Holiday Newsletter 1:

Yes... the shop is stuffed....Full to the brim....More so than in past years. I swear the yarns are bigger than they use to be..... 

In past we adamantly waited until Wed before Thanksgiving to turn shop into holiday-palooza. Last year we had to move it up (mostly because we buy so much cute stuff for the holidays!)

 We adored all the lovely Autumn goodies....so they were to take up both bookshelves! Thanksgiving a family favorite so it's sacrilegious to short-shrift it with Christmas! 

The maisieblue new tradition: We all spend my birthday together, pushing to get everything out and looking beautiful!

 Well...Megan does most of the hard work while I, Mom and Mosey stay out of her way. LOL 

Oh wait.... I'm the only one told to stay behind the counter..... Mosey helped with displays and built walls of yarns. (hahaha)

This year I was busy ferrying summer product to storage for it's winter nap. Mosey does the lunch run. Mom made a birthday cake. It was awesome! Then Megan's family help break down a gazillion boxes and haul to dumpster. 

Oh and this year, Mosey and Boyfriend delivered all the boxes of adorableness to the shop the night before. 

It takes a Family! 

Every year it's exciting to see the items purchased back in March all mingle and look lovely together. 2022 theme is definitely Woodland. 

Regina did her annual Poinsettia Run to Hughson nursery. New color this year a gorgeous salmon/peachy variety newly debuted. Then there's the Bubble Gum pinks and a sweet Blush Cream. 

Last year the holiday shop felt very Nordic, but this year is truly Winter Woodland. Not too-too "Christmas" and instead lots of woody greens, naturals, hints of brick reds.  Sweet tea cup sets (infuser included!), lovely ceramic serving tray, creamer & sugar.

Matching mugs and they all coordinate with this beautiful Mouse Tart Plate. Big round mugs with mushrooms....like I said....mushrooms having a moment!  

There's even wee little tiny plates....no idea what to do with these but I have to have! 

Of course plenty of wool felt garlands, cedar wreaths (perfect sized for candle rings or hanging outside on windows and doors).

My favorite: delicate Boxwood Wreaths (I've always wanted these!). New style small Reindeer Bells too. 

Gorgeous mango wood candle holders....and this year we remembered to order up plenty of taper candles! The ceramic mushroom holder screams woodland! (Mushrooms trending big this year!) 

Plenty of these Gnome cannister and matching wee Gnome mug. And there's a flock migration of adorable fat Pine Birds! This one nestled in among the Illume shaped candles. 

New decorations this year: Paper Stars, Snowflake Paper Garlands and Lighted Paper Stars (battery operated too!). 

Plenty of ornaments for tree and tabletop: Ceramic trees, Brush Trees (a whole forest!), Hanging Felt Ornaments and these pretty Felt Present Toppers. 

Perfect for hanging on bottles of wine for your Holiday Parties Hostess Gifts. Or use thewooden sayings to jazz it up. 

Prancer photo-bombed this shot! 

This year our candles are both Illume (luxe) and Tried & True (cottage). Illume has the best shaped ceramic candles!

Great scents: Maple Marshmallow, Balsam Cedar, Pink Pine, Vanilla Spruce, Peppermint Whip, Cozy Cashmere. Plus more autumnal scents like Orchard Cider and Pumpkin Sugar. 

All the candle names make me now I want a tall frothy sugary drink and big fat piece of pie....

Yes....that's a wee Gnome Mug! With a Lid! 

For Boxed Notes and Gift Tags, we turn to Cavallini. Along with their puzzles....Lots of holiday puzzles! 

Cavallini, White Mountain and a few eeBoo. We expanded our selection to include more landscape styles (autumnal and snowy winterscapes).  Holiday not the holidays without a perpetual family puzzle on the table. 

Yep....we're ready. Bring on the Holiday Magic & Good Times!

Join us this Friday Dec 2 from 5-8ish for the Annual Murphy's Open House. The Parade is back too! 

New Noro Yarns and an Event!

Come in store for a special Noro event with our hilarious and beloved Noro rep, Gilda. She's great at helping find perfect patterns for all your Noro. If you have stash, questions, problems bring 'em! Gilda will help you and provide lots of laughs. Most of our new Fall Noro here as well. We'll also toast the memory of Mr Noro-san who sadly passed away last month. 

Join us celebrate our love of all things Noro. 

Thurs Oct 27th 4-6pm 

Malvinas Beautiful, saturated Noro Solids! Vibrant and versatile Malinvas is perfect for colorwork projects, a cute and stripey number to keep you cozy, or just a single, bright semi-solid to show off your stitches. It's 100% Merino wool sourced from Las Islas Malvinas in Falkland Islands, Argentina.  It's a work-horse wonder at a user-friendly worsted-weight yarn. Gauge range: knit 14-18 stitches per 4" US7-8 needles, or crochet sc 9.5-12.5 st 4" on US# 7-H hook.  Each 150g ball is a generous 328 yards and there's 14 complimentary colors specifically designed to match the gauge and colors of other popular yarns in the Noro family, such as Kureyon, Ito, Silk Garden, and Viola. Just look at all the ways you can combine Malvinas with your favorite Noro colors! I'm obsessed with the Koko Blanket and am determined to master this crochet hex! It's on my short-bucket-list. Both the Poppy and Emily Poncho are super easy knits (two rectangles pretty much) using combo Ito or Kureyon with Malvinas. Dahlia uses it with Viola in this brioche wrap. Below are a great color block cardi, #8 Moldavite and #9 Legrandite, an intarsia vest. Both in the soon released issue #21 Noro Magazine.  Can we talk Stashbusting? Malvinas is great in combo with your Noro stash too. Just pop into the shop and we'll help you plan how to use it to reduce your stash. In fact bring your stash to the Noro Event Oct 27th to get help on using it up. We have a  Ravelry Stashbusting Bundle patterns for inspiration.  (Kim "collects" patterns in addition to casting on too many projects....it's called Pattern Trawling and a great way to procrastinate!)  Haunui Silk  Haunui Silk is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! A natural blend of raw mulberry silk and unique mixed-breed Haunui merino wool from the Taranui farm in New Zealand. We adore last year's unique merino Haunui so this is a no brainer!  Take the gorgeous natural colors of the Haunui Sheep and add luscious raw mulberry silk to create a marled blend. Gorgeous neutrals of course (the hallmark of this line) with the zing of silk. It's a single ply with a sprightly, thick and thin quality, which lends itself to easy and advanced stitchwork by creating its own texture. Soft, squishy, and with a touch of shine Pretty sure there's going to be another hat on my needles soon! Below is #4 Hokitika and takes 1 hank Haunui Silk and 1 Furreal Pom Pom! We got both in stock!  Below are the beautiful color-blocked scarf, #1 Akaroa (1 hank ea 3 colors) and #2 Taranaki, a stunning shawl collar, cabled cardi (6-7 hanks).  This neutral palette perfect for any of the afghan or lap blanket too. This will be perfect for using with Akari. Kim's Nightshift Shawl below used one color Akari with Silk Garden #269, a highly coveted/hard-to-get cream based neutral. Now Haunui Silk works just as well!  Additionally the new 2022 Haunui arrived. Because it's undyed each season varies slightly. This time there's an lovely light oatmeal! Both Haunui and Haunui Silk are available in store and online!  Kashirukuru Last of the new Fall 2022 Noro yarns is Kashirukuru. Another richly saturated color palette in same Falklands merino base as Malvinas, but with addition of Mongolian cashmere and Japanese mulberry silk!!  More luxurious blends ups the price a bit...but there's a perfect 1-2 skein cowl, and 3-4 skein scarf. Either pattern makes for a perfect holiday gift. The Lila Cowl features the seed stitch to create a simple and lovely two-color striped cowl, perfect for adding a little warm flair to any fit. The wide Origami Scarf will surely catch the eye with its elegant, three-dimensional arrow motif and compliment your jacket as the weather cools. The Celeste Cowl features the basket weave stitch for a textured, woven look with just one skein! At 16-18 stitches per 4 inches on US 7-8 needles, the 75 gram skeins contain 180 yards and come in 10 bold colors. Any of the 1 hank patterns make perfect gifts. Not yet in the shop but expect it to arrive by early Nov.  Noro Magazines The 10th Anniversary Issue #21 due any day now. In meantime there's plenty of past issues for inspiration. The beauty of Noro is many yarns are easily substituted. Just look up which weight a yarn is then see which in same category could work instead.  In honor of this decade milestone KFI having a year-long KAL: A Voyage East Afghan/  Blanket designed for Silk Garden and Silk Garden Solo, but as with Noro yarns creative substitutions always a possibility. More details on Facebook, Ravelry.