News – ImagiKnit

Meet Mary of Twirl Yarn!

September 16, 2021

Mary Pettis-Sarley is the owner of Twirl Yarn in Napa, California.

Mary studied Textile Design at UC Davis and UC Berkeley. She also taught Textile Design and photography at both universities (this explains the gorgeous pictures on her Instagram feed @twirlyarn!). Later, Mary worked as a photographer and during this time, moved to a cattle ranch in Napa. She adopted a yearling lamb and that was the beginning of her sheep and wool adventure.

Mary has been hand spinning and dyeing yarns for many years. She worked with Jane Deamer at the Yolo Wool Mill and learned about the different qualities of wool breeds. The end result of years of knowledge and hands-on experience is Twirl Yarn.

Twirl Yarn is truly special to us. Mary takes such care in the packaging of the yarn.

Each gorgeous ball of yarn has a unique label that tells you about the animal whose fiber was used to create that yarn. It is such a special and personal touch!

We're always so excited when Mary comes for a visit. We love working with Mary on fun projects. Stay tuned for what we have in store!

Twirl Yarn

Posted by ImagiKnit Corp in Local Artists, Shop News

Artful Embroidery on Canvas Window Display

January 14, 2020

Have you seen the fabulous art work in our windows?

The pieces were made by local fiber artist Irene Schlesinger and she used a wide variety of different yarns from the shop in many of her pieces. She just published her first book Artful Embroidery on Canvas.

In the book, Irene takes you step-by-step through three projects.

Her work is so beautiful and truly unique.

Click here for ten reasons to try artful embroidery on canvas.

Interested? You can snag the book here. All of the books are signed by Irene!

Posted by ImagiKnit Corp in Local Artists, Shop News

Pumpkin Patch Trees in Our Shop Window!

November 01, 2019

We're thrilled to have the Pumpkin Patch Trees in our shop window!

SF Fiber Artist Kristen McDonnell installed the pumpkin trees in our shop window and we love it!

The trees are so fun!

The installation will be on display November 3 through November 30.

Stop on by and check them out!

Kristen was recently interviewed by KTVU on the Pumpkin Patch Yarn Installation (the segment aired Oct 31).

Click here to check it out!

Congratulations Kristen!

Posted by ImagiKnit Corp in Local Artists, Shop News

Yarn Bombing in Salesforce Park - October 19 through 31

October 03, 2019

Update from October 23:

Meet Kristen McDonnell, creator of the Pumpkin Patch Forest at Salesforce Park.

The trees are simply gorgeous!

There's something so cool about knitted trees surrounded by high rise buildings housing tech companies!

Customer Jia won both raffles! A copy of Kristens' new book Knit Stitch: 50 Knit and Purl Patterns.

She also won a ball of new Noro yarn and tote from Knitting Fever.

It was a super fun afternoon!

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Coming soon to Salesforce Park - Knitted Pumpkin Patch Forest!

SF fiber artist Kristen McDonnell of YouTube channel "Studio Knit" will present her hand-knit public art installation commissioned by Salesforce Park.

Trees surrounding the Art Cart will be wrapped in multi-colors of harvest corn and adorned with vibrant three-dimensional pumpkins, vines and flowers.

The installation will be on display from October 19 through 31 during park hours.

Come by and meet Kristen on Wednesday, Oct 23 from 1:00 to 2:30pm! She'll be joining us at our weekly knitting meet-up.

You don't want to miss this!

We had a chance to ask Kirsten some questions about her work. Here's her response:

I’ve been knitting for about 15 years. My late maternal Grandmother was a beautiful knitter, winning many first place ribbons at the New York State Fair. I grew up seeing her knit during her visits to the West Coast. Not living near one another, I never learned directly from her. After she passed away, I inherited her knitting books and needles and was inspired to keep her legacy alive. I learned from books, classes, and YouTube videos.

I began my YouTube channel “Studio Knit” in January 2014 as an attempt to create the sort of video lessons I wished to find. My channel quickly grew and I fell in love with every aspect involved in my side hustle. By late 2016, my channel and website grew to the point I was able to commit full time to my company. Today, I enjoy half a million followers with over 17 million video streams.

As a San Francisco knitting influencer, the event managers contacted me during planning stages of Salesforce Park. I suggested they connect with Imagiknit for Knitting Classes and became excited by the challenge of knitting an art installation among their trees. Working primarily online to an international audience is always exciting, but I was intrigued by the prospect of creating something tangible, in real life, here in my home city of San Francisco. After a hardhat tour of the Park’s construction in late 2017, I zeroed in on 3 trees being planted in the Art Cart area of their Main Plaza and was inspired to knit a pumpkin patch!

This will be my first large-scale outdoor yarn bombing project. Initially, I was slated to present my yarn bomb creation in October 2018, but two weeks prior to installation, the Park closed because of safety concerns. My pumpkins have been patiently waiting in my studio for their day in the sun all year. Using over 16,000 feet of yarn, I have spent over 300 hours hand-knitting 180,000 stitches. The trees will be wrapped in multi-colors of harvest corn with vibrant three-dimensional pumpkins, vines, and flowers.

I’m crossing my fingers it holds up to weather and temptations of little hands grabbing onto the pumpkin softies. They will be available for visitors to view from October 19 - 31, 2019. I hope everyone enjoys visiting the installation, tags their selfies with #studioknit, and joins me Wednesday, October 23 at 1pm for a fun meet-up and chance to tell you more about my creative process.

ABOUT STUDIO KNIT CREATOR KRISTEN MCDONNELL: In January 2014, San Francisco resident Kristen McDonnell founded the popular website and YouTube channel Studio Knit, which today has received over 17 million video views. For more information, visit www.studioknitsf.com.

ABOUT SALESFORCE PARK: Salesforce Park is a 5.2-acre rooftop park with free events and activities; programming year-round, open daily. Seventy feet above the Grand Hall, the Park runs the entire length of the Transit Center’s nearly four-block stretch and is home to 600 trees and 16,000 plants arranged in 13 different botanical featured areas.

Posted by ImagiKnit Corp in Local Artists, Shop News

Wool 101: Sheep to Sweater Workshop

December 29, 2018

Join us on Wednesday, January 23 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm to get acquainted with the unusual wool produced within 150 miles or less of ImagiKnit, hands on!

Stephany Wilkes, certified sheep shearer, wool classer and author of Raw Material: Working Wool in the West, will relate the hidden story of how wool moves from sheep to sweater!

She’ll have raw wool samples to illustrate crimp, color, length, strength and fineness.

The workshop will cover different breeds of sheep (with a focus on California sheep and wool) and how characteristics of wool are reflected in locally made yarn. Participants will learn how to class and grade wool samples.

The cost of the workshop Is $35. Bring your knitting and join us for a fun evening and learn about the fiber that we all love so much!

Click here to register.

Posted by ImagiKnit Corp in Local Artists, Shop News