Nov 30 2021

December Mini-Socks

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting Date: 30 November 2021

It’s time for our annual mini-sock give-away!  The mini-sock Advent calendar is back this year – one-chocolate-stuffed mini-sock for every day of Advent is hanging on display, and will be given in turn to the first customer of each day befoe Christmas.

These decorative mini-socks are made from scraps of sock yarn, and no two are alike. They might have one colour of yarn, or a dozen, but every one is locally handmade with love – love of our craft, and love of our shared community at Creative Yarns.

Each sock has a loop for hanging – on your Christmas tree, if you have one, or perhaps on your key chain or zipper pull to add a note of whimsy to everyday life.

A limited number of additional mini-socks are available on a first-come first-served basis.  Like last year, we are also making these available through the online shopping portal and, yes, you can buy them if you want more than one. But we would much rather give them away for free!  So, put one in your cart and enter the code MINISOCK at checkout to get one free mini-sock with any order, big or small, while stocks last. Coupon is valid one time per customer.

Note that every mini-sock is different, and socks will be picked at random.

Nov 24 2021

Black Friday Yarn Sale!

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 24 November 2021

Yes, we are having our annual Black Friday Yarn Sale.  From Black Friday, 26 November, through Cyber Monday, 29 November, all yarn in the store will be 20% off.

Note that the physical store is closed on Monday, and the Cyber Monday sale is online-only.

For online purchases, just go to our online shopping portal, make your purchase selections, then enter the discount code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout. 

Oct 27 2021

Pattern suggestion: Halmstad Sweater

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 27 October 2021

Today’s sweater suggestion is the Halmstad sweaterby Todd Gocken.  It is available as a free pattern from Knitty.com.  Men are notoriously difficult to knit for.  Maybe your favourite man is an exception, but they do have a reputation for not liking anything that’s actually fun to knit.  This pattern is the answer!

The colourwork patterns are conservative enough for average male preference, but interesting enough for average knitter interest.  Plus, there’s a surprise in the construction.  A fun surprise.  You work the sleeves and body together in one piece, then cut it open at four steeks.  And then sew side and arm seams.   Take a look at the pattern to see how it’s done.  If you’ve done any stranded colourwork before, you’ll know that this makes the knitting very, very easy.  And the stripes are guaranteed to line up.

A steek, for those unfamiliar, is an area of a few stitches on every row that form a bridge between different parts of the garment.  It becomes a safe place to cut the knitted fabric for a seam to be added later.  With a nice, ‘sticky’ yarn like BC Garn Bio Shetland, it is easy to stabilize the fabric before cutting – any method will work, without special precautions.

BC Garn Bio Shetland is a slightly lighter weight yarn than used in the original pattern.  You can use it without modification at the specified gauge, just be sure to check your tension before you start, and modify needle size if needed.  The finished sweater will be lighter in weight, but still warm and comfortable..

 

 

Oct 27 2021

Pattern suggestion: Earflap Hat

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 27 October 2021

This free Purl Soho pattern for an earflap hat, designed by Jake Canton, demonstrates the versatility of the BC Garn Bio Shetland yarn.  Just hold two strands of the yarn together to substitute for a worsted weight yarn.

This particular hat was knitted by Mairi, using substantial leftovers from her Tobermory Tam project.  One skein would be plenty for even the largest size of hat.  Mairi had a bit less than that, so added a second colour at the tip.  You could also work the hat in blocks or stripes to use up odds and ends of different colours.  And, of course, a contrasting colour for the optional tassles adds a bit of drama.

The pattern is written for sizes from baby up to adult large.  Mairi made the largest size hat, and warns that it is very large indeed.  The yarn is also very soft and stretchy, with lots of room for big hair with a loose fit.  A smaller size would work for most people.

Oct 25 2021

GOTS Certification – What and Why?

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 25 October 2021

You may have noticed that our ongoing  BC Garn Bio Shetland Promotion is all about a yarn that is GOTS certified.  GOTS is the Global Organic Textile Standard, and it’s an important part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.   So we thought we’d take the time to tell you a little bit about it, and why it’s important.  There is tons of information about it on the official GOTS website.  And we’ve got a couple of brochures here that explain how the GOTS standard contributes to sustainable development, and how it benefits consumers.

GOTS_and Sustainable DevelopmentDownload
GOTS Consumer BenefitsDownload

GOTS is recognized as the world’s leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers. It defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.  With respect to yarn, this means that:

  • The fibre used – whether plant or animal – was produced organically.
  • Animal-based fibres come from animals that were raised in humane conditions.
  • Fibre processing, including dyeing, was ecologically non-damaging.
  • People involved in the yarn production, from farmers to factory workers, were not exposed to toxic chemicals.
  • Those people were also fairly compensated for their work.
  • No forced labour or child labour was involved.

GOTS certified yarns are always a good choice!

Oct 24 2021

Pattern suggestion: Tobermory Tam

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 24 October 2021

The Tobermory Tam pattern was designed by Mairi McKissock especially for our Bio Shetland promotion.  The pattern is exclusive to Creative Yarns until the end of the promotion, and it is available for free with the purchase of yarn for the project.  The sample hats will be in the store this week for you to look at in detail.

A Scottish tam, like the French beret, is a style of hat with a flat top and extra width at the sides, so it can be styled in different ways.  It is particularly easy to wear, and suits most face shapes.  If you think you don’t look good in hats, try a tam!

Continue Reading…

Oct 20 2021

Pattern suggestion: Raglan Sweater

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 20 October 2021

This top-down raglan sweater pattern is a must-have.  It was written by our own Michelle Porter. 

We don’t want to forget basic essentials when we’re posting pattern suggestions for our Bio Shetland promotion.  And this one is super-flexibile.  Make it in any size, and at any gauge.  Make it with long sleeves or short.  Give it a turtleneck, or a crew neck, or a scoop neck.  Knit it in one colour, or in stripes.  Use lots of different colours, or just a few.  Add cable details, perhaps down the arms or along the raglan lines.  Or use eyelet increases for the raglans, like in this picture, for a really easy tough of elegance.

The possibilities are endless, and a good, basic pattern like this gives you a framework to build on.

The basic pattern is written for aran-weight yarn, but you can hold two strands of Bio Shetland together as a substitute.

We think that BC Garn Bio Shetland makes wonderful, light sweaters.  There’s a lot of yardage in those inexpensive skeins, and a lot of warmth in that woolen-spun yarn.  So, here’s a raglan sweater pattern to help you make that sweater-to-live-in that everyone needs.

Oct 12 2021

Pattern suggestion: Full of Minis Welted Hat

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 12 October 2021

This welted hat pattern belongs in the Fun category!  Fun to knit, and fun to wear.  It is the Full of Minis hat pattern by designer Barbara Nalewko.  You can make it with just about any fingering weight yarn, but we’re suggesting it for use with the BC Garn Bio Shetland currently on promotion.  The welts combine beautifully with the woolen-spun characteristics of the yarn. multiplying the warmth factor.  Most knitted hats are less effective in windy conditions, but the extra layers of fabric in the welts make this hat warm even in windier weather.

The welts in this hat are quite easy to make, because the colour changes for every welt.  So, it’s easy to see which stitches to pick up on the welt rows.  You could make it with just two colours, alternating colours on every welt.  Or, you could make it with dozens of colours, using up scraps from your stash.  Either way, it will be an eye-catcher and a conversation piece.

Oct 02 2021

Special Promotion – Bio Shetland

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 2 October 2021

We’re trying something new this Fall knitting season – a special promotion for one of our favourite yarns.  BC Garn Bio Shetland is an absolutely lovely eco-friendly, pure wool, woolen-spun, inexpensive, lightweight yarn.  It’s suitable for all kinds of warm, soft, light-weight garments and accessories.  And it comes in a truly wonderful range of colours.  The range of colours, combined with the ‘sticky’ characteristic of a woolen-spun yarn make it ideal for stranded colourwork.

Here are the details:

  • From now through 31 October, get 20% off all purchases of Bio Shetland, either in person at the store, or in our online shop.
  • From now through 30 November, get a one-time 20% off coupon good for any yarn purchase when you post a new, finished project using this yarn on our project gallery.
  • Discount coupons will be sent by email when your project is published, can be used any time up to the end of this year (31 December, 2021), and can be used either in person at the store or in our online shop.

During the promotion period, we will be highlighting a few patterns that are terrific for this yarn.  We’ll publish those here on the news blog, and also collect them on a new page for the Bio Shetland Promotion under the ‘Home’ tab in the web page banner menu.   Additional ideas are available on Ravelry – you can use the ‘pattern ideas’ tab that’s available for any yarn in their database.  Here’s a link for the Ravelry  pattern ideas for Bio Shetland.  Also on Ravelry, the ‘projects’ tab for any yarn shows all the projects that other users have made with it – here’s a link for Ravelry projects made with Bio Shetland.

Jun 09 2021

Special Event – Sylvia Olsen on Zoom

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 9 June, 2021

Six years ago, we hosted a wonderful workshop with Sylvia Olsen, as part of her cross-Canada knitting tour.  She taught a fascinating class on Coast Salish knitting techniques, and shared stories from her book, Knitting Stories: Personal Essays and Nine Coast Salish-inspired Knitting Patterns.  Together with her partner, Tex McLeod, they spent six weeks travelling from Victoria to Newfoundland, and conducted workshops in more than 40 locations (including Creative Yarns).  She taught knitting, listened to stories from hundreds of knitters, and told her own stories.  Along the way, Sylvia gained a new appreciation and formed a new relationship with her country.

Continue Reading…

Jun 09 2021

Creative Yarns re-opening Friday 11 June

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 9 June 2021

On Friday, 11 June, Creative Yarns is re-opening (again) for in-person shopping, at reduced capacity. Our hours will be:

  • Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Creative Yarns will be following all city and provincial rules and guidelines for safe Step 1 re-opening.  In particular:

  • Please read and follow the City of Toronto patron screening criteria before deciding to visit.
  • Masks are required for all persons able to wear one.
  • We cannot accommodate more than two customers in the store at one time.  Please be mindful if there are others waiting to enter, and keep your visits as brief as you conveniently can.
  • We cannot allow extended ‘sit and knit’ time in the seating area.
  • Hand sanitizer is available when you enter, and we are cleaning all customer-used surfaces after every visit.

Online shopping with curbside pickup is still available for anyone not comfortable with visiting in person, but we hope that this opportunity to look at our yarns for yourself will be helpful to many of you.

We are very much looking forward to the time when COVID restrictions are no longer necessary!  There is nothing we enjoy more than having a store full of knitters, relaxing together to chat, knit, and share creative ideas.

In the meantime, thank you very much for your continued patronage through this very difficult time.  Your words of encouragement and support, as much as your purchases, have made it possible for us to keep operating and have hope for the future.

Apr 10 2021

New Yarn – Noro Kakagori

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 10 April 2021

There’s a huge amount of yarn in one of these giant balls of lightweight Noro Kakagori.  So, your single-skein projects can be quite ambitious!

It’s a single-ply blend of cotton and silk, with a small amount of viscose and nylon added for strength and drape.  It’s the perfect mix for cool, summer projects.

Noro’s is famous for woolen-spun, long gradient colour blends, in nature-inspired colourways.  And this yarn is a standout example.  So, the texture and the colour combine to make simple knits become dramatic and eye-catching.

Try it for go-everywhere sweaters and cardigans, shawls and wraps, ponchos and accessories.

 

Apr 09 2021

Curbside pickup only

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 9 April 2021

I’m sure you already know, but retail stores in Toronto are closed again.  As of 7 April, our physical store is open for curbside pickup only during the current lockdown phase.

We will be happy to assist you by phone (416-331-8085), or through our online shopping portal.  Curbside pick-up and home delivery are both available.

Stay well and stay safe!  We look forward to seeing all our friends and customers again in person when it is deemed safe to reopen.

Apr 01 2021

New Yarn – Artfil Mericana DK

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 1 April 2021

We are particularly excited by our latest new offering.  Artfil Mericana DK is a wonderful, soft, smooth, squishable, hand-dyed DK weight yarn.

It’s available in a huge range of space-dyed, tonal, semi-solid, and speckled colours.  All of them are gorgeous!  It’s a very flexible weight of yarn, suitable for projects big and small.  It has a nice, multi-ply, high-twist character, making it sturdy and pill-resistant, but still soft and smooth.  Use it for sweaters and outerwear that will look stand up to years of love, wear, and laundering.  Use it for cowls and delicate accessories that  you need to be next-to-skin soft.  Use it for snuggly blankets that your family will consider heirlooms.  Or buy just one skein for that perfect hat.  And then maybe a second skein for matching mittens.  Because you will never run out of things to knit with Artfil Mericana DK.

Mar 31 2021

New Yarn – Pro Lana Kid Seta

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 31 March 2021

Mmmm, laceweight mohair and silk!  There is no such thing as too many choices for laceweight mohair blends, and Pro Lana Kid Seta is an excellent addition to the family.

The 70/30 blend of finest kid mohair and silk is as good as it gets.  The vivid solids and tasteful, long-colour-run gradients are visually stunning.  And it comes from a yarn company that specialises in high-quality yarns, milled in Europe.

The reason we love laceweight mohair blends so much is because of their uniquely versatile characteristics.  You can knit simple, lightweight, accessories – cowls, scarves, wraps, capelets – and even cardigans and sweaters, with just one strand of mohair at a very loose gauge in plain stockinette or garter stitch, and they will come out as light and soft as a cloud, while still warm and snuggly, with a magnificent halo.  Or, hold one strand of mohair together with any other yarn to knit more robust garments and accessories at a denser gauge.  Either way, the mohair adds visual and textural interest.  Colour and texture blending with strands of different yarns is so much fun, and so easy to do!

Mar 30 2021

New Yarn – Hikoo Bubble Tea

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 30 March 2021

We’re now stocking the fun, new Bubble Tea yarn, from Hikoo.  This is a yarn with a lot going on – thick-and-thin texture, softness and drape, balanced with just enough ‘memory’ and elasticity.  It’s ideal for lightweight accessories, or loose, drapey wraps and cardigans.  And it’s a very easy yarn to work with.  The simplest patterns will come out looking terrific, because the yarn does all the work.  No complex knitting tricks required!

 

Mar 29 2021

New Yarn – Martin’s Lab Tough Sock

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 29 March 2021

There’s always room on the shelves for more beautifully hand-dyed sock yarn!  Nina’s latest ‘find’ is the ‘Tough Sock‘ yarn  from Martin’s Lab, a small independent dyer in Toruń, Poland.

This comes in a gorgeous range of vivid colours, and the 75/25 Merino/Nylon blend and high twist means that it lives up to it’s name – although deliciously soft, it is tough enough to be perfect for socks.  Or anything, really!  Sweaters that don’t pill; shawls that can be blocked aggressively and carried around for everyday in-and-out-of-a/c use; next-to-skin accessories; you name it.

What’s not to love about a hand-dyed sock yarn?

 

Mar 23 2021

New Yarn – Illimani Santi

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 23 March 2021

This recent arrival falls into the category of affordable luxury yarns.  Illimani Santi is a gorgeous blend of ultra-fine merino, baby alpaca, yak, and mulberry silk.

This is a very versatile yarn.  DK weight,  it has great drape so it can be worked loosely for a garment with liquid flow.  But it also has terrific stitch definition, so you can use it at a tighter gauge for denser projects with cables or textured stitches that really pop.

And, it is very, very soft and smooth.  So you can use it for next-to-skin garments, including luxurious cowls.