Halcyon Yarn News, Notes, & etc.


On the Needles

Welcome to my first installment of ‘On the Needles at Halcyon’!!

Here at Halcyon Yarn we have quite a group of talented knitters and crafters. We also have an amazing local community of walk-in customers who get to see our store samples and our latest crazes anytime they stop by Halcyon to shop. But I’ve been thinking about  our vast internet community of wonderful customers who never get to see our many works in progress (which are always in great supply!). So I have decided to add a section to our website called ‘On the Needles at Halcyon’ for all the knitters in cyberspace who are missing out on our instore energy and ideas. I hope it will be a steady stream of inspiration as well as a taste of what we do at our wonderful store  for those of you who haven’t been able to visit. (Yet!) The plan is to update this section every Friday and keep you all apprised of the current pattern, technique, and fiber we are crazy for.

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By the way, my name is Gwynn and I have worked here at Halcyon Yarn for a little over three years. I have been an avid knitter since I was pregnant with my now 5 year-old daughter. She is a very active child and I work to support us. So to make time to knit, I simply neglect housework.  Here is what I am currently neglecting housework for:

In our newsletter of May 12 we highlighted 2 new Pure and Simple patterns, the Girl’s One Button Cardigan and the Summer Open Cardigan. I Love Pure and Simple top down patterns for their simplicity and LACK of finish work. Perfect summer projects. Anyway, Deb knit up the Girl’s One Button Cardigan super quick for a shop sample out of the King Tut Egyptian cotton. I wanted the store to get this ready for summer viewing for a number of reasons: easy and quick, lightweight for summer to early fall wearing, machine washable fiber – but most of all, King Tut is going away. hpim1576hpim1580You heard me right – GOING AWAY! And no, it wasn’t our decision. The supplier is no longer manufacturing the yarn (for inexplicable reasons unknown to mankind) and it will no longer be available. Presently we still have a good stock in most of the colors but the thing is, once it is gone, IT IS GONE. See a perfect hue in your favorite color? Buy it up and get your thinking cap on.  We knit up the King Tut Waist Coat last summer and it just happens to be a free pattern. Need a baby blanket? I can’t count the number of perfect colors King Tut comes in for babies. Need a quick shower gift (bridal or baby)? Get a skein, knit up a couple of face cloths, wrap them with a bar of handmade soap and it’s done!! The possibilities are endless but the supply of King Tut is not. (I forgot to mention that my daughter’s King Tut Girl’s One Button Cardigan is going to be purple.)

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Back to  Pure and Simple patterns with the Summer Open Cardigan – Barbara and I snapped up Malabrigo Merino Worsted in our last big shipment to make this sweater. (The dyelots in this batch were extraordinary! and we still have lots on the shelves.) The pattern calls for  worsted weight yarn knit in a bulky gauge and I knew Malabrigo would be perfect because the single ply is so loosely spun that it blooms to fill in, even on Barbara’s size 11 needles. (Malabrigo on size 11! Quick and luxurious!) I am also considering the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk for another one. It is a very heavy worsted that also blooms nicely. You might be thinking Wool? For a summer sweater? Remember – we live up here in the Northern climes with many a chilly evening accompanied by a sea breeze. A loosely knit, buttersoft merino is just the ticket. And not like we really need one, but we are always looking for an excuse to knit with Malabrigo. Hope you enjoy looking at these colors as much as I do. Knitter’s Note: Barbara is getting the 3.5 stitches per inch gauge on size 11 and I am getting 3.75 on size 10.5. Barbara’s is the baby blue and mine is blue/green.

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The last (but not least) WIP (work in progress) I want to throw at you today is my wonderful and amazing Block Island Blend version of Linda’s Wrap Vest from the cover of the 2009 summer issue of Interweave Knits. Block Island Blend is an exclusive Halcyon Signature Yarn with a unique fiber blend: 35% hemp, 35%cotton and 30% rayon. I have been looking for the perfect project for it for a long time and have finally found it with this vest. This is a very special fiber Halcyon designed and I couldn’t love it more. I asked Halcyon for a few words on why she designed this yarn in the first place:

“I created Block Island Blend to fill a niche for a slubby, washable yarn that would be great for knitting or weaving . The fine cotton slub ply provides texture variation while two additional plies (rayon and hemp) give crisp body and a color loving glow. All cotton would have the texture but not the body I was looking for so I added the hemp ply for body and durability; plus I like the renewability of the fiber source and the hemp appeals to my aging hippy tendencies. The addition of rayon in the blend provides the lush depth of color that gives the blend a multi-tonal look. Using silk would have been too expensive. I love the strength and hand in weaving (weft or warp of course) and for knitters it is a fun alternative to all cotton because it has some bounce as well as crunch.
Overall it is one of my favorite of my Halcyon Signature Yarns because it is so versatile.”

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Many kudos to Halcyon. In my opinion, Block Island Blend is a beautiful and understated yarn which is too often overlooked among the myriad of choices in our store. Block Island Blend has not garnered the attention it deserves  and I am SO happy to have finally found a project I am in love with to knit it up in. Look at all these wonderful hues and get this – for sizes 34.5″ to 43″ you only need ONE large cone of yarn. In case you couldn’t already tell, I am big on listing pros and cons. So here are my Block Island Blend version of Linda’s Wrap Vest Pros: Beautifully draping lightweight fiber, summer vest elegance, Halcyon Exclusive Luxury Yarn, side to side construction, one large cone=one sweater=$49.95. Not too bad for a little piece of heaven. My only con is the column full of short rows in the directions. I am not a big fan of short rows and can get intimidated. But I am willing to put trepidation aside and embark because the yarn coupled with the vest pattern is a perfect union for me.  Here is an informal invitation for you to jump on board with me. Fall in love with the fiber and talk me down from short row anxiety. Knitting Note: The pattern calls for needles size 5 and 6 and I found that size 4 and 5 are working better with the Block Island Blend for me. I am knitting with color 206.

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Thanks for tuning in and check back for more…..Happy Knitting!


Discontinued Yarns On Sale…

Spring and early summer are the times of year when yarn shops around the country revamp their yarn supplies for the coming seasons ahead.  While this is an exciting and fun time in the industry, it leads us to weed out the discontinued supply of yarns that we already carry and make room for the new selections prior to their arrival.

Unfortunately, sometimes the discontinued yarns are out of our control, and are in the hands of the distributors, yarn companies and or countries that carry and supply portions of our inventory.  We do switch some items out, change colors, fiber and texture choices so there is a fresh and new selection with every season. We also like to give our Halcyon Yarn customers a heads up when these changes occur so over the next few weeks we’ll be sending updates to you as we once again clean house as well as pass the savings and selection on to you.

Here are the yarns that are discontinued as well as on sale.  Have fun!

10/2 Pearl Tencel

Rio de la Plata Superwash Merino Sock Yarn

Debbie Bliss Baby Alpaca Silk

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky

Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK

Wick

Fleece

Signature Yarns in Botanica, Victorian 2-Ply, Victorian Boucle’, and Victorian Brushed Mohair,  are still available, if you haven’t picked any up check out what your missing and order before it’s all gone.


Father’s Day Idea…

Check out our newest item, the Nantucket Diddy Bagg!  It is the most versatile bag going with all of it’s pockets, straps and reversibility. It would be a perfect couples set, so go ahead and buy one for yourself and then another for the father/husband/grandad in your life. He’ll love it as much as you will!

And hey, we realize we were a bit silly with our models/color choices… We used a pink one for “her” and a brown one for “him”, but we encourage you to mix it up, get a guy pink or a gal brown… and fill his up with yarn and hers with tools!


Upcoming New Yarns

The yarn pow wows have been had, and the new yarns for the summer and fall seasons have been chosen. It’s all very fun to see all there is to see and then to choose. You should feel very relieved you are spared the decision making that goes into that process, but be very excited about the new yarns you’ll be seeing in the fall yarn catalog as well as in the shop coming as soon as late June.   We’re excited about the changes we’ve made and wanted to share a bit of what we have coming, so here are a few just to tempt your senses…

Peru by Katia

This amazing, washable, bulky yarn is  40% Wool, 40% Acrylic and 20% Alpaca. There are 116 yds per skein in 100g balls and knits to 3.5 sts to the inch on size 10 needles. I think we’re getting close to perfect here… 23 new colors. Can’t wait to try it! Already in stock!!

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Azapa by Araucania

This gorgeous bulky yarn is 45% Merino Wool, 30% Alpaca, 15% Silk, 10% Donegal, 100g balls with yardage of 148 per skein! 3.5 sts to the inch on size 10 needles.  We’ll be housing 12 new colors. Almost ready!! (8 of the 12 colors are in…)

FEZ by Debbie Bliss

Fez is a medium weight, exotic, Merino &  Camel yarn that is 85% extra fine merino wool, 15% camel; each skein is 110 yards, 50 grams and knits to 4.5 stitches per inch on size US 8 knitting needles. 16 new colors.

Iro by Noro

Bringing back a bulky favorite in 6 new colors, this  75% Wool, 25% Silk yarn will be your next new favorite. 132 yds per skein, Stitches 3  to the inch, on size US 11 needles, put up in 100g balls. This will be a perfect yarn for the Sally Melville Einstein Coat in book 1 of “The Knitting Experience”.

Vintage by Noro

This is a medium weight, Wool Silk Blend Yarn. Each skein is 110 yards, 50 grams;  64% wool, 24% silk, 12% angora; 4 stitches to 1 inch using US 9 knitting needles.Garment Care: Hand Wash, Dry Flat.  6 new colors.


Eolia Loom On Sale

(Note: We are leaving this post up for your interest, unfortunately we have SOLD OUT of this item.)

You don’t need a warping board to start weaving!

Try this great portable loom at an awesome discount and be on your way to weaving all kinds of great pieces.

The 10 epi spacing is great for scarves and household standards or add a coarser gauge heddle roller (only 1 available) for wall hangings, tapestry and purses. Item # 6890140C.  The Eolia is a fascinating version of the old stand by rigid heddle loom.  Unlike a frame loom,  the rolling heddle creates both sheds automatically as well as allowing easy pick up work for more texture and special effects.

The loom comes ready to use, equipped with plastic shuttles, pickup stick and warp length extenders.  Weaving width 16 inches.


Classes For June & Early July

Check out our summer class listings, there is still space available in most of the classes, so call soon and reserve your place.

“Weaving Rag Rugs” with Michael Patterson Fri & Sat, June 12 & 13; 9:00-3:30

“Introduction To Tatted Lace” with Elaine O’Donal June 20 & 21; Sat. 10-2 & Sun. 10-12n

“Crochet On The Edge” with Annalee Rose Friday;  June 26th 1:00-4:00

“Felted Bags” with Gar Dubois Saturday;  June 27th  9:30-3:30

Also, a heads up for our regular Weaving 101 class with Michael Patterson.  Due to a convention Michael will be attending, his next beginner weaving class will be held July 14,15 &16.  That is a Tue/Wed/Thurs class from 9:00-4:00 each day.  Clear some time and sign up to learn from our very talented, Master Weaver.



“Summer Sundays”

Keeping up with the busy days of summer, Halcyon thought it would be a great idea to be open for a partial day on Sunday throughout the summer months.  The shop will be open from 12:00 noon until 3:30 pm on Sundays for all your fiber needs, from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend.  Hope you can make time to come see us! If you need directions… here they are!

(p.s., speaking of summer fun, we spent one of our first ‘real summer’ days photographing the new Backyard Birds Too felting kit, shown here, what a treat and soooooo cute!)


Spring Cleaning Our Exclusive Yarn Collection

It’s May!!!!

Now that is a month I didn’t think would be hitting our area just a few short months ago, but thankfully it is here and all of us at Halcyon Yarn have decided to clean house a bit and move along our discontinued “exclusive” Signature yarns as well as pass some of the savings on to you. So make some room in your stash for these never to be seen again vibrant colors and use them in as many fiber mediums that you can conjure up.  There will be a selection of colors in Deco Rug Wool, Geo Rug Wool, Botanica, Victorian 2-ply, Victorian Boucle’ and our always gorgeous Victorian Brushed Mohair.  Don’t let this wait.  My guess is they’ll be gone in less then a day, don’t miss out.

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