New needles AND a new class!

Hiya Hiyas have arrived!! We are very excited to be offering these great needles in a variety of different sizes and types. Included in the shipment from Hiya Hiya are the 9" circular needles which are perfect for knitting socks! If you are used to using double pointed needles when working from the top down this is a great alternative that also eliminates those pesky ladders that often result from the double pointed needles.

Also, in preparation for the coming cooler months a new class has been added to the September line up and a new teacher to teach it! Faye will be joining the Knits by the Sea teaching team and she will be teaching the Basic Mitten class on Thursday September 9! This class is a great project class that will take you through the construction of a mitten and you get to make your own mini mitten. The pattern comes with a variety of different sizes from baby all the way to mens so making the perfect mitten after this class will be easy. Space is limited so be sure to sign up early. For more detail see our classes page here.

Another special guest

Another special guest stopped by Knits by the Sea a few days ago. Former mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan stopped by the shop with his wife! Sam Sullivan was an important part of bringing the 2010 Olympic Games to Vancouver. He is also the recipient of many incredible awards including the Order of Canada for his work. It was an honour to have him stop by! You can read more about him and his accomplishments here.

Another project is on display at the shop. For those who have been coming to stitch night you have seen the progress of this top and I'm happy to announce it is finally done! The top is knit with Spud & Chloe sweater which is an organic cotton and wool blend making it very soft and adds a little extra warmth for the cool breezes off the ocean. The pattern is from Stefanie Japel's book Fitted Knits with a slight change in where the ribbing starts at the bottom of the top.

More classes have been posted for September and more will be added! A new class that is being offered is a colour works class. This class will cover fair isle, intarsia and some other basic colour changing techniques. A great class for those looking to add extra colour to their knitting!

Now open 7 days a week!

Knits by the Sea is happy to announce we are open 7 days a week! Stacey has joined the shop and will be here for all your knitting needs one day a week. We are so happy she could join us and we are looking forward to being better able to serve you with these extra hours!

On new product news we have just received a big shipment of Blue Sky Alpaca so there is more of the bulky wool/alpaca blends available that so many of you love! And the new Spud & Chloe colours for fall are in!! Come see these great new shades and the wonderful patterns to go with them.

More notions have arrived as well! The perfect notion case is here and is great for holding all your stitch markers, needles etc. We have DP tubes that are perfect for storing your double pointed needles in a safe place so they stay together. And a WIP tube perfect for when you are travelling with your sock projects. And since Tofino is so prone to black outs we decided it was necessary to have the Knit Light! This perfect little light works great for illuminating your work even when the lights are out.

How about some books for this hot weather!

Well it yet again appears to be summer here in Tofino. I knew it was there somewhere. And rumours were that it was even as close as Port Alberni. But it just wasn't quite happening here. So yesterday was the first really hot day here since that week of sunshine we had in July! And the forecast is looking good for the week! So with everyone heading to the beach we are happy to let you know that a big shipment of books have arrived! It's the perfect companion to take to the beach along with your knitting. Pictured above is one of my favorite summer knitting books called Indigo Knits. It has tons of great summer knitting projects including a great beach bag and tank top.

And with all these foggy days that we have been having I decided to try the Noro Retro and make a hat for Jesse. Pictured above you can see how great this yarn knits up and it is super soft! I love the subtle striping that it has. I'm currently working on hat #2 in the bright pink and will post pictures of it when it's done.

Celebrity Sighting!

It was an exciting start to the day for Juliet and I here at Knits by the Sea. We arrived at our shop to find Pamela Anderson sitting outside waiting for us! This well known celebrity had been seen in Tofino over the past few days while she visited the wild west coast with her family. But we did not expect to find her at our shop! It was a real pleasure to meet her and she is just as beautiful in real life! She really made my day stopping by for yarn and needles and she was very sweet. And I think it is great when people in the public eye knit because it really promotes how fun knitting can be for everyone!

And speaking of learning to knit we still have spaces in our classes for August! So if you are looking for some fun evening activities take a look at our classes page on our website. More classes will be added for September. And we have some fun new classes we are going to be bringing out in October! And don't forget Stitch Night is every Wednesday from 6:30 - ?? so we hope you can join us!

Also we have a new arrival at the shop - seaglass shawl pins! These beautiful shawl pins made from sterling silver are from Cheri who also does the seaglass buttons at the shop. These pins make the perfect addition to any shawl or sweater!

A Grand Affair!

Well Juliet and I are still recovering from the super fun, super busy Grand Opening Party on Saturday. We can't thank everyone enough for coming out for this special day. It was so great to see so many familiar faces, and meet so many new people! A very special thank you to Beth who helped out until 11:00 the night before wrapping up gift baskets and then stayed until after 10:00 the next day helping to clean up. You helped make the day go that much smoother!

And another big thank you to all the suppliers who donated fantastic gifts. It made the day so much fun with draws every hour for great prizes! We had great prizes from Yarn Candy, SweetGeorgia, Indigo Moon, Painted Fleece, Noro, Sirdar, Malabrigo, Spud & Chloe, Blue Sky Alpaca and Westminster Fibres. And congratulations to all the winners!

It is hard to believe we are already in August! The newsletter will be posted soon but in the mean time if you are looking for some classes check out what we are offering for August!