Emiline Club!
Emiline is our new little friend at Island Yarn. She stands a whopping 7″ high and is looking forward to quite a wardrobe.
With the Emiline Club, you’ll get 5 kits over the January to May of 2012. The first will be pattern and all materials to make Emiline and her first outfit! The following 4 kits will contain patterns and materials for an additional outfit! By summer time, you’ll have a well dressed doll with a better wardrobe than most of us full size people! It’s great for kids and knitters who love to make tiny, quick things!
Club members will get these kits before anyone online or in the store in addition to a great discount…join the club and you’ll be getting these kits at over 25% off the regular price!
You can also buy a club membership for anyone as a gift – just let us know in the purchase email that it’s a gift and we will send a certificate to that person letting them know that they have lots of fun coming over the next 5 months!
Deadline to join the club is Saturday, December 31st. Kits will be mailed, every month, starting in January between the 5th and the 8th.
Holiday Fun! Tuesday, December 20th!
Mark your calendars! We’re going to have a special holiday get together at the store on Tuesday, December 20th from 6 – 8:30. There will be goodies, and knitting, and few extra special people who will have gorgeous handmade items for sale if you just don’t think your going to finish everything you set out to do. Also some great things to top your gifts off in an extra special way….shawl pins, stitch markers, and much more! By now, you know it is a rarity to see an open sign in my window on Tuesday…meaning this is a special, special event!
Extra-crazy land brings you FIVE December patterns of the month!
5 December patterns!
It’s officially holiday knitting time! And this month, to help out with your gifty plans, I’ve got FIVE patterns of the month to share with you! Get one…get all five! Each is free with the purchase of suggested yarn through the end of December and each is a fairly quick to knit gift for some lucky recipient in your life (or for you, if you are one of those smart, selfish knitters).
Elizabeth’s Scarf
First up – Elizabeth’s Scarf. This is, by far, the quickest of all of them. Made with 1 hank of Trendsetter Improv, this quick keyhole scarfy/cowl can easily be done in one evening. Totally unique…and a new spin on all the ruffles in the land.
Tween Set
Not just for your notoriously hard-to-please tweens, this pattern gives instructions for a child, tween, or adult for both this super cute pixie ear-flap hat and wristies. The Tween set pattern also includes a variation for regular decreases in case your adults might want earflaps without having to dip into pixie land. This set uses 2 hanks (alternate colors, but you can go solid if you want) of Cascade 128 Superwash.
Flaming skirt
Ever since I released Bellflower, bigger kids (including adults) have been been saying, “But I want one in my size!” The Flaming Skirt is your answer! Everything is written out for up to a 32” waist, but I’ve included details in the pattern notes so that you can make it any size, with any gauge yarn as the base. This pattern calls for varying amounts of Cascade 220 (superwash is best, but you do what you gotta do) and 1 ball of Katia Triana.
Double Cuff Mittens
These Double Cuff Mittens are brought to you by childhood trauma of ice bits and freezing wind getting into the sleeves of my coats. If I had these mitts then, I might be normal (ha!). An inner cuff, knitted out of fingering weight wool tucks under the cuff of your coat, while the main mitten goes over the cuff of your coat leaving NO ENTRANCE for ICE and SNOW (or wind)! So very warm! 
The mitts use one hank of Noro Odori and about 100 yards of fingering weight wool…I’m guessing you all have bits of leftover sock yarn, so this pattern is free with the purchase of just one hank of Noro Odori.
Capas Cowl
And last, but definitely not least because it is my absolute favorite of the 5….Capas Cowl. The Capas cowl is made in two layers…the inner layer being ribbed so it snuggles right around your neck and makes you about as warm and happy as can be. It’s made with just one hank of our new Noki which is a supremely delightful merino/silk fingering weight yarn. Seriously…you’ll be sad it’s just a one-skein project because you won’t want to stop knitting with it.
And there they are….ready, set……ding-a-ling….falala…or something like that!
Anyone knitting a Turkey Cozy?
Ergh. Black Friday. I like to pretend the mania doesn’t exist, but word has it, as a store owner, that I’m stoopid for those imaginary ways. So I’ve been back and forth about what to do, if anything, and here’s the plan. Tell me what you love. Take yourself over here: http://islandyarncompany.bigcartel.com/ Tell me what your most favorite thing is (yarn and color…gotta be specific) here, tonight before midnight and starting tomorrow it will be on sale until Monday at midnight. The more of you who post, the more things will be on sale (and yes, I’m smooshing the Wednesday sale into the whole thing because I couldn’t possibly come up with 2 different sale ideas for one week.) As always, local peeps….if you let me know that you want to pick up your yarns at the store, I’ll refund your shipping charges.
And in the store on Friday and Saturday, we’ll have some warm spiced cider and cookies so there will be a great place to escape and knit for a bit. And, if you happen to finish something in the store on Friday or Saturday, I just might be able to find a wee prize for you. Time to get those gifts cranking off the needles! Also, come Friday, the FIVE December patterns of the month will be in the store and ready for their head start! One more to write up and photograph, but you can see the other four here: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/victoria-myers
November Pattern of the Month!
Glasurol Stole!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but sometimes lace overtakes me. I never know when its going to happen, or why, but I have found that its best to surrender when the urge comes upon me. The Glasurol Stole was one such product of the lace compulsion.
Happily, this stole also satisfied another urge…the urge to get my needles into some of our new yarn Island Yarn Sol. This yarn is a delight to knit with…a fingering (could be pushed to a sport weight) single ply merino, it’s perfect for lacey projects that you want to be a bit warm as well. Glasurol takes 2 skeins of Island Yarn Sol and the pattern is free through the month of November when you purchase those skeins. This is a pattern and yarn that I know you will love!
If you aren’t local, you can still get this great pattern for free in our kits here!
Two patterns for October!
This month we have two free patterns to get you going on those looming holiday gifts! Both make gorgeous sets that anyone would be delighted to have (including you, if you are a super smart selfish knitter)! First is a pattern revamp from the very popular Reversible Brioche Hat Pattern! Its a great introduction to Brioche in the round and now includes instructions for a neckwarmer as well as the hat!
This set uses 2 of my favorite yarns in the store! Our new hand-dyed Chesterfield is a delicious Merino Silk Single Ply and pairs gorgeously with Ella Rae Latte! There are lots of color combination choices that will leave you drooling! The hat and neckwarmer each take one ball of Latte. Chesterfield has such great yardage that I’ve made hat and neckwarmer and have enough left over to do another of one of those! You will seriously think you have gone to heaven when you use these two yarns! The Reversible Brioche Hat pattern revamp is free through the month of October with the purchase of 1 skein of Island Yarn Chesterfield and 1 Ball of Ella Rae Latte.
Our new pattern for October is the Bracknell Hat and Neckwarmer. Big needles, simple cables, and huggable yarn? What could be better?
I can’t even explain to you how Debbie Bliss Paloma seduced me. It might have been about 7257 degrees on the day that I first saw it and the only option I had was to unhank it and wear 3 around my neck for about an hour. So soft! And the chainette ply make it bloomy with a very flexible gauge and wear really well! The hat and neckwarmer each take about 1.5 hanks of Debbie Bliss Paloma, so 3 will make you the set. You can get the pattern for free through October though by just purchasing 2 hanks of Debbie Bliss Paloma!
If you aren’t local, you can get kits for both of these patterns here!
Greater Boston Yarn Crawl!
At last, the Greater Boston Yarn Crawl is happening this weekend, Friday, September 31st thru Sunday October 2nd!
We will open extended hour for the crawl:
Friday 10AM to 5PM
Saturday 10AM to 5PM
Sunday 12 to 5PM
And before we get to each day’s special events, there are a few great deals that will be going on all weekend long. First up, you will receive a FREE gift bag with any purchase over $25 (one per person).
Second, as it is pattern of the month transition time, September and October patterns will all be free with purchase of the suggested yarns throughout the crawl! This is THREE patterns, Early Autumn, and new pattern revamp of Reversible Brioche Hat and a brand new pattern using the luscious Debbie Bliss Paloma to be released on Friday! Plan your gifts and get free patterns!
Lastly, don’t forget to take a stab at our “Name that Yarn” game when you stop in…you could win a glorious gift basket!
In addition to all of that, we have extra special things planned for each day!
Friday, September 30th was meant to be a big Blue Heron Trunk Show, but what I received was a little more like a smart car trunk full. As soon as I started getting the feeling this might be the case, I whipped into gear and dyed up 100+ new skeins of our new hand-dyed delights. We’ll have new silks, wools, and lovely blends. For a sneak peak, take a look at the twitter feed and see what has already been coming in through September. In addition to getting this stuff right off the drying rack, on Friday, you’ll get 15% off any Island Yarn yarn (yarnyarn…its almost like pizzapizza). This includes all of our reclaimed and hand-dyed yarns! Don’t miss out!
Saturday, October 1st will bring 2 special guests! From 11 to 2, Wren Ross will be in the store, singing and delighting you with her hysterical yarnie tunes! She’ll have her CDs with her for those of you who might want to pop it into your car as you crawl along the rest of the day. Then, from 2 to 5, Karen Chenausky, will be in with her gorgeous handmade jewelry! She’s got shawl pins, necklaces, earrings….you name it and she is super talented with a great eye for jewelry! And just because she is that nice, she has volunteered to give a little demo on making stitch markers to anyone interested. We’ll have materials, just bring yourself!
Sunday, October 2nd will welcome the arrival of Jane from Porter Square Books with an enormous pile of knitting and crochet books! There’s nothing better in my opinion than a Sunday filled with yarn and books! She’ll also be taking pre-orders on the long-awaited Principles of Knitting if you are hot to get your hands on it and generously offering a 15% discount on all pre-orders taken during the crawl!
Phew….I think that might cover it. Maybe….
Hope to see you all there!
September Pattern of the Month!
Early Autumn
I love early autumn when there is just the hint of cool in the air and the first few leaves on the ground. This shawl is the same…a nice transitional project to take you from hot summer days to die-hard fall/winter knitting…with just a few leaves to keep you engaged through an, otherwise, fairly easy lace project. For this project, we are using one of our new hand-dyed yarns called Antique. It is 395 yards/ball, 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, and pre-caked for you into convenient center pull balls…great when you just need to CAST ON RIGHT NOW! There are 2 size options with this kit: 1 ball makes a shawl that is approx 45″ x 20″ and 2 balls makes a shawl that is approx. 63″ x 30″. This pattern is free through the month of September when you purchase 1 ball of Island Yarn Antique.
2 Patterns for August!
This month we have two patterns of the month!
Triana Intrigue
This great wrap is a cinch to make and looks like a million bucks! Surprisingly, it’s made with just one ball of Triana or Triana Lux and about 100 yards of coordinating fingering weight meaning you are gonna look like a million bucks by only spending about $20! Triana Intrigue makes a great show-stopping gift too! This pattern uses both knit and crochet, but very basic stitches of both. This pattern is free through the month of August when you purchase 1 ball of Katia Triana or Triana Lux.
Diagonal Patterned Hat and Neckwarmer
Annnd a pattern re-vamp that I have been meaning to do for a while. This was a really popular pattern several years ago when I put it out. Now it has new pictures, new yarn, and a neckwarmer pattern to swap out for the scarf! The yarn used for the Diagonal Pattern Hat and Neckwarmer is JojoLand Rhythm Superwash. You’ll need 3 balls to make both the hat and neckwarmer and the pattern is free through the month of August when you purchase them!
Let’s Make a Deal for a Charity! :)
It’s been a little while since we had a good charity event so I thought it might be fun to do one that served many purposes. There are all sorts of ways to contribute and receive great thank you gifts in the process!
We are starting with a non-perishable food drive for the Salvation Army Food Pantry here in Waltham. Bring in canned goods or other non-perishables any day we are open.
And then….for every 2 food items that you bring in, you can choose a ball of yarn out of the sale bin for free. You can go merrily on your way with your ball(s) of yarn OR donate them back into our charity yarn bin which will be headed to several different area women’s homeless shelters thanks to crabbycrocheter. Maybe she will post a bit more about them when she gets the ear burn? You can also bring in donation yarn during the event to put in the box. Also, if you use our destashing service during the event you can donate whatever doesn’t sell.
As a thank you for your yarn donation, for every full ball (sale bin or what you bring in or destash) you can get a raffle ticket to win one of many awesome prizes! Lots of gorgeous sample sweaters, bags, and, naturally, some yarn! I’ll being posting pictures and details about all of these prizes later in the week. You can also buy raffle tickets for these prizes at $2 each. All proceeds from ticket sales will be going to one of my favorite charities Kiva. You can see what we have already been able to do through Kiva here.
So it seems crazy, right? But I think it will be fun! Here’s the summary for those of you who like to cut to the chase:
1 – Bring in Non-perishable Food
2 – Get a ball of sale bin yarn as a thank you. Keep it or donate it to our area homeless shelters. (Or bring in yarn, or donate out of destash service)
3 – Get a raffle ticket for one of many great prizes! (Or buy tickets for $2/ticket for Kiva)
Does it make sense? The event will run from now until September 1st…plenty of time to clean out the pantry and your stash!
