Cozy up to Hand Paint Sock

Many of you who were here for Shop Hop were excited about the multi-colored yarn we used for our shop sample.

Detail of our Shop Hop shawl.

Those pretty, artistic colors are courtesy of Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Sock. The colorway used in the shawl is called Treasure. We have quite a few other fabulous colorways in stock as well. See?

So many pretty colors!

Hand Paint Sock is a delicious blend of 50% superfine alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% silk, & 10% nylon. It comes in a 436-yd. hank (which, course, we'll gladly wind for you on our ball winder when you purchase it here).

Misti Alpaca has plenty of pattern support for this yarn on their web site. Sock-wise, the color changes of this yarn are really best displayed in simple designs like these.

Maybe the softness and fine gauge of HPS make you think about items for the little ones in your life. The Misti Alpaca web site offers this cute set for ages 1-5 years.

For those who think this yarn might be a bit too luxurious for socks or kids' stuff, how about using it in a pretty scarf? Lisa Bruce's Favorite Scarf Ever was designed with HPS in mind. It's a free Ravelry download and takes only one skein.

Need more ideas, for this or any other yarn?  Come on in and we'll help you brainstorm! :)

The wild bunch

This is a first for us--fostering four kittens who aren't littermates. These cute "singletons" arrived from Dekalb County Animal Services yesterday and they aren't yet sure what to make of all this. They had a pretty crazy day getting used to each other and adjusting to foster care. We'll introduce them to you with the names DCAS gave them.

Benson says he's settling in just fine, thank you very much. This handsome fuzzball is a total love bug who likes nothing better than being held and cuddled.

Sue is the shy one of the group. The first day, she spent most of her time hiding from the other kittens and growling. She was scared out of her poor little mind. She's starting to relax now, and has been having fun chasing her tail and playing with the jingle bell toy.

Astor, on the other hand, is no wallflower. She might be the smallest of the group, but she's also the most fearless. Loves climbing, jumping, and wrestling with the boys. And look at those huge eyes! Sheesh, could she be any cuter?

And then there's the unphotographable Starsky. The camera batteries went dead in the process of trying to get a good shot of this guy. As you can see, he's a feisty little thing. He's not shy about meowing to get your attention, and when he gets it, he rewards you with a super-loud purr.

These adorable beasts aren't big enough to go to their forever homes yet, but if you're interested in adopting one or more of them, contact DCAS and fill out the paperwork ASAP. Adoptions are free during the month of September!

Shop Hop shawl

The 8th annual Shop Hop is underway! Big thanks to everyone who helped kick it off yesterday. For those of you who haven't started Hopping yet, don't worry--you still have a whole week to participate.

This year's Shop Hop pattern is a shawl pattern written in seven parts. Jenna from The Whole Nine Yarns designed this beauty especially for Shop Hop.

Our sample was knit using three solid colors of Manos del Uruguay's Serena and one multi colorway of Misti Alpaca's Hand Paint Sock (with LOTS of yarn left over).

Here's a more detailed view. Each participating shop has one part of the pattern, which will be emailed to you as a PDF when you get your passport stamped. If you don't make it to all the shops, don't worry--you'll be able to use a code to purchase the missing pieces of the pattern via Ravelry at a reduced price. (Folks who haven't participated in Shop Hop will be able to purchase the whole pattern later at full price.)

Special shout-out and huge thanks to Sarah Miller for knitting our sample. We're excited for you all to see it when you stop by. And we can't wait to see what color combinations everyone will create for their own shawls!

Shop Hop prize: Ayllu Overdye

Shop Hop begins in just two days! For those of you who haven't bought your passport yet, maybe a look at another one of our fabulous prizes will convince you to join the fun.

This prize consists of five skeins of Misti Alpaca's Allyu, a wonderful overdyed yarn that knits at about 3.5 sts/in on a US 9 needle. It's alpaca (our favorite!), wrapped with a tiny thread of polyamide to create a thick-and-thin texture. Here's what it looks like in a stockinette swatch:

Five skeins of Allyu gives you a total of 660 yards to play with. What would you create with this soft, drapey yarn?

The retail value of this prize package is $115.

In case you missed our other two prizes, see them here and here. And we hope to see YOU at Shop Hop!

Shop Hop prize: Serena

Today we're spotlighting the second of the three prizes we'll be giving away for Shop Hop. (Did you miss the first one? Here it is.)

That's SIX skeins of Manos del Uruguay's luxurious Serena. This kettle-dyed colorway is called Blackberry Ice. Serena is a dreamy 60/40 blend of baby alpaca and pima cotton--which, in our climate, makes it pretty much an all-season yarn.

The fiber content gives Serena a fabulous drape that has made it a very popular choice for scarves, shawls, and light cardigans (Featherweight, anyone?). Although Ravelry lists this yarn as a DK-weight, we like it even better when it's knit at a sport- or even fingering-weight gauge. These six skeins give you a total of 1020 yards, so you'll have lots of project options...

...if you win. But remember, you can't win if you don't play, so don't forget to buy your Shop Hop passport! They're only $1.

The retail value of the Serena prize package is $87.

Shop Hop prize: Sock package

The 8th annual Atlanta Area Yarn Shop Hop is right around the corner. The festivities get underway on Saturday, Sept. 13. Remember, even if you don't hit all seven shops to become eligible for the Grand Prize, there are many smaller prizes up for grabs--not to mention all the fun to be had!

Each participating shop is giving away three prizes, and here's a look at the first of ours.

This is a great prize package for you sock knitters (and wannabe sock knitters) out there: one skein of Done Roving's Frolicking Feet (480 yds., hand-dyed, 100% superwash wool), one skein of Austermann Step Classic (459 yds., solid color, 75% wool/25% nylon, treated with jojoba and aloe vera for extra softness), and one set of Crystal Palace bamboo double-pointed needles.

The retail value of this prize package is $50.50.

Stay tuned for sneak peeks at our other fabulous Shop Hop prizes. And if you haven't bought your Shop Hop passport yet, come and get it! Just $1.00 is a great bargain for all the fun you'll have supporting your local shops.