Knitting Entertainment

Some people love to throw on a good movie when they're knitting, others love silence, some enjoy the outdoors and others love to listen to a good book.

I have put together some audiobook choices for you today. You've probably heard about most of these, probably even read a couple but maybe you don't have the audio option in order to listen to the story again while you work on your latest project.

Here are the links to four knitting related audiobooks from Audible.com. Each link provides a short synopsis of the novel and an option to download it to your device.

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Last Wool And Testament by Molly MacRae

Who doesn't enjoy a good story involving their favorite hobby? Now you can enjoy that story while doing your favorite hobby. Hope you find one to your liking!

Stitches Alternative

For those of you who aren't going to Stitches, what could you be doing instead? Here are a few suggestion to have a little fiber fest of your own:

Organize Your Yarn

Before you roll your eyes and look over at your overflowing stash let me explain. It may seem like an overwhelming chore but if you can take over a large room for a day to spread out your stuff, you can get all of your fiber and tools organized and it feels fantastic and is surprisingly fun.

You get to see yarn you haven't seen in years and get that sweater set-up that has been scattered about all back together and organized by weight, so when you come to your cabinet or closet or bins when you're starting a new project you can go right to the section you need and look at your options. Trust me it's worth the "hassle." You use from your stash much more often because you actually know what you have and it's easy to get to, so give it a whirl.

Have A Yarn Swap

If you do go through your stash and organize it you're bound to come across some yarn you are no longer in love with and might want to give away or perhaps you could swap it. Get your friends or family members who also have some yarn they've grown out of and have a swap. Bake some cookie or grab some wine and lay out all those skeins and pick and choose from each others misfits and go home with some new loves that didn't cost you a thing.

Yarn Shop Crawl

Go and visit all of your local yarn shops. Take some friends, split the gas and see what all the shops have in stock for you. It's a great way to spend time with your friends, support local shops and get the exciting fiber experience you may feel you missed out on by not going to stitches.

Got Your Goat is open all weekend and would love to hang out with you on the couch and dish about the latest in the yarn industry.

When All Else Fails

Start a new project. You know the excitement of casting on and dreaming about how it's going to come out and how much the recipient is going to love it, whether that's you or someone else. Turn on your favorite movie, print out the pattern, gather all of your yarn and stitch away.

Hope these suggestions help you to have an enjoyable weekend in town.

Last Minute Love

I don't know about you but my mom used to give me a little present on Valentine's Day and I would always look forward to it. It would be a little bit of candy or a small accessory or nick knack, whatever it was, it was always wrapped festively.

You may already have your gift for your special someone or for your daughter but if you haven't wrapped it here are some last minute knitting ideas to give it some flare.

 

Pattern: Valentine Hearts

Designer: Elizabeth Murphy

Whether you want to put it on a card, like they suggest, or string it around your wrapped gift (below) its a cute little something extra for your loved one.

Another suggestion that you can just use as general decoration around the house or if you are planning to give your "heart" to someone, this is a great pattern.

Pattern: Little Hearts

Designer: Teresa Fox

Either way you  choose to go, we hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day and that you and your loved ones enjoy some good fiber. :)

Enjoying Your Hard Work

A lot of us, beginners especially I've noticed, give our hand made stuff away like lottery tickets. You just get so excited about what you did and want someone else to enjoy it too. Well, every once in a while we keep some things for ourselves, as it should be. That gorgeous hand knit sweater, or fluffy cowl or crocheted blanket just makes you happy that you resisted the urge to hand it over to someone else.

This weather always seems to bring out the crafter in us and we dive into our stashes or go on a yarn crawl and put together our next project. Casting on becomes a sport and you end up with 13 new projects, but let's not forget our completed projects during this dreary/wonderful weather either. Take a stroll in your closet and admire your work. Wear it out and combat the chill in the air like a champ.

We would love to see your gorgeous work too, so come and parade it around the shop for everyone to enjoy. :)

Weather Conundrum

This weather really leaves you at a loss for what to work on. Should you knit a sweater? A market bag? Maybe if I knit a bikini it will snow.......

Well, we suggest a light weight sweater. Now I know a sweater may not seem like a good idea when it looks as though someone is slowing turning up the heat in California but a light weight, three quarter length, cotton acrylic sweater is just perfect.

The pattern we have in mind is # 128 Top down Trapeze Pullover by Diane Soucy.

Trapeze Sample, made out of Cotton/Acrylic

It requires a DK wight yarn and we have just ordered the perfect cotton acrylic blend for it. Berroco Weekend DK. This stuff is soft, washable and knits up so lovely, with great drape and nice colors.

A bonus is that we are knitting this lovely sweater during our February KAL. They are on Monday evenings, 5:00 - 7:00 pm. It's free and you don't even have to sign up. Just drop in, grab the pattern and the yarn and get knitting.

So, if you're having trouble deciding your next project, we've got you covered. Hope you can join us!

Mo's Stash Box

Our ever-loving mascot, Mo is offering to our customers a seasonal box filled with yummy knitting goodies including tools, notions, patterns, yarn, etc.  It's our new "club" for those of you who love to get surprises!  Mo's stash box wil come seasonally; up to four boxes a year.  You can sign up for incremental seasons but there is a two season minimum to sign up.

  

Here's the best part; Mo likes to keep things interesting,  so everything that comes in your box will be exclusive to those who sign up for Mo's stash box.  None of the items you will receive will be available for purchase to the everyday customer.  Ooooo, so special!

  

All boxes contain the same elements with only slight differences in pattern or color.  Therefore, nothing is individualized to its owner and will remain as such.  You will receive a variety in each box as to satisfy a wide range of interests.  Mo will do his best to make sure everyone is pleased with their box.

  

The seasonal buy in is as follows:

• 2 season buy in is $100
• 3 seasons:  $145
• 1 year: $190

 The value of each box will exceed $50 so you're getting a bargain with this new offering.  Now for the rules.  Since this a discounted program, the following rules will be applied:

1. No refunds or exchanges.
2. 2 season minimum buy in
3. No full cards can be used
4. No stamps will be given

We've been planning this one for some time now and are so excited to finally be able to offer it to you.  We have some great items lined up for these babies, so sign up today. 

  

The first seasonal box will be handed out in March just in time for Spring and the deadline to sign up is Valentine's Day, February 14, 2014.

Hope you can be a part of Mo's fun!

New Tricks

Want to learn something new this year? Why not trying learning to knit in the round? That may sound silly to those of you who have been doing it for years but there is more than one way to do it and the Goat is offering classes for three different methods this month.

Class 1: Knitting in the round on a circular needle - This is the easiest way to knit in the round but it is limited on the circumferences that you can work on. You will need to need to stay within a few inches of your pattern's final circumference. This is great for hats, cowls or pullover sweaters. We are offering this class on January 7, 2014.

Class 2: Knitting in the round with DPNs - DPN stands for double point needle and this method is great for small circumferences that get a bit cumbersome on circular needles. Using multiple sticks may look intimidating but it's easy to get the hang of and a great tool to have. We are offering this class on January 14, 2014.

Class 3: Knitting in the round, Magic Loop Method - Magic Loop uses an extra long circular needle to knit any circumferences. You can make a hat without ever having to change your method of in-the-round knitting. This is particularly helpful with small circumferences like the fingers of a glove so as to avoid using multiple needles with the DPN method. We are offering this class on January 21, 2014.

For class times or to sign up please call us for more information at 916-899-5416. Hope to see you soon.