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Knitting for Others Update We are really touched by the kind words via email, the blog, and in person about Melissa’s mitzvah blanket from the last newsletter. We are happy to report that the blanket has been completed and gone on to the grandfather-to-be to present to his daughter. Customer Amberlee wrote: Thanks to Melissa for the beautiful piece on charity knitting. I sat with tears in my eyes as I read and could imagine all you wonderful knitters sitting together as she worked through the issues of dealing with a deadline and picking up where another had left off. I look forward to hearing more about the charity knitting for the women's shelter. We are galvanizing to knit and crochet for the Women’s Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh! Details are here on our blog, but we wanted to remind you that the Franklin Event on February 28 is coming up soon, where we will be collecting your donations for the shelter. (And of course, charity is not a one-time thing, so if you can’t make it on the 28th or want to do more, we will take your items anytime.) Want to contribute but not sure if you have the time? Go to this blog entry and read about joining in our group effort lead by customer Yvonne to make quick and easy blanket strips. We look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

Sweaters without Fears By Melissa, Martha, and Anna We have a lot of people come into the store, see a sweater that one of us is wearing and remark, “Oh, I could never do THAT. I just knit scarves.” Knitting sweaters can be intimidating. A lot of factors can scare folks off: cost, time, difficulty, and finding just the right pattern among them. As a service to the knitting community, we’re going to attempt to help ease these fears, and show you that a sweater is possible, even for the most novice of knitters. Let’s start at the beginning. Before you start any project, you need yarn. This is the first hang-up for many knitters. A sweater just feels too expensive, especially in an economy like this. First off, we simply have to stop comparing the cost of a handknit sweater with the cost of one we buy in the store. They simply aren’t comparable. For example while on vacation with my parents in Scotland, we found a small shop owned by a couple that made sweaters. He spun the yarn; she knit the sweaters. A handspun, handknit sweater out of bulky alpaca would have cost £275. At the time, that would have been over $400! Even if you halve the cost to eliminate the “handspun” factor, that’s still $200 for a handmade sweater! But we’re not talking about making sweaters for profit (for which you’d have to make up your own pattern), we’re talking about making sweaters for fun. That’s a key concept here. The money you spend on yarn (take note, significant others) is not only a clothing purchase, it’s an entertainment purchase too. With that in mind, we had Martha do a little experiment at the shop. We found a pattern we liked (more on that later) and figured out the cost for every single worsted weight in the shop! A 40” sweater takes 1320 yards of yarn. We have a handful of yarns that put the cost of a sweater at or under $50! We have almost 30 that would be $100 or less! And we’re not talking all acrylics or acrylic blends: we found merinos, angora blends, alpacas, wool/silk blends & handpaints! Granted, if you’re looking at the yak down, you’re going to be dropping well over $250, but that’s the highest end of the worsteds. Here’s a brief rundown of our faves: Cascade 220: $39.60 Cascade 220 Superwash: $58.80 Malabrigo Worsted: $72.80 Merino 5: $82.80 Eco Alpaca: $96.00 DIC Classy: $108 Now, finding the Perfect Pattern: We’ve found one, in our humble opinions. It’s from Mason-Dixon Knitting, it’s free, and it’s appropriately named The Perfect Sweater. Chest sizes go from 26” to 58”, there are several options for hem lines at the bottom, several options for necklines, collars, and incredibly detailed directions. Time and Difficulty: As these are more philosophical questions, we all know that I could go on and on and on. I will cut myself short by saying this: I go onto Ravelry, and I look at the folks who do a full sized sweater in a week, and I go green, either from envy or nausea I’m not sure. I know it takes me much longer to do a sweater, about 3 months or so. I think it’s because I have about 6 projects that I’m actively working in any given week, but I’m a process knitter. If you’re a product knitter or if you’re worried about the time factor, we can recommend several baby sweaters for your first effort to take the edge off and ramp you up to a full-fledged adult sweater. Your efforts can easily be donated to charity if you don’t have an impending infant in your life. As far as difficulty goes, that’s why we’re here. Pull up a space on the couch if you have any questions, need a direction interpreted, or have questions on how to execute a specific technique. Each employee has different skills, but one of us will be able to help you as you piece together your first sweater. Good luck & happy knitting!

What’s your favorite “workhorse” yarn? Yes, it's an old picture With a full wall of Cascade 220, workhorse yarns – those practical fibers you turn to again and again – are the backbone of Natural Stitches. I asked the staff what their favorite workhorse yarns were and why. The winner, hands down? Of course it was Cascade 220. Carla: My workhorse in Cascade 220. It makes up into beautiful garments, felts like a dream, and comes in soooooooooooo many colors (the heathers are my fav) . What more could you ask for? Carol: Cascade 220, either regular or superwash, for a large gauge yarn. There's a wide enough range of colors that I can treat it like a painters palette and have a blast designing my project. Trekking sock yarn for small items like mittens and baby things that I want to be able to machine wash. Charissa: Cascade 220. It's bombproof and lasts forever. Not to mention it has a great price point. I use the regular and and superwash, depending on the project and who it's for. And there are SO MANY COLOR CHOICES! Martha: Regia and Opal sock yarns because they are nice to work with, have wonderful colors, and both wear like iron. I have socks that are over 10 years old that I wear twice a month that are still going strong. (Ok, Martha does more socks than sweaters.) Teri: I don't have a workhorse yarn, I have a workhorse yarn company... wait for it... Brown Sheep. After 15 years of relative monogamy I don't remember the specific “why” anymore, I just know that I’m satisfied with the relationship. Anna: I love the Cascade 220, but I love the Cascade 220 Handpaints even more. They have beautiful colorways and the superwash is a huge convenience.

Spotlight on Classes: Top Ten Crochet Classes By Charissa OK, everyone. It's that time of year. The holidays are over, but it's still cold. What are you planning on doing while you're sitting on the couch with a blanket watching TV in the evening? Crochet, of course! This is the time of year that classes fill FAST. If you're thinking about taking one of my crochet classes or enrolling that wonderful kid you love in one of my kids' classes, don't wait until the last minute. Even the kids' classes are filling up! Spots in my beginner and students' choice classes are becoming a hot commodity and I have a wide range of other classes that are filling up as well. You can look at the calendar on the shop website for the list of what's running when, but here's a top ten list of my most popular classes (although there are a good 30 or so total that I offer.) Beginner Crochet. Always has been my most popular class, probably always will be. Students will learn the basics to get started in crochet. This is great for new crocheters, those needing a refresher or for knitters who want to learn the basics for those patterns that call them to crochet. We will cover how to start a project and some basic stitches and stitch patterns. Students' Choice Crochet. This is a really popular class because of the flexibility it offers. If you want a chance to sit with the teacher and figure out what's going on with a particular project, hone in a technique or build on something you've learned in a previous class, this is the class for you. This is a 2 hour class in which you can bring in whatever you want to work on and have the teacher at your disposal. Since we cap the class at 4 students, there will be plenty of individual attention given to each person. Granny Square Crochet. This class is a classic and was one of the first classes I offered when I started out teaching. Students will learn how to create granny squares, a classic crochet technique that can be used to create afghans, purses, scarves, sweaters and much much more. Students should have a handle on basic crochet techniques before registering in this class. How to Read a Crochet Pattern. Let's face it. Crochet patterns are confusing. There are 8 million abbreviations and what's up with the asterisks and brackets? In this class, students will learn the basics of reading a crochet pattern. Crocheted Beanie/ Hat Construction Basics. Students will learn the basics of hat construction by putting together a cool crocheted beanie, perfect for late winter/early spring. This is not a "make and take." Students will be given skills needed to finish project on their own at home. Kids' Knitting. This is a 1.5 hour class for kids ages 8-12 who want to learn to knit. No prior experience is needed, however kids who have some existing knitting skills already are welcome and encouraged to come practice and learn new skills. Children are encouraged to take this class more than once to build on skills. There is a maximum class size of 4 children in this class, so there will be plenty of one on one attention according to each child's learning style and level of skill. Intro to Lace Crochet. In this class, we'll explore the basics of lace crochet while beginning a beautiful, versatile shawl. This shawl can be worked in any weight of yarn from lace to worsted and can be adjusted to a variety of sizes. Students will not finish the project in class, but will get started on the three row repeat and will be shown the border. Students who are proficient in the needed skills should be able to leave confident of their ability to finish the shawl on their own. Crochet with Color. Students who already have a handle on the basics of crochet, including chain, single crochet, double crochet and bind off will learn how to add colorwork to their crochet. Crochet Garments 101: Seamless Baby Cardigan. In this class, we will learn the basics of planning your own crocheted garment. We'll work on a baby sweater for time's sake, but you'll be able to apply these skills to a wide variety of sizes in many garments. This is a seamless garment, so we'll be covering shaping and planning. We'll learn about piecing projects in another class. This is a great class for someone who's never done a crocheted garment before or for someone who has done a few from patterns and wants to branch out into their own designs. This is a two part class. Felted Granny Square Slippers. OK, so this class hasn't been around long enough yet for me to assess if it's a top ten class or not, but it's shiny and new and I like it. We'll use our basic granny square skills to make a really clever, fun project. These slippers are a great gift or a quick little selfish project. We'll talk about how you can felt them at home to get a fun, trendy look. Please email me at charissa@naturalstitches.com if you have any questions about the classes. And if you're a knitter who doesn't crochet and doesn't even want to learn, but you're annoyed that you can't do that blanket pattern because you don't know how to crochet the border, ask me about my Crochet for Knitters class! I hope you see you soon in an upcoming class!

Yarn Review: Rowan Calmer By CarlaK I have to admit, I really don’t care for knitting with cotton. In most cases, it hurts my hands, and I just don’t like the heavy look I get from it. I am happy to report that I’ve finally found one that I like! Melissa asked me to knit a shop sample using Rowan Calmer, a Rowan standard that is new to Natural Stitches (and we are pleased to announce that we will soon have all 21 colors). To say I wasn’t looking forward to it was an understatement. But then we decided to use the Owl Baby Vest Pattern, a free pattern available on Ravelry, and suddenly the task became much more interesting, as I had just finished the Owls adult sweater pattern and I am in an owl-tastic mood. [Ed note: if you haven’t noticed, Carla is on an owl kick and is using the owl cable on every blessed kind of garment you can imagine. We have seen so many owl patterns lately that this caused Melissa to go home one night and dream that the store was surrounded by a parliament of five foot owls.] I started knitting with the Calmer, and the more I knit the happier I was. It is smooth on the needles, not a heavy fabric the way some cottons are, and it knits up so softly I was amazed. It feels more like a chenille than a 100% cotton. The garment is small (9-12 month size) so I really can’t say how well it will drape, but it sure has potential for being very fluid. It cables beautifully, which is usually not a property found in a cotton yarn. It’s also a multi-gauge yarn: technically, it’s a worsted weight, but for the Owl Vest I used a size 6 needle and got more of a DK weight gauge. So I think this one will knit up or down in gauge size without too much problem. All in all I give Rowan Calmer a double thumbs up!

Show and Tell We really weren’t kidding when we sang the praises of Cascade 220. It really is that good. When Nellie brought this Aran sweater for her future son-in-law into the shop last week, we gasped and oohed and ahhed. This is a classic Reynolds pattern from the 1960s made in Cascade 220, and it proves that a workhorse yarn combined with a well-written pattern (and of course a fabulous knitter) will serve you well every single time. Do check out the bigger picture!

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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