Free Activities and Demos

Weave a Loom Flower Brooch – ALL DAY

Yarn Tasting with in-store yarn brands and *NEW* yarns donated by Knitcellaneous – ALL DAY

Nuno Felting Demonstration with Shannon Herrick of The Spun Monkey – 1:30PM

3-D Needle Felted Woodland Friends With Jenny, Lizzy and Friends – Starts at 2:30PM

Shop With Local Vendors from 12-4PM

Kira K – Unique knit patterns and notions
Girl On The Rocks – Clever notions, stitchmarkers and more
The Spun Monkey – hand spun yarns and fibers
Pigeon Roof Studios – elegant hand dyed fibers and yarns

Goodie Bags

For the first 50 who spend $50 or more, goodies include fun treats such as….
Current issues of Fiberarts Magazine
Mini Yarn Skeins
Monkey Sock Monkey Postcards
Publications from Chronicle Books
Hand Dyed Roving Samples from Dicentra Designs
Stitchmarkers, notions and more!

Discounts on commercial yarns, floor model spinning wheels, fiber tools,  books, fibers and more! New Product Lines In Store! Items marked 10% 20% 30% and 50% OFF FOR ONE DAY ONLY

RSVP on Ravelry or Facebook

1311 16th Avenue (between Irving and Judah)
San Francisco, CA 94122
View Map »

Above: Blas and Ian Gammon, manager of Cold Harbor Mill. Cold Harbor is a 200 year old water powered spinning mill which produces worsted spun yarn in the UK.

Above: Felt artist Nicola Brown and her dog at their country home in beautiful Ballybrack, Ireland.

Some Upcoming Classes at the Studio

Monday 7.5 Fiber Club Night at Old Jerusalem Cafe* FREE This coming Monday we will resume our fiber night! We’ll be bringing some felting supplies and spindles for people who want to play. Bring your projects and come craft along with us!

Saturday 7.10 Drop In Clinic: Crochet and Knit with Barbara Barbara Iachini has been crocheting for 25 years. She holds the Master of Crochet Stitches designation from the Crochet Guild of America. Currently, she teaches both knit and crochet at a yarn shop near her home in Colorado. Have her help you start or finish your next project. By appointment. Please CONTACT US for details.

Sunday 7.11 SpinLab: Entrapment! $55 In this three-hour workshop we will explore various potential add-ins for your yarns and many ways to spin them securely in. We will also cover techniques that involve wrapping or trapping your yarn in threads, from lovely candy-striping to wild tornados of whirling thread.Instructor: Shannon Herrick

Saturday 7.17 Intermediate Drop Spindling with Wonder Mike $45 Now that you’ve mastered a spun single, let’s show you how to ply and finish that yarn. In this “Part Two” Intro class, Michael will show you how to Handy Ply (a version of Andean Plying), how to skein, and set the twist in your yarn. He will also review your technique and suggest ways of refining and getting the most out of your spindle spinning.

Sunday 7.18 Needle Felted Bird $16 This fun technique uses a special needle to transform wool fleece into everything from detailed surface embellishment to 3-D figures. Using a felting needle and wool, learn to needlefelt a lovely bird! You get to pick from a rainbow of colors to make your bird.

Photo by SpiderFelt

Saturday 7.24 Merino Wet Felted Flowers $25 With a wonderful kit by Spiderfelt.com and Blas’ help you will assemble 2 large or 3 medium sized 100% wool felt flowers using a wet felting technique.  

Sunday 7.25 Fiber Blending With A Drum Carder – Materials Included - $80 Do you love textured yarns and those fun and beautiful carded batts for sale at fiber festivals? Would you love to make them yourself? Learn to create blended batts for spinning using multiple fibers and colors with techniques for basic carding and a variety of techniques for blending fibers. Instructor: Keena Golden

All class registrations entitle you to 10% off the cost of supplies, yarn and fiber on the day of class! Private classes and fix it clinics are always available by appointment, e-mail us with your needs!

Upcoming Events

July 31st – August 1st Renegade Craft Show (Studio Closed)

August 2nd – Fiber Club Night

August 28th – Studio Anniversary Sale and Mini Fiber Festival – ONE DAY, BIG DISCOUNTS!

September 19th – World Wide Spin In Public Day for SF

For the latest news check our Event Calendar for full details

Summer at the Studio
We’ve adjusted our hours for summer and Kira will be in the studio regurlarly two Sundays a month! For private lessons and drop in clinics give us a call or e-mail to find out which days she’ll be here.
Mon 12-7 pm Tues, Weds & Thurs – By Appt. Friday 12-7 pm Saturday 12-5 pm Sunday 12-5 pm  

Show Us Your Creativity Contest

We’ve picked TWO lucky Winners from our Flickr Photo Contest! 
PJ_Church AND tizana682003 Please come by the studio to pick up a goodie bag for youself!  

We have a new order of the sheep themed notions from Girl On The Rocks! From WPI tools, needle gauges, bobbins to stitchmarkers you can get them at the studio! Karrie’s also sending a new batch of her hand dyed rovings soon…so be sure to drop by for your fiber and notion needs! Sheep WPI Gauge $8.00 US

Check out the latest issue of Spin Off Magazine…now in the shop! Great articles about how to buy spindles (a new shipment from Greensleeves is coming soon so study up!), the difference between bobbin and flyer-led wheels and a nice overview on how to choose the right fleece for specific projects!  And last but not least there is a great behind the scenes article on Spinolution! $7.99 US

We also have the fun and easy Knifty Knitter Specialty Loom. Make a great yarn flower as well as this fun project by Vickie Howell via Craftzine….Ode To Alice Cullen Wristwarmers from the Twilight Movie Series! $4.99 USD

*Image above from Craftzine.com

Some upcoming classes….

Upcoming Shows

The Festival brings residents, neighbors and friends together for a day of entertainment, music, dancing, and good food. It doesn’t matter whether you’re from Glen Park or Glendora – you’ll feel like part of the neighborhood. The Glen Park Festival is a great time and a great cause! Urban Fauna Studio will be hosting a FREE make and take project! We hope you’ll come out and say “Hi!” and enjoy this family friendly community event! Sunday April 25th 10AM – 4:30PM on Diamond Street More info here

Please join us for this FREE! Friday Nights de Young event! on March 19th from 6 to 8:45pm.  The Guardian is hosting FOLK YOU!  in celebration of the Amish Abstractions Quilt exhibit. Enjoy a live set with local country great, Red Meat.  A Psychedelic Barn Dance with Honky Tonk, Texas Swing, Bluegrass and Outlaw Country by KUSF’S DJ Schmeejay. Plus a showcase of two local artists: Sonya Philip (fiber artist) & Vera Costa (visual artist)

Visit us at the  Urban Fauna Studio table in the Murals Room, learn the ancient tradition of hand spinning yarn and needle felt a wool patch to use in your own quilt or fiber art piece!

Stop by the Guardian table at the event, and enter to win prizes by local retailers: Isso, Secession, and Dema. UFS is also giving away a $25 gift certificate!

Friday March 19th 2010
6-8:45pm @ de Young, Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA
Event Info Here
*Please note this is an all ages event and regular admission applies to visit the galleries.

Your new novel is a knitting romance. Can you tell us about the plot?

How to Knit a Love Song is about a knitter and a sheep rancher. They both need wool, but not for warmth: they generate enough heat on their own. Abigail is more than ready for a change when she inherits a cottage from her beloved mentor, knitting guru Eliza Carpenter. Leaving the oppressive city for the greener pastures of a small California beach town, she intends to turn her cozy little windfall into a knitting shop and spend her days spinning, designing, and purling. But she’s not going to be welcomed with open arms by her new neighbor. Eliza’s disgruntled nephew, the gorgeous Cade, now owns everything surrounding Abigail’s ramshackle new home, and he views this sexy city girl as an unwanted interloper. But chemistry working overtime is drawing two very different people closer than they ever thought possible. And when the past that Abigail thought she’d left behind comes calling, she’ll have to somehow learn to trust her handsome adversary with much more than just her heart.

Tell us about your background in creative writing and fiber art…

I’ve been both knitting and writing since I can remember — I honestly can’t remember what I loved first, the pen or the needles. I think I really got into both around the age of five, and I’ve never looked back. Of course, at different times in my life, I’ve given one more emphasis than the other, but neither have ever been absent. I remember being about nine years old, hiding under my blankets with a notebook and pen with a wild desire to “write a novel.” I had no idea how to do it, but I just knew I wanted to. And the knitting was always around, even when I was a teenager, and there was nothing more uncool. The spinning came much later. I’ve only been spinning for about five years, but I caught the bug and now I have three wheels of my own, all Ashfords (my mother was from Ashburton, New Zealand, where the wheels are made).

Do you think there are certain aspects of knitting and spinning that lend themselves to the romance genre?

I think ever since Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty, a certain legend has been attached to spinning, but I’m not sure the opposite holds true for knitting — in fact, I think we’ve had to overcome a level of prejudice when it comes to the myth of the frigid old maid with her sixteen cats and her acrylic granny squares. But in the last ten years or so, knitting has become much sexier, from the designs to the tools to the transmission of information. I think the internet has everything to do with that. And I definitely find that many knitters love romance, in all its forms. And why not? Cuddling up with a good book AND some knitting? Or both? Nothing better.

What is your favorite spinning wheel? What is your favorite fiber to spin?

I love my Ashford Joy. I have two Ashford Traditionals that I like very much, sturdy little workhorses, but my Joy is just that, a joy. And I love love LOVE spinning a merino/silk blend best, although alpaca is a very close second.

Current favorite yarn and  knitwear designer?

It might sound dumb, but my favorite yarn is usually whatever’s on my needles (at the moment it’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, lovely and smooshy). Designer: I love the work of Joan McGowan-Michael and Kira Dulaney.

Tell us about some authors who have inspired, supported and fed your creativity while writing this novel?

I’ve been lucky enough to have been supported and inspired by Barbara Bretton (another knitting writer — fantastic, you should check her out!) as well as amazing local writers Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell. I have a core group of writing friends in my Romance Writers of America group who have sustained me through everything. Anyone thinking of writing anything at all, if you can think of a reason to come to RWA, you should. I have an MFA in fiction which I’m very, very proud of, but I value my membership in RWA more. It’s a truly amazing organization of stupendously intelligent hard-working professionals who cumulatively know just about everything.

You seem to be a lover of coastal lifestyle, beach town atmosphere…what are some of the places in real life which inspired the novel?

Oh, yes… Pismo Beach, close to where I grew up, Half-Moon Bay, Pescadero. Anywhere there are tide pools, lighthouses, anywhere the coastal wind blows and the moonlight sparkles over the water. A pier never hurts anything.

Your novel includes the pattern to the sweater that Abigail is designing in the novel and you’re giving away the sweater!

Yep, I’m giving away the actual prototype that I knitted while writing the book. I love the sweater itself, but it’s a man’s sweater, and it’s too big for me. so I thought it would be a fun prize for readers. All you need to do is write a review of the book and let me know about it (details over at Yarnagogo). I’ll draw a winner at the beginning of April! Good luck!

Where can fans, both literary and knitty visit you and your book in the coming months?

Yay! My launch party is just around the corner, on Tuesday March 16th at Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco. I’ll be doing a reading and a Q&A, and there’ll be wine. It should be really fun, and I’d love it if lots of people came! Then I’ll be in LA with Crazy Aunt Purl on March 21st at the Knitter’s Studio, and at Fuzz in Boise on March 25. I’ll also be at Stitches South in Atlanta in April. That just got added to my itinerary, and I’m really excited about it. Thank you Rachel for taking the time to talk to us. Congratulations again!

Listed below are some of her upcoming appearances….

Tuesday March 16th 7pm
***  LAUNCH PARTY! ***
Bookshop West Portal, 80 West Portal Ave., San Francisco, CA

Sunday March 21nd 2pm
Knitter’s Studio, 8118 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA
Special appearance with CRAZY AUNT PURL!

Saturday May 1st 11-2
Romantic Times Giant Book Fair ($5 cover)
Hyatt Regency, Columbus OH

Wednesday July 28th 5:30-7:30
RWA National Literary Signing
Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville TN

BLOG GIVEAWAY: signed copy of How To Knit A Love Song!

Leave a comment on this blog post and we’ll enter you in our raffle to win a FREE SIGNED copy of How to Knit A Love Song! Drawing will take place on April 30th 2010 using a random number generator. We will send out the signed copy of the novel along with some fun knitting and spinning tools and yarn samples. ENTER TODAY! We hope to see you at the SF Launch Party…

New Product In Store: Imperial Stock Ranch Yarn

Right before Stitches we got a great shipment of new yarns from Imperial Stock Ranch. The Imperial Stock Ranch is a family owned and operated ranch located on more than 30,000 acres of Oregon’s beautiful high desert where you’ll find resident populations of elk, deer, antelope, gamebirds and fish. It is on this vast landscape that their stewardship practices — of the land, of the animals and of their family — are cultivated and the strong foundation of our business has been forged.

Once a year, they harvest the soft, white wool from the sheep and begin the process of transforming this naturally renewable resource into a wide selection of fibers and yarns. All of their wool is specially milled without harsh chemicals or extreme temperatures, leaving it comfortable, soft and pure. Custom colored to reflect the ranch’s unique high-desert landscape, Imperial Stock Ranch yarns and fibers offer knitters, weavers and other fiber artists a naturally beautiful array of hues, textures and weights. You won’t find Imperial Stock Ranch wool in any other yarn on the market. They are a USA wool product.

The Imperial Stock Ranch has received numerous awards for excellence in stewardship and land-management practices. Chalk it up to a 140 year tradition of responsible stock raising and mindful land guardianship.  You can read more about their commitment to sustainability Here, and of course find out more about how their yarns are made Here. Come into the shop and see examples of each of their yarn lines and peruse their elegant patterns written by Leigh Radford.

Some new classes…

Meet the Artist

This newsletter’s featured artist is Matney Paine of YoKNITS! YoKNITS (which stands for the knitting term Yarn Over) is run from her home in Colorado, where she spends most of her time raising her two children. Matney is a self-taught knitter of 8 years creating handmade scarves and hand-spun yarn for many special and unique people….Read More

New FREE Pattern at Urban Fauna Studio!

We love our local knitting group, Purl Jam! They’re regular fun at Fiber Club Night and we learn so much from them. Tracey Kay recently published a FREE Ravelry hat pattern “Fenced In”. A cozy toque/beanie with chain link fence cables. Knit in the round from the brim up. The pattern is offered in 3 sizes for bulky weight yarn….modeling it are the Purl Jammers themselves. We’re offering free printed copies (thank you Tracey!) at the shop with any purchase of bulky knit yarn! Jam on down to the shop….and make yourself this fun hat!

Upcoming Shows

The Festival brings residents, neighbors and friends together for a day of entertainment, music, dancing, and good food. It doesn’t matter whether you’re from Glen Park or Glendora – you’ll feel like part of the neighborhood. The Glen Park Festival is a great time and a great cause! Urban Fauna Studio will be hosting a FREE make and take project! We hope you’ll come out and say “Hi!” and enjoy this family friendly community event! Sunday April 25th 10AM – 4:30PM on Diamond Street More info here

Image courtesy of Imperial Yarn

We also have several new Louet wheels at the shop, a Louet drum carder, and a new Mach 2 in stock. All available for rental or purchase. Take them for a spin and pick out a Valentine’s Day Gift early!

Learn to love fiber craft:

We’ve added more classes for February and March! Learn the basics or move to the next level, we have classes for everyone. Register now so you can ensure your space in one of these fun intimate workshops…

Saturday 1.23 Learn to Nuno Felt a Great Neck warmer - 2 spaces left
Nuno felted fabric can be used for a variety of projects including quilt squares, scarf making, jewelry, mittens or apparel. The beginning nuno felt class is a great starting point for learning how to make flat felt fabric. $40 pp

Saturday 1.30 Beginning Knitting - 3 spaces left
You’ll learn how to cast on stitches, knit, and purl as well as some simple stitch patterns that work well for scarves. Make a hand knit scarf to keep warm on these rainy days! $26 pp

Saturday 1.30 Fix-It Clinic
Bring your knitting and crochet problems in for diagnosis and first aid.  Our resident knitting and crochet expert can help you start a new project, untangle an old one, or learn a new skill. $26 pp

Monday 2.01 FREE Fiber Club Nigh at The Old Jerusalem Cafe
Join us at our montly hangout the Old Jerusalem Cafe! Drop in and bring a fiber craft of your choice to work on. Now meeting on the first Monday of every month. FREE

Tuesday 2.02 DIY Sweethat knit or crochet
Know the basics of either knitting or crochet and want some expert help with making that first hat? Sign up for the Sweethat class! Class meets on two Tuesday evenings. $52 pp

Saturday 02.06 KTTG #6: Survey of Knitted Lace – 4 spaces left
Interested in lace knitting but scared? With the guidance of Kira you will be able to tackle a variety of patterns by learning how to read them and confidently take on those new lace patterns.

Tuesday 3.02 Beginning Crochet
In this two-part class you’ll learn the basic stitches while making a cute stuffed bunny and also start a crocheted scarf. Class meets on two Tuesday evenings. $52 pp

Saturday 3.06 KTTG #7: Understanding and Correcting Knitting Mistakes
Learn how recognize and fix many common knitting mistakes and avoid making them in the first place. This class will make you more confident when trying new techniques! $26 pp

Saturday 3.06 Intermediate Knitting
Bring your knitting to the next level with this skills workshop designed to move you from a beginning knitter to an intermediate knitter.

Sunday 3.07 Spinning on a Drop Spindle
Ever wondered how yarn is made? In this class you will be given a brief overview of spinning and what can be spun. You will work up to spinning with a drop spindle. All supplies included. $40 pp

Saturday 3.13 Learn to Weave with a Cricket Loom - 3 spaces left
We sold out so quick for our first section we brought it back for March! This class will teach the basics of weaving with a table top rigid heddle loom. Registration includes a brand new cricket loom and instruction. $210

Saturday 3.20 Needle Felted Bird
Needlefelting, an exciting and easy dry felting method. You get to pick from a rainbow of colors to make your bird. $16 pp

Every month we will be giving you a closer look at our Artist Community. The studio carries products from artists and designers we love and we hope to share some of their story with you. This month we feature Kira Dulaney of Kira K Designs. Kira is a Bay Area resident who learned the basics of crochet around age three and knitting around five.  She studied theatrical costume design and worked as a costume designer in and around San Francisco for several years.  Her research in historical clothing is a strong influence in her design sense, and many of her patterns reference styles from the 1920s through the 1960s….read more

“Knitting Tips To Go” (KTTG) are six sessions scheduled that cover a range of knitting skills and topics. Kira will teach techniques and tips for a variety of styles and learning levels. What’s great about these workshops is each class is only two hours long. At only $25 per class you can pick and choose which topics you like or you can purchase a “Knitter’s Pass”. A Knitter’s Pass entitles you to attend 4 sessions of your choice PLUS a coupon for 15% off your next store purchase*. Workshops At A Glance:

Where
Urban Fauna Studio
1311 16th Ave. (cross street Irving), San Francisco, CA 94122
One block N-Judah MUNI Stop. Get off at 16th Avenue, walk down the block towards Golden Gate Park.
http://www.urbanfaunastudio.com/

Join Urban Fauna art and craft studio for our first year anniversary party and mini fiber festival. Partake in fiber fun, shop with local vendors and join us for some cake and refreshment! Everyone is welcome! Come Celebrate with us!

FREE Make and Take Activities Include…
Needle Felters Corral
3D Knitter’s postcard to send to a friend!
Learn to weave on a mini loom!
BYOT – Bring a T-shirt and Silk Screen a fun design with the new Yudu by Provocraft
Learn how to knit with Kira K (only from 4-6PM)

FREE Cake and lemonade! ** FREE Raffle For a Yudu Printing System! **

About Our Vendors…

Tactile Fiber Arts – Naturally Dyed Fibers and Yarns
Tactile offers spinning and felting fibers and yarns hand-dyed with high quality natural dyes. These dyes have a long and rich tradition in many cultures throughout the world. While the natural dyeing process is more labor intensive, we feel that it provides an important connection to the past and produces results that cannot be replicated with synthetic dyes. Each dye is a reflection of its environment and the climate in which it was grown. Add water chemistry and dyeing temperatures and you get the unique set of influences that causes natural dyes to vary each time you use them. As dyers, this keeps things exciting and new each time we dye. We hope that you come to love natural dyes as much as we do! http://www.tactilefiberarts.com/

The Spun Monkey – Animal friendly and small farm fibers!
Recently re-transplanted to the East Bay, The Spun Monkey creates handspun yarn and functional felt from humane wools and fibers from small family farms. She’ll be bringing a pile of “Monkey Mitt” knit kits comprised of handspun and a simple, original pattern, as well as one-of-a-kind handspun yarns and felt scarflettes. http://www.thespunmonkey.com/
Mini Fiber Fest Deal: Buy one item, get the second at 20% off for the UFS Anniversary event!

Kira K – Patterns and Notions
Kira first learned the basics of crochet around age three and knitting around five. Her attention soon moved to cross stitch, sewing, and other crafty pursuits, then she re-taught herself to knit while in college. Her designs tend toward garments with clean lines and intriguing details that are interesting to knit and easy to wear. Her designs have been published in Knitty, Inside Crochet magazine, and the 2008 Stitch ‘n Bitch Page a Day Calendar. http://www.kirakdesigns.com/

Girl On The Rocks – Clever Stitch Markers, colorful fibers and more!
During the day, I am a geologist. At night I’m a crafter. I started as a knitter, and then became a spinner too. I have recently used my sewing skills to use to make needle cases. If you want to see what I am up to, check out my webpage – http://www.girlontherocks.etsy.com
Mini Fiber Fest Deal: 20% off all Girl on the Rocks Fiber and yarn (notions not included).

Mary Jane’s Attic Yarns – Hand Dyed Yarns and Fibers
MaryJane’s Attic is based out of San Francisco, California. We sell handmade and commercial craft supplies. Our focus is on products and supplies for the fiber artist and enthusiast, such as needle felting kits, hand spinning tools, hand painted fiber, knitting accessories and everything in between! http://www.maryjanesattic.net/
Mini Fiber Fest Deal: 10-30% off all Mary Jane’s Attic Yarns

Urban Fauna Studio is…
- San Francisco’s Indie Fiber Arts Studio
- The Bay Area’s Largest Hand Spun Yarn Collective
- Only Fiber Art Store to be SF Green Business Certified

Mini Fiber Fest Deal: Urban Fauna Studio will have discounts on commercial yarns, floor model spinning wheels, books, fibers and more! Items marked 20% 30% and 50% OFF!

**SALE PRICES FOR ONE DAY ONLY**SALE PRICES FOR ONE DAY ONLY **SALE PRICES FOR ONE DAY ONLY **

If you have a Facebook, please rsvp at our FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE.
We look forward to seeing you soon!

UPDATE ON PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION

FYI there is a concert in Golden Gate Park this weekend from  Friday – Sunday:  Outside Lands Music & Art Festival. Virtually all road entrances in to and out of the park will be closed except for the major Park Presidio-19th Avenue drive. Here is the concert web site’s page addressing the community (i.e.  we who live in the Richmond & Sunset) http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/311/

READ: you can STILL GET TO OUR STORE without encountering the concert or GG Park. If you are from out of town please route your driving around all roads into and through the park (with the exception of Park Presidio and 19th Ave.).

If you need any help at all call us! 415 664-1267