Driven to Make

Hi Knitters,

The Collector was on a major crafting jag over last weekend. It is hard to describe the mode she gets in and frankly, it makes me so excited and happy to see. The girl is absolutely driven to be maker. It is almost all she can think about until she deems her current project complete. I don't want to say she is in a trance but maybe more like a crafting trance. She puts me to shame. She likes to take a simple concept and change and adapt it to the extreme.

Her little friend around the corner turned seven and The Collector wanted to make some dolls for her. These little dolls are so simple. You wrap fabric strips around pipe cleaners that are formed into a body with arms and legs. She used fabric glue to tack down the ends. Then you leave a long part of the pipe cleaner at the top. You put a wooden bead on for the head and the pipe cleaner that sticks out the top is the looped end and then she pulls yarn through the loop for hair. T.C. went crazy on the hair. We had been to Jo Ann's earlier for something else but she wanted to get some hair yarn, too.
The Collector worked for hours and hours on these dolls. She started with 5 larger size dolls and they are elaborate with painstaking details. Then she decided that each larger doll needed a smaller "sister" doll or baby doll to match. She ended up making 10 dolls. The dolls that had babies also were equipped with a fabric sling to carry the baby. You could take the sling on and off as it is simply tied around the back. She used a fine tip Sharpie pen to make the faces on the wooden bead.She braided a headful of braids on the bigger doll and made pony-tails for the smaller one. This pair actually has Rowan Big Wool for hair. She didn't end up with the right number of pieces for the braids so she separated one of the strands to make the number come out right. She told me later and I was impressed at her quiet problem solving.
Yes, that's Colinette Point 5 for the scarf! T.C. likes to root around in my stuff and I don't mind a bit.
These two are my favorite in the group. They look so happy and like they are in motion and dancing. I love the flower petals she used for the skirts on most all of the dolls, too.
This doll has a baby in a sling....
... as does this one. I love the way she bent the arms on both of these dolls to cradle the babies.

Here is one of the babies she made when the sling is removed and opened up. What a fun project for my sweet Collector. She quietly occupies herself for hours and hours with her crafting. It is awesome to witness.

I am writing this post from my hotel room in Little Rock, Arkansas. It has been a long day of work and travel but I did quickly want to remind anyone in the area that I will be at the Knitting for Noggins Event tomorrow, Dec 3rd starting at 2:00. The event is being held at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. It is a wonderful charity knitting event and it is huge! I am not kidding you when I say that people show up with THOUSANDS of hand knit and crocheted hats to donate to the hospital. It is amazing and I can't believe I was invited back for the third time! I love this event so much. I will try to get good photos but it is difficult because I am working the whole time.

The Collector knitted three hats that I am donating to the charity event for her. She is very excited about it.
She made this one out of Blue Sky Dyed Cotton and she whipped it up pretty fast. Awhile ago she made a fuzzy hat with pom-pom ears and another Blue Sky Dyed cotton Bunny hat from IBH and I think I posted photos of those earlier.

Okay, I need to organize my trunk show and go over some things for tomorrow. Mainly, I need to go to bed! I am a tired knitter tonight.

best, susie

p.s. Do you all know that I am having a knitalong on the Spud & Chloë blog? I am making a little Tiny Elf and I am posting the pattern for free as I work along. I have posted two parts of the pattern so far. Maybe you'd like to join me. The pattern will be available for free in its entirety when I finish the knitalong.

What's New?

Hi Knitters,

Wasn't that a fast holiday weekend? It flew by and I was sad to see it end. We had lots and lots of good family time. There's never enough of that in my book. Hope you all had a peaceful weekend filled with loved ones and good, hearty eating.

The December issue of American Baby is out and look what's on the cover! The original Candy Cane Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats! A long time ago I sent a bunch of my hats to Parents Magazine for a cover shot. That never materialized but a couple of months ago I received an email telling me that a photo from the past photo shoot was selected for the cover of Parents' sister magazine, American Baby. What a thrill.

I was glad to see that on the inside page they told readers where to get the pattern for the hat. Maybe it will spur some new people on to take up knitting. I can dream. I've already received a couple of emails from people asking where they can buy the hat. Isn't that funny?

Thank you, Awilda, for sending me a copy of the magazine. I appreciate you very much!

Here is the original photo from Itty-Bitty Hats by baby photographer extraordinaire, Liz Banfield. It happens to be one of my favorite shots from the book. I love the over the shoulder glance and the expression of that adorable baby. The angle shows the sweetness in the shape of the Candy Cane Hat. Recently, the Itty-Bitty Knits group did this hat for their bi-monthly Itty Bitty Hats knitalong. For a good viewing of the hat, here is the Ravelry link for 235 posted projects of the Candy Cane Hat.

One more newsworthy development over the weekend is that Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood released episode 108 of her Craftsanity podcast where we chatted for about an hour about all kinds of knitting and other stuff. If you are interested in taking a listen here is the link for the podcast. You can listen right on your computer with a simple click or you can download the podcast to your ipod or whatever you use on Itunes.

This is my third time as a guest on her show and Jennifer has provided links to the previous shows. The first time I was on the show I designed a free pattern for a Santa hat ornament called, Santa Baby. It is a quick little knit and a great gift for the Christmas season.
Onto a bit of family news, eighteen years ago on Thanksgiving Day I had my first child, a wonderful son. The years have sped by and we have loved this baby into a beautiful young man. He is a quiet, loyal and humble soul. He may actually qualify for being the easiest child to raise in the history of child-raising. He is that good and easy.
Everyday, even on those early 5:30am swim team days, we give each other a hug and kiss before he leaves for school. I always wish him a good and safe day and tell him I will be here when he gets home. I love that moment in the day.

When he was born my mom came to the hospital to see our new baby. She laughed, in a good way, when she saw him because he looks exactly like my husband. She said that he looked like my husband wrapped up in a blankie. It's true. He is a dead ringer for my husband. I don't know why but there is something fun about that. I've always liked that fact.

He makes me proud. I can't wait to see what he'll do next. Happy birthday to my (big) little sweet pea.

I'll be back soon! What's new with all of you?

best, susie

Corrections for Itty-Bitty Toys

Hi Knitters,

Although we all work incredibly hard to achieve perfection in our pattern writing, mistakes still happen. Thank you to the diligent knitters who take the time to contact me with any errors they may come across. This is immensely helpful to me. What would I do without you, dear Knitters?

With each subsequent printing of the book these corrections will be fixed. Here are the omissions and errors I have collected so far:

Corrections for Itty-Bitty Toys

Page 46
Pig:
Foot (make 2):
Rnd 6:
Needle 3: (k1, m1) twice, k2, m1, k1 (8 sts)

Page 54
Giraffe:
Decrease rounds for neck:
Rnd 16: (k3, k2tog), repeat to the end of the round (16 sts per needle, 48 sts total remain)
Rnds 17-37: knit

Page 87
Panda Puppet:
Eyes:
Black eye patch (make 2):
With Black and working back and forth, cast on 3 sts.
Row 1: kfb, k1, kfb (5 sts)
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: ssk, k1, k2tog
Bind off. Whipstitch to the face using a yarn needle and one of the tails. Weave in the ends to the inside.
Cut a 12-inch-long length of Natural and thread on a yarn needle. (The rest is the same.)

Page 93
Mama Duck and Ducklings:
Gauge: 6 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

pg. 93

Decrease Rows

Row 4: p2tog, p to last 2 sts, p2tog (5 stitches remain)

Place a stitch marker on the first of these 5 stitches and then knit them. Continue... (as is from there)

Page 99
Wrap Me Up Puppies:
Gauge: 6 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

p. 99

Round 36:

Needles 2 and 3: (k3, k2tog) repeat twice (8 sts remain)

p. 112 (added Oct. 2, 2010)

Pea Pod

Add another two rows after the rows 1 and 2:
Next row: k1, ssk, k3, k2tog, k1 (7 sts remain)
Next row: purl

Then go on to row 3 and complete as written.

Page 127
Baby Doll
Body decrease rounds:
Rnd 16: (k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (4 sts per needle, 12 sts total remain)

Page 130
Baby Doll
Ruffle Pants:
Back:
Place the front and back pieces together, purl sides facing and use mattress stitch (see p. 10).

Page 130:
Decrease the same as for the front (6 sts remain).
Added Text: Leave the 6 remaining stitches on the needle and cut the yarn leaving a 6-inch tail. With the right sides facing out, graft the 6 stitches remaining from the back together with the 6 stitches remaining from the front using the kitchener stitch (see p. 9). Weave in the ends to the inside and trim.

Page 143
Lion and Elephant:
Yarn:
Lion: 1 skein each in Amber #6122 and Agate #8014

Page146
Face:
With a length of Agate and the yarn needle... (the rest is the same).

Reversibles:
For the Elephant p. 143, Cat p. 149 and Sisters p. 155:
O-Wool Balance in Slate #2215 has been discontinued.
O-Wool Balance in Jade #3125 is recommended as a substitute for the Elephant and Sisters dolls.
O-Wool Balance in Agate #8014 is recommended as a substitute for the Cat doll.

I hope this helps!

best, susie

Can't Resist

Hi Knitters,

How could I say no to this request? Here is the email I just received:

Dear Susan,

Of all of your fans across the U.S. and around the world, I'm pretty confident that my mom Heidi is one of the biggest. She waits patiently every day for her very old and maddeningly slow computer to boot up and log on to the web. And as soon as it does, she's checking in with your blog, following your knitting and family adventures.

Two Christmases ago, my husband and I told her and my dad that their first grandbaby was on his or her way, and we gave her your book "Itty Bitty Nursery." She's been knitting little hats ever since, and my daughter Ellie, now 15 months old, has the cutest collection.

I have a unique request, but before I even make it, I understand that this is a far stretch, and most likely not something you do with your blog. But I was wondering if you could help me say thank you to my mom in a really special way. I recently took some adorable photos of Ellie in one of her new hats, and my mom has not yet seen these photos. I would love to send a unique thank you to her through your blog. I can picture her logging on, pulling up your blog, and spending a few very confusing moments staring at a photo of her granddaughter.

Please don't hesitate to say so if this is not a possibility. I completely understand, and I apologize for being so bold as to ask. But I've learned that it never hurts to ask, and for my mom, I'm always looking for interesting ways to show her just how much we appreciate her.

I know you're busy, so if I don't hear back from you, please don't worry about it.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

All the Best,
Jamie Escola

Massillon, Ohio

That's about the cutest thing I have ever read! I am humbled by Jamie's thoughtfulness toward her mother and by Heidi's efforts to check in with me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing with me, I am touched.

She's a cute one! Wow.
Hi Heidi! You must be one fantastic grandma and an even better mom for your daughter to make such a kind request to brighten your day. It looks like little Ellie gets plenty of love. Heidi, you are clearly appreciated.

I appreciate all of you, too, readers, for the support and love and I am sending it right back to you.

Happy Thanksgiving, Knitters. I am hosting dinner at my house for my side of the family and I don't think I'll make it back here beforehand. I have too much to do and too little time, as we all do, right? What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

On this holiday weekend, I hope you have a lovely time with your families and friends and that you get to knit a little bit here and there.

best, susie

p.s. The orange flower pattern is in Itty-Bitty Hats and it is included in the Felted Flower Hat pattern. The flower Heidi knitted is not felted, with 2 layers, and it works wonderfully that way, too. I also have a video tutorial on my sidebar for this flower if you are interested. I think Jamie may have meant the Itty-Bitty Hats instead of Itty-Bitty Nursery that they gave her mom. Either way it is awesome.

The Impressive Sow's Ear!

Hi Knitters,

Get ready for a long one today! I can't help myself.

I have to start by saying that The Sow's Ear event was one of the most successful yarn shop events I have ever had. I even stayed an extra hour because there were still so many people at the table enjoying the toys and the books. I couldn't just pack up and leave. It was awesome! Any author couldn't have dreamed of a better reception than this. Thank you to everyone who stopped by yesterday. What fun. What struck me most was that people didn't want to leave the shop and the event, they stayed and stayed for hours. The shop makes everyone want to move in, I guess. That's very telling, it's like you can't get enough.

You know you can't go wrong when you start off an event with a visitor like this one (photo above)! I was at The Sow's Ear for the afternoon yesterday and look who wandered in. Meet Katrina. She is 16 months old and is wearing the Pink Paper Bag Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats (it's the cover hat). Instead of pulling the ducks on their wheels Katrina liked picking the whole thing up and carrying it around. I love that.
Katrina's mom, Jasmine, knitted the hat for her daughter and I was happy to meet both of them. Jasmine's husband is in Iraq and has been there for 2 years now. He has only seen Katrina five times but he is expected home in January. Katrina and Jasmine stayed with me for a long time at The Sow's Ear in Verona, Wisconsin but that seemed to be the theme of the day for this wonderful book signing event yesterday.

Katrina must have walked all the way around the table a good twenty times. One time on her route behind my chair I actually got her to stop for a second so I could hold her for a bit. She sat on my lap for a good long time. It was great.

I thought this series of photos was so funny. I love to hold a baby but Katrina wasn't too sure about me...
... after a little work her mom got a little smile out of her.... I tried to win her over...
... I went in for the squeeze but Katrina wasn't feeling it.... look at her expression and the lean back ... so funny...

Katrina was clearly over me .... I still managed to get a tiny dose of baby love for the day. Thanks for the hug, well, sort of, Katrina! You made my day. She was awfully sweet and entertaining. Jasmine was an enthusiastic knitter to say the least. Thanks for coming and for waking up from your nap to see me, Katrina.

The steady flow of knitters began right at the starting time and it did not stop the entire time. It was so much fun and well-attended. I was impressed by the entire event. Heather, one of the shop managers, was incredibly friendly and accommodating. The shop features a wonderful coffee cafe. I had a fantastic lemonade and a pumpkin spice coffee on the house. I loved it. Thank you for taking care of the tired and thirsty author, Heather. You are wonderful and welcoming and warm. Heather took the photos for me, too.

I signed and signed and signed. It was awesome. We went through stacks of books that knitters bought at the event and loads of people brought their copies with them to be signed. It was a very successful signing and I highly recommend this shop to other authors/designers/ publishers for a fun spot to visit for events. You could not find a happier, warmer crowd of knitters anywhere.

I sincerely feel like I have rediscovered this shop. I used come out and knit and shop here but I hadn't been for a long while just due to being too busy. I am definitely scheduling some hanging out time here in the near future. It is too fun to not take advantage of when a shop like this is right in your hometown. If you see me hanging out and knitting at The Sow's Ear be sure to say hello! They have knit nights until 11pm every first and third Thursday of the month. That's too late for me but I hear it is an absolute zoo of enthusiastic knitters on these nights. It sounds really fun!
Sara, who I have met through my blog, made her way up from Platteville, WI, to come to the event. She was so sweet and even sat next to me for awhile in that empty chair at the table. She has been such a positive source of support for a long time. Sara is a retired kindergarten teacher and I bet she was an excellent teacher, I can tell. She has a kind way about her. Thank you, Sara, it was great to meet you.

I don't have a photo but there was another sweet woman who had just moved to Madison recently. She came and sat next to me for a little while so I could help her learn the twisted loop stitch for the baby doll's hair. She couldn't believe how simple it was and once she tried a couple of stitches, she had it made in the shade! She was thrilled.

Another woman brought her finished baby doll with her and it turned out so great. She was very proud of her doll and told me she had been looking for a knitted baby doll pattern for years. She was so excited about the doll pattern. That was fun to hear.
These two were celebrating the birth of their first grandchild. They stopped by to have a book signed on their way to Milwaukee to meet their new baby boy! The husband wanted to buy one of the reversible toys... I thought that was funny. He was serious. He understood when I explained the toys weren't for sale. His wife will just have to get knitting for that new grand baby right away!

The woman in red coat works with my husband. She was so sweet to come and stay for awhile at the signing. My husband just loves working with her. She doesn't even knit but bought a book anyway. Isn't that nice? I loved seeing her and she just loved the toys. She came to a signing a couple of years ago and visited with my mom for a long time at that event. I'll always remember that. She is a kind supportive soul.

What I love in the photo above and the next few photos is the little girl in the striped hat. She started at one end and...
... systematically worked her way down the table...
... quietly touching and trying out every toy...
... until she got to the very end! That's the way to do it! Love the hat, too:) She was very cute.
These two knitting friends were so excited. The woman on the left brought her finished puppy from Itty-Bitty Toys to share. It turned out great. She used a little heavier yarn, which is just fine, so her puppy turned out a little bigger. That's the good thing about toy knitting, you don't have to worry so much about the gauge if you don't mind having a toy that turns out a little bigger or smaller than the one in the book.

It was great fun to meet these ladies!
Sara got some good lovin' from the friendly giraffe. I love how the arms are draped around her neck like a baby.
It was awesome, there was a kids knitting class going on at the same time as the signing. The teacher, Liz, let the girls take a break to come and see the toys. Grace (in blue) was wearing the hat they were making in class and she actually finished her own hat by the end of the day. I think the two middle girls were in the hat knitting class and that's just my little toy buddy on the end.

Grace basically wouldn't leave the shop after her class until her mom bought her a copy of Itty-Bitty Toys. Her mom finally gave in, being the kind soul that she is, and Grace is now planning on making the New Sock Monkey as her first toy! It was a funny exchange, the whole thing. I enjoyed it.
This was another little girl who spent a ton of time at the table. She would come and play with the toys and then she would leave. Then a little while later she would reappear again to play for awhile. This happened three or four times. She was very quiet but entranced by the knitted toys. I love seeing older kids, teens and adults get as much joy out the the toys as the little ones do. My dear friend, Chris, showed up and also stayed a long time. Her daughter works at the shop, too. I have to tell you something special about Chris. She was my obstetrician when The Collector was born. She came to the hospital when she wasn't even on call in the middle of the night for her delivery. She was born at about 3am. That's a true friend alright. Our sons grew up best friends and we all spent countless hours at each others' homes together and traveled together on family vacations for many years. We have many connections in different ways and I will always consider Chris a very dear and special friend. I am a lucky girl to have her. Isn't she cute? She gives the best hugs ever.
I was intrigued by these large flat cakes of wool. It is unspun wool by School House Press (Elizabeth and Meg Zimmerman's Pittsville, WI company). You can double the strand and knit on a size 8 at about 4 stitches per inch or on a single strand on a size 3 for 7 stitches per inch or so. I would like to have all of those yarn cakes for my house, please:) They are really cool. The Sow's Ear had all sorts of unique yarns that I hadn't seen before. The inventory is fantastic and full and organized. It's simply a great shop!
The shelves are packed to the brim with loads of fantastic yarn.
This is my friend Chris's daughter, Kate. Kate loves working at the shop and is their best barista I have heard from a reliable source. I have known Kate since she was 10-years-old and she is in her early twenties now. She is adorable and fun! It was great to see her post-college and looking so young and happy with her life.
The shop houses many rooms including this spacious area for eating and knitting and sipping coffee and tea. It is a wonderful setting.
I have sat many times and knitted, with Chris in fact, in the little window nook to the left right there. You can't see it that well because it is always occupied and I didn't want to disturb the knitters in there. There are some cozy chairs tucked in that spot.
The shop is a little old house with a big front porch. It is on the main street in downtown Verona, which is about 15 minutes from my house. Verona is really considered a part of Madison in many ways. It is very quaint.
The sign is even endearing with the sow sporting a pilgrim hat for the season.
A little cement pig greets you at the steps.
I love the mosaic table on the front porch. It was such an unseasonably warm day that there were people sitting out on the porch when I arrived.
Inside there are buttons, bags, patterns, books, tons of yarn and needles, etc. You can't go wrong here.
Thank you, Sow's Ear!!!! What a day to remember. I hope to be back real soon.

Heather and I talked about setting up a workshop sometime soon so keep your eyes out for that if you are interested.

Also, Madison Knitters Pay Attention: The Sow's Ear is getting an account with Spud & Chloë! Your waiting is over in the Madison area for a shop to carry Spud & Chloë. This is very exciting news. Thank you! I will be sending everyone your way to get their Spud & Chloë yarns and patterns. The shop will be getting the line very soon so also keep your eyes and ears out for this development. You would not believe how many emails I get from Madison knitters wanting Spud & Chloë in a local shop and now I will send them right over!

Phew! What a day! I am home for the holiday week so it won't be restful but it will be loads of family time together. Plus, my son is turning 18 years old next weekend. It is a big week around here.

If you are still with me, thanks for sticking it out to the end!

Have a good Sunday knitters.

best, susie