We're Having Fun Now

Despite what it looks like in this picture of Sarah Jo,we worked really hard at Market. Sarah Jo got her feet wet in the design world before she left for her apprenticeship with Shannon Oakey. Joy and I combed the vendor booths for the best of all the yarn choices for fall and winter. It's always so exciting to see all there is out there. We feel really confident that we made some really great buys this season. We also met some fabulous people, including Grace Anna Farrow, and Amy Butler. We had lunch with Amy, and are very excited to be offering her complete line of new yarns and designs this fall. Just stay tuned for an upcoming event featuring it. Amy gave us lots of ideas and in addition to being inspirational, is a very nice person. That goes ditto for Grace Anna . We will be featuring her designs also and are going to add Isager wool that she uses in her most recent book. It is a wonderfully dyed, incredibly drapey , lightweight wool, that makes the most of her spectacular shawl designs. If you have been around the shop lately you've heard many of us ooing and aahing over her designs.

Though the heat is raging, my mind is on fall and all the shop goings on that will be upcoming. We have some wonderful classes planned so don't forget to check our website and newsletter for updates. We are in the midst of updating our website so if it seems lacking or you can't get there for a little bit, try again. We will soon have a new webmaster and despite my lack of web knowledge I feel confident it will be more up to date and easier to view.

World Wide Knit in Public Day was over 90 degrees in this part of the world but a few brave souls showed up on the Fayetteville Square and showed all the Farmers Market crowd how portable and beautiful knitting can be. We held a raffle that day for a Knit Kit and the winner was one of our new knitters. That was just perfect, because she can now move on to her next project with a lot of new tools to help her. For those of you who don't know the Knit Kit is a compact little case that has wonderful things included in it like stitch markers, scissors, point protectors, tape measure, and much more. You just throw it in your bag and end the constant searching around for the tools you need.

I hope you all make it down to the shop this season and start planning those Holiday knitting gifts, as you know ,it's never too soon to start. And I promise you will be pleased with the selections we have made for this fall.

WWKIP Day

Join us on Saturday June 19th for World Wide Knit in Public Day. We'll be swarming the Fayetteville Square during the Farmer's Market - no particular gathering place, just form groups as you please. Bring a chair, your knitting and a friend, and don't forget to stop by Hand Held to enter a raffle. We had lots of fun last year, so come by!


Also, our yarn of the month is Koigu!


It's 20% off for the month of June, and we have lots of lovely colours - and some great patterns from Churchmouse. There's a Linen Stitch Scarf, a cute Beaded Beret, and a ruffle scarf.

Knitting Art

Knit graffiti!

Go check out the Fayetteville Square (i would suggest soon, as we don't know how long it'll be up). We covered 3 sides of the Square and all the light poles in front of the Towne Center.


The Tuesday Stitch 'n' Bitchers and Hand Held coordinated on this, as well as a First Thursday display in the shop of Cynthia Parker's mad knitting skilz. We're convening at Hand Held for that and partay tonight from 6-8.

See you there!

March in Seattle

Don't I look happy? And why shouldn't I? I'm on a ferry going from Seattle to Bainbridge Island to see Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. That was just one of the wonderful things that Joy and I did while visiting Seattle for the Yarn Market News Business Conference. We saw and learned lots. Hopefully you will see some of the things we've learned in a future trip to the shop. We are always trying to find ways to make our shop and your shopping experience a little better. Our collective minds have been buzzing about the upcoming season and we will be letting you know about some of the classes and events we will be having soon. Meanwhile remember there are a few more days left of Noro Month and we have 2 yarns featured this week.

Tiedyed Colours and Travel Plans

Behold, the contents of the 3 giant boxes that came in Tuesday!

Louisa Harding Mulberry, a 100% DK weight silk (along with a book full of gorgeous patterns)


Elsebeth Lavold Cool Wool, a worsted weight 50/50 wool/cotton blend in an array of colours


Supersocke from On Line, a self-patterning sock yarn that's 20% angora. The photo can't begin to convey the buttery softness


And that's not even all of it!

This week's 25% off Noro yarn is Sekku, a classically-Noro-striping lace weight


Joy and Colleen are off to a Yarn Market News Conference in Seattle this Saturday through Wednesday, but i'll be holding down the fort til they get back. Colleen's taking along a vest made from a new Araucania cotton laceweight

A(n almost) Spring Rainbow!

The votes are in, and the winner is... Noro Silk Garden! 72% of those that voted preferred Silk Garden, followed by 27% for "one Hand Held doesn't carry" (if Ya'll could elaborate on that in the form of a comment, it would be appreciated), and Kureyon and Taiyo tied at 18%.

As You may know, March is Noro Month here at Hand Held. We'll be hosting several brightly-coloured events throughout the month - i believe tomorrow's slipped stitch hat class is full, but we still have the pattern (and yarn, of course) available, and if You've always wanted to try entralac but never have, we've got a class for that on the 27th!

Each week we'll have a different Noro yarn on sale - check Your inbox for newsletter updates.

This week's is Kureyon - for one more day, it's 25% off!


Joy has been having fun with Taiyo. This sweater is from Noro Flowers book 4.


And, not Noro but perfect for spring, we're getting in some wonderful new summer yarns! Amoung them, Jil Eaton Cottontail


and beautiful lacy scarf kits from Jade Sapphire


with more coming every day!

Socks - Top Down vs. Toe Up

The results of last week's poll are:
44% use DPNs, 44% prefer 2 circs, and a lonely 11% responded with Magic Loop! i must confess myself surprised by the results.

A note on the following article: the toe up method that i use is not... normal. Most toe up socks have short-row toes and heels, which i'll talk about later, but the pictured example has a "star" or "Turkish" toe and heel.

Let's talk about the more common method of construction first: top down. A top down sock is cast on at the upper edge, the cuff and leg are then constructed, followed by a heel flap, a heel turn and a gusset, and finished with a foot and a toe.

The following sock is top down, with a flap-and-gusset heel, and a wedge toe finished in Kitchener.




The pros: Top down patterns are more readily available, the sock is constructed more logically, and it's easy to try on as You go (You'll know within inches if Your cuff will fit, and You can put it on to check foot length)

The cons: Heel turns can be mystifying and heel flaps maddening to some. Alternative heels are available, such as short-row and afterthought, but You may have to adapt Your pattern. Yardage needed is difficult to determine as You won't know You don't have enough yarn until You run out half-way down the foot of Your second sock, and unless You want a lumpy toe (i learned to accept this a long time ago) You must do Kitchener Stitch to close the toe.

An excellent book on top down socks is Cookie A's Sock Innovation. The example sock was knitted with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock using the Twists and Turns sock pattern in Shannon Okey's How to Knit in the Woods.

Toe up socks begin with either a short-row toe or only a few stitches worked circularly outward, followed by the foot and short-row or Turkish heel, then leg and cuff.

The following sock is toe up using Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprint method, with a Turkish toe and heel.




The pros: No Kitchener stitch is needed, if You want to economize yarn You can divide Your skein in half then knit each cuff until You run out of yarn and, along those lines, if You get tired of knitting or are doing a rush job, You can stop sooner than the pattern suggests.

The cons: Toe up socks are harder to fit as You go and many people find the short-rows required for toe and heel confusing (some patterns do have a gusset and heel flap but those patterns are few and far between), and it is imperative to work a stretchy bind off if You want to be able to wear the socks.

A good book for learning toe up socks is Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D Johnson. The pattern for the photographed sock is Bumpy Socks from Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters with Colinette Jitterbug.