If April is here, May Must be Close at Hand

After this gorgeous  Holiday weekend, without a shower in sight, the flowers are already  in full force and that made us begin to consider other upcoming Holidays, such as Mother's Day (May13) and the things that can  make it special for you and the ones you hold dear.

If you're looking for inspiration, take a look at some of the new titles that recently found their way into our Library:

Left: Austentacious Crochet - For the romantics among us, this  book features thirty-six original crochet projects, inspired by Austen novels, and designed with  contemporary flair. The patters  focus on women's wear, such as dresses, sweaters, cardigans, and capelets, but also encompass accessories such as handbags, scarfs, and pillowcases and clothing for children.
Introductions to each project include favorite bits of dialogue from the original novels. Fully illustrated with evocative photos, Regency-style illustrations, and step-by-step schematics.

Center: A book that  is exactly what it claims to be,  Noah's Knits lets you bring to life the story of Noah's ark. Included are instructions for creating cute and cuddly knitted dolls of Noah, his wife, and 15 pairs of special  animals, all of which fit inside the book's cardboard fold-out ark. A great find,  If you (or anyone you know) likes to knit animals  and create scenarios. 

Right:  A Stitch in Time:  This beautiful book features 59 original and updated versions of knitting and crochet patterns for women, from  1920 to 1949, with an overview of the style of each decade and its social context. Each pattern has been knitted in a current yarn, multi sized for the first time and reinterpreted for easy knitting. The patterns are available in a wide range of sizes.

Other "New Stuff"    Yarns continue to come in, including a wonderful new shipment of yarn from Handmaiden: Casbah, a blend of merino, cashmere and nylon that has been so popular that it has almost flown out the door.  Not to worry, however, we sill have some - waiting for you!  Also in is Sea Silk, a luxurious blend of sea cell and silk, each skein of which is hand dyed, individually. 

Either one of these yarns are the perfect gift or  choice for shawls, scarves, spring and summer t-shirts or shells for warm weather clothes. 

Newsletter - If you're already on our newsletter  mail list, you will have seen our new format and you may have read our recent profile about Michelle Wang, who  we have  known for a long time.    Unfortunately,  the picture of Michelle, a satisfied friend and customer and one of her designs was inadvertently deleted from tthe  newsletter so we thought we'd share it with you one more time. 

Michelle is  working as an independent designer and is a major contributor to Brooklyn Tweed's  design studio and collections.   Spring Thaw (http://brooklyntweed.net/springthaw.html) features 6 of her designs, and as usual, she’s in good company.  It’s a great collection and we’re proud to offer it for sale in the store - as proud as we are to count Michelle a friend of Knitty City. We love the picture shown above.  It was one of those happy coincidences in that Michelle was at the store on the day a customer who had just finished knitting one of her patterns (the Eternity Shawl) was there, as well.  When designer met talented patron, the smiles were inevitable.   To see more of Michelle’s work: http://mishi2x.squarespace.com

Needles & Pins - One of the many things that makes NY such a treasure trove of a city is the little discoveries that are waiting around every corner.  One of our  colleagues (they're all really "the best"), Dana Freed, recently gave us a little tip about a group of women who meet the third Thursday of every month at Pins & Needles, a fabric and haberdashery shop across town.  On April 19, from 7-9 PM, anyone who wishes to bring a project (or start a new one) is invited to drop by and join in.   The store sells wonderful fabrics and findings - buttons and ribbons, oh my!.  If you wish to start something new, Dana will be on hand to teach the art of beading and "upcycling" - in which she will be using found material and beads to create a nacklace.  Wine & supplies will be available. Needles & Pins, 1045 Lexington (bet 74 & 75), 2nd Fl., Phone:  212.535.6222.

"Knit 2, Unwind" 

Knitters have long known the calming benefits of the craft.  With that in mind, the National Alliance for Mental Illnes (NAMI) have begun a  knitting group to support individuals who are coping with mental illness affecting friends or family member.  The group will combine knitting lessons, emtotional support and self-care.  Experienced knitters are welcome to bring their work and supplies will be provided for new knitters.  Groups are held on a drop in basis and no experience is necessary.  The Group meets the second Saturday of each month, from 1 to 2:00 pm, begining on April l4, and the third Thursday of every month, from 6-7:30, beginning April l9th.  Location:  NAMI-NYC METRO at 505 Eighth Ave., (35th St), Suite 1103.  TO LEARN MORE, CALL THE HELPLINE AT 212.684.3264.

Please remember to check out calendar at www.knittycity.com, for an update on classes, and events at the store.  Also, do sign up to receive one of our regular newsletters (send just twice a month).  They'll keep you up to date on everything new and interesting at Knitty City.  You know, there's always something wonderful happening at the store!

A League of Our Own

"The Firestix"

(Click on the title to go to full story)

DESIGNING WOMEN AT KNITTY CITY

Knitty City is known for its accommodating and creative staff, and this month we are profiling two of our members who are adept and talented designers and who,  coincidentally, have also designed  a few workshops for us.  Meet Dana Freed and Nancy Ricci:

(click on the title to go to the blog)

For the love of reading ......

....and knitting!

Every once in a while a book comes along that captures not only the beauty of knitting, but its true essence as well.  Such a book is JuJu's Loops, which contains gorgeous patterns from Juju Vail and Susan Cropper of Loop, London. Lace shawls and wraps,fingerless gloves, scarves, shrugs, cowls, a baby sweater. toy, blanket, hat and swing sweater are shown in the context of outstanding photography and styling.  This book is only available in a limited quantity, at the moment, so we suggest that you hurry on down and take a look. Be warned, however, some of us found it impossible to put it down.  (Pls. click on title to read the rest)

What if Santa was a Knitter?

Just imagine the yarn his bag would be filled with!  Well, that's kind of like how we feel here at Knitty City.  The yarn won't stop coming.  Presently we're getting a lot of restocks on existing things so that means that our shelves are filled with even more goodies from the likes of Berroco, Cascade, Classic Elite,  Madeline Tosh, Malabrigo, Sweet Georgia, Tahki Stacy Charles, Trendsetter and that's only naming a few  In addition, we have the most beautiful cashmere from Jade Sapphire, Art Yarns (look for beads and lovely glitter).  (Click on Title to see more.....)