Plymouth Yarn Company Blog

The Yarn Club in Virginia Beach, VA…Anyone Can Join!

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

This is the first episode of my travelling search for the most interesting and beautiful yarn shops in the Southeast. Feel free to comment or make suggestions for a future story on your favorite shop!
**********************************************************************************************************************
Andrea Riddle,  illustrator, wife and mother of two amazing girls, opened her shop, “The Yarn Club” in Virginia Beach, in March of 2011. It is jammed to the rafters with beautiful yarns from all over.  Andrea is rightfully proud of her status as “the largest selection of hand dyed yarns” in the area. I would venture to say it is one of the largest selections of hand dyed yarns, anywhere. The store is filled with large name companies and many small companies and Indi-dyers.  Be sure to go and see for yourself. Like me, Andrea has had many different careers in the past, but I find it very interesting that her family has raised soft-shell crabs, a licensed aquaculture business, right on their property. In addition to their daughters, she and her husband Jeff are also raising many pets, including an adorable bearded dragon, named Lizzy.  The Yarn Club has several great instructors: Debbie, Kiki, Hazel and Chuck, and offers a full schedule of classes at www.yarnclubknits.com, and a really rockin knit nite, Thursdays. I have a feeling this shop attracts quite a few of the hip knitters of VA Beach. The shop is also active on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-yarn-club-inc and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/Theyarnclub.  Everyone is welcome to join them any
time in the store or online.

Andrea Riddle

Encore Wall at The Yarn Club!

Just Inside the Front Door!

Neon? Yes Please!

Friday, October 5th, 2012

Don’t tell the boss but I am spilling the beans today.  I just happened to be stretching my legs(OK, I was snooping, but let’s keep that between us) and found myself in our design/sample room.  This is the place where all the magic happens.  After all the trips have been taken and all the trade shows have been attended, this is the spot where the best of the best end up to be test knitted and designed into something beautiful.

I was excited to see a few things but what really caught my eye was the vivid and fun colors in the Grignasco line.  NEON!  I managed to get a shot of the fluorescent fabulousness in the Kid Seta line and wanted to share.  Ask your yarn shop today about these great colors.  Yarn shops-call your reps! You have to see these!

Plymouth Yarn Featured in Knit Simple’s 2012 Holiday Gift Extravaganza

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

We are so excited for this great issue of Knit Simple 2012 Holiday Gifts Issue, chocked full of great holiday gifts.  Available on newsstands today!

Photographs by Paul Amato for LVARepresents.com; Rose Callahan; Jack Deutsch and Marcus Tullis

Cropped Turtleneck
Designer: Mari Lynn Patrick
For sizes: X-Small (Small, Medium, Large)
Yarn Information: Plymouth Yarn Company Worsted Merino Superwash
Amounts: 3 (4, 4, 4) hanks in #43 teal green

Hot Water Bottle Cozy
Designer: Annabelle Speer
For sizes: One size
Yarn Information: Plymouth Yarn Company Encore Worsted Tweed
Amounts: 2 skeins in #1237 Oatmeal

Afghan
Designer: Mary Beth Temple
For sizes: 43 x 43″
Yarn Information: Plymouth Yarn Company Galway Worsted
Amounts: 5 skeins in #722 oatmeal, 3 skeins in #750 green heather, 1 skein in #756 gold heather

Sparkle Wristers
Designer: Vanessa Putt
For sizes: One size
Yarn Information: Plymouth Yarn Company Gold Rush
Amounts: 1 cone each in #36 blue and #5 silver

It’s My Birthday and I’ll Knit if I Want To!

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

Hi, I’m Heidi Sunday, a new guest blogger here.  I have some ideas about what I will brag about, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get on here.  Soon, I am planning to post a free pattern for the crocheted scarf I am wearing, the “Tranqwool Seaweed” pattern for 1 skein of Passion Nette, dreamed up by Jenni Pfaff at Tranqwool Knitting Provisions in Spencer, NC.  Stayed tuned!  I am too busy knitting and doing some heavy duty relaxing to finish the pattern right now.

Wilde Free Pattern

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Happy Friday Folks! I saw this one and fell in love, I think I’ll take a stab at this weekend and I will keep it all for myself!  Enjoy this free Wild Triangular Shawl pattern, on me.  Feel free to reciprocate at happy hour today….

Pattern F429 back view

Front view

F429

WILDE
Triangular Shawl

F429 Wilde Triangular Scarf PDF

Approx. Measurements: 24” long, 60” wide
Wilde:
5—100G skeins, color: Brown with Tan.
Gauge:  2.5 sts, 3.2 rows= 1” in garter stitch on size 15 needles.
Needles: US Size 15 long circular.

Loosely cast on 14 sts.
Working in garter st (knit every row), increase 1 stitch in the from the edge at beginning of every row by knitting into the front and the back of the st, until you have 30 sts
Then, increase at the beginning and the end of every row until you have 150 sts. Bind off very loosely.

Fringe: Cut 2 strands of yarn, each 20” long. Holding the 2 strands together, fold in half and attach along the edge of the shawl. Repeat this process along every edge of the shawl (but not the bind off edge), spacing the fringe about 1” apart.
Weave in all ends.

©2012 Plymouth Yarn Company. 031212vle

Talk Like A Pirate Day Top 10

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Talk like a pirate day be a favorite here at Plymouth Yarn. Take a look at our Top 10, slightly Plymouth Yarn related, reasons to be a pirate… Aaarrrggghhh!

10.  We know right where to pillage for 24k! Here, there is always a Goldrush!

9. Ye get to travel. Think of all the uses ye will get out of that shawl ye made while cruising on those beautiful, blue Caribbean waters!

8. Open Up Davey Jones’ Locker, ye can basically wear whatever ye wish.  Pull out that sweater with the uneven sleeves, that scarf that ye made way too long or the socks that didn’t end up looking the same.  Nobody will say a word because, well, you’re a Pirate. Dead men tell no tales!

7.  Have ye seen our logo?

6.  It would give ye an excuse to bring your parrot to work.

5.  Ye can use your Encore Worsted scraps to make this Eye Patch free on Ravelry.com.

4.  Ye can use your Galway scraps to make a Felted Eye Patch, free on Ravelry.

3. Crocheters will always be prepared since their hooks are always “on hand”

2. Ye can wear these patterns all year round! There’s one for the veteran Seadogs and young lads alike!

Pattern 2054

Pattern 2129

And the number one reason to be a pirate…

1. RUM! When ye are a pirate ye are not only allowed to drink rum but ye are expected to! Ye might drop a few stitches or have to rely on your knitting counter to get through your project but nobody will mind. They will just be happy if you don’t steal their boat or make them walk the plank.

Enjoy the rest of Talk Like A Pirate Day.  Ahoy Matey!

Glitter it up!

Monday, September 10th, 2012

“Crochet is alive and well in Minneapolis!” This is evident when you step foot into StevenBe, an elegant yarn workshop located at 3448 Chicago Ave in Minneapolis, MN.  Many of you know Steven Berg as the “Glitter Knitter” and his beautiful shop lives up to his reputation with a sparkling chandelier and plush chairs to welcome you.  Sit back, grab your hooks and needles and enjoy the lovely mix of animal prints and fine art that adorn the space.  Imagine all this while creating your masterpiece with classical music or even a live harp playing in the background. There is lots of great Plymouth Yarn to be had.  I think I’m in heaven.

I enjoy speaking to Steven every time he calls.  So much so that when I saw this ad in a magazine a couple years back, I had to put it on the wall next to my desk.  It reminds me of the rock band pictures I had on my walls as a teenager.

Our Design Director Cia stopped by the shop over the weekend and snapped a couple photos during her visit…..

Plymouth’s Alpaca Puffs, a great addition to any hat or scarf.

Yarn heaven!

Minnesota Necessity

So the next time you are in Minneapolis be sure to visit SteveBe and if you happen to be in Rosemount, MN you can visit Steven’s other location, The Yarn Garage and say hi to his mother Christa while you are there!

A Labor Day Message….

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Courtesy of Zingerbug

It is officially the unofficial end of summer.  Labor day is one of my favorite holidays as it celebrates the American worker, which is me! A big thank you to Matthew Maguire and Peter J. McGuire,  labor union officials who first proposed the holiday back in 1882 as a day of rest and celebration for workers and their families. I’ll gladly take a 3 day weekend,  I have one UFO that needs tending to, a grill that is begging for some steaks and a blender just waiting to make some margaritas.  We always stay close to home, trying to visit our swim club as much as possible before they lock the gate for the final time on Monday 8pm.

For the first time, my son is dreading this weekend, or at least the end of it.  Now he’s a second grader, aware that back to school means homework, early bedtimes and tucked in uniform shirts.  No more weeknight outings to the movies or miniature golf.   I’m excited to meet his teacher and wondering if she’s a knitter.

Early bedtimes for the kid means uninterrupted knitting time for mommy.  My goal over the next few weeks is to master crochet.  I am a novice and I am ready to change that.  There is way too much fantastic crochet out there that I am missing out on.  I would like to replace my holiday knitting with crochet this year.  Click here for one of the many videos I will be using as guide this weekend.

Make sure you call your local yarn store this weekend too.  Many of them have received their fall orders and are having some amazing sales.  If you get to your shop, check out some of our new yarns like Gina, Sakkie and Pasea, the hottest sellers right now.

Sakkie Crochet Pattern 2364, call your yarn shop for details

Plymouth Yarn featured in Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2012

Friday, August 17th, 2012

That’s right, I said it. Holiday gifts. Don’t shoot the messenger.

It’s that time of year again folks! Let’s start thinking about those holiday projects.  My request list has grown over the years, probably because I’ve been outed by this very blog! Now everyone knows I knit. Boy,  are they lucky that I love to do it, and my husband works the night shift!

So shine up those needles, wind up the hanks and grab your patterns, it’s yarn o’clock.

Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2012 edition hits newsstands on September 4th 2012 but the online issue release date is today for those of you like me who just can’t wait and must get started. There are two perfect-for-gifts patterns in this issue made with Galway and Baby Alpaca Grande. Photos by Nathan Rega of Harper Point Photography.

Galway Worsted: #722, 1 skein for BRAIDED TOQUE by Andrea Babb

Baby Alpaca Grande: #2691, 1 skein for HIDDEN PICTURE COWL by Sara Spencer

Don’t forget to pick up your digital copy or newsstand copy on September 4th.  You can check out the Interweave Knits website for other editions and great project ideas!

Shade Quiz!

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Win 10 skeins of Encore Worsted, read on for details.

Ok, I’ll admit it; I read the 50 Shades of Grey book series.  My friends read it, my sister read it, my niece read it, my boss read it, and last but not least, my mom read it! (I’m pretty sure I won’t be accompanying her to the movies when that one comes out.)
Last week, I was chatting with a knitter looking to make a chevron blanket with various shades of grey Encore Worsted. As I searched in my computer system, I realized just how popular grey is, and that we have many, many shades of it.  So for some fun this week, I decided to give away a bag but I am going to make your work for it! Give us your best guess to the questions below.  One person, with the closest answers, will win 10 balls of Encore Worsted color 389.  Comment with your answers to our Blog ONLY.  Facebook and Twitter entries will not be accepted.  In the event of multiple correct comments, a winner will be chosen among them at random.  Plymouth Yarn employees, sales representatives and their immediate families are not eligible to win. Data on number of shades is collected from inventory reports.  Winner will be notified via email on August 3rd 2012.
1.    How many shades of grey yarn are active in our inventory?
2.    How many shades of red?
3.    How many black yarns are active in our system?

Have fun and happy guessing.