Friday Night Special

Hi Knitters,

My son picked the winner last night, which was Friday, and here is the winning post:  

mary said...

Hi Susan,

I met you last winter in Holland Michigan at Tree House books and have read your blogs ever since and passed them on to friends.  I've been recently laid off from the builder I work for and would love to watch something educational and entertaining.

Mary

Sept. 17, 2008

Yay for Mary! Now you have until Monday, Sept. 22nd to email me your mailing address. My email is on the sidebar. Thank you to everyone for entering the contest. I am glad to send the DVDs on to another knitter to enjoy.

Now for some knitting stuff. My girls' piano teacher loaned me this sweet knitting booklet her mom found. Thank you for sharing, Amy, you are a love. It is from 1953 and is a Coats & Clark publication. I love this kind of stuff, old stuff, so much and I thought you might get a kick out of it, too. Above is the matching mom and baby bed jacket. Did people really wear bed jackets in the 50's? It's funny because that's exactly how I looked when I had a new baby in bed with me. The resemblance is uncanny. How did that happen?

I have a few things to share with you amongst the Red Heart baby yarn ad. Isn't that a great page? Okay, what happened to the Knitting Friends site? Does anyone know? I took the link off of my sidebar because it never worked when you clicked on it. I miss that site because I used to jump around to different blogs from there. I loved it. I hope it comes back or gets fixed or is it just me?
How good are these patterns? I love the whole matching hat/scarf, sweater, mitten set for boys and girls. Everyone was so pulled together back then, all shiny and perfect. 

I ran across a couple of cute hat patterns for you to see here and here. These are ravelry links so if you haven't signed up for ravelry you really need to do it. Even if you just use it as a resource it is more than worth it, a million times over. There is a fun group of Itty Bitty Knits knitters over there and they are a smart, nice group. There is a constant sharing of projects and ideas and support on this group. It is a positive collection of knitters. I just started a thread on the discussion page for people to ask me questions or just to say hi. I have been checking it frequently so I can respond in a quick manner. Please join if you are at all interested. I'd love to see you over there.

See that boy on the rocking horse? My brother's hair used to look like that every single day when he was growing up. In fact, it still does, it's pretty impressive.

I received the sweetest email from Alice Hyche the other day just as I was finishing a bunny tail with her pom-pom tool, no kidding. Seriously, you have to check her out. She is the creator of the Pom Tree, one of my favorite tools and the link to order is always on my sidebar. I did a video demo of the pom tree here, if you are interested. I guess she has gotten lots of orders that have come through this blog and she recently has had some trouble with PayPal. Well, I asked if I could share her email, that's easier:

Dear Susan,

I am enjoying your posts every day I think your knitting skills are much to be admired. I check every day on the utube how to make a pompom to see how many hits it has gotten. I'm so impressed. My pay pal way of taking orders has been out of order for several months, someone took my password and no one could order the pom tree. Several of your knitters tried to order and could not get through pay pal, so they scrolled down on the web site, called me first and filled out an order blank, sent a check and I mailed them a pom tree by return mail. All, to my pleasure, have been very pleased with my product. I always ask them where they heard about the pom tree and they happily tell me they saw it on your blog. I have gotten orders from 18 states, of course it has only been from one or two people, but isn't it wonderful for you to know how widespread your blog contacts are. Thank you very much for your kindness in telling needlecrafters about my pom tree. Please let them know they can now order through pay pal. I am an 82 year old retired public school teacher trying to keep my mind active by working with my crochet and my pom tree. Both are a major part of my mission projects.

Thanks again, and my your business always be blessed. You are one of my favorite online people. Keep on blessing everyone with your knitting skills.

Alice Hyche

Now Knitters, I can only hope I make it to 82 years old, and I can only hope I am as creative and active as Alice. I think it is wonderful to send support her way. If you are interested in ordering the Pom Tree, please order through her. It is very reasonably priced and her husband makes the Pom Trees for her. How sweet is that? She is a wonderful example for us.

My Sweet Bee turned 15 years old yesterday. How can that be true? It makes me proud, happy and a little sad at the same time. I am lucky to be his mom.

Knit on.

best, susie

p.s. Here are a couple more cool links.  Triple love them both.

Passing the Gravy

Hi Knitters,

I've been working away the hours and watching movies and tv as I go. Here is one dvd set that I have watched all the way through and I thought you might be interested in it. Knittingdaily tv is a series put together by the talented fiber geniuses at Interweave, Eunny Jang, Kim Werker, and Liz Gipson and the show host, Shay Pendray. 

The set has 4 dvds and has over 5 hours of knitting/crocheting/weaving packed shows. There are featured designers including Michele Rose Orne, Leigh Radford, Wendy Bernard, Louisa Harding and Robin Melanson to name a few. I enjoyed seeing these talented designers actually talking and knitting and alive, very fun. There is so much information included in the series that you are sure to learn something new by watching. It is well done.

Anyway, this is a short and sweet entry to say I am passing the gravy on to you! I've already watched all of the shows and I don't think I will watch them again. I thought maybe one of you would like to watch these fantastic knitters in action. Here's what you need to do:

Write me a comment on this post and not an anonymous comment. Leave your name or your blogging name or some sort of identifying element.

That's it. I'm having another giveaway! 

I'm not saying when the contest is over so get your comment in quick. I will announce the winner, which will be randomly selected, on my next post. The winner will then need to contact me within a couple of days via email to send me their mailing address. If I don't hear from the winner I will select a new one. Please keep the entries to U.S. and Canada mailing addresses to keep shipping costs down.

Go for it, Knitters. You will love watching these shows as much as I did.

best, susie

Yup, He's Mine

Hi Knitters,
Well, most of you guessed the elephant and I thought you might. However, there are so many projects on that page that I potentially could have designed that I thought it might make you stop and consider a few others. Thanks for the guesses.

By the way, are the people at Vogue hitting it out of the ball park or what? These last couple of issues of all of their magazines have been some of the best I have ever seen. I want to knit almost every project on that preview page, not kidding. Wow, congrats to them is due.

The pattern is now available in KnitSimple holiday issue 2008. I guess subscribers already have their issues but I heard it will be out on newsstands at the end of the month. I think it is so smart to get those holiday issues out early so people can get to work.
It's funny because when I look at him in the magazine shot he looks kind of different than I remembered. I think it is the angle of the photo makes him look longer and skinnier or something. My husband even said, "I thought your elephant was fatter." I loved that. Maybe he just looks more relaxed in my home rather than in a photo studio. Maybe he's been dieting since I saw him last. The pressure, the pressure...
The elephant is a simple guy to make, no seaming at all. He is 10-inches tall sitting down. Here are some of the things you may want to know if you are planning to make one:

Yarn:
Moda Dea superwash wool in worsted weight (Any worsted weight will do in cotton or wool. Look to your stash.)

Needles:
US size 5 double-pointed needles, set of 4

Materials:
Polyfill stuffing
Poly-pellets (optional)
Scissors
Tape measure or ruler
Stitch markers
Yarn needle
Black embroidery floss or black yarn for the eyes
My daughter suggested the light blue tusks so I had to throw them in.
So I thought you all might be interested in the process of knitting for a magazine. I had met Tanis Gray, one of the editors and designer extraordinaire for Vogue Knitting, a couple of times before and she emailed me to see if I would make a toy for an upcoming issue. I, of course, said sure. Then I waited for her to give me some details and to decide on the yarn they wanted me to use.

When she wrote back she told me they were doing a whole blue-inspired gift knitting section in the Knitsimple holiday issue. They wanted me to knit a blue teddy bear. I thought maybe we would want to do a different animal. Although I'm not opposed to doing bears, I just thought it might add a fun twist to do something a little less traditional. Bears are done so often. So Tanis suggested I send in some sketches of what I was thinking about.

I looked through my old photos, this was back in May 2008, and I found the actual sketches that I sent in to Tanis. I drew out four options in about 15 minutes, photographed them and sent them to Tanis (I couldn't get my scanner to work). What I want you to see is how quick these sketches were drawn and that's really all of the information they needed. Sometimes they need swatches, too, I am sure.

It is just so do-able and I want you to consider submitting if you are interested in that kind of thing. Really, you should do it. You never know what project will click with the editors.
I made four options and gave a brief written description of the construction ideas I had for the toys. You can see that the elephant sketch is the one they chose and you can see that the sketch really looks like the finished elephant.

Here are the other options I sent:
I always love a good knitted bunny.
This was their second choice for the magazine, the option #2 bear. This one had a one-piece head and body construction, and then the separate arms and legs.
Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing the quick sketches I sent and then the one they selected for me to make.

Next, I just waited for the yarn to arrive to get to work on the project. I had about 3 weeks to get it done and back to them including the finished sample and the written pattern.

It's a good, easy and fast project and I hope to see some finished blue elephants on ravelry soon or send me pictures and I can post some here.

Back to work for me, dear Knitters. Is it Friday already, again? I asked that last week but it seemed even faster this week.

I'll be back soon.
best, susie

Hey, this is fun!

Hi Knitters,

Aren't those beautiful Japanese Lanterns? My daughter's teacher grew them in her garden this summer. My daughter brought a bunch of the knitted Acorns a la Betz to school for her the other day and this is what she sent us in return. Lucky trade. 
I am officially a freak for orange. I love that pumpkin shade of orange any day of the week. I can't ever get enough. Japanese Lanterns, that's my first fun item to share.

My next fun item to share is this.  Scroll down and look at the projects. Which design do you think is mine? I'd love to see if you can tell just from the pictures. That's pretty fun to see after my cover project debacle.  It's a good pic, too.

Write in a guess in the comments if you're inclined. I wrote about the project briefly and vaguely awhile ago. I will have more on that particular project coming soon. I took some of my own photos I will share. Is that magazine out on the stands already, does anyone know? I didn't see a date on the site.

More fun ahead:

here

here

and

here.

I have to make these, I want just one pair of those (dpns of, course) and I simply love her style. Plus I just looked and she's talking about quinces. Love.

I figured out the photo posting thing so that's pretty fun, too.

We'll talk soon.

best, susie

The Old Switcheroo

Hi Knitters,

Last night I was looking on amazon at the new knitting books coming out this fall and winter. As I was scrolling down I noticed this. Look closely.

Now, remember this? I actually laughed when I saw the new version. That will teach me to jump the gun. There are no bunnies on the cover, the old switcheroo. It was fun while it lasted. When I saw the cover in the Storey catalog it occurred to me that it might get switched later. That happens all of the time as the publishers try to decide on cover photos. It is so important to have a good cover. Que sera, sera...

Last week I had a nice long chat with Trent Duffy, the managing editor at Artisan Books, and we discussed deadlines and content for the book I am working on. Needless to say, I have some challenging but fair deadlines ahead of me over the next couple of months. Hang in there with me as posting time may be slim or maybe posting time will be a necessary break from the hard work ahead. That could be the case. Wish me luck on getting this thing ready to roll.

The toy book is set to be released for the fall 2009. That sounds far away but the printing and editing process alone can take at least 6-8 months plus we still have photography to start, oh, and there is the manuscript to start as well, that little old thing.

I still am on a quest for cool patterns to work on after I get the book projects done, which is only a matter of weeks. Here are a few:

pretty pincushion

wavy gravy (I made this before in Koigu Kersti and gave it away, it was awesome.)

simple cozy wrap

grass is greener

cool ribbing

(scroll down for the translation)

another even better version

Enjoy!

It's a rainy and cool Monday here in Madison. It feels like fall already. Oh and by the way, no photos today because I am working off of my new MacBook that I got last Friday. I don't know how to load up photos yet. I am loving it and for once I won't have to fight to get computer time while I am trying to write my book. We'll see how long I can keep it to myself. Odds are against me for sure.

Pictures next time.

best, susie

Chicken Scratches

Hi Knitters,
As I was cleaning through my bookshelves yesterday I ran across this beautiful, well-written article by Carma Wadley for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City. Carma kindly sent me a copy of the paper. This was from Nov. 12, 2007 and was photographed when I visited The Wool Cabin last fall for my book tour. That was one of my favorite stops ever, by the way. The reason I am bringing this up again? Well, I fondly glanced over the article and the lovely photos taken at the shop when I noticed something on the page....
...someone, who shall remain nameless, scribbled their math problem right on the top photo. That is hilarious to me. I really am laughing at how funny that is. Here your mom has this great article in a big newspaper and it is used as scrap paper for math. The scene is set, you are doing your homework and you can't find a scrap of paper to save your life so you scratch out, in pen, how many cans of soda 6 people would get if there were 8 sodas (4 would get 1 can and 2 would get 2 cans, fyi) directly on the top photo of your mom's article, not a hesitation involved. And scene. That's too good.

I actually didn't see the chicken scratches when I put the article away. I guess that teaches me that anything left on the counter is fair game for a quick math problem. I probably left it out thinking someone might enjoy looking at the article. I was mistaken.
On to the knitting, I am working on this lovely and simple two row scarf pattern. I saw this free stitch pattern for a scarf somewhere and scratched it down on a scrap (yes, I found a real, empty scrap of paper), and I wrote the name Merci scarf on the top. I have no recollection of where I found the pattern and I googled the Merci Scarf and didn't come up with anything. Does anyone remember seeing this somewhere? Let me know, otherwise I will write out the two rows for you if I don't find a link. It is fun, easy to memorize and it gives a crisp stitch pattern that doesn't roll at the edges and looks great from both sides. Keep me posted if you know anything.

*added later, thanks for the comment, Leslie. The Merci Scarf is here.
I couldn't let this hat get away. It's a beauty. I already started in some super old Donegal Tweed in a golden hue. It is an excellent pattern.
Across the street I found these hairy acorn caps scattered all over the ground. I love how there are so many types of acorns with different tops. I picked up as many as I could carry in my hands and we are pretty excited about the fact that there is a double and a triple header in the bunch. My daughter made these up last night to add to our collection of felty acorns. The knitted Acorns a la Betz already were given to a teacher to start out the fall season. I'll have to make some more.

Have you seen this new site? Check it out for some great, free patterns. I already printed this one out. La-la-love it.

Take care, Knitters. Is it really Friday already? Can't be true.
best, susie

Acorns a la Betz

Hi Knitters,
Well, I have noticed that the acorns are falling around my neighborhood. I love that crunch under my feet when I am out for a walk or run. What is it about acorns that people love so much? I think acorns are wonderful.

I pulled these out from last fall. That Betz is genius. I truly love this clever, easy fall project. She inspires me.
I decided today to make a knitted version entitled, Acorns a la Betz. The felted balls are from here, order the 2cm size if you are making acorns like these. The acorns I made are from the Fall colorway.
I'm going to make plenty more. Last fall I put a few acorns together and gave them to teachers. They loved their felty acorns.

Here is the pattern for you:

Acorns a la Betz
Materials:
US size 3 dpns, set of 4
Small amount of dk weight tweed yarn or brown yarn (I used O-Wool Balance)
Matching thread and sewing needle
Yarn needle
Stitch marker
Scissors
2cm felted balls (from here)

Cast on 15 stitches (5 stitches on each of 3 needles).
Join to work in the round being careful not to twist, place a marker.
Work 4 rounds in seed stitch.
Decrease rounds:
rnd 1: (k2tog) 2 times, knit 1 on each needle (3 stitches per needle and 9 stitches remain)
rnd 2: knit
rnd 3: k2tog, knit 1, pass the first stitch over and off the right needle (1 stitch per needle and 3 stitches remain)

Place the 3 remaining stitches on 1 dpn. Now use 2 dpns to make an I-cord.
Next row: k2tog, k1 (2 stitches remain)
Work 2 more rows in I-cord. Then k2tog (1 stitch remains), cut the yarn and pull through the remaining stitch. Weave in the ends to the inside.
Place the knitted acorn top on the felted ball and sew with a needle and thread to attach.

That's it! Hope you enjoy.
I'm off to movie night at the pool to watch Enchanted with the kids.
Happy Holiday.
best, susie

Sharing

Hi Knitters,
I have things to share with you today. I want to quickly share a couple yarns I picked up at Purl while in NYC. I am so excited about this gorgeous Koigu KPPPM #P854. It is so fall-inspired with dark chocolate, rusty oranges and reds, golden honey and luscious greens. The colorway is rich and full and beautiful and dark and cozy. I am not sure what type of socks I will make but they need to be worthy. The yarn is full with color already so the pattern will need to be a simple one.
One more quick find from Purl is this kettle dyed skein from Farmhouse Yarns. It is 400 yards of Fannie's Fingering Weight in the Rainforest colorway. I have been completely drawn to greens of all sorts lately. The greens here could be from any forest really. Check out this collection of yarn, it all looks like candy or ice cream or something decadent.

Which brings me to these. My daughter and I will be making up a batch later this aft. Can't wait. I haven't made this recipe before so I'll let you know how it goes.
My daughters both had birthdays this summer and had a couple gift cards to use up from Barnes and Noble. Right when we walked in we spotted Kevin Henkes' newest release, Old Bear. We are huge fans, huge. We have all of his books. Not only does he live in Madison, which always makes my heart grow fonder, but what a genius talent he possesses. I think one of the most difficult things to do in story writing is to limit your words right down to the bare bones and still convey the feeling and detail that is the meat of the story. Kevin achieves this with so few words. Old Bear is one of the top picture books I have read lately. This author clearly shares a love of the seasons right along with the old bear. You feel the seasons shift and change as the old bear vividly dreams away the cold winter to awake to a glorious spring. It is a joyously short story with simple but magical illustrations.
Here is the book my other daughter picked with her gift card, How to Find Flower Fairies. Talk about a magical book (this is one of a series of books). It is set in the 1930's and is written by Cicely Mary Barker. She is a woman who has found proof that fairies exist and she tells you the secrets to finding fairies in 5 different settings: the tree tops, the forest floor, the garden, the wayside and the marshes. The book is written in a scrappy, journal style but best of all it has fantastic pop-ups along the way.
The tree top pop-up page is wonderful, it is my favorite. You have to look in all of the creases and crevices between the leaves to see all of the magical finds in here.
The garden page is my daughter's favorite due to the colors. The book even has "actual" photographs of fairies taken by Cicely's camera. What a great, fun book.

I have some links to share with you. I have been searching patterns lately, you know, for the p.o.a. So here are a few patterns that you may want to add to you p.o.a. along with me:
yummy
cozy (this is a ravelry link, couldn't find another one for you)
springy
loopy

Check out these posts from Kristin for some great inspiration:
zinnias
sunflowers
Country Home tribute (I've got to get this issue, quick.)
Fabric Printing (This has to be done with a certain someone over here.)

Check out this flower tutorial from Betz. Little rosettes are the best.

Okay, for now I must leave you. Have a beautiful holiday weekend if I don't get back sooner. It's supposed to be a glorious one in Madison, hope it is for you, too.
best, susie

P. o. A.

Hi Knitters,
When my husband and I were in college we had this group of friends. The father of one of the friends would always come in and ask, "What's the P.o.A.?" You know, the Plan of Action. I always thought that was so funny, he is the only one I ever heard use that abbreviation. Nowadays everything is abbreviated for texting, I guess, but back then it wasn't like that. So I am deep into my P.o.A. for when I finish knitting the projects for my book. I think I have about 3 or 4 more to go for the book and even though that doesn't sound too bad it is still a lot of work ahead.

Do you see any exhaust fumes coming off of the yarn above? I started working at 4am yesterday morning to complete and write the pattern for a 3 toy set for Blue Sky Alpacas. I happily sent the toys off to Minnesota yesterday afternoon. What a good feeling. I love the Blue Sky ads in the knitting mags so I can't wait to see this one. Hopefully I will remember to look around for it when it comes out. If you see it and I don't, please mention it to me. You'll know the toys are mine when you see them. I think it is supposed to be in their winter collection so by then I know it will be gone out of my brain.

I really do forget things and I am not proud of that fact. When I woke up this morning I thought it was yesterday morning. This wouldn't be so bad only I had an appointment yesterday and I thought yesterday was today. Are you following? I lost a day this week and a doctor's appointment. Believe me this isn't the first time this has happened. When you think yesterday is today you end up having to call and apologize for missed appointments. That is embarrassing and not fun. I don't recommend it. I don't think I am losing it, I think it is more that I have so much to remember that it doesn't all fit in my head. It helps to keep a calendar but then you have to remember to look at it. Enough.
As I was digging around for yarn for my extensive knitting P.o.A., I found this little gem I made a few years ago for a store sample. This booklet for Jaeger (2004), by Martin Storey, is a winner. Every pattern is wonderful. I don't know if you can still get this one anymore, I treasure my copy. Anyway, just thought I'd share this cute, teeny-tiny raglan with you. It's never been worn so I think I will save it for some special baby. I noticed that I left the pockets off. A newborn baby doesn't need side pockets, right?
Back to my P.o.A, this luscious scarf and hat set, by the talented Tanis Gray, is in the winter 2007/'o8 issue of Vogue Knitting. This is the only pattern from this issue that I was interested in knitting. It is made in cashmere in the magazine so I just hadn't pursued finding a substitute yarn. I looked up the yarn the sample is made in but it was something like $59 a skein. It would be between $2oo to $300 to make if you used that yarn. I had forgotten about it when I saw this exact pattern and scarf in progress out on the table at Newbury Yarns in Boston. The woman working at the shop was making the set out of Reynolds Andean Alpaca Regal, a three-ply bulky alpaca yarn, and it was gorgeous. I had to join in. This is definitely on the top of the P.o.A. I could wear it this winter.
The newest Fall 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting is one of the best issues ever put out in my opinion. Congrats to the hard working people at Vogue for a spectacular issue. There are so many patterns in here that I would love to make starting with Mari Muinonen's Yellow Harvest mittens. My P.o.A. just got longer. These beauties are made out of 2 skeins of Manos del Uruguay which I happen to have in the lovely Blush pink colorway #17. Vogue directs you to their site to print out the charts they have available in pdf format. I think this is a smart way to go about the space issue. Don't you just love those mittens? I'll be sure to hold my hands like just like the model when I finish. I guess it is hard to come up with different poses when modeling mittens. I love that pose. It is the same pose on the cover, too.
I don't think I will make these just like in the picture but I sure could look at them all day long. I think I might make a shorter version, leaving off the long cuffs and poms. Then they would be more practical for me. That embroidery is deadly good. They are knit in Julia by the always fantastic Kristin Nicholas. She was asked to create some over-the-top mittens and she achieved greatness. I think this could have easily been the cover shot. They probably had a difficult time deciding the cover with all of the stunning patterns in here. I want to make the cover mittens, too.
Okay, I mentioned this sweater in the last post briefly. When I leafed through the magazine I paid no attention to the Aran Wrap Cardigan. Then I saw this blog post and followed the link and then I was convinced that I had to knit this sweater in the near future. You really have to look at the difference the desiger's photos make when looking at the sweater. It is remarkable. The designer is Angela Hahn and she came up with a detailed and beautiful design that looks incredibly fun to knit. Congrats.

I dug around and found this Rowan Magpie Aran (I don't think Rowan produces this yarn anymore) just hanging about and sure enough I am just a bit short for the yardage. I am still going to use it because I am short and I have short arms so often times I shorten things up anyway. That's a lot of short. What can you do? I think I can make it work with the Magpie. Hey, Angela also has posted a list that offers substitute yarn ideas if you are interested.
I'll leave you today with some serious fairy drawing we are working on over here and my Opal #1702 socks in progress. It's funny because I thought all of the stripes would be even but the red stripe is extra long. I love surprises.

Bye for now. I have some rescheduling of appointments today on my P.o.A. Bummer.
best, susie
p.s. Another thing I keep forgetting is that the Itty-Bitty Nursery Trunk Show Tour is now at:

Threadbare Fiber Arts Studios

Rob

319 S. Waverly Road

Lansing, MI 48917

info@threadbarefiberarts.com

517.703.YARN

Arrive: August 21

Depart: September 2

Stop by if you get a chance.

Trip Finale Plus

Hi Knitters,
Are you up for one last look at our summer trip? I hope so. My brother lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area so we ended our trip at his house, which is beautiful by the way. He lives on a quiet street in a big house so it felt wonderful after the crowded streets and hotels. We mainly hung out and visited with our families but we did make one journey downtown to see the monuments. On the way to the monuments we walked by the house where Abe Lincoln died and the theater where he was shot was right across the street. I hadn't seen that before and it really made you stop and think about that history from so long ago. It is hard to imagine the times during that period of history. Everything was so small in size, the buildings I mean, but the Lincoln monument is massively impressive when you are up close.
It is a sight to behold.
The Vietnam Memorial Wall is by far the most moving monument to me. I don't know what it is about that wall that brings me to tears, it surely isn't the fanciest or prettiest. As you are walking it is like the world gets really quiet the farther down the wall you go, silence surrounds you. Seeing the staggering list of names of the people who died hits you like a ton of bricks but it is the trinkets and notes that are left by loved ones that gets me every time. You see how personal and current is still remains. On the bottom of one list of names there was a simple little note left in the gutter. Scribbled on that scrap of paper it just said, "I love you." I get so sad just thinking about it.
It was a perfect day as the sky was overcast with only one brief and light shower along the way. The temp and humidity were not high and the crowds were surprisingly small. It is a memorable journey and a somber journey at times as you think about all of the people who have paid so much for our country.
On a lighter note, on the way to the monuments we went to Georgetown where I ran across this little gem of a yarn shop, Stitch DC. They have three locations in the D.C. area. What a cute little shop to stumble upon.
The young woman working was helpful and friendly and cute. It is a wonderful little space with some fun yarns. It seemed they had a lot of Karabella, Debbie Bliss and O Wool.
I especially like seeing this on the shelf when I walked in. That makes you feel good:)
I bought this scrumptious and huge skein of Mary's Little Lamb Light Worsted in True Blue. It has 450 yards and is by Farmhouse Yarns. I love the gentle color and I am planning on making some sort of cabled scarf out of it eventually. I ran across this array of free cabled scarf patterns (scroll down) you may want to check out. What a plethora of patterns from this wonderful designer.

Here are a couple more cool links I have been thinking about. I am making that sweater (from the first link) and I think I have the yarn in my stash for it, more later. If you have the magazine then you will know what I am talking about when I say that passed that sweater right by at first. Then when I saw the photos from the designers blog, I can't get it out of my head. What a fantastic creation. The other link is another great new resource you may want to visit. There are some interesting patterns here.
I know this is getting long but I want to finish by sharing my daughter's altered book. She had so much fun with this project. Here are some of the pages:
Yummy.
This page features glitter and a working zipper. When you open the zipper you see she wrote, "Happy Days," and glued two little buttons on either side, very cheerful.
I love this because you can make the horse move by pulling on the sucker stick on the side. It's an action feature.
Cheeky monkey!
You have to have a blue bird, sun with a smiley face and a big ol' tree, always.
This book is now featured on display in our living room for all to see.

Have a super weekend, Knitters. I hope it's a good one.
best, susie