Yarn Crawl LA County 2013

While you are out supporting your favorite local yarn shops this weekend during the L.A. Yarn Crawl, you have the opportunity to see more Anzula than ever!

The LA Yarn Crawl website offers a lot of information about each shop, including information about parking and locations to eat close to each shop. There's a handy Google map for planning your weekend, with the locations of the shops, here. Also check out the first annual photo contest! Below is a list of our L.A. shops and their Anzula trunk show yarns.

A Major Knitwork in Van Nuys carries Anzula, and they will have our collector's buttons for the Crawl. They are open Friday 9-7; Saturday 9-8; and Sunday 10-6. They have a lot of activities planned for the weekend including karate demonstrations and an epic yarn bombing project!

Knit Culture Studio in L.A. will be hosting Dreamy and For Better or Worsted in their Anzula trunk show, and they will also have our collector's buttons. They are open Friday 10-7; Saturday 10-8; and Sunday 10-6. They will also be hosting a Slipped Stitch Studios trunk show this weekend, so you can pick up the perfect bag for your new Anzula skeins. On Sunday they are wrapping up the Crawl with a cupcake party!

Unwind in Burbank will have especially long hours all weekend for your shopping convenience. They will also have an Anzula trunk show featuring Cloud and Cricket as well as our collector's buttons. They will be open Friday 10-10; Saturday 10-10; and Sunday 10-7. They have a lot of fun things planned so check out their schedule on the Yarn Crawl website.

Wildfiber in Santa Monica will play host to a trunk show trifecta of our most unique yarns - Breeze, Mermaid and Haiku. They will be open Friday - Sunday 10-6. Get there early for the tape measure giveaway and to get one of our collector's buttons!

Yarnover Truck will be parked in several different locations over the weekend. They have a Squishy trunk show, as well as the exclusive colorway Minty Unicorn that's only available on the truck. They are also the only brick-and-mortar retailer for the Tempest Shawlette pattern by Tabetha Hedrick, so the Squishy trunk show is a great opportunity to pick up the yarn to go with this pattern. They will also have our collector's buttons.

On Friday the Yarnover Truck will be parked at Alamitos Bay Yarn Co. in Long Beach from 10 am to 7 pm. On Saturday you can find them at Douglas Park at 25th and Wilshire in Santa Monica from 10 am to 8 pm. Other retail and food trucks will also be there, so it might be a great stop to fuel up before a long afternoon of yarn shopping. On Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm the truck will be at Colors 91711 in Claremont.

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Fit to Flatter with Amy Herzog

Knitting a sweater is an undertaking for any knitter, no matter your skill level. It takes a significant investment of time and yarn, and it can be incredibly satisfying if the right pattern and size are chosen. It can also be a disappointment if you are knitting along and realize that the sweater isn't going to fit, or isn't going to look the way you expected.

Amy Herzog's mission is to create sweater success stories. Her approach to garment knitting is called Fit to Flatter, and her “passionate belief is that your clothes should make you look and feel as gorgeous as you truly are.” She helps knitters find their inherent body type (as opposed to their size), and find patterns that suit that type.

She presents her approach in in-person and online classes, a popular Ravelry group, her website and blog, and now in a new book out this week. Knit to Flatter (published by STC Craft), is the published accumulation of years of work she's been posting about creating well-fitting garments. The book is filled with beautiful sweater patterns, but more than that, it contains all the things you've been wanting to know about choosing the right pattern for your shape and modifying your selected pattern to fit your body perfectly. The photos, by Karen Pearson, show each pattern on different models to give you a better idea of how each fits.

One of the patterns in Knit to Flatter, Dansez, is knit in Cricket. It is a luxurious scoop-neck pullover with lace details on the ends of the sleeves and body. Amy says that “it's a great example of how well lace patterning and shaded-solid yarns can work together. I think we often steer away from the combination because we're worried that the stitch patterning will get obscured, but (as Dansez shows) patterning and shaded color can really complement one another nicely.”

Knit to Flatter is available now at your favorite book outlets. It is currently a #1 bestseller in Crafts & Hobbies at Amazon!

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Little Cable Knitalong with Anzula

When the members of Team Anzula started considering a knitalong, we talked about more than a few different patterns. However, when we passed around the idea of doing these socks, the decision was unanimous.

The Purl Bee released the pattern for the Little Cable Knee High socks in November of 2012. These socks are made from Squishy, in Seaside. We love the knee-high length, the classic cable detail, and the cute turn-down cuff.

Before starting the socks, we each chose two skeins in Squishy and Dreamy, but you could also choose two skeins of Sebastian. Kim is knitting in Slate, Sabrina picked Watermelon, Diane is currently obsessed with Fiona, Becca liked Coco, Sylvia chose Chiva, and Meg is going to wear 1 Red Shoe.

Not long after this photo of our yarn choices was taken, Charlie revealed her penchant for Petunia. Kim slipped off to the dye room to create a couple of Dreamy skeins especially for her, replacing her original choice of Teal that you can see in the photo.

Besides your skeins of yarn, you will need the correct circular or double-pointed needles to achieve gauge (the pattern calls for size #2), scrap yarn and a crochet hook for the provisional cast on, and a cable stitch holder. You'll also need to visit the Purl Bee for the free pattern.

We are all at different levels of knitting prowess so we hope that beginners as well as experienced knitters choose to knitalong with us. For beginners, we'll be posting helpful links at every step of the way. For experienced knitters, we hope that you'll share your own links and tips, and just enjoy having company as you knit a beautiful pair of socks. You can see our updates on the blog and our Facebook page, and participate in the Anzula group on Ravelry.

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