From all of us at Natural Stitches, Happy Fall! Thank you for allowing us to share our love of yarn and fiber with you each month. We work hard to bring you original articles, photos, and ideas, and we couldn’t do it without our readers. We’d love to see what you’re working on! Send us photos or links to your blog to newsletter@naturalstitches.com. A Visit with Adrienne Martini By Yvonne Like Julie Powell, Adrienne Martini set a one year goal for herself; however, instead of cooking her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she set about to knit Mary Tudor, one of Alice Starmore’s designs from Tudor Roses . Unlike Ms. Powell, she hasn’t sold her film rights (at least that I know of), but she did come to visit us at Natural Stitches. Adrienne has shopped at Natural Stitches, and mentions us in her book Sweater Quest. She knew she would be coming to Pittsburgh to visit, and after a few emails back and forth, she and I settled on a date for her to visit to our shop, where she could talk about the insanity of knitting a Starmore design in a year, share with us her trials and tribulations, and let us paw fondle see and touch The Sweater. Adrienne’s visit began with her talking a bit about The Quest, followed by reading a bit from the book, then talking a little more about The Quest. She discussed (and showed us!) her swatch, and we learned that eucalyptus and marjoram are not to be confused (either literally or in color matching). We learned about her cat Barney’s affection for yarn, got to meet her daughter, and were surprised by a visit from her father. Adrienne did pass around the sweater, and several people even tried it on. Personally, I was amazed at how feather-light it was. Following her chat, Adrienne invited questions from the audience, then asked those in attendance to share stories of their “magnum opus” knitting projects. The audience oooh’ed and ahhh’ed over Carla’s Stora Dimun shawl and Sarah B.’s many baby items (including the Ten Stitch Twist blanket she was working on during the reading). We took a short break, and then Adrienne offered to sign copies of her book for us. When asked who would play her in Sweater Quest: The Movie, Adrienne’s answer was Kate Winslet. (Does anyone know if Ms. Winslet knits?) Adrienne was a lovely guest, and the rest of the staff and I are looking forward to her return visit to the shop. If you haven’t read Sweater Quest yet, I highly recommend it, both for the fun factor and the inspiration.

What’s New Yes, we have MORE madelinetosh. We’re pleased to add the laceweight to our madelinetosh family. This yarn is 100% superwash merino wool, in generous 950 yard skeins, for only $24.70. We also have brand new colors of madelinetosh sock! Have we mentioned we love this stuff? Speaking of laceweight, the latest Noro, Kirameki, a nylon/rayon/wool and cashmere blend has hit the shelves. We can’t believe how soft this is! The Knit Stitch: Baby Albert And we have more new laceweight! Daphne Multicolor Merino Lace from Elegant Yarns offers 875 yards for only $8! Carla is breaking out her copy of Victorian Lace Today and getting to work with this great new yarn. Cascade 220 has done it again with a new superwash sportweight that is perfect for colorwork and baby knits. Sally Melville’s classic The Knit Stitch never falls out of fashion. We have several customers working on Einstein Coats for themselves, and Carla has knit this adorable Baby Albert in Pure Pima. Just a FEW of our nuggets! Have you caught Bunny Nugget Fever yet? Read all about them on our blog. You can also find us in our Ravelry group, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Spotlight on Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock By Anna Pretty Swings At Natural Stitches, we specialize in “work horse” fibers, those yarns you can rely on over and over again to make a sturdy, attractive garment that will last. The brightly colored skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock have been a mainstay of our store, from way back to the days of our “Sock Grotto.” Those of you who are friends with me on Ravelry know that I am a sock yarn addict, and I have, um, a lot of Shepherd Sock. However, like a lot of stashers, I tend to let things “marinate,” and so it wasn’t until I started a pair of Sunday Swing socks for Kelli that I actually used this yarn. Click to see the full beauty! I love it! The superwash merino wool and nylon blend glided through my fingers as I knit, with no snags or knots. Shepherd Sock is firmly plied and produces a sturdy fabric. Lorna’s Laces offers a full palette of multi-hued and semi-solid colors, and since the company comes out with new colors quite frequently, even the most prolific sock knitter will be hard pressed to run out of colorways. “I love them!” Kelli says of her socks. “They’re soft and squooshy!” The yarn is also wonderful for lace knitting and crochet, as evidenced by Carla’s Dragonfly Shawl from the new book, Crochet So Fine. The put-up of Shepherd Sock has changed from 50 gram skeins to 100 gram skeins, meaning you will only need one larger skein for a pair of socks rather than two smaller skeins. We’re currently in transition from the smaller to the larger, so if you have any doubt, please ask.

In Our Next Issue The WINNERS of Summer of Socks and Lace Yvonne goes to the county fair We rearrange all the yarn in the store And much more!

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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