Gauge

Sale and Movie

2008-02-15T21:49:00.000-06:00

Starting now through the end of the month, certain yarns will be 25% off!

They are:

Schachenmayr Extra Merino, Punto, Punto Color, and Norwia
Jamie Harmon Sport Handspun
Tatiana 2 mercerized cotton
Mondial Splendid,
Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon
Louet Kidlin and Gems Fingering
Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 6-ply and 12-ply

Also, Movie Night will be Thursday, February the 28th at 6:30PM. The movie will be a Jane Austen Adaptation TBA,
popcorn and sodas will be provided. This event will be free, but email RSVP is required.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

February Newsletter

2008-02-01T00:44:00.001-06:00

Hey all knitters, crocheters and friends,

It's February and we have a new month of specialty classes and upcoming events to tell y'all about:

Saturday, Feb. 9th--Cable Class 11AM-1PM

Learn basic cables. Students can choose to make either a washcloth of scarf.
$30 plus materials.

Saturday, Feb. 16th--Finishing Techniques, 11AM-1PM

Learn sewing in ends, mattress stitch, picking up stitches, and grafting.
Students should bring 4-6 knitted swatches to practice sewing and edging.
$30 plus materials.

Saturday, Feb. 23rd--Kids Knit

This is the first in a series of kids' knitting groups. The project will be a felted bag.
$30 materials included.

We will have our first Movie Night this month. We're not sure of the date and time yet, or the movie, so email us some
suggestions.

Finally, look for next month's Yarn Tasting, a special chance to sample some of those new yarns that have been tempting you.

You should be able to view all our pictures here

Peace, Love and Yarn

New Yarn for a New Year

2008-01-20T15:30:00.000-06:00

Hey friends. I hope everyone is doing well out there in the real world. I've been
quarantined at home for the past few days with the flu. Hate the flu. Bad flu.

I have, however, been receiving transmissions from the front. I therefore know
that at least a portion of our Malabrigo order arrived last week, and in it is the
new dk weight silk/wool yarn. I hear that it is pretty swank. Good times.

Also, we received our first shipment of Crystal Palace yarns and spring Classic Elite yarns.
Crystal Palace yarns include: Maizy, Panda Cotton, Panda Wool, Cotton Chenille, Puffin,
and Panda Silk. You can see examples of these yarns here.
I have to say that I was super excited for this yarn to arrive. It all feels great and is a nice price.

Classic Elite shipment included: Premiere, Provence, Classic Silk, Bam Boo, and Cotton Bam Boo.
View the yarns here.

I hope to see you all really soon when I feel better,
Allison

Happy Monday!

2008-01-14T10:57:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm getting close to finishing my little strawberries vest for kids AND adults.
My particular version uses Euroflax Sport weight, which feels awesome when washed.

Next on the agenda, Lorna's Laces socks. I'm gonna try the Woven Ridge socks from
Lady Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I do need a new pathway. I just do.
Also, love that Cat Bordhi. She kinda wins.

Next up is the Zenstring order, which should be happening today. Hopefully. If anyone
has any specific requests, hit me up.

Love to each and every one of you, (even when I'm grumpy), Allison

Yarnplay

2008-01-12T11:01:00.001-06:00

Here is the project for Lisa Mason's Yarnplay workshop. She'll be signing her book from 11:30-1PM and then the workshop will be from 1-5PM. My previous post gives a little
more information, so take a gander at it. It'll be tons of fun.

Love ya, Allison

Events, Classes, Awesomeness

2008-01-08T12:11:00.000-06:00

So, here is a visual of the type of embellishments that you can learn to make at Zany Lady's Felted Embellishments workshop on Saturday, January 12th from 11-1. The cost is $30, plus bring your needles, any felted project you'd like to embellish, scrap and/or feltable yarn with you. Check out her awesome website: TheZanyLady.com Yay!

Class Schedule:

Monday 11AM-12:30PM
5:30PM-7PM

Wednesday 6:30PM-8PM

Saturdays FREE Learn to Knit 2PM-3PM

Sunday 1PM-2:30PM

Also, we have a fun event coming up: Book signing for Yarnplay At Home - Saturday, January 19th from
11:30 am – 1 pm at Gauge followed by a workshop;

Yarnplay: Knitting From The Stash
A cushion cover workshop with Lisa Shobhana Mason

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

1:00 – 4:30 pm at Gauge

5406 Parkcrest Dr., Austin, TX 78731
Cost: $40 plus materials

To register, contact Gauge at 512.326.1551

In this workshop you will learn how to create a one-of-a-kind, 14”
x 14” cushion cover primarily using the yarn in your stash. Lisa
Shobhana Mason, author of Yarnplay and Yarnplay At Home, will teach
you how to:

• Work with color.
• Make the best use of the leftover strands and skeins that you
have in your stash.
• Use your intuition combined with your personal taste to create a
unique project.
• Work loosely from a template rather than strictly following a
pattern.

Skill Level: Intermediate

You should know how to cast on, knit, purl, pick up stitches,
mattress stitch, and bind off.

Miss Alexandra sent us this link to a fun watch cap pattern. Watch out! http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/hats/family-cap.html

Hope y'all are having a great New Year.

Love, Allison

New Shipment!

2008-01-04T20:08:00.000-06:00

Yay! Just got in a new shipment of Noro and Lorna's Laces yarn today.
We've been waiting for something new to arrive, and I've been chomping
at the bit to get Lorna's Laces for almost two months now. I'm quite pleased.

Also, I started knitting socks with my handspun last night. It knits much better
than I expected, which means I will soon be selling it at the store. I finished my
Noro socks and they feel great. The yarn really softened up in the wash.

We will be sending out a newsletter shortly with events upcoming in the store,
including our ongoing classes. Our hours for now are:
Monday:11-6
Tuesday: Closed
Wed-Sat: 11-6
Sunday: 1-6

We now have two sections of the Wednesday night Open Forum and there are some
super cool coming attractions. Again, thanks to everyone for making the sale such
a success. There will be more sales in the future, so stay tuned.

We love you guys.

Allison

Sale, Sale, Sale

2007-12-27T11:12:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays. We are having our first ever sale. Everything in the store is 15% from now thru Dec. 31st. During this time we will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for December 31st when we will close at 3 p.m. Come celebrate with us!

Also, our Baby Sweater Class will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The pattern is a Karli original and is pretty darn cute. The class is $30 plus materials. Woo-hoo.

I have been spinning up a storm and I think I'm gettin' a little bit better. Wish me luck.

Thanks so much to each and every one of you for making this holiday season so special and warm.
You are very important to us.

Love,
Allison and Karli

Love that Malabrigo

2007-12-05T17:23:00.000-06:00

We all LOVE Malabrigo and now we can all love some of their free patterns! You can find them
here: http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/patterns_thirdparty.html
We just got in a couple of new colorways in Chunky and Worsted weight. We're about to put in
another order, so if any of y'all have ones you want, let us know.

Love,
Allison

Baby Sweater

2007-11-25T09:43:00.002-06:00

Just had to share Karli's finished Five-Hour Baby Sweater. How cute is that? This is a free online pattern that a knitter recommended to us. I'll post the link when I find out from Karli. She just taught a class on this yesterday, but we may have to do it again. I think she used Debbie Bliss's Cashmerino in a light green and a dark green. Love it, love it.

After-Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T13:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, so, I made it through the first go-round of holidays. Whew! Now, I'm at home, sorta
under the weather and my car is broken down. I should be back in the shop on Wednesday,
providing Funk, (of Funk-a-Motive), is able to fix said car.

Just wanted to share that I am finally feeling confident about finishing work. I'm almost
finished with my "Le Fleur" Cardigan made of Malabrigo. I'll post the finished product soon.
Also, a fellow knitter asked the other day about the long tail at the cast-on edge of a piece,
and what could be done to keep it from trailing everywhere. I made a make-shift ball of the
tail, but realized there must be a better way to keep it up and away from the project and the floor.

The show Knitty Gritty on the DIY network came to the rescue. On the show, Vicki Howell recommended using the plastic clip on
bread as a bobbin for that tail. Perfect. I found one in the kitchen and wound my tail around the
clip and through the little opening, and voila, no more messy tail. Thanks Vicki. I always enjoy putting semi-useless items to good use, especially in my knitting. Sure, I can make a little ball of the tail, but that doesn't make me feel as clever as using this little silly widget.

One last note, I taught my mom how to knit over the holiday. I saved the little piece that she made out of green worsted Malabrigo. Love that Malabrigo. Mom picked up knitting really quickly. Go Mom! Hope she'll stick with it.

Allison.

Jane's Hat

2007-11-20T14:20:00.000-06:00

Hey, I forgot to post a picture of Jane's lovely Kureyon hat. She whipped this beauty up fast! Also, Karli just made the Five Hour Baby Sweater out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, and it is super cute. She's teaching how to make it this Saturday. It really does take about five hours.

blog it.

2007-11-20T13:20:00.000-06:00

So, this is my first post to a blog. Feels good.

Anyway, we'll hopefully be posting information here about events, classes, yarns, etc. We just got in a new Malabrigo
shipment along with Noro, Debbie Bliss, Mission Falls, Ella Rae and consignment yarn/roving/stitch markers. The Malabrigo and Noro are kinda flying off the shelves,
so I'm ordering more colors today. Yay!
I just started using the Malabrigo lace in Vetiver. It is so nice.

Robincat just posted an awesome free tam pattern that you should all check out: http://www.robincat.blogspot.com/

We're adding a second section of our Open Forum Class on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m., so sign up now.
Also, here is an example of what you can make in our Amigurumi class December 1st:

This guy is from the book Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful. I used Ella Rae Amity to make him along with some animal eyes and polyfill.

Gotta go place an order and work on my lace. Allison