Renovations

We are very in the middle of renovations. I have had a few requests for pictures of the process. So here are some pictures. We have all been hard at work even Meika. She was very brave climbing the ladder with Grandpa's help.

Moving the contents of this store to new locations is like playing with one of those flat square puzzles with one piece missing and you need to reorganize the pieces to make a picture. There is a real process to this and an order. It is taking longer than we imagined so we won't be opening on Saturday as planned. But we will open for sure on Tuesday.

Store is closed all week

This is a reminder to everyone. The store will closed this week as we are rearranging the place. It is a real mess right now but when we open again it will be wonderful. I forgot to take before pictures but I will get a few while we shake it up and lots when we put the store back together.
Shelley

Fun Knits Spring Retreat

The retreat is over and was it ever fun.

Here are a few pictures to show you some of the retreat

1. All of us at the retreat minus Deb and Vyvyan holding the blanket we made this weekend.

2. The blanket minus 1 square that Mary whipped up in a hurry before the morning was over.

3 Marilyn showing her mobius scarf before we cast on

4. Irene showing needle felting.

5. Mary teaching entralac knitting

6. Sarah with her first handspun

7. Dragana with her first hand spun.

8. part of Vyvyan's display of hadspun hand knit woven articles.

We had amazing weather for the entire weekend. The retreat started on Friday night with a really good Salmon dinner and after we met, introduced ourselves and talked about Charity knitting. When people arrived at the retreat they were given patterns for squares in a blanket and asked to knit a square. This blanket would be finished by Sunday if every one knit a square. The blanket is going to be given to the Campbell River Women's centre to be given to somone in need. We opened the store for some late night yarn shopping. This was quite fun.

The next day we had hourly mini workshops on entralac knitting with Mary Tanti, Needle felting with Irene Tomchick, I taught how to graft a sock toe without using a darning needle, 2 handed Fair Isle and Crochet hat with Linda Cannon and the mobius cast on with Marilyn Guille.

VyVyan Dorsett gave a all day spinning demo and taught 8 brand new spinners to spin. She had an amazing display of her handspun and knit and woven peices from handspun. She is a very talented sharing woman.

Marilyn helped me with the presentations about charity knitting. She is a very strong advocate for charity knitting and has the group Community Knitters - Knitting for Charity in Canada.

We had food (too much actually) all day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and then a Prime Rib dinner. I think I gained 5 pounds this weekend.

On Sat night we had an awesome show and tell. Deb will blog in detail about this as she took pictures. I didn't.

On Sunday we did a session about mindful knitting with Marilyn. This was a wonderful way to end our retreat. This made us all value our skills as knitters and desire to share our talents.

What a great weekend and thanks to everyone who came making this a wonderful retreat.

The next retreat is open for registration. It will be held again at Tsa-Kwa-Luten. This retreat will be a either a spinning and knitting retreat. Both will be available. The details are on the front page of Fun Knits web site. Register early for this we already have people registered and it just opened for registration.

Sale and Spring Cleaning

On Saturday, April 25th the store will be having a one-day inventory clearance sale - everything will be 20% off!

For the week following, the store will be closed for inventory and to do some re-arranging. Spring is in the air! Fun Knits will re-open on Saturday, May 2nd with a fresh look.

We are also looking forward to the spring retreat, which happens this week-end. 

Spring is always such a busy time it seems!

From Sheep to Shawl.....

Fun Knits has this amazing Tuesday morning spinning group that has been meeting now for about eight months. Some of the members are shown in the photo below holding the purple shawl they demonstrated weaving at the North Island Sewing, Needle & Fibre Arts Show at the Campbell River Community Centre. 

The group set up a pre-warped 36" loom and several spinning wheels on a stage-type platform and called the demonstration "Sheep to Shawl" providing examples of the basic process by which woven wool fabric is created.

the fleece was carded....

and spun.....

....and, had I remembered to take them, there would be photos here of plying the wool, winding it onto the bobbin, shuttling it across and through the warp, and sitting at the loom weaving.  Fast forward a few hours, and the finished shawl is being taken off the loom....

talked about.....

 fringe twisted...

and admired in all its pre-washed beauty. 

The finished product is pictured (again) below.  

Details are:

warp made from handspun multi-coloured Cherry Tree Hill roving

900 yards of two ply sett at a 50/50 weave, 6 epi and 6 ppi 

59" x 24" after washing and drying (the shawl fulled beautifully)

6.5" fringe

We spent 5 hours weaving and 1 hour twisting the fringes.  A wonderful project to be involved in as a group.  The shawl has been donated to the Hospice Society's annual fundraiser.

In other news about our day at the show.....

We met up with lovely Kate (Fun Knits website master) and her adorable boy (so sorry I didn't grab a photo of you two) who was wearing a striking sweater knit by his mom. 

Also, the crazy talented Shan, of Half Soled Boots was there with, get this, and look closely, her FIRST EVER handspun wool already half knitted up into a gorgeous lace patterned shawl.

During the last hour of the show a few of us ambled over to the next booth and fell seriously in love with the Saori loom and the Saori philosophy of weaving.

Today at spinning, this ever-elegant knitter/spinner showed up with an almost completed blanket she's been knitting for a family reunion.  It is absolutely gorgeous!!!  She used Noro Silk Garden for the background and Rowan wool for the cabin squares -- very beautiful.

And, for an uplifting conclusion (be still my speeding heart).....

Shelley saw the charmingly humble, achingly poetic, legendary LEONARD COHEN on Sunday night in Vancouver!!!!!

If anyone ever deserved such a treat, it was most assuredly her! 

A sweet pleasure for those who love this Canadian treasure. 

The Singing Quilter

Tonight after we set up our booth at the North Island Sewing, Needle and Fibre Arts Show we went to the Singing Quilter concert. It was really fun. Cathy Miller is a very talented quilter writer and singer. It was a great performance. Here is a sample of her on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0QjV8K4vQM
It was a great way to start off a fun weekend here in Campbell River. If you are in this area you don't want to miss this event. Lots of demos and events going on all day at the Community centre. Fun Knits is hosting a sheep to shawl demonstration all day. This should be quite fun. I am teaching a basic lace class tomorrow too.
I will try and get some pictures. Hope to see you there if you live in the area.
Shelley

North Island Sewing, Needle & Fibre Arts Show This Week-end

This week-end (Saturday, April 18th) is the North Island Sewing, Needle & Fibre Arts Show at the Campbell River Community Centre.

It promises to be a great show, with local vendors, artisans and community groups. There will be lots of demonstrations going on, including a very special 'sheep to shawl' demonstration organized by Fun Knits!

There are also seminars available all day (these are for a fee, but admission to the show itself is free), in fact Shelley is teaching one on Knitted Lace at 11:00am.

Also, there is a great show Friday night (April 17th). I know Shelley is getting a group of knitters from Quadra together to go to the show. There are still tickets available, $8 in advance and $10 at the door. You can purchase advance tickets at the Community Centre (250-286-1161) or the Sportsplex (250-923-7911).

“The Singing Quilter. A fabulous, fun concert with Cathy Miller from Victoria entertaining us with songs, stories and memories!” "A fabulous, fun concert for the whole family!"

We're looking forward to a fun week-end!

Eagle's Flight Socks

I've finished my KAL socks, and what a great pattern! I love them in the Opal yarn, as well. Lovely, soft yarn and great colourway. A number of people on the Ravelry group have finished their socks as well, and they all are wonderful. This is a pattern that lends itself to both solid and variegated yarns equally.

New Yarns In Store

A  few new yarns to tell you about.

Araucania Ruca:

This yarn is gorgeous! Made from 100% sugarcane, with wonderful drape and soft feel. Knits up to 5.5 sts/inch on a 4.5mm (7 US).    

Online Supersocke 6ply Relax: 

Another great thicker sock yarn for making boot socks or house socks. Comes in wonderful colour combinations and is 75% wool, 25% polyamide. Recommended needle size is 3 - 4mm.

Online Supersocke Summer Cotton Stretch: 

Perfect for summer sock knitting! Recommended needle size is 2.5 to 3mm. The yarn is 39% cotton, 40% wool, 13% polyamide and 8% elastic.

All these yarns are on the shelves now!