Holiday Ideas....

I know, I know... It doesn't seem like there could be time for anything else in our hectic lives, but if you still have gifts to knit I have a couple of great ideas. A nice warm hat or fingerless mitts done in Malabrigo Chunky or Baby Alpaca Grande would knit up in almost no time. A clever felted wine bottle cozy is a great holiday gift with a bottle of something bubbly tucked inside. Another great gift is the Sturdy String Bag recently updated cheery red and white stripes.

I also have some great gift ideas for your favorite knitter. Yarn bowls are flying off the shelves. Carolyn from Studio 12 is bringing another batch up Wednesday, December 7th. If you haven't tried knitting with a yarn bowl, I highly recommend it. Just after Irene I snagged one of Gary's bowls. The glaze made me swoon and I was knitting some really fine alpaca, so I thought I'd give it a try. Boy do I love it! It sits on the floor by my favorite chair, the yarn pulls out happily without snagging or getting tangled, and the bowl keeps the Abbie and Orville fur off my yarn. My new favorite knitting trick is to take my knitting, in the yarn bowl and knit on the porch. No worries about the ball of yarn rolling around or jumping off the deck. If your sweetie is asking for gift ideas this is a great one to consider.

Other great gift ideas for yourself or your favorite knitter could include a set of Harmony Interchangable Knitting Needles. The set includes size 4-11 needles, two sets of cables that make 24 inch needles and two sets of cables that make 32 inch needles. The Harmony Needles are beautiful to work with and the set solves the problem of "Dang, I thought I had those needles!"

We just got in a great selection of beautiful Shawl Pins. There are fun tape measures, cute bags and other great treats for your knitter. Come take a look!

Trunk Show!! and another Trunk Show!!

The Ellyn Cooper Trunk Show is off and running. Box after box after box has arrived and we have most of everything out and available. Ellyn's samples include a beautiful jacket knitted out of kid mohair and a dk weight organic merino. A shop favorite of the samples in Ellyn's magic boxes is a simple vest knitted out of Peru cotton. It is a cute asymetrical design that only needs 3 or 4 skeins of Peru. Great colors and a great project. We also have several amazing fingering and lace weight yarns in this trunk show. All those who have asked for lace weight should come and find a treasure or two. Ellyn sent "Daybreak" a beautiful Stephen West shawl knitted in a skein of kid mohair and a skein of sock yarn. It is a feast for the eyes!

We have also had a good time knitting a couple of new samples out of the treasures in the trunk show boxes. One skein of "Tinkerbell" makes and amazing "infinity" type cowl. Kristy (the other new face at KA) had a great time knitting the Ann Norling multi-gauge cowl. It can be worn a bunch of ways and is a great addition to any fall wardrobe.

What is that about another new face? I'd like to welcome Kristy Lucas. She joins us with a pretty impressive knitting history (she knits samples for people like Nicky Epstein) and a great knack for people and yarn. Kristy is not "local" but is driving to the OBX for 2 days of work at KA from way up in Hampton, VA! Please welcome her smiling face when you are in the shop next.

And another Trunk Show?? What the ... We are really excited that Carolyn from Studio 12 in Hatteras is going to join us at Knitting Addiction again December 3rd for the day. Carolyn came up in October to show and sell her beautiful works. We had so much fun with all of her amazing jewelry and ceramics and Gary's beautiful pottery that I had to invite them back for another day. If you missed the Trunk Show in October (or if you fell head over heels in love with their work!!), please make plans to join us on Saturday, December 3rd.

Carolyn and Gary will be returning from Washington D.C. where one of their Christmas ornaments was chosen for the National Christmas Tree. Pretty big stuff! I anticipate the same amazing welcome that Carolyn enjoyed in October. Save some holiday shopping for the Studio 12 Trunk Show and know that you have done your part to think globally and shop locally. Local art may be one of the best possible gift ideas... right after a hand-knitted gift:)

Hope to see you soon!

Ellyn Cooper TRUNK SHOW & other news

Yeah! Hurray! The annual Ellyn Cooper Trunk Show is almost here. November 8-30 we will have a great array of Ellyn's beautiful hand-dyed yarns. The Trunk Show has become a much anticipated event at Knitting Addiction and I think this year is going to be new levels of wonderful.

I've talked with Ellyn several times about the show and she has new colors and a host of neat new fibers to add some real fun to this year's event. If you are an Ellyn junkie as so many of us are this is the time to road trip to the beach and spend some time finding a new project in Ellyn's beautiful yarns.

We hope to see you here!

Other news around ths shop of note is a new but familiar face. Karen Arbaugh who many of you know has joined me at Knitting Addiction as a great part-time person. If you have not met Karen she has wonderful skills and is an awesome addition to the KA staff. In her "real" job she's a paramedic for Dare County, so she thinks that KA is the "fun" job. Karen will be around a couple of days a week. Stay tuned for another new face in tne near future.

Saturday, October 22

Just a little advanced notice for those who do read the blog. Knitting Addiction will be uncharacteristically closed on Saturday, October 22. A dear friend, Susan Kowalski, passed away from the evils of cancer last week and the memorial service is on Saturday. Dave and I will be attending the service and the events following. Please keep the Kowalski Family in your thoughts and prayers. Susan and her husband George have been huge assets to the Southern Shores VFD and she will be greatly missed. God bless and Godspeed Susan, please keep watching over all your folks from a higher vantage point.

Wow!! What a great day!

What a great day!! Saturday, October 8 was a loads of fun at Knitting Addiction. We were lucky to have Carolyn Schena from Studio 12, Avon join us for the day for an Art Show. Studio 12 had some damage from Irene and we hoped to have a good day for some great art and shopping.

Carolyn brought tons of beautiful art for the fine folks at KA to admire and purchase. She creates beautiful ceramic buttons and tiles, amazing fused glass jewelry, and lovely original paintings. Gary, her sweet guy, is an amazing potter and Carolyn brought a wonderful array of his pottery, platters and YARN BOWLS!!

It was a feast for the eyes. Blue, green and earthy glazes on neat pottery. Sparkly fused glass pendants and earrings, sterling silver clay molded into fanciful jewelry. There was something neat for nearly everyone. Loads of shoppers found treasures on the Studion12 tables and it was fun day all the way around. There is also a fresh supply of yarn bowls at the shop if you having been waiting for the next delivery!

Thanks to all who came out to support Studio 12 and the Schenas. They are great people and longtime Knitting Addiction friends. If you missed the fun this weekend, we are hoping to have Carolyn back up for another show in the near future. I'll keep you posted.

Studio 12 is coming!!

Yeah me! FINALLY something to blog about! Carolyn Schena from Studio 12 in Avon is going to be a the shop on Saturday, October 8 all day. She's packing the truck with all sorts of Studio 12 art, pottery and jewelry and heading north on the ferry to bring a slice of Hatteras to the northern beaches. We are really excited to see the beautiful things she will have for sale. Please come in and shop 'til you drop! Christmas is right around the corner, so this is a great opportunity to support local artists and find the perfect gift for a friend or even yourself!

Check out the Studio 12 website at Studio 12

Happy fall!!

Greetings at the end of a really crazy summer! We survived Hurricane Irene with no damage at the shop. We survived the summer with smiles intact most days and we met some new and wonderful people.

I am still, as previously reported a really bad bloggers, but I figured it was time for an update. The new yarns we brought in at the beginning of the summer have been excellent additions to the inventory. We are thrilled so many people are enjoying the same great yarns we love. If you haven't checked out Merino 5 or Cotton Twirl now might be the time.

August 15 marked Lisa's one year anniversary at Knitting Addiction. I am no longer allowed to call her the "new girl" now she's family.

Fall brings about thoughts of new projects and some cool weather knitting. It might be time to start some holiday knitting too. As a reminder November will be another wonderful Ellyn Cooper Trunk Show. I talked to Ellyn recently and we are planning to have yarn ready for shopping the first weekend of the month. She has several new colors and fibers and we are very excited to see what she will send this year.

Brief and to the point- come see us and get your fall knit on!!

Summer has arrived!!

It's official that summer has arrived on the Outer Banks! Monday is Memorial Day, so that might sound like a Captain ObviousMan statement, but other things have made me notice. It's gotten hot, a little hazy, the traffic and grocery stores are both a little crazy and life at Knitting Addiction is just a starting to heat up!

Current happenings include a great sale on Mission Falls 1824. Both the worsted weight cotton and wool are on sale 25% off, and we will include a Mission Falls pattern book for free with the yarn to do a project. Quantities are limited, so don't delay.Knitting bags are also on sale this week, all bags are 25% off.

Knit Picks interchangeable needle sets are another hot summer item. We should have more in by the middle of the week. The sets have been flying out the door since we first started carrying them about a month ago. If you have ever lusted after either the Harmony or Options sets, now is the time to pick one up. The needles are lovely, cords are flexible and easy to change and a delight to knit with. We really think these needles are a great choice for knitters of all skill levels.

The other sure sign of summer is the change in shop hours. For the summer we will be open Monday through Friday, 10-6 and Saturday 10-4. We hope to see you and your knitting at the beach soon!

Good Grief I'm a bad blogger!!

Hi guys,

It's official that I am the world's worst blogger! I'm cringing from embarassment that the last post was in February! Oh my, forgive me!

So what's new??? Well, we've hit a couple of really cool milestones in the past couple months. March 16 marked one incredibly fabulous year in the new location at 400 S. Croatan Highway. Thanks to all who come and find us here. We are really in love with the new location. It is great space that has grown to be exactly what I wanted. What I thought was going to be extra space is now holding more yarn than I ever thought was possible and I am really thrilled. The flowers in the beds have even burst forth in lovely blooms this spring! Great stuff!

Another cool milestone is Knitting Addiction's SEVEN year anniversary as of May 1! Thanks to all who have made the past 7 years the fantastic journey it has been. I hope we are all together for many, many more years! I had no idea at the beginning what this would all become. I laughed this week at the early pictures of the old space 2 months open. Wide open spaces and not a ton of yarn... my how we've grown!

Some new cool yarn has arrived at the shop and we are thrilled about it. Feza "Alp" yarns are in. They are much like Prism, but a little more cost effective. "Alp Premier" is a bulky weight yarn that changes fibers every 4 or 5 yards. 200 yards are $38. "Alp Light" is a worsted weight yarn that also changes fibers every several yards and it is $28 for about 300 yards. We have some cool scarves knitted up and on display. A skein or two of either would be a great jumping off point for a Mix and Match Stole or a great Dancing Crayons wrap. We will be ordering more next week, our first shipment of 40 skeins is flying out the door as fast as we can wind! Come in and check out the colors and be on the lookout for more colors to arrive in the coming weeks.

Other yarn news to note: All Mission Falls yarns have been discontinued. We have sweater quantities left of some of the 1824 Wool colors, most of the 1824 Cotton and most of the 136 Wool yarns. May 10th will start the Mission Falls Sale! You heard it here first (knowing we don't do a ton of sales...). All Mission Falls yarns and pattern books will be on sale, 20% off for the next two weeks. I'm not sure how quickly the yarn will move, so don't let this great stuff get away if you need some.

So what comes next? We hope to have another great summer. We are looking at a variety of yarns to fill the gap that will be left when the Mission Falls is gone and we are looking forward to seeing you!

Happy Knitting,
jeanne

Happy February!

A slightly belated Valentine's hug to all of our faithful customers. Thanks for your support throughout the year. You guys rock!

I keep figuring that with winter being here, things will settle down and we will have time to get to all the stuff that needs to be done (like catching up on the blog... organizing my office....) Somehow, it is just not working! January was a great month. The shop is looking great, Lisa and I had a couple of inspired days and re-arranged a ton of yarn in the front room. Spud and Chloe yarns found a new home and we added in the spring colors. We've re-arranged Ellyn Cooper yarns and found some wonderful ways to better highlight her beautiful colors.

A portion of the yarn store shuffle was inspired by a great expansion of new novelty yarns from Crystal Palace. If you are familiar with Crystal Palace they have been creating great texture fibers for a lot of years. We are super excited about the new yarns. Popcorn is a cool carry along with little popcorns of fluff. Fizz is Crystal Palace's short frizzy lash yarn. Little Flowers is a beautiful fiber with tiny flecks of metallic yarns mixed in with tiny tufts. Blippity is a neat yarn that looks like little tiles connected on a skinny runner. Squiggle is my personal favorite, it has long wiggly strands attached about every 3 inches on a thin carry-along yarn. Great colors, great texture and really great prices. Come check them out.

January also brought a chance for me to take a week off and go hang out on someone else's island for a little while. If you missed me while I was in Cedar Key, I hope you know that I'm sure I would have loved to see you. Lisa and Karen were the rock stars I expected. Thanks to all who helped out and wound yarn or answered phones or made sure the girls had lunch while I had a chance to kayak with my man and my mom and hang out on the deck of Black Dog Bar and Tables with my knuckleheads and have a much needed break.

Some sad news arrived in January- Mission Falls Yarns (1824 Wool, 136 Wool and 1824 Cotton) have all been discontinued. My understanding is the license rights for the mill have run out and what they have available is the end of it. I have ordered a good amount of favorites to keep us going a little longer, but know that if you love these yarns like I love these yarns, it is time to get them before they are gone. We still have sweater quantities of most at this time. Give us a call at the shop if you know you can't live with out something.

We are actively researching other yarn lines to find something that will be a good replacement. I'll keep you posted on what we find (but... you know it won't be tomorrow.....)

Happy Knitting,
jeanne