The Discussion of the Month

There's been a lot of talk lately about fiction that has yarn in it, be it set in a yarn store or just one of the characters knits or crochets. Tell us if you've read a book like that, and what you thought of it!

More hand-knits than you can shake a stick at

Remember a few Saturdays ago when we were closed for a wedding? Caitlin and Greg had a beautiful, lovely wedding that (surprise) was full of hand-knits! We hope they don't mind if we post a photo showing off some of the fantastic shawls -



And the beautiful bride, who wasn't wearing knitting but whose mother did make that stunning dress (and all of the outfits for the rest of the bridal party... yes, ALL). If you should ever be so lucky as to get to go to a wedding where most of the clothing is hand-made, you should really do it. The memory of squeals of "you look great!" and "you finished it!" are still making me smile.

We love you, Greg and Caitlin!

Meet-ups and Gatherings

Most of you know about the SnB that meets at Hanks on Sunday afternoons from 2-4:30. But did you know about these other groups that also meet at our shop?

UFO Friday: Unfinished Object Friday
Come in Friday night any time after 5, and have some fun! Get some inspiration for working on your unfinished projects over the weekend. This is a much smaller group than the Sunday afternoon group, so if smaller settings are what you prefer, this meeting might be for you. Tea, laughing, and good people abound.

First Monday Morning Spinners
On the first Monday of the month, from 11-1, bring your wheel or drop spindle and some fiber and sit with Lorena to do some spinning! This meeting is great for spinners who work at night and can't get to an afternoon or evening gathering.

Third Thursday Evening Spinners
On the third Thursday of the month, from 5-7, bring your wheel or drop spindle and some fiber and sit with Ginger to do some spinning! This meeting is great for spinners who work or go to school during the day and can't get to the morning gathering.

Do you have the time and inclination to run another gathering, or perhaps a knit-or-crochet-along? Contact us to set up a time-- we'll provide the couch, you provide the inspiration!

What's on your needles?

I just finished a hat -



Yarn: GGH Tara
Needles: Size 8 circs/DPNs

I really liked working with the GGH Tara. It is a cotton/nylon blend but - and I swear I'm not making this up - it feels like cashmere. It is so soft that when I feel it and don't know what it is, I ask what luxury yarn the person is knitting with! My only complaint, if you could call it that, is the label of the yarn says "5/6" for the needle size and after much trial and error we realized that didn't mean a US 5-6, but a 5-6 mm (which is actually a US 8-9). Which firmly puts this in the Worsted Weight category!

Class: Introduction to Lace Knitting

March 5, 12, 19, & 26, 2009 (Thursdays)
6-8 PM | $100 | Materials Included

Have you been knitting for a while but have not yet ventured into lace knitting? If you can knit, purl, cast on, and bind off, this introductory class on lace knitting is just the thing for you.



During the four weeks of this class, a pillow will be made that will teach you both a basic lace pattern, and one that is slightly more advanced. We will be using a slightly thicker yarn than laceweight, so there’s no need to be afraid of tiny yarn! You will also learn how to read a chart, about the importance of blocking, and some basic techniques on how you can still save your work even after making a few mistakes.



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. Payment is required within 7 days of signing up for the class or within one week before the class begins (whichever comes first). All classes limited to five people unless otherwise stated. A minimum of 2 students is required for most classes to take place. If the minimum for a class is not reached, we will cancel or reschedule the class and a full refund will be given.

Addi Click!

Some of you have already been in drooling over the shiny happy of this -



The Addi Click System provides ten different sizes of Turbo™ tips, three different lengths of pliable blue cord (24", 32" and 40"), and one connector piece to help store stitches or combine your cords. The Click tips require no tools to change; simply insert the cord deep into the tip, twist and release. The tips will remain secure until you change them.

Fiber is good for you

Have you seen our fiber wall lately?



Just sayin'.

Do me a solid

A solid color sock yarn, that is!

We realized we were almost completely out of solid colors of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, so we called up to see what they had on the shelf -



We wound up getting six colors, four of which we've never had before!

The Uptown Art Hop (02/13/09)

I'm sorry I haven't blogged about this sooner (for the not geeky, ignore this next sentence; for the geeky, I've been having Firefox/Java/cookie issues and I couldn't access the blog to post, a;ldkjfa;ldkfja;dljf!) .... ANYWAY... we had the second Uptown Art Hop on Friday the 13th and as you can see we had a bit of fun--



If you missed this one, the next one will be in May - stay tuned for the date!

Upcoming Classes

Crochet an Amigarumi Monkey
Feb, 21 & 28, 2009 (Sat.)
2-5 PM | $50 | Materials Included

Introduction to Spinning
Feb 27, Mar. 6, 13, & 20, 2009 (Fri.)
6-8 PM | $125 | Materials Included ($200 refundable material deposit fee)

Soap Sweater: Intro to Fair Isle
March 4, 2009 (Wednesday)
6-8 PM | $30 | Materials Included

Introduction to Lace Knitting
March 5, 12, 19, & 26, 2009 (Thursdays)
6-8 PM | $100 | Materials Included

Introduction to Knitting
March 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2009 (Saturdays)
10:30– 1:30 | $100 | Materials Included

2009 Afghan: March Square
March 7, 2009 (Sat.)
2-5 PM | $30 | Materials Included

Learn to Knit with Beaded Yarn
March 9 & 16, 2009 (Mondays)
6-8 PM | $70 | Materials Included

Sock Knitting using DPNs
March 11, 18, & 25, 2009 (Wed.)
6-8 PM | $75 | Materials Included

Learn to Knit Mitered Squares
March 14 & 21, 2009 (Saturdays)
2-5 PM| $50 | Materials Included

Make Your Own Stitch Markers
March 28, 2009 (Saturday)
2-5 PM| $25 | Materials Not Included

Buttonholes, Seaming, & Picking up Stitches
March 30, 2009 (Monday)
6-8 PM | $25 | Materials Not Included

Introduction to Spinning
April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 2009 (Fri.)
6-8 PM | $125 | Materials Included ($200 refundable material deposit fee)

New patterns!

We are VERY proud to announce that as of last week we began carrying Zephyr Style patterns! Many of you have seen the Green Gable I made last year (in red, not in green) and we are so happy to have these patterns available in the shop now!



Right now we have Glee, Ms. Marigold, Rusted Root, Wicked (I can't wait to make this!), Juliet, 28thirty, and of course Green Gable. You can see other Zephyr Style patterns here. Feel free to give us a shout if there's anything you'd like to see us add to our next order (which at the rate these patterns are moving, will be pretty soon).

We will be working on getting these, and other new patterns, up on the website over the next month. Until then, if you have a question about the patterns we will happily give you information over the phone (352.338.7222).

Closed on Sat., Feb 7th, 2009

This has been blogged before, but here's a reminder just in case - Hanks Yarn and Fiber will be closed on Saturday, February 7th, 2009, for a family wedding. We will reopen on Sunday, February 8th, for our normal business hours.

Uptown Art Hop

Join us for another Uptown Art Hop on Friday, February 13th, 2009, from 6-9 PM. The district of Uptown at 43rd Street includes art galleries, businesses and restaurants in Millhopper Square, Thornebrook Village, and The Market Place. The last event was a lot of fun (in spite of the cold) and we'd love to have you join us for shopping, refreshments, and artist demonstrations. See a sampling of some of the best art in Gainesville, ranging from one-of-a-kind locally made art, to gifts from the far corners of the earth. A rickshaw shuttle will allow event goers to easily travel the short distance between stops. More information will be available at The Uptown Art Hop website.

Discussion of the Month

Do you typically make the latest and greatest patterns from magazines and books? Or do you plan your queue out so far in advance that if you find a great pattern tomorrow it's another two years before you actually get around to making it?

2009: The Year of the Afghan (February)

As many of you already know, this year we’ll be switching from scarves to afghan squares. While we will be using yarn from our shop to make each square, the patterns will be written for any worsted weight yarn that gets approximately 4.5 stitches/inch on a US 8. So feel free to substitute anything you have in your stash! At the end of the year you will have twelve squares (more, if you do some of them twice) and while the squares will be interesting enough to keep even advanced knitters interested, it would also be a good project for the new or intermediate knitter who is interested in learning some new skills throughout the year.



Here is the Ravelry pattern page for the February square! You can download the pattern for free off our website, or we have hard copies available in the shop. Enjoy!