Wow, so many things have happened since our last entry.  The dandelions are in full bloom, Allyson now knits (her first knitting experience was cables - she is really daring!); Thyra's baby is walking (he was just two months old, last I checked), Tina is in training with a new therapy dog (difficult to tell who is training whom), and I'm thinking about moving the shop to Main Street - more on that later.

In January I attended the TNNA show in San Diego.  There were so many classes I wanted to take, but they overlapped - John (bless his non-knitting heart), attended one for me.  The class with Cat Bordhi was enlightening - she's a wonderful teacher.  Unfortunately, I already knew all the techniques she taught (but meeting her was lovely).

The yarn and tools there were amazing.  Moving Mud had astounding glass tools and pins, Skacel had so much gorgeous, soft yarn that swooning was on the agenda, Delicious Yarns was as scrumptious as its name, Treenway = tactile and visual heaven, Frog Tree was delectable, and there were so many others that I can't keep track of them all.

The one thing I made certain to do was to approach a certain long-established pattern vendor about horrific pattern experiences (the company recently filed for Chapter 7 - karma, perhaps?).  Unfortunately, they have a history of publishing "Beta" patterns.  There is one project, knit by Jane, which took her over a year and well over a month for me to finally decode:

• The photo in the pattern slyly covered a construction problem with a long-stemmed rose;
• There were crucial errors in the stitch key;
• The morphing of the stitch pattern, between the waist band and the body, was badly designed, looked jagged and out of place, and was down-right ugly;
• There were errors in both the written instructions and the stitch-pattern charts;
• The pattern was apparently tested in only one size (Jane's was one of the untested);
• An entire set of written pattern instructions was missing, and worst of all,
• The company knew all of this, did not publish errata, and charged a mint for the booklet.

It would have been polite for them to have apologized, or at least offered to fix the errors, but c'est la vie.  Despite that, the show was a never-ending sensory festival, and I wish I could have seen it all!  I'm looking forward to attending TNNA and Madrona next year.

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Classes and Wire!

Hello everyone!

We've received some new wire in the shop. This is perfect for crocheting some jewelry! We have many vibrant colors! Come in and check them out!

Want to learn to Tunisian Crochet? We have a Learn to Crochet class coming up on the 15th, as well as a Tunisian Ear Warmer class on the 22nd.

Here is a picture of the finished ear warmer.

Hope you all have a great day!

Shop Is Open and New Yarns!

Hello everyone!
The Yarn Bard is back open after the holidays. Hope that everyone had a great holiday!
We've received some new yarns in the shop.
Here is a yarn called Boku. It's 95% wool and 5% silk blend. It's beautiful and is very warm.

We also have a DK Merino Superwash. It's 100% Superwash Fine Merino Wool. We have many colors and they are all super soft and warm.

Come on in and check them out! :D

New Updates!

Hello all! Holiday greetings to everyone from The Yarn Bard! Hope all gift making/ finishing is going well! Here are some updates: We now have Addi Clicks! These are modular needles that just click into the cable!

Don't know what to get a knitter or crocheter for Christmas? We have some beautiful tea cup patterns! They come with a pattern, a ball of yarn to do the pattern, and a tea cup! It's the perfect thing to relax with! 

We will be getting some DK Merino as well as a new Noro-like wool/silk blend at the end of next week, so come in and check them out! 

Hope everyone has a great Holiday!

Crochet Tips!

This is for all the crocheters out there, here is a picture to help you read crochet diagrams!

New Yarns!

We've got some new Touch Me colors as well as some new locally spun yarns! Come on in and check them out! 

New Yarns and Projects! :D

Hello all! Allyson here to tell you about some new yarns that we have as well as some projects!

 

 First we have the lovely Thyra's arm showing the new yarns we've recieved from Handspun by Ophelia! Each skein is handspun locally and are absolutely beautiful. The fiber content ranges from wool, to bamboo,to alpaca, to silk and milk! There are different sizes of each yarn, so you could make that scarf for the upcoming winter or maybe a baby blanket. Come on in and check them out!

 Here is a project that we have in the shop. It was made by crocheting with the Touch Me yarn. This was actually from one of our teacup patterns kits! This scarf is beautiful and very warm. Stop by just to feel it. It's super soft! :D

 Here is a crocheted cornucopia! Great for the Thanksgiving table! This is being offered as a class, so if you would like to make on, give us a call or come on in and sign up!

 Here are some crocheted snowflakes.

 And here is a knitted one!
These little guys are ornaments that you could hang up on your Christmas tree or just in the window! The crochet ones are also being offered as a class, so if you're interested, call, or come on in to sign up!

 Here is a brick pattern knit hat, made by Bonnie. This lovely hat is super cute and super warm.

 This is an adorable knit fingerless glove. It has a long cuff so it will keep your arms nice and warm!

Here is the lovely Bonnie, modeling the matching leg warmers. These will keep your legs warm as well and look great!

Lastly, this is a knitted glove. This could be made into a texting glove, by adding the thread that we have available here in the store!

We also have a tumblr page now!

theyarnbard.tumblr.com

Go check us out! We'll be posting projects and yarns! 

That's all for this update. Happy knitting/crocheting!