Monday, August 31, 2009

A house and a shed

Did I mention that a couple of weeks ago, Paul and I drove to McAdoo, Pennsylvania to pick up a house for his car?


Much more secure and more storage space for when we go to races in Ohio etc. Also, means my garage space is available! While we were on the road home, we saw this:


Ha! Just like in that movie where the passenger was sleeping and the driver drove right up to the truck and then woke the passenger up screaming so he'd think the truck was coming right at them....


And in shed news.... here is my Sunday project before:




and after:




And yesterday we wrapped it in Tyvek.


And today the bee guy came to take care of all our bee nests. (yes, somewhat unrelated, but noteworthy nonetheless)


And I've been working on this since Sunday, getting a lot done very quickly because of the super chunky yarn:





It is the One Button Wonder cardigan from the Sirdar Big Softie pattern book. The sleeves are almost done, then the yoke. I hope I'll be finished knitting with only seaming to do by tomorrow. I'm using the new Addi Clicks and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! So far, I used it with worsted weight and super bulky yarn. No problems with the join etc. They are certainly living up to their reputation.


Also, I finally got a Kromski Sonata (travelling spinning wheel) model in the shop!! Come down if you'd like to try it out....


And finally, some show and tell:

My slouchy hat from the Slouchy Hat and Scarf kit by Woodstock Knits:



This is a new kit this fall and I will be getting some in soon. Heidi from Woodstock Knits will be at the shop on Saturday September 19, 11am-2pm with her kits and samples so stop in to see them and say hi to Heidi!


Robin's Hat/Scarf combination being modeled by Nancy:



(and showing the un-woven in end). This was made with the other super bulky yarn that is new this fall, Expression. Nice variegated colors, thick/thin yarn.


And Wilna's recent sock knitting frenzy:



That's Happy Feet on the left and the rest are Periwinkle Sheep sock yarns!


And her beautiful shawl which is made with the Silky Wool:


Saturday, August 29, 2009

Yarn galore!

TONS of yarn came in this week and the store is in horrible disarray! Come see! Lots of moving things around, setting up new shelves to make more room. It's a good thing --- more yarns for you to choose from. It just might take me a little time to get it all shelved and organized!

Bulky and super bulky are big (no pun intended) this season so I have several new ones. Here are some "quick mitts" made by Pat in the Big Softie super bulky:




She knit one of these mitts in 45 minutes! That's how super bulky is -- nice and fast. I've also got a variegated, thick and thin super bulky called Expression. Both have great patterns to go with them. AND, don't miss out on the new Pike yarn (pom pom and eyelash blend) --lots of bright colors, fun fun fun to knit with (once you get used to it) and great for kids scarves:




This scarf took me about an hour and a half to knit!

Plus, if you 've been in the shop in the past couple of weeks, you may haven notice the bucket of chocolate has been sadly lacking. Well, I've fixed that:





In other news, Paul and I are building a tool shed (pics to follow). Here's the thing - he loves to work after work. I love to relax after work. (I think I've talked about this before!) But we need to do a lot of this together and there's only so much daylight these days, so now I have to work after work. I get a little cranky. He's very tolerant. So far, we have the base made and the walls framed. One more easy part - sheathing on the outside of the walls. Then the harder part comes -- rafters and roof. Ugh. We both don't like heights....

Show and Tell:
My thrummed mitten is done!


I love how it came out - it is so warm and comfortable. The second one will be done during the class that will be on the schedule for the next session of classes...

And, I've FINALLY finished my mom's cashmere socks. The second pair. After the first pair didn't fit last Christmas.

Yay! She will be so happy. (I know they fit this time because I had her try the first one on before i closed the toe.)

And here is Nancy in her Thorpe Hat (earflap hat):


It came out great! These hats are quick to knit (with bulky yarn) and so comfortable.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lace-a-long Finale

Saturday was the end of the summer lace-a-long. We had good participation throughout the summer with several people being able to make it each Saturday morning. We had three people come this Saturday to show their progress:


Cathy is getting close to finishing her tunic, made with the Linares:



This yarn is so pretty (the picture doesn't do it justice) and feels so nice and soft.


Kathy showed her progress on her Friendship Shawl and reported she is a little over halfway done:


She's making this with the Silky Wool. Kathy made great progress considering she is also working on several other projects at the same time!

And here is Stephanie (the originator of the idea for the lace-a-long) with her Laminaria shawl:



That's Zachary with her - he came to the lace-a-longs too, ever since he was 2 weeks old! Thanks to Stephanie for the idea and for bringing yummy cookies to the lace-a-long finale.


And finally, here is my finished Terrific In Tweed Cardigan (with lace rib pattern):


Love how it came out - it's very soft and warm! This is a new-for-fall Woodstock Knits Kit that will be available as a special order very soon (waiting for the color card).


Working on a knit-a-long project for the fall --- possibly the Wonderfully Wallaby....



What the heck is this, you ask?


Thrummed Mittens!!! Mittens with bits of roving knitted into them to make them warmner.

Here's what they look like on the outside:

Love them. They are soooooo squooshy feeling on the inside from the roving. Nice and warm. Look for this as a class in the next session. You'll LOVE them too!
More show and tell:
Robin's bulky log cabin blanket, made with Encore (two strands held together):




Jeanne's beaded fingerless gloves:


Sara Lynn's kids socks made from a Bully Wooly's kit:


Jan's market bag made with Fantasy Naturale:



Kathy and her Waterfall Beaded Scarf:

Kathy took the beaded scarf class on a Sunday and brought this in the following Wednesday, finished! So far, she gets the prize for being done in the shortest amount of time.

Crocheted scarf using the Eco cotton (I've forgotten whose this is! I'm so sorry....):



Annies Trekking XXL socks... pair # 3 of 4:



Christa's pretty Beaded Waterfall Scarf made with Mirasol Chirapa:




Dorah's wonderfully bright Snowdrop Scarf made with the Mirasol Tupa:



Keep those projects coming - I love to see them!
I'm working on next session (Oct/Nov/Dec) class schedule and hope to have it out fairly soon!


The Altamont Fair

Wow - long time no blog! It's been a little busy for me since I got back from vacation and the Altamont Fair was one of the reasons.
On Tuesday, the first day of the fair, Yvette, Sue and I went to the Dog Magic tent to knit dog sweaters and generally promote the shop. It was a little slow that day but we met a few people and Eileen Testo, the organizer of Dog Magic, was nice enough to allow me to leave my sign and my business cards at the tent the next day! Yvette, Sue and I still had fun knitting and chatting and watching some of the dog events. Sue came decked out in all of her dog fashions! She had on a shirt with a dog on it, 3 or 4 bracelets that were dog themed, dog earrings and a knitting bag with a dog on it. (there may have been more, I just couldn't remember them all!). And, of course, in my infinite organizational wisdom, I forgot to bring my camera!

Later in the week, on Saturday, when I DID remember my camera, I went to watch the Spinning Bee and present the prizes (roving and Eucalan donated by the shop!).
The drop spindle winner, Christine Sitterly:


And the Spinning Wheel winner, :
And all the participants, with Jaye Nakamura who worked tirelessly all week to make the events at the wool nook go smoothly!:



It was SO hot in the wool nook that day, the pipes in the barn were sweating:
I also got some shots of the items that were judged:
And here are many of the items that Spinning Room Customers entered:
Look at all the ribbons? How great is that???? Start planning what you'll enter next year!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Show and Tell Catch Up

I haven't done show and tell for a while so here are 17 (!) new projects:
Susan's sock made from a new colorway of the Plymouth Sockin' Sox:


Nancy's Double Basket Weave Scarf (her own pattern!), made with Noro Silk Garden -- beautiful colors!:


Bonny's very pretty shawl made from the Folk Shawls book:


Laurie's beautiful green Circle Shrug:


Trudi's adorable cloche with felt and embroidered flowers:

And Trudi's stranded earlflap hat, which will be the pattern used in the upcoming class for continental knitters who want to learn how to knit with two colors in one hand!:



Karen's gorgeous Hemlock Ring Blanket which she made in a class here at the shop:
Tina's Happy Choices socks (unraveled from a dyed scarf!):



Nancy's beautiful handspun yarn (I can't remember the fiber content!):


Ethel's very pretty sweater made with Cascade 220 (she was SO excited I wanted to take a picture of it!):


Heather's adorable knitted figures, the patterns for which she is publishing into a book!:


Joan's felted purses made from a purse gone wrong, which she felted then cut up to make these two!:


Stevie's adorable little skirt made for a special 4 year old!:


Elizabeth's wonderfully soft scarf made with Alpaca Lace:


Karen's Blooming Cotton scarf, which she loved so much she's going to make another!:


Susan's socks made from Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn:


Andrea's skein of yarn which she made during the Spinning 101 class!:



Whew! I'm all caught up now!
Don't forget to go to the Altamont Fair to see even more wonderful projects in the Wool Nook at the Sheep Barn....