Show Us Your Shawl Extravaganza! By Anna In Knitting Lace Triangles, Evelyn Clark, master of shawl design, writes that knitting a shawl is like “creating a hug for you or someone else.” After the seemingly endless snow of this winter, I think a yarn hug is exactly what we all need. Knitting or crocheting shawls, I’ve come to learn, is an addictive process. The benefits of shawls are legion: they showcase lovely yarn, they become a sampler for new lace techniques, and best of all, unlike sweaters, they always fit! However, if you’re anything like me, or Martha, or Yvonne, you have a drawer full of shawls that you never wear. We’re going to change that. Break out your shawls and join us for our Show Us Your Shawl Extravaganza on Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21! Here’s how it works. Come into the shop wearing a shawl that you made. We’ll take a picture of you for our blog, and in exchange for Showing Us Your Shawl, we’ll give you 10% off your entire regular-priced purchase. At the end of the weekend, we’ll have a lovely online journal of our favorite shawls. Never made a shawl before? We encourage you to follow our store theme of Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010 and try your hand at one. Here are some suggestions: If the idea of lace frightens you, try a simple triangle. The Boneyard Shawl, shown here in Crystal Palace Mochi Plus, uses basic increases to show off a beautiful yarn. I used the same basic idea for this similar shawlette for Steven made in sock weight yarn. Mochi Plus Sock yarn Kelli and I are both making a Citron Shawl, from the most recent issue of Knitty. Kelli reports that this is a great pattern for advanced beginner knitters because it allows you to practice two different kinds of increases. Here’s mine in Malabrigo Sock, but two great things about this pattern are that you can make it in any weight of yarn that you want, and that it’s written for just one skein of Malabrigo Lace, which means that you can make a cute shawl for only $8.80! Stay tuned in the days to come for more shawl ideas, including ideas for first lace projects and suggestions for those of you who want to move on to more challenging lace shawls. See you soon!

What’s New? We received some much-needed infusions of spring color with a shipment of new colors of Ruca, the 100% sugarcane yarn with amazing sheen and drape, in both multicolors and shaded solids. Also adding to the glimpse of spring is Scarlet Fleece Silk and Ivory, a gorgeous handpainted merino and silk blend in sportweight, plus Scarlet Fleece Wool Paint, stunning hand-painted roving. It’s here! We have MadelineTosh Sock in many colors. Come see the amazing depth that can be achieved in solid colors! We’ve already placed another order! Feeling dreary about the weather? Comfort yourself with new colors of Road to China Light, a sportweight composed of Baby Alpaca, Cashmere, Camel, and Silk. Really in need of a dash of wild colors? We now carry Zauberball Crazy in a DK weight. We are thrilled to announce that now carry HiyaHiya Interchangeable Sets. These have 4 inch tips ranging in sizes 2-8, and unlike other interchangeable sets, these will make 16 inch circulars. And, to our delight, these come in the most adorable Chinese-inspired fabric pouches. We are really excited! Bags galore! We have a bunch of new spring bags from Ja Ja Ja made of recycled and repurposed fabrics. We also have new project bags from HiyaHiya.

Spotlight on Spinning: A Review of Abstract Fibers By Rachel A., Frequent Customer As some of you might know, I’m a relatively new spinner, but even if I didn’t know a spindle from a spinning top, I could tell you that the Abstract Fibers line of spinning fibers is a visual treat. The hand-dyed colorways are varied, from the sedate neutrals of the Varied Thrush colorway to the vivid acidy green of the Chartreuse colorway shot through with red and black. Every colorway will most likely not appeal to every spinner, but every spinner is sure to find at least one that they love. I’ve fallen in love with several, so far! [BFL in Shady Glade] Of course, I’ve also spun enough fibers on my spinning journey so far to know that just because you have pretty fiber doesn’t mean that it will be enjoyable to spin, or as fiber tastes vary much like color tastes, enjoyable for you to spin. Having spun all four fibers currently being offered, I can say that they are all well prepared for their fiber type, and that they all spin like a dream. The Blue Faced Leicester drafts easily and the superwash merino practically spins itself. The “regular” merino and the merino silk take a bit of fluffing out, but no more than seems to be standard for similar fibers. They all turn out a beautiful yarn and with four choices there’s going to be one that’s sure to suit your spinning needs. I’m sticking by my opinion that the SW Merino is the yummiest, but I’ve got a superwash bias, so you’ll just have to check them out for yourself and decide which one works for you!

Picking Up Stitches: Missed Yarn Over By Yvonne You're working on a project, maybe a lace shawl. You get to the end of your row, realize your stitch count is off, and discover you've missed a yarn over. Do you need to tink back? Not really. You could easily replace that missing yarn over by working it into your knitting. If the missing yarn over occurred on the row that you've just completed, you can add it in when you work back by creating a “make one” or “lifted” increase. Simply work to where you missed the yarn over, then insert your left needle into the front of the bar of yarn between your two stitches and continue on as if nothing untoward had happened. If the missing yarn over occurred more than a row ago, you have to get a little fancier with your knitting abilities and bring in Ye Olde HandiTool or Ye Even Older Crochet Hook. Work to where you missed your yarn over. Make sure that the “right” or public side of the knitting is facing you. Count down to where you missed your yarn over, then pick up that bar of yarn with your hook (1). Use the hook to reach up and grab the next bar of yarn, then pull it under the first yarn you picked up, thereby creating a stitch (2). Continue working in this manner until you have picked up all of your stitches; place the final loop on the left needle (3), and then continue knitting away(4).

Proudly on the Podium Four Natural Stitches employees, and many of our customers, participated in the Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Olympics. Check out our trials and tribulations on our blog.

From the entire staff of Natural Stitches, we wish you happy knits, creative crochets and splendid spinnings. And, as always, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know!

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