computer right this second and get over there! I mean, come on. Who can resist chocolate chip cake flavored ice cream? I can't even finish this post now, I have to go get ice cream.

Maudes
A great spot downtown to get a cup of coffee and a slice of cake (Annie Lennox carrot cake, anyone?) before or after seeing a show at The Hipp.

Gator Beverage
You would probably drive right by this place without stopping unless we told you that you can find some great things inside. From the outside, it looks like a scary 7-11, with only three or four parking spots. Inside is one of the only locations in town where you could find Kay cider, or pear Woodchuck cider. So if you're looking for something obscure, they might have it!

Alachua County Farmer's Market
Besides getting fresh fruit, veggies, and plants, we think their website gives you the best reason to shop here:

Everything sold at our market is grown within 50 miles of the Market, by the local farmers you see selling the produce.

It's hard to get more local than that! The Market is way down on 13th Street near the Sheriff's department, and is the place to be on a Saturday morning.

George's Hardware
This is the last of a dying breed - a locally owned hardware store. Remember buying nails by the pound? Miss having someone greet you by name when you walk in, or want someone to ask you how that home repair is going? Need one of those things? That does that thing? And you can use it to fix... that thing? They won't laugh at you for not knowing. George's is the place to go to.

Knitscene has arrived!

If you're on Ravelry very often (I'm not! I swear I don't check Ravelry while I'm at work!) you might have noticed the Riding to Avalon sweater being queued up all over town. Hanks now has the pattern available in the latest issue of Knitscene. You can see a full preview of the patterns here!

Friday Five: Five things we received from Lorna's Laces yesterday

A handful of new-to-us colors of Shepherd Sock, bringing our count to 37 different colorways!





If you don't know who Franklin is, then you're probably not planning on voting Fibertarian this year. If you do know, then you'll recognize this colorway!





Fisherman's Wool comes in a generous 500-yard hank, and gets 5 sts/inch on a US #8. Why are we not all making our cardigans with this?! One hank could clothe a child!





This completes our collection of Green Line DK (an organic wool in a sport weight) and we now have not only all eight colors of this, but also all eight colors in the worsted weight version as well!





We also got in some new-to-us colorways in Shepherd Sport, bringing our count to 29 different colorways!

Nothing makes me happier than a 40-pound box from Lorna's Laces

We just got in a 40-pound box of yarn (and roving!) from Lorna's Laces. We are working on getting everything photographed and up on our website, but here's a sneak peek at one little lovely--



Eight skeins of Shepherd Sport in Franklin's Panopticon! Here's a closeup.

The Hanks Question of the Week

Continuing on with the Knitting Scouts; this week we'd like to talk about fun medical mishaps-- because it's all good clean fun until somebody loses an eye... then it's just good fun. HAH!

Let's all make fun of our injuries/battle scars/accidents (knock on wood that I haven't had any... yet).

The “Knitting Has Forced Me to Seek Medical Attention” Badge (Level One) – In which the recipient has been forced to seek the advice of a medical doctor, nurse, or alternative healthcare professional for injuries sustained as a result of knitting.



The “Knitting Has Forced Me to Seek Medical Attention” Badge (Level Two) - In which the recipient has been forced to seek the advice of a medical doctor, nurse, or alternative healthcare professional, in a hospital emergency room, for injuries sustained as a result of knitting.


So... tell us your injury stories (we hope they're more funny than tragic).

Class: Knit a Stocking

Saturday July 26, 2008
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $25 | Materials Included*
A minimum of three people is needed for this class

Stockings aren’t just for Christmas Eve; they also make great gifts and can also be used as an introduction to sock knitting, as the general construction is quite similar. Learn to knit these adorable Mini Socks (using double-points) (Ravelry link to project photos). Even if you’ve never knit socks before, you can do this as long as you have a general knowledge of knitting (however this class would not be good for a first-time knitter).

* Required for this class is the book Knit Christmas Stockings! by Gwen Steege; copies, which are not included in the price of the class, may be purchased during class for a discounted price

Classes do fill up early; so please reserve your space in the class by paying in advance as it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate walk-ins. All classes limited to five people unless otherwise stated. A minimum of 2 students is required for most classes to take place – some classes may require a higher minimum, please call or email us for more information. If the minimum for a class is not reached, we will cancel or reschedule the class and a full refund will be given.

Fiesta yarns still on sale

We've decided to extend the Fiesta sale for one more week - so until July 13th, all of our Fiesta Yarns are 20% off. After that they'll be going back up to full price!

If you're looking for other things on sale, feel free to check out our clearance bin!

Friday Five: Five locally owned places to get good pizza and Italian food

We do love a good pizza and some Italian food around here, so it was more hard to narrow this down to five rather than build it up! Here are a couple of our, and our customers, favorite locally owned places to go for pizza and/or Italian food--

Leonardo's 706
The garlic rolls are to.die.for! This may be the priciest of the Leo's family, but the food is totally worth it. Go hungry, because between the garlic rolls, the generous servings, and the drool-worthy deserts, you won't want to eat for three days afterwards.

Leonardo's By-the-slice
A rite-of-passage as far as college student eating goes. Prime location on the corner right by the University, getting a slice here is fast and filling.

Leonardo's Millhopper
Okay, yes; we are partial to them because they are our next-door neighbors. So bear with us for a moment while we gush about how wonderful everyone who works there is (completely wonderful!). They also have the best deep-dish pizza ever, good lunch specials, and games on the booth walls!

Napolatano's
Great desserts, wide variety of dishes, and karaoke on (I think) Friday nights! What more could you ask for?!

Satchels Pizza
Many of our customers can't say enough about Satchels. The atmosphere is like nothing you've ever seen (unless you remember Kesl's Coney Island here in G'ville about 15 years ago), and the list of toppings you can get on your pizza will make your head spin!

Knitty Gritty Knitsters on the DIY Network (?)

Rumor has it that the DIY Network has/will be running a one-hour special with Vickie Howell. :insert girly fan-girl "squee" here:

From her blog -

I traveled the country collecting squares (that would be pieced together to form blankets) from Knitsters everywhere from Charleston, South Carolina to Los Angeles, California. We chatted with fellow stitchers ranging from 20-something indie musicians who knit in between gigs, to great-grandmothers who can't remember a time in their lives when they weren't holding a pair of needles.

We can't wait to see it (we loves us some Vickie Howell and Knitty Gritty around here)! But here's the deal (since I missed the original run yesterday); the DIY Network is claiming that they're re-running it July 8th, 16th, and 31st at 12:30 Eastern time. But according to the schedule on my DVR, I don't see it on July 8th (digital cable, DIY is channel 265, right...?). So if you are local to Gainesville and happen to see a notice of where/when it's showing, could you please comment here?

What can you do with one skein of Tilli Tomas?

We do love the luxury of Tilli Tomas yarn (and having pre-strung beads on yarn myself, when I discovered Tilli Tomas beaded yarn, I fell down and wept!), and as much as we drool over the many gorgeous tops and skirts we see made with this lovely yarn, we are also constantly on the lookout for easy one-skein projects. Here are two!



The blue one was made by one of our teachers, Jen; it's the Square Cake pattern from Knitty.

The purple one was made by one of our customers, Paige; it's from the One Skein pattern booklet from Stitch Diva (as a bonus, she got the hardware for it in the bead shop in our plaza, Gifts of Avalon).

Thank you, Jen and Paige, for letting us show these off!

July 4th hours

Just in case your fireworks and/or parade plans get rained out and you feel like drowning your sorrows at the yarn shop, we will be open our regular hours (10 AM - 7 PM) both on Friday the 4th, and the weekend.

July is for Quinn

Continuing with 2008: A Year in Scarves... we have July is for Quinn. This cowl was knit with one skein of Dream in Color Classy (shown in "Strange Harvest") on size 7 circular needles. As with many of our other scarf patterns, it is also easily customizable by adding to or subtracting from the cast-on number and/or lengthening or shortening it.





The pattern is available for download here, and the Ravelry pattern page is here.