Afghan Finished!

Happy New Year everyone!

Here is the afghan I just finished. It has been washed, dried, and cuddled on and under.
I am including this one with my kids on it to show how much they enjoyed being involved in my crochet and knitting. :) They also love the afghan. We have to pull at least three cats off of it each time we want to use it.

Anyway, this is Sorcha, the dog, and I think Willow, the cat. Could be his sister Arwen, though.














I like this one because you can see our dog Sorcha. An overgrown Miniature Pinscher.












Here is the whole, 4-1/2 feet wide, 6'2" long afghan. You can almost see the the top edge, where I started, is tighter and doesn't ripple as well as the end. I'm still trying to improve my crochet.

Again, this was made entirely of Plymouth's Encore which is acrylic and wool. I doubled it to make a bulky weight, worked with a M hook and, finally, am DONE! :) That's all here!

Happy New Year's Eve Everyone! Be SAFE!
~Briony

The Ideal Knitting Bag?

I've been thinking about this off and on for a few months now, in a lazy fashion. What should be in a knitting bag? Or a Crochet bag. I think they'd be pretty much interchangable.

And how do you use said bag? Do you have One Master Bag that holds your immediate project(s) at hand and it is the one that moves from room to room, to the car, to the knit together with you? Or do you have one per project (this could get scary very quickly), or one per location (ie the car bag, the living room bag, the bedroom bag, the movie knitting bag etc?) or some combination?

Well, here's what I have in my sock 'bag' (Yes, I have one bag just for my sock. This is because I had a small epiphany. I always have a sock on the go. At least one. So -- a sock bag!):

• Darning Needle (I try to bury ends as I go)
• Yarn cutter. I don't put scissors in because I don't want to stop and wonder -- do they allow scissors here? I can grab and go and not worry. Also, if I visit a friend with little ones I don't need to be paranoid about punctures.
• Pattern Photocopy. The original is at home. Ideally, in a page protector in a binder but I've not been too terribly careful about that for the last, uh, decade. :)
• Stitch markers. For socks I keep 7 normal ones and one double loop marker I made from a photo in Crazy Toes and Heels by Queen Kahuna (www.queenkahuna-creations.com/). I learned SO much from this book! The double loop tells me if I'm on a increase row or a plain knit row. Brilliant.
• Rubberbands. This is for the heel turn from the book mentioned above.
• Tiny gold safety pin with something bright and dangley attached so I remember to turn the socks one way and then the other (no tangles!)
• Yarn. WITH the yarn bands. Yeah, we all know we'll remember what we're using. Then we don't.
• Needles.
• Crochet hook. For my fingering weight this is a B, and for my worsted weight this is a D-G (depending on what I grabbed at the time) The hook is larger than my usual needles so I can cast off with it very, very loosely.
• Tape Measure
• New Addition: Notebook.

Now let me elaborate on this Notebook. It's one of the small Mead Memo spiral bound jobs. I nearly got the unspiral bound one because I visualized massive tangles, but decided to go with it anyway so I can lay the book down with the one page I'm interested in staying up and open.

I have a fair bit in here. I may type more of it up so I can print out more when I fill this one up. I have my, my fathers and my husband's foot measurements in there (socks!). I have my condensed notes for the sock pattern. I have various other tips and tricks and techniques jotted down. And I have my notes for the project at hand. The yarn I choose.-- the color name and number and brand. (I try to add ideas about the yarn itself, but this usually doesn't happen. ) My spi and rpi gauge. Needle size. The number of stitches for the sock. The toe type I used. Notes on type of heel or anything funky I tried (or noticed failed miserably).

I picked the small notebook because I needed something I could tuck in my Medium Yarntainer -- which is my sock knitting bag. I like to put it on floors when I'm out and about. I've been in too many icky movie theaters to use something with a cloth bottom. I digress.

I decided against an all powerful master notebook because I know myself. I'd end up with a 2-1/2" binder, with section dividers, color coded pages, cool pictures downloaded and printed off to decorate said dividers and the cover and back and spine. I'd have spent hours picking just the right font to do all the different things in. Then I wouldn't have touched it because it was too heavy and awkward. Then I'd feel guilt for not using it.

In my Living Room I also have cuticle nippers and a nail file. If I find the smallest ragged bit of nail or skin I'll tear it off without thinking so I need tools there to prevent blood shed. Honest. I bleed easily. And I hate getting yarn snagged on a rough nail. Doesn't do the yarn any good either. I also keep a comb in there because I generally have a sudden urge to either get my hair out of my way or find that the bun it was in is in exactly the wrong place to rest my head against the futon. A spare dpn holds my bun up if it goes up here. Sometimes the dpn makes it back home. Usually not.

One dear friend and customer here has a cool tin with her scissors and stitch markers inside a great rolling tote which holds her projects currently in working progress and patterns. I just LOVE the tin. It's too bulky for my knitting 'bag' but I love it nonetheless. I am thinking of getting a rolling tote for my livingroom. It can roll safely into a closet to hide from my cats and out again for me to work.

Do you have ideas for bags' contents or notebook?

~Briony (the afghan is still around, and not yet done. I hope for the end of the week. I like to have lots of hope in hopeless situations)

Happy Holidays!

Here is what Chrisanne made for Briony for Christmas this year! A lovely Cashmere sweater! I was actually warm! Can you believe it? Briony. Warm. In the same sentence. With no negative in it. Amazing. :)

It's a very dark brown/black tweed with lots of specks of reds, yellows etc. It has a lovely cowl neck, achieved, I am told, by changing needle sizes three times. It's in garter and very, very warm and cozy. The belt is around the top of my hips, for reference. It's a lovely loose sweater, perfect for cuddling up in.

I did a clog christmas really. Just not on purpose. I started with a pair for my husband -- with some adaptations just for him. Picy tomorrow or so. Then due to a complete lack of inspiration I did a pair for my father in law. While I was getting this last completed I found that my father was literally wearing the pair I made for him last year out. So . . . I made him a pair. I should probably work at least one pair in the next few months. Because, I can tell you, I was beginning to hate clogs very much by late October. :) Which is when they were all done.

At the shop I'm working on an afghan I've been working on for literally years. Why aren't I done? Haven't worked on it much. :) Here's a piccy of what I have done so far:

I hope to get at least one more repeat done and then the bottom. I'm not sure what I will do for a border, other than I want one. I may do shell just because I have such a hard time remembering it. I'm really NOT that good at crochet. Be kind. :)

I won't post another pic of this kiddo until it's done. :)

Happy Holidays for the last week of the year!

~Briony

Reworked, and finished, another snood

Well, I won't be finishing anything at the shop today, but I did remember a snood I'd been working on at home and hadn't quite finished up yet. So here ya go, tail worked in but not clipped, elastic beginning to be worked in.
I crocheted this using, oh, a G?, with Cascade's Copa (the yarn formally known as Fiesta). It's 100% rayon, very shiny, very, very smooth. Can be fun to work in ends. (Sarcasm.) But, it's fantastic! I have solid singles on the bottom so my hair won't work out compleltely, with clusters and stuff in the center 4 inches. The top front is your standard sc, ch2, sc in next space kind of stuff. I'll try to post a picy of me wearing the thing too. :)

~Briony

Socks are Done!

The days are passing, the days are darker, today is all lovely and rainy and I've finished a pair of worsted weight socks for myself. YEA! :)
Aren't they cool? Well, I love 'em . They're from Schaeffer's Lola yarn. So soft -- and I mean soft. Like creamy soft. Like cuddle up with forever soft. The heels and toes are Filatura de Crossa's Zarella. Another really soft yarn -- cushy as all get out too. Love it!

I knit them, both at once, on a size 2 Addi Turbo, 60" long circular. Can you believe it? And that was just to get 6 sts/inch. If I start knitting any looser I'll have to start making my own needles out of piano wire. I'm wearing as soon as I wash 'em!





And here! Here we have something very special -- although not as unusal as you might think in the knitting world. What I am talking about is a lovely customer -- friend -- who knit two excellent bags out of these two Cascade 220 Tweeds -- and then knit up swatches for us to felt and post. On top of each is a tassel to show off the color prefelting. Knitters are the best. Thanks, and hats off to Lois!!




I'm off for now, boys and girls so a Happy Holidays again! Unless I finish something tomorrow. Highly unlikely. I'm about to start another pair of worsted weight socks (my feet are cold) and then bring in a blanket I've been crocheting for ages. I'm NOT a fast crocheter. Ah well.

~Briony

Okay. I promised and here it is -- Me in my very own hat made with these two very dry hands (when will I remember to use enough moisturizer?)
So here I am, in front of the shop.

I think it looks silly.

Everyone says it looks good to my face.

I still think it looks silly on me.

And yes, I wear it all day in the shop. I get cold. And I wore to do my grocery shopping last night.




Now here it was unwashed. On my dining room table.

Anyway, it is made of Cleckheaton Merino Supreme, 100% wool and delicious to knit with and it gets even softer after you wash it!

I hand washed it, got impatient and then tossed it in the dryer for 30 by itself (and then the pic of me was taken). So, I can safely state, that with this hat, the dryer did not do immediate harm.

That stated, it should have been left flat to dry.

I also made at least 2 mistakes. If you come in I'll be happy to show you where. I have an extremely bad habit of pointing out my errors. I may learn someday not to. I do however try not to take pictures of them :)

Happy Holidays all -- five days to go! Hehehe :) Sorry. Hohoho :)

~Briony

Holiday Season's Cheer

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy and Merry anything you happen to celebrate! Happy Holidays!

The most cheerful thing about the holidays is the satisfaction of getting everything done on time. Be it gifts, decorating or whatever.

Or, failing that -- as most of us do -- giving the recipient a promise of the finished object in a not too terribly distant future. Some do this with a card -- with maybe a photo of the item in progress. Or the thing, on needles (or hook) in box which is then promptly snatched back. I also like getting cards out -- even if it is in mid February (although mine did get out on time this year). I did flail on getting lights out at home though. I have decided, after much thought, to blame my cats :) I think using them as a scapegoat is brilliant because they don't read this blog and can't defend themselves -- even if they could type. You see, they destroyed part of my fiber optic christmas tree last year. They are apparently trying to finish the job this year. So my husband and I decided against ornaments. And there is something mildly disheartening about a fiber optic tree, all the lower branches hanging limp and broken with no ornaments. So, we did not buy the hooks to attach on our front roof eaves until late and naturally, that meant lights didn't go up. They are sitting on a chair in my library. In the same tangle they were in when my father helped me take them down and dumped 'em in a pile in my shed outside.

The next most cheerful thing is food. Lots of good smelling food. Hopefully good tasting as well.

Then family. Family is great, but sometimes, for some families, they are much better long distance :-)

Having been married for just under a year, I get my first Christmas with both my parents and my new inlaws. It should be a blast. Especially since I'm not hosting and I can sit around, knit, talk and have fun while not looking at clocks and sweating in the kitchen. Afterall, I did that for Thanksgiving!

And just what have I been knitting? Socks, naturally. Off and on. I've found that worsted weight wool socks fit inside my Danskos just fine and nearly keep my frozen footsies warm. Fingering weight tries very hard, but doesn't seem to work quite so well in the colder months. I still love 'em in Fall, Spring and Summer. Well, the week and half that are Spring and Fall around here. Assuming they last that long.

The latest finished project is on my head. It's a hat. And yes, it looks better on this model than it looks on me :)

Edit from 12/21/06: Not sure if I made it clear -- this pic is from www.fibertrends.com and is their picture of the Swirls Hat. It's a great picture too, isn't?

This is going to be our class for the end of January. It's a Fiber Trends pattern -- Swirls Hat. It was so much fun to knit! Anyway, I plan on going over Fair Isle tips and techniques, and the really cool looking braids -- they're created by purling and handling the yarns differently on two rows. Very, very fun.

She still looks better than I do, though.

I'll post a pic of me wearing the thing (I should really get paid more for this kind of thing -- mass humiliation and all) when the camera comes back from wherever it is at the moment.

I did use the same colors, though. I loved 'em too much. I don't generally ever use the same colors. I think the holidays are getting to me.

What else have I been working on? Well, I finished up a cute felted bag for a class later this month. And an Entralac Purse which was for another class. And a pair or two of socks. Then gifts, naturally which I will not go into here.

I think the most annoying thing about Holidays is that even if you are all set, planned, decorated whatever, something always comes up that needs to be scrambled about. A sudden gift exchange. People suddenly appearing and needing food or gifts. The ambient stress in the air that can make even the calm people tired and irritable.

So here's to everyone having Good Holiday Times. With decreased stress. With finished projects. With good fiber, food, family and friends.
~Briony

Baby Bear

This is September's Class. Baby Bears. VERY cute. Very quick. I knit up the back, and finished the top of the front in about 2 and a half hours -- including lots of getting up time. I figure six hours should take care of this guy with ease. A great present (hint, hint). Work on it during your favorite show each night and bam! You've got a bear in a week. Not bad.


Well, here was the little guy before felting next to a Lantern Moon Sheep Tape Measure for scale. He's made out of a single strand of Arucana Nature Wool -- he took rather less than a full skein. His front was mostly done by Chrisanne who moved onto newer projects, and Briony finished him up. He was knit on 10 1/2 needles -- Chrisanne used Plymouth bamboo straights and Briony promptly switched over to the same size circular Addi Turbos -- because that's the circular she had in that size. I (Briony) will not use straights if I can avoid them -- they simply make my wrists hurt. I admire those who can used them with proficiency.


Here he is felted next to the same tape measure.
He felted fairly quick -- 15 minutes in my 40 year old Maytag. It took me nearly an hour to sew on his eyes and nose out of DMC 5 Pearl Cotton but that is because I do not sew well. He is stuffed by left over acrylic yarn -- because I have lots of yarn around and no polyester fiberfill. Perhaps an error, but it works well so far.







And finally, here he is next to the register at the Shoppe. His paws will be untied when he's all done drying.

Come visit him during our SALE or during the class -- the week of Sept. 19th. See our Newsletter on our website for details.


Have a great day!

Happy Heel

I am so happy. I either have a very kind and accomadating spouse, or my fudges worked just fine on the socks. Or perhaps both.

I have finished the gusset increases today, and am in the process of turning the heel.
Here is the heel in process. The rubberbands help to tell me when to turn to short row a la Crazy Toes and Heels (http://www.queenkahuna-creations.com/).







I do a slipstitch heel as well as adding reinforcement -- my DH and I both wear out toes and heels, so I reinforce them. These had Skacel's darning thread incorporated. I used black. The toes used a purple thread that I can't find more of.






This is by far my favorite way to do socks. I do both at once, toe up and use lots of rubberbands. ;) I also have two long strands of dental floss here -- just before I began the heel. This is because, eventually, after many, many times I have learned a lesson. If I knit socks for someone else (read DH), I will make the foot too short. Or the heel will turn out odd and wonky. Or I will suddenly remember I forgot the reinforcement. I've also learned to put a safety pin or a large locking stitch marker in the cable loop on the sock that isn't being worked on. A friend and customer taught me this one. It's fantastically brilliant. Otherwise, I tend to concentrate so much on one sock that I ignore the other when I turn the heel only to find that the "magic" loop for the other sock has magically disappeared. Vanished. No trace. Lots of cursing. Lots of counting. Precious heel turning minutes lost. :)

And here is the heel successfully turned, and it fits his foot! Yea! And the heel looks like a cuff down sock. Way cool. :)Now, for the second one! :)

And then . . . the cuff. And decision time on what lace pattern in which to work it. Hmmm. . .

Don't ever assume

Just when I think I've got something down -- really down -- to the point where I can pick up needles, and just start knitting something hits me between the eyes.  I am humbled.  I get that nice ice pick feeling in the stomach.  Ah yes.  The feeling of . . . I've just made a mistake.

 

And this happened this very day.  Why?  Because when I picked up my DH's sock on Sunday, I didn't check my stitches.  I didn't count them.  I didn't make sure that for whatever incredibly bizarre reason I hadn't moved stitches around so my front and backs were uneven.  I assumed all was well.  And as we all know, assumptions are very, very, VERY bad to make. 

 

So those 3 odd inches I did over the weekend and the other inch or so I've done since?  Hell -- the whole blasted sock -- does it need to be rrriiipppped?  Don't know.  DH gets to try socks on today, though.  Then I'll know.

 

And I'll sure as blazes remember to check what I'm doing before I pick up a project I'd last laid down several months ago.  I hope.

Yarn Shoppe June/July Newsletter

Yarn Shoppe Newsletter June/July 2006
1374 Myers St.
Oroville, Ca. 95965
Phone: (530) 532-4331
Fax: (530)532-4331
yarnshoppe@sbcglobal.net
http://www.yarnshoppe.net/
http://yarnshoppe.blogspot.com/
T-F: 10-5:30. Sat: 10-5

Welcome to Yarn Shoppe’s Newsletter! Within you shall find advance notice of items about to hit the Sales Baskets, and news about new patterns, classes and other assorted goodies.

Can you find the SALE Yarn of the Moment? It moves about rather randomly. Kimono Ribbon is it at the moment. Gorgeous, gorgeous. Wonderful for accents, light weight scarves, or sweaters -- all with beautiful drape. Good colors too.

STORE WIDE SALE
in honor of Independence Day! That’s right! On Saturday, July 1st, for one day only, we’re having a 20% everything in stock (excluding sale basket -- which remains priced as marked). Not good with any other offer -- i.e. pick one -- 20% whatever you buy, or use the coupon in the Great Values magazine.

Remember, we’re CLOSED to honor Independence Day on Tuesday July 4th

What’s new?
Ok, we said it before. But, while we risk boring repetition, this is very, very important!
This is the time to start thinking about beginning your Holiday Knitting -- before it’s too late -- like a dozen gifts with one month to go!! Plan it out now. Who do you want to knit for? What should they get? Next, we’ve got a few new patterns from Heartstrings Fiber Arts -- two fantastic shawls and a great pattern for scarves, plus an interesting hat/fingerless mitt combination and a pattern for a polo dickey. The Bobble Lace Flowers is just calling to me!

We’ve also gotten in some new colors of Butterfly 10 super cotton -- by S.R. Kertzer. This is a fantastic mercerized cotton. Between this and Tahki’s Cotton Classic, and King Tut you’ve got mercerized cottons covered! Come in and color gaze. There is a summer tank or shrug calling out to you!

July Class: Basic Tank
This class is separated in Three parts.

Thursday Class: July 20th, July 27th, Aug 3rd from 2-4 pm

Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) July 22nd, July 29th, Aug 5th from 10-12.

**Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: Familiarity with knitting, and purling.
You need: Pattern, yarn, needles.

Picture from www.fibertrends.com

Make a tank top for summer! Learn the basics of shaping and following a pattern. This is a good first sweater project and a great pattern to knit up for the summer! The first session will get you going with a few tricks of our own. The second class will get the shaping going. The third, will start with piecing the top together and get the edging underway.


August Class: Lace Leaves Scarves

This class is separated in Two parts.

Thursday Class: Aug 24th, Aug 31st from 2-4 pm

Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) Aug 26th , Sept 2nd from 10-12. **Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: Familiarity with knitting, and purling.
You need: Pattern, yarn, needles.

Images from http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com

Heartstrings Fiber Art’s Lace Leaves Scarves are a great introduction to lace knitting and chart reading (pattern does include written directions). We recommend using Schaeffer’s Anne, which is a gorgeous hand dyed super wash yarn. Every skein is unique which means you’ve got a unique scarf! Actually, since you can make both scarves on the pattern with one skein -- TWO unique scarves! Don’t want both? Well, keep one and give the second as a gift!

Do you have a suggestion or wish to have a certain class? Let us know!

Knit togethers! As always, Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm are our Knit togethers, where people of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to come together and knit or crochet while socializing. We hope to see you there!

Birthdays! Did you know that if you come in on your Birthday you get 10% off? It’s our way of celebrating the day with you.

If you would like to receive this newsletter by mail, the subscription is $5.00/12 issues, which is really just covering postage. We aim for about an issue a month. Let us know in the Yarn Shoppe, and we’ll add you to that list.

Copyright: Please respect copyrights. Respect the hard work of others. Check out http://www.geocities.com/jbtocker/copyright/index.html for easy to understand, clear information about copyrights.

Post Father's Day Ramblings -- Briony

The interesting thing when you go from single to not-single is the sudden increase of the number of balls you have to keep in the air and juggle sucessfully. This goes includes the realization that the one you love might not want to eat mouse size portions of one meal all week. You might have to menu plan with a bit more variety. Then you go through household supplies at what seems an extremely rapid rate -- surely more than twice as fast? And then -- once you've begun to get those down . . . the holidays start hitting you.

Once upon a time, before My Love, I had exactly two people to knit for (excluding myself) -- my parents. And exactly one variation on the holiday theme -- my house or theirs? I had recently lost the last of my grandparents, begun what would end as a painful fission with one friend, and the old friends from high school were rarely seen, and infrequently knit for. Now I've got in-laws -- a whole new group! Happily I was informed early on that only my new father in law would appreciate anything hand made -- besides my DH, naturally. Well that saves months of agony and bitter disappointment, doesn't it?

So when Father's day approached, instead of smuggly knowing I had everything covered, I didn't. Mostly because of my aching hands -- which nixed any hand knit items. Panic. Severe. What in blazes did I used to do before I knit?? Cook? Well, that covered one -- and purchased chocolates covered the other. Phew! But -- how to arrange the celebrations?

Saturday night, after work, my DH and I took my parents out to dinner at the restaurant of my dad's choosing -- and he also got the chocolates. Sunday morning, at 6 am (we got to sleep in an additional 30 min longer than usual) had us blearily up and feeding our critters. By 7:15 we were on the road. Until 10:30. During which time we listened to the 2,500 someodd songs I've got on our iPod (shuffle mode meant alot of skipping -- classical and opera don't always help to keep the eyes open), and I knit. I also knit while we were at his dad's house and I got deluged by new faces and names. Most of which I actually recall. Rare for me.


Anyway, I got about 3.5 inches done on my DH's socks. They're in fingering weight -- Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock color way Amish, I believe. I'm doing them both on one long size 0 Addi Turbo -- which is 60" long. My favorite way to do socks. Eric -- my DH-- actually prefers worsted weight, but I want him to be sure, so am knitting him a finer weight pair to compare. I may be shooting myselft in the foot (not intentional pun)-- you should never argue when someone prefers worsted weight to fingering if you give socks as gifts. ;)



At the Shoppe I am periodically working with crochet to give my arms and hands some different movements. This, believe it or not, will be a sweater someday. I hope. Anyway, it's in Fiesta Yarn's Rayon Boucle. Colorway is Amazon. A bit brighter than what I normally wear. Ahem. But it was originally a shawl that had enough errors (early in knitter career project) that I couldn't bear it and had to rip it all out.




And for those of you who have been in the Shoppe recently -- or read the last blog post -- I finished the Trifold Knitting bowl and felted it yesterday. Ta Da!! Here it is before felting -- finished it Saturday.



Here it is felted on my deck drying in the sun.
Here is my dog Sorcha who is refusing to be photogenic. Does my shadow look irritated?



Here it is in place on the Yarn Shoppe's table. The pens are in the center -- designed really to hold yarn. The pockets have all the Shoppe Tools -- stitch gauges, crochet hooks, scissors, tape measures, calculators, sticky notes, darning needles, stitch markers etc -- and on either side sit notepads and coasters. Don't you want to come by and knit with us? We'd love to have you!



Here are the Irish Wolfhounds, Kiera and Konan who love to "help" around my parents' house and who visit upon occassion at the Shoppe. They're the sweetest creatures on earth, but shed nicely. Too bad we aren't into spinning dog hair.

And what is Chrisanne doing? Not petting Pippen at the moment -- hence his looking at her. She's doing . . . Socks! Yup. Didn't guess did you? ;) She's playing with a new lace pattern. Will she be farther alone tomorrow? Will she keep working on it? Or will it be rrriiiiippppeeedddd out or neglected for a newer, sexier project? Keep tuned to find out! Ah, what a pest I can be with a camera!

Trifold Knitter's Bowl

Well~ Where have I been? I know, I've more excuses than a knitter has stash -- but, this one's another good one! Honest! I did myself an injury. Yup. I did exactly what I tell everyone not to do. I worked several large projects in a row -- on a single needle size and didn't incorporate any crochet to break it up. Let's just say I was not a happy camper for two weeks when I forced myself to go cold turkey and didn't pick up a knitting needle or crochet hook at all! Well, not for longer than a few minutes each day to see if I could manage without pain. If I couldn't -- and I couldn't -- I'd stop and pout in a most adult fashion. ;) So! Then I started working very small amounts. And trying to avoid my arch nemesis -- size 10 1/2. Which is what I used to make two sweaters, a very long wide scarf, a blanket, two felted mobei etc. I've failed. I'm using it to make this really, really cool Trifold Knitter's Bowl which is in A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting by Cat Bordhi. It's gonna (assuming it works out ok) be feltd and then live on a lazy susan and be in the center of the table here at the Yarn Shoppe for all the Shoppe's tools and pens. Cool eh?






Here I am -- well, ok, the basket -- with the moebius completed. Yellow strands oh so attractively scattered inside are waste yarn ends. You can see ( I hope) the three twists that makes this a trifold moebius. Yup. Just ONE edge. Way cool.








Ok, so this is where I was by the time I came in to work Saturday. The yellow lines aren't decoration. They're waste stitches to hold the places for the six pockets that come in later. I'm using Araucania Nature Wool which is a gorgeous kettle dyed wool. Isn't it scrumptious? I carefully choose skeins that had maximum variation.







Now here I was before I went home for the weekend Saturday. This is about 2.5 hours of knitting time.








I did the pockets over Tuesday and Wednesday and just a shade into today (Thursday), as well as finishing the bowl part on Tuesday.

You can still see the moebius.














Ok, now I've got a petal done! It's one flap out of three that will sorta cover the bowl. I hope to finish the other two flaps today, but I'm knitting hard and fast -- another no-no as I can feel some pressure in my left elbow. But I will crochet tonight, and that makes it all good, right? :)










So that's all for now, folks! I'll try to post more often on projects. Especially when I finish this one and come up for air. No promises on gifts though. Those do be on secret, need to know basis only, me dears. Or, just come in the Shoppe!!

I got pics!

Ok, here are some pictures -- FINALLY. ;)
This first one is the moebius bag that I'm doing a class on this Month. This is the little guy NOT felted. It stays up *much* better once it's felted. Which is the second picture. Ah. The one on the left is Arucana Nature Wool doubled and the one to the right is knit up single strand. Both on size 10.5 Addi Turbo - 60". This is a great illustration, folks, about gauge. The one on left was done to gauge, the one on right not. :) We thought this would be a both a good demo for next month's gauge class and also to show how they feel different if knit single or double stranded and then felted. Either way, we love 'em both.















Now, here we have a sweater. The pics came out terrible. The one on the left is the full thing. It fits me, although it barely gets to my waist (I *swear* it did before I bound off!! argh). It has one fat cable down each sleeve and one down the center chest. The neck is a crochet shell all around. The wrists are a good 2.5 inches of k2p2 ribbing as is the bottom. It is out of Plymouth's Alpaca Boucle and I LOVE it. I wore nearly daily back when it was still cool. Ah, the fond memories of NOT sweating. ;) The second photo is a close up of a sleeve and the cable. I hope. The flash did as much good as not sadly. Let's face it. I'm not great at this picture stuff. :)







Now these lovely dears are the pair of socks I made for my man. They are mainly Lola, by Schaeffer yarns, which is hand dyed and each skein unique. The cuffs, heels and toes are Cascade 220 superwash black. The leg is a whopping 10" of k2p2. Do you remember I don't like ribbing? I don't, but my love does. Ah well. Anyway, I knit them both at the same time on my trusty size 2 Addi Turbo 60" using the Crazy Toes and Heels method -- my fav. :)








In addition, I finished, yes FINISHED the Cascade pearls sweater. And I got to wear for one day -- well, the car ride home from work -- and then it was too hot to wear again. Sigh. Finished it Friday. I'll get a pic up as soon as I, ahem, take one. ;)

More later, and until then HAPPY KNITTING and CROCHETING! Remember -- this is THE time to start Holiday gifts. You'll be sorry later if you don't start soon! We all remember previous years and they weren't pretty.


~Briony

Yarn Shoppe Newsletter May 2006

Welcome to Yarn Shoppe’s Newsletter! Within you shall find advance notice of items about to hit the Sales Baskets, and news about new patterns, classes and other assorted goodies.

Can you find the SALE Yarn of the Moment? It moves about rather randomly. At the moment I am typing, it is a great fashion yarn called Stars. It’s very soft, with a hint of sparkle, and an overall fun eyelash to add pizzazz to a garment, or to make entire garments.

What’s new?
We have a new super wash cashmere blend, Ksar by Bouton d‘Or, out on the shelves. It is SO yummy to work with. We also have a few new fashion yarns -- eyelashes with lots of sparkle or soft fun -- Wink and Hairy respectively, by Dark Horse. Then we have Marble by SR Kertzer, a variegated acrylic yarn great for babies, afghans, or the wool-allergic you love. There is also a great new cotton-blend tape, Papagena, which Chrisanne is knitting up into an awesome summer/spring sweater. And perhaps one or two more . . . But those you have to come in to learn about (like a really soft, really bulky baby yarn)!

We also have a few new books -- Pursenalities and Pursenalities Plus -- both of which just beg you to knit up a new bag. Then 220 Projects for Cascade 220 is a great idea book and is just what is says it is -- 220 projects for worsted weight yarn. This is sure to be a basic book in your knitting library.

In the accessory world, we are getting in a new knit check gauge, by Nancy’s Knit Knacks, a great plastic gauge that measures from 000 up to size 35!! And this is supposed to be an extremely accurate gauge.

This is the time to start thinking about beginning your Holiday Knitting -- before it’s too hot to think!! (Pippin will be getting something in Ksar -- but, hush, he doesn’t know about it yet.)



May Class: This class is separated in TWO parts, second of which is optional.
Thursday Class: May 25th, June 1st from 2-4 pm
Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) May 27th, June 3rd from 10-12. **Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: Familiarity with knitting, purling and circular needles
You need: Cat Bordhi’s A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting is a required text. Addi Turbo needles, 40-60” and a 16“, are highly recommended. Come in BEFORE the class to choose yarn and get gauge!

Moebius! Yes, Briony loves these things and is having a go at the magic Felted Moebius Baskets. Join her in exploring the fun of these one-sided wonders. The main trick to these darlings is the cast-on, and so that is what we will be focusing on. The rest is simple knitting. Therefore, the second class will be optional and available for those who want more help. You need to be comfortable with knitting, purling and circular needles.

This class has 2 parts, one of which is optional. Cat Bordhi’s A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting is a required text. Addi Turbo needles, 40-60” and a 16“, are highly recommended (although if you can do the “Magic Loop“ only one needle is needed).



Nancy’s Knit Knacks New Needle & Hook Gauge
Image from http://www.nancysknitknacks.com/

June Class Gauge and Adjusting Pattern Gauge! This class is FREE !!!

Thursday Class: June 22nd from 2-4 pm
Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) June 24th from 10-12. **Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: You need to be comfortable with knitting, purling.
You need: Needles, yarn. A completed swatch is very good. Better: several sizes of needles and weights of yarn!


Learn to figure out the mysteries of gauge. Learn to see if you are “on gauge”. Learn to achieve gauge. And . . . Learn to adjust pattern gauge so you can change yarn weights from those suggested in the pattern, or make a different size that those listed on the pattern. This is the main secret to sweaters that actually FIT! And remember . . . This class is FREE of charge!!!!

Do you have a suggestion or wish to have a certain class? Let us know!
Knit togethers! As always, Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm are our Knit togethers, where people of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to come together and knit or crochet while socializing. We hope to see you there!

Birthdays! Did you know that if you come in on your Birthday you get 10% off? It’s our way of celebrating the day with you.

If you would like to receive this newsletter by mail, the subscription is $5.00/12 issues, which is really just covering postage. We aim for about an issue a month. Let us know in the Yarn Shoppe, and we’ll add you to that list.

April 2006 Newsletter

Welcome to Yarn Shoppe’s Newsletter! Within you shall find advance notice of items about to hit the Sales Baskets, and news about new patterns, classes and other assorted goodies.

What’s new?
We have gotten a few skeins of the Lorna’s Laces Sport sock yarn--the color ways are Child’s Play and Confetti. If they are well received, we’ll get more of this slightly heavier weight of a wonderful sock yarn. (Chrisanne has been going slowly by the shelf with the Child’s Play on it…we all know what this portends….)

We’ve also put up a display of the Socka Reinforcement yarn. This is great for use in the heels and toes of those yarns which do not have reinforcement blended into the yarn already, such as Little Lola. It is also wonderful to add to the sock yarns that already contain nylon for those of us who literally wear through heels or toes like Briony does regularly.

April Class: This class is separated in THREE parts.
Thursday Class: April 20th, 27th, May 4th from 2-4 pm

Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) April 22nd, 29th, May 6th from 10-12. **Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: Familiarity with knitting and purling.

Come in early to choose yarn and get gauge.


SOCKS!!! Yes, Chrisanne has bowed to public pressure and is holding another class on socks on double pointed needles for beginners. So, if you can knit, and purl, come in and learn to knit the most comfortable pair of socks you have *ever* worn!! You’ll need to come in BEFORE the class to pick yarn and get your gauge determined (just so you don’t knit a whole sock, get to the toe and realize it will only fit either a 12” long foot or an infant). We have a variety of yarns that will work great for this project. Choose a self patterning, variegated, solid or striping fingering weight for those thinner dress socks that will give you hours of knitting joy, slightly fatter (and thus much faster) dk or sport weight yarn that can self pattern or not depending on your choice, or go for worsted weight yarn -- fast, warm, and options include solids, variegated or hand painted.



May Class: This class is separated in TWO parts, second of which is optional.

Thursday Class: May 25th, June 1st from 2-4 pm

Saturday Class (repeat of Thursdays) May 27th, June 3rd from 10-12. **Please note that our social Knit Togethers are from 2-5 and are not conducive to lesson time, and so class stops at noon.**

Prerequisites: Familiarity with knitting, purling and circular needles

You need: Cat Bordhi’s A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting is a required text. Addi Turbo needles, 40-60” and a 16“, are highly recommended. Come in BEFORE the class to choose yarn and get gauge!


Moebius! Yes, Briony loves these things and is having a go at the magic Felted Moebius Baskets. Join her in exploring the fun of these one-sided wonders. The main trick to these darlings is the cast-on, and so that is what we will be focusing on. The rest is simple knitting. Therefore, the second class will be optional and available for those who want more help. You need to be comfortable with knitting, purling and circular needles.
This class has 2 parts, one of which is optional. Cat Bordhi’s A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting is a required text. Addi Turbo needles, 40-60” and a 16“, are highly recommended. Come in BEFORE the class to choose yarn and get gauge!

Do you have a suggestion or wish to have a certain class? Let us know!
Knit togethers! As always, Saturday afternoons from 2-5pm are our Knit togethers, where people of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to come together and knit or crochet while socializing. We hope to see you there!
Birthdays! Did you know that if you come in on your Birthday you get 10% off? It’s our way of celebrating the day with you.
If you would like to receive this newsletter by mail, the subscription is $5.00/12 issues, which is really just covering postage. We aim for about an issue a month. Let us know in the Yarn Shoppe, and we’ll add you to that list.
Copyright: Please respect copyrights. Respect the hard work of others. Check out http://www.geocities.com/jbtocker/copyright/index.html for easy to understand, clear information about copyrights.

April Showers . . .

. . . Make me want to knit really heavy, warm cardigans. Not that I am knitting said heavy, warm cardigans. I just want to. And I am refraining for two very good reasons. First, I want to work on others things more, and Second . . . because I know I won't work on it at all when it hits 120 degrees in the shade.

I bet you all think I've been doing nothing lately. Well, I have actually *finished* (yes, as in completed, and done) a few projects. Namely, a pair of socks, a sweater, and a cardigan. And no, I don't have pictures. Can you guess why?? If you said because I don't have the camera, you win a virtual knitting star.

What I currently have on the needles include 3 pairs of socks (yes, well, can't have just one, can we? And besides, one pair isn't even for me!), a sweater that is supposed to be for the week of Spring I know we'll have just before I finish the thing, a tablecloth that might be done someday -- if I find nothing I'd rather work on, another table cloth-- the same one I've worked on since 2001 or there-abouts (think hundreds of small hand-sized units knit on size 0's) which is my purse project (ie project that lives in my purse), a gift and therefore must remain unknown and unmentioned -- except it must be mentioned for WIP (work in progess) credit , a shawl about to be rrrriiiiippppeeeedddd out because it now seems to scream "I wanna be a sweater!". Some linen blend that wants to be *Something* crocheted, but hasn't made up its mind. And a few others that have been stashed in a closet at home.

I have no theater knitting right now and that worries me. It usually means that I will suddenly go out to see a movie and have to stop by the shop to pick out yarn, needles and get it started, and to a point where I can knit without thought. Which means I "should" start something soon to be ready for said theater project. The only problem: Nothing is calling out to be said theater knitting project. Sigh.

Oddly enough, I have finally out-smarted my cats. I think. I have had no new knitting related disasters with any of my four-legged children. Don't get me wrong -- they have done plenty of other things but nothing knitting related. And no, I still haven't fixed the shawl disaster. The pain is still too fresh. ;)

I promise on a stack of "Knitting Without Tears" (by E. Zimmerman) that I *will* post photos of my FOs (finished objects) when (and if, mind) I get the camera back.

Happy Knitting (and Crocheting!!)
Briony