Hope to See You at the Frolic!

On Saturday morning, the marketplace doors will open at the DKC's Annual Knitter's Frolic and we'll be there! Will you be coming to visit us?

Come say "hi" to us, Sarah, Clare, and Meghan, (Connie will still be soaking in a few well-deserved rays of sunshine on vacation before heading home!) at booth 46.

We'll have shelves full of exclusive yarns and kits:

Juno Fibre Arts -- you've got to touch these yarns. More beautiful than you can imagine.
Three Irish Girls -- that's right, we're the only ones in Canada that have it, and we're willing to share!
Zen Yarn Garden -- if you haven't seen the new ZYG DK yarn yet, come see this beauty for your spring and summer sweater projects, beautiful scarves, and baby knits for that special little bundle.
Sweet Georgia -- a huge selection of your favourite Sweet Georgia yarns, including the new Cashluxe Fine. Amazing!
Dyehard Fibre Arts -- you'll love these locally dyed yarns for sock or shawl projects.
Spilly Jane Kits featuring Sunday Knits Yarns -- fun and quirky patterns in the most luxurious yarns.
Sunday Knits Kits -- if you like multicolour projects, you'll love these scarves.
Dream in Color Kits and yarns -- missed a "club" kit? We just might have the one you're looking for!
Shawl Kits -- new shawl kits with great patterns featuring all your favourite yarns, including Sweet Georgia, Dyehard, Juno...
Plus... blocking wires, ball winders, Harmony Wood Interchangeables, yarn swifts, and more.

I can't wait to see you there!

(psst... Meghan is behind this blog post and says "hi" from Connie!)

Hours for April

Pick Up Sticks will be closed from April 15th to May 3rd with the following exceptions: Saturday, April 16th 10am-4pm Saturday, April 30th - Knitter's Frolic - Booth 46 Be sure to check out us out there - we have new yarn that has never been for sale in Canada before. It's going to be exciting!

Catch Up

I've had pictures taken for ages of my finished socks and my next project but as usual time has gotten away from me.....I finished my toe up 2 at a time socks and truly, I am addicted to this method. It got a bit iffy when I was on the leg and felt as if I might never finish but when 2 complete socks came off the needles and straight onto my feet - I felt amazing! Not to mention, virtually no left overs! Yay! - 2 socks to wear - not just one!

Next on the needles is the Pueblo Stole from Sunday Knits. A beautiful scarf that utilizes the color palette that Carol has put together to perfection. This colorway is called Earth and Sky and hopefully will be done for the Frolic. But have no fear - all 5 colorways will be there along with samples of all of them - well, that is if I finish Earth and Sky so that would mean 4 samples for sure! I'm almost done the first half - so it is much bigger now than when I took the picture. The kits will be here tomorrow so if you just can't wait - then you can stop in and see them.

Oh and did you see Meghan's latest - her next Necklaces for Knitter's is ready to go - it's gorgeous!

And the winner is.....

chosen by a random number generator - the winner of the Name That Yarn is Rooibos! Congratulations! Send me an email to claim your free skein! All of the colors are on Pick Up Sticks website. And now for the name....I have to admit that Roxanne and I chose a name that was my suggestion and once we had it in our minds we couldn't seem to move onto anything else. And so without further ado....the new yarn from Zen Yarn Garden, spun and dyed exclusively for Pick Up Sticks is to be called

Sanctuary

You can see all the colors by clicking on the name. I spent all day today loading them on the website. This yarn is so special - a blend of all my favorite fibers - merino/alpaca/cashmere/silk - unlike anything on the market!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden for being such a willing partner in crime. You are so great to work with!

So one more bit of news regarding the Yarn Tasting on Saturday, April 2 - we're still on but in a much more informal way. The yarns will be on the table all wound into cakes for you to sit down and try. Want to try them all - go ahead! Want to try just one - that's fine too! People wanted to come but were unable to make it right at 10 am so I thought this was a better way to go - so now everyone can save 10% off the selected yarns. There will be a newsletter going out tomorrow morning first thing with all the details but this is a one day only introductory sale.

Yarns on the Menu

Juno Fibre Arts Alice Sock & Buffy Toughie

Zen Yarn Garden Sanctuary

Spilly Jane Kits

Sunday Knits Kits

Indigodragonfly Polworth Silk

Necklaces for Knitter's Kits

Dream Club Kits

Sock Report

Saturday was our second toe up 2 at a time sock class - and I am happy to report that I still am enamored with the technique and my socks have heels. I love the method so much that I investigating different ways of doing it - different toes, different heels, different, different, different - so much so that Meghan and I are contemplating a Sock Camp for the summer - each method will be covered by approx. 3 lessons. For example, May could be short row toe and heel toe up 2 at a time sock, June could be increased gusset, short row heel toe up 2 at a time sock and July could be.......the possibilities are endless. Is this idea appealing? Email/comment to let me know. Each camp would be approx. $60 plus materials and would run for 3 evenings in the month.

Four boxes of yarn arrived....Sunday Knits Eden, Nirvana, Brigadoon and Angelic 20g have arrived! Yay! Plus more Spilly Jane kits!

One little bag of Juno arrived and I know there are 3 others floating around out there. Next to arrive should be the new Zen Yarn Garden at the end of the month. Stay tuned for the contest winner announcement.