Feelin' Groovy

Hi Knitters,

Remember the words to that song.... slow down, you move too fast....

I gathered up The Collector after school and took her for a hike in a gorgeous nature conservancy that is only a few blocks away from our house. In this conservancy you can find everything from ponds, prairies, secret forest paths, private quiet benches, woods, wild flowers, a hidden old-fashioned playground with an ancient teeter-totter with tires sticking out of the ground to break the impact, to meandering paths. We love it there and spend lots of time hiking around, we know it like the back of our hands. It was a fall day to remember.

The Collector had a grand time...

...the sky sparkled...
...the wind blew....
...The Collector ran...
...bees buzzed...
...red vines climbed...
...leaves turned, trees decayed...
...The Collector sprung into action...
...wheat grass enveloped us...
...the colors amazed us...
...red leaves peeked from a sea of green...
...The Collector danced...
...trees grew sideways...
...wild flowers lined the pathway...
...a feather was gently held by the grass ...
...yellow flowers were gazed upon...
...The Collector sang songs and found an enormous brown leaf....
...summer ended....
...The Collector found a treasure trove of Witch Apples...
...then she spotted a Witch Apple that landed in the crook of a branch....
...feelin' groovy.

I am sending the joy of fall to you today, dear Knitters. Enjoy.

best, susie

Part Two

Hi Knitters,

I know, I know, it's blurry, but just look. How cute is that? I feel like holding those little sweet peas. I knitted the sweet pea hats for a friend of my brother-in-law's who was having twins, obviously. She loved the hats so much that she put them on in the hospital, used them for her birth announcement and actually teared up when she received the hats. If that doesn't make a knitter feel good I don't know what does. My favorite part of that picture? Those legs and toes. Don't you feel like squeezing those baby toes? 
Here is another shot of the babies in the hats. I love how the little girl has her hands over her head while sleeping. I think boy/girl twins are so unusual and fun. Oh, sweet peas. If you knit and you are trying to think of a gift for a baby the best go to gift is a newborn size baby hat. You can't go wrong, it's fast, easy, inexpensive and the reaction from the mother is the best.

It's funny because I just knitted another set of baby blue sweet pea hats for another set of twins. There is something about twins and sweet peas, it's a good combo I guess.
Okay, here is that cover I couldn't get to load yesterday. Yay, Debbie. That cover sweater is a beauty. I love that layered look.
Here is the other photo I wanted to share yesterday. The ad for the Woolie Ewe is gorgeous, eye-catching. It makes you want to know more. Hey, you all should pop over to their new online shop because they are having a contest for a $100 gift card for the shop or online and everyone should enter. That's a big prize for a great store.

Okay, now I've gotten all of those photos up from yesterday. Why does that happen sometimes?

One more thing, the Itty-Bitty Nursery Trunk Show is now at the Chix with Stix yarn shop in Chicago. The trunk show will be there from Oct. 2-15 so stop on by if you are in the area. I love Chicago, wish I was there. Their site looks really nice, too. Check it all out. In fact, I have a friend who was raving about this shop not too long ago. She had just been there and loved it. I hope it goes well with the show.

One more thing after the last one more thing, I am going to be making an appearance at Loop Yarn Shop in Milwaukee, WI on Sunday, Oct. 19th from 12-3:00. It is an open house event to go along with the trunk show and I am excited to be there. Bring your books for me to sign or buy one at the shop, bring your baby pictures, bring your knitting or just bring yourself. Pop in for a quick hello or stay the whole time. I will love to see you.

At the Loop event on the 19th I am bringing some fun stuff. I have at least one hat kit for the rosebud hat from Itty-Bitty hats and I have some Itty-Bitty Nursery tape measures. I think we are going to have a raffle of some sort. I am also throwing in my bag lots of hats from Itty-Bitty Hats, the actual samples from the photos in the book to share with you. Mark your calendars and head on out to Loop Yarn if you are able. 

Here is the info. on these two shops:

Chix with Stix

contact: Dana

Forest Park, IL 60130

chixstix@sbcglobal.net

708 366 6300

Itty-Bitty Trunk Show Oct. 2-15

Loop Yarn Shop

contact: Patricia Colloton-Walsh

2963 N. Humboldt Blvd.

Milwaukee, WI 53207

pwalsh8131@aol.com

414 265 2312

Trunk show from Oct. 16-28

Event with Susan (me!) Oct. 19 12-3:00pm

Off to take my daughter to swim team.

Bye for now, Knitters.

best, susie

Woolie Bliss

Hi Knitters,

I had a few more pictures to add but I can't seem to get them uploaded for some reason. Time to move on. I want to tell you about this fabulous new magazine. Debbie Bliss now has her own knitting magazine and it is being produced by the fantastic people at Soho Publishing as in Vogue Knitting and KnitSimple variety. The premiere issue is exquisite. Be sure to click on the link above to see the cover. Soho Publishing strikes again with top notch knitting material for us. Wow.

The magazine features 36 beautiful designs for the home, baby/child, women and many sweaters for men. I am not kidding, the patterns are all gorgeous, the photography is to die for and Debbie even offers a personal section called, "blissful life," where she talks about her favorite things. She shares a recipe, her favorite stitch (can you guess?), a favorite artist and other tidbits. It's fun to hear from Debbie, her taste is impeccable. The magazine is better than a book because of all of the personal touches, interviews and ads.
Here is one sweater I love. Just look at it. I think it is really pretty and different. Wouldn't you love to cuddle up in that on a cold day?
Debbie has a knack for taking the simple project, interjecting it with color and quality in construction. She takes simplicity to a level beyond. I admire Debbie for that. She offers some adorable kids projects in this issue.

I was thrilled to see a full page ad (one of the photos I couldn't get to load) for one of my favorite yarn shops in the country. They have just opened a new online shop and if it is anything like their shop, it will be a winner. The stock and service is like no other. I was there on a Saturday last fall and it was hopping with knitters, packed full. They are nice as pie. 

You have to take a look. This shop has a personal relationship with Debbie Bliss, she has visited them several times. They literally have everything in the Debbie Bliss line. If you are looking for something specific, this is the way to go. The inventory is enormous for any brand or line of yarn or accessories you can imagine, the shop is run by a mother/daughter team and the staff is the best. The Woolie Ewe is a good shop to support.

Here is one quick link for you  today. I keep dreaming about this one. Yup, gotta make that.

I am a year older today, another year has passed in my life. I feel good, happy, contented so I never give my age much thought. It's one of those things you can't do anything about so why bother worrying about it. The older you are, the more interesting you get in my book.

Happy Sunday, Knitters.

best, susie

p.s. You know, one of the projects in the magazine is a needle case, knitted and lined with fabric. I see them everywhere in books, over and over, and every time I wonder if people ever make needle cases. I never have. Do you have any interest in this project or have you ever made a needle case, knitted or sewn or felted? I'd love to hear, maybe I'm missing out.

p.p.s. Debbie's favorite stitch? Moss stitch. Clearly.

Queen of Chicken

Hi Knitters,

What a week. I have received some good news. Photographer extraordinaire, Liz Banfield, has signed on to work on the toy book with me. She did the photography for the first two books and she is fantastic. Check out her site and her blog, she is truly amazing. Yay!

When my husband came down the stairs the other morning I had a drill, hammer, saw and tons of wooden pieces spread all over the kitchen counter. He asked, "What is this, the shoemaker and the elves?" My life has become elf-like at this point. That is so funny. Yes, I have some roll-y type toys in the new book. They are pretty cool stuff. Can't wait to share.

If I have any other title it has to be The Queen of Chicken. The other day my sister called me to give me a new chicken recipe that she got from a friend while on the school playground. When I find a new quick and easy chicken recipe I'm all over it. The cooking isn't fancy around here but it is big.

Here are few of the chicken recipes I rotate on a regular basis:

chicken salsa

chicken and rice

barbecue chicken

chicken salad

chicken soup

shredded chicken sandwiches

chicken enchiladas

chicken Parmesan

baked lemon chicken

grilled chicken

chicken curry

chicken chili

chicken Marsala

There are many more but I am too tired to remember right now. See, I am like the shrimp guy in Forest Gump, only with chicken. Me and my chicken casserole, best friends forever. Okay, so here is the new one I tried the other night:

1 bottle French dressing

1 package French onion soup mix 

1 can whole cranberry sauce

Heat up the sauce ingredients above and brown the chicken ( I get the boneless, skinless breasts, family size pack). Place everything in a 13x9 inch pan ( I have to make 2 pans of everything a night and usually there are no left overs, I double or triple every recipe). Bake at 350 degrees for maybe another 45 minutes. Oh, and cover with foil. 

The thing is that my family loves French dressing, all of them. My husband is the biggest French dressing lover I have ever met. He will order French dressing in every restaurant and we always have it in the fridge. Anyway, my family loved this recipe and everyone agreed that it is a do-again dish. I'll add it to my list of hash slinging recipes. I need to fill these kids up and it isn't an easy task.

The Queen of Chicken is now signing off. I am a tired out chicken little.

Good night, Knitters.

best, susie 

Persimmons on the Brain

Hi Knitters,

Do you know about Persimmons? What got me thinking about persimmons and what they are started with my knitting. I was knitting with Julia and when I went to write down the color I thought it would say Pumpkin on the label. Instead it said Persimmon. I realized that I didn't exactly know what a persimmon is, I mean I know it is a fruit but I've never eaten any. This was about a month ago.  Then I received my Country Living, October 2008 issue and saw the feature article on the persimmon. I thought that was perfect and fitting.

Here is a little information about persimmons. They are a bright orange fruit with dark glossy green leaves and they grow on trees that look similar to an apple tree of sorts. Apparently the trees are easy to grow, not fussy and have few requirements as far as trees go. The fruit is delicious and sweet and can be dried for decorating purposes. When ripe the fruit should feel like a ripe tomato. There are two types of persimmons, American (native to the United States) and Asian.

Maybe you know all of this but I sure didn't. The reason I haven't heard much about persimmons is because they are very uncommon in American gardens. I am just not familiar with this fruit but I love the color. Anyway, thought you might find that as interesting as I did. You know about my thing for all things orange. I started gathering up my favorite orange yarns in my studio this morning and you know, I have quite a collection going. Here are some of my favorite orange yarns.
This pile of goodness makes me think about sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice lattes (yes, they are back at Starbucks). I have a quick, funny story that involves pumpkins in a "round" about way. 

When I was pregnant with my first baby I just couldn't believe how round I got, everywhere, not only my tummy. I literally looked like a pumpkin with little pumpkin legs. Well, my husband and I went out for frozen yogurt one night, it was fall and they had fall themed flavors. I, of course being a pumpkin lover, ordered a pumpkin shake. Right after I said it I knew. I looked at my husband and we just burst out laughing and we couldn't stop. I was a pumpkin ordering a pumpkin. I have no shame. We still laugh about that one. It just struck us funny.
All of my pumpkin love was fanned by the arrival of this beauty in the mail a couple of weeks ago. Dani dyed up some gorgeous pumpkin yarn that I had to have. Isn't that the best pumpkin yarn ever? The hues of golds, deep and light oranges and rusts all swirled together. Yum, yum. I think I will make something other than socks with it. I need to see that color out front. It will probably become a scarf of some sort or maybe a hat or gloves or mitts.
It's delish with whip cream. You should get some.
I had to share a pumpkin sweater for my parting shot. I made this sweater many years ago in Rowan Cork from a Rowan pattern booklet. They no longer make Cork, which is a shame. It is a super light-weight chunky yarn, kind of like a chain. I loved this corrugated pattern with the leather ties at the neck. It still looks and feels pretty good and I think I will leave it on for awhile this morning. It's in the 40's now but getting up to 77 this aft, best weather ever.

See, I still look a little like a pumpkin only a slightly smaller one now.

Okay, happy Friday, Knitters.

best, susie

p.s. Thank you Kay Martin for the beautiful note and the hand-painted book mark by Lorraine Ortner -Blake. Your thoughtfulness touched me. Here is the quote Lorraine wrote in calligraphy on my book mark:

-if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau.

I love it. Even a pumpkin can dream....

Seconds

Hi Knitters,

Okay, I hope you don't mind sloppy seconds. The new winner of the Knitting Daily DVDs, as selected by the random number generator early this morning, is:

oiyi said...

I have been wondering about that series. I just got a portable DVD player so it would be nice to watch it after the baby is asleep. You always have the best give aways!

www.oiyi.blogspot.com

Sept. 16, 2008

Oiyi, yay! I am glad you came up as a winner. I will happily send your prize. You have to contact me by Thursday, Sept. 25th and give me your mailing address. My email is on the sidebar.  I am sorry to Mary for missing out but I have to follow through with the guidelines I set.

See those mangled looking apples above? The Collector brought those into the house the other day, not sure where they are from exactly. She is calling them Witch Apples. I love that. I am also not sure what we are supposed to be doing with them. Witch Apples...that's good.

That book is good, too, A Job for Wittilda. I love seasonal picture books, they really set the mood around the house. It's about a little witch trying to earn some extra cash to feed her cats so she tries out different occupations. Chaos ensues and it's very funny.

I just knitted up a Pear Apple Cozy for my daughter to bring to school each day. She loves an apple a day but not a Witch Apple:  ) What a great little cozy to throw in a backpack every day, so much better than using a baggie. I think I've made about a dozen pear apple cozies so far. They are a great gift.  Don't forget the cozy is a perfect yarn cake holder, too.

Our neighbor was over playing and drew those beautiful butterflies in our community sketch book. Excellent.
Do any of you have this toy set? It's a good one and I recommend it highly. Plus it's on sale on that link. I wish I had gotten it on sale but we've had it for quite awhile now.
It has magnets so the scoops stick to the scooper and cone. You can stack 3 scoops pretty easily. This is a clever, clever set. Grandmas everywhere need this one. I want to make a knitted version.

Along those lines, look at this one. I looove that pattern and I have to make a few of those at some point. Good work, Marcie.

Okay, off to work I go. Knit, knit, knit, stuff, stuff, stuff, sew, sew, sew.....sigh.

best, susie

Oh Snap!

Hi Knitters,

Snapdragons that is. My daughter just came in from our neighbors yard wearing these purple snapdragon earrings. That is a new one for me. I have always loved snapdragons but I have never planted any. Gotta put that on my list.

Snap to it, Mary! Mary from Holland, MI, where are you? You have until tomorrow morning when I get up, which is awfully early, to contact me about the DVDs from Knitting Daily. If I don't hear from Mary I will be picking a new winner tomorrow. Stay tuned....
I have been knitting so hard these past couple of weeks. It has been a bit rough. Deadlines can zap the fun right out of things sometimes. Don't get me wrong, the projects are loads of fun, it's the hardcore knitting that is difficult. I still have a ton to complete this week and next. My fingers can't possibly work any faster.

Okay here are some things I am thinking about:

pending giveaway

scarf du jour

hat du jour

stash buster

Oh, and I have to say that I just watched a really great movie while I was knitting, of course. It is called, Then She Found Me. It stars Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick and Bette Midler.  First things first, I love Helen Hunt. She is so naturally good and believable. My favorite thing about Helen Hunt? Her face that hasn't been artificially altered in any way and she remains glorious and beautiful and refreshing. We don't get to see women age naturally in movies very often any more. Now when you see a woman in her mid-forties looking her age it is something you notice. I love it for obvious reasons and I couldn't take my eyes off her. It is a sweet movie about betrayal and love. The entire cast is wonderful.

That's my two cents on a few things. Mary, Mary, I am waiting on you...

best, susie 

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