Are You Ready for a Knitting Retreat?

Our second Lancaster Knitter's Retreat will be held at the beautiful Amish View Inn in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania May 20 -22, 2016. There are so many opportunities for knitters to find and build community, it led me to think about the meaning of a retreat, and a BIG question: WHY DO WE KNIT?

Who are knitters today? Our demographic fascinates me! Our shop location in the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania's tourist area gives us a bird's eye view of knitters.  We really are diverse and as a group, we transcend nationality, gender, and age. We are young women and old men. We are French Canadian, Peruvian, South African, Japanese, and Dutch. We live in cities, suburbs, and on farms.

We taught ourselves to knit, or we learned on youtube, from our mom, our dad, or our grandmother. Some of us are still future knitters, you know, knitters who have yet to pick up needles and cast on.

What motivates knitters? Style, technique, our heritage, and history.  We are inspired by our imagination, our neighbors and communities, art, music, color, or maybe that interesting novel or film that features characters who knit or wear knitwear with panache!

So, why do we knit? The resounding chorus: We knit for fun! We find it satisfying, relaxing, or challenging or easy. We knit to unwind, to focus, to learn, to comfort someone we care about, sometimes we knit simply to make stuff. We knit for ourselves.

Usually we are knitting some thing. Scarves, shawls, socks, layettes for precious babies and sweaters for children--whatever the project, most of us find we become increasingly interested in both the process of knitting and the company of knitters!

Retreats give us a chance to check out of our usual routine, to step into a time dedicated to our craft, to new community, and to fun.  Spending time with other knitters connects us to the larger knitting community.  It's a great way to meet other knitters, push yourself a little, or a lot, and to 'get away from it all.'

We had a wonderful time at the 2015 inaugural Lancaster Knitter's Retreat. Won't you join us this May for a weekend in Lancaster County? Let's be knit together!

Check out some of the feedback from our first retreat!

"Although I had never been to a retreat before, I am looking forward to experiencing one again.  I hope that you will consider hosting again in the future, although your own perfection will be tough to follow.  It was so stimulating, exciting, and fun to have been there."
--Karen

"I would like you to know that I had a wonderful time at the LKR2015 and am really looking forward to next year.  I will definitely be there."
--Wanda

"I really had a great time.  I am usually knitting by myself so being surrounded by so many wonderful knitters was really a treat."
--Noreen

Need more information? Click here.

The End of A Knitting Year...

...means the beginning of another one!

In that spirit, I cast on a sweater last night. I've swatched carefully, thought about it, and reviewed my pattern.  That first hour of working through a project is a good one, isn't it? I paid close attention, I did just what the pattern said, and it worked! The markers are where they belong, I have the right number of stitches, and the pattern is right. 

It is vastly satisfying to cast on a big project just as we get ready to ring in a new year, it's a sort of bridge from this year to next. A reassurance that we can carry on.

I hope your knitting and handwork helps you feel festive and reassured. 

Thank you, knitting and crocheting friends for your support and friendship!  Come see us over the holiday season!  We have gift certificates, Classes, and YARN for sale online & all sorts of gadgets and goodies here in the shop for your last minute shopper--or your last minute project!

Kettle Dyed Rainbows!

How many colors are in a rainbow? All of them!

Knitting with a highly variegated yarn is great fun.  Each skein can be a complete surprise, defying your vision of what precisely the knitted or crocheted fabric will be--or vindicating you completely! 

There are so many interesting strategies to get the most out of any skein of hand dyed yarn.  We've seen Kettle Dyed Rainbow used for textured socks, plain socks, and stripey socks.  We've seen shawls, wraps, and a baby sweater, too!  Carol Sulcoski wrote 'Sock Yarn Studio' a few years ago, a great collection of patterns and information that helps knitters evaluate the potential of each skein. And Janelle Martin came to LYS to teach a workshop on Planned Pooling last year and the results were STUNNING! 

These rainbow skeins have such beautiful color breaks and the colors are so rich. What will you make?

We LOVE The Baa-Ble Hat!

The Baa-Ble Hat is still in the top 20 on Ravelry! Have you made one yet? This hat was designed by Donna Smith for Shetland Wool Week 2015, and is a great introduction to fair isle technique. We have great colors in stock for beautiful or playful Baa-Ble hats!

We've made ours with Jagger Sport and also with Kenzie.  Slight mods made the fit better for us! We also made an astonishing pom-pom!

We have yarn and needles at LYS and here's a link to this great free pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baa-ble-hat

Fall is Truly Here!

It's raining and chilly in Lancaster County today, and leaves are flying down from the trees.  A perfect day to plan winter knitting and crochet projects.

I've got socks on my needles, and sweaters on my mind!  I've posted two sweater knitting classes to take place in January and February at our teaching studio here in the shop.  If you've never made a sweater and are ready to learn the basics, have a look at the 'Flax' class. This pattern from Tin Can Knits is a great fit for a first time sweater!  If you have a little more experience and want to refine your skills, we're also teaching Isabell Kraemer's 'Dexter' cardigan.

Let's cast on!

JOIN THE SCOREBOARD KAL AT LYS!

LYS is ready for some football! 

Join The Scoreboard Cowl KAL and make an AMAZING, wearable knitted record of your team's 2015-2016 season with your Scoreboard Cowl!

The Scoreboard Cowl is made with Simplicity DK from HIKOO and worked in the two colors of your favorite football team! Simplicity is a super soft, washable merino blend and it comes in SO MANY COLORS!

Choose a main color to represent your favorite team and their points, and a secondary color to represent your favorite team's opponents and their points.  (There is also an option to add a third color, which provides a visual break line between games.) 

The design of the cowl is simple; it is worked in the round in stockinette. When your team scores, knit a round in the main color for each point attained.  Did they kick a field goal?  Add 3 rounds.  Did they score a touchdown?  Knit 6 rounds.  Was the point after good?  Add another round!  

Should the opposing team score on the subsequent drive; their points will be knit in the contrast color following the same rules noted above.  Follow this structure for the whole game, switching back and forth between the main and contrast colors depending on which team scores.  All rounds will be worked in knit stitch, except the optional, game-dividing, purl rounds.

LYS is having a KICK-OFF party on September 17th as we start the Scoreboard Cowl KAL with Skacel & Michelle Hunter!  Join us for snacks--and to get your materials ready for the KAL!  Free project bags for the first 10 people to purchase their yarn! 
Free pattern available for download on September 3, 2015! GO TEAM!