Downtown Knit Collective Meeting March 18th

Last night's DKC meeting was awesome! It was so nice seeing familar faces and meeting new ones. Hope to see you soon! However, by going to the DKC, our weekly knit night was cancelled, so I missed all the gang - but next week will come soon enough!

The speaker was Laura Chau of cosmicpluto fame . She talked about her designs, how she started knitting, her weaving, spinning and teaching. Laura has come up with some awesome designs and wrote her own learn to knit socks book - which we carry in the store BTW:

Laura has accomplished so much in the knitting world and we wish her all the successes she deserves.

I posted on Ravelry that I am in a knitting slump and as you know knitters they came to the rescue with suggestions, encouragement and just plain understanding. Thank you! I guess I am feeling extremely overwhelmed with life in general, between two jobs, two kids who both play hockey, housework and trying to squeeze in 'me' time. Knitting seems to be a bit of a burden lately, as I don't have anything on the needles that is really juicy or all that interesting to me at the moment. I do hope with spring around the corner, that my knitting mojo comes back soon enough. I have been ordering a lot of spring and summer yarns so when they start to trickle in I have my fingers crossed that will do the trick to getting it all back!

Thanks for taking the time to listen/read.

Knit on!

Spinning Lessons

The Sheep is so excited to announce we have a master spinner to teach you how to spin on your wheel. Julia Lee has joined the Naked Sheep and brings a world of spinning knowledge to share with you.

Class Description:

Learn how to use and understand your spinning wheel from an expert. Julia will guide you through the process to perfecting your drafting, spinning and plying techniques. This class is suitable for beginners with no previous experience, as well as for those who have already done some spinning. Julia has her Ontario Handweavers and Spinners (OHS) Spinning Certificate and joins us from the Toronto Spiders! This is the group of spinners and knitters that, for the past two years, has won the International Wool Challenge . She has also participated in several Sheep-to-Shawl competitions at the Royal Winter Fair.

Price: $125
Class Length: 4 - two hour sessions
Includes roving, please bring your spinning wheel
Instructor: Julia Lee
Minimum Participants: 3

Malabrigo Madness!

We just received 15 new colours of Malabrigo Worsted and words don't do the colour justice:



Sorry - wish I could take a non blurry photo, but Sarah wasn't in to do her magic. But I think you get it!

We also received more Yummy Sock Yarn:







wow - this is one great sock yarn. I can't choose which colour to knit with first, but I am leaning towards that yummy grape colour. (No pun intended)

What We Are Working On!

We have been very busy little bees at the Sheep! Our friend Rachel (rav link) finished her second project - a cable, bobble and ribbed baby sweater using the Diamond Luxury DK yarn. Here is putting on the buttons:





Isn't it cute? The baby boy she knit this for is going to look super awesome in it!

I just finished an owl hat:



A close up:



Yarn used: about 1/2 skein of Malabrigo
Colour: Bobby Blue
Needles: 4.5mm and 5mm circulars
Mods: Added beads for the eyes

Verdict - LOVE IT!!! These little owls are so cute that I can't tablk about the hat without squishing and talking with a high pitch baby talk voice. It Is THAT Cute. I have enought Malabrigo to knit some fingerless mitts.

We have finished a baby sweater, a berry cute hat and a Pure and Simple Pattern for the store - but pictures haven't been uploaded yet. Lazy people eh????

Knit On!

Free Mini Work Shops - March 14th

The Sheep is offering two FREE MINI WORK SHOPS on Saturday March 14th.

Grafting Toes (also known as Kitchener Stitch) with Emily
March 14th 10:30am to 11:00am
Maximum Participants: 8
Please bring a sock you want to close up OR two separate pieces of stockinette knitting to graft. (Ensure same stitch count is on both needles)

Magic Loop with Sarah
March 14th 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Maximum Participants: 8
Please bring worsted weight yarn and 80cm appropriate size circular needles

You NEED to sign up at the store!

If these mini workshops are successful, we will continue to offer them as our goal is to help you add knitting skills to your arsenal!

Yarn Swap Fun Fun Fun

What fun we all had at the yarn swap last Saturday! There was so much yarn that people brought to swap:



This just at the beginning of the night, however there was a lot more that added to that already huge pile. I just forgot to keep taking pictures. Damn!

Here are some photos taken randomly thoughtout the evening:











There a tonne more...here is the link

I hope everyone that came to the party had as much fun as I did! Lets do it again in a few months.