Newsletter 402

by Jeremy Lehmann

Americana Wrist Cuff 

Memorial Day

We hope everyone has had a safe Memorial Day weekend and we thank all past and present who have served. If you are in the Nashville area, we highly recommend visiting the Nashville National Cemetery today, where you can see thousands of miniature flags decorating graves throughout the cemetery. The graves are decorated with small United States flags the day before Memorial Day and are removed immediately after the holiday. Interested in a visit? The cemetery can be located at 1420 Gallatin Road S., in Madison. We promise that if you decide to visit, you won't be sorry; it's an incredible way to pay respect to all those who have served.

 

The shop will be closed today in observance of Memorial Day. If you happen to have bits of fingering weight yarn in your stash, why not cast on this Americana Wrist Cuff from Cirilia Rose? A quick little knit and possibly a new-to-you technique since it incorporates the intarsia technique of working color-work!

 

Nettle Grove Ridged Shawl

Back in Stock -- Nettle Grove!

We originally shared the Nettle Grove Ridged Shawl project with you waaaay back in March and promptly sold out. We've patiently been waiting for the yarn to become available again and were quite tickled when a box of it appeared this past Friday! Eco-friendly nettle blends beautifully with cotton, linen and silk in this super-soft warm-weather yarn. We've got these pre-packaged into kits that include the pattern. If you missed out on it the first go-around, act fast since we don't expect these to be around for long!

 

socks

Socks! Socks! Socks!

Are you going to join in the fun and attempt a pair of socks for the next four months!? Come on, it'll be fun! Our Summer Sockalong starts this Wednesday - June 1st - and here's what will be on our needles:

 

Vicki will be knitting Socks on a Plane from Laura Linneman using Angora Lace (which isn't really lace...they just like to keep us on our toes by calling it that!). She chose this pattern because it's a simple pattern with a little cable thrown in for interest. She picked Angora Lace yarn for two reasons: the patterning of the yarn isn't too visually overwhelming for the cable and this yarn has angora in it. Combine the angora with the nylon and you've got yourself one strong sock!

 

Lisa will be knitting Vanilla is the New Black from Anneh Fletcher using Forever from Lane Cervania. She chose this pattern because one of the goals of this little sockalong is to learn something new! The pattern utilizes a new-to-Lisa "strong-style heel" that doesn't require the need to pick up stitches. She picked Forever to knit with because one of her favorite podcasters -Susan B. Anderson - showed a sock-in-progress using the yarn and Lisa "had to have it"!

 

Kelley is knitting Reynard from Kirsten Kapur using American B.R.A.N.D. from skacel. She chose this pattern after seeing a finished project posted on Ravelry. Seeing the photograph of the sweet, little lace cuff, she was smitten. She picked American B.R.A.N.D. yarn because she hasn't ever used this particular yarn before and, um, isn't that reason enough?

 

Meg is going rogue and is using this little summer sockalong as an excuse to complete the four Christmas stockings that she's been commissioned (she's crazy like that) to knit now rather than procrastinating and putting it off until October! Yeah, it's bending the rules a wee bit, but we have a little motto around the shop..."be the boss of your own knitting." And honestly, a stocking IS a sock...a very very very big sock! If you've ever thought about knitting your own Christmas stockings, now would be a great time to start knitting them, so they actually might be hanging on the mantle in time. She picked Classic yarn from Ella Rae because it's WOOL, comes in traditional Christmas colors and is economically priced!

 

Dickson County Fair

Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival Roundup!

We'd like to thank everyone at the Dickson County Fairgrounds for hosting a fantastic fiber festival last weekend...and we'd like to thank all of you who turned out for it! It's another festival we love, full of friendly and familiar faces and a flock* of animals we always want to take home with us. We regret that we do not have any photos of the bleating runaway goat, but it was the sort of thing that can only happen at a fiber festival! If you've never been to one, keep your eye on this newsletter, because we always give you plenty of notice!

 

*We looked up the collective nouns for animals so you don't have to!

  • Goats: tribe, trip, drove, herd, flock
  • Sheep: drove, flock, down, hurtle, fold, pack, trip
  • Rabbits: colony, warren, bury, trace, trip, husk
  • Llamas: cria herd Donkeys: drove, pace, herd
  • Possums: passel

A passel of possums! Well, you can't say we never teach you anything!

 

Summer Sockalong

Super Summer Sockalong...and an ADDED sock class!

WOW! Y'all were seriously excited about a Saturday sock class. The June classes we mentioned filled lightning quick so Leah's added additional dates for a July session. The class will be held over the course of three Saturday sessions: beginning July 9th from 3pm-5pm, continuing July 23rd from 3pm-6pm and ending July 30th from 3pm-5pm. Call the shop to register! 615-354-1007

Socks are the perfect takealong project for the summer months: They're small, portable, seriously cute and make perfect gifts. After a busy spring, we thought it would be a great time to celebrate with a Super Summer Sockalong! Beginning June 1st and ending September 30th, we're going to attempt to make one pair of socks each month, 4 pairs in all.

The rules are simple:

  • Make a pair of socks, one pair per month, June-September 2016. Post your photos and progress in our Ravelry group and/or on Instagram using the #HOYsupersummersockalong
  • Learn something! Top-down, toe-up, experiment and learn new techniques.
  • Have fun!
  • We ask that all yarn for the knitalong be purchased from Haus of Yarn! As a genuine 'thank you!' for your participation, all materials purchased at Haus of Yarn that relate directly to each months knitalong will qualify for double stamps on our Haus of Yarn Reward Card. Double Stamps!

 

May-June Knitalong

The Yearlong Knitalong: May & June! Meet-up Reminder!

The Yearlong Knitalong: May & June! Meet-up Reminder! May is almost over, so we're atill churning along with the May/June installment of the Yearlong Knitalong! Reminder! Our Monday meet-up is scheduled for June 13th from 11am until Noon! This time around, we're working on the Meet Me at the Ryman shawl, inspired by the architecture of one of Music City's most famous landmarks - The Ryman Auditorium, home of The Grand Ole Opry - this fingering weight shawl is perfect for indoor concerts or twilight picnics. This shawl begins with a garter tab set-up and then alternates between easy stockinette "walls" and more challenging lace "windows". Not interested in making a shawl? You can still join the Yearlong Knitalong with an afghan block pattern from the Haus of Yarn Block-a-Month Afghan book. Remember: As a genuine 'thank you!' for your participation, all materials purchased at Haus of Yarn that relate directly to each month's knitalong will qualify for double stamps on our Haus of Yarn Reward Card. DOUBLE STAMPS! We really do appreciate your participation and want to encourage as many of you to make as many of the monthly projects as possible. Earning double stamps will make it that much easier! Not local? No worries! Join the Yearlong Knitalong virtually. We'll be creating threads for each Knitalong project in our Ravelry group. Click here to join our group and come knit along with us! We'd love to see your projects! In process or completed...if you're on Instagram, join in anytime with #yearlongknitalong and #hausofyarntn.

Passport  Passport 2

Don't Forget Your Passport!

Just for fun, we created a Knitting Passport so you can track your Yearlong Knitalong progress. When you purchase materials for a specific Yearlong Knitalong project, we'll give you your very own passport! As you complete each project, simply swing by the shop with it and show it off (and receive loads of compliments, of course)...and don't forget to bring your passport so we can stamp it!  Fun, right!?  

Not local? No worries. We want you to join in the fun as well! When you call and place your materials order, we'll kinda know why you're calling based on your order -- we're smart that way! -- but by all means, shout it from the rooftop that you're a Yearlong Knitalong participant. We'll be keeping and managing both your Rewards Card (remember: Double Stamps for Yearlong Knitalong materials!) and your Passport.

So what's gonna happen with these Passports?  At the end of our Yearlong Knitalong, all participants with a fully completed Passport will receive a magnificent prize. (We'll be honest, we have no idea what this magnificent prize will be but, hey, we have a year to figure it out! It'll be awesome, trust us!)