Next month Hanks will be two years old. What were we doing two years ago...?
Ah... those were the days!
Upcoming Shop Events
2009: The Year of the Afghan
The September square! As you know already, while we will be using yarn from our shop to make each square, the patterns will be written for any worsted weight yarn that gets approximately 4.5 stitches/inch on a US 8. So feel free to substitute anything you have in your stash! At the end of the year you will have twelve squares (more, if you do some of them twice) and while the squares will be interesting enough to keep even advanced knitters interested, it would also be a good project for the new or intermediate knitter who is interested in learning some new skills throughout the year. The squares are designed to get increasingly more challenging and exciting as the year goes on. We now have a FAQ page for the squares as well -
you can find that here.
Once again in September, we are doing only a charted design, rather than written out; but don’t let that scare you. Charts are a lot easier than they look, as long as you don't try to read them like a book-- the right side rows are read right to left (as if you were looking at front of the knitted piece) and the left side rows are read left to right (as if you were going backwards across the front of the knitted piece). The every-fabulous Knitty.com has an article
here that we recommend you look over. There is also a shorter article on About.com (
here) that is pretty informative.
The September pattern is available
here, and you can check it out on Ravelry
here.
Do you think you might need help with some of the squares? While the patterns will always be free, we will be offering some workshops that for a fee will give you three hours of class time and instruction, a set of needles, and appropriate yarn for the project.
Uptown Art Hop
The next Uptown Art Hop is coming up soon! Friday, September 11th, from 6-9-- we will
have spinning and knitting demonstrations all night, and of course
wine, cheese, and general Good Times. And it's not just us -- the
district of Uptown at 43rd Street includes art galleries, businesses
and restaurants in Millhopper Square, Thornebrook Village, and The
Market Place. We'd love to have you join us! See a sampling of some of the
best art in Gainesville, ranging from one-of-a- kind locally made art,
to gifts from the far corners of the earth. A rickshaw shuttle will
allow event goers to easily travel the short distance between stops.
As if you needed another reason, but... why else should you show up? Because Uptown Art Hop merchants will be selling raffle tickets with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to Florida's Eden's One Region One Book program. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. The prize is $150 in gift certificates (in $25 increments) valid at any participating location.
More information is available at
The Uptown Art Hop website.
2009/2010 Sock Club
Spots in the 2009/2010 Sock Club went up for sale on August 15th. There are still a few spots available; feel free to stop by the shop or call us (352.338.7222) so that we can go over the three different options with you, and discuss shipping.
Sock club spots will remain open until Monday, September 21st, or until we hit capacity (we will post here and on the blog if capacity is close to being achieved).
Here are some photos from the 2008/2009 club to pique your interest -
Option 1 –
$100 for in-store pickup/$130 with shipping
You will get six 400-yard skeins of hand-dyed sock yarn, one each during the months of October, December, February, April, June, and August.
Option 2 –
$50 for in-store pickup/$65 with shipping
You will get three 400-yard skeins of hand-dyed sock yarn, one each during the months of October, February, and June.
Option 3 -
$50 for in-store pickup/$65 with shipping
You will get three 400-yard skeins of hand-dyed sock yarn, one each during the months of December, April, and August.
And now, the pinky swear: we promise to send you hand-dyed sock yarn and we promise to do our best to produce a quality product. We promise that the color for each month will not be for sale in our shop until six months after the month that we send it to you. We understand that the colors we choose to dye may not wind up being your particular favorite; we ask that just as we are not selling that color in a retail setting for six months, that you also do the same and promise not to sell anything you don’t like until after the six month mark.
Lorna's Laces Knit-Along
Are you knitting along with Lorna's Laces? Lorna's Laces has started a Knit-along - if you're on Ravelry,
here is the group forum. The August and September pattern is Pioneer (
Ravelry link;
pattern link) and we encourage you to knit along (even if you're not using Lorna's Laces yarn)! Off to the right there is my second start (I had some gauge issues with the first try that just weren't resolvable). So far I'm loving it and even though I'm a month behind, I plan on finishing before the end of the month!
Florida Fiber-In
It's time for the 6th Annual Florida Fiber-In. This year it's being held in Sarasota, and you can find more information
on their website. Whether you are a crocheter, a knitter, or a spinner, you can find something here that will bring a smile to your face! Hanks Yarn and Fiber is proud to once again be a vendor at this fun-packed festival-- and that means that like last year, 100% of our fiber and all of our spinning wheels will be making the journey. If you plan to come to Gainesville the weekend of September 19/20, we will not have any fiber or spinning wheels in the shop (also, a good portion of our sock and lace yarns will be going as well).
Upcoming Classes
Classes do fill up early; so please reserve your space in the class by paying in advance as it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate walk-ins. Payment is required within 7 days of signing up for the class or within one week before the class begins (whichever comes first). All classes limited to five people unless otherwise stated. A minimum of 2 students is required for most classes to take place. If the minimum for a class is not reached, we will cancel or reschedule the class and a full refund will be given. Individual classes/lessons available by request (prices may vary). Homework is required in most of our classes; we know that all of you have busy schedules but please be sure to allow time to finish the work needed for classes.
All materials are provided unless otherwise indicated.
2009 Afghan: The September Square
9/5 (Saturday) | 2:00-5:00 | $15 (no materials)/$30 (materials provided)
Intro to Knitting
9/9, 16, 23, and 30 (Wednesday) | 6:00-8:00 | $100
Entrelac: Knit a Dishcloth
9/17 (Thursday) | 6:00 - 8:00 | $25
Introduction to Knitting Socks (DPNs)
9/24, 10/1, 10/8 (Thursdays) | 6:00 - 8:00 | $75
You can see the rest of the Fall schedule here.
Archived Newsletters:
August 2009 |
July 2009 |
June 2009 |
May 2009 |
April 2009 |
March 2009 |
February 2009 |
January 2009 |
December 2008 |
November 2008