Cassiopeia Boutique opening today!
Sat 18th Nov 2006
Announcing an exciting new addition to our little row of shops on Queen Margaret Drive! Cassiopeia Boutique is opening today. West Enders may already be familiar with Cassiopeia's giftwear shop on Hyndland Rd. This new shop at 158 Queen Margaret Drive is a little different. It is entirely women's fashion with a fabulous range of dresses, separates and shoes! I have only had time to have a wee peak this morning before I opened, but I am definitely going back (hands off those silver ballet shoes. They're mine!). Just one more reason to make Queen Margaret Drive your first and last stop for the best independent boutiques in Glasgow!! (And the West End's best coffee).
Holiday newsletter
Wed 15th Nov 2006
Happy Holidays!!
Well, I know that it’s still a bit early, but for some reason this year I already feel full of Christmas spirit! Perhaps it’s because for the past couple of weeks I have been receiving boxes and boxes of beautiful yarns that we have never carried before! It has left me feeling like Santa’s little helper! But more about that in a minute…
First, I need to tell you about a couple of important pre-Christmas events. For the past year I have had a constant request for more challenging knitting courses. Sock knitting has always been a top request, so I am very pleased to announce that we are offering a new course, ‘Introduction to Sock Knitting’! This course is being instructed by the very talented Sian Shirley, Knitting Tutor at the Glasgow School of Art. There are still some places for our pre-Christmas course, which will be offered in 2 classes on Monday afternoons at North Star Café. The first class will take place next Monday, Nov. 20 and will cover ‘knitting in the round’ and will get you started on your socks. The second class will be on Monday Dec. 4 and will cover ‘turning the heal’. The course includes all materials and even a cup of tea or coffee at both classes. For details, check out our classes page at www.k1yarns.com. We will be holding more sock classes in the new year as well!
For those of you who like to shop and party at the same time, I am sure you will want to know about the Urban Outfitters Christmas Evening on Thursday, November 30 from 6 pm at their Buchanan St. shop. There will be 20 % off all Urban Outfitters merchandise and goody bags with each purchase. There will be live music, free refreshments and beauty stations for hair, make-up and nails. I am told that there will also be things of interest to men, like CDs or cars or comic books or something like that up on the men’s floor so you don’t have to feel guilty if you bring them along. However, perhaps the most exciting thing at the Urban Outfitters evening will be the k1 Yarns Mini Knitting Boutique and demonstration. We will have knitting kits for sale and we will be giving out discount vouchers as well as a scarf knitting demonstration! It should be a great evening with loads of free stuff so don’t miss it!
But what about all of these special yarns she has been hinting about in her past 3 newsletters, you ask? Well, here I sit with a smug expression on my face as I prepare to tell you about the most beautiful Christmas gifts for knitters in all the land…
At k1 Yarns we have gifts for knitters of all ages this season. For children, we have a range of knitting and craft kits, and Lucinda Guy’s wonderful Kids Learn to Knit book! For beginner knitters of all ages, check out our beautiful hand-spun and hand-dyed hat kits by Tigerlilith or our Squall Scarf kit by ultra soft Shipwreck’d yarns. Both kits are suitable for beginners and contain yarns that are hand-dyed in Scotland.
For sock enthusiasts we have something very special! We have just introduced this week 2 new luxury sock yarns. Hummingbird is a 100% alpaca sock yarn that comes in 4 different self-stripe pattern colourways. Developed by our friends at Artesano Alpaca, this is a fair-trade yarn from Peru. It is a DK weight sock yarn so it will make a slightly thicker and warmer sock than our 4 ply sock yarns. It comes with a free basic sock pattern. Also, just in (and still in the box at my feet) is the very ultimate in sock luxury. Hand-dyed 100% cashmere 4 ply sock yarn. Each skein contains approx. 600 meters of yarn, so more than enough to make a pair of large adult socks or a very fine shawl. There are only very limited amounts of this yarn in stock so if you are interested please look in soon! As the yarns arrived about 15 min ago I don’t have pictures on my website yet (give me a minute!) but they will be coming soon. Nevertheless, you can see them in the shop as of now.
Now, let’s forget the Christmas presents and start thinking about the real point of the holidays. Sitting in front of the fire and knitting something amazing for ourselves! I know that I can hardly wait! In fact, this is a good time to let you know that my Queen Margaret Drive shop will be closed for the holidays from Sunday, December 24 to Monday January 1, inclusive. The shop will re-open on Tuesday January 2, 2007 at 10 am. But don’t despair; our online shop will be open 24 hours a day throughout the Christmas holidays! There may even be some online-only specials during Christmas week, so don’t forget to check in from time to time!
What will I be knitting on my Christmas holiday you ask? Well that is a bit of a problem. Do I choose some of our new Aran weight 100 % silk, hand painted yarn from Hip Knits? Or, should I choose our new and exclusive Sea Silk yarn imported from Handmaiden Yarns, Canada. This 4 ply yarn is very special and unique as it is created from silk and sea cell, a fibre derived from seaweed! It is wonderfully soft, shiny and luxurious and each skein has about 400 m!
As wonderful as these yarns are, I have to say that my personal favourite is still our own Shipwreck’d yarns. This ultrafine Merino wool is available in either an unbelievably soft chunky weight or aran weight. It is all hand-dyed locally in a range of colours inspired by the Western Isles. Also new to the online shop is a range of Shipwreck’d Designs for garments and accessories to hand knit or crochet! I am adding more patterns to this page daily (when I’m not unpacking boxes of yarn) so keep checking back! Whenever I wear a jumper knit from this wool I spend the entire day feeling as though I am still wrapped up in my duvet!
Don’t forget stocking fillers! We now have a new range of amazing ceramic buttons for adults and children from Injabulo. This is an organisation that helps to set up South African women in their own businesses. All of our Injabulo products are fair-trade, and beautifully hand made. The buttons are hugely popular, as are our Injabulo silk corsages (perfect for stocking fillers). We also have a wide range of knitting accessories from Clover! What could be a better stocking filler than a ball of sock yarn! Don’t forget all of the holiday knitting magazines! Confused? Don’t know what to get? Don’t worry, a gift certificate is the perfect gift for the knitter who has everything but still wants more!
I’m sure that there is much much more that I haven’t included in this letter. There has been so much new stock coming in over the past few weeks that I haven’t had time to think. New Vogue magazines are in and other new magazines will be coming in shortly. Please check regularly as I always put new information on my home page. There is loads of other useful information on the website as well, like our special December shop hours, classes and of course Big Knit Out our friendly West End knitting meet-up group. Oh and yes, a full online shop where you can buy literally everything we stock in our Glasgow shop (and more).
Well, I must get on to un-packing this box. So it only leaves me to say…
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a VERY KNITTY NEW YEAR!
HO HO HO!
Katharine
