Spring Magazines

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Wild Fibers Magazine
Exploring the animals, art, and culture, of the natural fiber industry





This beautiful magazine has a mission to 'educate and promote all aspects of the natural fiber industry with special emphasis on sustainable practices and responsible use of natural resources throughout the world. (They) believe fibers represent an important chapter not only to artisans and cultural development, but an increasing sensitivity to environmental impact as well.'

I sometimes refer to Ravelry as 'facebook for knitters & crocheters'--well, Wild Fibers is 'National Geographic for knitters & crocheters.' The stories & breathtaking images take you on an armchair tour of some of the world's most remote & lovely places--where there happen to be fiber flocks, weavers & knitters, and a heritage of traditional crafts.

The new issue of Wild Fibers will at times make you howl as we once again go chasing around some of the most remote areas of the planet in search of wild and unusual stories about the fiber industry. It will also give you pause, as we look at some of the unimaginable struggles that continue to both challenge and threaten the guardians of some of our most precious fibers.

Travel to the High Andes and learn about Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez’s inspiring efforts to save ancient Incan textile traditions, and then “wander” through the Gobi learning some hard facts about the cashmere industry, and finally visit with a diamond digger in Lesotho who has traded his “semi-precious” shovel for a very precious flock.

Thanks again to LYS knitters who participated in the Wild Fibers World's Longest Scarf project last year. We are happy to have contributed to the nearly $25,000. raised to support Heifer International in preserving & protecting rare fiber flock animals around the world.

This Thursday at Knit Night we'll have a random drawing to win a copy of both the Spring 2010 issue & the Winter 2010 issue of Wild Fibers. Can't make it? Leave a comment here before 5:00 p on Thursday March 11 to be entered in the drawing.

Join us at knit night every Thursday 5 p -8 p.

Happy Knitting!

Wendy

The First of March


"The March wind roars

Like a lion in the sky,

And makes us shiver

As he passes by.


When winds are soft,

And the days are warm and clear,

Just like a gentle lamb,

Then spring is here."

- Author Unknown




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Shaking Off Winter

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In the paper this morning, it was official, we've just had the snowiest Winter on record in Lancaster County. Well, no kidding! The best thing about a snow day is when it can be a knitting day, too. There is something unexpected & wonderful about a day (or two, or three!) snowed in at home. I made the most of it, and got lots of knitting done. I hope you did, too!

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We also spent some time getting our LYS Spring Class Schedule updated & posted. We are offering two classes for Absolute Beginners, both available on several different dates & times. If you've always wanted to learn how to knit, sign up now for a fun & thorough introduction to the craft of knitting. We are offering a variety of classes for our Intermediate & Extreme Knitters (you know who you are!).

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We selected projects that emphasize cool tricks & interesting techniques. Look for knits accomplished on the bias, short-row shaping, entrelac & color-work. Several sock classes are offered: try knitting a sock toe-up using a great customizable pattern from http://www.knitty.com/, or try your hand at the aptly named 'Magic Loop Method' of sock knitting.

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Two Baby Project classes are on the schedule, too: the perennially popular Vintage Baby Cardigan from Shibui--a pattern suitable for Advanced Beginners to Intermediate, and First Time Baby Socks worked in super soft Zara worsted.

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Sunny Winter days at Kitchen Kettle Village bring visitors from all over the world. We have enjoyed meeting wonderful & interesting knitters, crocheters, spinners & quilters this Winter season. We're looking forward to welcoming quilters to Lancaster County for the American Quilter's Society Quilt Show & Contest - being held this year at the new Lancaster County Convention Center March 24 - 27.

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Mark your calendar for World Wide Knit in Public Day!

Held annually since 2005, WWKIPD promises to be a special day at Lancaster Yarn Shop this year! Drop in at LYS on Saturday, June 12 between 10:00 & 6:00 for a great time knitting together, door prizes, & a really special Amish Country Surprise! We'll keep you posted as we schedule special events for the day! Follow us on Facebook & check our Events tab for details as they develop.

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Better living through stitching together.

this is the motto of WWKIP Day!












Shibui...
means "elegant with a touch of bitterness" in Japanese, and ShibuiKnits takes inspiration from that sentiment.
ShibuiKnits fuses modern ideas and classic designs, creating elegant and functional product lines. Shibui stands out by providing natural fiber yarns, inventive patterns and sleek, practical accessories.
We are happy to have a beautiful display of Shibui's beautiful sock yarn in the shop now! 13 colors, including several new ones--just in time for Spring knitting. Shibui Sock is the perfect sock yarn. This ultra-soft superwash merino is gentle enough for baby clothing but hardy enough to stand up to a hiking boot. Intense semi-solid colors create visual interest even in the plainest of stitches. This is the yarn I used when I won a blue ribbon at the West Lampeter Community Fair last Fall!

























Available now at LYS, my favorite magazine of the year (so far!). Knitting Traditions from Interweave Press. Stop in for your copy today, this is a special issue.
Indulge your passion for knitting with Knitting Traditions! This 148-page special publication from PieceWork magazine presents more than 40 projects—socks, shawls and scarves, items for baby, a variety of hand coverings, hats, squares and edgings, and finger puppets—each with a story that provides historical context. Here are just a few examples: Peruvians used a technique—knitting’s precursor—called cross looping or needleknitting to fashion exquisite, tiny figures, using cactus thorns as needles, between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. Fourteenth-century Italian artists painted pictures of the Madonna knitting. A glove with a romantic history knitted in Sweden during the sixteenth-century is preserved in a museum. Swedish knitters have been using the two-end technique since at least the seventeenth century. By the mid-eighteenth century, Russian shawls from Orenburg achieved international status. Prolific Victorian knitters fashioned all sorts of knitted items in the nineteenth century. German designers were producing hundreds of patterns for “art knitting” in the early decades of the twentieth century. And a veritable “Who’s Who” of late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century knitting designers share their passion within these pages!
*image & text courtesy Interweave Press

Spring Classes at LYS


spring knitting classes

at LYS


Classes are posted for a full slate of knitting classes at LYS! Join us whether you are a beginner just picking up sticks & string or an experienced knitter looking for a challenging & fun project class. Sign-ups are under way, take a look at our schedule & see if we can make some time to knit together!
We currently offer two class sessions on each Saturday and Tuesday. Private knitting & crochet lessons are also available. Call the shop (717) 768-8007 to make arrangements! Here is a direct link to all of the classes currently available at LYS: http://lancasteryarnshop.bigcartel.com/category/classes


Our teachers Spring, 2010:
Tina Colvin is a marvelous knitter. She came to South Central PA from California where she was a well known knitting teacher. Her featured finished objects posted on Ravelry are impressive: http://www.ravelry.com/people/TinaLC


Katie Rogers is a Lancaster County native with an Art & teaching degree from Millersville University. She is a knitter, crocheter, spinner & designer. Find her on Ravelry, & check out her FO's! http://www.ravelry.com/people/Kitner


If the website http://www.ravelry.com is NEW to you, join now! I often say that Ravelry is the best thing to happen to knitting since yarn, & I believe it!


Lancaster Yarn Shop has been open for just about a year at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA. We are so excited about our beautiful location, our creative & enthusiastic customers & the opportunity to be involved in such a fun line of work. Thank you for being part of the success of LYS!
All the best to you as we wait out the last of this snowy Winter!
--Wendy

Snowed In


LYS is closed again today & there is no knit night tonight! All festivities including birthday cake NEXT week, February 18th. See you then!

Wendy