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by susan
Okay, all you Indiana knitters, listen up. Did you hear the forecast?? BIG SNOW headed this way. This is why we hoard yarn. This is why we have things hidden, um.. I mean “stored”, under the bed and in closets. What if we really do get 8 inches of snow and we are immobilized for an entire day?! Oh, the horror of having only a few projects to choose from! Really, half the fun is the dithering over which fiber to fiddle with. Pondering “am I in a cable mood or a lace mood. The sweater, or the scarf? Maybe something to felt…” I am almost vibrating with excitement at the thought of it.
Be honest, now. Doesn’t a day stuck inside, with no hope of going anywhere sound lovely? It’s better than a poke in the eye, right Nancy?
p.s. you don’t even want me to blog on Wednesday if we don’t get the promised snow on Tuesday.
by susan
 The finished product! As promised (or threatened, depending on how you look at it), here is a picture of the stocking. Finished and ready to hang for Christmas 2010. It was a lot of fun but I am so glad I have it finished. I’m thinking that before I hang it next year I will change the hanger ribbon to something more substantial. The ribbon they provided is really too thin to be used for anything other than decoration but I was so desperate to get it done and hanging before I packed everything away that I used it. I want something a bit wider and not so flimsy. I stuck in a few close-ups hoping that the beading would show up. Also you cannot tell that the tinsel is metallic and really picks up the light and shines. The best thing of all is that my daughter is happy with it, I am happy with it and it gives me a good feeling to know that it is safely resting until needed.   
The really goofy thing is that now I wish I had another cross-stitch project to do. Like I don’t have enough knitting sitting around, begging to be finished. Or started, as the case may be. Then again, can we ever have too many projects going?
by susan
 I just (and I mean JUST) finished checking in Starry, the newest from Dream in Color. The base of this sock weight yarn is Smooshy; so you know it is… well, smooshy and because it is Dream in Color you know the colors are fabulous. I can see shawls and scarves in this, maybe a smoke ring. What do you think? Do you itch to knit socks when you see this or does something else pop into your mind? Do share, please!
by susan
The 5″ tips for the HiyaHiya Interchangeables, not a poltergeist. They’ve been here for a few weeks, to tell the truth, but I wanted to give them a good test run before posting about them. I’ve been using the 4″ tips and thought I loved them. But apparently it was just a crush because when I switched one of my projects to the 5″ tip (just to see if I noticed much of a difference) there were fireworks and I heard birds singing and felt all warm and tingly. Well, maybe I’m making up the part about the fireworks and the birds. But, I immediately forgot about the 4″ tips sitting beside me on the end table. For me that extra inch makes a world of difference. Which is funny because I never felt that the 4″ tips were too short; never thought “boy, I wish these were longer” but now that I’ve used the longer I wonder that I never wished for them. I do think that I will want the 4″ tips for smaller projects like socks, but I will definitely invest in the longer tips as I need them.
Also just in are the c2knits patterns that I promised earlier. My favorite is the Moxie, but the Hayley Hoodie is right up my alley as well. I would put long sleeves on it and make it a winter garment, but that’s just me. All these patterns are top down (except for the skirts which are bottom up) and seamless. Doesn’t get much better than that.
By the way… are you ready for some football?
by lea-ann
nope? me neither! there is no:
-humming lights
-gurgling coffee
-chugging computer
-beeping printer
calm, i would call it. i wonder what the day will bring. guess i had better get all of the above going…stay tuned.
p.s. forgive the “no caps”, using the droid and swype keyboard to post this and still on the learning curve.
by susan
Wondering if we’d gone off the grid? I apologize for the lag in postings on the blog- it is not for lack of something to blog about, but lack of time. I have to choose between getting the new stuff on the website or taking the time to blog. What a quandry!
First and foremost on my mind is to let you know that the Woolly Owls from Marie Mayhew are now in the system. I know that Lea-Ann revealed them a while ago- now you can check them out.
 Dumpling Case Now for what I am really itching to share. We have the cutest, most fun little doo-dads in stock! You have got to check out the Dumpling Case from HiyaHiya. They are so stinkin’ adorable. The case itself is brocaded fabric in assorted patterns/colors (all beautiful, I promise), and you just give it a little squeeze to open it- let go and it snaps shut, kind of like those change purses our grandmothers used to have in their handbags. (As a child I was always fascinated with my grandma’s- it was leather and closed in a swirl type pattern on top. Very cool. I was forever playing with it. But, I digress…)
 Stitch Markers The real treasure is the markers that look like little balls of yarn. They are sized to fit up to a US8 needle, but included are bigger rings to expand the markers to fit up to a US15. How cool is that? At $9.95 they are affordable to give as a ”just because” gift, and not so expensive that you would feel guilty getting them for yourself!
 Fold 'n Go Notions Box Really fun thing number two is the newest product from Knit Happy- it is the Fold ‘n Go Notions Box. It is a very handy roll-up case for notions, double point needles and all the other necessities that go along with knitting. I immediately thought “oh, wouldn’t this be a cute travel case for toiletries and such?”. Who says that it must be used for knitting? Just because it has a sheep on it doesn’t mean that it must be used for knitting, does it? What else would you use this for? Any creative ideas out there? Click on the link above to see all three colors. Of course, it does not come with the goodies already inside, but I’m sure you’ve all got more than enough to fill it yourself.
For anyone who may be wondering, I finished the stocking in time for Christmas. Okay, so I was sewing the stars on at 11:30 p.m. and it didn’t actually get assembled but the hard work was done. I have pictures to post but forgot my card so I can’t put them on today, but I will share them. Not that you all want to see it, but I worked my fanny off and I will post them if I want. Because I can.  My daughter was thrilled and I now have some time for knitting. Wahoo! More on my knitting later, and I have a few books I am excited about. I’ll show you those, as well. Until then- it’s cold outside so stay inside and knit.
by lea-ann
I have *three* days off in a row and if I must get dressed for photos, I would feel like i must go do something at work. So, coffee in righy hand, Droid in left, earbuds in, I am staying put
….. happy new year everyone, see you on Jan 2 for the winter sale daze?
by lea-ann
It’s still snowing so we are allowed to knit, felt and decorate with snowmen, right? We just restocked all of Marie Mayhew’s patterns and the snowman really works well with Galway white.
But if you prefer to ignore the snow, you could start on the cute bunnie or chicks for Easter or her newest pattern, Woolly Owls (susan is on vacation so be patient and wait for it to appear on the New January pages).
by taralea
Saturday the 19th, it was snowing so much that it appeared we would be snowed in by noon with no customers. Mom and I thought it would be fun to make a top 10 list to do at Knitting Today if buried in unstoppable snow! Here is my version:
1. Lock all customers out, so we can plan a trip to Barbados using the number I accidently called.
2. Pile all Shepherd’s Wool on the floor to take a nap.
3.Let ONE customer in to referee a race between mom and I on seeing how many balls of yarn you can wind off in an hour.
4. Raid Susan’s food stash.
5. ACTUALLY WORK! (plan sale for JAN. 2? and classes for FEB. and my hard homework)
6.Dress me as a ball of yarn with needles and make me stand outside with a sign saying, ‘WE ARE OPEN!’
7. Knit with no shoes. my personal favorite. 
8. Clean the Black Hole (A.K.A. the office) and the Milkyway (A.K.A. the back room).
9. Crank up the heat for a Hawaiian Luau! Aloha!
10. Have me make a stupid Top 10 list! =P
-Tara Lea (p.s. what is yours???)
by lea-ann
 It is so exciting being a part of the blog tour for Lynne Barr’s new book, Reversible Knitting.
On first glance, the book appears a little overwhelming, but that is because there is so much in it — 50 new stitch patterns to try, all reversible, of course. The types of patterns are organized into chapters with very clear photos, technique descriptions, and special notes. They consist of:
- Faux Crochet
- Rows Within Rows
- Openwork
- Divide and Combine
- Picked Up
- Double Knit
But, wait, don’t hit the close button yet! There is more! Twenty, count them 20, projects from the likes of :
- Cat Bordhi
- Teva Durham
- Debbie New
- Wenlan Chia
- Lily Chin
- Nancy Marchant
- Veronik Avery
- Pam Allen
- Norah Gaughan
- Eric Robinson
- and the author, Lynne Barr, herself
What a huge selection of unique designs from some very talented designers.
  My favorite design at the moment is a very simple knit, at least upon first inspection. The design by Wenlan Chia is called Winding Path. It has a chunky rib pattern that appears to move over the shoulders into a huge cowl, but that isn’t the half of it! You can wear it upside down and instead of the ribs accentuating the upper half of the body, they now travel on a bias across the body emphasizing a vertical path and end in a slightly oversize turtleneck. But wait, there is more . . you can even wear it inside out! Seriously! I really like the look and wonder if my overplump body could pull it off. If not, I know my slendar teenage daughters would love it. The white cowl that used to be around the neck now sits at the hip line.
And, what do you think we could do with this technique?
 - Drop Loop Steps from Picked Up Chapter
There are a few other stiches in the “Picked Up” Chapter that I really like and can see done on scarves for sure. The Drop Loop Steps that I am showing you above is actually the reverse side. The front side looks like an embroidered satin stitch. Its Stitch Number 40, on page 70 if you have the book in front of you. What do you think either one of these would look like in a multi-color yarn? Click here to see more pictures from the book. There are so many techniques in this book that if you like to think outside of the box and try new things, you definitely want this book in your stitch library. I know it’ll be in mine. Now, your next stop on this Blog Tour should be to enter the Book contest! A few copies of Reversible Knitting will be available for random giveaway the length of the scheduled blog tour off the STC Craft / A Melanie Falick Book blog, www.melaniefalickbooks.com. Quick, go sign up!
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