Summer is for Sock Knitting

Socks are such a delight for travel knitting, for hot weather knitting and for gift knitting. I love to knit socks. They are interesting enough to keep your attention but small enough to finish, even if the pattern is a bit tricky. Now you do have to knit the second sock and that is sometimes more difficult than it sounds.

Right now we have an excellent array of sock yarns for you to choose from in self striping or faux Fair Isle, solids or semi-solids or just about anything in between. Here are just a couple...

Plymouth's Happy Feet is a great yarn in 90% superwash merino and 10% nylon for added strength. It comes in semi-solids and multicolors and knits up quickly, even in a tiny gauge. The yarn itself is nicely spun, so you can knit by touch alone - great for socks in a simple pattern. The socks shown here were knit by one of our customers.

Berroco makes wonderful sock yarns too and we have a very wide selection. Both Berroco Sox and Metallic Sox come in just about any color combination that you feel like knitting. These are also a washable wool/nylon blend that is as easy on the eyes as it is on the pocketbook.

For even more color and fiber choices, we carry a number of Schoeller & Stahl yarns in their Fortissima and Mexico lines, cotton blend sock yarns and lots more. The sock yarn wall seems to get bigger and bigger and the color and fiber choices just keep expanding. These few are only the tip of the iceberg!

Last, but certainly not least, we have a selection of hand-dyed sock yarns from an indie dyer right here in Asheville. Bright colors or subtle shades, AnneMarie (aka Smoky Mountain Fibers) has fun tending the dyepots. Look for some new green and blue yarns coming your way!

So if the heat makes sweaters seem superfluous and cozy baby blankets just too, well...cozy, it may just be the summer of socks! Small, lightweight, a little bit challenging and so appreciated when the cooler weather comes back!

What's New?

As we go into our summer season, quilts take center stage. With wall quilts, table runners and crib quilts, the quilters of Western North Carolina run the range from very traditional to well... kind of wild.

Frances Owl Smith lives in Waynesville, North Carolina. She is the embodiment of modern quilting in our area. Her piecing is superb; her freeform quilting fits the space beautifully. But what makes Frances's quilts really stand out is her sense of color. The greens, the teals, the purples, the blues - they all work together to make a magical quilt that would be at home in your home.

Quilted table runners are a great way to dress up your table. Change your runner to fit the season, to match your dishes, or just to fit your mood. Affordable works of art, our selection changes all the time. Stop by and see what's new.

Many of our quilters will be happy to custom make a bed-size quilt for you. Stop in and see Judy or Marie; they will be happy to help you.

We always welcome visitors to our store. Friday evening Sit and Knit will find any number of knitters and crocheters making socks and hats and scarves. Judy and Marie, as well as experienced knitters assist newer knitters as they cast-on for the very first time, turn the heel of a sock or make baby booties. Bring your current project or start a new one from the always-changing yarns you'll find in our store.

New Yarns!

Asheville Home and Crafts has even more fun yarns for you to enjoy as we slowly move into spring. We have a lovely new Super Cotton from Schulana that is very soft and pliable. We also have two new yarns from the Queensland Collection - Sugar Rush and Haze. Sugar Rush, appropriately, is made out of %100 sugar cane! However, we do not recommend chewing on it if your project is not going well. :) Haze is a variegated cotton/corn viscose fiber, in a great selection of colors. In addition we have a new yarn from Linie, "Toledo", which is smooth with a great sheen - perfect for projects where you want to show off little details. Canela has a new hand-dye rayon, acrylic, and cotton variegated yarn in even more fabulous colors. We also just got in more Eco-Wool - Peruvian highland wool - in natural and dyed colors. A great value at 478 yards for only $15.
We also have a new local artist who is bringing us hand-painted silk roving. It feels amazing, and the colors are bright and vibrant. Perfect for spinning or needle felting!

You don't have to stop knitting just because the weather is getting warmer! We have many non-wool yarns that you can use all year round. Also, a great project for warmer weather is the Hair-Pin Lace Scarf. It's a great way to use embellishment yarns (of which we always have a great selection), and is light and cool for spring. All you need is a hair-pin lace tool, only $8 in our store, 70-90 yards of fun yarns, and a crochet hook. Even if you've never crocheted before, we promise you can learn! We'll happily give you lessons and a free pattern.

The first Asheville Art Walk of the season is Friday, April 2. A great way to see the galleries of Asheville, nibble on yummy finger food, and appreciate great art. We'll be open late, so come by and see all the new yarns, as well as our hand-made hats, shawls, quilts, and other goodies. Also on that and every Friday is our Sit & Knit session. Everyone is invited to come by and knit or crochet with us. You can ask questions if you're stuck, or even learn how to knit and make your very first project. All are invited for the fun! Until then, happy crafting!

New Online Store!

Yes, it's true! Asheville Home Crafts has conquered the internet!
Well, at least part of it. Asheville Home Crafts now has our own online store. Just go to ashevillehomecrafts.com and click on "Shop Online". Our handmade hats (more to come), notions and yarn are all for sale. And a special bonus for you - get %10 off your online order when you enter the code "Grove".

Exciting things are happening at our physical store as well. As always, we have new fun yarns for sale. You can't own a yarn store if you don't love buying new fun yarns on a regular basis.
If you are making adorable baby items, or anything for someone allergic to wool, we have many new colors of acrylic worsted weight Encore yarn. For all of those addicted to knitting pair after pair of socks, we have colorful new sock yarns in stock. Finally, we have a limited number of hand-dyed ribbon, eyelash, and "ladder" yarns. The colors are especially beautiful - these are not to be missed!

On the notions front, we now have all sizes of the addi-turbo lace needles available. We also have many new needle-felting embellishments such as flowers, hearts, and other small items that would work fabulously to spruce up a hat, bag, or your favorite sweater.
New handmade hats are arriving all the time, so there are always fun new styles to try out. Recent additions to the handmade collection are felted flowers on headbands in many colors. Flower pins and broaches, wet-felted and crocheted, are also available.

Remember to come knit with us Friday nights, 5:30-7pm in our Sit and Knit sessions. We can help you with problems, teach you to knit, or just gossip about the unfinished projects hiding in our closets. Come on by!

Welcome to the Asheville Home~Crafts Blog!

Welcome knitters, crocheters, felters, and fiber lovers all to the new Asheville Home~Crafts blog! We are very excited to be able to bring you many new online features. You will very soon be able to buy the same hats and yarn we have in our store online at our website www.ashevillehomecrafts.com - hopefully in about a week. This blog will also help keep you updated on any new and exciting fiber information.

The Home Crafters have been very busy recently. The winter hat buying season is just getting underway, and many of our artists have brought in new lovely hats of all shapes, styles and colors. We also just attended SAFF, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, where we got many gorgeous new yarns from the many vendors there. We also just got in some very unique new yarns with fiber from buffalo and opossum!

Needle felting is taking off - and we have hand-dyed roving of many lovely colors perfect for beginners and experts alike. We have all the needle felting supplies you need: foam, patterns and inspirations, and of course felting needles. We have freshly carded fleeces for all of you hand spinners out there from the finest Ramboullet to Boder Leicester. These fleeces would also be great for needle felting. All of these fleeces and roving can also be used for wet-felting. We also carry the hard plastic hat forms you need to shape your wet felted hats or to block a felt hat.

If you can't get enough knitting needles, you are in luck! The new Hiyahiya needles (don't ask us to pronouce it) have just arrived. The circular needles from this collection have interchangable cord lengths - you can change your 9" to 16" using the same needle tips!
Serendipity needles have also arrived, with adorable needle tops like cows, apples, quilt designs, and many more.

Remember, we have a free Sit & Knit session every Friday night from 5:30-7pm - come join us! The beginner or the experienced knitter or crocheter are both equally welcome. You can ask questions of any of your fellow crafters, or get help on a project you are working on. It's a great way to learn!