We’ll start at the very beginning with our free workshop this week.  Drop in anytime between 10 am and 2 pm and practice different ways of casting on.  Every knitter needs to know more than one.

Some of our favorites to share with you will be long tail, knitted cast on, cable cast on, Norwegian sock cast on, and crochet cast on.

Heidi, Kate, and guest spinners from the area will be operating their spinning wheels between 3 and 8 pm.  Come and see how yarn is made and try it yourself with a drop spindle.

Drop in anytime between 10 am and 2 pm to try your hand at linen stitch.  It is done by slipping one stitch and knitting the next stitch.  We’ll have swatches cast on and ready to put in your hands.
Our current project in linen stitch is the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf, a Churchmouse Classic pattern. This scarf is ideal vacation knitting.  The requirements for vacation knitting would be that the project is not difficult, doesn’t take up much space in your suitcase, but it so beautiful that you can’t help but do one more row.

Details make the difference in your finished project.  Use our yarn and needles to practice our favorite one row buttonhole.  It will soon be your favorite too.  Drop in anytime between 10 am and 2 pm this Saturday for this free workshop.

We’re not talking baseball–we’re talking about the English style of knitting that sources the yarn in the right hand.  The knitter uses the right hand to “throw” the yarn around the needle to create the new stitch.  This tried and true style of knitting can be very efficient when the motion in the right hand is kept to a minimum.  If you experience repetitive motion pain when throwing you may want to try other methods of throwing.
Drop in anytime between 10 am and 2 pm this Saturday for a free workshop geared towards minimizing the amount of motion in the right hand.

Blackbird Cafe, at 114 E Lincolnway, in downtown Valparaiso, is offering a free drink to anyone who shows up with a mustache on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8, 2010.

Sheep’s Clothing will give you a free length of wool roving to create your very own fake mustache to wear to Blackbird Cafe.

Your mustache can match your hair or your outfit or neither–your choice.

Your free drink can be specialty coffee, tea, or any of the vast array of non-alcoholic beverages available at Blackbird.

ENJOY!

This color work crochet technique is very popular in South America.  It is most often used to create firm fabrics for hats and bags.  BJ, our expert crochet resource person, has another take on tapestry crochet.  Her two scarf designs are fluid and drapey for beauty as well as comfort
Drop in anytime between 10 am and 2 pm and practice this technique with BJ.  We’ll provide your practice yarn.
Persian Carpet Tapestry Crochet Scarf worked in Ty Dy Sock by K1C2

Checkerboard Tapestry Crochet Scarf worked in Koigu Mori and Koigu KPPPM

Color Base Camp starts this Friday evening.  By 4 pm on Saturday, campers will have an understanding of Fair Isle, slip stitch, double knit and intarsia.

There are still openings if you would like to join us.  Call 219-462-1700.

12 hats for you to see from the new book by Cathy Carron.

Yoga instructor (and knitter!) Anna Dorsch, is offering a day of yoga classes to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti.

Details here:  Help for Haiti

Join us Friday evening, December 4, beginning at 5 pm, for the following special events:

Meet Valparaiso author, Hilda Demuth.  She and her sister, Emily Demuth, co-authored
Plank Road Summer, Crickhollow Books, 2009
The authors spent summers researching the history of the plank road in their native southern Wisconsin.  The result is the story of best friends Katie McEachron and Florence Mather, who experience a new and exciting world one summer as the plank road brings strangers to their dinner tables and the plight of runaway slaves closer to home.   www.plankroad.wordpress.com

Hear live harp music by Cynthia Shelhart, performing selections from her newly released CD,
That Night in Bethlehem, offering listeners a variety of medieval to modern carols, songs and dance tunes, on solo double-strung harp. The CD includes Celtic holiday music of Wales, Ireland, Shetland, and the Isle of Man complements carols from England, France, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia and Appalachia, along with Cynthia’s original compositions for the Christmas season.  www.cynthiashelhart.com

Spinning demonstration:  Heidi Yelich and Kate Schroeder will be operating their spinning wheels, turning fleece into yarn.

Other happenings in downtown Valparaiso on December 4 can be found at:

http://www.valparaisoevents.com/holly days/

Erika & Monika Simmons, authors of Double Stitch: designs for the crochet fashionista, will be at Sheep’s Clothing on Friday, June 20, from 4 to 7 pm.
Erika & Monika produce diva crochet garments for upscale ready to wear. Interweave Press has published a book of their designs for all of us to enjoy.

• Meet Erika & Monika
• See a mini diva crochet trunk show
• Get your book autographed
• Bring out the crochet diva in you!

Double Stitch on Chicago NBC TV

Dozens of times over the years people have showed me handknit sweaters purchased in Ireland.  Almost all of those sweaters have looked like the very same sweater:  honeycomb cable up the front and a larger cable framing the honeycomb panel.  I began to fear that the knitters in Ireland had forgotten the richness of their own traditions which included many more stitch patterns and many more ways to arrange those stitches into beautiful sweaters. 

We are so grateful to our good friend and customer Carole, who introduced us to Rosaleen Hegarty.  Rosaleen manages Cranaknits, located in the town of Buncrana, in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland.  She manages a group of cottage knitters who take wool home and knit sweaters.  The knitters bring their work in to Rosaleen’s factory where a group of highly skilled women assemble and finish the sweaters, make corrections as needed, and ready the sweaters for shipment to stores.  Our staffmember, Debbie, has visited there and witnessed these women correcting mistakes on cable panels with incredible speed. 

Rosaleen also had a bag of sweaters with her that proved that Irish knitting has not devolved to one sweater with a honeycomb cable up the front.  Rosaleen’s knitters knit many different styles–most of which are Rosaleen’s original designs.  In fact, the Irish government has hired Rosaleen to teach throughout the country to keep up standards and to encourage innovation within the tradition.  The European Union has also recognized her as a resource on this type of knitting and has hired her to record information that can be archived for future generations. 

 Join us for an evening with Rosaleen on Friday, April 25th, 2008, 6 to 9 pm.  We will do some cable knitting in genuine Irish aran wool.  We will hear some of her remarkable story, and we will get to see that beautiful bag of finished sweaters, some of which will be for sale that evening only.  Cost for the evening will be $25 which will include approximately 2 ounces of Irish wool.  Supplies needed will be size 8 needles, circular or straight.  Call 219-462-1700 to register. 

Maggi Jackson has made a life in designing high fashion knitwear.  She works in the traditional linens and wools of her Irish homeland, but her design style is definitely not traditional.  You are invited to join us for an evening of knitting inspiration and Irish humor. 

Friday, April 4
7:00  pm
Fashion Show
The energy and excitement of a live Maggiknits fashion show will keep you inspired and motivated in your knitting for months to come.  You will be able to try on fashion show garments after the show. 
Fashion Show Fee: $15.00
(may be applied to class fee for Saturday or Sunday)
A drawing will be held for a free class with Maggi

 

 

Saturday, April 5
10 am to 4 pm
Beginning with Maggi
Newbies to Maggi’s style of knitting will learn the signature stitches from the master herself.  Your class piece can become décor (pillow top or table runner) or the beginning of a scarf. 
Class Fee: $80 includes lunch
$20 yarn pack fee

 

Sunday, April 6
10 am to 4 pm
Ireland to Spain
Matadors, flamenco dancers, and rows upon rows of olive trees—Maggie shows how Spanish influences inspired her new stitches. Discover what you can create just by looking around you. Work samples in 2-colored frilled tubes, colored bobbles, twisted split, and picot tubes, then use your pieces in a shawl, pillow, purse, wall hanging, or as attachments to a sweater. Think outside the box!  This class is intended for knitters with previous Maggi knitting experience. 
Class Fee: $80 includes lunch
$20 yarn pack fee
More about Maggi Jackson at
www.maggiknits.com

 

 

March 24 through March 31

8 sample pieces from the book, Bag Style, edited by Pam Allen and Ann Budd of Interweave Press will be on display at the Sheep’s Clothing. 

 

 

Amanda began her youthful knitting adventure by knitting the pig on the left.  Tracy, our talented staff person, knit the pig on the right.   Amanda’s pig helps us remember the joy we felt when we first learned to make something.  Tracy’s pig helps us remember that however sophisticated we become in our craft, we can still enjoy simple, clever projects. 

Amanda Helmerich and her twin sister Sara have astonished us with their knitting and crochet output.  We are celebrating their accomplishments with a show of their combined works, which will be on display at the shop from Saturday, October 20, through Saturday, October 27.  You can meet Sara and Amanda at our opening celebration on Saturday, October 20, from 10:00 am to noon. 

Tails of Two Pigs

 

3 large boxes full of Maggie garments have just arrived.  They will be here through Wednesday, August 8.  It is the perfect opportunity to plan your fall Maggie knitting project.  Come look to your heart’s content and try on anything that you like.  Our mannequin is wearing the cover piece from Maggie’s Fall 2007 collection. 

Join us Friday, 7:00 pm, July 27 for the first meeting of Night Owl Knitters.  It’s the evening version of EBK: Early Bird Knitters.  Knit or crochet with old friends and soon to become friends.  Sheep’s Clothing staff will be available for help with your project. 

Night Owl Knitters will be meeting two Fridays per month. 

Admission:  FREE

Maggie will teach Wearable Art this Saturday, 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Knit an asortment of squares in some of Maggie’s signature stitches: tasselled square, single ridge stitch, ruffle stitch with tubes, lacy stitch, knotted yarns square. Maggie will take you through her design thought process as you sew together squares in ways that are definitely not flat and linear. Assemble squares into wearable, drapeable shapes to form wraps, shawls, skirts, yes, and even scarves. Bring USA size 7 or 8 needles to class. Short single points, bamboo or wood preferred. Class fee of $85 includes yarn kit, lunch, and Irish jokes.

More about Maggie Jackson at www.maggiknits.com. Call 219-462-1700 to register.

Friday, May 4: Fashion Show, 6:30 pm

Saturday, May 5: Knot It — Knit It, 10 am to 4 pm

Sunday, May 6: Get Purse-on-L, 10 am to 4 pm

Maggie Jackson has taken the natural linens and wools of her native Ireland and created a look that is easy to knit and fun to wear. She makes the world of high fashion available to every knitter. She is inspiring, funny, and a master teacher. She will have your fingers itching to knit a Maggiknits design for yourself.

See a selection of Maggie’s designs at www.maggiknits.com
Friday, May 4, 6:30 pm
Fashion Show
Experience the energy and excitement of a live Maggiknits fashion show.
Fashion Show Fee: $15.00

Saturday, May 5, 10 am to 4 pm

Knot It – Knit It
Create your own yarn with different weights of fibers, feathers, and leather. Your class project will include a lace stitch, short tube, ruffle, and loop stitch. Your class project can become a scarf, wall hanging, purse, table-runner, pillow, etc. Maggie will teach you to think outside of the box with this new way of creating a fabric.

Class Fee: $85 includes yarn kit, lunch & mini fashion show

Sunday, May 6, 10 am to 4 pm

Get Purse-on-L
Knit a purse suitable for day or evening. Purse will include a picot hemmed tube, a twisted split, bobbles on a split, and a simple lace stitch. Class Fee: $85 includes yarn kit, lunch & mini fashion show

Call Sheep’s Clothing at 219-462-1700 to register