November - 2007

November 26, 2007

Hello, and how was Thanksgiving for all of you?  I had a great one.  Most of our tiny family gathered at my sister's house in Baltimore.  We had five people and six dogs and we all had a good time and wonderful food.  It was my sister Janet's birthday, too, so I took her - what else? - Yarn!  She has picked out a great orange-juice colored yarn to make an afghan and I threw in some fancy stuff too because I know she'll get bored.  I'll show you a photo when it's done, but I don't want anybody holding her (or his) breath out there, okay?

Anyway, we had a great time together - Janet, my other sister Virginia, her husband Mickey (yes, one of us has managed to stay married but then Mickey is a total sweetie-pie so we don't give her any credit for it) and Janet's beautiful daughter Sarah (who lives in NYC and is special events manager for Carnegie Hall).  Okay, I won't brag anymore - she is just too smart, talented, and gorgeous for you to believe me anyhow.

My little dogs were exhausted, especially Geordie, and these photos will tell why.  Most of you know how much he adores food...

                   ...a big cooking day means he's constantly on the job.

And here's another reason why I'm thankful - Jackson, my other little guy, looking dazed:

It was all a little overwhelming for him, I think!

Okay, enough about me and mine.  As you can see, I have lots to be thankful for, and I'm always thankful for you all.  As a way of thanking each of you for your support of the shop, I started the Frequent Buyer program in the spring, and it has been a big success.  As a kickoff to the program, we included every completed card in a drawing for a $250 gift certificate, and we held the drawing the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We put all the cards into a box and mixed them up well and had someone who was visiting the shop for the first time draw the winning card.  Jettie Hunt was the winner and I couldn't be more pleased.  I remember the first time I met her, when she and her sister Marie came into the shop after they had spent the day at Stitches East - they were still on a yarn high, flushed and giggling and yearning for more!  That was the year I opened and Jettie has been a good friend and faithful customer ever since.  Now, if you didn't win, don't worry, we're planning more drawings - more frequent but for smaller amounts (that means more chances to win) so keep filling those cards.

I didn't have time to post photos last week, so I have some beautiful things to show you:

                A Christmas stocking that Melissa Korth made for her daughter. 

                                                                   How cute can you get?

                                             Jennifer Gensemer finished her cabled Montera

                                                sweater, just in time for cold weather.  Beautiful job from start to finish.

                   Deb Hawk & Deb Koch  

                               finished their Wrap-me-Up shawls.  They both look fabulous, oui?

So many talented knitters!!  Hey, where are the talented crocheters. people?  Let's see some great crochet projects!

Okay, I've bent your ears enough for one week.  See you soon, I hope.

Trish

November 21, 2007

With people on vacation this week, I haven't had time to post - sorry!!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember, we'll be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.   Stop in to see us - add a little color to your Black Friday!

See you soon...

Trish

November 14, 2007

Not much time to write this week - this time of year is hectic and fun and filled with lists of things I need to do to keep up with demand at the shop.  I have to say, though, that it's really nice to sit down, think about the previous week and review all the great projects I've seen - I do love talking about it all on this page.

First, this little girl will brighten your day.  Sue Hess made this shrug for her granddaughter, out of Jelli-Beenz, and says that she really loves wearing it.  Sue is planning to make it in larger sizes as she grows out of them. Isn't she charming?

Two of our knitalong shawls were completed this week. Here are Loretta Hollenbach and Donna Hain glamming it up in their versions of the Wrap-Me-Up.

The wraps are really beautiful and so much fun to make, but they take a lot of knitting.  I'm so proud of everyone who is finishing up - it was a commitment!

And here is Ken Posey modeling a beautiful Mari cardigan knit for him by his wife Mary Ann.  Ken is so tall that I couldn't get all of the sweater and all of him in the picture at the same time!  It's a beautiful piece and Ken looks so handsome in it, doesn't he?

I'm just so impressed with these projects and so happy with the way people are knitting and venturing into new skills.  Our classes are filling up quickly and we're working on the next batch already.  We would always love to have your suggestions, you know - if you think of a skill or a project that you think would make a good class, please let us know and we'll look into it.

This week I finished a pair of mittens.  Sounds a little dull, I know, but I loved working on them.  They're plain, but in a lipstick red color of Suri Merino that brightened the whole dreary week every time I looked at them.  They're for me, because it's just about mitten time again, isn't it?  A hat to match is coming up and maybe a scarf?

By the way, we'll be open the Friday after Thanksgiving this year. Usually we stay closed because I go out of town for Thanksgiving, but Karen and Janet have volunteered to keep the doors open, so come in and see what's new.

See you soon...

Trish

November 7, 2007

I'm on a finishing tear!  Being somewhat preoccupied with the complete change of routine that can be caused by a new puppy in the household, I've gotten very little accomplished over the last few weeks.  Five projects have been languishing around my house, begging for a few minutes of my attention, while I blithely played tug of war with Jackson or cleaned up the debris from his chew toys.  However, Sunday night and yesterday, I nobly ignored the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, and so forth and sat down and knitted.  It was a sacrifice... Four of the five are now done.

1) Mini Wrap-Me-Up shawl/scarf

Made from Ranco (semi-solid) and Koigu from Knitting at Knoon's pattern.  It's cute, but I hope next week to show you the full-sized versions from our knit-along.  They are stunning!

2) Crocheted Afghan

Crocheted on a Size M hook (!) from Plymouth's Boku self-striping yarn in one huge granny square.

3) Adult Surprise Jacket

Knitted from Elizabeth's Zimmerman's instructions, in a variety of yarns, including Manos, La Gran and Mountain Colors Mohair, Andean Alpaca Regal, Castello and Kocheron and trimmed with attached I-cord.  It was fun and I'd like to do another in more muted colors.

4) Shawl with Fan Edging in Handmaiden's Wool-Silk Blend, which I won't take a picture of because it needs to be blocked.  (Where to block is getting problematic at my house - Jackson has very little respect for the art of blocking lace.) And I'm not sure the edging will be nice even after blocking, so you may never see it at all. So there!!

I have one more project to finish before I'm allowing myself to start something new.  It's a sweater that I've shown you a photo of in its early stages - very pretty in aqua, brown, and light green.  Oh, how I loved it then!  Many hours of knitting later, I was not so fond of it, but persevered.  When I had both back and front completed, I tried to talk myself into thinking it would make a nice vest, and even put armhole bands on it.  Luckily, Karen Wenrich talked me down from that ledge (it did NOT make a nice vest).  So the armbands came off and I've begun the sleeves, but it will be many more hours of knitting to complete them. I'm sure I'll love it when it's done, but I hate it with a smoldering contempt just right at this moment.   Admit it, you know what I'm talking about.  It's one of those things non-knitters just don't understand.

Anyway, some people seem to be able to finish their long projects with cheer in their hearts and a happy little song on their lips.  Look at these beauties:

This is a detail of a gorgeous sweater with a cabled yoke, knit by Chris Dreazen in Waterlily.  My camera run out of juice at this instant or I could have shown the whole sweater, which is luscious, and another beautiful top-down turtleneck knit in red Avanti that Chris wore and looked fabulous in.  (Oh, that sentence - what would Miss Black say?)

And...

This is the throw that Melissa Korth just finished - so lovely, in wonderful shades of blues, greens, rusts and golds.  She combined several different yarns - Harmony, Savannah, Road to China, and a couple more, to get just the colors and softness she wanted.  It's really a beautiful piece.

I hope you all have checked out the new class schedule, posted just this week, and I hope all your projects are coming along successfully.

See you soon...

Trish