Thera-Glove Complete Product Line Now Available

While at the Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester we came across a New York company that made spandex support gloves "Thera-Glove". These gloves are designed as orthopedic aids to help reduce the symptoms of arthritis and CTS. The gloves are not specifically for knitters, but for all of us who use our hands in repetitive ways, including computer users and many craftsmen, hobbyists etc.

We have now added the complete line of gloves to the on-line store and have most of them in stock in the store, and in many different colors, the designer gloves are quite cool!

Thera-Glove® is the original, patented, innovative hand and wrist support glove of the American Orthopedic Appliance Group. There are other products that resemble Thera-Glove®, but only the genuine, patented product will provide you with the range of motion you want and the relief you need.

Cranking socks!

We would like to thank Kelly for rushing over yesterday to help us set up our knitter at the shop. We ordered a Legare 47 from Claude Rouxe on ebay and it arrived in great condition. Kelly loaned us a set of new big-hook needles and we got the machine cranking!

After having so much fun dyeing yarn for socks with Cheryl Potter it seemed like it would be forever before we got around to actually using it to make a pair. A sock knitting machine (suitable for a mechanically minded soul like me) seems like a great solution as we seem to have a lot of sock yarn and no samples of socks!

Kelly showed me how to make a threading bonnet (which works great), and how to make a sock. We made the green sock using Regia Crazy Color and the black one in Regia Silk Shine (I was using it as scrap yarn and Kelly accused me of insanity so I turned it into a sock after she went home to make dinner).

I loosened the tension on the black sock (the green one is too tight) and then it didn't drop any stitches on the ribbing, however I think it a little too loose, but not bad for the second sock made on this machine in over 80 years!

The light part on the toe is waste yarn that gets cut off when the toe is closed. After some practice we will knit up some of that gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill hand dyed sock yarn we had so much fun with during the hand dye class!

The Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester NH

Last month the Yarn And Fiber Company set up at the Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester NH. We loaded the van on Thursday for the preview show, and set up the booth.

It ended up a little cramped so was reorganized on Friday morning and stocked with even more goodies, which kept us very busy.

We had a great show with a lot of great customers, thank you for visiting us!

Our designers had produced some fantastic patterns and samples which were well received at the show, and we met with some great local yarn companies and other suppliers who we hope to carry in our store soon. I even found a few moments to work on my crochet too...

Plan on seeing us again at next years event, with even more products and great new ideas:-)

Mystery Stole 3 First Clue Completed for Summer of Lace

Mystery Stole 3 Clue 1 is completed - Carin is ahead of the rest of us and believe it or not, she made lots of progress on other projects too.... How beautiful is this! She is using Lornas Laces Helens Lace in Pewter with turquoise beads....mmmm... yummy!

We have had several people talking about, and joining, into the Mystery Stole 3 - it is lots of fun.... I have to keep this short.... I still have 48 rows to go before midnight tonight or I am told I will turn into a pumpkin (or maybe just be a little behind on the first clue!) :)

There is still time to join into the fun - signup closes tomorrow. We are going to be meeting here at the Yarn and Fiber Company on Fridays to work on the stole during the afternoon and possibly early evening if there is interest - interested? Give us a call, email or a shout and we will start planning out the Stole Party!

The Yarn Harlot joined the fun and posted a gorgeous picture on her blog; it appears she was coerced by Moth Heaven (who we met last week and is a simply wonderful!) and it appears we coerced her... hee hee..... Who's next!!!!!

Ahh, Summer of Lace - we just love it!

Fifi has arrived, Interweave Felt Magazine and Mystery Stole 3

Hello Everyone and Happy Fourth to You All!!!!!!!!!!!

So, who's lacing? We want to know! We are all busily working on our Mystery Stole 3's Carin, of course is in the lead - she is on Row 75 - I am only on row 43, but I have done row 39 - 43 about four times now and haven't gotten really good at backtracking lace and finding the missing yarn-over! We have put a folder in the Mystery Stole 3 files - ours is called The Yarn and Fiber Company and Carin's swatch is sitting in this folder - we will be posting up our finished Chart A&B pixs hopefully by Wednesday.

Yarn Over, did you say, that is code word for "look this way" thanks to Maureen who is busily working on her Neverending Shawl using Cherry Tree Hill Oceania. Everytime she reaches a yarn over, she says yarn over and we all yell YARN OVER... We have way too much fun! If this doesn't make any sense, then you are not spending enough time here.

Fifi patterns from French Girl Knits have arrived - another wonderful KnitAlong that we are doing through the Sexy Knitters Club Blog. These are new versions of Fifi with corrections made and we are shipping them out faster than you can say YARN OVER! The pattern calls for five to seven balls of Rowans Calmer yarn and I must say, the photos and directions are wonderful!

And lastly, for today, Interweaves Felt and Piecework magazines have arrived.... Interweave Felt is a special issue and is amazing with tremendous patterns and directions for wet felting, knitted felted, felted balls, felted this, and felted that!

Mystery Stole 3, Nancys Lovely Sweater and What's New

Hi Everyone!

Lots going on and sorry for the delayed post....

Firstly - does everyone know the new Mystery Stole 3 is about to begin??? First clue is posting tomorrow and we are all excited about it! Kelly, a wonderful customer of ours who is an avid sock knitting machine cranker, came in looking for a 13/14 crochet hook on for adding the beads to the shawl. I immediately was interested in this technique as I have been prestringing the beads on my yarn for the beaded scarf from Janet's wonderful class a few weeks ago. The beads on the yarns make such a gorgeous fabric! Kelly mentioned that the Mystery Stole 3 from the Pinklemontwist.blogspot.com was about to begin. Cool I think! I will have to look into it! Then Carol, our weaving teacher, comes in that evening looking at the Lornas Laces Helens Lace to use for the Mystery Stole 3 - I am thinking okay that is two in one day - I am in! So Carol and I start to pick out our yarn and I sign up to the membership for the stole and find that 3300 other knitters have also signed up.... holy lacework batman!

I am using Helens Lace in Charcoal with some cool green hex beads and Carol is using Lornas Lace Helens Lace in Navy. Paolo came in for a few hours yesterday and after very little discussion about this took home some Helens Lace in Chocolate to start hers! Carin is due in any minute and if she isn't already signed up, I bet she does one too! (She's here, looking at yarn and beads - I think she may use the Pewter Helens Lace with the Turquoise beads but not definite yet on her choice - beads are rolling all over the table - it is another good day at Y&F! :)

So if you are working on the Mystery Stole 3 we want to share and help in the experience - so if you are looking to compare, seek hands on assistance, or simply want to work on your stole in a very fun atmosphere with fellow stolers (with air conditioning), come by! We are very excited and working on our swatches.

The first clue is being published tomorrow, Friday, June 29th, cast on day should be a blast! We are here 10 - 5 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday and want to talk lace with you!

Other amazing things - Nancy finished her Goby sweater and although she felt it took her a long time, total time spent (including a few ripouts here and there) was just under 6 weeks. She looks beautiful in her yellow sweater! Tonia Barry taught a finishing class which Nancy used the techniques for assembling her pieces and Pat, another of our wonderful customers, sewed her zipper in and voila! Another wonderfully assemble garment! Nancy wore the sweater for the rest of the day and was thrilled - good thing for air conditioning!

And the last of my most exciting news is I met with Elaine Brody who is the rep for some very interesting yarn companies. We have the most gorgeous yarn sprinkling in over the next few months! For example, we will be showered with Dream in Color Yarns, Madeline Tosh, Jade Sapphire, Schaefer Yarns, Artyarns, and we are bringing in the Filature Di Crosa Superior yarn line! Woo hoo! We have also adding Posh Yarn as well as Grafton Fiber to our line up for Fall.

Hope to see you soon and we hope you are having a great summer!

Vivivan Hoxbro Rocks!

So what do you do when at 3:00 in the afternoon you find out that there is a designer that is lecturing at Harrisville Designs which is about 1 1/2 hours away that evening at 7:00? You call everyone you can think of and pray someone can go for the last minute road-trip! We called all the staff, but only Carin and I were able to make this trip - and what a joy it was.... Vivian Hoxbro is extremely talented and just as nice!

This is a picture of Vivian with Pat Cowley - owner of Harrisville Designs. Vivian lectured on her life and her road to find her creative path to become the awesome designer that she is today. Her designs are not only colorful, but very functional - for example, we tried on her garments (Yes! She had one of every colorway of every garment that is in her Domino and Shadow collection as well as her kits - and we all tried them on!) and every garment is designed to lay across your back and over your shoulders and fit just right - in other words, shawls were shaped at the neck to hug your neck and follow the line of your shoulders and arms so the shawls didn't slump or fall off as you wore them. Ah.... it was amazing! Carin and I both were "dressed" by Vivian - she was more than happy to come over to us and show us the different ways garments could be worn and at the end of the lecture - after we had said goodbye and thanked her and I think we were gushing (we felt like little kids and were simply awestruck - we returned one more time to ask her her opinion on what colorway we should use for the shawls we picked out to make. Vivian has a new shawl pattern coming out that both of us just love - Vivian picked the Periwinkle Blue for Carin and the Fern green for me to use for our shawls... Patterns are due out for this shawl in a couple of weeks and they are made using the Silk and Wool Blend at Harrisville Designs. I am going to have to get some of this yarn in soon... Possibly in time for The Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester! Wish I was there taking the class this weekend - Pam Allen, (author of Lace Style, Scarf Style and Wrap Style, formerly of Interweave Press and now with Classic Elite) is there taking the class - we met her this evening and she was extremely nice and kind enough to sign our books. And it was a pleasure, as always, to see the Harrisville Group, John, Pat and Rae, great job! We both thought it was a great night all around! Now onto all the wonderful pictures! If you double-click on the pictures they should enlarge to full screen size so you can view all the garments in their full glory! Have fun - we certainly did!