We have a new extra-floofy yarn, Mirasol Rit’i, which is similar to Pouffe but solid colors instead of stripey, with even more yardage! I’m knitting another cardigan that will be both warm and ultra lightweight.

We have a new tweed DK yarn made from recycled fibers, Juniper Moon Harris. They say DK is the new worsted. Is it because of increased yardage? Global warming? I don’t know, but this one is so nice!

And we have new colors of Llama Umi and Symfonie Diva.

Don’t forget we have so much on sale to make room for new yarns. There’s more coming!

Due to a routine medical procedure, we’ll be closed tomorrow from 1 to 6. Our schedule won’t be affected otherwise. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Also FYI, we’re still waiting on parts and insurance to get the AC fixed, but our temporary portable ACs are keeping the space plenty comfortable (although a little noisier than usual).

We are fully stocked on Malabrigo and we have a portable AC running until the HVAC can fully be restored. We also passed all our inspections for the Craft Underground, so things are rolling along! Come visit us and share what you’re working on, whether it’s simple, crazy, cute, or absolutely unhinged (my personal favorite).

Several of us have cast on different projects now, and we are finding them to be pretty challenging! Not only because the projects themselves are complicated, but because they are written in a very idiosyncratic way. As a pattern designer myself, I know that it isn’t easy to write instructions in way that everyone will understand. Still, there are common expectations, symbols, terminology, and so on. In these Ursa Major patterns, some of those are present, and some of them are off in left field.

The good news is that once you figure out what the designer is wanting you to do, it all makes sense. It just takes a little more decoding at the outset than most patterns do. And that’s the advantage of a knitalong, we can help each other figure out what the heck is going on!

Some clever copper harvester stole the pipe between the wall and the AC compressor last night, netting them about 30 bucks and killing most of the systems in the building and venting all the coolant.

They are coming back tomorrow to try and fix things.

This is what happens when income inequality grows so much and the rich declare open war against the poor. To be clear, the people who did this suck. But the lack of good jobs and a social safety net sucks much, much more. Also, if you need thirty bucks that bad, just ask. We’re not made of money, but we’re not the enemy.

We are getting close! Inspections next week and then the official Certificate of Occupancy.

We’ve been doing cleanup and painting work for several weeks and are starting to move furniture and supplies down in anticipation of getting our Certificate of Occupancy approved from the city. The Dye Studio is ready to go. The refrigerator and projector have arrived, along with plenty of folding tables and chairs. We’ll be moving one of the couches down this weekend and we’ll be on the lookout at the ReStore for others. Next week we’ll have a couple of inspections and hopefully get full approval shortly.

We’re sad that we weren’t able to build stairs down from the shop, but we’re still investigating a lift. It will be more expensive, but it might be doable. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. We can’t wait to invite folks into the new space to gather and craft amazing things together!

Since Berroco was bought by a private equity company, we’ve been experiencing declining service from them, just as you’d expect. The new owners pushed back against influencers who were promoting the Melt the Ice hat, too. So we are replacing their yarns in the shop where we can. We’ve brought in Universal Deluxe Worsted Superwash, only $12 a ball (except the tweed is $13).

Also we got more Kelbourne Keystone, a worsted wool/acrylic blend for only $9 a ball.

And we got lots more Lamb’s Pride Worsted, still $18 a ball.

The Berroco Ultra Wool is now on sale, only $11.20 per ball. We still have quite a bit, so if you’re in mid-project, come and get it now!

It’s a lot of work to block out lace, but it makes a huge difference! We’ve been looking for a great wool/silk lace yarn for ages because it blocks out and stays, it’s just a bit shiny but not too limp. We were thrilled to find the Symfonie Diva, and it worked up just like I’d hoped.

My secret is using a sheetrock wall to block. A pad is great for most blocking, but to really stretch lace evenly and vigorously, you need something structurally sturdy to pin into.

Our friend Elyssa discovered this great designer on Ravelry and a bunch of us are planning to do a variety of their projects together. Join up on the discord if you want to be part of it!