Designer extraordinaire Shirley Paden, author of Custom Knits, was here this weekend for two days of finishing workshops.  When we set up the workshops, Shirley didn’t send ahead any supply list or preparation for the workshops, which had us all a bit worried. I asked no less than THREE times if folks needed to bring a sweater with them or scraps of knitting. She kept saying no. We realized this weekend why! Shirley brought with her a dozen tiny sweaters in pieces for the students to learn on. It was amazing! She had wonderful handouts that illustrated each type of seaming technique. Everyone had a great time working on their little pieces and learning the tricks to putting a garment together professionally.

Now if finishing isn’t your thing (not my favorite thing), our instructor Inge is now offering finishing through the shop. You can drop items off for her here and she will pick them up during her classes and bring them back all done up really nice! Ask us about pricing…We also work with local artist and professional finisher Susan Atkins for finishing and blocking services – so two great options for those who just hate that last step of the project.

Shirley Paden teaching finishing workshop

but we are after the yarn, not the beer. Starting this Saturday, ten of our area yarn shops are joining forces for the first annual Metro Yarn Crawl (MYC) around the beltway.  The MYC will offer 20% off at all participating stores and a $100 prize for one lucky shopper at each store. If you haven’t already grabbed a MYC tote (which is your pass to the sale), do so quickly! The supplies are getting low by the minute. You can pick one up for $13 at any of the ten participating shops. What better way to forget about tax season than to roll around the beltway and visit its many wonderful yarn shops! Also, if the government happens to shut down tonight at midnight, you might not have anything better to do for the next ten days!

Read more here.

So here a possible path for those of you on the southern end of the beltway. (also one that I recently took to these shops while dropping off the totes to all of the participants). Head down to In Stitches (#4) and then head north to fibre space (#3). From their, head north on the GW parkway to downtown DC. While you are headed that way, stop at Pitango Gelato! In the city, you will hit Looped (#6). From there, take Rhode Island Ave all the way to Hyattsville (only six more miles) and you will hit Tangled Skein (#7). The diner across the street has their own brewed beer and an amazing Pittsburgh theme sandwich! From Tangled Skein, head north to the Beltway and then west around the beltway to Yarn Spot (#10). Then further west to Knit & Stitch = Bliss in Bethesda (#5). Both are just a stones throw off of the beltway. Then head north up 270 to Woolwinders (#9) and Eleganza yarns (#2). Once back down 270 to the beltway again, you can hit the west side of the circle, heading to Uniquities (#8) and Aylin’s Woolgather (#1). Aylin’s is on Route 50, so that will put you headed back into Alexandria again!

Nemo is an Italian Greyhound “foster” dog. “Foster” is a word that means that he is going to go live with someone else after we have potty trained him, gotten him all of his necessary vet work and trained him to “sit,” among other things. I am fairly certain that Nemo is no longer a “foster” dog. We are a foster home failure. Nemo was an owner surrender at a pound in West Virginia. Our IG rescue got ahold of him, and he was flown from there to Staunton VA by one of our volunteers.  Then my husband and I drove there to get him and bring him back to Alexandria. On Monday he was neutered. (He is THREE, so clearly his former parents weren’t paying much attention to his needs). He also has some fairly serious teeth issues, like all of our IGs. He is incredibly sweet.

***Yes, Cindy, the dog is on the chair. I know he is not allowed on the chair but for the purposes of this photo shoot, he is on the chair.

Anyway, Nemo needs a sweater. I can’t decide which color. This is Neighborhood Fiber Co Studio Worsted, of course…because you know, I need a fifth or sixth sweater out of this stuff. It just holds up so well that it makes sense for a dog sweater (if making a hand dye dog sweater makes sense.) So anyway, this is Rock Creek Park (the green), Palisades (navy blue), and Old Towne East (bright blue). Thoughts?

On Sunday, March 13, fibre space instructors and volunteers welcomed three of young people from the Wright to Read program to boost their knitting skills or learn to knit for the first time. Several volunteers from our community donated their time to teach them, and so many of you donated knits! We had enough kits to send back to the larger knitting group that has been formed at the Wright to Read program.

Leigh Hoyer, Director of the Wright to Read program, is always thinking of ways to get children involved with the broader community in which they live. Over the years she’s introduced them to the Alexandria Aces baseball team and Christylez Bacon, progressive hip-hop artist and Human Beat Box. But lately she’s taken a more hands-on approach, teaching the quiet rhythms of knitting.

Many of the children have become interested in knitting, sticking with the process long enough to make their own scarves and discover that they have relatives who also knit! Picking up this new hobby has given them a way to connect with their family who also enjoy the craft.

Wright to Read is an educational program associated with the Family Resource Learning Center in Alexandria, which promotes literacy through the tutoring and mentoring of elementary school students and outreach to the Alexandria community.

You can learn more and get involved with the Wright to Read program!

Hopefully you have your yarn and are ready to be swatching so that we can cast on this Thursday! Your target gauge is 16sts and 24 rows on US#8 needles. I find that it is hard to hit this on a US#8 unless you are a really loose knitter. I tried a US#9 instead. To make and check your swatch:

• Cast on over 18 sts (like 24) and knit a stockinette stitch square with one or two stitches of garter on the edges to help it lay flat.
• BLOCK THE SWATCH!!! It will likely grow.
• Here is a swatch with a ruler, as an example (from my Austin Hoodie project several months ago):

• Count the number of stitches or “V”s that you see within the four inches. When counting, use something to point at the stitches, like a needle. It helps. Pay close attention to partial stitches. Those partial stitches definitely make a difference to your gauge.
• If you count a number that is LOWER than 16, it means that you are knitting too loosely. In this case, go down a needle size and repeat above.
• If you count a number that is HIGHER than 16, it means that you are knitting too tightly. In this case, go up a needle size and repeat above.

If you aren’t sure, bring in the swatch! We are always happy to measure swatches. They should be off of needles and blocked though

In other (sad) news, I just wanted to let you all know that after several weeks of a struggle with Kirby and his failing liver, he passed away today. We had to make the decision to put him to sleep. His condition was only getting worse and he recently stopped eating entirely. We decided that it was best. Heinz is still here to visit with you on your next visit. He has been rather upset the past few days. I think he knew that Kirby’s time was getting near.

Kirby at the Holidays - 2010

Join the Indie Indulgence club for a year-long exploration of great indie designers and beautiful yarns. You will receive a new, previously unpublished sweater pattern and corresponding yarn in March, June, September and December – a package at each season. The Club offers a range of projects – vest, pullover, cardigan and tunic length pullover. Each one is exclusive to the club for 6 months! The designers are wonderful independent pattern designers that we know you will love just as much as we do.

You will also receive a special surprise from us with each package, and as a club member you will become part of a great community of knitters. Meet with club members at a monthly event to share your progress, get support, and socialize! Membership in the Indie Indulgence Club will get you access to these exclusive meet ups!

The fine print – what exactly can I expect?

In each package: a new, previously unpublished sweater pattern by an independent pattern designer; yarn (in a color that you get to choose!) to make the project in your size; and a gift from us here at fibre space™!

Tell me more about the yarn: In each shipment, you will receive a sufficient quantity of yarn from a small independent company in a color of your choosing. The yarn will be sufficient for the size that you have indicated when you purchased the Club. The Club offers a variety of yarns in weights ranging from DK to aran gauge – meaning you will get a flattering sweater without using super tiny needles. One yarn is a lighter spring blend while the rest are wool based yarns. The Club also includes a mix of machine and hand dyed yarns. To be perfectly clear: yes, you will have seen some of this yarn before but probably not all of it.

How do I know that I will like the color? You get to pick your colors! Check them out here.

Tell me more about the patterns: We have partnered with four different indie designers to bring you new patterns for adult women’s sweaters. Previous sweater-knitting experience is helpful, but not necessary. You’ll need to be able to cast on, knit, purl, work increases and decreases, bind off, and follow basic written instructions. Without giving too much away, the projects might include picking up stitches, working in the round, short rows and charts. If you don’t know one of these techniques, our staff will be here to help at our monthly meet ups! You won’t find complicated lace patterns or colorwork. If you aren’t in love with the pattern, you’ll still have a sweater quantity of great yarn to knit the sweater of your choice. We can help you find alternative projects.

Can you tell me more about the gifts: We can’t, as it will spoil the surprise!

What size should I pick? Your club membership is customized to your sweater size, which in turn determines the cost. To make sure that your sweaters fit, measure around the largest part of your bust. This is not your bra size! To double-check that you’ve chosen the right size, take a sweater that fits you well, lay it out flat, and measure across the chest. If you know that you knit tightly or have run out of yarn knitting sweaters in the past, consider ordering the next size up to ensure that you will have enough yarn. The size ranges available are: 34 (36, 38, 40, 42, 44)” around the chest.

With your club membership you also get club meetings! The Indie Indulgence club will have a monthly knitalong at fibre space on the first Friday of each month, starting in April. (Please note that our April meet up will meet on April 8th due to previously scheduled events at the shop on the first Friday of April). The meet ups will feature snacks and beverages and knitting help. Danielle will be knitting along with the club, and the fibre space™ yarnistas are, as always, ready with help and advice. The Indie Indulgence club is not a learn-to-knit-a-sweater class, but we will certainly be offering a great deal of support during our knitalong nights and at the shop. In addition, working along with your fellow fibre space™ knitters means that you can encourage each other along the way. If you don’t live nearby, no worries! We will be sure to have a forum on Ravelry for you to chat on and we will post photos and advice for each project.

When will I get my yarn? The four club shipments/packages will be available and leave the fibre space™ shop no later than the 25th of March, June, September and December, 2011. If you select delivery to your home, the package will be shipped by the 25th and you will receive a notification from the US Postal service. If you selected pick up from the shop, you may do so 2 business days after the yarn has been shipped out to other members.

This is a lot to pay up front. Are there payment options? Four sweaters is a lot of yarn all at once! For this reason, you may choose to pay in two installments (each installment is 50% of the club cost plus $5 fee on each payment) The second payment will be due on August 1. For this option, please call the store: 703-664-0344.

Heard enough? Ready to join up? Feel free to call us with more questions or use the button below to purchase the club, if you wish to pay upfront. Keep in mind that paying up front will have a cost savings of $10 total. Be sure to include your color selections in the “notes” section during checkout. Be sure to stop by the shop to get your Space Explorer card stamped for the club!!

**Space is limited to 50 spots. Registration will close on March 10.

Brigid sweater from Vintage Modern Knits

Yesterday was a roller coaster, to say the least. The ladies from Kelbourne Woolens were here for a fabulous trunk show, book signing and workshop for their new book – Vintage Modern Knits. Seeing the garments in person was amazing. I am inspired to knit several more projects in the book after seeing them here in person. If you haven’t already, check out Kel’s Inspiration post about the book, with a full review of the projects. We will be hosting a knitalong for the Brigid Jacket seen here starting on February 24th. I am hoping that we can get a classic cabled sweater finished in time for St. Patties day! If you want to knit along with us, you will need to know:

-how to increase and decrease

-how to read a cable chart

-how to cable

Courtney and Kate in the window seat signing books

So anyway, Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn were here yesterday for the day, and it was wonderful! They taught a Roositud workshop, one of the unique techniques in the book. (no worries, if you missed the workshop, the book includes instructions on how to work this technique, and we can help you as well.) We enjoyed some fab cupcakes from Lavender Moon Cupcakery and chatted in the lounge with the ladies during the book signing. We have almost sold through our second shipment of the book, but there are still some copies here, if you haven’t picked one up yet. If you did make it to the trunk show yesterday, what was the garment that you were most excited about?

I did actually finish my steeler’s hat…photos coming soon. (I left the darn thing at home). But it didn’t seem to help us win last night. So after a wonderful day at the shop, I went home to a house full of people and a Pittsburgh loss I like the Packers, so it was an odd game for me. So congrats to the Packers fans out there!

And we are very much open. (until 9 pm) We even have power, isn’t that exciting?! Come visit. It is warm and cozy and parking is pretty good tonight. Although you might want a shovel to get into the spots that the city have covered in snow with their plow…

Here are some photos from Vogue Knitting Live last weekend, which were sent in by the fibre space community who went there:

Judy J with Shannon Okey and her tote!

Lisa M with her tote

UPDATE: 6:32 PM

The snow is here and it is wet. This is the tree out front:

We haven’t had any customers in about an hour. Maybe it is because our corner sign is covered? It must be…

Here is King Street, from our corner looking towards Vermillion (where I am headed shortly for a hot toddy)

Isn't it pretty?!

This is your Old Town storm update. It is now 4:17 pm. I just made Kel go out front and measure the accumuliaton. She reports that there is one half of a cm. The flakes are large and adorable. Here is the view out front:

Here is the front of the shop:

That white stuff is slushy. We are headed out to shovel it now.

We will close at 7 pm tonight because Kel lives up a hill and I fear she will never get up the hill if I make her stay here until 9 pm.

Stay tuned for more updates.

NFC Luxury Worsted on US#5 needles

There isn’t anything more to say about the weather than that. While folks are trying to start thinking about spring knitting projects, the temperature continues to drop outside. When the Neighborhood Fiber Company Luxury Worsted arrived (merino, cashmere, nylon), I decided that a hank needed to become house socks..something that I could slip onto my feet when I get home, to keep my feet warm. (Course going up and down the stairs in hand knit socks is very dangerous apparently, as I have wiped out a few times already in my handknits.) Since I own a sweater or hat or scarf in a large number of the NFC colorways, socks gave me an opportunity to knit in the yarn with yet another color that I haven’t already worked with. I selected the Georgetown colorway, which is a much richer purply blue than this picture can even begin to capture. I used a basic toe up pattern of my own creation and was able to knock out most of the first sock while at the bar on Friday night. While I love to knit at a bar, it is only for the most secure of individuals…especially a good DC dive bar. They don’t take too well to a lady sitting alone with a pint and five pointy sticks. I got a lot of funny looks. But really, a worsted weight sock on US#5 needles is a great bar project. (and this pair of socks is only 200 yards!!) The second sock is well on its way and will likely be done tonight. I started wearing the first one last night, so at least one of my feet was snuggly and warm.

You can grab the basic pattern here.

So on Friday night, my friend Sarah met up with me at the bar in DC. After she got done teasing me about knitting alone in a bar while I was waiting for her, I pointed out that her head attire for the evening was a bit lacking in the style department. She was wearing her fiance’s fur lined flap hat…something straight out of Fargo.  I told her that she needed a proper hat…fortunately something that I could take care of. After sending her a series of emails with potential hat patterns, we settled on the Beaumont Tam by Jared Flood, which is available as a paid download from Ravelry. It is worked on US#4 and US#7 needles, making it a bit faster than the Selbu Modern hat that I am currently working on (and was her first choice…I am up for random knitting gifts, but not ones that take weeks to do!) So I selected a cream Blue Sky Alpaca Sport and a great bright blue contrast color, which will work nicely with her red hair and her camel colored coat. I am super excited to work with the BSA Sport again, which I haven’t worked with in awhile. Speaking of..I think I have a mostly finished pair of wrist warmers on needles somewhere in my house..hmm…

Blue Sky Alpacas Sport

And so a sale….

So I decided that we are all very very cold and need to knit with whatever we can find to warm our hands up. So I have put Mirasol Sulka, Blue Sky Alpacas Sport and Blue Sky Alpacas Melange on sale! Stop by and check out our new front table which features patterns and gorgeous smooshy hanks of these alpaca yarns.

I spent a good bit of my teens in upstate New York buried under several feet of snow for 10 months out of the year. One year we had record high temperatures the weekend before Mother’s Day and it snowed the following weekend on Mother’s Day. When my father was unpacking his new snow blower (purchased shortly after we moved there), the neighbor advised that he should promptly return it. The front opening was a mere 2 or 3 feet tall. Apparently this wasn’t enough to clear a night’s worth of snowfall.  He was very very right. We spent almost every morning glued to the television hoping that this would be the morning for a snow delay. No such luck.

read more >>

The Neighborhood Fiber Co Capital Luxury Worsted has finally arrived. Those of you who were in the fibre girl club last year had the first crack at this. It is now in the shop! Each hank is 200 yards of 80% wool, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon. It regularly retails for $25 but will be 10% off today and tomorrow (Monday) because it is not yet unpacked and on our shelves. We just got the boxes open and the yarn counted and there is already a feeding frenzy going on!

Folks can’t resist the gorgeous color and wonderful feel of the stuff. Katie found this amazing pattern and showed it to me this weekend. It would be incredible in this yarn! Perhaps a knitalong?

Pole by Joji Locatelli

Available: download from Ravelry

The details:

To fit chest:
30/32 (34/36-38/40-42/44-46/48-50/52-54/56-58/60) inches
75/80 (85/90-95/100-105/110-115/120-125/130-135/140-145/150) cm
Shown in size 34/36 with no ease.

Yarn
Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted (210 yds /100g) -5 (5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7) skeins

Gauge (in Stockinette Stitch)
14.5 stitches and 24 rows to 4 inches on 5.5mm needles
12 stitches and 20 rows to 4 inches on 6mm needles after blocking
16 stitches and 26 rows to 4 inches on 5mm needles in the round

Pont Neuf by Irishgirlieknits

Available: download from patternfish

The details:

In true fibre space tradition, we are absolutely open on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will have regular hours: 10 am – 7 pm

Come on out on your day off and stitch with us!

(or just snuggle in the lounge with the Heinz…)

UPDATE:

Check out these activities on Monday, January 17th in honor of MLK Day while you enjoy free parking at all meters in Old Town on Monday!
Ten Thousand Villages Fundraiser for the Black History Museum

915 King St
11 am–7 pm
In  honor of the Martin Luther King birthday holiday, Ten Thousand Villages will donate 15 % of the sales on January 17 to the Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street; 703-746-4356. www.alexblackhistory.org

MLK Poster Contest Awards and Movie
Alexandria City Government City Hall, 301 King St, Alexandria, VA
1 pm – 3 pm
Join the Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage and the Alexandria Black History Museum as they honor the winners of the annual elementary school student competition. Awards program begins with a screening of the animated film “Our Friend Martin: An Adventure Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.”  Artwork will be on exhibit in the Vola Lawson Lobby of City Hall through February 28.

Martin Luther King Jr. Family Activity
2701 Commonwealth Ave, Alexandria, VA 22305 (Mount Vernon Recreation Center)
3 pm – 6 pm
“Black and White Collage: Youth will create a collage using black and white paper to demonstrate and teach how neither black or white alone could have created an interesting picture, yet the two colors combined create interesting and unique patterns.”

“Milk–Carton Buses: Youth will have the opportunity to create school Buses out of milk carton boxes to depict the Montgomery Bus Strike. Youth will be able to re-create the various stages of the

We have finally managed to secure Micah for classes! He is the newest instructor at the shop and will initially be teaching this sock class and an intro to lace class. We will expand his offerings in the spring, so be sure to check our schedule in the next month as we add to our classes for April – June. I think that Micah was perhaps my first customer for Knit-a-Gogo, Inc. He purchased a good bit of Cascade yarns from me, which helped me fill out my initial order with them, back when I was selling class supplies out of the back of my car! We met through Karida of Neighborhood Fiber Co…who knows how Karida and Micah know each other. I do know that the Glover Park colorway from NFC was a special request by Micah and was named after his home hood at the time.

About Micah

Micah is a knitting, photographing, bike riding, fly fishing guide/owner of Knee Deep Fly Fishing LLC and Capitol Hill resident. If he can make something himself, he’ll do it. Knitting for the last 6 years or so, there have been many pairs of socks, gloves, hats, and even a scarf featured in Son of Stitch & Bitch. His mom taught him the basic stitches and it’s been non-stop since then. Knitting has introduced him to lots of great people and it’s made for the world’s best conversation starter. He has a very supportive wife who, though she roots for Pitt like Danielle, still does not have a hat to keep her head warm. One of these days he’ll fix that.

We have two new shirts at the shop that arrived this weekend from our trusty shirt guy, Tony! They feature fibre kitty. Fibre kitty is helping to save the universe by guarding this ball of yarn. The back of the shirt is adorable as well:

Once again, the sizing on these are magical. The pink shirt is a long sleeve and is the color “charity pink.” One percent of the net profit from the sale of every Charity Pink Anvil product will be donated to breast cancer research. These run larger than our usual shirts:

Size around chest on shirt:
Small: 36″
Medium: 40″
Large: 44″
XL: 48″

The blue shirts are a bright sky blue short sleeve cotton shirt and are similar to our other shirts in sizing:

Womens Small: 32″
Womens Med: 34″
Womens Lrg: 36″
Womens XL: 38″
Womens 2X: 40″

Stock up on your fibre space gear now because we are going to reward you. March 10th will officially be fibre space day! Wear any fibre space shirt and get a discount (to be determined). These are available at the shop for $20 and $22 or online here (price online includes shipping).