November is for Slim

Continuing with 2008: A Year in Scarves... we have November is for Slim. (Why does Slim get a scarf? Hey, he's cold! Poor guy is just skin and bones! Well, bones.)






This scarf was knit with one skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (shown in "Country Christmas") on size 7 straight needles. The pattern is available here, and you can check it out on Ravelry here.

Yarn tasting!

A few months ago, we held a yarn tasting courtesy of Tilli Tomas yarns (is there anyone who doesn't like silk?!). It was grand fun, as evidenced by my photos below, and we'd like to have another!



Our next yarn tasting will be Friday, November 14th, 2008, from 7:30-9:30 PM, and we will be featuring yarns from Prism! $5 covers drinks and snacks; we are limited to 15 people, so please sign up in advance. You can either swing by the shop or give us a call and we'll ring you up over the phone.

Hope you can make it!

Luxury Yarn on Sale!

As we continue our first anniversary celebration, we're extending our deep discount sales to Internet purchases! Shop online or stop by the shop for these great deals:

This week only, ALL Prism yarns are 40% off! That's an incredible savings on these unique yarns, dyed up as only Laura can.

We've also put all of our Trendsetter brand yarns in the $2, $5, and $10 bins. Check them out here!

Happy birthday!

Hanks is One! Oddly, yesterday, I only took one photo during all the celebration... and here it is:

October 2008 sock club yarn: Purple Raven

All of the sock club yarn has been picked up, so now I can show off a photo of the actual colorway (remember the black & white teaser a couple weeks ago?)--



The colorway is called "Purple Raven" and so far the response has been 100% positive; so this will become a permanent colorway in our Perhaps Today is a Good Day to Dye line in about six months!

Are you ready for our sale tomorrow?

Most of Gainesville is probably getting ready for the Homecoming parade as I write this, but we're busy getting ready for our big anniversary sale tomorrow!

Please join us on Saturday October 25th and Sunday October 26th for a massive in-store-only sale! All yarns and fibers, with the exception of our indie dyers and spinners, will be 20% to 50% off! 20% off yarns will include Cherry Tree Hill, Lorna’s Laces, Malabrigo, and Prism yarns! 50% off yarns will include Schaeffer, Trendsetter, and Twisted Sister yarns! Are you a spinner? Our Louet and Ashford spinning fibers will be 20% off that weekend! Need to stock up on patterns? All of our single patterns will be 50% off that weekend! Plus more goodies in our sale bins! (Needles, tools, books, and a select few yarns and fibers will not be discounted.)

And we have plans for you Internet shoppers as well, starting on Monday, so stay tuned for that as well!

Soap for the holidays

OK, first off, please forgive me, because even though I am one of those people who hates to see Christmas things out before it's even Halloween-- oh, I just feel so guilty for this post. But these are so cute! I just can't stop myself from blogging about them!

We are going to have a Holiday soap this year-- Gingerbread Men! They come in two bases (Honey and Shea Butter) and two scents (Sleigh Ride, which smells like orange, peppermint and cloves; and Christmas Spice, which smells like orange and lemons, cinnamon, mocha, thyme and nutmeg). Right now they are only in the store, but we should have the soap updated and back on the website by the weekend!

The Hanks Question of the Week

Would you believe it's been almost one year? Just about one week shy! Wait, maybe I can find a photo of opening day...



Anyway... we've been here one year! What does that have to do with the Question of the Week...? We'd love to hear some of your favorite things that have happened in our shop in the last year! Has anything happened in the last year that has brought a smile to your face?

The Hanks Yarn and Fiber One-Year Anniversary Sale

It’s the Hanks Yarn and Fiber one-year anniversary sale! Please join us on Saturday October 25th and Sunday October 26th for a massive in-store-only sale! All yarns and fibers, with the exception of our indie dyers and spinners, will be 20% to 50% off! 20% off yarns will include Cherry Tree Hill, Lorna’s Laces, Malabrigo, and Prism yarns! 50% off yarns will include Schaeffer, Trendsetter, and Twisted Sister yarns! Are you a spinner? Our Louet and Ashford spinning fibers will be 20% off that weekend! Need to stock up on patterns? All of our single patterns will be 50% off that weekend! Plus more goodies in our sale bins! (Needles, tools, books, and a select few yarns and fibers will not be discounted.)

Friday Five: Five more photos of Karen's Clapotis

Remember when our lovely friend from Scotland, Karen, sent us her Malabrigo Clapotis to model in the shop? Well, it's almost time to send it back, but we wanted to give it a heck of a hurrah send-off. So here are five photos of Karen's Clapotis going to see The Yarn Harlot in Jacksonville!

The Hanks Question of the Week

In honor of us closing up shop early tomorrow and scooting off to see The Yarn Harlot... have you ever gone to see someone speak about fiber, be it about knitting, spinning, or crocheting? I know some of you have seen Stephanie speak before, and a couple of you have even been photographed by Franklin... tell us your experiences!

A few upcoming classes

Just a reminder about some classes that we have starting in the next few weeks--

Intro to Knitting 1 (The Knit Stitch)
October 22, 29, November 12, and 19, 2008 (Wednesdays)
6-8 PM | $100 | Materials Included

Introduction to Crochet
Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $50 | Materials Included

Buttonholes, Seaming, and Picking Up Stitches
Monday, November 3, 2008
or
Wednesday December 10, 2008
6-8 PM | $25 | Materials Not Included | Homework required before class

Sock Knitting using the Magic Loop Method
November 8 and 15, 2008 (Saturdays)
2-5 PM | $65 | Materials Included

Knit a Purse (“Counterpane Bag”)
November 15, 22, December 6, 13, and 20, 2008 (Saturdays)
10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | $125
Most Materials Included

Introduction to Cables, Slipped, & Twisted Stitches
November 17 and 24, 2008 (Mondays)
6-8 PM | $50 | Materials Included

The Saturday Six

Six Swatch Suggestions

Swatching before knitting a fitted garment is essential in determining the size of the finished garment. Remember that you are not only looking for the appropriate stitch and row gauge, but are also ensuring that the density and drape of the knitting fabric is appropriate for your garment.

Here are six tips to make your swatching go quickly and easily:

1. Make the swatch as large as you can stand to. The more you have to measure, the more accurate your calculations will be.

2. Check your pattern for swatch instructions. The gauge will usually be given in stockinettte, but sometimes you will need to swatch in pattern.

3. If you want to swatch with different needles sizes, you can knit them all on one swatch. With the first needle size, knit in garter stitch for a few rows. On the first row of the stockinette, YO and K2Tog once for each size of the needle. For instance, if you are using size six needles, YO, K2Tog six times. This will leave six little holes in your swatch to indicate that you used size six needles for that portion of the swatch. Knit in stockinette for three or four inches, do a row of purl bumps, then switch to a larger or smaller needle. YO, K2Tog the appropriate number of times, and knit on!

4. If the garment is knit in the round, swatch in the round. If knit flat, swatch flat. Most people purl at a different tension than they knit.

5. Always wash and block your swatch. Some fibers (Hellooooo alpaca!) stretch quite a bit when wet. Note the before and after gauge of your swatch and compare it to your garment in process.

6. Keep a journal of your previous swatches to see if you knit consistently loosely or tightly.

We're closing up for a half day!

Um, in light of the last post... um, well... we sure hope to see you there, because we're closing up the shop early that day! On Thursday, October 16th Hanks will close at 3:00pm so that we can hop in the car and head to Jax to hang out with the Yarn Harlot! Yay! So come join us!

Did you know?

Did you know that the Yarn Harlot is coming to Jacksonville?! Eeeep! She'll be doing a book signing and talk on Thursday, October 16th. I believe doors open at 5:30, and Stephanie will speak around 7:00. There are still tickets left, so call Kathe at Knitwitz right now (904-260-1636) and save your seat! The event will be held at the Ramada Inn on Hartley Road, just off I-295.

This is so exciting! Will we see you there?!

This just in - Classic Elite Minnow Merino

We got a new yarn in the shop this week, Classic Elite's Minnow Merino. This stuff is unbelievably soft! I almost wish I hadn't just started a pullover in something else, because my fingers really want to work with this yarn.

Minnow Merino is a worsted weight, single ply 100% merino yarn with a micron count as lovely as cashmere. And it’s machine washable!

100% Superwash Merino Wool
50 g/77 yards
4½ sts/inch on #8 needles

We've got stuff!

Prism "Stuff" yarns, that is --


We got in a couple new colors a few weeks ago for the Florida Fiber In -- what's left is now photographed and up in the various sections (Cool Stuff, Light Stuff, Neat Stuff, and Wild Stuff).

The Hanks Question of the Week

Is there anything that you've taken on (a type of spinning fiber, a particular pattern) that you wanted to do so badly that you could almost taste it, but it just fought you every step of the way? Maybe you struggled and struggled with it for weeks or even months... and yet, it defeated you in the end?

The October sock yarn is ready!

We're a bit over a day ahead of ourselves; we were shooting to have this out by the 10th, but the October 2008 sock club yarn is ready for pickup-- if you're in the sock club you can come by any time after, oh, now, and pick it up! (If you aren't local we would mail it to you, but everyone in October actually is local).

What's that? You want a sneak peek? And the rest of you want to see what you're missing? OK! Here's a totally in focus, not doctored photo...



... too bad it's in black and white and you can't tell what the colorway is. (Oh, was that mean of me...? We don't want to give everything away before you get your yarn, you know...!)

October's inspiration was a friend who has a love of string and shiny things.

October is for Spinners

I've written my very first pattern, and you know it had to be for the October scarf! From the pattern description:

Arachne, the original spinner, is portrayed here in a twisted stitch pattern from Barbara Walker’s Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns (The chart can be found on page 35 if you are more comfortable with boxes than you are with words.). The scarf begins on size 6 US needles using four stands of lace weight yarn held together. While the scarf progresses threads are dropped and the needle size is increased
as the consistency of our spinner’s web is interrupted by neglect and disrepair.

Download it from here. Happy Halloween, everyone!

The Hanks Question of the Week

When you buy tools (crochet hooks and knitting needles) what is most important to you? Price? Brand name (Addi, ChiaGoo, Clover)? What the tool is made from (bamboo, aluminum, rosewood)? Or do you buy whatever you need, from whatever is available, without too much worry?