Sep
awesome, bo-dawesome new product alert
Posted by Shannon in the shop, patterns
we are pleased as punch to let all ya’ll know that we are now carrying zephyr patterns and stitch markers. rachel and sara ROCK, yo - they are two uber-talented chicas who design fresh, fun, and funky knitting patterns and kooky, crazy, and completely unique stitch markers. the pattern at left is ‘rusted root,’ a fab lil number with cap sleeves and a wonderful lace detail offset down the front of the piece. just one of many awesome zephyr patterns we have at twisted. the stitch markers are packaged in the sweetest little metal boxes, AND they created stitch markers especially for us!
Sep
movie night tonight
Posted by Shannon in the shop, events, movie nightwe have just discovered a few things about movie night.
1. we ARE allowed to post the movies we are showing
2. we are NOT allowed to show some of the movies we had planned on showing
so, as they say, it’s back to the drawing board with our movie offerings, but we can tell you that tonight, we are showing…
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
From the IMDB website:
Renowned adventurer Allan Quatermain leads a team of extraordinary figures with legendary powers to battle the technological terror of a madman known as “The Fantom.” This “League” comprises seafarer/inventor Captain Nemo, vampiress Mina Harker, an invisible man named Rodney Skinner, American secret service agent Tom Sawyer, the ageless and invincible Dorian Gray, and the dangerous split personality of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
Sep
lest you think there’s no knitting…
Posted by Shannon in the shop, yarn, sockswe twisted girls do actually knit. maybe not as much as we’d like to, maybe we are merely knitting at a level that keeps us sane, but we do knit. case in point: my newfound obsession with monkey socks (thanks a lot, gail!).
these are the latest in my latest craze: cherry tree hill’s supersock, in colorway african greys. we have many colors of cherry tree hill that would make perfectly gorgeous monkeys, and i have plans to cast on a pair in zen string fingering, yarntini fingering (when we get more in), louet gems fingering (which we have ordered, and should have in the next few weeks), ashabee’s fiber oasis, knitted wit, painted skeins, schaefer anne, woolarina, karen’s heavenly creations, maybe even trekking xxl…oh, the possibilities. cookie a is a masteress, folks - downright ingenious.
i am also close to finishing my kilcar coat/sweater from debbie bliss, made out of the donegal tweed chunky, and em has been knitting on her gorgeous cherry-red traveling socks, as well as a project for her pet charity, the fbrn. so we do knit here at twisted. maybe not quite as much as we’d like to, but we knit. and, ’tis the season, eh? the time of year when days get shorter, the air gets brisker, and we all hanker for something soft and hand-knit to wrap around ourselves. for me, this also means that my to-knit list, already an overwhelming and embarrassing thing, gets longer, and longer, and longer. so many projects, never enough time…
Sep
warm and fuzzy
Posted by Shannon in Uncategorizedwanna make a sweater? wanna make an easy sweater? wanna make a SEAMLESS sweater? we’ve got the class for you at twisted. a top-down sweater class, completely seamless, knitted in the round in aran weight wool, this is a quick, easy, and relatively painless knit. great for curling up in on those chilly winter nights, for skiing or snowboarding in, for giving to that special someone in your life…
Saturdays, Oct 6. 3:00 – 5:30 pm; Oct 13 and 27. 3:00 – 4:30 pm.
Sep
come over to the dark side
Posted by Shannon in classeswe want you to join us, if you aren’t already here. come over to our side, folks - get insanely, uncontrollably, and sometimes-anti-socially addicted to crafting. we have oodles of classes to get you started, or to expand on the skillz you may already have.
Thursdays, Sep 27, Oct 4, 11. 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Saturdays, Nov 3, 10, 17. 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Ages 8 and up, please. Featuring kid-attention-span-length one hour classes.
Saturdays, Nov 24, Dec 1, 8, 15. 3:00 -4:00 pm
hook it, hook it good…
Sundays, Nov 11, 18, 25. 12:00 – 2:00 pm
give us a call or stop in to register for the class of your choice: 503.922.1150
Sep
*(p2, c4b, p2, k2) rep from * to end…
Posted by Shannon in classesif the title of this post means nothing to you, or if it scares the you-know-what out of you, you may just want to pay attention. we have a cable workshop coming up that’s going to help you get over your fears.
cables are not as scary/difficult/overwhelming/advanced as you may think. they just LOOK that way, and what better way to impress your loved ones with your crafty skillz than creating something beautiful for them this holiday season? and, with a 2-hour workshop, you, too, can master the art that is cable knitting.
Learn to follow a written or charted cable pattern. Class sample can be made into a headband or hat brim.
Sunday, Oct 28. 3:00 – 5:00 pm
with Parna Mehrbani
$20
Materials: One skein aran weight yarn and needles necessary to obtain gauge
give us a call at 503.922.1150 or stop in if you are interested in this twisty workshop.
Sep
Congrats, Dawn!
Posted by Emily in classesWe wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to one of our teachers, Dawn Seymour of Fiber Rhythm Craft and Design. Dawn just completed her Master Knitter certification! The Master Knitting Program© is a non-competitive achievement program for advanced knitters administered by The Knitting Guild Association. I won’t go into all the requirements but, take my word, it is very, very, difficult. According to the KGA’s website, there are fewer than 200 master hand knitters in the world! It is truly an impressive accomplishment. Dawn will get the coveted Master Knitter pin in an upcoming ceremony. Congratulations, Dawn!
Not surprisingly, Master Knitter Dawn’s Fair Isle workshop last weekend was a huge hit. We’ll be having it again sometime this winter and, truth be told, I plan on taking it myself when we do. She had tons of samples and books and helpful hints. Dawn is also teaching an Entrelac workshop on Sunday, October 14 from 1-4pm ($30). There are still spots left, but it’s filling up so give us a call (503-922-1150) if you’re interested!
Sep
knitmap
Posted by Shannon in Uncategorized
we all do it: google “knit shops” when gearing up to take a trip. (we also usually pack about a hundred times more yarn and projects than we could ever need, but let’s not go there today, okay?) wouldn’t it be great if there were a one-stop website with a complete database of knit shops, AND where you could search for exactly those qualities that matter most to you? well, folks, let me tell you, there is. and it is called knitmap. and it is fabulous.
we are living in an electronic age. we twisted chicks are dependent on our blog, our website, our computers for much of the day-to-day running of the shop. we communicate with customers and vendors via email and blog posts, have an electronic newsletter, and discover new and exciting products via the web. as knitters and crafters, we find inspiration, camaraderie, humor, on knitblogs throughout the world. we join knitalaongs, we compare yarns, needles, projects, techniques, books, you name it, it is discussed on the internet. we can find out pretty much anything we need to know about knitting, crochet, crafting, at any time, day or night, on ye olde internets. sometimes we even make life-long friends through our computers, friends we may never have the chance to meet face-to-face. we are living in a brave new world, crafty folk, and it is getting better every day.
for those of you who have come in to twisted, or are keeping up with shop progress electronically, you know who the yarn traveler is. 
she makes the amazing oilcloth project bags that we have a hard time keeping on the shelves (particularly the lil’ sock monkeys). well, she is also 1/2 of an amazingly talented couple, and, along with her other half, has come up with a pretty darned incredible new website. knitmap. it’s a social mapping-type of thing. her boy and his creative partner had designed something similar a while ago, a happy hour search site called unthirsty. this inspired the talented and creative stacy to have one of those “aha!” moments.
the result is, as jem would sing, “truly outrageous, truly, truly, truly outrageous…”
not to mention easy to use, practical, and cute, to boot (just look at those lil yarn balls, people).
stacy is having a whole slew of contests over at knitmap - giving away yarn, her project bags, and other fun fun things. head over, check it out, add some shops. and, the next time you go on a trip, after packing enough underpants, your toothbrush, and waaay too many knitting projects, make sure to map out the most important part of your trip - the knit shops - on knitmap.
Sep
Five things…
Posted by Emily in the shop, crafting…you didn’t know about Twisted (unless you’re way cool).
1. We have free wi-fi. Yes, although we sell yarn and other fine crafting goods, we are planted firmly in the 21st century. This makes Twisted a great place for students looking for a quiet-but-not-too-quiet place to study with some tea and nice fodder for study breaks. It’s also very useful for giving non-crafting spouses/partners/friends something to do while you fondle yarn.
2. We love kids. Afterall, it’s a yarn store - there’s not a lot they can really break. We have kids’ story books, puzzles, crayons and coloring books stashed under the coffee table. Frequent kiddie visitors know they can dash straight for them and have a fine time while their parents look around. The amigurumi toy samples are also very popular…
3. We have a variety of needlepoint, cross-stitch, embroidery and crewel kits. These kits range from learn to cross-stitch for kids, to surprisingly hip needlepoint bracelets, to embroidered pillowcases, to insanely complicated and huge works of cross-stitch art that look like paintings (one of our favorites is “Going to Market” at left).
4. We do internet/phone orders. While we don’t have a fancy online catalogue - maybe someday - if you see something you just have to have, just send us an email or give us a ring! You can pay by credit card over the phone or online via paypal. Right now everything we sell in the store is also available by internet/phone. However, we know of at least one line that we’re planning on carrying in the future that we will only sell in the store.
5. The gorgeous painting of coffee mugs in our store is right-side-up. The artist, Bonita Davis, hung that painting, titled “Full Tilt on Route 66 in Santa Fe,” herself. In fact we, too, thought that it was upside down at first! Bonita says that while staying at a hostel in Santa Fe, she saw a cabinet of mugs that had been crammed in so tightly that, as other mugs were removed, some of them stuck to the paint on the shelf above them. So that’s why some of the mugs seem to be floating in midair!
Sep
all the cool kids are doing it
Posted by Shannon in classes, needleworklearning needlework, that is! with the holiday season coming up, this is the perfect time to nurture your inner craftista or craftisto. one way to do this is to learn the fine art of needlework. we have classes ranging from crewel, to embroidery, to temari and plastic-canvas needlework. yeehaww!
Sunday, Oct 14
OR Thursday, Nov 8.
Sunday, Sept 23
OR Sunday, Oct 21
OR Thursday, Nov 15
Sunday, Oct 7
Sunday, Nov 4
Sunday, Dec 2
check out the class list (and download the .pdf) to get hours and prices. call us at 503.922.1150 or stop by to register.