Category Archives: Shop

Turning a sweater into an adventure

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Tag Team Sweater Project update

To no one’s surprise, I’m not in the best shape on my Tag Team Sweater Project sweater. One week from today, I’ll be in Seattle, where I’m supposed to have a finished sweater. What I should have had by Monday, when my beautiful sweater body arrived from Anna (thank you, Anna!), was two sleeves to attach it to. Instead, I had one sleeve. One very wretched sleeve, plagued with ladders, which is a problem I’ve never struggled with before. (Except for that one time I attempted to knit a hat on four DPN’s, but that was sheer foolishness.) So instead of having one more sleeve to knit, I have two more sleeves to knit. And I also have a total loss of patience for knitting sleeves. The last thing I knitted before we started all this was Casey’s mitts, so I’ve been knitting nothing but stockinette tubes for as long as I can remember.

I can’t take it anymore!

I had originally envisioned being done with my four sleeves well before the appointed parts exchange date and had daydreamed about starting the yoke as a separate piece, with the completed sleeves and body grafted onto it later. So that idea was lingering in my mind, even as the sleeve due dates came and went. Since I can’t deal with the sleeves right now and am desperate to move on with the FUN PART — and after consulting Instagram and Michele Wang — I’ve decided to take the approach Felicia describes on her Craft Sessions blog. To wit: I separated the body into fronts and back and, as of last night, am working the phantom arms upwards from provisionally cast-on stitches. And just like that, this sweater went from feeling like a chore to an adventure! Wish me luck as I try to make great progress on it this weekend.

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Speaking of Seattle next week, I don’t think I’ve officially announced this: I won’t just be at VK Live taking classes and making the rounds. Instead I’ve taken Brooke up on her offer to share her booth again, so the Cabinet of Curiosities is going to Seattle! What this means, most significantly, is lots of drive time to work on my sweater.

New at Fringe Supply Co

In shop news for the weekend, two new things have arrived: Taproot 9, which includes a Carrie Bostick Hoge shawl pattern, Lola, that made me gasp out loud, and … cookies! My favorite cookies (to put it mildly), which you can read all about on the cookie page. Also, great news, the wildly popular repair hooks are back in stock in all sizes, in both bone and ebony. So you can find all that and more at Fringe Supply Co.!

Have a great weekend, everyone! As always, I’d love to hear what you’re working on—

Kinfolk 11 has landed

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Kinfolk 11 now available at Fringe Supply Co

The new Kinfolk magazine has arrived at Fringe Supply Co. — Volume 11, the Home Issue — and it’s a doozy. There’s not much relating to the “make” part of the tagline (apart from the drool-inducing recipes, of course), but it’s a truly gorgeous volume of essays, recipes, home tours, interviews and the like, all to do with how we live in our respective spaces. As the editors summarized it in their letter:

Lone rangers will find a decadent three-course meal designed for a single table setting, house guests are offered tips to guarantee repeat invitations and communal dwellers are given a guide to the notorious shared fridge. There are tips from creative types who work from home (and actually get things done), essays on buildings that live and breathe, and a house sitter’s reflection on what she can discern about you from the contents of your pantry.

One of my personal favorites is the feature wherein children’s self-described dream homes have been rendered in cardboard. And this issue is even more of a whopper than in the past, since following the usual 138 uncoated pages are an extra 32 glossy ones, featuring home tours from New England to Denmark to Jakarta. It’s a whole lot of beauty.

Also back in stock: another stack of Pom Pom 8 and the beloved KnitKnotes enclosure cards, which got quickly wiped out at Stitches.

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Updates & Elsewhere

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Updates & Elsewhere: Yarny links for your clicking pleasure

You guys, I got sooooo much knitting done this week for the Tag Team Sweater Project. It was like old times. Unfortunately, I also ripped out a lot of it — specifically, 8.5 inches of Anna’s second sleeve. Late Tuesday night, I finished the second cuff, knitted to the first increase and put a pin in it. The next night, I had a marathon knitting session and worked those 8.5 inches, lining my increases up above that first one. Only at midnight, when admiring my output, did I notice that I had put the first one in the wrong place. With 99% of all sleeves, it wouldn’t matter — I’d just declare that my new center point and carry on accordingly. But since this cuff is garter-in-the-round, which leaves that pseudo-seam, they did need to line up in the exact right spot. So I ripped and re-knit. Before all that happened, I was on track to have the sleeves shipped out today on (re)schedule. But if I excuse myself from the studio for a couple hours this morning and knit my little heart out, I may still be able to send them out today. Cross your fingers for me! Or for us both — looks like Anna is cutting it just as close.

ELSEWHERE:

Do you all know about Among Friends? I was honored to have the High-fiber tote included in their Best of the Bay box, which just shipped out. These three ladies have been really great to me and they do such a thoughtful job with their club — you should take a look at their upcoming offerings.

Also: I loved seeing this turmeric-dyeing tutorial by Rebekka Seale on Wool and the Gang’s blog. And Jared Flood’s post about the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Knit, Purl, Sow” show. (Say that three times fast.) And I can’t wait to read this Julie Hoover interview at Caitlin Makes.

SHOP UPDATE:

I asked the lovely maker of the amazing Bento Bags, if she could make an even bigger bento, and she happily obliged. So today in the shop you’ll find the all-new, first-ever XL Bento! Big enough to hold all the yarn and parts of a worsted-weight sweater. Or, y’know, a small child. It’s awesome! There aren’t very many in this first batch, so if they sell out before you get there, never fear — I’ll have more in a few weeks.

Also new today are some perfectly charming Bonsai-style scissors that nobody should be without.

And! At long last, I got a bunch of rice baskets in — both natural and patterned. Hie thee to Fringe Supply Co.

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Have a great weekend, everyone — thanks for reading!

Q for You: Do you go to knitting events?

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Q for You: Do you go to knitting events?

Big milestone for me and Fringe this weekend: I’m at StitchesWest! And not as an attendee. I’ve got a mini Fringe Supply Co. set up in the Sincere Sheep booth (that’s #944, people! come on down!) so I’m at the event as a vendor. I remember my first Stitches like it was yesterday. Which isn’t that impressive since it was only two years ago. I had just learned to knit, didn’t have any local knitting friends at the time, and decided to go to this thing I’d heard about — a knitting convention! I signed up for three days of classes, and I pulled into the parking garage the first morning and joined the throng of women entering the convention center. And I just remember thinking “What am I doing here? Who AM I?” It was such a completely foreign experience to me, and now here I am going in the back door and setting up my little shop.

So as I write this, I’m realizing I have a little Q for You: Do you go to knitting conventions or fiber festivals of any kind? And if so, what’s the farthest you’ve ever traveled to attend one?

I’ll look forward to reading your responses when I’m done with the show. And I’ll be posting updates here and there on the @fringesupplyco Instagram account throughout the weekend. If you’re at the show, please do stop by and say hello!

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PREVIOUSLY in Q for You: How much time do you have for knitting?

Sweet treats for you

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Treat yourself

I like the idea of using this day as an excuse to buy yourself a little treat, so I’ve added some good ones to Fringe Supply Co. today: beautiful scissors both large and small, plus exquisite little repair hooks in ebony and bone. Of course, there are dozens of other affordable goodies in there — bentos, bone DPNs, the new Pom Pom, notched cable needles, the leather stitch marker pouch … to name just a few. And just for fun, today’s orders will all ship with a sweet little bite-sized treat. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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I thought I might have an update on the Tag Team Sweater Project for you today as well, but Anna and I haven’t had each other’s yarn long enough to do much more than a lot of texting and a little Instagramming about gauge and measurements and such. The highlight this week, for me, was the “good luck mushrooms” she included with her yarn. So make sure you’re following @karentempler and @toltyarnandwool, and I’ll have more to share on the Tag Team front next week!

Have a wonderful weekend — thank you for reading!

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The Japanese pattern books have arrived!

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Cable Fashion Drama — Japanese knitting pattern collection

I’ve teased you on Instagram about these, but FINALLY the Japanese books I ordered last month are available at Fringe Supply Co. Regarding the one above, I’m just going to repeat myself here from the shop page:

If I could only have one book of knitting patterns, Cable Fashion Drama might very well be the one. And it would keep me busy for a very long time! Built around a Japanese take on American cable knits, it includes patterns for 5 pullovers, 6 cardigans, a vest, a wrap, 3 scarves, 3 hats, 2 bags and a pair of fingerless mitts — all of them amazing.

The book is written entirely in Japanese, but there are full-garment charts, extensive schematics, step-by-step photos for working various stitches, and so on. So knitting from it is doable! It requires a little extra intrepidness. But even if you never knitted a single thing from it, it’s an absolute gem and so inspiring. I’m keeping it on my coffee table.

I’d seen the cover image around the Internet before and never knew it belonged to a book. When I saw and flipped through it, I died. And when it arrived and I could really sit with it, it was even better than I’d realized. I’ve also added two others — equally amazing, a little more specific. They are Cowichan Knitting (a Japanese take on traditional Cowichan sweaters), which also has numerous sweaters I’m coveting, and a crochet book, White, Ivory and Beige Goods, which could not be more beautiful. I lack the skills to knit most of the contents, but boy does this book make me want to improve my skills. Plus I could just gaze at it all day — it’s that lovely.

Cowichan Knitting and Japanese crochet

I was only able to get a handful of copies of each of them, and won’t be surprised if they sell out pretty quickly. I do have more on backorder, so if you miss out on this round, don’t despair! (But do act fast.)

Also, the perpetual favorite High-fiber tote is back in stock, and I’ve added more of the bone DPNs and Indian crochet hooks. I’m also thrilled at the response so far to my little leather stitch marker pouch — thank you so much for the warm reception you’ve given it! AND, last but not least, Pom Pom 8 is now available for preorder.

In stockist news, the Yarn Pyramid can now be found at Handknit Yarn Studio in Hamilton, Ontario, and at A Grand Yarn in Spokane WA — both also now have totes on the way, as do Abuelita’s in Pasadena CA and Unwind in Burbank CA, so look for bags in those locations next week. See the Stockists page for more amazing stores carrying Fringe goods.

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Thank you, too, for all the amazing responses to the Q for You this week. I’ve read and loved them all but haven’t had a chance to respond. Clearly I need to get myself a commute and a lunch hour! I’m envious of so many of you.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’ll be working on my Slade. What about you?

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Things you want for Valentine’s Day

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Fringe Supply Co. leather and brass stitch markers set

When I first started fantasizing about having a shop, and selling and creating the kinds of goods I couldn’t find, one of the very first ideas (maybe the first idea) I sketched in my notebook was a beautiful little leather pouch holding equally beautiful, simple brass or gold ring stitch markers. Two years (and a few design evolutions) later, it finally exists! I am thrilled — even more so because I’m making the pouches myself — and I hope you love this little beauty as much as I do.

Also new in the shop today are still more of the finest tools a knitter or crocheter could hope for: Indian rosewood crochet hooks, chatelaine safety scissors and bone double-pointed needles. Bone DPNs! I’m rolling them all out today because I think they make fantastic little Valentine’s Day gifts, but of course like everything at Fringe Supply Co., I think they’re beautiful, functional goods a knitter would do well to treat his- or herself to. So get get ’em!

Things you want for Valentine's Day

Have a great weekend, everyone! Tell me what you’re working on …

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p.s. If you’re wondering about the color of the veg-tanned leather and aren’t familiar with how beautifully it ages, here are some examples from a couple of makers I admire: Infusion Fibers and KC Co. I’ve claimed the very first stitch marker pouch for myself and am so looking forward to watching it age.