Yarn Gallery Blog

Well, here I am again, yearning to get back to the shop after a few days off.  I must say, this has been an unusual summer for me – I’ve gotten away several times, and only one of those times was for business.  This is all thanks to Janet Kakareka and Karen Wenrich who have pitched in to cover for me while I go off and enjoy myself in all the glamorous jet-set spots. (Baltimore, State College, Columbus Ohio – yeah, baby!)  I joke, but really I so appreciate having such wonderful people to rely on – they’ve made my life much easier!

This time I went to State College because my nephew Eric, who lives in Houston, was home with his wife Hilary and their two adorable children.  So cute, so smart, so noisy!  It made me realize how quiet my life is at home – and what a luxury that is!  I thoroughly enjoyed them, though – the only time there was any problem was when Jonathan (who is 5) had to be dragged away from a brand-new Playstation game.  He was not amused, and I could almost identify with his – very loud – displeasure.  I think video games (apparently even Sponge Bob) are very absorbing and rather addictive, and block out the world around you, and when you’re abruptly called away from them, it makes you grumpy.

Knitting is my Playstation.  When I sit down to knit, I want a nice long uninterrupted stretch where I can become absorbed in the pattern and rhythm of the stitches, and not have the phone ring or the dog bark or a tea kettle whistle – and I get rather touchy when I don’t get to knit much.  It calms me, helps me to pass the time in a boring or stressful situation, and if I’m just sitting and my hands aren’t busy, I get restless. I smoked for a long time, and while this knitting addiction is milder and quite benign, it’s definitely there.   Thank God for an addiction I don’t have to fight!

Here are some great projects by other knitting fanatics:

Chris Dreazen, who is into fiber in every possible way – spinning, dyeing, weaving, quilting, and knitting (and perhaps other ways that I won’t speculate about…) (okay, I just did speculate, but everything I came up with was pretty darn harmless)…ANYWAY, Chris made this very beautiful shawl from lovely 100% baby llama yarn called Miski.  It’s a cute name and I don’t know what it means, but it a Mirasol yarn and everything sold benefits a project to build a school for a very poor village in South America where the animals are raised.  Soft, heathery, warm – just what a shawl should be.

Now, look how radiant Wanda Strickler looks in her beautiful wrap made of Manos Classico in a lovely blue with a variegated border:

It’s the perfect color for her eyes, don’t you think?

And Karen Walter popped in with this finished short summer sweater in a gorgeous color of Rowan’s Calmer.  Like me, she loves the yarn and, unlike me, I think she has a bunch of great sweaters in it.  The absolute best non-animal fiber for knitting ever made – I’ve never used another yarn like it.

By the way, Karen trained for and completed her first triathlon this summer.  In case you don’t know what that means, it means she ran, swam and biked about 5 bazillion miles – for some crazy reason.  I can’t figure it out, but sweetie, you go!  I’m behind you (way, way far behind) all the way.

I want to mention that our Beginning Refresher on August 16 has spaces left, and if someone you know has said, “Oh, you knit! I used to knit, can you teach me how?”  this is the class for them.  In one day, we’ll bring back all those memories that are stored in their fingers and get them knitting again.  You can read about it on our Classes page – which will soon be undergoing an update for the fall.

And Penn Avenue is having a Sidewalk Sale August 15th – 17th.  Now, I don’t think we’ll be moving things out to the sidewalk but we will be giving 10% off on all regularly-priced summer yarns in stock.  That means that if you have a full Frequent Buyer card, you’ll get about 20% off those yarns.  So pop over and spend a day on the Avenue and get some great deals.  (Please note: we’ll be open only our regular hours.)

Okay, I think that’s it!  See you soon…

Trish