Welcome 2014!

Happy New Year!  What are your holiday traditions for greeting January 1?  Do you make resolutions?  Food plays a primary role in my family's celebration...black eyed peas, turnip greens, and cornbread grace our table every New Year's Day.  Black eyed peas for luck, turnip greens for prosperity, and cornbread because my Daddy thought you couldn't have the other two without cornbread!  We round out our meal with macaroni and cheese, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, and pecan pie.  Yum!!!  Of course, there is always lots of football watching and knitting/stitching by the fire, too. 

Have you heard the old saying that however you spend your time on New Year's Day will carry over into the new year?  I can't think of any way I'd rather spend my time than with some sort of needle in my hand and, today, I did just that.  I finished up a needlepoint Christmas ornament and I started a brand new stocking for my dear Rick.  I'm working from the Churchmouse At Home Basic Christmas Stockings pattern.  He chose the colors and design (the striped stocking on the left) and I'm quite pleased with how it's going, thus far.  Here's a picture for you...

    
We have lots of things planned for 2014, including terrific new classes, expanded web site shopping for our out of town friends, and, as always, a wonderful selection of the best needlework supplies available in today's marketplace.  We'll be taking our annual inventory through January 7, so the shop will be closed until January 8 when we'll re-open at 10:00 with our regular shop hours.  Thank you for your continued support of Serendipity Needleworks.  We look forward to being your local needlework shop this year!  We'd love to hear about your project plans for 2014...please share them with us in the comment box below.  

Pre-Inventory Sale

 
The new year is upon us and that means Inventory Time!  Help us reduce what we have to count and save some serious cash, to boot.  

Here's a list of everything that is 40% off today and tomorrow:

Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Chunky
Lorna's Laces Chunky in selected colors
Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande
Araucania Milodon
Debbie Bliss Como
Queensland Kathmandu Chunky
Opal Sock Yarn
Debbie Bliss Andes
Tahki Stacy Charles Ritratto
Mirasol Akapana
Mirasol Sulka
Mirasol Miski
Sublime Organic Merino Wool DK
Sublime Merino Wool DK
Louisa Harding Millais
Louisa Harding Thistle
Malabrigo Rasta
Noro Iro
Noro Kochoron
Caron Collection Impressions Thread
Caron Collection Soie Cristale Thread
YLI Shimmerblend Ribbon Floss
Gloriana Silk Ribbon (4mm & 7mm)

All in-stock cashmere yarn is 25% off.
All in-stock needlepoint canvases are 25% off.

We'll be open Friday and Saturday from 10:00 - 5:00, then we'll be closed through January 7 for inventory, so come on down and get your "stitch fix" for the New Year! 

Coco has been reeeaaaallllly busy!

Our Countdown to Christmas continues...Coco has added Impressions and Soie Cristale needlepoint fibers by The Caron Collection to our sale.  Now 20% off through the holidays, these luxurious threads are a favorite of stitchers everywhere.

Como, by Debbie Bliss, is one of our favorite super chunky yarns...and it's super soft, made of merino wool and cashmere.  We have a terrific pattern for a last minute cowl that you can knit up in a jiffy.  Really - I made one in one evening while watching television.  The pattern is free with your yarn purchase - a holiday happy from us to you.  (Oh, and it's 20% off, too!)

Love, love, love this yarn - it's Debbie Bliss' Luxury Tweed Chunky.  Coco added it to our Countdown today, making it 20% off, like all of the other goodies she's chosen this month.  The rich colors would make a luscious throw, don't you think?


Keep an eye out here for more additions to the Countdown...and feel free to leave us a comment if you have a question.  We'll be glad to help!       

The countdown continues...

Coco has added more items to the Countdown to Christmas sale!  Here she is all snuggled up in Plymouth's Baby Alpaca Grande, a luxuriously soft chunky-weight 100% alpaca yarn.  Available in both solid and hand painted colors, this yummy yarn is perfect for last minute holiday gift knitting and, now, it's on sale for 20% off the regular price.  Two skeins is all you need for knitting up a cozy cowl or cuddly scarf...and we have a free pattern for you when you purchase this yarn.
 

Especially for our needlepoint friends, Coco added all of Raymond Crawford Designs' canvases to the sale.  20% off now through Christmas, too, these wonderfully whimsical canvases are a delight to stitch.  There's a photo album on our Facebook page, if you'd like to see what's available.

Continue to keep an eye out here for more additions to the sale and leave us a comment if you have any questions.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...  

Countdown to Christmas!

Meet Coco, the Serendipity Needleworks Elf.  Coco has all kinds of terrific surprises for holiday savings in store for you now through the end of 2013.  Between now and Christmas, Coco will select a new item each day that will be added to our sale!  You'll be able to choose from a variety of merchandise at 20% off it's regular price.  Both yarn and needlepoint canvases will be included in the sale, so keep an eye out here for details.  Why, just today, she decided that oodles and oodles of Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Bulky and Lorna's Laces Swirl Chunky should be part of our Countdown to Christmas sale.  Take a peek at these luscious yarns below...

 Let us know if you have any questions...leave us a comment and we'll gladly get back with you! 

We're baa-aa-ack...

Hi and Happy December!  Welcome to our blog - where you can read all about Serendipity Needleworks and the latest happenings at the shop.  Bookmark this page, sign up to receive email updates of new posts, and follow our feed to be sure that you don't miss a thing! 

Our Serendipity Circle of Friends is such a wonderful community and we warmly invite you to join all of the fun!  You can keep up with us - wherever you call home - by joining our Ravelry group, liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and taking a peek at our boards on Pinterest.  We're looking forward to getting to know you.  Thank you for dropping by. 

(Oh...I almost forgot!  Be sure and check back here on Thursday for details about our 20 Days til Christmas Countdown!)


    

Summertime Swatching

Swatching is as much a part of knitting as the heat is a part of summer. Don't put your needles and hooks down just because the mercury is rising - Summer is a great time to swatch and practice your knitting skills! Think of them as the ultimate summer project as they are relatively quick and portable and you can knit without being under a pile of material. Swatches provide the opportunity to get chummy with your yarn, needles, and pattern to ensure all involved will get along! They are especially important if you are knitting an item where fit will matter, you should always take the time to make a swatch.

When you have knit your swatch, take the time to treat it as you will the final garment. Give it a bath and let it dry! This will ensure an accurate stitch count. Don't fret if your gauge does not match the pattern! Take a break, stretch, maybe get a snack, and come back to the yarn with a different set of needles. If you have too many stitches per inch, try it again with a larger needle size. Work with a smaller needle size if you find you have too few stitches per inch.  After your swatch has served its purpose give it another use! Several could be joined together into a larger piece for yarn bombing! Or maybe your favorite little one would like it as an accessory for a doll house? We spotted this one on Pinterest: pop the swatch into an embroidery hoop as wall art for your own home!  Summer is also a great time to work on ornaments and get a jump on your holiday decorations and gifts! Don't forget, you have the opportunity to have one of your ornaments finished for free! You have a little less than one week to finish up your ornaments and bring them in to the shop. We will select one winner at random from all the ornaments we have received to get the finishing done for free. The ornaments shown above were finished this summer. The ones above were stitched by Mary Alice; the ones below were stitched by Arvid.  Aren't they lovely?  Whether you choose to swatch or to stitch, we hope you are having a great Summer! We would love to hear about your summer projects - leave us a comment or stop by our Facebook page or Ravelry group!