Friday, July 31, 2009

Knitspot Patterns Have Arrived!

Knitspot patterns have arrived at the shop:

Rivolo



Boxleaf Triangle Shawl


Honeybee Stole


Hypoteneuse


Hillflowers Wrap or Scarf


Oh! Canada


Fernfrost


Alhambra


Yes, they are great non?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

New Yarn Alert!

Our Painted Fleece Yarn arrived. Missy, our local hand dyer has amazing colour sense and her yarns are so freaking fab! Oh my - it is so beautiful. I truly wish I could take better pictures, but this is all I can do. the skinny:

Hand Painted Alpaca Lace
400 Yards
$16
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Hand Painted Bamboo Sock Yarn w/Nylon - there are two skeins of each colour!
328 Yards
$24
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Hand Painted 100% Camel!
225 Yards
$20
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Hand Painted Merino Sock Yarn w/Nylon
400 Yards
$24
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Stitch Markers Galore! The Stitch Marker Tower, containing about 200 multi coloured soft, flexible stitch markers for $15.00:

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Stitch Marker Shots - $3.00, Medium Glow In The Dark - $5.00, Large Glow In The Dark - $ 6.00

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So cute - like little candies of goodness.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Namaste is Here

If you are a fan of the stylish AND functional Namaste bags, you need to drop by and check out our latest shipment. Our timing was perfect because the Canadian dollar has been doing so well; each bag is $10 less than it would regularly be!

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We have stocked up on Namaste's adorable needle cases ($13.50), Zuma bags ($80) and Laguna bags ($80) in their fantastic colour palette!

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If you placed a custom order with us, then pop by any time to pick it up. We may be reluctant to part with it, but we will eventually hand over your lovely new bag.

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Take a look at Sarah's latest project...

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She knit Kate Gagnon's Springtime Bandit kerchief with 4 skeins of Mirasol Qina! Qina is a worsted weight alpaca/bamboo blend; this fiber combination results in a shiny, super-soft and beautifully drapey fabric that looks beautiful knit into a triangular shawl! Springtime Bandit is a quick knitting lace shawlette, perfect for those still easing their way into the world of lace.

It's knit in a worsted weight yarn, so you won't have to struggle with lace weight yarn either! Come by the shop to visit our lovely new sample in person, but you may have to peel it off of me first!

In other news, you may not have noticed that the first two discs in Lucy Neatby's series of DVDs have made their way to the Sheep. If you are a podcast junkie, like myself, you may have already heard the raving review that the Knitmore Girls gave of these DVDs. If you have not yet head it, take a listen...they say it much better than we can!


Monday, July 20, 2009

Knit Scene - Fall Issue Has Arrived!

Wow, this is a great issue! Come and get yours before they are all gone!

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Laminaria - and, The Importance of Blocking Well!

We recently gave our new blocking wires a try. Now, I'm a firm believer in blocking, especially blocking lace - it makes your lace look SO much better then it did before blocking. I block everything, and I think it makes it look better. However, I recently discovered i've only been doing an "ok" job at blocking.

Lisa took our Laminaria shop sample home and re-blocked it using the wires. As a sample, it gets handled, and worn quite a bit, so it was in need of a good block. She brought it back to the shop this week, and WOW! It's like a new shawl!
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We used Malabrigo Lace to make this Laminaria, under 2 skeins! It's a beautiful shawl, and it comes in two sizes. This is the small size.
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It's a beautiful shawl, and blocking it made it look 1000 times better!
Come on in and take a look at the new, improved Laminaria!
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Friday, July 17, 2009

Summer Tweed Sweaters!

Chris, one of our most experience Sheep knitters has finished two sweaters knit with Summer Tweed in the last little while. The newest one is from The Summer Tweed Collection and is called Vanilla:

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Doesn't she look awesome? I think this took her about 2-3 weeks from start to finish.

The next sweater is from Knitting Color: Design Inspiration from Around the World book and I can't for the life of me find the name of the pattern. But that doesn't really matter does it - because here it is in the colours Chris knit the sweater in:

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Amazing!!!!!!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Elsewhere Sweater Again!

Everyone at knit night loved my recently finished Elsewhere sweater! Some of the ladies tried it on to prove this sweater looks good on everyone! It is a bit big on some, but you get the idea:

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Want the pattern? Download it here (ravelry link).

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

New Needle Rolls

Knitting needles have a tendancy to accumulate in strange places (I find them under the couch, in the bathroom and on the back porch! Honest!) and it is a constant struggle to keep them in order. While there are countless techniques for needle organization, the Sheep is a big advocate of the timeless needle roll. Take a look at these babies...
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...we are lucky enough to get these from a talented Torontonian seamstress; locally hand made, doesn't get much better than that! These are the first of a lovely selection of needle rolls that will be coming into the Sheep in the next little while. Both rolls are lined with luscious dupioni silk and will fit short straight needles, double pointed needles or crochet hooks. There are only 2 left from our first batch, but don't worry, plenty more are on the way!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Shetland Triangle!

Look at this beautiful shawl, knit by Sue, one of our amazing knitters!
She used just over three skeins of the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, in black and 5mm needles.

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It's so big, and light, and pretty! We love it so much. It's living in the store for the time being, as Sue has generously lent it to us, so come on in and check it out!

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The pattern for this beautiful shawl is available in Wrap Style, and the Rav Link is here!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Elsewhere

We believe that this is the sweater that looks good on everyone! A bold statement, yes, but just yesterday night knitters of all shapes and sizes tried on Lisa's Elsewhere (fresh off the needles!) and look fantastic in it! Tell your friends, tell people you pass on the street, everyone looks good in this sweater! We're pretty excited about it in case you couldn't tell...

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Elsewhere is a cardigan knit from the top down. It's a very simple knit, but certainly not a boring sweater. Lisa used 8.25 skeisn of Aslan Trends Guanaco, in colour #172, Pomegranate.

Guanaco is a chunky and rustic 60/40 alpaca/merino blend. Lisa's only modification was to knit the back longer than the pattern specified.

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Guanaco is a lovely yarn to knit with. It feeds through your fingers nicely, doesn't split, although if you drop a stitch, you will need to ensure all strands are put nicely back on the needles. This is truly a jacket type yarn. You can't wear this next to your skin, unless of course you like that rustic feeling.

This jacket will be perfect for those days where a winter jacet is too much, but you do need something to keep you toasty. It comes in a wide shade of colours that is quite hard to choose from.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Ugly Duckling Yarn?

We've been calling Sirdar Crofter DK the ugly duckling yarn around the shop. Not that it's a horrible looking ball of yarn or anything:

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It's because it looks sooo much better knitted up!
We made this baby vest out of it, and it's an instant classic:

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The yarn does all the work for you, and you've got an impressive fair-isle-looking sweater for the little guy or girl in your life!

Lisa used only ONE skein of this to make the smallest size- the pattern is the Owl Baby Vest (rav link) without the owls.
Free pattern + less than $10 of yarn = Baby shower WIN!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Plain and Simple

Take a look at Lisa's latest FO...

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...It is the Simple yet Effective Shawl by Laura Chau (we showed you one knit in Silk Garden Sock here)

This version is knit with 2 skeins of Aslan Trends Class, a cotton and viscose blend yarn. Class has a beautiful sheen, and drapes wonderfully because of its viscose content. We are very happy with our little white shawl; perfect for cool summer days by the beach!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Namaste Bag Order!

Every girl loves bags, and every knitting girl loves a bag that comfortably holds their day to day stuff plus projects, needles and other knitterly goodies. You have probably seen the lovely Namaste bags in our store before, they come in beautiful colours and a great selection of styles; from great big totes to tiny needle cases.

As much as we would love to fill our shelves with all of these stunning accessories, we don't have enough room for them all. So, we are inviting you to check out what the folks at
Namaste have to offer and contribute your own custom order to our next shipment. Choose from the Zuma, Laguna, the new Hermosa!



Call us at the shop to let us know which style and colour you would love to have before July 15th and by the end of the month you will have one of your own.
** non refundable 50% deposit required upon order, remainder due upon pick up. Bags are $90.00 and accessories range between $16.00 to $30.00.