CRAFT 06 Release Party!

Posted by Emily in crafting, events

What are you doing on Sunday, March 9th? You’re coming to the CRAFT Issue 06 Release Party at Twisted!

Diane, from DIY Alert, Crafty Pod, and the Church of Craft, and Susan, from West Coast Crafty, and author of the new book Bead Simple, are co-hosting the Portland bash here at Twisted, from 1-4pm.

Moxie will be on hand, too, demonstrating how she makes the adorable monsters on the cover of CRAFT 06. We’ll also have a hands-on craft table, where you can learn to make Pantyhose Flowers from the magazine. And we’ll have free snacks and door prizes!

So please come by, have some afternoon tea, and CRAFT with us! And please spread the word to other crafty types while you’re at it… Also, don’t forget that the March Crafty Wonderland sale is the same day, from 11-4, so you can hit both for a super fun afternoon out!

KGW link

Posted by Emily in the shop, knitting, charity

Found the link to the KGW video, thanks to my mom. Although she says, “The best part is that when the clip is playing, there’s a fast forward slide so it can be ‘all Emily, all the time’.” She’s biased, of course. You can tell because she also wrote that she loved, “getting a good look at your new hair cut. I love it. ( I see that this topic is thoroughly covered in your blog and associated comments.)” So true.

But I digress. Here’s the link:
http://www.kgw.com/video/animals-index.html?nvid=221536

More mittens

Posted by Emily in patterns, knitting, charity

We’ve been receiving a lot of calls and emails regarding the bear mitten story on KGW that aired on Monday evening. While several had to do with my outstanding hair, most were inquiries about the mitten pattern and where to send finished booties. So, we’ve created a bear mittens page, and it should answer all your questions. Enjoy!

sock yarn, not just for socks

Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, knitting

let me take a moment to extoll the virtues of the wonderful, the beautiful, the ever-adaptable sock yarn. take socks that rock, for example. for socks, it’s the ultimate in knitting enjoyment. i have many many pairs of str socks, and i love every single pair. as do my mother, my sister, my husband…i heart knitting socks out of str.

but this fab yarn is good for other knitterly endeavors, as well. we have had quite a few customers purchase sweater quantities, specifically of the heavyweight, which is akin to a dk, or the mediumweight, a heavy-esque sport. i for one have used str many times for shawls (particularly evelyn clark’s wonderful neck-down designs and the kiri shawl from polly at all tangled up). and now i am discovering the wonders of knitting a clapotis with socks that rock heavyweight. it’s going to take about 2 1/2 skeins of the heavyweight, and it will be a wrap to be reckoned with. and, i’m oh, so close to being done…

this not just for socks thing holds true for all of our sock yarns - look at the michelle molis japanese vines scarf that has been so popular - one skein of cherry tree hill supersock makes an amazing scarf. then there’s emily’s chevron scarf - two colors of the wonderful, bright, and bouncy zen string. we have seen gorgeous baby garments, fingerless mitts, fingerfull mitts, hats…you name it, sock yarn will help you do it! and, just as an fyi, we’ve got an entire WALL of sock yarn just waiting for whatever project you feel like creating, even socks.

Bear bear toes

Posted by Emily in the shop, patterns, knitting, charity

So a few weeks ago, I got a very strange phone call one morning. I can’t exactly recreate it, but it was from Linda, Public Relations Specialist at the Oregon Zoo. What did she need? Well, help writing a knitting pattern. So far so good. What kind of pattern? Well, mittens. Again reasonable. Then the odd part. Mittens… for bears… in Asia.

It definitely crossed my mind that this was a prank call. In fact, my college roommate way back when was a master prank caller and this is exactly the sort of brilliantly edge-of-the-plausible thing that she would have crafted. But, no, Linda from the Zoo is totally legit (and incredibly nice) and the real story of the cold-toed Asian bears is just as sad as it at first seems odd.

The organization directing the bear mitten effort is the Animals Asia Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity dedicated to ending cruelty and restoring respect for all animals in Asia. The images in this post are from their blog. Right now, they need mittens for the Malayan Sun Bear.

Any zoo folks reading this are welcome to correct me, but my understanding is that bears are rescued from inhumane conditions where they are destined to become parts for traditional medicinal remedies, snacks, and the like. The AAF’s blog goes into more detail about the stories of the bears - be warned it is not for the squeamish. As you might imagine, the bears usually need veterinary care and (also not a big stretch here to imagine) they must be anaesthetized to receive this care. It’s important that they stay warm and comfortable during the process but, just as for humans, bears’ extremities are the first things to chill. What they need is HUGE mittens to help their paws stay warm while they’re asleep.

So, I did my best to write up a pattern, and a few days later a whole group of Oregon Zoo volunteers came and started knitting bear mittens. What fun! Tracy Barry from KGW 8 came and interviewed everyone and the story is going to be on Monday’s evening news.


The first finished mitten is below, thanks to Jennie!



So to recap:
1. Knit a mitten for bears in need! Check out our bear mitten page
for the pattern and where to take finished mittens.
2. Watch us on KGW 8 tomorrow evening!

movie night tonight, UPDATED

Posted by Shannon in events, movie night

whoops! well, due to the fact that NOT ONE VIDEO STORE IN PORTLAND HAS THE MOVIE GLEAMING THE CUBE ON DVD, we are going to switch things up a bit in the 11th-hour. if someone, anyone, out there (within 10 miles of the shop) owns this movie, and wouldn’t be opposed to us borrowing it, give us a call at 503.922.1150. otherwise, we are going to go with an even more classic christian slater flick, heathers. according to imdb: “A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the “in crowd” of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics.”

again, folks, christian slater, winona rider, shannen dougherty (yeah, the brat from 90210), high school, cool kids, uncool kids, and a bit of murder thrown in. what more could you ask for on a friday night?

Spring

Posted by Emily in knitting

The weather has gotten distinctly warmer and brighter here in the last few days. Gardening is another hobby of mine and I noticed the first crocus sticking their little heads up this week.

And, perfect timing, I am almost done with a very springy scarf for a friend in very crocus colors. It’s an adaptation of the Chevron Scarf pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.

I used Zen String Serendipity Sport superwash sock yarn in Orange Crush and Iris (again, that spring bulb theme) and size US 4 needles. I added a four stitch garter border to keep it from curling and slipped the last stitch of every row to make a nice chain edge.

a new love affair

Posted by Shannon in yarn, knitting

the year of the sweater continues for me. i finished my sister’s wicked (and, how wickedly wonderful it was to knit - the zephyr gals are geniuses, i tell you, GENIUSES!!)

i made the sweater out of malabrigo. oh, the joys of knitting with malabrigo. i am in love. deep and utter love. it’s so soft, the colors are so wonderful, the stitches are so beautiful. we have a group making the tree jacket (also, unsurprisingly, from the zephyr gals), and many of them are using malabrigo, as well.

even though it’s a full month and a half until her birthday, i gave my sister the sweater, and i am not sure she has taken it off yet. it fits her perfectly, she’s a total layering-gal (like me!), and it’s keeping her warm and cozy now that we are experiencing sunny chilly days here in portland.

Happy Valentines Day

Posted by Emily in tea and treats

Have you been looking for true love in a teacup? Then you’re sure to fall ‘head over heels’ for our Valentine’s tea by Adagio Teas. It deliciously combines the luxurious flavor of fresh-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries with the taste of premium Ceylon black tea. Come grab a cup of Shannon’s favorite tea today!

Also, did you know that we sell all our teas by the ounce as well as by the cup? Take a look at our tea menu here, or stop by to peruse the over 50 flavors in person!

the year of the sweater

Posted by Shannon in yarn, knitting

i have been thinking lately about what i knit. my favorite, most comfortable thing to knit is socks. in fact, i made 23 pairs of adult socks last year, and 9 single socks for the shop. my ‘other-than-sock-knitting’ was not so extensive. but this year, already, i have made two sweaters. granted, both are short-sleeved, but it’s a harbinger of things to come. 2008 is the year of the sweater, and i have fallen, hard, for the patterns of the zephyr gals.

my first sweater of 2008 is the rusted root.

i used cathay, by debbie bliss, which is a blend of cotton, silk, and microfiber, in a nice lime-y green. the yarn was a pleasure to work with, and is fairly easy care - it can be machine washed in cold on a gentle cycle. gotta love that!

i used my favorite needles eva’, the new-ish addi lace needles. they are so wonderful, even though they are so sharp they cut little holes in my right thumb sometimes. oh, the price we pay for our obsessions!

my second sweater of 2008 is so.close.to.being.done. i have to sew one little pocket on, and weave in 3 ends, i believe. it is luscious, and i’ll share photos when i can in good conscience really call it done.

go sweaters! and, little sockies, don’t you worry - i could never abandon you fully.

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