Clearance Update - Now 30-50% off!

Clever Knitters,

Starting TODAY (Friday, 4/29), everything in the store is 30% off!

All fabrics and pattern leaflets are 50% off!

Things are FLYING out the door, so hurry in before it's all gone! We've sold over half our inventory, mostly in yarn, but we still have some yarn left, and lots of hooks, needles, books, and magazines. The magazines in particular are a smart bargain - did you know that it can cost over $15 per issue to order back issues of magazines online? Snag them up at 30% off!

We also have several furnishings available! Our furniture is less than 2 years old, and has really only been sat upon a couple days per week, so it's more like 6 months old! I'm selling the seating for half its original price, the shelving for a bit closer to what I paid for it (since the shelves have never been sat upon).

Cushy Ikea Chairs - custom slipcovered by Helena
Bought new for $99, I charge $50 for custom slipcovering; lumbar pillows were $12 ea at West Elm, so total purchase price was $173 plus the cost of fabric.
$75 each 
 

Midcentury Sofa from Urban Outfitters
Now discontinued; bought new for $600; removable, washable slipcovers.
$300

Heller Bellini Chairs - set of 4
Bought new for $150 per chair; award-winning designer chairs are amazingly comfy!
$300 for all 4 chairs

Midcentury Side Table
A genuine antique!
$45

Wine/Book/Yarn shelf - 3 available
Bought new for $300, these have seen virtually no wear; designed to hold 208 bottles of wine (or 640 skeins of yarn!); each unit is 6ft high by 3ft wide, or 6ft wide by 3ft high; does not include 4" base, they are resting on 4x4 wood beams in the shop.
$250 each

Ikea Storage/Bookcase
Bought new for $30ish, this held our supplies in the back.
$20

(sorry, no picture of this one!)

Large Wood Bookcase
Painted white, roughly 7ft tall.
$25

(sorry, no picture of this one!)

Misc office supplies, cleaning supplies, wood boards, shelf brackets, etc: come in and take a peek at what we have & make an offer!

Warm (& sweatery) regards,

Helena

Clever Knits
214 S. Indiana Ave, Vista CA 92084

HOURS - until MON 5/30 or until the yarn runs out (whichever comes first)Fri, Sat & Sun 12-7pm
Mon, Wed 12-6pm

Tues 12-10pm
Thurs 10am-4pm

FREE social knitting (& crochet!) events:
Tues 6-10pm, Fri 5-7pm, Sun 1-4pm

http://cleverknits.com
cleverknits@gmail.com
760.806.6744

Knitnews #18 - our final knitnews! :(

Clever Knitters,

I am truly devastated to announce that our beloved space for knitting and crochet will be closing in May. It's been a truly amazing nearly-two-years (we did not quite make our 2nd birthday, which would be this coming July 5th), and I would not trade it for anything. Lifelong friendships have been established, and I think that my little shop has changed many lives for the better. We just picked the wrong economic climate in which to start a small business. I hope that you will all remember us fondly and keep in touch!

Contents of this message:

1. Closure Sale! - I guess the silver lining is that you get a bargain on yarn

2. Groupons? - we will still honor groupons, with an EXTRA discount, and you can use them all at once!

3. Knitnight will carry on! - Tuesdays at a new location starting in June

4. What Next? - future plans for Lexi, Helena, & Rhonda

1. Closure Sale!

Our last day will be Memorial Day Monday, May 30th - or whenever the yarn runs out, whichever comes first.

For every $50 you spend, you'll get a free Clever Knits project bag - available while supplies last. A little something to remember us by when you pull out your knitting.

We'll also give you one free Clever Knits project bag for every full stamp card you have been saving in your wallet. If your stamp card is not full, go ahead and recycle it, since the sales discounts being offered are MUCH HIGHER than 20% and we won't be giving out any more stamps.

Starting TOMORROW, everything in the store is 25% off. Each week, the discount will increase by 5% - but there will be less and less selection as time passes, so hurry in to get the good stuff! Here are the start dates for each new discount rate:

April 22 - 25% off

April 29 - 30% off

May 6 - 35% off

May 13 - 40% off

May 20 - 45% off

May 27 - 50% off

We're also selling most of the furniture & accoutrements!

yarn shelving, bookcases, couch, chairs, galvanized buckets, register desk, shelf brackets, shop samples, etc etc. If there's something that you've always wanted, make an inquiry! 

2. Groupons

If you bought a groupon, we will be honoring these until the day we close.

- Since there's not much time left, you can use them ALL at once!

- No matter when you buy, you only get 25% off if you want to use your groupons (since you already got 60% off)

- All the other regular fine print for groupons applies

3. Knitnight will carry on!

We will hold our regular social knitting until we close (the last Tuesday knitnight will be 5/24, unless of course we sell everything right away). In June and beyond, Knitnight will simply move around the corner to the Yellow Deli's Maté Attic - a great little coffee-house environment with couches and cushy chairs and plenty of space for knitters. Also, they're open 24 hours, so if you don't want to go home, you never have to leave! 

4. What's Next?

Lexi will continue to sell her Oink Pigments yarns online, and you may even find it at a yarn store near you in the future! Pattern design for her yarns can be found at oinkpigments.com or in her store on ravelry. There is also an Oink Pigments ravelry group. She is on Twitter @oinkpigments and you can sign up for the oink pigments mailing list here.

 

Helena will move her independent design operation to a new virtual home: Skip8. You can find her pattern designs in her store on ravelry and her amazing sewing creations on etsy. There's also a ravelry group. Her new consolidated twitter feed is @skipeight. You can join her mailing list here.

 

Rhonda is still our favourite expert, and she will continue to teach knitting and crochet at all levels for very reasonable rates. Contact her at rmonarque@sbcglobal.net to set up an appointment.

Warm (& sweatery) regards,

Helena (& Lexi, & Rhonda)

Clever Knits
214 S. Indiana Ave, Vista CA 92084

HOURS - until MON 5/30 or until the yarn runs out (whichever comes first)
Fri, Sat & Sun 12-7pm
Mon, Wed 12-6pm

Tues 12-10pm
Thurs 10am-4pm

FREE social knitting (& crochet!) events:
Tues 6-10pm, Fri 5-7pm, Sun 1-4pm

http://cleverknits.com
cleverknits@gmail.com
760.806.6744

Babbage - raglan sweater pattern

This is an any-gauge, any-yarn, any-needles raglan pullover pattern made to fit any-size!

Charles Babbage was a 19th century philosopher and mathematician, who is credited with inventing the concept of the computer. This is a simple pattern, but it is very computation-heavy, so I have named it after him.

[Purchase now]



Size: Custom - ANY size!

Materials:
Enough of the yarn of your choice to make a sweater in your size*
Circular needle, 4-10” smaller around than your bust measurement, sized appropriately for your yarn (use the largest size recommended on ball band, or one size larger)
DPNs in same size
Stitch markers
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Tapestry needle
Hard ruler
Flexible tape measure

Yarn amounts:
Your mileage may vary, so make sure you have an extra skein on hand, just in case. This pattern is super flexible and can be knit from fingering weight or chunky weight yarn, or anything in between. That makes this a little more tricky than for your average sweater, but the following should give you a good starting point:

Your bust measurement in inches: _______
(measurement around your bust at the widest point - this is NOT your bra-size!)

Multiply that by 10 (put a zero at the end): ______
That is approx how many GRAMS of yarn you need. E.g. 36” bust will need roughly 360g of yarn. Most yarn comes in 50 or 100g skeins, so you’ll need to round up to 400g.

If you’re especially tall, or if you want to make your sweater extra long, get an extra skein. If you’re using an especially chunky weight yarn, you may need an extra skein. If your sweater will have cap sleeves, or if you’re using a needle much larger than that recommended by the yarn (e.g. sock yarn on size 6 needles), you’ll need roughly 1 skein less.

Tax Day Sale!

Tomorrow is Tax Day! Eek!

Come spend your refund with us!

(or if you aren't getting a refund, then save a bit of money)

Get 15% off your ENTIRE purchase

ALL WEEKEND LONG

(Friday, Saturday, & Sunday)

This offer is also valid in Helena's Ravelry pattern store Friday through Sunday!

Test Knitters Wanted!

Announcing a new knitting pattern by Helena Bristow, 'Crichton' is a lightweight, lacy cardigan perfect for layering over sundresses. And it needs test knitters! Please contact cleverknits@gmail.com if you are interested in test-knitting this pattern.

Update: we have all the test knitters we need, but thanks for your interest! Sign up here to be informed when the pattern is available for purchase - you’ll get a coupon code for $2 off when the pattern is released! I expect to have it ready in early June.



Sir Alexander Crichton was a 18th century physician who penned the first known description of what we now call ADHD. In his 1798 book An Inquiry Into the Nature and Origin of Mental Derangement, Crichton describes a "mental restlessness" which I find quite appropriate for this pattern, with its ever-changing sections of lace.

Size: 32” (36”, 40”, 44”, 48”, 52”), intended to be worn with 1” negative ease

Materials:
600 (800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600) yds fingering-weight yarn
size 5 and 6 circular needle, 32”
stitch markers
waste yarn or stitch holders
5-6 small buttons

Gauge: 22 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on larger needle

Note: yardage requirements are not yet exact (they're based on my best guess rather than detailed calculations), but should be pretty close. My swatch is from Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in colourway Shady Verdant. Right now I don't have enough to make a whole sweater out of it, but that may have to change, because it's FANTASTIC.

Knitnews #17: Clever Knits updates for April 2011

Clever Knitters,

Spring is in the air! I prefer winter myself (it's much better sweater weather in sunny Southern California), but I'll confess that I am rather excited to be knitting on summery tops and lightweight cardigans. 

This is a month with a lot of news! So be prepared, this Knitnews is longer than usual.

Continue to follow us on twitter or facebook to be in-the-know. That's where we announce special sales and new arrivals, as well as any changes to our usual hours (e.g. closure due to illness - sadly, we've been struck by this one a lot in the past month, but hopefully things are looking up!). You can also see these updates at the top left corner of our website, just under the menu bar.

Contents of this message:

1. New Hours - slight changes to our schedule 

2. New Stuff - a few extra special somethings have arrived

3. On Helena's Needles - WIPs and FOs in anticipation of warmer weather

4. Patterns - new designs by Lexi; more in the works!

5. CAKAL - Crochet-and-Knit-a-Long with BEADS!

6. Classes - Schedules for April & May

1. New Hours 

We've made a slight change to our schedule - effective IMMEDIATELY, on Thursdays we will be open from 10am-4pm; and on Fridays, we will be open from 12-7pm. Our full listing of hours for reference:

Fri, Sat & Sun 12-7pm
Mon, Wed 12-6pm

Tues 12-10pm
Thurs 10am-4pm

We're closing 2 hours earlier on Thursdays, and one hour earlier on Fridays. Our Friday Night knitting group will continue to meet from 5-7pm; and you are totally welcome to come! Sometimes they stay later than 7pm, so do give us a jingle if you feel like stopping by and it's approaching 7. Sometimes knitting is too much fun to stop!

2. New Stuff!

A little something extra special from Helena's sewing room: Circular Needle Cases! $39 each

  

Other recent arrivals include:

• DELICIOUS one-of-a-kind, handpainted Superwash Blue-Faced Leicester roving from Holiday Yarns
• Queensland Collection Haze - handpainted cotton/corn blend, GREAT yardage, ideal for summer garments
• Berroco Ultra Alpaca Tonals - amazing semi-solids make this fabulous yarn even better

3. On Helena's Needles

A few of my recent Finished Objects and Works-in-Progress, in anticipation of warmer weather:

   

Helena's Watershed, Layered Ruffle Sweater, and Aegirina (left to right; all ravelry links). These are amazing transition pieces, since spring weather can be a bit too chilly for summer sundresses or linen skirts, but a touch of wool or silk warms them up just enough. 

I'm working on several designs for summery tops (these will be a few months in the making), and I just cast-on Happiness (from Norah Gaughan Book 4 - which we *do* have in stock!) in the MOST cheerful springtime colour of our delightful new cotton-corn blend, Queensland Collection Haze (left image copyright Berroco):

 

4. Patterns
Several new designs by Lexi were released this month - and we anticipate that several more will be released in the coming months!

  

From left to right, Baby Valentine Dress, Ruffles, Peacock Feathers - all available for purchase on Ravelry or on 

the Oink Pigments website.

All Clever Knits patterns can be found by clicking the 'Patterns' link at the top of our website.

5. Crochet-And-Knit-A-Long: BEADS!

In celebration of our Knitting with Beads class, we'll be having a BEAD-THEMED CAKAL in April & May. CAKAL meets Sundays from 1-4pm, but feel free to come by ANY TIME with your project (or any project at all - we love company, and there is never any charge to hang out & knit or crochet with us!). 

Please join our CAKAL to work on whatever bead-project most entices YOU. Our favourite bead store is Dancing Bear, just down the street from us, and we can highly recommend them for all your beading needs (they also have ADORABLE fabrics, if you are as tempted by those as we are!). Beads give that extra-special-something to your work, a little sparkle and decadence. With wedding season also in full swing, consider making a beaded stole for your favourite bride-to-be; in cream, or perhaps even more special in her wedding colours, so she can throw it over her shoulders after the sun sets to keep warm during the reception.

Here are a few of our favourite knitted bead projects:

Beaded Cuffs by Laura Nelkin, pattern AND KITS! available at Clever Knits

Tibetan Clouds Beaded Stole by Silvia Harding, free on Ravelry or printed in The Knitter's Book of Wool

Bitterroot by Romi Hill, free on Knitty.com

Abstract Leaves Cowl by Deb Mulder, free on Ravelry

or if you'd rather crochet with beads:

Bead Crochet Rope by Perle Sauvage, free on Ravelry

Morning Dew Scarf by Dora Ohrenstein, free on Ravelry

Lace & Pearls Necklace by Marta Costa, from Crochet Today! May/June 2010 issue

Crochet Beaded Cobweb Lace Scarf by Joan Barnett, free on Ravelry

6. New Classes & some Old Favourites, too

You can always find our full list of current class offerings on our website - just click the 'classes' link at the top of the Clever Knits website. You can even sign up online!

  

Knitting (or Crocheting!) with Beads

Sat, Apr 16th, 4-6pm

taught by Julie Beck

$25 plus materials

Materials: whatever project YOU want to make that uses beads. Bring all required materials for that project to class. Julie will provide instructions for how to add beads to your knitting by pre-stringing the yarn with the required number of beads, as well as how to bead on-the-fly with a tiny crochet hook, and will walk through examples of how to use both techniques in a few different projects.

See CAKAL section of knitnews for recommended projects

Knit Socks - NEW FORMAT!

Sat, Apr 30th, 12:30-4:30pm

taught by Rhonda Monarque

$45 / $65 if yarn purchased elsewhere

Materials: 32" or 40" needle size 0, 1, or 2; 100g sock yarn

Blocking Workshop

Sat, May 21st, 5:30-7pm AND Sun, May 22nd, 12-12:30pm

taught by Helena Bristow

$25 / blocking supplies provided

Materials: bring a shawl to block (optional)

Crochet 102

Sat, Apr 23, 4-6pm

taught by Helena Bristow

$15 / $25 if materials purchased elsewhere

Materials: 1 skein Cascade 220 or other worsted weight yarn, size H or I crochet hook, darning needle.

Knit 102

Sun, Apr 17th, 4:30-6:30pm

Sun, May 15th, 4:30-6:30pm

taught by Helena Bristow

$15 / $25 if materials purchased elsewhere

Materials: 1 skein Cascade 220 or other worsted weight yarn, size 7, 8, or 9 knitting needles, darning needle.

Knit 101 & Crochet 101
 

taught by Helena Bristow

$25 includes all materials

these are filling up FAST & new classes are added to meet demand - check the website for current offerings!

Warm (& sweatery) regards,

Helena (& Lexi & Rhonda)

Clever Knits
214 S. Indiana Ave, Vista CA 92084

HOURS:
Fri, Sat & Sun 12-7pm
Mon, Wed 12-6pm

Tues 12-10pm
Thurs 10am-4pm

FREE social knitting events:
Tues 6-10pm, Fri 5-7pm, Sun 1-4pm

http://cleverknits.com
cleverknits@gmail.com
760.806.6744

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