We’ve officially moved back to our regular fall/winter store hours, so we’re open 7 days a week again, Monday to Sunday 12 pm to 6 pm.
Sit ‘n Knit is every Saturday from 1pm to 4pm – it’s free and everyone is welcome!
Masks are NOT currently required in the store, but if you feel more comfortable wearing one please feel free to bring your own.
This upcoming weekend we will be closed on Sunday, but OPEN on Saturday and Monday, so come on over, partake of the SUMMER SALE and say Hi!
Saturday Aug 5: 12 pm to 6 pm
Sunday Aug 6: CLOSED
Monday Aug 7: 12 pm to 6pm
Our SUMMER SALE starts Thursday July 27th! Select products (including some clearance items!) are 20% OFF until September 5, 11:59pm. The discount is online and in-store, and it will be automatically be added at check-out, so you don’t have to jump through any extra hoops or remember to put in a discount code (this discount can not be combined with any other offers or discounts – you don’t be able to use another discount code when you check-out).
Berroco Vivo is a super soft, light, 100% cotton yarn that’s dyed in a flow of transitioning colour. It’s machine washable, making it great for all kinds of projects from babies (perfect for a French Macaroon or Ezra baby cardie) to blankets (4 balls make a Super Easy Garter Baby Blanket), and everything in between … you can even make DK-weight socks or Yoga Socks with it!Vivohas great colour and texture, making it perfect for simple pieces that aren’t heavy on skill or attention. It also has great yardage – one ball is 100g/290m, making it go a lot further than regular cottons (2 balls are enough for a Ranunculus (smaller sizes), Boneyard Shawl, Groovy DK, three for an Elementary Wrap).
Berroco Vivo is great for both Crochet and Knit projects:
Berroco Remix Light is a multi-seasonal yarn that’s so comfortable you’ll find the garments made with it become some of your favourites (you know, the one you wear over and over and over again, until you get tired of the colour so you make another in a new colour … etc). It’s super soft, light, breathable, machine washable, and it’s made in France from an eco-friendly blend of 100% recycled fibres.It’s great for people who are allergic to wool, and light enough for perfect for people whose bodies run warm and wearing a knit is more about dressing and less about warmth. It’s popularity also stems from it’s INCREDIBLE yardage – it’s a DK weight yarn that comes in a 100g/400m skein (for those of you who don’t live in a yarn store, that’s like a bonus 150m to 200m). Remix Light is great for sweaters, tanks, tees, blankets, socks, scarves, shawls, bags, etc. It’s great for everyone: babies, kids, adults. It also works beautifully for colourwork, especially stranded/fair isle. SEE OUR FAVROURITE PROJECTS WITH BERROCO REMIX LIGHT
Patterns & Projects
Trendy Patterns
Bright, happy shades of colors ebb and flow to make this worsted weight yarn a perfect summer choice. This cotton blend yarn is light to the touch, easy to work with, self-striping, and is machine washable. Summer Sesame is great sow tops & tees, tanks, sweaters, scarves, wraps, shawls, blankets, even socks!
Berroco Summer Sesame Kits & Projects
Patterns
Berroco Modern Cotton is a super soft and lustrous yarn perfect for knitting year-round. Made from a blend of Pima Cotton and Modal Rayon (viscose, a plant-based cellulosic fibre), Modern Cotton is machine washable, sustainable, and more resilient than pure cotton yarns (it has a slight sheen and it won’t pill and get fuzzy like many cottons). The smooth texture will also make your lace, cables, or any other texture POP! Modern Cotton is perfect for both crochet and knitting and is great for sweaters, tanks, tees and other tops, hats (especially chemo hats), shawls & wraps, blankets & afghans, and slippers. Berroco Modern Cotton is also available in a DK Weight
Berroco Modern Cotton DK is a super soft and lustrous yarn perfect for knitting year-round. Made from a blend of Pima Cotton and Modal Rayon (viscose, a plant-based cellulosic fibre), Modern Cotton is machine washable, sustainable, and more resilient than pure cotton yarns (it has a slight sheen and it won’t pill and get fuzzy like many cottons). The smooth texture will also make your lace, cables, or any other texture POP! Modern Cotton is perfect for both crochet and knitting and is great for sweaters, tanks, tees and other tops, hats (especially chemo hats), shawls & wraps, blankets & afghans, slippers, and Knitted Knockers. Berroco Modern Cotton is also available in a Worsted Weight
Designed for knitting blankets, throws & rugs, Cascade Cotton Puff is a jumbo yarn crafted from soft cotton & nylon. Ideal for home goods like blankets, pillows and baskets, this yarn is machine washable & dryable. Cascade Cotton Puff wears well & does not pill as it is a knit fabric tube with a light fiber core to create structure.
How Much Yarn Do I Need?
Schoppel ZauberballCotton is a wonderfully soft, 100% cotton, self-striping sock yarn with a long colourway/gradient. It’s completely machine washable and perfect for socks, hats, tops, shawls & wraps, blankets – you name it!
Rico Creative So Cool So Soft is a 100% cotton bulky-weight cotton yarn is made up of a thick and a thin ply, which knits up to give your patterns a unique texture. It’s Ideal for knitting oversize sweaters, cozy blankets, and crocheting baskets.
Project Suggestions
Berroco Pima Soft is deliciously soft two-ply cotton yarn, perfect for anything from beautiful sweaters and accessories to heirloom knits for baby, kids or home. It’s slightly textured, giving your knits some dimension, and is great for colourwork (it;s also more forgiving, especially when seaming and weaving in ends). It has a little bit of natural sheen without being shiny. It’s lovely to work with, and comes in 50g pull-skeins that are easy to work from and make it affordable to use an array of colours.
Keep track of your crochet and knitting work with our hypoallergenic stainless steel ring row-counter in a rainbow-colored metallic finish or black.
NOTE
The weather is FINALLY gorgeous, so it’s time to shift to our summer store hours … starting MAY 8th we will be closed on Sundays:
May 8 to Sept 10, 2023:
Monday to Saturday: 12 pm to 6pm
I’m taking a little vacation (I’m doing a little ‘backpacking’ with my brother, sister-in-law, niece & nephew in Italy)! Erica will be minding the store for a couple of weeks, the hours will be the same, but we will be closed on the Mondays and Sundays while I’m gone:
Sunday May 14 & Monday May 15: CLOSED
Tuesday May 16 to Saturday May 20: 12 pm to 6 pm
Sunday May 21 & Monday May 22: CLOSED/VICTORIA DAY
Thanksgiving comes a bit earlier north of the 44th parallel in Canada, it has something to do with our harvest being earlier, therefore we dine earlier. We are open regular store hours (112 pm to 6 pm) on Saturday & Sunday, and closed on Monday. We wish you a great weekend, wherever you are!
Saturday, Oct 8: 12pm to 6 pm
Sunday, Oct 9: 12 pm to 6 pm
Monday, Oct 10: CLOSED
We are also closing an hour early on Wednesday for Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement …..
Wednesday, Oct 5: 12 pm to 5 PM
I haven’t been abe to find ay patterns for a Shofar, so this year I wish you a happy Yom Kippur Hawaiian style with the Ho’oponopono prayer for forgiveness:
I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you
xoxo Haley
I’m needed by my family this weekend for an 80th birthday party, followed by my sister-in-law’s departure for her first academic conference (we’re so proud of her!), so I’m taking an extra day off this Saturday. The last weekend of the summer is not traditionally a busy one in the yarn store, so I don’t think you’ll miss me too, too much. I adore it when you come by, but I also love it when people are out taking advantage of beautiful weather and just enjoying life.
Friday: 12 pm to 6 pm
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: CLOSED
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 12 pm to 6 pm
My current reading suggestion is A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. You can read it on paper, digitally download it, or get it as an audiobook (which is read by the author), so you can knit/crochet/wash dishes/walk/run/get your nails done while you read. It is also accompanied by a chapter-by-chapter podcast with Oprah (stream free online or on any podcast service, including Spotify), so you can test the water and see if it’s for you, and if it is, you can read along with the author, lady-O, and regular people asking really good questions. I feel kind of silly having come so late to the Tolle party (especially after seeing Oprah’s podcast was recorded in early 2019), but I guess I wasn’t ready. Now that I’m here I see exactly why Oprah has been such a fan. Tolle isn’t just talking about spiritual life, he’s talking about LIFE (or to the point, spiritual life IS life).
If you’re at a place where you want to change yourself, your life and our world for the better, this book is a great point of reference to help you level up. Just one caveat – people who are negative and aren’t ready to leave that state won’t get this book (and judging by the reviews online it seems to make them really angry). If you have a negative person in your life, giving them this book won’t ‘fix’ them – they have to be open to healing themselves. People who aren’t quite ready, but are getting there, might read a chapter or two but it won’t stick, it’ll sort of go through them – if this is you or a loved one it’s a good sign, hold on to the book, it’ll be there for you when it’s needed next. Anyway, the best books are always the ones you can read over and over and get something new from each time.
Get your fall off to a great start with a simple cardie you can wear everywhere, all the time. The Effortless Cardigan is made with a simple worsted weight yarn and ONE pair of 4.5mm – 32″ circular needles. It’s knit from the top-down in one piece (the underside of the sleeves are seamed, but if you prefer you can knit them in the round). The pattern is free, and there are a range of affordable yarn options, so if you end up loving your sweater you can keep making them and fill your wardrobe!
Size
Yarn Options
Other Materials
Our SUMMER SALE is ending Sept 5th! Select products (including some clearance items and craft kits!) are now 25% OFF. The discount is online and in-store, and it will be automatically be added at check-out, so you don’t have to jump through any extra hoops or remember to put in a discount code (this discount can not be combined with any other offers or discounts – you won’t be able to use another discount code when you check-out).
See our Past Project Ideas For:
Friday May 20: 12 to 6 pm
Saturday May 21: 12 to 6pm
Sunday May 22: CLOSED
Monday May 23: CLOSED
Normally I post a little pattern for you, but I feel like a national celebration of the birthday of a long-dead Monarch (Queen Victoria) deserves something a little more …. today I share the digitized collection of Victorian Knitting Manuals, gratis the Univerity of Southampton’s Knitting Reference Library & JStor. There are 67 books in the collection, so it should keep you busy.
I like the Silkworm Series: Myra’s Knitting Lessons no.1, it has lots of stitch patterns you can swatch & experiment with. You can also find free old-timey (and more recent) knitting books on the Internet Archive. The Art of Knitting from 1892 (brought to you by the Smithsonian), has a bunch of patterns worth exploring.
It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of the library and put her in a store full of yarn, but apparently, you can’t take the library out of the girl!
Thanksgiving comes a bit earlier north of the 44th parallel in Canada, it has something to do with our harvest being earlier, therefore we we dine earlier. We are open regular store hours (11 am to 6 pm) on Saturday & Sunday, and closed on Monday. Have a great weekend, wherever you are!
Saturday October 9: 11 am to 6 pm
Sunday October 10: 11 am to 6 pm
Monday October 11: CLOSED
Never wanting to leave you without some inspiration, here are a couple of pullovers by designer Jacqueline Cieslak. I love that Jacqueline’s designs are size inclusive, but I love even more that her designs LOOK GREAT on different sized women. Her casual little tops are always just right for people, no matter what shape they may be. Wear them over a dress or a loose shirt, it’s all beautiful! Plus, they aren’t immense projects, so they won’t break the bank, and you’ll actually wear it (an important factor to my mind). they’re pretty, and I think its good to make yourself feel beautiful on the outside, because you are beautiful on the inside.
I think my favourite yarns for these projects would be Fibre Co Road to China Light (’cause I’m indulgent when it comes to nurturing myself), but I’d make at least one size larger because the tension will be smaller. Another idea that gets me going would be two strands of Fibre Co Meadow held together (also indulgent, but I love nice textiles) – ideally this would be in 2 different colours to create a marl.
The Bay Pullover is your dream all-weather sweatshirt, whether you’re getting cozy at home or being tousled by a crisp ocean breeze. This relaxed fit pullover features dolman sleeves, uninterrupted stockinette on the front and back panels, and decorative 3-needle bind offs, making for a simple, seamless knit with a clean, modern look. The pattern includes 9 sizes, 6 original video tutorials, technical illustrations for understanding the unique construction, and detailed guidance for choosing your size and adjusting the sleeves.
Because of the dolman sleeves and relaxed fit, BAY works with an extremely wide range of positive ease (anything from 6-20”/15-50cm). If you prefer more drape or a more oversized fit, feel free to size up! In the photos, Jacqui is wearing a size 7 (62”/155cm). Her bust circumference is 54”/135cm, her waist circumference is 49”/122.5cm, and her bicep circumference is 20”/50cm.
Because the recommended yarn is a silk/linen blend, both of which are fibres that stretch and have a lot of drape, I recommend using something that also has some stretch. Superwash yarns, blends with cotton, linen, wool, silk, or alpaca tend to be good at this.
The Bay Slipover is your dream all-weather slipover, whether you’re getting cozy at home or being tousled by a crisp ocean breeze. This relaxed fit top features dolman sleeves, uninterrupted stockinette on the front and back panels, and decorative 3-needle bind offs, making for a simple, seamless knit with a clean, modern look. The pattern includes 9 sizes, 6 original video tutorials, technical illustrations for understanding the unique construction, and detailed guidance for choosing your size and adjusting the sleeves.
Because of the dolman sleeves and relaxed fit, BAY works with an extremely wide range of positive ease (anything from 6-20”/15-50cm). If you prefer more drape or a more oversized fit, feel free to size up! In the photos, Jacqui is wearing a size 7 (62”/155cm). Her bust circumference is 54”/135cm, her waist circumference is 49”/122.5cm, and her bicep circumference is 20”/50cm.
Because the recommended yarn is a silk/linen blend, both of which are fibres that stretch and have a lot of drape, I recommend using something that also has some stretch. Superwash yarns, blends with cotton, linen, wool, silk, or alpaca tend to be good at this.
Our Summer Sale is ending soon, September 6th is the last day to get 25% Off! Take advantage now, before it goes away!
Friday Sept 3: 11 am to 5 pm
Saturday Sept 4: CLOSED
Sunday Sept 5: CLOSED
Monday Sept: CLOSED
I was thinking wouldn’t it be great to have a small project that’s for the long weekend? Something small, portable, not too challenging. I settled on cloths: face cloths, dish cloths, etc. I know I cherish the little linen cloths I’ve made with Quince & Co Sparrow (they’re like the energizer bunny of textiles, they just keep going …) and I figured you might feel inspired to make something pretty for yourself. There are lots of patterns on Ravely for cloths, but here are a few I found that sparked some joy, and my absolute favourites follow below:
Each cloth requires approximately 200m of yarn sport/dk weight yarn
Note: the pattern seems to have neglected to explain how to make an I-Cord (the loop at the tops of the cloth), so here is an I-cord tutorial for those of you who are not familiar with the technique. Alternately, you can skip the I-cord, make your cloth loop free and just weave in your ends – there’s no rule that says a cloth must to have a loop.
Main Colour: 100m required per washcloth. Contrast Colour: 24m required per washcloth.
We will be closed on Sunday August 1 and Monday August 2 for the holiday long weekend.
Saturday Jul 31: 12 pm – 5 pm
Sunday Aug 1: CLOSED
Monday Aug 2: CLOSED
Tuesday Aug 3: 11 am – 6 pm
Something fun for the long weekend!
Wednesday June 30: 12:30 pm to 6 pm
Thursday July 1: CLOSED
Friday July 2: CLOSED
Saturday July 3: 12 pm to 4 pm
Sunday July 4: CLOSED
Monday July 5: 11 am to 6 pm
Normally around holidays I post a free pattern for a project that’s somewhat related to the holiday, and around Canada Day it’s usually something maple-leafy or involving a beaver or a Canada Goose. Recent events have me thinking about this holiday, and what our country’s birthday means in a broader sense. I wanted to feature designs by Canadian Indigenous designers of knit/crochet patterns, but disappointingly nothing turned up. My research was limited to a day and unfortunately I didn’t have the time to start digging below the surface, so if you know of any please send me a note and I’ll update this blog post and include them.
What I did manage to extract from the interweb follows ….
I found some gorgeous patterns by Jessie Mae Martinson, an incredibly talented indigenous designer from the US (I tracked her down through BIPOC in Fiber). She designs pretty little tops & bottoms, great for warm weather. Her patterns are size inclusive and priced on a “choose what you pay” scale. If you want a summer yarn to make her projects designed in fingering weight yarn, try Quince & Co Sparrow. For the DK weight I’d go for Kelbourne Woolens Mojave (no wool, it’s just super soft cotton and linen in gorgeous colours).
I also came across an older documentary made in 2000 for the NFB about the Coast Salish Knitters. I like this film, it’s older, but it addresses the complicated and often exploitative history connected with the makers of these sweaters. For us knitting is a leisure activity, but it’s important to keep in mind that for many of the families involved in the production of these sweaters, knitting meant the difference between starving and survival.
See the bottom of this page for a couple of articles on the Cowichan Sweaters of the Coast Salish people.
I also came across the book, Knitting Stories: Personal Essays and Seven Coast Salish-inspired Knitting Patterns (2014) by Sylvia Olsen, which you can buy as a Ravelry Download or as a soft cover from Sononis Press. You can also download 7 of the patterns individually. Alexa Ludman of Tin Can Knits highly recommends the book!
Olsen is non-native, but has spent much of her life living in Tsartlip First Nation, where her children and grandchildren now live. She is also author of the very recently published Unravelling Canada: A Knitting Odyssey (2021) and Working with Wool (2010), which received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing. She has several knitting patterns available as downloads on Ravelry. I’ve only just discovered Olsen’s work, but if you’ve read her books please let me know what you thought!
If you want to make the cowl above, I suggest using Cascade Heritage in colours 5742 Silver Grey Heather, 5631 Charcoal Heather, and 5672 Black. This pattern also includes a link to a video of Sylvia Olsen demonstrating Intuitive Colourwork (I don’t know what that is either, but it sounds interesting, I might have to buy the pattern to find out).
Should you now be feeling inspired to whip up your own Cowichan sweater, consider Canadian designer Jane Richmond’s West Coast Cardigan, which is not a real Cowichan sweater, but is respectfully inspired by the traditional style of the Cowichan Sweaters of the Coast Salish people. I suggest using Drops Andes, or for a more contemporary look try a blown yarn like Drops Wish.
For those who are academically inclined or just want more context, I also found a journal article from 2012: The Coast Salish Knitters and the Cowichan Sweater: An Event of National Historic Significance, by Marianne P. Stopp. You can download it HERE (it takes a few seconds to load the site) or HERE. I’ll be reading this over the long weekend!
And if journal articles aren’t your speed, I also found a nice little article in a lifestyle Magazine from Victoria: The Story of the Cowichan Sweaters.