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New at Natural Stitches

Click Click Click go the needles	Wow, are we excited by the stock that we've been getting in over the past several days! Christmas coming early doesn't quite express it strongly enough. Addi Clicks! They're here!!! There here!!! The Addi Turbo interchangeable needles are here! There are 3 lengths of cord, 10 sizes of tips, and an ingenious connection system. We have six sets available as of December 6th. Are they on your Christmas list?
Desert Nights anyone?	The latest yarn from Dream in Color (makers of Smooshy & Classy) combines their incredible dyeing technique with a base fiber of superwash wool and a touch of actual silver. When the staff opened this box, I wasn't in the shop. As soon as I got in for my shift, I was led to the box, and then directly to the computer. "Label it so we can buy it!" I carried around my chosen skein and apparently (I don't really remember…it's all a blur) repeated "It's like Van Gogh's Starry Night! In yarn!" Actually, that's the name of the yarn, Starry. Do click on the pictures to truly appreciate this yarn.	Pretty! Sparkly!
Just a few colors here...	As we've been around for a year now, we know that we're getting the reputation as the destination for good workhorse yarns. In our recent order from Knitting Fever, we expanded on that with two new lines: Ella Rae Amity & Sirdar Snuggly DK. Amity is an Acrylic Wool Blend that reminds us an awful lot of Plymouth Encore. We went deep in the color selection and decided to bring in over forty colors! Sirdar Snuggly is a terrific baby yarn (Acrylic / Nylon) with tremendous pattern support. Right now we only have in about 8 colors, but we have many more on back order that will be trickling in throughout the winter.	And more over here
You guys went so nuts over the Pagewood Farms sock yarns, we decided to bring in tons of new colors. Make sure you check out each type of yarn for your favorite color. We were really surprised at how differently each fiber combination took the dye. (Sorry, no picture. My battery died!)

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Raffle Winners!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our raffles in November! Both our Anniversary Sale and Pajama Day were big successes! And the winners are…. $20 Gift Card: Kristen D. Flat Feet: Veronica Z. Make sure you take a picture of how it knits up!! Eucalan Gift Pak: Linda H. The Special Steelers Flat Feet from Pajama Day goes to Lisa B! The winners have received their phone calls, and in some cases, have already picked up their prizes. Congratulations to everyone!

Melissa picks the winners with a little help

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Customer Projects

Ok, honesty time. We all have pet peeves, those things that just make us nuts. One of my favorites is when someone picks up a skein of yarn, or a hank of fiber, looks at me excitedly and says, "What can I do with this???" I can't get too nuts, though. I see this yarn every day. I forget how overwhelming the colors and the textures can be, how it can make all of your ideas FLY right out of your head. As more inspiration for you, we present the work of two different customers who took some very similar material (roving / spinning fiber) and did very different things with it.
Jessica went the traditional route. Check out her progress with some gorgeous Louet Roving. From fiber to yarn to mittens! Jess, does that make the final product doubly satisfying?	You Spin me Right Round	Toasty hands and heads for the winter!
Kim from Miami took a different road:	Here Kitty Kitty!	Who let the dogs out?
Starting from the same point, two very different outcomes. So what can you do with this?

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Holiday Knitting

Well, here we are, Crunch Time. The Thanksgiving barrier is far behind us. We wake up on Friday, and somewhere amidst the stories of crazy shoppers and leftovers, we realize it: the stark reality of how many hours we have left to knit, and how few hours there are before Christmas morning. Me? I feel lucky this year, Christmas is paced out from December 20th (when the bears & turtle are due) and Jan 2nd (when the final pair of socks are due). In between, there's the sweater for the hubby, and the scarf that got added last minute. Here are some tips for Holiday Knitting, which the staff has compiled in their own personal panic: Don't be too ambitio…too late. Focus on recipients who will accept a gift in April…or July. Nothing too complicated. Remember, it's the thought that counts. A Christmas gift shouldn't be surrounded by angry thoughts and frustration. Just knit for yourself and be done with it. Delegate, delegate, delegate. The kids can send your greeting cards, (people find that a-dor-able!) your spouse can handle the laundry & the cooking. And the birds and creatures of the forest can decorate your home this holiday season. (Editor's note: The staff may need to lay off the Disney movies.) Gifts are great for destashing yarn! Try these 1-2 evening projects: Robin's Egg Blue Hat, Calorimetry, (and for men) The Armando Hat, a quick pair of Thuja Socks (knit in worsted!), we mentioned the baseball hat earwarmer in our last issue. Ever consider a drink cozy? No seriously! Carla keeps her water bottle in a felted one and it keeps her ice frozen for hours. Here are a couple of options for cold or hot. Finally, if you're giving a bottle of wine, why not something to put it in? Gifts are also great for justifying new yarn purchases! "But honey, it's from the gift budget!" Finally, we recommend these DVD's for holiday knitting: A Christmas Story (Great for reminding you how your good intentions can go awry) Little Women (the 90's one, or one of the classics: 1948 with Liz Taylor or 1933 with Katherine Hepburn) A Muppet Christmas Carol Meet me in St. Louis Brief Encounter High Society Stay away from movies with subtitles or with a lot of action without dialogue (like the Bourne trilogy)…great for popcorn, not so good for knitting. Or if you're in for the Long-Haul-Christmas-Eve-All-Nighter, get your favorite TV series on DVD: The West Wing, House, Lost, M*A*S*H, whatever you like.
And for your inspiration, we bring you the work of our "newest knitter," who finished her mom's Christmas gift. Three. Weeks. Early. Now now, only send her good thoughts.	Is this stunning or what? And she calls herself a BEGINNER!!! I think not!
All of us here at Natural Stitches wish you Happy Holidays! Take some time in all of the chaos to rejuvenate, to enjoy being alive, and to celebrate the fact that the days will be getting longer very very soon! Carla is always the employee who is ahead of the game. She's got her class schedule done more than a month…a month in advance! I can't keep up. Anyway, if you're like Carla, you've had all of your Christmas gifts done before Thanksgiving. You've moved on. You're onto bigger and better things. Check out what Carla's found for free for you online:

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CARLA COMPILES FREE PATTERNS

Since the last newsletter I hope you all have been finding lots of free patterns on Ravelry and elsewhere, of course. I have found some you may have missed so I’ll share them with you now.

First one I am really excited about. Many of us have made or are making the February Lady Sweater. Now you can make a hat to go with it. I’m making the hat to go with the Lady sweater I made in the Ty-Dy yarn. Really nice!

Have you seen the Christmas Count-Down Calendar from GarnStudio? Knit and Crochet Patterns, one a day through Christmas Eve. They do one every year!

Here’s a pretty lace scarf for all those lace knitters out there.

And how about a scarf for all the non-lace knitters?

Never fear, sock knitters, I haven’t forgotten you. Be sure to check out the How To Knit Socks article as well as her other free patterns.

For those of you who are really adventurous here’s a great Fair Isle sweater pattern that uses….hold your breath….cue threatening music…..Steeking. lol

I found a real bonanza for the crocheters. You can find patterns there for everything from Granny Squares to Flowers, to Home Accessories, and more. Just imagine how cute your holiday packages will look with a crocheted flower on top!

Since winter is here for sure how about some great wrist warmers?
Small investment in time but lots of bang for your buck. Anyone thinking holiday gifts with this one?

This one was sent to me by our Fearless Leader, Martha. She loves ‘lol cats’. Here’s the project she sent
http://vegetarianknitter.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/how-to-crochet-a-cheezburger-part-1/
http://vegetarianknitter.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/how-to-crochet-a-cheezburger-part-ii/
Don’t we all need a little crocheted cheeseburger in our lives?

As with all the patterns I send - I haven’t tried them all, so I can’t vouch for how accurate they are. If you run into a problem come in to the shop and we will try to help. Also, as you go to the sites look around for links to other free patterns and free pattern sites. I’m sure you will find things you just love.

CarlaK

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!

Please check out what is happening at the web page.
Past editions are always available online as well.