Knitter's Magazine!

A very quick blog entry: The winter 2009 edition of Knitter's Mag has just arrived. As always, it's brimming with groovy knits and interesting write-up's! Hurry in and pick up your copy!

Hark, A Thrilling Voice is Sounding!

And it says "Addis are in, folks!" The Addi-man just came and went, and your favorite Addi needles are all in stock up on the needle wall. And just a reminder, we do indeed have the Addi Click System, the fabulous set of Addi tips with "standard" length cables. Perfect for making a smile on Christmas morning (or on Christmas Eve, whenever presents traditionally arrive at your house for distribution and unwrapping).

Harps and Handbells was a STUPENDOUS SUCCESS!

The pews in the Great Hall were packed end to end. Extra folding chairs were brought in to create more seating from behind the last pew all the way to the rear wall, aisles and even a few Dads' shoulders served as overflow seating for the crowd. They had all come to hear what a consort of six Celtic harps, a hurdy gurdy, a viol da gamba, a blockflute, a modern traverse flute, a mandoline, a 4-octave handbell choir, and a vocal trio could do in the way of fine Christmas music making. What a magical, enchanted evening it was last night at the Affiliated School for the Blind in Lafayette! Ninety minutes of fine Christmas music filled the space and invited all present to discover the true meaning of Christmas. Kudos to the Bayou Harp Circle and their director Bette Vidrine who organized us all into the evening's program. You may recognize that bearded guy chanting "Veni Emmanuel" in the photo. The generous and appreciative audience raised a sum of $1,100, all of which benefits the Affilated School to assist in their important work.

A Delightful Day!

Last Thursday, December 10, was our day-long Christmas Party at VBYC. Fiber friends were treated to wonderful Christmas music provided by Celtic harpist Bette Vidrine. We moved around our yarn bins a bit in order to provide a good performance space, then we eased into our projects and into the Christmas spirit with English, French, and German carols and songs. Throughout the day, our food table became more and more packed with Christmas goodies, as we greeted familiar faces and new ones too into the fiber circle to sit, work their projects, visit, and have a bite to eat. At the end of knit cafe, Heloise reached into the bag of tickets to draw the names for our party door prizes. Congratulations to Yvette Hanks and Jane Hebert who won project class certificates and to the grand prize winner, Jackie Cone, who is now the proud owner of the white bronze shawl pin. Thank you to everyone from VBYC for making the Christmas Party such a wonderful day! Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes for the New Year!

Say it with me: "Ma-la-bri-go". It's Spanish for "delicious".

Silky Merino and Malabrigo Worsted 100% Merino yarn. Stop in to see the new colors. Wondering what to give your favorite fiber fan for Christmas? A supply of Malabrigo Silky Merino makes a great stocking stuffer.

Limbo. The Place, not the Dance.

The Church used to call it "Limbo", that shadowy place lost souls landed when they didn't have the proper ticket up and hadn't really done anything bad enough to earn a free ticket down. At Vermilion Bay Yarn, we call it the "on hold shelf". As a convenience, we are happy as clams to hold items aside for you when you phone, or stop by, but please remember that you have done this when you do. Items that are placed on the hold shelf for a long time can start to fight and argue with other items on the shelf after a lengthy multi-week visit - mostly out of abject boredom. It's rough walking into the shop in the morning and finding out that a hank of Malabrigo had been pulling Tilli Tomas' beaded hair all night. Tilli is in tears, on-hold Brittany needles have spilled out of their cardboard envelope, a shawl pin has poked out the eye of a Frog counter, and a poor, lonely ball of Venezia has puked over the Nature Spun worsted, worried to death no one will ever return to claim her. It's a sad place, this Limbo shelf. If you have items waiting there, please do redeem them so that they, like their brethren and sistren, may soon enter into the Beatific Vision.

Opening/Closing Hours are slightly modified today and tomorrow

Today, Friday, December 11, VBYC will close 45 minutes earlier than usual: 5:15pm. Tomorrow, Saturday, December 12, VBYC will open at NOON. The Christmas Ornaments Class will take place at NOON tomorrow instead of 10.

It's a Party, Folks!

Merry Christmas to everyone! If you receive the monthly Vermilion Bay Light, you already realize that this Thursday, December 10 is the VBYC Christmas party day from 10am-8pm. Why the 10th? Last year on this date we celebrated our official "Yarn Cutting Ceremony". Come and enjoy some Christmas treats all through the day, and around noontime, we'll be hosting Celtic Harpist Bette Vidrine who will share with us some of the beautiful melodies of the season. Drop in, even if it's only for a few minutes, and share in some Christmas cheer!

All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Markers Large and Small...

... all clips and clasps and hangy things, Vermilion has them all! It happens to everyone: you drop the dang marker off the needle, it lands somewhere under the sofa, makes its way onto the rug, blends in like a chameleon, and then gets sucked up into the vacuum cleaner. "Kiddup" it says as the Dyson makes quick work of your clever Clovers, "there goes another one...." No worries. We have a basket full of your favorite styles of markers: locking ones large and small, soft ringy ones that bounce, and nifty clippy ones that hang on. Since it is in their very nature to get lost, it's our nature to have a bushel of them.

Deco Deliciousness! The Ultimate Pin-Up!

Those of us who love knitting almost everything on those terrific Brittany Birch Needles already know the virtues of birchwood and never tire of evangelizing the uninitiated. Birch needles are delightful because of: their gentle "give", smooth finish, warm feel, and their pleasing, seductive clicking (hat tip to Robert Frost). Since a 14" size 5 is a bit long to double as anything else besides maybe a hat pin -- and does anyone ever wear...a hat? (I couldn't resist, fellow Steven Sondheim fans), Brittany has turned their famous deco needle end into an awesome accent item with a practical use: a shawl pin. You've seen them in magazines, and now you see them at VBYC. These pins are rustic and at the same time rather sophisticated. Virtuous in the knitting, virtuous in the wearing, and even more virtuous to the Christmas stocking-stuffer budget: Brittany Birch. Pin it up and look fantabulous!

Shawl Pins Are Here!

I mentioned a few days ago to watch for some fabulous glittery items -- well, now, they're here displayed perfectly on a stunning shawl (LaGran Mohair and Rowan Shimmer, if you're curious). Amazing new shawl pins in fine woods and a variety of metals: Bronze, Brass, Pewter, Sterling. Each comes in its own pouch. These pins make perfect Christmas stocking stuffers!

Mohair Mohair Mohair Mohair Mohair Mohair

Mohair is fabulous. It's days like today, when snow is forecast, the air is cold and wet that we are most thankful for things like THE GIANT MOHAIR SALE AT VERMILION BAY YARN: 25% OFF WHEN YOU BUY 10 OR MORE! Mohair is groovy because it's light, soft, and very warm. Plus, it's really easy to work with, makes sweaters FAST and looks fantastic.

Tilli Tomas and Classic Elite

The Newsletter has been sent! (please do contact me as soon as possible if you're not on the emailing list and would like to be!) And you all have read the exciting news about the Classic Elite Ariosa and Silky Alpaca Lace. Add to these two wondrous yarns a fabulously delicious new cotton yarn: Sprout. Choose sprout for your next cotton knit. It's on the heavier side of worsted, but soft and tasty as a ball of buttah! No rain on your parade for sure -- you won't be disappointed with Sprout, or any of these great new items. Now, to Tilli. If you haven't experienced Tilli, prepare yourself. Plie ("Plee-EH") and Beaded Plie are soon to be counted among your favorites. 100% silk yarn in a DK weight, one without beads and one with dazzling beads secured right into the plies. Use Tilli for your fine silken knits. She's a stunner! Add a project of Plie and/or Beaded Plie to your Christmas list this year!

Glitzy Bits, Doo-Dahs, and Girly Things

You've asked for them, and they're on their way! Shawl pins and such, cute measuring tapes, swishy deedle-dee-doo's and Seussian Fropp Zoinks with shimmering Zing-Zogs studded with Bling-Blongs and Whizzy Fizz-Fwops! The things that make us smile when we knit, and the things which make our knitting journeys glamorous. You must remember that I am a man, and by my very nature, I wouldn't generally realize the great importance of such things for my own knitting. Give me 10 balls of Alpaca, some Brittany size 7's, and send me on my way content to knit a sweater. A ball of sock yarn, 5 DPN's, and I'm captivated for hours with a pair of socks. Add to that the fact that I am a German man, and you start to understand that having a Swooshy Fleedle Zop that glitters with Dwinky Swags to make my increase spots magnificent and deliciously fab-u may not necessarily be on the top of my list. HOWEVER, for many of us, these items are fun and make projects even more fun. So, start looking for the advent of the Glitzy Bits, Doo-Dahs and Girly Things at VBYC! I thank you all for making known the things you'd like to be made available. Just ask me if there's anything in particular that you'd like to see at VBYC, I'll try my best to find it!

The Vermilion Bay Light

The December edition of the VBYC newsletter has just reached its final draft and is now ready to go out. I will be preparing the mailout this morning, so start looking for your copy this afternoon and evening! With all the preparations for the Christmas Season, I've been a bit behind my usual writing schedule, so I do apologize for the delay. Highlights in this month's newsletter: VBYC day-long Christmas celebration with Celtic Harpist Bette Vidrine on December 10, new yarn news: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace, Ariosa, Tilli Tomas, and gift-giving tips. Check the class schedule at the top of the page for this month's scheduled classes.