Have a spinning wheel and want to explore new techniques or refine your skills?   Join Venessa Bentley for spinning lessons this spring and spend an evening a week making great yarn!

Session 1:  April 17, 24, May 1 and 8

Learn how to adjust your wheel to get the yarn you want

Carding and combing

Preparation, drafting, spinning and plying

Short draw, long draw and spinning from the fold

Session 2:  May 29, June 5, 12 and 19

Spinning for knitting–lace, bulky, smooth, slubby, lofty or firm

Sheep breeds, wool characteristics and the yarns they are best suited to

What about those other animals–spinning exotic fibres

Blends that work well together

Instructor:

Venessa Bentley

Fee:

$110 per session plus materials

Day and Time:

Saturday evenings, 6:30 to 9 pm

Materials:

Fibre, wheel, accessories and a binder for weekly notes.

Call or stop by the shop to register.

This lovely hooded sweater was designed by Cottage Creations as a teaching tool to introduce fledgling knitters to new techniques, including decreases, short rows, buttonholes, use of double-pointed needles and finishing techniques.  Each of the 6-week sessions will cover a new skill carrying you to the next phase of sweater construction.  By the end of the class you’ll have a beautiful hand-knit baby sweater and all the skills necessary to knit an adult-size sweater for yourself.   No babies to knit for?  Gift it to charity or just wait for a friend’s baby to arrive!

Beyond Beginners – Lillie’s Little Sweater

Instructor:  Jamie Bowen

Time and Dates:  Saturday mornings, 9-11 am, April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29

Cost:  $130 (includes pattern); additional cost for yarn and accessories

Call or stop by the shop to register.

This lovely seamless yoked sweater is knit in the round and features i-cord cast on and bind off, stranded colourwork and short-row shaping.  The 5-page pattern, available as a pdf download on Ravelry or here on Kate’s website, is beautifully written with clear and thorough instructions, charts and schematics.  Sizes range from Child 22 (age 6) to Adult 44.

Here are our swatches, knit in Harrisville Shetland.  This is the same yarn we’re using for our Plum Frost Cardigan.  (And, if you’re a Ravelry member, check out  this beautiful pullover, also knit in Harrisville by one of our customers as her first sweater project!) Swatching a fair-isle design is so important, not just for gauge, but to see how the colours work together–it’s taken us several tries to decide. Check back soon to see our final choices and progress updates. Finally, a note about designer Kate Davies.  If you follow her blog, Needled, you’ll know of her recent stroke and the amazing energy she has directed toward rehabilitation.  You’ll also know she just released Manu.  Help . . . another wonderful sweater pattern!  We’ll be sending healing thoughts as we knit Kate’s Paper Dolls.

We’ve had a wonderful month’s vacation but it’s time to return to Vancouver so we spent the morning packing for the drive north.

Girasole has only a few more inches of edging to go (sigh, it’s a long haul around that circle).

Here’s a peak at how it will look blocked–nice!

See you all in Vancouver later this week.  And check back tomorrow for news on our exciting new project–Paper Dolls.

Vogue Knitting Spring Summer 2010 preview here.

Veggies from the Farmer’s Market, yum . . . 

And Girasole gets its edging–one-third done, two-thirds to go.

Beach after the storms, a good place to collect heart rocks on Valentine’s Day!

Crochet is a simple, exciting craft that provides limitless freedom to experiment, even for beginners. Our introductory program will guide beginners through the basics needed to gain confidence and skill. Each week students will learn a new crochet technique while working on small interesting projects. Students are encouraged to build a personal reference journal with samples, inspiration and project ideas to work on later in the course.

Dates: 7 to 9 pm Fridays, March 5, 12 and 19, April 9, 16 and 23.

Cost: $120

Instructor:  Venessa Bentley

Materials: Two colours DK weight cotton (example: Butterfly Super 10) for Weeks l and 2; one ball of Noro Kureyon for Week 3; 4 mm crochet hook; scissors; tapestry needle; binder with sheet protectors for notes and samples.

Call or stop by the shop to register.

Without a doubt, The Wonderful Wallaby is one of the best hoodie patterns ever.  If these photos aren’t proof enough, check out the 1800+ versions on Ravelry.  The Cottage Creations booklet is a mini tutorial in seamless bottom-up sweater construction, with sizes from toddler 2 through adult.

Our Toddler Size 2 version used one skein of Malabrigo Worsted in deep blue and a partial skein in light blue.

Here’s The Boy modeling with his salad tossing tools.  Photo taken with the Hipstamatic iPhone App.