Faroese Lace Shawls

Have you ever tried knitting a Faroese lace shawl? They're different from the shawls with which you may already be familiar. Instead of a triangular, circular, or semi circular shape, these shawls are shaped more like butterfly wings. The special shaping makes Faroese shawls drape beautifully and stay put on the shoulders, even without a pin. The ends of some Faroese shawls are slender and long, making them easy to tie around the shoulders, or even around the waist or hips for a shirt or apron effect.

See some pictures of Faroese shawls here:

• http://tariblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/shetland-lace-patterned-faroese-shawl.html
• http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/faroeses.shtm
• http://www.siviaharding.com/Shetland.html

Have I peaked your curiosity? If you're ready to give Faroese lace shawls a try, sign up for Marilyn von Keppel's Faroese Knitted Lace Shawl Sampler class at Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe 10am-5pm, Saturday, February 3rd. The cost is $65 with lunch included. For all you vegetarians out there, I did check and yes, there will be a vegetarian option for lunch. Personally, I'm hoping for the official Hillcreek pizza: Alfredo, artichoke and spinach. Mmmmm. You can bet I'll be there, and not just for the pizza either. I'm very excited about learning this new technique.

We have an unusual opportunity to take classes with experts in their fields of knitting at Hillcreek. Many of the special instructors Bex engages are the same specialists who teach at knitting expos like Stitches Midwest. And it's brought right here to Columbia, where you don't have to pay for travel or accommodations. This is one of those opportunities. There's another class coming up in March, with Melissa Leapman, a world renowned author and designer, who will be teaching us Celtic cables. If you can cast on, knit and purl with confidence, you're ready to try cables. Honestly, they aren't nearly as hard as they are beautiful.

Christmas late for yarn shoppe

Some of the shipments Bex was waiting for came in just after inventory was done. That's a good thing for those who volunteered to do inventory, but it was a hard wait for folks who needed an Addi-Turbo fix.

New shipments of Addi-Turbos, Mountain Colors, and several new books came in.

"Those needles knit faster than I do!"
--Anonymous Student

New books include:

• Never Knit Your Man a Sweater Until You've Got the Ring. Even if you aren't vying for a longer term relationship, there are some very nice patterns in this book.
• Felt It. All kinds of fulled hats, bags, and embellishments, for all skill levels.
  
• Stitch n Bitch Journal. This is a great way to keep track of what needles you have, what's in your stash, and any designs you're working on or want to save for future reference. Lots of handy extras.
  
• Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt. I'll be honest. I don't have the guts to wear most of the outfits in this book, including the T-shirt wedding gown, but if you've got a teen, she's going to LOVE this book.
  

$5 COUPON!

January special:

Bring in an item for one of our sponsored charities OR bring in someone who has never been to Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe before and receive a $5 coupon.