Friday, May 21, 2010

Showroom Clearance Sale!

WHO: Sandrasingh.com

WHAT: Showroom Clearance Sale!

Save up to 80% on most everything In Stock!
Including Yarns, Knitting Needles, Magazines, Books, Paper Patterns & Jordana Paige Knitting Bags!

WHEN: Saturday & Sunday May 22-23, 2010 10am - 5pm

WHERE: I'm in Spicewood, TX outside of Austin, Email or call, 877/519-1693 for directions.

Door Prizes & Refreshments!

Can't make it out?
Order online, if something marked "In Stock" is not discounted call or email for sale price.
To see sales visit Specials

NOTE: Patterns sold as PDF downloads are excluded & sale prices are not retroactive.
Thank you, I hope to see you this weekend!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Introducing Shalimar Yarns

This time my search for luxurious yarns produced in the United States and hand dyed in exquisite colors led me to Frederick, Maryland the home of Shalimar Yarns.

Sprout

Shalimar's soft to the touch Zoe Sock is crafted of 22 micron 100% Superwash Australian Merino. Zoe has a delightful hand, fantastic springiness and an amazing loft. Its one of the softest merino sock yarns available. Shalimar Yarns hand dyes each hank in their signature "Stonewash" colors, semi solids that have beautiful highlights, lowlights and depth of shade. You only need one skein to knit or crochet a pair of adult size socks.
Peachy Keen
Damson

And Shalimar offers pattern support, Damson Heike was designed by Linda Minnick and is also knit in only one skein of Zoe Sock. This triangular shawlette is shaped to fit over your shoulders and stay in place without any tugging! The diamond lace pattern is accented with a lacey edging along the top that is knit onto the shawl as you go, not picked up and added later. This pattern is sold as a PDF download that is emailed to you after purchase with no shipping charges.

Meet Kristi of Shalimar Yarns: Kirsti is the owner and master hand dyer of Shalimar Yarns. Shalimar is an inspiration that began several years ago and stemmed from the desire to introduce the knitting and crocheting community to wonderful fibers and designs & everything it takes to create the perfect project. Shalimar is an extension of our need to explore colors, textures, and fibers through fine yarns. For whatever reason, colors say so much to people. Here at Shalimar Yarns we are constantly inspired by ideas that come with the changing seasons and the vivid and oftentimes subtle colors and hues associated with our rural farm life. We want to help inspire you onward in your knitting and crocheting adventure.

About Stonewash- Our Stonewash process guarantees a garment rich in subtle color variations without worrisome pooling or color blocks. Stonewash colorways emphasize plays in light and texture in the fiber to create rich and interesting results. Cables and textured stitch patterns will reproduce beautifully with our Stonewash colorways.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

All your Favorite malabrigo yarns are now 10-15% Off! And lots of new colors have just arrived in time for your Spring and Summer knitting!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Introducing the designs of HeartStrings FiberArts!

A lot is going on this May, besides my 5 Year Anniversary and the launch of my own yarn line, Sandrasingh.com Yarn, I'm very excited to tell you that the designs of Jackie E Schweitzer of HeartStrings FiberArts are now available on my website! HeartStrings FiberArts is best known for lace and beaded projects, but Jackie also offers you sock and garment projects.

She's a fiber enthusiast who loves all fibers equally, her projects range from decadent single skein projects done in qiviut to knits done in popular lace and sock yarns such as Lorna's Laces and Schaefer yarns. And her patterns are written to make yarn substitutions a breeze.

So relax and plan your next lace project! Lace lovers will adore her new scarves Crest of Waves Lace and Links of Diamonds, both projects are just right for summer knitting. Or knit one of her lacey shrugs, the Put on the Glitz or the beaded Hug-Me-Tight Fan Lace Jacket Wrap. If you love to bead Jackie offers many other beaded designs such as the White Lotus Stole, Beaded Lux Shoulder Shawl and many more.


Its always the right season for sock knitting and Jackie has two new patterns Glitz and Bead and the Erant Ankles Lace Socks. Her Basic Toe-to-Cuff Socks are wonderful for a beginner sock knitter while her Beaded Faux Argyle Socks are perfect for an experienced sock knitter looking for a new twist.
A special child will adore Jackie's new Technique Teddy Bear and you'll learn a new skill or two knitting it. There's also the precious Lace-edged Baby Blanket, another relaxing summer knit.

All HeartStrings' patterns are sold as PDF downloads that are emailed to you after purchase, meaning no shipping charges. So sit back, relax and browse today!

And my 5 Year Anniversary Celebration continues on Ravelry, stop by my group, Sandrasingh.com and enter my "Ravelry Projects & Stash Drawing VII." Any purchase, whether its now a finished object, work in progress, skein of yarn or a purchased pattern is eligible to be entered and 3 lucky winners will receive a skein of my new Sandrasingh.com Yarn!

Meet Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer: Spinning Straw Into Gold...Jackie E-S is a long-time knitting enthusiast who shares her love of knitting and experience through guild groups, classes, and networking with other fiber artists. In her past "real life" she was an information technology consultant.

Knitting has always been a relaxing and fulfilling counterpart to a sometimes stressful technical career. Jackie is also an avid spinner and often uses hand-spun yarns in her knitting projects, in addition to yarns commercially available.

Jackie E-S established HeartStrings to provide quality instruction to knitters who want their items to be special, as well as practical and enjoyable to knit. Knitters of all skill levels have been enjoying the knitting patterns designed and published by Jackie E-S / HeartStrings FiberArts.

With a background in music and mathematics, she enjoys capturing the melody of color/texture and harmonizing it with style and function. Jackie's career in computer systems analysis provided the analytical framework evident in her intricate, yet simple, designs now showcased in her growing roster of HeartStrings patterns.

All HeartStrings patterns incorporate master knitter techniques that minimize extra finishing steps. If you don't consider yourself a master at knitting, don't worry. These techniques are elegantly integrated into Jackie's designs and clearly explained in the pattern instructions. For less-experienced knitters, this is a way to learn new knitting skills. For more advanced knitters, you can benefit by seeing new ways to apply these techniques. You will find that HeartStrings patterns are a pleasure to knit, and the completed project will be a source of pride.

As a certified master knitter and teacher, Jackie continues to share her love of knitting and knowledge through design and publication of skill-building pattern instructions, and conducting workshops, programs and demonstrations. Her interest in the fiber arts extends beyond knitting and spinning to include weaving, dyeing and all needle arts. She also enjoys tournament contract bridge and music. Her most recent 'play' thing is a cajun (diatonic) accordion – She has a lot of practicing to do to get up to the tempo of the masters!

From Jackie — a brief commentary on individual creativity

"Rumplestiltskin wrote to me this week about "spinning straw into gold". Bob (aka Rumplestiltskin) turns out to be an admirer of my work and is an interesting intellectual as well. His statement about the role of individual creativity in an ever-increasingly technological society especially struck a chord …

Straw is just a metaphor for raw fibers, and gold is a metaphor for a finished commercial product … The craft of spinning by hand is rarely practiced in this country, I think, but it's not dead. Those who do it are really saying that technology will never entirely replace individual creativity."

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Summer Time Knitting Poll!

The results are in, check out the Poll on the side bar to see the most popular knits of the summer.

As you gear up for Summer take a moment to think about your knitting (Duh Sandra, what else would a knitter be thinking about anyway)! I would love to hear about your Summer plans.

Are you heading out of town with the family or friends and think you'll hit a few local knitting shops along the way? Or do you plan on attending an organized "Knitting Excursion?" Or perhaps a knitting festival is your final destination.

And of course what projects are you going to knit?

In my side bar I've put together a brief Poll. Of course its anonymous and I would love to hear from you.

I've also written this brief survey, simply cut and paste, and write your answer in the "Comments." Thank you for sharing!

Summer Knitting 2010 Survey

  1. If you have travel plans this Summer do they include knitting in any way?
  2. Will you take any fiber arts classes? (i.e. knit, crochet, spin, weave, yarn dyeing etc)
  3. What projects will you knit this summer?
  4. What new yarns or tools will you be looking to purchase this summer?
  5. During these hot months where do you most enjoy to sit and knit?
Thank you for taking a moment to answer my questions. I hope I'm able to help accommodate you with your plans and help you get the most out of your Summer Knitting.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Sandrasingh.com Yarn

I've been having a ball photographing my new yarn!
This is Sandrasingh.com Superwash Fingering in Sunny Day at the Beach.
This is Sandrasingh.com 3 Ply Merino Worsted in Purple, Lilac & Mauve.
This is more Superwash Fingering, Hostess Mints.
And this is my 1 Ply Merino Worsted in Black and (Turquoise) Blue. I'll be adding more pics next time I shoot. Visit my site to see the entire line, Sandrasingh.com Yarn.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

May 2010 Newsletter: Happy Anniversary to Sandrasingh.com

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Thank You for being a Sandrasingh.com customer, supporter and friend. This May I celebrate my 5th year in business and as I reflect I realize how fortunate I am. I have a loving, supportive family who make it possible for there to be a Sandrasingh.com and my biggest blessing is you, my customer.

In the current economy its more important than ever to get the most out of your dollar. From the start I've practiced my philosophy of offering you only the most luxurious yarns, designer patterns and the best tools available to make your fiber arts dreams become realities., while getting you the best value for your money. This commitment to you continues, I look forward to helping you with all your fiber arts needs for another five years


Introducing Sandrasingh.com Yarn
2009 was a busy year, Angela of Serendipitous Ewe hand painted her classic 100% superwash merino wool yarn

Fate Fingering in timeless colors exclusively for my website. And I worked with four of the industry's top knitwear designers to bring you an exclusive pattern line, Renee Leverington's Desert Rose Shawl, Chrissy Gardiner's Tangled Vine Socks, Kirsten Kapur's hat, scarf and mitten set Isabella and Jean Clement's Pamper Yourself Spa Collection.

For my 5th Anniversary I'm excited to introduce my very own yarn collection, Sandrasingh.com Yarn! From Uruguay I found the softest, most supple 100% merino wool yarn available and had it hand painted by artisans to create stunning, brilliantly saturated colors. I'm proud to offer you a Lace, Superwash Fingering, 1 Ply Merino Worsted and 3 Ply Merino Worsted, all put up in very generous skeins.

HTML clipboard Superwash Fingering in Cool Forest Stream

Discover your inner sock knitter with my Superwash Fingering. Sumptuously soft with a slight halo, you'll adore knitting and wearing the socks you create with it. But why stop at socks? Since its a superwash with 440 yards let your imagination run wild.
1 Ply Merino Worsted in Mediterranean Summer

HTML clipboard Soft and gentle to the touch your every garment will be a dream knit up in my 1 Ply Merino Worsted. With 215 yards per skein, one skein is all you need for a plush hat or cowl.
HTML clipboard Lace in Dessert Wine

You'll love creating with my Lace
weight yarn, each hank has 950 yards making your shawls, stoles and other lace projects a dream to knit, with fewer ends to weave!
HTML clipboard 3 Ply Merino Worsted in Electric Blue

And realize your creativity with my
3 Ply Merino Worsted, this velvety smooth yarn has a light, even twist! 3 Ply has an excellent stitch definition and the fabric you create will have a lovely drape.

HTML clipboardI appreciate you celebrating my Anniversary and for discovering my new yarn collection. Please join my Ravelry group, Sandrasingh.com where I'll be hosting more activities throughout the month of May to celebrate both of these very special events.