I Am The Lizard, Goo, Goo, G'joob

The Valley Yarns catalog is off and on its way to all of you. I always get a bit nervous when a new catalog drops. What if nobody buys anything? I know, silly, but it's like planning a party in those last few minutes before guests are suppose to start arriving and you think "what if nobody comes?". I would love to hear your thoughts once you've had the chance to take a peek at it. I'll share more of my thoughts and behind the scenes stuff with you in the coming days.

We've added some great new models to the store that I thought I would share with you. First up is this gorgeous cardigan knit with Sheep Two from Sheep Shop Yarn Company. The picture doesn't do it justice - those dark colors are always a challenge to photograph! It really is darling and the pattern is a freebie on knitty.com!



While on the subject of knitty.com, our entire staff is in total love with Amy Singer's book No Sheep for You. It's been out for a couple of months now and we finally got a shop model knit up using a combination of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk DK and Artyarns Regal Silk.

Then late last week, Jaz brought in this lovely lingerie set she has been working on for us. It's knit using Ella Rae Silkience and is one of the new White Lies patterns we are carrying in the store (sorry - they are not available on the web per request from the designer). You can buy them directly at http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com/ and I hope you come back to us for the yarn! The pattern is #505 Alene Camisole and Boy Short:


I had also promised pictures of the new Shibui yarns that arrived. We never take in shipments that aren't nearly complete in terms of colors, but in this instance, we threw caution to the wind. That is how in love we are with this yarn.

We have 3 colors in the Baby Alpaca DK. It retails for $19.50/hank, has 255 yards and knits at 5 1/2 sts on a #6 needle.


Six colors of the Merino Kid came. It's 55% kid mohair/45% merino with 217 yards and knits at 5 sts on a #7 needle. It too retails for $19.50, but remember both of these yarns have terrific yardage.


Next is Silk Cloud with 60% kid mohair/40% silk. It is light and fluffy and yummy. And I don't particularly care for alpaca so if I'm singing it's praises, you have to trust it's nice stuff. It's got 330 yards and retails for $17.00. One skein will make a lovely swirl scarf. We have this knit up in the store for anyone who comes by.

Last, but just as great is Shibui Sock. Oh yes, wonderful, wonderful sock yarn. The colors, as with their other yarns are rich and vibrant and saturated and really well thought out. Each hank has 191 yards to 50 grams. It's superwash merino, of course and retails for $9.30/hank. Five colors arrived - a smattering of their more tonal solids and lively multis. What I love is besides just sock patterns, they have a too cute kids' sweater that we will have a shop model of shortly.


I have to say, this company has been nothing short of AWESOME to work with. Since the minute we met them at TNNA right on through, they have been just incredibly supportive. I really encourage all of you to check out their yarns.

We have also received in new colors in Blythe from Classic Elite. Blithe is a scrumptious 100% Baby Camel yarn. It is soft and squishy and not the least bit scratchy. It has 128 yards and retails for $15.00. This yarn has been around for a few seasons now, mostly in a tonal/natural palette of beiges and greys. Classic Elite has added these four rich hues for fall and we are in love, love, love. Dena is working on shawl that I cannot wait to see!


Then there's Swoon from Fiesta Yarns. And yes, the minute you touch this yarn and see the amazing colors that is exactly what you will do. This yarn has been on FIRE since it arrived and we're working hard to keep inventory on hand. It's 55% extrafine merino/45% silk. It retails at $35.00 for 225 yards and knits at 4 1/2 sts on a #8. This is only a sampling of the colors we brought in. We have another newbie coming from Fiesta in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!


Lastly, we are thrilled to introduce two yarns from Green Mountain Spinnery. They are located just about an hour from us and we've never stocked their yarns before. Why? Who knows, just one of those misses we sometimes make. Too much yarn, too little time. But no need to dwell on the past, we're happy to have them in the store and on the web. We're starting out with their Mountain Mohair, which is 70% wool/30% yearling mohair. The yarn is beautiful and their colors are amazing. It retails for $12.40/hank, has 140 yards and I would call it a heavy worsted weight.


We also have Sylvan Spirit, their wool/tencel blend that has a lovel, tweedy-ish sort of look that results from how the wool and tencel each take the dye. There are 180 yards, dk weight and retails at $11.25/hank.


Whew. . ..and this only catches us up through last week!

Plus, we've got an incredible line up of events and guest teachers over the coming months. This will all be on the website shortly, but I wanted to start getting the word out:

Sunday, July 15th at 1:00pm, Alison Hansel, author of Charmed Knits and The Blue Blog

This event will have all of the wizardry you'd expect from Harry Potter!

Sunday, August 13th at 1:00pm, Adina Klein, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Knitting.
This will be a presentation of fall trends, a trunk show and book signing.

Saturday & Sunday, September 8th & 9th, Norah Bellows, Designer/Owner of Noni Patterns.
This two day workshop (with a one day option) is sure to be a sellout!

Wednesday, September 12th at 5:00pm Norah Gaughan, author and Berroco Design Director
Norah will present the fall collection, including her exclusive pattern book and will be giving a demonstration of her hexagon technique.

Mid-September-ish TBD Vickie Howell, author, designer and host of DIY"s Knitty Gritty
This is sure to be a magical night of knitting, yarn and Knitty Gritty craziness! We'll have a yarn tasting of her signature line of yarns from SWTC and much more!

Saturday, October 6th, Teva Durham, author & designer.
Teva will teach two workshops and will be introducing her new line of yarns distributed by Tahki Stacy Charles.

Sunday, October 14th from 12:00-4:00, our 4th Annual Knit for the Cure

Saturday, October 20th, WEBS Bus Trip to NY Sheep & Wool Festival, Rhinebeck, NY
Join us for this magical and fun trip to Rhinebeck. There'll be food and goodies all the way to Rhinebeck. The trip home will be prizes for who bought the most, the least, etc.

Oh and this list doesn't even include Maggie Radcliffe, Candace Eisner-Strick, Margaret Fisher, Susanna Hansson, Amy Barrie (rug hooker extraordinaire), Margaret Heathman.. . . . . .who are ALL COMING TO WEBS THIS FALL! As the kids would say "Come on Robin, to the Bat Cave, there's not a moment to lose!" I think that is very appropos to all of you knitters and WEBS!

Plus, we'll have trunk shows from Shibui, Classic Elite, Sheep Shop Yarn and Filatura di Crosa Baby.

AND! We'll be at Stitches Midwest (Chicago) in August, the Boston Knit Out on September 30th and Stitches East (Baltimore) in October.

AND - there may be a couple of surprise additions, so be sure to watch the website, listen to the podcast, read the blog, stop by the store. . . . .

I think I need a nap after this post.

Kathy

P.S. I didn't even share the MOST exciting item of the day. Today, the temperataure hit 98 degrees here. Right now, it's still 89 with 90 minutes to go until sunset. Melissa has decided that I must be a lizard. When she retires to Arizona or Florida, I will go with her and live on a rock, near a pond in her yard (translate deck and pool and cushy pool house). I will be very happy.

P.P.S. I know Melissa means this with the utmost affection. She is not insinuating I LOOK like a lizard, just have lizard like qualities in terms of my love of the heat. Gosh, it sounded so much more endearing coming from her. . . . . . . .