Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Hi Knitters!

Are these not the best little bugs ever? I know nothing about who made them but I know where I bought them. Madison is a relatively small city but, boy oh boy, do we ever have great locally owned shops with a big city feel. You can't find better local retail shops anywhere. These bugs, which are pot hangers, to hang from your pots, of course, were at a kind of new Madison gift boutique/floral shop called Gratitudes. Any time I am giving a non-knitted gift this is where I shop. The owner has a talented eye for the unusual and the unusually cute gifts. They have the best flower arrangements and plants, too. I love this shop. The bugs were only $2.99 a fruity-pop. I bought some up for Valentine gift add-ons. They look like summer and they make me smile.

Twinkle, twinkle little knits, how I wonder where you are (going to fit into my schedule). Twinkle's Big City Knits is absolutely fantastic. I could knit just about everything in here, okay not the full-length skirt, but most everything else. Wenlan Chia is a chunky, bulky knitwear designing genius, which is no small feat. It is difficult to make this gauge yarn look shapely and spirited in garments, and she does it with ease. Wenlan divides her book into sections titled downtown, resort, night on the town, shop the town, twinkle tips, twinkle techniques and the twinkle patterns. Wow, what a ride.

Living in a cold climate makes this book appealing for the warmth factor, but she includes many sleeveless vests, and tops that you could layer or wear alone in warmer temps. There are scarves and hats that are a definite must-knit! Wenlan is innovative in her design, the shapes are new and fresh, the details are divine. She uses her own yarn line throughout the book, which I haven't seen before, but she gives resources to find her yarns and instruction and suggestions on how to substitute different yarns. The Twinkle Handknit yarns are distributed by Classic Elite and I plan on trying some of them so I will let you know what I think! This small town girl will be making many big city knits. If you like chunky, bulky knits on big needles then this one is for you.
Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy days to share in my knitting adventures, I appreciate you all. I flat-out love knitters. As the mason-dixon ladies would say: Mwah!

And a couple of hugs, too.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

best, susie