If you don’t normally see Berks County Living magazine, check out this link and click on page 28. http://www.berkscountyliving.com/ezine (You’ll have to enter your name and email – sorry.) It’s too cute, and a really nice article about the store. I must say that Jackson’s press agent didn’t do a very good job – Geordie got all the publicity!
A short post today to show you some neat projects:
First are these adorable hat and sweaters sets that Fran Krieger made for a seet of tiny triplets, who were born just a couple weeks ago and are doing fine. If you can’t tell, there were two boys and a girl!
Kris Hahn made this One-Row Lace Scarf in a single night, I think. Janet brought in a sample, made in Noro’s new yarn Aya, and the pattern, and Kris spotted it on her way out (“I’m just here for help, I’m not going to buy anything!” – famous last words) and came in wearing it two days later. Isn’t it pretty on her?
Chris Dreazen comes in with a new sweater every other week or so, I swear! This beautiful number she whipped up in Tahki’s Dove in no time. It’s hard to see the yoke detail in this photo, but it’s a very pretty and cozy-soft sweater.
Barbara Grevas came to a class in a sweater she made from Janet’s Top-Down Sweater class last fall. The fit is perfect and doesn’t it look just right for this cold winter?
Donna Guthrie is teaching this jacket class and made this version of the jacket for Pat Burkhart’s birthday. It’s good to be Donna’s friend! I hope Pat will come in and model it for us sometime soon. Isn’t it gorgeous?!!
Here is a detail of the stitch pattern and cable:
Such lovely things! All I want to do is knit (or crochet – I’ve started on the simplest of summer sweaters in a fingering weight hand-dyed cotton and so far it’s fun and hasn’t made my wrist ache, so I should be able to brag sometime soon – I do brag about crochet, because I’m not so great at it – it’s an accomplishment if/when I finish something.)
Many of you know Donna Howard, who lost her mother this past week. Donna is also recovering from a broken wrist, so she has many things to bear right now, and without the comfort and contemplation that knitting provides. My deepest sympathy, Donna.
Have a great week, everyone. See you soon…
Trish
It’s too early to tell whether we’re going to get a bunch of snow today – heavens, I hope not! Everyone asks me how the boys like the snow. They don’t. Here’s Jackson huddled against the wall, looking just the way I feel about more snow:
He is not amused.
So let’s not talk about snow or cold or dry skin or flyaway hair or shoveling or boots or heavy coats or ice damming or heart attacks, back sprains, or car accidents – all the things the media love to dwell on this time of year, along with taxes. Gads, no wonder we all have seasonal affective disorder! Let’s talk about knitting, shall we?
I’m still not accomplishing much. I made a sock for my brother-in-law and the second sock was well underway when the yarn had a break in it and totally changed to a different colorway. I’ve never in my life seen such a thing and I’m kind of in a snit about it, mostly because when I started knitting from the inside of the ball, I thought, wow this really looks different from the way ball looks from the outside. Did I stop to re-wind the ball and find out why? No, I just kept knitting and wondering how it was going to work out, like it was a science experiment or something. (I would show you but I threw the yarn away in a fit of temper – really it was obvious something was up.) I think there’s one more ball at the shop so I can finish the pair but sheesh! What if it happened to a customer? They would be more than miffed and rightly so.
I have the back of a summer top done, in a multicolored yarn made from corn fiber and cotton. I like the yarn a lot but don’t like the way the colors suddenly pooled
so I’m going to use two balls (2 rows of one, 2 rows of the other) on the front to prevent that from happening. A design with a bit of texture would have prevented it from being an issue – see, I know these things – but the top I’m doing is lightweight and fairly easy because it’s mostly stockinette (with a nice lace border at the bottom.) I’m working on a baby sweater, cat hugs, and some other random ideas that frankly, aren’t amounting to much.
Did you see David’s heart sweater below? It’s adorable, and his instruction on how to make a saddle-shouldered top down sweater is great. Take notes, any of you who may be tired of plain raglan shaping!
Carol Whitcraft knits like a crazy woman and lucky for me every now and then agrees to knit something for the shop. Now, this woman makes progress! She made two spring sweaters for me. The first is an old standby from Oat Couture called the Bistro Shirt in Cotonade from K1C2. Simple to make with self-finishing edges and an easy shape to wear, with a little collar and cap sleeves. Add some style with a light scarf ( a little kerchief would be very gamine, wouldn’t it?) or a pin to close the slit neck. The color is a great cinnamon, although it looks a little flat in this photo.
And this wonderful jacket is from Debbie Bliss Magazine for Spring 2010. It’s a really trim look for office or travel or dinner out, and because of the rolled edges, it’s casual enough for jeans and grocery shopping, too. Carol made it in Classic Elite’s Classic Silk, worsted weight but not heavy to wear. I love the pockets and the way the back neckband is designed so that the jacket hangs correctly. You have to see this little number in person.
And just to cheer you up, Katie Perkins brought in these adorable gifts she made for an impending baby. The best bunny slippers ever:
and a big happy monkey:
I hope they put a smile on your face…See you soon!
Trish
Hi Trish,
tonight i finished a sweater for my little niece..for Valentines Day.. it was a simple top down pattern, but i discovered something that i wanted to share… i wanted a top down that looked like saddle shoulder sleeves.. i played with the pattern, by increasing on the front and back only on every row, then when i reached the desired number of sts according to pattern, then i increased on the sleeve sts on every row.. and it came out just like a saddle shoulder sleeve…
i saw you got a ton of snow.. more on the way.. yuk!
cya soon
Dave
We got socked, didn’t we? It was really just lovely to wake up to a world in white and know that I didn’t have to go anywhere. I hope all of you who have to get to work, no matter what, made it safely, and thanks for being there for all of us. The only thing I did all day was shovel, nap, and knit. It was very nice. My sister lives in Baltimore and sent me updates from time to time on Saturday. At 1 pm we were clear but it was still coming down at her place:
That little gate you see is taller than my head. I bet her dogs are still peeing on the deck!
The second wave that we’re supposed to get this week may not seem just so very special! I have yet to dig out my driveway, because I can walk to work, but I think I’d better make the effort today and run all those errands that I’m tempted to put off. But first! Here are some fabu projects to inspire your snow-day knitting:
Loretta Hollenbach made it to class on Sunday all the way from the wilds of Womelsdorf and modeled her beautiful gansey:
and Sarabel Conn also sent a photo of herself in her completed gansey:
I should have a page just for these wonderful sweaters – they have all turned out so well, thanks to some very good knitting, persistence, and Donna’s Guthrie’s inspirational and supportive class.
Nancy Rambo had a back operation and came in beforehand to make sure she had some knitting to do while she was recuperating. These two pretty baby blankets are the results, and I hope everything else went as well as her knitting.
Nancy used JelliBeenz for the top blanket and Encore for the lower. Both are from Plymouth’s 8-Hour Baby Blankets booklet, our most popular booklet, and you can see why it’s so popular.
Karen Shearer used a self-striping Encore for the child’s sweater above. It’s from a pattern by Cabin Fever and we were all enchanted by the way the stripes worked out. The pattern is fun to make – garter stitch, all one piece, no sewing to do! There’s an adult version that I would love to make – it’s on my list for fall.
Debbie Andrews made our Scribble Lace Scarf and had enough yarn left over to make this adorable tam to match. She looks great in the set and finished them just in time for all this wintery weather.
Some additions to our class schedule: Donna Guthrie is starting a new group for the Great North American Afghan soon – if you’re interested, email me or call me at the shop 610-373-1622. Janet will be doing a second session of the February Lady Sweater and the Beginner Cabled Scarf. Again get in touch if you’re interested. You can check out the projects on our Classes Page on the website.
Well, I probably won’t see you Wednesday but I hope to see you soon!!
Trish
