Baaad Anna's Yarn Store

So you’ve knit a scarf, or a dish cloth, or perhaps a whole cupboard full. Or maybe you picked up knitting but laid it away for too long to remember. What’s next?

As the holidays rolls in, perhaps it is time to try your hand at new skills: pattern reading, lace, cables, increases, decreases? They can lead to a refresh sense of excitement and a world of new garments for your knitting, and we are launching an easy step-by-step ‘drop-in’ series of skills building that you can do at your own pace. And over the course of the series you also work towards completing a lap blanket extraordinaire!

Work on each 14 inch square per class to learn a new technique and end up with a throw blanket to boot!

To register visit our online store, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!

**NEW** BUILDING BLOCKS beyond the basics WORKSHOP SERIES

Need a knitting refresher? Or thinking about what you can learn next? This Building Blocks series can take your beginner skills and stitch them into knitting expertise. Select workshops that interest you and work towards completing a sampler blanket.

Prerequisite: Comfortable with your cast on, knit, purl, fixing basic mistakes and cast-off.

WORKSHOP TOPICS (Take one or any in series)

• Workshop 1 (Square 1): Knit and Purl Review with Long-Tail Cast-On (recommended to take second before advancing to other workshops in series)
• Workshop 2 (Square 2: Charts, Gauge and Bind-Off (recommended to take second before advancing to other workshops in series)
• Workshop 3 (Square 3): Yarn Over and Bobbles
• Workshop 4 (Square 4): Simple Decreases
• Workshop 5 (Square 5): Cables
• Workshop 6 (Square 6 & 7): Right Twist, Mock Cable
• Workshop 7 (Square 8 & 9): Slip Stitch. Left Twist
• Workshop 8 (Square 10): SSK with Intro to Lace
• Workshop 9 (Square 11): Increases: Make One
• Workshop 10 (Square 12): Advanced Decreases
• Workshop 11 Joining: Mattress Stitch and Crochet Seams
• Workshop 12 Ask a Teacher/ Review Anything

COST: A package of 12 workshops costs $195(+tax); or drop-in price is $29(+tax) per class.

2018 SERIES DATES & TOPICS:

• Friday Nov 16th 6:00-7:30pm                Workshop 1: Knit and Purl Review with Cast-On (recommended first in series)
• Sunday Nov 18th 9:30-11am                 Workshop 1: Knit and Purl Review with Cast-On (recommended first in series)
• Monday Nov 19th 6:00-7:30pm            Workshop 7: Slip Stitch. Left Twist
• Friday Nov 23rd 6:00-7:30pm               Workshop 2: Charts, Gauge and Bind-Off (recommended second in series)
• Sunday Nov 25th 9:30-11:00am            Workshop 12: Ask a Teacher/ Review Anything
• Monday Nov 26th 6:00-7:30pm            Workshop 8: SSK with Intro to Lace
• Friday Nov 30th 6-7:30pm                    Workshop 11: Joining: Mattress & Crochet Seams
• Sunday Dec 2nd 9:30-11:00am             Workshop 1: Knit and Purl Review with Cast-On (recommended first in series)
• Monday Dec 3rd 6:00-7:30pm              Workshop 9: Increases: Make One
• Sunday Dec 9th 9:30-11:00am              Workshop 2: Charts, Gauge and Bind-Off (recommended second in series)
• Monday Dec 10th 6:00-7:30pm            Workshop 10: Advanced Decreases
• Friday Dec 14th 6:00-7:30pm                Workshop 11: Joining: Mattress & Crochet Seams
• Sunday Dec 16th 9:30-11:00am            Workshop 12: Ask a Teacher/ Review Anything

MATERIALS NEEDED: 50-70g of worsted wool per workshop (recommended one ball of Sugar Bush Bold) and a pair of 5mm 24-inch circular needles. Tool kits that includes darning needle, stitch markers, cable needle, medium size post-it notes and row counter. Materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store.

Please note, in some classes two different blanket squares will be started so there might be a bit more materials required; please check the link to each workshop description to verify the appropriate materials and homework list.

INSTRUCTOR: Barth Siemens

To register visit our online store, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!

To register visit our online store, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!

Hot on the heels of the kit’s launch at Knit City, the Lacy Day Fingerless Mitts Kits has grown to three new colours! We’re thrilled to be be able to kit up this beautiful pattern by talented young local designer Caitlin Shepherd of pluckypigeonknits.

This garment plays on one of Caitlin’s signature looks — a classic rustic garment, enhanced with a touch of lace.

Seen here in the Sand and Madder colourway.

We’ve paired one of our favorite workhorse superwash ultrafine merinos, Sugar Bush Bold, with a new addition to our lineup of local eco dyers: Elderberry Yarns. Their Nature Dyed Yarn line comes from dyes found in their Saltspring Island garden and yet their yarn stays buttery soft… so lovely!

The kit comes in THREE colourways, and contains:

1 pattern for Lacy Day Fingerless Mitts by Caitlin Shepherd of PluckyPigeonKnits

1 skein of Sugar Bush Bold

1 mini skein of Elderberry Yarns Nature Dyed Sock

$21.95

BUY YOUR KIT HERE!

Teal & Penny Green

Black & Lichen

Sand & Madder

Pair these mitts with a matching Lacy Day Sweater for a complete look!

photo by Caitlin Shepherd

BUY YOUR KIT HERE!

Happy knitting!

There’s been so many amazing projects made since we started the monthly Give Back Sundays event in the Spring. This Sunday is Remembrance Day so we will be closed until 1pm, but then we thought it fitting that our Give Back Sunday event falls on this introspective day. We are proud that the community has been coming together to knit socks for the newly homed, hats for newborns, and other amazing fibre arts for our annual warm-things drive.

This month I wanted to give attention to another amazing knit- and crochet- for others opportunity: the Knitted Knocker Campaign. Knitted Knockers are special handmade breast prosthesis for women who have undergone mastectomies or other procedures to the breast. Traditional breast prosthetics are usually expensive, heavy, sweaty and uncomfortable. Knitted Knockers on the other hand are soft, comfortable, beautiful and when placed in a regular bra they take the shape and feel of a real breast. This volunteer knit and crochet opportunity has been led by a quiet army around the world for many years now, and locally championed by the West Coast Knitters Guild.

We’ve received many donations of pima and soft cottons over the past few months that I have set aside for this very purpose, so if you want to knit or crochet some knockers, please feel free to pop by the shop anytime in November to pick up free yarn and pattern for these! Or join us this Sunday Nov 11th from 1-3pm for our Give Back Sunday event and pick some up at that time. And be sure to bring your needles or hook and cast on in store! We would love to have you join us!

A variety of warm things ready for our annual knitathon warm things drive! Thank you to one of our Give Back Sunday regulars for this amazing and cozy donation!

Our Give Back Sunday happen monthly on the second Sunday of every month and is an all-welcome, free-of-charge, community-building knit group. Bring your tools and come and knit or crochet from 1-3pm with donated yarn and treats amongst like-minded East Van makers. You can choose to knit whatever project you wish, so long as it is with someone in need in mind. Additionally, we are still collecting hand knit socks for a third local modular housing unit to receive a Warm Things package. We are 27 towards our goal of 39 pairs!

Fall is here, and it’s time to get cozy with chunky knits and luxurious textures. Warm up your world with this gorgeous Banff Wrap shawl, created with our Americo Original Eco Alpaca DK.

This deceptively easy pattern uses four skeins of Dark Ocean colour, and three skeins of Seafoam to create a subtle but impactful ombre blend that shows of the shape and design of the piece. You can create your own favourite gradient colourway, as well, from seven more beautiful shades. And as with all Americo Original patterns, this simple design is available as a free pattern with purchase of their yarn!

BUY YOUR PROJECT KIT HERE!

We are a great supporter of Toronto’s Americo Original Yarns as this Canadian brand does its own sourcing by visiting farms and mills of Peru to create some of the most interesting yarns currently available on the market. The texture lends itself to simple patterns, letting the yarn do the heavy lifting!

Check out all the colours we have in-store, and explore the possibilities for your new Fall shawl!

BUY YOUR PROJECT KIT HERE!

Sorry there will be NO KNIT NIGHT this Wednesday due to excessive Halloween partying.

See you again on Nov 7th!

We have oodles of old school knit patterns and magazines for the taking… take one, take all… ask our staff any day this week and they will point you in the right direction to take as many as you wish. Take them for yourself, or pick them up for your knit charity of your choice! And here’s a fun post on what to do with those old knit mags. 

If only they looked this beautiful and organized!

With November around the corner there are a few fun ways to get your knit on.

Register today ONLINE, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!

KIDS LEARN TO KNIT

Hey Kids! Come and learn the basics of knitting with a fun and engaging group of knitters & friends! This is a hands on class where you will learn how to start a project and the basic stitches so you will feel confident continuing on your own.

In this project based class, kids from Grade 1-7 can learn how to knit—if you don’t already know—and/or learn new techniques while working on cool and simple projects like scarves, cowls, fingerless gloves or toys. Each kid knits what they want based on interest and skill level while being guided in a fun and engaging group of knitters and friends. All levels welcome. Min 3 and max 8 participants for students from Grades 1 through Grade 7. See more details here.

Patterns/project ideas will be supplied for students based on their skill level & interest.

DATE:  Sundays November 11, 18, 25 & December 2nd from 1:00-2:00pm

COST: $60 (+tax)

INSTRUCTOR: Laura Withers

KNIT TWO TOGETHER:

Mom & Me/ Dad & Me/ My Fav Person & Me

Bring your favorite adult and learn to knit a project together from beginning to end! Learn to cast-on, knit, purl, basic decrease, and cast-off; and choose between one of two projects to work on with you buddy. Min 4 participants (2 pairs) and max 10 participants for students from Kindergarten—age 5—through Grade 7. See more details here.

NOVEMBER DATES:  Sundays November 11th, 18th, 25th & December 2nd from 2:30-3:30pm

COST: $120 (+tax) for pair

INSTRUCTOR: Laura Withers

Interested in knitting a gorgeous fair-isle sweater in under $40? We love these 25g of non-superwash British Yorkshire-spun 100% wool in gorgeous heathered colourway, and Baa Ram Ewe‘s Pip Colourwork mini balls are an amazing way to play with colour!

BUY ONLINE HERE

At $5.50/ball you can pick and choose from their selection of 14 colourways and knit up a storm if you match them with our home-grown Briggs & Little Sport, a robust and affordable yarn from the East Coast.

From the Baa Ram Ewe website: The rich tradition of stranded knitting in Shetland has always been admired and in recent years has grown in popularity but perhaps less well known is the history of Yorkshire colourwork, in particular that of the Knitters of the Dales. Designers and Yorkshire Knitting historians such as Penelope Hemingway, Ann Kingstone and Angharad Thomas celebrate this tradition in much of their work, and we thought it was about time we got on board and created our own dedicated Yorkshire colourwork yarn with British wool spun and dyed in Yorkshire. And the name? Pip comes from the traditional Swaledale ‘Yan Tan Thethera’ method of sheep counting: Yan (one), Tan (Two), Tether (Three), Mether (Four) and Pip- our Fifth baa ram ewe yarn!

Baa Ram Ewe’s Pip Colourwork yarns:

• 4ply Fingering Weight
• 25 gram balls
• 115 metres /126 yards
• 100% British Wool; Spun and Dyed in Yorkshire
• $5.50/ball

BUY ONLINE HERE

Join us this Sunday October 14th from 1-3pm for our knit-for-others open knit space called GIVE BACK SUNDAYS. We have a basket of donated yarn that is for the taking, so long as you use the material to create something to give away!

Our donation knitters have been very basy as of late, and we have been able to complete a record of 90 newborn purple hats for the annual Purple Cap Campaign. This is a fantastic initiative put on by Click for Babies. Their goal is to give out a tiny purple hat to every baby born in the province of BC during the month of November which helps to raise awareness about the Period of PURPLE Crying and prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome.

What does 90 newborn hats look like you may ask?

And collectively we were also able to give a bit of Thanksgiving cheer to the residents of the new Powell Street Modular Housing units in the Downtown East Side. This modular housing complex opened earlier this year and is thew only female-only unit of the new housing that have been going up around the City. It includes 39 units, and our Give Back Sundays and other donors offered 39 gorgeous merino and other natural fibre shawls, cowls and scarfs as a gift to the residents this last holiday weekend.

39 cowls for 39 recipients!

So come join us for an afternoon to crafting, giving and good company this weekend for our monthly Give Back Sunday event!

Ninety hats in groups of ten!! Thank you to all the hat knitters!

INTERMEDIATE TECHNIQUES WEEKEND SERIES with Holli Yeoh

Uplift your knits from “home made” to “hand knit” by learning fine finishings and other techniques that rival commercially made garments. In this series of three skill-building workshops we’ll work on cast ons, seams, full-fashioned increases and decreases, grafting, weaving in ends and more. You will feel a sense of pride and confidence in your finished projects!

Minimum 4 participants and maximum 9

Take individual classes OR save on registration when you take all three.

Register today ONLINE, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!

Photo courtesy of Holli Yeoh.

Part I:  Fully Fashioned Shaping

MATERIALS NEEDED: 

• Worsted weight yarn in a light to medium colour.  You can bring more than one colour if you want to make stripes or contrast edging and cuffs
• 4mm (US 6) or 4.5mm (US 7) size needle
• Cable needle
• Basic knitters toolkit
• Gauge swatch homework (give upon registration)

Materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store.

DATE: Saturday, Oct 13th from 10:00am – 1:00pm

COST: $55 for the one class OR $125 for the series

*****

Part II:  Short Rows

MATERIALS NEEDED: 

• Worsted weight yarn in a light to medium colour.  You can bring more than one colour if you want to make stripes or contrast edging and cuffs
• 4.5mm (US 7) size needles
• Self-locking stitch markers
• Basic knitters toolkit
• Homework (give upon registration)

Materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store.

DATE: Saturday, Oct 13th from 2:00 – 5:00pm

COST: $55 for the one class OR $125 for the series

*****

Part III:  Picking Up Stitches

MATERIALS NEEDED: 

• Two colours of Worsted weight yarn in a light to medium colour
• 3.75mm and 4mm (US 5 and 6) knitting needles
• Basic knitters toolkit
• Homework (give upon registration)

Materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store.

DATE: Friday, Oct 12th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm

COST: $55 for the one class OR $125 for the series

INSTRUCTOR: Holli Yeoh, of  Holli Yeoh Designs

Register today ONLINE, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!