My Favorite Notions Pouch Ever

I like to try out things before we get them in. A few months ago, I saw this notions pouch on one of our vendor's websites. I thought it looked kind of neat, so I ordered it in and have been testing it ever since.

I have tried all kinds of things to hold my notions, but this one is without question the best.

It is the perfect size to hold everything but not be too big. It rolls conveniently and compactly to go with you in your knitting bag.

It has a number of compartments, all with see-through vinyl, so you don't have to hunt blindly for your stuff. The zippers work like a dream.

And as of yesterday, the test is over. We have them in the store for you, too. They come with green or blue trim. Stop by and pick one up, and I guarantee you'll also love it more than any other notions bag you've ever used.

Thanks, Knit Happy, for living up to your name!

It's Spring at Stitch Your Art Out!

I know it's cold out, and that we had a snowfall yesterday, but today is sunny, and it just feels like spring. I'm thinking about our retreat (which is less than 2 weeks away!), and I am gathering up things to take along! As usual, I'm going back and forth between sewing and knitting. There is no need to choose.

I haven't sewn in a while, so I'm feeling a strong sewing mood coming on. I have in mind two tumbler quilts that I'm planning to cut, perhaps even today! One is mainly Kaffe Fassett fabrics. The other is bright batiks. We all need bright right now! We'll shortly have kits here for them. Give me a call if you want one, and I'll put it aside for you as soon as it's ready.

 

 

And our spring yarns are here as well! Misty generously loaned us this pretty little cowl she made out of Simplicity. Simplicity is a great yarn--it's merino and nylon, machine washable, in soft, spring colors. This cowl has several stitches to keep you interested, and Misty says that it's particularly fun to make because of that!

 

The cowl can be made with either four different colors of yarn, as Misty did--or perhaps you'd like to make it out of a self-striping yarn. We have a bunch of new ones from several companies, just waiting for you! Here's just one:

 

We also have bulky yarns for faster knitting. I always love Florafil from Made in America Yarns (so much that I have designed a baby sweater and hat for them, and now I'm designing a baby blanket). We have in some new colors of their beautiful Florafil yarn. It's a bulky-weight yarn in fabulous, bright colors! You can download patterns from their website that inspire you, and then come in and choose the yarn in person! Check out the modular baby sweater and that green bobble hat!

 

I could go on and on about our new variegated linens from Claudia, our new variegated colors of Ultra Pima, a new yarn from Ella Rae called Cozy Soft, and perhaps best of all, this:

 

But I think you should stop by to see it all!

Creating Your Own Project(s) at the Retreat

I had a question about the retreat today, so in case someone else has the same one, I’ll answer it  here: “What if I don’t want to do the projects that you and Kim have planned?”

And the answer to that is, NO PROBLEM. Come anyway! 

Whether you are sewing, crocheting, or knitting, here is the view you will see out a huge wall of windows for 3 days....

Bring along your UFOs, or bring along a new project of your own to start. Kim and I will be there all weekend. While we are both teaching, we also both have long stretches where we don’t have a class. (We are never teaching at the same time, in case there is someone out there who wants to take every single class.) We will be more than happy to help you with anything you wish to do.

If you’re not normally a class-goer, the retreat has many benefits in addition to attending classes. You can hang out with a bunch of kindred spirits doing what you all love best. You get great meals served to you so that you don’t have to cook. You can take walks or even bike rides in a beautiful setting. You can get help when you’re stuck—right then and there. You can talk knitting, crochet, and quilting. Best of all, you do this by getting away from it all—no dishes, no laundry, no cleaning allowed. And we grieve to tell you that the cell service at Raystown is spotty. People may not be able to call you easily. (We have a number they can reach in case of emergency of course!)

The retreat is like a 3-day slumber party for grownups! It gives you me-time, which none of us gets enough of. It gives you quiet if you like, chatter if you like—whatever you wish. It is your weekend! Give yourself permission to relax and have fun!

So spend 3 days knitting, crocheting, and quilting with us, which I bet you never do on your own at home—and think of everything you can accomplish! 

The retreat will be held April 5-7. As I said in the last post, the earlybird deadline has been extended to Saturday, February 9.  (You can still sign up at the regular rates through Feb. 22.) Call us at 814-238-4151 to sign up! We'll be excited to hear from you!

Join us for our Retreat!

First, let's talk turkey--more specifically, Early Bird.

By popular demand (i.e., after that all important "end of the month"), we are moving the Early Bird Deadline to Saturday, Feb. 9.

So you still have plenty of time to sign up for our retreat and save a few bucks! (Perhaps between 10 and 4 during our big sale on Sunday, Feb. 3, would be a great time to sign up!)

Now let's talk about how the retreat works and what we're doing.

You start out on Friday, April 5. You can arrive in the morning or you can wait till after lunch. We of course recommend getting there ASAP to get your weekend started! We'll have a few projects that afternoon to get you going--or you can, as is true all weekend--bring along and your own things and we're happy to help you out with those instead. Your choice.

If you do choose to work on Friday, we've got a couple of projects to choose from. Kim is going to start you on a leaf bowl. It is a very cool, 3-dimensional leaf made from fabric, thread, and a stiff interfacing that can be shaped after heating.

And that afternoon, I'll also teach a class on knitting a Fair-Isle mug cozy. I'm still designing patterns, but maybe something like this would be fun:

Or maybe this:

Oh my. I like that latter one a lot. I think we definitely need to do something with it.

My idea is to learn not only Fair Isle, but also steeking (cutting the work). More on that later.

Friday night we'll have a chicken dinner prepared by a real chef. This is not just regular chicken. The food at Raystown is truly resort quality, and it is delicious.

And after dinner, you can work until 9:00 p.m. And then you can go back to your room to relax and get ready for Saturday!

On Saturday, we'll have breakfast, lunch, and dinner waiting for you. You will be served, and you will not have to do any dishes. Raystown will do all the clean up. (And the cost of the retreat also includes a generous tip for the waitstaff, so no worries!)

Saturday morning, Kim is teaching her "contemporary strings quilt." It will look something like this:

Or maybe this...

...depending on the fabrics you choose!

Meanwhile, I'll be helping people learn to make a cute skirt called Lane Splitter (many thanks to my new best friend, Carol from Toronto, for this wonderful photo):

Saturday afternoon, one of us (or both!) will teach how to knit a beaded necklace. Beads make it special! We're looking through bead books and patterns, and still trying to choose, but we guarantee it will pretty!

And then you can work until 9 p.m. that night. Get a good night's sleep, and be back in time for...

Sunday brunch is at 10:30. (Of course you can start working before brunch if you like!)

Sunday morning, you have a choice of three classes:

Woven basket:

Or, if you crochet, learn Tunisian Crochet with this handy washcloth:

It is nice and thick and wonderful to use!

Or, if you are making the Fair Isle mug cozy, then it's your chance to try steeking! Cynthia will have sewing machine set up and will hold your hand while you cut your knitting and learn how to finish it neatly. Steeking will provide a nice little opening for the mug handle. After you do this, you will be able to bravely cut sweaters and make button bands. Start small, become brave!

In the afternoon, we'll have a choice of making mitered placemats or felted soap--or both!

We'll leave Sunday with only a short drive home, an evening left at home to ... well, let's not think about THAT.

The thing we love best about Raystown (after the food), is that it is close to home so that we can spend more of the weekend crafting rather than driving or flying.

To sign up, just give us a call.

Sign up by February 9 to receive a single-occupancy price of $425, or a double occupancy price of $350 per person. Prices include two nights of hotel, all meals, all gratuities, a nice little goody bag, and all class fees (supplies are extra or you may bring your own). We will have supply lists for you in late February.

My Very Own Floofy

Abbey, one of our knitting teachers, has been teaching the Floofy Skirt class for a couple of years now. I have been watching with envy as one person after another made cute skirts. I don't even wear skirts very often, but I desperately wanted one. I kept making excuses--not enough time being the main one.

So about a month ago (after watching even more Floofies start and finish) I decided that I couldn't stand it anymore and that it was simply time to start one. I found a bunch of yarns that looked good together, and I plunged in. It turned out that I was able to work on it without any thinking, so it became a great car-knitting, TV-knitting, etc., kind of project. And because I took it everywhere, it turned out to be quick.

I have no idea why I waited so long.

I feel quite certain (especially since I'm doing the scheduling) that Abbey will be teaching the class again this spring. Our newsletter will go out so that you will likely get it just after Christmas. Look for this class!

Workshop

All day (from 9 to 5) on October 13, we're having a Santa's workshop. We will be offsite and have a lot of great classes planned, and we'll also be sure to feed you healthy snacks and a healthy lunch! You won't have to do anything all day except work on projects.

You may choose your own project, or you may pick any or all of these:

1. Christmas stocking. This simple stocking can be sewn in a jiffy! It makes a great decoration--or fill it with goodies! 

2. Crazy-quilt ornament. You'll learn a little about crazy quilting, and you'll have a beautiful ornament when you're done!

3. Felted soap. It's fast, it's fun, and it makes a perfect gift!

4. Knitted Necklace. This is a quick project that you can do in just a few hours! 

5. Placemats. Kim will show you how to make this great placemats. They're perfect for large-scale prints! Fast, fast, fast!

6. Baked-potato bag. We have the special batting and the perfect fabric! Whip up a gift that everyone will enjoy all year! 

7. Crocheted snowflake. It is not only gorgeous, but also fun to make!

8. Mochiland snowman. This little guy is just 1" high, but packs in more cute than you can count!

9. Towel edging. Everyone can always use hand towels--so make them pretty, and make them a gift!

10. Beaded tree ornament. Elizabeth Zimmermann knew how to knit things that are super clever. This tree is no exception. Cynthia added beads for a little sparkle! 

If you are interested in signing up, please give us a call at 814-238-4151, or stop by. We'll help you pick out what you need to get going--and we'll see you on Saturday, October 13!

3 in 1

I'm not quite sure where I got my idea, other than wanting to do a block of the month lap quilt that we could all finish before Christmas. That meant, if I wanted to do 12 blocks, that we had to do 3 blocks a month. Not just any 3 blocks a month, but 3 blocks a month during a busy time of the year.

I fiddled around with designs, and slowly one took shape. What if we did something that took about the same amount of time as making one block? The secret to that would be in easy cutting and mass-production sewing. That means that you need all the same block. Three of the same block is a bit dull, so to change it up, I figured that at least the fabrics should be different.

We had 4 months. That meant 3 blocks per month. So therefore, we would cut 3 blocks' worth of layers at the same time. I figured that we could layer different colors, and therefore come up with different blocks--in this case, 3 colors for 3 blocks. As long as you have a sharp rotary blade, cutting 6 layers of fabric is no big deal.

I wrote up the instructions, and then began cutting and sewing. I decided to do not only a Christmas one, but a bright one as well. I'm happy with both of them so far! Cutting out each one took no more than 15 minutes, and sewing all 6 blocks took a little longer than 2 hours. As I sewed, I wasn't quite sure what I would get, so part of the fun was in the mystery.

So far, here's what I have for the Christmas one:

And the bright one:

(You'll only like it if you like pink!)

There is still time to join in, given how fast this quilt makes up. Kim and I can fix you up with the instructions and fabrics.

Stop by anytime, and we'll help you choose your fabrics!