Shop Hop Dates for 2010 Announced!

Rev up those needles and get your hoppin' shoes on! Atlanta Shop Hop dates for 2010 are Saturday, Sept 25th through Sunday, Oct 3rd. This year promises to be the best yet! The Grand Prize is $1,000 in yarn shop gift certificates and there are 30 other fantastic prizes as well! Passports go on sale ($1.00) September 2nd and we hope you'll get yours at Knitch!

Here's how it works: you get your Passport and visit as many of the ten participating area knit shops as possible in 9 days, make a $10.00 minimum purchase at each shop, and have your passport stamped. If you fill your passport you are eligible for the grand prize of a $100.00 gift certificate from each shop. Yes, that is $1,000.00 to the Grand Prize winner and it could be you! (ooooh the cashmere! . . . just imagine!)

You can visit as many shops as you wish and still be eligible for prizes. And your purchase entitles you to a free original pattern from each shop you visit. Click here for the Shop Hop blog where you'll find all the details including participating shops and prior years' results.

Here's Nell wearing last year's free
Knitch Shop Hop Pattern. It was a huge hit!

Off the Needles at Knitch

Today Regan brought in her blocked-and-ready-to-ship 6-feet-long Myrtle Leaf Shawl -- a gift for her mother's big birthday. The pattern comes from Victorian Lace Today and she made it from Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Lots of it! It's impressive indeed, and everyone wants to know how long it took her. She figures it was about 16 months, with a long break in the middle. We love how, finished and blocked, the pattern reminds us of so many lipstick kisses. An abundance of kisses for a very much loved (and lucky) mom.

Keith also has a much loved and lucky mom! He made this February Lady's Sweater in Nell's class and it is a beauty. He used Shepherd’s Wool on US size 8 needles. Word has it that he was the cause of many a dropped stitch in that class with his hilarious comments and stories. He also "forced" everyone in the class to try the sweater on for him as he went along. That's what they tell us. And they didn't mind at all! Group knitting certainly has its pluses! Keith went straight from this masterpiece to working on a doggie sweater for his sister's pooch. Who's going to model that?

Jane's Ulmus Shawl (a Ravelry pattern) looks lovely draped around her shoulders. She wasn't so sure as she was working it, whether it would really work for her. But it does! And how!!

Blue Moon Has Arrived!

We're always happy to see Terrance, our UPS man, come in the door with his electric smile and sunny disposition. But when he's wheeling in big boxes from Blue Moon and we know there's Socks That Rock as well as Icelandic Chunky inside, well, we're just dancin' a jig. It won't be here long, folks, so come in or give us a call and we'll help you step into Blue Moon heaven!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth Zimmerman!

As Hubble is to the deep-space telescope, so is Elizabeth Zimmerman to our favorite craft. Born August 9, 1910, today would have been the 100th birthday of the innovator, mathematician, engineer, sage, philosopher and teacher. So let's light a candle, have some yummy cake, cast on something fabulous and share our love for all things E.Z.

Send us photos of your zimmerinspired projects. We'll start with one of our own faves:

Nell's Baby Surprise of the Cute Collar

Follow this thread!

We find these adorable little buns of colorful, silky thread from Valdani completely irresistible. And from the reactions of folks strolling into the shop, we are not alone!

The pearl cotton, hand-dyed and colorfast jewels, as well as the beautiful assortment of Sullivan (naturally!) embroidery floss skeins, are meant for embroidering your what-have-yous: pillows, maybe (we have some pillow cases just for that), or dish towels and napkins (yep, we've got those too!), aprons, children's hats and clothing. Endless possibilities.

We have embroidery hoops (very modern, really cool plastic and metal ones), embroidery kits and patterns from Sublime Stitching. The proverbial icing on our proverbial embroidery-offerings-cake is DMC metallic thread in shimmering gold and silver.

Can't wait to see what all you creative souls do with these treasures!