I finished two of the great free patterns from Misti International, the maker of the Misti Alpaca Chunky that I got in last week. The scarf is a super cute, super quick little knit, perfect for a gift. The hat was man approved, and tested on a walk around town. It got two thumbs up for softness and warmth. Check out the patterns here and here, and get to the shop to pick out your color. Each project takes less than one skein to complete, making it an extremely affordable indulgence.

(Cabled Hat, Ribs and Ruffles Scarf)

And a status update on the first attempt at "real lace". There's been no need to dip into this yet:

I'm really enjoying this foray into lace knitting. When I tried lace last time, it was just a little scarf with very little repetition. I think that might be the difference this time. With an entire shawl, there's a lot of repetiton, and you're able to get into a rhythm.

(entire progress - lace edge and 12 rows of body done)

I'm also appreciating the challenge that it has presented. When you are proficient at something, it's easy to forget the feelings of frustration when you were first learning the craft. This particular project has helped me remember what it was like to feel like all thumbs when I was first learning to knit. I think that helps me be a better teacher to my newbie knitters. Here's a close up shot of the progress so far:

(my first nupps... aren't they pretty? I'm excited to see the transformation that blocking can render on lace.)

If you've ever wanted to try lace, or any kind of challenging knitting, go for it! What have you got to lose? If you don't like it, rip it out and knit something else. As I've heard from a number of customers, "This yarn is too nice to only knit once!"

Last but not least, here's my beautiful niece Addison showing off her first of Aunt Bam Bam's (that's me... long story) handknit sweaters. The beauty of this top down sweater is that it's easy to add length to both the body and the sleeves. And as you can see, the sleeves are getting a bit short because she's growing so fast. This is easily remedied... I'll just rip out the sleeve cuffs, re-attach the yarn, and add a couple inches. I'll probably do the same at the bottom of the sweater to add length to the body as well. Then she can wear it even longer! Her mommy told me that it matches practically all of her wardrobe, since the little princess only wears pink and purple.

(Addison: February Baby Sweater, Elizabeth Zimmerman, knit in Mary's Little Lamb - Me: Nuss, Berroco Design Team, knit in Blackstone Tweed)

Mmmmmisti Alpaca!

Just a quick note with lots of pictures to show off some new yarn... I've been thinking about bringing this yarn in for a long time, and the time was finally right! Check it out, this is Misti Alpaca Chunky Handpaints...

Lily Pad

Jazz

Delphinium

Baby Rainbow

Azulichen

Sushi

Excuse the not-so-great photography... my awesome sister got all the shutterbug genes in the family!

How many projects can you start?

After the craziness of the shop hop, my mind seems to have some trouble focusing on one thing. I pulled out an old pair (haha... who am I kidding - one) sock to finish and started the other one during the week before the shop hop. During the shop hop, I needed to start something new, so I started and finished a very cozy boy hat out of Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill. This is a yummy wool yarn from Michigan's very own fiber mill. You can find more info about that here. Check it out, it's a great place to visit if you're ever up in that neck of the woods! Since the intended recipient of the hat wouldn't model it, I had to use Glass Head George. Doesn't he look handsome in it?

So, here's the current list of things started, or about to be started:

First up, a cabled hat from my very own head. Many of you have been inquiring about a cable class, and I always feel better about teaching a class from my own pattern, so here's my solution, or rather, the start of it. I'm kind of killing two birds with one stone here, as many of you have been asking after a hat class too. This should fit the bill perfectly!

The yarn is from Imperial Stock Ranch, and it is their 2-ply Mulespun. This doesn't really mean much to me... all I know is that it is soft! You get a lot of yarn for a good price, and the colors are beautiful. Plus, I think it's great to support a US-based business, and this particular one is fantastic. Check out their website for more information! (Note: I took this picture yesterday, worked on the hat a bit more last night, determined it was too big, and ripped it out. So, needless to say, this may be on the back burner for a bit. I plan on re-starting tonight.)

Next up is the mate to the sock that I mentioned above. The yarn is a yummy blend of cashmere, merino, and nylon from Handmaiden, called Casbah. It was an indulgence purchase from Fiber Fest last year... I couldn't help it, the yarn practically begged me to take it home. Who am I to say no to cashmere?

The random balls of yarn you see here will be knit into 6" blocks for an undisclosed project. Should be fun... I plan to play around with a lot of different stitch patterns.

So that leaves the last project, the one I'm the most anxious about. It's a gift for a very special person, and it's my first attempt at "real lace". By "real lace" I mean laceweight yarn, charts, and smallish needles. It's going to be the Triangular Summer Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. I've assembled a survivor's kit for lace, and all that's missing is dental floss for lifelines. I intend to use plenty of lifelines. This will have the added advantage of making the shawl smell minty fresh, as well as saving me from ripping out a lot of knitting (hopefully!).

And if all else fails, and I lose my sanity during this project, I always have this to fall back on. Not to use during knitting, understand, but after. We all know that knitting and wine don't always mix well, especially in a lace project!

Lulu for Lena!

The Yarn Garden just seems to attract all kinds of visitors, both human and otherwise! Look what I found wandering down my garden path today!

A giraffe! She told me her name was Lulu, and she loved flowers. Here she is, checking out a container grown knit flower. She was a little disappointed in the lack of a pretty smell. She told me that it smelled too much like a stinky farm animal.

As she made her way through the Yarn Garden, she found this beautiful little sweater, knit out of organic cotton. "Oh, I just LOVE babies!" She gushed, gazing up at the beautiful hand knit sweater. "I bet that would be perfect for my human, Lena!"

Looking over, Lulu spotted a pretty blue bird, and the two of them gossiped a bit about the silly but cute Kid's Felted Flip Flop they found. They wouldn't really let me hear what they were saying, but I did overhear this... "It's just not girly enough for me... I'm a princess, and I should wear pink!"

I started to get the feeling that Lulu was a bit of a diva, and I knew it for sure the instant I saw this:

Of course Lulu loved the beaded silk from Tilli Tomas. What self-respecting, super girly-girl doesn't love silk strung with beautiful glass beads? She tried to snatch the silk with Swarovski Crystals, but I told her to keep her hooves off it... that yarn cost more than $100 dollars!

Then Lulu spied Dolly, our shop model for baby clothes. As any good girl would, she rushed right over and gave her a big hug. Awwww!

Then, poor Lulu spied Victor the gnome. I don't think there are gnomes where Lulu is from, because she high-tailed it away from Victor, and hid behind the display case. Poor thing, she was so scared!

But Victor is holding a pot of flowers, and we know how Lulu can't resist a good look at pretty flowers. So she crept a little closer, and hid behind the Mini Clutch from Namaste.

After standing as still as a statue, and noticing that Victor was standing just as still, she decided it was safe to get close enough to take a sniff. "Ugh! These flowers stink like plastic! What kind of garden is this?" She exclaimed, back to her diva self.

"Oooo, who's that handsome looking thing over there?!" Lulu exclaimed, gazing at Potawatomi Pete. I told her, "Lulu, that's Pete. He's not Prince Charming, he just wears a crown." Still, she had to go over and investigate for herself.

She gave Pete a big smooch, and when Pete didn't suddenly sprout long legs and a long neck with a handsome, full tail, she started crying. Unfortunately, she had to learn for herself, as we all do, that sometimes a frog is just a frog. I thought I knew just the thing to cheer her up...

A real flower! "Finally," Lulu sniffed, " a real flower!" She smelled the hydrangea, and gazed at it, and smelled it some more.

Lulu wanted to know what it was that I did here. I told her that I liked to knit, and she wanted to see what that meant. So she perched herself up on my shoulder, and I showed her how to knit. She thought that knitting was pretty cool!

I knew she was back to her diva self, when she struck a pose and said, "Take my picture!"

So here she is, in all her glory. Lulu, the aptly named diva giraffe, who will be going to live with my cousin Abby and her new baby, Lena. Congratulations Abby, and I can't wait to hold Lena when she gets here!

Finished Projects... Woohoo!

My computer has a built in camera, which comes in handy for quick mug shots, sample pictures, and all around goofiness. I've decided that this is a great way to show off my finished projects, so here it goes!

First up is a hat knit out of Bijou Basin's Bijou Spun, which is 75% pure yak down and 25% superfine merino. It's a two-stranded, cabled band, which was a lot of fun to knit.


Next is another hat, knit out of Lumpy Bumpy by Charlene. This is a brand new yarn to the shop, and it's from a company called Farmhouse Yarns. I love this company... they buy 80% of their fiber from American farmers, and all the spinning and dyeing is done here in the US. This is a great way to support our country, and the yarn is beautiful to boot! Look for more of their yarns in the future here...


Third on the list is a kerchief knit out of Rock Star from Tilli Tomas. This is a one skein project, perfect for that hank of delicious beaded silk that you've been eyeing.


Last but not least is a little giraffe named Lulu. You'll read more about her later... but isn't she adorable?

Whew...

Mom and I returned from TNNA exhausted, inspired, and packed to the gills with goodies! Check out my kill...

Included in this year's stash are many new yarns, some of which you'll see in the shop in the next few months, and some of which you won't. There is wool, alpaca, and cotton from the US, wool from Uruguay, bamboo from Canada, buttons from Gail Hughes, a keychain from Annie Adams, lots of mini-skeins from Farmhouse Yarns, and lots more! Here's a close-up of the buttons from Gail Hughes...
Last year, these flew out my door quicker than cashmere on sale! They'll be priced and ready to go tomorrow night.

After such a long, exhausting weekend, this is all I wanted to do - curl up in my new goodies and take a nap, using some beautiful wool from Imperial Ranch as a pillow!

Look What I Found In The Garden!

Knitters! Look at this very rare caterpillar I found creeping along the fence outside! I think he's of the Very Hungry Caterpillar species.

I can tell because of his distinctive coloring. It's easy to see from the top view, which I snapped while he was luxuriating in the sun on my picnic table.

His facial features are distinctive as well. You can see, from this close-up of his face, that he's got a bright red head, big purple antennaes, and big green eyes, ringed in yellow. See his mouth? It's pretty big, so he can eat a lot. He is, after all, a Very Hungry Caterpillar.

He seems to be a very rare type of Very Hungry Caterpillar. Can you see his feet? It appears that he has hand knit socks on them! This is very rare indeed, a Knitter's Very Hungry Caterpillar. I decided to call him Chuck. Noro, meet Chuck.

It appears that Noro is not too sure about Chuck. I don't blame him, since Chuck is Very Hungry.

"What do we do about him, Mom? I think he wants to eat me!!"

As you can see, Chuck decided not to eat Noro, and they became friends pretty quickly. Noro even gave Chuck a piggy back ride to the tree!

Chuck thought the tree in my garden looked like a good place for a nap, so he inched his way up the tree and took a rest for awhile. Luckily, I was able to snap a picture. Napping is very rare for Knitter's Very Hungry Caterpillars. You know, because they're so Very Hungry!

Chuck really like my garden. He wanted me to take his picture on the "Welcome To My Garden" sign. I did, but I made sure that he knew that he couldn't get too attached to the garden. There was somewhere else that he was needed more than outside in the garden.

But before he could go there, to his new home, he wanted to explore an indoors Yarn Garden. So I took him inside. First thing he saw was a pot full of yarnflowers, and he begged me to let him hang out in the pot for a while.

Next stop inside was the Baby Room, where he felt oddly at home. He really liked the picture of the baby on the cover of Vintage Knits, so I took his picture next to it. He didn't really want to leave the Baby Room, but I picked him up and we continued on our exploration of the inside of a Yarn Garden.

The next thing that caught Chuck's attention was a hot pink basket. He thought that looked like a cozy hideout, so he hung out inside the basket for a while.

Not too far from the basket, Chuck spotted some huge Gerbera daisies. He felt so at home stretched out on those flowers, but then he saw the most beautiful, tastiest looking sweater he had ever seen.


I told him it was called the Flower Child sweater, which explained why he loved it so much. I perched him up on Dolly's shoulder, but he started to look Really Very Hungry. I snatched him down before he could take a bite of Flower Child.

All in all, Chuck said he was very impressed with the indoor Yarn Garden, and was glad that he could hang out there for a while. I took his picture under the indoor Yarn Garden sign, while he talked a bit with Potawatomi Pete the Frog in the window.

I was very glad to have Chuck in my life for a short time, but I knew there was a little person that was soon to enter this world that would love him even more. So Chuck got to go home, to anxiously await the arrival of Baby Stewart. We can't wait to meet you Stewie!

Chuck at his new home, waiting for Baby Stewart's arrival!