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Holidays in July By Anna Last January, Carla and I took the words of Winston Churchill – “Never, never, never, never give in” – to heart. While Churchill was speaking of Great Britain standing alone against Nazi invasion, we’re adapting his words to our approach to holiday knitting. Every year, knitters and crocheters start out with the best of intentions about making presents for family and friends, and every year, for the most part, the holidays end in a quasi-disaster of unfinished scarves, hastily constructed hats, and sweaters without sleeves stuffed into boxes. While the Yarn Harlot manages to make her “knitting schedule” into a really amusing joke every year, this year we have decided that our own last-minute frenzies are just not that funny anymore. We’ve declared this month “Holidays in July” and we are focusing our efforts on helping ourselves and our wonderful customers organize our winter gift-giving plans. This month, we’re offering many project-based classes to help you learn a new skill while knocking out a gift or two. Check out our calendar and keep reading below for details. Also this month, check out our blog every Monday for project and yarn suggestions for knitters, crocheters, and spinners. But wait, there’s more! In July, all holiday patterns, such as Christmas Stockings, will be on sale for 25% off. ***SCREECH!!!!!*** (Hey folks from Martha, the owner. Originally I said we could put all the Holiday patterns on sale.... well I've changed my mind. From July 1st - July 31st ALL pattern leaflets and pattern company booklets will be not 25% off... but 50% off. If it's in a binder, or a magazine holder on the back shelves it'll be 50% off. Happy Holidays in July!!!!) And to keep us all on track, the Committed Knitters Group that meets on Monday afternoons and evenings will focus on working on holiday gifts. Drop by and visit with Carla anytime after 3:00 until closing at 9:00 for coffee, tea, fellowship, encouragement, and commiseration.

What's New? Martha and Kelli have just returned from TNNA, the annual needlework trade show, and we’re eagerly anticipating all the new goodies they’ve ordered. In the meantime, remember we’re clearing space for all the new yarn, so check out everything we’ve put on sale, including Ella Rae Amity at 40% off (yes, that’s $3.30 for a 200 yard ball)! We are celebrating the Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory, and more of our exclusive Lorna’s Laces colorway, Steeler’s Pride, has arrived. We’re fully restocked in the Shepherd’s Sock, plus, we now have the Steeler’s Pride in Shepherd’s Worsted (a superwash), Bullfrogs and Butterflies (excellent for felting), and even some wool top spinning fiber in black and gold. The Summer of Socks and Lace is still going strong and of course, there’s still time to enter. We have some new sock yarns to tempt you! Cascade Heritage Paints is a gorgeously soft fingering weight in the same lovely colors as the worsted Handpaints. (Martha saw this free shawl pattern knit up in the Heritage at TNNA and says it’s a stunner.) We’ve also received one of two new shipments of Pagewood Farms fingering weight yarns in Alyeska (a cashmere blend), Denali (a merino and nylon blend), St. Elias (Blue Faced Leicester), and Yukon (a bamboo and wool blend). If this isn’t inspirational, we don’t know what is. You all know that many of us are moms, and as our kids grow, we’re on a quest for cute knitting and crochet patterns for older kids. We have a bunch of new ones from Knitting Pure and Simple and Figheadh, so if you’re crafting for children older than two, stop on by for pattern inspiration! Have you seen our Ask Carla feature on our blog? If you have a question for Carla or any of the staff, please email us at newsletter@naturalstitches.com

Spotlight on New Classes: Crocheted Christmas Stockings By Charissa So I have to say I've never really gotten requests for my Christmas stocking class in the middle of summer before, but those of you who've taken my classes before know that I'm flexible. So when I was asked if I could do a holiday themed class for our "Christmas in July," I knew exactly the class to add into the schedule: Crocheted Christmas Stocking. Not only does it go with the Christmas in July theme, it's really just a giant sock, so it goes with the Summer of Socks and Lace thing we've got going on too. Sure, you can get stockings at the dollar store or department store or even the home improvement store, but those just can't compare to a handmade stocking. Everyone in my family has a hand crocheted or hand knit stocking (except me) and I have a big family. But it was worth it, knowing that these are something that will last years and years of holidays and move on with my kids as they grow up and move out. They are great to make for yourself or your immediate family or even your pets (yes, all my pets have their own- handmade- stockings too.) You can give them filled to nieces, nephews or grandkids or you can look around for a local charity or hospital that gives gifts. The skills learned in this class will also translate well to crocheting other, smaller socks and slippers. Don't wait until Thanksgiving to start thinking about crocheting these beauties. Trust me. You'll regret it. Start now and give yourself the luxury of time. You'll enjoy the project so much more that way! Here's the "official" class description: Students will learn the basics of crocheted sock construction by creating a beautiful heirloom Christmas Stocking. Students should have a handle on basic crochet techniques before registering in this class. Skills needed include: chain, single crochet, double crochet, decrease, increase, bind off and color changing. Join us on Monday, July 13 from 6:30-8:30pm for a class that will give you the skills to create many beautiful gifts for many years to come.

Yarn Review: Superior by Filatura Di Crosa By CarlaK We have had this yarn around the shop for several months now, and lots of folks have seen, touched, and fondled it. Hey, it’s cashmere and silk, has great yardage at 340 yards per ball, it’s lace weight (anyone for the Summer of Socks and Lace contest?), and it comes in a huge array of yummy colors. What’s not to like and love to fondle? Hmmmmmm. There is nothing not to like about this yarn and everything to love! It’s soft, dreamy, a joy to knit with, and its cashmere and silk! I made a scarf out of the Superior in color 8, a soft green, and it was simply wonderful to work with. It is a bit like knitting with spider webs, but once you are a few rows in and you are used to the gentle feel of the yarn on your hands you can settle down to enjoy the knitting. I had no problems with splitting or the yarn catching on the needles. It even rips back well if you do it slowly and gently. Yes, I even did that but only so that I could tell you if it ripped back well or not. I did not make an error. I did it all for this yarn review. (Tongue planted firmly in cheek!) The scarf worked up very quickly and used much less yarn than I thought it would. I made a scarf 5 inches wide and 6 feet long (before blocking) and only used 17 grams of the 25 gram ball. That means you could get 3 scarves out of 2 balls! The only thing that slowed me down was that I had to stop at the end of every row and look at what I had knitted. It is just that beautiful. Come in and take a look at our sample and see for yourself. At $25 per ball it is a bit pricey but I’m thinking this yarn is a great one for a very special gift. The lace pattern I came up with for the sample is a very simple one and could be done by any advanced beginner knitter (Need to learn to knit lace? I have a class for it. And watch for the Superior Scarf class in July). The pattern is available at no cost with the purchase of a ball of Superior. Naturally it is called The Superior Scarf. Okay, hokey I know, but it does fit. This yarn is definitely Superior.

Spotlight on New Classes: Projects for Holidays in July By CarlaK In conjunction with our Christmas in July, I am adding some new classes and changing an old one. These are all quick projects that you can complete in time for holiday gift giving. The Swirling Mittens: This one includes mittens sized for child through adult in a beguiling swirl pattern that couldn’t be easier. Beaded Gauntlets: You might have seen folks around the shop working on beaded knitting lately, so I thought it might be cool to make a class out of it. It is only slightly harder than plain knitting, and with the method I use you don’t have to pre-string the beads. We will make a gorgeous pair of gauntlets using fingering weight yarn. These will be the hit of any gift exchange! Superior Scarf: Have you seen the Superior Scarf at the shop? [Ed Note: See review above.] It’s done with Superior yarn by Filatura di Crosa that is made of cashmere and silk. Could there be a more heavenly gift for that special lady on your list? (Or perhaps, yourself?) I’m doing a class on it that will teach you the pattern as well as give you experience working with this awesome yarn. Believe it or not, this is a beginning lace pattern so even if you have basic skills you can make this scarf. And since you get 10% off your class materials, you get a real break on the price of the yarn. Foaming Waves Shawl: This is a class I have offered as a beginning lace class for a while now, but I have updated it by using one 100 gram ball of sock yarn to complete the shawl. So here is another use for all that sock yarn you have in your stash that you don’t want to make socks out of. Watch for these classes starting in July. You can see our class schedule online or stop by the store to pick up a hard copy. Remember-start your holiday knitting early so you can go to bed early on Christmas Eve and not be trying to finish your holiday gifts!!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful Blankets By Anna The beauty of starting your holiday crafting in July is that there’s time to plan out a really big, ambitious project like a blanket. Here are blankets knitted and crocheted by customers and staff for the special people in their lives. Kelli knitted Jared Flood’s Hemlock Ring Blanket adaptation in Cascade Venezia for her mother last Christmas. This was Kelli’s first lace project! I’m making the Baby Moderne Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting out of Dream in Color Smooshy for a dear friend’s first little girl.   Diane crocheted this cute blanket for her granddaughter in Comfort Worsted   Bobby made this mitered square afghan using Ty-Dy.

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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