BagSmith - BagSmith Blog

A Comfy Customer Project

2009-12-10T12:54:19-05:00

We’re always interested in seeing the completed projects of our customers. Valerie from New Orleans recently purchased
some Big Stitch Yarn and needles and put them to work. The result was a comfy bed for her best friend who couldn’t be happier.
According to Valerie, she is very picky and loves the bed!

If you have projects to share, please send them to us so that we can post them. We would love to see what you are doing with
BagSmith and Sajou.

Big Stitch Classes at Loopy Yarns

2009-11-20T11:44:24-05:00

I am heading over to Chicago today for classes at Loopy Yarns on Dearborn. On Saturday we’ll have a blast with Big Stitch Yarn, making everything from stoles to rugs to blankets. Sunday will be a celebration of stash knitting using all of the Big Stitch Tool: needles, crochet hooks and Tunisian hooks. Bring your stash and join us! If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say “hi”. If you have time for one of the classes, just call Loopy Yarns at 312.583.9276.

Embellish - It's the 2009 holiday trend

2009-11-18T14:21:03-05:00

So many of my knitting and crocheting friends have their fingers, needles and hooks flying in anticipation of holiday giving. If you feel that time is running out to start many projects from scratch, consider this. Start with a finished sweater, coat or scarf from an online store, thrift shop or neighborhood boutique. Take out the yarns from your stash and start knitting small shapes, flowers, leaves and stragetically sew them onto the garment. You may even want to buy some special ribbons and novelty yarns for these projects. The stores are filled with embellished garments this year and your creative touch on an existing piece can save you time while making a great presentation.

Merging Low Tech and High Tech

2009-11-02T19:47:41-05:00

Needles and hooks are part of my everyday existance, and about as low tech as you can get. But in the spirit of our century, I am trying to reach out beyond my low tech tools to the new technology available for sharing ideas, tips and projects. As many of you know, we have been communicating more and more through email, and more recently Twitter. Now you can join us on Ravelry and Facebook! In the next few weeks, you will also find new tutorials on our website. For all of you who visited us at recent Stitches events and learned Tunisian crochet, quick refreshers will be uploaded soon. So watch for our low tech ideas in our new high tech format.

10 Days of Fun

2009-10-12T10:37:47-04:00

We’ve just finished showcasing 10 of BagSmith’s most favorite and popular products in our Ten Days of Deals web event. Several of our customers have called to say it was fun to see a new idea appear each day.

We’ll be announcing the winners of our ultimate prize packages in the next few days. We hope that all of you enjoyed the promotion and want to convey a sincere “THANKS” for allowing us to hit your inbox for ten consecutive days. If you have any suggestions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. Stay tuned for more gift ideas for the holidays.

Keep Knitting!
Becca

"10 Days of Deals" Blasts Off!

2009-09-30T22:13:35-04:00

From Oct. 1 through Oct. 10, we’re running our “10 Days of Deals” web event! Sign up HERE to receive daily emails showcasing deeply discounted BagSmith products! PLUS you’re eligible to win a BagSmith ultimate prize package worth $280 on Day 10! Good luck and happy shopping!

Want a Free Pattern?

2009-09-23T13:25:43-04:00

Here’s a free pattern, compliments of your friends at BagSmith. It’s for one of our best selling purse kits…the Original Little Red Bag. Just click here
to download the PDF file.

Like the perfect little black dress, this purse kit is our most popular and versatile. You can dress these kits up for an evening on the town or add interesting adornments that you will enjoy using every day. The kit includes a faux leather liner that can carry everything from your wallet to your keys, offering protection to that wonderful work you have completed. This is a great kit for a beginner knitter who can knit and purl. There is no shaping in this pattern. The crochet pattern is also good for a beginning and features the single crochet stitch.

Don’t forget to sign up for our “10 Days of Deals” web event starting 10/01. We’re sending out a great deal everyday to our email list, so make sure you sign up!

Report from Stitches Midwest

2009-09-22T09:35:45-04:00

Well, we got back from Chicago — more accurately, Schaumburg, Illinois — and the Stitches Midwest show. I’ve got to tell you, we meet — and re-connect with — such wonderful people at these shows, people are who are genuine, and genuinely enthused about knitting and crocheting. In addition to the participants, there were at least 100 vendors there, and we get to see each other regularly at shows, so it’s always a chance to see old, and new friends.

The weather was nice and cool, so people were happy to try on our cozy alpaca garments, which is always a plus for us.

We got a huge response, as we have been lately, to our Big Stitch Knitting demos, particularly Tunisian Crochet. Basically, all day, either I, my mom Jean, or my son E.B. were taking turns demonstrating how easy and fun this is. We ran demos from the time the show started in the morning, till it ended in the evening, and we were never left wanting for an audience.

People don’t just watch, of course, we also encourage them to give it a try, and then, you’ll pardon the pun, they’re usually hooked. It’s especially great for people who don’t have time to take one of the plethora of classes offered at these shows. Demos end up being a free, mini-class for them – and we love giving demos as much as they like seeing and experiencing them.

Here’s some Big Stitch for those of you who follow us online — we have a huge holiday shopping kick-off sale coming up! We’ll offer 10 Days of Deals, starting on Oct. 1, showcasing 10 of our top-selling items on the website.

Each day we’ll add something to the “Deals” list and shoot an email out to you. We hope you’ll sign up here so that you receive the daily emails of the deals we’re offering, as soon as they happen. Plus, everyone who signs up will have a chance to win one of two ultimate BagSmith prize packages, valued at more than $280.

Next up: Stitches East, in Hartford, Connecticut at the end of October.

Keep Knitting!

Packing for Stitches Midwest

2009-09-04T13:58:36-04:00

Preparing to go on the road to another show is often a crazy time at the BagSmith. As we pack up for Stitches Midwest, we’re asking a bunch of questions. Which products do we bring? What are our best sellers? Which items are right for the season? What are our customers telling us through their buying patterns? All of these questions go through our heads and become part of the numerous conversations and intense planning leading up to packing up the truck.

If you have some favorite BagSmith items that you would like to see us bring to an upcoming show that you’re attending, please let us know by sending an email to info@bagsmith.com . We would love to hear from you and hope to see you soon.

Chicago here we come!

Demo'ing Tunisian Crochet in Buffalo

2009-08-19T16:42:36-04:00

BagSmith was one of the vendors at the recent Knit & Crochet Show in Buffalo. This is the big annual meeting/exhibit of the Knitting Guild of America and the Crochet Guild of America. There were lots of incredible classes, and that’s part of the reason this show draws people from all over the country.

We had a lot of fun, as we usually do, meeting fellow vendors, like the folks from Coloratura Yarns and Liz Tekus, owner of the Fine Points Gallery in Cleveland.

This time, we also had fun introducing people to the craft of Tunisian Crochet. Jean and Jeannette took turns as our demo artists.

Tunisian crochet is done on a very long hook (our Big Stitch 24-inch Tunisian U Hook works the best!) and it’s a little bit of a cross between knitting and crocheting, because you leave the stitches on the hook in a forward pass and you take them off in the reverse pass. (Click here to see a video of the technique.)

You can create a huge variety of different patterns this way. Even people who had never done this before took to it pretty quickly!

One of the new products we’ve just introduced is a bolero made with the new Tunisian hook. It’s called the Tunisian Honeycomb Bolero because it’s made using the Tunisian honeycomb stitch, which creates a beautiful, beautiful pattern. It’s very simple to make, even if you’ve never done Tunisian crochet.

Check out the bolero on our website (at the bottom of the “New Items” section). We’ve heard from lots of women who love bolero-style tops for that extra little bit of coverage, especially in fall and winter, so we thought, why not an offer an easy one to make? It’s a great layering piece.

Keep checking the site, because we’ll be introducing a lot of new things – holiday projects and one-of-a-kind art pieces that will only be available through BagSmith.

Keep Knitting!