We’ve had such a great class line up this winter. Not just because of the large number of classes we’ve been able to offer but because of our amazing line up of teacher and the energy and excitement of the students who’ve signed up.

This Sunday was no different. I caught the tale end of our Dorset button class, taught by a new addition to our teaching staff, Jules Means. I walked in to a bunch of smiling faces and lots of jubilation!

Jules really got the ladies’ creative juices flowing.  The table was heaped with yarn in all colors and weights as well as some finished buttons to showcase what can be done.

The students ended up with some fantastic finished projects.  Also make sure to check out a blog post from fellow SSFY teacher and (on Sunday) student, Rhonda Culbert, about her experience in the class.

We hope to run this class again in the coming weeks.  If you’re interested in joining the next session.  Give the shop a call and ask to be put on the list.  Once we have the date secured we’ll give you a call and try to get you registered.  As a reminder, check out our class policy and pre-payment is required to secure your spot in any class as the demand for them is so high.

Add Comment (0)

I found this cute animation from fashion company Pringle of Scotland. Pringle commissioned artist David Shrigley to create a humorous short animated film about life behind-the-scenes at Pringle to celebrate the brands return to Milan Fashion Week and it is a funny little parody on the yarn industry.

Add Comment (1)

Never fear yarners…. I’m going on vacation but yarn is most definitely coming with me.  Robbie, Mazie and I will be headed to the west coast for some much needed R&R.

Ok so what am I bringing with me you ask?  I’m still plugging away on my sweater made out of Koigu Kersti from Knit Two Together.  Almost have the whole back done!  So excited about this little lovely knit reindeer that Sharon Brant of Rowan passed along to me last night at our amazing workshop (more to come on that soon).  This little guy is called Pete and is a free pattern from Rowan that I’ll post shortly. He’s made with one skein of Rowan Alpaca Cotton and one Rowan Felted Tweed.  Seriously is he the cutest?!

I’ve also got on skein of an Ella Rae Lace Merino (teal cake) that I’m thinking of as a future addition to the shop and will be hopefully casting on the Ysolda Teague Ishbel shawl.  Oh and one of our Socken Klecks (blue, white, and brown stripe), which is a knitted fabric that you unravel for a pair of socks.  Seems like a lot but you can never be caught on vacation without knitting right?

Oh yes and a lovely little tape measure from KA in my favorite color, hot lipstick pink!

Add Comment (1)

So you may remember when I first found this glow-in-the-dark yarn.  As a recap, it’s not necessarily a fine fiber, but it certainly is a MUST have fiber for any yarn store located in Salem MA.  So many customers are working with this product I think we’ll set the whole city a-glow soon.  Andrea whipped up this fantastic hat, pattern courtesy of Hello Yarn, with our glow-in-the-dark NightLights for her daughter Vika who was in need of a skateboarding hat.

If you’ve not yet checked out Hello Yarns patterns, you should.  She’s a great designer and this fantastic Skull pattern is a free download from her site.  This yarn would be great in the glow-in-the-dark Nightlights and either the Jill Eaton Minnow Merino or the Rowan Wool Cotton.

Add Comment (1)

Some of you may have heard of yarn storming and others may just be hearing about this concept for the first time.  I’m obsessed with the idea.  Yarn Storming is like gorilla knitting, graffiti knitting — an emerging form of urban art, almost performance art in a way.  Basically, it’s when knitters like us cover or adorn everyday objects in the city with knitted pieces.   One of the most stunning examples I’ve seen is a London Phone booth, covered in bits of knit.

This You Tube video gives a pretty good explanation of yarn storming.

Another beautiful example of yarn storming can be seen here:

A phenomenal website devoted to this art form is Knit the City.

Local Yarn Storming Caught Live:

A friend of mine was on the T this week and experienced some yarn storming while on the T.  She was quick enough to capture a few cell phone pictures.  A gal got on the train with a bit of knitting, knit it around one of the T poles, used it as a hand hold while she was riding the train, and then she got off and left this little bit of knitting for other to enjoy.  Apparently the entire T was rivited by what this woman was doing.

Add Comment (1)

Cate Blanchett is arguably one of the most beautiful actresses on the big screen.  She has fantastic taste and style and gave us yarn stitchers a nod recently with her appearance at Australian Fashion week in a one of a kind dress made specifically for her out of crocheted granny squares.

The dress was designed by a Sydney design duo called Romance Was Born by Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales . The fashion critique of the dress was mixed but I think she totally rocked this dress and it is an amazing tribute to the craft that we all know and love — fiber arts!

Add Comment (0)

We all know just what knitting is capable of.  It can create a cozy and homey blanket for snuggling on the couch, a treasured and well worn sweater for a new baby, or an amazingly shaped and intricately stitched garment for your night out on the town.  However, much of society still sees knitting as an “old bitty’s” craft and imagines scratchy lanolin heavy wools knit in poorly lit rooms sitting in a rocking chair.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is most definitely a place for lanolin heavy wools and I’ve been known to sit in the rocking chair to knit a stitch or two, but knitting is evolving.  We know it and Lexie Barnes, notable accessories and knitting bag designer, is working to elevate knitting presence in the fashion world.

Fashion Week is upon us this week, hosted by Mercedes Benz in NYC.  Lexie is hosting comfort lounge outside of Fashion Week in Bryant Park to offer a bit of relaxation to Fashion Week participants but also showcase just how amazing knitting can be.  She’ll also be offering mini knitting lessons so folks can be exposed to this amazing art and craft that we all love.  We all have an opportunity to help Lexie Barnes host this event as she’s holding a donation drive to help offset the cost of this great event.

Seed Stitch contributed and I can’t wait to see what comes out of this event for Lexie Barnes and for our entire knitting community.  I’ll be looking to see what comes out of Fashion Week in terms of knitted garments and how that might inspire what we do at Seed Stitch.

Add Comment (0)

Every issue at the beginning of the Debbie Bliss Magazine, Debbie give us little snip its of inspiration.  In the fall issue she showcased some vintage end papers from knitting books of the 20s, 30s, and 40s.  Well we got so excited.  Michele, one of our very own Seed Stitchers, has been collecting books from this era and Odhams Press Ltd. and had many of the same end papers featured in the magazine.  I can’t tell you how amazing it is to leaf through these old books and see the fashions, read the funny nuances of the text, laugh at some, and think “oh that one I could really make”.

My imagination is alive with the possibilities of how we might be able to leverage these end papers at Seed Stitch.

However the inspiration does stop there!  We loved these old patterns so much we’ve decided to create a vintage knit along from these oldies but goodies.  We are going to be working out the logisitcs of the knit along over the next few weeks and will chat with you all about it as Fall gets rolling.  Ooooohhhhh so exciting!

Add Comments (2)

Veronik Avery is a fantastic designer who has been inspired by classic fashion trends. She’s teamed up with Classic Elite to launch her first yarn line and it’s due into to Seed Stitch in a matter of days.  The new line is called Nordique by St. Denis and is 100% wool, knits at 24–28 sts/4 inches on a U.S. size 2.5 -6, making it a fingering to sport weight, with 150 yards per ball.  This yarn has a wonderful luster and hand-feel and I think it destined to become a classic.  Veronik was kind enough to give us a little insight into the product, her design inspiration, and what we might expect next.

How does it feel to launch your own yarn line?

Frightening and exciting at the same time – I have been working on this for over a year now and while I love having creative control over every aspect of the line, I’m also terrified about what kind of reception it will have.

I think we’re all becoming more and more conscious about where our products are manufactured. Can you talk about your decision to have your line produced in North America?

It just doesn’t make sense to me to have products manufactured abroad when we have the raw materials and the ability to do so right here. It’s also often difficult to know where exactly our products come from even when they are clearly labeled – for instance, it is perfectly legal to say that a product is produced in a particular country even if only the last step in manufacturing was completed there. It could have been spun in China from fleece imported from New Zealand, but the label will simply say ‘made in Italy as it was plied and balled there. Not to mention that a product with that much mileage should be more expensive – the fact that it isn’t adds another concern to the equation.

Can you give readers a little synopsis of the magazine to accompany your yarn?

The magazine’s goal is to inspire and educate as well as present patterns. I think many of us have heard references to being either a product knitter or a process knitter – well, I think many of us are a bit of both. So, while the yarn line is intended to be a real knitter’s material – durable, crisp yet soft enough to be worn next to the skin – the magazine aims to showcase what we love about this craft.

How have your designs evolved since you started designing?

That’s difficult to say because of the way that I work – I studied visual arts through my teenage years and for a while in university and that has had quite an impact on how I approach design. It isn’t so much an evolution, as each collection and each piece within that collection is treated as an unit rather than part of a whole. I don’t love one silhouette, technique or construction method above all others – it all boils down to what I’m doing at the moment.

What designers have inspired your work?

Pam Allen, Marc Jacobs, Stanley Kubrick , Claire McCardell, Janet Morton, Issey Miyake, Paul Smith, Sonya Rykiel, Meg Swansen, Vivienne Westwood, Frank Lloyd Wright, Elizabeth Zimmermann (to name a few).

What’s up next?

I’m working on the second issue right now and waiting for the spring yarn samples to arrive. I’m also working on fall of 2010 – since my yarn is spun to my specifications rather than picked from a selection, I have to determine what kind of fleece will be used and how it will be spun and that needs to happen far enough in advance so as to have samples in time to knit with.

QUICK FACTS:

On your iPod right now:
The The

Item from your yarn stash you’re dying to use:
CEY silky alpaca lace

If you were a yarn, which yarn would you be?
Nordique!

Favorite place to knit:
anywhere but in the sun.

Current project on the needles:
Many swatches for book 2!

The yarn and the magazine will be in the store within a matter of days and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. I’m looking for your feedback as well, but I’m guessing it will be positive.

Add Comment (0)

Thought we’d take a brief interlude in our color inspiration series to talk about this fantastic new sock yarn that I can’t seem to get enough of. It’s called Zauberball from Schoppel Wolle and brought to us by Skacel. Zauberball is a fantastic single ply sock yarn with a sweeping, graduated color change along the length of the garment when knit. Because it’s a single ply you may want to add some sock thread to the toe and heal when knitting it up in a pair of socks, just for a bit of added strength.  We also brought in Zauberball Crazy, which is a plied version of the sock yarn that knits up at the same gauge. It’s 75% wool and 25% nylon, superwash, and knits up at 6.75-8 stitches per on a U.S. size 1-3.
We came across this yarn when a customer brought in an AMAZING new magazine out of the UK called The Knitter. It’s a magazine geared toward the more experienced knitter and the patterns and inspiration are awesome. We should be getting our first shipment when issue 11 comes out, although I’m trying to get back issues. You’ll see one featured in the store, where we first saw the Zauberball worked up in a awe inspiring sock pattern.

It’s not just SSFYers that are “Crazy” about this yarn, folks on Ravelry are doing some amazing things with it as well. Thought I’d get your creative juices going with some ideas.

These socks are from Kelly AKA ShellularKellular on Ravelry Kelly knit this up with some left over Kroy from her stash, which totally adds to the dimension of this FO.

This bag was designed by Erin AKA putasockonit from Ravelry.  This pattern is scheduled to be published in an upcoming book coming out around February ‘09 from Storey Publishing called 101 One Skein Wonders for Sock Yarns.  It will be Erin’s first published pattern and it’s fantastic.  Can you imagine the possibilities of this pattern with say Koigu?

This classic pattern, Baby Surprise Jacket, by Elizabeth Zimmerman was knit by Badger AKA Koalacheeks on Ravelry in the Zauberball Reds colorway.

I’ve just started to cast on a pair with Zauberball Crazy myself and I can’t wait to each subsequent row to see how the colorway evolves.  What can you do with this yarn?

Add Comment (0)