August 31, 2026
Peaceful Happenings
What a summer! Lots going on, lots of making friends visiting, and a little more beach time than last year! We had a flurry of making— spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting and more—trying to get in as much as possible before everyone ran away for vacations, back to school or just a little more beach time :).
Our summer was full of classes for adults and this year lots of kids. We enjoyed new crafts and lots of different skill levels. It’s been lots of fun and we’ve met some great folks.
Peaceful Highlights
As the summer slowly draws to a close, we are making our inevitable move to our off-season hours. Hours will start Tuesday, Sepember 8th. We will continue to have Making Night on Thursdays from 4:30pm - 8:00pm, but will also move our Sunday Making Time to Saturday starting at 1:00pm. Can't wait to see you then!
As a result of the changes in the store hours, our team’s hours will change as well. Jenna will primarily staff and manage the store as Allison and Helen adjust to their 2026-27 school schedules. As she leaves our staff and rejoins our knitting community, we extend our sincere gratitude to Val, whose enthusiasm and knowledge of the fiber arts has benefitted so many of our customers.
We also said goodbye to Edie Youngblood who worked so diligently as an intern with us this summer and has returned to Raleigh for her final year at NC State. Edie’s contributions to the store are too many to detail individually, but she has left her indelible mark at Peaceful Making: from her creative social media posts, to her incomparable eye for organizational detail, to her meticulous and well-written documentation of the store’s processes and procedures.
Thank you to Helen and Rosemary for running the store while we were able to take a midsummer vacation in August.
Special store events/Holidays, etc.
In July we had a fantastic visit from Lisa from the viral Get To Hooking Instagram account. She joined us in store for a lovely book signing as well as filming some hilarious videos while in store and we hope to see her again soon in the future! We have signed copies of her book Snarky Crochet in store for anyone who wants a copy!
We will be holding a special Labor Day Sale from 9/5-9/7 in store and online to welcome us back to the cooler season and get ready for all of the off season WIPs that we love. All Yarns will be 20% off for those days so make sure to visit us or order online to prepare for all your upcoming projects!
We have many events coming soon as we head into the fall and winrter and will have more information on dates and times for them published on our website as well as on our social media.
Community
OBX Fiber Guild
The Fiber Guild is quietly moving forward. During our first summer meeting in July, we outlined the work we are doing to grow the Guild to encompass all of our fiber work—knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, and more. We are also working on the Guild’s 501(c)(3) status and bylaws. We have lots of work to do and are looking to move to a meeting in September. Keep in touch with the Guild through their Facebook and new Instagram or their website at www.obxfiberguild.com. Questions can be directed to info@obxfiberguild.com.
Peaceful Making Communication Corner
Here are links to ways to Communicate with the Peaceful Making Community:
New Things in the Store This Week
We have new Spincycle in the store, in many different colorways
We just received new shipments of Re-design and Atenti project bags, and they are irresistible. Our newest Re-design bags come in a the much anticipated Sapphire and new Atenti “Rosewood” bags are back in stock in styles that we haven’t featured at Peaceful Making before. Please visit us in person or online store to check out both brand offerings.
We have new CaseMate bags and the new inserts for the bags. Not just a knitting bag, great for a laptop, knitting or whatever you may need during the day! As Jenna will swear by, they are also the perfect beach bag to avoid getting sand in your projects or towels!
We have had some interesting books come in—Sari Nordlund’s new book - Foundations: 20 Knitted Accessories, Laine Magazine #24 - the Laine Magazine Anniversary Edition, and Embroidery on Knits. We can't wait to start some of the new projects in the books and look at doing some wool embroidery soon. Let us know if you would be interested in that!
We have new EEW spinning wheels! We have the new folding wheels, the 6.1 wheels, and the mini spinners. Come by and check out the e-wheels or try them out on Thursdays from 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Knit-alongs
Sweater weather is on the horizon, and fall also brings us closer to the holiday gift-making season. We will be hosting a fall knit-along, a Christmas sweater knit-along, and a Christmas sock knit-along. We’re still working on finding patterns that will keep our knitters engaged and help us all get ready for the crisp autumn weather and for the holiday season. We will announce our selections shortly. Stay tuned to the website (peacefulmaking.com), Facebook, and Instagram for more information about the knit-alongs.
Weaving and Spinning
We have been spinning away on Thursdays. It is exciting to see new spinners each week and a fun way to try out the wheels and e-wheels that we have in store!
We have missed Inger this summer, and we are looking forward to her return in mid-September. We will resume our open weaving sessions when she gets back.
Peaceful Making Society
We realized we need to put more thought into our Peaceful Making Society and we will be putting it on hold while we restructure this. If you are a current member someone will reach out to figure out how you would like to handle your current membership. When we come back to the Society in January we would like to have our online classes up and running. Keep tabs on where we are on this on our website!
Office Hours
Have a stitch you can't quite figure out? Need help understanding the garment construction? Through our office hours, we are always happy to provide personalized individual instruction to anyone who has reached a point in their knitting or crocheting where assistance may be needed.
Office Hours are from 12:30pm-1:30pm every day except Thursday which is 7pm-8pm. Please remember that all Office Hours are by appointment and must be confirmed before the session.
Office hours are scheduled by request through our online form. Please remember that all office hours will be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance to allow our instructors time to prepare for the lesson.
A little more about our Knitting Instructors
Helen Corbett, Sidney Evans, and Rosemary Loftus Wheeler are our team of experienced, knowledgeable knitters who will be teaching a variety of classes going forward.
In addition to her extensive knitting experience, Helen is an experienced educator who teaches elementary and middle school in Manteo. She has been developing our curriculum, scheduling classes, and teaching not only beginning students but also assisting knitters with more advanced skills.
Sidney relocated to Colington from Lexington, Virginia after a career in higher education. Knitting is her passion, but she started in the fiber arts when she smocked dresses for her daughter. She taught smocking, learned to quilt, needlepoint and knit. She loves colorwork and finished her first Shetland Wool Week hat on a trip to Nags Head in 2021.
Rosemary learned to knit at the age of nine and continued to knit throughout high school, college, and her career. She enjoys teaching both experienced knitters and those who have never held yarn and a set of needles before.
Classes
We continue to offer beginner classes for knitting and crochet. Anyone who is interested should let us know by contacting us at info@peacefulmaking.com. We will get a class scheduled as soon as possible with a teacher who fits your making knowledge.
FO’s
It’s been a while since we updated all the FO’s from summer so here they are:
Fleur Tee by Brianna Mason—This is a lovely tee with a simple repetitive fleur de lis pattern. This is a great pattern to learn this sleeve technique on because her instructions are so clear! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fleur-tee-3
Ivy Top by Petite Knit—This is a super simple little tee. I made it in Knitting for Olive Pure Silk and LOVE it. Fits so nice and washed up so easily! I can see myself wearing it under a cardi or a button up shirt in the winter. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ivy-top-5
Phoebe by Natasja Hornsby—This is a lovely vest. The waffle pattern is easy and fun. The sweater has a lot of shaping, but if you take your time and follow the pattern—you will get it. Beware of nested increases—read this one very carefully! I used Knitting for Olive and it is an amazing fabric. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/phoebe-37
Sea Foam Tee by Joji Locatelli—I cannot say enough about this simple round neck tee. I used La Bien Aimee Felix held with the store color of Farmer Daughter’s Fiber’s Oh Dang! It’s soft and lovely and will definitely be a staple through the winter. If you would like us to do your i-cord on the machine (big cheat) let us know! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sea-foam-tee
RuffleVeil Blouse by Natalja Ledvanova—this is a lovely, light weight sweater that you can wear all summer long! The twist in the front and the little mohair ruffle add just enough flair to make this a real statement piece. I wear a tank underneath and I just love it. The Ito is lovely and washed up beautifully! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ruffleveil-blouse
Bon Bon Socks by Aimee Gille —fun new sock pattern by Aimee, and I did it in the lovely La Bien Aimee Sock yarn in Peanut Butter and Jelly. Just love this rib pattern! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bon-bon-socks-2
Faelace Moon by Under your Skein - I decided to tackle a huge project after my last two projects were successful and it was a feat to pull it off. A floor length, lace patterned, fingering weight skirt following nothing but charts made the project intense, but it did introduce me to fillet crochet which I may be lightly obsessed with now. I made the skirt out of Gist Duet in multiple colors and cannot wait to wear it all the time now! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/faelace-moon
WIPs
Antipodes by Andrea Mowry—Several of us have this on the needles —cursing the flat color work, but it’s slowly happening. We will be our Bobbsey twin selves at Rhinebeck! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/antipodes-3
Jelly Top by Sonja Mei Leung—I am resurrecting this from last winter —I just have the sleeves to finish. I feel better about these short row sleeves after finishing the Fleur Tee where I practiced this new-to-me method. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jelly-top
Bleblomst/Apple Flower Sweater by Clara Eggers—Pulled this lovely color work sweater out of summer resting as winter will be here before we know it. The pattern is now available on Ravelry for those who do not want to buy 52 Weeks of Sweaters. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bleblomst--apple-flower
New Ideas:
The Lou blouse by Yuka Tomioka—Another delicate blouse—perfect for Ito! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lou-blouse
The Eyelet Loop Sweater by Other Loops—I love this simple pull over that has a little something special to it! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/eyelet-loop-sweater
The Lakes Jacket by Ozetta—I cannot wait to cast this on. Love Ozetta! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lakes-jacket
The Wolf Cardigan by Mary Maxim—Getting with the Project Hail Mary wave! Super easy fast knit—big bulky yarn! I’m using Quince Puffin. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wolf-cardigan
Forager by Wool and Pine—This is such a lovely shawl. Easy knit with just enough embroidery! Can’t wait to start this. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/forager-6
Sanctuary Stripes by Mark Roseboom—For those who loved the Pressed Flowers but are crocheters—this is a beautiful free blanket pattern! Love it! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sanctuary-stripes
Isa Raglan Cardigan by Aegyoknits—A super fun fitted cardigan! https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/isa-raglan-cardi
Mischel’s Favorite YouTube
Recipes
We haven’t been cooking very much this summer, it’s just too hot! What we have been eating—and I hope you all have been enjoying…tomatoes! I have been LOVING a good red tomato on white bread with salt, pepper and mayo! I also have been enjoying our easy peasy pasta! It’s not really a recipe, so easy—boil any pasta and reserve a cup of cooking water. Sauté as many diced up tomatoes as you are craving—I cut up 2 large ones. Sauté a diced onion, some garlic and a teaspoon of crushed red pepper in some olive oil and add the tomatoes. Add the pasta, salt and some parm—tear up some basil, toss, and you have an easy summer dinner.
Wrap up
We can’t thank everyone enough for making this summer so lovely! As we move into our next season you will see shifts and changes. Though our in-person hours will be shorter, we are always available online. We will continue to grow our inventory, classes, and meetups—so stay tuned…follow us on Instagram and Facebook…check out our website! We look forward to seeing you!
Thanks!
Mischel and Jenna
This post was published