Dear Friends of The Blue Purl,
In 1964, “Fiddler on the Roof” hit Broadway and then stayed there for a decade, setting a record for the longest-running show in history.
What was it that brought audiences to see a play about a father trying to preserve his family’s Jewish traditions in the face of changing times? One song offered a clue:
“Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as... as a fiddler on the roof!”
The fiddler, struggling to eke out a tune on a pitched roof, represented uncertain times.
Tradition served as a kind of ballast.
That was a long windup to a simple message: Our craft is our tradition, our ballast.
We don’t need to tell you how uncertain these times are. Forget politics; forget the pandemic; right now it all feels just so fragile. In a world of uncertainty, our craft's constancy brings calm in repetition of stitches while patterns gather our focus to the immediacy before us.
So, we return to things time tested. Some may call them old, as if that is bad. To us, old means experienced. It means refined. Perfected.
What's old is new again may be a cliché. But how true it is, how relevant our crafts have become in our lives right now.
Even popular trends often have their roots in the tried-and-true. We see it in our world, now, too. Nordic sweater yokes are huge. So are Granny Squares.
We do, admittedly, stumble for a moment when it comes to the dickey. It is a tough one, like the leisure suit. Yes, it was a fashion joke, but it may just serve as the footing for that fiddler if it makes you smile, or better, if it keeps you warm and stylin'. And we love them here at The Blue Purl - wear it and own it!
Put in the hands of a good designer with luscious yarn - like Woolfolk - even the dickey can have its moment and prove, once again, that what’s old is new again.
Let’s find our footing, together. What better way to steady ourselves than to focus on our craft.
Tradition!
connect + create
Patty, Wendy & TBP Team
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Top Row: Image from a 1940's knittiing magazine for the troops - love the headphone slits in the balaclava. Center, a Barbie pattern from the 1960's and a picture from Elizabeth Zimmerman's book Knitting Around of the Dickey von Beethoven.
Bottom Row: Lind, and Grete both from the Woolfolk Design Team great in Woolfolk Luft and would also be lovely in Lang Luna. Stripey brioche, Stephen West's Askews Me Dickey super fun to knit and wear.
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Fall hours: Tue. -Fri. 11-4
Saturday 11-3 - extended...
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4 customers at a time are allowed in the shop for half hour shopping.
- Face masks MUST be worn.
- Phone/facetime/email sales and curbside pickup will continue
- Please limit your in-person visit to 30 minutes when we have others waiting.
- We have 30 min scheduled appointments for shopping. Call us at 973-377-5648 for a scheduled appointment.
- We can NOT offer knitting help/fixing mistakes in the shop at this time due to social distancing guidelines. Thank you for understanding. Call us and we'll try to arrange for help.
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BROOKLYN TWEED Pop-Up Shop |
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Our Brooklyn Tweed classes are starting to fill up. We've kept them intentionally small so that Keri & Liz can spend enough time helping the students. While most of the classes start in January, we will close out registration of these classes when our Brooklyn Tweed Pop-Up ends. Call us at 973-377-564 or email - [email protected]
These classes are planned around this wonderful rustic, American sourced & dyed yarn. We have 7 classes at various levels of experience from sweaters to accessories that show off the beauty of Brooklyn Tweed. One sweater class (Weekender Light) starts in November, while the rest will kick off our Winter session in January. The classes are geared towards using Brooklyn Tweed yarn purchased during our Pop-Up. If you plan to sign up for these classes, please purchase or place your special order for the quantities & color needed during our Pop-Up. Once the Pop-Up ends, we can no longer accept orders, even if you signed up for a class.
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Classes Pictured: The Weekender Light, Svenson, Voe Hat, Winter Orchard Cowl |
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The Weekender Light by Andrea Mowry
Dates & Zoom Time: 4 Wednesday mornings - 9:30 to 11am
Nov. 11, Dec. 16, Jan. 6, Jan. 13
Teacher: Liz Braverman
Skill Level: Intermediate
Cost:$60 + supplies from the Blue Purl
This class is spaced apart to give everyone a lot of knit time, and holiday time.
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Svenson by Jared Flood
Dates & Zoom Time: 5 Saturday mornings - 9:00 to 10:30am
Jan. 9, 30 Feb.13, 27, March 13
Teacher: Keri Samuels
Skill Level: Experienced (Advanced) - this is NOT a first sweater project or a first cables project.
Cost: $75 + supplies from the Blue Purl
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Voe Hat by Gudrun Johnston
Dates & Zoom Time: 3 Thursday afternoons - 4:15 to 5:45 PM
Jan. 7,14, 28
Teacher: Keri Samuels
Skill Level: Intermediate
Cost: $35 + supplies from the Blue Purl
This beautiful colorwork hat is inspired by the yoke of a pullover. With this three color hat you'll be working from a chart and there is a short and long version.
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Winter Orchard Cowl by Laura Aylor
Dates & Zoom Time: 3 Friday Mornings - 9-10:30 AM
Jan. 15,22, 29
Teacher: Keri Samuels
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
Cost: $35 + supplies from the Blue Purl
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Creel Cowl by Anne Hanson
Dates & Zoom Time: 3 Saturday Mornings - 9-10:30 AM
Jan. 16, 23, Feb. 6
Teacher: Keri Samuels
Skill Level: Beginner - need to know how to knit & purl
Cost: $35 + supplies from the Blue Purl
Have you just learned how to cast on, knit and purl? If yes, then this is a great project for you!
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Apart Together Socks by Dawn Henderson
Dates & Time: 4 Wednesday mornings - 10-11 AM
Jan. 20, 27 Feb. 3,10
Teacher: Liz Braverman
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
Cost: $50 + supplies from the Blue Purl
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Ashby by Leila Raven
Dates & Zoom Time: 3 Fridays - Jan. 22, Feb. 12 & 26 4:15-5:45 PM
Teacher: Liz Braverman
Skill Level: Intermediate (charts, short rows, picking up stitches)
Cost: $35 + supplies from the Blue Purl.
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Woolfolk Fall 2020 Trunk show has arrived and we can't decide which we love more. It's hard to tell how amazing these pieces are from pictures. Once you see them in person, you won't be able to stop thinking about which project to get on your needles.
- The Hesselo Wrap, knit in TOV, is a masterpiece of cables. If there were a museum of knitting, (field trip for sure), we'd find this piece there. Worked as a flat wrap/scarf, there is no shaping, making this more approachable for the rest of us.
- The Svelmo hat, knit in Tynd, comes in 3 sizes, uses just 2 skeins of Tynd and basic cabling.
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Asko is an adorable cropped sweater with beautiful texture. Knit in TOV DK the sweater length can be adjusted from the bottom up before the dropped sleeves.
- The Veno pullover, knit in TOV, is a modern take on the cabled sweater. Each sleeve features a different cable while the body has an asymmetric pattern. The sweater is knit in pieces to be seamed and the pattern has men's and women's sizing.
- The Faeno sweater is a cloud of soft understated texture. Knit in Far, top down in one piece (no seaming!), the length can be adjusted to personal taste.
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Eno, an oversized cardigan knit in TOV, is worked from the bottom up in pieces. The cables are accented by eyelets & garter ridges, making the texture pop out.
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Tuno is a unisex turtleneck worked in Far with large soft cables all over. The back is slightly longer than the front allowing for comfy side vents around the hip area.
We encourage you to check these beauties out in person. The pictures do not do justice to the designs.
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Wendy made this Vermonter by Abi Gregorio "in a heartbeat." She used a size US11 needle and 1 ball of Berroco Coco and had a kids' hat in no time. We have medium sized pom poms in fun colors, perfect for smaller hats. Thanks to Emily for modeling :)
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Impress your family, friends & neighbors. Let them think you did all this hard work striping and adding colors for a baby gift. All you need is 1 ball of Ambiente and this simple free pattern to make the Zippy hat. You can find the yarn in store or online. The pattern can be found in Ravelry here. |
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How could we not talk about a hat with that name? Using 1 skein of Malabrigo Rasta or Be Wool and a US13 & 15 needle, you can have a hat in a few hours. The Madison Beanie is a beginner friendly pattern using basic knit and purl stitches. Of course, we had to match up some Rasta and Be Wool with our cute pom poms. Yarn is available online or in store. Pom poms are only available in store. |
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Holiday Cheer Song and Dance |
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Our Picks: Holiday Cheer bundle (red & green) pairs well with WildThyme (150g skein being shipped) Earth Ivy, Hyland Fleece and Grey Harbor. Holiday Frost pairs well with Grey Harbor, Driftwood and October Sky. |
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Botanic Shawl by Stephen West is that great beginner level shawl that makes you look like a color expert with a finished object.
"This triangular shawl is knit sideways starting with a tiny corner increasing to the border. Stripes and slipped stitches decorate the linear lines of the fabric. One solid yarn combined with one self-striping yarn produce an exciting project that’s easy to knit and fascinating to watch the colors unfold. This pattern is a great beginner shawl project with simple stitches. You can stop early for a smaller shawl or knit more repeats for a larger shawl."
We created a limited number of color combos in gorgeous hand dyed yarn for the shop. Ask us about these on your next visit or call us 973-377-5648 to purchase!
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Baah La Jolla November 2020 color of the month is here. This color way is fall foliage wrapped up in a skein. We have a limited amount of this color of the month available online or in the shop. |
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Casapinka Glamping Blanket KAL |
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You still have time to join the nesting fun. Casapinka's blanket knit-along starts November 6th. Her pattern is now available. Not naming names, but some of us have started...and reports that the pattern is addictively fun and a wonderful distraction- just in case some of us need that. We won't post any spoilers here until the official start date.
In conjunction with Berroco Yarns, Casapinka has set up kits in all 5 sizes in Berroco Vintage Chunky yarn. We have some of these kits available in the shop but Berroco is also offering drop shipping for all these kits in all the sizes.
How does drop shipping work? You come in the store, pick out one of the prepackaged kits available through Berroco, we order on your behalf & Berroco will ship directly to your address! Just specify that you're ordering for the drop ship program.
UPDATE- Berroco is backordered in several colors of their kits for drop shipping. We have plenty of colors in the shop to create your own combo. Let one of our staff help you create your own signature color combination and join the KAL fun.
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Our newest shop sample is the Tincture Hat by Andrea Mowry. We chose Katia Concept Silk Tweed for our sample to complement this elegant herringbone pattern. The Silk Tweed is a rustic tweedy textured blend of silk and mohair that gives wonderful drape from the silk but holds shape & warmth from the mohair.
If you've never tried color work, mosaic knitting is your gateway. It is incredibly easy color work since it only uses 1 color per row. You simply slip stitches of the background color while you work with 1 strand of yarn. You will be surprised by the result from this easy technique.
Our 2-color kits for the Tincture hat are available both online and in the shop in a variety of color options. We found that one kit could get 2 hats if you switch your main color/contrast color combo, depending on your gauge. The Tincture pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry. |
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We're taking preorders now for Pompom Winter 2020. This is special issue edited by designer Stephen West (ahhh- he's all over this newsletter!) & dyer Aimée Gille of La Bien Aimee in Paris. Both are known for their beautiful creations in colors and textures. This issue is full of graphic colors and patterns to brighten up the long winter night. Call us at 973-377-564 or email - [email protected] to order. |
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Amirisu Fall/Winter 2020 is available for pre-order in the shop or in the shop on Friday. We are all over it - peeking through it - there are so many wonderful projects and articles!
Where to begin...there's an amazing article on Kristin Ford who is the founder of Woolfolk (her grandmothers last name!) You know we LOVE our Woolfolk -the article traces the source of the yarn and how Kristin started the company and works with Ovis 21, a co-op in Patagonia.
The patterns pictured below are done in yarns we carry in the shop! There are so many more not pictured. Seriously worth the investment!
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Fair Island Weekend is being shipped... |
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We just received notice that Laine's Fair Isle Weekend by MJ Mucklestone is being shipped today! Those who have pre-ordered will get a ring. And you can also pre-order online - or call us at 973-377-564 or email - [email protected] to order. |
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Don't forget, we are collection Hats for the Homeless through mid-November. Kathy (part of our knitting community) is spearheading this project. All hats (and scarves) will be distributed to Nourish New Jersey of Morristown, formerly The Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center. Use up that stash to help your community. |
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Keri's Baby Doll Clothes Are in! |
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Keri's hand sewn/knit doll clothes are here for the holidays and they are INSANE! They fit American Girl size dolls. There's about 20+ unique outfits |
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A practical Dickey pattern |
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Marilyn R. came in to find a button for her Encore 1530 "Kimono" made in Cascade 220. It looks perfect Marilyn! Thanks for sharing. |
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Espace Tricot's Fleur shawl design is awesome and Dee has done an amazing job knitting it! I love the Lichen and Lace Faded Rose color with the white bobbles in Koigu. You have to wear this in Dee - it's gorgeous! |
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Marissa crocheted Rocco his first Halloween costume! Rocky of course :) She learned arigurumi on YouTube to make the gloves. Love it Marissa! Can't wait till next year! |
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Priti whipped up h er Olympic Inspiration hat with Berocco Coco. Named for the snowboarder Chloe Kim’s Gold medal win. This cute fast knitting hat is super easy and free. Great also with Rasta. Pretty Priti! - sorry :)
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Marilyn H made the Plucky Knitter's Vignola with Kelbourne Scout. This is a fun textured pattern with a traditional triangle shape. It's beautiful Marilyn! |
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Paul use the simple Rib and roll pattern we give out with purchase and designed his own cute little baby hat. He used Lang Cashmerino for Babies. We think you have a gift for this Paul! Keep going!! |
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