Salt and Pears

Hi Knitters,
Oooooh, what could be better than a beautiful green pear in the fall? A pear covered in a sweet knitted cozy, of course!

I bought the most spectacular big pears at the market a couple of days ago and while we were waiting for them to ripen up I started thinking of a pear fruit cozy. This is not my original idea to cover fresh fruit in knitting but I just think it is so cute. The thing I didn't like about the cozies I had previously seen for apples and pears is that they all had a button and loop. I thought to myself, I don't even like to button things for clothing that much, why bother with a button on this fun item. I know, once again, it's a little strange, but that's really how it goes in my head.
I started thinking about socks and how stretchy socks need to be to fit over your heel and ankle and then still fit snuggly around your leg. Why certainly there is a correlation here with the large bottom portion of the pear and the smaller top. A little ribbing should do the trick!

This way you don't need all of that fidgeting around with a button loop and sewing. This design keeps the fruit snug and protected and best of all it slides on and off easily with little effort. I think I've got it, the perfect pear cozy.

The other great thing is that it is a cute and quick way to use up that leftover sock yarn sitting in my studio. This is a definite gift item to add to my list of quick knits. The bottom is even cute. The yarn is Sereknity sport weight in the watermelon colorway. I knitted on US size 5 dpns. I added the picot edge as I did the bind off to add a frilly touch. Quick, funny and cute all in one project to go!

Happy Halloween to everyone. My sister and brother and kids will be over at my house tonight for an early pizza dinner and trick or treating adventures, can't wait. I hope you all have a fun and safe night if you partake.

I want to be sure to let you know where I'll be over the next couple of days. So here is the update:

Salt Lake City, Utah here I come, catch me if you can!

Friday, November 2nd:

11:00am live tv on Studio 5 HD

4:00pm interview and photoshoot

Deseret News

7-8:30pm Itty-Bitty Workshop

The Wool Cabin

2020 E. 3300 S.

SLC

Contact: Suzette Cannon 801-910-2703 for information

Saturday, Nov. 3rd:

11:00am-1:00pm

The Wool Cabin

book signing and trunk show

Contact: Suzette Cannon (see above) for information

I am so excited to see everyone at the Wool Cabin. Please pop by if you are in the area, I'd love to meet you. Thank you Suzette for arranging this wonderful trip with my publisher.

Natalie of smallandcheery, from Salt Lake, if you are reading this, I would love to do an interview with you. I couldn't find your blog and your email didn't come through on the comment from yesterday. Please get in touch with me today at my email which is on my profile page or leave another comment with your email and I won't post it. I didn't want you to think I wasn't interested so you got your own paragraph here!

Happy Halloween.

best, susie

Repeat Knitting

Hi Knitters,
I think I have briefly referred to my ability to love something so much that I have no problem repeating whatever that may be. For example, I know I have previously talked about my reading habits growing up. I would get a book and read it over and over and over. A couple of my favorites to re-read included Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh, Mandy and there was some book about a raccoon/pet that I read many times, can't remember the title. There were many more books that fell into this category. I know, a little strange, right?

The same thing goes for shoes that I really enjoy. I will go and get several pairs of the same style in different colors. This has happened mainly with Dansko clogs but others, too. I am thinking I do this with pants and jeans on occasion. I have no shame about it.

As far as knitting goes the same thing holds true. If I love a pattern I have that same shameless ability to knit that same thing again and again and I still get a lot of joy out of the experience.

Here is one example of that. See that blue sweater above?
Well, here it is again. Same pattern, same yarn, different colorway. This is one of my favorite sweaters ever. The photo directly above is the first sweater I knitted from this pattern. The yarn is Colinette Point Five in the Toscana colorway.

The second version, in blue, I knitted about a year or two after the first. The yarn is again Colinette Point Five. I am not sure what that colorway is but it is beautiful and rich. This sweater has everything I value most in a good sweater. I love the big chunky yarn with the thick and thin texture. Ribbed sweaters are also a favorite feature. I added the turtleneck collar, the original pattern has a crew neck. I love a good turtleneck sweater. I usually wear these as fall outerwear or in the winter under a ski vest. These are two perfect sweaters in my eyes.

The pattern is in the Fall 2001 Interweave Knits issue. I keep all of my IK issues in magazine storage containers, not organized in order, that would be too easy. They are just jumbled all together. I can't even count the number of times I have gone back to old issues over the years. This magazine is truly genius. Most of the patterns will never go out of style. I have page after page marked in every issue.

When I pulled this 2001 issue out I glanced through it again and I think there are at least 5 other patterns I would knit in a second. There are fantastic designs by Ann Budd who has a bobble scarf that I am for sure doing at some point, Mari Lynn Patrick, Nancy Bush, and one of the most beautiful child sweaters, called Caramel Denim, by the talented Fiona Ellis. Just the name of that one draws you in. There are sock patterns by Melanie Falick, Ann Budd, Debbie New and Adina Klein. Talk about heavy hitters! It is a great issue.

You can see all of my tabs sticking out of the top. I love seeing the chicken scratches and notes I leave on the patterns in books and magazines. When I read them again it takes me right back to when I was knitting the pattern.

The pattern is called Toscana after the colorway I am guessing, but inspired by the beautiful Tuscan landscape, the designer states. The designer's name is very fitting, Colinette Sansbury, what other yarn could she use? The sweater only takes a couple of days to knit, so fast and easy. I made mine in the smallest size which is a 38.5-inch bust. It took 7 skeins of Point Five on US size 17 needles.

Toscana is one of the best patterns ever. I would knit it again anytime, anywhere. It is so wearable. Have no shame in repeat knitting, I sure don't. Stand proud while you're wearing the same sweater several days a week!

best, susie

p.s. Just curious, does anyone else do this kind of thing?

4 Days, 4 Kids, 4 Pumpkins

Hi Knitters,
My kids were off of school last Thursday and Friday which meant we had a long weekend together. My husband was out of town on business for a couple of those days. There was not much time for blogging, knitting or anything else concerning work for me these last few days.

We finally picked up some pumpkins at the market and carved them last evening. You know even though I miss having a baby or real little one around some things get a whole lot easier when everyone is a bit older. Pumpkin carving is definitely one of those things. The kids basically do the entire project on their own except my husband cut the lids out for the girls. The boys are completely on their own. We even got a grim reaper and a witch's brew scene this year. The pumpkin thing never gets old with me.
Yup, you guessed it, the one with the large knife is the grim reaper creator. Just look at that joy from the girls. So simple yet so fun!

We always collect the seeds in a big bowl and then bake them up with lots of extra salt. Pumpkin seeds are the best right out of the oven, still warm, after that they lose their appeal to me.

Those safe pumpkin carving tools are a great invention. It gives the kids so much freedom in their carving and relieves worry for parents. That is a good thing all around.

I did squeak in the start of my second yarntini pumpkin spice sock. I am telling you this start up is a bear but so well worth it. You have to plan a bit of time to cast on 187 stitches and then the first row requires a lot of counting stitches as you go. I love these socks and the pattern is so easy to memorize once you get going. Out of the 12 row repeat only 3 rows require an ssk, k2tog and a few yo's, and those 3 rows are all the same. The other rows in the 12 are knit or purl. It is super easy and quick. If you are looking for something a little different but yet easy this pattern is for you!

One more quick note, I picked up this Offhand Designs bag at Lakeside Fibers last weekend and boy do I love it! It is sturdy and soft and colorful. The top snaps open and stays that way and there are great pockets inside and out. The feet on the bottom of the bag are wonderful for keeping it clean because I am forever tossing my bags on the floor. The colorway I chose is very fall and winter, but they had more than several other designs at Lakeside if you are looking for something like this for you or as a gift.

Oh and check out this pattern. I am printing this one out right now! I will be making these next with more of my yarntini stash. Those stripes are wonderful.

Have a good Monday, knitters.

best, susie

Bravo Kaffe!

Hi Knitters,
Just a quick note today about these excellent socks I just finished. They are the Regia Kaffe Fassett socks I started a couple of weeks ago. I did a simple short ribbed sock.

I used a knit 3, purl 1 rib on size 2 dpns. This really is my favorite simple sock. The rib makes the sock hug your feet in just the right way. I made the cuff short, only 3 inches before starting the heel flap. These were an incredibly quick knit.

I love the yarn and the colors Kaffe selected. You know I love the mismatched stripes, that only makes me happier.

Bravo Kaffe!

best, susie

A Lamb, Some Acorns and a Pumpkin Patch

Hi Knitters,
Well, I whipped up this little guy last night with my needles and then sewed him up this morning. It is the toy lamb from the spectacular Debbie Bliss's Essential Baby book. It is an adorable design.The toy lamb is about 4 inches high and maybe 5-6 inches long, just the perfect size for little fingers. The yarn is Debbie's, of course, Astrkhan in ecru and Cathay in black, one of each. The Astrakhan provides the perfect woolly texture for the lamb's body with no extra effort. I used US size 5 needles.

Here is the lamb in pieces. You knit the head and the top of the body and legs in one piece, twisting the yarns as you change colors and casting on and off at the ends of the rows. The markers are placed as guides for the finishing at the end. Then there is a gusset for the underside of the body and legs. The ears are knit separately and stitched on at the end.

I hate to say this, I really do, but to be honest I didn't enjoy knitting or finishing this toy lamb. Although I truly love the finished toy lamb, the switching colors, the number of ends to deal with and the finishing at the end were simply not that fun to do.

As I become more deeply invested in knitted toy design I am becoming pickier about patterns and techniques. I just don't think it has to be that painful along the way. It was a tricky sew up and I just kept thinking of ways that this could have been so much easier. The body and head could have easily been knitted in one piece in the round, stuffed as you go along. The legs could have been knitted in the round and the one end used for sewing the leg to the body. Snip, snap, quick! No pain whatsoever! Now the thing is that many knitters don't like knitting in the round and using double-pointed needles. For them this pattern is perfect, to each her own. I just happen to prefer less seaming and quicker knitting.

I love the Astrakhan for the body and I am going to come up with my own sheep pattern very soon! I'll put my knitting where my mouth is and see if I can make it work. Debbie is forever my idol and I love, love, love her designs but as I get older in my knitting and designing I can see ways to make things meet my own preferences. That's the fun of it, I guess.

I made a few more of these Betz White acorns, can't get enough already. We even found some double headers to stuff with felt. I have been giving these away to my daughter's teachers, principal and librarian at her school. We wrap them up in cellophane bags and tie on some ribbon. It is too cute.

Here is my not so little gang at the Epplegarten. We did our annual pumpkin/apple picking last Sunday but we were met with a dismal selection of pumpkins to choose from. I don't know if it was the summer drought or the early fall floods that did the crop in but something went wrong. We could not find one decent pumpkin to bring home. Just look at the crop behind them, it's sad. Now we will have to go to the local market and buy some for our yard.

That's not quite as fun as picking it fresh but the apples, especially the honey crisps, were in great shape at the orchard. We picked an enormous bag of apples to bring home. I've already baked up a huge apple crisp and I'm planning on some homemade cinnamon apple sauce later this afternoon.

Have a good Tuesday!

best, susie

p.s. See my son in the white shirt? He put my nephew who is 10 and not shown in a wagon and and pushed him as fast as he could running down a hill at the orchard. There were a lot of people around, too. There were no injuries but my sister and I acted like we didn't even know them. Is that bad? We had a good laugh about that.

Beautiful Lakeside Fibers

Hi Knitters,
It is so funny when someone else has your camera and takes lots of pictures. In this case it was my daughter, she's eleven. She tagged along with me to the most beautiful knit shop anywhere in the world, Lakeside Fibers. I can't believe this shop is in my own city, Madison. We are so lucky. Anyway, my daughter entertained herself during the signing by taking lots of goofy pictures and some good ones, too. Unfortunately, I am in a lot of the shots due to my daughter's photography and a few people I simply made take a picture with me. Sorry about that but I want a picture of you!
This is the lovely Molly who helped organize the event today. Molly is a phd student at the UW in something like textile design. Get this, her masters thesis was the Elizabeth Zimmerman exhibit that was here in Madison last year. She received tons of press about this event and it was mentioned in some of the major knitting magazines. She does a great job and she's just fun to talk to and be around. She even took my daughter to the Nutsy Mutts and Crazy Cats shop next door while I shopped a bit. You gotta love that!

Miranda, the shop manager, also needs a big thank you for having me. Miranda runs the shop so well. It is a thriving place.
My beloved peaknit, Stacey, made the effort to come and see me. I really had to force her to be in this picture with me but it was worth it. The thing is that Stacey learned to knit at my old shop and she took classes with me when I used to teach there. Now she is a big-time knitting blogger with people just waiting to see what she is going to knit next. Her knitting commentary and project selections are some of the best out there in blogland.

When my first book came out last year I didn't even have a blog. After Stacey came to my event at Lakeside Fibers last year I found her blog and it inspired me to start my own. She is the reason I even started this whole blogging thing and I love doing it. She inspires knitters with her writing, insight, humor, keen eye and especially her honesty. She is a smart cookie!
This is Natalie and she wanted one (or two) of everything.
This is Natalie's mom, Stacy. She learned to knit with me at Alphabet Soup, too. She and the other Stacey remembered each other from the old shop. We used to have so much fun over there, I am not kidding. There were quite a few visitors today from my old shop which I love to see. It's too bad when some things have to end, I miss that place, too. It was good to see friends I hadn't seen in quite awhile.
I thought these pictures were so funny. I had no idea my daughter was doing this right next to me at the table. There were about a dozen shots like this. I love it. Kids are so funny without even trying.
What a goofball and nice lips!
My dear friend Yuly came to visit. She will kill me for putting this up here but I had to. She is a beautiful knitter and designer and she is even working on her French baking skills.
She brought me the lightest, flakiest, buttery cranberry scones ever. Oh my goodness, Yuly, they were wonderful. That's right my family and I ate them right up when I got home and they are gone. Yummy treats don't last long around here!
I had such a wonderful afternoon around here. I signed lots and lots of books, saw old and new friends, chatted up the knitting world and mainly hung out. I think we stayed about 4 hours! It was relaxing, comfortable and fun. The staff at Lakeside is friendly, down to earth, laid back, helpful, fun and smart. You couldn't find a better knitting shop anywhere. There is a quiet but inviting elegance here that is truly unique and very indicative of Madison.
The cafe in the back of the store is gorgeous. Look at the view from the back windows, it is breathtaking. There is a large deck off the back of the shop and cafe. It was packed with knitters and people the whole time I was there. There is a large crowd that just hangs out here having coffee and eating and meeting friends and knitting. It is that kind of place.
And the yarn! On top of the food, coffee and bakery, there is so much yarn and it is displayed in the best of ways. The selection is top-notch. Lakeside is current with yarn trends and the amount of stock is staggering. This is the Cascade wall. That is all Cascade 220! There are knitted samples and swatches everywhere you turn. This is only one wall of yarn. There are several more rooms of yarn before this.
If you are in town make your way over to this shop. Their site has been recently remodeled and I think very soon it will be open for shopping! This will be a great resource and as soon as it is ready to open I will link again to remind people.

This was good fun. Thanks for a good day in Madison, Lakeside Fibers.
best, susie

Crochet Picot Edging Tutorial

Hi Knitters,
On tour I met several knitters who were worried about the crocheted picot edging I used in Itty-Bitty Nursery on a couple of projects. There is nothing to worry about because it is so simple! Hopefully this tutorial will help to show how easy it really is.
Enjoy.
best, susie

Priceless

Hi Knitters,
This afternoon I took my daughters out of school to come along with me to the St. Mary's Care Center for a knitting hour with the residents. This is a living facility for older people who need medical attention. What a wonderful place to be. The staff was warm, happy and friendly and so welcoming. My daughters had a ball with the residents, just as much fun as I had.

The picture above is my daughter is working on a blanket for a church knitting group. This is the church across the street from our house where she tagged along with a friend to their Saturday knitting group. They make squares and sew them into blankets to give to people in need. She brought her square along to knit on today.

We arrived at the care center at 1:00 and the ladies had bingo at 2:00! There was no messing around with that schedule. I love that! After our visit as I was packing up my stuff my daughters walked down the hall with the group to the bingo room to check things out. When I was ready to leave I walked to the room to pick up my girls and there was my 11 year-old daughter smack-dab in the middle of the group quietly playing a round of bingo! I had to wait for her to finish the game before we could leave. Could you ever love anything more than that?

The girls are already begging me to go back for a visit and I am right with them. I am definitely going to go back and knit with them at their knitting group sometime soon. Every once in awhile you bet we will show up and knit with them.

Aren't they great? I brought a couple of books to donate to the knitting group. The woman in the purple sweater, Adele, was particularly happy about that. She wouldn't give that book up for more than a minute and then she wanted it right back. That is so cute! Hardly anyone got to look at the book. I think I may need to send over a few more copies. We chatted, I demonstrated a few quick things, my girls visited and took pictures for me.

Adele made sure I signed the book for the group. My daughter handed out samples for the ladies to hold.

This cute woman was so funny, I forgot her name. She was there with her mother. She looped the big carrots on her ring finger and kept telling everyone that she only had a "five carrot ring." I told her I was going to steal her line and look I already did!

I saved the best for last. This beautiful, smart 102 year-old woman (I had heard she was 101) immediately jumped in and started teaching my daughter how to purl. I will never forget this moment. To see my daughters both enjoy the company of this fascinating, on the ball woman touched my heart in so many ways. The girls enjoyed all of the residents. I loved the way they just jumped in with no fear or reservations. It is incredible to see the openness and accepting ways of children. This was a good day for me.

Her name is Sally and boy is she a treat. Here she is helping my youngest with her purl stitch.
That was her thing, teaching the purl stitch. She enjoyed the hour and everyone enjoyed her.

This is too good for words.

Priceless.

best, susie

The Good, the Bad and the Plain Silly

Hi Knitters,
So last Wednesday as I was hoping to leave for Cincinnati and connecting through Chicago I was told that O'Hare was a complete mess and that flights were getting cancelled left and right. A chill went down my spine. The kind man saw my angst and quickly found a straight flight for me leaving later that afternoon on a different airline. Lo and behold there was one measly seat left just for me. Oh yeah! My husband drove me back home where I happily hung out for a couple of hours before he drove me back to the airport again. I love him for driving me and picking me up.

I get on that new flight, nestle into the last window seat in the last row of the plane and the woman sitting next to me sits down and pulls out her Cherry Tree Hill sock and starts knitting. Okay, I had to laugh to myself. This was meant to be. I pulled out my Regia Kaffe Fassett sock and we had a good old time chatting up the Madison knit shops and patterns and so on.

See those holes up there on my gusset pick up? So do I. It was a little dark back there in that seat. The holes make me laugh. I finished up my first ankle sock and started the next. The knitter's name I was sitting with is Molly and she was knitting a pair of socks from the Favorite Socks book from Interweave. They were beautiful and complicated. That was a good thing.

I read this IK Holiday Gifts issue on my way home to Madison. It is a good one and it is on the new stands right now. If you subscribe to IK you don't get this in the mail so pick it up if you are interested. The cap on the cover is beautiful thanks to Mary Jane Mucklestone, Jared Flood (aka brooklyn tweed) has a phenomenal hat inside, and Kate Gilbert knits a fantastically complicated fair isle stocking. There are some lovely socks and scarves, too.

I check two suitcases everywhere I go. The small suitcase has my clothes and the larger suitcase carries my trunk show. It is jam packed to the brim with knitted samples and demo stuff. After every leg of the trip when I open my suitcases there is an inspection notice on top. I am telling you I wish I could see the inspector's face when he opens my bag of samples and then has to close it, not an easy feat. There are feathers, pillows, knitted animals and a mobile for that matter. I am sure they must think I am insane.

As I was waiting to fly home through a connecting flight from Dallas (I flew through Dallas four times in three days) I noticed a feuding couple at the gate. They were middle-aged and the husband was extremely agitated with his wife. He was berating her for shopping 24/7 in a loud voice. I thought to my tired self, please don't let me sit near them. Please. You know what I am going to say next.

I quietly sit in my aisle seat as the couple passes me by, phew. Not to last, the woman who was no shrinking violet herself, comes back to sit in the window seat next to me. She keeps shouting to her husband and complaining about her travel agent for seating them separately. Her husband announces to the plane that he is going to "sit in the toilet." Okay by me. I offer to let her husband sit next to her, no really, I am happy to move, really. She likes this offer and begins beckoning her husband to come forward.

Guess what? Her husband does not want to sit with her! Not kidding. He yells up for us to have a good time together. Oh yeah, it's true. I am now right in the middle of an embarrassing domestic squabble. I am so exhausted at this point I can barely keep my eyes open. The wife is completely humiliated. I am embarrassed for her. She then goes on to kind of whine at me how everyone is just so crabby around here and how she just wants to get home to see her dogs. Then the wife states loudly, "I was just going to sleep anyway!"

There is a God!!

I snuck in a bit of knitting here and there on my sKnitches breath mint sock that I started months ago. It is lovely yarn that I got here.

When I arrived in Lexington the wonderful Diane from Magpie Yarns met me at the airport and it was midnight when she picked me up. What a sweetheart. The guilt I felt was apparent but then I did something else that was so silly to add to it. I had mentioned briefly that I am having some lower back issues. I am on the mend but the help I received from kind knitters and drivers was so appreciated. Diane wanted to help me pull my big suitcase off the baggage claim. I pointed out my bag and she pulled it off and we quickly started heading toward the door. A woman came frantically chasing after us and I looked down and saw that Diane was pulling a bag along that wasn't mine. Oh gosh, Susan, you fool! The woman was kind and I was apologetic to everyone involved, but poor Diane. We went back and sure enough my bag was still on the conveyor belt. Oy. We laughed about that one.

On the way to Little Rock, through Dallas of course, I pulled out this fantastic Noro Silk Garden Lite I got at the Woolie Ewe. When I saw this yarn I remembered seeing someone knit a pair of socks somewhere and thinking I would like to do that. I cast on 48 stitches on size 4 dpns and look what I got! I love them. I did a 5 1/2 inch cuff in knit 3, purl 1 rib. I bought 3 balls of the silk garden #2011 and I only needed two, but that's okay. I think I may have enough for another complete pair. I love and adore the mismatched look of these, so fun.

I actually finished an entire sock on the flights from Lexington to Dallas and then Dallas to Little Rock. Let me tell you why. The first part of the trip went fine, I think I got through the heel turn. The second part of the trip got a bit dicey. After we boarded the plane we sat for quite awhile. Finally, an announcement from the strangest flight attendant I have ever encountered came over the speaker. She told us the plane was having maintenance issues and we were to remain seated. She also gave a brief and sarcastic lecture about how purses are actually carry on items and were not to be stored on one's lap or in the pocket of the seat in front of you. I have never seen anyone do either of those things but apparently she had. All of sudden I knew things were going downhill and fast.

As we are seated the pilot comes on and tells us they basically need to re-boot the plane just like a computer. We were informed that we would be sitting in the dark for several minutes (it was at least 10) as they turned off the plane. Ugh. All I could think of was that Jet Blue flight where people were stuck on a runway for 11 hours and how I should have used the restroom one more time before boarding.

Passengers quickly scrambled for their phones and began a series of loud phone calls telling their people of the situation. One woman was particularly loud and it was clear she was making sure the entire plane could hear her call. It was a cringe-inducing call that included a lot of "baby" and orders about what to do and who to bring to the airport. I muttered something in a hushed whisper to myself like, "Please, God." It wasn't meant to be out loud but I heard the cute woman next to me chuckle when I did it. I knew I liked her.

We were then instructed after they turned the plane back on that it was a no go. We had to de-board the plane and wait at the gate for instruction. The flight attendant had a lengthy talk about not going anywhere away from the gate. I am not kidding, she was a fake. She was wearing a loud patchwork Halloween vest. Much to my delight my seatmate, Jill, pointed out that in the dark plane this vest was strangely illuminated by the fasten your seatbelt sign as she stood in the aisle. This vest is not part of their uniform selection I am sure. She also sported a pair of sunglasses propped up on her head holding back her incredibly ungroomed hair. She gave the most unscripted talks the entire time the flight went on. I kept saying to Jill that she was an impostor flight attendant. We could not stop laughing at one point.

Fortunately, we quickly got on another plane at another gate. I continued to knit on my silk garden sock and finished it, pretty fun stuff (I finished the second one today). Jill, it turns out, is a pediatric doc at the Arkansas Children's Hospital, where she figured out I was going for the Knitting for Noggins event. Her mom is a knitter and donates to the event. Even better, her mom, who I met last year at the event, has an uncle who owns the Octopus car wash in Madison. Okay all of you native Madisonians, who hasn't been to the Octopus car wash? It is a staple here in town. Jill joined her mom at the event the next day and we had a good laugh about the crazy plane stuff. I really enjoyed Jill and her mom.

Very quickly, Debbie Bliss's Essential Baby is a wonderful new knitting book. You should really take a look at this one. In Plano I bought yarn for a project in here.

I bought the makings for this adorable toy lamb at the Woolie Ewe. They have the most fantastic selection of Debbie Bliss yarns at this shop. If you are interested it is the place to shop for Debbie Bliss yarns. The yarn is the Cashmerino Astrakhan in ivory and Cathay in black. I'll show you when I am done. It should be a quick knit and isn't that cute? Debbie wins again with this book.

Lastly, I snagged these bag handles I have been wanting forever and a day. Woolie Ewe has a great selection of these Grayson E leather handles that are distributed by Meunch Yarns. I can't wait to put these to use!

One last note, tomorrow I am going to be at the St. Mary's Care Center in Madison at 1:00. This is going to be so great. Carmela asked if I would visit their knitting group that meets on Thursdays and I jumped at the chance. Apparently there is one member who is 101 years old and she is still on fire with her knitting. She teaches new knitters, too. I don't know anything about the other members but I am looking forward to a nice knitterly afternoon with them.

I would do anything for St. Mary's Hospital or care center. St. Mary's is where I was born and my youngest daughter was born, and where both my mother and father were cared for extensively during their sicknesses. Just the thought of those kind, hardworking doctors and nurses brings tears to my eyes.

I will be there with bells on!

Phew, I didn't even tell it all! More to come!

best, susie