Mayhem

I got some new sock yarn in on Wednesday (mini-mochi by Crystal Palace). I hadn't been able to get it on the shelf by the knit-in that night, so it was just in plastic bags on the floor. Lisa was browsing around, happend to see the bags on the floor and picked one up. Immediately, someone else said "What's that?!?!?!". Lisa said (with a big smile), "New sock yarn!" And then it was mayhem, like a sale at Macy's. Before the night was over, 24 balls of yarn were down to 4.

Who knew that a little bit of sock yarn could cause such a stir????

P.S. It really is great yarn (80% superwash merino, 20%nylon) - feels nice and has great, long color changes (similar to noro). Beautiful colors. So, as of today (Saturday) I'm down to zero balls. Have more on order (at least 6 bags) so feel free to come August 5 for another mayhem session....

Selling an organ to buy a wheel?

A couple of funny stories:

I taught the Waterfall Beaded Scarf class last week and it was starting right at the time of a huge rain/hail storm. I wondered if the participants were going to make it. Sure enough, Laurie called to say that she was trying to come but she was stuck at the moment.....-- she was on her way to class, backed out of the garage, saw that it was hailing and drove back in and closed the garage door to wait for it to end. She had closed it with the automatic door opener/closer. And then the power went out! So she was stuck. She had to get her neighbor to help her lift the door and she finally made it to class - an hour late, but she caught up to everyone by the end of class! Now that's a quick study. And her scarf is coming out beautifully!

In my two-socks on one circular needle class on Saturday, we got to talking about spinning. All three participants like to spin and have wheels. Kelly mentioned that she'd really like to get a traveling wheel but she'd have to sell an organ first. We all paused and Chris said, "You mean, like a kidney?!?!?" It was so funny! What Kelly meant was that she has an organ (the instrument) at home that she doesn't play and if she sells it she can buy a wheel.

I tell ya, never ending fun at the shop.

Show and tell:

Trudi's felted hat:

Love the buttons - they add such a nice touch. (sorry for the blurry pic)

Iryth's February Lady Sweater:

Isn't the color just stunning? This is a pattern I'd love to make.

And her just-so-adorable baby booties:

Susan's Hat and scarf (Nancy's Scarf pattern) made with Mushishi (and a few other yarns in the scarf to add color!):

The Mushishi has been very popular - more arriving in August!

And Lisa's woven pack baskets:

She and her sweetie took a class to learn how to make these. Great for yarn storage!!! Maybe he'll let her use his for yarn. You think?

A pile of dirt

After closing the shop on Sunday, here's what Paul and I tackled....

Ok, to be fair, he and his mom had put a big dent in it before I got there. But 10 billion tractor loads later, it was gone. We're filling in the hole the pool made, and this wasn't enough.

Then, on my day off, I went blueberry picking at Indian Ladder Farms!

Directions to find the berries:

The cones:

The berries! Some still green, but lots nice and ripe....

Pretty setting where the blueberry patch is....

Nice view on the way out.....

Yum!.....

And I made a blueberry-raspberry buckle (coffee cake) with them! (got the raspberries from the Altamont Orchard stand at the train station).

Show and Tell:

We had the drop spindle class the past two Saturdays and here are Kathleen and Pat with their plied yarn made on their drop spindles:

And here is Erin's scarf, made with Fantasy Naturale:

Erin is a new knitter and is doing great!!!!

Fern's fetled bag:

Fern makes wonderfully original felted bags!

Kathy's earflap hat (Thorpe hat) made in class here at the shop:

Love this pattern! Kathy is already planning her next one...

And finally, Sue's sock made from the Cascade Heritage sock yarn, with a pattern from the Vintage Socks book:

So pretty - Sue really liked knitting with this yarn, too!

A birthday destination!

I've been meaning to tell you this.... The Spinning Room has become a birthday destination!

Last week, one customer came to spend the day knitting because it was the ONLY thing she wanted to do for her birthday. A couple of days later, another customer came in and said it was her birthday and she was spending it doing all the things she loved. She: 1)Took a nice long bike ride 2) to a yarn shop to 3)buy herself a birthday present.

How great is that?!?!?

A wedding and a cruise...

I've been making more knitting progress thanks to a little down time in the car driving to my cousin's wedding and at Guptill's cruise. The wedding was at the Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, Mass. and it was absolutely beautiful. The wedding took place in the "Secret Garden" and the reception was in this beautiful green house room which was two stories high. Pink and chocolate were the colors and the whole room looked wonderful. Sorry, forgot the camera, but I stole a pic from my aunt's facebook page....

It's kind of tiny but you get the idea.

At the cruise, Paul showed his 1969 Buick GS (sorry, forgot the camera AGAIN. But, boy, were there a lot of people and cars there!).... The cruises are great because we get to have ice cream for dinner and then I sit in my chair and knit. Anyway, on to the progress I made to/from/at these events:

Finished one of my mom's ArtYarns cashmere socks:

AND got started on the second (I'm at the gusset on that one).

I'm SO. CLOSE. to the end of my cardigan, I can taste it!:

Just needs the front bands and buttons. I'm so excited. It will be nice and big and comfy! And have I mentioned how much I love this yarn (I'm pretty sure I have). This is the sweater we are making in the Top Down Sweater class in September, by the way...

Also finished one Bird in Hand Mitten:

The other one won't get started until I teach the class in September so don't hold your breath!

And, I started a new project, the Fiber Trends Shoalwater Shawl, using Happy Feet:

Not much to see yet, but so far the pattern isn't too tough.

Show and Tell:

Ann brought in several recently finished projects...

Her Constant Companion Bag:

Wonderful color combination!

Her Baby Jumper made with Jeannee:

So cute! She even put in snaps on the legs for easy diaper changing.

And, finally, her wonderfully soft cashmere scarf:

Karyn's socks made with , from left to right, Ella Rae Lace Merino, Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors I, and Cascade Heritage:

And she had two beautiful Faroese (sp?) Shawls that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of because it was a little busy... next time!

Joan's adorable baby sweater made with Lamb's Pride Superwash (which I used to carry but don't any longer) and a pattern from the 1970's:

Gorgeous!

Bonny's shawl made from Baby Alpaca DK:

So wonderfully soft. And she's decided to enter it into the Altamont Fair contest!

Stevie's scarf made with Alpaca Lace:

She made the scarf to match the necklace she made. See the little hand next to the shells on the bottom of the scarf? It says "hand made"!

And, finally, Sarah's Branching Out Lace scarf made with Silky Wool, which she made during the class here at the shop:

Big Knit-in = lots of show and tell!

We had about 23 people at the knit-in last night! As always, lots of fun and lots of cool projects being knit. And finished.... many of you brought in projects to show me, so here they are.....

Me first! I finally finished my Spring Fling Cardigan (a kit from Woodstock Knits):

I love it. These kits are so nice and I love that she dyes the buttons with the yarn so they match!

And I've put the finishing touches on the fleted backpack (a class in August....):

Ok, so I still have to sew the straps on (they are tacked on with safety pins), but it's virtually done. Ooh and there's Laura's Pinkie Blanket on the chair (another class in August - great for beginning lace knitters).

Here is Pat's entrelac scarf made with the Noro Silk Garden. The colors are just great:

Nancy's yarn that she spun from a merino/silk roving. It is so beautiful and feels so soft (sorry the pic is blurry!):

Another Nancy's Waterfall Beaded scarf which she made during a class here at the shop:

She used the Mirasol Tupa --- very yummy yarn.

Laurie brought in TWO projects!

Her crocheted, beaded necklace:

Aren't the beads beautiful?

And her wonderful Constant Companion bag:

My favorite color combination!

Susan's sock made from the new Crofter DK. The patterns are so pretty!

Libby's Branching Out scarf which she made during a class here:

So beautiful in the purple Silky Wool!

And finally, Sally's 8-hour baby blanket made with the Encore:

I forgot to ask if it really only took 8 hours...

Keep the projects coming! I love to see them and many of you have told me how much you like to see the pics on the blog. Lots of inspiration.....

Cat Magic

So, I've been working on the dog sweater for the Dog Magic booth at the Altamont Fair. In the absence of a dog model, I give you.......

PHOEBE!

She says it's the most comfortable sweater she's ever worn and would wear it every day if I didn't have to use it as a demonstration at the fair.

(the sweater is not quite done... I'm working on the endless i-cord to put around the neck.)

Not-So-Monkey Socks

Finally! My Monkey socks, now named Not-So-Monkey Socks, are done. These are called Not-S0-Monkey socks because I made them toe-up (the pattern is a top down). I thought I was being clever by reversing the chart and knitting the chart from the top down instead of the bottom up. Didn't work. These are a vague resemblance to the Monkey sock, but I like it all the same. LOVE the yarn- did I mention that? Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn in Fresh Lavender.

I visited my mom over the weekend and worked on her cashmere socks. Have one almost done, so the pair should be ready by the cold weather. It was a nice visit to Connecticut. We went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Bricco, in West Hartford. I had a fig, gorgonzola and prosciutto pizza. Oh. My. Gosh. So good. We also hung around at a bookstore for a while -- another one of my favorite things to do. My mom was so nice and treated me to Janet Evanovich's newest book, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Love her books - so funny!

Next project, a dog sweater for the demonstration at the Altamont Fair!

Visitors

Heidi Quick from Woodstock Knits came to visit with Susan, the yarn rep, yesterday. Heidi has some great new kits coming this fall! Here she is modeling a couple of them, the slouchy hat from the new hat/scarf kit and the tweed cardigan:

She had just finished the cardigan so it wasn't blocked yet and did not have buttons, but it's gorgeous! Both are made with alpaca.

And here is Susan, modeling her recently finished Girasole (Brooklyn Tweed's pattern):

Also gorgeous - I'm dying to make one of these.

So, I ordered lots of yummy stuff from both of them which will be coming in the fall.

Show and tell:

Lisa's beautiful beaded/knit necklace, made from a pattern in the 101 Luxury One Skein Wonders book:

So pretty!

Barbara's Branching Out Lace Scarf, made when she took the class we had here:

She used the Silky Wool and it came out great!

Also, Barbara's felted purse made from an Interweave Felt magazine pattern:

Kathy's Noro striped scarf.... made with Taos and added fringe!:

Don't forget the shop is closed tomorrow, July4. Enjoy the weekend!