If you have anything that you would like to submit to the Natural Stitches Newsletter please send it to steven@naturalstitches.com.

Spring Sale

Come Celebrate Spring at Natural Stitches
Sunday, March 30th.

Pick an egg out of our basket and reveal what
your yarn savings will be.

Every egg has at least 15% off your yarn purchase!
(Rumor has it there might even be a few for 50%!)

One egg per person, chosen before you start shopping. Good only on yarn. One day only.
No returns on these sale yarns.
Winding services will not be provided the day of the sale.

Berroco Comfort Sock Yarn — $7.00

I recently started knitting a pair of socks with the new Berroco Comfort Sock Yarn we received. (100 grams, 447 yards, machine wash and dry) I have been eyeing this yarn up since it arrived, but I kept hesitating because it is 50% acrylic and 50% nylon. I never thought I was a yarn snob, because I am very happy to knit with a good acrylic. "Good acrylic" in my mind means something like Berroco Comfort, Dark Horse Yarns Fantasy, or Jarbo Garn Duo. (If you haven’t tried the Duo, you really should. It’s amazing. Great colors, self patterning, and very nice to work with.) But all I kept thinking was that knitting socks with anything but wool was just against the laws of Carla, if not the laws of nature.

Anyway, I broke down the other day and bought a ball.  By the way, buying a ball won’t break the bank; it sells for just $7.00! For a whole pair of socks! I have been working on a big project lately that has miles and miles of plain stockinette knitting, so thought I would start the Comfort socks for a change of pace. (Good choice, Carla. Socks are almost all stockinette. DUH!!!) First trial was to find needles to use as I have 5 or 6 pairs of socks on the needles already. I finally decided I would use my size US 1 40 inch circs with the Magic Loop method.

I have to admit, knitting my socks toe up and two at a time gave me a few problems in the first couple of rounds. There are so few stitches on the needles at that time in the toe-up method that I had some problems with the yarn splitting. But by the time I was on about the third round, the splitting problem really wasn’t an issue. By the fifth round, it was a memory.

By the time I stopped knitting last night, I had about 3 ½ inches done on each sock and was a really happy camper. (My socks are fraternal twins, not identical twins.)

The fabric produced is very dense - just the way I like it - yet with some incredible stretch, and it holds its shape beautifully. The fabric has a great hand, and I am enjoying the knitting tremendously.

These socks will get more wear in summer than in winter, as I don’t think they will be as warm as my beloved wool socks. On the other hand, I am perfectly ready to be proven wrong! Because the yarn is made from acrylic and nylon, they should wear like iron, but only time will tell on that.

My honest evaluation? Give this yarn a try. You may find yourself with a whole new yarn addiction.

Getting Started Knitting Socks — $18.95
By: Ann Budd
Published by: Interweave Press

Ann Budd has put together a very good all-around guide for knitting socks. The formatting is clean, and the pictures are clear. She only shows the yarn and needles, so it is not confusing to continental knitters. She is also sensitive to people that like to knit socks differently, while not much time is spent on knitting with two circulars or magic loop, she does let you know that they are out there.

The making of a sock is broken down into very simple steps. Using a very simple chart she takes you from your shoe size and foot measurements to an already prepared pattern, broken down into zones. This is a very useful technique that has started becoming quite popular.

If you are looking to get into socks this is a very good reference guide.

Student’s Choice

In a discussion with Charissa and one of her student's the other night, I discovered that some folks don’t know what we mean by a "Student’s Choice" class. Since Charissa, Steven and I all offer them, it’s time to let everyone know what they have access to in this class.

Very simply, Student’s Choice means that we work on whatever the student wants to work on. Do you have a garment that’s all knitted or crocheted but it still needs to be put together? Bring it to class, and we’ll show you how. Do you want to try a pattern and have no idea where to start? Bring that and we’ll get you started. Have questions about all those little tips and tricks that experienced knitters and crocheters seem to know about but you can’t find in any book? This is the class for you.

We limit the number of students to four so that everyone gets a lot of personal attention. We do ask that if you want to learn a technique offered in another class, that you take that class instead. However, we recognize that we can’t cover everything in our scheduled classes. The Student’s Choice class is designed to fill that gap.

The class is $25 for 2 hours and we can cover a lot of ground in that time. The Student’s Choice classes we offer are:

CarlaK – Knitting

Charissa – Crochet

Steven – Kids, teens, men, and machine

So if you have something special you want to learn, surf over to our web site — www.NaturalStitches.com — and check out the class listings for the next Student’s Choice class.

Trader Joe’s Wine Bag

As anyone who takes my classes knows, I love to share tips and tricks. What I want to share with you today is actually a tip one of my students taught me! I admired a knitting bag she had when she came to class, and I was amazed when I heard where she found it. Trader Joe’s! And the cost? A whopping 99¢!!!!

It actually was designed as a beverage carrier, but it is perfect for small projects. Its 6 pockets keep things nicely organized. Melissa mentioned that she could keep 3 pairs of socks in it without the yarn getting tangled. I’m only going for 1 pair at a time, but I really love this little bag.

There are a couple of drawbacks. It only comes in dark red, but for 99¢, what do you want — a rainbow? <giggle> Also, the dividers are not attached to the bottom of the bag, so small items can move around down there. But balls of yarn and your actual projects will stay nice and snug.

You will find them hanging on the front wall of Trader Joe’s. Stop in there next time you are in to see us and grab yourself a few.

First off, I would like to thank everyone that has responded to this article, and I am going to try and answer everyone. If you have not gotten a reply from me, then your letter may be used in a future newsletter, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. As always, if you have a knitting, crochet or Human problem email me at raven@naturalstitches.com

Hi Raven!
I came with my (foster) parents to visit your store a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was very nice. I just wanted you to know that we dogs also appreciate yarn. I would like my Mom to crochet a nice sweater for me, but I don't know what color I would like!

I realize black goes with anything - but since I already have a black coat, I was thinking pink because I'm a grrrrl, but lavender is lovely too. (So they tell me.) And it's hard to decide because all the colors smell the same!

Since you are the Guru of Animal Style of the shop, I'd like your advice.
Kthxbai,
Sirius, Princess of Sofa
P.S. I can write in Lolcat, but Mom says some peeps wouldn't understand. 

Dear Sirius,

I have never understood the animosity between cats and dogs. In reality, we have basically the same problems. Problem Number 1:  Humans and their persistent delusion that they own the stuff in the houses.

And Problem Number 2: Being that we are colorblind, color is a tricky thing. Humans will insist on picking colors for us. This is problematic at best. Have you seen how they dress their own progeny? Being that your Human allows you in the yarn shop, you have the opportunity to take matters into your own hands.. or rather paws.

The next time you are in the shop, head straight for the Malabrigo aisle. I am told they have gotten some new colors in, and you can pick the color yourself.

The best way to do this is by name. Avoid yarn with the words hot, neon, electric, split pea, lime, tangerine and sea foam. Basically, stay away from food names or anything that might be floating on water. Think to yourself, “Is this a place that I would like to visit? Is this a territory I would like to mark?” If the answer is yes, then you may have found your color.  Incidentally, I saw one the other day called Cypress. It may be one you want to…claim. It’s close to the ground, on the end.

In order to select your yarn, grab it in your mouth. Even though Humans have more germs, they get weirded out by our germs. Make sure one of the staff sees you have the yarn in your mouth – I can guarantee you will be leaving with that yarn! Just make sure you grab enough for your sweater. Rolling around in the yarn is another good way to claim it for yourself.

Hope this helps.

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

Please check out what is happening at the web page.