The Hook and Needle Nook

Hi Fiber Buddies! The weather outside is frightful, but knitting is so delightful! Cold weather is here, a big snow storm is on the way, and we have Christmas & cozy wool projects on our minds. We have extended our holiday specials, so now is the perfect time to stock up on supplies. We are not sure we will be able to be open tomorrow (11-30-2022) when the storm hits. Even though the shop may be closed, you can still do some hobby shopping online! We will send you your craft supplies as soon as we are able to get into the shop, and you can avoid going out in the cold. Current Specials The Sweater Special Malabrigo Rios, Soft Donegal, and Queensland Falkland Worsted are all 6 skeins get 1 skein free. For online shopping, use the code MRSQ on Rios, SDSQ on Soft Donegal, and FWSQ on Falkland Worsted.  For sweater project inspiration for these yarns click here. The Hand Dyed Yarn Special All of our locally indie dyed yarn is on special. All sale prices are as ...

Hello Fiber Buddies! We are Thanksgiving thankful for all of you and our wishes for a blessed Holiday Season are coming from our hearts to yours! We are so thankful for all of you that we wanted to offer you a Special on sweater quantities of select yarns. Come on down to the shop to enjoy this Special now through  through the day before Christmas, Saturday, December 24, 2022. Here is a list of the yarns that are on Special: Queensland Falkland Worsted - buy 6 skeins get 1 skein free with the code FWSQ Soft Donegal - buy 6 skeins get 1 skein free with the code SDSQ Malabrigo Rios - buy 6 skeins get 1 skein free with the code MRSQ We have come up with some pattern ideas for you that will make up into a beautiful sweater to keep you cozy and warm through this winter season.  If you would like help picking colors, or finding another pattern, give us a call or come by the shop! We would love to have you come in and squish these wonderful yarns as a part of your Holiday Cheer. G...

  Crocheting can be a lot of fun. Once you get the foundations down, you can really get going with a nice freeform yarn craft. Check out the video above to see how to start a crochet chain!  There is a little bit of a stigma that Crochet is just granny squares and hats, and you definitely can crochet both of those things. However, crochet is an extremely versatile fiber craft and you can get amazing results with a hook and yarn. You can shape things in extremely creative ways to make a beautiful sweater or shawl, or you can keep it traditional with something like an Afghan or baby blanket.  One of the best benefits of crochet is that you can finish projects very quickly. In addition, you can stop what you are making suddenly, if you decide you are at a place you would like to end. There is a lot to be said for crochet.  Let us know if you are interested in crochet classes, as we are starting to put them on the schedule. You never know. It might be your next favorite ...

  Colorwork in knitting creates an absolutely gorgeous product, but it can sometimes be a little bit intimidating. I know that I have worked a couple of hats and socks in my day in which the colorwork had me scratching my head.  Sometimes, it seemed like my fair isle colorwork would end up too tight, and then too loose because I was trying to overcorrect the tightness. Here are a couple of quick tips to help with tension in a Fair isle or intarsia project.  Tip #1: Use a needle one size bigger. This tip is super simple. Whatever needle size you are using on the non-colorwork parts of your project, switch to one size bigger for the colorwork portions. This makes it so you can knit to your regular tension, without worrying about the colorwork pulling as much.  Tip #2: Don't forget to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your stitches out As you are pulling one color behind another, you might find you have a tendency to scrunch the stitches on your right needle up. Employing this method means...

  When working a large afghan, blanket, sweater or poncho in crochet, you often have to change to a new ball of yarn. By nature, it seems that I always have to use multiple balls of yarn for large crochet projects.  Anyone who knows my knitting and crochet style, knows that I don't love the finishing work. The worst of it, to me, is the weaving in ends. I have always looked for ways to minimize how many ends I have to weave in.  The felting method is my absolute favorite method when it comes to animal fibers and non-superwash wools. I have even been able to get this method to work with some of them. So, I thought I would share this method with you, in hopes it helps. This method will work with changing between one color and the next OR if you run out of one ball of yarn and are adding another ball of the same color. Felting Method: When you come to about 5 inches away from your next ball change, take the end of your yarn and pull the plies apart.  Make sure that all ...

 By Tiffany Landres If you are anything at all like me, you would rather start a new project than weave in the ends of your current project. And, even if you aren't as much of an end weaving hater as I am, there are just those projects that seem to have far too many ends to manage. You may think that there is nothing you can do to make those ends disappear. Well, the truth is, you don't have to be Houdini to manage this feat of magic. You just need a little advice. There are two ways that I use to get rid of my ends when I have to change colors frequently; the felting method and the Russian joining method. Videos of both methods can be found below! The felting method really requires you to have some kind of feltable animal fiber. You may be able to sneak by with a superwash wool or alpaca (if you are willing to spend a little more time on the felting process), but this is best done with a non-superwash wool than any other fiber material. When you get to a color change, calcula...

Knitting and crocheting socks can be very fun, and with sock calmness just around the corner, we are gearing up for a great time! Sock Calmness is The Nook's way of getting to crochet and knit socks with our fiber buddies, without all the madness that comes with competitions such as Sock Madness. We wanted to get together in person (with masks, of course) and over Zoom, to make a staple accessory, socks. Fiber Buddies who would like to participate can learn more and sign up here . However, in essence, each person gets to pick their own pattern to work on, and gets a couple of perks and discounts on sock yarn. Since everyone gets to pick their own pattern, we thought we would lend a little hand with some great sock suggestions. From knit socks to crochet socks, and from easy to challenging, we have a couple of suggestions. Easy/Beginner Patterns Knit We will start here with two classic socks that are simple for beginning sock knitters: Ol' Reliable Top Down Socks by Tanis Laval...