Sunday Special!
And now for something completely different… this week’s one-day sale is a joint THANK YOU from both Baaad Anna’s and our lovely neighbour Iron Dog Books who was able to secure a number of fun knit pattern titles (both in book and pamphlet form) that we could share with you for the unbelievable price of $2 per book!
* Just a heads up, any books shipped have to be mailed with AT COST SHIPPING; see product info in our eStore. In-store pickup is as always free of charge.
Pick through various titles at your hearts content but watch out as most titles are single copies so grab them while you can and treat yourself!
Enjoy your Sunday!
Anyone Ready to Learn to Knit?
Would you or someone you know benefit from the rhythmic solace that comes from the fine art of knitting? Join us via Zoom in August to get ready to start all of your Fall knits right on time!
BEGINNER KNITTING – ONLINE via ZOOM
Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Glazier
This is a beginner knitting class for anyone who has never picked up needles, or for someone who is looking for a beginner refresher. Participants will learn the basics including casting on, knitting, purling and casting off. The class project will be a choice between simple hat or arm warmers.
The class runs over four weeks in a single month. Each session is one hour long with an additional half hour extension added if we have four or more registrants.
MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED AND INCLUDE FREE SHIPPING (current shipping turnaround min. one week; or call (604) 255 2577 for more immediate curbside pickup which can be arranged any day between 11am-2pm).
COST: $95 (+tax)
Minimum 3 participants and max 6.
Materials Included: One pair of 4.5mm bamboo needles and 100g of a worsted weight yarn, in choice of 4 colours, and a darning needle for finishing.
DATES: Tuesdays August 4, 11, 18 and 25th from 6:00-7:00pm PDT
INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Glazier
Rebecca has been knitting since she was 7 years old and has always had a love for textiles and colour. Teaching people how to knit expresses one of her greatest joys; sharing her creativity and passion with people. Originally from the UK, she has called Vancouver her home for the last 5 years.
To register call 604-255-2577, or register online here!
Summer Stashbusting with Shaped Looms
We have another quick, easy and fun fibre project for you this week – animal frame weaving! A great grab and go kits for you and the kids!!
These small and medium sized sheep and llamas are cute as a button and great summer stashbusters. We also have a rainbow of fibre bundles from Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works ready to go in both small and medium sizes if you need to augment what you already have on hand. These sweet little looms are an easy weaving project to do with kids and are also highly portable. We haven’t tried working on our small weaving projects while picnicking (yet), but we’re convinced it would be fun!
The sheep and llama looms are laser cut from 3mm birch plywood and are custom made for Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works by a company in Rossland, BC, directly from her own hand drawings. The small size looms are 5″x8″ and the medium size looms are 9″x16″.
Here’s the medium sheep loom with a medium sized fibre bundle.
Small frame loom weaving doesn’t require a lot of supplies. Here’s what we recommend you have on hand:
- A pair of scissors
- A medium/large sized darning needle
- Strong cotton thread or wool for your warp fibre (you will have to keep the warp fairly tight so try not to use a yarn that might break or fray if pulled tightly)
- Roving, odds and ends of yarn in your stash, or other fibre to make your project look exactly as you’d like it to
- Downloading the instructions from Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works as a guide
The instructions give you a step-by-step picture guide on how to warp your loom, which will set you up for success when you start weaving. It also gives you lots of inspiration for different weaving techniques to try in your piece like tabby weave, stuffing, rya knots, bubble weave and soumak stitch.
Warp threads done and ready to weave!
It’s easy as can be to get the warp set up on your small loom. Make sure not to pull too tightly on the warp threads to avoid causing the loom to bow. Once your warp is in place, let your creativity run free! We found that weaving with 3-4 strands of different weight yarns helped give our llamas lots of dimension and fluff. You can try high contrast or low contrast colours together, adding different materials than yarn or wool, and really anything else that you can think of.
Much like the other fibre projects we’ve been highlighting over the past few weeks, there are no mistakes to be made here. It’s all about playing with colour and texture! There were more than a few times where we tried something that didn’t quite work out and we went back to try something new.
Little llama all done!
We opted to do lots of bubble weaving and stuffing for our llamas to give them that fluffy look. If you’re going to embark on this project with kids stuffing, tabby and bubble weaving are all easy weaving techniques for them to experiment with.
Medium llama all done!
It’s time to dig out all those little bits of yarn that you have leftover from other projects and to finish them up in an easy one-day project. As we start to think about fall sweaters (is it ever too early for that?!), what a great way to tie up all your loose ends!
Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works is based in Rossland, BC, and we are lucky to carry Sarah Elizabeth’s Easy Eco Wash, Silk Linen, batts for spinning and felting, and a number of kits from her (like felted soaps, macrame plant hangers, and macraweave kits). If you are new to her yarn, fibre and kits, check them out in the online store, you’ll be glad you did.
Sunday Surprise!
Another week and this one is HUGE! We are offering our FULL STOCK of Cascade 220 at 40% off! This is an amazing staple for anyone who wants to use a quality 100% wool yarn without breaking the bank, and we just brought in a giant order that we are able to offer at a discount. Now’s your time for stashing up for your Fall gift knits or any larger project you were hoping to work on soon!
With 40% OFF our regular price $11.95 (today only $7.20/100g skein!) you could knit up one of this week’s hottest Ravelry patterns from Espace Tricot that also happens to be free… the Campfire Cozy. This elegant wrap is both an easy knit, and with today’s ONE DAY ONLY SALE you be yours for only $50! (Just find SEVEN skeins of your favorite colour and away you go!).
Enjoy!
We are going to be taking a small Give Back Sunday break over the summer but the charity knitting continues! Our regularly scheduled Sunday knit times for July and August will be postponed but we will be back in September with lots of fun progress updates on our bias square blanket project and our goal towards 52 pairs of socks that we will be donating to a temporary modular housing project in the Downtown Eastside.
Donation socks knit by some amazing charity knitters in our community.
Recently, Baaad Anna’s donated 58 pairs of socks to a Vancouver modular housing project and we’re gearing up to donate another 52 pairs of socks to yet another temporary modular housing unit in the Downtown Eastside. So far we have about 12 pairs towards our goal and would love for you to put some charity socks on your needles to help us get closer to our magic number of 52.
Take us home! These colourful sock tubes need someone to take them home and add heels, toes and cuffs.
If you are interested in knitting some socks for donation, we need socks of all shapes, sizes and colours, but most needed are large-sized in neutral colours. We are also accepting donations of:
- Sock yarns: Any washable yarn with some nylon in it for circular sock machine cranking (we have someone who is offering to crank out sock tubes for us)
- Heel/toe knitters: The sock tubes have been donated to us that just need to be completed into socks with the addition of heels, toes, and cuffs; just come by the store to pick up tubes!
- Any already completed under-loved hand knit socks FOs (finished objects) in like-new condition
We are also continuing to accept bias squares that we’ll be using for patchwork blankets. If you’re choose to do bias squares for the blankets here’s what you need to know:
- We recommend using superwash, acrylic or other yarn blends that won’t felt in the wash
- Use any weight or colour of yarn in your stash and you can marl, colour block, or stick with a single colour (no rules!)
- We are using this free Ravelry pattern called ‘Any Size Any Yarn Garter Square’ by Holly Terrell for the squares to make sure that each square is similar
- Knit the pattern as written until one side of your square measures 8 inches and then begin the decrease section.
Some of the lovely bias squares that have been donated so far!
If you are ready to drop your charity knits off please bring them by the store any day between 11am – 2pm. Knock on the door and our friendly staff will have a donation bin for you to place them in.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the fall, here are the Give Back Sunday dates for the rest of 2020:
- Sunday, September 13 – 1-2:30pm
- Sunday, October 11 – 1-2:30pm
- Sunday, November 8 – 1-2:30pm
- Sunday, December 13 – 1-2:30pm
Baaad Anna’s has a long-standing commitment to serving the community. Our Give Back Sundays typically take place on the second Sunday of every month and we happily and gratefully collect knit, crocheted or woven donations all year round.
We are so grateful to everyone that contributes to these community projects – you are making a difference!
Here’s Your Alert…
Just a small teaser…
This week’s will be a good one… all in the name of affordability and prep for Fall knits. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Your Favorite Chicken?
I always enjoy seeing the end result when yarn leaves the store and goes out into the world. I had the enjoyment of seeing one of our Backyard Chicken sets get knit up into the same pattern I knit, and how different the results are when you change colourways!
Check out this gorgeous Downhome Shawl knits up in the chicken set based off the colourings of the Black Australorp rooster:
Thank you to our customer Mandy who shared this project with us!
And how it matches and yet so greatly differs from this set based on the New Hampshire Red rooster that we used for our Downhome Shawl sample:
We have 24 different breeds of chickens represented in Hue Loco’s Backyard Chicken sets which include one full 100g skein in a main colour as well as two coordinating 20g skeinettes for all your colourwork pleasure! Socks are the most obvious way to use these sets but good amount of yardage allows for a lot of fun working up a simple shawl with an allowance for a few good colour pops! And as noted above, Alicia Plummer specifically designed her Downhome Shawl to work specifically with Hue Loco’s Backyard Chicken sets, and was our Project of the Month earlier this year!
Read more here about these amazing sets from dyer Hue Loco who is known for adding so many amazing nuances to her colourways that the yarn essentially knits itself, as it is SO enjoyable to work with.
Which is YOUR favorite chicken???
And here’s some eye candy of our own backyard chickens which I was easily convinced to add to our family after knitting a few of these gorgeous sets!
Sunday Surprise!
Today’s surprise Sunday sale is for all the spinners and weavers out there that deserve some silky comfort in their lives! For one day only we will be offering our local BC favorite, West Coast Colour’s spinning fibre for 30% off! This includes their signature Orgasm base which is a 50/50 camel/silk blend and their Satisfaction base which is a 50/50 polworth/silk blend.
Pillowy and soft, these bases create a smooth and silky draft for any spinner, but also sheen and texture to any woven piece. Enjoy!
New Alpine Macraweave Kits!
We love Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works kits! Last week we tried the elegant plant hanger kits and this week we learned how to macraweave with the new Alpine Macraweave kits we have in the online store. This is the perfect blend of macrame and weaving. No loom or special equipment needed, and at the end of a few hours you’ll have learned lots with an alpine-inspired wall hanging to show for it. There will be no two alike.
The kit come in 13 different colourways and includes everything you will need to complete the macraweave wall hanging:
- 50g of roving: 3-5 knots in assorted colours
- 45m (50yds) of rope: 27m (30yds) primary skein, 18m (20yds) secondary skein
- 30cm (1ft) copper pipe with end caps, and
- the detailed instructions (downloadable here).
You’ll also need to have a pair of scissors handy, two ‘s’ hooks and something to hang the hooks on to keep the pipe steady while you do the macrame and weaving. We found that over the door hooks can work in a pinch if you don’t have any ‘s’ hooks readily available.
Top macrame portion complete with lark’s head, square, barrel and hitch knots done. On to the weaving portion!
The kit gives you a chance to learn some of the basic macrame knots, like the lark’s head, square, barrel and hitch. Each are beginner-friendly knots and YouTube has a ton of fantastic resources to help you learn each of them. The weaving portion has you weaving with tabby, bubble and soumak techniques with rope and roving which gives your weaving beautiful texture and dimension.
The instructions provided are clear and helpful, giving you just enough detail but aren’t prescriptive and encourage creativity. Creativity really is the theme of the day when macraweaving. You get to choose where and how the mountains are placed, how high you want them to be and the weaving section is a blank canvas for experimenting with the different stitches, combinations, colours, heights and patterns. There are no mistakes to make in this project, it’s just about whether what is unfolding in front of you works for you or whether you want to go back a step and make some changes.
Almost there, just a little more weaving at the top of the mountain to go!
Here are a few tips and things we learned while making our alpine macraweave wall hanging that might help you in the process of making yours:
- Find a space for your computer or phone next to where you are going to be doing your macraweaving. It makes watching videos and trying the techiniques at the same time much easier.
- When setting up your lark’s head knots on the copper bar, we found that the ideal spacing between them was 1/8th of an inch. This made the square and hitch knots section perfectly spaced with no bunching.
- If you’ve done weaving before you may be thrown off by weaving with looser warp threads (the vertical ones). Trust the process, it totally works and gets easier after the first few rows.
- The diagonal hitch knots can be a little tricky when making the outline of your mountains and after the first few it gets a lot easier to find the right tension and spacing between each.
- To get lots of dimension with your roving try fluffing it once you loosely weave it in place. Try using smaller pieces of roving as well, it will give the roving sections lots of different textures.
We loved making this kit, it was the ideal combination of directions and room to let creativity take over. It’s a 10/10 in our books! Now all we need to do is find the perfect place to hang it.
Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works is based in Rossland, BC, and we are lucky to carry Sarah Elizabeth’s Easy Eco Wash, Silk Linen, batts for spinning and felting, and a number of kits from her (like felted soaps, macrame plant hangers, and weaving kits). If you are new to her yarn, fibre and kits, check them out in the online store, you’ll be glad you did.
Sunday Surprise!
This week we will be celebrating the start of summer with a one-day savings on one of our most popular summer yarns: Sirdar Baby Bamboo! This classic blend of bamboo and wool DK-weight has been a favorite for baby-wear makers as well as for shoulder-season knits. At $7.50/50g it is already an affordable option, and today only you can get an additional 30% OFF!
With incredible sheen and drape, there are countless knits that can be perfect for a good summer project. Here’s what I used it for…
Cable and Lace Wrap Cardigan by Lois Daykin
Enjoy your Sunday!
