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!

Friday Five: Five goodies for spinners

The Friday Five fell by the wayside for a while, for lack of five things to blog about... and all week long I'd been planning this post but wound up not having time yesterday to blog about it! Isn't that always the case?! Anyway, here are five gorgeous things for spinners that we have in the shop. Only the Holly Birch Fibers will be available on our website, as the other two producers have Etsy shops.

Holly Birch Fibers (batts)


Holly Birch Fibers (braids)


Politically Incorrect Fibers (batts)


Politically Incorrect Fibers (braids)


Rocket Roving

Friday Five: Five things that you're working on

Let's shake up the Friday Five (hello, is anyone reading this?) and get some answers from y'all. For this Friday Five, I'd like to hear five things that you're working on doing or getting done in your life, and they don't even have to be fiber related!

For instance, five things I'm working on are...
... scanning in about 60 years of old family slides and photos. It's taking fifty forevers, and I love it. Lately I've been on a roll, scanning for about an hour a day as I do other things around the house at the same time.
... learning new things to cook. I hate to cook, yet do most of the cooking in my household-- mostly for the reason that up until recently, in addition to being the Worlds Pickiest Eater, I was also a quasi-vegetarian. My husband is a steakatarian and didn't want to cook anything that would gross me out. Now I'm getting some adult-onset food allergies that are causing me to do almost a 100% change of my diet. So I'm studying cookbooks and trying new things.
... I'm working to reclaim my house from 13 years of living there and never quite unpacking everything. Yeah, I'm admitting that. Stuff in boxes for more than a decade. Yes; as I'm opening them, I am in fact throwing a majority of stuff away.
... being better about walking my dog. I need the exercise; she needs the exercise. She is, however, getting on in years and doesn't like to walk quite as long (she's also huge and hairy, and gets overheated easily). But I'm working on getting more of a routine of taking a walk every day that it's not raining in the morning.
... knitting! Yes, I know I just said that your five things didn't have to be fiber related. But fiber is why you're reading this blog, right?! So, I'm knitting. I'm working on September's scarf, a pair of socks, a cowl, a Dr. Who scarf, and for some reason, a long-sleeved pullover in 100% wool (those last two aren't seeing too much work, to be honest...).

So. Are there five things in your lives that you're filling your days with? Let us know what they are!

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.

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!

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!

Friday Five: Five locally owned places we like to go

Are you about to move to Gainesville (students, we're looking at you!), relatively new here, or just curious about our little town? As local business owners, we are always looking for ways to keep our money in the hands of our neighbors who also own local businesses. Here are five places where we feel great about spending our money -

The Gainesville Community Playhouse
Lorena can't go to a production here without seeing someone she knows, either in the cast or in the orchestra pit. Which makes it even more fun! The next show they have coming up is the musical "The Secret Garden"... and if you go, you can spot something hand-knit by Sharon!

Book Gallery West
This is a lovely little bookstore directly across the parking lot from Hanks. They have mostly used, some new, and they also carry a great selection of cards and gift-like items. There's a rumor going around that they're putting in a coffee bar, which will certainly up the traffic between our two shops!

Wards Supermarket
This may be the last locally owned grocery store for ... well, miles. We can't go on enough about their fantastic cheese selection (we loves us some cheese around these parts), and they also carry bulk items from rice to granola to nuts, locally produced jams and honeys, Sweetwater coffee, locally made breads, locally grown vegetables... should we go on?

Northwest Seafood
This is *the* place to get fresh seafood. Tired of all that frozen and thawed mess you get at large chain grocery stores? Go. Run. Now. If you're looking for it, they probably have it (and have it fresh).

The Hippodrome State Theatre
This is a three-for-one; you can go for the plays, or the independent films that don't make it to the big theater chains, or the art gallery. The Hipp is the hub of the downtown area and a lot of great little shops have grown up around it in the Sun Center (coffee at Maude's, anyone?).

Friday Five: Five online tutorials we find quite helpful

Of course the first shout-out has to go to KnittingHelp.com; it's like that best friend who you call at 2 in the morning when you can't work something out. We recommend this not only to all the new knitters who come in the shop, but also to people who have been knitting for a while. There's always something to learn! My question for the crocheters: if there is a site out there that does the same thing, for crochet...? Please, please let us know!

Socks 101 is extremely helpful to the new sock knitter in all stages of sock construction. I just about lived with this page up on my computer for the first pair of socks I knit, and I just can't recommend it enough.

Techniques with Theresa has help for anything from casting on to binding off, including in-between things like seaming, cables, and buttonholes. Grab a cuppa and sit for a while and read through the articles!

The Yarn Harlot is always full of tidbits of help, but her tutorial on how to fix a cable needs to be bookmarked by every knitter facing a cable project. Trust us. At one point, you'll need this information.

Last - but certainly not least - is TECHknitting (TM). Full of information that you might never think to ask until the very moment you need it (do you know how to line your hats with polar fleece?), she is absolutely full of knowledge that other sites just don't go into. And her illustrations are fantastic!

Friday Five: Five things we're looking forward to

World Wide Knit in Public Day - It's world-wide, but locally you can join others on Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Oaks Mall in the seating area in front of Macy's, from 1 - 3 PM.

Holidays in July - during the month of July, our classes will be focused on Holiday crafting. Join us to get a head start on your holiday projects!

Convergence 2008 - while primarily for weavers (so you know Ginger is going) there is no lack of fun things for crocheters, knitters, and spinners!

The Summer 2008 Knitting Olympics - okay, so we haven't heard anything official about this one, but surely since the Winter 2006 games were such a hit, surely there will be something this summer?

Rhinebeck 2008 - last year we had almost more fun than the law should allow. We can only hope to have half as much fun this year!

Friday Five: Five photos of Karen's Clapotis

Our lovely friend Karen - who lives across the pond - sent us the absolutely stunning and gorgeous Clapotis that she has knitted up, to show off in the shop for a few months. What did she want in return? Not fame, not fortune (though she is a wonderful, lovely person and deserves both); but all she requested in return are photos. So for today's Friday five, we give you... five photos of this luscious wrap!

Friday Five: Five things to do with sock yarn scraps

Have a few yards, or quite a few yards, left over from that pair of socks? Here are some things you can do with it -

1. There's a pattern in the new Little Box of Socks (we're out right now but should be getting it back in soon) that is for a pair of socks made with one solid color and many spare ball ends. It's sort of a honeycomb look, and believe me it's on my list to try out!

2. Cupcakes are cute, and also a good way to use up those odd buttons from random sewing projects!



3. Macrame bracelets or necklaces, with beads on them. Like the hemp ones that all the cool kids wear, only made from sock yarn (which makes them even more cool)!

4. Mitered Square afghans (I hope Knitting Gnome doesn't mind if I link to hers on Ravelry).

5. You could make the cutest baby booties of all time; Saartje's Bootees.

Friday Five: Five reasons why Sharon isn't around this week

You may have noticed that Sharon has been mysteriously absent this week. Here are five reasons (four of them not true) why she might be gone...

1. She has been abducted by Aliens (the Boo'Klay race) and forced into slave labor on the fourth Moon around the planet Akrillik.
2. She has gone to beautiful West Virginia for a yearly family visit.
3. She is finally having knee surgery and can't get off the couch.
4. Her husband started knitting, raided her stash, and now she's in jail for clubbing him senseless.
5. She's decided to let go of all her earthly possessions and is now barefoot and dirty, following a Grateful Dead cover band from city to city, selling peanut butter sandwiches to survive.

Ahem.

Anyone have anything they'd like to see as a Friday Five...? Clearly I'm running low on topics.

Friday Five: Five things we've learned from sock knitting

1. We don't buy sock yarn that matches our clothes; we buy sock yarn that matches our hearts.
2. Matching doesn't necessarily mean identical.
3. We know going into it that if we're knitting these socks for a gift, there is a 100% chance that the gift will eventually be worn out -- and we're okay with that.
4. We are convinced that as we knit socks for a sick friend, the love and pieces of ourselves that we put into the knitting will keep our loved ones from further illness.
5. It's okay to make mistakes; nothing that goes wrong is all that earth-shattering, and anyway, it'll probably be hidden by your shoes.

Friday Five: Designers that we love

Jodi Green: Jodi Green, famous for designs such as Mariah and The Gatsby Girl Pullover (Not to mention Hot Tamale, one of my favorites ever!), is about to receive her MFA at the University of Georgia. She enjoys printmaking and screenprinting, examples of which can be purchased on her Etsy site.

Cookie A.: If you love socks as much as we do, you probably already know who Cookie A is! Her Monkey Socks are very popular, and she has a knack for intricate cable designs. Be sure to check out her beautiful German Stocking Pattern!

Speaking of socks, Charlene Schurch is also one of our favorites. Time and time again we go back to (and these are Ravelry links) Sensational Knitted Socks, and More Sensational Knitted Socks, and Lorena just picked up the new Little Box of Socks and has a project going in that (insert teasing of how many projects Lorena has on the needles here).

If you like socks, but also like other things-- including well-written historical perspectives of fiber-- you might like Nancy Bush. Her books include topics like socks, Estonian folk knitting, and Estonian lace knitting; all of which are explained in easy-to-understand language and well-written patterns.

Lastly (we always save the best for last, eh?) we are in love with Laura Bryant, of Prism Yarns. And we're not just saying that because she's a wonderful and fun person! She's also an amazing designer, and her eye for color and color coordinations put most everyone else to shame. Take a look at some of her patterns; we're sure you'll find something you like!

Friday Five: Five more things you'll find on our new website

If a picture is worth a thousand words, let's pretend I've just written 5,000!

Friday Five: The Alphabet of Hanks (part four)

L is for Lantern Moon. We love the Lantern Moon! We've got needles (straight in rosewood and ebony, the new Destiny circular line in both rosewood and ebony, and the Sox Stix which... wait for it... come in rosewood and ebony *and* come in the cutest little bag); baskets (a few different sizes, some in natural and some with colors); sheep tape measures; and for about a minute-and-a-half we had the most adorable sheep door mats (they sold out that day, but we plan on getting more).

M is for Malabrigo. Do we really need to say anything more about Mmmmmmalabrigo? Mmmmm.

N is for Needle Felting. We have many needle felting supplies (we've also had one fun class on needle felting and plan for more in the future) including single needles, sets of needles, kits with patterns, and sets of different colored fibers.

P is for Purse Handles, which are great for when you've crocheted or knitted up that purse and either didn't leave enough for a handle or are worried that the yarn might not be sturdy enough for a handle.

P is also for Prism Yarns, who are somewhat local to us (three hours away, that's local enough that we can get down there and tour the Prism Fun Factory every now and then). From their website:

Prism hand dyed yarns are well known for their clear, intense colors and the high quality of their fibers. Prism is most famous for their "Stuff" yarns, consisting of 30-40 color and gauge coordinated yarns that are tied together end to end by hand.

In addition to five types of Stuff, Prism hand dyes a full range of luxury and novelty fibers. Creative Director, Laura Militzer Bryant, trained as a fine artist in color and textiles, and is a life-long knitter. She has written numerous books on knitting, in addition to creating the inspiring design collections that Prism introduces every spring and fall.

One thing that we love about Prism is that you can order kits for all of their patterns, and the kits are just as cute as pie!

Friday Five: The Alphabet of Hanks (part three)

H is for Haldesoap, our house brand of soap. Have you tried our new scent, Fresh Baked Bread? Mmmmmmmm!

I is for Intarsia, of which you should not be afraid! In fact, we'll be having an Intarsia class in late June (stay tuned for more info on that later this month).

J is for Juice, which we keep in the fridge. It's a great mixer! (Hey, cut me some slack... I walked around the store twice and couldn't come up with something that started with "J". Which means, of course, that I'll turn around after hitting "post" and see just the perfect thing!)

K is for Karaoke, our favorite yarn for Entrelac. It comes in all kinds of colors and just worked out so perfectly for our class pillows.

K is also for Kits. We have purse kits, dye kits, sweater kits, afghan kits, and have also recently been ordering kits from Prism based on their patterns. I can not tell you how cute those come, too! We just got in one for a teddy bear that I really am itching to photograph and blog about. You will not be able to escape the gravitational pull of the cuteness!

Friday Five: Five things you'll find on our new website

You may have heard mumblings about this, but we're working on a new shop website. Here are five things that we've had for sale for a while, but they've never been put on our old website... you'll be able to buy them online when we launch the new site!

Friday Five: The Alphabet of Hanks (part two)

D is for Dye, of which we currently only have in kits. However, in the coming month (as our dye bar is almost complete) we will also be selling single bottles of colors. Excited, we are!

D is also for Dog Treats; one of our customers makes the best all-natural dog treats. If you're lucky, you're here on the right day because she'll bring by samples. All three of us have dogs, and all three of us have dogs that love these treats!

E is for Entrelac, one of our most popular classes so far!

F is for Fiber, used in both spinning and needle-felting. I'd say you would not believe the amount of fiber we go through, but if you've ever been in here after the first Friday of a spinning class, you might believe it. Fiber is addicting!

G is for Ginger's handspun, Holly Birch Fibers. Ginger has been spinning for more than 30 years, and I don't think there's a single fiber she has never spun. And of course all of it looks fantastic! Gives the rest of us something to aspire to.

Friday Five: Five reasons that this didn't get posted during work hours

1. We were abducted by aliens, who wanted knitting lessons.
2. We locked the doors and were busy eating chocolate and drinking champagne all day.
3. We were busy and hardly had time to sit down to eat, let alone blog.
4. There was a massive polar ice melt, and Florida has sunken beneath the sea, so we are unable to get Internet access.
5. Some other reason that I, the reader, am going to make up and post about in the comments.