Shop Hop 2014

Get ready, yarn lovers-- the 8th annual Atlanta Area Yarn Shop Hop will take place September 13 - 21! This year's participating shops are Cast On Cottage, Needle Nook, Only Ewe & Cotton Too, Strings & Strands, The Whole Nine Yarns, Yarn Garden, and of course, Sheepish.

 

For those who are new to this event, or just need a refresher, here's how it works: Shop Hop passports will go on sale next Thursday, August 7. Purchase a passport for just $1. Then, during the Shop Hop, make a $10 purchase at each shop to get a stamp on your passport. If you collect stamps from all seven participating shops, you'll be eligible for the Grand Prize--a $100 gift certificate from each shop. That's right--$700 to spend on yarn, gadgets, or whatever your fiber-loving heart desires! Even if you don't get all seven stamps, you'll be entered to win smaller (but still awesome) prizes donated by the shops.

 

There are a couple of new twists to this year's Shop Hop. First, if you spend $25 or more at any shop, you can buy a second passport and earn an extra stamp. Spend $25 or more at other shops to receive additional stamps on your passports. This gives you many more chances of winning a prize in the drawing.

 

Also, Jenna from The Whole Nine Yarns has designed a special shawl pattern for Shop Hop. The pattern is written in seven parts, and you can pick up a part in each of the seven shops when you get your passport stamped. We'll be sharing more details about this in the coming weeks. For now, we'll just say that the pattern is beautiful and we can't wait to see the versions you all will create with it.

 

Shop Hop has become an annual tradition, and an exciting way for us to kick off our busiest season. Make plans to carpool with friends, do lunch, and have fun!

Stripes for small folks

We know many of you have been busy cleaning out your closets to get ready for our Stash Sale. You're finding plenty of yarn you want to get rid of, which is great! We look forward to seeing it all.

But occasionally you come across a little something in your stash...there's not much of it, and you don't know what to do with it, but you're just not ready to part with it, either. (You know what we're talking about.) Here are a few solutions to help you use up those small quantities. These patterns are all available here at the shop via our Ravelry sales program.

Flagstaff by Taiga Hilliard Designs is a pretty little unisex baby sweater that calls for just 250-360 yards of fingering weight (hello, random skein of sock yarn). The "color work" is actually a very simple slip stitch pattern, so you only work with one color per row. This sweater is worked seamlessly from the top down--we love that!

Fond of You by Jenny Wiebe uses double moss stitch to liven up a basic sweater shape. With sizes ranging from 6 months to 12 years, you can make countless versions in various sizes and color combinations. Perfection Worsted would be ideal for this project--it's machine washable and we currently have 55 colors to choose from. Or use some oddballs from your stash--even the biggest size only calls for 400 yards of each color. (And nothing says you couldn't do it in more than two colors!)

Oxford by Chelsea Berkompas is an adorable garter stitch vest "designed especially for little men with big style!" Only 330-440 yards of worsted weight (Perfection again, anyone?) is all you need to make this in sizes up to 24 months. Finding cute patterns for boys can be a challenge, but this one definitely fits the bill.

Do you have a favorite pattern for using up small amounts of yarn? Let us know about it!

Colors of summer

A lovely shipment arrived from Misti Alpaca this week. Take a look at these delicious summery colors.

"Alpaca for summer?" you say. "Yuck, that sounds hot!" But not all of Misti Alpaca's yarns are made from alpaca. What you see here is our warm weather favorite, Pima Silk.

Available in semi-solids and hand-paints, Pima Silk is a luxurious DK-weight blend of 83% cotton/ 17% silk. Each skein has a generous 327 yards for only $21.00.

Need pattern ideas for this gorgeous yarn? For the hand-painted colorways, we're huge fans of Tori Gurbisz's Amalthea. It only took one skein to make this lovely scarf, which many of you have seen on display in the shop.

For the semi-solids, how about one of these cool summer tops from c2knits? Clockwise from top left: Sophie, Gypsy, Miyoko, Daphne.

All of these patterns are available here at the shop through our Ravelry download program.

Another happy adoption

The last of the city kittens went to his forever home today.

Little Raleigh (new name: Granite) got adopted by Denise and her boys. We're so happy for them all! And frankly, we can't believe Raleigh was the last of his litter to get adopted, because we think he's just about the handsomest kitten in the world. :)

This now makes 26 kitties we've fostered and adopted out on behalf of Dekalb County Animal Services in the past 13 months. We're very proud that we've been able to help so many wonderful critters find loving homes.

We'll be taking a brief summer vacation from fostering, but expect to see more foster kittens at the shop around the beginning of August. In the meantime, if you're looking for a new furry friend, check out the special Independence Day packages at DCAS: throughout the month of July, it only costs $17.76 to adopt a cat, and $30 to adopt a dog!

Save The Date: 4th Annual Stash Sale

It's that time again! Time to empty your closets, dig under your bed, and search everywhere you may have hidden some yarn away "in case of emergency." Time to unload some things you're never going to use, and get some new goodies instead.

Some of the loot from last year's sale.

This year's Stash Sale will be held on August 9 & 10. You can drop off your items at the shop starting on Saturday, August 2, through Friday, August 8, at 4pm. We'll be having a Preview Party Friday night, August 8, for those of you who are selling stash to get first dibs on everyone's treasures. (August 8 also just happens to be Carrie's birthday--all the more reason for a party!)

If you've never participated in our Stash Sale before, or you've forgotten how it works, read our Google doc for all the details. Be sure to print out and sign the document and bring it with you when you drop off your stuff.

We hope you'll join us for the Stash Sale--it's always a lot of fun.

Summer sewing workshops

Our monthly sewing series with Chrissy Weeks continues!

Coming up on Thursday, July 24: make a cute, simple apron like the one on display in our window. This apron can be made in either adult or child size. Bring your machine and basic supplies listed here, and Chrissy will provide the pattern and assorted fabrics for you to choose from. Cost for this workshop is $25 (including pattern and fabric).

Looking ahead, on Thursday, August 28, Chrissy will be revisiting a popular topic: zippers and buttons. Learn how to select the right zipper for your project and how to insert it, how to operate your machine's button foot, and more! Bring your machine and basic sewing supplies listed here. Cost for this workshop is $22.

Sewing workshops take place 6:00 - 9:00pm. Register here, or save $2 per workshop by pre-paying with cash or check in person at the shop. All fees must be paid at the time of registration.