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Leaf Tess

Leaf Tess
Originally uploaded by cedison

Amazing paper folding; Illuminated from behind. Simply gorgeous!

Visit form the Yarn Fairy!

I have been playing with the latest booty from the yarn fairy, really fun stuff.
He brought some Lantern Moon knitting bags which are gorgeous and clever, one even has a pin cushion hidden inside the basket. There are also a couple of messenger bags which look to be made of some recycled material from Cambodia, really fun with fish prints on them.
Also got lots of fabulous yarns and needles most of which are on sale now, and some cute knitting themed mugs. Lots of fun stuff. I made a hat with some of the samples he brought...I am very pleased. We are still sorting things out now.
Also have some boucle on the way. Oh an d more interesting yarns, I will post again soon and describe in detail...:)

Did I mention...Colinette, Prism, Blue Heron, et al

As I am sorting through the new yarn, I thought I might just share...there are three Colinette Vintage Kits. These retail for $140, but we are going to offer them for much less since we got a price break on them, everyone wins! Also found lots of Blue Heron which is hand dyed (various textures of that, have not yet sorted or inspected what they all are) Also some Claudia's, which I recognized.

I am thinking I may want a Colinette kit for myself.
I had that same thought about the Prism. I have 4 half skeins of Cool Stuff in Tea Rose colorway. It is very pretty and I may just have to keep one for moi.
Each fabulous yarn that I have never tried yet calls to me...saying "How can you sell me if you never tried me yourself. Don't you want to knit me NOW?

I know at most of the novelty and onsie balls are going in our sale bin, which should be fun for those that peruse them on a regular basis...basically new balls are finding there way in there every day. If I didn't have this store, I would be customer here for sure. :)
I am starting to sound like one of those car salesmen on TV commercials. "We must be CRAZEE to sell this stuff so CHEAP." Ok Maybe I feel more like Tom Waits singing "Step Right Up."
Always wanted to feel like Waits, er, maybe that was I always wanted to feel Tom Waits. Close enough.

Amazing Abundance of Yarn

It is almost unbelievable the abundance of gorgeous yarn that has come into life of late.
I have been fortunate enough to purchase the contents of two, not one, but TWO closing yarn shops.
Well, not the entire contents but you can be sure I got the best, most yummiest, most fantastic yarns they had. Not only that, but the lovely women with whom I was trading were quite generous. I use the term trading loosely. I was trading cash for yarn, which is pretty much how that works for me. I have cash, you have yarn; we trade; I am happy.
Anyway, I got lots of hand painted goodness, lots of silk and silky things, lots of gorgeous bulky wool and super bulky winter time fun stuff and of course novelties, needles, and notions, scarf pins and more. It is too much to believe.
After the first round with the Jenkintown ladies, Nicole, my assistant, and I were kind of rolling around the floor in all the hand painted Great Adirondack and Schaefer yarns, when Carolyn called, so she came in and proceeded to lay on the floor...with the yarn. It was a nice afternoon.
By mid-week we had everything sorted, tagged and entered into inventory and onto the shelves and racks.
Then it started all over again; just last night I went visited another woman with the contents of her shop spread between her beautiful finished knitting room/basement and her garage, all the boxes in the garage were labeled with the intricate contents of each box marked with quantities of each and the circles and the arrows and a full color glossy photo of....sorry, no, I digress...anyway, we got some amazing things there and I look forward to sorting thru it all to see what we actually purchased. :) I know we will be pleased in the long run. Getting it all into inventory as 'assorted' or as what it actually is...is another feat all together. Oy.
Well, by the time we got out of there, we were drenched with sweat, it had begun to rain, and my Tupperware bins were nearing capacity with yarn and the cardboard box was getting wet in the back of my truck, but we pressed on...we had another stop in Jenkintown with the original and first yarn-store-going-out-of-business-whose-inventory-I-must-obtain.
We were late but I knew the yarn was patient, it always is.
Just as expected, it was waiting shelved and bagged politely with its people and pets occupying themselves amongst the books and notions. Good yarn. No wait, bad yarn, all vying for my affections and wooing me like that.
Damn it, I want you all. OK Focus, Focus. (That was heard quite a bit last night)
Now the fun will really begin, as we do the sort, catalog, enter data and tag portion of this adventure. We got through the first round so this shouldn't be too bad--although this latest haul is twice as big.
I am happy to report that I spent less than 5K. If your SO ever gives you a hard time about your yarn shopping, or yarn acquisition addiction, you can him/her about me.

Love and blessings,
Nancy

Sari Silk Solids--Most Gorgeous Thing Ever!

I just got in an order from one of my most favorite yarn vendors, Frabjous Fibers and I was unpacking and labeling the yummy yarns. There was a bright yellow Banana Silk and some Red Banana Silk, and more Kathmandu, the traditional multi colored silk spun from the weaving waste of the sari looms. Now bear in mind, these are all spun by a fair trade women's collective in Nepal, a cottage industry, and imported by this wonderful woman in Vermont who runs Frabjous Fibers. Well, all was going well until I unpacked the silk solids which I ordered for the first time, these are softer than the regular sari silk, and the colors are intense and they are subtle shades within a shade of luscious goodness. I was just drooling all over them, I so very much wanted to eat them. [I refrained.]

In lieu of eating them, I collected a fuchsia, cobalt and a dark green, and escorted them around town for the evening in my bag, checking in with them periodically and showing them off at every opportunity.

Pictured above are the Sari Silk Solids encircling a couple hanks of Kathmandu. Radiant, isn't it?

For knitters, crocheters and yarn collectors, these lovely hanks are 100 grams for the solids and they sell for $12.00, the Kathmandu Original is 200 grams and sells for $15.00. please call for availability 215-413-5001 and we can send them out to you straightaway.

Flaming Sweeater Dress

Yes, I have been busy. Trying to quit hats cold turkey is not working but creating larger work is a good distraction. I still manage to squeek a hat in here and there...


This is a more recent [almost] completion for me.


It was a fun endeavor.



I still have a few ends to weave in here and there, but it is virtually done.
I am also thinking about knitting the top of something like this and crocheting the skirt. I had intended that with this flame dress, but wound up picking up stitches and knitting and increasing and feather-and-fan-ing the skirt.
These projects evolve like that so what I initially intend is usually not what I get in the end.

Blessings, joy and inspiration!

New Sweater Dress

I decided it was time to work on some larger projects for a change, I have been addicted to hats for long enough, time to move on, so I made a little tank top from some hand painted Cherry Tree Hill ribbon called Baby Sachet in the colorway Champlaign Sunset, and then I moved on to this sweater dress using a whole bunch of different rosey tones of wool, a wee bit of ribbon and some novelty yarns.


I was looking for interesting designs to incorporate into it and wanted a Greek key patten of some kind that would repeat around the sweater and connect one repeat to another, so I designed one myself, the lower fishy design is from a stitch bible book, and so is the flower motif just below the bust. The trim on the neck and sleeves is crocheted and I am still not sure I want longer sleeves but for now, I like it as it is.

The red wool is a 3 ply hand spun wool from someone at the Phiadelphia Guild of Handweavers. It was wonderful stuff to work with. I am going to work on more sweaters and larger pieces, they really don't take all that long, and I have a lot to learn about techniques so it keeps it interesting and engaging.

I basically work in the round until it feels big enough and then bind off a few stitches for the arm holes and then work the back and front separately and when I am ready for the neck (in this case, a v-neck) I split the stitches of the front and start to decrease each side. What I discovered with this piece is that I could work the front and the back simultaneously using two balls of yarn and keeping all the stitches on the same circular needles I wan using. THen when I split the front into the right and left sides, I still kept them all on the circs and introduced a new ball if the same yarn. I knot one piece, then the next, then the back, each from their respective balls, then turn and purl back each piece, each from his own ball. Kind of like kntiting two socks at once, each from its own ball. It makes the piece grow more slowly but consistently.

Blessings , love and peace,

Nancy

Karaoke Hat Collection is Here!

We just received the Trunk Show Hats from South West Trading Company. They are gorgeous!
We also have a samle copy of the book and are currently taking pre-orders. It will be available very shortly!
Woo Hoo!
Stop in and check it all out!

Stango Ebay Auctions

Just listed these two pieces on eBay...
Stango Heart Painting, 18 x 19 inches




















http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7386726872
Albert Einstein 25 x 30.5 inches

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7386729403

Handspun Pics

This is the fabulous new yarn I got in! I had a ball with it, just getting it ready for the shelves. What a joy to hold it, twist it into hanks, label it, and get it on the shelves....I am going to be working with it for a while and share with y'all what comes out!
Have a beautiful, joyful day.






This is available @ http://www.nangellini.com

Handspun Hand-dyed

I just received the most amazing yarn from Uruguay today! I am so excited. Just labeling the hanks of yarn was a sensual experience. The colors are so luscious and the wool is so silky soft, I was completely beside myself!
I wanted to set a hank of each color aside just to fondle and make pretty little things with...I tried hard to control myself so there would be plenty for the customers but it was difficult, each colorway was better than the last...total there are 20 colors, 10 are kettle dyed and 10 are 'space-dyed' I think. I will post photos tomorrow...and fondle some more...and somewhere in there I have to put together more shelving to accomodate all this stuff...
btw, this one-ply hand spun yarn is the perfect thing for bullions. Bullions are crocheted stitches, which Free Form crocheters love, thanks to Prudence Mapstone --www.knotjustknitting.com and her Fabulous book Bullions and Beyond, Bonnie Pierce--http://www.elegantcrochet.com/ and other designers.
Free Form crocheters and knitters all over have glommed onto this stitch because it is a challenge to learn (for many) and it looks so neat, unusual, organic, etc.

I also got a new shipment of recycled silk and Midas, the recycled rayon with goldish coloring. Both of these are available at www.nangellini.com in the yarn section if you want...they come in 200 gram hanks. I like that. More yarn is always better!
Oh, and additionally, I got a bunch of Gedifra which I am able to offer at greatly reduced pricing which makes me happy. What is better than great yarn at a mucho discount price? Um, other than chocolate, I can't think of anything!
Diane came in to help me tag it all, Thank God! I needed the help, plus I needed someone there to listen to me kvell over all of this stuff. Sitting there petting all this yarn all alone just wouldn't do. Have to share the joy!

OK, currently I am working on

• one fair isle tam on the dpns mid-wheel section, but need to concentrate to finish. Oh and I have to finish designing the rest of the wheel...
• Also have thin belt with the Gedifra Gigante on the 15s, that is a quicky but I am too tired to finish tonight
• also some Japanese yarn on #10 circs making a tam. Thank you Shiho for the Japanese yarn.
• Also started a crocheted vest worked vertically, in bright oranges and pinks, that is only a front panel so far, not even all of the front panel is done, and it got set aside
• What else, oh, there is a ripple tank top in the basement of the store in many white cottons and off white cottons, that has been sitting for a while and I keep forgetting.
• Also a bright orange sweater vest for my fiance' almost done,
• and I want to start a few other things, like scrumbles for brooches, and more beading on hats and scarfs.

Oy!

Fair Isle Tam

I finally did it. I have been stalling on attempting
this for months, and just got my feet wet with the tams by doing one color and of course having to learn how to use dpns. Well after about 10 one yarn tams, I did it. I had to improvise the patterns and figure out what to do with the two yarns, one in each hand yeilds two different tensions for me, since I am a continental knitter by nature (I knit like I am crocheting; really) Here it is, Thank you to Claire for modeling it for me! I was being wrapped up in a kimono and obi and my head was unavailable at the time (Thanks, Shiho for the dress-up!)

Hendrix & Ali

New Stangos here!

Beads

Stay tuned for beads. I am going hog wild buying beads for the store and to use in my own work. I like to dangle a bead or two at each end of a scarf and also to incorporate them into crocheted pieces, so we will see what evolves.
I am particularly fond of lampwork glass beads and that is primarily what I have been ordering.
I also am partial to leaves so there are some lampwork glass leaf beads coming in this week.
I ordered kitty cats too. I think they will be sweet at the end of scarves.

I think I am going to finally bring the spinning wheel down to Nangellini...I miss it. It must be lonesome up on the third floor...well, it has the yarn up there to keep it company. Some of that should come down to the store too....soon. It all needs a good sorting out. What is mine and what will get tossed into the sale bin and the "Here, you look like you could use one more ball of yarn" pile.
I read some recent posts about spinning up the cats hair into yarn and all I could think is, "Ew!" and "Isn't that why we got the maids?" I have seen just about enough cat hair, thank you!

Blessings and gratitude,
Nancy

New Stango Paintings

Just arrived! We have new Tiny pieces by Stango, all approximately 19 x 21.
There are Hearts, Flowers, and Eiffel Tower and Marilyns.


To see more Stango work, visit www.stango.com or come see us at Nangellini!

New in Nangellini

I now have several beautiful handbags created by local artists. They are felted knit and crocheted wool. Some are plain, some with gorgeous embellishments; all are handmade with love.
Also new are the ponchos and wraps I have been creating.
I am currently uploading photos to www.nangellini.com At present, there are many hats and hat/scarf sets available for viewing and purchase. If you see something you like, please call me for ordering info.


I am anxiously awaiting delivery of my most recent order of recycled silk and banana silk, as well as the new Crushed Velvet (which is viscose, a rayon derrivative which means it started out as wood pulp.)
I am knitting a shrug with the Crushed Velvet now and it is just amazing, it is so silky soft and luxurious to work with.

Also New: We are having a Knitting Circle on Sundays at 3 PM in addition to our Tuesday night Circle. Please stop by and knit or crochet with us!

More Yarn

Just got new Ribbon Yarns in fabulous colors, should be on the shelves this afternoon!

Also added more discount novelties up front in the baskets. 50bs for $2.50 two balls will easily make a scarf or hat!










Finished up several new hats and working on scarves with new mini needles with fancy beads. Several pair still available for $20 or $25 each.



















These were intended for hair sticks, but I like them for scarf needles.

New Yarn is In!

We just received the first batch from Bartlett Yarns, which is a lofty two ply wool that works up the same as any 4 ply worsted. It is just gorgeous, and while I have about 15 colors here, I am due to receive dozens more colors soon. Also from Bartlett, Bulky FIsherman wool. All is in 4 0z skeins @ $6.00 each.
Also, today I received Feather from NY Yarns in Coral Sea $6.50 for 50 g, 76 yards and two colors of variegated Pixie which is a baby yarn. 50 g, 136 yards @ $5.00 each
I plan to have camera to shoot this new yarn tomorrow.

I am very excited about the Bartlett Wool, as I want to try my hand at some intarsia and the rich heather colors lend themselves so well to that.

Pictures in Posts; What a Great Idea!

I am considering using a different hat each time I need to order new business cards. People can start collecting all the different Nangellini hat cards, like trading cards...maybe we can start a trend, who knows. :)

Original image for Nangellini logo. I have since added a bit more neck to the image.