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?
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Woolly goodies back in stock!
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).
Tara’s top 10 snowed-in activities
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???)
Reversible Knitting by Lynne Barr
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!
Warm feet!
Thank you Tom for giving me warm feet in between working on George. I am surprised at the difference between the feel and warmth of galway and shepherds wool. Shepherds wins hands down. We’ll compare wear factors as the winter progresses. Your thoughts? More about George later.
Cottage creations back in stock +new scandinavian caps!
The very popular wonderful wallaby is back in stock as well as the rambling rows patterns! Check out all of the Cottage Creations by clicking here.
Now, turn your head sideways (I uploaded the picture from my Droid and can’t figure out how to rotate it) and look at the neat caps. They are done in sport weight wool, which I know we are a little short on here at Knitting Today, but hold onto your hat for January/February because we have some new choices arriving!! Click the picture to scoot over to the pattern.
P.S. If you really want a warm blanket, make the Rambling Rows with Shepherd’s Wool. Everyone fights over it at our house! Click to see big (and it is a big photo since the blanket is big!)
Shepherd's Wool Rambling Rows Afghan from Cottage Creations
Sneak peak – quilt happy
Do you have a friend who quilts? Treat her (or him) with a reminder to “quilt happy”. They should be ready for ordering next week.
Yes, that is a pink insulated tumbler and we will be gettting them in the “knit happy” soon.
Tara picked 17
Is that because she will turn 17 next year? Anyways, number 17 was . . . drumroll please, Nancy Wilson!
Nancy receiving her winning book, Knitted Gifts
And here she is just sitting down after a hard day of teaching.
No, she isn’t an employee, but is a valuable part of our teaching team and she was teaching the Three Tams using a two-handed Fair Isle technique. One tam took a skein of Silk Garden and a skein of Shepherd’s Wool.
Everyone who took the class made the project their own:
We’re ready for our next Noro Kureyon or Silk Garden project; it doesn’t matter if its sock or worsted weight. Post a link to a picture of your project and tell us a little bit about it in your comments. On December 25, yes Christmas Day, I’ll have Haley pick a number and the matching commenter will receive a Knit Happy insulated tumbler!
Thank you to Passing Down Crazy and Mckmama for pointing the way to doing a photo collage. I have a lot to learn but it was fun getting started . . . .
Handwashing Defined????
I would like to get a new washer. My old one felts things wonderfully. I’d probably move it over to the store but would have to get rid of the refrigerator to make room 
but now I’m wondering what to get. First this from Lorna’s Laces. Then this from Mason-Dixon. Now its your turn — do you have a frontloader and what yarn have you washed using the handwash cycle? What was the result?
P.S. Stay tuned on Thursday, I’ll announce some winners to our blog contests and will post a new one . . .
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Oh, wait… maybe it’s not. I noticed yesterday that we still have a few flowers blooming their little hearts out and thought I’d share it with everyone.
Just a little something to brighten an otherwise blah kind of day. Aren’t they lovely?