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A Great. Big. Summer. SALE!

You read that right, a SALE!

Warm Blonde – A Headband

I’ve been wanting a twisty turban style headband ever since it got cold and they became stylish (like 5 years back, I’m a bit slow on the uptake).  When the Big Bulky Alpaca from Estelle went on Clearance, I figured this was as good a time as any to crank one out.  This pattern can get two headbands out of one skein, if you’re careful, so it’s an extremely quick, extremely inexpensive present for the cold ears in your life.

Materials:

1 skein, or a minimum of 30 metres,  of super bulky yarn (pictured here in Big Bulky Alpaca, colour 12 “Grey”), we also recommend Cascade Lana Grande
12.75mm (US 17) needles, straight or circular, whichever is handiest
a bigish cable needle (or a pencil, a DPN, a popsicle stitck, a friend’s finger, you get the gist)
a bigish darning needle

Gauge:

10 stitches in 1×1 ribbing = 10cm/4″

Pattern:

Cast on 10 stitches (or desired width but keep it to an even number) using your desired cast on.  If you’re playing yarn chicken, it’s a good idea to leave a tail here that is long enough to sew this end to the cast off edge.

Row 1: slip first stitch purlwise, *purl 1, knit 1.  Repeat from * to end, finishing with a purl stitch.

Repeat row 1 until your piece is 24cm (9.5″) long.

The twist:
Slip the first 5 (or half) of your stitches purlwise onto your cable needle (or clever cable needle substitute).
Holding these stitches in front of your work, work the remaining 5 (or half) of your stitches as follows: purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1. (if you’re working with a multiple of 4 stitches, the second half will begin with a k1 instead of a p1, but if you’re confident enough to change the CO number, then I’m betting you are confident enough to follow the established stitches).
Then work the stitches on the cable needle as follows: knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1.

Row 2: slip first stitch purlwise, *knit 1, purl 1.  Repeat from * to end, finishing with a knit stitch.

Repeat row 2 until headband reaches almost all the way around your head, or another 24cm.

Bind off all stitches and sew the cast on and bind off ends together.  I like a good kitchener stitch myself, but if you’re feeling less than ambitious, anything that neatly-ish closes the circle will do.

If the intended wearer has a much smaller or much larger head than the average ~22″, adjust length and placement of twist accordingly.

Pussy Hats for the People!

As many of you have noticed, our last few weeks have been completely consumed by making dozens and dozens of pink hats with ears, called “Pussy Hats”. The Pussy Hat Project was started by Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman in California. The hats are intended to be a symbol for the Women’s March on Washington. We thought this was a lovely way for knitters in Canada to offer support for Women fighting for their legal rights in the United States, so we got on board!

We volunteered to receive and distribute donated Pussy hats to those going to marches. The experience was really heartwarming!

We sent close to two dozen hand knit/crocheted hats to the Washington March. We also received many more than that in the days following, and we estimate that more than 35 hats passed through our hands and on to the marchers in Toronto. The Toronto March had a turnout of over 60,000

people ready to make noise and be heard, and there we saw hundreds more pink hats – good job, Toronto!  Although there is so much more we can all do to fight for intersectional women’s rights, it starts with getting together and standing as a community. It will continue with us being politically active, and refusing to stay silent about what matters to us!

Brenna went to the Toronto March and really enjoyed handing out the last of the donated hats that weren’t claimed. A few child size hats went to some fierce little feminists, and the adult hats were much appreciated by their recipients too.

Were you unable to make it to the March but want to help?

We are currently taking donations for Sistering – a woman’s shelter in downtown Toronto. They work with women from all walks of life who are homeless, underhoused, low income or marginalized and are looking for a safe and welcoming place to go during the day, as well as offering employment help, food support through their drop-in program, harm reduction and so much more. If a woman’s right to access health care and compassion is important to you, this is a really great organization to support. Read more about them on their website. Please contact us at the store if you would like to donate or share your own story about the Womens March on Washington. Check out this sweet one from Karen who posted this on our Facebook wall today:

Lastly a big THANK YOU To every stitcher who knitted, crocheted, or sewed a pink hat to show that you stand with all other women to protect and fight for their rights! We couldn’t have shared nearly so much cheer without you!

Big thanks as well, to May Warren for including us in this Metro News article, to Alexa Battler for this Toronto Observer article, and to CBC As It Happens for their interview with Amelia last Thursday. It makes us feel famous!

One Whole Year!

Never has time flown so fast for the two of us than it has over the past 365+ days.  We could not be more grateful for all the support and kindness we have received over the past year.  Brenna said it best when she wrote:

You helped us find our feet financially and emotionally. You helped us paint, you helped us move and arrange our shelving, you helped us make samples. You attended our knit nights, you supported us by indulging your yarn addictions, you wrote us kind reviews on google, yelp and facebook. You helped us through our rough patches too.

You helped [us] get where we are today, and helped us grow a stable, happy, ethical, independent business.

In an effort to begin to say thank you, we are having a SWEATER SALE on the weekend of October 22nd and 23rd.  Throughout the store*, for every 4 skeins you buy, the 5th will be absolutely free (mix-and-matching encouraged)! Further markdowns will be placed on some delicious yarn, notions, and needles including (but not limited to):

NBK
Debbie Bliss
Jawoll Colour
West Yorkshire Spinners
Cascade Magnum Paints
Nancy’s Knit Knacks
Crochet Cotton
YU Stitch Markers

In addition, each and every customer who makes a purchase on the weekend of October 22nd and 23rd will receive a free Yarns Untangled needle gauge as a small thanks from us for supporting our wee business through its first year. They’re super cute you guys, seriously.

It’s a small gesture that by no means completely expresses our appreciation for our customers, but it’s a start!  Join us next weekend and get your yarn on!

*excluding yarns by The Blue Brick

Zen Yarn Garden at last!

We have lost count of how many of you have begged us to carry the beautiful Zen Yarn Garden, and we are so pleased to finally be able to announce that they will be joining our ranks at the end of this month.

In addition to having Zen Yarn on our shelves, the weekend of September 24th and 25th will feature a two-day trunk show on our patio out front (indoors if it rains).  Neville and Roxanne will be sending bags and bags of their best yarns in a variety of weights and materials, including a brand new colourway named for, and exclusive to, Yarns Untangled!  Check out the trunk show when the colourway will be seen for the first time.

If you’ve not encountered any of the spectacular products that come from the Zen Yarn Garden studio, this is your chance to see everything they have in all it’s glory, but in advance of that weekend, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Neville and Roxanne Yeun, and their team.  Located right here in Ontario, the Yeuns are a husband and wife couple who run ZYG full time.  Neville, as “Lead Dyer, Production Manager and Color Chemist,” handles the dyeing end of things making sure that each skein is as perfect it can be.  His ability to re-create colours is uncanny, which is great for when you inevitably fall in love with one (or more) of the Zen colourways.  Co-owner Roxanne as Creative Director is responsible for managing the many relationships between Zen and its many customers as well as developing collaborations with other artists and designers.  Along with their team of dyers and account managers, the Yeuns have been making and distributing beautiful yarn for years, and we are lucky to have them represneting some of the best that the Ontario yarn community has to offer.

For the many of you who already know and love Zen Yarn Garden, get your pre-orders to us before September 9th and Neville will do up a sweater quantity (or two!) of your desired base and colourway.  In the meantime, whet your appetite for yarn at:
www.zenyarngarden.co
Instagram.com/zenyarngarden
Facebook.com/zenyarngarden