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Summer of Socks and Lace Results By Martha WOW! You folks really went to town! I saw some of the most beautiful lace and socks created by such wonderful people. Here are the final results: For Lace: David A. with 9211 yards!!! For Socks: Diane L. with 6250 yards!!! For Staff Lace: Carla 9142 yards!!! For Staff Socks: Anna 4801 yards!!! And, because of her Monumental Achievement, Joyce R. is now the first PRO Level contest winner with OVER 19,938 yards! Each of these folks wins a $50 gift card for Natural Stitches. EVERYONE who participated receives a pair of hand-crafted stitch markers made by yours truly. Prizes should be ready by Tuesday, September 15th.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation We're so excited that it's fall again. For those of you who are returning to knitting or crocheting from a summer break (we understand that some of you do this thing where you dig in the dirt called gardening?), we welcome you back with open arms. To those of you who knit on, even in the 90 degree weather we had (one of our frequent customers said “It's too hot to even think about Elizabeth Zimmermann.”), we salute you. For us, knitting goes everywhere. Here are some of the places our knitting visited this summer: Anna's knitting climbed into the mountains of Wyoming.   Charissa's knitting went camping in West Virginia.   Monica's knitting went to Finland!   And here's Carla's knitting, at the exotic locale of the North Versailles WalMart.   Where did your knitting and crocheting and spinning take you this summer? Let us know on our blog.

What's New Yarns: Fibre Company Yarns Buffalo Gold! At last, it's here, the yarn we've been waiting for all summer. From Buffalo Gold, we are pleased to offer Lux, a gorgeous laceweight yarn made of bison down, cashmere, silk, and tencel. Cascade Alpaca Lace Handpaints is truly gorgeous and comes to you at the amazing price at $9.90 for 437 yards. Have we mentioned that we now carry The Fibre Company's Road to China Light, a DK weight featured in this fall's Interweave Knits? We also have Canopy, a luxury fingering weight that many Ravelers may recognize as the yarn called for in the super-cute beret, Springtime in Philadelphia Opal Rainforest 5 is in! On the Blog: We're all making jackets! Join the Jacket-a-long at any time: read how here. Have a question? Ask Carla!

Yarn Review: Baby Knits in Lightweight Yarns By Anna and Yvonne Take one look at books like Vintage Baby Knits, and it's clear that using finer-gauge yarns like fingering and sport-weight is a huge trend. Happily, sock yarn is not just for socks, and here, Yvonne and Anna discuss knitting small items with thinner yarn than you may be used to. After our experience trying these yarns, we urge you to step out of your worsted comfort zone and explore the possibilities! O-Wool : Classic 2-Ply Ah, autumn, when a Knitter's thoughts turn to wool. (Sorry, Mr. Tennyson). Consider it, though: you are no longer loathe to let a pile of wool sit in your lap while you work on a sweater; you actually look forward to a 50° day so that you can whip out the cardigan, and the wool socks are no longer just on the needles. With this in mind, I'd like to talk a little bit about O-Wool. This certified organic wool is from the Vermont Organic Fiber Company. I recently had the opportunity to work with the Classic 2- Ply when I made the Peachy Baby Sweater for a shop sample. The 2-Ply is a fingering weight yarn and suitable for not only warm baby items but also hats, mittens, scarves, or even socks. While the yarn feels a bit rough while in the hank, it smoothes out a bit when put into a ball, and then softens considerably as you work with it. It provided excellent stitch definition in both the stockinette and lace portions of the pattern, and the i-cord worked up wonderfully. Details: 50 g, approx 198 yards per hank. Suggested needle size: 2 – 3. Available in colors suitable for both babies and adults (autumn colors included). Louet : Gems Sport Weight When Melissa asked me to knit a sample from the Louet Gems Sport Weight, I jumped at the chance to work a yarn that was new to me. Louet Gems has an excellent reputation with knitters as the gold standard for a solid, strong base yarn that is easy to knit with and wears well, and I was delighted to learn for myself that all of this is true. This yarn was, simply, a pleasure to knit with. The yarn slipped easily through my fingers as I knit, and it worked up into a thick, well-wearing fabric. The tight twist of the yarn gives it that certain “sproing” that knitters and crocheters love. The resulting fabric, which I knit on a size 5, is, well, squishy, and the stitch definition, which is showcased in my sample in seed stitch, is crisp and sharp. The array of colors available is amazing, from the traditional baby pastels to more mature neutral colors, with all the bold and muted colors in between; I feel certain there are colors to please everyone. While I showcased the yarn with an adaptation of The Peach Blossom Baby Jacket, the yarn is versatile enough to use for socks, hats, mittens, any kind of stranded colorwork, and even a full-sized adult garment. Details: 100g, 225 yards per hank. Suggested needle size: 3-5. Available in a wide array of colors!

Important Happenings Natural Stitches will be closed for Inventory, October 11, 12, and 13th.

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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