Posts filed under 'General'
We’ve come to be known to be open 7 days a week - so this will come as a surprise. Just kidding - we are closing for the same two days that we close on every year.
Nine Rubies will be closed on Thursday, 25th of December and Thursday, 1st of January so we can all spend the holidays with our family and friends. We will also close early at 5 pm on Wednesday, 24th of the December and Wednesday, 31st of December. Unfortunately, there will be no late knit nights on these two nights and we apologize to everyone who might miss having their late knit nights at the store.
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy New Year in advance! Best wishes from the entire Nine Rubies staff: Melissa, Maggie, Hannah, Linda, Dolores, Sudha and Saloni.
December 11th, 2008
Our own Lesley Duckworth has launched her own line of knitting bags and accessories and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Lesley loves knitting and had always wanted a bag in which she could carry her knitting and yet be the smart professional woman that she always is. So she designed her own bags and line of accessories and named them after her grand-mother. Her lines of knitting bags have been featured in magazines such as Vogue Knitting. She started with the Tate Totes and then added the matching Needle Cases and Project Pouches - these have become a hot-selling favorite of ours. Her beautiful line is featured on her website. They make great gifts for the knitters and non-knitters alike in your family. So come on in and pick up some before we’re all sold out of them.
November 26th, 2008
This posting is on behalf of Kate Brundage from the Knits for Kits group. It’s a great cause and these ladies have been meeting at our store for a while. We would love to support them as much as we can and hope that you will too!
Love to knit or crochet? Want to put your crafting skills to use for a good cause? Then gather your needles and yarn and come join “Knits for Kits (and Pups),” a charity knitting club whose express purpose is to create blankets and other cozy items to be donated to animal shelters and animal rescue organizations in the Bay Area.
We have already donated many beautifully handmade blankets to the Peninsula Humane Society, much to the delight of the cats who received them. Our goal is to knit a blanket for each adoptable cat or dog that can be taken home with the animal when he/she is adopted.
“Knits for Kits” is open to ALL knitters and crocheters. Are you a whiz with the needles? Great! Just starting out? Fabulous! Come one and come all: make friends, learn to knit/crochet or sharpen your skills, and help homeless animals in the process.
Knits for Kits (and Pups) meets on the second Thursday of each month, from 5 - 7 pm. Our next meeting is Thursday, December 11, from 5 - 7 pm. We provide guidance and specifications for the projects in our meetings.
For those of you who want to help our cause but cannot make the meetings, feel free to knit from home! Cat blankets should be approximately 16″ x 20″, while dog blankets can be considerably larger (no size restrictions). Blankets should be knit or crocheted in a tight stitch/pattern (to prevent the animal’s claws from getting caught in the weave) and made from a washable yarn (Acrylic is great; wool is not recommended). We can arrange a way to pick up the blankets from you, or you can drop them off at the Peninsula Humane Society.
Please contact Katie Brundage for details or questions: knits4kits@gmail.com or check out our web page: http://knits4kits.googlepages.com/home.
November 24th, 2008
This is one of our popular books at the store. The designs have been done by Rowan’s ever popular British designer Martin Storey and Sharon Brant.
Martin Storey has been a designer with Rowan since 2001 and has been responsible for designing the highly successful Jaeger hand-knit collections. Sharon Brant is Rowan’s retail manager and she has been involved in many aspects of the knitwear business including contributing to TV productions and films such as Harry Potter - The Philosopher’s Stone and The Phantom of the Opera.
The book was created in response to the many women who have been asking for great designs in larger sizes. The book has more than 35 designs to choose from - jackets, sweaters, cardigans, tops and accessories.
Not all women are 18 years old and a size 8, and few knitting pattern books give sizes beyond a 14. The purpose of this book is to offer a range of great designs for women of all ages, in sizes that start at size 12.
As luck would have it, Nine Rubies is well-stocked with this book and we are offering a Holiday special while supplies last. The book is on sale for 10% (an additional 5% for store members). So, come in and get your copy while we still have some in stock. Oh, and this is a blog-only offer!
November 18th, 2008
Running behind on your holiday shopping list? We have the perfect set of classes by Linda Alvarez that will have you completing gifts for the Holiday season in a session or two - the gift can be a Fair-Isle Hat, Toe-Up Slippers, or a Lace Washcloth. The Lace Washcloth is a great introduction to lace knitting and when completed, is a lovely gift when given with some bath salts or a nice hand-milled soap. The Fair-Isle Hat is perfect for ski weekends and cold weather mornings and you learn how to do multi-color work. The Toe-Up slippers teaches you cabling and creates a fantastic pair of slippers for sitting by the fireplace - another holiday classic. For more details on the classes, see the Class Schedule.
November 18th, 2008
We’d like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family at Nine Rubies Knitting. Hope the holidays bring comfort and joy to all of you in these interesting times.
To give our staff a chance to celebrate we are going to be closed Thursday, November 27th. We are also going to close earlier on Wednesday, November 26th at 5 pm. This means that we will not be open late for our regular Free Knit Nite on Wednesday. Sorry for the inconvenience but I am guessing that many of you will be busy traveling or preparing for the holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 13th, 2008
Leigh Radford is the author of the books One Skein and AlterKnits. She has just released her latest book Alterknits Felt: Imaginative Projects for Knitting and Felting. She’s an award-winning author, designer, and teacher. Leigh has a wonderful mix of skill and creativity and she’s sure to spark your imagination and excitement.
She’s teaching two exciting workshops on November 30th:
Introduction to Intarsia (9 am - 1 pm)
If ever you’ve wanted to knit a monogram on a pillow (great wedding or baby gift idea) or a firetruck (or dinosaur or kitty) onto a child’s sweater, this is the class for you. Intarsia knitting is basically adding blocks of color to your knitting. It’s not as difficult as it seems, but there are some important tips and tricks to learn to make the experience fun and faster! Using an original pattern, you’ll learn the art of multi-color knitting while creating a fun and unusual felted bag.
Needle Felting (2 pm - 5 pm)
Leigh’s second workshop will explore the exciting embellishment technique called needle felting. Working with wool fleece and felting needle learn to embellish a variety of samples including a knit swatch and woven fabric with the design of your choice. Next, apply your new-found needle-felting skills to embellish a felted bowl or clutch or felted item of your choice. You will also create a small piece of felted fabric perfect forfelted rings and other felt jewelry. Classes will also cover ideas for incorporating beads and embroidery in conjunction with needle felting to embellish your projects.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a master! To sign up and get a materials list, visit the store or call us at 650-685-6205. For more information, you can also check out our class list.
October 31st, 2008
We’re going to begin shopping hours on Saturday, November 22nd at 7:30 am. And for those of you that are willing to rise early, you even get to shop in your pajamas!! There is a sale that goes with this - you get 15% off everything in the store (20% for store members). Sales merchandise will be an additional 10% off. We’ll even provide some coffee for those of you that think drinking their cup of joe in the morning might delay them for the sale. There is a caveat though - the sale is over at 11 am.
And to go along with us, many downtown San Mateo shops are opening up early as well. So, make a morning of this - come shop at your local stores early in the morning and get some of your holiday items taken care of.
As usual some of our sale stuff applies - Classes and gift certificates are not eligible for discounts. All sales are final and cannot be returned. Unfortuantely, we may not be able to wind your yarn on sale day, please bring it back later and we will be happy to wind it for you.
October 28th, 2008
In anticipation of Leigh Radford’s November 30th workshops, we have had samples from the acclaimed book AlterKnits here at the shop for the last couple of weeks. The samples generated a great deal of interest. If you had a chance to see them, you might want to sign up for her workshops!
AlterKnits and her brand new AlterKnits Felt will be in the shop soon, so stay tuned for that as well. Leigh will be at the shop at the end of November teaching the following workshops:
9 am - 1 pm: Intarsia
2 pm - 5 pm: Needles Felting
Each workshop is $65 (10% discount for store members) plus materials.
October 13th, 2008
We’re delighted to welcome back teacher and author, Eileen Adler. Eileen is the author of the book Matching Knits for Girls and Dolls. She’ll be teaching a one-session class this Friday, August 22nd from 2 pm to 5 pm. Eileen will be demonstrating all of the techniques you need to know to make this unusual wearable. Techniques include Cat Bordhi’s Moebius cast-on, a diagonal lace pattern incorporating yarnovers and k2togs, and an unusual increase - purling into the front and back. You’ll also learn how to knit the bind-off.
In addition to writing the book mentioned above, several of Eileen’s designs have also appeared in Creative Knitting Magazine and other notable publications.
- Date: Friday, August 22nd, 2-5 pm
- Materials: 185 yards of sport to light worsted yarn (approx. 22sts/4 inches), one stitch marker, size 10 or 10.5 needles (40″ - 47″ long).
- Cost: $30
Please call the shop at 650-685-6205.
August 18th, 2008
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