Socks! Louet Hand Dyeing Kits, Fleece Artist Angora & Knitscene Fall 2007

This summer we have devoted Tuesdays nights to Sock Knitting as part of our ClassPort 2007 summer teaching series.

Our staff are avid sock knitters and speak Toe Up, Top Down, 4 Needle, 3 Needle, Magic Loop, 2 Circs, 2 Socks on 2 Circs and more! In addition to assisting you with purchases and knitting emergencies our retail staff teach many of the classes offered at Village Yarns. We pride ourselves on great customer service and invite you to stop by our store and say hello.

To help our clientelle demystify the hundreds of patterns, techniques and methods available to knitters, every Tuesday this summer we present SockPort where we take you through the various methods popular today for constructing a sock. See our full schedule using this link:
SockPort Summer 2007 Schedule

Cast On Methods focuses on eleven different Cast On Techniques that we feel are important for Sock Knitters to know and know when to use them. See this link for full details:
SockPort Cast On Methods

Sock Talk is for those of you seeking fellowship, to share sock knitting and have access to a teacher to answer any questions that may arise.

Village Yarns summer class series "CLASSPORT" continues through the end of August, with bonus classes in September and October. Click on this link to our website for complete class listings:
Village Yarns Summer 2007 Class Schedule



Louet Hand Dyeing Sock Kit
If you have been curious as to how companies such as Fleece Artist and Prism hand dye their gorgeous yarns, come join Rosa Tarle this Tuesday, July 31 as she leads us through this fascinating process in her "Socks To Dye For" workshop from 7-9pm.


Using Louet Hand Dyeing Kits available at Village Yarns, Rosa will explain the methods and instructions that come with these kits and take you from undyed natural yarn to finished skein.

Drop by the store and see Rosa's skein dyed using the Brown colourway kit and her finished socks. Contact Village Yarns at 416-232-2361 or toll free 1-888-343-8885 to register for this workshop or to order the Louet Hand Dyeing Kits.


I-cord Cast On
This weeks Cast On Methods workshop focuses on the i-cord cast on method for sock knitters. Patrick Madden will take you through the steps of knitting this sturdy and fashionable edging which is a nice detail on socks and along the cuff on gloves and mitts. Tuesday, July 31. 7pm.


Fleece Artist Angora

We recently received a new shipment of Fleece Artist Angora and have some divine samples on hand for you to touch and cuddle with.
You will find the Peter Rabit and Bunny Hare qualities on our Sock Feature table, right in front of the wall of sock yarn.

Margaret Della Rosa, sock teacher and sample knitter extroirdinaire! knit these socks and there was enough yardage in a single skein to knit 1 extra long sock, 1 standard and 1 Baby Bootie. So a pair of long adult socks easily. Shown are both qualities of Fleece Artist Angora: Peter Rabbit has 90% Angora/10% Nylon and Bunny Hare has 70% Angora/30% Nylon.

New soft colours arrived last week and are heaven to feel. We love luxury. Just imagine how cozy your feet will feel waking up and walking around the house in a pair of these? Bed socks, house socks, pedicure socks, comfort socks. Village Socks!

To order Fleece Artist Angora, call Village Yarns in Toronto at 416-232-2361 or toll free 1-888-343-8885 or email us villageyarns@sympatico.ca.


Trekking XXL and Pro Natura Sock Yarn
We recently added the Trekking line of sock yarn to our selection with two qualities available: Trekking XXL in a blend of machine washable wool and nylon and Trekking Pro Natura, a machine washable sock wool blended with Bamboo for strength and softness.
Wonderful solids as well as tweeds, these yarns knit up beautifully with a very nice feel on the foot. Our store model is a mens size 11/12 with a nice long leg length knit in a 6x2 rib from one skein. Stop by Village Yarns to see our full colour range of Trekking Sock Yarns.



Knitscene Fall 2007
The fall issue of Interweave's Knitscene is instore and as always, plenty of designs featuring great designs for those with a not-so classic fashion sensibility. Which we love thank you very much!

Ribby Retro Socks caught our eye and can be knit using Regia 4ply in similar tones.


Designs featured with Village Yarns include:

Hideout Coat by Katie Himmelberg features Rowan Big Wool.


Herringbone Skirt by Chrissy Gardiner. Crochet with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.


Seaweed Sweater by Cat Cole knit up in the etheral Filatura di Crosa Baby Kid Extra.



Enjoy the day! Go outside and knit!
Village Yarns.
Toronto, Ontario CANADA
www.villageyarns.com

Fiesta Ballet Yarn

Greetings!



Fiesta Yarns come to us from New Mexico where they are hand dyed to a very distinct colour palette. Our focus today is on Fiesta Ballet.

Ballet is a unique yarn made of 50% Superfine Alpaca and 50% Tencel. This fiber is great for socks, lace shawls, sweaters....almost anything. Very versatile, Ballet can be knit on size 3mm needle for socks or size 4mm - 5mm needle for vests and sweaters. Use larger needles for open work shawls and scarves. Each 5 oz. skein has 350 yards.


We received five new colourways as well as "Snow" which is the pretty cream colour. The Tencel fibre adds a lovely sheen giving garments a polished look. Not so much homespun as "wellspun". These new arrivals bring the total colours available to 38. Quite outstanding. Fiesta Ballet is the perfect compliment to our Alpaca yarn selection as knitters seeking hand dyed Alpaca now have options for colourful multicolour repeats rather than just solids and heathers.

In tandem, the Alpaca and Tencel fibres provide great resiliency to this yarn. Depending on the gauge you knit it to Ballet can be firm, providing warmth and durability for socks or on a slightly looser gauge it drapes beautifully for jackets and sweaters.


Fiesta Yarns introduced "Ballet" with a focus as a sock yarn which is the first store sample we knit. Come to Village Yarns and see our store model which is knit using the "Cabled Sweat Sock" pattern by Claire Ottman from the SOCKS: A Spin-Off Special by Interweave Press.

This sock pattern was designed for a more substantial yarn than your traditional "fingering" weight. It can be knit with a lighter yarn but we chose this pattern as Ballet is a Double Knitting weight and we felt the two would compliment one another.


Some detail shots to show you way the colours mix and the cable stitch pattern.


The "Double Snakey Cable" stitch runs the full length of the leg and across the top of the foot. This sock pattern has a longer leg length with the finished length being 13" measured from heel to cuff. This meant we needed a second skein to complete this particular model with lots of texture and this longer leg length. Ballet worked toe-up or top down in a standard 2x2 rib and stocking stitch or 6x2 rib stitch pattern can be completed from one skein.

Just look at these colours. Eye candy indeed.




Each hand dye yarn company has their own unique look and Fiesta Yarns is no exception. Situated in the American southwest, Fiesta takes influence from the colours and climate unique to New Mexico. One would think they would see very little in the way of snow or cold weather but the temperature does get quite cold in the winter if you think of the variation between daytime highs and evening lows. This has lead Fiesta to develope yarns like Ballet so they can create garments that are light in weight but provide warmth.


Fiesta Ballet is a great choice for knitting garments. Our second model for Village Yarns was chosen to show off the wonderful hand dyed colourways that Fiesta produces and the beautifully soft fabric you can produce knitting Ballet on a 4.5mm-5mm needle. This closeup is of seed stitch and stocking stitch in "Clematis" Ballet.

We chose "Cecilia" from Black Purl Patterns to knit our next model in Ballet. Worked sideways from cuff to cuff, Cecilia has a seed stitch border at the cuffs, hem and centre front edges with short row shaping to provide extra volume that drapes beautifully. It has a nice, easy fitting shape with not too much design ease which flatters many body shapes.


Another feature built into this pattern is the "Kimono" Sleeve in which the shoulder and sleeve are drafted on an angle which, although providing generous "design ease" through the body of the garment, this reduces the volume of fabric in the armhole area. So less "Dolman" and better fit.


Meghann Chorley was at Village Yarns today and was kind enough to model "Cecilia" so you could see how it drapes. The sleeves have a subtle bell shape which tapers slightly toward the elbow and you have the option of making the sleeves a 3/4 length if you wish to show off your jewellery.


The collar on this jacket is intended to lay flat as it wraps itself around the neck, accentuating the softness and drape of the Ballet yarn.


Cecilia takes 4 skeins of Fiesta Ballet to knit. Model size XL shown in Clematis colourway. Come to Village Yarns and try on Cecillia. You'll love the feel of Ballet and how light a jacket it makes.


We are thrilled for Meghann as she is expecting her first child September 26. The glow of motherhood!



Fiesta Ballet at www.villageyarns.com


Below are 10 more of the 38 colourways Fiesta Ballet is available in at Village Yarns in Toronto. Just to give you an idea of the colour range. To order Fiesta Ballet or other Fiesta yarns, contact us at villageyarns@sympatico.ca or toll free 1-888-343-8885 or Toronto local 416-232-2361.













At Village Yarns we carry a beautiful assortment of hand knitting yarns for socks from Hand Maiden, Regia, Fleece Artist, Lang, Colinette, Trekking, Noro, Alchemy Yarns of Transformation, Lana Grossa and Fiesta.

THE FELTING QUEENS
To say it's felt frenzy at Village Yarns is an understatement. Rosa Tarle, our resident handspun, hand dyed, hand felt mentor started all this excitement by conducting a facinating and fabulous workshop this past Thursday on "Wet Felting" based on techniques found in the book "Felt Frenzy" from Interweave Press.


Who says fun and interesting classes cannot be found for knitters in Toronto? We may be in the west end of the city but this is still Toronto! I will be posting about this felting workshop and will have additional class dates up on the blog soon but in the meantime I will leave you with a few teazer photos.


If you are interested in participating in a Wet Felting Workshop, contact Village Yarns and ask to be put on the Class Wish List. Let us know what day of the week is best for you, morning or evening and we will see what the consensus is. Contact us at villageyarns@sympatico.ca or toll free 1-888-343-8885 or Toronto local 416-232-2361.


Julia Dinner is our other Felting Queen. Between chapters of the final Harry Potter novel Julia managed to Wet Felt five scarves. Five chapters, five scarves. Not bad!

Look at the colour and texture she achieved. Magic!

Even Patrick got bit by the Felting bug and is sampling the Fleece Artist Kid Mohair Sliver (pronounced sly-ver) in a new backing technique which he will share with everyone if the experiment turns out. Stay tuned and check back next week for results.


Margaret Della Rosa at Village Yarns wearing her birthday gift from Patrick Madden; a shawl knit in Filatura di Crosa Gioiello with a divine shawl pin. Happy birthday month Margaret! We love you!

And we love our Zoe! Zoe is Patrick's companion dog and can be found snoozing away on the floor at Village Yarns. Zoe is a well behaved dog and won't mind going downstairs during your next visit to Village Yarns if you are not keen on dogs. Just ask at the door and we will put her in the lower lounge.

Have a good weekend and check back soon.
Village Yarns.
Toronto, Ontario Canada
http://www.villageyarns.com/