I’d just like to take a moment to share some of my favorite images from the recent TurtleDove Trunk Show, for those of you who live out of town, or just missed out.  It was an amazing day!  

Everyone loves Erica, especially when she shows up with mountains of gorgeous hand-dyed perfection.

Doors opened at 11 AM, and by noon, I’d estimate that about half the yarn had been spoken for.  Erica says that she came in with 200 skeins of Alouette Lulu, Pigeon, Starling, Magpie, Rarebird Lace, Myna Lace, Flicker, and many more, and I’d estimate that she probably only took a very small fraction of that home with her at the end of the day.  

I think we have to call this the Summer Edition, since she says that she plans to try and do this again later in the year, and on a recurring (seasonal, hopefully!) basis.  

So, what did you guys think?  Anything you didn’t get a chance to grab?  Anything you want to rave, or to brag about?  Anything you’d like Erica to bring back for another pass at a later date?

Can I just take a moment to brag about my acquisition?  I owe a very special knitter a bunch of thanks for being so generous as to part with it so that I could scoop it up with my grabby little paws.

 Hoping you guys had as much fun as me,

Emily

Which of these two buttons?

I don’t usually use this site as a venue for my own work, both because, well, it’s really the shop’s blog.  And also, there’s Ravelry for that.

But I haven’t seen any knitters in the flesh for actual weeks!  And there’s no guarantee that I will for several weeks more.  And I miss you guys.  So, as I have learned through thousands of dollars and dozens of hours worth of grad school to phrase it, I have decided to use the internet as a tool of communication through which to communicate with my peers and community of practice.  That’s fancy library-school talk for; what do y’all think?

The tan one (which is sort of an iridescent tan, if there’s such a thing)?

Or the turquoise one (which is similarly shiny and pretty)?

Or even, because I’m fudging a pattern (this one, if you’re interested) into worsted that was originally written for bulky yarn and needles, and I think I made the overlapping tab a bit too long; both?

What do you think?

Just a quick note to let people know, we will be closed on Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving.

We will be open again on Friday and Saturday for normal operating hours.  We’ll be providing warm cider, coffee, and treats for the weary shopper.  Stop by to take a break from all the madness going on in the outside world, to get a head start on your Christmas projects, and take advantage of some new sale items.  It’s not precisely Black Friday….more like Heathered, Tweedy, Mohair-y Friday.  A lot of different things are going to be on sale from 10-40 % off.

See you there!

The Wooly Bullies

Hey all,

First of all, We want to thank everyone that has contributed to Afghans for Afghans so far.  We are doing great, and want to really push on through to make our local Tallahassee contribution really great, especially this year.   To that end, the Bully is doing 2 things for A4A; we’re collecting hand knit and crochet items AND we’re making a shop Lizard Ridge to be raffled off and the money donated to A4A to help to cover their shipping costs.

• Extending the Bully’s A4A deadline to November 30th.
• Outlining the prizes generously donated by Hannah at Wooly Bully
• Outlining the point system

Prizes:

1st prize: 4 whole skeins of cashmere

2nd prize: 1 set of the awesome new Hiya Hiya interchangeable needle set (that’s needle tips from size 2-8 and 4 cords from size 16”-40”)

3rd prize: 1 Barbara Walker knitting book of your choice!

Now for the point system:

The way this is going to work is that at the end of November, when all is said and done and we’ve finished collecting all the A4A items, we’re going to put names in a hat. 1 point = your name once in the hat. There are different “points” attributed to different items. here goes:

5 points:
Baby Blanket (30 inches by 40 inches minimum)
Adult Sweater

4 points:
Child sweater (age 5 and up)
Child pants
Adult vest

3 points:
Baby sweater (like Erica’s beautiful Firefly)
Baby pants
Child vest

2 points:
Baby vest
1 pair of full size adult socks (not footies)
1 pair of adult mittens/gloves

1 point:
1 Noro Lizard Ridge Square (unblocked please)
1 pair baby socks
1 pair baby mittens/gloves
1 pair adult fingerless gloves
1 pair adult footies
baby/child/adult hat

A few reminders:

• A4A this year is really stressing Baby Blankets.
• Everything knit and crocheted for A4A must be made of natural fiber, such as wool or alpaca.
• No scarves.
• No baby booties.
• No graphical representation of people or things on the donations please, these items will be unusable.
• No Camoflage (for obvious reasons).
• A4A has loads of FREE great patterns available if you need inspiration! You can find them on their website.

Love,

Rubino and the rest of the Wooly Bullies.

So, have you seen this?

Not to toot our own horns, but it is sort of thrilling to read through the website of what is clearly an awesome project, see all the criteria, and be able to think  "hey, that’s us!" so unequivocally.

Needless to say, we’re in support of this project.  We have always been proud to be locally-owned, rooted in the community, and (hopefully) part of the Tallahassee business scene.  But, I don’t want to be selfish here.  In this economy, I’d like to urge everyone to think this idea over and decide what it means to you personally.  If you decide that you’d like to know more about the 3/50 Project and what they’re trying to accomplish, then go visit their site.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.  If you also decide that you want to make (or continue to make) Wooly Bully one of the Tallahassee-area businesses you’re supporting, we’d be proud to have you.

See you soon,

Emily

Those of you who have stopped by the shop this week may have noticed a few…changes.  A little less caftan skirts and cross stitch, slightly more indie rock t-shirts and lace-knitting.  A little less Hannah, is what I’m trying to say, and a dollop more of someone else. 

Wooly Bully is proud to welcome the newest member of the Bully crew.  Presenting, Ziona!

It’s the true sign of a grownup, looking this polished and chic while simultaneously modeling a Baktus scarf over one’s head.

Ziona is going to be our new shopgirl all summer long, before matriculating this fall, and we invite everyone to come into the shop for some of her cheerful assistance.  Or, you know, we can just stare at her, whisper behind our hands, and occasionally poke her with sticks.  Either way, we’re very glad to have her, and I know that the Bully community will make her feel very welcome.

– Emily

It’s happened to all of us.  Hannah posts the class schedule, you look it over, you get excited about a new yarn, you research a pattern (what did we ever do before Ravelry?  You mean I can look at every single picture of every single knitter who’s ever done the Koolhaas, and what yarn they used?)…..but then, you don’t follow up on it.  You mean to call the shop and register, but it’s Sunday, and the shop doesn’t open again until Tuesday, and by Tuesday you can’t even remember what you had for dinner on Sunday, much less that you had something you needed to do.   

Or you do call the shop to register, but apparently every other knitter in Tallahassee has beaten you to the punch.  Or you manage to sign up for one of those spots, but something comes up on the day in question, or no one else actually wanted to knit that object (what, are they blind?) so the instructor cancels, or there was this hurricane….

Like I said, we’ve all been there.  Hannah and the rest of the crew have been discussing what classes should be given a second show.  What was really popular at the time, and we need to address the spillover now?  Or maybe you didn’t see the beauty of something when the pattern was first published, but now that you’ve seen it in someone’s project gallery, knitted up in Noro or Silky Tweed, you’re realizing that you absolutely need it.

We’ve thought of a few that people have requested in the past.

The Falling Waters Wrap, for instance.

Or the February Lady Sweater.

What about the gorgeous Little Slip of a Thing bag?

Or the perennial favorite, Saartje’s Booties?

http://www.micropoll.com/akira/mpview/568898-154615

What’s this?  Can it be?  Is it….a Shari Hill creation?

Well, it’s crochet, so it must be.  Jeez, look at those colors!

We just wanted to give you guys a sneak peek at the emerging Bobette blanket project, in case you were thinking of taking that class next month. 

–Emily

Head’s up!    We’re giving you guys a sneak peak at what the April class calendar is going to hold, a whole three weeks early!

Q: Have any of you decided what you’re getting your Mother for Mother’s Day?

A: No? (And I’m sure some are of you are wondering, “Mother’s Day?! When is Mother’s Day?”)

As per tradition, this April we will be offering a Mother’s Day shawl class. It’s an excellent opportunity for learning lace work. You will also have a final product suitable for gifting - a shawl that will surely be cherished by the lucky recipient. This year we have chosen the beautiful Revontuli Shawl (Ravelry link) or “Northern Lights” Shawl.

The class starts at the beginning of the month to allow for adequate time to complete your Revontuli before Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10th.

Class will meet three times for a one-time of cost of $40:
Wednesday, April 1st, 6-8pm
Wednesday, April 8th, 6-8pm
Wednesday, April 22nd, 6-8pm

Stop by the shop to see Shari’s Revontuli knit up in the silky, drape-y Araucania Ruca.

My Goodness, Shari’s is so beautiful that it seriously made me stop and gasp.  It feels wonderful knit into the shawl. Smooth and cool and with a certain amount of heft.

Erica has some fantastic ways to help you keep it simple, and still understand what you’re looking at when it comes to lace. That’s always been the hardest part for beginning lace knitters.   Once you can interpret what you’re looking at on the row below, it makes following the pattern SO much easier!

You’ll learn how to do a left leaning decrease, a right leaning decrease (SSK and K2tog), and yarn overs but the pattern also allows for lots of places for your brain and your hands to rest between learning the new skills.

And once you’ve mastered these basics, you can apply them to all those fun lacy sock and scarf patterns out there!

As always, call the shop at 224-BULL to save your spot in the class.

Your friendly webhead,

Emily

March Classes
If there is a class that you’re interested in taking, please give us a call at 224-BULL (2855).

March Block of the Month with Erica
Tuesday, March 10th, 6 – 8 pm
The Block of the Month project is commencing! Over the year, we’ll make 12 blocks that will later be seamed into a beautiful blanket. We’ll squeeze in a few extra blocks for those of you wishing to complete an afghan in time for Christmas. The blocks get progressively more complex and this is a great way to learn (or hone) some knitting techniques and add some decorative stitches to your repertoire. You buy your yarn as you go along, so you avoid any expensive initial investments.
$20

Learn to Knit with Erica
Saturdays, March 21st and 28th, 2-4 pm
Learn the basics of knitting while making these great fingerless mitts! You’ll learn to cast-on, knit, purl, change color & bind off during this project. After completing the pair of mitts, you’ll have the skills required to tackle more challenging knitting projects on your own.
$25, No experience is required for this class.

Learn to Knit Socks on 2 circular needles with Erica
Wednesdays, March 11th, 18th, and 25th, 6-8 pm
Learn to knit socks without touching double pointed needles! This 3-session class will teach you all you need to know to knit socks on 2 circular needles. This class is ideal for someone who has never made a pair of socks, or someone who is a veteran & is just looking to learn this great technique.
$25, you must know how to knit and purl before registering for this class.

Learn to Crochet with Shari
Saturdays, March 14th and 28th, 11 am -1pm
In this class you’ll make a small pouch while learning single crochet, crochet seaming and a tiny bit of double crochet. Perfect size for gift cards, credit cards, etc. Not as daunting (or boring) as a scarf, and a little more than coasters.
$25, No experience required.

Elizabethan Scarf with Hannah
Tuesdays, March 17th and 24th, 6-8 pm
Maybe you’ve spotted Hannah working on this scarf in the shop. This is an excellent introduction to simple lace work as well as short rows. If you need further enticement, this scarf requires no purling! Blocking nuances will also be discussed. Fun project for both the novice and veteran knitter.
$25, Participants should be comfortable with casting on and knitting.

Stripey Oven Mitts and Trivet/Potholder with Hannah
Mondays, March 16th and 23rd, 6-8 pm
This class is great for beginning knitters wanting to wade a little deeper into the craft. Knit and felt some striped mitts and a snazzy trivet cum potholder. We’ll cover knitting in the round, increasing and decreasing stitches, following a pattern, deciphering knitter-speak and abbreviations, making an i-cord, and felting basics. Pick as many colors as you want to work with.
$25. Participants should be comfortable casting on, knitting, and purling.

Please note, a non-refundable $10 deposit is needed at the time you sign up to hold your place in a class. This charge will go towards your payment of the class.