Rhichard Devrieze - Indie dyer, coming to KnitTraders

Mark your calendars everyone - Saturday March 5th from 1-4pm, 

 

is very proud to welcome Rhichard Devrieze, the creative mind behind these beautiful yarns. 

Fibre artist and master dyer, Rhichard Devrieze began his career about twenty-five years ago, when he first became interested in hand-spinning yarn and importing and selling fleeces of foreign breeds of sheep.  When he and his partner purchased a flock of merino sheep, Rhichard took up hand-weaving and got into the production of one-of-a-kind coats, jackets, vests, scarves, mitts, and twice-woven rugs, including the hand-dyeing of some of the yarns used in these creations.  That lead to his association with Koigu, quickly becoming their principal dyer.

In 2011, Rhichard and his partner started their own company so that Rhichard could pursue his passion for creating new colourways using carefully selected yarns produced by the best mills, working with designers keen to use his products, and engaging with knitters directly through social media sites and visits to stores carrying his yarns.  

At KnitTraders, we regularly carry Rhichard's Peppino, pictured above in the Stippled colours. 

 But for this special event, he will be bringing with him a selection of colourways in all 3 lines of the Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze. There will be mini-skeins for customers to knit up swatches, as well as  yarn that can be sold exclusively during this special event. In addition, we will get to see sample garments and projects from these magnificent yarns, and patterns will also be available.

 Link to Rhichard's website to see more of the 3 featured yarns:

 Peppino (superwashed merino yarn, fingering weight, in 225 yard skeins),sturdy enough for magnificent socks.

Phantom (superwashed, superfine merino yarn, fingering weight, in 225 yard skeins) for stunning shawls and scarves

Fynn (superwashed merino yarn, worsted weight, in 175 yard skeins) for everything that you can imagine in a medium weight yarn.

 Browse through the 3 magnificent dye styles available in each of these yarns:

The Semi Solids

The Stipples

The Variegated

Let your fingers and your digital device do the prep work to take part in this special event.

1. Check out and choose your favourite yarns and colourways from the website.

2. Email KnitTraders (shop@knittraders.com) to RSVP.

3. Give us some idea of what yarns and colourways you would like Rhichard to bring for us to sample. 

4. If you know what yarns you would like to purchase in advance, please email us your order and we'll be sure to have Rhichard put some aside to bring to you.

BRING YOUR NEEDLES AND YOUR SENSE OF FUN and join us for an afternoon of knitting, crochet and yarn tasting.    

Further Results of the Working Bee - Jan 23rd, 2016

I continue to be amazed at the donations that we are receiving every day. About 10 days ago a lady brought in a large bag of knitted items that she said was “just from a group of knitters”. When we got to sort it on Saturday, we discovered over 100 pairs of mittens of all different children’s sizes plus a huge assortment of other knitted goods. Another women had purchased one of our Thrum Mitten Kits and kindly brought the completed mittens in last week for the donation basket. The batch of donations that we sorted on the weekend even included blankets received from a wonderful group of afghan crocheters in Sedona, Arizona, going to the extra effort and expense to ship them to us here in Canada. You are all wonderful.
When I was presenting our work to the meeting of Private Sponsor Refugee Groups a couple of weeks ago, I boldly (yet with fingers crossed) announced that we were aiming to receive 1 000 donations of handcrafted accessories and blankets to offer the Syrian refugees coming to Kingston. At the time it seemed hard to comprehend what 1000 donations could look like, and where would they all come from?
Well with a drum roll, I’m here to announce that as of Saturday’s count we have 601 articles donated and ready for distribution. And that does not yet include more that we know will be arriving from Lindsay ON later in the week, and another batch from NY, nor does it count the 30 or so blankets that we didn’t have time to finish processing on Saturday. All this to say that it’s a safe bet that we will be needing another sorting day in a couple of weeks and that we are very likely to reach our goal of 1 000 donations, and beyond.
Next Sorting Get Together is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6th from 1-3pm but please remember to RSVP to avoid disappointment as we can only take so many willing hands.
 THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED.

Donations pouring in...Keep 'em coming

Just an update to let you know how things are going for the  Kingston Stitches for Syrians campaign.
We've had an unbelievable response from the local community, which was to be expected as the Kingston area crafters really do seem to step up to support any of the causes that we've shared with them in the past. But more suprisingly,  via internet connections, we will also be receiving donations from 4 American crafting groups and a group from Lindsay ON.

Last week we had a visit from Mandy Marciniak from the Kingston Heritage newspaper and she wrote an excellent article about the project. We're hoping that this spreads the word even more to help us meet our target of 1 000 hand knitted items that we can hand over to the folks at the Kingston Immigration Partnership who are coordinating donations.

Hats for children and adults seem to be the most popular donations but we still need a good number of all articles: mitts, scarves and neck warmers, socks and slippers, Izzy dolls, sweaters and blankets.

Last Saturday we had our first of 2 (or maybe 3) working Bees to label and package the knitted donations we've received. We had 4 super workers (I would never call them drones) who helped out with sorting and bagging. Thanks a million to Gail, Cheryl, Amelia and her Mom (sorry, didn’t get your name).
We processed and bagged a total of 242 donations  with another 22 blankets left to go with the next group.  In fact the system and the workers who made it happen were so efficient that we decided that it would best to move the next Working Bee until Sat. Jan. 23rd with another one in early Feb. if necessary.
If you wish to join us, please RSVP as more than 5 people working around the tables would be cumbersome. Keep those donations coming in.
We are hoping to have the bulk of the donations received by the end of January but will certainly continue to accept until the end of February (with an extra day this year too!)
We’ll be dropping off our first load on Wednesday, Jan. 13th when we  meet with the Kingston Immigration Partnership. We're hoping to have a more precise idea if anything else is required after that. We’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for all the support so far. 
Anne (for Jean and Sally, too) 

KINGSTON STITCHES FOR SYRIANS

 FLASH NEWS BULLETIN about upcoming events

For the next 3 Saturdays in January, KnitTraders will be hosting a good old fashioned Tea and Working Bee, on Jan. 9th, 16th and 23rd from 1-3pm
ALL ARE WELCOME to share a cuppa and goodies and get help finishing up your projects to be donated to Kingston Stitches for Syrians, or assist us in sorting, labeling and packaging the donations that we’ve already received.
RSVP to KnitTraders 613 384 3951 or shop @ knittraders dot com

 

This is Omar (6) and one of his little sisters, Noor (8 months) who are among the lucky family who are being sponsored by the Four Rivers Presbytery Chapter of Save A Family From Syria.

According to the report from CBC, the Kingston area is getting ready to receive 600 refugees from Syria within the next few months who will all need to be welcomed with warm clothes and well as warm intentions. Several crafting businesses and organizations in our general area are pleased to be participating in the KINGSTON STITCHES FOR SYRIANS campaign to collect hats, mitts, scarves and neck warmers, socks/slippers, toys and blankets to offer these newest members of our community.

We are calling all knitters, crocheters, weavers, and sewers who would like to contribute to this collection to read the following guidelines carefully to make the most efficient use of resources during this challenging yet extraordinarily valuable effort.

We ask that all donations be new and have some handmade touch to them.

Although Syrians practice a variety of religions, the dominant religion is Muslim/Islam so please avoid imagery on clothing.

Fiber requirements:
Hats, cowls & mittens: blends of wool and acrylic are best with more wool if possible.
Blankets: ideally machine washable yarns.
Toys & Slippers: machine washable yarns, please!

Please attach a completed donation tag noting the garment type, and age/size (adult, teen, child, infant). You may wish to attach a ball band from your yarn stating fibre content and washing instructions, or you can write these on the tag. Also include your first name only and a general message  of welcome if you wish.

Place your donation in a clear ziploc bag with the donation tag visible for easy sorting and distribution.

Drop your donation off at KnitTraders 725 Gardiners Rd. or at Minotaur Games and Gifts at 78 Princess. Other drop off points in the area are Rosa’s Cafe in Bath and at The Wool Shed, Topsy Farms on Amherst Island

Share pictures and comments about your donation at the 1000 Stitches for Syria Ravelry Group page (on the Kingston thread), or on our Ravelry Group page.

Please share this project with friends and neighbours of the crafting persuasion who would like to participate. Remember, no donation is too small or too big, whether it's a small beginners' scarf or a family sized afghan - we need them all.
For more information please email kingstonstitches2015@gmail.com

Indie Dyers - Glorious Fingering weight yarns.

We're thrilled to feature the Peppino line from the Yarns of Rhichard Devrieze in his signature Stipple effect. This yarn is a stunning 100% merino that is so firmly spun as to make it sturdy enough for socks, but soft and supple enough for all your fingering lace projects.

And for those who appreciate true decadence, we have Couleurs Mouton from Quebec, with the Kargil line composed of 80% fine merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon. This sockette that we've made in the Souris des Laurentides (Laurentian Mouse) colourway will absolutely seduce you.
Read the interview with Daniele on the ACCROCHET blog.

Kingston SpinMania 2015

Kingston SpinMania 2015

Sponsored by KHWS and 

 Mon. October 5th - Sun. October 11th

SpinMania is an event where handspinners compete in a friendly challenge to see who can spin the most yarn in a week!

Here's how it works: 

-Spinners register beginning September 1st, 2015.

-Registration forms available via email from Stacey or Anne

or at through Kingston Handloom Weavers and Spinners Guild 

or at KnitTraders at 725 Gardiners Rd.

-Return registration and a $10 fee to either of the above locations on or before Sat. October 3rd.

-Spinning starts October 5th at 12:00am and continues until October 11th at 11:59pm.

-Record as you go - We are on the honour system.

-Post yardage and pictures to KnitTraders Ravelry Group or email your name and yardage to either Stacey or Anne

-Post to our Facebook pages for fun! KHWS and KnitTraders. 

We want to see pics of your lovely yarn. 

(Technical details re plying: We will give you credit for plying. This is totally optional - you don't have to ply your yarn at all. Plying is spinning.

If you do choose to ply this is how you can calculate the yardage for which you can claim credit: [plied yardage] + [plied yardage x # of plies] = total number of spun yards. 

Chain or Navajo ply is a 3 ply yarn. )

Why should you participate?

-Raise awareness of handspinning in Kingston, the yarn universe and beyond.

-Decrease your fibre stash...make room for more!

-Push past your fears: The more yarn you spin, the better spinner you will become! Try something NEW!

-It's fun!  Fibre Prizes! and you will be contributing to a good cause. 

(All proceeds after prizes will be donated to a local charity.)

All About Socks

A GREAT NEW BATCH OF OPAL HAS ARRIVED

including some of the glitter ones, and a good selection of their beautiful solid colours as well.
Grab it while you can as it is the last big order that we'll be receiving until mid summer.

And for you saddened fans of Cascade FIXATION cotton sock yarn with elastic which hasn't been easily available for some time, we're thrilled to offer you a great selection of colours on Special Purchase for just $3.50/ball.
It really is a unique sock yarn that works beautifully for other projects as well that require the firmness of the cotton and elastic blend. Link to the Cascade site for their free patterns for FIXATION

And for those of you who are not yet part of the ranks of the confident (and sometimes addicted) sock knitters, don't miss your last chance before the summer. If you can knit and purl with confidence, you can learn all the skills that you need to make socks during this 5 hour class.
There are still a few spots left for the ever popular Sock In A Day class at KnitTraders  on Saturday, May 23rd.  And if you're a sock knitter who would like to increase your confidence and skill level, there is much for you to gain from this intensive learning experience.

Link to our class Page for further details on registration.