Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!
Enjoy your family and friends and
may you find a moment to curl up and knit!
We will be back in the shop Wednesday at 10am...
just in case you get a gift card that is burning a whole in your pocket!

Take a Cable Break

Saturday morning will most likely be filled with some last minute running around. While you are out, stop by the shop and learn a thing or two!
Allison Snopek Barta, a Kenosha native, from "Irish Cable Knitting" (http://www.irishcableknitting.com/) will be at the shop from 11am until 2pm for a book signing and to demonstrate cable knitting!
A free cable needle will be included with the purchase of her book!

Learn how to cable and race home to work up a scarf for Christmas. There's still time...

NORO for your FEET!

6 colors of the NORO Sock Yarn is here! Stop in soon to get it while it lasts! (Kim already has 5 pairs started!)

Save the dates!

The new classes have been posted over on the shop's website. Go take a peak!

This is an example of an Aran Scarf that you can work on in the "Aran Scarf" class. Come in and try it on to get your creative juices flowing!

Thursday night is Ditch N' Stitch. Set aside 2 hours from all the holiday hoopla and join us!

The Little Boy That Loved Wool

Miss Jane walked into the shop last week with this on. The warm and wonderful vest from Sally Melville's "Knit Stitch". She used Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in such a beautiful shade of brown. Bravo, Jane!

Then there is Miss Carol who decided that everyone she knows and loves is getting felted clogs for Christmas. Some have already been shipped away and there are still some to be finished up but here's what she brought to the shop yesterday...
Stop in the shop and I will give your her phone number. Maybe you can do some nice things for her over the course of 2008 and get on her list for next year!

And yesterday, the 2 footer had the opportunity that most of us adults would love. To be covered in yarn. And, mind you, this isn't just any yarn....this is Jamieson's Aran Weight. The 2-ply spindrift arrived a month ago and was so wonderful that we ordered that heavier weight as well. 24 colors, knits up to between 4 and 5.5 sts. Jack picked out his colors for a possible quick sweater for Christmas. I told him I would stay up day and night to knit it if he used the toilet. I'm sure it will work...

Have a wonderful evening. Snow is in the forecast again tonight!

Snowy Evening Ramblings

With the onset of winter around here lately, the shop has been ravaged. Knitters come in in a hurry, fill their cheeks with yarn and scurry home to hide it somewhere for the winter.
I do love the summer but if it is going to get cold...then snow enough to make it worth while. For me, there is nothing better than sitting inside a warm home with a cup of coffee and knitting with not a place to be. This exact scenario is happening tonight.
If you too are stuck inside and are wondering what to knit, read about knitting or check online about knitting...here's some things to keep you busy...

1. http://www.ravelry.com/ If you aren't on already or signed up, sign up NOW! Take all the online searching for patterns, checking http://www.flickr.com/ for other people's finished projects and knitting forums, compile them in one spot and you have Ravelry. It isn't quite public yet but you can get on the waiting list and be wasting time shortly!

2. For goodness sake, read some EZ (Elizabeth Zimmermann) or better yet, check out one of here DVDs. Pick one of her books and you no longer will be a slave to patterns. Sometimes I overhear "But I'm afraid to". Wait a minute....You've had children, you undergone a root canal, don't tell me you are afraid of some yarn and needles. What's the worst that can happen? You have to rip it out? Be afraid of the Whooping Cough, Typhoid Fever or being hit by a bus, not knitting.

3. Knit something new. Haven't tried cables, whip one up. Add some to a scarf and see how it goes. If it works, you have something to wear with your new coat. If it doesn't, rip it out or give it to an annoying co-worker. Haven't tried working with more than one color before, give it a whirl. Try it on a hat. If it comes out too big or too small, give it to someone. There are always people who need one.

4. Start a knitting log of some sort. Jot down ideas for a new project, dates, clips of yarn with the tags, measurements of someone to knit for or a good book to check out. A great way to organize your thoughts.

5. Teach someone else to knit. Young, old, boy or girl. I feel forever indebted to my teacher and they will feel the same about you. A close friend who I helped start knitting recently said to me "Thanks. I'm happier, nicer to my kids and husband and feel a sense of accomplishment." How terrific that something so simple can mean so much, huh?

Enjoy your knitting. It has kept many sane, happy, creative and sober. Amazing what a little wool and needles can do...