Baaad Anna's Yarn Store

Another Sunday, another special, this one just in time to celebrate Mother’s Day with a quick knit. Here’s another pick-me-up in the form of a one-day sale every Sunday for you to find a sweater quantity at an affordable price, or even just a single skein of that something special to treat yourself. And then join us between 1-3pm for our Give Back Sunday online here.

Today we offer some really soft and pretty chunky! Uneek Chunky is a single ply, lightly spun, self striping yarn with a gently hand which floats off the needle or hook of your choice to create quick projects. Wanna be ready for Christmas in July? Check out our simple single skein project ideas below and stock up today for all your easy gifting needs at 50% off until the end of the day.

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Here’s how the colours work up in a self-stripping pattern… Winter Is Cowling by Michele C Meadows and the Mega Rib by Kali Berg.

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Enjoy your Sunday! We will weather this together, as we are stronger as a community.

We’re taking Give Back Sundays online again! Join us this Sunday, May 10th, from 1-2:30pm for some quality charity knitting time on Zoom (Meeting ID: 856 1315 4569, Password: 888692).

While we can’t be together in person, we can knit something together now that will become a beautiful donated item at a later date. For Give Back Sunday, we are inviting you to knit a bias square (or a few!) to contribute to a patch blanket. Once assembled the blanket (or blankets) will be donated to those in need in the Downtown Eastside.

Since this is the second bias square Give Back Sunday some of you may be ready to drop your squares off. You are welcome to 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.

This simple nature of the bias square gives you the flexibility to use any weight or colour of yarn in your stash – you can marl, colour block or stick with a single colour. Superwash, acrylic or other yarn blends that won’t felt in the wash are recommended.

We will be using a 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 as the pattern prescribes until one side of your square measures 8 inches and then begin the decrease section. Voila, an 8×8 inch square. It’s easy peasy!

It doesn’t matter if you can’t make it on Sunday. We’d love for everyone to knit a bias square that can be added to the blanket(s). If bias squares aren’t your thing please feel free to contribute knit socks or hats, they are always needed and so appreciated.

We hope to see your friendly faces on Sunday, it will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up while knitting a common project together. There is no pressure to knit a bias square, it’s just a suggestion. You are welcome to knit whatever donation project you have on your needles. We have put a donation basket at our store for any drop offs that can be delivered any day between 11am-2pm while we have curbside pick ups… just knock and we’ll gladly collect these for those in need!

Baaad Anna’s has a long-standing commitment to serving the community. Our Give Back Sundays take place on the second Sunday of every month and we happily and gratefully collect knit, crocheted or woven donations all year round. Mark your calendars as the next ones will be happening on June 14th and July 12th.

Read more about our warm things drive in December and the impact our Give Back Sunday and volunteer knitters made in 2019.

Happy 4th of May!

Ready to get your knit on? Know someone who could use more knitting in their lives? Make May the month where you learn to knit, or pass beyond the knit square/scarf rut with our two new online Beginner and Beyond classes.

Online learning is in full swing, everyone from children in kindergarten to students in university and here at Baaad Anna’s we are excited to be offering a wide variety of classes and workshops online via ZOOM .  These classes have been providing not only the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques but also a virtual space to meet and connect with others.  The week we have the following two new sessions starting with Rebecca Glazier.

Beginner Knitting Class Online Via Zoom

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 a simple cowl or arm warmers. The class includes 6 hours of instruction over 4 weeks in a single month.

THIS IS AN ONLINE CLASS via ZOOM, so you will also need to have a decent internet connection and download the free ZOOM app. Instructions will be emailed before 1st class.

MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED AND INCLUDE FREE SHIPPING (current Canada Post shipping turnaround is about 3 workdays; or call (604) 255 2577 for more immediate curbside pickup which can be arranged any day between 11am-2pm).

MAY DATES: Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21 and 28th from 6:00-7:30pm

COST: $95 (+tax)

Beyond the Basics: Knitting on DPN’s In the Round and Cables Online via Zoom.

Take your basic knit and purl to another level by learning to knit in the round using DPN (double pointed needles), cables and increases by joining us to knit a pair of fingerless mitts. This online knit-a-long is a four week class that will break down a pattern into parts and give online help with our Knitting Teacher as you go along. You will work on each segment on the week in between and end with a finished product of a new pair of mitts.

THIS IS AN ONLINE CLASS via ZOOM, so you will also need to have a decent internet connection and download the free ZOOM app. Instructions will be emailed before 1st class.

We will be working together on a pair of fingerless mitts in this pattern:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vancouver-fog
Please download the FREE pattern from Ravelry before your class.

MATERIALS NEEDED: One pair of 5mm DPN needles and 100g of a worsted weight yarn, such as Cascade 220 Worsted or Malabrigo Rios. Materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store. (Current Canada Post shipping turnaround is about 3 workdays; or call (604) 255 2577 for more immediate curbside pickup which can be arranged any day between 11am-2pm).

MAY DATES: Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21 and 28th from 4:45-5:45pm

To register call 604-255-2577, or register online here!

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.

For our our fifth week of our Sunday Surprise, we offer something different. Our Sunday pick-me-up comes in the form of a one-day sale every Sunday this week’s we will offer savings on a not-so-perfect hot buy!

Today only we offer our entire restock from earlier this week on the recently published 52 Weeks of Sock by Laine Publishing. However, only after receiving our order we were given notice from the publisher that their latest print run includes a small mistake – one page has been printed twice, which means that page 208 from the Fizalis pattern is missing. A PDF copy of the missing page will be forwarded to each customer who purchases this hard copy book. So although Laine Publishing as of yet has not provided retailers that received this run a discount, our team feels we cannot charge full price for this imperfect print and we would like to offer our full restock at a deep discount.

So today only, you can get this imperfect copy of 52 Weeks of Socks (or should it be 51??) from Laine Publishing at 30% off the cover price. It is otherwise a beautiful book of patterns.

Reg $75.00; today only: $49.00!

But act fast, we only have SIX books available at this price!

Enjoy your Sunday! We will weather this together, as we are stronger as a community.

Cotton, bamboo, linen, silk, hemp. Fibre friends, we have such a rich variety of materials available to use beyond wool. If you haven’t had an opportunity to cast on with one of these natural fibres, this might be the perfect time. We’ve just added the new line of Vegan Yarn Pakucho worsted cotton to the store in seven colourways. It’s from a local dyer, machine washable (yippee!), fair trade, organic and sustainable.

New Vegan Yarn Pakucho worsted organic cotton in seven colourways. Imagine using these for colour work? 

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Vegan Yarn is brought to you by Heidi Braacx who hand dyes yarn in her home studio right here in the Lower Mainland, in New Westminster. Her Pakucho cotton is a special yarn, in that the colourways are naturally pigmented and not dyed (which is why there’s some price variance between colorways). The cotton is grown in natural cream, beige, brown, avocado, and mauve shades without pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals.

Pakucho is made from an ancient heritage variety of South American cotton and purchasing this yarn directly supports biodiversity and the amazing heritage of colourgrown cottons. We really appreciate how much Vegan Yarn focuses on sustainability, and fair trade and labour practices. The Pakucho yarn is EKO Certified Organic by USDA, adheres to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), SKAL & Certified Fair Trade by Control Union Fair Choice, and it has been made for Vegan Yarn by Peru Naturtex.

If all that wasn’t enough to convince you to plan your next project in this yarn then let me add this: it is machine washable and can be put in the dryer as long as you account for 10-15% shrinkage in length as you would with other cotton fabrics. The colour will also intensify with washing rather than dulling. Drop some food on your sweater or get it dirty while out on a hike? Pop it into the washing machine. It’s the ideal no muss, no fuss yarn that will let you wear your me mades worry free.

One of our staff members, Gabby, is currently working on a Sailing Sweater in Vegan Yarn Pakucho using the Rust colourway. It’s beautifully soft and gives lovely definition to lace and cable patterns. The breathable cotton is going to make it the perfect sweater for cool summer evenings. We can’t wait to see how the lace looks when it’s blocked, the stitch definition and texture of the Pakucho yarn will really pop!

Note: for this sweater Gabby went down two needle sizes to achieve the required gauge in the pattern. Don’t forget to gauge swatch when trying new yarns to make sure that your final work will match the patterns intended dimensions. Check out this great Tin Can Knits resource on gauge, you’ll never regret swatching!

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Fibres:  100% Certified Organic Cotton
Gauge:  20 stitches = 4 inches (10 cm)
Needles:  4.5 – 5.5 mm (US 7 – 9)
Weight:  Worsted (4)
Length:  50 g / 88 yards (80 m)

Machine wash. Machine dry.

In addition to carrying Pakucho cotton, we also carry Pleiades (sock fingering bamboo and cotton blend), Bellatrix (fingering weight bamboo), and Vega (super bulky organic cotton) lines of Vegan Yarn in the store. From Peru to New West to you!

Pleiades

Bellatrix

Vega

We can’t wait to see what you decide to make in your Vegan Yarn. The possibilities are endless!

You can purchase your Vegan Yarn in the online store or you can call us between 11am-2pm each day to place an order over the phone. While Baaad Anna’s is closed to the public for the moment we are offering inclusive shipping options as well as curbside pick up.

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Hope that you are all staying safe. We will weather this together, as we are stronger as a community.

We are super excited to be able to launch the new 2020 breeds of Hue Loco’s Backyard Chickens yarn as soon as they have hatched! If you are not yet familiar with these amazing yarn combination sets, dyer Nicole of Hue Loco has pinpointed nuances of the gorgeous natural colours of various backyard chicken breeds and for three years now has offered sets of 100g mail colours with two complimentary contrast 20g mini skeins to knit the most beautiful unusually coloured socks or shawls!

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We are lucky enough to be one of the only shops in Canada to carry Hue Loco’s amazing yarn, and I believe we are the ONLY place in the world currently that has stock of every breed of her 2018, 2019 and 2020 sets! How do these translate from chickens to yarn to knitware you might ask? This gorgeous Black Wheaten Ameraucana rooster inspired the colourway for the shawl above and you can see how it represents the gorgeous blue-brown speckles and pops of bright orange and translucent lavendar in this bird’s glistening feathers!

With four species of roosters (dyed on her Merino Sock base of a bouncy twist 80% SW Merino 20% Nylon) and four species of hens (dyed on her Phyllis Sock base of a relaxed twist 75% SW Merino 25% Nylon) for each year, we have 24 different sets to choose from! Here’s a sneak peek at some of this year’s colourways that launch today…

 

These amazing yarn sets that are inspired by the colours found in chicken breeds of today’s modern urban farmers…

Black Wheaten Ameraucana

Blue Langshan

Onagadori

Sumatra

Photo credit: Hue Loco via IG

To highlight the amazing colour combinations in a handknit, I used Stephen West’s free Boneyard Shawl pattern as a base for my newest shawl, and alternated colours and a simple lace pattern for every second rib, until my yarn ran out! I used one of the contrasting minis for ribs in the long an short ends of the shawl as well as the cast-off, and the other contrasting mini near the middle to use up as much of the yarn as possible. It was a bit of an experiment, but amusing enough to make it one of my quickest knits to date!

Nicole has stopped dyeing the 2018 sets for the time being, so these are very limited edition at the moment, and include some of our previous favorites including the New Hampshire Red rooster that we used for our Downhome Shawl sample:

… as well as my favorite the Welsummer rooster, used here to knit a pair of socks in the free Harris Tweed pattern (with enough yarn left to knit a second pair!):

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For our fourth week of our Sunday Surprise, we will offer some tools of the trade! Each week we have been offering a pick-me-up in the form of a one-day sale every Sunday as a treat amongst these strange, strange days.

Today only we offer the Knitter’s Pride birch-wood specialty set GOLDEN LIGHT for 35% off which is a warm-coloured version of their much-loved Dreamz sets. Interchangible with any Knitters Pride, KnitPicks, or Knitters Pro needles, these have also been known to work with Lykke sets as well. This set includes:

• Nine pairs of Interchangeable Needle Tips with matte gold connectors in sizes: US 4 (3.5 mm), US 5 (3.75 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm), US 8 (5.0 mm), US 9 (5.5 mm), US 10 (6.0 mm), US 10.5 (6.5 mm), US 11 (8.0 mm) that carry laser-marked sizes.
• 4 Cords in Individual colors to create needle length of: 24″ (60 cm – green), 2 x 32″ (80 cm – orange), 40″ (100 cm – red)
• An assortment of knitting accessories: 8 End caps, 4 Cord keys, 1 Cord Connections Set, fabric pouch.

Reg $158.00; today only: $102.70!

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If you have been considering adding a set to your tools, this is a fantastic price for a quality set; these are some of my favorite in my toolbox. |But act fast, we only have NINE sets available at this price!

Enjoy your Sunday! We will weather this together, as we are stronger as a community.

The yarn community is an amazing place. Fibre artists, crafters, makers, designers, dyers and farmers all come together to create a vibrant and active community that grows cultural, physical and mental well-being. A Local Yarn Store (known affectionately as a LYS by many in the fibre arts community) both serves and celebrates with this community, so to be at the giving-end of this new community-driven day of celebrating LYSs is such an honour! The 3rd annual Local Yarn Store Day was scheduled for today, April 25th… however, due to circumstances that render most yarn storefronts closed, this day of celebration has been postponed to September this year.

But as we are a strong community, an initiative has been launched to do a knit-a-long of the Breathe and Hope shawl by designer Casapinka who has supported LYSes with a free specially-designed pattern on this day for each of the first two years; and couldn’t be persuaded to postpone in this time of need!

If you wish to support us as your LYS with joining in on this knit-a-long, we will offer $10 store credit for your next purchase to anyone who purchases two or more fingering weight skeins to knit this shawl on the April 25th Postponed LYS Day today, AND send you a FREE copy of Casapinka‘s Breathe and Hope shawl pattern that can be redeemed up to midnight Pacific time on Sunday (April 26th).

And if you would prefer a kit, we have taken up the challenge and kit up four colour combinations for this shawl that best represent the east van hoods that we call home (and we will offer 15% off these kits today only):

Hastings:

Renfrew:

Mount Pleasant:

Strathcona:

For our kits we have chosen one of our newest lines of yarn for 2020, Chester Knits Soft Sport because as soon as they arrived almost all of our staff ‘sampled’ and fell in love with this base. Using a sport-weight instead of the pattern’s fingering recommendation, the yardage needed would require two skeins of each colour and your shawl will end up slightly larger than the pattern’s given dimension. The colour combos chosen above are:

• Hastings: Peacock and Daffodilly reflecting the vibrancy that is found when a florist, record store, LYS, bookstore and olive oil distributor line a city block;
• Renfrew: Cactus and Pink Pop colourways to echo the avenues of sakura blossoms found in this neighbourhood;
• Mount Pleasant: Tiger’s Eye and Bubble Gum Ice Cream create a more damper colour combo of for a more sophisticated audience;
• Strathcona: Flash Mob and Sea Foam to reflect the welcoming streets of this multicultural neighbood.

The top two are high contrast colour combinations that will make the colourwork pop, whereas the bottom two are low contrast colour combos where the overall colours blend together in the eye of the beholder. The bottom combo is a best representation to Casapinka‘s Breathe and Hope shawl sample colourways.

For today only we will offer a 15% discount if you purchase 4 or more skeins of the Chester Knits Soft Sport. I can promise that this yarn is most likely not going to go on sale again this year, and that you will also fall in love with it as quickly as our team has! And with your purchase in support of your neighnbourhood LYS we will send you a coupon code for Casapinka‘s Breathe and Hope shawl as well!

So join us in this casual knit-a-long! I will be casting on on Sunday, and we will put together some prizes in our Ravelry page by mid-week to keep things light in this heavy time! Here’s some pattern considerations to ponder:

Pattern Details and Suggested Materials
Boomerang/asymmetric triangle shape
15” deep by 78” at neck edge
Intermediate beginner and no brioche
2 skeins of fingering weight yarn (or subbed above with 4 skeins of Chester Soft Sport with a recommended US 3-5 [3.25-3.75mm] needle)
Color A (variegated or solid) – 400 yards
Color B (solid) – 400 yards
10% wiggle room is built into thia patterns for yardage so that is up to you if you are going to use less than 400 yards.

While we all continue to stay at home during these unprecedented times, no one should ever feel alone and our mental health and well-being is more important than ever. Virtual knit nights, group meetings and fitness classes have become the new norm and they have given us the opportunity to stay connected to our community.  Our Beginner Knitting Class and Beyond with Basics:Knitting on DPN’s in the Round and Cables online with Rebecca Glazier have been a wonderful success of sharing and learning a new skill.  There are a few spots available for the new sessions starting in May.

At Baaad Anna’s we have made the shift from in store classes to online, using the Zoom app.  To access your class you will be provided a link at registration and if you down load the free Zoom app you can join in on your smart phone and or tablet as well, detailed guidelines can be seen here. This will allow us to continue to provide the opportunity to learn a new skill as well as provide a platform for students to meet and share with others online.  Research has shown knitting to have a measurable effect on calming anxiety and relieving stress as well as keeping us socially connected.

We are thrilled to continue to add to our online classes and workshops over the coming weeks with local designer and instructor Holli Yeoh.

FIXING COMMON MISTAKES WORKSHOP ONLINE VIA ZOOM: BEGINNER

Description: $%#$@#^! Isn’t knitting supposed to be relaxing?? Learn how to get yourself out of a knitting related disaster and get back on track.

Picking up dropped stitches, fixing missed increases and twisted stitches, un-knitting (cleverly known as TINKing as it is the word KNIT backwards!) and other common fixes will be covered in this 3hr workshop.

Skills needed: You’re comfortable with the basics and know how to decrease, increase, and follow simple pattern instructions.

Materials needed:

THIS IS AN ONLINE CLASS, so you will also need to have a decent internet connection, and download the free ZOOM app.  Details can be seen here.

• Homework swatch (instructions given upon registration)
• Smooth, worsted weight yarn in a light colour (should have at least 2 plies and preferably some wool content) such as Cascade 220
• Appropriately sized knitting needles to work (for worsted, use Size US 7 – 8 or 4.5 – 5mm)
• Double pointed needles (DPNs) 1-2 sizes smaller (bamboo or wood, if possible)
• Crochet hook (similar size to knitting needles)
• Scissors
• Blunt darning needle
• Locking stitch markers

If needed, materials can be purchased at Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store.

DATE: Sunday, April 26th from 9:30am-12:45pm.

COST: $95

INSTRUCTOR: Holli Yeoh of Holli Yeoh Designs

Holli feels strongly about fine craftsmanship, believing that while there’s more than one right way to do things, it’s important to do it right! To this end, she teaches skills that enable knitters to feel justified pride in their finished objects, while accommodating different knitting styles and preferences. Students leave her workshops with an arsenal of valuable techniques, deep understanding of the choices to be made in knitting, and new confidence.

To register call 604-255-2577, or register online here!

BEGINNER SWEATER ONLINE VIA ZOOM

Using a baby cardigan pattern that Holli Yeoh has designed specifically for this class, you’ll learn the basics on sweater construction, shaping, swatching, pattern reading and lots of other helpful tips. Come to class with your first gauge swatch already knit and you’ll be well on your way to completing your first sweater. By the end of the class you’ll have the skills to tackle a full-sized sweater for yourself!

This class will happen online via ZOOM.

Photo courtesy of Holli Yeoh

Suitable for advanced beginners and beyond.

COST: $95 (+tax) + materials

INSTRUCTOR: Holli Yeoh of Holli Yeoh Designs

Holli feels strongly about fine craftsmanship, believing that while there’s more than one right way to do things, it’s important to do it right! To this end, she teaches skills that enable knitters to feel justified pride in their finished objects, while accommodating different knitting styles and preferences. Students leave her workshops with an arsenal of valuable techniques, deep understanding of the choices to be made in knitting, and new confidence.

For our third week of our Sunday Surprise, we want to off our fav yarn of all time: Wollmeise! Each week we have been offering a pick-me-up in the form of a one-day sale every Sunday for you to find a sweater quantity at an affordable price, or even just a single skein of that something special to treat yourself.

This week we will offer the 100% merino of Wollmeise Pure in her Nobody’s Perfect at 40% off. This german dyer is so precise with her hundreds of colourways that whenever a skein strays off her exact measures for a named colourway (either in saturation, intensity, or colour combinations), she adds it her ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ grouping with a “F” label; or if her 150g skeins have 1 or more knots in them she denotes it with a ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ grouping with a “K” label. But regardless the yarn is beautiful and includes 575yards of the most beautifully dyed yarn you will even knit with!

We only have a limited number of these available today, and some of you have already figured out we update the Sunday Surprise banner every week at midnight, so be sure to sweep up whatever you want quick before they are gone!

This is one of my next-up projects destined for a single skein of Wollmeise Pure; and I think any of the more subtle-variegated tonals would work well for these Sunshine Mitts by Julia Mueller:

Enjoy your Sunday! We will weather this together, as we are stronger as a community.