The Knaughty Knitter

This is amazingly beautiful sock yarn...

from Rio de la Plata .  I have been waiting for several months for it to get here and they say they can't keep producing it so this may be all there is.   

And I just got notice from the Ashford folks that prices are going up by 5% on September 15th.  If you were planning to order that wheel or other Ashford stuff....now might be a good time.  The Knitter's Loom does not appear to be going up, but they have come up with a stand for it and also a wider - 20" - version (still portable and available with the bag, but it would seem to be less so).

And there was a small shipment from Aurora that brought in some new colors of Merino Kind and New Lace Weight Merino....I love lace....

We are going to be closed on Monday for Labor Day.

"Designer noun:  The person who thought up (in his or her warped little brain) the sweater you now covet and who made up the model, wrote out the pattern, and now claims you can get the exact same result. Genius or Spawn of Satan? Your opinion of a particular designer will often rest on how difficult to follow you find his or her patterns. Do they read easily and have math that works out? Does the garment you end up with bear more than a passing resemblance to the photo? Genius!  Are there 1500 pages of errata, a gauge achievable only in the atmosphere of Venus on alternate Wednesdays, and a pattern that only comes written for a petite/small?  Spawn of Satan."   This is an excerpt from the new book The Secret Language of Knitters that came in yesterday.  There are some fun new books in other words...........and you can learn to be your own designer and not the spawn of satan in this Saturday's Design a Sweater class. 

There was lots of spinning going on all weekend at the store.   Such pretty yarns come out of everyone's wheel.  Carole was learning to spin on Saturday and she may become addicted.  Some folks had their electric spinners too.  They are very fast.  I had momentary longings for one but went home and spun on my little Ashford Traditional and got over it.  I really like the process of spinning and I know from experience I will lose that and it'll become all about production.  I love just sitting and spinning and watching the pretty colors wind onto the bobbin.  I can make it fly too - plying can be very fast - Trust me when I say I don't absolutely NEED more handspun yarn - WANT IT - always....of course.  But I think that it would be dangerous to my health to spin that fast - I would walk in my yarn room one morning and be lost forever amid the yarns - Not a bad way to go, but still.

KFI is hard to resist..

And the Thursday morning knitting group talked me into some more of their yarns (They are the ones who distribute Noro and Auracania and other luscious things) ...I have to blame somebody..... So some of that arrived yesterday...Actually the UPS guy had to make two trips with his dolly.... There's a lot.  I have not got it all out yet but here's the Auracania sock yarn and the Namaste bags.  And there's new colors of Ultra Alpaca and Atacama Alpaca.  It is slow work with the finger and all.  Namaste has these great Vinyl bags and needles binders.  I just love 'em.

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Folk Style

So the UPS guy has been here...delivered some new colors of Blue Sky Cotton - yummmm! and This Dangerous Book...

All those folk style books are dangerous....and the new Knitter's too

The finger feels better, UPS makes you forget, and so do the pain drugs.....No word yet whether it is broken. ...still very swollen and an awesome shade of blue though.  But Doyle said last night he didn't think I could knit any lace with it like that.  HAH! I can too!  Almost through clue 6 and not much left after that.

Sally finished her afghan out of Love It, and I love it.  Her daughter will too.

   

Meredith's Rant on Not Paying Attention....

It is one of those things that drive me up the wall....not paying attention really can be a huge problem.    For instance...I wasn't paying attention this morning when I smashed my finger in my car door and now I am not sure how long it will be before I can knit lace - and finish the mystery stole.  Knitting with big yarn may work okay, but I think lace is out of the question for a few days.....Okay it is only a short rant....most of what I want to say about it is not printable....OUCH!!! will have to suffice.  Maybe the UPS guy will come today - that would help the pain wouldn't it?

Oh I know...there is this....There is a beginning lace class Saturday.  I will be knitting for that no matter what and can still teach it.  It'll be good.  We'll be making a great little shawl - using sport weight yarn.....This is your chance to start making great lace, get used to reading charts and patterns, and well, probably learn how to tink too.....Because with lace you have to pay attention at first. (like how I made that fit in the theme?, tee hee)

Baby Surprise Jacket

Last night in group I heard murmurings about the baby surprise jacket that has seen a resurgence lately.  It was originally in Elizabeth Zimmerman's The Opinionated Knitter (which I am ordering Monday).  But.....there is a similar thing by Meg Swanson in the Spring/Summer 07 Vogue.  She made it a kimono front but it is not hard to change back I think.  There are plenty of pictures and other folks notes on the jacket ifyou google it.  Just thought you'd like to know...I am now going to start one for the new little guy in my life.

I'm baack again...

for the moment.  I'll be in and out today and tomorrow (because I can, cause the other folks who work are are so wonderful).  I just got word today that a couple of nifty boxes of things are being shipped....surprises are in store.....

Just call me an enabler...

There's new Schaefer....lace weight silk, chunky alpaca/wool, Anne sock yarn, Miss Priss.....There is also a small bit of hand dyed lace weight merino from Aurora Yarns.....

Look at AlpacaBear's new hat

He's so cute in the new hat Stacie made him out of Noro Tidiori.  That's one of those yarns that has been here and not been noticed but it is pretty cool stuff.  Thank you Stacie.