Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

Sock Knitters Anonymous meeting HERE (with a chance to win sock yarn!)

My name is Anna-Beth, and I knit socks.

I can't say I wasn't warned.

I was told by every knitter I know that knitting socks is like trying out an addictive drug - you think you're just going to do it the one time, and check out what it's like, but suddenly it has overtaken your mind, and your hands itch to do more, and you can't sleep for thinking about it.  But like all of these people who seem to think they can dabble in illicit drugs, I didn't listen, and knitted a sock. 

It only takes one.

By the time I had turned the heel on my first basic sock, I had bought 6 skeins of sock yarn, a lovely and inspiring new sock knitting book, and was wistfully daydreaming of which pattern I was going to try next.   I haven't touched the scarf I started, my quilting is neglected, my boyfriend is annoyed that I'm not doing the dishes, and I'm planning my lunches to be quick eats that will free me up for another couple of rounds on my sock. 

I cannot quite put my finger on what it is about the sock-knitting that arouses this passion - the neat tiny stitches, the perfect way the heel curves around my feet,  watching my lovely variegated yarns make stripes and dots along my heel.  There's something positively contrary about the desire to spend hours and hours rapturously knitting something that I can purchase for a fraction of the cost, but it is absoloutely amazingly gratifying to see the perfection of fit and color, and the satisfaction of having the only sock exactly like it in the world.  (Till I make the match, of course.)

Do you have this addiction? Can you explain it?  I have two gorgeous skeins of Pagewood hand-dyed sock yarn sitting on my desk as I type.  It's lovely to knit with, hand-dyed in the USA, and could be yours!  Please post in the comments section your reasons for the obsessively satisfying nature of sock knitting, and I will select at random two lucky winners to receive these skeins - I will hold the drawing April 20th.  Please include your e-mail address, so I have a way to contact you.

If you don't win, or  just can't wait, Pagewood is carried at all 6 Pacific Fabrics stores, along with a gorgeous selection of other sock yarns.  We also have many many books to choose from - I highly recommend Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave Press.  The designs are really a great variety - even my boyfriend, who only likes simple, non-patterned EVERYTHING, found a few things he requested.  (And maybe if I knit him a pair, he won't mind the dirty dishes so much!) Plus the book has a great explanation of all terms, incuding an illustration of the Kitchener's stitch that I successfully followed! 

Happy compulsive knitting!

Hat Pride

This is my friend, Kristi - isn't she cute?  She's always cute, but I think that the hat I made her for Christmas makes her even more gorgeous. Kristi said that she rarely wears hats, but she never took this one off because she liked it so well. It's made of that same Soy/Wool blend yarn that I made the ruffled, felted bowl out of, and my love affair with it continues - I love the gradual color changes that make the stripes look so soft!  It comes in a range of color combos, from soft pastels like this, to subtle earthy tones.  If you are a knitter or crocheter, don't miss Paton's Soy Wool Stripes - also available in solid colors at all PacFab stores.   

- Anna-Beth

Holiday Fiber Artist Day Trip: Port Gamble

The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble, WA.

This weekend, December 13 & 14,  is the Port Gamble Country Christmas.  This is a weekend of traditional Country Christmas activities - handmade crafts, horse-drawn wagon rides, roving carolers, a visit from Santa all in an 1850's mill town.

Any weekend is a great time for a fiber artist to visit Port Gamble - the home of The Artful Ewe. 

This amazing feast for the eyes (and hands!) is only open on the weekends, and is located in the historic Old Market Building, near the water tower on the town's main street.  Upon opening the door, your senses are immediately overwhelmed by the incredible beauty of the fibers, yarns and handmade crafts and garments on display in the shop.  Owner Heidi stocks a wide range of fibers; various breed wools, mohair, cashmere, silk, angora, and other blends.   Plant fibers include flax, hemp, ramie, tencel, and cotton.  Most fibers are  offered as both roving and yarn.  She is a very talented fiber artist, and much of the product displayed has been hand-dyed by Heidi herself.  If you're new to spinning and want to give it a try, she stocks drop spindles, as well as Kromski spinning wheels.

When you are ready for some refreshment, there is a Tea Room just down the street.  They are open daily from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm.  You will want to make reservations if you would like to have the Breakfast or Chocolate High Tea.

Other attractions in this historic mill town are antique stores, bookstores and various other little shops.  Founded in 1853, by Maine businessmen Andrew Pope and William Talbot, Port Gamble was the longest continuously operating mill town in North America.  It is now on the National Historic Register, and is still owned by the mill company. 

My best wishes for you all to be warm and cozy this weekend!
--Katrina

Addi Turbos + Noro Yarns = Knitting Bliss!

Two incredibly exciting products for knitting have arrived at Pacific Fabrics & Crafts in the last month and we are just so awed by how wonderful they both are. Ready? Drum roll . . . Addi Turbo Needles and Noro Yarns!!!! I'll make this quick so you can head to one of our stores, pick out your needles and plan a dreamy project with Kureyon, Kureyon Sock, Silk Garden or Silk Garden Sock.

Would you like a Ferrari in your knitting basket? If you've used Addi Turbo circular knitting needles, you know these are the speedy race cars of knitting tools. Once you've tried them, you've got to have more! I didn't believe there could be such a difference until I felt the incredibly flexible cord, smooth needle to cord connection and knit a few stitches with the long taper points. Oh, my GOODNESS! There's just nothing like these needles and we have them in all our stores now. Yippee! We've started with the most popular sizes, but if you need something more, we can get a special order in for you quickly. My fingers are SOOO happy!

If you love color, you've got to try knitting or crochet with Noro Yarns. Designed by Eisaku Noro of Japan with a very painterly approach to hues and tones that will keep you inspired for lots of stitching. Take a look at Eisaku's web site, to see a little bit about their industrial yarns and how they mix colors, then head for a Pacific Fabrics & Crafts store to pick out yarn for your next masterpiece. You'll really feel like you're painting with yarn.

Just amazing! Kureyon (100% Wool) is so versatile. It looks marvelous in this darling child's sweater and hat, but I've seen it look absolutely outstanding in a simple garter stitch scarf, too. Look for Kureyon Sock (70% Wool/30% Nylon) to make cozy little "sweaters" for your feet! By the way, Kureyon is pronounced like "crayon". Now you're an expert!

Silk! Oh, how I love silk! There's just something so very royal about working with and wearing silk and Noro's Silk Garden (45% Silk/45% Mohair/10% Lambswool) really suits my princessy passion. Look for Silk Garden for sweaters like this amazing cardigan and Silk Garden Sock (40% Wool/25% Silk/25% Nylon/10% Mohair) to stitch up pampering socks to crown your cold tootsies!

There you go . . . ready, set, knit!

- Annette

Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?

4-H Fleeces on Display

The Puyallup Fair is still going strong through this weekend.  I've been busy with various 4-H volunteer duties, and so I have to brag just a little bit - my niece Ciara's yearling Romney ewe (that's a female sheep who is a year old), Esmeralda (also known as 'Ezzie") won her fleece class!  Fleeces are shown according to the type of sheep it comes from (varies by breed) and the typical diameter of the wool from that breed.  Ezzie's wool, being from a natural colored Romney sheep, is considered 'coarse'.  That does not mean scratchy!  Romney wool is wonderfully soft and very desirable to hand spinners.   This was Ezzie's first shearing so we were very excited.  Her wool is likely to improve somewhat with age, so Ciara is looking forward to the fleeces yet to come!

Ezzie was also selected for the top Romney ewe, and she and Ciara did very well overall.  Ezzie was kept company by Ciara's aged Romney ewe (she is truly aged at 9 years old - but looks very youthful for her age), Harriett.  Harriett loves going to the Fair and makes sure that she gets as much attention as possible from fairgoers.  Here is Ciara and Ezzie (Ciara is kneeling) in the show ring.  Ciara and her sheep are now enjoying a well-earned rest at home and planning for next year's fairs.

There are still many fiber and sewing related things to see at the Puyallup Fair! 

--Pavilion Building
- Open Class Quilts, Garments, Knitting, Crochet, Needlework and more upstairs (there are escalators and an elevator in the building)
-4-H clothing and textile exhibits downstairs
- 4-H Fashion Revue - the original Project Runway!  See 4-H'ers model garments that they have made themselves.  Show is Saturday at 3pm on the Education Stage
- Washington State 4-H Fashion Revue Championships.  See the 'best of the best' from around the state as they compete for the state championshp and a new sewing machine! Sunday at 5pm on the Education Stage.

--Under the Grandstands/Expo Hall
- Quality Sewing's Viking booth.  See the new Diamond!
-The Artists in Action store.  I should warn you - there is some absolutely incredible yarn, roving, needlefelting and more in that store. 

--Outside Artists in Action under the Grandstands (South side)
- Sheep to Shawl contest winners.  The teams of entrants in this competition had a limited time and number of team members to spin and weave their entries.  Amazing!

--Showplex
- Quality Sewing's Pfaff and Brother booth.  Lots of amazing new machines, particularly the new Brother Quattro.  If you haven't seen it yet, it is definitely worth a look.

--Livestock Buildings
- FFA Exhibits and Animals of the World.  Various breeds and species of wool/fleece producing animals.