Knitting News

Knitting Sisters turn hobby into lucrative side business | Asbury Park Press

Knitting Sisters turn hobby into lucrative side business
Asbury Park Press - December 7 2007

The Yelenock sisters and their three girlfriends are hooked on their "girls' night out."

For almost four years, Debbie, 32; Sharon, 30, and Jan Yelenock, 27, along with Shannon Olochwoszcz, 26; Jill Fournier, 26, and Megan Sakowski, 23, all of Hazlet, have been meeting every Sunday night to have some fun.

They have a bottle or two of wine, have a few snacks, watch "Desperate Housewives" and knit, Debbie Yelenock said.

The women, who said they have been friends for years, call themselves the Knitting Sisters.

"You really don't have to be a sister to knit," Olochwoszcz said.

However, after the Yelenocks started knitting on a regular basis, their friends joined in, and the event became their night out and a new business. [more]

After a little needling, I'm hooked on knitting | The Oregonian

After a little needling, I'm hooked on knitting
The Oregonian - December 7 2006

W hen my friend Joy Neitling invited me to Tangle Knitting Studio at 440 First St. in Lake Oswego, images of my sweet grandmother came to mind.

Knitting didn't strike me as the latest craze, but it appears I've been asleep under an afghan somewhere.

Last Thursday night, I dropped by.

Five minutes after I met Tangle owner Alice Burnham, the door opened and Alex Shafer, a senior at West Linn High School, entered. He's 18 and he was on a mission.

Alex wasn't lost. He bought skeins to knit Christmas gifts for his mom, sister and girlfriend. This is no yarn. [more]

Sirdar to miss forecasts | Sharecast

Sirdar to miss forecasts
Sharecast - December 4 2006

Wool supplier Sirdar has warned that it will miss full year expectations as it said the downturn in demand announced some months ago turned out to be even worse than it first thought.

“It is now apparent that the downturn in demand for fashion hand knitting yarns has been more severe than was envisaged and that market conditions for residential floor coverings have become more difficult,” said Sirdar in a statement. [more]

Middleboro crafter spins joy, serenity into her day | The Enterprise

Middleboro crafter spins joy, serenity into her day
The Enterprise - December 3 2006

When Sheryl Amaral attended a 4-H fair 15 years ago, her purpose was to let her children show their sheep. But a new passion took hold.

“At the Barnstable Fair, I saw some people spinning and found myself drawn to it,” said the Middleboro mother of four. I would push my daughter in the stroller and come back to the spinning. Finally, one of the gentlemen spinning asked if I would like to try the drop spindle and the wheel. That was it. I was hooked.”

Today, Amaral owns more than 15 spinning wheels, operates a home-based business called Spin-a-Bit, and spends time teaching others how to spin, weave, and dye wool. [more]

'Felted' handbags are as fun to make as they are to use | Belleville News-Democrat

'Felted' handbags are as fun to make as they are to use
Belleville News-Democrat - December 1 2006

Nothing can keep Jeri Iwasczuk down.

While recuperating from spine surgery in 2005 and then a second battle with cancer in May, Jeri took the approach that if she had to sit still, she might as well knit wool handbags.

Knitting has been a part of her life since she was a girl.

"I knitted 300 pairs of cuffs for soldiers' coats to keep them warm during World War II," said Jeri, who is 77. On Wednesday, she and hubby Steve arrived with the results of her most recent creative jag: about 40 soft wool "felted" handbags in a riot of colors and styles. She will be selling them for $18 to $50 on Saturday and Dec. 9 at the Holiday Unique Boutique at the Art on the Square Gallery in downtown Belleville. It's a special two-weekend-only holiday sale of one-of-a-kind items created by area artists and including paintings, jewelry and sculpture.

Jeri's work as a "fiber artist" began on her 75th birthday, when a visit to Ohio to see her three daughters included a stop at a shop where they purchased a variety of wool yarn. A daughter gave her a handbag pattern, then Jeri began collecting her own.

"From there I just started having fun!" she said.

Jeri chose finicky wool for its natural qualities.

"Wool yarn is not easy to find," she said, explaining that most knitters today use synthetic fibers that are easier to work with, less expensive and don't shrink or change color when washed.

But Jeri says shrinkage and color changes of wool yarn is what "felting" is all about -- and what gives her handbags their dense, plush feel as the appearance of the knitted rows disappear and colors mutate to form unusual palettes. [more]

Alpacas find home in Waccabuc | The Lewisboro Ledger

Alpacas find home in Waccabuc
The Lewisboro Ledger - November 29 2006

They are friendly and gentle, with soft brown eyes and lush coats. They even come when called.

But they are not the family canines. Instead they are members of a herd of a dozen alpacas owned by Waccabuc resident Dee DelBello.

Ms. DelBello, with the support of her husband Al, is raising and breeding the animals on their 32-acre property on Mead Street. Ms. DelBello periodically shears their fleece and ships it to Peru, where it is woven by local women into knitwear that is warm, durable and as soft as cashmere.

When complete, the hand-knitted items are shipped back to America where they are marketed by Alpaca Brands, LLC under the label of Ideuma Creek Alpaca Knitwear, one of the lines carried by the company.

Alpaca Brands, LLC is a partnership between Ms. DelBello, another alpaca farmer from upstate New York, and a manufacturing and production manager from Florida. [more]

Stitch-n-Chat attendees knit together at local shop | The Stamford Times

Stitch-n-Chat attendees knit together at local shop
The Stamford Times - November 30 2006

As consumers across the nation storm shopping malls in search of the perfect gift —a variety of sweaters, mittens and blankets are assembled in a Stamford shop on High Ridge Road.

The presents are not bought — but made. Area knitters descend on Knit Together, a yarn and accessory shop which also offers classes, to perfect their craft.

A small group of women gathered Wednesday at the more than three-year-old store for Stitch-n-Chat, a group created so attendees can socialize while receiving project help from 30-year-veteran knitting teacher Pam Grushkin.

"You can come and it's social, it's a forgiving atmosphere," Grushkin said, explaining that customers bring in their creations to work on, "Whatever they want to bring to the table... literally, we're willing to help with it." [more]

Knit-orious | Sun Journal

Knit-orious
Sun Journal - November 29 2006

Three years ago, Jennifer Bayliss busted her knee. She then went on a family trip to Yosemite. It didn't seem to her like she was going to have much fun.

She decided to learn to knit. And no, she's not a grandma in her 50s.

Bayliss, now 31, got her mother-in-law to teach her to knit. "Then I taught my mom to knit, and that was sweet," she said. By February 2004, she formed Long Beach, Calif., Stitch 'n Bitch, an e-mail list that now has more than 150 subscribers.

Every Wednesday, 10 to 20 Long Beach SNB members meet at either a coffee shop or Banana Berry, a local yarn store (that's "LYS" in knit-speak).

In the past five years, knitting and crocheting has enjoyed a surge in popularity in North America and the United Kingdom. According to surveys commissioned by the Craft Yarn Council of America, a trade group whose members sell 85 percent of materials in the knitting industry, the number of knitters and crocheters in the 25-34 age category jumped 150 percent from 2002 to 2004, to hit 5.7 million women. [more]

Best Find: Lisbet's Knitting Cafe | The Philadelphia Inquirer

Best Find: Lisbet's Knitting Cafe
The Philadelphia Inquirer - November 26 2006

What it offers: Lisbet Christiansen has a reason for calling her Doylestown Borough establishment a cafe: "I wanted a place where women can bond, and I wanted to create a more homey feeling than a yarn shop."

To that end, coffee and tea always are brewing, and on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, customers are invited to sit and knit around the octagonal table in the front room. The gatherings are scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m.

The shop is in three rooms of a 19th-century Victorian. Skeins and balls of brightly colored yarn are stacked on shelves and in cubbies from floor to ceiling. In addition to traditional wool, the shop carries novelty yarns - some are textured and metallic, others made from soy silk and corn fiber. [more]

‘Knitting Cafes’ on the Rise in US | Zaman

‘Knitting Cafes’ on the Rise in US
Zaman - November 25 2006

Most of us used to spend the winter knitting a pullover, hat, or scarf when we were young. The days of taking no regard of brand-name clothes are returning in America. The number of knit cafes in Manhattan, which aren’t common in Turkey, is increasing.

A knit café on 14th street called “Knit New York” is among those attracting notice with its considerable number of customers. Chaleni Arett, the manager of the café, said the number of their customers has sharply increased, particularily since last year. “We have long been in this business. The knitted products have been of great interest recently, mostly due to fashion designers and cinema. For instance, people want the same scarf they see in a film, especially when they realize that what they want is actually a knitted item, they want to do it themselves and instead of doing it at home they come here and make knitting a lot more enjoyable for themselves while also making new friends.” Arett also noted that it was possible to discover new models or come up with new knitting techniques while sipping tea or coffee. She thinks knitted products will always be popular. [more]