Class Spotlight: Sweater Weather

Have you had a chance to check out our new Fall schedule yet? Hop on over to our website and check out all the fun classes we have packed in until the end of the year! Today I want to highlight some of the great Sweater classes we are offering coming up, because eventually it might get cold around here! (We can only hope!)

First off we have Sea Salt:

Five Sessions-Sundays, September 14, 28, October 12, 26 and November 9, 4:30 to 6:30 pm; $90, supplies not included. Skill Level: Alpaca. Instructor: Karin Wilmoth

A cozy, slightly cropped tee knit in dk weight cotton blend yarn is just the thing for our coastal autumn. The sleeve caps and bodice are knit side to side in garter stitch short rows. The body is then picked up and knit in stockinette and finished off with a garter stitch hem.

Aidez Cardi:

Four Sessions-Mondays, September 15, 22, 29 and October 6, all classes 6 to 8pm, except final class is 6 to 9pm; $80, supplies not included. Skill Level: Alpaca. Instructor: Kaity Fraker

This cabled Cardigan is the next step for those of you who want to take your cable knitting to the next level! The simple shaping combined with the beautiful aran texture makes for an impressive finished project! Aidez is knit in pieces, and we will learn to knit advanced cables, how to knit multiple pieces at once, and how to finish and seam a pieced sweater. Pattern comes in following sizes: Bust (closed) – 32(36-40-44-48-52)”

Hap Cardigan:

Five Sessions-Sundays, October 5, 19, November 2, 16 and 30, 4:30 to 6:30 pm; $90, supplies not included. Skill Level: Alpaca. Instructor: Karin Wilmoth

This pretty lacy cardigan was inspired by the traditional Shetland Hap Shawls, with their plain garter centers and brightly colored feather and fan edging. It is a versatile garment, perfect for fighting that winter office chill or thrown on over a t-shirt on a beach in the summer or anything in between. The Hap Cardigan is designed to drape loosely at the front.

BlueSand:

Six Sessions-Mondays, October 6 (6-9pm), 13, 27, November 10, 24 and December 8, 6-8pm; $100, supplies not included. Skill Level: Alpaca. Instructor: Anne Lecrivain-Cozzoli

Bluesand by La Maison Rililie is a sweater that I will wear all year long. It has been designed with 2 flattering choices for the shoulder shaping: a combination yoke using contiguous shaping and a raglan shoulder with a saddle. The wide stripes are placed well, moving the eye over you and the garment with whimsy and grace at the same time. The pattern fits bust sizes 31(34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52) inches.

Katie:

Five Sessions-Wednesdays, October 8, 22, November 5, 19 and December 3, 6 to 8pm; $90, supplies not included. Skill Level: Sheep. Instructor: Karin Wilmoth

With a rounded hem, thumbholes on the cuffs, and a touch of fair-isle, this sweater has all the minor details to spice up a classic shape. This will be a great addition to your fall wardrobe. It is knitted top down in the round, and the neckband is added after by picking up stitches.

and last but certainly not least, Hitofude:

Five Sessions-Mondays, October 20, November 3, 17, December 1, and 15, 6-8pm; $90, supplies not included. Skill Level: Sheep. Instructor: Anne Lecrivain-Cozzoli

A lace sweater for all occasions: wear it to a wedding or wear it to brighten a Monday afternoon. Designed by Hiroko Fukatsu, this sweater features a simple lace pattern and innovative construction to create a lightweight, well draped topper. Its name reassures us of its elegant and seemingly effortless simplicity, translating to “a few lines” or “a stroke of the pen.” The pattern is sized to fit bust sizes as follows: XS 28¾-32¾ (S 32-37, M 37½-41¼, L 41¾-45¼, XL 46-50, XXL 50½-54¼) inches.

If you are interested in any of these classes, give us a call and we will get you all signed up and ready to go!

The Proper Care and Keeping of Circular Needles

Hi guys! Today I want to write you a quick post about how to store your circular knitting needles so you can get the most use out of them. Often I see people pull needles out of their knitting bag and they have kinks and bends in them that can hinder the ease of your knitting, so I want to share a couple pictures of how to avoid ruining the nice needles you have invested in!

So, you have just gotten yourself a nice new pair of needles, and they come packaged like this:

You can see the cord of the needles is looped around twice, this is good! When you store your needles, try and store them in this same way, it will help keep them from becoming too curly and help retain their shape. Some longer circular needles are looped around 3 times, and that is fine for a needle that is 47" or 60" long.

You can also store your needle in the package with one large loop:

Try and avoid storing your needles like this:

Wind your needles back into one or two loops, try not to just jam them back in the package. You want to try and retain the shape of the cord as best as possible.

Also, don't wind the cord up too tight. If they live like this for a while, it will make them curly and hard to knit with.

When you are knitting, take care to not bend this joint here.

If you bend this joint as you knit or when you store your project, it will kink the cord there and make for a difficult transition between cord and needle, and that's not fun to knit with!

Good circular needles can be an investment, but if you take care of them, they will last you a long time!

Get that hair out of your face!

It's been warm and muggy here in Ventura these last few weeks, and I can't stand having hair on my neck and in my face when it's been so hot! To make it worse, I cut bangs in my hair last week, so there's even more hair in my face than usual! If you were to look at my Ravelry pattern browsing history, you would see pages after pages of headband patterns, and I thought I'd share some of my favorites here for any of you that are suffering along with me :)

Twisted Turban Headband:

 Bandana Bow Tie:

 Bow Headband Tutorial:

 Knotted Headband:

 Hot Mess Headband:

 The Single-Twist Headband:

 Rosie Headband:

 Unisex Dread Wrap Headband:

I hope you guys enjoy, if you make any of these, let me know, I'd love to see how fabulous you look in them! Happy Knitting!
-Kaity

Tote-ally

Hello faithful readers! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted here, we've been bust with our 10th Anniversary Celebration and lots of other fun here at Anacapa Fine Yarns!

It's finally summertime, and I thought today I'd share with you guys some ideas for totes and bags you can whip up quickly for hauling around your swim gear, farmer's market finds, picnics, and more!

If you are into crocheting, here's a few  FREE patterns I've found

Summer Squares Beach Tote:

Spring Blossoms Market Tote:

4 Ball Market Bag:

And for you knitters, I found a few FREE patterns for you, too!

Everlasting Bagstopper:

Elisa's Nest Tote:

Grrlfriend Market Bag:

We've got lots of great cotton and linen blend yarns that would be great for any of these bags, swing by the shop soon!

Organize It - Needle and Hook Edition!

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed my post yesterday about organizing your stash! Today, let's get those needles and hooks organized!

If you have lots of circular needles, you can do like I do, and keep them in a 3-ring binder. I have a sleeve marked for each size needle, and I just slip them in the top and keep them all in one place! I just have to remember to put them back!

A similar idea would be to use that CD organizer that I'm betting you have in your Car!

This spool organizer would look cute hanging in your craft room!

If you've got a bunch of straight needles, find a cute vase or pot and display them! This would be great on a coffee table, or on your desk!

Here's a link on how to crochet a holder for your crochet hooks! Roll them up and keep them neatly in one place.

 Or get yourself a paintbrush roll and sort your needles out! One like this can fit crochet hooks, DPNs, and long straights.

And if you like the above idea but want to get a little fancy, we sell these silk knitting needle holders from Lantern Moon here at the shop, they look pretty and are super practical too!

Organize It - Yarn edition!

Hi everyone! We all know how awesome Pinterest is, and if you are not following Anacapa Fine yarns on Pinterest, you are missing out! We have so much fun over there!

Today I want to share with you some Yarn Storage ideas that I found while perusing Pinterest. If you (like me) have a big stash that needs organizing, here are some ideas!

A glass front cabinet keeps you yarn safe and sound, but you also get to look at all the pretty colors!

These shelves are organized with magazine racks, a great way to keep like yarns together!

I love this peg board, you can create beautiful wall art and keep your yarn organized at the same time!

If you have a LOT of yarn, do like this person and use Shoe Organizers! They are cheap and easy to use, great for your GIANT stash!

Check back with me later in the week when I will highlight ideas for organizing needles!

Hi everyone! As I'm sure you are all well aware of, Mother's Day is just around the corner! If you need ideas on what to get your knitting or crocheting mom, or if you are a knitting or crocheting mom and just want to send this blog post to one of your kids, I'm hear today to share with you some of the fun new things we have in stock here at the store that you may like!

We just got these reading glasses in from a company called "Stuff You Love". They have knitting or crocheting designs printed on the frames and come with a matching glasses case, so cute!

Every knitter or crocheter could use more needles, and these sets from Knitter's Pride are so nice! We have interchangable needle sets and crochet hook sets.

These yarn bowls are handmade and are great for holding your yarn while you work away, and they come in lots of cute colors and styles!

These mugs from Knit Happy are another fun gift idea. Stick a Starbucks gift card in one and you have the perfect present for your mom who loves her coffee :)

I hope these ideas inspired you, and we hope to see you in the shop soon!