Weekly Updates – Page 2 – The French Knot

What do you say… It’s the end of May.

May 28, 2015 by Meg

Info you need to know for this week…

Trunk Shows…

Purple Palm has moved on… Just Libby is on the way.

http://www.justlibbydesigns.com/index.html

Classes

This Saturday, May 30.

Cuff-Down (with heel flap) Sock Class on Saturday. The class starts at 10 am and costs $25 plus materials.

June 13

Crochet 101. You will learn a bunch of crochet stitches. This class starts at 10 am and costs $25.

June 20

Needlepoint 101. This class is gonna be great fun and it’s almost full! We’ve modified the plan a little bit. Pam has stitched up a sampler. Students will pick four of the six possible squares and work on it during class. We will pull threads for you if you like, or you can come in a day or two early to pick them for yourself. Cost for the class, which includes materials, is $50 and will start at 10 am.

June 27

Knitting 101. Come learn to knit. You will also pick up a bit of information about yarn, needles and gauge. Class starts at 10 and costs $25.

New Yarn and Books

Look at the great new yarns!

DSCF6517 — Two new books. Full of quick projects.

Finished Objects

DSCF6527 DSCF6529

Deanne FINALLY finished her sweater.
The pattern is Capall Dubh by Carol Feller and is knit with Silky Wool.

DSCF6512 — Lindsay’s first sock! Hurrah, Lindsay! Number two is already cast on and well on its way!

DSCF6511 — Cassie finished three super cute hats. Good job, Cassie!

DSCF6524 — Judy knit a beautiful prayer shawl using Mohair Mountain.

Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s the 22nd of May!

May 22, 2015 by Meg

Look what came in this week!

The Needlepoint Book, Third Edition has arrived. This book is so thorough it is nicknamed The Needlepoint Bible. There are 131 color photos of stitched canvases that provide tons of inspiration. If you don’t have this book in your needlepoint library, you are missing a great resource.

DSCF6501 DSCF6502

As if that’s not awesome enough, the latest issue of Needlepoint Now is here as well.

DSCF6500

With all these great resources, you need a new canvas to express all that inspiration. You still have time to get one of the amazing Purple Palm canvases here in the trunk show. Or you could get one of the Halloween canvases currently on sale 40% off.

DSCF6494 DSCF6495 DSCF6493 DSCF6492

DSCF6482

Don’t worry, knitters and crocheters. We haven’t forgotten about you. For you, besides our amazing 50% off room, we have baby yarn and lace yarn 30% off.

DSCF6486 DSCF6490

CLASSES!

Check out the classes!!! Needlepoint, Crochet and Knitting 101 classes are scheduled for next month. Cuff-down socks is on May 30.

LOOK!!!

Deidre finished a sock. We are so proud! I can’t wait to see number two…

DSCF6498

Check out some other Finished Objects.

Donna is a brand new knitter and we are so proud of her first FO, Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth.

Connie is doing a wonderful gift set for a good friend. Love this set of washcloths. The pattern on the left is called Clover Tweed Dishcloth. It’s a nice easy pattern that looks complicated.

Keeping you up to date.

May 14, 2015 by Meg

This week at The French Knot, we would like you to know about…

Purple Palm Designs.

We are loving the Purple Palm Trunk Show. These canvases are so unique and they are only here till the end of the month.

DSCF6494 DSCF6493 DSCF6492

Classes

In addition to the 101 classes in June, we are adding a sock class to the schedule on May 30. It will be a cuff-down sock. Cost is $25 and materials will be discounted 10%.

Crochet-a-long…

Lots of progress is being made on the Crochet-a-long. It’s not too late to join. It only takes a few hours to finish a square.

A Few Finished Objects

A Sale, Awesome Canvases and a Send-off.

May 7, 2015 by Meg

A Sale….

The finishing deadline for Halloween is July 31. To help you get your Halloween stitching done in time, all Halloween canvases are 40% off for through the end of June. That’s a GREAT deal.

DSCF6482

And of course we can’t leave out the knitters & crocheters… all baby yarn and lace weight yarn is 30% off.

DSCF6486 DSCF6490

A Purple Palm Trunk Show…

The Purple Palm Trunk show is still in the shop. These are really unique canvases… such works of art. You can learn more about this great group of artists here on there website.

DSCF6492

DSCF6493 DSCF6494

DSCF6495

A Send-Off…

This Saturday is Aubrey’s last day working in the shop. She is moving to Jackson to pursue her next phase in life. If you would like to say goodbye, please stop by on Saturday. There will be food…

A French Knot Rhyme

April 30, 2015 by Meg

It’s been quite awhile, since I sat down to rhyme,

And the absence has lately been noted,

So today it’s my goal to bring it right back,

By request of a few most devoted.

Up first for our friends, canvases sure to delight,

Purple Palm is now ready to show,

So many to choose, you can’t possibly go wrong,

Come in and we’ll help your stash grow.

DSCF6452 DSCF6453

DSCF6454 DSCF6455

Next up on my list, that you’ll want to remember,

Mother’s Day comes around in ten days,

Your Mom would be thrilled, I’m really quite sure,

With yarn, thread or canvases… Always!!

At last now it’s time for a sweet little treat,

That Marian, our new friend just shared,

She brought us the recipe to pass on to y’all,

Here now you see how it’s prepared.

Pecan Praline Cookies

Two ungreased 13×18 pans.

Take your low fat cinnamon graham crackers, fill the pans with crackers each will break into four.

After you have filled the pan, sprinkle chopped pecans over the crackers, set aside.

Heat oven to 400.

In a medium pot, put 2 sticks of salted butter,

2 cups of light brown sugar

A pinch of cream of tartar

Bring to a boil, stir and bring to a boil again.

With a big spoon cover crackers and pecans

Put on 3rd rack from top

Bake at 400 for 13 min. Cool on cooling rack. When cooled, put a towel on the table, turn pan over and beat top of pan. Separate on rectangle lines, put in a container after completely cooled. Enjoy.

Ahhh Spring!

April 22, 2015 by Meg

Ahhh Spring…

DSCF6435

DSCF6436

DSCF6437

DSCF6438

But we crafty types need to be thinking ahead. It’s not too early to be thinking about Christmas. The deadline for Christmas finishing is early this year. August 28 to be specific.

DSCF6434

This super cute canvas is from a new series of treat bags by Kathy Schenkel. Each one comes with a stitch guide and finishing instructions (so finishing deadlines need not apply). See the entire series here.

Knitters and crocheters should be thinking about Christmas as well. Now is a great time to start thinking through your list and planning your projects. No need to stress in November. Start some socks, mittens or scarves now and have a pile of them ready to give at Christmas. Or perhaps you want to give something extra special like a lace shawl.

To help inspire you toward your gift knitting and crocheting I would like to present some new yarn…

Speaking of planning ahead… our Crochet-a-long is going great. It’s not too late to join us. A square works up quickly. We have been doing two squares per month so they are starting to add up. Michelle’s squares are the gray ones (she’s doing two sets, and has a green set as well). She is using Classic Shades by Universal and the shading is just gorgeous. The brown/blue squares are Deanne’s and she is using Cascade 220 Superwash. There is no need to be intimidated. Deanne just started crocheting and is learning something new on every square.

If you are doing the CAL, share your pictures on the CAL discussion thread on our Ravelry page or on our Facebook page.

DSCF6441 DSCF6442

Canvases, Crochet & Classes

March 17, 2015February 27, 2015 by Meg

Upcoming Needlepoint Trunk Shows.

Click on the image to see the designer’s website.

In March…Patti Mann

In May…Purple Palm Designs

In June…Just Libby Designs

Crochet-A-Long Squares for March.

There is a forum here on Ravlery with some chatting about the CAL. Feel free to join the discussion. You can share your successes and frustrations.

Michelle’s finished squares

Upcoming Classes

This Saturday is Knitting 101 and on March 14 you can learn all about knitting cables. In April, we will do the 101 classes all again.

We’ve had lots of requests for a sock class, so we’ve added one on March 28th.

See our Classes page or our Events for all the info.

The End of January Already

January 29, 2015 by Meg

Wow! January has flown by. We are getting settled in to the new place more and more each day. If you haven’t been by to see it yet, you should come check it out. With the new place comes a new look for the website. I hope you like it.

New Canvases.

Look at the super cute tooth fairy canvases that arrived this week. There’s bound to be some little cutie in your life that needs a little tooth fairy pillow.

IMG_1681 copy IMG_1683 copy IMG_1685 copy

Recipes and Special Scheduled Shopping

We had a group of ladies schedule a special “private” shopping time this week and it was a great time. For their visit, Meg made soup and salad. It was so tasty that they asked us to post the recipes for the meal. So here they are.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
½ stick butter
4 15oz cans chicken broth
1 packet Taco seasoning
1 15 oz diced tomatos
1 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes, original style
10 8 inch corn tortillas, cut into pieces
2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 cup milk
8 oz Mexican style shredded cheese

Saute carrots, celery and onions in butter till soft. Add broth, tomatoes, rotel, taco seasoning and chicken. Bring to a boil. Add cut up tortillas. Let boil for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and add cheese and milk. Simmer for 10 more minutes.

Town and Country Salad

Lettuce, sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, sugared nuts. You can be creative with this. Pears and brie cheese can be used. The dressing is the secret.

Poppy Seed Dressing

½ cup sugar
½ salad oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 ½ tsp poppy seeds
1 ½ tsp onion juice

Speaking of Scheduled Special Shopping… If your group would like to come on a Monday and have the store all to themselves for a time of shopping, we’d be happy to accommodate you. We need a two week notice and a minimum of three in your group. Call us to discuss.

Classes

We’ve scheduled several beginner level classes. Three each for Crochet, Needlepoint and Knitting. We are calling them 101 since they are intended to get you started. These classes will be great for the absolute beginner and for the person who has been inactive for awhile. We will do one of each class in February, April and June. You can see the complete schedule on the classes page of our website or at the bottom of the page where events are listed.

We have also scheduled a knitted cable class. You can pick a project with cables that appeals to you or if you don’t have one in mind, we will use Bowlegged Washcloth from Needyl. All you need is some cotton yarn and the appropriate needles for the yarn. The cable class is March 14.

Here are a few finished objects to inspire you.

DSCF6287

New Year, New Digs

March 17, 2015January 8, 2015 by Meg

Our Grand-reopening party was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us. We appreciate your support.

To find our new place…

Take I-10 to exit 16 (same exit as before). When you exit, go north. At the 4-way stop, turn right on West Aloha Dr., the turn left on Indian Hill Blvd (just past Coldwell Banker, across from Family Dollar). Turn right into the parking lot. We are on the end, next to Aloha Dr.

[wpgmza id=”1″]

Crochet-a-long

We are still planning to do our CAL with Michelle. You can read all about it here.

These are the squares for January

Harlequin Shells 12″ Crochet Square by Carolyn Christmas

Winter Burst 12″ Square by Aurora Suominen

Trunk Show

We have needlepoint trunk shows planned this year. Patti Mann is the first one coming in March. Stay tuned for more details.

We Are Thankful For Y’all

November 6, 2014 by Meg

It’s November… Thanksgiving month. So let’s start the month with a little gratitude. First up, we would like to thank everyone for the great response to the cash and carry sale. We hope you found some great deals and will enjoy stitching on them. Remember, if you need a little advice, or just want to hang out while you stitch, feel free to come in and sit for awhile.

DSCF5959 DSCF5954

We are also thankful for our great classes. What makes our classes great? Well, not only will you learn the skill you are here to learn, but you will also learn new tricks and techniques from your fellow students as well. It’s also a lot of fun meeting new folks who share your love of the craft.

The classes coming up are:

Crochet 101. November 15. 10am – 1pm. You will learn the basics of crochet, starting at the very beginning. $25 plus materials.

In this class you will learn how to:
Make a slip knot
How to crochet a chain
How to make a slip stitch
How to single crochet
How to make a Half Double Crochet stitch
How to make a Double Crochet Stitch

Even if you know how to crochet, you will learn something to make you a better crocheter.

And just in case you missed it last week…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCmWdeG8qLQ&feature=youtu.be

Thanks, Deidre, for your amazing directing and editing skills! The CAL sung about in this amazing video will start in January… stay tuned for more details.

Stash Buster Class. December 6. 10am – 1pm. $25

Bring yarn from your stash and will will choose a project you can get done for Christmas gift giving. Trust me! You can do it! We will have several free patterns to choose from based on the yarn you have. Of course, if you don’t have a stash, we can help with that as well.

Speaking of Thanksgiving… we will be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week (November 26-28).

We are thankful for Finished Objects…