(I'm into distressed this season - check out the shrug below) 

This yarn is similar to the new honeycombed scarf yarns, in that when spread out, it looks like fishnet stockings,  but with the Gemini, you can knit it normally, and knit into the fishnet opening, to create that distressed look. This Shrug Redux (same pattern from the Simple Shrug class) is offered this summer beginning Monday, June 18.

The fabric of the Hobo Wrap is so versatile that the non-girly-girl can fashion it as a scarf knotted up a few ways. Knit from Classic Elite's Silky Alpaca Lace, and a strand of a kid seta mohair, it becomes a soft lovely drape around the neck, without the bulk of a heavy knit,  and not the fussy look of a lacy shawl.

I didn’t really intend to knit a Gollum blanket. It just kind of happened. My two little girls are so easy to please with knitted items. They love hats, skirts, sweaters, sundresses, really anything with pink or purple yarn! Ten year old boys, however, are not quite as eager for mom’s works of art.

My first-born son is pretty much obsessed with Lord of The Rings and requested a really elaborate Gollum and Frodo birthday cake. Cake decorating not being one of my talents, I made him banana pudding instead.  But then, one night while perusing Ravelry, I stumbled upon illusion knitting. This form of knitting, also called shadow knitting, uses two colors of yarn and is worked in stripes of two rows in each color. Simple knits and purls produce wonderful illusions. Look directly at a piece of illusion knitting and you will only see narrow stripes. When you look from an angle an image appears.

Of course, the Gollum blanket spoke to me (“My Precioussssssss…”). My son took one look at it and said, “cool.” And so I sit, surrounded by a few charts, watching this amazing form of knitting come to life. I may even pull out our Lord of The Rings DVDs to make the experience all-encompassing. (But not The Two Towers. That middle movie is a whole lot of fluff). Take a look at the world of illusion knitting. It’s been around for a while, but maybe it’s just what you need for your next project. And if Gollum is calling you, too, the ladies of Wild Purls will be happy to provide the pattern through Ravelry and help you pick out the perfect yarn.

Happy Knitting,
Ashley

But first, she had to ferry across the lake. Mackinac Island is at the north tip of Michigan, between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

The retreat is at a 125 year old gorgeous hotel, called The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan. This hotel is famous for it's First Lady rooms (I wonder which Ruth is staying in?)

The first thing Ruth did upon arrival is  partake in tea. She's roughing it.

After all that fantastic food fare, a turn through the famous Labyrinth at the Grand Hotel was needed.

Can you imagine her (and you) winding along through the maze?

Once you get the hang of them, mitered squares are really easy and a lot of fun. Since they tend to be small, they are a great portable project. What makes a mitered square so unique is that you cast on the number of stitches for the sides and then decrease stitches in the middle (that's what creates that interesting ridge in the square as you can see from the photo below) until there are no more stitches remaining. Voile! Square completed.

 We have some great ideas for using these great little squares. Wash cloths....dish towels...Linda is whipping up a blanket with hers. The possibilities are endless! To get you started, though, we've got a free pattern for a cute little vintage dish towel. Mason Dixon Knitting offers a wonderful basic square with a side of humor! 

What will you make with your mitered square? Don't forget to bring it to the Anniversary Sale and get an extra 10% off! Happy Knitting,

Ashley

FUN KID BUTTONS - (do you see an Angry Bird?)

FROG TREE Exotic Wood Buttons

IRIDESCENT BUTTONS

MONTANA-MADE and HANDMADE Buttons

BIRDS & THE BEES (& flowers, too!)

It used to be that most of the staff lived in town, in fact, within a few blocks of each other, but in the past year with our new additions of Ruth and Becky, the addresses are more spread out. Ruth in Laurel and Becky in Park City. So when we decided to venture out to Becky's, a little more planning was involved with the carpooling.

First meet at the shop, combine cars, and drive out to Ruth's place in Laurel. Which, by the way, is kind of like a miniature farm. Ruth has all the fun of the big farm, but maybe not as much work. Although, I'm sure she would say it's just as much work. We just took in the fun part.

Here's Bubba, the big felted sheep. He seemed to be giving us the "Get me out of here!" look. I wonder if he is related to Dolores? Martini, anyone?

Ruth also has chickens. Mighty good looking ones at that. Pretty sure they thought so. These chickens had a way of strutting around with their beaks in the air, that said, maybe we were intruding upon their space.

Maybe this guy was the bouncer. Big and a little rough around the edges!

And horses, of courses! Two pretty magnificent horses. And very friendly.

Stay tuned for the Rest of the Story!

Friday and Saturday this past week, we were fortunate to have Annemor Sundbo  from Norway in our store teaching stranded mittens from her new book, Norwegian Mittens and Gloves.  We had participants from Sheridan, Lewistown, Bozeman, Havre, Williston and Dickinson, ND and of course Laurel and Billings.  When Annemor comes to town, people travel!

What a fabulous day of learning about the history of the rag pile.

 As she describes the "invisible hands" who created such a wonderful legacy, we could see the knitters who had gathered for the class begin to understand the importance of their work.  Our knitting is not just simple knitting, it is passing on a craft with great love. Knitters have changed the course of people's lives in gentle, creative ways by knitting garments with love to keep countless hands, feet, ears and bodies warm since the beginning of time.  Not an easy task!

Friday and Saturday produced many happy knitters who began to create Hugin and Munin mittens.

We all felt under her spell of tales and treasures during the classes.  Everyone began to appreciate the patterns and meaning behind them when Annemor explained the symbols.  In fact, no one will ever look at a Norwegain pattern the same again.  Thank you Annemor for a wonderful, magical weekend.

 Annemor Sundbo is described as "the mother of Norwegian knitting."  She has written several books on the history and culture of knitting in Norway.

We can't believe our good luck to have Annemor visit Wild Purls this weekend.  In our last newsletter, we had her class listed for Saturday, April 21st.  The class filled within hours.  We contacted her and she agreed to hold another class on Friday, April 20th.  That class filled within hours too. And we have a waiting list of 40 people.

Little did we know that she is the foremost authority on Norwegian knitting in the world.  Interweave Knits featured a wonderful story about her in the Winter 2012 issue.  She was just awarded the Statsstipend, a five-year state income support grant from the Norwegian Minister of Culture.  The award is a highly selective award that allows professionals in the arts the opportunity to pursue their work.

She will be teaching Norwegian Mittens from her latest book, Norwegian Mittens and Gloves.  She has written other books which we have available here at the shop.  If you were not lucky enough to get into her mitten class, she will be doing a book signing on Friday afternoon from 4pm to 5:30pm.  Stop by, purchase a book and have Annemor sign it. Here are a sampling of Annemor's books.

She has other classes she'll be teaching at the Yellowstone Art Museum and has a free lecture on Thursday evening, April 26th at the YAM.  This is a unique opportunity for all knitters in our area so don't miss meeting Annemor. 

If everyone seems excited, we are.  How often can you actually take a class from a woman who has devoted herself to the craft and culture of knitting? 

We hope to see you!

It's been a busy few days, or should I say nights, at Valley Creek Ranch!

These are just a few of our new arrivals.

Jane working hers with the super bulky Plymouth DeAire in a bold Magenta. The DeAire, in 100% Merino Wool definitely adds some drape to the bulky coat.

Pam decided on the DeAire also, but going with her standby neutral, charcoal!

Whereas Melisha knit her project out of Brown Sheep Burly Spun in the oh-so popular color, Jack's Plum, which added more structure  to the project.

Charlene, went with Burly Spun, in a ruby tone.

Linda turned to her stash, and used Farmhouse Lumpy Bumpy in Deep Blue Sea. I'm not sure about drape or structure to this sweater, but it sure added some color!

Everyone loved the big bold buttons for this sweater project, such as this Frog Tree Button. 

We've been busy moving our summer/spring yarns to front and center because Julia has found some beautiful lightweight yarns to add to our current cottons! 

Louisa Harding put out some beautiful fibers for the summer! Her Nerissa, a worsted 100% cotton chenille, is perfect for a spa cloth, a childs sweater or a cabled scarf.

Louisa Harding has also introduced "Ondine" a tweedy  DK 100% cotton to tantalize us. Below you will see a sweater knit with the orange (or should we say Tangerine Tango?) . To get the full essence of this yarn, you really have to come and see for yourself.

Similar to the crazy honeycomb yarn (all the rage right now), this can still be knit in the traditional manner, yet can be split upon command, to open the yarn to create a unique texture. We've already sold this to a Parson's fashion student in New York, and Linda is knitting up a distressed sweater! 

Can you say beachy-summer colors?

Berocco's Lindsey is a perfect  DK cotton/linen blend of spring-y-ness! It gets softer the more you wear and wash it!

Here's an example of how you can wear cotton from Head to Toe!

. . . . .  . . . skirt made of Butterfly cotton . . .  . . . .

I just was wondering where Wanda could have been all this time! Hadn't seen her in a couple of months. And then she walks in with a dozen new bags! I guess she was held up in her craft room crazily sewing these! 

All one-of-a-kind . . . . No two alike!

Wanda Bags go fast, so come and pick out your own!

came in, went out, came in, went out, came in...well, I bet you can guess what happened.  We can't keep it in our shop. 

Today, we finally got in a shipment of scarf yarns.  It was great variety.  It lasted all of 2 hours.  The empty buckets are honestly all that we have left.

We called all 48 people on the waiting list.  The early birds made off with the yarn. 

The answer is "YES" we are doing everything we can to get in more yarn.  Our manufacturers are doing everything they can to get more yarn shipped to us.  And Wild Purls is doing everything it can to keep all the scarf knitters happy and busy with this yarn. 

We promise you'll be the first to know when the shipments arrive.  Simply call the shop or stop by and put your name on the list.  Happy knitting everyone!

Released just Wednesday, "Nairi" has already garnered 612 "favorites"!

The pattern for Nairi can be purchased in a hard-copy or  PDF format at Wild Purls, or on Ravelry.

Becky Bales newest pattern is Winter's Kiss. 

The Kid Seta Mohair in purple looks especially exquisite against the snowy background . . . . . .  and I love the juxtaposition of the shawl with the wheel and fencing. It's absolutely cozy on a wintery day.
Winter's Kiss is exclusively available at Wild Purls.

Here's the lady with all the answers - Julia, who knows all!

We are so busy working at Wild Purls, Ruth doesn't have time to knit (at work!)
Thankfully our customers (Robin, for instance) does.

Linda is always ready to help you with your tricky stitches.

Sue showing off a recent baby gift she knit for a friend. Sue's the queen of quick knits - Ask her for great gift ideas!

Becky smack-dab in the center of what she does best! Teaching Beginning Knitting!

and last, but certainly not least, is Ashley, our Southern Belle, who always adds a touch of glamour to Wild Purls!

Dubbed the Color of the Year by Pantone Color Institute, the global authority of professional color standards for design industries, Tangerine Tango offers “the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward” according Pantones’ statement.

Over the past several years, orange has grown in popularity and acceptance among designers and consumers alike. A provocative attention-getter, Tangerine Tango is especially appealing in men’s and women’s fashion. A fun, lively take on a traditional autumnal hue, Tangerine Tango will surely carry through to fall fashion as well. 

Wild Purls Yarns has a great selection of yarns that fit this tangerine color category. Here are three that would fit right into this color story. 

Have your pick!

Lorna's Laces                          Brown Sheep  Lamb's Pride              Cascade 220 Quatro 
Poppy                                                Spice Bazaar                                Madagascar

Ella Rae Chunky                         Cascade Pacific                 Classic Elite Wool Bamboo
Tangerine                                                                               Roccoco Orange                                                                                     

And then Mindy had an idea for a Christmas gift.  She needed to do a special gift for her husband's grandmother and she knew this wonderful pattern, you know the cute one with a star in the middle.  The yarn had to be chunky since this present needed to be done by Christmas and it had to be washable.  Away she went with arm fulls of red, white and blue yarn, Berroco Vintage Chunky to be exact.  

 Today, Mindy and her darling daughter wandered in to show us what she has been up to.  Grandma will be receiving this beautiful afghan for Christmas.  The center block is the families brand from their ranch, which Mindy figured out how to chart and knit. 

We love our beginning knitters!  They inspire all of us and Mindy, you are amazing.

Wild Purls has a limited quantity of these kits, and we want to make sure you go home with one! Included is one skein of the Lorna's newest addition, Solemate! Solemate boasts a new fiber called Outlast. Outlast is a fiber developed especially for the astronauts to help regulate their body temperature. Now your feet don't have to get too hot or cold!

Also included are a specially selected scent (or un-scent) of  Heel cream by Soak and and Mini-soak for your special socks. They come in four colors/scents combinations. Beverly with Peppermint, Purple Club with Scentless, Zombie BBQ with Cucumber and Lincoln Park Zoo with Spearmint.

Come and get 'em!

Try patterns from a variety of designers—but most especially, our own  Linda K. Shelhamer, which are included in this eBook.  Explore zigzag cables, Estonian knitting, knitted ribbing, and many other simple and fun techniques while creating hand-made gifts. 

Linda's Xenocryst hat is the perfect foray into a new stitch. It is a study in how one special stitch can hugely change the look of a simple hat!

This eBook truly has a project for everyone, from feminine floral accents that can be added to anything, to a hat, scarf, and mittens that can be worn by both men and women. There’s a knit tie for the guys and an adorable baby kimono for the little ones. The drawstring bag is practical for anyone, and the suede slippers can be knit in five sizes. There’s more than that…instantly download this eBook to see it all!

Since the eBook is instantly downloadable, you don't have to wait for it to arrive in the mail - you can start knitting these great gifts today! Plus, the eBook is lightweight and easy to carry along in your yarn bag, so you can continue work on these quick gifts even if you're on-the-go! Print one project at a time for an even more conveneint carry-along.

"Shop Small" means supporting your local small businesses. Your locally-owned yarn store, clothing shops, restaurants; Shops that pump dollars into the local economy, and keep the money right in the community.

Wild Purls is excited to be a part of "Shop Small" this Saturday!

We are going help by kicking off the Holiday season with a few special deals, just for you, our loyal customers!  Take 15% off all the buckets! Yep, that's what we said - 15% off! So come and get it!

And then both Friday and Saturday, we are offering a sale on something we've never offered before: Lantern Moon! Everything Lantern Moon - Interchangeables, circular needles, straights, cable needles, repair hooks, and all those beautiful needle cases!

 Also 15% off - Lorna's new  cute kits with Soak Wash . . . . . .
They include one skein of Solemate, Lorna's newest yarn, along with Heel, foot cream worthy of hand knit socks. As a little something special, they've also tucked a mini-Soak (a simply wonderful wool wash) in the kit just for you. There is a very limited supply so get these while they last!

We may miss all the shopping (cuz we're working) but you won't! See you this weekend!

Below are new bags that are now gracing our shop for the holiday season. These go fast, as they are one-a-kinds . . No two are alike. 

Here is a close up of some of the details these bags offer:

Craig Lancaster, the author of 600 Hours of Edward, visited the shop as our guest for the first Wild Purls book club this past Friday at Happy Hour.  Knitters and non-knitters alike enjoyed a wonderful visit from this talented writer.

  Now for those of you who have not read the book, might we tempt you to do so.  It is truly a delight.  Craig is a delight as well and all of us who attended this afternoon were equally charmed and pleased meeting him.

He has written 3 books and his latest, Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure will be out in December.  Craig kindly offered to read one of his short stories from Quantum Physics which resulted in passing out tissues since dry eyes were hard to find in the room.  He read a  truly touching story and hearing it read from the author was a highlight of his visit.

Craig shared about his writing life, his career as a journalist and how characters come to life in his novels.  It is always so wonderful to spend time with someone who is willing to share their craft with others.  Thank you Craig!  And thank you Mary Drew for putting together our first author visit. 

Join us on Friday afternoons at the shop to help select our next book club book. 

These knitters were creating Scribble Lace with each knitters creation a splash of color and texture.

And all the while, sweaters were being knit in front of the fire.

While the sweaters started out tiny, they grew and grew.  This group claimed that many sweaters could indeed be created in time for the holidays.

And then the pincushion crowd started working on these darling creations.

We were all aflutter with the late afternoon classes...Crocheted Felted Slippers and for the first time ever, Embroidery Basics.  Needles, both large and small and hooks didn't stop the entire afternoon. 

The crocheters worked hard to get these fabulous slippers started.

And the embroidery stitches were inspirational.  The group looked on as they learned from Martha all in hopes that someday, they could create a beautiful piece just in time for gift giving.

We are certain to inspire you even more on Saturday, December 3rd.  Look through the class offerings and sign up soon.  The classes are filling quickly!  We want you to be able to create a hand made holiday gift.

 No bike rider wants to just park their bike at a rack that is unadorned, so we worked hard to make this one just a bit more beautiful.  And then it was off the the baseball field where the statues were growing cold and a little stiff, in our opinion.  A touch of whimsey would make them every so happy.  And don't you agree that a little color goes a long way for everyone.

 I can almost hear him say, "Baseball would be more fun if we could wear such cute, colorful mittens!"

More locations needed our special touch and we certainly hope everyone understands and enjoys our work.

We also hope the owner of this bike was pleased to have such a comfy seat to ride home after their long shift.

And we think our visitor, Beth Casey enjoyed her first yarn bombing experience.  We wanted to show her that Billings is one urban town, much like Chicago!

I was going to do a somewhat educational path of sheep to yarn diorama. I mentally procrastinated due to the logistics of having to rely on three separate people (although three very generous people) for all of my ingredients. My plan abruptly switched gears - no pun intended - when Jennifer Kolpin walked in the shop. A crocheter and a very busy working mom of 3 toddlers, was so excited about finding Wild Purls. As Jennifer excitedly chatted about her crocheting and her life, we found out she is a collector of vintage bicycles. My brain started churning with new window possibilities and asked her if she would consider loaning us a couple of bike. Thankfully, she said yes and our "Back-to-School" window were born!

This is a 1936 Elgin. Incredibly rare.
A Skylark, I believe.

Following is a Sears ad which sold the bike at that time.

Don't you wish these bikes retailed for this?

The bike below is a 1961 Schwinn Fiesta!

How many of us had this pink and white two-wheeler
to get to the movies and the market around the corner?

Here is a magazine ad for the coveted Fiesta.

Come see  these vintage bicycles in person.
They are only here for a limited time and will return to their home at the end of the month.

A first for Wild Purls . . .  The first Wild Purls Book Club selection.

I'm not sure if it will be as big as the Big "O" (Oprah, that is), but you never know.

 And the drum roll please! . . . . .

600 Hours of Edward, a novel written by Craig Lancaster!

Craig was born in Washington and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, but now lives in Billings (we are so lucky!) A journalist by trade, this is his first novel.

We are partnering with Parmly Billings Library (many thanks to Mary Drew Powers), to bring you this Montana-authored book. Because of the library's involvement, they have supplied us with a limited number of this book to share with you.  The books are available at the shop, first come first served. We are excited to start a new, if somewhat irregular, tradition here at Wild Purls! Our owner, Julia Warmer, has always been a strong supporter of the library, so this new book club is not a stretch for us at all.

And just like "O", we are having the author, Craig Lancaster,  come to share his insights with us, and we'll have the opportunity to pose questions and our own perspective on this wonderfully written novel. He will be visiting the shop during our Happy Hour, Friday, November 11, 2011.
So pop into the shop, pick up your book, and start reading, so you can be part of the fun and meet the author.
I've found a video to preview for you,  600 hours of Edward

 Edward Stanton is a man hurtling headlong toward middle age. His mental illness has led him to be sequestered in his small house in a small city, where he keeps his distance from the outside world and the parents from whom he is largely estranged. For the most part, Edward sticks to things he can count on...and things he can count. But over the course of 25 days (or 600 hours, as Edward prefers to look at it) several events puncture the walls Edward has built around himself. In the end, he faces a choice: Open his life to experience and deal with the joys and heartaches that come with it, or remain behind his closed door, a solitary soul.

Here are excerpts from “600 Hours of Edward.”

“My eyes flash open. I wait a moment for the dull blur of morning light to come into focus, and then I turn my head 90 degrees to the left and face the clock: It is 7:38 a.m. I have been awake at this time for the past three days, and for 18 out of the past 20.”

“That’s the problem with belief: If you rely on it too heavily, you have a lot of picking up to do after you find out you were wrong. I prefer facts.”

Regards,
Edward Stanton

Karen's daughters, Hannah and Maddie were the two beautiful attendants.  All three found their dresses at the vintage shop and took the breath away from everyone who attended.  What a stunning trio of beautiful women!

 Karen has been a teacher at Wild Purls longer than anyone else.  She has helped more knitters learn to knit socks and other beautiful sweaters, scarves, shawls and much more.  Karen's generous spirit and capable nature fill everyone she teaches.  She inspires all of us and brightens our days when she is in the shop.  So it is fitting that her marriage to the wonderful Dean Mikelson would be such a joyful event.

 Her wedding shawl is a stunner and was great preparation for the big event.

Could anything be more beautiful?  Well, the ring and the shawl together sent us over the top!

From everyone at Wild Purls we wish the two of you many happy years together. And Karen, the "boyfriend curse" is off.  Knit that man a sweater!