Yarn Shop Thoughts

Socks of Kindness

2012-01-06T22:33:00.016-05:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. We had a very busy holiday season at the shop thanks to all of you and I just haven't had time to post. So...are you knitting along with us on the Socks of Kindness? Look how many are! We had a nice crowd last week for our first day of the KAL. I wonder what today will be like??

I have made no progress on them this week as I cast on another Bandana Cowl. We have yet to exchange Christmas gifts with our friends and I decided that I didn't like the color I made for one of them (I won't say which one in case they read this!) so I am knitting another. It needs to be done by tomorrow so that's what I was working on this week...that an our inventory spreadsheet. I will post some of my FO's and WIP's later this week. I got a new camera so I want to test it out.

Look at everyone knitting away! I was amazed at the different techniques people were using. Toe up, top down, 2 Socks on 1 Circular (the way I'm knitting them BTW...Second Sock Syndrome won't get me this time!), double points, 1 Sock on 2 Circulars...did I forget any? And afterthought heels are planned by some of us (Lisa and Stevie...I decided to try that out!) I can't wait to see all of them completed. No one is using the same colorway either so we should have a great mix of colors.

So...on to customer show and tell...

I have to apologize to Mary Kate...some of her projects below are rotated and I don't know why. They weren't on the camera!

Here is her very pretty in pink Bandana Cowl made out of Malabrigo Worsted. Upside down...oops.

Sandy was busy making the mini stockings for her 10 grandchildren. She knitted most of them on her plan ride over Thanksgiving. Aren't they cute?

Here are Liz's adorable infant mittens she made for her niece and nephew.

And Sally's Baby Surprise Jacket made out of Ella Rae's Amity Print which self stripes the sweater without having to change yarn! She learned how to make the sweater during a class at the shop and she finished it in no time. It's just lovely!

Another one of Mary Kate's projects...sorry, upside down again. Her first pair of the Socks of Kindness and the inspiration for our KAL. The colors are so pretty. You can kind of see the pattern in the picture. They are much nicer in person!

And her Pagewood Farm Handspun Bouquet Hat. These are just so fun!

Annie made these great gauntlets out of a very pretty periwinkle Peace, Love and Yarn. They are just gorgeous!

Here is Jane K.'s Temple Cat Hat made during a class here at the shop. It is just too cute!

And Jane T.'s felted baby bonnet. I don't think that any picture could do this justice. She did a beautiful job on the finishing work that just made this hat look spectacular!

I'm sorry but I don't know whose this is. But...isn't it cute? I'm sure that baby will be plenty warm!

Sally's been busy...these are her 2 Bandana Cowls. The one on the left was knitted in the Cascade Eco Cloud and the one of the right is Cascade's Eco Duo. They are both so soft and squishy. Almost makes you want to wish for colder weather so you can wear them..almost!

That's all for now. Enjoy your weekend!

Victorian Holidays and a LOT of Show and Tell

2011-12-13T18:16:00.022-05:00

Well...it's been a busy few weeks but we've got the shop decorated and we decorated the tree below with over 50 ornaments made during our 2 charity knitting classes. We donated $375 in gift cards to the Schoharie County Community Action Program. They were trilled to receive them and will be handing them out to flood victims from Hurricane Irene. So...thanks again!

I hope you got to see the tree in person. I took this picture right after Jana and Jean got done with the initial decoration. They added a little bit more before the voting began. We came in Second Place in the voting by the community and we got MANY wonderful comments about the tree.

These are the lovely girls whose tree came in First Place. They treated us with a Christmas Carol during the Victorian Holiday Celebration this weekend.

The day was just beautiful and the arrival of Santa on the train was very cool!

So... since I haven't posted in a while, there are a lot of customer FO's to list. So, get ready...here they come.

Of course, wouldn't you know... the first one, I didn't write down the woman's name who knitted this. Yvette helped her pick out yarn (Cascade Eco Wool) for this man's sweater knitted for a friend of hers that was very particular. He wanted a boat neck with extra long ribbing in the cuffs. Didn't she do a wonderful job?!?

Mary Kate has been on a finishing streak. The next 3 pictures are her Gilet vest...

.... her Felted Urban Bag...

...and her Window Pane Felted Bag made during KGA's class here at the shop.

Jan also finished a few things. These are her Winding Way mitts out of Cascade 220 Sport made during Robin's class along with a great pair of socks!

These are Gail's socks. I believe this is her first pair. Aren't they lovely? And they look SO warm.

I THINK these are Mari's socks (correct me if I'm wrong please...I forgot to write it down!) made out of the Periwinkle Sheep's Spinning Room colorway.

And...a few of the felted buttons made during the class at the shop. This class continues to be so much fun for everyone. There will be another one soon!

Kathy L. has been busy too. Here are 2 mini stockings made during class...

... and 4 pairs of slippers, made after taking Trudi's class. They are so nice!

This hat and booties set are SO cute. Theresa couldn't wait to show them to us. (Oops...sideways...sorry.)

And, this is Florence's absolutely gorgeous sweater. She was lucky it made it out of the shop in her possession. There were several of us that would have gladly put it on and ran out of the shop with it!

Liz's Daybreak Shawl (before she blocked it). It's it beautiful? She'll be teaching a class on how to make this next month!

This blanket is just fabulous. But, there was no name on my list of pictures so I apologize for not knowing whose it is. Please leave us a comment. It's beautiful!

And...Christine's LAST creation for the year. We love her!

This is Heike's B4 bag. She overdyed the yarn with kool-aid. Isn't it neat? The colors are so bright and cheery.

And Diane's VERY large stocking made during class at the shop. She was so happy to finish this. It was her first project in a while and she did a wonderful job.

That's it everyone. I hope you have a great week!

Pullin' a Yarn Harlot

2011-11-20T21:32:00.018-05:00

So, most of you know that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot) travels alot. If you read her blog, you know that she knits and also works on her computer on ALL of her flights. Well...I pulled a Yarn Harlot and I uploaded pictures for the blog during my flight to Florida. Because the connection was so slow, I also knit while the pictures were uploading. But I did not knit socks...that would be what Ms. McPhee would do. I've been knitting my Noro Striped scarf. The only thing I didn't do was take a picture of my knitting and my computer on the tray table of the airplane. But, I ran out of time on the plane so I wasn't able to do that. And...once I got off the plane, I promptly forgot that I hadn't posted yet! So, it's the night before Thanksgiving and I just remembered. So, I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Don't forget to stop in the shop this weekend to take a break from the malls and the traffic. Remember that Saturday is Small Business Saturday too so be sure to patronize your favorite small business this Saturday and through the holiday season.

So...pretty much all I have below is customer show and tell. But I do have to confess, I've left my notes somewhere in the shop and I don't remember who owns some of the items below. So, if it's yours and I forgot, please accept my apologies and comment below.

This is Shiela's Boogie vest, I think. I hope I'm right on that one.

And I'm sorry but I've forgotten whose Irish Hiking Scarf and hat this is. Oh wait...it's...oh shoot...I just forgot. I can picture who it is but can't remember her name...so sorry.

Kathy L's Pavement Scarf and 2 Noro hats. So nice!

And her beautiful sweater from the Vintage Modern Knits book made out of Cascade 220 Sport. This picture does not do it justice. The cabling on this is just gorgeous.

Nancy C's blanket made for herself out of Encore. Perfect for those upcoming chilly nights.

The next 3 pictures are Flora's and Yvette wrote everything down for me about each item and I can't find the note. Guess it's been a little hectic. They are all beautiful Flora!

Melissa and her sock made during the Socks 101 class. Very nice...now onto the second one!

Jane's Noro hat. She added the earflaps. Isn't it cute?

More from Kathy L. Two Temple Cats Hats made during class here. I love these hats.

And Mari's Temple Cats Hat, also made in class here at the shop. And, her Knitted Beaded Ball made during the Charity Knit-Along this past weekend.

Have a good week everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Be Our Guest

2011-11-04T05:33:00.009-04:00

On Wednesday night at the knit-in, we welcomed Emilia Laime, Director of the La Imillia Knitting Group in Arani, Bolivia. That's her in the hat (which was crocheted...I think...out of thin thread and then coated to make it strong...wow!) and her translator and business associate Tamara Stenn who owns KUSIKUY Clothing Company in Brattleboro, VT. KUSIKUY commissions La Imillia to knit designs out of the native Alpaca from Bolivia. These hand knitted items are then sold a boutiques and high end specialty stores in NYC and LA.

Emilia's work was just gorgeous and what was even more amazing about it is that all the women in her company knit on size 3 needles...yup...everything...from the hats, mittens and sweaters. And...they knit them fast. Most of them learned to knit at a company that paid them by the sweater so their incentive was to knit them as quickly as they could. And...they are gorgeous. I'll be wearing one of them at the shop this weekend as the samples were for sale and well...a few of us couldn't resist!

Below, Tamara is wearing the hat and scarf that she commissioned Emilia's company to design and knit. She asked them to come up with something for children and they came up with the gorgeous tiger mittens, hat and scarf. It was too cute.

I wish I had taken more notes but it was just so fascinating that I forgot. Oh well... I hope those of you that were there enjoyed the talk and her work. Anyone that was there, feel free to leave comments at the end of the post for the rest of us. Any tidbits you remember would be great!

Now...on to customer show and tell...

Isn't Karen's Leaflet Cardi just gorgeous. That was the KAL we did at the end of the summer and she knit it in that beautiful color of Pastaza.

And Annie...she made something for herself for once. I believe she'd been working on this for quite some time which makes it even more special. We all oohed and aahed over it on Saturday. It's Deb Anderson's leaf pattern shawl in Noro.

Take a look at all Mary Kate's mukluks. I do believe that ALL of her family will be getting these for Christmas this year!

Here is Libby's B4 bag made in class at the shop. That picture does not do it justice. The color combination is so nice. Notice those needle felted buttons. She made those in another class at the shop. They match perfectly!

And here is Teri's lockspun. She spun and dyed this herself. It is just beautiful. She started knitting a scarf with it at the knit-in on size 19 needles. Our guest, Emilia, got a big kick out of the size of those needles. Compared to the size 3 she's used to, they looked like tree trunks!

Well...that's all for now. Have a great weekend. Hope to see you at the shop soon!

Rhinebeck and other things

2011-10-25T13:56:00.017-04:00

Well...it's been a while since I've posted...mostly because we were getting ready for Rhinebeck.

I didn't take very many pictures when we were there because we were very busy. These are a few from my mother and Kevin's sister. Jana and I setting up. Can't believe I was smiling...must have been a smile of confusion. Oh boy...where to put things!

And below...me, Cece, Joan and Jana in front of the Jessalu bags. We just couldn't get over how cute they all were. Again...we're smiling...must not have been too bad. At this point, maybe we were almost done setting up? Phew...

And me and Joan. I'm wearing Jana's Pagewood Farm Handspun Bouquet hat. Isn't it just great?!?! By the way...it's not too late to order one of these skeins!!!

Well...I guess that's it for Rhinebeck pictures. Next year (and yes...there will be a next year) I'll try and take a few more pictures throughout the weekend.

Now...onto some show and tell...

Here are Sheila's socks made out of the Ella Rae Amity Print. These are just great!

And, I think this is Mary Kate. That shawl is just beautiful.

And Jan's sweater that she made in the Top Down Pullover class at the shop. It's made out of the Encore Coffee Beenz and is just lovely.

Beth's beautiful baby blanket.

And Joan teaching Courtney's son (whose name escapes me right now) how to knit during last week's knit in. So cute. He was doing very well when he left.

Sorry about this picture. One because I can't get it to rotate and two, because I don't know whose it is. It's just beautiful though. Leave a comment if it's yours!

And here is Ronnie's dishcloth made in the beginner's class at the shop.

And Joy's dishcloth, also made in the beginner class. Good job to both of them! Welcome to the knitting club!

That's all for this post. Have a great week and a very Happy Halloween!

Party!!!

2011-10-01T16:29:00.016-04:00

Well...after 2 months of owning the shop (can you all believe it's been 2 months???) we finally decided to have the "official" turnover from Liz to me. So, Friday night, we had a little party to celebrate. We had a very nice crowd of about 30 people with some great food from our local orchards and vineyard. Thank you to those of you that contributed snacks as well! Everything was just yummy!

So, this is the official handing over of the yarn. And...if you look closely...the needles are upside down. Ooops...oh well. If you can't tell, we weren't sure which camera to look at. I wonder if anyone took a picture where we were both looking at the same person.

And, below are Liz and I and the "shop girls". I couldn't have made it through these last 2 months without all of them and I really appreciate everything they have done for me. So, thank you to Robin, Joan, Yvette, Jana and Liz! You are all wonderful!

So, as many of you know, one of the big reasons why we put off the celebration for so long was because of the friendship quilt being made on the sly for Liz. It took a while to coordinate everything, of which I had nothing to do with other than making my one square. So, for those of you that contributed, I know that Liz absolutely loved the quilt and if you check out her blog, I'm sure she'll be posting something about that soon. But, once Joan actually pulled it out of the bag and we all ooo'd and ahh'd over it...there were ends to weave in!!! So...how do you like the teamwork??

Here is a close up of the quilt. I have MANY more pictures, thanks to Christine who took the pictures on the shop camera. I will put a slideshow together for the knit-in on Wednesday. I just couldn't upload them all here.

Again, thank you all for coming in last night. I hope you had a good time. I know I did!

So, on to some customer show and tell. Today Karen taught a felted buttons class. Here are the ladies looking like they were having a good time. And Janell with the BIG needle...YIKES! I'm happy to report that no one needed a band aid.

Here are the bottons they all made. Aren't they just gorgeous????!!!!!! I was so jealous that I wasn't taking the class!

And, here is Mary's scarf that she made in the beginning knitting class that Robin taught last month. Isn't it just great? What a nice fall scarf!

And, another beginner, Kate, and her ribbed scarf made out of Riva. I think we've got them hooked. What do you think?

Stevie is up to her cool tricks again. Don't you love the tiny crab finger puppet she made for Sally? How does she do that?

And last but not least, Janell's very pretty pink socks.

Have a great week everyone. Don't forget to check out the slideshow at the knit-in Wednesday!

Out for a Sunday Drive

2011-09-23T17:12:00.013-04:00

So, most of you know that Kevin and I have a farm. Well...it's actually his farm, I'm just the rake girl. This Sunday was part of a beautiful stretch of Fall weather which means it's time for second cutting. So, I figured I'd show you all how I spend many a Sunday in the summer and into the fall. This is my rig, which when driven right, makes those pretty rows below... which Kevin is gobbling up in his baler. Doesn't that look like fun???

So far we've baled 775+ large rounds bales this year. It takes a lot of hay to feed 100 head of cattle!

Now onto customer show and tell...

This is Sally's scarf made from a Woodstock Knits kit. It's so nice and soft...just lovely!

Look at all these Aviatrix hats. Aren't they adorable? I'm sorry, I'm not sure whose they are though. Anybody?

Here's Sue Z's KGA's Blooming Felted Bag made during a class at the shop. It's just great. Love the button too! You can learn to make a button like that next Saturday 10/1 in Karen's class!

Cathy's Noro Striped Scarf and Noro leaf hat. Just beautiful.

Take a look at Allison's knitted cuffs with the needle felted embellishments. Aren't they cool?

And her knitted gauntlets with those fabulous ribbons.

And Kathy L's been up to her ears in knitting again! The slippers were made during Trudi's class here at the shop and the hat is made out of the new, wonderfully soft Eco Duo. Sorry...I forgot what the scarf was made out of but it's so beautiful.

And Mari's top down sweater also made here in class. My picture of it doesn't do it justice. The color of it is just great for the fall!

99

2011-09-11T17:35:00.017-04:00

This is a picture of my Grandmother taken by my cousin Carin, the photographer extradinare. My Grandmother died this week at the tender age of 99 and 7 months. My family will miss her and I want to thank you for all your kind thoughts and words this week.

The last two weeks have been very long for me between Kevin's parents being flooded out of their house because of Irene and the death of my Grandmother. Hopefully we'll get caught up this week and maybe start some kind of routine.

So, if I haven't posted in a while, it's in part because of my crazy life in general. But, people have been knitting around me so I do have pictures to share below. Everyone just amazes me with the lovely work they do.

I'll do my best to keep up with the blog but it probably won't be as frequently is Miss Liz did so bear (bare? which word should I use here English teachers?) with me.

So...on to some customer show and tell...

Jana's Blue Lace Shawl. I think the name of it is Eilli...that's what I had written down anyway. She knitted it with the Peace Love and Yarn. It's absolutely beautiful.

Heike's Morning Surf Drop Stitch scarf made with Tussah Silk. It's lovely and she was so excited to show it to me.

Kathy's mits made during class here at the shop. She made them with two colors of the new Cascade 220 Sport.

Laurie and Kathy's Leaflet Cardis, knit during the knit-along at the shop. There are still some more of us hoping to finish soon...me included!

And...Kathy's Mukluks...she's been busy as usual.

Annie's slouch hat made out of Cascade Eco-Duo. Have we mentioned how soft this yarn is???

Sheila's Gilet vest made out of the new Nadeshiko yarn from Noro. It's just beautiful.

Libby's Lana Grande Hat. So soft and squishy and is a very quick knit...

Needle felted flower from Trudi and Karen's class. Not sure who made it but it's very pretty.

Needle felted dog. How cute is that?!?!?

More hats from Annie! She's on a roll!

Busy, busy, busy

2011-08-23T21:08:00.016-04:00

Hi everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. It's been a very busy 2 weeks. I'm still getting my feet wet and I appreciate your patience. I also appreciate it when you come in and I still don't remember your name and you don't get mad at me. I'll get them eventually...

If you haven't seen the weekly newsletter then you'll be surprised to find out that we'll be opening on Sundays again in the Fall. Beginning September 11, we'll be open Sundays 11 - 3. And, on 9/11, we'll be giving 10% of our sales total to the local Altamont Fire Department and Ambulance Squad in memory of those that lost their lives 10 years ago. So please join us that day for some friendship and knitting.

We have gotten in many new, yummy yarns and are expecting more at the beginning of September. Check out the website for updates on new things to the shop and also new classes. We've added some new October classes with more to come.

I was also fortunate enough to be asked to give the prizes for the Spinning Bee at the Altamont Fair this Saturday. It was a hot day but all the spinners looked like they had fun. We also have a Grand Champion in our midst. Stephanie took the top prize at the fair for her lovely beaded shawl. There is a picture of it below but it really doesn't do it justice. The BEST part about getting to see the shawl is that when Liz and I walked in the Sheep Barn, Stephanie had JUST found out she had won. It was so great to see her and her family so excited!!!!

So, below are some pictures of the Spinning Bee and then some customer show and tell. I apologize for not knowing everyone's name. Like I said above, eventually I'll get it. I also plan on getting a list of all the winners from Jaye and will post them here.

Here is Liz spinning on her Louet and a drop spindler whose name I should know but can't think of it right now...sorry.

And Stephanie spinning on her drop spindle.

Jaye, Heather (I hope that was her name) who won the Spinning Bee for wheel spinning, me, Deb Guard who won the Spinning Bee for drop spindlers and Deb Anderson...the MC at the Sheep Barn for the day and also the designer of all those great Noro patterns we have at the shop.

Stephanie's shawl in the middle. Take a look at the HUGE ribbon to the right of it. Isn't that just the biggest ribbon you've ever seen?!?!?!?

Now, some customer show and tell...

Laurie's Crocheted Bolero. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was so nice and matched her outfit perfectly.

Karen's Budding Apple shawl in the Perwinkle Sheep's Watercolors II that she made during our KAL this summer. So lovely.

And take a look at all these stockings that Florence made for her grandchildren, also a KAL this summer. They are all just beautiful and big so that they can be filled with a lot of loot!

Sheila's vest and mucklucks. I believe that this is the vest that won a First Place ribbon at the fair. Good job Sheila!

And, that's Lois behind the very cute toddler dress.

Have a great week everyone! Hope to see you at the shop soon!

What a week!

2011-08-08T17:01:00.012-04:00

Well...I made it through the week and so did the shop. It was a very hectic one for me and I want to thank all of you that made it fun and successful. Some of my family made the trek over from Pittsfield, MA to spend the afternoon with me on Tuesday and I received some beautiful flowers and that very large glass bowl full of candy. And the champagne is still in the fridge so if anyone wants to toast...let me know. (HA HA!)

So, here is a picture of all my lovely flowers... and some customer show and tell.

Here are Allison's needle felted dogs. They are of Karen's dogs Boo Boo and Beula. Aren't they adorable??!?!?!!

And the after shot of KGA's Blooming Felted Bag. The before shot was on the blog a week or two ago. It's just beautiful! There is still one spot left in this class this weekend. Call the shop if you are interested!

This is Eleanora's sweater that she made for her husband...that's why it looks SO big on her! She modified it to make the cable go all the way down the front. He's going to LOVE it!

This is Kathy L.'s Tiny Tea Leaves sweater made during class at the shop. I forgot to ask what yarn she used...oops.

Yvette held a wet felting class on Saturday morning and she wanted to take a pictures of all the bubbles!

Mary Kate...don't worry. It's not going to fall!

Can't wait to see what those projects look like when they are dry!

And, Libby's Feather and Fan scarf made with the Baby Bamboo. Just lovely!

The REAL last post

2011-07-31T18:23:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I lied. That last post wasn't my last post. This one is!

Had to post this picture of the quote that's on the wall in the shop for my end-of-the-day crew on my last day at the shop:

Appropriate, no? It was a very exciting last day that I certainly won't forget. Tomorrow Deirdre takes over and there will be many more exciting things to come!

Also, had to show you the latest customer show and tell before I hand the camera over to Deirdre:

But, ugh! I forgot whose these are! Linda's? Sue Z's? I know they are made with a very pretty color of Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn.....

Jan's Mukluk slippers made with Encore chunky:

She made both pairs between one knit-in and the next (that's only a week!)

Alison G's, now Sue Z's, In the Land of Oz shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k:

Sue commissioned Alison to make this for her, which she will wear when she goes on her cruise!

And here are Bonnie (I think?) and Tanner, Sue Z's dogs that Alison needle felted!:

Stephanie in her Brigid Jacket which she made during the knit-a-long:

Janell's most recent finished Christmas projects:

Traveling Woman shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k; Cedar Leaf shawlette made with Malabrigo Silky Merino; Multidirectional scarf made with Noro Taiyo

And finally, Karen with her "before" KGA's Blooming Felted Bag:

This class is being held in August is you are interested!

And, because it bears repeating and can be applied in so many ways:

The week of lasts

2011-07-27T10:25:00.006-04:00

This is the week of lasts - my last weekly email, my last Tuesday, my last knit-in, my last Thursday... you get the idea. And so, my last blog post.

Once again, I want to thank you all for your support of me while I've owned the shop. It was a fun, crazy, wonderful, rewarding, scary, rewarding, stressful, rewarding, rewarding, rewarding experience. I've met so many wonderful people, learned so much about knitting and knitters, knitted A LOT, had many many laughs (and a few sad times too). While I have decided to move on, which is the best thing for me, I will certainly miss many things. I'm glad that Deirdre wants me to come back and teach classes so that I can still stay in touch with my knitting peeps (I hijacked that term from Joan). Most of all I want to thank Paul, who has been so incredibly patient with and supportive of me while I took on this endeavor. I'm happy that I'll have some more time to spend with him. (He will be reading this, and you'll see why below, so, thank you Sweetie Pie. I love you very much!)

Now, on to my "regular" blog stuff...

Paul and I went to Red Robin (YUMMMM!) the other night because he had a gift card. Love that place. Especially the onion ring tower. Of course, we ordered that and when it was delievered to the table, I started laughing hysterically because this is what my view was:

I couldn't see Paul at all! It was so funny. I immediately got my phone out to take a picture, and Paul rolled his eyes and said, "Is that going on the blog?" (OF COURSE IT IS!)

Meanwhile, at the shop, Florence and Linda were taking the drop spindle 101 class!
Here is their yarn pre-steaming:

And post steaming:

And here is the progress I have been making on my knitting:
I finished the Christmas in July Knit-a-Long project, the Christmas stocking:

Love it!

And here is my progress on the Summer Wind pattern I told you about in the email:

I am using the Cascade Heritage 150 Paints. SO. So. so. EASY. And it's coming out quite lovely I think. And while this is the week of lasts, this is nowhere near the last of my knitting! Stay tuned... maybe I'll create another blog!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
Linda's gorgeous woven shawl:

And her woven placemats:

Darla's ankle socks made with Encore:

And her hand spun, hand dyed yarn:

Christine's felted wine box cozy:

How cool is that?????

Florence's 2nd of 5 Christmas stockings:

You can see the 3rd one in progress in the upper right hand corner!

I've loved being able to showcase all your projects on the blog - you are all such inspiration for each other!

Another Mostly Show and Tell Post

2011-07-25T13:57:00.005-04:00

Before I get to the show and tell, I wanted to show you this picture of everyone taking refuge from the heat at last week's knit-in!:

There have been so many wonderful projects being finished up! So much inspiration is gotten from the Wednesday knit-ins and the informal Saturday knit-ins. Everyone is so enthusiastic about what they are knitting and it's contagious....

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Heike's felted clogs:

Pat's B4 Bag:

Nancy C's Market bag:

And her Shawl Collared Cowl:

Sue Z's Mukluk slippers:

And the beginning of her second stocking:

She designed the heart motif herself!

Stevie's ruffled wrist warmers made with her own handspun!

Kathy L's knitted sheep:

And her table-full of other finished projects!:

There is a stocking, a zippered cardi, market bag, Budding Apple shawl, Siesta Tee, and the short sleeved cardi made with the Noro Taiyo whose name I can't remember!

Patti's Luscious Lace scarf and leaf hat:

Florence's first of 5 Christmas stockings:

Millie's baby sweater made from a pattern in the 60 Quick Baby Knits:

And her Pebble Yoke cardigan and hat:

Nancy E's Traveling woman shawl:

Darla was also on a finishing spree:

Her own hand spun and dyed yarn:

...felted container:

....woven towel:

....woven scarf:

....and her woven placemat:

Summer visiting

2011-07-18T08:49:00.004-04:00

Went to CT this weekend to visit family. One of the things I did was visit my sister and my nephews at Nicholas' swim meet.

Carolyn and Evan see-sawed:

Nicholas swam:

Ok, this is him AFTER he swam. It was too hard to get a picture of him actually swimming since we were behind a fence!

And Evan, Carolyn, Matthew and I watched:

Then I went to my mom's and we had some great adventures!

Meanwhile, I've been making good progress on my Christmas stocking (sorry, no picture). I've passed the save-the-spot-for-the-heel part and am almost at the toe. I'm close and will post a picture when it's done!

And some of you have already seen these:

Mukluk slipper socks! So comfy. And SOOOOOOO easy! the patterns have been flying out the door and more are on the way (along with a children's version). These are made with bulky yarn and were very quick to knit. I used the Katia Peru -- so soft and again, COMFY!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Libby's Triana scarf:

Lisa's socks that she made in the 2 socks on 1 circular needle class, with yarn she got in Italy!:

Busy Summer Knitting

2011-07-13T06:03:00.007-04:00

Whew - I guess it's been a little while since my last post. It's been a little busy around here getting ready for Deirdre to take over the shop in about 3 weeks. Time is flying and there is a lot to do! I'm excited for you - Deirdre is incredibly nice and has some great ideas and you are going to love her (if you don't already).

But, I did take a day to go to Wiawaka on Monday with a bunch of great women:

Did you know that "Wiawaka" means "the spirit of great women"?

Here is everyone sitting on the dock, knitting and trying to stay cool (except for Robin and Christine, who for some reason were immune to the heat):

And of course, the tradition of saying hi to the Minnehaha:

It was a nice day - join us sometime! (such as August 11 when the next day trip is planned...)

Meanwhile at the shop, there is still a lot of knitting and spinning going on even though it's summer and it's hot!

We had a Spinning 101 class---- Clea spun and knit her first project from homespun!:

Here are Robin and Mary Ellen with their first spun yarn:

And in the "random" category, here is the yarn Karen picked out for her next (5th????) KGA's Blooming Felted Bag:

PRETTY! Click here for details on her class being held in August!

And check out Sue's Christmas stocking that she made with the knit-a-long (she's the first one done, having knit it in just one week!!!):

Did I already show you my finished Tiny Tea Leave Cardi?

Class coming up at the end of July (click up there to get to the classes tab again).

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL: (I've put links to many of the patterns!)

Cece's scarf made with homespun and others:

And her homespun yarn:

And her woven shawl made on a triangle loom:

Alison's beaded shawl (sorry, it's hard to see the beads and sorry, I can't remember the pattern - Alison would you please comment here with the name?) made with Periwinkle Sheep wool/silk fingering weight:

Karin is going to display it when she goes to Sock Summit!

And did you know that shawls have been all the rage at the shop??????

Jan's Cedar Leaf Shawlette (made with the yummy Royal Alpaca), and her Multnomah (made with Periwinkle Sheep) and her feather and fan scarf (made with Baby Bamboo):

And her Budding Apple Shawl, made with Ella Rae Lace Merino during the knit a long:

Mari's Budding Apple shawl, also made during the knit a long:

Sue M's Margarethe shawl (from the Vintage Modern Knits book) made with Silky Merino:

Sally's Sugared Violets shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k:

Darcianne's Baby Surprise Jacket, made with Encore Colorspun:

Fern's Guernsey Wrap (a Jared Flood pattern), made with Cascade 220:

Millie's Pebble Yoke Sweater, made with Baby Bamboo:

Mary Kate in her Gilet court d'ete made with Noro Taiyo:

Nancy C's feather and fan scarf:

Things Men Say

2011-06-30T07:31:00.006-04:00

When coming to the shop to buy a swift for a birthday present:

"I'm tired of being the swift." (Unclear if it was his birthday or hers.)

When picking something up for his daughter and asked if we can help him:

"No, thanks. I'm just going back here to get a bolt of yarn." (It was roving.)

When being my husband, Paul, who likes to come up with new knitting terms:

The latest word for knitters: Yarnies .....or coming up with any take on "yarn" or "knitting"... "I'm so tired, I think I'm going to yarn" (yawn).

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Alison G made these needle felted dogs for Sally B (they are representations of Sally's own dogs!):

Stand. Sit. Roll over.

Jana's second Market Bag made with two shades of orange Cascade Sierra:

And her Cables and Lace Slouchy Beret (click there to get the free pattern), also made with Cascade Sierra:

A great summer hat!!!

Mary Kate's Market Bag made with Cascade Sierra in the class here at the shop:

And another market bag that she almost finished a couple of years ago, and just put the handles on!:

Lisa's Constant Companion Bag made with Lamb's Pride Bulky:

Laurie's Leaf Shawl made with Noro Silk Garden:

Joyce's Traveling Woman shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k:

Stevie's handspun yarn!!!:

Mostly Show and Tell

2011-06-27T06:39:00.013-04:00

The Budding Apple Knit-a-long is starting to wind down. Check out Kathy L's shawl, made with Peace Love & Yarn's Silk Noile yarn:

So gorgeous!

So, time to introduce the new knit-a-long! We are doing a Christmas-in-July Knit-a-Long and making a Christmas stocking:

A free Cascade pattern (get it here) , this is made with 4 or up to 10 colors of Cascade 220. It has some stranding in it so if you are unfamiliar with that, I'll be at the knit a longs to help with it! First KAL meet up will be this Saturday, July 2 and will go throughout the month. I'll also start a thread on the Ravelry group. I was telling some customers about it this past Saturday and several have already decided to tackle this one!

Here are the colors I'm going to do:

Non-traditional, yes... but totally my colors, no?

Weaving 101 show and tell:

Linda's scarf:

Florence's scarf:

Both made with Encore worsted and colorspun. They loved the class! Another Weaving 101 class is scheduled for July.... join us! No experience needed!

Constant Companion in-progress show and tell:

Gail, Patti and Linda were working on the bind off at the last class --- can't wait to see their finished bags!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Kathy L's Yvette Hat using the Roositud technique, which she made in a class at the shop:

Mari's Brigid Jacket which she made during a knit-a-long at the shop:

Jana's Traveling Woman shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep watercolors yarn in the "Tree Frog" colorway:

Nancy E's B4 Bag, made with Cascade 220:

Karen's been on a finishing streak:

KGA's Blooming Felted Bag, made with Cascade 220:

This will be a class in August!

Multidirectional scarf, made with Chaiten:

Gathered Scarf made with Malabrigo Silky Merino:

Shawl Collared Cowl, made with Baby Alpaca Grande:

Lace Ribbon Scarf, made with Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors II sock yarn:

Beth's washcloths made with Fantasy Naturale:

Sue M's Brigid Jacket that she made for the knit-a-long at the shop:

Jaye's stranded tam that she made with in a class here at the shop:

Theresa's colorful striped socks:

Jan's Market Bag made with Cascade Sierra in a class here at the shop:

Stephanie's shawl made with Zino sock yarn:

(Stephanie I forgot the name of the pattern! Could you leave it in the comments?)

Sue A's socks made with three different sock yarn remnants!:

A Maine-ly great vacation

2011-06-20T08:23:00.007-04:00

.... Actually a totally great vacation. Paul and I went to Bar Harbor, Maine on vacation last week and had a wonderful time! Much better than last year (when we had a scary cottage in the middle of nowhere...). On the way up, we took Route 1 in Maine, through all the beautiful, picturesque towns. One of them was Wiscasset where we went to Red's, famous for their lobster rolls:

I'll say it now... neither Paul not I really likes lobster, so we had none on this vacation. Don't be shocked. Just don't love it so much as a lot of people. If I did, I'd go broke. Lobster rolls ranged from $11.99 to $20 depending on where we went! I had THE. BEST. crab cakes here at Red's. O. M. G. The first of many seafood meals this week. Fish and chips, shrimp, clam chowder.... oof.

I think I told you last year about the many businesses that had "Maine-ly" in their name. This year, I wrote them all down:

Maine-ly Antiques (but some new stuff?)

Maine-ly Used Cards (but some new cars?)

Maine-ly Sewing (but some shuffleboarding?)

Maine-ly Pottery (ok, you get the idea...)

Maine-ly Vinyl

Maine-ly Music

Maine-ly Meat BBQ

This year, we stayed right in Bar Harbor and we were able to walk to almost everything we wanted to do. We spent a lot of time on the town green, looking at the harbor and people-watching. One day, this showed up:

With a crane to lower their "dinghy":

It is a 142 foot yacht owned by the owner of the New Orleans Saints football team. A crew of 7 were constantly cleaning and shining up the boat.

We also did the greatest thing ever.... went to "Reel Pizza", a movie house where you can eat dinner while you watch the movie! Here is a picture of the seats with counters in front of them to put your food...

These pictures aren't great since I forgot the camera and had to take them with my cell phone. And if you look closely, up front there are couches and recliners with TV tables! ( we chose the regular seats).

Once you order your food, you go sit down and wait for your random number to show up on the BINGO board:

Then you eat, knit and watch the movie!:

So great, we went twice! The first time we saw Super 8 (fun and a little scary). The second time we saw Bridesmaids (very funny). Don't you think there should be one of these around here???? I would go every week. (Tickets were only $6!)

We also spent lots of time in Acadia National Park seeing the beautiful sights:

Walked and road bikes on the carriage roads:

Saw some wildlife:

We also walked across the harbor at low tide to hike up a little mountain on Bar Island to see this:

Walked and shopped the downtown area:

Saw a pretty sunset over the harbor:

And overall had a wonderful vacation spending time together:

Did I knit, you ask???? Of course! In the car and during the week I worked on my car seat blanket:

And finished my Budding Apple Shawl! (not blocked yet):

Apparently I'm on a mint green streak.

The weather!

2011-06-11T12:25:00.003-04:00

What is with all this extreme weather lately????? First it's 1000 degrees out. Then it's thundering like crazy, and then it's raining and 58 degrees.

At the knit-in the other night there was a terrible thunderstorm -- but many braved the torrential rain and the hail (okay, they were sort of caught in it and didn't necessarily choose to drive in it to get to the knit-in). But as we left, we saw this:

How pretty is that?

I'm making good progress on my Budding Apple Shawl:

I think I'm 1/2 way (or a little more) done. It's hard to tell. But I really like it!

Yvette and Christine have been bringing beautiful flowers to the shop from their gardens. Here is Christine's most recent bouquet:

Thank you for helping to brighten up the shop!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Christine's felted wine box cozy (!), embellished with felted grape vine (!!):

Laurie's Baby Blanket from the Plymouth Encore 8-Hour Choices Booklet, and matching sweater:

Alison G's Peacock Shawl made with Periwinkle Sheep's w i n k yarn in the colorway "Alison G"!

Nancy C's lace scarf:

Stevie's Daybreak Shawl, made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k yarn and a specially dyed yarn for Camp KIP, a knitting retreat she attended:

Goat Sweaters!

2011-06-06T11:50:00.008-04:00

So, a long time ago (in November-ish), Paul and I went to the Victorian Holidays celebration in Sharon Springs. I got to meet Josh and Brent of The Fabulous Beekman Boys (reality show on the Planet Green channel). While I was talking to Josh, I asked if Farmer John might like some goat sweaters for when the baby goats are born. Well, turns out Farmer John said he would try a couple. I quickly knit up two samples, one in a green tweed and the other black with "B1802" (for Beekman 1802,the name of their mansion and the year it was built, and also the name of their business) on the back. Lo and behold, the sweaters were on their season 2 finale!!!!!! :

Unfortunately, no mention of me or the shop, but that's ok. I know I'm famous, and now YOU know I'm famous (for like, 2 minutes anyway). You can find the Fabulous Beekman boys on iTunes if you don't have Planet Green. I think the episodes are 1.99 each. The season 2 finale is called "Paging Dr. Brent" if you just want to check that one out with the goat sweaters. And by the way, I've gotten no more requests for sweaters from them.

In the mean time, Jana and I worked up this cute water bottle holder to match the Market Bag Jana is teaching in a class!

This week the yarn I knit it with, Cascade Sierra, is 20% off and if you buy the yarn, you will get the water bottle pattern for free!

What's on my needles you ask?

Here is my Budding Apple shawl that I'm knitting in the KAL:

It's coming along nicely and for those of you in-the-know, I just started chart B.

I also started yet another car seat blanket for a not-to-be-named-because-they-might-read-this person, using Jeanee Worsted:

We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so I'm leaving out the eyelet pattern.

Last week was the second session of the Bloomsbury Gauntlets class, a pattern in the Color By Kristin book.

Kathy finished one glove, with the embroidery and all:

Pam had almost finished the knitting of one by the end of class:

And Libby and Linda were coming along nicely as well:

Love all the different color combinations!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

A beautiful crocheted shawl using Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn:

Robin's wet felted bird house:

Another wet felting session is coming up August 6 if you'd like to try this technique to make a bird house or other felted object such as a table runner or place mat.

Mary Kate in her pretty Cedar Leaf Shawlette, made with Malabrigo Silky Merino:

Bird Houses

2011-05-28T08:41:00.006-04:00

Yvette taught the Wet Felting 101 class this week and participants made bird houses!

Balloons, roving, soap and hot water....

Once these are dry, they will cut a hole and pop the balloon...

Some of the participants are then planning to needle felt a design on it. Hopefully they will bring them back so I can take pictures of the finished projects.

I have made some progress on my Brigid Jacket but no pics to show yet. I have now finished the back, both fronts and almost one sleeve. The Budding Apple is coming along, but slowly. Hopefully I'll have time to work on both this holiday weekend.

Have a nice holiday weekend everyone! I hope to show you some pictures from Musclepalooza (I'll explain later) as long as the weather holds out....

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Julie's scarf made with an alpaca yarn:

Sue A's socks made with other sock's leftovers:

Melissa's first sweater!:

Liz from Peace Love & Yarn's shawl made with her own hand-dyed yarn:

And her Mitered Crosses blanket square made with Noro Silk Garden and another yarn that I can't remember!:

Nancy M's linen stitch cardigan:

Laurie's Multnomah (with a pretty eyelet modification in the body!) made with Periwinkle Sheep's w i n k yarn:

(This picture isn't picking up the very pretty silvery sparkle!)

Kathy L has been VERY busy again:

Her Multidirectional Scarf made with Chaiten (100% silk!):

Her Traveling Woman (4 repeats of A, one of B) made with Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn:

Cedar Leaf Shawlette made with Royal Alpaca:

Another Cedar Leaf made with Pima Tencel:

And there was a third Cedar Leaf made with Jeanne that we didn't see before she gave it to her mom!

Carol's Nancy's Scarf made with Royal Llama Silk:

Linda's adorable Watermellon sweater (a Never Not Knitting pattern), made with Cotton Rich DK:

Summer inspirations

2011-05-23T15:57:00.006-04:00

How about these next few patterns to give you some inspiration for your summer knitting?

I'm continuing work on my Budding Apple Shawl:

This is the pattern we are doing for our current knit-a-long which started on Saturday. (Yes, that's the same picture from the last post - I haven't gotten too much farther!) We have several people participating! So far the biggest grumble is about casting on. The shawl is knit from the bottom up, so you have to cast on at least 250(million) stitches. I am doing the medium so I had to cast on 370 (million) stitches. I turns out that I cast on about 1,000 (million) stitches since I started over three times. Somehow I just wouldn't accept the fact that the long-tail cast-on might not be the best to use in this instance. It's never too late to join in on the knit-a-long and we're available for help when you get stuck!

Meanwhile, have you heard that Noro Taiyo is on sale this week? 20% off! I wanted to showcase this yarn because it's a nice option for summer knitting. A worsted weight Cotton/silk/wool/nylon blend with 220 yards per ball. With your purchase this week, you'll receive a copy of the free Multidirectional Scarf pattern which can be made with one (or two) balls of Taiyo.

Here is Trudi in her adorable short sleeve cardi which can be made with 2-3 balls of Taiyo:

This is also a free pattern found on Ravelry here: Gilet court d'ete

And here is Robin in her recently finished Siesta Tee (that one's free too!) made with Cotton Rich DK:

If you are interested in participating in a class for this tee, let me know and we'll put one together!

Customer Show and Tell:

Darla's husband, Charlie needle felted a lining for this pool stick case:

.....which he made!:

Isn't that wood gorgeous?

Mary Kate's Multnomah Shawl (another free one! You'd think I didn't want you to buy patterns at the shop -- which isn't true. I do want you to buy patterns at the shop too!) made with Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn:

Stevie's slipper socks which have mohair knitted into the bottom for extra warmth and cushiness!:

Mari's Stranded Tam made in a class here at the shop with Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden:

Susan's wonderful shawl made with many different colors of Cascade 220:

More Purple

2011-05-16T10:29:00.006-04:00

In Mandy news, we've received the Thundershirt and she's been practicing wearing it. We are expecting some storms over the next few days so our fingers are crossed that it will help! In the meantime, she's getting a little better at claiming her spot when Phoebe takes it:

I'm finally getting some knitting done! I've got the back and both fronts done on my Brigid Jacket and will be starting on the sleeves today.

I also started the next Knit-a-Long project, which I'm announcing... now! Budding Apple by Anne Hanson: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/budding-apple

I thought it was the perfect project for spring - a very pretty lace shawl. Shawls have been popular lately and I love this one since it has some patterning in the main body as well as teh edging. The pattern calls for a fingering weight but indicates other yarns would be fine, too. So, I'm trying it in a DK weight cotton to have as a nice weight for summer. I'm using the Cotton Rich DK (5 skeins). Who wants to join me in this knit-a-long????

And, starting off the set of finished purple projects (good to know I'm not the only one who likes purple!)..... I've finally finished my BFF socks! In plenty of time for my friend's birthday. Good thing I started them in February....

Made with Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors sock yarn in "Envy".

Alison's Sugared Violets shawl, made with Periwinkle Sheep w i n k fingering weight yarn:

This yarn is perfect for this pattern! The little bit of sparkle in the yarn is just gorgeous. Find the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sugared-violets

Mary M's Multnomah shawl, also made with Periwinkle Sheep watercolors sock yarn (in Poiple):

Laura's cute baby sweater:

Jean's Cedar Leaf Shawlette, made with Malabrigo Silky Merino (and modeled by Jana!):

Jean's Triana scarf made for Jana for her birthday!:

Sally's Traveling Woman shawl, made with hand-dyed yarn from Peace Love & Yarn:

Fern's Guernsey Wrap (a pattern by Jared Flood)- in-progress, made with Cascade 220:

Pasta???

2011-05-09T07:55:00.013-04:00

I went to CT to see my mom for Mother's Day. I took her to lunch (but we didn't have pasta as the title of this post may imply -- more on that later) and we also went to see my sweet nephew Evan play soccer:

He's the one in the middle. So cute, with his shirt tucked in. Evan and his brothers gave my sister the sweetest Mother's Day cards! It was a beautiful, sunny day and so nice to spend some time outside.

If you weren't at the knit-in last week, you were probably the only one... look at this crowd:

As always, lots of fun!

And check this out:

Pasta making at the shop????

No........

Button-making!:

Libby's finished buttons:

Zen's finished buttons:

Great accessories to adorn knitted projects! We're looking to schedule a bead making class next - to use in your knitting or to make stitch markers. How fun would that be?

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Yvette's wet felted bible cover, which she made for the young man she sponsored for his confirmation:

Mary Kate's socks, made with Zauerball sock yarn:

Alison's shawl, made with Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn:

And her adorable needle felted gnomes:

Darla's first sock, made with Plymouth Coffee Beenz:

And check out Jean wonderful knitted chickens and eggs!:

Mary Jane's Flounce scarf:

Heike's steeked wrist warmer:

Just when winter is over....

2011-04-30T09:25:00.002-04:00

...we're preparing for next winter!!!! First of two wood deliveries.

Also, drag racing season has started so Paul was making plans this week to go racing with his friend. He was going to go either today (Sat) or tomorrow. I was secretly hoping for tomorrow.... since if he went today, I'd have to help stack wood tomorrow. If he went tomorrow, he'd stack wood today while I was at work. Any guesses as to which day he went? Today. :(

On the brighter side, I'm SO incredibly happy to see green buds coming out on the trees! And the grass is growing so much it needs to be mowed soon! And the warmer air! And we can open the windows! And all the ice cream places are open!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
Gail's Nancy's Scarf, made with Baby Alpaca DK:

Sheila's Brigid Jacket made during the knit-a-long here at the shop, with Cascade 220 Heathers:

Deborah's Bulky Sweater made with Eco wool:

It's not quite done being seamed but she is giving it away to her sister so we won't see it again!

Christine's Nancy's Scarf, made with Rialto DK:

Laurel's double sided baby blanket, made with Jeannee Worsted:

Thunderstorm Season

2011-04-27T11:08:00.005-04:00

Do I dare say the "nice" weather is here? It's been nice and warm, but it's been cloudy and rainy. Beggers can't be choosers, so I'll take the warmth and deal with the rain.

HOWEVER.... these thunderstorms are wreaking havoc with Many's sanity (and therefore mine - due to lack of sleep). She is terrified of thunderstorms and when they come in the middle of the night, I'm up with her since she is clawing at the bedroom door etc. We are currently awaiting the arrival of a Thundershirt which will hopefully solve the problem. (thanks to Libby for telling me about it!) If it doesn't, it's going to be a long thunderstorm season!

This past weekend was Easter and I went to my mom's to spend some time with her. I was going to help her with some things at the house but we ended up watching a lot of Food Network shows instead! It was nice and relaxing. And I don't get the Food Network at home so it was a treat.

Meanwhile, at the shop Robin and Alison took the Drop Spindle 101 class....
Here they are with their spun yarn:

And here is their plied yarn!:

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
Robin's Pinkerton Shawl from the Spring Interweave Knits, made with one ball of the Crazy Zauerball sock yarn:

I'm sorry I've forgotten the name of the woman who made these wonderful Flounce and Triana scarves!:

Stevie's Multnomah:

While she likes the shawl, she has decided she likes to make quick projects like her mini knitted animals better!

Barbara in her Brigid Jacket made with Cascade 220 during the knit-a-long at the shop:

Susan's B4 bag, made with cascade 220:

Laurel's window curtain (yes a curtain!) made with Fantasy Naturale:

Mary Kate in her Romney Kerchief (a Jared Flood pattern), made with Jared Flood's yarn Shelter:

And her Autumn Vines Beret (a Never Not Knitting pattern) made with Queensland Rustic DK:

Millie's baby sweater made with Encore in a pattern from the 60 Quick Baby Knits book, and her itty bitty sock on the sock blocker key chain:

The 8-hour baby blanket (started by Jana, worked on by me and finished by Robin!) made with Encore and will be taught in a class Saturday, May 21, 12:30-2:30pm:

Cathy's felted clogs made with Cascade 220:

And these great prayer shawls made by this mother-daughter duo (sorry, didn't get their names!):

Spring....elsewhere

2011-04-19T16:12:00.006-04:00

Well, I had to go to Virginia to find spring. Nice and warm, leaves on the trees, flowering dogwoods, flowering flowers.
We went to Great Falls Virginia to see... the falls:

The water was muddy because there had been a hard rain the night before. Can you see the GREEN in the background? I really missed seeing green. I can't wait for it to come here.

We also went to the PEEPs Store!!!!

Yes, they have a whole store! Everything Peeps, including the candy in various forms, t-shirts, mugs, pens, pajamas, notebooks etc. There were also Mike&Ike and HotTamales bars were you could mix-match flavors. It was pretty cool.

And they had a peep-bug outside:

Blue knitting update:

My blue/purple BFF socks came along nicely on my trip

And my Brigid Jacket is finally un-stalled. I've got the back and the right front done, and the left front started:

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Amy in her mobius cowl made from a double strand of Grass (cotton/hemp):

Another of Phyllis' afghan that she recently finished:

No square has the same combination of colors!

Deirdre in her February Lady Sweater made from Cascade 220:

A periwinkle shee in a Multnomah, made by Alison for Karin from The Periwinkle Sheep using her sock dream sock yarn!:

Nancy C's lace scarf:

Nancy E with her fingerless mitts:

Jan's first ever fingering weight socks:

Kathy in her Brigid Jacket made from Ella Rae:

Mari's Child's Zipper Cardi:

Nancy E's stranded cowl made with cascade 220 and Noro Kureyon:

And her B4 bag...before:

Stay tuned for the B4...after.

Spring???

2011-04-05T13:27:00.004-04:00

These HAVE to be signs of spring, right???????....

Meanwhile, Mandy has no idea what to do when Phoebe takes her blanket.... Look how busy the shop was on Saturday!: And because of that, when Karin from The Periwinkle Sheep came in with her w i n k fingering weight yarn (with a little sparkle in it!), it was no holds barred. This is all that was left when all was said and done. I couldn't even get a picture of if when it was all there! ....thank goodness she's bringing more on Wednesday. CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL: Nancy C's scarf made from one and a half of the One Hour scarves (I forgot to ask how long it actually took her!) in a feather and fan pattern: Annie's baby had made with Encore from a pattern in the 60 Quick Baby Knits book: And here is Amy in her Mobius Cowl which she made with Noro Kochoran in a class here at the shop:

Libby's Triana scarf:

Oh. Come. ON!

2011-04-01T09:46:00.007-04:00

Seriously?????? It's APRIL. please. Please. PLEASE!.... let this be the last of it.! (and on top of looking out my window this morning to see that, I sneezed while my mascara was still wet. I hate that.) But the Jordana Paige Knitting Bag trunk show got here early!!!!! It's up and ready for you to come see all the great bags with their unique elements that keep knitters in mind. You can customer order the color that you want. If you place an order for a bag during the trunk show, which runs through April 16, you will be entered in a drawing to receive 40% off your bag! (Mother's Day is around the corner - what a great gift!) And look what Jean has been making for Easter decorations at the shop!: So cute! My Cloudy Day hat is finally blocked and I love it! So soft and very comfortable to wear. And look what Dorah made with the same colorway (Hydrangea) of the Periwinkle Sheep Sock Dream: MORE CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL: Stevies kangaroo (and joey!): Robin's Multnomah, made with Zauerball Crazy sock yarn: Deborah's Lala's Simple Shawl made with Pastaza: Alison's needle felted bunny and Easter basket: Stevie's neopolitan mirror image socks: Julie's scarf (in a pattern she made up!) in Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn: Carol's mittens made with Ella Rae Classic Sand Art:

Come on SPRING!!!!!!!!

Catching up

2011-03-28T11:28:00.009-04:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks with the Never Not Knitting trunk show and the Spring Fling sale. So, I'm finally getting to do another blog post. First, here are all of the hats (42!) and comfort shawls (5!) you all knitted to be donated to the patients of the New York Oncology & Hematology practice in Nancy's name: NYOH was very grateful that you knitted these for their patients - THANK YOU! And here is Borgie: He came to visit the shop with Alison the other day before he went to agility class. Isn't he so cute????? I haven't had too much time to knit lately but I did finish my Cloudy Day hat (a Never Not Knitting pattern, and there will be a class for this coming up in May!): See that little tiny ball of yarn at the top of the picture? That is the 1 1/2 yards I had left -- I was so nervous as I was getting to the end of the hat! I used Periwinkle Sheep Sock Dream and it is just wonderfully soft (with a little cashmere...). I had made my beaded scarf with the first 1/2 of the Sock Dream and was pretty sure there would be enough left over for the hat. It was close! The knitted flower class was a big hit - here are the flowers they made!: The Knitted Tam class was also a big hit and here are some of the participants and projects:

So pretty!!!!

The Katia Triana yarn has been a big hit!

Here is Betty with hers:

And this is Lois':

And this is Libby's:

Love them -- fun and funky!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Trudi with her Brigid Jacket from the Vintage Modern Knits book (and what we are knitting for the knit-a-long!):

Mary Kate in her Lala's Shawl made with Cascade Eco Wool:

and here she is in her other shawl made with Royal Llama Silk and very pretty buttons!:

Ethel's hats and socks:

Millie's crocheted car seat blanket and adorable hat/sweater set, made with Baby Bamboo:

Jan's first pair of socks! (she's working on the next pair already...)

Lisa's very pretty shawl made with Panda Wool:

Iryth's double knitted hat and mittens:

Christine's children's sweater made with Encore Colorspun:

Phyllis with one her crocheted afghans:

Sue with her shawl made with Baby Alpaca DK:

Deirdre's Autumn Vines Beret, made with Rustic DK:

Kathy L's feather and fan hat and scarf, made with Tupa:

Stevie's teeny tiny animals:

Rachael's crocheted bears:

Alison's Multnomah made with Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn:

Darla's woven goodies:

and her knitted cowl/hood:

Whew! Now I think I'm all caught up. Don't forget that next week will be the Jordana Paige knitting bag trunk show! You'll get more info on that soon....

Never Not Knitting Trunk Show!

2011-03-14T17:17:00.007-04:00

The Never Not Knitting trunk show has arrived and will be here until March 25!

For those who don't know, a trunk show is a selection of knitted samples from yarn companies or designers that the shop borrows for a short time to allow its customers to see what patterns or yarns will look like when the are knit up. In this case, the trunk show are samples of the Never Not Knitting patterns by Alana Dakos that I sell in the shop.

I can't say enough about these patterns - not only are they great looking knitted items, but the patterns are VERY well written, easy to follow (charts also have written instructions!) and as a bonus have great graphics. I have made the Shawl Collared Cowl (and taught 3 very popular classes for it), the Autumn Vines Hat (also a class at the shop), the Cedar Leaf Shawlette (upcoming class in April) and I'm currently working on the Cloudy Day hat (lace and bobbles!) for another class in May. There you have it - the proof that I love the patterns! And there are many more to try -- especially some very adorable baby/kids patterns.

Here is a picture of the beautiful display Jana set up once the samples arrived:

As a special for the trunk show, if you purchase a pattern and the yarn to make it with, you will get 10% off the yarn! This special lasts through March 25. (and if you've purchased on of her patterns recently and want to come back to buy the yarn, let us know what the yarn is for, and we will STILL give you 10% off the yarn!). Sorry, this doesn't apply to yarn already on sale.

So stop in , check it out, and plan some spring/summer knitting!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Yvette's Leaf Hat, made with cashmerino aran for the Feb donation:

And Yvette wearing the Triana scarf she made for her daughter-in-law:

April's adorable baby booties and hat:

Linda's baby sweater, made with Crofter DK:

Sue's February Lady Sweater made with Cascade 220:

Kathy L's hats made with Encore Chunky:

Chris' B4 Bag:

Kelly's February Lady Sweater:

And her Gilet Chocolate, made with Eco Wool:

Barbara's chunky sweaters made for her twin granddaughters:

Sally in her kimono sweater made with Encore!:

Susan in her mobius cowl which she learned to make in a class here at the shop:

Jan's Multidirectional Scarf made with Noro Taiyo (there is a class coming up Saturday April 9, 9:30-11am):

Jan with her Wonderful Wallaby made with Encore Colorspun!:

Karen in her cabled vest made with Baby Alpaca Grande Hand-Dye:

And her needle felted buttons:

(another possible fun class comin up!)

Marathon Picture Post

2011-03-09T10:52:00.009-05:00

Well, now that it has (temporarily) stopped snowing, and I could finally get my camera from the shop, here is a post full of pictures from the past week and a half..... (bear with me with all the spacing.... having a little trouble with my blog formatting!)

The Constant Companion Bag class with their pre-felted bags:

And here are some of the felted results!

Deborah's, made with Lamb's Pride Bulky:

And Susan's, made with Cascade Eco Wool:

I was not at the shop this past Saturday, but I found this picture on my camera and I assume it is a finished Steeked Wrist Warmer from the class that was going on (not sure whose it is though!):

So pretty!

And who knew that 10:30 on a Tuesday morning would bring a packed shop????

I finished my Cedar Leaf Shawlette!

Started last Friday and finished on Monday - I was knitting like crazy! Love it - and after blocking the yarn is so much softer than it already was when i was knitting with it. Love. it. (Malabrigo Worsted) Have I said that before?
Cedar Leaf Shawlette class is taking place Fridays, 4/15 & 4/29, 9-10:30am (working on an evening class for May...)

And I blocked my Volna with blocking wires in the tips:

OMG - so handy and so much easier than using a thousand pins and a ruler....

Made with Noro Kirameki laceweight yarn.

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Sheila in her modified Tappan Zee, made with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool:

Stevie's guppy:

Kathy L's fingerless mitts made with Happy Feet:

Sandy's mobius cowl, made with Noro Kochoran in the most recent class:

Christine in her cabled vest, made with Eco Wool in the class here at the shop:

Another of Phyllis' afghan's recently completed on her finishing spree:

A close-up of the edging that she made up herself:

Sue's mobius cowl and Shawl Collared Cowl, both made with Noro Kochoran in classes here at the shop:

Julie's Feather and Fan scarf made with Ella Rae Lace Merino:

Libby's Shawl Collared Cowl, made with Baby Alpaca Grande Hand-dye in a class here at the shop:

Brenda in her Tul scarf!:

Nancy C in her Shawl Collared Cowl, made with Baby Alpaca Grande Hand-dye at a class here at the shop:

Linda M's adorable baby sweater (I think made with Sirdar Kisses?):

Kathy L's Mario mittens and hat:

and her Multidirectional Scarf made with Noro Taiyo:

A class in this scarf is scheduled for Saturday, April 9 9:30-11:30!!

WHEW! I think you are all caught up now!

On a blue streak

2011-03-07T10:44:00.006-05:00

My current knitting...

Brigid Jacket for the Knit-a-Long, made with Cascade 220 Heathers:

Cedar Leaf Shawlette, made with Malabrigo Worsted:

Mmmmmmmm.... Malabrigo. love. Love. LOVE this yarn! and what a great pattern (from Never Not Knitting)! Finished the main body and now I'm halfway through adding the border.... working with the circular and one DPN, picking up one stitch every other row from the circular. Never did that before, but it's surprisingly easy! I'm making this for an upcoming class (April 15 & 29).

BFF socks, made with Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors Sock Yarn in "Craving":

Ok, so this is actually a deep purple, but it looked blue in the picture, so I included it!

Also, finished my Volna! Need to block it by pinning out all the points:

At first I was horrified at that thought (can you SEE all the points???), but then I remembered blocking wires......

....and here is where I would put the picture of the scarf with the blocking wires in it.... IF I COULD GET OUT OF MY STREET to get them from the shop!!!!! The snow. Pullleeeeeeze stop it!

This picture doesn't do justice to what's been going on this morning. (It looks like it will clear this afternoon and I really hope that this is the last of the snow. I think I'm being optimistic, though.)

Since the shop camera is also at the shop, no customer show and tell this post. That, and pics of my blocking Volna will be in the next one (and hopefully my blocking Cedar Leaf Shawlette!)

What the heck happend?

2011-02-25T18:41:00.006-05:00

At 9am today, the weather guy said 3-6" of snow.

I walked out my door and there was already 7". That didn't bode well....

It took me two tries to get out of my driveway, having to shovel out the end of the driveway where the plow (finally) came. The whole time, I was thinking, "Oh, this is just up here on the hill where it snows more and takes them forever to plow our street. Rt. 146 will be better." Uh uh. It was worse! A slow, yucky 2 miles to the shop. Then, I had trouble getting into my parking lot and parking space. There was So. Much. Snow.

I spent a nice, quiet day cleaning out my office and tidying things up. One customer (who braved the roads because when she came in from snow blowing, her dog had chewed up her double pointed needles!) and the UPS man came by. Decided to close at 5 in order to be able to clear off my car while it was still light out and make the trek up the hill. Got out there and had to not only dig my car out of the parking spot, but I had to dig myself out of the parking lot onto the street! There was So. Much. Snow.

I got up the hill ok, and then.....

That's my car at the end of our driveway. Did I mention that Paul was on a business trip and so could not plow the driveway and had the 4 wheel drive truck??????? Luckily I got into the driveway off of the street. There was So. Much. Snow.

The snow was so deep I was pushing it away when I was opening the door to my car. My unofficial measurement was 16" and it was still snowing. Poor Mandy didn't know what to do - she was having a hard time bounding around in the snow, so she just headed right back for the door to the house. And here we sit, at 6:55pm, waiting for Paul to get home so he can help get things back to normal. Got the fire going so I think I'll knit a little!

But first.... I finished my monster!:

This is Geet the Garage Monster. He's sitting on the stack of The Big Book of Knitted Monsters that came into the shop on Wednesday. He's adorable. Don't you think??? The other monsters in the book are adorable too and if I didn't have so many other things to knit for the shop, I'd make another. The instructions are easy too.

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Amy's socks and fingerless mitts:

And her cowl which is made with a sparkly yarn that I can't remember the name of!:

Sandy's February Lady Sweater, made with Malabrigo Worsted:

Mari in her Wonderful Wallaby, made with Encore during the knit-a-long at the shop:

Phyllis is on a finishing spree --- she put together this afghan that had been started some time ago:

...and she's working on another!

Nancy E's Flounce scarf:

Mignonne's adorable baby sweaters made with Crofter DK:

Sisters, friends, nephews, monsters, fuzz....

2011-02-19T09:43:00.008-05:00

While I was visiting in CT last weekend, my mom, my sister and I went through some old pictures. Check this one out of me (on the left) and my sister:

Does that not completely represent the older-sister-tormenting-the-younger-sister dynamic? Did you catch the terrified look on my face???? (click on the picture for a slightly larger view!)

I went back to Connecticut for the day this past Sunday for brunch with some girlfriends:

I don't get to see them often so it was nice to catch up!

And then went to see my nephews again, and play some ping pong:

Yes, that's the dining room table! You do what you can with what you've got - we had the paddles and the ball, so the dining room table it was.

The Daisy's and the Brownies came to visit the shop for their meeting on Saturday:

Yvette gave them a tour of the shop, a spinning demonstration, taught them finger knitting and read them "Phoebe's Sweater" while they had a snack. Whew! It was a whirlwind hour - thanks to Yvette for being the tour guide!

In other news, I was wearing my Adult Surprise Jacket the other day and noticed that it was started to fuzz/pill where the arms rub the sides of the sweater. Here is what I got when I used the sweater stone:

Felt like almost a whole sweater's worth! The jacket is made with a loosely spun merino and is not tightly knit, hence fuzzing and pilling is much more likely. It looked much better after its haircut. (Wouldn't it have been nice if I had thought to take a before and after of the jacket? --- I was too amazed by the pile of fuzz...)

I'm working on a knitted monster!

....in anticipation, next week, of the arrival of The Big Book of Knitted Monsters! An absolutely adorable book of all kinds of household monsters. This is Geet the Garage Monster. Among others in the book are the Closet Monster, Icebox Monster and Garden Monster.

I also made a baby bonnet from the Cotton Candy pattern book:

Cotton Candy is a 100% cotton yarn, and it is very soft. So nice for baby things....

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Betty's cowl made with Expression:

Theresa's convertible mitts which she is making to donate to soldiers:

Robin's zippered child's cardigan, made with Encore for the class she is teaching in March:

So cute - and she said the zipper was easier than you'd think!

Phyllis and her finished afghan!:

Phyllis has been working on this (among other things) at the knit-ins since before I took over the shop almost three years ago. Pretty!

Stephanie's stash of finished objects:

Her beautiful shawl, the Octopus Mittens from 60 Quick Knits, and several skeins of handspun yarn! She recently purchased a wheel and has been going to town spinning up a storm.

Alison's first ever socks, made with Encore Colorspun:

She's hooked on socks now.

Valentine's

2011-02-14T16:55:00.002-05:00

I went to CT this weekend and saw my nephews at a soccer game ---
One was there to play:

(#24!)

One didn't have a game that day, but was there with his soccer spirit in his sweatsuit:

And his neon soccer shoes!:

And one who didn't really want to be there, but came to see me!:

He really was happy to see me - can't you tell? They are all so cute and it was nice to see them!

My mom, sister and I had a nice dinner and visit --- and my sister and I got Valentine chocolates from my mom. YUM!

I had some time to knit too and finished my car seat blanket:

And I even worked a little bit on my Girasole, which has been sitting for a while. Couldn't work on my Volna since it takes more concentration than I had. I can't wait to finish it, though, so I can have it at the shop for a sample. The Noro laceweight yarn is very nice to work with and I love the colors.

And now, off to a Valentine's dinner with Paul!

Enough already!

2011-02-12T19:00:00.006-05:00

Alright already! I've had enough of the snow, and so has the sheep:

And today? What was up with *dark sky/white-out snow for ten minutes, then blue sky/sun, repeat from * ? I'm so ready for spring and the warm weather. Don't get me wrong -- I love, Love, LOVE sitting in front of the warm fire knitting. But, it's just gone on too long now. It feels like it's been cold for 6 months.

Good thing the spring yarns are starting to come in - gives us something to look forward to!

Check out Jana's Maine Morning Mitts (made with Autunno and Noro Kochoran):

Speaking of the Maine Morning Mitts, Liz from Peace Love & Yarn brought a new supply to the shop recently and there are some great chunky's to use for these mitts!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
Stevie's adorable little turtles, mini-crab and mini horse:

Jan's THIRD (or is it fourth?) gathered scarf, made with Malabrigo Silky Merino:

And, in case you didn't see my edits from the last post, Jan's cowl (pictured in the last post) is called the Willow Cowl (click there for the free pattern on Ravelry).

Millie's Yankee Knitter baby sweater (still needs buttons!):

Kathy L's Diverged socks:

and her Shawl Collared Cowl (made with Baby Alpaca Grande) and Lava Flow cowl, made with Invernal:

Robin's Morning Walk headband, with her knitted flower:

Robin is teaching a class to knit this flower Saturday March 13, 12:30-2:30!

And here is Susan in her FIRST EVER sweater! (made with Cascade 220):

Super Bowl Show and Tell

2011-02-07T20:28:00.007-05:00

I don't get thrilled about the Super Bowl except for three things:
1) food (suprise, suprise)
2) commercials
3) half time show

(and I don't think I'm alone with this list, am I right? anyone?)

Paul and I got some wings and things and enjoyed our Super Bowl fare. I liked a couple of the commercials but overall was not thrilled. Loved the car commercial with the little kid dressed as Darth Vader. I also enjoyed the half time show - I like the Black Eyed Peas and thought they did a great job. The game I could have done without (I guess that's when a DVR would come in handy - just skip over all that nonsense.) so of course.....

During the Super Bowl, I finished my Wonderful Wallaby!

...But I can't figure out how the picture got this way, or how to turn it around. Made with Ella Rae Superwash and I can't believe how soft it got after blocking!

Also finished my Feather and Fan scarf, for the upcoming class March 4):

Made with Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, a nice Dk weight yarn.

Also, started working on another car seat blanket for someone....

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Here is Jan's cowl (for the life of me I can't remember what it's called but will find out --edited to add that Jan's cowl is the Willow Cowl from Ravelry -- click there!), made with Ella Rae Lace Merino. Here it is layed out flat:

And here is what it will look like when you wear it:

Pretty cool!

Rose's collection of scarves, two multi-directional scarves and one gathered scarf:

Sue A's socks made with Zauerball Crazy (which is a newly arrived yarn to the shop!)

Trudi's tam, made for the upcoming class (March 19 & 26):

Robin's newsboy hat, made with Ella Rae Sand Art:

A Miracle Whip moment

2011-02-03T10:04:00.002-05:00

The shop was closed yesterday due to the weather. I can't tell you what a hard decision it was to make - and I kept checking the weather to make sure I had made the right decision. There was a lull in the middle of the day, when nothing was happening and I kept saying to Paul (who stayed home because the weather and roads were so bad - could I get a clue from that?), "See? Maybe i shouldn't have closed!" Then at 3:30 or so, it started sleeting very hard and I felt better.

I kept envisioning that someone would have ventured out to the yarn shop (because that's where people go after a storm, right? - not the grocery store, gas station etc) and encountered a locked door and the "closed" sign. Just like that old Miracle Whip commercial - do you remember it? - when the guy ran out of Miracle Whip in the middle of the night, went to the grocery store but it was not open. And he said in this very disappointed voice,"They're closed." Remember????? I think it was the same guy who was in the "Time to make the donuts" Dunkin' Donuts commercial.

So, got through the bad weather, back open today and hopefully Spring is close by. I'm ready for it.

At any rate, since I then had time, I knit!
Finished my Traveling Woman Shawl, with Periwinkle Sheep Sock Dream:

What a wonderful yarn! So soft and wonderful to work with (cashmere!). This is a sample for the upcoming class - which will be a good class for those wanting to venture into lace knitting. A fairly simple pattern with such pretty results.

Got up the beginning of the hood on my Wallaby:

This is turning out so cute! Can't wait to see what the hood will look like. Almost done.

Then, I worked on the "Volna" scarf, for the upcoming class:

A more adventurous pattern but it is so pretty. I'm using the Noro Kirameki lace yarn, but the pattern gives options for other weights of yarn (including Noro Taiyo, which should be coming to the shop soon!) and widths of scarf.

And finally, I forgot to mention this little side project I've been working on:

A cotton rug to put in front of the wood stove. I'm using doubled worsted weight cotton and a size 8 needle to make it nice and dense. Very plain and a little boring, but it's meant to be practical and hide soot and other wood stove dirt. It's only about 2/5 of the way done; all garter stitch, so I take it in the car or work on it watching tv since I don't have to think about it.

Snow days

2011-01-31T20:16:00.005-05:00

It's supposed to snow. A lot. On Tuesday and Wednesday. There is a good chance I'll cancel the knit-in (more definite info will be emailed tomorrow - tuesday - so you can plan ahead), and, depending on what the weather is doing (up to 20 inches????) there is a possibility of closing even earlier on Wednesday. So please call before coming to the shop that day!
Twenty inches?????? Where are we going to put it all?

The message board outside the Altamont Resuce Squad says "Groundhog, please don't see your shadow!"

On another note....
Poor Mandy.

Sound familiar? Doesn't she just look miserable? She hates it and I feel terrible about that. But, she has to have it for now. She has some obsessive licking behaviors, causing some sores on her paws, so we have to do this until they heal. She's crashing around the house. (It's a tiny bit funny, but mostly I just feel bad for her.)

The Wonderful Wallaby KAL is going along wonderfully. Here is the progress of those who have been coming to the Saturday meet-ups:

Sue Z's, making an adult size with Encore:

Yvette's, making a child's size with Encore Tweed:

Jan's, made with Encore Colorspun:

Mari's, also made with Encore Colorspun:

And Kathy's completed child's Wallaby, using Artesenal:

....and her Autumn Vines Beret made with Louisa Harding Kashmir DK, and her stranded cowls made with Cascade 220 and Noro Kureyon.

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
Deborah's crocheted project bag, which her son's girlfriend lined with fabric for her:

Lois' knitted necklace with beads:

....and her adorable zipper-up-the-back baby sweater, made with Encore:

Patti's Leaf Hats, made with Royal Alpaca and Manos del Uruguay Silky Merino:

Melanie's first ever sock, made with Jeannee worsted:

Nancy in her pretty vest made (knitted with a crochet border) with Noro Kochoran:

Nancy E's top down baby sweater, made with Encore Chunky:

Nancy C's socks, and her one our scarf:

Yvette's very own pattern the "Newport Scarf", made with Art Yarns Beaded Mohair:

....and her Shawl Collared Cowl, made with Viking Balder:

A one-bite Saturday

2011-01-24T12:50:00.005-05:00

Another busy Saturday at the shop. Here is how busy it was:

....one bite of my PB&J is all I got! Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I just thought it was a good pictorial description of how busy it was. (and how un-like me to make it a food reference.) [Have I ever talked about how much I love PB&J? I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. Just like I could have pizza for dinner every day and not get tired of it. I just love it. And it's even better (the PB&J, that is) with potato chips on it!]

The KAL is still going strong with lots of progress being made. I wish I had thought to take pictures of everyone's progress Saturday. [Note to self: take pictures this Saturday!]

This is my Wallaby with the sleeves just attached. I demonstrated how to attach them at the KAL. It's coming along nicely and I really like it. Can't wait for the next step.

I also started a Traveling Woman shawl (free or for-purchase-for-a-more-advaced-pattern on Ravelry) with Periwinkle Sheep Sock Dream (mmmmm, cashmere) in Sophisticated:

Several customers have knit this and I decided to offer it as a class coming up in April. It will be a great class for those who want to try a lace project for the first time. Stay tuned... the new class schedule will be up soon. Hopefully later today.....

In the meantime, here is some CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL!:

Pat's felted mittens and hat, made with Andes; and her felted clogs made for her son, with Lamb's Pride Worsted:

Mary Kate's Stranded Cowl, made during the class she took here at the shop last weekend; AND the matching mitts that she whipped up to match:

Mary Jane's Mobius Cowl, made with Noro Kochoran:

Dorah's Fake Isle Hat, Felted Mittens, and Shawl Collared Cowl:

Bonnie's Snug baby jackets (another free Ravelry pattern!)

This may also be an upcoming class, if not this Spring, then maybe in the fall.... Very cute, with lots of techniques to learn. (Thanks for the suggestion, Bonnie!)

And a wonderful top-down sweater made with Cascade 220 by this lovely woman whose name is escaping me! Sorry!:

She stepped outside the box and made this in a color she wouldn't normally have chosen and she LOVES it!

And take a look at Suzanne's lovely needle felted scenes:

....made with inspiration from her pictures of her trip to Hawaii! Pretty amazing.

Speaking of the Traveling Woman shawl..... this is Alison's second Traveling Woman shawl, made with Periwinkle sheep sock yarn:

Sue Z.'s cowl and keyhole scarf:

Sue A.'s fruit caps made with Encore:

Winter Weekend

2011-01-19T09:53:00.004-05:00

Saturday was a bustle of activity at the shop! Three classes and the knit-a-long meant lots of knitting creativity was going on. Thanks to Jana who worked so Paul and I could enjoy a weekend in Vermont...

It was a slow drive up since it snowed the whole way there. Made for lots of white knuckle knitting (when I wasn't closing my eyes) as Paul drove through it all. I worked on my Tudor Henley which I started this time last year when we went to Geneva, NY. Sorry, no pictures. It looks virtually the same since I was knitting for 14 inches.

We stayed next to the Quechee Gorge:

We went and visited our old house:

Just like when we lived there, it was snowing nowhere else that day but up on the hill where we lived! (eerily similar to where we live now...)

The pretty (frozen) fall in our town:

Then we went to have dinner at our favorite restaurant in Bradford (and where we got engaged!), The Perfect Pear:

....but it was closed! So, we went to the Vermont Beer Company in the basement of the same building and had a nice dinner there.

We also went to our favorite antique place in Quechee:

Then, before we left, we went to breakfast at a great diner:

Here's what we got our beverages in:

Loved it!

No other knitting to tell you about. I haven't had a chance to make much more progress on my Wallaby but I'm hoping to this week. Stay tuned!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Janell's felted mittens that she made for her husband:

Marie's Easy Bulky Hat made with Encore Tweed:

Robin's cabled scarf made with Big Softie and her hat (can't remember what she used to make the hat!):

Trudi's sweater (not sure of the name or what it is made of but I suspect it may be Noro or Noro-like.... this was taken during the very busy Saturday!)

Sally's Noro Striped Scarf made with Noro Kureyon:

Lisa's Done by Monday afghan made for her son with Encore:

Kathy's shadow vest:

And her Shawl Collared Cowl made with Balder:

AND her felted mittens made with Malabrigo, and fingerless mitts:

Double Talk

2011-01-10T08:42:00.014-05:00

A Saturday morning conversation:

Paul: "I think I'll take the tree down while you are at work, if you don't mind."
Me: "Awwwww." (meaning, "I wish we could continue to enjoy the lights and the tree.")
Paul: "Well, if you want me to wait for you, I will." (totally misinterpreted my "awwww")
Me: "No, I meant 'I wish we could continue to enjoy the lights and the tree.' If the tree is going to be taken down, you don't have to wait for me." (meaning, "please don't wait for me because I really don't want to do it.")
He waited. (totally misinterpreted my "you don't have to wait for me")
Darn it.

Meanwhile, at the shop on Saturday we had the first meet up of the Wonderful Wallaby Knit-a-long! We had a few people there, but the weather seemed to keep others from getting there. Everyone got a good start on their sweaters. So far, it seems most are making a larger version of the sweater. I'm making the smallest, as a sample of the Ella Rae Superwash for the shop. Here is my progress so far:

The technique for picking up stitches for the pouch was new to me, but I figured it out and it seemed to come out just fine. I gave a little demonstration of how to do this at the KAL. Now, I'm ready to start the sleeves which will be joined to the above peice (also a new technique for me) before continuing to knit in the round.

What else am I knitting? Nothing! I have several things waiting for me to pick them back up including the Echo Flower Shawl and the Volna scarf. I'm going to make a little more progress on the Wallaby, then work on these.

Customer Show and Tell:
Carol's socks made with the Viking Balder (a superwash bulky wool):

and this adorable coat she made for her dog, Kelly:

Jan has been knitting up a storm!:

Above are her two Gathered Scarves (teal and brown; a free pattern, made with Malabrigo Silky Merino), Traveling Woman Shawl (made with blue Happy Feet Sock yarn), cowl (made with green Encore Tweed), and her La La's Shawl made with burgundy Pastaza).

Sally's pretty beaded scarf (I forgot to ask her the yarn she used!):

and here is the beginning of the amaryllis plant she gave me:

Thank you Sally!

Nancy C.'s car seat blanket made with Encore:

Stevie's next two animals, a bunny and a tiger, in her quest to make 50 (I think it's 50. Maybe it's more!)

Cheryl's Shalom Cardigan, made with Cascade Ecological Wool, in one of their pretty new heathered colors:

Kim's very pretty beaded shawl:

Flora's very cool Sev[en] Circle cowls made with sock yarn:

So unusual, and it looks great on (I tried it)!

Alison and her gorgeous Heather Hoodie Vest

...made with Cascade Ecological Wool in another of their pretty heathered colors! (In case you didn't realize, this is a very popular yarn and wonderful to knit with - you should try it!)

Barbara's very first pair of adult socks (after taking the socks 101 class)!:

Mari's very pretty socks, made with a Paton's yarn (can't remember the name!):

Recovering...in more ways than one!

2011-01-03T15:37:00.008-05:00

Recovering....
1. From the holiday season at the shop. It was nice and busy! Whew!
2. From the holiday season at home and with family. Here is my nephew Evan with the best gift ever that his Aunt Liz and Uncle Paul gave him:

A whistle. (We also gave him the headband. And some orange cones. He loves soccer.) My sister said he wore the whistle to bed on Christmas Eve.

3. From plantar fasciaitis. My feet hurt less since I was able to put them up due to reasons #4 and #5.

4. From a week long cold lasting during and after Christmas.

5. From a second weeklong illness, strep throat, lasting during and after New Year's.

I'm almost recovered and rested up, ready for 2011.

Don't forget the new shop hours are now in effect:
Tuesday 10-6
Wednesday 10-8
Thursday & Friday 10-6
Saturday 10-4

It feels strange for it to be a Monday and I have to get ready to go to the shop tomorrow!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:
The week between Christmas and New Year's, robin helped Ashley make an octopus. Here are Ashley, Robin and Yvette all sewing in ends on the 8 legs since Ashley was on a deadline!:

Annie's fingerless mitts made from Deb Anderson's leaf pattern:

And here Annie is in her Shawl Collared Cowl, made with Baby Alpaca Grande:

And another pair of fingerless mitts:

Deborah's crocheted scarf with beads, made with Ella Rae Superwash:

Jana in her headband that she couldn't resist making once she saw my suggestion for it in the weekly email!:

(Made with Baby Alpaca Grande and Baby Alpaca Grande Hand-dye)

Jen with her scarf made with Expression:

Mary Kate's very cozy looking Burberry Inspired Cowl, made with Encore:

Nancy's three wave scarves made with Fantasy Naturale:

More of Annie's projects! Here mobius cowl and Turn-a-Square hat:

Robin's second B4 Bag, a smaller version than the first:

And her felted hat:

I tried to find the before version of this hat but.... this post would have been out in 2012 if I took the time to keep looking (I try to be really organized, but I guess it didn't work in this instance!).

Joan's Beer Can Cozy Baby Snuggly and hat (can't remember if that is the exact name, but it's along those lines!), made with Encore Chunky:

Nancy's Flounce scarf:

I hope more of this completely sold out yarn will be coming soon!

Sue's adorable Hooded Baby Jacket, made with Encore chunky:

Eleonora's February Lady Sweater made with Cascade 220 Heathers:

Susan's mobius cowl and her double cuff felted mittens:

Robin's hat and scarf made with Ella Rae Sand Art:

The back of the hat has a button and the middle of the scarf has a button hole so they can attach! How cool is that?

We're winners!

2010-12-13T09:00:00.005-05:00

We got second place for our tree at the Festival of Trees! (a plaque is forthcoming, I'm told). Another big thank you to Jana and Jean for carrying out my little idea ("What if we, meaning you, make little sheep out of roving like in this picture?"), adding to it, and making it terrific. Once the tree was dismantled, here is what they did at the shop with the decorations:

Cute, no?

Meanwhile, at the shop this weekend was the final session of the Felted Mitten class. Check out the before.....

And here are Bobbie's final product:

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Aimee's Lizard Ridge Afghan! she started this at the beginning of August in the class we had and said she was going to finish in time for winter. She finished just before Thanksgiving! (just the crochet border to do...)

Aimee used the leftovers from the balls of Kureyon to make additional squares. She used 18 balls of yarn to make 24 squares.

Erin's pretty patchwork purse:

She even lined it!

Just Show and Tell

2010-12-09T10:04:00.003-05:00

(Disclaimer: the quality of some of these photos may not be the greatest since they were taken with cell phone when the shop camera was MIA!)

Sue's Double Cuff Felted Mittens made with Ella Rae Classic Sand Art:

And her Leaf Scarf made with Aslan Trends Invernal:

Linda's monkey!:

Another Linda's Heirloom Crochet Shawl made with Rustic DK:

Laura's first-ever chunky fingerless mitts made with Viking Balder:

Karen's cabled vest made with Baby Alpaca Grande Hand-dye:

Alison's needle felted possum:

And her beaded scarf made with Happy Feet:

and her Felted B4 Bag:

Starstruck

2010-12-05T16:47:00.017-05:00

Paul and I went to Sharon Springs on Saturday for their Victorian Holidays celebration. The reason I knew about this was from The Fabulous Beekeman Boys! Josh and Brent are Manhattanites who bought a home in the country and are now (also ) gentleman farmers. They have a reality show on Planet Green (or iTunes) which is hilarious and fun.

The home they bought is the Beekman mansion in Sharon Springs, just 45 minutes from Altamont. They have goats and have developed a business selling goat milk soap, cheese and other wonderful Victorian-ish items online and in their Beekman 1802 Mercantile on Main Street:

(there's Paul!)

(notice anything strange about this sign? The hours are all the same despite breaking up the week into sections....!)

There was filming going on for their show, so this sign was posted outstide the shop:

(we weren't there while cameras were there)

Truth be told, these pictures were taken the second time we went to the shop on Saturday. The first time we went, Josh and Brent were there! I got completely starstruck and forgot to take a picture of them. They were both very nice and I chatted for a little while with Josh about the goats (I didn't get to meet Farmer John - he crochets!). Josh wrote a book about their experience which I have read - and they both signed it:

(on the left is an iron icicle, ornaments that were made for them for this holiday season - you can see them hanging on the tree in the picture above.)

Outside the shop is a little spot for some of the goats:

But......

While the cameras were not rolling at the shop, we did see them along the street:

Then we went for a wonderful lunch at The Black Cat cafe:

Where there were some diners dressed up in Victorian garb:

I had the yummiest curried chicken salad sandwich on raisin bread, and Paul had (what else????) Thanksgiving on a Sandwich. Then we had a ridiculously good donut for dessert. While we were eating lunch, I was lamenting about the fact that I had forgotten to take a picture of Josh and Brent. Then I spotted them walking by on the street! I ran outside to get a pitcure. That's them on the right:

When I came back in, a customer was laughing at me. Paul was trying to hide behind his sandwich.

Our next stop was the famous American Hotel:

It was very beautiful inside:

I've heard wonderful things about their restaurant and can't wait to go back to eat there.

I was sufficiently calmed down about the whole experience by now, that I was able to ask one of the owners, Doug (who is also in the show), if I could take his picture.

And this is the other owner, his partner Garth:

They had free hot chocolate and cookies!

Finally, I wouldn't have been satisfied if I didn't go see the Beekman Mansion and farm:

It is a beautiful setting.

And the left a sign for me:

I'll catch them next time.

And here is my loot from the Mercantile:

Soap, sugar plum candy, spicy (very) chocolate caramels, onion jam, tote bag.... I went nuts. I was very disappointed that they had run out of their cheese before I got there. I did get to taste it and it was very good (cow/goat cheese).

Ok, enough of my gushing, on to knitting stuff....

I made a Noro striped scarf for my uncle for Christmas.

I was worried when I was picking the colors that it wasn't going to be guy-ish enough, but once I got finished, I think it is. I love it.

I'm casting on today for the Autumn Vines Beret by Alana Dakos from Never Not Knitting -- this will be a class coming up in January!

Customer Show and Tell:

Bill's mittens made with Encore:

Karen's felted bag made with Ella Rae Classic Sand Art:

...and her cowl made with one skein of Baby Alpaca Grande:

Kathy's Echo Flower Shawl made with Happy Feet:

....and her felted bag made with Ella Rae Classic Sand Art:

And all the other projects she's been working on including the Snowflake Christmas stocking, socks, fingerless mitts and adorable fish mittens from Finding Nemo:

Susan's Shalom Cardigan:

...and her mini version of the Shalom Cardigan (both made with Eco Wool):

Ethel's socks made with Plymouth Sockin' Sox:

Altamont Victorian Holidays

2010-12-03T17:11:00.004-05:00

This weekend is the Altamont Victorian Holidays with lots of different events going on. The events are mostly on Sunday, including Victorian home tours, dog parade, art exhibit at the Village Hall, music and more.

Then there is the Festival of Trees at the Masonic Temple (on Maple Ave) with a kick-off complimentary wine and cheese party on Saturday from 4-7pm (but the viewing continues on Sunday). You should go. Do you know why?...... Because The Spinning Room has decorated a tree there!

Jana and Jean did an EXCELLENT job decorating the tree with sheep and yarn and ribbons...

So. CUTE!

And there is a voting box there, so if you go , vote for ours! There are 12 trees total and the hall looks great with all of them decorated.

Also, the January class schedule is up on the website! Click here!

CUSTOMER SHOW AND TELL:

Mary's Lizard Ridge Afghan Square made with Noro Kureyon:

Lois' B4 Felted Bag made with Ella Rae Classic and Ella Rae Sand Art:

...and her felted hat! :

Nancy's socks:

...and her mobius cowls and Flounce scarf:

Eleanor's 6th (!) Done by Monday afghan made with Encore:

Anne's woven scarf which she made in the Weaving 101 class:

Karyn's Brattleboro Hat:

...and her stockings:

...and her very pretty Echo Flower Shawl made with Malabrigo Sock:

Annie's cowl made with Pastaza:

Laura's bead-accented shawl made with alpaca :

...and her very cute headbands:

Mary Kate's toe up socks which she learned in a class at the shop:

....and her B4 felted bag!:

All the B4 Bags are gorgeous! There are so many color combinations and they all look great. Another class has been scheduled for January -- check it out here.

Little Stockings

2010-11-27T06:21:00.005-05:00

The Mini Christmas Stocking Ornament class that Robin taught last weekend inspired me to make some of my own:

These are the cutest things and quick to make. The first one I made took me an hour and a half, and the second one took only an hour and 15 minutes! I'm hoping to make a couple more by the end of the weekend for the tree we are decorating for the Festival of Trees at the Masonic Hall in Altamont. And then maybe a couple more to put on xmas gifts. Here is a link if you are interested in making them: Mini Christmas Stocking Ornaments

Speaking of links to patterns, if you are interested in the free Gathered Scarf pattern that I am making with the Malabrigo Silky Merino (which is coming along nicely and I have a lot more done than this picture indicates):

You can find it here: Gathered Scarf

The other project I finished recently was the Shawl Collared Cowl with Baby Alpaca Grande Hand Dye:

I really enjoyed this pattern - it was fun and interesting to knit, and the yarn is just yummy to work with. I had gotten these patterns in the shop and the all went almost that same day. Just got more in. [Ok, and in case you didn't notice, there are some button holes in the lower right side of the cowl that appear to not have any buttons in them. Yvette has graciously offered to sew them on for me. Isn't it terrible?---- I just don't like putting buttons on. I suppose I could use a shawl stick, like I've done for the February Lady Sweater and the Tappan Zee, but the buttons will just really make this look nice. Thanks Yvette!]

Signs of the holidays!

2010-11-22T16:37:00.008-05:00

What's going on around the shop?
First and foremost, have you heard? I'm changing the shop hours! Starting January 1, the shop will be closed on Sundays and Mondays. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10-6; Wednesday, 10-8, Saturday, 10-4. In case you didn't notice, this means I will actually be open MORE hours, for your shopping and knitting pleasure!

It was a busy day in the shop on Saturday -- yet again, the needle felting class was a big hit! Here is what they created:
Some Spring-y flowers...

A poinsetta flower:

A tree ornament:

And a reindeer!:

The creativity in these classes never ceases to amaze me!

What's going on at home?
Stacking. Wood. I love our wood stove. I love doing things with Paul. I don't love stacking wood (but doing it with Paul makes it bearable).

On Saturday night we went to the holiday parade in Schenectady. It was so much fun! We actually got a late start, but still had no trouble finding a parking spot and getting a spot to see the parade. It was quite crowded but we were still able to see pretty well.

And getting ready for the holidays! We are thinking about getting the lights out to hang up on the house. It was raining tonight so we couldn't hang them up - maybe tomorrow. Shopped for sweet potato casserole and broccoli salad ingredients, my contributions to the Thanksgiving table. Yum!

What's on (and off) my needles?
I (almost) finished the Phoebe Mouse from the Phoebe's Sweater book:

Embroidering the eyes and nose are my only obstacles... But it turned out SO. CUTE. Don't you think?

And I'm back to my original spot (plus a few more rows) in the Gathered Scarf that I had ripped out for no reason:

Silky Merino in "Lettuce".

I also started the Shawl Collared Cowl (picture of my project to come, but click on that and it will take you to Ravelry to see it), a new pattern that came into the shop from Never Not Knitting. I heard about them from the Never Not Knitting podcast and really liked this one. I browsed her other patterns and got several -- the Cedar Leaf shawlette, Sheepish kids sweater, Garden Tee kids top. They are very nice patterns. Check them out the next time you are in the shop. I already had to re-order the Shawl Collared Cowl!

What are customers knitting?
(or needle felting) Here is Alison's needle felted turkey (next to the pumpkin cookies she brought to share at the knit-in!):

Christine's pretty B4 Bag:

More of Susan's fingerless-mitts-made-with-leftover-sock-yarn:

I think she said she's made 8 pairs, all with leftovers!

Mary Kate's Maine Morning Mitts made with PeaceLove&Yarn's hand-dyed Bulky Organic Merino:

Darla's felted pouches, which she is going to use for giving gift cards!:

Anne's adorabel (and quick - she made it in an evening!) little purse made with a Flounce-like yarn:

Deirdre's top down baby jackets adn her Easy-as-Pie baby hat, made with Encore:

Stephanie's hand dyed roving and hand spun yarn:

Pat in her Easy Bulky Hat:

And here is her Bully Wooly's felted pouch:

Yvette's hat, scarf/handwarmer sets, and felted purse, all knit to be sold at the Golden Fleece Guild booth at a craft show in Schoharie this past weekend:

Stephanie's itty bitty armadillo, snake and platypus:

Laura's first ever hat, made with Katia Peru:

Don't forget, there won't be a knit-in this week and the shop will be closed on Thanksgiving! Open regular hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A function, a teapot and some projects

2010-11-15T17:58:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday I was a vendor at the American Cancer Society's fundraiser Baubles, Bon Bons & Bling:

It was a nice evening with some unique vendors and yummy food!

That's Yvette and Sue and Sue's friend Joy.

And the vendor next to me?

Bumblebeads! This is the shop in Latham that I have referred people to for beads in their knitting.

And this is me the shop at doing my teapot impression:

Karin M-T took this at the last knit-in, thinking that I looked so relaxed, talking while winding a huge ball of yarn!

What's on my needles?
No pictures but, my Silky Merino Scarf is back to where it was before I ripped it out for no reason. And, I'm almost done with my Phoebe Mouse from the Phoebe's Sweater book. Pictures soon.... it's so cute!

Customer Show and Tell:

Diane's felted clogs made with her home-grown alpaca:

Look how fuzzy they are!

Dorah's slouchy hat, made for her daughter:

Cheryl's first-ever-after-the-baby-sock-we-made-in-class-sock!:

Nancy with her mobius cowl made from Baby Alpaca Grande:

Darla's very pretty woven scarf made from Encore:

...and another!:

And Susan's very pretty fingerless mitts (one from each pair) made from her leftover sock yarn: