Serendipity!
6. 27. 2008
A new shipment of these handmade needles and shawl pins just arrived. Colorful polymer clay tops are mounted on a birch needle base. Each piece is a work of art. The needles are all 10″ long and are available in sizes 7-11. The shawl pins are a great buy at only $8.95 each! Both the needles and the pins are available at both SWAK locations.
We don’t have these on our website, mainly because there are just too many styles to feature. If you are interested and live too far away to come and visit, give us a shout and we can give you a run-down as to what all is available. The styles range from floral, to more modern, to whimsical with sheep, lady bugs, and the like. There is even a new pink ribbon style for breast cancer awareness.
Even though it’s the middle of summer, I’ve been in a mitten making mood. The first pair I made was with 2 colors of Vittadini Trina. I thought it would be fun to reverse the colors on the second mitten. Then I was inspired to make a matching striped hat.
I started a pair with Nashua Snowbird this morning. You can really make a mitten in just one short morning! These make great gifts and at this rate you’d be finished long before the holiday season starts. We have a class coming up in August at our Guthrie location, or if you don’t need a class the pattern is available too (you can now download our patterns online!)
It’s too hot to do anything, so why not just stay inside and make mittens?
The Ultimate Birthday Party
6. 12. 2008
Recently I was asked what I wanted for my birthday this year. After much pondering, I decided that I wanted nothing more than to make you folks happy, very happy. So we’re having a huge bash for my birthday on Friday June 20 & Saturday June 21, with 25% off storewide at both SWAK locations! If you joined our Preferred Customer program, you will save an additional 5% on top of the 25% off. Haven’t joined yet, well it’s never too late! How cool is that?
If you are feeling gifty, the only gifts I would like are donations for the knitters at Emerson Alternative School. The girls are in need of yarn & knitting supplies, and items for babies & new mothers.
Now for the fine print - all sales are final (no returns, no refunds, no exchanges), sale prices available in-store only (no phone or internet orders).
A mailing about all of the upcoming summer events, including the birthday party sale will be showing up in your mailbox for all of those who live in-state. If you can’t wait for the mail to arrive, live out of state, or aren’t on our mailing list, you can download it from our website.
We have some other parties planned this summer, beginning with a patio party at SWAK in the City on Friday, July 11. Then we’ll take the party to Guthrie 
with a bar-b-que on Saturday, August 9. I hope you can join us for a fun evening of stitching, eating, gabbing & more.
Don’t forget that it’s a party every week at SWAK in the City with these fun weekly events:
Note that these are social events and not classes. No instructor will be available at these times.
We also have some cool classes scheduled throughout the hot summer. These are highlighted in our summer mailing, or visit our website for complete information.
Lastly, we have a position open at our OKC store. This is a part-time position, working 2 1/2 days during the week with the possibility of an occassional weekend. This is not a seasonal position, so those looking for a summer job need not apply. If you are an enthusiastic knitter who enjoys working with the public, please apply online.
OOPS - I GOOFED!
Our summer mailing indicates that the Chevron Scarf class is on June 22nd. Well it actually was scheduled for June 15th, but in light of the big gaffe we will be offering it on both dates. We also overlooked the fact that this Sunday is Father’s Day, so if any of you have signed up for this Sunday and would like to switch to the 22nd please give us a call.
Congratulations!
6. 4. 2008
I was fortunate enough to go and receive an award today for everything YOU help us do in supporting the knitting program at Emerson Alternative School. Today we were recognized as an outstanding Industry Partner for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Career and Technology Education Programs. It was quite an honor to receive this award and we are proud to share it with all of you.
For those of you who are not familiar with this program, we periodically host the girls from Emerson for knitting classes & such, plus we are always accepting donations of knitting supplies and yarns for the girls as well. Your continued generosity is truly appreciated. In fact I am throwing myself a birthday party in a few weeks, and I am asking that if you are feeling gifty please bring a donation of knitting supplies/yarn or items for new mothers/babies. A mailing on this is going out on Monday, so stay tuned for more details!
These girls are quite inspirational. As a new mother who has all of the tools and resources at my disposal, I know how challenging and difficult it can be at times. Being around these girls who are less than half my age and working so hard to continue their education, I find them rather amazing. We face many similar challenges, but we face very different challenges as well. I don’t think any of them are worried about receiving an AARP card before their babies graduate from Jr. High, but my challenges seem quite small compared to theirs.
I also enjoyed being around all of the educators this morning. As an employer it is so nice to see a group of people dedicated to helping students in pursuing various vocations and careers. Although it is difficult to pry me out of this place, especially early in the morning, I am glad I changed up my routine today. My outing and breakfast was thoroughly enjoyable, however I am so happy that I live 1/2 song on the radio from work and don’t have to drive on the highways before 8am in the morning on a daily basis. Between stupid drivers and morning radio DJ’s, I have a new understanding why the general public can be so crabby somedays.
As soon as I can remember to bring a hammer and nail with me to OKC, our award will be on display at SWAK in the City. We accept donations at both locations, and 100% of the items you donate go directly to Emerson. You have my personal guarantee that rabid knitters won’t pick through and take the best, and we’ve had some incredible donations (like an out-of-print Starmore book and an entire set of Addi turbos). Again, a huge THANK YOU to all of you and please give yourself a pat on the back.
PS - Mom is back in her Online Classroom. Be sure to go over and check out her latest knitting tips.
Kettle Dyed Yarn
5. 28. 2008
Just arrived - kettle dyed yarn from Uruguay. The colors are absolutely wonderful! Choose from Sock Muticolor or Sock Solid. All of the colors did not arrive, but more are expected soon. This scrumptious yarn is from Rio de la Plata and is available at both SWAK locations, and online too.
On a personal note, I have just returned from my first non-working vacation in over 15 years. There’s not much you can do with a 16 month old, so we started out with a trip to the OKC Zoo, then headed north to Tulsa. We saw lots of fish and more animals, but the hit of the trip was staying at the hotel. Mason especially liked the round bench in the lobby. Guess next time we’ll save the gas money and stay at a hotel in town. I do have to admit that I did slip in a bit of work while away. It is just impossible for me not to be working. So while I was vacationing, I also managed to layout a mailing that will be going out in the next few weeks with lots of fun things to do at SWAK this summer. Stay tuned!
Trifecta!
5. 20. 2008
The Knit Out this past weekend was a blast. Our three instructors were beyond amazing! Just to have Valentina Devine, Beth Brown-Reinsel and Nancie Wiseman all under one roof is mind boggling. The talent, experience, and creativity each possesses is simply amazing. Valentina even gave an encore performance, with an impromptu, additional workshop here at the store on Sunday afternoon. The pics are kinda small, remember you can click them to make them larger.
Over 60 knitters descended on Guthrie, coming from a multi-state area. Each instructor usually caps their classes at 20, but Valentina will teach many more so we were able to go above our maximum capacity this year. Most of the crowd was from Texas, followed by Oklahoma, then Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and even Tennessee. We gave away fun prizes, everyone received one of the new T-Shirts, there was a fashion show filled with gorgeous hand-knit garments, and delicious meals too
Our new T-Shirts will be available for purchase in both stores and online. They won’t make their way down to our OKC store until this weekend. Call if you want to reserve a size.
There wasn’t much to report in the drama department. We usually can identify past years’ retreats by the drama that unfolded. About the most exciting thing that happened in that department was that the A/C decided to quit in the store on Friday. Fortunately it wasn’t the A/C after all - a tree rubbed through one of the power lines, and we were fortunate just to have juice. OG&E fixed us right up so we were nice and cool from Saturday morning on. Drama free is always our goal - I’m getting too old for too much of this type excitement.
We always have good stories to tell afterwards. This was the year that the American Legion developed a new method of cleaning the floors at the facility. Consider this a good housekeeping tip - you might want to try this at home. They take a leaf blower and blow all of the dirt to one side of the room, then they have a street sweeper that picks up all of the dirt. We actually had photos of Catherine & I cleaning the floor, but the camera was messed up so they didn’t turn out. Your mental image is probably pretty much right-on, and yes it was pretty ridiculous. Only a man would think of using a leaf blower for indoor cleaning.
We also were able to test the loyalty of our employees during the weekend. On Friday night, we had a scavenger hunt for fun prizes. One table had an odd item on their list - “bra, not the one you’re wearing”. This must have been a table of fast-talkers because they talked Mary who works at the OKC store out of hers. Now that is going the extra mile. Where else can you find such helpful employees?
Amy & Christina from Madelinetosh were also here for the weekend, with lots of new shades. Naturally they all sold like hot-cakes. We held a drawing on Saturday night, and the winner has already picked out the colors for her very own colorway of Madelinetosh yarns which will be named Tamara. I’m sure she’ll share, so we’ll have lots of Tamara on hand once the yarn is ready.
We’re still recovering from the weekend. Putting on an event of this size is exhausting, but we have such a good time it makes all of the hard work worthwhile. It is already time to start on the 2009 Knit Out. We’ll unveil the line up of instructors & details later this summer. Maybe you can join us next year!
SWAK’s the Place to Be . . .
5. 10. 2008. . .in Guthrie next weekend. Even if you’re not attending the Knit Out, you won’t want to miss out on all of the fun. Here are the highlights.
Madelinetosh Trunk Show
Friday & Saturday - May 16-17
Gorgeous hand-dyed yarns from Madelinetosh, plus one lucky customer will get to design their very own hand-dyed color way named after them, plus get two free skeins of their personal yarn color too. What an opportunity!
Trunk Shows!
We have fabulous trunk shows arriving next week for our fashion show. Included are tons of gorgeous garments, accessories, and throws from Colinette, Prism, Berroco, and Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2008 issue. On display for one weekend only, so come up and see these fabulous creations in person. These garments will only be on display through early Saturday afternoon, then they will reappear at our Saturday evening fashion show. Anyone can attend the fashion show and Saturday night dinner. Tickets are $45 so call today!
New SWAK Tees
Yes, our new t-shirt design will be making its debut this weekend and I think you all are going to like! Sizes get picked over quickly, and we will be adding them to the website after the weekend activities are through.
And when Valentina Devine, Beth Brown-Reinsel, and Nancie Wiseman aren’t busy teaching classes, you are likely to spot them roaming around the yarn shop!
Last but not least - we have ONE opening in Beth Brown-Reinsel’s Sunday Swedish Cast On class. This was the first class to fill up and this opening was completely unexpected. So if you are interested call or email us right away.
Come on up to Guthrie and enjoy all of the fun & excitement next weekend. Hope to see you there!
Knitting Alfresco
5. 1. 2008
Enjoy the beautiful spring weather with our new outdoor knitting venue at SWAK in the City. The patio furniture has arrived, with lots of tables and chairs for outdoor knit & crochet activities. Dad and Mason are trying out the new chairs in the photo and gave them a two thumbs up. The best coffee and treats in town are next door at the Red Cup. If you’re a sugar junkie like me - pop, chocolate bars and candy are next door at the 7 Eleven. Oh, and we can take care of all your yarn junkie needs. What more could you want? Come and join us anytime!
Our new store is located in the heart of Oklahoma City’s Asian district. The best Asian food in town is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Customer favorites include Lido, Grand House, Sushi Neko, and Musashi’s. The last two are right out of the district, but so close they were worth a mention. I also think you could eat at a different PHO restaurant every day for a month and still not get through the entire list of pho restaurants within a mile from our new store. Its pho, pho, and more pho. (In case you’re wondering, pho is soup in Vietnamese.)
And if you’re new to the area, you must at least drive by the Super Cao Nguyen market. It’s like a cross between Crest and Caesar’s Palace. I knew they had moved to a new really big store, but the orange and green metallic palm trees really flipped me out! Like I said, you really need to go see this place.
That concludes this mini-tour of our new neighborhood. Don’t forget the Knit Out is only 15 days away, in our old neighborhood of course. We still have a few openings left, so call today!
Shorties!
4. 19. 2008
Warm weather has arrived and I don’t know about you but it puts me in the mood for summer knits. If socks are your thing, then these new Shorties are perfect for summer. The pattern is written in two gauges - quick-knit (we used Love It) and sock-weight. It also features an optional diagonal heel and toe for those looking to try something different. We currently have a class on this sock - see Tennis Socks on the class schedule..
For more of a girly-girl style, check out the Eyelet Shorties featuring a picot edge, eyelet design, and standard heel. This pattern is also written for quick-knit and sock-weight yarns.
And while we’ve been busy writing patterns, we also have a new Ridges sock pattern that features a cool checkerboard heel. A great way to show off those gorgeous hand-dyed yarns and use up oddiments of solid color sock yarn at the same time. We made ours using Prism’s Saki.
All three of these designs may be knit using DPNs, two-circular, or magic loop.
Back when we first started over 15 years ago, we were one of only a small number of self-publishing designers in the industry. While publishing a pattern may seem as simple as jotting down notes while you knit, typing them up and hitting print, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes. Mom has been busy working out these designs - socks are her area after all. If you don’t like to rip out, well then designing may not be your thing in that we have to knit, rip, and reknit these over and over to get the desired result.
After typing all of her notes into some semblance of a pattern, I entered the picture. Her notes technically qualify as a pattern, but I like to kick them up a notch to turn them into an official SWAK pattern. It often takes several days to lay out these patterns, photograph and insert graphics, check them for accuracy, make sure the wording is consistent and follows standardization guidelines, etc. Then we have to squish (or stretch) it all into a manageable size pattern. Not always an easy task!
We have found over the years that patterns for small things can be just as time consuming to create as those for large things, and that the simpler the pattern the easier it is to make simpleton mistakes. For example, we have sold oodles of our Felted Coaster patterns, even used it in three different classes only for someone to point out just a few weeks ago that it said Felted COATERS (oops). Everything we do is usually a group effort, with different parts of the design process delegated between the two of us, with employees pitching in to help too.
One team member that is sometimes a little too much help during this process (and often to blame for delays) is the little man who is really in charge around here. Mason had his first haircut on Sunday. He did great, I didn’t do so great. It was hard to watch those little curls get cut off, but they are quickly reappearing. He will be 15 months old tomorrow!!
KNIT OUT 2008
3. 30. 2008
Our annual May retreat is just around the corner, and this year’s event is shaping up to be the biggest ever! Usually by this time of the year every other word out of my mouth is to encourage everyone to come and join us. This year I have been a bit tentative because quite frankly I’m not sure whether or not we’ll have a spot for you! As it stands now, we do have a few openings. But this is also the time of year that “something suddenly comes up” and people have to cancel, etc. so it’s anyone’s game at this point.
Here’s where we stand at this very minute - Beth Brown-Reinsel’s Saturday and Sunday workshops are both full, with waiting lists. Her Friday lecture is open. I spoke with Valentina Devine on Friday and we will be able to open up several more spots in both of her workshops. This is good news for all on the waiting list, in that everyone will get in her class that wanted it as their first choice. There will be a few spots left open, but those will probably fill up quickly. Nancie Wiseman has room in her Saturday workshop but her Sunday one is questionable. We are just now at the point of starting a waiting list. Things will tend to shift and shake from now until the event, so if you have your heart set on a class that is full at this point there is a possibility that things could shake in your favor. Get on the list and we’ll let you know if something opens up.
For those of you traveling from out of town (or who just don’t want to go home), our hotel situation is pretty full too. We have sold out three Bed & Breakfasts and a big block of rooms at the Sleep Inn. We tripled our room block at the Sleep Inn, and still filled up. We have a room or two that we could snag if need be, so if you need a place to stay you need to let us know now.
For those who won’t be able to join the entire weekend of fun, we just opened up our Pick-n-Choose individual workshop registrations. These were supposed to begin on March 15, but the computer blew up and we weren’t sure what, if any classes would be available. It looks like we will be able to take a limited number of these requests.
If you would just like to come up and enjoy the retreat “vibe”, and maybe catch a celebrity instructor sighting or two, Madelinetosh will be here with their trunk show on Friday & Saturday, May 16-17.
If you are simply wondering what in the world I’m talking about - go over to our website for all of the juicy details. All of the Knit Out fun is held at our Guthrie location, and we are expecting knitters from coast to coast!
Smooches!
3. 30. 2008
Our new frequent buyer program starts April 1st!
Join our Smooches! frequent buyer club and start enjoying the benefits today. The only action required on your part is to treat yourself to beautiful yarns, inspiring books, nifty supplies, and whatever else your heart may desire. We’ll surprise you several times throughout the year with little presents in the mail that we know you will enjoy!
Want to kick it up a notch? Sign up for our Preferred Customer program and save 5% every time you shop! Also save 5% off class fees and enjoy other benefits such as special events & sales for Preferred Customers only. Preferred Customers are also automatically enrolled in the Smooches! frequent buyer program, and accrue rewards points at an accelerated rate! If you spend as little as $35/month on your yarn habit, this program will pay off quickly with our generous rewards program! $50 annual membership fee. Benefits start accruing from sign-up date.
Got wheels? Think you have to climb up a bunch of stairs to visit our new OKC store? Well, think again. We not only have a handicap ramp but a handicap potty too. Yes-sir-eee, we are uptown city folk. Handicap parking is available in both the south and east parking lots, and the ramp is located on the south side of the building.
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