Start your Labor Day weekend with our September Happy Stitching Hour on

Friday, September 3, from 5 to 7 pm

Join us for this social knitting time, meet some new people, re-connect with others, and just hang out. We’ll chat, knit, gossip, stitch, wind down after the long work week, and shop this month’s Happy Hour Sale! We will not be offering any knitting instructions or help, just a knitting visit…. The event is free. First come first serve. We have seats for approximately 15 people. Feel free to bring a snack or drinks to share!

September Happy Hour “Alpaca” Sale

On this Friday, September 3, for one day only, take 20% off all in-stock 100% alpaca or alpaca blend yarn!* Alpaca is softer and warmer than wool, and gives the finished garment a nice drape. Come explore our alpaca collection in the shop, feel the finished samples, and pick out your first fall project if you haven’t already!

* Sale prices apply to in-store purchases of in-stock items only and cannot be combined with other discounts.

A big box of Madelinetosh Tosh DK just arrived today! This exquisite hand-dyed DK/worsted weight yarn has been back ordered forever. Come see the colors before they are all gone! (You should have received a phone call if you placed a special order for this yarn).

Fresh from Cascade late last week are Cascade 128 Superwash, Magnum, and Eco Wool. 128 Superwash is new to Knitting Etc. this fall. Think this 100% superwash merino blend as the bulky weight (a 3.5 sts/in) version of the very popular Cascade 220 Superwash. So if you’ve been looking to make a thick hat, scarf, or mittens that can stand up to everyday wear, machine washing, and drying (tumble dry low), this is the yarn for you!

Magnum (a super bulky 100% wool) and Eco Wool (despite what the label says, it’s really a worsted weight 100% natural Peruvian wool) have graced our shop before. This is what Lynda Bogel, our knitter in residence and instructor for many of our classes, has to say about her experience with Eco Wool.

“Boy Meets Girl Hats” (plus more Spud & Chloe Outer patterns now available at Knitting Etc.)

From the same folks that brought us the luxurious Blue Sky Alpacas yarn, we received our first order of Spud & Chloe Outer in 8 colors yesterday. This superwash 65% wool, 35% organic cotton blend knits up to 2.5 sts/in and makes a warm, soft, yet rugged fabric perfect for winter hats and outer wear for both children and adults. When it gets muddy, throw it in the washing machine (cold wash) and dryer (tumble dry low) for easy cleaning!

“When I had my first baby I lost my mind,” says Adrienne Martini, author of the critically acclaimed Hillbilly Gothic. “Apart from high-grade pharmaceuticals, the only other thing that got me back on track was knitting.” Now, nearly six years later, the drugs are a distant memory but the yarn is still with her. In SWEATER QUEST: My Year of Knitting Dangerously (Free Press Trade Paperback Original; March 23, 2010; $15.00), Martini recounts her mission to knit the Holy Grail of sweaters while illuminating larger issues of perseverance and purpose, relationships and obsession.

As a working mother of two, Adrienne Martini’s life was full of moments that made her feel frustrated and helpless. Looking for a challenge whose execution she could control, one that would make her feel in charge, she decided to knit “Mary Tudor,” a famously rare and difficult pattern from an out-of-print book, in a discontinued yarn, by notorious genius designer Alice Starmore. The pattern’s mere mention can hush a roomful of experienced knitters, but as Martini explains, it “is a knitter’s Mount Everest. It is our Grail, our curse and our compulsion. I want one more than I can begin to tell you.”

Adrienne will be visiting Knitting Etc. on Saturday, July 31 from 1 to 3 pm to share her latest book with knitters in Ithaca. The event is free and open to the public. Please e-mail us if you plan to attend Adrienne’s talk and book signing so we can make sure there is enough room for everyone. We now have Sweater Quest in stock for those who would like to read the book before the event. Additional copies will also be available on July 31.