Vintage Knits Update

Just a quick note – We are having a store-wide sale, 25% off orders of more than $100.00 (excluding shipping and applicable taxes). The discount can be used on our already reduced items, including clearance items. Use this coupon code during checkout: bb07329ba4

This sale only applies to in stock items, and cannot be used for special orders, or adjustments on prior orders. To be notified of future sales, subscribe to our newsletter.

Last week we found out that the manufacturer of our wonderful KA Circular Knitting Needle Set raised the price of the Optional Cord Set. Apparently they were not making any money on the optional cord set because it was being sold below cost. The Optional Cord Set is still available, but the cost has doubled. Yes, I said doubled. The new price for the KA optional cord set is $40.00 instead of the original price of $20.00. The good news is that there was no increase in the KA Bamboo Circular Needle Set.

The lovely floral fabric case for the KA Circular Needle Set has been discontinued. This is the case that we picture in the item description of this needle set. The manufacturer buys a specific quantity of various fabrics for their needle cases. Once each fabric is gone, they buy other fabric to make their needle cases. We are not going to redo the pictures of the needle case that we have online. It is very time consuming to take the pictures. Also, with the fabrics constantly changing, it would be a never-ending project to keep up with the current available fabric cases. Please note that when this product is ordered, we will ship whatever fabric case that is currently in stock.

Also on the knitting needle news front, we are pleased to announce that we are bringing in nearly the entire line of KA Bamboo Knitting Needles. Much of this needle line is already in stock, including the hard to find 9″ and 12″ circular knitting needles, and the 4″ double point knitting needles. The balance of the KA knitting needles should arrive this week. We will carry the entire KA knitting needle line, with the exception of their flex needles. I have never used a flex needle, nor had any customer request one. If anyone would like the flex needles, we may decide to carry them.

Here’s a look at the KA bamboo circular and double point needles (click the image for a larger view):

KA knitting needles are very smooth, lightweight and have nice points. The circular needles have a flexible cable, with a swivel bearing so the cords never twist. The joins are flawless, with a very smooth transition from cord to needle.

Since we are bringing in nearly the entire KA bamboo knitting needle line, we rethought our needle inventory, and which products we will stock. We have decided to phase out the Crystal Palace line of knitting needles and their sock yarns that we carry. While Crystal Palace makes very good knitting needles, the KA line is comparable (if not nicer) in quality, but with a significantly lower sales price. We have quite an inventory of Crystal Palace knitting needles in stock, so these needles will be here for a while until they sell. But, they will not be restocked.

We normally do not put our targeted ad coupon codes on our blog, but in the spirit of the holiday season, we wanted to alert you of our current sale posted on knitters review. For one week only, save 10% off your entire order. Use this coupon code during checkout: krdec08. This coupon expires on December 11, 2008 at 11:00 p.m. (pacific time).

For all those last minute shoppers, we found some really great gift ideas for the knitting enthusiast. If you are buying for the experienced knitter who loves cables, twisted stitches, textures, and a challenge in general, then they would love Elizabeth Zimmermann’s First American Aran Pattern.

First American Aran

The pattern is in Vogue Knitting Magazine, Winter 1998/1999. The yarn used is Briggs & Little Regal, in washed white. We sell both the yarn and the pattern at our online store. The yarn requirements are: 5 (6, 6) skeins. The finished knitted bust size is 38″ (41″, 45″).

What’s the perfect project for someone with a busy lifestyle? Socks of course. Small, portable projects can be knit on buses, subways, and during lunch breaks. The nice thing about socks is that you can complete the project in a manner of days. Who doesn’t like immediate gratification?

We highly recommend New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi.

New Pathways for Sock Knitters

New Pathways teaches you how to construct a sock that fits your foot. You learn techniques by knitting small miniature socks on either circular or double point needles. Once you learn the techniques, you can adjust the pattern to fit your feet by taking a few measurements, and placing these measurements in Cat’s universal pattern. This is a very interesting and informative book that any sock knitter will love.

We have more than 20 sock books in stock. Something for the beginner, or those wanting to learn to knit socks on two circular needles, and books for more experienced knitters. We have over a dozen sock yarns to choose from, including:

We stock lots of kits, but want to focus on a few that would make exceptional gifts. Many knitters want to do more than simply buy yarn and knit it. For the really creative types, they might like our Hand Dyeing Kit.

Hand Dyeing Kit

This kit comes with everything that you need to dye and knit a pair of socks. The yarn included is Louet Gems Merino, which is a very nice sock weight yarn. This kit is available in 5 different colorways: blues, pinks, reds, browns, and greens. This kit is on sale for $45.00.

Do you know someone interested in learning how to spin their own yarn? Our Drop Spindle Kit is the perfect entry to spinning.

This is a fantastic beginner spinning kit which comes with detailed instructions that are down to earth and easy to understand. Provides a great base of knowledge on which to build spinning technique. The kit includes ½ pound of dyed fiber, 1 Louet Drop Spindle, and detailed instructions. The kit is on sale for $31.50.

Another great gift is our Needle Felting Kits.

Needle felting Kit

Needle felting is a method of dry felting which allows the fiber artist to create intricate surface designs on existing fabrics, or explore imaginative 3 dimensional forms from flowers to pumpkins or dragons.

We offer two variations of the Needle Felting Kit. The Basic kit is on sale for $27.00, and the deluxe kit is on sale for $45.00. The kits include:

Basic – including 2 needles, 6oz fiber, instructions to make one needle felt project (Pumpkin, shown), and a sample bottle of Meadows Wool Wash.

Deluxe (Shown) – including a needle felt tool with 5 needles, 6oz fiber, instructions to make two needle felt projects (Pumpkin and Cat & Mouse, shown), and a sample bottle of Meadows Wool Wash.

Now on to the stocking stuffers. Check out our funky tape measures. Or, what about a Brass Needle Gauge and handy knit klips? The knit klips make seam sewing a breeze!

Visit our online store to see all of our products. Shop early for the best selection. Don’t forget to use the coupon code to receive your discount.

I can’t believe it’s December, and Christmas is only a few weeks away. How fast this year went by. I want everyone to have a happy holiday, meaning, I want your orders to arrive before not after Christmas. This is just a reminder, if you are ordering after December 6th, and want your order delivered before Christmas, do not choose parcel post shipping. Our website links into the United States Postal Service server for shipping prices, and time quotes. Although the postal service says that parcel post takes 4-7 days, it is often longer. One customer did not receive her timely mailed package for nearly three weeks. But, 10 days seems to be the norm.

From what I have learned, it all depends on your local post office, and what they do with the packages. Some local post offices are great with handling these packages, and they arrive near the estimated time. Others, let these packages sit until all other higher priority mail is delivered. Also, remember that rural areas may have delays in deliveries.

I give this warning every year, and every year someone chooses parcel post, and their package does not arrive before Christmas. The difference between parcel post and priority mail is usually less than a dollar. We are doing everything on our end to get your orders packed and shipped within 1-2 days. But, we cannot control the postal service, and how they handle parcel post packages.

Yarn Sale!

Just a quick note. We are having a back to school sale at our online store. Take 25% off orders of more than $100.00. Use this coupon code during checkout: bb07329ba4

The coupon is good for a limited time only, so shop early for the best selection. This sale ends on September 21, 2008 at 11:00 p.m. pacific time.

What’s New to the Online Store?

We have lots of patterns that are in stock, but not online yet. contact us if you are looking for a particular pattern or pattern booklet for any of our yarns, we may have it.

We also have the full line of KA needles, purse handles, and fun notions in stock, but not online yet. We will be adding more products to our online store this weekend. If you are ready to shop, visit our online yarn store for secure, safe shopping.

In case you haven’t heard, there is a new free online knitting magazine in cyberland, Notions Magazine. Knotions is published quarterly. The first issue of Knotions went up last week, and I am very impressed with it.

This magazine is the inspiration of blogger and long time knitter Jody Pirello. You may be familiar with Jody from her blog Savannachik. Knotions is full of patterns, has book and product reviews, and illustrated knitting techniques. The tagline for notions is to “knit smarter.” I think what they mean by “knitting smarter” is knowing simple techniques that can make a pattern fit you better. In the first issue they have a really good article and illustration on knitting short rows for bust shaping. There is also a book review of A Fine Fleece, and instructions for how to knit a lifted increase. I am looking forward to the next issue, and seeing this magazine develop.

Yarn Sale!

We are having a huge end of the month clearance sale at our online store. We need to make room for new inventory. Take 20% off orders of more than $100.00. Use this coupon code during checkout: 4ee2ccfb96

The coupon is good for five days only, so shop early for the best selection. This sale ends on August 3, 2008 at 11:00 p.m. pacific time.

What’s New?

Namaste Bags
Louet Gems Yarns
Restock of Euroflax Linen
N1C2 Soxx Appeal
Schaefer Anne and Heather Sock Yarns
Panda Cotton Sock Yarn from Crystal Palace
KA Bamboo Exchangeable Needle Set
Briggs & Little Aran and Regal Yarns
More than 40 New Books Are in Stock
Needle Felting Kits
Hand Dyeing Kits
N1C2 Painted Diamonds Bag Kit

We have lots of patterns that are in stock, but not online yet. This includes Mission Falls, Dale of Norway, and much more. Email us if you are looking for a particular pattern or pattern booklet, we may have it.

Now is a good time to purchase one of our kits. We can always special order any Absolutely Fabulous Throw Kit if the color-way you are looking for is not in stock. As always, all special orders are prepaid.

We have 2 Garnstudio/Drops kits in stock, along with a few of their magazines. The magazines will be online in a day or so. Due to distributor changes, the Garnstudio/Drops products will not be restocked.

Finally, if you are looking for sock reinforcement thread, email us, we have about 25 colors in stock.

If you would like to get advance notice of our sales, subscribe to our newsletter.

I can’t believe it, but it’s been two months since our last post. I guess we get a failing grade for tying to post once a week. It has been really busy, inventorying the new arrivals, getting them online, and juggling our non-knitting activities.

Enough with the excuses for not blogging. We have more sock yarns! First, wonderful hand dyed yarns from Schaefer. Schaefer Yarns is located in New York. They hand dye all their yarns in small batches. As you know by now, we like hand dyed yarns. When we opened the box from Schaefer, it was a lovely surprise. Their yarns are breathtaking. Schaefer does the nicest job at dyeing their yarns. In our opinion, they are a step above the rest of hand dyers.

We started with Schaefer Anne and Heather. “Anne” is a blend of wool, mohair and nylon (60% superwash merino wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon). This machine washable yarn is very soft, and the mohair makes a very “cushy” sock. Each skein has 560 yards, and knits at 8-9 stitches per inch on size one needles. One skein makes an average sized pair of women’s socks. “Anne” normally sells for $26.00 per skein. We sell it for $23.40, a 10% discount!

Schaefer Anne is dyed in special one-of-a kind colors, not their normal color-ways. We asked the artisans at Schaefer Yarn to dye Anne in tones similar to five color-ways from their normal color concepts. Here are pictures of the color-ways that we asked the artisans at Schaefer to match. Click on the photo for a larger view. Pictured from left to right are Gertrude Ederle, Piggy, Snoopy’s Crayons, Spanky, and Toni Morrison:

We could not have been more pleased, as the colors match perfectly. We carry a lot of hand dyed yarns, and feel that Schaefer yarns are a step above the rest. Their yarns are breathtaking!

Our second Schaefer yarn is “Heather.” “Heather” is a blend of wool, cultivated silk and nylon (55% superwash merino wool, 30% cultivated silk, 15% nylon). It comes in 400 yard skeins, and knits at 7-8 stitches per inch on size one needles. One skein will make a very luxurious feeling average sized sock. We have Heather in the same color-ways, pictured above. It normally sells for $29.00 per skein. We sell it for $26.10, a 10% discount!

Looking for a funky new bag? We have another great kit from Knit One Crochet Too.

The painted Diamonds Bag is the perfect summer project. Not too big, but certainly something new. The bag is worked in the modular technique, assembling from square to square without using any seams. This gives the purse its unique variegated diamond pattern. Quick and easy, great for instant gratification or gift-giving. The kit contains four balls of Knit One Crochet Too Paint Box yarn and the pattern. The kit sells for $37.80, which is 10% off our normal price. The kit comes in several color-ways. Here are the color-ways that we have in stock:

Visit our online store to make your purchases, and see all of our new products.

I think we are becoming obsessed with sock yarns! We already carry 11 different sock yarns. I did not realize we had that many sock yarns until I counted them. Now, we have added two more to the website, and still have two additional sock yarns to unpack and photograph. By the way, we are ordering yet another sock yarn next week.

So, what’s new?

With Summer right around the corner, we thought it would be nice to bring in a sock yarn that does not have any wool in it. Many people live in warmer climates, and were asking for other sock alternatives. Crystal Palace’s Panda Cotton fits that category perfectly. It is also a good choice for people who are allergic to wool.

Panda Cotton is comprised of 55% bamboo, 24% cotton, and 21% elastic nylon. This interesting fiber mix works very well for socks and children’s clothing. The bamboo has a wonderful feel and luster, the cotton adds a soft core, and the elastic nylon helps to retain the shape of your socks.

This early spring sock pattern, is made in Panda Cotton. The pattern is free and can be found on Crystal Palaces’ website.

Here is a design using Panda Cotton in a darling child’s dress. This “chick dress” pattern is also free, and can be found on Crystal Palaces’ website.

We have a great deal of variegated sock yarns at Vintage Knits Wool Shoppe, so we decided to order the solid colors of Panda Cotton. Eleven solid colors are in stock. This yarn is on sale for $6.21 per skein. It normally retails for $6.90. Two skeins are needed for a pair of socks.

Our other new sock yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy. If you are on the internet at all, I am sure you have heard about this yarn. Everyone is talking about it. Smooshy is just that, very soft and squeezable. This 100% merino yarn is hand painted, and very unique. The dyers us a process called “veil dyeing.” The result is subtle shifts in color without any pooling.

Here is smooshy in selected colors:

Look at how nicely Smooshy knits up. Click on the photo for a larger view.

We started with their newest colors, the 400 series, and we will be adding more colors and their worsted weight yarn soon. Several patterns are also in stock. We will get them online as soon as possible. To order our new sock yarns, visit our online store.

For all you Noro Kureyon fans, I have the perfect way for you to use your stash. Or, entice you to purchase more Kureyon. I was looking on knitty.com last week, and came across a very unique pattern called the Lizard Ridge Afghan. What better way to show off your Kureyon, than to knit this beautiful afghan!

Here is another view of the afghan laying flat. We had to crop it a bit for it to fit. This afghan is breathtaking!

This version is made from short row striped blocks, with each block knit from one skein of Kureyon yarn. You will need 24 skeins of Kureyon to complete this multicolored afghan, along with yarn to sew the blocks together, and for optional edging. We suggest Ella Rae Classic for the edging and sewing.

What about people who are not fond of blocks, and sewing them together? Guess what, there is a second version of the Lizard Ridge Afghan. This version is knit with one color of Kureyon, and has long stripes. You need 20 skeins of Kureyon for this afghan, and a contrast solid color for the optional edging.

The Lizard Ridge Afghan pattern is free, and can be found at: www.knitty.com. We have a good variety of Kureyon for this project at our online store.