Monday, June 29, 2009

Summer Hours!

We will be closing the store on Mondays for July and August.

Our Wednesday knit nights are still on - so come on and knit with us! It maybe hot outside, but we will have the air conditioner pumping when it is super hot outside.


Regular hours and classes will resume in September!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

More Great Yarn on SALE!

Thats right folks, we are cleaning house, and the next great yarn to be put on sale is Be Sweet. The South African company spacializes in beautifully hand made mohair yarns; so fluffy and pretty!

All Be Sweet yarns are currently 50% off
The Medium Boucle is just $12, and everything else is $20!

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Meet Ernie

We have a new addition here at the Sheep. His name is Ernie, and he was waiting for me this morning when I arrived at the store:
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Ernie was keen to help me out, so I put him to work.
First, we cleaned up the shelves of yarn:
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Ernie was a little small for this, but he really enjoyed rolling around in the Tanis sock yarn. (Wouldn't we all like to!)
Next, it was time for a coffee break, so we had some coffee:
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Then, I showed Ernie how to knit lace, and he helped me knit the Springtime Bandit shawl I am working on for the store:

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After all this, Ernie was pretty tired (so was I!) so we sat and chilled on the chairs at the front of the store:

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You can make your own Ernie, in no time, with the Earnest and Georgina bear pattern from Kate Atherley. We've got them in the shop, and they knit up quickly with very little yarn. (I used Cascade 220)

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Ernie looks just as cute *gasp* naked! If you don't want to knit him some clothes.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

KOIGU

The name alone sends shivers down the spine of knitters all over the world...and we have a bunch of it!
Koigu, the scrupmtiously hand-dyed-in-Ontario-yarn-of-my-dreams is now at the Naked Sheep.

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...I only put one of each colour into this photo, because I couldn't fit all of it into one picture! At the moment we have a lovely selection of 20 colours in a mix of solids, speckles and hand-paints, but it is quickly diminishing! The lovely folks at Koigu offer such a huge selection of colours that it's hard to tell when your favourite will appear again, so snap it up while you can!

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At the moment we are carrying KPPPM and KPM, because we're crazy for socks! Each skein is 175 yards of %100 merino wool, so you can knit a pair of adult's socks from 2 skeins. But there is no reason to stop at socks, Koigu knits up beautifully in shawls, sweaters, hats; I've even seen pants knit from KPPPM (here)awesome!

Here is a look at the Spring Forward socks that I knit from 2 skeins of speckly KPPPM




Oh, and for those of you outside of the city, check out the crazy weather we had earlier today; I took this photo after it had cleared up quite a lot...and it's still a gloomy mess, but a good day for knitting.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

eco scrubbing

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Need a quick and fun summer project? Knit a few dish cloths! This tiny project is just a few hours worth of knitting, and you can test out as many patterns as you'd like. A machine washable dishcloth is easy to use and to clean, and it's much better than buying disposable sponges to clean your dishes!

We have knit up a few examples using Carezza Cotton. This machine washable cotton is a light worsted weight and gets 85 metres to one 50 gram ball, and it costs only $3.49! You could knit 3 solid coloured dishcloths with just 2 balls of this lovely cotton yarn.

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The Ballband dishcloth. Pattern can be found here.



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Clover Tweed dishcloth. Pattern can be found here.



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Chinese Waves dishcloth. Pattern can be found here.

Friday, June 19, 2009

we heart silky wool

In our preperation for spring we knew we needed to stock up on Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, because it is just so lovely! This rustic, tweedy yarn is composed of 45% wool, 35% silk and 20% nylon. It knits to a light DK weight and gets 175 metres to 50grams. Silky Wool is the perfect yarn for a lightweight, all seasons garment! Our initial order was nearly gone (you guys have such great taste!) and I am happy to report that a fresh supply of colours have just arrived today, take a look...

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

WWKIP Day


I wanted to title this post "knitters Gone Wild" but thought better of it at the last minute...though our experinece on Saturday was pretty wild! We assembled on the Beach around noon on Saturday, and Immediately crowds of passers by gathered; some asked to take our pictures, others wanted to share stories of their knitting mothers and grandmothers, all were confused. We were not deterred, prepared with pleanty of knitting, snacks and even live music (thanks Becky!) we spent a lively afternoon stitching by the water.




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Lisa next to our "food tent"...where is everybody??

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Roma, with knit night regular Lucy the dog

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Brenda sure loves knitting!

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cooling off in the shade



Becky, she has an amazing voice!


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Air Punch!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Kiddie Knitters

Over the winter we were lucky enough to have a lovely group of girls knitting with us on Monday afternoons. The group began at different levels, and over the weeks developed some very impressive knitting skills! We've parted ways for the summer (with the exception of a visit or two we hope...ladies...) and each girl has left with a summer project to knit; hats fingerless mitts, scarves and other fun stuff!

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E, on the left is knitting an alligator and H on the right is knitting a squigle lace scarf



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A, on the left is knitting a "silly hat" and R on the right is knitting garter stitch squares for a baby blanket


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and here is the whole gang!


Have a great summer ladies!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Annie Recap

We just wanted to say a big thankyou to Annie Modesitt for visiting our store, and to everyone who came out to Annie's classes. All of us at the Sheep had a great time (and we're so excited about our PERFECT ribbing!) It was great to meet so many new people, and to see familiar faces as well. Annie is an amazing teacher, a very funny person and probably the fastest darn knitter I have ever seen! I don't think that I've ever leared so much about knitting in such a short span of time (just 3 hours!)

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Lace class coming up this week - Make this beautiful shawl!

Always wanted to learn to knit lace, but afraid to take the plunge?
then we're having a lace class next week just for you!
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With the skills you learn you can knit Kate's Modest Lace Shawl!
Emily just finished this worsted weight version, knit out of Classic Elite Princess. It's so smooshy and soft. I'm a terrible sucker for worsted weight lace though, I think it makes the lace look fantastic!
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We also have a fingering weight sample in the shop, and either version would be a great first lace project!
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Your First Lace Shawl:
June 18th and 26th
This two-session class teaches you how to work lace stitches, how read and understand lace patterns in both chart and written forms, and provides tips and techniques to make lace knitting easy and fun. We’ll also talk about properly blocking and finishing your lace to show it off properly. By the second class, you’ll be well on your way to completing your first lace shawl! Price: $50.00 Class Length: 2 – two hour session Includes pattern. Bring light coloured worsted weight yarn & 5mm needles Instructor: Kate Atherley

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Store Closue

As you all know by now the lovely and talented Annie Modesitt will be teaching classes at the Sheep tomorrow and Thursday. The classes will be running all day, so there just won't be the space for us to open the store! We'e sorry for any inconvenience, but hope to see you soon. And we will be hoping for no major knitting crises until we're open again!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Knit with Silk Garden Sock

Have a look at these lovely samples that were kindly loaned to us ...

This is the Simple yet Effective Shawl pattern by Torontonian (Yay!) Laura Chau. Naomi (Mschatterbox on Ravelry) knit this shawl with 2 balls of silk garden sock in colour #S84! Isn't it pretty?!

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and up next is Suzie's (Gloxie on Ravelry) beautiful Clapotis, a pattern from designer, Kate Gilbert! Suzie knit her Clapotis using 2 balls of colour #S245.


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Sunday, June 7, 2009

TTC Knit-along!

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We had two wonderful groups of knitters in the shop yesterday for the TTC knit-along yesterday

Team East A and B both began their days at the Sheep. 

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We had balloon-popping door prizes, refreshments: cookies, cakes, fruit, and coffee.

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It was a great time for everyone, and hopefully Team East A and B had a great time at the other shops on the route!

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Annie Modesitt is Coming!

Just a reminder about the exciting celebrity guest that will be visiting our store next week! Annie Modesitt will be teaching at the Sheep next Wednesday and Thursday. Each class is $60 individually, or 2 classes for $100, and here is what she will be teaching...

Wednesday June 10:
Modualr Knitting 2-5pm (9 spaces left)
Combination Knitting 6-9pm (7 spaces left)

Thursday June 11:
Combination Knitting 2-5pm (12 spaces left)

P.S. Combination knitting is Annie's own knitting technique. If you want to knit faster, but still be gentle on your hands, combination knitting may be for you! Who better to learn it from than the creator of the technique?


Oh, and did we tell you already that the new Rowan magazine came in, and it is LOVELY!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Ergonomic Crochet

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...well, we have the right tools for the job anyway. If you're anything like me you get into a knitting/crochet frenzy; I become so obsessed with certain projects that no amount of wrist pain can keep me away! (I know, thats a bad thing)

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If you aren't as dye-hard as I am, and I hope you're not, you should try out the cute new crochet hooks that just came in earlier today. They have a soft grippy handle, and a smooth slippery hook, so your yarn slides easily, but not your fingers! Another great idea from Clover, my favourite purveyor of cute and handy notions.

We have a fresh supply of lots more Clover goodies, including their needle felting pen, Kacha Kacha's, stitch holders, cable needles, blocking pins and more!

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