Are You Ready?

Hi, all! This is Amy doing a little blogging over here in the store's space.

We are roughly 72 hours from watching the Olympic Cauldron lighting ceremony in Vancouver for the XXI Olympic Winter Games. Have you picked your Bloomin Yarns Olympics project? I have.

I tried and tried to use pattern author David Schulz's photos (with his permission) in this post, but just couldn't figure it out. Please click the links on the following links to see the awesome that will be my Olympics project!

Meet the Northman Mittens.

They are colorwork mittens that are fully lined. My hope is that when I complete this pair during the 16 days of the Olympics, I will not only have an awesome pair of fully lined mittens in yummy yarn, but I will have boosted my colorwork confidence by enough of a margin to try to tackle a Dale of Norway sweater.

I have completed several colorwork projects at this point, which is why I didn’t feel that another simple colorwork project was an appropriate Olympic project. I wasn’t perfectly happy with my Postwar Mittens, but after knitting a pair of Christmas Stockings and my yet-to-be-unveiled colorwork hat, I’m feeling a lot more confident in my fair isle skills. And I’d love to have a perfect pair of handknit colorwork mittens.

The lining on these mittens means two things: First, these will hopefully be a wonderful pair of warm mittens. There’s a lot of alpaca in this project! And secondly, I’m essentially knitting four mittens (two pairs) during the Games.

Oh, yeah! What yarns did I pick for this little adventure?


For the outer mitten, I’m using two colors of Ultra Alpaca. I plan to use the navy blue as the background/predominant color with the light blue for the stars. The electric blue is Blue Sky Alpacas 100% Alpaca Sport Weight and will be used for the lining.


I wound the yarn at Knit Night last Thursday (pre-Snowpocalypse) and did a swatch. I got gauge for my size (7 sts/inch) on a US 4 needle/3.5mm needle, so I’ll be magic looping this project starting on Friday night.



I love it, and I can’t wait to get started.

I can’t wait to see what all of you are going to tackle while you are watching curling, figure skating, downhill skiing or Nordic Combined (full TV listings HERE). If you haven’t signed up for the official Bloomin Yarns Olympics, what are you waiting for? Come and join the fun!

My personal choice has been to do the Bloomin Olympics and the Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Olympics. Many of you are probably participating in the Ravelympics as well. We welcome double-dipping at Bloomin Yarns. Have your Knititng Olympics or Ravelympic project count at the store as well!

The Yarn Harlot, who dreamed up the concept of the Knitting Olympics four years ago, is the inspiration for my Olympic quest. Her plans for the Vancouver Games are HERE. I hope that four years from now, I’ll be settling down to knit a Dale of Norway sweater for myself while watching the XXII Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

See you at the store!

We're closed on Saturday!

We're officially closed tomorrow!   I may venture out later in the morning or early afternoon....depends on whether a snow plow finds its way to my street by then!  If the roads look good and you're in desperate need of a yarn fix call the store to see if I'm there! 

724-942-1025.

Amy's Sock class will probably be rescheduled for next Saturday.  If you're signed up we'll give you a call to confirm.

Our Block of the Month Afghan Knit-A-Long will be rescheduled for next Saturday from 2-3pm also.  Amy will be watching the shop while the rest of us are at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival.

Here's the view from my front door.  Stay inside and knit or crochet!

Great finished projects and tons of new arrivals

Cowl Knit-A-Long Contest Winner!

Here's Deb, our Cowl KAL Contest winner! She won a $25 Gift Card to Bloomin Yarns! Deb made cowls for everyone on her Christmas list. Here are just a few of them. Way to go Deb!

We all love hand-dyed yarns but often it's hard to imagine what a beautiful skein will turn into when it's been knit. Julie turned a skein of Farmhouse Yarns' Andy's Merino in Black Cherry into an awesome beret. Julie's pattern was "One Day Beret" by Kirsten Kapur.

Susan made her lovely Ishbel with Louet Gems Light Worsted. Isn't it pretty?

Judy finally was able to knit something for herself after her holiday knitting was finished. She made "Orangie", which is a free Ravelry download, by holding a strand of Malabrigo Chunky with a strand of mohair.

Karen is modeling a fabulous sweater that her husband, Bayard knit for her with Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed!

Perky Jody had a bagful of scarves and wraps to show us recently. She has a cream "Just Enough Ruffles" wrapped around her neck, a "Noro Striped Scarf" on her left arm, a Ribbed scarf on her right arm and a gorgeous "French Scarf" form Claudia Hand Painted Yarn wrapped around her shoulders!

Dianne has taken off with her knitting! Here, she's showing us her first pair of mittens called "Bella's Mittens" a pattern adapted from the movie "Twilight".

Sharon made one of her favorite scarf patterns into a cowl with the amazingly soft Malabrigo Twist.

This is her scarf version, again in Malabrigo Twist.

New Arrivals:

Spring has already started to arrive here at Bloomin Yarns, so if the weather has you feelin' down, stop by for a dose of bright, happy colors.

Hand dyed by Kathy of Scarlet Fleece, Hand Painted Merino is a Superwash DK merino perfect for shawls, scarves and sweaters. You have to see the colors to believe them!

Ella Rae Lace Merino in 6 beautiful hand dyed colorways (4 more solids are on order). Although "Lace" is in the name, this Superwash merino is also perfect for socks and even garments. It's featured in garments in a new pattern book from Ella Rae that will be arriving soon. You'll be seeing a shawl that I made with this yarn soon!

Origami is an exciting new yarn from Berroco for warm weather months. It's worsted weight and knits into a light crisp fabric.

Origami has it's own dedicated pattern book. We've also received Norah Gaughan's Volume 6 and 4 other pattern books.

Seduce Colors, featured in Norah's vol. 6, is another light warm weather yarn

Blue Sky Alpacas bring us 5 new patterns for Spring 2010! The Cotton Baby Set, made with soft, organic Worsted Cotton and their new Multi Cotton, below, is perfect for a special little someone in you life. And, who can resist "Hop", Blue Sky's latest adorable toy.

The Swing Cardigan features Skinny Cotton which is organically grown and low-impact dyed. The Everyday Hoodie requires minimal seaming, knit in Worsted Cotton. The sophisicated Greta Blouse combines knitting and crochet!

Debbie Bliss Magazine - Spring/Summer 2010 just arrived!

Noro Catwalk Two features 16 designs by Jenny Watson using an assortment of fabulous Noro yarns.

We've also received more Namaste knitting bags in many colors. Hermosa, Laguna and Zuma. This is Laguna.

Here's Hermosa shown in Red. Click here to see Namaste's entire line.

Happy Holidays and more........

Holiday Hours:

Closed: Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), Christmas Day (Dec. 25)

New Year's Eve: Open 10-3

Closed: New Year's Day (Jan. 1)

Your Finished Projects:
Carol has been busy knitting, felting and needle felting these four mittens and one stocking for all of her grandchildren. They all are personalized and completely adorable!


She also whipped up a cute felted hat.

Ginny is modeling her fabulous cardi she made with Farmhouse Yarns Andy's Merino.

Dianne just got back into knitting and wanted to make a sweater. She made this with Rowan's Natural Silk Aran.


Susan made her simple Noro sweater with Silk Garden


Michele knit this mitered square jacket and trimmed it with a loopy stitch instead of a traditional button band.


Amy has been knitting lots of toys as Christmas presents. The bears below are for her niece and nephew. The blue bear has already traveled to Arkansas to meet his new owner, and Amy is also working on a shop sample so you can see this easy bear live and in person in the store!


Janice made this chunky hat for her sister out of Rowan Big Wool. It will coordinate with the scarf she gave last year.


Dianne's Mondo Cable Vest was done in Dream in Color Classy's Deep Seaflower colorway and it looks fantastic! She is also modeling her first-ever pair of socks! The first sock was completed as part of our "Socks Any Way You Choose" class and they are made with Malabrigo Sock in a great pink colorway.

Sarah has been busy! Her only quiet time of the day is in the mornings, so she wakes up at 5 am daily to knit. She finished this amazing Steelers sweater that she designed herself ...

This green cabled pullover ...

And this purple-and-green beauty!

Anna finished this vest made from Taos just in time for our latest blast of winter weather.

Jamie's Ilean cowl is knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino and is on the list for our current Cowl KAL. How is your cowl knitting coming along?

Jamie also finished this long cowl made with Rowan Lima. It's long enough that she can wrap it around her neck twice for added warmth.

Judy has tackled yet another Noro Striped Scarf. This is her fourth one and they all look fantastic.

Despite keeping up with two very active boys and a new baby girl, Tiffany had time to finish sweaters for her kids. Donovan is holding baby sister Genevieve as they both model the Tulip-inspired sweaters knit by mom.

Wondering what's new in the store?

Beautiful shawl sticks and swirls in nickel, copper and brass from Aura Dez

More colors of Malabrigo Twist!

Lobster Pot Whale of a Skein (DK weight/740 yards/skein)

Lobster Pot sock yarn (free pattern for one-skein baby sweater with purchase)

New colors of Berroco Vintage (formerly known as Vintage Wool)

Books, including "One More Skein"

Mochi + (worsted weight yarn)

Mini Mochi (fingering weight yarn)

We're Having a Sale!

After Thanksgiving Crazy Sale - Friday only!
Starting at 6am....
6-7am - 30% off all regular priced merchandise
7-8am - 25% off all regular priced merchandise
8-9 am - 20% off all regular priced merchandise
9-10 am - 15% off all regular priced merchandise
10am-5pm 10% off all regular priced merchandise
take an extra 10% off all items in our SALE section all day

Rules and Restrictions:

• Our doors will open promptly at 6am.
• Your hand will be stamped with a different colored stamp depending on what time you walk through the door. You are then free to stay and shop or go out to breakfast or back to bed! The color of the stamp on your hand will be honored all day BUT we can not hold anything!
• Sale prices apply to instock items only and not to special orders.
• Sorry, we will not be winding yarn on Friday.
• Coffee will be available!

Your Finished Projects:

Dara brought her little girl to model the darling vest she just finished for her! Aren't they sweet?
Christie is knitting mittens like crazy. They look great in Farmhouse Yarns Andy's Merino II!

Shhhh, she's also making Steelers socks for her husband!

Bonnie make this super cute Baby Surprise Jacket for one lucky baby!

This is Carolyn showing us her almost-finished Log Cabin Blanket she's making for her husband (wink, wink.....it's really for someone else, but we can't say right now!)

New Arrivals:

Interweave Knits - Winter 2009

Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch by Nicky Epstien

Fearless Knitter Workbook

See you at our SALE!

New Knit-A-Long and This Week's Latest

New Knit-A-Long....and Contest!
Join us for our Cowl Knit-A-Long which starts NOW and will continue through the end of the year. Cowls are the hot accessory of the year. They're quick, simple and easy on the budget! Stop by the store to pick up our list of our favorite Cowls and details about our contest.
Meeting times are Wednesdays 2-4, Thursdays 6-9 and Saturdays 10-12.

Your Finished Projects:

Kirsten modified her Mondo Cable Cardi by changing the collar. It looks so great on her! She used Ellyn Cooper's Hand-dyed yarn. And, Janet did a fabulous job on her Mondo Cable Pulli! She made her pullover with Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica.

Here's Judy modeling her Mondo Cable Vest. Judy made her vest with Malabrigo Worsted. Way to go ladies!

Kathy has been busy making lap blankets for some friends in a nursing home. She is so sweet!

Here's Jamie wearing a Norah Gaughan design made with Berroco's Inca Gold.

And another made with Malabrigo Chunky. Good job, Jamie!

Jan brought in the super soft bobbled sweater she made with Rowan Cocoon and Blue Sky Brushed Suri Alpaca.

Sara is making this Entrelac Scarf with Zauberball Crazy on size 1 needles! It is stunning!

Yay for Candace, who just got her Ishbel Shawl blocked recently. She made her's with Malabrigo Lace.

This is Claire wearing her pretty Ishbel Shawl she made with Classic Elite's Alpaca Sox.

Sandy made her Central Park Hoodie with Tahki Donegal Tweed. So nice!

Valerie's vest is made with Alpaca With a Twist Highlander. It is so soft!

Here are Rose, Julie, Peggy and Carol after their Neelde Felting class taught by Peggy. They made some super cute holiday decorations!

New Arrivals:

This is Malabrigo's newest yarn called Twist. As the name implies, the yarn is made up of several plies that are twisted. We received ten beautiful saturated colors. They are going fast and we've already ordered more!

I made this small triangular neck scarf/shawl but this yarn would be absolutely stunning in a sweater. It feels like velvet! Mmmmmm!

In addition to more Zauberball Crazy, we received 9 colorways of the original Zauberball:

Catching Up.....

YOUR Finished Projects

We've had a ton of you guys bring in your finished projects over the past two weeks. You all are knitting up a storm. And, if you are crocheting up a storm, we'd love to see your projects too!

Ruth is modeling a lovely shawl she made with RYC Natural Silk Aran. She used "La La's Simple Shawl" pattern. La La aka Laura now lives in Mississippi but used to live in McMurray and comes to visit us at Bloomin Yarns every time she's in town.

Doesn't Ruth look great!
Susan has been so busy! Here's her Ditto, which was one of our Summer KALs....

And this sweater is made with Gedifra Volatta Tweed. Susan looks great from the front too, but she is especially proud of the back!

Donna knit this gorgeous turtle neck with Manos del Uruguay's Silk Blend.

Here is Colleen wearing a beautiful "Liesl" made with The Fibre Company's Terra.

Kaye is showing off two projects in one photo! Her sweater is made with Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica and her scarf is Rowan's Kid Silk Haze.

A few days later Kaye showed up wearing this Ruana (she calls it her uniform!) knit in Farmhouse Yarns Andy's Merino II.

Heather made these super cute flame hats for her two boys!

Carolyn combined several yarns to make this adorable baby surprise jacket!

Here's Judy putting the final touches on her Mondo Cable Vest. She made hers with Malabrigo Worsted.

Judy has been attacking her Christmas gift list with a vengance. Last year she made scarves for all her work associates. This year it's fingerless gloves. Wow!

Bloomin Yarns Staff Projects:

Of course, all of us here at Bloomin Yarns are constantly knitting or crocheting (that would be Sandy....and wait until you see some of her crochet projects in future posts!).

Here's Janice's Mondo Cable Cardigan!

Amy whipped up this adorable little boy sweater recently. It's a shop model, so come see it! It's made with Cascade Yarns new 128 Superwash and it's also super soft!

Valerie married a Sublime pattern with Kollage Yarns Scrumptious, an angora and silk blend that is also luscious! (it's in our sale section and there are only two colors left)

Here she is in a pretty pattern called "Ivy" from Knitty.com made with Rowan Felted Tweed.

I recently finished this hat called "Lace Beret" from the Holiday 2009 Vogue Knitting. I used Rowan Cashsoft 4 ply. Thanks to my little friend Meghan for modeling!

I love Rowan Colourscape Chunky so much that I had to make another vest with it. This pttern is called "Drew" and can be found in this year's book "Colourscape Folk".

Fun Stuff:

These ladies are having a grand time getting creative in last week's Needle Felting Class.

New Stuff:
We are now fully stocked with the awesome GoKnit Pouches!

And, a beautiful new worsted colorway from Malabrigo called Deja Vu and a great Steeler gold in their Silky Merino.