Thank you!

Congratulations Ellen from Westfield!!!
 
The raffle has been a wonderful success.  Our original helplessness became an idea, a action plan and implementation.  It has been a wonderful experience for us.  We learned much about one another’s strengths, kindnesses and benefits of acting as a cohesive group.  Extending that into the knitting community has been a gratifying and heartfelt experience as well.  With your helping hands and hearts we were able to raise a generous gift for Justine and her family.  Giving is a wonderful gift.  We want to extend special thank yous to our supporters …

The Designer
Prudence Mapstone, Australia - who generously allowed us to use her design to create our version of the Falling Leaves Shawl

The Shop Owners who so willingly participated and their customers who purchased..
Susan Kahn, Harriet Shafran owners of Knit A Bit in Westfield who hosted the shawl from February 27 - March 5
Jean Smalley owner of Down Cellar in downtown Basking Ridge who hosted the shawl from March 6 - March12
Helen Brennan, owner of Purl Jam hosted the shawl from March 13 - March 19
Sheila Handelmann, owner of Stix and Stitches in Montclair, hosted the shawl from March 20 - March 26
Hope and Barry Blazer owners of Accent on Knits in Morristown our shawl hosts from March 27 - April 2
Doris Jenne, proprietor of A Yarn for all Seasons in Martinsville who hosted the shawl from April 3 - April 9
And of course all the customers that came to Angelfire and first saw the shawl during the NJ Jersey Yarn Crawl and again this past week. 

Our Model
Arlynn Katz

Our Photographer
Karen Katz

Groups that bought block tickets
The Bound Brook Library Loopers
S1P1 Knitters of Basking Ridge, NJ
The Women’s Club of Farmingdale, NY
The Gates Avenue Knitters
The Long Hill Township Library Knit Group
The Bernards Township Library Knitters and Crocheters

Press Angels
Pam MacKenzie, writer for the Courier News, who wrote about our story in her blog and did a feature piece in the Courier News and even purchased tickets for out of state knitters.
Robin Fand, Editor of the Warren-Watchung Connection for publishing our story in the April Community News
Mary Beth Temple and her Getting Loopy podcast

Everyone who Purchased a Ticket

thank you lisa...

This week, our friend Lisa, came over with a few of her favorite sweaters for us to borrow and display around the shop for a little bit of inspiration.  Lisa knits so beautifully and we're always in complete awe over her work.  I had to display her Que Sera Cardigan, one of Kirsten Kapur's designs for Knitty.  She knit her sweater out of Fibre Company's Terra in Nettle, which is my very favorite color of Terra.  It's a gorgeous silk blend, so soft and perfect for a spring cardi, and the pattern is free, so you may want to stick in your que!  Look at Nettle, it's heaven!

I LOVE Lisa's Tie Sweater from Blue Sky Alpacas, it's knit out of Blue Sky Suri Merino, so obviously, it's to die for.  It's fairly simple and quick to knit.  She hasn't worn it yet, I may have to try this on for an hour or a day, just kidding- it's sooo soft... If only there were just a few more hours in the day!!!  Oh that pink cowl, btw, is a crocheted cowl I just finished, which I haven't taken pictures of, or blogged about yet.  I'll have to do that after I finish and take pictures of my New York Cardigan.  Nevertheless, for the cowl, I used 3 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino, and here's a link to the pattern.  Really simple and quick, if you're looking for a mindless crochet pattern, this is great and I wear it a lot.

Ok, off to knit my cardigan, happy knitting on this snowy April day!!!

madelinetosh merino dk...

With every shipment of Madelinetosh, comes a wave of inspiration and new ideas for projects!  Thanks to our ingenious friend, Kpoz (ravelry name), we're continuously being introduced to the patterns we must have missed while on our quest to fill up our ques.  One cardigan she pointed out to me, which I really like, is the New York Cardigan.  It's a top down sweater (I think) which means it'll be a quick knit, and it's perfect for spring either out of the suggested Blue Sky Alpacas Silk or Madelinetosh merino dk,  you can find the pattern here on ravelry.  Another cardigan idea is the Abalone, which is a free pattern btw...  It's a toss up, maybe I need both, and these amazing colors make it really hard to choose.  I love the two colors I posted above: Clover and below: Thoreau...

We're also restocked on One World's gorgeous hand carved horn and bone buttons, as well as new shawl closures and notions from Lantern Moon.  I love their new Knit Out Boxes, we have them in every color.  I haven't had a chance to get them on the website, so if you have any questions about ordering, feel free to give the shop a call and we'll have one out to you right away.  Happy knitting everybody!!!
 

7 YEARS!!!!!

Join us this weekend as we celebrate 7 amazing years together!
Saturday 11-5 & Sunday 12-4
All yarns including the sale bins are 20% off.

Stratum...

A few weeks ago, a customer came into the shop wearing the most adorable beret that her grandmother had knit for her years ago.  She didn't have the pattern, so the hunt began.  Hmmmm well wouldn't you know, it exists indeed and it's the Stratum Beret from Kelbourne Woolens (of course)!  It took 2 skeins of Terra, and knit up in a couple of days.  I've been in love with their new colorways, and my daughter chose Sorrel weeks ago for a hat, so that was that!  Courtney Kelly of Kelbourne Woolens, just had her latest design, the Lace Cardi in Vogue Knitting, did you see this ?  I need to knit this asap, I can't wait.

I just ordered Savannah today in every color, it's a gorgeous Dk blend of wool, cotton, linen and soya- perfect for spring.  Now I just need to decide on a color...

Yesterday, we received a rather large shipment of Madelinetosh merino light and merino dk.  I don't really need to tell you how absolutely stunning these colors are, I actually grabbed 2 skeins of tosh merino light in Well Water and Amber Trinkett for a change since I keep missing out on it.  I'm going to try my best to get it up on the website, but it's flying out the door so fast. By the time I'm done shooting the pictures, there won't be much left.  I'll attempt that tomorrow, today I'm busy thinking about patterns for my tosh merino light...

the countdown begins...

For the first Northern New Jersey Yarn Crawl...  There's a scavenger hunt, raffles to everyone who makes a purchase for one of our amazing door prizes from Blue Sky Alpacas, Spud & Chloe, and Tilli Tomas.  Incredible company with Courtney Kelley & Kate Gagnon Osborn and their new book packed with beautiful designs, Vintage Modern Knits, and our oh so talented friend, Kirsten Kapur with a trunk full of her breathtaking samples and patterns!  With all of the stress I've had this winter, I could use a little fun right about now.

It's no secret that we as a knitting community at large look out for one another, it was recently brought to my attention that some of the ladies from the local knitting area, so generously created a knitted and crocheted piece to raffle off for my family.  Since my husband's tragic accident in September, it has truly warmed my heart to feel the love and concern from so many knitters I've come to know over the years.  Here's a little bit of information that was sent to me regarding the raffle for this one of a kind shawl inspired from the Prudence Mapstone's Falling Leaves design (pattern available on Ravelry)...

Cash only:  $5 / 3 for $10  
Start:  Friday, February 18 at Angelfire Studios, Basking Ridge, NJ
Raffle Drawing:  Saturday, April 16 at 3pm at Angelfire Studios
Prize:  Free Form Knit/Crochet Shawl – Dimensions 72” x 18”
Materials – The Fiber Company: Terra & Organik, Manos Silk Blend, Bonnie’s Bamboo (value $475).
The shawl will be available for view and ticket purchase at the following LYSs over a eight week period according to the schedule below.  Visit the shops and show your support.
Rules:
Purchase tickets at participating LYS or ticket seller
Do not need to be present to win. 
Winner will be notified by email &/or phone on Saturday, April 16 after 3pm
Arrangements for pickup and delivery can be made by contacting Angelfire Studios and presenting the winning ticket, or winning email notification and proof of identity. Winner’s first name and town will be posted at www.angelfirestudios.com. 
Here are the locations and dates for where the shawl will be displayed:
Angelfire Studios: Fri, Feb 18 – Sat, Feb 26
Knit a Bit : Sun, Feb 27 – Sat, Mar 5
Down Cellar: Sun, Mar 6 – Sat, Mar 12
Purl Jam: Sun, Mar 13 – Sat, Mar 19

Northern New Jersey Yarn Crawl...

Just a reminder, we're a week away from the Northern New Jersey Yarn Crawl.  It's going to be a fabulous weekend!  Here's what we have planned for you...

Saturday, the 19th, Courtney Kelley & Kate Gagnon Osborn of Kelbourne Woolens will join us for the day to meet our knitters and sign copies of their new book, Vintage Modern Knits. We have tons of books here, the book signing will be 12-5.  I can't wait to see all of the samples and meet the girls!  It's going to be a really great day...

Sunday the 20th, Kirsten from Through the Loops will be here for the day with a trunk full of designs to share with us, her patterns are incredible, there's simply not enough time in the day... agh!  You won't want to miss this!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, we have door prizes from Blue Sky, Spud & Chloe, Tilli Tomas and more...  Hope to see you there!