Shop News from the Inbox

It is becoming increasing difficult to get work done when things like this show up in my inbox. From Knitch:

Today Only, All CASHMERE, SILK and SOCK yarns (there's lots to choose from!) are 20% off. The shop will be open until 7:30 for your shopping pleasure and we have lots of ideas for fun projects using your new yarn! If you are shopping online, please enter "onedaysale" in the comments section and we'll apply your discount before shipping. Enjoy!

Fine Print:
Discounts apply to in-stock items only. For cashmere and silk, the items must be at least 60% cashmere or silk. Regular priced items only. No adjustments. Discounts do not apply on special orders, holds or previously purchased items. Discounts can not be combined. The greater discount applies! All items purchased on sale are FINAL SALE. No winding on sale items....whew!

Hope to see you in the shop soon!

And a couple days ago from Needle Nook:

Greetings!

Christmas and Hanukkah are creeping up on us, only a few days till both arrive. We are cleaning house, taking inventory and selecting items to reduce. Join us Dec. 17-21 and take additional savings on the following:

* All priced shop models - take an additional 20% off.
* All bagged sale yarns - take an additional 20% off.
* All needle sets (excluding Denise) - take 20% off.
* All sale books - take an additional 10% off.

We have taken delivery of several new yarns in the past few weeks. No photos but I will describe them to you:

* Bamboo Silk - 70 Bamboo, 30 Silk - 99 yards, 5 sts per inch.
* Lace Merino - 100% extrafine merino, 29 sts per 4 inches, plus we have a sweater model.
* Noro Taiyo, not a new yarn but new for us - cotton, silk, wool and nylon.
* Can Can from Trendsetter - a tape-like ribbon with a loop on one end to knit into. This yarn will ruffle for you. Great for edging a scarf, cuffs and more.

Here is a partial list of items for gift giving this year:
$10.00 and under: scissors - socks - udder cream - note cards - needle felt kits - Eucalan - CD Rom - purse handles.
$25.00 and under: Laurel Burch totes, mugs, scarves, flip flops, earrings and pins - knit sticks - wine charms - wire blockers - funspecs - sock blockers - Circular Solution - yarn caddies - needle cases - books - needle gauges - beaded markers.

And from Only Ewe and Cotton Too:

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Come celebrate the season with us:

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17th
10:00am til ?
Brunch/Lunch will be served - come taste my chicken and dumplings
AND THE FAMOUS "RECIPE" is brewing! It will be ready for the day!

Bring your projects, visit with friends old and new and enjoy the day.

THANKS TO EVERYONE!
Elyse

I should add here that Only Ewe and Cotton Too has done a couple can drives to provide food for those in need this holiday season. Many of our local food banks and other charities are low on supplies this year because there are so many more people in need. Thank you to Elyse, Bill, and their patrons for helping others in need.

And thank you to all our member merchants who bring the tools and materials we love to our neighborhoods so that we can see them, touch them, and make informed choices with our own senses before we purchase. So often our local yarn stores special order what we need, hold items for us, mail items, make suggestions, and help us through the tricky bits. And thank you to all of them (not just those listed here) for the special events they are staging to make this a merry season.

More Fodder for the 2009 Datebooks

Saturday 10 January at 2 PM, Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two will be at Borders Buckhead.

XRX has moved the final date for the Think Outside the SOX contest. Entries are now due in by the 31st of January. Exactly what all of us wanted for the holidays -- more time!

Sunday 1 February is Superbowl Sunday. That means tradition here in the ATL. Needle Nook will be hosting their annual non-football knit-in beginning at 2 PM. You are invited to bring a snack to share and please RSVP directly to Arlene. If you live north and outside the Perimeter, Knitting Emporium in Kennesaw will also be hosting a non-football knitting party from 1 to 5 PM. So even if you aren't a fan of football, you can still get in on the party fun.

Saturday & Sunday the 2nd & 3rd of May 2009: Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship MD. Yes, this is a bit far afield for Atlanta, but we do have members who attend.

Hansen's bandages made easy?

Knitting Hansen's bandages (Hansen's is the disease formerly known as leprosy) is something AKG has done in the past. The downsides of this particular type of knitting include small needles, threadlike yarn (#10 crochet cotton), and long time commitment.

Yet another reason to go to a guild function is that you might discover something new. In this case, Patti brought her Hansen's bandage loom to Whit's block(ing) party. This is a special loom that produces a double-sided fabric. It is worked in a way similar to French spool knitting. The thread/yarn is wound around the pins, then old stitches are pulled up over new. Patti's loom is stamped with the words "www.dalooms.com". I haven't ordered anything from them, so cannot vouch for them, but provide the link for anyone interested in exploring. Also, quick searches on Google and Ravelry bring me back to this blog. They seem to be the current active distributors of bandages in Vietnam.

So, how cold is it in Afghanistan?

It is winter in Asia, too. This means that American and other coalition forces are now dealing with below-freezing temperatures. A quick check of the weather report for Kabul shows overnight lows in the 20s. There are several folks here in the Atlanta area who continue to be interested in getting warm wool helmet liners onto the heads of the troops.

At our December meeting last week, Kay from Rare Purls not only brought shop goodies -- including beaded Artyarns and Opal Harry Potter sock yarn -- but also a special deal. She sold Cascade 220 in helmet liner colors at a very good price. This was Kay's way of encouraging people to make helmet liners, as one skein of Cascade 220 will make one helmet liner.

If you are on the north side of the city, The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock is also encouraging patrons to make helmet liners. In this case, a customer named Doris knit one last year for a soldier serving in Afghanistan. He recently wrote her a thank-you note about how wonderfully warm it is and how very much he appreciates it. He also asked if she could make enough for the dozen soldiers in his unit, as he will be home for Christmas leave and would like to take some back to share. Debi has stepped up to encourage us. Buy a skein of helmet liner appropriate Cascade 220 at The Whole Nine Yarns and keep your receipt. Bring the completed helmet liner and your receipt back before 28 December. The shop will give you a store credit equal to the cost of the yarn.

And, of course, if you live in the Roswell/East Cobb area, Cast On Cottage is also knitting helmet liners. Their ambitious goal is to make 201. This is for Claudia who is the mother-in-law of a serviceman overseas. Cast On Cottage has a helmet liner knitting night from 6-8 PM on the 2nd Thursday of the month, the next of which is tomorrow the 11th. As motivation, Theresa will hold a drawing for a gift certificate from the names of those who complete helmet liners. The more you make, the better your chances of winning.

Thank you to Kay, Debi, Theresa and everyone who has/is participating in this cause. If you need a pattern or more information, you can find it on the AKG website over here.

Ruth Schnatmeier

This e-mail just arrived from Whit:

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but wanted to tell you all that Ruth Schnatmeier passed away peacefully last evening of the cancer she had been battling for many years. The “celebration” of her life will be Friday at 1:00 p.m. at Briarcliff United Methodist Church at the intersection of Briarcliff Rd. and Shallowford Rd. (Burial will be private).

We all knew her as the creator of The Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children on Ethyl Street off 10th and Northside drive. We send items of clothing etc. to them every month. She came to AKG Meetings a number of times to tell give us updates on the shelter and loved and admired/appreciated us for our nonstop generous donations. She was truly an angel among us.

Our sympathies go out to her family. But also to her family is extended the gratitude of women and children throughout Atlanta who were able to get their lives back on course because of her work. Thank you, Ms. Schnatmeier, for an example of a life well lived. You will be missed.