Tuesday, August 15, 9:30 p.m. - New yarns! Alchemy Bamboo and Monarch (cashmere/silk) in 20 hand painted colors. Lots of goodies from Habu Textiles: scarf, bag and sweater kits in fascinating fibers such as steel and paper. New from Ironstone: Fun, a thick-and-thin silk and wool blend; and Temptation, a mohair with pizzazz. Be bedazzled by Tilli Toma's bejeweled silk.
New fun notions! - Zecca's colorful point protectors, shawl pins and buttons. Abalone crochet hooks and bone knitting needles that are both practical tools and decorative fashion statements.
More to come...

Sunday, April 9, 9 a.m. - A braided pigtail! - another fun & easy scarf idea. The sample is knit in 3 colors of Muench Soft Kid.

We chose a trio of "Ralph Laurenish" hues: muted burgundy, purple and moss green.

You might try 3 closely related colors for a more subtle effect or even a monotone.

All you do is knit 3 stockinette tubes, about 4" wide (24 stitches at 3 sts = 1 inch). Braid the strands and tie off with elastic bands!
(Click here or on the photo for a larger photo)

Saturday, Feb. 4, 6 p.m. - OK, so six squares later, here's how the Granny Square looks as a scarf. (Click on the photo for a larger picture and the pattern).

No, it didn't take all that time. I did a hat in a new alpaca, Catalina, plus the TouchMe scarf from Scarf Style, and learned how to tat.
But I'm new to crocheting so I'm proud of having mastered the square.

I haven't decided on the Catalina alpaca. They sent me a lovely kit, with enough yarn for several projects, plus a copy of their magazine and a color card. More on them later.

Sunday, Jan. 21, 10 p.m. - Granny Squares are making a come-back as it becomes more and more cool to crochet.

I had a modernized vision of one - a very dignified square. Not the garish-colored bulky acrylics of the '60s, but a two-textured, tone-on-tone motif.

In my mind was the pairing of the same shades of two featherweights: Noro Hana Silk and Muench Soft Kid. The yarns are compatible yet remarkably different. Both were dyed to the same intensity of a scarlet hue, yet Soft Kid's fuzziness had a muted, out of focus quality while the Hana Silk retained a complex depth of color clarity, with highlights and shadows forming in its crinkled angles.

We won't go into the details of the actual execution of the square - how many attempts with different hooks - all I can say is that both yarns are sturdy... and a fine square was produced using a basic granny pattern and an "H" hook. The middle medallion (ring and 1st row) are in Soft Kid. Round 2,3 &4 use Hana Silk. Two rows of single crochet in Soft Kid frame the square, providing a bit of structure. The plan is to complete a group of grannies (7" ) and attach, single file, with Soft Kid to make a cosy, very hip scarf.

Click here for the Granny Square pattern and a bigger photo.

Tuesday, Jan. 2, 10 p.m. - 'Tis the New Year and we're excitedly awaiting the arrival of lots of Muench Yarn -- Soft Kid, Goa , Touch Me... and Debbie Bliss has a 100% silk on its way at an astonishingly reasonable price.
Packing up holiday stuff is always a chore, but finally there is time to admire the "things." I came across my favorite gift this year -- a hand-knit garland. It was made by a friend who is an expert knitter and while I'm a fan of her work, my admiration of this roping is inexplicably high. It is SO SIMPLE! [Combine several novelty yarns that have fur, texture and glitz such as Online's Punta, Spot and Smash Iris. Cast on stitches for full length. Knit 2 rows. Bind off.] How could something that easy be so fascinating? But it is. The color combination screams old-fashioned tasteful: mossy greens with rose-to-pink accents - muted, yet vibrant, with a speck of sparkle resembling icicles. I love this thing. It's a perfect adornment for a mantel, sideboard or me. (Why not a 160" boa?) The best part... as I fold it away, there are no messy needles to vacuum for the next 6 months -- cause for celebration...

Thursday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m. - Yes, I really did write this up before putting the turkey in the oven. But this is a perfect project for Hannah Silk Ribbons, a Rippins Belt. Most patterns for the Rippins call for a mix of mohair, glitz or a fluffy something. We say try it solo! And on a big needle. One rippins bag goes quite far and is a light and airy textural display of stitches. A si mple lace pattern takes on the shape of a belt -- pointy on one end, straight on the other. Push the point through a beautiful Victorian buckle and tack the straight edge to the belt bar. Voila! Click here for some larger pictures and the free pattern.

Sunday, Nov. 5, 9:30 p.m. - Hanah Silk is beautiful! It's a dream to knit - light and airy and the colors are spectacular - whether they are brights, pastels or earth tones, even the subtle muted tones have bursts of variegation that keep you intrigued as you knit-a-long.
So many spools, so little time - What to make with Hanah Silk Ribbons? A recent sample is the "Bold & Beautiful Scarf," at left (click to enlarge), from the Little Box of Scarves. We made ours with Tahki Baby (Superbulky merino), Filatura's Gioiello (mohair with a touch of glitz) and a spool of Tuscany colored ribbon. It was worked lengthwise on a #50 needle, which makes "quick knit" an understatement! The long fringe is "just" ribbon. Next project will have to be a 100% Hanah Silk Something...

Friday, Oct. 6, 7:45 p.m. - More new stuff we first saw at the Columbus show in March... a brand new line of yarn arrived. Louisa Harding, known for her Rowan and Jaeger designs and her creation of the "Miss Bea" childrens' knitwear books, has launched her first collection. "Gathering Roses," as it is titled, is a "nature-inspired collaboration of texture and colours." Suede, cashmere, ribbon, angora and metalic - a feast of tactile delights in vibrant hues. Kimono ribbon and Kimono Angora are perfectly matched in 8 different color ways - quite an achievement since the fibers are so different. But the plushness of the angora and the shiny sleekness of the ribbon complement each other beautifully. I have to make something using this combo...

Give us a few days to take pictures and add it to the site.

Oct. 3, 9:20 p.m. ET - Blue skies, crisp air, mulled cider and yarns galore - the perfect Fall Crawl! It started on Friday with a flurry of the Cornwall Shop regulars checking out Newburgh. Noro was popular, as it seems to be a rarity in the Hudson Valley. The glass needles were a hit. Those who had viewed them online were even more impressed in person.

My friend, Janet, arrived for the weekend to lend a helping hand while enjoying the knitting space. She had recently purchased quite a stash, but still succumbed to unintentional buying - a treasure box of colorful Hanah Silk Ribbons, glass needles and hey, why not Rosewood needles too?!

Saturday brought ramblers from Woodstock, Montgomery and Beacon. One shared my fascination with miniature knitting so I pulled out a full scale show & tell - an array of oddities - mini-notions, buttons, patterns, sweaters - the list goes on... Another bought several skeins just for display. (She appreciated my bowl of "fondling yarns.")

Sunday's slow start ended in a whirlwind of activity: clicking needles, lively conversation and creative sharing. Customers from different areas discovered they had mutual friends in the fiber arts and at one point a room full of strangers helped a fellow knitter fine tune the specifics of her project . Camaraderie - that's what yarn shops are all about!

Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m. ET - So we fell in love with Hanah Silk hand dyed ribbons at the yarn trade show in Columbus in June. The booth was overflowing with an astonishing array of colors : earth tones, brights and pastels; solids and variegations achieved only by coupling silk with hand dyeing - rich, rich hues that meld together in subtle, magical ways!

So we bought half a rack of spools. They gave, gratis, a neat old-fashioned wooden display case, and you decide what size ribbons and how many spools, what colors, and then there are all the other goodies: limited edition & treasure boxes or mixed bags of assorted 3-4 ft. pieces and of course the "crinkled silk rippins" - 10 yard lengths of 100% silk yarn torn on the straight grain. Color choice was difficult - too much variety. We decided on a conservative selection - 40 colors - more earth tones than pastels to match the yarn in the store and 12 bags of rippins.

And of course as soon as we got back home, I started to panic - they're too expensive, I don't have any samples, will the colors be OK, etc. Normal anxieties that wake me up at 3 a.m.

I slept very well once the ribbons arrived. The colors are spectacular and are perfect mix-and-matchers with our other yarns. The combination possibilities are endless!

Then I started trying to knit with them... I mixed the Hanah Silk Rippins (color Terrazzo-beige, brown purple) with a neutral mohair stranded with some glitz, all of which seemed to match. I used a 19 needle to show off the ribbon in a dropped stitch pattern, making it light and airy. The result was a scarf/shawl. I was so pleased with it that I ran to match up the other 11 rippin bags with perfect combos. Voila - you'll see them after the photo shoot...

No, we haven't added the ribbons to the web site yet. It will take a lot of scanning and database work, maybe in a week...

Update: OK, so we're still not ready. But the new Rowan yarn is posted as are all of the new glass needles. Patience!

Second update: Finally! Lots of ribbons plus some patterns... Just scroll up in the blog.

September 10, 2005
Glass needles
The glass needles just arrived! Namaste unveiled them at the TNNA show where, at a glance, I knew I had to have them. I collect needles of all types - vintage aluminium & plastic, wood, steel and now GLASS. The only requirement is that they be user-friendly, so I put them to the test immediately.

My friend/customer, Mary, was in the store so we tried them together. After overcoming hesitancy over fragility, we ploughed away.
Initially there seemed to be almost an optical illusion - light reflecting,
yarn visible through the needle - and I said Oh, they'll have to be just a
beautiful display... but then all of a sudden, after such scrutiny, we had
swatches that were knit with ease and pleasure. The "negatives"
disappeared. I had tested a size 10 which I found to be smooth and
pointy - great since small sharp metals make me happy. Mary bought her 8's even though she is a bamboo lover. I'll have to order more to keep my hoarding tendency at bay. One set has pastel "nail" heads and the other
earth tone "spheres". The nails also come in brights. The line includes
"dots" and "cone" heads and a hollow tube for sizes 17 & 19. The price
range is $29.50-$35.50 for sizes 8-15 respectively. I want them all!