Village Yarns

Namaste Cali Collection at Village Yarns

2008-05-07T23:17:00.002-04:00

Village Yarns Awarded Best Booth Display at
Spring 2008 Creative Festival.

Hello and Welcome Spring!

We had a wonderful time presenting our exciting collection of hand knitting yarns for Spring 2008 at the recent Creative Festival in Toronto.

This three day event allowed us to meet new people, greet old friends and create an enticing presentation of luxury hand dyed knitting yarns from our Spring 2008 hand knitting yarn collection. The Prism Yarn line was the feature collection at the show with highlights from Blue Heron, Fleece Artist, Hand Maiden and Muench yarns.

All of us at Village Yarns are very proud of being presented with the Crative Festival's award for best booth display! This is very much a team effort and we work hard to ensure our displays showcase our products in the best way possible and that our booth is a reflection of what you will see when you visit our store.

New Arrivals for May 2008

We have just received another shipment of the beautiful Knittng Bags & Accessories from Namaste of California featuring their new "Cali" line of faux leather Knitting handbags, needle cases and purses.

One of the hottest sellers since this line arrived is the new "Cali Clutch" featuring a slim, well designed shape to hold your straights, circulars, credit cards, cash, keys, phone, sunglasses and a small knitting project.

Available in 5 fabulous colors year round, and two additional seasonal colors.

The colours and texture of the new Cali Collection of knitting bags are so seductive, you'll want a complete set. They are going fast so give us a call at the store to set aside your favorite colour.

Village Yarns also features the Cali Collection Malibu Bag in five fabulous colours...

Namaste has also updated their Needle Binders this year in coordinating Cali Collection colours to hold an assortment of straight, circular and Double Pointed needles. These binders/organizers will accomodate all your knitting accessories in one practical and stylish tote. Additional inserts are available in singles or multi-packs of four.

Namaste Knitting Accessories are well crafted with wonderful decorative stitching and metal stud accents featuring contemporary styling and colours for knitters of all ages.

The new Laguna Bag from the Cali Collection features a generous split interior, central zip compartement for personal items and the beautiful Namaste colours.

We also stock the Namaste Knitube in Cranberry and Peacock. Perfect for knitters on the go - wherever the locale.

We invite you to visit us at Village Yarns in Toronto, Ontario to view our complete line of Namaste Hand Knitting Accessories, Bags and Glass Knitting Needles.

Please contact us toll free 888-343-8885 or Toronto local 416-232-2361 to enquire or order a Namaste Knitting Bag or Accessory.

Village Yarns is located in the west end of Toronto in the Village of Islington. We are a convenient destination close to all major routes and just north of Islington subway station. For knitters passing through Toronto at Pearson International Airport, we are minutes away via taxi or TTC for those in need of a fabulous fibre fix! Visit our main website for maps and additional information: www.villageyarns.com

Take care and enjoy your passion!

Village Yarns at the Creative Festival Spring Show 2008

2008-04-16T21:43:00.002-04:00

Village Yarns will be showing at the Spring 2008 Creative Festival in Toronto on April 26, 27 & 28. Come see our exciting presentation for Spring 2008!

For more information log on to the Creative Festival Website

Creativity, Learning and Fellowship: The Joy of Knitting & Crochet at Village Yarns

2008-01-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Village Yarns weblog. Village Yarns has been located in the Village of Islington for 30+ years, now amalgamated with the city of Toronto. We are in the west end of the city and a 5 minute walk north of Islington Subway station. We are a full-service retailer of hand knitting & crochet yarns, patterns and classes.

Village Yarns features a wide assortment of wool, cotton, alpaca, cashmere, silk and Qiviuk fibres from producers such as Noro, Debbi Bliss, Filatura di Crosa, Rowan, Berroco, Dale of Norway, Ozark Handspun, Colinettte, Alchemy Yarns of Transformation, Trendsetter, Alpaca With A Twist and Prism Yarns.

Village Yarns is also a proud retailer of Canadian hand-dyed yarn lines Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden.

We invite you to visit our store weekdays from 12 Noon - 7Pm and Saturday 10am - 5pm. We have free parking directly behind the store and curbside parking as well. For those of you from outside of Toronto, please read our other posts on this weblog for additional product information or visit our store website . We ship to customers worldwide everyday and you may contact us directly toll free to order.

You will always see interesting window displays featuring new products and newly created patterns. The window display picutred features an elegant shoulder wrap designed by Robin Hunter featuring hand dyed Pearls and Dover by Prism Yarns.

Inside the front door we have a focus table of new arrivals, class and workshop schedules and feature projects and kits.

We invite you to take your time, look and touch at your leisure. Store samples of garments and accessories abound for you to try on. Linda looks fabulous modelling our Fleece Artist Kid Silk Shrug....

Don't be surprised to walk in and find a impromptu design class in progress at Village Yarns...

We are always happy to work with our customers on modifying projects to suit their personal tastes and body shapes...

Pictured is a Modular Wrap that will be available as a kit for Spring 2008 featuring Berroco, Prism and Trensetter yarns...

Village Yarns - Where Creativity Abounds...

Our customers love the variety and selection of fibres we retail from around the world. Adventurous knitters especially love the Prism Yarn line created by Laura Bryant. Who can resist all the gorgeous colours and textures that make up the Prism Yarn Line.

Working from their own designs or using Laura's fabulous "Yarn Stash Workbook" as a guide, Village Yarns customers can create fabulous one-of-a-kind creations from the many garment and accessory patterns in this book.

Pictured below is Athena, our foremost "fearless" knitter who is intimidated by no knitting technique or pattern. Her current project is Laura Bryant's Lapel Coat from the Stash Workbook.

Athena chose to use a Prism Fiber Art Bag in the Rusts colourway, combined with Berroco Ultra Alpaca for the base yarn.

Worked in Linen Stitch, the combination of texture created by the stitch technique and the individual Prism yarns is truly stunning.

We'll update you with more pictures when the garment is completed.

Another creative genius and lover of all textures and colours is Ghazal, modeling an asymmetrical jacket she created using Prism Neat Stuff in the Mozambique colourway.

Neat Stuff is comprised of 30-40 different yarns, all gauge related and hand dyed by Prism in Florida. Ghazal was smitten with Neat Stuff from the day it arrived and having bought one skein for a scarf, this soon developed into a full scale garment with stunning results.

Here are some detail shots for you to enjoy and to admire the way in which the jacket was constructed:

6 half skeins (150 yards each) of Prism Neat Stuff used in total....

The colours and resulting fabric are truly stunning...

Finding patterns to fit a curvy, 5'1" frame is challenging but Ghazal has an innate sense of proportion and knows how she likes garments to drape and fit.

Ghazal can live with sleeves that are a wee bit long in her opinion because she is so pleased with the resulting fabric and colours. We agree!

Hand Knitting & Crochet Classes at Village Yarns

For customers requiring guidance in their pursuit of hand knitting and Crochet, Village Yarns offers workshops and Instructional Knitting & Crochet classes for all skill levels. Current class information can be found on our store website.

We offer five Project Groups every week in which student customers bring current projects to work on and have a teacher present to offer guidance and assistance. Lively and informative, Project Classes allow you to see what other knitters are creating and follow their progress from week to week.

Mary joins us Monday evenings and is a prolific knitter and crocheter preferring to focus on socks and accessories. Persons lucky enough to be on her gift list receive beautiful knit scarves made of Wool and Silk with yarns by Hand Maiden. Mary is modeling the Hand Maiden Textures Scarf Kit...

and additional Textures Scarves colourways knit by Mary are below...

We also provide personal, one-on-one classes scheduled at the convenience of the student and teacher 5 days a week. Please feel free to drop in or call us to discuss booking a private class.

Pattern Drafting classes are offered where students have the opportunity to make their own, personal Bodice and Set-In Sleeve pattern to their measurements.

Andrea participated in the Pattern Drafting Class and then used her Christmas holidays to create a Cardigan based on an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, in which the entire garment is knit in one piece with shaping being done by decreasing on the body and then on the sleeve according to calculations. No easy feat! Andrea applied her true body measurements from the pattern created in class and created a beautiful, understated cardigan using Filatura di Crosa Zarina, a delicious 4 Ply weight Merino Wool.

Below is a detail shot of the subtle yet intricate shaping that happens where the sleeve is decreased into the body and then the reverse happens when shaping the crown of the sleeve.

Worked in one piece with a 1x1 front band that blends into a Shawl Collar and fully-fashioned shaping for all curves and seams, you can see how adding subtle waist shaping makes for a flattering fit.

It is very gratifying to see customers return proudly wearing or showing completed projects. Nothing beats the look of accomplishment and pride that you see in their eyes of a job well done.
As part of our "Edutainment" series of workshops, Village Yarns was proud to have hosted Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton just before Christmas for a workshop on the Evolution Of The Stitch Pattern. Pictured below is Karen Dinner of Village Yarns and Cornelia on her right.

Guests were treated to an informative presentation of Cornelia's work as published in her 5 Pattern Collections for Noro Yarns. Cornelia led guests through a stitch sampler while discussing and showing garments that utilized the same stitch technique, and how the shape of the garment dictated how the stitch pattern was incorporated.

Always a good time at Village Yarns events!

For more information on classes, workshops or upcoming events please visit our store website at www.villageyarns.com or contact in Toronto toll free 888-343-8885 or local 416-232-2361.

We look forward to welcoming you to Village Yarns!

Enjoy Your Passion.

Prism Dover

2007-12-27T07:44:00.000-05:00

We invite you to visit us at Village Yarns in Toronto to view our selection of Prism Hand Dyed Yarns. Today we give the spotlight to Prism Dover.

Prism Dover was one of the first Double Dye yarns developed by Laura Bryant, Creative Director of Prism Yarns. Double Dyeing is a process where a yarn with two fiber contents requires two types of dye; the end result creates amazing colour combinations and depth.

Prism Dover is available in all of Laura Bryant's hand dyed colors, but with subtle differences.

Dover: 75% nylon, 25% rayon 2 oz/ 150 yds
Suggested Gauge: 16 sts = 4" 6mm/US#10

Prism Dover consists of a soft nylon knitted tube which is then captured inside a rayon railroad ribbon.

The nylon is dyed two or more colors, while the rayon stays white. The rayon is then dyed two or more colors, which do not affect the nylon. The effect is of tiny bits of colored confetti sprinkled over a glistening field of air.

We love Dover for its soft yet crisp hand with lots of body, and for the complex colors. It has spectacular yardage as well, making very light weight garments that hold their shape.

Great as one element amongst other yarns, Dover is perfect for use with Prism StuffTM for a project from the various "Stuff Plus" pattern books.

Here we have combined Dover with Prism Pearls for a cute little shoulder hug designed and knit by Robin Hunter for Village Yarns. The pattern and yarn are available from Village Yarns in Toronto. To order please email us: shop@villagyarns.com

UPCOMING KNIT-A-LONG PROJECTS:
Look for information regarding a Knit-A-Long Project Class featuring this beautiful Spiral Scarf designed by Laura Bryant of Prism Yarns featuring Prism Indulence. Kits are available and in-stock at Village Yarns in Toronto. For more information please contact us at shop@villageyarns.com or 416-232-2361.

Knitscene Central Park Hoodie Pattern

2007-12-12T18:30:00.000-05:00

Looking for a copy of Knitscene Fall 2006 featuring the ever popular Central Park Hoodie? Look no further than Village Yarns - we have 15 copies left in stock.

Recipients of the Knitting Daily e-news letter from Interweave Press will know that this is still one of the most popular garment patterns around. For knitter's new to cables, Knitscene has included a Cable Tutorial in this issue, including a practice swatch using the back centre cable from designer Heather Lodinsky's pattern.

Generous sizing up to a 48" bust featuring an interesting cable pattern using an Aran Weight (Heavy Worsted in the US) yarn.

To order Knitscene Fall 2006 featuring the Central Park Hoodie pattern, or other Interweave Press publications contact us at Village Yarns in Toronto toll free 888-343-8885, Toronto local 416-232-2361 or online shop@villageyarns.com.

Qiviuk Hand Knitting Yarn at Village Yarns

2007-12-11T13:41:00.000-05:00

Qiviuk is the inner down of the Canadian Arctic Muskox. It is a fiber of exceptional quality. Noticeably softer and lighter than cashmere, and 8 times warmer than wool.

The Muskox is a prehistoric animal still alive today and thriving. Their survival through the last ice age was largely due to their remarkable coat. An outer layer, the guard hair sometimes as long as 24 inches, and the inner layer, shield them from minus 50 †C degrees temperature. Because of their shaggy coats, Muskoxen appear to be massive animals; in fact, they rarely grow more than chest high on a human. In May, when arctic temperatures begins to rise, Muskoxen shed their inner coats, and the tundra becomes littered the precious fleece.

With proper care and protection they have made a steady comeback both in numbers and in occupied range. The herds are monitored by the Canadian government, protected by the Inuvialuit Group of the Northwest Territories, and managed in a way that combines tradition and sustainability, ensuring their unthreatened existence.

In consideration of commitment and experience in Qiviuk, the Inuvialuit organizations have selected Jacques Cartier Ltd. to exclusively acquire, process and manufacture their precious Qiviuk fiber. Village Yarns in Toronto is pleased to offer this unique fibre to our customers.

The perfect yarn for Lace shawls, scarves, sweaters and the lightest, warmest gloves you will ever wear!

Qiviuk is featured in the Holiday 2007 issue from Interweave Knits.

Qiviuk Tam and Scarf by Gayle Roehm

We invite you to visit Village Yarns in Toronto and see our interpretation of Evelyn Clark's Flower Basket Scarf pattern published by Fiber Trends patterns and available at Village Yarns.

We chose our luxurious Qiviuk Yarn in a pretty Mauve colourway for our store sample. Qiviuk is so light and soft that only 1 ball was required to knit this scarf pattern!

Qiviuk is available at Village Yarns in natural brown 100% Qiviuk and in 10 colourways blended with Merino Wool and Silk.

Knitting for this pattern begins at the centre back over a few stitches, working increases into this pretty lace pattern to the full width, which ends in a simple scallop edging.

Modelled by Rae Brenne, this delicate lace stitch pattern becomes a chic neck scarf, the perfect accessory for around the office or under your winter coat.

A shawl version is included in the instructions using the Flower Basket lace stitch patern and requires 3-5 balls of Qiviuk to complete, depending on the finished dimensions.

Discover for yourself the beauty that is Qiviuk in our 10 classic colourways.

100% Qiviuk (aka Qiviut) in Natural Brown:

Qiviuk blended with Merino Wool and Silk in the following colourways:

Sage

Orange

Light Grey

Mauve

Red Ochre

Slate Blue

Loden Green

Please contact us for more information or to order at shop@villageyarns.com or toll free 888-343-8885 or Toronto local (416)232-2361. We ship worldwide.

Enjoy your passion!
Village Yarns
Toronto, Ontario CANADA
www.villageyarns.com

Filatura di Crosa Fall/Winter 2007 at Village Yarns

2007-11-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Filatura di Crosa Fall/Winter 2007 at Village Yarns
Timeless, elegant, classic knitwear endures and for Fall/Winter 2007 Filatura di Crosa presents a beautiful collection of hand knit designs sure to become favourites. We invite you to visit Village Yarns in Toronto and view our complete collection of Filatura di Crosa hand knitting yarns and patterns.

Cropped Jacket

Ruffled Pullover

Hat, Neck Warmer & Fingerless Gloves

Cap-Sleeve Cabled Pullover

Bell Sleeve Cardigan

The Merino Wool Masters
Filatura di Crosa comes to us from Biella, Italy, just outside of Milan. A division of Gruppo Luigi Botto, the Filatura di Crosa mill produces hand knitting yarns of the highest quality and is recognized as one of the best mills in the world for the spinning and dyeing of Australian and New Zealand Merino Wool.

Village Yarns carries the complete line of Filatura di Crosa Merino Hand Knitting Yarn including:

Zarina (4ply)

GAUGE: 28 stitches x 32 rows/10cm
NEEDLE SIZE: 3mm - 3.25mm depending on your personal tension.
LENGTH: 165 metres/50 grams
Machine Wash Gentle Knits. Dry Flat.

Zara (DK/Double Knitting)

GAUGE: 23 stitches x 31 rows/10cm
NEEDLE SIZE: 3.5 mm - 4mm depending on your personal tension.
LENGTH: 125 metres/50 grams
Machine Wash Gentle Knits. Dry Flat.

Zara Plus (Aran/Chunky).

GAUGE: 18 stitches x 20 rows / 10cm
NEEDLE SIZE: 4.5 mm - 5mm depending on your personal tension.
LENGTH: 70 metres/50G
Machine Wash Gentle Knits. Dry Flat.

For more information or to order Filatura di Crosa yarns and patterns, please contact us at villageyarns@sympatico.ca or toll free 888-343-8885 or Toronto local (416)232-2361.

Enjoy your passion!
Village Yarns
Toronto, Ontario CANADA
www.villageyarns.com

Fleece Artist Garter Stitch Jacket Kits at Village Yarns

2007-11-03T09:11:00.000-04:00

A perennial favourite is now back in stock at Village Yarns. Kathryn and her team at Fleece Artist have given the Garter Stitch Jacket a new twist for Fall 2007 by introducing Curly Locks and Mo as the yarn components. Knit singly in alternating rows, these textures of a mohair boucle and a brushed mohair blend to create a lovely, cozy jacket sure to be a favourite in your wardrobe.

The Garter Stitch Jacket appeals to knitters of all skill levels as the fit and subtle waist shaping flatter many figures. Worked on 6mm needles in garter stitch, subtle waist shaping is achieved by reducing needle sizes and sleeves are completed top down for accurate length. The Garter Stitch Jacket makes a great first project for new knitters wanting to move beyond accessories.

The Garter Stitch Jacket Kit is available in Fleece Artist semi-solid shades of Gold, Ruby Red and Turquoise:

Also in stock are Fleece Artist Variegated Colourways including; Seashore, Peacock, Stone, Cosmic Dawn, Sorbetto and Rain Forest.

These hand dyed beauties never last long so come visit us at 4895 Dundas Street West in Toronto or to order your Garter Stitch Jacket kit, contact us at villageyarns@sympatico.ca or toll free 888-343-8885 or Toronto local (416)232-2361. We ship worldwide.

Enjoy your passion!
Village Yarns
Toronto, Ontario CANADA
www.villageyarns.com