Knitted Knockers Give Back Sunday Event
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!
Project of the Month: Banff Wrap
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!
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!
Happy Halloween! No Knit Night!
Sorry there will be NO KNIT NIGHT this Wednesday due to excessive Halloween partying.
See you again on Nov 7th!
Free to a good home! Patterns & magazines
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!
November Classes: Kids and Knits!
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
NEW YARN: Pip Colourwork
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
Hats of Babies, Shawls for Ladies
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!
Finishing Classes with Holli Yeoh This Weekend
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!
Spin Class!
And not that kind of Spin Class! The more enjoyable, creative and fibre-loving spin class is coming to Baaad Anna’s… join us while there is still space available!
Register today ONLINE, or call 604-255-2577 to reserve your spot!
INTRO TO WHEEL SPINNING
This is a two day beginner spinning class using an Ashford Kiwi Wheel, and includes equipment rental for a 10 day period. Participants will learn how to set up and use the equipment. All materials included ($40 reduction in cost if you have your own Ashford Wheel). Minimum 2 and maximum 4 participants.
Materials (INCLUDED): Participants will receive a three week rental of an Ashford Two Treadle Kiwi Spinning Wheel and 100 grams of Corriedale wool in two colours of your choice.
DATES: Saturdays October 6 & 13th from 10:00am – noon.
COST: $135 (+tax) plus $80 deposit on the Spinning wheel
*****
LEARN TO SPIN WITH A DROP SPINDLE
Want to learn to spin your own yarn? This two hour workshop will teach the basics of how to make your yarn with a drop spindle. Participants will be spinning a single ply yarn and will receive a basic intro to the process of spinning your own yarn from beginning to end. Participants will also learn various drafting techniques. Minimum 3 and maximum 6 participants.
Materials (INCLUDED): Participants will receive top whorl spindle and 50 grams of Corriedale wool in the colour of your choice.
DATES: Saturday October 6th from 1:00 – 3:00pm
COST: $70 – $90 (+tax) sliding scale
Knit City Round-Up
Over the past two weeks we have been sharing with you the various new items we will be showcasing at Knit City, but we have a few more surprises to share with you.
Photo credit: Caitlin Sheperd.
In store for the weekend of KnitCity we will be hosting a trunk show of the talented young local designer, Caitlin Sheperd of pluckypigeonknits. Come check out her stunning Pigeons on Parade matching kids and adult sweater, as well as her many other kids and adult garment designs. Caitlin brings together locally-inspired fair-isle elements with wonderfully East Van-symbolic pigeons and bicycles, or enhances classic rustic garments a touch of delicate lace.
We will even have a kit for her new Lacy Day Fingerless Mitts on sale both in store at at Knit City this weekend. And you can even match these mitts with a Lacy Day Sweater!
Photo by Caitlin Sheperd.
Also on Sunday the shop will be hosting Iron Dog Books, a local Mobile Book Truck in front of the store.
We are so excited to partner with one of our regulars, Hilary Atleo whose amazing Book Truck is becoming a Lower Mainland icon! Hilary will be bringing a wide range of pre-loved knitting, fibre arts, crafting and makers books that can be swooped up by visiting yarnies, including lots of Martin Storey, lots of Erica Knight, a smattering of other cool titles.
And lastly, if you have ever considered expanding into other fibre arts such as spinning or weaving, Ashford will be coming to Knit City and our staff would be able to help you find any fibre arts equipment your heart desires! Come visit us at the Ashford booth, and maybe even try your hands on the amazing e-Spinner!
And if you missed our previous updates on all the fun things that you can find in our KnitCity booth, you can sneak a peek here, here, here, here, here and here! Looking forward to seeing you at the show!
