New March Classes

March is a bridge month for us, finishing up our February classes and waiting until April to hit our spring classes hard. So, we just have a few new classes to tide you over until then, including beginning knitting, felted slippers, I-cord jewelry, and wire wrapped stone cage pendants.

March 2011 Class Schedule
All WEEKDAY CLASSES are held from 6-8pm

If you don't see a class you're interested in, always remember that we have our knitting clinics ($3) on Monday evenings from 6-8pm and Wednesday afternoon from 1-3pm, and beading clinics ($5) most Sundays from 1-3pm, where you'll get expert help with the project that you are interested in.

Click on the class titles to see the class sample and read the description.

Mar 6 Socks 2 At A Time (3/3) Socks on Sunday (1/3) Beading Clinic	Mar 7 Knitting Clinic	Mar 8 Sweater & Shawl Pins	Mar 9 Knitting Clinic	Mar 10 Loop & Wrap	Mar 11	Mar 12 Lampworking Basics option 2
Mar 13 Socks on Sunday (2/3) Beading Clinic	Mar 14 Knitting Clinic	Mar 15	Mar 16 Knitting Clinic Felted Slippers (1/3)	Mar 17	Mar 18	Mar 19 Beginning Knitting (1/2)
Mar 20 Beading Clinic	Mar 21 Knitting Clinic	Mar 22	Mar 23 Knitting Clinic Felted Slippers (2/3)	Mar 24 Stone Cage Pendant	Mar 25	Mar 26 Beginning Knitting (2/2)
Mar 27 Beading Clinic	Mar 28 Knitting Clinic	Mar 29 I-Cord Jewelry	Mar 30 Knitting Clinic Felted Slippers (3/3)	Mar 31	Apr 1	Apr 2

>Our Facebook & Blog Pages

For those of you who want more updates than we send with our newsletter, we wanted to let you know about our blog and Facebook page.

Our blog is where we have been posting our newsletters after we send them, but now we'll also be posting when shipments arrive, and other changes to the store that may inspire you to stop in.

Our Facebook page is where we'll try to post more frequent updates, not only our shipments, but whether clinics are busy or not, or when we make last-minute changes like cancelling clinic. We'd love to have you follow along!

Idea for Inherited Stashes: Charity Knitting

We know that there are a number of you out there that have inherited someone else's yarn stash, with odd skeins and old colors that you aren't sure what you might be able to make. With just a skein or two of a certain color, or several skeins of colors that aren't quite fashionable, there are still plenty of design ideas you can use that will get lots of use and love, like hats, shawls, mittens, scarves, and cowls. You may not have a use for (all of) these items yourself, but there are a number of charities that are looking for items that fall exactly into that category.

We do not want suggest that charity knitting should be made with our ugly and uncomfortable yarn; that yarn may be better used in a braided rug project. We'd also suggest making sure that any accessories that will be worn next to the skin be made with soft fibers and that any scratchy wool be reserved for warm afghans. However, nice yarn in odd colors can be transformed by creating retro striped scarves, a fashionable accessory that will scream Made with Love.

So, once you have identified all of your usable yarn, great resources for patterns include:

One-Skein Wonders 101 Yarn Shop Favorites by Judith Durant	101 Designer One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant
"> Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks! by Judith Durant	Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders 101 Small Indulgences by Judith Durant

What is great about these pattern books, versus individual patterns, is that you get over one hundred beautiful patterns all designed to use limited amounts of yarn. You also get over one hundred opportunities to learn or practice different techniques and stitches, in small, fast-to-complete projects to help you build your knitting repertoire. All of this for less than $20.

So, once you begin finishing your charity projects, there are several reputable organizations that have lists of charities that accept and distribute knitted items, including the publisher of Interweave Knits magazine, Lion Brand Yarns, About.com, and the Knitting Goddess blog, just to list a few. Please browse through their extensive lists to find a charity that touches your heart. To save you some time we list a few beginning with 'A', but there are many, many more that merit your donations.

• Afghans 4 Afghans sends hand knit and crocheted blankets and clothing to displaced Afghan families.
• Algerian Action, a U.K. based non-profit project group which provides toys and clothing to needy children in Algeria. We need cardigans, hats and jumpers for children aged between 0-10 years.
• Angels of Love, provides layettes to needy newborns. Need layette items; blankets, booties, hats. Sizes can be for preemies (1.25 lbs) to full-term (10 lbs). They have patterns if you would like them.
• Annual Crochet & Knit-A-Thon distributes clothing in December to thousands of children who benefit from the work of Children's Home & Aid Society of Illinois (CHASI).
• Artists Helping Children Distributes handmade or decorated bags full of art supplies and soft, handmade toys to children in hospitals.

Think Spring

Even for Minnesota, today is unseasonably cold; but, that's no reason to put our Spring knitting on hold. Just in case you needed some visual stimulation to get motivated to knit, we wanted to show you some pretty, free, Spring-themed Ravelry patterns. Click on the picture to go to the pattern. If you aren't yet signed up for Ravelry, you can take a look at this previous blog post for help.

Spring Time Dishrag by Pam Walker Make with Fantasy Naturale yarn	Spring Time Towel by Pam Walker Make with Fantasy Naturale yarn
Spring Tide Scarf by Sally Ferguson Make with Classic Elite Alpaca Sox yarn	Dreams of Spring Scarf by Denise Twum Make with Diana Collection Silk & Merino yarn
Anouk by Kate Gilbert Make with Berroco Weekend yarn	Posy and Spring by Karen Juliano Make with Berroco Weekend yarn
Lite Bright by Song Palmese Make with Lamb's Pride & Noro	Steggie by Julia Farwell-Clay Make in Plymouth Superwash Merino
Spring Fling Tank by Alison Hansel Make in Florafil Cotton Yarn	Duck by Jeny Staiman Make in TOFUtsies
Spring Fresh Shrug by Heather Carlson Make in Big Softie yarn	Cottonspring Pullover by Sharon Sorken Make in Berroco Linsey

We hope these pattern ideas help you to Think Spring. If none of these patterns strike your fancy you can, of course, you can just do what we did and search for "Spring" on the Ravelry Pattern page and find something just right for you.

Come One, Come All to LAMPWORKING this Saturday!

Julie is very excited to announce that we've gotten enough interest to hold a lampworking class this Saturday, March 5th, with a second class scheduled for Saturday, March 12th for anyone that can't make it on the 5th or wants a second practice session with help. We still have a couple of openings for anyone else who might be interested.

What is lampworking? Lampworking is the name for making handmade glass beads with a torch, glass rods, and a mandrel around which you wind the molten glass. You'll learn about safety, glass properties, and how to make beads that are symmetric around the mandrel in the morning, then in the afternoon you'll learn about using thin stringers of glass to decorate the beads. Julie will do several demos, but the class focuses on hands-on practice time with instructor-guidance when needed.

The class costs $30 and you'll need to purchase a lampworking kit for the class, which will cost $120 (call to ask about rental options). It includes everything you'll need to make beads at home:

4 Ounce Bead Separator

Hot Head Torch

Torch Bench Clamp

Dual Action Marver

Bead Hole Cleaner

10 Pc. Mandrel Set 3/32” X 9”

1/16” Stainless Steel Rake

Mandrel Rest

8” Tweezers

Fiber Blanket

12 Pc. Moretti Rod Pack (Mixed Colors Approx. 13” Long)

Safety Glasses

1 cannister each of MAPP and Propane gas

If you have any questions, Julie is working today, Wednesday, and Friday from 10-4pm. You can call the store at 651-282-0099.

More Spring Yarn Filtering In!

As the Spring yarns filter in, be sure to check out our Clearance Bins! We're adding great new deals as we make room for our new yarns.

Today we got two more fun shipments of yarn. First was a replenishment shipment of Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride with several very fun spring colors. We were thinking of trying a felted Easter basket (and found a fun free Ravelry pattern), or a set of nested Spring baskets with the new colors.

A selection of some of our Springier Lamb's Pride colors.

We also received a shipment of long-awaited yarn, new to our store. O-Wool is produced by the Tunney Wool Company, is 100% certified organic, is made in the USA, and comes in a great variety of pretty heathered colors.

O-Wool
50% certified organic merino wool
50% certified organic cotton
approx. 1.75oz / 50g
approx. 130yds / 120m
5 - 7 US / 3.75 - 4.5 mm
19 - 21 sts = 4" / 10cm

Nothing Livens Spirits like a Yarn Shipment

Despite the new mountains of snow out in inappropriate places, like the street, today is a red banner day at Knits & Pearls as our spring yarns have begun to filter in. The first to arrive was our spring Berroco yarn including a new yarn, Linsey. Look for this pretty heathered/ varigated/ stranded skein of wonderful to officially hit the shelves on March 1st.

Berrocco Linsey
64% Cotton, 36% Linen
50g/114 yards
5sts/in on a US 7 needle

We also got some fun spring colors in Shepherd's Wool, our very soft feltable wool. And, if that isn't fun enough, we also got several colors in the new Shepherd's Wool DK weight yarn last week! Come in and check them out

Valentine's Weekend Sale

Be Our Valentine

Valentines Day is a time of love and appreciation. To show our love and appreciation for you, our customers, we're offering 20% off all store merchandise Saturday, February 12th (10am - 5pm) and Sunday, February 13th, 2011 (noon - 4pm).

February 2011 Class Schedule

We hope that 2011 has been treating you well. This February we're offering some old favorites and some exciting new classes. If you don't see a class you're interested in, always remember that we have our knitting clinics ($3) on Monday evenings from 6-8pm and Wednesday afternoon from 1-3pm, and beading clinics ($5) most Sundays from 1-3pm, where you'll get expert help with the project that you are interested in.

Our new February 2011 class calendar is available on our website; the links that didn't work in the e-mail DO work on the website as long as your browser allows popups.

Are You on Ravelry?

If you have already discovered Ravelry, then you know what a great tool this website is. If you haven't joined the Ravelry world then let us introduce you. Ravelry is akin to the Facebook of knitters and crocheters. Over the next month or so, Knits & Pearls staff will be working on adding all of our store samples to our Ravelry page KnitsandPearlsMN.

If you do nothing else with the site, it is an amazing tool for finding patterns - many free - with advanced pattern search options that allow you to find patterns for specific things (hats, sweaters, socks), for specific kinds of yarn (DK, worsted, super bulky), and yarn yardage (perfect when you have a specific amount of stash you want to use), and that's just the basics of the advanced search. For Valentine's Day, we did a search for 'hearts' and specified that we only wanted patterns with pictures, knit patterns, and patterns that were free. We found this cutie that you could still whip up this weekend:

Ravelry Pattern link
Non-Ravelry link

To sign up, click on the Sign Up button and provide your e-mail address. For those of you weary about giving out your e-mail address, we Ravelers in the shop wanted to let you know that we've never had a problem with spam from this site!

After entering your e-mail address and clicking the "Send Sign Up Link" button, you'll get a screen like.

We got our e-mail in less than a minute.

Click on the link they provide and you'll be send to a page where you'll pick your username and password. After that, you'll be free to roam Ravelry and enjoy all of its features, including posting your own projects and making notes on the yarn and patterns you used to make them.