Calling all knitters – we need helmet liners for the troops!!
We currently have more than 200,000 troops in overseas theaters where they are subjected to sub-zero wind chills during the winter. Please help us have a warm helmet liner for each one of these troops before next winter. There are several organizations which collect helmet liners and provide them to the US Army. We are working with Citizen Sam to collect these helmet liners and send it to them. Citizen Sam has collected more than 20,000 helmet liners but you can see that we have a long way to go.
If you can knit, please consider making helmet liners for our troops. It must be 100% wool, as acrylic yarn is flammable and would endanger the troops should injury occur. Only black, charcoal, brown, tan, gray or combinations of these colors are allowed by our Armed Forces. This blends with their camo and helps keep them safe. Please save your label and pin it to the helmet liner so that the person receiving it knows the care instructions and the fiber used for the helmet liner. The pattern for the helmet liner was written by Bonnie Long of Knit Wits and is available free of charge for the purpose of knitting the helmet liners. We also have printed them out and copies are available at the store.
The instructions on the pattern say you can ship this to Citizen Sam directly. Nine Rubies is also collecting them and sending them to Citizen Sam which will save you a step. We will sending out one shipment on March 31st, 2010 and a second one on October 31st, 2010. Just drop off your knitted helmet liner when you are done with it.
The following stores in the Bay Area are having helmet liner drives that I know of:
1. The Knitting Room
1195 Branham Lane
San Jose, California
2. Yarn Boutique
963 C Moraga Rd.
Lafayette, California
3. Yarndogs
151 E. Main St.
Los Gatos, California
4. Nine Rubies Knitting
28 E. 3rd Avenue, #100
San Mateo California
Please check their websites for the details of their helmet drives. They are all donating to different organizations but to make it easier for you, we have several yarn stores who will be helping out with this. Thank you.
March 6th, 2010
We have a special event at the store this weekend – Jared Flood will be teaching classes this weekend and we are going to be swamped. The modified store hours this weekend are as follows:
Friday, March 5th, 2010: 10 am – 3 pm
Saturday, March 6th, 2010: CLOSED
Sunday, March 7th, 2010: 12:30 – 5:00 pm
We apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused to you because of this. We will do our best to make it up to you.
March 1st, 2010
We are thrilled to announce that Jared Flood will be visiting Nine Rubies in March, 2010. He will be presenting 4 classes at Nine Rubies over a 3-day period.
Jared Flood is a Brooklyn-based knitwear designer and photographer. His very popular blog brooklyntweed features his knitting musings. His designs for hand knitters have been featured in many different magazines including Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, and knit1. Many of his designs are inspired by the timeless designs of Elizabeth Zimmerman. And we have been following his journey with excitement and have knitted many, many of his designs.
The four classes that he will be presenting are:
Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood
1. Koolhaas Crashcourse: this is one of the most popular designs for hats – it was first featured in the Interweave Knits Holiday 2007. This class includes a discussion on cabling – even cabling without a cable needle – and travelling stitches. This is great for knitters who understand the basics of knitting.
2. Intro to Shetland Colorwork: This is a comprehensive introduction to the world of stranded colorwork. This is for those of you who want to understand stranded colorwork as well as everyone who has struggled with carrying two yarns on a row. It also includes a demonstration of steeking (cutting your knitting). EEK!
3. Seamless Sweater Workshop: This workshop discusses the foundations of seamless sweater knitting, construction, and yoke variations. This class discusses Elizabeth Zimmerman’s percentage system. This class will give you the confidence to make your own original designs!
Girasole by Jared Flood
4. Girasole Workshop: This is the perfect introduction to lace, chart reading and a circular cast-on. And the project that you will be working on is the Girasole which can be a blanket or a shawl depending on the weight you knit it in. Jared is very famous for his circular blanket construction.
So, block this weekend of and come join us while we learn from one of the most exciting designers in handknitting today! For complete details check out our class schedule for the classes with the pricing (materials, homework and skill level required).
January 14th, 2010
The Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman has stood the test of time since it was designed in 1968. It has been knit by knitters over the decades and everyone has marveled over the construction of this one-piece sweater. There are two seams at the shoulders and nothing else besides that. When I first knitted this sweater, I took a class with Ada and to this day I am thankful because knitting this sweater means that you are in love with Elizabeth Zimmerman forever. I don’t know if I would spent the time to decode the pattern on my own.
Baby Surprise Jacket
Ada is teaching another class for this sweater starting at the end of January 2010 on Tuesday evenings and if you are making resolutions about knitting, this is one to go with. You will finish the entire project as part of this class. You will knit a blob that looks like this:
Blob Baby Surprise Jacket
And it will magically become this:
Baby Surprise Jacket folded
If there is one class you should take, it is this class. See all the details on our class schedule page. And you can call the store to sign up for this class at 650-685-6205.
December 30th, 2009
Your Knitting Driing you Crazy?
The Knit and Crochet ER will now be available from 5 pm to 7 pm on Wednesday evenings. This is the same night as the Knit Nite and will generally be held in the classroom at the back of the store. Same rules apply – someone will be in the classroom waiting to help you and there is a $10 drop-in fee. We can help you on any day if the help required is less than 5 minutes and does not take away from “floor time” of the people working in the store. If it is more than 5 minutes, then we request that you come in for the Knit and Crochet ER’s during any of the following times:
Monday’s between 10 am and 12 pm
Wednesdays between 5 pm and 7 pm
Saturdays between 10 am and 12 pm
Bring your unfinished objects, forgotten projects and questions to the Knit and Crochet ER! This is the only time we will help you with projects with yarn purchased from other locations – we do prefer, of course, that you buy your yarn and supplies from us. We’re here to help you.
December 28th, 2009
We have just received suede slipper soles from Fiber Trends. They are these gorgeous soles made in camel/tan colored suede leather. We were inspired to find these soles when Melissa started knitting the Malabrigo loafers from Cocoknits. Two colors of Malabrigo yarn (generally contrasting colors), the pattern from Cocoknits, and the suede slipper soles makes for a winning gift any time of the year.
We have two types of soles. One of them is a slipper sole that comes in sizes 4″ to 13″ and covers the entire bottom of the foot.
The second is a a two-piece suede sole that comes in small, medium, and large and can be stitched on the bottom of the slipper. Whichever you prefer.
For the two-piece slipper soles check out this picture courtesy Bad Mommy (who has made about half a dozen because they are extremely popular in her family). She recommends that you stitch the bottoms, stitch on the soles and then pick up stitches to do the top of the loafer. Much easier that way, she says.
Come armed with your pattern, pick out a skein of malabrigo worsted, and a pair of suede soles and you’re off to the races.
November 13th, 2009
You know the holidays are close when all the holiday issues start coming in. We have received the holiday issues of Crochet Today and a few other magazines. But today came the issue which we have been looking forward to – Vogue Knitting Holiday 2009. We have been poring over the issue and there is much to love.
We’re all thinking of holiday knitting – there is the cutest Lace Beret by Kate Gagnon Osborn and many, many cowls – many, many projects that can be knit up qiuickly and easily. We told you the cowls were everywhere.
So waste no more time, order your Holiday issue of Vogue Knitting on our website or come into the store and pick up your copy before we run out.
October 8th, 2009
When we started the Knit and Crochet ER a few months ago on Monday mornings from 10 am to 12 pm, we knew it was a starting point. It took off to a slow start but then it transformed itself towards the end of summer. It got busier and busier – and we began getting requests from folks to have the Knit and Crochet ER at different times. We got many requests for a weekend Knit and Crochet ER for folks who were working or were busy during the week. We worked on this and are announcing that the Knit and Crochet ER will be available on Saturdays from 10 am – 12 pm. Yay!!
It is difficult to predict at this time how busy the Knit and Crochet ER is going to be on Saturdays but the rules are the same. The doctor-on-call will take the first four people who arrive and everyone else will have to wait until a seat opens up. The rule of thumb for the ER is that these are issues that take longer than 5 minutes. The idea is that when people need help for a larger project – learning how to knit socks, finding an unfinished project in the closet and wondering where you were, or learning finishing techniques, we have a dedicated expert here to help you with your projects. There is a $10 drop-in fee for attending the Knit and Crochet ER. We look forward to seeing everyone!
September 27th, 2009
Nine Rubies now has a home on Facebook. Well, we have a fan page for the store and this is just one of the additional ways we have to stay in touch with you. If you are on Facebook, simple search for “Nine Rubies Knitting” and it should pop right up.
Feel free to start conversations or discuss what you’d like to see. We’d love to hear from you on Facebook as well as through all the other forums that we have. If you are not Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com and sign up for an account. Once you have an account, simply search for us and we’ll be there for you – at least in cyberspace.
And while you are there, here are a few other groups you should join:
Knitting
Baywood Yarns
Ravelry
And if you are already on Facebook and have other suggestions of groups to join then make sure you suggest them. I am sure there are fans of Twitter out there also and we are working on having something on Twitter as well. Stay tuned for more information.
September 15th, 2009
We’ve had a secret and we’ve been waiting to share it with you. We have been working with Baywood Yarns to develop a line of socks in four spectacular colors. And today we can finally say it - we are thrilled to announce the Baywood Yarns Four Seasons Sock Club. The idea is that you sign up for the sock club and you get four shipments in one year. In our case – they coincide with the seasons – Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The shipments will happen in October 2009, December 2009, March 2010 and May 2010.
Each shipment will contain a skein of yarn to make a pair of socks – at least 400 yards. As with most sock yarns, it will be superwash – machine washable. The colors will be inspired by the season but we can give you another hint for the first color – it is contains the favorite colors of Nine Rubies Knitting. For those of you who have worked with Baywood Yarns, you know you will adore them as they arrive at your doorstep. Did we tell you that there are limited quantities of these colors? Make sure you reserve your subscription by going to the Nine Rubies website and putting in your order right away. Or call us at 1-650-685-6205 and we can help you do this over the phone.
And here is another part of the secret – Joanne will be at Nine Rubies to launch the Baywood Yarns Four Seasons Sock Club from 6 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at Nine Rubies. Be the first to see the first color of Fall! We will have a VERY limited quantity for sale as part of the subscription at the store next week but no promises! Come meet the others who adore and love Baywood yarns. Looking forward to seeing everyone.
September 10th, 2009
Previous Posts
