Kiwi Knitting

03/13/2015

Just wanted to remind you all of a couple of events coming up in the next few weeks:
Beginning Rigid Heddle Weaving with Judith Shangold is Saturday March 21st (10AM - 4PM). Judith recently published the book "Weave, Knit, Wear" and will be available to sign your copy during the lunch break. Sign ups are great but you can still get in on the action -- 2 spots left! We can get a loom for you so don't let that stand in your way!

March 28th is our "Magic Number" class. This is Laura Bryant's method of taming hand dyed yarns to get special effects (as presented in her book "Artful Color, Mindful Knits"). You will be working a hands-on approach with Prism's "Symphony" yarn to calculate the "magic number" then learn and practice how to get special effects using this number. Jill & I really enjoyed our class with Laura and hope you will join us.

03/05/2015

This weekend was so much fun! It was a team effort, but we sure thank Ric for getting us organized and educated. Here are some pics I took to share with you!
First, the weeds, nuts, and flowers a-boiling.
Then the all-important wind-block crew to keep those pots a-boiling! Luckily, it seemed to die down by afternoon.
Here are some of the plants that provided the dye.
A pot of snakeweed. In an iron pot it provides a green color.
After straining the weeds out, it is ready for the yarn.
Then aerating and spinning (thanks, Louise!) the dyed yarn to start the drying process.
This pot is full of yarn ready to hang. Note the yellow/green and the pink/purple multis that Lydia did by dipping part of the skein into the indigo. They were fabulous!
The finished products hanging to dry and admire!
Last but not least -- the clean up! (Actually, cleaning pots was a continual process as dyes were boiled, strained, rinsed etc.

Needless to say we were all happy AND exhausted at the end of the day! Thanks to what ever weather man managed to order up some nice weather!

02/23/2015

We are also busy getting ready for this Saturday's special event. Ric Rao will be here to educate us about the natural dyes available in our own back yards with pots to try all types of fibers! There is 1 spot left!

If you can't make this one, next month is Rigid Heddle Weaving and in April Gwen Bortner will be here! Room is still available for these great classes, too!

02/23/2015

Just a note to let you know that this Saturday -- Feb 28th - is the last day to complete the survey mentioned in my last post. You can complete it on line at http://eller.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_dpc8cjTGff4YdQV . Thanks to everyone who has helped our friend with his research!

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12/09/2014

Bungling my way through my granddaughter's Christmas stocking and this month's pattern of the month -- a crocheted holiday dog sweater! Yarn intro for Cascade Yarn's "Elysian" is this PM at 1:00 and Thursday night at 7:00. "Elysian" is a worsted weight yarn 60% superwash merino and 40% acrylic. 219 yds on 100g ball. VERY soft!

Our big holiday event is this Saturday morning! Anzula will arrive with their trunk show of luxury yarn and fiber. This would be a good opportunity to buy your fav knitter/crocheter/spinner a very special holiday gift or the fiber to make a special gift. Below is a little info about Anzula:

"Anzula is a yarn company from the central valley of California. We specialize in hand-dyeing luxurious cashmere, camel, silk, linen, alpaca, and milk protein. We're traveling to your local yarn shop and would be delighted if you'd come by to meet our owner, Sabrina, and shop from a wide selection of our yarns!"

11/25/2014

Finished my daughter's birthday sweater. Luther is back to normal. On to new challenges. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

11/12/2014

I've been working on my daughter's birthday present and nursing my convalescing(?) dog who seems to have all his energy back. Thank heaven the stitches are removed tomorrow, and I can see the light at the end of the endless pots of rice.

This week at Kiwi :
Rimu yarn introduction is this week. If you are in the Kiwi Klub you can still make the Thursday night session. Knitting in the round, Fair Isle, and working small rounds are skills you can learn while trying this soft, soft yarn -- warning; it is a little pricey!

Beginning Knitting starts tonight (7PM) for the next 4 weeks.

Holly started her Christmas Stocking class this morning since no one knew about it last week.

Spin Dr. on Saturday at 10 AM with a Spin-In to follow!

Tips & Tricks will be rescheduled since teacher students failed to connect yesterday so call if you like to join the class.

Hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather!

11/04/2014

So sorry for the long delay! Busy with newsletter -- now available at kiwiknitting.com! Also busy with food hound named Luther who ended up in the hospital this weekend. The Vets removed a 1" slice of corn cob from his intestine that was blocking things up. Luther is doing very well today. He even tried to bark at passersby this morning. Pretty week attempt though. I'll be back soon to update you on the plethora of mags and books we are getting -- and new yarn too.
Here is a pic of the pattern of the month - Everygreen Tam

10/06/2014

Classes this week:
Kiwi Klub yarn introduction -- Folio by Berroco 1 -3 PM Tuesday or 7- 9 PM Thursday. Please register!
Sweater in the Round -- Oct 10, 17, 31 10 - Noon.

Watch for information about new yarns later this week -- got a big box today!

09/29/2014

Traffic Report -- All done! Nice smooth road with freshly painted lines and no construction closures!

New yarns added to the shelves last week:

Ella Rae "Cozy Alpaca" -- (70% acrylic/30% baby alpaca; 178y/100g) Very, very, very soft and machine washable in 12 colors!

Cascade Yarn "Longwood Sport" -- (100% superwash merino wool; 273y/100g) Another soft yarn in warm, heather colors. As with all Cascade superwash products, you can machine wash and dry your creation!

Debbie Bliss' "Roma" -- (70% merino wool/30% superfine alpaca; 87y/100g) A nice cushy yarn for those get-it-done-FAST projects.

We also received a new magazine last week. "Knitsimple" Holiday 2014. Lots of fun hats for tots!

I see the pictures for my last "yarn post" didn't make it into the post. Hopefully it will work this time along with a picture of the new arrivals!

09/25/2014

Traffic Report -- The second coat of asphalt is going down over the next few days. Today they are working on the north side of 6th Street. Access to Kiwi is not impeded in either direction. Tucson Blvd is open and left hand turns seemed to be allowed this morning. If you are going to Rincon Market, enter their back parking lot from Tucson Blvd. You cannot access the lot from 6th.

I expect that tomorrow will be our turn. And at least in the morning, you will not have access to our front lot from 6th. Using Tucson Blvd and the alley just south will get to our back lot. Or park in the Rincon parking lot and walk across at Tucson Blvd.

I'll keep you posted if things change!