Join one of our local groups!

We have several groups meeting at the shop throughout the week. If you have been looking for other knitters and fiber enthusiasts to meet, this is the place to do it! Check out the descriptions of our current group meetings and feel free to join us at any time!



Monday KnitNight group 4pm-7pm
Join the YarnDurango group on Ravelry and get a Free Gift in the shop! Just join the group, come in with your Ravelry username, and receive a Free YarnDurango Gift!  

Open knitting! Everyone welcome, feel free to bring a beverage, snack or bottle of wine to share. And be ready to laugh, and loose count, and frog, and knit again! Always a good time, with friendly knitters who love to visit, have Project Show-And-Tell, and help one another out.







Wednesday FLKC group 5:30-8pm

FunLadiesKnittingClub (Join the group on Ravelry!)

Open Knitting! Everyone welcome, bring a snack or beverage to share. Regular knit-a-longs and fun knitting projects. An eclectic group of friendly knitting friends, always have an interesting project to start or share.







Thursday WildWooly Spinners Spinning group  1pm-4pm 

(Join the group on Ravelry!) Open Group! Spinning, Knitting, Lockerhooking - No rules - Really! Not a shy group at all, so get ready to have a good laugh. While most bring their wheels and drop spindles, we have been known to work on anything that suits our fancy. Everyone is welcome to come and work on their spinning or knitting projects anytime.

Find this shirt HERE

Saturdays Mad-Hatters group  Noon - 3 pm 
 (Call the shop or look for schedule on YarnDurango.com!)
(PS- Shirt pictured not affiliated with the group, but why not check out something fun?!)

Knitting newborn hats for Mercy Medical Center's nursery. Simple, easy baby hats work up fast. Mandi will even teach you how to knit them if you promise to donate a hat! Pattern booklet availiable, also if you would be so kind as to donate a hat - or as many as you can knit up! Crochet hats also accepted, but no pattern available YET! Nice and easy-going group, friendly and always helping one another, we have a good relaxing knit-time while we whip up our lovely little hats!
If you are not able to make it to a group session, you can bring your finished baby hats to the shop. PLEASE make sure your hats are machine washable, and measure 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall when laid flat! Otherwise, hats that are not the correct size, the hospital will not accept.  (Whenever hats are either too small or too large, Mandi has to take them out and re-knit them - So sizing them properly makes a huge difference for her as well. She puts so much work into organizing everything for this cause, and delivers every hat by hand, so lets make her work a little easier!)

Pattern for Knitted UFO HERE

UFO Saturdays   2nd and Last saturday of every month  Noon-4pm

A day of finishing up Un-Finished-Objects  (look for schedule on YarnDurango.com!)

           Anyone is welcome to come and work on a project that needs finishing (or starting!). Also, if you are in need of assistance or guidance for your project, please call before coming in, and we will have someone available to help you get moving again. There is no charge for help, but if we are really busy in the shop there could be a delay, so we like to have an extra hand and individualized attention for those who need help! Feel free to make every saturday your day for finishing up your knitting, even on unspecified days, you are always welcome to sit and knit!






Didn't find a group that suits you?! How about coming by and finding a day that your own group of friends can gather at the shop to knit?! We love having groups come and work at the shop, and all are welcome at anytime. Also, now that our beautiful Durango weather is warming up, we can use the courtyard in front of the shop as well! So please, join us in one of our groups or start your own!

SPRING SALE

April 23rd is the last day to get15% Off  All Spring & Summer Yarn and 10% Extra Off Sale Yarn!

We will be closed Easter Sunday, April 24th.

A new sale will begin Monday, April 25th - Friday the 30th.

Come in for 15% - 25% Off all Winter Yarn and 10% Extra Off Sale Yarn Continues.

MAY 1st - 3rd we will be CLOSED FOR INVENTORY!

Local Fiber featured at YarnDurango!

One thing we really wanted to focus on at YarnDurango is LOCAL fiber.

There are a couple yarns that are local to the area, and we are looking at getting more in the very near future. Today, we'll talk about Bridle Valley Ranch Alpaca Fiber.

We were fortunate enough for JoAnn to bring her local alpaca yarn into to shop, and she kindly invited us out to visit her ranch near Ignacio. We had a great time learning about the Alpaca, seeing the new Baby alpaca (1 week old!), and picking out roving to bring into the shop for the spinners of our area.

We've spent a great deal of time talking with JoAnn about  her yarn and are convinced that she has some of the nicest "fresh" fiber we've seen in a while. She put every effort into choosing the right fiber, blend of silk, etc. From the animal, right down to the mill itself, nothing has been overlooked.

Her fiber is mill carded and spun, undyed and not chemically treated or processed. It is blended with just the right amount of silk as well, which makes it feel very luxurious!

Most knitters complain about the "vegetable content" of unprocessed fiber. Bridle Valley fiber has VERY LITTLE bits or pieces of anything left in the fiber. So no worries about picking bits of hay or grass every few inches in your yarn. And even more important, no pieces of alpaca poo either! A nice perk when knitting with fresh fiber, the less poo the better!

Hope you enjoy these photos of the day's visit, and please come in and check out the LOVELY soft Alpaca/Silk blend yarn we carry from Bridle Valley!

This gal was super sweet, and a "close talker"....

You see now? 

"Close Talker!"

Skeptical Guard Llama... With beautiful eyes. 

See, there is the Close Talker again... Inspecting Jonni!

She sniffed everyone up and down, then sat down with everyone and visited.

 

All the white females shorn like a poodle are pregnant. 

They have an 11 month gestational period.

 

 

Photos by Brandy Dare and Susan Jones

Yes, the NEW YarnDurango is OPEN!

We opened up July 3rd, 2010, under new ownership.

If you have not yet met Jonni (pronounced Jaw-Knee)  please do come by and say hello. 

We are interested in knowing what our customers would like to see @ YarnDurango, so send us an email, call in or come by and write something down on our Wish List @ the front counter!

The new shop hours are:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 10am - 6pm

Wednesdays from 12Noon - 8pm

Sundays from 12Noon-4pm

Lots of new things have happened in the past month since we have opened.

 We have a new sitting area with all of the books and patterns.

It is lovingly referred to as the "Man Chair" section.

Husbands always welcome..  ;0)

The courtyard Garden is BEAUTIFUL this time of year.

Strange to think that in just a few more months it will be filled with snow!

Many have commented on how "clean" everything looks.

Wel, there is not a TON of yarn in the shop, but there WILL be! Surely it will fill up nicely.

We also put a lot of work into sprucing things up. Fresh paint, rearranging displays, cleaning and finishing the floors, and a new style of decorating all around. 

The shop feels large and open, and it has made for a lovely environment to browse yarns in!

We do have a few "special" yarns in the shop, for a hand knit item to treat yourself or someone else. These spools of differnt luxurious blends are just the thing!

Perhaps these might go on your Christmas list?!

Have any of you who have been in noticed the beautiful, fragrant, fresh flowers gracing the shop?

We have Blossom arrangements freshly placed in the shop every week. They smell AMAZING and are so BEAUTIFUL! If you are in need of flowers, definitely give them a call!!!

HAPPENINGS:

Monday's Knit Night group has resumed meeting from 4-7pm.

Wednesdays the FLKC Ladies group meets from 5:30 - 8:30.

Thursdays the local spinners of Durango come in from 1-4pm.

And The Mad Hatters group will resume meeting to knit 

Baby Hats for the hospital this month as well.

We will be posting a class list soon, there have been many requests for classes and certain projects.  If there is anything you would particularly like to attend a class on, PLEASE let us know!

Thursday's Spinning Ladies

We still have a lot of Spring and Summer yarn, and a few things left in the sale area. We also have the Odd's and Ends section where Jonni has painstakingly placed out her own collection of yarn in an effort to find it all a new home. It's always changing and new Stash items are being brought out every week.

For August, September and October, expect to see some new Fall/Winter yarns in the shop. We'll have new wool and alpaca from Cascade. We have ordered Atenti and Namaste totes and bags.  We'll be having Needlepoint kits as well as kits for Fair Isle hats featuring One of a Kind and Vintage yarns! We're also looking at getting some embroidery supplies in the shop in time for Christmas.

All this is just a start to the many things coming in to the new YarnDurango, so if there is anything you would like us to consider, don't be shy, please do let us know!

Happy Knitting!

*Photos taken by Lani Dill

Knitting Tips!

We've had a lot of interest in Ysolda Teague's Urchin Hat, and quite a few knitters that have come in are working on it. We've had a few people get a little stuck with the shorts rows, mostly count and recognizing the finished wraps. Once you get through a few repeats of the "wedges" that compose the hat, it will fly by.. You'll love it!

 

I knit my first one up in some Cuzco and it turned out great. It was little baggy and floppy, I forgot that this yarn stretches out quite a bit with wear. So keep that in mind when choosing your yarn. I like mine like this, but if I want a change, I gather it up and attach a vintage pin. Adorable.

I've got 2 more planned, and I think I can finish them up in a day a piece. They really are that easy once you get moving on them.

Come on in and check out our shop model that was knit up in Lumpy Bumpy. Even try it on for size, it looks great on just about everyone!

If you get stuck, you are welcome to come by for a little help, or check out these knitting help links:

http://www.knittingatknoon.com/provisional.html

This is the provisional cast on recccommended in the pattern

Short Rows:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/FEATbonnetric.html

http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/lucia/222

http://www.stitchdiva.com/custom.aspx?id=143

http://www.knotions.com/techniques/short_rows/how_to_knit_short_rows.aspx

This hat does call for a Provisional Cast ON and a grafted  bind off, OR 3 Needle Bind Off.

It is knit from side to side, the short rows cause the rounded shape, and the graft makes for a seamless finished piece.

Now, if that is all too much for you, you could very well just cast on and bind of as normal. Then graft, seam, sew or whatever, your two ends together and draw up the center. It just won't be as neat or invisible. And you won't learn a new technique! But if you're OK with that, then go ahead and go the other direction with it.

Anyhow, hope this all helps, and maybe you found something new that you've needed.

Happy Knitting!

- Brandy

Thank a Veteran!

Did you all have a nice Veteran's Day?! I hope so, and I hope you took the time to thank your local veterans for their service to our country! Regardless of political differences, Our Veterans - young and old, need Our Support!

If 2009's Veteran's Day has left you feeling a extra patriotic, Denver Public Library is

STILL ACCEPTING hats for their Knitting 4 Our Troops (K4OT) campaign.

Knit up a hat or ten and send it to DPL, they go straight to our active duty troops.
Pattern and details of where to send finished hats can be found HERE.
I'm told by family members that have or are still serving in Afghanistan, that the winters in the middle east can be brutal. Our Troops need all the LOVE and SUPPORT you can get in to EVERY single little STITCH!

Happy Knitting and Thank a Veteran!