Tara/Zara

I am very excited to be filling in as a guest blogger for Jordana and Julie while they are on vacation. Considering that I have enough yarn in my stash to open my own knitting store (at least this is what my husband says), I have a lot of writing material. 10 years ago my friend was having a baby and I was doing my first summer share house in the Hamptons. While walking on the Upper West Side of NYC I walked passed the Yarn Co and something clicked - I could make a blanket for my friend's baby and also have an activity that would occupy me through all the lazy days of summer. Jordana taught me how to knit and I havent stopped knitting since. Over the last decade a lot in my life has changed (marriage, children, move to the suburbs) but knitting has been my constant. It's my "thing" - friends and family are always quick to ask me about my latest knitting project. At my bridal shower a few years ago, we had a knitting instructor come to teach everyone how to knit - everyone made a small square which became a blanket now on my sofa (thanks to Petra, who sewed together each and every square for me). Three years ago we moved out of NYC but I still continue to shop at the Yarn Co - I just buy a lot more yarn in fewer visits (hence the large stash). So now that you know a little about me, I would love to tell you about some of the projects I have been working on. Like Julie and Jordana, I absolutely love working with Zara from Filatura Di Crosa. When all else fails and I am stumped for a new project idea, Ill just choose a color of Zara that looks nice and base the project around the color. The colors are amazing and it's so easy to work with. We have one son, Nate, and he loves when I knit for him - so the majority of my projects are sweaters for him. I made the Yarn Co Zara Sophisticated Baby sweater with crochet trimming in green/brown - a really easy project for beginners and fun to pick the color combinations and buttons (I chose dogs as my son is obsessed). I also just made the Zara Baseball Cardigan in the Yankees colors (navy and white) with baseball buttons. I made the sweater for this fall, hoping Nate would wear the sweater during the playoffs. Now I think I jinxed the Yankees because they are playing terribly - I am hoping I can stretch the sweater or Nate might not grow so much so he can wear it next season. I tend to choose very easy projects so I can knit while watching tv or while chatting with my friends on the train into NYC. However, I found a project that involved intarsia in the Zoe Mellor book, and I decided to take a stab. I must say, I think the sweater came out great - navy Zara with red Zara trim, and a big white skeleton on the front. And finally, I made two sweaters for Nate with tons of Zara colors - I am now an expert in striping. Its just so hard to pick from all the beautiful colors. The single stripe sweater is from the Yarn Co older kids book (but just reduced to 2T size), and the thicker striped sweater is from an old Debbie Bliss book that Julie discovered a few years ago. I chose boy colors and added silver car buttons - and I cant wait for Nate to wear it this Fall/Winter. If you are looking to make a simple yet beautiful baby blanket, I highly recommend the Zara (of course) baby blanket from the Yarn Co book. You get to choose 4 colors of Zara and it's all garter - so it knits up in no time. I have made this for several friends and it is always a huge hit. Julie just made a Zara blanket for a friend that I want to copy - a really interesting pattern that she says is easy. And I get to use 6 Zara colors! I am also working on a sweater for Nate that I am really excited about. I saw a beautiful, cashmere sweater at crewcuts, the J Crew kids store. I couldn't justify paying their price so I brought the catalog to Julie - she wrote the pattern and we picked Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky yarn. I am also in the middle of the Pasha raglan sweater - I should be finished in no time because it is so quick to knit up. I have attached a few pictures of Nate in his sweaters. I better get back to my many knitting projects so I have things to blog about next week. Happy knitting! Tara Goldsmith Elbaum

The End of the Summer

I love fall yarns but as we continue to stock our shelves with more and more wool I am feeling a little sad that summer is coming to an end. Max's camp ends tomorrow, we are going away for two weeks and then he starts school the day after labor day. Goodbye summer. Not that there are really any true relaxing summer days when you have 2 kids and a business. Summer doesn't change the 6am wake up calls or the mad rush to get out of the house - summer only means that the sun is rising earlier and we are rushing so we won't miss the bus and miss camp altogether - as opposed to simply being late for school. Nonetheless, I kind of feel like the end of summer means winter is coming and while I love the snow and skiing and winter sweaters - these days it is just a much harder season than it once was -- longer and more claustrophobic perhaps. I also feel like summer was very short this year. I'm on the public school calendar now and it seems like school ended and I blinked once and now it is starting again - I think it really is true how time starts to move so much faster the older we get. I mean Max was just a little lump in my belly and now he is going into first grade! And even Zoe is starting school in September and she is more or less potty trained! And Julie turns 40 today! Woe is me!!! Life is moving so quickly... My knitting even seems to be moving quickly - thanks to Mercedes and the Olympics. Mercedes finished my European market bag -it came out really cute! Julie will add it to our site next week. And while glued to the TV watching the super human Michael Phelps (all I can say is AMAZING!) and the women's gymnastics (no way are those Chinese girls 16!!) -I also made this adorable shrug out of synchronicity - (http://www.theyarnco.com/knit_display/600) it only took one ball for the 18 month size. It was a top down project which I'd never done before so it was a quick, fun project and I must say I liked being done when I was done knitting - no sewing it up. Might have been worth the use of double pointed needles for the sleeve cuffs! I am also almost done with a skirt I am making for Zoe out of Zara. It is brown, rose and a chartreusy yellow done in a chevron pattern. It is going to be great! I will take a picture of her in it and post it when I am done. I really enjoy making skirts and dresses for her, it is fast and fun! Well, next week and the week after we are hoping to have our dear friend/customer, Tara Goldsmith, blog for us while we are away. I am sure she will be a bit more reliable than we are. So look out for her posts - and I'll be back in 2 weeks hopefully with great stories about a relaxing vacation full of fun with the kids and husband!

SO MUCH YARN, SO LITTLE TIME...

So, I haven't worked since last Wednesday (quite the life of leisure I am living) - and when I walked into the store this morning I couldn't believe all of the yarn that is on the shleves! I love this time of year - getting our fall yarns is always so exciting and inspiring. In the last week we have recieved our Rowan yarns - felted tweed, kid silk haze and cocoon - all in sumtuous colors. We also got the new Rowan magazine, the new Rowan stidio book (which is really good) and a few other new books from them. We recieved a good percentage of our Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and Cashmerino Superchunky colors, along with some books. And we got the Sublime cashmerino silk dk and the Sirdar baby bamboo. I just want to knit with all the yarns in all the colors! Ideas keep popping into my head faster than I can write them down. Mercedes is making my bag that I started last week - it's going to be really nice - but I made a mistake on it and when I took it off the needles it was GIGANTIC - I had to rip the whole thing out and I couldn't bear to begin again since I already had a skirt project for Zoe in my head. And I just made this adorable little shrug out of a ball of Alchemy, Synchronicity for the store. Julie will put it on the site tomorrow or next week. The 18 month size took exactly one ball. I want to make one for Zoe too. All right people out there - you have to start coming in (or calling)and begin making your fall projects. We have lots of beautiful yarn and we need to pay for it! Also, Julie and I are tired of being ladies of leisure - we're ready to get back into the store and help people pick out great projects! How's that for an unabashed plea! Check out our website to see all the great new yarns and colors, www.yarnco.com - I am not placing the links to all the yarns as the link thing does not seem to be working correctly lately. Also, if you do not already recieve our newsletters you should sign up via our website to recieve them - we let you know whats new and if anything special is going on - we just got a new program that makes them look a bit more interesting. Hope everyone is having a great summer and looking forward to fall.

HOT! HOT!! HOT!!!

I am ready for this weather to break! It is hard to pick up yarn and needles in this heat - even in our well air conditioned store. But - I must knit...so I dropped the baby cashmerino sweater I am making for Max (yet again) and am making a European Market Bag right now. It is going to be really cute I think. I am using two strands of the Berroco NaturLin, http://www.theyarnco.com/brand_display/427, on a #10.5 needle and doing a simple lace stitch. I'll put it on when I am done. I got the idea after reading Time magazine about how "green" businesses are flourishing and the how the woman's business that brought these bags to the US is thriving! I figured why not make one that our customers can make and then use. I tried to take the easy way out and just find a pattern for one - but most of the ones I found were crocheted - and that is not my forte - so I decided to design a simple knit one! So now you can either buy one of Jen's Go Green Go Knits bags or make your own market bag! Another good project for these heatwave days is socks! I never thought I'd say it - but they are quick, small and fun to do. We just got in this great Noro Silk Garden sock yarn, http://www.theyarnco.com/doSearch.php?search=0&key=silk+garden, and Mercedes made a cute pair of socks out of just one ball. She used a super easy pattern from the book Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. We are expecting several more sock yarns in August. That's it for the knitting news.

hi from the other yarn girl

Jordana has done most- ok 99.9% of the blogging. But since she missed a week, I thought I might take a stab at it. Jordana and I are barely working together this summer. Summer is a bit slower so we don’t really need both of us at the store and this way we get to spend a bit more time with our children and get errands done a.k.a spend more money. So I read the blog to see what she, and more importantly, her kids are up to. Even though we aren't seeing much of each other our younger 2 children, Nicholas (mine, he's 19 months) and Zoe (you know all about her) are. They play almost everyday, sometimes twice a day, at the park. Nicholas calls Zoe Za Za – I think he said that before he said Mommy. Last week I got a first glimpse of what I will be doing all of August. We received our fall shipment of Zara and Noro Sock Yarn called Silk Garden Socks. We actually ordered several sock yarns and sock patterns. This will be new to the Yarn Co. We are excited about it. I have to admit, I never made a pair of socks – but I am going to make a pair as soon as our solid colors of Koigu PPM arrives (I will double the yarn). The majority of our yarns will start coming in August 1st (the poor UPS guy has to carry huge boxes up our steep and narrow stairs). Once this happens, I am relegated to the office with the camera and computer as I add the new yarns and new colors to our site. I haven’t done as much knitting as I like this summer. I did make Olivia a dress and a baby blanket for my friend Lisa's new baby. The only time I really get to knit is in the car. But now I am determined to become a driver, so I'll have to find another time. I do have my license, but I grew up in NYC and never really had the opportunity to drive that much. Now I just have to gain some confidence and clock some hours behind the wheel. Now to my knitting sad story. The dress I made for Olivia was the first knit dress I ever made for her. She chose the yarn and the color – and after it was all done and looked so cute on her decided she did not like it. Somehow I convinced her to wear it to her pre-school graduation. She had it on and she complained that it felt "too heavy." I accepted defeat and told her to take it off. She had a point. She was used to wearing light cotton dresses, not a knit dress that had some weight to it. I decided this weight might be more bearable in a skirt. So I cut the dress and made it into a skirt and top. Olivia will probably wear neither, but my son Nicholas loved the skirt. I had to chase him around my apartment to take it off. (See the picture) Hmmm, blogging isn’t so bad. I am sure Jordana will be back next week. If not, you may hear from me again.

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?

I can't believe it is already July 9th! I don't know where the last month has gone, it has been a whirlwind! Max's school ended - which meant many required activities. We had his art show, his end of year class party, the kindergarten end of year picnic, his movie premiere (he made a great movie about Bob Marley) and several half days stuck in there just to throw life off! Then, of course, we had our big blowout June sale - had to make room for all the fall/winter yarn that is on its way imminently. Then Max's camp began, he is loving it but getting on the bus every morning is a bit rough. The first day I cried after I put him on - he looked so nervous and like he was about to burst into tears. All day I had a stomach ache and thought "what kind of a terrible mother am I- putting my 5 year old on a bus alone where he knows noone?" But of course he got off the bus and was happy as a clam with lots to tell about his first day. And everyday is like this he is not thrilled about getting on the bus but then has lots of great events to report once he is home. They have breakfast for lunch once a week (apparently a big highlight), he is going to take his deep water test soon, he rode in go-carts by himself with noone running along beside him and did not crash, and today was water carnival day - it was going to be his best day ever! Don't you love the enthusiasm a five year old has! Then it was July 4th weekend and we went away to visit friends. When I get home tonight I have to post a picture of Zoe that is hilarious! We had a great time - but going visiting is always tiring. And I've been taking Zoe to many doctor's appointments (poor baby is getting tubes put in her ears on Friday). So, suffice to say there has not been that much downtime. ' I have hardly even been knitting...actually that isn't true. I made my friend Lisa who just had a baby girl the Victoria dress (http://www.theyarnco.com/knit_display/206#)that is on the cover of our baby book. I did it in red with pink fizzy trim. Came out great. I made one for Zoe last year - and I put it on her the other day to go to a birthday party and she was the talk of the party. She actualy walked to the party (10 blocks) and so many people stopped her to say how cute she looked. I also made myself a linen shrug in grey (http://www.theyarnco.com/knit_display/369) - also a great fast project - I needed something to wear over my black dresses. And I am in the middle of making Max a sweater out of baby cashmerino - but it is a little slow going and boring but I'm plugging away. I also read two books - James Frey's new book - Bright Shiny Morning - at first I hated it - very disjointed - but in the end I really enjoyed it. He is very easy to read and a good story teller. I also read Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs - if you liked Running with Scissors you'll like it - very similar - I can't even imagine such a childhood! Next I think I will try America, America by Ethan Canin. I also got invited to be in a book club. I am a bit ambivalent about it - I am not really a book club kind of girl. I like to read what I want when I want and am not so into discussing the books - but we'll see. We are getting all of our Zara yarn in tomorrow or Friday and some Noro sock yarn. Other new yarns will start coming at the beginning of August. Ok- anyone wany to take bets on whether I will post again next week?? Hopefully.

THE YARN SHOW

Before I begin telling you all about our trip to Columbus, Ohio for the yarn show - i just wanted to remind everyone that our ANNUAL SUMMER SALE is going on right now through Thursday, July 3! Most yarns are 10%-30% OFF and we need to make room for all the new fall/winter yarns that will be arriving in August! So come in or check out our website and place an order! (http://www.theyarnco.com/) So, Columbus was mainly good. We had to get all our shopping done on Saturday- so we moved through the place at record speed. First we hit the Koigu booth. We ordered beautiful new colors in the multi Kpppm and - BIG NEWS - we finally ordered Koigu Solids! We have avoided doing this for several years, despite wanting to do it, because the color range is so overwhelming and it is nearly impossible to choose. But we sat down and put our noses to the grindstone and we ordered 25 beautiful solids! We should get them in late August/early September. We'll keep you posted. Other great stuff: We ordered 2 new yarns from Prism. A hand dyed merino that is 5 stitches to the inch. I think it was called symphony. It was really beautiful. And we got a Prism sock yarn in lots of fun hand-dyed colors. We arte also getting indulgence and angora from them again. We are getting this great dk weight yarn from Crystal Palace called Panda Silk. It is a bamboo and silk blend. It is machine washable and comes in beautiful, rich multi colors. We ordered some great new colors in Unique Kolours Absolutely Fabulous throw kits, lots of beautiful Blue Sky yarns - many of which are coming in new colors, new Lexie Barnes and Della Q bags and needlecases and lots of new books. We also found some great carded button sets that will look great on kids sweaters! Oh - and we tried to make the switch from carrying manos to carrying malabrigio yarn. BUT apparently they had a fire in their wasrehouse and it will be 6 months until delivery is back to normal AND they want payment up front for the first order - which if we replace Manos would have to be huge so - maybe next year. But we tried! Got to get going now - but in my next post I will have to tell you a bit about the all nite party that went on in the room next door to us and got us our hotel "comped" for the weekend. And about my new sleep training mission with Zoe (she won't sleep in her crib and vomits if we put her in it at night - last night we began this program to get her falling asleep in her crib and not vomiting when we put her in - but she vomited before we ever got her into the crib!) Happy Knitting!