Show and Tell Tuesday...

Last week was a busy week for me, so I didn't get the chance to share with you some of our Show and Tell items. Rather than wait until this next Friday, I'll just do it on Tuesday.

Leigh brought by a hat she made out of Tahki Bunny yarn in several colors. The simple ribbed pattern turned out very nice. We have a few colors of this yarn left in the sale bin if you want to work with a great yarn...at a great price!

Tracy showed me a baby hood and jacket that she had made out of Plymouth Heaven yarn. She made it out of two different colors and it only took her about a day and a half to finish it because of the bulky weight yarn. So cute...and quick to boot.

Leah's baby sweater came out darling. She used the Plymouth Encore yarn in a nice brown color and bought several different colors of ribbon to match baby's outfits. We have the pattern if you're interested in making this cute and easy sweater. It only takes one skein of Encore in the smallest size.

And I have to brag on this next one a bit. Gina only learned to knit last summer and taking on this baby blanket was a real challenge for her. But she persevered and finished it! It turned out very pretty and I think she learned a lot while making it. Now I think she's on to making an easy sweater. Way to go, Gina!

I just love the fall season here in easy Tennessee. Enjoy the beautiful, cooler weather we've been having and start watching for the leaves to change.

Blessings!

Knoxville's been put on the map!!

Have you heard the news?? Knoxville has finally gotten the attention of the nation...for our awesome football team? Well, maybe, but that's not the reason this time. For the beauty of this wonderful area we live in? Well, they should, but that's not it either. For having the highest gas prices in the country?? Yep! Can you believe it?

When my brother-in-law called us the other night and told us to get gas in the car because gas was going to go up over $1/gallon, I didn't really believe him. (Sorry, Bill.) But the next morning, guess what? Gas had indeed gone up...over $1.50/gallon from the previous day!! Hurricane Ike was to blame for the high prices. But then I talked with my daughter who lives in Johnson City and their gas was $3.99/gallon. And my son called me on the way back to pharmacy school Sunday night and Cleveland's gas stations were charging $3.99/gallon. So why did Knoxville have such high prices? Then AAA announced that over the weekend, Knoxille had the highest gas prices in the country! So ladies and gents, we are known around the country for this distinction. I think I'd rather not be famous than to be famous for that. :-( Hopefully, the gas prices will go back down to the normal rate before I have to fill up my tank up again.

But now on to more exciting topics...like knitting and crocheting? Have you thought about what you are going to be making for Christmas gifts this year? I already have a couple of presents made...and some more in the works. And because my family members occasionally read my blog, I guess I had better keep those to myself. But coming in October we are going to be having an event to share some Christmas ideas with you. So be sure to watch for the next newsletter that should be out in the next week or so.

Hope you have a wonderful day enjoying this cooler weather!!

Show and Tell Friday

I've got some more great finished items to show you today.

Paula's really gotten into lace knitting lately. But she took a break from knitting her lace shawls to make this laprobe for her daddy. She used Berroco Comfort yarn and used one of the patterns from our Block of the Month Club. It turned out very nice and is an excellent example of how you can use the stitches you learn from doing the Block of the Month to incorporate them into other projects. Great job, Paula!

Melissa brought in THREE socks to show me. I do good these days to complete one pair, but I think Melissa really likes to make socks. :-) The first pair was made out of Creatively Dyed Yarns sock yarn. She found the Basketweave pattern in the book, "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch.

The next pair also comes from "Sensational Knitted Socks" and shows a Beaded Rib pattern. For these socks, she used Plymouth Sockotta yarn.

And then Melissa used Crystal Palace's Panda Cotton yarn to make her Snake River socks. This is just the first sock of the pair...and she's about ready to bind off...but I persuaded her to let me photograph it anyway. She got this pattern from Ravelry. If you're not on Ravelry, you might want to consider signing up. It's free and a wonderful resource for reviews on yarns, free patterns, and a place to ask any question you might have on things related to knitting or crocheting. All you do is give them your email address and within a few days you'll get an invitation to join. We also have a group for the shop called "Friends of The Yarn Haven" where I post when new yarns arrive, and about other events here at the shop.

And finally today, I want to show you more socks!! These were made by Sarah...out of Berroco's Comfort Sock yarn. Yes, Berroco's Comfort comes in Aran weight as well as sock weight! Isn't it fun to see all of the different socks that people have made...and all of the great pattern stitches they have used.

You know, we have both "Sensational Knitted Socks" and "More Sensational Knitted Socks" books in stock right now if you'd like to try your hand at some of these wonderful sock patterns.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend and are able to fit some knitting or crocheting time in there. Blessings!

Show and Tell Friday...

Today I wanted to show you the rest of the Olympic projects that folks did.

Kristina made a beautiful shawl out of Misti Alpaca lace yarn. The pattern she chose was the Angel Lace Shawl...one of Evelyn Clark's patterns from FiberTrends. She added a tiny seed bead in the "face" of each angel. This feature really added to the beauty of her shawl.

Janie made a felted tote using Plymouth Galway yarn...and some of the Malabrigo yarn left over from her Block of the Month project. This pattern was featured in Interweave Knits years ago and we got permission to copy it for folks. So if you'd like a copy of this pattern, please ask. We have a shop model of this bag using Cascade 220 and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride yarns.

Marilyn made a market bag out of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale. What a great idea! Not only did she do an Olympic project, she also helped out our environment as well! We also have a shop model of this bag and the pattern comes free with the purchase of 2 skeins of the Fantasy Naturale yarn.

Melissa loves to make "Fred" dolls. The pattern for this cute little clown came from a McCall's Needlework magazine from years ago. She used Plymouth Encore yarn in several different colors. She has made a lot of these over the years...and now she has 3 more! But I believe they are already spoken for.

Pam took on quite a challenge in making this beautiful pullover sweater from Barry Klein and Laura Bryant's book, "Knitting with Novelty Yarns". We have this book on back order if you'd be interested in it. She used several colors of Berroco Pure Merino yarn as well as some Noro Silk Garden, Berroco Cotton Twist, and Skacel Evita. A very challenging project and very nicely done.

Terri made a couple of scarves for her Olympic project. The pattern for the blackberry/plum scarf on the right is called "August is for Jack". She made it out of two different colors of Malabrigo Silky Merino. The blue and white Illusion scarf on the left was made for the Special Olympics.

Tess made a Jayne Cobb hat. Her husband was the one who suggested that she make this hat. Apparently this style of hat was given to Jayne Cobb by his mother on the TV series, Firefly. So it's been very popular with Firefly watchers. She made it out of Berroco Comfort yarn.

And lastly, I wanted to share with you the diagonal sweater that I created for my Olympic project. Quite honestly, I was surprised that this sweater went so fast. The yarns I used were Berroco Pure Merino, Cascade Cash Vero, Classic Elite Bangles and Plymouth Flirt. The pattern was from Mother of Purl and was called "Going Diagonal".

Congratulations to all of our Olympians! Great job!

The Winners of The Yarn Haven Olympics...

It has been so much fun seeing all of the different projects that folks made during The Yarn Haven Olympics. I think everyone who finished their project is a winner, but someone has to win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. So the ballots have been cast and the winners are...

First place goes to Pat Friedrich! Her jacket out of "The Best of Knitters" was exquisite. She used Plymouth's Baby Alpaca DK yarn in the lavender color. Many folks commented that they didn't know how she could have concentrated on the lace pattern while watching the Summer Olympics. She did a very nice job and her jacket will be on display for the next few weeks if you'd like to come by and see it up close and personal.

Second place goes to Leigh Hoopes! Her handbag..."Layla"...a free pattern from the Berroco website was not only very stylish...but she also lined the bag with a very cute fabric. She used Berroco's Boho Colors and Bonsai yarn. Very nice!

And third place goes to Judy Hair! Her "Wonderful Wallaby" is a pattern from Cottage Creations. She used the Cascade 220 superwash yarn to make this darling hood and jacket. So cute!

Winners, stop by the shop to pick up your prizes. Later this week I will share with you all of the other wonderful projects that were finished. And even if you didn't quite finish your project, please bring it by the shop and it will also be featured on our blog.

Hope you enjoyed your long holiday weekend! Have a great week!

Show and Tell TUESDAY!!!

Since I didn't get to show you any finished projects last week...because I had forgotten to download the pictures from my camera...I decided to switch things up a bit and show them to you today...on a Tuesday no doubt. Mainly because this dreary morning needs a bright spot in it. Not that I mind the rain so much...because we desperately need it...but because with the wonderful rain comes a somewhat down feeling. So to cheer you up...here are a couple of finished projects to motivate and inspire you.

Annhara did a wonderful job on this sweater. I call it her "Saturday Morning" sweater. You know, something warm and cozy to put on when you want to relax on a Saturday morning. She designed parts of it herself and it looked great on her. She used Plymouth's Encore Chunky yarn.

And then she also brought in her Drop Stitch Scarf to show me. She used Araucania's Ulmo yarn...a hand-dyed 100% cotton yarn that is just made for this stitch pattern. Since my own Drop Stitch Scarf is still laying on the coffee table here at the shop unfinished, I guess I should get back on task and finish it.

Thanks, Annhara, for sharing with us!!

Well, the Olympics are finally over. Did you finish your Olympic project before the flame went out? I did! And even though I'm not going to win a medal, I was proud of myself for getting an entire sweater finished in such a short time. I actually liked the idea of having a deadline. It helped me to focus on just doing one of my many projects...and I was able to finish it. I hope everyone will bring in their Olympic project this week for our Olympic Showcase! Medals will be awarded next week. And be sure to come by the shop on Saturday, August 30 and vote for your favorite...other than your own, of course.

Have a great day!!

Show and Tell Friday...

I can tell that a lot of folks are working hard on their Olympic projects because the Show and Tell items have come in a lot slower the past 2 weeks. But that's fine...because I'll have lots of Olympic Show and Tell items to post next Friday. :-)

And I was going to show you a couple of projects that had been brought in this week...but I forgot to download them from my camera. :-( I'll have to show them to you at a later date.

Well, we will be meeting again at the shop tonight to work on our Olympic projects and watch the games on the wonderful big screen TV that Aaron Rents donated for the event. Come at 6 pm with your project and a snack to share. We'll knit/crochet, talk, eat, and then turn on the games at 8 pm. Even if you've already finished your Olympic project...YEAH!...or if you're not working on an Olympic project, you are still welcome to come join us tonight.

And can I entice you with more new items that have arrived this week???

• New colors of Cascade's Cash Vero...a merino/cashmere blend. I used some of this yarn in my Olympic project and really like it. And the colors are great!
• Several new colors of the Cascade 220...a great felting yarn.
• Blocking wires have been restocked.
• E-Balm...a great new product to help soften your hands for knitting/crocheting
• 2 new Debbie Bliss pattern booklets

Well, I hope you get your Olympic project done by the time the flame goes out on Sunday evening! Bring in your projects next week and then come back on Saturday, August 30 to vote for your favorite...besides your own project of course. Have a great weekend...and enjoy watching the Summer Olympics!