Yarn Tastings

We still have seats available for both yarn upcoming yarn tastings.

What is a yarn tasting?  Think wine tasting...but instead of wine, you'll be trying different yarns.  It's a fun way to sample some new things; it's a way to find out what you like, what you don't like, or maybe what yarn you love.  It's another excuse to enjoy the company of other knitters while testing out some of our new spring yarns.  You'll get samples of at least eight of the new yarns as well as some of my favorites, along with some other goodies.  You'll snack, chat, and swatch.  It's a fun way to spend an evening!

When:  Fridays, May 6th -OR- May 13th

Time:  6:30 - 9:00

Cost:  $20

What to bring:  Knitting needles; you'll be sampling yarns from lace weight up to chunky, and the suggested needles range from size 1 to 11-ish.  So, bring the needles you have, but don't worry if you don't have every size - there will be loaner needles available.

How to sign up:  Seating is limited, so you need to register ahead of time by calling 763-780-2465, or you can stop in the shop.  Payment in full guarantees your spot in the tasting - if you can't get to the shop before the event, you can hold your spot by calling with a credit card.

When Leslie (who can be found at our table most Saturday mornings) was visiting her sister in Arizona this winter, she spent some time at Tempe Yarn & Fiber.  While there, she met

Yumiko Alexander, a talented designer who comes from Japan.  Yumiko has written a pattern for a small scarf, and Tempe Yarn & Fiber is collecting them and they well be either shipped or hand carried by Yumiko to Japan to provide warmth & comfort for the earthquake victims.  If you'd like to contribute a scarf, you can read the details about the project here, and the pattern for the scarf can be found here.   Knit it up, get it to Double Ewe, and we'll send it on to Tempe.  Let's send them some hugs from Minnesota.

Stiletto from Plymouth Yarns

A brand new sock yarn just arrived...and it has sparkles.  How fun is that?!  A blend of Merino & Nylon plus a sprinkling of Fairy Dust.  One skein will make a lovely pair of socks.  

Stiletto

Fairy Dust Up Close

Camel Hair from Lana Grossa 

When I first saw this yarn, I thought, "Hmmm.  Camel Hair."  Sort of an odd name, don't you think?  Then I touched it.  Oh my gosh.  It's cashmere soft, but without the cashmere price.  It's a blend of 60% extrafine merino, and 40% camel.  Who knew camels had such softness hidden in them?  Right now I have a few colors, with more coming.  So, try to look past the name, touch it, and you'll love it.

Camel Hair

We've got a couple more kits from Knit One Crochet Too  to tell you about.  Clouds of Lace uses one of my favorite stitch patterns with two of my favorite yarns:  Ambrosia (an alpaca/silk/cashmere blend) and Douceur et Soie, a kid mohair/silk blend.  The result is a luxurious, sophisticated scarf.

Clouds of Lace

The Drunken Path Scarf also uses Douceur et Soie, but this time it's combined with Ty-Dye Sock, a very soft blend of wool and nylon.  This one looks more complicated than it really is, but it's sort of an optical illusion - it's just knits, purls, increases & decreases; nothing fancy required.  Completely reversible, cushy soft, and gobs of fun to knit. 

Drunken Path Scarf

Marie Mahew Designs

Marie is known for her fun, whimsical designs:  snowmen, birds, bunnies, nests, pumpkins, and so on.  If you're looking for a fun little seasonal project, be sure to check these out.  

Marie Mahew Patterns

 Thomas Joseph Mugs & Cards

Cute, pastoral scenes with wooly sheep.  A perfect addition to the shop.   

Thomas Joseph Mugs & Cards

For a while now, I've been wishing the big, chainsaw sculpted bear outside our shop had a hat, and this month Francis decided to make him one.  Yay!  If you haven't meet Francis, he's my other half, and you might find him here at the table on a Tuesday evening or a Saturday afternoon.  Now, of course, a bear has a larger head than most humans and no normal pattern would work, so Francis climbed up with tape measure in hand, did a little math, dug in our scrap yarn bin, and came up with this masterpiece.

The Bear And His Snazzy Chapeau

Next in line is a little jumper I knit & crocheted for our granddaughter, Davian. I used Tatamy DK, one of the newbies in the shop - an easy care blend of cotton & acrylic. I started with a published pattern for a crocheted jumper, but decided I preferred to have the bodice knitted, so I ditched the pattern at that point.  I sort of made it up as I went, added some ribbons at the shoulders, a little embroidery, and it turned out to be a pretty cute little dress.   The lesson here:  don't be chained to a pattern - you're the boss of your knitting!  (And crocheting, too!)

The last project I want to share is the Hitchhiker.  After seeing several people knit this scarf once, then again, and even again, I decided I needed to knit one myself.  The pattern, by Martina Behm, is available for purchase on Ravelry.  It calls for about 150 grams of a fingering weight (sock) yarn, and I chose Unisono for it's gorgeous colors and soft, squishy goodness. Unisono is actually a sport weight, but for a scarf, gauge isn't critical and it worked quite well.  The pattern is simple, fun to knit, easily memorized, and quite addictive. 

Hitchhiker in Unisono

It's hard to believe, but WWKIP Day is just around the corner.  What is WWKIP Day?  It's World Wide Knit in Public Day, of course!  It's a day when knitters get together and knit right out in public, right in front of non-knitters.  If you want to read about the origins of WWKIP Day, you can visit the website that started it all.

This is going to be Double Ewe's 5th annual WWKIP Day Celebration.  (Fifth?!?  Seems like we just had our first!)  Mark your calendars:  We're going to be holding it on June 11th, from 1:00 - 5:00.  Details will follow, but it's always a day full of food, knitting, fun, drawings, great people, and, if we're lucky, sunshine.  So, put it on your calendars now!

For our current classes, please visit our website. 

Workshop Style Classes

We have four workshop-style classes:  Knitter's Choice on Tuesday mornings and THursday evenings, The Workshop on Wednesday mornings, and Knit Along with Ann on Wednesday afternoons.  In these classes, each student works at their own level on any project they'd like, which works well if you want to take a class with a friend but you knit at different levels.  You can see the details on our website linked above.  These are all "pay as you go" type classes, meaning you only pay for the sessions you attend.  Also, they are ongoing classes, with no start or end date - jump in whenever you like. 

Join us for a fun social time while working on whatever you want.  No registration required - just show up.  We have three times a week you can join us:

• Tuesday evenings, 6:00 - 8:00 (note the time change with our spring hours)
• Friday afternoons, 1:30 - 4:30
• Saturdays, 9:00 - noon (or whenever...I'll be leaving at 3:00 starting May 1st)

 Please note:  Open Knitting is not a class.  Although I'm always happy to answer questions as time permits, sometimes it gets a bit hectic.  For more dedicated help, consider coming to one of our Knitter's Choice, Knit Along with Ann or The Workshop classes.  Details one these classes can be found here.