Welcome to 52 Finished Projects in 52 Weeks

"A year from now you will wish you had started today." -Karen Lamb

Welcome to my challenge! I was looking at my queue on Ravelry.com and wondering how I could ever hope to get to finishing any of the great projects that had made it to my wish list. I have often said that the only way that I can get a project done is to have a looming deadline for its completion, even a self imposed date works.

So, here I am, embarking on a journey to complete and share a finished project with you each week. They will be free patterns generously shared via Ravelry by their designers. As an incentive for you to join me in this fun, Lois will be placing the yarn used on a 10%off sale for its featured week. Buy for this project or any other intent. Things you never imagined would be on sale might be coming up so you will want to stay tuned just for that if nothing else.

I will be sharing time plan so that you can fit it into your already busy life and finish swiftly. You might say something like "ya that works for her because she is so fast" but please remember that my newborn and toddler are really reducing my viable needling hours these days. Even if you split the plan on half again, you are still done in a week!

The links for the patterns are Ravelry.com links; so, if you haven't joined yet, then you should get over there and join for free. If you would really rather not then we can print it for you at the store when you get your yarn.

Week of June 3 thru June 9:

Project: Wurm by katushika

Yarn: 1 hank of Araucania Trauco, (100% cashmere, 321yds/50g)

Needles: I used - US 4/3.5mm for the brim and US 6/4mm, both 16" circs; I checked gauge and ended up with what the pattern called for.

Time Plan:

This hat was about a 3 evening project.

Night 1 - brim rows

Night 2 - close to half the body

Night 3 - the rest

Notes:

a) I loved working this project in this yarn. I have been waiting for something special for this special yarn. You may have also picked up a this hank and wondered what you could do with such a treasure.

b) This yarn is much lighter weight than the pattern calls for, but it works out for gauge and it makes a light as air fabric that you hardly feel you have on but still keeps you warm.

c) There is more than enough yarn to get through the hat and I am saving the remaining nearly 20g for something else special in the future.

The last picture is the second Wurm I have in progress. When you come in, you can try on one to see how you like it.

If you are viewing this post far from driving distance from our store, then please remember that we will happily take phone orders. Here is a link to a color card to ease your color choosing process. Call us @ (805) 654-9500. (There will be a postage charge for shipping.)

P.S. If this idea really lights you up, then you can also join a ravelry group here.

World Wide Knit in Public Day!

Do you knit in public? Do people stop you and ask you what the heck you're doing? I love knitting in Public, it gives you a chance to reel in new knitters!

On June 11, we are going to be hosting a World Wide Knit in Public Day event. We've done this for 2 years now, and each year is more fun than the last. Again, we will be meeting and knitting at Marina Park in Ventura, 2950 Pierpont Blvd. (at the end of Pierpont Avenue).

Bring a chair, a picnic lunch, and something to knit (or crochet!) and meet us down there! It should be a lot of fun, knitting together and talking to interested passers-by about our favorite craft!

For more information on Knit in Public Day, please visit WWKIPday.com. Have a great day everyone, and we hope to see you at the park!

Summer tops and sweaters!

Summer is on it's way, which means it's time to knit! I know, knitting seams like a cold weather craft, but with all the wonderful fibers out there these days, knitting is now a year round activity! Berroco is probably my favorite yarn company, they have so many amazing yarns, and lots of great summery yarns.

Cotton and linen combine to make wearable, comfortable, and breathable tops for warm weather. A new Berroco yarn "Linsey" is 64% Cotton and 36% Linen, and knits up into the most wonderful fabric. Karin used it for her sample for her upcoming Top Down Henley class, and she loved wearing it!

From Anacapa Knits

I love the way the fabric feels, I think i'll need to knit something for myself with it! And the beauty of linen is the more you wash and wear it, the softer it will get.

Berroco has a great pattern book for Linsey, including this cute fair-isle yoke pullover:

From Anacapa Knits

Another good yarn from Berroco is "Weekend", a cotton/acrylic blend that makes it warm weather appropriate and easy care. They have a worsted and a chunky weight of this yarn, and a new booklet featuring both weights of yarn and this cute cabled vest:

From Anacapa Knits

Another summery Berroco yarn is Pure Pima, a 100% cotton yarn appropriate for garments as well as accessories. They have a lot of free patterns on their website for this yarn, and it is featured in the Berroco book "Norah Gaughan Vol. 4 for a lovely top called "Flower Child".

One last Berroco yarn (they have so many awesome yarns!) is "Origami", a cotton/acrylic/nylon/linen blend. This yarn has great color and texture, and so many cute patterns too (I love Concur!). From their pattern book, Bellambie is pretty stylin':

From Anacapa Knits

Stop by the shop and feel these yarns, and check out the samples too! Have a wonderful day!

Upcoming classes

Our new summer schedule is packed with fun classes, and I thought I would give you a quick review of some that are happening in the upcoming week!

Anne's "Ojai Sweater" class starts tonight from 6-8pm, and is a four session class:

From Summer 2011 Classes

"This sweater is a flattering v-neck cardigan that can be worked in many sleeve and body lengths - short sleeves and short bodice for spring or long sleeves and long bodice for damp winter mornings. The cardigan is worked from the neckline down in one piece and is both a snap to knit, as well as to sew up in the end. The bodice is worked in ribbing and will look nice on any figure flaunting it."

This Saturday we have two classes, the first being the "Branching Out" scarf from 12:30-3:30pm:

From Summer 2011 Classes

"This lace scarf is a good transition to lace knitting for newer knitters. We'll learn how to combine basic knit stitches and read from both written lace patterns and lace charts."

And from 4-7pm, Karin is teaching the "Mini Kirigami" jacket:

From Summer 2011 Classes

"Imagine knitting a simple square, and turning it into a great sweater; all in one piece. In this class, we will learn how to use temporary stitches, how to graft a seam or use a three-needle bind-off, and how to apply an I-cord edging to make buttonholes and a nice finished edge. This is minimalist-seam knitting and can be quick and very fun. We will learn all the basics of Kirigami knitting; working up a simple square - no purls, just knits- and turning it into a doll-sized jacket. This is a one session class that will teach you everything you need to know to knit a larger, 'human-sized' garment."

From 12:30-3:30 on Sunday, you won't want to miss the "Twisted Drop Stitch" Beret:

From Summer 2011 Classes

"This cute and slouchy beret is easier to knit than it looks, and so is the twisted drop stitch that gives it the open and lace-y look. It's knit in the round with a circular needle and double pointed needles from the brim at the bottom to the top"

If you are new to knitting, be there for Beginning Knitting on Tuesday, May 24th!
"This basic class will start you on your knitting adventure. Learn the basics: cast on, knit, purl, and bind off. Also learn several increases and decreases to add shaping to simple projects. Come see what all the fuss is about!"

And next Wednesday, May 25th, you can knit a great Moebius Cowl with Terry:

From Summer 2011 Classes

"A moebius is a continuous one-sided surface that is easy but intriguing to knit. We will be making a drapey moebius that can be worn as a scarf or draped twice around the neck for a closer fitting cowl."

Relay For Life: This Saturday!

First off, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of our lovely customers and their generous donations! As I'm typing this blog post right now, our Anacapa Fine Yarns Relay for Life team has raised $11,167! We are so close to our goal of $12,000!

Here are a few ways you can help:

• Knit a hat!

From Anacapa Knits

Our team has been knitting hats like crazy, and we are going to sell them on Relay Day to all the Relay-ers with cold heads! If you'd like to help, drop by the shop sometime this week and pick up a hat kit. Then, just knit it up and bring us back the hat before Saturday and we can sell it at the Relay!

• Buy a Hat!

Hey, maybe your head is cold? Wouldn't you love a hand-knit hat? You can buy one at the shop for a $10 donation!

• Enter Our Raffle!

From Drop Box

We have a great Raffle going on, and tickets are just $1 each or $20 for 25 tickets! You can enter to win a set of Addi Natura Clicks, a Pearl Necklace, or a Pandora Bracelet. For more info on these prizes, click here.

• Donate Online!

If you'd like to make a quick donation right now, Click Here and select "Donate to our Team". It's quick, easy, and very much appreciated!

• Spread the Word!

Share the Donate link above with your friends though Email, post it on your Facebook pagefor everyone to see, or just tell people! Every single donation makes a great difference, regardless of size, so any gift you or anyone else can give to help us reach our Team Goal is greatly appreciated.

Again, I want to thank you all so much for your help this year, and if you have time on Saturday, drop by our booth to say Hi and see all the other fun stuff going on at the Relay.

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Mother's Day is this Sunday! Here at Anacapa we have everything you need to make your Knitting Mama happy this Mother's Day! Here are a couple ideas for you for some goodies that I know she'd love to receive!

We have a great assortment of knitting bags and purses, like the Chic*a bags, that come in all kinds of shapes and sizes:

From Anacapa Knits

Lantern Moon has some great new knitting purses (I love them!) that are cute enough to carry around as your day-to-day purse, and big enough to keep your work-in-progress:

From Anacapa Knits

Hiya-Hiya make great needles, and cute project and notion bags, too:

From Anacapa Knits

The Lantern Moon "Knit-Out" boxes are great for keeping your balls of yarn from rolling all over the floor, and they look pretty too! (My Mother has one, and she loves it!)

From Anacapa Knits

Lantern Moon also has a great assortment of adorable tape measures:

From Anacapa Knits

Crocheted Stitch Markers:

From Anacapa Knits

And the cutest Scissor Leashes ever! Attach your craft scissors to these little sheep and you will always be able to find them:

From Anacapa Knits

And if all else fails, who wouldn't appreciate an Anacapa Fine Yarn Gift Certificate??

Luminaria Decorating Party!

Our fundraising efforts for our Relay for Life team are going really well this year, and we have our amazing customers to thank for that!

We have another opportunity for you all this Saturday, May 7th.

The Relay for Life is a 24 hour event, with people walking all through the night, with their path lighted by "Luminaria". Here's a snippet from the Relay for Life website about the Luminaria Ceremony, that describes the experience much better than I could:

"As the sun sets over campsites and darkness falls, the night is brightened by the glow of illuminated bags called luminaria, each bearing the name of someone who has battled cancer. Some celebrate cancer survivors, while others help us honor and remember those that have been lost to this disease. All represent someone special who has been profoundly affected by cancer and the family and friends who continue to fight back in their honor.

Your luminaria donation to the American Cancer Society will light the path for those walking through the night to fight back against cancer."

This Saturday, from 4-7pm, we will be having a Luminaria Decorating party here at the shop! You can come by and buy a Luminaria ($10 donation), and decorate it in honor of whomever you like, then we will have them set out on the night of the Relay to honor your loved one. If you can't make it to the party, you can buy a Luminaria here at the shop and fill out a form, and we will decorate it for you!

Also, if you missed our Stash Sale last Saturday, we are going to be doing it again on the 7th, from 9-noon at Terry's house (8080 Stone Place, Ventura)! We have a lot of good leftovers from last weekend, so let's help Terry put her car back in her Garage!