I should never be left alone

in the Shop...I came in very early the other day to catch up on everything I missed while I was on vacation. I should have known with Sister Kay and Shop Daughter in charge that there would be nothing to do. Sorry baby Cory, but Sister Kay is Employee of the Month for March. I don't think you'll mind since you're Employee of the Month every other month. Kay had a wonderful time visiting with all of my wonderful knitting friends!

On this first day back from vacation, however, I was alone in the Shop and I took a long tour of my knitting books and fondled all of the yarn that came in while I was gone and the other new Spring yarn that came in when I didn't have time to play with it. And, if I can sum it up simply...I really have great taste in yarn!

A new shipment of Classic Elite Spring yarns came in. Now, I've not had Classic Elite before, but I decided to look into it because our beloved Pam Allen left Interweave to become the Creative Director for Classic Elite some time ago. And, she has once again made her mark. The designs are beautiful and so are the yarns! Check these out...

Soft Linen - this yarn is an alpaca, wool, linen blend that knits up at 5 1/2 stitches to the inch. Isn't this a beautiful hoodie?


Sundance: This light worsted cotton/microfiber blend feels wonderful and the colors are rich and vibrant.


Summer Sox: I couldn't order from a new yarn company without ordering a sock yarn and Summer Sox is a beauty. It's a merino/cotton/nylon blend and comes in solid and variegated colors.


Sprout: This is a chunky weight 100% organic cotton yarn that is as soft as it is beautiful. It's one of the first chunky weight cottons I've seen that isn't a thick and thin. Check out this pretty little number:


There are so many things I want to make!

In knitting news...our amazing, beautiful, heirloom Great American Aran Afghan is done! You may remember that I designed a signature square. Just back from the embroiderer; here are a few samples:


Every artist should sign their work and they look beautiful, don't you think? I have a new afghan project in mind so if you are interested, stop by and I'll show it to you.

Our baby sweater class went great and here's Molly's. She worked so hard to have it done for the baby's shower.


I didn't get in as much knitting as I wanted on my vacation, but I did manage at last to almost finish the Medallion Tunic. All I have left is to sew in one sleeve and the side seams!


And last but certainly not least...it's almost Peep Fondue time! If you missed last year, you can read all about it here. I'll let everyone know the date soon.

Going, Going, Gone

not yet...but I'm going on vacation and I leave Friday! I'm very excited, but I know what goes on around here when I leave. There's always wild parties, totally unauthorized sales, and more shenanigans than I care to think about. This time, the wonderful Sister Kay is watching the Shop so I'm sure this will open the door to all kinds of new trouble.

I will be closing the Shop at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13 so I can catch a plane to Florida. Then I'm cruising! Cruising to sunny places. The always dreaded bathing suit dilemma has been solved; geez, I hate bathing suits. And, I believe I've solved the what shall I bring to knit dilemma.

I'm proud to say that the lovely Medallion Tunic will be done very, very shortly. My goal is to put it together on the boat and wear it! I thought bringing something easy to knit would be a good idea so I've decided on this...

It's from the new Sublime Organic Cotton book and I love it! I'm going to knit it using Debbie Bliss Prima which is a new yarn made from bamboo and merino. It's going to be gorgeous and should be fast since there are no sleeves!

I may even bring along an unfinished pair of socks.



or maybe not...

See you when I get back and I hope there's at least one canary out there who will tell me the truth about what went on while I was gone. Be sure to stop by and see Kay.

I Cut A Deal

Sadly, it wasn't a six figure book deal, but I cut a deal nonetheless. I've never been big on cutting deals, I've never had a corrupt political life to write about, and never have I cut a knitting deal.

But a knitting deal I did cut. If you read last week's blog, you know I've been having terrible trouble knitting the 4 rows required for my beautiful Santa Fe Wrap. I used markers (something I rarely do), I counted rows, I made every attempt to focus, but that darn shadow knitting made me crazy! I'd knit an inch, rip a half an inch, knit an inch, rip a half an inch. I'm sure you get the picture.

After much fuss and bother, I did manage to get 14 inches of panel one done. We all met last week for our Santa Fe Wrap Knit Along and I'm trying to knit the remainder of my panel. My friend Pat is knitting away on her second or third panel, I can't remember which, and she suddenly starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.
"You're using markers! I've never seen you use markers."
"I know," I said, "I can't seem to count to 8."
"These panels are the easiest thing to knit! What's your problem?"
"I don't know; I can't seem to count to 8."

I started to rip for the umpteenth time when a little light bulb went off in my head.

"Hey Pat! Wanna knit my panels?"
"You're kidding me, right," she said.
"Not really," I said shamefully, "I can't seem to count to 8."
"Okay, " she said. "Do you want them to be 27" long like the pattern or 30" long like I'm making mine?"

I couldn't believe my ears! This crazy woman was going to knit 3 1/2 30" shadow knit panels for me!

"What do you want me to knit for you?"
"You have to knit the heel flaps, turn the heels, and complete the gussets on 2 pairs of socks."
"That's it?" I asked suspiciously.
"That's it," she said.
"Deal. Don't you want me to knit the feet?"
"Nope, just the heels."

Friday rolls around again and in walks Pat...



That's right, wearing her Santa Fe Wrap! And mine is just about done too!

Feeling unbelievable guilty, I insisted that I complete one of the pair of socks, not just the heels. Pat graciously agreed.

Now, I'm sure the irony isn't lost on any of you. I've knit lots of socks...but I've rarely knit the second sock. Here is probably a once in a lifetime look at a completed pair of socks, knit by me, from the heel flap to the toe. The Malabrigo sock yarn is gorgeous by the way. If only these lovely socks were for me.


Thank you Pat! You are a knitting machine.