Saturday, September 25, 2010

Italian Sweater Fashion

Needle Rock's friend, Jenny was recently in Italy, Switzerland & France & captured these sweaters on her I-something.
Sideways knitting seems to be settling in.

LOVE the big buttons!


That capelet is fabulous, don't you think?



Friday, September 24, 2010

Telluride Artisans' Guild Holiday Bazaar

Calling all local Artists! Its time to get your booth registered for this year’s TAG Holiday Arts Bazaar. The Deadline to register for the 2010 Telluride Artisans' Guild Holiday Bazaar is Friday, November 5th. The Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities is looking for great artists to sell their work at this year’s Bazaar. Sponsored by Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities The TAG Bazaar features Telluride's and San Miguel County's best known artists – including bead workers, knitters, metal-smiths, fiber artists, painters, jewelers, gourmet food artisans, ornament-makers and much much more… The Holiday Bazaar is an opportunity for local artists to feature their creative and unique work under one roof. For an application please call 728-8959 or email sasha@telluridearts.org The Holiday Bazaar will be held December 3-5, 2010. The hours of operation are: Friday 5 – 8 pm, Saturday 10 am – 6 pm, Sunday 11 am – 3 pm.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

What Off Season? KnitNite

Cathy D. is getting a jump on a Christmas present for??Yep, it's a sock.
Suzy is working up a beautiful scarf for her son - Queensland Kathmandu Chunky - yummy with that little bit of cashmere in the worsting.

Suzy's friend, Ann is making great strides on her baby sweater (notice the important KnitNite implements in the background - wine & dog biscuits!)


Suzette's friend, another Anne displays her Father Christmas needlepoint. She had a cool attachable lamp w/magnifer too!



Peggy Sue is coming right along with her knit-along top-down sweater in luxurious Ultra Alpaca.




Suzy models Suzette's newly completed Braided Wrap in brown Lustra - sooo soft.





1 of Suzette's new cowls.






A beaded cowl by Suzette - looks toasty, eh?







Friday, September 17, 2010

Uknitted Nations Yarn

How cool did this yarn knit up? This is a new yarn for Needle Rock called UKnitted Nations from Pagewood Farm. The flowers are needle felted first, then needle felted right onto the thick & thin yarn, all ready to be knit up into a fun scarf. Thanks Val for sharing this with us - we love your work!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Kate's Back to Knitting!

How cute is this? Kate's puppy is finally old enough to "let" her knit & awfully trusting from the look of things! Welcome back to the world of knitting, Kate!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

September Needle Rocket

Needle Rocket
September, 2010
Greetings friends,

No denying it now, autumn is here in the mountains. The tundra is golden brown and the aspens are starting to turn. Our local knitters are waking up to knitting time as they come in from the outdoors. We have had a wonderful summer season with festivarians of all types and many visitors from our own state of Colorado. We are settled in our purple house and have had rave reviews on our new space and our darling front yard. Thank you to all of you who’ve visited our newest location.
We have many new yarns to show you as well as some kits and accessories. The Fibre Company is a wonderful producer from New England with scrumptious yarns. Road to China in dk and worsted is a blend of baby alpaca, cashmere, camel and silk. You have to feel it to believe it and the colors are just as rich and soft. Canopy is a worsted weight baby alpaca, merino, and bamboo which is a dream to knit. Terra is almost tweedy in baby alpaca, wool, and silk with 98 yards per 50 grams. Come check out these new yarns and patterns from The Fibre Company which are adorable.
LoneSome Stone has some new blends that are really beautiful! The Alpaca/merino is a three ply worsted in twists of cream and black, grey and cream, brown and cream and brown and black as well as other combos. You will love it.
Do any of you remember Bristol Yarn Gallery’s Lafayette? It’s a gorgeous brushed suri alpaca in three great colors…powder blue, light green and soft aqua. It’s a really special yarn. We also have more of the SWTC Yang which is wool, silk and bamboo with SEQUINS! We have three colors: scarlet, denim and light taupe.
Have you tried Crystal Palace’s Mochi Plus? It’s a great “slow-striping” yarn which is great for any scarf or hat and beautiful in entrelac. We have 8 great color combinations!
We also have many new books and patterns to peruse. We’ve been showcasing Pagewood Farm’s yarns and kits. Their needle-felted silk scarf kit is fabulous, fast and easy. It’s a great fiber project for those who don’t knit or crochet. It’s soooooo easy and produces a really pretty scarf with plenty of embellishment left over for other projects.
Do you need a gift for a fellow knitter? Not sure what yarn to buy? We’ve taken on the Knit Happy line of colorful mugs, cool notebooks for knitting notes, sticky note organizer & their very clever Fold ‘n Go knitting accessory pouch, as well as a dynamite folding project “box”.
Have you seen Tunisian Crochet? Guru Janet is “hooked” on it and is making gorgeous shawls, vests and mobious scarves with this technique. Let us know if you’d like a lesson.

September Calendar
Every Tuesday: 7-9pm. Knit Nite. Join our band of local fiber people as we stitch and chat.
Every Friday: 11-1pm. Knitting Circle is our daytime version of Knit Nite. Come check it out.
Thursday, September 9th, 3-5pm: Reversible Knit Headband Class. Learn to knit in the round and bind off with 3 needles. $15 plus materials.
Saturdays in September, 12-5pm: Knit Aid. Bring us your problems to help you solve. $10 per hour.
Monday, September 13th, 3-5pm: Noggin’ Warmer Class. We’ll teach you to knit a spiral knit hat for the upcoming cold nights. $15
Thursday, September 16th and Friday September 17th, 3-5pm: Baby Sock Class. Learn sock basics with adorable baby sock patterns from Kalamazoo Knits: Rufflicious for girls and Oh, Boy! for the lil’ guys. $15 for the two sessions.
Monday, September 20th, 3-5pm: Lace Primer. Learn the basics and some neat tricks for beginning lace knitting. $15
Monday, September 27th, 3-5pm: Beginning Knitting Class. Learn to knit, purl, cast-on and bind-off in this class for “never-evers”. $25
****Saturday, October 2nd, 12-5pm: Christmas Open House and Project Planning. We’ll get you in the mood and have plenty of ideas for Christmas decorations and gifts. Wear red! Free.*************

Last month we started our blog specials & we’d like to continue that offer this month with 15% off all our Frog Tree yarns. Please check our blog for varieties available http://www.needlerock.blogspot.com/

So, as usual, things are hoppin in the purple house. Come knit with us!!!
Ginger and Ann

Blogger Special!

As promised in our Needle Rocket, here is the latest blogger special: All Frog Tree yarns, both merino & alpaca are 15% off for the next 2 weeks (until 9-23-10). These yarns are already reasonable priced & work up beautifully. Give us a call, send us an e-mail, or best of all, stop by to see how to save on some fabulous yarns @ a discount!!
Here's a bit about the Frog Tree line: As a result of our experience living and working at the grassroots level in Peru, Bolivia, Mexico and the USA for many years, we foundedFrog Tree® Yarns. We believe that talented, hard-working artisans should receive a just wage in order to provide a dignified life for their families.
Alpaca fibers are called the "Gold of the Andes" because of their silky feel and lustrous tones. Merino Melange - Complimentary to our Merino Worsted Wool, this two ply is available with shades of blended colors. Each skein is approximately 50 grams/1.75 oz in weight and 101 yards in length.