Lambikin's Happenings Newsletter - Spring/Summer 2008

Spring has arrived and so has all the spring and summer yarns to keep those knitting needles busy throughout the summer. Lightweight cotton blends have found their place on our shelves. This season we have added over 10 new lines and many new wonderful colors to existing lines. In addition to the new yarns, we have brought in tons of new patterns to get you inspired. We hope everyone is as excited as we are about all the new yarn and colors.

We are offering 7 brand new classes this summer. Come in and get away for a couple hours while learning something new. Remember, the shop is open late on Monday nights until 8 PM for Knit Night. It’s always a good time with fun conversation and, of course, knitting.

We had such a wildly successful Winter Knitting Olympics in 2006, we are already making plans for a Summer Knitting Olympics in August. In ‘06, Team Lambikin’s was 32 team members strong, so we want to surpass that this year. In case you are not aware of the Knitting Olympics, it is a project that must be a challenge for you to complete in 16 days, between the opening and closing ceremonies.

We have started a Ravelry group called Lambikin’s Hideaway Happenings to make sure everyone is up-to-date on the latest news at the shop. Our Ravelry group is a prefect compliment to our blog posts, web site, and of course our printed newsletter. If you are not already a member of Ravelry, simply go to www.ravelry.com and join the waiting list. Once a member, you can find our group by searching for Lambikins under the Group tab. In case you have never heard of Ravelry or need help getting started, we will have classes this summer to show you how to sign up and how to interact with Ravelry.

We have some great monthly events lined up all summer long. May is UFO Finishing Month. If you have lots of unfinished objects and you need some help or advice, stop by or call the shop to set up a 1-hour help session for free. The help time will be for finishing help only. June is the Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Surprise Baby jacket knit-along. The Baby Surprise Jacket was designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann in 1968 and remains a popular baby garment to this day. July is Christmas in July. Each week we will have a different idea for Christmas projects, gifts or decorations. Finally, August is the Knitting Olympics knit-along. We will have a special Opening Ceremony on 08-08-08 at 8 PM. We will send out additional details on Knitting Olympics as we get closer to August.

New Products

We have added several great new lines for this spring/summer knitting season. One new line is from our favorite company, Malabrigo. Malabrigo Silky Merino is a 50% Silk, 50% Baby Merino wool yarn. We can not describe in words how yummy this yarn is. One touch and you will be in love. Be sure to hurry in to get the best selection. Silky Merino has been flying off the shelf.

We haven’t added any new lines from Noro lately, but that has changed this spring. We are now stocking both Noro Matsuri and Noro Taiyo. Both yarns are wonderful cotton blends with the famous colorways that Noro is known for.

We have many new lines from some of our favorite companies, including Reynolds, Nashua, Classic Elite and Crystal Palace. Here are just a few of the new lines for summer: Reynolds Rise & Shine, Nashua Creative Focus Cotton, Classic Elite Cotton Bamboo and Crystal Palace Panda Silk.

In addition to all the great new yarn, we have also added great new colors to many of our lines, including: Soft Linen, Sundance, Cotton Jeans, Rowan All Seasons Cotton, Panda Cotton, Maizy and Regia sock yarn.

Classes

Here is our class schedule for May through August.

• Sign-up sheets for all classes are in a binder at the store.
• Class times and days are firm. Please verify you will be able to make it to all class times and days.
• A 50% deposit is required with registration. The balance of the class fee is due at the time of the first class. We will accept cancellations up to 5 days prior to class. Refunds will be given in store credit only.
• You can either register by phone or in person at the store. If you register by phone, we will accept a credit card over the phone, or you can mail a check.
• Class cancellations due to insufficient students will be announced 3 days before the first class date, and fees or deposits will be refunded.

To make sure you will not be bored or in over your head, we are putting a scale in place to rate the difficulty of each class.

	Level 1 - Beginner
	Level 2 - Advanced beginner
	Level 3 - Intermediate
	Level 4 - Advanced

Beginning Knitting for Adults  
Session 1: May 7, 14 and 21 6-8 PM (Wed)
Session 2: July 11, 18 and 25 9-11 AM (Fri)
Session 3: August 15, 22 and 29 9-11 AM (Fri)
Cost: $40
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Come in and learn to knit. You will learn the basics of knitting while getting the knowledge that you need to do projects of your choice.

Felted Noni Bag  
Session 1: May 16 and 23 9-11 AM (Fri)
Session 2: July 19 and 26 9-11 AM (Sat)
Cost: $30
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list
Description: Come in and choose from your favorite felted Noni pattern. Noni patterns involve many different techniques and are good for knitters of all levels.

Sweaters 101  
Session 1: June 2, 16 and 30 6-8 PM (Mon)
Cost: $40
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Knitted in the round from the top down are the easiest seamless sweaters to make. Perfect for beginners or experienced knitters wanting to learn the top down technique.

Socks 101  
Session 1: June 10, 17 and 24 1-3 PM (Tues)
Session 2: Aug 9, 16 and 23 9-11 AM (Sat)
Cost: $40
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: This class will teach you how to do socks the Magic Loop way, on Double Points, or on 2 circular needles. This class is for anyone who would like to learn to make socks and have been too afraid to try before.

Felted Animals  
Session 1: June 13 and 20 9-11 (Fri)
Cost: $30
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Would you like to make a cute felted animal just like the many we have around the shop? You can learn how to make a felted porcupine, squirrel, alpaca or hedgehog, just to name a few.

Baby Surprise Jacket  
Session 1: May 28, June 4, 11 and 18 6-8 PM (Mon)
Cost: $40
Materials: Must bring or purchase on of the following Elizabeth Zimmermann’s pattern books: The Opinionated Knitter and Knitting Workshop
Description: In this class you will learn the techniques to knit Elizabeth Zimmermann’s knitted baby cardigan. It is an excellent pattern for making use of oddments of yarn or self striping yarns with long color repeats, but looks equally nice knit in a single color with a contrasting button band.

Intro to Cables  
Session 1: May 9 9-11 AM (Fri)
Session 2: June 14 9-11 AM (Sat)
Session 3: Aug 6 6-8 PM (Wed)
Session 4: Aug 26 1-3 PM (Tues)
Cost: $20
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Cables can be intimidating, but we will work with you to show you everything you need to know to conquer cables. For this class, you to make a bag made with different swatches of cables.

Felted Clogs  
Session 1: May 10 and 17 9-11 AM (Sat)
Cost: $40
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Clogs are perfect for something to put on your feet to keep you warm during those cold winter nights. Clogs might be a little challenging for beginner knitters.

Intarsia for Beginners  
Session 1: May 13 and 20 1-3 PM (Tues)
Session 2: Aug 13 and 20 6-8 PM (Wed)
Cost: $40
Materials: Book included.
Description: In this class you will learn how to do intarsia knitting. Ever wanted to know the difference between Intarsia and Fair Isle? Intarsia is the art of knitting patterns into your knitting by using multiple balls of yarn. In this class we will knit a simple project that will give you the tools for Intarsia knitting.

Incorporating Beads Into Your Knitting  
Session 1: May 27 1-3 PM (Tues)
Session 2: July 21 9-11 AM (Sat)
Cost: $50
Materials: All materials included, except needles and crochet hook.
Description: Come and learn how to add beads into any of your knitted projects. We will make a small bag embellished with beads.

Crochet 101 for Knitters  
Session 1: May 30 9-11 AM (Fri)
Session 2: June 21 9-11 AM (Sat)
Session 3: July 9 6-8 PM (Wed)
Cost: $20
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: All knitters need to have the knowledge of basic crochet. We will teach you all the fundamentals of crocheting needed for basic projects.

Tips & Tricks  
Session 1: May 31 9-11 AM (Sat)
Session 2: July 8 1-3 PM (Tues)
Cost: $20
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Come in and learn different ways of casting on, binding off, increasing and decreasing.

Christmas in July  
Session 1: July 15 1-3 PM (Tues)
Session 2: July 22 1-3 PM (Tues)
Cost: $20
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Learn to knit miniature sweaters and ornaments to decorate your tree, wreaths and gift packages this holiday season.

Amigarumi  
Session 1: July 16 and 23 6-8 PM (Wed)
Cost: $25
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: The art of Amigaumi is cute little crochets animals. You will need to purchase a book. Multiple books are available, so the choice will be yours.

Two-Handed Fair Isle Technique  
Session 1: Aug 12 and 19 1-3 PM (Tues)
Cost: $30
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Have you wanted to Fair Isle, but not sure how to do multiple colors in a row? Come and learn how to do Fair Isle using 2 hands.

The Friends Knitting Class
Session 1: Call for Class Appointments
Cost: $20/person
Materials: Call or stop by the shop for material list.
Description: Do you have a group of friends who want to take a knitting class on a specific topic, but just can’t find a class that fits into your schedule? This class is designed for that purpose. Get a group of friends together, pick a topic, and call the store to set up your own private knitting class. Classes are 2 hours long.

Introduction to Ravelry
Session 1: May 15 7-8 PM (Thurs)
Session 2: June 12 7-8 PM (Thurs)
Cost: FREE
Materials: None
Description: If you have never heard of Ravelry, or you have joined, but haven’t started using the site because you were overwhelmed, this is the class for you. We are offering a quick tutorial on how to join and interact with Ravelry in a FREE 1-hour session. Please be sure to register as class size will be limited.