I am agog! By some strange means I have mmissed out on the knitting phenomenon that is this book for the entire 40-some years of my knitting career, and now that I've discovered it in its second edition, I am most amazed that it has found such a market among the app clicking, Ravelry surfing masses of knitters that are around today.

NEW YARNS FOR SPRING

  LUNA COTTON PAINTS 

 Rejoice, all of you who are still mourning the loss of Mission Falls 1824 cotton and it's great selection of multi colours. Cascade Yarns LUNA COTTON has just put out a wonderful collection of painted multis in beautiful  colourways. Like our beloved 1824, LUNA is an Aran weight cotton that defies pilling with it's wrapped construction making it great for children's and all garments. Also available in a stunning range of solid colours.

Sirdar's RAFFAELLA

 The folks at Sirdar have hit on 2 fabulous yarns for this coming season.

Interestingly, the RAFFAELLA has a similar wrapped construction to the Luna Paints above, but comes in a slightly finer DK weight that is just perfect for spring/summer wear.

Made of recycled cotton and high quality acrylic, it's one of those products that are sent to show us that combined fibres often offer us properties that enhance both original components. Available in this season's whisper soft pastel colours, with patterns that fit real women (see our lovely model above) it's a wonderful addition to the Sirdar line.

 Sirdar's SNUGGLY BABY SPECKLE

I'm always amazed at how clever the marketing department is at Sirdar: they put out a wonderful new product as a baby yarn and know that the soon we'll start using it for our own garments. SPECKLE is a glorious blend of cotton and high quality acrylic that drapes and feels exquisite, and like the entire Snuggly line, washes like a dream. Faint speckles of colour on a cream background make it great to show off stitch definition and retain a classic look with a hint of a denim feel.

 Terrific New Books from the world of knitting notables

MY GRANDMOTHER'S KNITTING

I am an unabashed lover of old family photos, anyone's photos, I don't even care if I know any of the people. I also love the stories that often go with those photos. Larissa Brown has captured my heart with her new book: My Grandmother's Knitting in which she offers us family stories and inspired knits from top knitwear designers.  

And guess what? The patterns are wonderful too, from the simplest - Kristen Kapur's CRAYON COWLS of ridged colours in garter stitch to, Kristen Spurkland's ROSE AND CROSS PULLOVER pictured on the cover of the book, and just about everything in between. Lots of great reading and knitting to inspire YOU.

KNITTING WITH THE COLOR GUYS

I owe a great debt to the Color Guys, i.e. Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably. If it were not for them I believe that I'd still be knitting in cream, and perhaps red, white and navy combos.

This book is their first colaboration and it seems to hit a tone of "something for everyone", combining Kaffe's penchant for the intricate (does anyone remember his Foolish Virgins design?  I believe that only foolish virgins would have the commitment to tackle it) and Brandon's ability to squeeze every last drop of excitement out of colour by offering it to us in simple designs.

But best of all, the very workable patterns in this book are not only inspiring, they are achievable: by choosing to offer us a collection of non-garments, it allows the designer in you to see all the ways that we can use knitting as our own canvas.

It's a colour playbook for all!

COOL STUFF JUST IN 

KNITTER'S PRIDE NEEDLE LINE AND

THE GLEENER,  fabric's friend.

 You may know of KNITTER'S PRIDE needles from the flurry that KnitPicks has brought to the world of knitting with their line. These wonderful quality needles are now available everywhere. We are hoping to bring in a good selection of their priducts but for the moment we are introducing Kingston knitters to Knitters' Pride CUBICS double pointed needles.

 Ever heard of square knitting needles? They are said to even out your tension and relieve strain on hands by improving the grasp, especially on smaller sizes of needles. Come on in and give them a try.

Also available: their wonderfully affordable  interchangeable circulars in brightly coloured acrylic.

DOWN WITH PILLS!

The GLEENER

These are selling like hotcakes. And why not? A kind and effective way to deal with the balls of fluff that build up on most fabrics.

Three interchangeable heads are included to cater to the different needs of all fabrics. Bring in a "pilly" sweater and try our demo.

Spring

classes and coming events.

 Wed. March 14th, 6:30-8:30pm
 BLOCKING 101 -
 Blocking is one of the most important aspects of giving your completed garments that beautifully finished look. Bring your knitting projects and your questions and we will share the best ways to make the most of this wonderful technique.
Teacher: Anne Woodall
$15. (material list).

Saturday, March 24th. 1-3pm
STEEKS AND CUTTING THEM. Further adventures in Fairisle knitting with Elizabeth McCarten
 

Cost: $35. (Material list and homework). 

Wed. March 28th 6:30 - 8:30pm  

 WENDO NEEDLE FELTING  Learn how simple and fun needle felting can be by working one of WENDO'S beautiful needle felting kits, available at WOOL-TYME Kingston. The class is just $40 which includes all materials.

And don't forget to take a trip around

With Alana on Tues. April 11th

6:30-8:30pm

Bring your own laptop and see what this amazing site has to offer all knitters and other fiber folks.

  Check out the blog page and call the store at 613 384 3951 to register. 

The Knitting Guru

answers your questions

 ...even before you ask them.

Getting rid of stitches.

Here are a few tips for when your pattern requires that you have fewer stitches at the end of your row than you began with, but you're not sure where or how to accomplish this.

Cast off, or it's American version, Bind off: You would use this to finish off the last row of a project, or if you must remove several consecutive stitches in shaping your knitting. Casting off can only be done at the beginning of a row.

Therefore you will have directions in your pattern that read something like: Cast off 4sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows.

Decreases: You would use these methods when you are only removing 1 stitch at a time, for more gentle sloping.

Decreases should not be worked on the very end of your rows but one stitch in from the beginning or the end of the row. 

Most decreases happen on the right (public) side of the work. You would work the decreases at each end of the needle as follows:

K1, Slip 1, K1, PSSO (pass slipped stitch over the second  knitted one - as if you were casting off). Continue to work across the row as you would normally do until you reach the last 3 stitches. K2tog, K1.

Using these 2 methods of decreasing a single stitch will allow the line of your knitting to follow the outer edge, looking tidy and mirroring each other.