Ellie's Needles

Wait a minute! Ellie is knitting up a storm while helping out at LYS this summer. First it was a pair of socks knit with stash she dug out of the summer kitchen at home. Using the pattern 'Priscilla's Dream Socks' (Interweave Knit's "Favorite Socks"), these went fast. They weren't even quite off the needles before the next project was planned--& all of a sudden--there is stash yarn in Ellie's room at home!

You know what happened next, right? Yeah, Ravelry happened next. A list of favorites, projects posted...& then Ellie picked a hat pattern called 'Fungi' to knit. This is an ambitious hat! Knit in dk weight Classic Alpaca in three colors, it is lined & knit in three colors. Finished in about a week, this was a companion project to another pair of socks--designed by Ellie, this time knit with Paca-Peds,   another yarn from the Alpaca Yarn Company. These are going a little slower than the first pair. This may be due to the fact that Ellie has also knit a very silly rabbit & is casting on a pair of mittens.

All of these factors point me to one conclusion. Ellie is really, for real, a knitter. A Knitter. Mission Accomplished!

Say 'Hi!' to Ellie on Ravelry & have a look at the projects posted so far! User name: iaoey.

"...the knitting basket...was well equipped, with three long circular wire needles in different sizes, and a sinister-looking set of four double-ended ivory ones, slender as stillettos, which I knew were used in some mysterious fashion to turn the heels of stockings."
-- Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

Rasta Hat


I'm knitting a great hat using a new yarn from Knit One, Crochet Too. The new yarn is called Wrapunzel & it's a super soft blend of 70% superwash wool & 30% acrylic in a beautiful changing colorway. The hat is the very slouchy, very pretty Rasta Hat designed by Helene Rush.
Combining Tartelette, a beautiful cotton blend ribbon yarn with a new yarn called Wrapunzel, this hat is a fast, colorful knit. The pattern is written for either knitting or crochet & is worked on US#10.5 (6.5mm) or a crochet hook size N (10mm).
Below is a video of the drop-stitch pattern in the hat. Kits available in three beautiful colors!

What a night at LYS!












HYPERBOLIC CROCHET for the Smithsonian Community Reef

Knit Night had a new groove at LYS this week. We had a great evening learning how to increase like mad in crocheted chains & rounds! We're crocheting hyperbolic planes that will ultimately be part of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the Ocean Focus Gallery in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Our little circle of knitters & crocheters joins a much larger group working to create a satellite reef for the international project created by IFF in California.
The Smithsonian Community Reef will be displayed between October 16 & April 17, 2011.
We will meet again on THURSDAY JULY 29th for another evening of knitting & crocheting for the reef. This is a great opportunity to work with Lancaster artist Christa Wissler & to learn free-form crochet technique.
YOU are invited! We meet weekly & are a friendly, if occasionally silly, group.
Thanks to everyone who is participating! Plans are in the work for a field trip to D.C. to see the reef! Details as they develop.

Hyperbolic Crochet & the Coral Reef


The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is a celebration of the intersection of complex math, handicraft, and the disappearing wonders of the marine world. Created & curated by Christine & Margaret Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring, the reef is coming to the Smithsonian this fall. A reef satellite group called the 'Smithsonian Community Reef' formed to bring the reef to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in a Temporary Exhibit in the Sant Ocean Hall, Ocean Focus Gallery October 16, 2010 – April 24, 2011.

Lancaster Yarn Shop invites YOU to be part of a very exciting, international project! Join us this THURSDAY, JULY 15 between 5 & 8 PM to learn the basics of hyperbolic crochet. Working with Lancaster fiber artist Christa Wissler, we'll put together our own 'South-Central Pennsylvania' reef which will be sent to Washington DC on August 30, 2010 to be installed with the rest of the reef.

We will meet with a teacher at least one additional time--& we get together weekly, so we have several weeks to get our reef together!

Last week at our weekly Knit Night, I mentioned the project & showed a slide show of some incredible photographs of crocheted coral. Interest was really piqued when a visiting cheerful crocheter named Niya from the Washington DC area spoke up. Turned out she is already involved in the project & not only did she have samples of crocheted coral in her car, she had beautiful book marks for everyone here! Many thanks to Niya for her enthusiastic hooking!


relevant links:

This page is Daina Tamina's original article about crocheting hyperbolic planes.
Margaret Wertheim's 'Beautiful Math of Coral (& crochet)'--a lecture from www.ted.com.
The main page for the IFF project is here.
Here are some ideas for creating your own coral.
The Smithsonian Satellite Reef: here.
Of course, there is a great group here on Ravelry!

coming soon...addi LACE CLICKS

in , , ,









The wait is nearly over for those who have been longing for a lace tip version of the addi Clicks! LYS is currently taking pre-orders for the addi Click Lace! The Lace Click tips are shorter in length, in order to allow for both 16” and 20” applications. While the 24”, 32”, and 40” cords from both sets are fully compatible with any style of tip, the new 16” and 20” cords are not compatible with the Turbo® tips, as the length of the Turbo® tips combined with these smaller cords will not allow for
proper knitting.












Each addi Click Lace kit includes:

  • 8 pairs of addi Lace tips (approx US sizes: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11)
  • 5 blue addi cords which create 16”, 20”, 24”, 32”, and 40” needles (approx lengths)1 Click connector
  • 1 gold addi heart pin
  • addi needle gauge
  • Soft-sided brown case with exterior zippered pocket for cables


We do not have a shipping date yet! Our order has been placed & delivery is projected for late summer/early fall. Pre-order now to guarantee you get your set from LYS! Our pre-order price is $169.95.
Additional packs of Lace tips and
cords will be introduced at a later date.