A California Yarn Destination located near Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo on California Central Coast in Cambria

Thanks for sharing your bunny Kay!

Well, the first one anyway!

It’s a wonderful first pattern! Simple, but interesting. And, at KnitRowan.com, the official Rowan website, they’re offering videos of Martin talking about the pattern, as well as a lot of instructional video on knitting, all available by signing up on their site for free!

Check out or KAL page by clicking here

We’ve also set up a special Rowan KAL e-mail list, for everyone interested in following us on the Knit-a-Long (KAL) Sign up by clicking here

Thanks again, and Happy Knitting!

Are you in? We are!

Click here for the fun!

Cashmere and Angora in those amazing Noro colors. Noro Shiraito is such a lovely yarn to work with. It’s soft, easy to knit with, and the colors are the usual Noro Goodness.

Pick your color here and ask us for a free one-skein scarf pattern!

Knit this beautiful vest from only 3 skeins of Colinette Giotto! Giotto is a lovely cotton/nylon ribbon, all hand-dyed in Wales. Easy to knit, this original design is the perfect garment for the warmer weather.

To see the yarn (We used the color Kingfisher) click here to see the available colors

The pattern is available by clicking here.

We’ll be closing today (Tuesday the 18th) at 4:30 PM for a staff meeting. We so rarely get a chance to all be together in one place, so we try and do this regularly. We talk about plans, new products, and things we can do to make the shop a better place for us all. Thank you for your understanding! We’ll see you tomorrow at 10AM!

News about upcoming events, some fab new yarns, and free patterns!

Click here for all the latest news!

First, meet ‘Sparky‘

Sparky is very similar to ‘Silken Straw’ in that it’s silk, but this also has a metallic wrap that gives you a delightful little sparkle to the yarn and also makes it easier to knit! We did a quick and easy scarf using just one skein. Ask us for the pattern when you order your yarn!

Click here to see the colors available!

Next – don’t we all need a little “Lust” in our lives?

Lust is a fingering weight wool/silk blend. Think of it as a finer gauge alternative to ‘Sanctuary’

We have a wonderful beret pattern available free with the purchase of the yarn.

Check it out on line today!

Thanks, and happy yarn!

After all the planning and preparation, it’s hard to believe another fun-filled Weekend Away is over. We thought we’d share some pictures from the event so that even if you couldn’t be with us you can experience a little of the fun we had!

We also want to send a HUGE thank you to Rowan Yarns, Manos del Uruguary, Knit One Crochet Too, Frog Tree Yarns, Skacel, Addi, Bryson Distributing and Unicorn Books for all their amazing support! A special thanks to The Cambria Pines Lodge for their care and wonderful facilities, to Linn’s Restaurant for that great lunch on Sunday, to Cambria Coffee Roasters for helping us keep going, to Moonstone Cellars for the tasty wine, and to Madeline’s Restaurant for an incredible dinner Saturday night. And a big Thank You to Gwen Bortner for such a fun, entertaining, and incredibly informative class!

It’s a fun weekend, and all of us at the Ball & Skein are so grateful for everyone that joins us. It’s a team effort and we enjoy hosting so many wonderful knitters from all over and sharing a little of our world with them.

Friday afternoon, we’re off an running!

All that color!!

Saturday, we’re back at it again! We worked all day. We also got to show off our work. First, a piece Gwen did.

Then some other swatches. How fun!

Then.. DINNER!

Sunday, we went to the shop to finish the weekend.

If you’ve been there, you know how amazing this is, all those racks of yarn went to the front half of the store!

By mid-afternoon, we decided to call it a weekend, and a large group of new friends left us and went off to explore their own world of color. So we put the store back together.

Until next time, thank you all!!

We’re so excited for another great weekend with Gwen Bortner!