New Kits & More Books!

Hello my fellow yarnaholics! More and more new exciting things are coming every week its hard to keep up! Not that I'm complaining :) The fun is just non stop around here!
 First off, we are happy to say that we now have some great Knitpicks products available. Instead of going online, you can now come on down and check these fine products out in person!! We have the Harmony Interchangeable Set with the pretty multicolor birch wood. It comes with needle tips sizes 4 thru 11, 2 24" cords, and 2 32" cords, 8 end caps, 2 cable keys, and a zippered clear vinyl needle case all for $84.99! The needles are nice and smooth and the points are nicely tapered. The cords are nice and flexible and the join is smooth as well. This would be the perfect gift for any knitter, beginner or advanced! Or spoil yourself... come on you're worth it! We have they're Nickel Plated Sets coming too very soon if you favor a nice "slidey" needle. The Nickel Plated Set comes with all the same stuff as the Harmony Set, but the price is only $69.99! Whatta deal! I might consider a set myself :)

We also have they're foam puzzle piece blocking mat sets for only $19.99. I have a set at home. These are great for blocking just about anything! You can put them together in many different ways depending on what you are blocking. When you are done they come apart and store away nicely. We have Knitpicks ball winders as well for only $19.99!! Woohoo! Very affordable!

Here are some great gadgets every knitter must have as well. An emergency fix keychain (don't leave home without it!) and a Harmony Wood cable needle set...

This I think is especially cool. A Chart Keeper that keeps your pattern nice and neat,  it is also magnetized and comes with little magnet strips to help keep your place. It folds up nice and small and fits in your knitting bag and it's only $14.99!

Some cute new kits came in as well from Appalacian Baby. My fav is the baby bathrobe set. It comes with a kit to make a baby spa robe - super cute with extra soft organic cotton, a already made washcloth (also organic cotton), and a unscented goat's milk soap. It all comes with a nice gift basket (also handmade) all for only $49.99! This is a perfect gift for a new mom that is a knitter, or knit it for an expected mom and be a hit at a babyshower!

There is a really sweet baby blanket kit too! All organic cotton as well, only $35.99!

There is also a already made Mother's Wrap. Great gift if you do not knit or needed something special at the last minute. It comes with a nice gift basket as well. Sorry no pattern available yet for this one.

Aren't those just extra special! We think so! :)

Oh yes! Even more books!! Can't get enough new books! Check 'em out...

Wendy Knits Lace by Wendy Johnson. Beautiful lace projects from shawls to socks...

Sasha Kagan's Classic Collection. Full of stunning knitwear with beautiful colorwork...

And a cute new book for baby to keep those little toes toasty warm...

Those are the new books of the week!

For all you Debbie Bliss fans out there the new issue of Debbie Bliss Magazine is here!

Love those fingerless gloves! Lots of pretty colorwork projects in this issue too. These usually go fast so come get one while you can! That is all for this week but more is still to come. Stay tuned knitting pals!!

Back by Popular Demand!

Hello again everyone :) Monarch is happy to announce that we have brought back a couple yarns that many, many of our wonderful customers (and us!) can't live without! The first we are most excited about. You have begged, and pleaded...here it is!

Woohoo! Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran is back in stock in 16 marvelous colors... I (Koryn) picked 'em hope you all approve :) If you are not familiar (I'm sure most of you are) this yarn is a worsted weight Merino, Microfibre, and Cashmere blend that is also a superwash. This yarn is so wonderfully soft and great for knitting just about anything! Sweaters for all ages, blankets, hats, scarves, you name it! I admit I have a bunch in my stash from when we carried it in the past. I just love knitting with this...maybe its time to bring it on out and start something. There's this great cabled jacket I've been saving it for. This yarn has great stitch definition too, it shows cables, and stitch patterns very nicely. There are also several new colors Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino...

We now have more than 20 colors of this one!! Baby Cashmerino is also a Merino, Microfibre, and Cashmere blend superwash but in a sport weight. This yarn is just perfect for knitting sweet little baby things. We have several books for this yarn with the cutest patterns. Great for us big babies too :)

Yet another new yarn brought back by much pleading is that cool "train track" like ribbon yarn. There are two different kinds but they have the same yardage, cost, and have the same look. One is called Athena, the other Dazzle. There's 10 different colors to choose from. This makes a really pretty decorative scarf out of one ball with a bigger needle, like 11's or 13's, and cast on 15 stitches, and knit, knit, knit! A few balls would make a pretty shawl. Also, fun to use along with your wool when knitting and felting. At only $6.99 a ball too! What a deal! I started a scarf today...

There is a fab new luxury yarn too by Sandnes Garn called Kashmir Alpakka. Wow! You just hafto come fondle this yarn!! Its made from 84% Baby Alpaca and 16% Cashmere. It is sooooo soft and wonderful! I have not had the pleasure of trying it out yet, but I can tell is gonna be a dream to work with. There are a few cute patterns that came in with it...

Joan knit some really cute fingerless gloves with a little beading in it. She's making some kits up for it.

I'm gonna try to resist the urge to knit another cowl... this yarn would be perfect tho! So Luxurious!
Before I finish up my blogging for the day, you just got to see my show-n-tell. I made this great cabley bag out of a book called New England Knits. Its called Groveland Satchel. Its made from only 4 skeins of Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Chunky. I wanted to knit this to show how wonderful this yarn is. Also, I love, love doing cables! This bag is fun to knit too, not too hard. Just enough challenge to keep you interested. After the bag is knitted and sewn up, it it "fulled" (slightly felted). In other words, I stuck it in hot water in my bathtub and agitated it with my hands (and feet when my arms got tired!) until I was happy with the size and look. The stitches are still visible and it only shrunk a tad lengthwise. After several days of waiting for it to dry, I handed it off to a wonderful friend, Fawn, who generously offered to line it just for me!! She even put pockets in it for me! Thanks again Fawn! The pattern does have good instructions to line the bag. I do not sew very well, and when a expert sewer/ friend offers to do it...I'm gladly accepting!  The Luxury Tweed has a little bit of Angora in it and the fulling gave the bag a nice, soft, fuzzy halo.  I just love this!!  I'm hoping to use it after its been displayed in the shop for awhile :) If you want a wonderful bag like mine, we have lots of the yarn in many colors, and several copies of the book.

More New Patterns 'n Things!

Hello again! Sorry we have missed a couple of weeks blogging :P We have been busy, busy little Monarchs! As we get into the fall season we have lots of fun new things to look forward to. Summer is over, kids are back in school, knitting season is in full effect. Winter is sneaking up on us...before you know it the holidays will be here! Time to start all those hand made gifts! Speaking of...we just got in the perfect little gift for that someone special (or yourself) that takes no time at all. Its a really pretty little beaded necklace kit by Nelkin Designs called "Butin Collar". The kit come with a little hunk of hand-dyed silk & wool blend (super soft), pattern, beads, and clasp for only $15.00!! Its easy to do (trust me it is..really) and only 8 rows of knitting. Joan made one in one evening. Here we have the lovely Diane modeling it....

We all love, love this kit! I'm pretty sure all Monarch employees have a kit at home :) This is a great introduction to bead knitting as well.
We have been getting in lots, and lots of new patterns too. Here are some new patterns by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas...

These are also great gift ideas! I love the Two-Way Ruffle Scarf. Its made out of one ball of laceweight mohair and silk. We have so many beautiful colors of Debbie Bliss Angel too! Hmmm  I really like the Lace-Back Fingerless Gloves too. These are made from wonderful Manos Silk Blend. Its hard to resist all these new patterns! Its hard to keep up with them. I want them all!! Must. Knit. Faster!

The new Interweave Fall issue came in as well. There is a particular design in there that Diane had to stop everything for! Its called Dahlia Cardigan. She's knitting it out of Manos Silk Blend check it out...

So far so gorgeous Daine! There are some really great knits in this issue. I thought the coat was stunning. It would be just fab out of Debbie Bliss Como, don't you think? The knitted skirt is cute too out of Cascade 128.

Here are some new books as well. The little knitted and crocheted Christmas critters are sooo cute. Also, some great new sock books...

hehehe Snickie likes to help me take pictures. My cute little buddy :)

Along with all these great patterns, we got in some new colors of some popular yarns. Triana Lux has some awesome sparkley new colors...

1 ball makes a really cool ruffley scarf. We can barely keep this yarn in stock, it so popular. More Aloha colors came in too. The cool thing is you don't even need needles or experience to make a scarf from Aloha! I made a big crochet chain using just my hands. I call it the one minute scarf haha!

Last but not least...some new colors of Noro Silk Garden! oooooh boy! Aren't they pretty?!

Thats it for now, but more is coming. Check back soon my fellow yarnies :)