Resolve to be a better knitter Try knitting in the round... Whether you plan to be outside in Churchill Square to bring in the New Year or taking in some mountain skiing (or a good book in the chalet), this charming and functional beret and cowl neckwarmer will come in handy. You can knit this Hat and Cowl combo with a free downloadable design from SMC Schachenmayr (see link below). You’ll need 400g (8 balls) of SMC Bravo Color and 3.0 or 4.0mm needles (circular and dpns). Bravo Color comes in several fun self-striping shades and is 100% acrylic and machine washable. Each 50g ball gives you 133m of colour and knits up to a DK gauge at 22sts/10cm on 3.0-4.0mm needles. You’ll find Bravo in several colour combinations at both RCY locations. Ladies Beret and Cowl Pattern: http://us.knitsmc.com/patterns/ladies-tube-scarf-beret Start the new year with a project just for you. Start small... Whatever their activities, we think you'll agree: babies should wear hats. Mainly because they look so darned cute in hats! And they look really, really cute in Baby Beanies. Author and photographer Amanda Keeys designed these enchanting toppers for the babies who model for her and her simple patterns use bright colors, lush textures, and quirky embellishments to rise to the top. And, we’ve got baby covered from head to toe with this new title: Knitting for Little Feet: 40 Patterns for Booties, Socks and Slippers for Babies and Kids. Both beginner and more advanced knitters will find a variety of 40 projects for newborns to four years, in this charming collection. Dainty princess booties, sailor boo- ties, striped socks, lace socks, snake socks, whimsical duck socks, warm felted slippers, dinosaur slippers and little jester slippers with bells give you an idea of the variety of projects for both girls and boys in a rainbow of colors. Pair up your baby books with Simplicity by HiKoo—a value yarn that is an excellent choice for children's wear or anything else that gets daily use. Made from 55% merino, 28% acrylic and 17% nylon, this machine washable yarn comes in 50g/117yd hanks. We have it in both stores, in 4 variegated and 9 coordinating solid colours. December 2012 Page 2 rcy eden: an immoral fibre Fleece Artist and River City Yarns have done it again! We’ve created a beautiful palette of yarn in “winter” colours to bring yarny goodness to your winter stash. RCY Eden is our own, “house” yarn, handpainted by Canadian dyer, Fleece Artist. And we’ve come up with 7 new colours to tempt you with: Dark Forest, Heaven, Nightfall, Winter, Jewel, Forbidden and Temptation. We call it an “immoral” fibre because the luscious blend of machine washable merino, cashmere and nylon is soooo soft. Cynthia made a beautiful sweater out of it and loves to live in it! Where can you get it? Only at River City Yarns! Art yarns: silk, sequins, glitter and rhapsody Just in time for the new year, Barb has made a special purchase of Art Yarns! Cashmere 1 Ply is one of the softest and highest quality 100% cashmere yarns on the market today. It is untwisted and results in a fantastically soft and beautiful knitted fabric. Each 50g skein has 466m of soft, luxurious length. 2 skeins are needed for the Cashmere Leaf Lace shawl, on display at River City Yarns West. Or check out Rhapsody Glitter Light (85% silk, 15% mohair with metallic) a lighter-weight version of Silk Rhapsody, embellished with a super-fine srand of a gold or silver metallic. Three skeins will make a lovely Ruana, on display at River City Yarns South. The Ruana is a fun and fast The Artyarns Jeweled Collar is made with one skein knit because it is knit with two strands of rhapsody held toof Beaded Silk and Sequins gether and takes advantage of yarn blending, mixing the Light colors from dark to light. And one 50g/100m skein of Artyarns Beaded Silk and Sequins Light (100% silk with silk-strung Murano glass beads and sequins) will make this beautiful Jeweled Collar. The Cashmere Leaf Lace shawl (left) is made with 2 skeins of Cashmere 1 Ply and the Ruana (right) is made from 3 skeins of Rhapsody Glitter Light We have patterns for these projects and more, free with your Art Yarns purchase. Come in and see these beautiful hand painted yarns before they’re all gone. Estelle Piccadilly Bring a little circus to your life! Chase away the winter blues with an animal print scarf that’s handknit in 20 minutes. band. Come in and pick one up very soon… we have them in limited quantities Estelle Piccadilly is a brand new knittable fabric scarf. It comes in five “animal prints” and each package contains 75g/30m of wide fabric. Pre-made holes along one edge allow you to knit up this beautiful printed fabric on 4.0mm needles. A pattern is printed on the back of the ball Estelle Piccadilly is a knittable fabric in five colourful animal prints. December 2012 Page 3 The Essential Edgings Collection by Nicky epstein In her inspired collections of knitted edgings, acclaimed knitwear designer Nicky Epstein offered creative solutions for embellishing knits. Now comes Nicky Epstein The Essential Edgings Collection, a beautifully photographed compilation of 500 designs from her popular books Knitting on the Edge, Knitting Over the Edge, and Knitting Beyond the Edge. This compilation presenting an amazing vari- ety of unique borders, trims, ribs, ruffles, cords, twists, appliqués, and other distinctive elements for necklines, cuffs, closures, and corners. It's a "greatest knits" anthology every handknitter will want to own! You can purchase your copy at either RCY location. January Workshops We love teaching you new tricks for both knitting and crochet (sometimes, even—both knitting and crochet in the same class). This month, we’re offering up several of our popular workshops, including our beginner/refresher courses: Knitting 101 and our Crochet Crash course. These classes also include materials kits so you don’t have to hunt up supplies., A collection of seamless hats We’ll also be offering several workshops focused on knitting in the round, including the Seamless Hat, Sock Boot Camp and Marvelous Mittens. Learn to knit on double pointed needles (dpns) and free yourself up from seams! We’ll also be offering another Thrummed Mittens workshop. Learn to knit thrums (unspun bits of wool) into your mittens for the coziest, warmest mittens around any where. Marvelous Mittens! For those who enjoy working the hook, we will Fetching: fingerless, cabled gloves be offering the Churchmouse Crocheted Baskets and One Big Granny Square blanket. These project based classes are great learning and practice sessions. We’ve also brought back an old favourite: Fetching (cabled, fingerless gloves). This workshop will pull it all together: knit in the round on dpns, learn to make cables, a thumb gusset and (optional) picot edging. For dates, details and workshop registration fees, please visit our website at www.rivercityyarns.com and click on the workshops button. Knitting 201 Starting in February, we’ll have a new offering for our Knitting 101 grads. You’ll be able to take Knitting 201, with a focus on knitting in the round. In this four week, eight hour program, you’ll lean how to knit in the round on double pointed needles and circular needles, how to make “jogless” stripes, graft your stitches together seamlessly with Kitchener Stitch and learn how to make a three needle bind off. You’ll complete a hat and a pair of cabled, fingerless gloves and get started on a new, seamless project as well. You’ll learn so much more! If you want to get in on this brand new workshop, you’ll have to be a Knitting 101 grad. If you don’t get in right away, don’t despair… get your name on our waitlist. If this program proves to be as popular as some of our others, you’ll see it again on our workshop offering. “When you know how to knit in the round successfully it opens up so many possibilities. And at the same time, you get to learn techniques like colour knitting, cabling and grafting. I think it will be very popular!” ~ Barb Barone Knit in the round, this top down sweater is a perfect project for graduates of our new Knitting 201 program Very popular yarns restocked We have a new shipment of Zauberball Crazy that we’re putting out. Why is it crazy? Two strands of the main ply have been dyed individually and then twisted together for a crazy combination and the end result is a self-striping multi-colored pattern, with a bold variegated design! Made from 75% Superwash Wool and 25% Zauberball Crazy is Nylon, back! each 100g/420m ball is enough yarn for a pair of socks or mittens, some scarves and two or more will make a beautiful shawl. And we have pattern books for Zauberball too. We have two locations! River City Yarns Westside 16956—111 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 4C9 Phone: (780) 477-9276 Email: [email protected] River City Yarns Southside 3438-99 Street Edmonton, AB T6E 5X5 Phone: (780) 450-9276 Email: [email protected] We have restocking all the colors of Royal Alpaca. This yarn has been flying off the shelves because it is sooo soft; the micron count is so high it feels like cashmere. Use it to make the greatest scarves or garments where you need to feel the softness next to your skin. Each 100g skein has 200m of lovely, colourful 100% alpaca. Want inspiration? Use it to knit a beautiful Nicky Epstein design. This Cable Crossover Sweater is now a free pattern download. You can find it here: rivercityyarns.com This Nicky Epstein design, the Cable Crossover Sweater is made with 100% alpaca www.diamondyarn.com/media/catalog/pattern/ pdf/121203/A71-Cable-Crossover.pdf You can do this too! Marj O. made 14 pairs of thrummed mittens for Christmas. We requested a picture and here they all are. Marj pointed out that there is one pair without a mate… she had to put down her needles to take a picture. We are so impressed with your thrumming endeavours, Marj! Trish R. took our Freeform Knit and Crochet class and created this lovely handbag. Made with colour coordinated “scrumbles” this purse is a great example of wearable art. Freeform Knit and Crochet Marj O - Thrummed Mitts for 3 families! Robbi E. made a beautiful, classic vest for her husband, George, for Christmas. Robbi used up her stash of Madeline Tosh Vintage in “Ink” and carefully charted her rows to make certain the vest was perfect! We understand George likes astronomy… doesn’t this vest look like a snapshot of our solar system? This fall, Vicki B. made a road trip in her beautiful convertible. We received this picture from her husband, showing Vicki’s knitting in beautiful Glacier National Park. We’re sorry about cutting out most of the car… but you know we’re REALLY keen on the knitting! There are more pictures coming… just not enough room in this edition. Stay tuned for more completed projects and send us pictures of yours! Vintage “Solar” Vest Vicki knits on the road!