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November 28, 2006

Well, the weather is finally starting to match the date on the calendar!

New books that arrived yesterday:
Home Knits by Suss Cousins. Mainly contemporary styles.


The Knitter's Bible of Knitted Accessories.  by Claire Crompton. I think several will like this book; especially beginners. I like the fingerless mitten pattern with the flap covering.  30 different projects plus a lot of information on fibers, designing and knitting techniques.

Knitting Beyond the Edge by Nicky Epstein. Another great book from Nicky that includes cuffs, collars, necklines, corners and edges and closures.

Also we received our alpaca roving from Peru:

Yes, it feels as soft as it looks. Retails for $20 for half a pound.

I had a student all the way from Australia a couple of weeks ago and she learned how to make the moebius wrap:

It was a delight to meet and visit with Holly. She made her wrap out of Schaefer's Sandra cotton yarn and like it so well that she bought more yarn for another one! I enjoyed getting to hear about her local yarn shop and she showed me different projects that they are doing and yarns from around there. Thanks, Holly for a great time!

Diane finished her moebius out of Berroco's Monet:


Great job, Diane!

Julie brought by the sock that she knitted for her daughter, Claire:

That's daughter Morgan admiring the stocking. Julie was picking out yarn to start Morgan's stocking. What an heirloom!

Susan knitted another hat. This time out of Schaefer's Miss Priss yarn:

Susan just starting knitting about a year ago and yesterday she showed me a cable headband that she had written. I liked the headband and showed Susan how to do a provisional cast-on so the two ends could be grafted instead of seam. We will have this pattern as a free handout later.

Great day for knitting or crocheting!

 

November 24, 2006

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine? It was a little stressful...  I didn't know until last Friday that I would be hosting the Thanksgiving dinner. As I was contemplating how I was going to pull this off with my work schedule; I happened to read Albertson's ad about their Thanksgiving meals already prepared. I've never done this.  I grew up in a household where everything was made from scratch.  So I called in my order and asked what time I should pick it up. The man asked when I was wanting it. I replied that I was wanting it for Thanksgiving day so he said I could pick it up that morning.  I made side dishes and desserts and worried a little bit about the turkey tasting good or not.  Thursday morning I made some last minute preparations, cleaned house, and set the table. Guests were expected for the meal at noon.  I asked my husband to pick up the turkey around 10 but he didn't leave until 11.  When he returned from the store he parked in the driveway to unload the turkey. When he went to pull the van into the garage; he had forgotten that he left the back latch-door up. When he heard it hitting the garage, he started to back up and proceeded to rip off the trim from the garage and scratch the van's door. Okay...that was bad enough but imagine my horror when I opened the box from Albertson's and it was a cooked turkey from Butterball but....completely frozen.  That's right, rock....hard....solid. Now why didn't the guy tell me that?? Panic set in. Finally I popped the turkey in the microwave..well, alright...I squeezed the turkey into the microwave and thawed it a little. Then sliced off pieces to warm up in the oven along with the unbaked dressing that I received.  For once, I was elated instead of irritated that one of my guests is notoriously always late.  We managed to sit down by 1:30 and eat and eat and eat....

Forgot to mention that we received a new yarn by Schaefer - "Helene".

Helene is a beautiful hand painted yarn that is 50% silk and 50% wool.  It retails for $45 and has 218 yards per hank.

Hopefully everyone was able to get some knitting done. I'm over halfway finished with my Schaefer Kathleen felted purse. We will be having a class on this purse because it contains a lot of short rows. This is a great way to learn short rows with large needles and bulky yarn.

Have a great day!

 

November 22, 2006

Look what arrived yesterday! The cookbook!

Just in time for holiday giving! They're $12 (plus tax). Limited quantity so hurry while they last! Remember - proceeds from the cookbook benefit the Knit-Wits' charity knitting.  Here are a few of the women last week busy at work:

I think they've lost count of how many blankets they have knitted for hospice. Many have gone to Mercy Hospice but a load of colorful ones went to Children's chemotherapy unit. What a lot of comfort this group provides. Martha Van Hook provided endless hours of work on the cookbook and deserves a big hand.

We also received another shipment from Schaefer. Our long awaited sock yarn, Anne and Lola, are here.  I can see why Nancy Bush loves this yarn. The colors are gorgeous and the feel is wonderful.

New colors of Noro Kureyon are here and also a new yarn called "Blossom". Rosemary knitted a hat for her daughter out of the Blossom and Berroco Laser Fx and isn't it cute?

That looks like a professional photograph and model! I think I need to take photography lessons from Rosemary!  I took many photos of my Blue Heron rayon/metallic scarf and didn't like any of them. Finally I just gave up and said, "What the hey."


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 

November 18, 2006

We had a small turn-out for Candi due to bad weather but it made for a nice intimate group. I didn't know what to expect from Candi. It always makes me a little nervous to entertain strangers.  However, from the moment that David and I picked her up from her hotel, she put us at ease. She is one of the most pleasant, friendly people that I have ever met.  Candi is a very interesting person with a rich active life and a famous husband, but she sat on the sofas visiting with each of us without a hint of being prestigious.  I think several were impressed by how many books she has written. Candi also let us know that she is working on a PBS tv show for knitting and crocheting. She starts filming in January and it plans to air sometime next fall. Candi mentioned that when I'm in San Diego maybe she'll put me on the camera....umm...I don't know about that. If I'm too shy for local tv; I'll definitely have a heart attack with national. lol

I've taken off today from the shop to work on the new class schedule. I've listened to people's request and we have several new projects and clubs in mind! It's always amazing to me just how much time/work it takes to make out a simple class schedule.

Show 'n Tell:

Kevin made his very first sock teaching himself:

Hmm...maybe you should have taken a class, Kevin....  lol  (Of course, he's planning to felt these.)

Liz finished her clapotis out of Blue Heron's rayon/metallic:

Liz has been gracious to allow us to display it in the store.

Terri finished yet another sweater:

She did a sweater for her granddaughter out of Schaefer's Miss Priss. This is the same sweater that I knitted. However, Terri's has buttons on hers whereas mine still has stitch markers. Yeah, I know..what else is new? Terri - I hope we get a picture of your granddaughter in her sweater.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week which means Christmas is right around the corner. We have some wonderful gift ideas on their way for the knitter. Remember - you can come by the store and make out a wish list!

Have a great weekend!

 

November 13, 2006 

Don't forget! Candi Jensen here tomorrow evening from 6:30pm to 8pm.

Candi will be autographing her latest book, Knitting Loves Crochet.

Last summer I had the delight of teaching Maddy to knit and I'm always thrilled to see what she has made. She recently made a scarf out of Savvy:

While at the store, she casted on a scarf in big wool. Maddy is very busy knitting up scarves for the whole family to give as Christmas presents. Remember my mentioning in an earlier post that Barbara was busy knitting hats, scarves, and headbands for her whole family? Well, this is Barbara's niece. Barbara's other niece, Lauren, is also busy knitting. Now Barbara has Maddy's mother knitting. Way to go, Barbara!

Bev dropped by with her clapotis and hat that she knitted out of Blue Heron's rayon/metallic. She didn't want to model so we volunteered Terri for the job! (you never know what you may get yourself into when you come in....)

The subtle sparkle of the metallic just doesn't show in this picture. I was discussing this the other day. I don't know if it's my camera, technique, or both. Professional photography\er - I'm not. Okay, not even a decent amateur.  So where is my rayon/metallic? One thing I know - this is durable yarn. I have knitted, ripped, knitted, and ripped more times than I can count.  I decide on one pattern, then change my mind. I think David was getting a little frustrated and thinking, "Will you just get it done and get it out on display?" lol  But I think I finally decided on a star pattern. Hopefully pics to follow by end of week.

Saturday seemed to be the day of the moebius:

Anita finished hers in the pretty pink/red tones of Bernina. (Isn't that a pretty smile?) Great job, Anita!

Carolyn finished hers and immediately casted on another one:

Don't forget tomorrow night! Let's give Candi a warm Oklahoma welcome!

 

November 5, 2006

It was the first Saturday yesterday which meant it was sock class day. Cathy finished her first sock:

Great job, Cathy.  She's almost to the toe decreases on her second sock so she should have a pair shortly! (more than I can say lately)

Jane dropped by and I thought she looked so cute in her Harley hat:

I can't wait to see her on her motorcycle!

I forgot Marjie's picture of her cat, Willow, and her newly knitted moebius cat bed:

Isn't the red color pretty with her black coat?

And of course it was the Knit-In last night!

What can I say about the Knit-In? Unless you're there it's hard to describe. You probably wouldn't call us a very well-behaved group.  In fact, if you just happened to drop in; you would probably think we had been drinking although there's not a drop of alcohol on site (at least not that I know about!) We just like to have A LOT of fun. If there's no fun - heck, we'll make it! We'll stir up some trouble somewhere!

What did we do? Well.....

Before the party even started, Jan gave my son a ride in her Hummer:

Do you think he was having fun? Can you believe I trusted her with my son's life??? lol  I promised that I wouldn't tell on Jan for jumping the curbs and running across grassy areas.... however, according to Karen, that's normal driving for Jan.

Then we had some show'n tell:

Jennifer Lueb finished her jacket in Plymouth's Encore.

Susan finished ponchos for her twin granddaughers:

Then there's food. A lot of food. A lot of good food. Diets are out the door. Judges don't think they could eat another bite....but they do. Then prizes (gift certificates) are handed out to the winners.
Jan won third prize for her Rolo pretzels:


Second place went to Beverly for her sweet potato casserole:

And first went to Christy for her salad:

Then we had some great entertainment:

Anita entertained us with her harp and singing.  How lucky can we get?

Practical jokes were pulled on Karen:

No, I'm not going to explain why she received a gift of condiments and a bag of partial toilet paper rolls.

The group tried to embarrass David:

Um..humm.....notice who are in the front of the group on this one???

Then toward the end - it was time to pass on the Problem Child award. There were a lot of good candidates but it was decided that Karen would be the poster child for November:

I'll be keeping tabs throughout the month for December candidates.

I had a blast as usual and can't wait for the next one!

November 4, 2006

Tonight is Knit-In! I missed last month's due to the retreat so I'm looking forward to tonight's. I got up early this morning and made Sausage Chowder for tonight.  Due to more merchandise in the store - it's more crowded for these events but I have faith that we'll manage. Jennifer B. brought by her "Problem Child" award to handed off to the new recipient tonight.  I also have faith that I won't have any problems finding a new recipient....

Marjie finished several new projects:

The hat on her head is made out of Noro and I believe it's Cascade 220 Superwash for the one in her hand. If that wasn't enough to accomplish; she also finished another baby afghan:

The afghan is made out of Plymouth's Encore.  She did the fringe during the Black Sheep gathering. It went fast partly due to the fact that she used Susan Bate's fringe tool. If you don't have one of these- you really ought to try it. It makes fringing so much faster and easier and it's only $3!

Jacque finished her neck-down raglan child's sweater.

Great job, Jacque!

Spunky Joy finished her scarf using Melissa's pattern. Joy is such a delight to be around!

Hope to see you tonight!

 

November 1, 2006

I hope everyone survived Halloween all right. We seemed to have more groups of larger kids than the little ones.  I miss the little kids.

Last Saturday, Melissa taught Clanci's afghan group plus some students from her day class. It's a rarity to see Melissa on a Saturday. lol

Thanks, Melissa, for stepping in. In the background, in the classroom, I was teaching a moebius class. We had a great time but failed to get pictures.

Yesterday, Terri came in showing her most recent sweater:



Is that a great job??!! Absolutely beautiful! Okay - evening Sweater Club members - recognize the sweater? That's right - it's the sweater from the cover of Knit Simple that you are doing.  Terri and I (mostly Terri) played around with buttonhole placement because we didn't like the way the frontbands looked on the magazine's cover sweater. Terri used Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran yarn.

Have a great day!


 

October 27, 2006

Not much has been accomplished on the knitting front. I can't tell you how much time I've spent trying to find a pattern that I liked to knit with the Blue Heron Rayon/Metallic. I've tried two different shawls but wasn't pleased. I'm a tech person and love pattern stitches but it was agreed last night that I needed to apply the KISS method. Yep, I need to keep it simple. The yarn is so pretty that the pattern and yarn seem to compete. So I looked again for a pattern and couldn't find one. So what does a person do? Well, write one of course! But talking about the rayon/metallic, Bev happened to drop by and had her clapotis (or how we like to do our Okie pronunciation "Clap Otis") that she was working on:

I should have gotten a picture from farther away also so you could see the overall concept. We were all commenting about how we could visualize Bev at a party wearing this with a black dress.

Bev had also finished her purse out of  The Treausry of Magical Knitting book:

Bev must knit in her sleep.....lol

We had a lovely surprise the other day:

That's Barb's husband delivery flowers to the shop. Barb had surgery on her foot and he's been getting her out of his hair by dropping her off here. lol Barb has put the time to good use:

She finished a cabled hat and scarf using Plymouth's Baby Alpaca Grande. The cable scarf pattern is a free one with purchase of yarn. Barb's family is going skiing over Christmas break and she has decided to knit headbands, hats, and scarves for everyone. Oh, wow....she's been listening to Kevin too much...lol

On the store front: New arrivals in yarn has been another shipment of Schaefer yarn and now...we are carrying Brown Sheep yarns:

We have started with the bulky weight and will add other lines as time goes on.

Many new books are out. Some good..some...well, some not.

It's a great day for knitting! One of these days we need a fireplace at the store....clubhouse....coffee bar....are you listening, David??


 

October 24, 2006

Where does the time go? Seems I'm always behind on things.

We got our shipment of Blue Heron yarns. They are so gorgeous. I can't wait to order some of their other lines. Many customers are using the rayon metallic to make a clapotis. I'm going to try a shawl out of "The Best of Knitter's Shawls and Scarves" using the metallic.  Another pretty yarn that I love is the rayon seed:

I haven't decided what to make of it yet.  I've finished knitting the Schaefer child sweater and am waiting on the buttons to arrive.

Many new colors of Classic Elite's wool/bamboo arrived yesterday. This yarn has been so popular that Classic Elite is out of most of their colors and they don't expect another shipment until around Thanksgiving. So this will be it until more arrives.

Anita dropped by with her latest pair of socks:

Great job, Anita!

Joyce finished her shawl using Feza's Premier and a pattern of ours:

 

The Pursenality purse contest was held on Saturday and Roger won 1st.  I wish the picture would show how pretty the purse really was. Let's just say that when he walked in with his entry the other contestants remarked that they could go home because they knew who the winner was.

The silver chain on the purse was exquisite. Roger made each link by hand and it was not a single link chain. No...he put several links together and then linked it with several more. I don't know if I'm explaining that very well but the craftsmanship was perfect.

Eva won 2nd:

She did a great job of the felted flower. Unfortunately the glitz in the purse doesn't show.

Carol came in third with Halloween creation:

Isn't that cute? I should have taken a picture of the back also. We had many great entries and it took the judges a looong time to make a decision. Everyone received an entry form to enter the national contest. Wouldn't it be great when I went to market in January to see a customer's purse hanging in a booth?
Good luck, everyone!

Enjoy the weather today! Frankly, I'd rather have the cold raining days...

 

October 16, 2006

We keep saying around here that it's a small world. On Saturday, we had a new customer come in from Lone Grove. Turns out that my daughter was on the speech/debate team with her son and furthermore, now her daughter-in-law is my grandson's school teacher. Nice to have met you, Karen! (I better be extra nice to Karen before her daughter-in-law gets the next grandson. lol)

Jennifer received her Problem Child award on Friday:

Jennifer earned the award on the retreat. She had some competition for it; but she came out way in the lead. The award will be passed on to the next person at the next Knit-In.

We had two great sock classes on Saturday. Four people finished their socks in the cuff-down class.

Phyllis was ready at the start of class to graft her toe so she finished first. Phyllis is also in the sweater club - she's becoming quite an accomplished knitter!

L to R: Alma, Kathryn, and Pam finished did their toe decreases and grafting of stitches:

Is that a great pic or what? They did a superb job! Look at well the socks fit! Good going, Girls!

I had the Problem Children in the afternoon group. The short-row heel kept them quiet and studious for the most part.  Pam from Arkansas was in the group and did her heel in record time so she got dubbed, "Teacher's Pet". lol

Nina and Linen came to spend the afternoon knitting and my son dropped by to meet Linen. He would really love to have a service dog like Linen but unfortunately has allergies.
 
Thanks, Nina and Linen, for being such a support system for my son!

Have a super day!

October 13, 2006

Friday the 13th......for some people it's bad luck. For others - good luck. It's always been like any other day for me.

Kevin came in to receive help on his finished purse. He was a little apprehensive about making a hole in his purse for the handles:

But, as always, he was able to do it and had two great purses as a result:

Great job, Kevin!

Susan came by and showed us her purses that she knitted with Noro:

She whipped these out in a hurry! Yarn doesn't gather dust around her.

We had a wonderful surprise visit by Becky. She came by to join the Black Sheep for the first time and showed us the great sweater she designed and knitted for her husband.


You can't see in the picture but she did an outstanding job on her sleeve design. Notice the special way she attached the sleeve to the sweater and how the cable runs the length of the sleeve up to the collar.  Also, the shawl collar took some know-how the way she incorporated it with her design. Fantastic, Becky!  btw, we're hoping to carry this pattern at a later date!

How's my Schaefer sweater? Well, I could kick myself into next week. I was working on the second sleeve and was getting excited about getting it finished and moving on to a couple of sweaters that I'm wanting to do.  I held the second sleeve up to the first sleeve and felt like...well, let's just say I was really agitated at myself. The sweater has a pattern row every 6th row. I repeated one of the patterns on the 5th row. Of course, I couldn't make the mistake toward the end. Oh, no. It had to be near the beginning.  So...out it came. I knitted on it last night during a meeting and almost have it finished - that is if I don't make anymore stupid mistakes....

Take it easy today!

October 11, 2006

I received pics of the retreat from Jennifer. Thanks, Jennifer! And also found another camera card that I had.


Doesn't this group look so well mannered and studious? Ha, don't let the pic fool you!

The first night, Jennifer broke the thermostat cover:

Well..not really. It was already broken. Anyhow that's the story she tells. Come to think of it.....it seems Jennifer was involved in all the mishaps during the weekend. Hmm...maybe the Problem Child trophy should be passed on to her.....lol


Naturally, we had the Problem Child teachers at the retreat. They probably were conducting classes behind my back.


Left to right: Lou, Nancy, Linda, and Patt. These were some of the good children. However, the one standing was caught visiting with Jennifer....
 


And of course, the favorites of the group - Nina and Linen.  What a sweet pair.


A group pic. You will see the Order of the Moebius modeling their wraps. Well, everyone but Lou and Judy. Judy did a crochet moebius. A neat thing about a crochet moebius - you can try it on while you're crocheting. Judy learned the foundationless chain during the retreat. Lou was detained Saturday evening for about 4 hours and was unable to finish hers.  (Remember - what happens at the retreat; stays at the retreat.) The Entrelac Ladies were doing well on their purses - wish I had a pic of that.

 

October 9, 2006

What a weekend! We all had a great time! In fact, so much fun that everyone requested that the spring one be at least an extra day long. BTW, for the most part: What happens at retreat; stays at retreat. However, I will give you a few glimpses:

Here's Nancy and Pat arriving on the scene:

David was our bell hop for the event. He was a big help.

Jennifer, Lou, Linen and I went on a hike. Now, I'm not talking about a little meandering stroll....no, sir. I'm talking a 4 hour hike on rugged terrain and even in the dark!

Would you believe I only took about 4 pictures? So..as soon as I start receiving pics from others; I will share those.

October 4, 2006

I can't believe no one let me know I had the wrong date yesterday! Usually I hear about every mistake I make (and even get blame for ones I don't!).  My daughter said, "Make it contest. The first to write you wins a prize."  Wouldn't you know? Not a soul said anything.....lol

News! I received an unexpected phone call yesterday from a publisher. They wanted to know if I would host a book signing for Candi Jensen? Are you kidding? Of course I would! In the world of crocheting - she's one of the tops. Even the knitters were copying her patterns. Remember:

Everyone loved the Ugg boots and soon knitters had their version. She will be here to promote her newest book:

I have always encouraged everyone to learn crocheting. Crocheting is a fast way to add decorative trim to a knitted garment and this book proves it. So..mark your calendars for Nov. 14, 6:30-8pm at the shop. I can't wait!



 

 

October 3, 2006

Short post today - many things to do. The retreat is this weekend! Poor Nina was all geared and ready to go last week when her friend had to break the news to her that it wasn't until this weekend! lol I think everyone is looking forward to getting away. For those unable to attend - the monthly Knit-In will be held as usual. David gets to keep everyone in line. Don't get too wild without me! (I hate missing a good time!)

I knitted on the child's sweater this weekend and I am almost done. Just have the sleeves and buttonband to go. I love knitting with Scheafer's Miss Priss yarn. I'm anxiously waiting on a huge order from Schaefer. However, I did receive a partial order of the sock yarn:

Many beautiful colors of Anne and Lola (the pic shows only part of the shipment). Also, new sock patterns came and some Laurel (mercerized cotton). Everyday I keep my fingers crossed for more yarn from them!

Mary Lynch showed us her pattern book where she got a spiral binder on it. What a great idea!

I'm in a dilemma - I'm deciding what sweater to start next. I like the sweater that both sweater clubs are doing, I'm going to knit a sweater along with Terri Howard and Terri Cummings, plus I love the new book, "Modern Classic". There's a gorgeous cotton sweater in it. I need to decide today because I have to take way more knitting than I'll ever get done to the retreat. Every knitter's worst nightmare - "to run out of knitting while on a trip".

Don't you love the 90 degree weather in October?  ..... NO!

Have a great day!


 

 


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