Hi friends, and happy Friday. This is the last Friday of January, so it’s time for a FLASH pattern! That means we are giving a normally paid pattern to our audience for FREE! Today we bring you the Forest Slipper Socks, designed by Rachel Brockman.
These slippers combine Bamboo Pop Sock Solids and Minou for a wonderfully warm combination for your tootsies. Bamboo Pop Sock Solids comes in 100g balls made of 37% cotton, 55% bamboo, and 8% pbt. It’s available in 22 shades, some of which match perfectly with the featured, fuzzy carry-along. Each 50g ball of Minou is made of 40% baby alpaca, 8% merino wool, 52% nylon and is available in eight bespoke colors. Both yarns called for are held together through the whole project to create the fur-like texture.
The Forest Socks Slippers are knit from the cuff-down, in the round, with a heel flap and gusset. The heel is shaped using short rows and stitches are grafted together for the toes to finish the project seamlessly.
To get the Forest Slipper Socks pattern for free, use the “buy it now” or “add to cart” links on the Ravelry pattern page. Once the pattern is in your cart, enter the coupon code “FLASH” where you see the “use coupon code” link that appears during purchase. This offer is valid through Sunday, 1/28.
We’ve received wonderful feedback from our customers about our initiative to highlight the local yarn stores we know and love so much. The Knittin’ Coop is the store we are featuring for the month of November!
Front of The Knittin’ Coop – a perfect place to sit and work on your project
The Knittin’ Coop… what a name. Whether you’re a long-time customer, or just visiting, this is the name of a place that feels like home. If you travel to Salem, Virginia, you’ll find this cozy spot filled with a whole bunch of yarn! Robin Ferguson is the owner of The Knittin’ Coop, which opened back in August 2019.
Her store exists in an area that is home to many college students, as Roanoke College is right across the street. She says many of those students come by to the store to practice their knitting and crocheting. We love to see young people passionate about the knit/crochet community!
Opening the shop was a decision she made because of her lifelong exposure to knitting and crocheting from her mother and grandmother. It has always been a part of her life, so why not make it a career path? Now let’s take a look at what she has inside The Knittin’ Coop!
Offbeat in all 7 colors at The Knittin’ Coop
Universal Yarn is proud to be stocked on the shelves of The Knittin’ Coop. Some of our yarns featured on their shelves include Offbeat (pictured above), Bamboo Pop, Bamboo Pop Sock (solid version too), and Radiant Cotton. Robin mentions in our interview that due to the climate of Virginia, DK weight yarns are popular in her store.
She mentions Bamboo Pop Sock seems to be one of the favorites among her customers. She went along to say that this yarn is consistently used to create garments, shawls, and of course, socks.
Shawls seem to be a favorite project of The Knittin’ Coop customers, and it is no surprise, given what a versatile accessory they are. Sweaters also become a popular option for The Knittin’ Coop customers around the autumn season, which is when most of us get excited to start on some warmer projects!
Interior of The Knittin’ Coop
One of our favorite things about The Knittin’ Coop is the up-to-date website. They have a clear calendar of events that makes it easy for any guest to know what’s going on at the store. Their store features many different classes, from beginner classes to private lessons, and even some seasonal offerings! Check out their website to learn more.
Lastly, if you’re thinking about stopping by The Knittin’ Coop. Rudy the shop dog will be very happy to see you!
The Knittin’ Coop has a furry friend named Rudy
We are so grateful for the opportunity to feature The Knittin’ Coop, and we encourage you to check them out on social media. If you are in the Salem, VA area, we highly recommend checking out this beautiful shop!
If you are a local yarn shop interested in being featured by Universal Yarn, please reach out to us – we would love to interview you! Please email rferrel@universalyarn.com if you would like to be featured!
As a yarn company, we would not be where we are today without the support of the local yarn stores who stock our products on their shelves. From humble beginnings, we now have over 800 local yarn store retailers around the world who carry our yarns. The support these shops give to our company is amazing, and we want to spread the love back to them as much as possible. On social media, we consistently feature projects from local yarn shops and share our retailers, but we wanted to dig a little deeper and get to know some of these wonderful shops and owners even better. Today, we continue our initiative to interview some of our local yarn store retailers to learn a little more about them, their shops, and what keeps business going.
Store Front of Yarnatopia in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – home of A LOT of yarn
It’s a happy anniversary for the folks at Yarnatopia in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. October 1st of this year marked 6 years of being open for the local yarn shop. Tricia Perkins is the owner of this fine yarn store, and we are delighted that Universal Yarn is on her shelves. We got the chance to interview her and ask her more about the one-of-a-kind Yarnatopia. Read below to learn more about one of the best yarn shops in Oklahoma!
Yarnatopia Owner Tricia Perkins with Bamboo Pop in the background
Every yarn store has a different story and reason for how it came about. We don’t always get to see the behind-the-scenes, but we can promise you that not every single day is easy. During the interview, Tricia explained to us why she decided to open her store.
While the shelves inside Yarnatopia may contain hundreds of different yarn skeins and colors, the community is what makes this place so special. Owner Tricia Perkins and her co-worker Mary have been through their share of struggles, but Tricia says that it has only made their community stronger. When tragedy strikes, we look to the people around us to lift our heads and support us. While she was coping with the loss of loved ones, customers would come into Yarnatopia just to be there for Tricia throughout the day. She has dubbed the support of her customers, ‘The Tricia Train’, and they continue to come into the shop every week. During the interview, Tricia explained to us why opening a shop was one of her best decisions, as it created the base for one of the most supportive communities she has ever known.
Interior of the Yarnatopia with many WIPs and cozy chairs for knitting and crocheting
Another one of the great joys about owning a yarn shop is, well, the yarn! When asked about the most popular fiber content/weight at her store, Tricia said, “Fingering weight, they like the fingering weight.” This is no surprise due to the warm climate in Oklahoma. It’s no wonder some of the most popular yarns at her store are Bamboo Pop and Bamboo Pop Sock! These yarns are highly versatile and great for wearable projects for all ages. Tricia goes on to mention fingering weight is very well-liked because “You can make socks and you can make shawls.” These two yarn options are excellent for those types of projects! As you can see below, her shelves are stocked with these wonderful yarns!
Variety of Bamboo Pop yarn at YarnatopiaVariety of Bamboo Pop Sock and Bamboo Pop Sock Solids at Yarnatopia
Other favorites that Tricia mentioned include Clean Cotton and Bella Chenille. She claims that her customers create many different home projects with Clean Cotton, which this yarn is perfect for! Bella Chenille is a favorite amongst her customers for blankets, and who can blame them? This yarn is so soft and cozy as many of you already know!
Variety of Bella Chenille at YarnatopiaVariety of Clean Cotton and Clean Cotton Multi at Yarnatopia
Yarnatopia does a phenomenal job showing its support to its customers. As we know, consistent encouragement is so important when learning to knit or crochet. Their store has a rug where people stand to get a picture of their own finished project. “The Corner of Fame” is what they call it. This gives customers the opportunity to not only feel special about a project they completed but also, Tricia shares them on Yarnatopia’s social media accounts! Speaking of outreach, Yarnatopia has a knit group every Wednesday and Friday. Additionally, in the month of October, they are doing all kinds of fun sales and events for the store’s anniversary.
We greatly enjoyed talking with Yarnatopia’s owner! You can watch the entire interview below by clicking on the video! We hope you learn a lot about this great store, and who knows, maybe you’ll stop by if you ever find yourself in Oklahoma City!
As a yarn company, we would not be where we are today without the support of the local yarn stores who stock our products on their shelves. From humble beginnings, we now have over 800 local yarn store retailers around the world who carry our yarns. The support these shops give to our company is amazing, and we want to spread the love back to them as much as possible. On social media, we consistently feature projects from local yarn shops and share our retailers, but we wanted to dig a little deeper and get to know some of these wonderful shops and owners even better. We’ve started an initiative to interview some of our local yarn store retailers to learn a little more about them, their shops, and what keeps business going.
Perfect patio for your WIPs! (Elizabeth City, NC)
Along the coast of northeastern North Carolina lives a beautiful community of knitters and crocheters. Coastal Purl has helped create that community, and offers them a place to gather and purchase yarn for their projects. How did it get here? Well, we got the opportunity to interview Katherine Rogers (store owner) to learn more about her amazing shop. Stick around to hear more about our conversation with Katherine of Coastal Purl!
Pull up a chair, and chat while working on your project!
Katherine Rogers is the owner of Coastal Purl, which is located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. She describes herself as a “lifelong knitter,” as she grew up with a mom and grandmother who were always knitting. A Maine native, Katherine moved down South for job opportunities within her family. With the move to a new place came the opportunity to try something new, so Katherine took the step to open her yarn shop in Spring 2020. You may look at that timing and say “how did she open a yarn shop amid the pandemic?” Well, we asked her that, and she responded by saying that the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the extra time she needed to get her store ready. As the North Carolina stay-at-home order came to an end in early May 2020, her store opened up. It looked to be great timing as she stated “COVID brought people in.” The loneliness of quarantine and the pandemic, in general, wasn’t easy for anyone, and shops like Coastal Purl offered people a way to keep themselves busy and create handmade projects during this difficult time.
Katherine Rogers (Owner of Coastal Purl) wearing a sweater knit with Kingston Tweed in color 105 Ochre
Two years after opening, Coastal Purl continues to bring a great sense of community to the locals of Elizabeth City. This store has been involved with all kinds of outreach, including the Knitted Knockers program, which some of our yarns have been approved for. Additionally, they provide plenty of events for their community, like going to the waterfront for Worldwide Knit Outside Day, and having “Knit Night Out” at local breweries in the area. Universal Yarn is honored to partner with a store that has such integrity, and thankfully the customers of Coastal Purl have received our yarn with smiles on their faces.
Katherine mentions in the interview, “One of the favorite yarns here is Wool Pop.” As you can see in the photograph below, the customers at Coastal Purl love to create with Wool Pop, and what’s not to love about this yarn. The slight sheen from the way the bamboo and wool take the dye makes this yarn stand out regardless of the project. Other yarns she mentions as popular choices are Bamboo Pop and Bamboo Pop Sock.
Customer Project using Bamboo Pop Sock SolidsCustomer Project using Deluxe ChunkyCustomer Project using Creative Lazy Hazy CottonCoastal Purl customer sweater in Wool Pop
We loved talking with Coastal Purl’s owner! You can watch the whole conversation below! Play the video below to see the full interview with Katherine Rogers and learn more about her shop.
It’s safe to say Coastal Purl is a great spot for all you yarn lovers. However, we know not everyone lives in northeastern North Carolina. Fortunately for you, Coastal Purl has created an online community for those who are not able to be there in-person. On their website, you can see their calendar or events, and even shop your favorite yarns! We hope you enjoy Coastal Purl as much as we do!
The “Revisited” in this pattern’s name is because it is a re-imagining of an existing sock yarn shawl, Exhilarate. We loved the way it used panels of varying widths in self-striping yarn to create different lengths of stripes. It led us to think, “hmmm… this would look great in Bamboo Pop Sock!”
(L-R) Bamboo Pop Sock colors 506 Rip Tide and 503 Jetties
Perfect for a confident beginner, Exhilarate Revisited uses garter stitch and lets the color do the work. Looking to build your skills? We’ve implemented a touch of intarsia for a colorful effect sure to turn heads. The tidy edge is created by an i-cord bind-off. It’s a handy tool to have in your knitter’s bag of tricks!
This shawl is worked modularly in 4 sections. A diagram is included to help you visualize the construction. You’ll create the stripes, then pick up stitches to add the solid border along the two shorter sides.
This accessory is so lightweight and drapey in wool-free Bamboo Pop Sock – it’s perfect for summer.
