Live From Columbus, Ohio....

We are in lovely Columbus, Ohio. We just decided on 23 beautiful colors of Koigu, kpppm. We've also bought some great new yarn. A super chunky yarn called Big Stitch Bumps that is a soft alpaca and knits on a number 50 needle - no kidding! One skein retails for $120 but makes an awesome vest or a rug. We also bought some great new scarf kits from Jade Sapphire - they are called Quattro Kits and come with 4 different colors of cashmere and patterns to make scarves with the four colors. We bought a great merino/cashmere blend yarn from Muench that knits at 3 stitches to the inch and is sure to be a huge hit this fall. And a new yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca called Brushed Suri and is so soft and light - it makes an amazing sweater. We also got new colors in the beaded mohair and single ply cashmere by ArtYarns. And if you are ever in Columbus, be sure to visit Jenni's ice cream... it is delicious.

HUGE BOOK SALE

We are having a HUGE BOOK SALE during the month of May. 40% OFF all books and magazines in stock. If you are on ravelry and would like to see a list of titles available go to http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/the-yarn-co-nyc/1126096/1-25. Or email theyarnco@verizon.net and we can send you a list of available titles. We are happy to ship - via fed ex ground or media mail. ALSO We now have a FACEBOOK PAGE. We had a group - but realize that it is easier to keep in touch via a PAGE - we will be updating it frequently. Find us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/The-Yarn-Co/95344656072?ref=ts - Click that you LIKE us to join and get updates via the PAGE.

Technology Anyone?

Just added to our Ravelry store: Big News! Julie and I have made a momentous decision. The Yarn Co. is going to enter the age of technology. Yes, we have a website...but no shopping cart. Yes, many balls of yarn have bar codes on them...but we have no computerized inventory system. Yes, we have a blog, are on Facebook and have a presence on Ravelry...but we still hand write our reciepts! We are on the verge of purchasing a point of sale system that will hopefully revolutionize he way things are done here. We will have an integrated website with a shopping cart, we will have customer info at our fingertips...(you love zara? - we will let you know when a big new shipment comes in...) and we will be able to keep track of credits, gift certificates and oh so much more. We are hoping to have all this up and running by August. Start the fall season in style. Exciting, no? On another note: I made Zoe model this weekend and am going to try to put the skirt and a zara cardigan I made in the fall on Ravelry. Check her out:

Knitting in the news

I just finished knitting Zoe's skirt out of the beautiful Ella Rae, Lace Merino. It is sooo cute. And I love the lace detail at the bottom. It was very easy -- only a two row repeat. Zoe is supposed to come in for a modelling session tomorrow, so hopefully I will get some nice shots of her in it. Now I am knitting an adorable dress as a store sample out of the Katia, Tobago. I started out making a garter stitch sweater but wasn't loving it, so I said "hey, I think I'll turn it into a dress" - and voila. I am very happy with it and I think I may need to make one in a bigger size for Zoe--although she really really does not need another piece of clothing. I really need some more time to knit - I also want to make myself something out of the Arucania, Chaiten. The colors are amazing (I love earthy colors) and I think it is my new favorite summer yarn. It is 100% silk and so light. I am wearing the one we made as our store sample all the time. I think I might make our Seduce tank top out of it...we'll see. On another note - there has been some fun/funny stuff in the news lately (Wall Street Journal and CBS News --not bad). Take a look: Check out the CBS News piece! And hey - Truckers are knitting!

And the blanket went for....

Max's school auction has come and gone once again. It was this past Saturday night and was lots of fun. The school raised a ton of money. Our beautiful blanket - which you can see below - went for a staggering $800!!! I was so excited - our project raised the most of any class project. (All the kids knit a square for the blanket and I sewed them together and crocheted around - to make an awesome 40x60 blanket). Bill Telepan once again put his services up for auction - dinner for 8 cooked by him at your house - including wine - he offered it up 3 times - and each one went for $12,000. Truly unbelievable. We ended up going home with some wine, a big Simpsons basket for our downstairs friend, and I won the raffle for lunch with Max's teacher (the second year in a row - is it rigged or am i just really lucky?) - oh - and I got a package that included a Bliss gift certificate a private yoga lesson and some antiaging cream. When I went to pick up my items they told me they couldn't find the antiaging cream and I though - no big deal - but when I went home I saw that its value was $158. I want my cream! I need to try a cream that costs that much money - maybe if I apply it religiously I will look like I did in high school again...I need to remember to see if they worked on locating this cream that must certainly have magical properties! On the knitting front - I am trying to finish up a new skirt for Zoe - it has a cute lace bottom and is made out of Arucania, Lace Merino. I've already bought her several tee shirts to go with it. I also just finished a great sweater out of the S. Charles, Sari. What next? There are so many possibilities - I just can't decide.

PHOTO BLOG

Never any time to sit and write - too busy knitting... lots of great new projects. Take a look. Right below is the auction project my 2nd graders made - each kid knit a square...it better go for a lot of money!!!

WHAT'S NEW...

Things have been busy here at The Yarn Co. We've been ordering lots of new and exciting spring yarns - which will begin arriving in February. We actually already got one of the new yarns - Tahki, Mia - which is a great nubby cotton that gets 3 stitches to the inch and is super soft. We are knitting a cute raglan pullover with it. We also just knit a great new baby blanket out of the Sirdar, Baby Bamboo. It is a 5x5 rib using the yarn held double and striping it in the colors of the rainbow. It came out really great. We substituted pink for blue in the rainbow (we do know it's roygbiv, not roygpiv!) because we didn't have a good blue - but it works. Julie also knit a GREAT jacket out of the Wooly Merino yarn - the yarn is soft and fabulous to knit with and the jacket looks great on - I think I need to make one for Zoe for next fall. I finished Max's sweater out of the cashmere I pulled out of an old sweater. I did a 5x5 rib and it looks good on him. One of these days I really need to make him model his sweaters! I picked up Jeff's cabled Aran Cashmere sweater again and finished knitting the back. All those cables are slow going at this point in my life - but maybe I'll really finish it for his 45th birthday in July...or his 46th...I also want to make Zoe a skirt for the spring out of the Lace Merino. I think I will make it A-line with a lace pattern at the bottom and stockinette the rest of the way. So much to knit, so little time! Also - if you have any pictures of items you made from here that you'd like to share - email them to us at yarnco@verizon.net! it's always fun to see things people have made. Check out the great stuffed animal by Sam: And the adorable torino polka dot blankets by Karen: Also, as an aside...Leslie, who works at The Yarn Co. is making a sweater out of an old Bottega Cashmere and needs another ball or two - anyone knit with this and willing to part with their leftovers?