Easy, Breezy...Busy!

The tumult of spring has given way to the gentle rhythms of summer, and you can see it in our knitting here. We're working airy shawls and drapey tunics. We're playing with linen, silk, and cottons. We're looking for easy wearing and cool comfort. We're relaaaaaaxed.

Does this mean we're slowing down? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We're working hard with our 2013 team to plan what has become the biggest event of our summer, the Third Annual I-91 Shop Hop (coming June 27th-June 30th!). We're cooking up classes and workshops for the fall (Knitting With Wire! Fair Isle Madness! Koolaid Dying!). We've got trunk shows to organize, designer visits to plan, book signings to schedule. And we're packing our bags for TNNA, a three-day convention in Columbus that is the yarn industry's biggest showcase for fall trends, colors, and new fiber offerings. We're BUSY, and we have a few tricks up our sleeve, so stay tuned...

We hope your summer is bringing you a joyful balance between relaxation, productivity, and creative abundance. We're here to remind you that learning is growing in all seasons. Stop by for a quick summer project or for fresh ideas. Or just stop in. We always love to see you.

Love,
Julia, June and Linda

Shop Hop Is Almost Here!

Thursday June 27th - Sunday, June 30th

Ready for the ultimate yarn safari? If you've participated in the I-91 Shop Hop before you know it's quite a celebration: twelve yarn shops from Connecticut to Vermont, ready to rock through a weekend of prizes, promotions, and plenty of FIBER! You can visit all the shops in a day (they're all located no more than 10 miles from I-91) or make a weekend of it. Either way, it's the kind of adventure a knitter loves: cheerful folks, happy shops, and plenty of stash enhancement opportunities along the way.

Ready to join up? Your Shop Hop "passport" (available here!) has a map, a short description of each participating LYS, and a place for you to collect stamps from each shop, making you eligible for daily prizes and giveaways. Collect a stamp from every shop and you're entered into the grand prize drawing, worth over $2000! That should be enough reasons to join us for Shop Hop 2013--put it on your calendar, and we'll see you SOON!

SUMMER HOURS

We'll be on summer hours from July 1 through Labor Day. See below for details:

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 11:00-5:00
Tuesday: 11:00-8:00 (Stitch 'n Bitch 6:00-8:00)
Saturday: 12:00-4:00
Sunday: Closed

Note: We will be closed for vacation Monday, August 5th through Saturday, August 10th

Bonnet Kits: Oh, Baby!

This is another genius idea from our friends at The Fibre Company. Here's the recipe: one skein of Canopy Worsted (a luscious blend of alpaca, merino and bamboo). One knittable, retro-cute pattern. A happy pair, adorably packaged in a gift-able box. What's not to love? We have a sample knit up in the shop, and plenty of colors to choose from. QUICK, FIND A BABY!!!

Knitter's Pride Karbonz Are In!

Karbonz are a new offering from Knitter's Pride, and we LOVE THEM. They're a high-tech, carbon-fiber composite needle that is strong, flexible, and warm in the hand. They're less slippery than stainless needles, but less "grippy" than bamboo. In smaller sizes (attention sock knitters!) they're much stronger than bamboo, and won't warp. They come with a nicely pointed, stainless steel tip. In short, they're a great addition to the knitting universe! We carry DPNs in sizes 0000 to 10, straignts in sizes 1-10, and an interchangeable set that is an investment in pure knitting pleasure. Come on in, sit a spell, and give 'em a try!

Soul Wool: Wool With A Mission

Our newest yarn offering comes to us from Israel, by way of the Palestinian West Bank, by way of over sixty Bedouin handspinners--are you interested yet? Soul Wool is a cooperative between Israeli dyer Sol Israeli and the nomadic Bedouin women he has trained to spin gorgeous merino wool. These spinners, whose access to equitable wages and reliable employment is limited, earn a steady salary and, in turn, Sol finds in their world the inspiration he needs to dye beautiful yarn in the colors of the desert landscape. It's a beautiful partnership in every way.

Soul Wool knits at 3 1/2 stitches/inch, and comes in a full spectrum of beautiful hand-dyed colors. One skein will make a hat, two a scarf. We're happy just thinking about it.

Summer Knitalong!

Kelbourne Woolens Mystery Knitalong 2013

We saw the yarn, we felt the excitement, we jumped right in--and so should you!

Our friends at Kelbourne Woolens have created two things that we love: a new yarn, and a knitalong to go with it!

Meadow is a new laceweight in a delicious blend of fibers quite unlike anything we've seen before. Merino, llama, silk and linen make a happy marriage here: it's crisp yet soft, firm but still squishy, and it takes dye like a dream. We're one of only a handful of U.S. shops to have this brand new confection, and we knew we had to have a special project to go with it.

Hence, a mystery KAL! Courtney Kelley has designed a summer lace shawl especially for Meadow. She'll share the details in stages throughout the summer, as knitters across the country create and learn together. Every week's "reveal" will cover a new section of the shawl--starting with a swatch and ending with the edging--with plenty of time to do your KAL homework in between.

Are you feeling as excited as we are? You can sign up for this summer's knitting adventure right here in the shop! You can also find Meadow (in every color!), and see our swatch. See, we're doing our KAL homework, too!

Remember--We've Got Rewards!!!

Every purchase you make at Knit New Haven earns you rewards. Think of that: yarn, books, classes, gift certificates, anything. There's nothing to join, and no catch. If you're in our email system, you're in our rewards program. Spend $250 dollars and we'll give you $25 back in Knit Bucks, good for sixty days. Here's the shorter version: THANK YOU. For shopping local, for supporting our brick-and-mortar business, and for making our knitting life a joy, every day.

Traumseide 100% Silk Lace

We shouldn't have done it. We shouldn't have bought EVERY color of Skacel's incredibily vibrant, drapey new single-ply silk. But we were AGLOW with admiration for how it draped, how it reflected the light, how deeply it took dye. And at 800 yards/skein, we had visions of BIG lace shawls swimming in our heads. We couldn't leave any colors out, could we? So come help a yarn shop that has no self-restraint. Fifteen colors of premium silk--surely one of them has your name on it!

Jewelry For Knitters: Studiojere

We are thrilled this month to bring you the beautiful knitted jewelry of Jere Moskovitz! A RISD trained artist, Jere knits with wire, beads and textiles to create stunning pieces of (what else can we call them?) wearable art. Her pieces are modern, stylish, and each completely unique. We have a large selection of her jewelry, from wrapped bracelets to ornamental cuffs to stunning necklaces. Come check out her work, and see if you're not WOWED by this new frontier in wearable knits!