Hello, everybody, I have a suggestion to deal with this never-ending winter. I’m actively ignoring this latest ridiculous salvo from the winter gods. I refuse to acknowledge that there is any snow out there, and that it’s about 18 degrees. I’m pretending it’s about 60, with the trees starting to leaf out and weeds poking their obnoxious little heads above ground, and that soon I’ll be able to wear all the pretty things for spring that I’ve been working on. It’s the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and singing La,la,la,la when there’s something you don’t want to hear. Everybody try it and let’s see if it works.
Okay, try harder, there’s still white stuff out there. It’s not Queen Anne’s Lace.
Oh, well. I am absolutely in love with the things I’ve knit so far this year. You’ve seen some of them, I think, but here’s what is on display at the shop, as we are re-organizing for spring:
This is a top-down tee made from Berroco’s Bonsai Colors. (Stock just arrived on Friday.) Soft and drapey and very pretty colors with an unassuming tendency to self-stripe.
I love this little ribbed tee with picked-up cap sleeves and a deep vee. It’s really cute over a tank top – yes, it was cold, but I had to try it on. So easy, and in Linen Isle, very affordable. Thanks to Suzanne Biesecker, who saw the pattern and asked me to order it – I love it!
This jacket is so adorable, and in Royal Bamboo, it’s just luscious. It’s from Rowan’s Dark House Collection and is made all in one piece, with just side seams to sew. It’s going to be perfect this summer.
I’m working on another very cute tee in Classic Elite’s Cotton Bamboo, a wonderful yarn! And I finished a Fair-isle yoke sweater in Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply. Everyone else is doing Fair-Isle (see below) and I was inspired, but not enough to do a whole sweater. I liked the yoke sweaters David Ritz has been doing, and remembered a very cute model from Handknit Holidays. The yarn was perfect, and it took very little time, and there was just enough Fair-Isle for me, which is to say enough to get it out of my system for a while but not enough to make me scream. It’s blocking, so I hope I’ll have a picture next week.
This coming week we should be getting shipments of great new colors in Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold, Pima Fresca from Queensland, Nuna from Mirasol, Pure Silk from Debbie Bliss, and I hope Noro condescends to ship us a little something, ya never know.
Very soon, now, we’ll have an interim schedule of classes to share with you. Lynne Nagle will have these sweet crochet projects for her beginners to work on:
A beginner project teaching chain and single crochet.
This pretty cloth in wave stitch will teach double and half-double crochet.
This newborn baby cap has an adult counterpart in the same pattern, to teach how to work in the round. And from there, you can move to more advanced projects. This sampler scarf is fun to do (no boredom!) and will teach you several stitch patterns.
I’ll try to get the dates firmed up this week. We’ll be adding a couple of beginning knitting classes and also Donna Guthrie’s afghan classes will be continuing. I’ve been thinking about the spring-summer knitalong that we usually do, and have not come up with a great project, so I’m thinking that we may do an evening of charity knitting once a week, where we’re all working on the same thing. For instance, May could be mitten month, June could be hats, July could be cat hugs, etc. At the end of the summer, we should have a nice bunch of things to donate to keep people warm next winter (La, la, la…) Great way to use up leftovers – what do you think?
Okay, now I have a bunch of wonderful projects to show you. First, this scarf was done by the prettiest beginner knitter, whose name I simply cannot bring to mind! 
(I love getting old.) Anyway, she bought Beatrice, a wonderful yarn, to make a scarf for a friend. She had a pattern, but it turns out that the pattern was very badly designed and there was a definite right side and wrong side and was not symmetrical to boot. She came in for help and bravely ripped out most of her work and here is the great finished product.
Gwen Burgis looks lovely in this pretty sweater that flatters her and fits perfectly, in soft merino wool.
Fran Krieger worked up this funky hat, with decorative I-cord forming the signature ponytail at the top. It’s just really cute – I couldn’t see the potential, but Fran did.
Sarah Rothermel made this very cute hooded cardigan over the winter and got to wear it on the only warmish day we’ve had in months. It’s in a bulky cotton, with a pretty tweed trim. She looks just great in it.
Jennifer Lyons researched aran patterns, then designed and knit this gorgeous aran sweater for her husband, in a beautiful merino wool. A family heirloom!
Here is a detail of one section:
The cables complement each other beautifully, don’t they?
And Karen Walter, who is teaching the Fair-isle cardigan class, finished the sweater. It’s the Harvest Cardigan from Color Style. It’s a beautiful sweater, primarily in Rowan Felted Tweed. I stuffed myself into it for the picture, you can see the buttons pulling, darn it! The design is wonderful and the execution is expert. 
I can’t wait to see the sweaters from the class finished – I hope I’ll have more inspirational photos for you then.
Okay, whew! I hope I’ve remembered everything. Lots of wonderful things being finished – congratulations everyone, keep on knitting! And seriously, I’d like to know how you feel about a charity knitalong this summer. Lots of us are hurting from this crummy downturn – I think the best thing we can do is something nice for someone else.
See you soon!
Trish
