Visitors and Giving Back

If you're a regular at Tuesday night Insanknitty, you may have noticed an unfamiliar face recently. Bobbie was teaching someone to knit. What you wouldn't have known is that the good sport, Bridget, was also doing research for an article she was writing for The Toledo Blade, which ran this past Wednesday. You can read the article HERE if you missed it. Ms. Tharp did her homework, visiting the three local independent yarn shops for her story. It was great to have more positive press for Yarn Cravin', for sure!

Bobbie teaching Bridget Tharp, from The Blade, how to knit.

We had the chance to check out some new yarns, like this gorgeous yarn from Mirasol.

Mary, Becky, and Annette were enjoying themselves. Great orange sweater, Becky!

These new Flat Feet arrived for October. Look at those desert southwest colors and motifs!

The Knit to Lose Group which met on Saturday mornings was such a great success that they have started another session. The last session ended with some very successful weight loss and a donation of over 75 pounds of food to the local food bank. Just "shopping" in our own pantries reminded us how fortunate we are! The food bank was so surprised to get the call to come and pick up food from our little group. Great job, girls.

Make sure you get outside to enjoy the fall colors, everyone. They will be gone in the blink of an eye.

How many days until Christmas, DaleAnn? Bobbie? I bet those ladies know how many days we have until the holidays are upon us! But no pressure. There's always a Yarn Cravin' Gift Certificate!

Celebrities

Were you watching TV at 12:30 PM today, Sunday, October 11? Our wonderful yarn shop owners were featured on "Coffee With The Fords"! Cynthia Ford found Yarn Cravin' during Harrison Rally Days and invited DaleAnn and Bobbie to be on the show. How exciting is that? I took photos of my television screen to show you all here!

Look! Here's our Jen! from Arizona, showing off Mary's completed baby blanket at the Fall Retreat. Hooray!

Julie joined Bobbie and Dale and they all showed off beautiful knitting!

The closed-captioning is referring to the running joke about tornadoes and how we all keep knitting instead of heading to the basement. hehehee Don't the ladies look gorgeous on TV?
As soon as the story is up on the CH 13 (13abc.com) website, I will post a link here.

In the meantime, are you looking for a quick and easy shawl to knit to keep you cozy this fall? I came across this free pattern recently. Multnomah is made with fingering weight yarn (or go to thicker yarn for a bigger shawl!) and is garter stich with a feather and fan edging. I know there's yarn at Yarn Cravin' with your name on it; maybe even on the porch in the sale yarn! Go check it out on Tuesday.

Editing to add the link to the show! Yarn Cravin' on Coffee With The Fords

Yarn Cravin' Has Gone To The Dogs

The current temps and humidity outside may say hot, hot, hot, but the leaves on the trees say otherwise. This photo was taken from the porch at Yarn Cravin' just last night at knitting. Yes, Fall is here. Your favorite football fan is going to need some warm mittens or a hat or scarf! Have you been in to see all the goodies?

Our resident Princess Pooch, Addi Purl, now has a playmate. DaleAnn has adopted a gremlin... er... Shi Tzu, and named her Misti (as in Misti Alpaca hehehehe). Remember I posted a while back that Yarn Cravin' is family friendly and kid friendly. I really meant it. It's a fun, playful, happy place.

The porch is overflowing with sale yarns that are just too good to pass up. Really. You won't forgive yourself if you miss out on these. And your friends won't forgive you if you don't bring them along! (We won't tell on you if you shop before bringing a friend to shop, though.) It's not all cottony, summer yarn. There are some wools and sock yarns, too. I promise!

Inside the shop, the shelves are packed to capacity with new yarns. I mean really new. Yarns you've never seen before have arrived and are filling every nook and cranny. New patterns are flying in and out as fast as they come in. Browse for sure, but ask "What's new?" when you come in the door!

Tuesday nights are still knitting nights at the shop. We would love to see you, even if it's just for a few minutes. Bring whatever you're working on. We've had spinning, crocheting and cross-stitching along with our knitters. It's all about community and looking out for each other. Come and show off what you've made. I would love to feature your project here.

Summertime, Summertime...

Even though the calendar says it is back-to-school time for most of us, there's plenty of summer left. Have you been to the beach? Maumee Bay State Park is just a short drive away, and some Yarn Cravin' regulars spent a Sunday there knitting and relaxing not too long ago.There is still time to go enjoy the sun and sand like Mary, Alana, April and Becky did! (Karen was there, too, but she took the photos.)What about summertime treats? Have you enjoyed some of those? These treats don't have calories, but they sure look yummy! I can reassure you that it is definitely nice and cool inside Yarn Cravin', though.

This is the perfect time of year to sit outside on the porch with friends and knit a bit. Have you made time to do that? The night I took this photo, Yarn Cravin's porch, (and their inside, too!) was full to overflowing. Poor Gina was sitting on the steps.

The Fall schedule of classes has just been sent out. (Fall? It's 90 degrees today!) New yarns are pouring into the shop. Bobbie and DaleAnn can probably tell you off the top of their heads how many days until Christmas, and you better get knitting!

The FALL RETREAT is OCTOBER 3 -4. Payment is due by September 1. Don't miss out on the fun!!!!

Eye Candy

Have you ever looked at the Flat Feet sock flats and wondered how they knit up? Here's one example of a pair, knitted in ribbing, from one of the Patriotic color schemes. DaleAnn did this pair, and you see there's plenty left over. There's no ball of yarn to tangle or chase around, so this is a good option for travel. Check them out!
Here are the entries for July for the Summer Knitting Contest. This month's category is "shawl or shrug." Be sure to stop in and drop your vote into the teapot. There's a crochet entry this month!

Look at this happy Princess! This is a reminder to all of you that Yarn Cravin' is family friendly. Just because it's summer, and kids are out of school, don't stay away! Your kids are welcome Yarn Cravin' while you shop! Besides, Addi Purl loves the company of people her age.

It's easier for them to get on the floor to play with her!

New patterns have just arrived and DaleAnn and Bobbie told me the other day how many days it is until Christmas. (eeeeeek!) It's never too early to get started on your holiday gifts. (Mittens? Snow Buddies? Dog sweaters?)

Hot Off The Press!

Get them while you can, friends. The super-deluxe, "I Love Yarn Cravin'" shirts are here! These shirts are sized up to 3x and come in several colors. They are unisex sized and will fit us all. (No puny girly cut t-shirts, knitters, but we can probably arrange for some of those if there's a need/desire.) Even better, they are made right here in Toledo, so we are supporting another local small business.

The July/August Sock Club Yarn has arrived and it's a deliciously soft cotton yarn in sky blue. You have to see it and touch it to believe how soft it really is. It's waiting for you!

Cherry Tree Hill semi-solid sock yarns have arrived, and no two colors are the same. These are going fast, knitters. It's been a long time since I have seen such deeply saturated colors that are so gorgeous. Buying two would make beautiful stranded colorwork... I'm thinking the gorgeous Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang.


Spinners! There's some gorgeous new roving in the shop also. If you're itching to spin and want something new without having to go online to order it, Yarn Cravin' is your place to find it.

I hope you've been using this little cool break in the weather to knit, knit, knit.

Remember, while Bobbie is on vacation, there's a SALE at Yarn Cravin'. It lasts until she returns on July 7th.

Sock Club, Monthly Contest, WWKIP Day... Oh My!

There sure a great deal going on at Yarn Cravin'! I can hardly keep up with it all. What I can tell you is that there will be great new yarns coming in the fall thanks to DaleAnn attending The National Needle Arts (TNNA) Convention in Columbus recently and ordering nearly everything. Really.

The Sock Club is moving along and participants are knitting gorgeous socks! Take a look:


This last photo is our newest sock club yarn. Remember, hand-dyed yarns can have great variation in them. See the difference in color intensity between the sock on the right and the sock on the left? Check out your skein before you buy.

If you haven't seen what the Monthly Contest is producing, you really do have to check it out. These are the entries for June; anything felted. Wow!

This past Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day. I couldn't attend to take photos, but rest assured, our regulars were camped out on the porch and in the yard, knitting and having fun together! Knitters all over the planet participate in WWKIP Day.

Come by and knit in the shade of the porch sometime soon. Bring whatever you're working on. There's nearly always a breeze, and there's certainly always someone to knit with.