june - 2007

June 26, 2007

I think this will be a quick update (you never know once I get going) - I'm going to State College for the day and am not sure whether I'll be back tonight or tomorrow morning.   So, let's get going!

First, we received a skillion bags of Encore this past week, in a pile of wonderful colors.  Why, when I carry a bunch of Encore anyway?  Because Plymouth has just come out with a folder full of patterns for 8-Hour Baby Blankets, and are they fun?  Janet (just back from 2 weeks in Italy, poor lamb!) took 4 balls of Encore home with her Friday night (all the blankets take just 4 balls, on size 13's with double stranding) and came back Saturday morning with half her blankie done.It's so cute!

I just finished mine (in stripes) after 3 days, and Karen is working on one also, so we'll have nice samples to show you. If you need a quick shower gift or want to give something personal, this is just the ticket!

Did you read Knitter's Review this past week?  Clara Parkes did a review of Vermont Organic's "Balance," a nice organic cotton/wool blend.  I think I've already mentioned it but can't remember if I showed a picture of the cute little cardy I did.  Here it is, and Balance is now in stock.  Karen is working on a  traditional Aran sweater in a lovely green shade - it's seriously beautiful.

We also received "Venus" from Trendsetter last week. This is the first novelty yarn I've bought in a long time.  It's not overly crazy, but a nice knittable blend of fibers and textures all in one 200-yd. skein that should be pretty for scarves, shawls, fancy top-down sweaters, Omega wraps and mobiuses (mobii??).  I haven't had a chance to play yet, so here are the colorways, with my tootsies showing at the bottom of the picture:

I have lots more to tell you and maybe I'll do another update later in the week but I must get on the road now, so come see me in the store soon!

Trish

June 20, 2007

Just a little bit mo' - a little bit mo'...

Back two weeks from the big TNNA show, what did I do yesterday but spend three hours with a sales rep and buy more yarn.  What can I do?  I'm helpless in the face of beautiful fiber!  I ordered some of Berroco's new "Jasper" - subtle color changes and soft, soft, soft - and a couple of their new booklets.  I ordered a little bit of Crystal Palace's "Maizy" - a sock yarn made from corn and elastic.  I bought some of the ribbon that makes ruffled scarves - all right, I know, but doggone it, it's really, really fun!  I ordered some "Pompon" sock yarn from Regia - can't show you a picture yet which is too bad because it's completely ridiculous yarn but cute as pie for house socks and kids.  I bought a little more of Regia's DK weight "Silk," which you've probably never seen because I hide it in the back room and yum over it in secret. 

We had two new arrivals last week.  The "Seawool" from Fleece Artist came in (you'll have to scroll if you use this link), and half of it has already left the building - hope I saved enough budget to order more.  I showed you the socks I made from it, which had a rather short cuff so I had a lot left and decided to make mitts with the leftovers.  Here they are, with a faux-cable edging, pretty and easy to do. The pattern is free with purchase of Seawool.

Also arriving last week was "Serendipity Tweed" from Brown Sheep, a soft cotton and wool blend and a new pattern for a garter-stitch jacket.  I'm carrying the tweed with "Sockotta" from Plymouth to get the gauge and add some pizazz.  It feels smooth, substantial, and is very pleasant to handle.  Here's a sleeve:

The combination is not as wild in real life as it looks here.

I'm not sure what's coming this week but I swear I will not start another project until I finish another.  The crocheted tote/beach umbrella is nearly finished - I just ordered the handle for it - two more rounds, then the finishing, so that should be done very soon.  Pearl is sauntering along - the pleated back is done, but I can't seem to get a decent picture of it this gray morning.  I haven't read ahead in the pattern so I'm not sure what the ingenious Kate has in store next.   I did a trial run based on a store-bought wrap that Edie Wixon brought in.  She was looking for a project that her sight-impaired mother could knit, and I hope it's working out for her - meanwhile it gave me a great idea for an easy and chic wrap.  My first effort was a disappointment, though, because I can be just so dumb sometimes - I won't go into details!! - so I'm going to try, try again and hope I have something to show you soon.

Meanwhile, here's a project that worked out beautifully:  a pretty little shrug on pretty little Faith Adams.  It's from a Filatura di Crosa collection and has a drawstring neckline.  Faith used hand-dyed "Gold Dust" from Wool in the Woods.  It looks just great, doesn't it?

Our lace knit-along started last week with seven intrepid knitters beginning the Swallowtail Shawl.  They looked dazed but determined when Karen Walter finally released them.  Can't wait to see them tonight!

And I hope I'll see you soon, too...

Trish

June 12, 2007

I just had what may be the most perfect day off I ever had.  It's not for everyone, but for me?  It was great.  I slept perfectly for 8 hours. Had breakfast, then cleaned for about 2 hours. Geordie and I went for a good long walk (a little too long, in fact - he had to lie down right in the middle of Park Road and I had to carry him to the other side - I forget he's wearing the equivalent of a big old alpaca sweater - he's getting a haircut on Friday, thank goodness!)   Lunch was fresh strawberries and bananas with cereal on top, to reverse the normal order of things.  Then I immersed myself in knitting on the web for about 2 hours, something that's rare for me.

Have you done this?  Oh, I know some of you are real web-hawks and check certain sites daily and subscribe to any number of lists where knitting or crocheting is discussed.  I don't have too much time for that so when I do, it's just such fun!  The new issue of Knitty is  up so that got me started.   Then I went to Cast-On and listened to my first knitting podcast ever.  Brenda Dayne produces this program in Wales and discusses knitting and spinning and other woolly subjects, and plays nice music as well.  If you click on the link above, you'll get to a program about a wool festival somewhere in Wales.  Very entertaining and while I was listening I crocheted my obligatory two rounds on my someday-it-will-be-a Tote:

In this photo, with no size reference, it looks like the top of a beach umbrella.   And believe me, in fingering weight cotton and a 2 mm hook, it feels like I've been crocheting long enough to have a beach umbrella. But just you wait, it's gonna be cute!  And it has definitely been good practice - my single crochet has sped up considerably during this project (but it still takes me at least 40 minutes to crochet around the thing twice.  I have 12 rounds to go!)

Back to my perfect day:  I read some blogs and checked out some other stores' websites and just generally wandered around the web while the clouds gathered and thunder rumbled in the distance.  When the storms got close, I shut down the computer and read for a while, drifted off to sleep for about an hour (thunderstorms make me really sleepy) - and that was my day!!  No errands, no paperwork, and no guilt about errands and paperwork.

A perfect day.  This evening I want to fix my (currently) favorite dinner, then knit for a while.  My current project, which is in too early a stage to even show you anything, is the Pearl Buck Swing Jacket from Interweave Knits a couple seasons ago.  Always loved it but never had the time to tackle it nor could I settle on a yarn.  So I let it go - there's always something new to knit, right?  However, I ordered a pile of Rowan's Felted Tweed for fall and got in a bag to knit with early so I'd have something finished to show you when the yarn gets here.  I couldn't figure out what the yarn wanted to be and Karen was helping me look and she found Pearl and it was absolutely perfect.  So I started it (just a couple rows - who could resist?) before I left for TNNA, but didn't take it with me.  I'm just getting back into it and then, today I'm looking at Interweave's books coming up for fall and lo and behold, this project is featured in one of their new books (25 Favorite Projects...coming out in September I think).  So it was meant to be.  If you don't remember it, this is Pearl from the back, showing off her beautiful pleat.  It's a design by Kate Gilbert - if you were one of our Sunrise Circle circle, you'll know what I'm getting into.

Maybe a knitalong in the fall??

One other little project to show you, just in case you're in the mood for a cute and quick little something.  This is the Pamela bag, a Two Old Bags design.  It was designed for ribbon yarn, but I knitted it holding two worsted weight yarns together. 

It's a clever design, like the Lucy bag but not felted - I love it.

Well, off to the kitchen.  But if you come in this week, you'll see a new yarn from Brown Sheep (first new yarn in years, and very nice), I hope the Seawool from Fleece Artist arrives, we already have new colors in Tofutsies  - their first limited edition colorway came in with a great free pattern - and the new colors of Sockotta are here.  And who knows what else might show up on the doorstep?  Lots of things you'll love, I hope.  Don't forget that Art on the Avenue is this Saturday - it's a such a fun, fabulous day, with artists and vendors all along the sidewalks in West Reading.  Come in and say hi when you pass the shop!

See you soon...

Trish

June 6, 2007

Back from TNNA with a huge yarn hangover!  I saw too many colors, touched too many different textures, and bought too much of everything I liked.  Now comes the hangover - what have I done? I bought what??  For HOW much???!

Seriously, I was fairly controlled, even though the yarns were beautiful.  There was nothing that everyone absolutely had to have and no design that particularly wowed the crowd.  Overall, I would say that classic, beautiful basics dominated the show in both designs and yarns, so I was in heaven.  I bought new yarns from Debbie Bliss and Brown Sheep, and Noro had a couple interesting new things.  I looked hard at new bag lines and saw some that I loved. Retail for the top of the line?  $200+!!  I bought one line and took swatches for another because I covet them, but will I buy?  I'm going to let Becky and Karen help me decide (along with my bank account).  When I settle down a little I'll talk more about what's coming.

I'm looking forward to being in the shop today.  I miss you all terribly when I'm away for any length of time.  The only thing I finished this whole week was a pair of socks in the Fleece Artist Seawool I showed you a couple weeks ago.  Here's one of the socks, on size 2's, smooth & cozy with a pretty sheen:

The Seawool will be here this week or next, I think (don't know too much about shipping from Canada) - can't wait to see all six colorways in person.

The other thing I did is this crazy log cabin baby blanket in Plymouth Heaven.  This is why I shouldn't have time to read books.  We got in great colors of Heaven, I was leafing through Mason-Dixon Knitting - et voila! My brain put them together and the urge to knit it was irresistible.  So here it is:

                                         It's wildly cute in person, believe me.

Anyway, I'm off to take Geordie for a nice long walk this beautiful morning.  We'll see you soon!

Trish