Knit and crochet designer Leigh Radford will be here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 31, November 1 and 2 for a book signing and to teach three classes. Leigh’s third book, Alterknits Felt, was released last month and is the basis for her classes.

Leigh was the Art Director of Interweave Knits for many years and often had patterns in the magazine. In 2005, she wrote her first book, Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises. Her second book, One Skein: 30 Quick Patterns to Knit or Crochet, was released in 2006.

The Circle and Stripe Bag

Leigh uses knitting, crocheting, felting, embroidery, beading, needle-felting and other techniques in her designs, often employing more than one in the same project. She is tremendously creative and adventurous in her work. I took a class with Leigh in 2007 and left feeling inspired and empowered to be more creative in my own crafting.

The Pleated Collar

I hope you’ll read the class descriptions and sign up for one of her classes. Not only is Leigh a lovely person who will inspire you, the timing is also great because so many of the class projects make wonderful holiday gifts.

Hazel and Maude Pot Holders

The projects shown here are a sampling of what’s in Alterknits Felt. The book is in the shop now and we’ll have copies on hand for her visit.

Needle Felted Pillows

I hope you’ll join us!

Since we opened in 2005, we’ve offered patterns from Cottage Creations. These fantastic patterns have clear directions, fun illustrations, and something for everyone in the family. The Wonderful Wallaby and the Rambling Rows Afghan are two of their better known patterns, but peruse them all and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

The Wonderful Wallaby Pattern

While you may know their designs, you may not know that Carol Anderson, the woman behind the patterns, lives and works in Iowa. She recently told us that she’s collecting knitted items for victims of this season’s floods and could use our help. (Carol had only a little flooding at her home; neighboring counties were hit hardest.) Carol is collecting mittens, caps, scarves, afghans, prayer shawls, baby blankets, dishcloths, socks, and sweaters for infants, kids and adults.

We’d like to help and you can too! Bring your knitted and crocheted items here and we’ll ship them to Carol. Each item should have a card attached with the following information: name of item, size if applicable, fiber content (machine washable and dryable are preferred but not required), your name and address and any words of encouragement.

As a thank you for helping, you’ll receive 10% off any purchase you make the day you deliver your donation (classes, private lessons and gift certificates cannot be discounted). There’s no limit to the number of donations you can make or discounts you can receive. The last shipment will be sent to Carol on November 1, so that will be the last day donations are accepted.

This is a great opportunity to help others, so please spread the word!

Philadelphia’s 2nd Annual Stitch N’ Pitch is Tuesday, August 5 at 7:05 pm. Bring your knitting, your crochet, your needlepoint or embroidery, your family and friends, and join us at Citizens Bank Park for an evening of needlearts and baseball!

Tickets are available through the Phillies website. We’re out of the sun and into the shade on the 3rd base side this time! The first 1000 people to purchase tickets will receive a free Stitch N’ Pitch tote bag to carry their summer projects.

I hope you’ll join us for the needlearts event of the summer!

Laura and I are pleased to announce the opening of our new fabric shop, Spool. Please come to our Grand Opening celebration on Saturday, March 29 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Spool offers a bright, modern collection of cotton print fabrics for quilting and sewing. We also stock sewing patterns and books, thread, batting, and a full selection of notions. Later this Spring we’ll offer sewing and quilting classes for all skill levels.

Spool is located at 1912 South Street - right next-door to Loop! - and is open the same hours, everyday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

We hope you’ll join us in our new crafting adventure!

Knotions is a new online knitting magazine published by lifelong knitter and long-time blogger Jody Pirello.

My aspiration for the magazine is not just to publish free patterns. Although there will be plenty of those, what will really thrill me is if Knotions helps you to achieve better fit, identify and fix pattern issues, select appropriate yarn, and use the best techniques. In short, I want Knotions to help you knit smarter.

So head on over, fill out the reader’s survey, and take a look around. Be sure to add Knotions to your bookmarks - there’s lots of good stuff to come!

This Thursday, February 28 is the second meeting of our 2008 Knit-the-Almanac Knit-Along. We’re knitting our way through Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitter’s Almanac - though not necessarily in order!

Like a few others, I started with July’s Pi Shawl. It’s a clever, of course, and fairly simple shawl that can be knit in almost anything. I’m using Sheep Shop Yarn’s Sheep 3, which I think is one of the best yarns on the market. It’s a blend of silk and wool so it has great shine, it’s plied which gives it depth and makes it wear well, and it works up at a very knittable and wearable 5-6 stitches per inch. Oh - and the colors are gorgeous and don’t pool.

If, however, you want to knit the almanac in order - which Kathy H. is doing - then February is Some Babies’ Things. This chapter includes the very beautiful Baby Jacket.

The Knit-Along is not a class, just a time to knit together. There’s no fee and no need to reserve a spot. Just come on down. Hope to see you!

We hope you enjoyed your New Year’s celebrations and are ready for 2008!

At Loop, the New Year begins with our annual ritual - inventory. So we’ll be closed today and tomorrow - Wednesday and Thursday, January 2 and 3 - and will re-open on Friday, January 4.

We’ll see you then!