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

How It's Supposed To Be

Hi Knitters,
I'm home. As my youngest daughter jumped out of my van this morning she turned back to me, smiled and said, "This is how it's supposed to be." She missed me and I her and everyone else around here for that matter.

The picture above is how I started the week. This is my set up before I went on the first tv spot in Cincinnati. That whole morning is such a blur. My media escort, Kathy Tirschek, had me going a mile a minute, zipping here and there. It was great fun and a bit crazy but we made it with flying colors. I did a radio interview that is available in podcast form here. It was loads of fun to do. The interviewer, Mark DeWitt, had absolutely no idea about knitting but that made me keep on my toes because I never knew which way he was going to go! I just listened to it and it turned out to be kind of a funny interview. If you listen make sure you take note of his questions and you will be sure to have a chuckle.

Anyway, I did a few more interviews for tv that were great fun and the last woman who interviewed me was a long time knitter and she was so excited about the book and the chance to talk about knitting.
I had no idea what a scenic city Cincinnati is. It is gorgeous with rolling hills and historical homes and beautiful bridges. I loved it. Now, I don't have a picture from Books & Co. in Dayton but I had such a fun time there. I was scheduled to come at the same time a large knitting group meets. That was perfect! This group had every age group represented and this is always the best. They are my favorite kind of group, chatty, funny, laughing, inquisitive, excited and just plain old nice. We had such a great knitting time together. Thank you and I wish I lived there so I could be a part of this group. If you are in that area head over Books & Co. on Thursdays at noon and you won't be disappointed with this crowd of knitters. I really mean that.
This is the only shot I have of my time at the Woolie Ewe in Plano, TX. This picture is not indicative of the time I had there. I have never been so bombarded with fantastically fun knitters in my entire life. There were 35 knitters in my class to start with. The lovely Pam Johnson said there could have been more if there had been more space. I couldn't believe it. We had a couple of hours of baby knitting fun together. This group has enthusiasm seeping from their bones and I loved every minute of it. This enormous knit shop was jam packed the entire time I was there. I signed more books than I could count. The staff was unbelievably kind and hospitable. Pam is sending me a bunch of pictures so I will post again about this event to share those with you. Pam, thank you for everything. It was a pleasure.

The owners are a mother-daughter team, Jill and Sue, and they do a terrific job with this shop. It is the place to be. They are cooking up a knitting retreat idea for next fall and I have been invited to be a guest teacher. It is in the initial planning now but hang on to your hats because I am not the only teacher they are inviting. If things work out I could have the opportunity to meet my all-time knitting hero in person. Just thinking about it gives me chills. The Woolie Ewe is launching a redesigned website in the near future and this is the place to go. They have more yarn than I have ever seen in one spot. What fun!

Also, in Plano I met a phenomenal needle felting expert named Linda. She teaches a needle felting group that does the most interesting projects, some even involve sculpture. It is hard to explain but they made a character sculpture of a pelican man that involved porcelain features and loads of roving. I have never seen anything like it. Wow!
Next I was in Lexington and I love going there. This is the third time I have been there on book business. It is always a pleasure. The lovely Diane was a perfect host to me. Her beautiful, elegant knit shop, Magpie Yarn, is beyond wonderful. I am so glad I got to see it. It is warm and welcoming and the organization of the yarn is completely eye-catching. Diane gave me the most sensational gift from her shop and I will be sharing more about that later.
They (meaning Diane and Jane, the other owner who I saw briefly) have the shop organized by color. I tried to capture a bit of this but it is more stunning in person. They have beautiful knitted samples displayed in the most elegant, appealing way. Diane is one of the most charming, sweet yarn shop owners I have ever met. She welcomed me so warmly and I appreciate it to no end.

I had a book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, a spectacular bookstore. I love going there. The turn out wasn't huge (possibly due to a little football game between LSU and Kentucky and many other large events going on in the city at the same time) but the knitters who came were wonderful. We had a nice time together and I signed lots of stock for the store if you are looking for a signed book. Rachel, the bookstore host, was wonderful as always. She even knitted some samples for display before I got there. Thanks Rachel and let's definitely do it again!
On to Arkansas, Little Rock that is! This event deserves its own post. I stayed at the beautiful Peabody hotel where ducks are paraded through the lobby to sit in the fountain. They even ride the elevator from their very own room. It is really cute to see. Then I was off to the Knitting for Noggins event. I really am going to write about this again because the good work of these knitters deserves a lot more than a couple of sentences. It is a remarkable event.
Here I was just setting up for the talk and knit a thon. The people started filing in about a half an hour before the start time. The crowd grew to about 150 knitters and the number of donated hats grew to an astounding 5,000 collected just this one day. Let me tell you, it is a humbling sight to see these knitters and crocheters coming in with bag after bag of beautiful handmade hats. These hats are high quality hats and extremely well-done. I looked at a ton of them and was so impressed by the quality of work people were donating. It is a touching day and I am so honored to be such a small part of it.
These two women were the winners of the day by donating 1,000 hats they had crocheted just for this event. They were the cutest, happiest, most inspiring women I can't even tell you. Let me say it again, 1,000 hats between the two of them. They were so proud of their achievement. Their hats were beautifully done and they had them organized by size and color in those large zip-loc bags. The woman on the right is Melissa and she was one of the workers at the event.

The grand total for the Knitting for Noggins hat collection is now at a staggering 20,000 hats after yesterday. Robin Armstrong is the main force behind this charity knitting event and she should be applauded for her efforts. Way to go Robin.

My presentation was webcast and as soon as that gets posted I will link to it so you can share in this charity knitting extravaganza!

I will have more coming, but for now there is cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping to be done! I have lots of funny stories to share with you from the trips but I am too tired to do written justice to them right now. I will post tidbits as they come to me this week. I have a lot more to share.

Thanks to everyone!
best, susie
p.s. I got mention in the Chicago Sun Times. I haven't even looked at it yet but Jaime, my publicist, sent the link over to me so I'll share it and hope it is a good one.
p.p.s. The Woolie Ewe does commisioned knitting like I have never heard of before. If you are looking for this service definitely contact them. They are a full service knit shop!

Travel Update

Hi Knitters,

I want to give people a quick head's up for my upcoming stops just in case you can come out to see me along the way. Some of the times have been changed and a few things have been added.

Wednesday morning (tomorrow) I am doing a radio interview from home for a Little Rock program. I don't know anything more about that. Then I fly out to Dayton, Ohio.

In Dayton, OH on Thursday, Oct. 11th I am doing a series of tv/radio spots some are live and some are taped:
WXIX-TV 19 in the Morning 8:10am (live)
WRRS-FM Cover to Cover (taped show)
INC-6 Northern Kentucky Magazine 10:05am (live)
WCPO-TV 9 Noon News (taped segment)

Then I arrive at the Books & Co. at the Greene where I am scheduled to do a signing/trunk show from 12-2pm. At this same time a knitting group that regularly meets at the store will be there. It is, of course, open for anyone else who wants to show up, bring your knitting or not, your choice. I will bring my suitcase filled with an itty bitty trunk show and I can do some demo stuff and answer questions. I hope to keep it really casual so wander on by if you are in the area.

On Friday Oct. 12th I am in Plano, Texas. I am basically at the Woolie Ewe all day starting at 10:00am. There is a class then a book signing and trunk show. I fly out later that afternoon to Lexington.

In Lexington I have a book signing on Saturday, Oct. 13th at the beautiful Joseph-Beth Booksellers from 2-4pm. I was there last year and loved it. What a beautiful book store. I am hoping to make it over to Magpie Yarns before the event for a quick visit.

Last, but not least, I am in Little Rock on Sunday, Oct. 14th, for the queen of all charity hat knitting events, Knitting for Noggins. Last year I think they raised close to 20,000 handknit and crocheted hats for their organization. It literally became a worldwide effort. At the last event I gave a brief presentation that was webcast on the Arkansas Children's Hospital website. I don't know if this is happening again but last year my family was over at my mom's house and they gathered around to watch the event live, as it happened. I loved that. I even snuck in a "hi, mom" at one point. That was fun. Anyway, I am speaking at 2:20 for a short bit and the site is here if you happen to be hanging around your computer at that time.

Well, I have to pack and get to bed. That schedule makes me tired just looking at it. Hopefully I'll see some of you out and about.
best, susie

Betz's Acorns

Hi Knitters,
Oh, I couldn't resist after seeing this. Betz is so darn clever. She took the acorn tops she collected with her sons in Maryland and glued little felt balls in to replace the acorns. I simply love this, it is so smart. Who doesn't love a good acorn with a touch of felted goodness?

My daughter and I tromped around the neighborhood looking for any fallen acorns this afternoon. We have a ton of trees in our own yard just not the acorn producing type. Finally we struck gold just up the street at a neighborhood park. Luckily, we brought a baggie along just in case we found more than would fit in our hands. With our baggie loaded up with acorn treasures we marched home, pulled out the felted balls and some tacky glue and went to town. Betz used more subdued colors for her acorns but you know that's not going to happen over here. Hot pink and turquoise acorns? Of course! Thanks to Betz for such a quick and simple fall craft project to do with or without your kids. She is too good and I love her sharing ways. You should try this one!

Also fun is this little ankle sock I started yesterday. I bought this Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn at the Yarnery in St. Paul. The colors are beautiful and very autumnal. You should check out the other colors, too.

I am feeling the fall!

best, susie

Let's Start At the Very Beginning...

...a very good place to start.

Hi Knitters,
Actually, I am starting at the very end. I ended up my Minnesota visit at Needlework Unlimited which is one of my favorite places to be. I was graciously welcomed and that shop is something else, it is huge and brimming with every great yarn you could ever want. Karen Rumpza is a savvy owner with her inventory. The knitters there were wonderful and plentiful. There was a steady stream of happy faces that included a brand new baby named Thora (and proud mom and grandma, too), and the lovely Lesli (check out the fantastic blog she just started!) and her beautiful daughter, Ella, kept me company for quite some time. Ella, who is seven, is an enthusiastic knitter to say the least, and she had the cutest felted bag that she knitted herself, so fun to see. Anyway, I went through stacks of books, both hats and nursery kind, and it was a relaxing and pleasant stop, thoroughly enjoyable. I would go back there anytime.


The photographer for the book, Liz Banfield, lives in Minneapolis so I am always telling people that all of those great babies are from Minnesota. I have to mention that I met the mom of the gorgeous little girl who modelled the tea set in the book. Her name is Piper and she has a great story. Right before these photos were taken, maybe a week before, she was adopted from China! The mom wasn't sure how she would react to being a model, but she was perfect. Liz Banfield knew her from the neighborhood. It was great to meet her and hear about Piper in person. Piper's mom is pretty cute herself!


The other person I met was baby Chloe's aunt who showed up at Needlework. Chloe is in three pictures in the book. She is in the stroller wearing the circles stroller jacket. She has the best cheeks I have ever seen! Chloe is also wearing the rosebud hat next to the fruit loops bag. Her family is so excited about her being in the book. It was touching to see how proud her aunt is of her niece. I signed a book for Chloe and thanked her for being a model in my book. These kinds of meetings make everything worth it to me, pure and simple.
Saturday morning I went to the Midwest Booksellers Convention. Wow, was that an interesting look into the book selling market. Independent bookstore owners came through in large numbers and they get free books and other stuff from the hundreds of publishers who set up booths. It is like Christmas and everything is free. I set up this little table of goodies at the Workman booth. It attracted a lot of attention because of the knitted samples, people love a good knitted cupcake. I signed and gave away 60 copies of itty bitty nursery in less than an hour. I met quite a few knitters/bookstore owners as well. Many of these little book shops have a knitting shop right nearby. That was good fun.

The best part of of the convention was meeting my beloved Danielle face to face. In this day and age you can work with someone on a daily basis for months and never meet them in person. Isn't that kind of strange? It is to me, I like to know what someone looks like and I have been known to make people describe themselves over the phone to me. Sorry about that.

Danielle was my publicist for itty bitty hats and she is amazing. She is a jack of all trades in every sense of the word. She can literally do anything and everything and manage any crisis in a matter of moments. She switched jobs at Workman and is now in sales and marketing. Workman is lucky to have her. Plus she is just so darn fun. We went out to dinner on Friday night (actually, I just remembered it was my birthday that night) at a great restaurant on Nicollet Mall called the Newsroom. The food was delicious and we ate a ton. She looked so cute and New York sassy and I looked, well, Midwestern mom. That is making me laugh. What can you do? I am what I am. Danielle is a knockout and a kind, thoughtful, hardworking young woman. I love her to the core and I am lucky to have the opportunity to work with her and to spend time with her. Thanks Danielle!

Oh yeah, I did a taping for KARE 11, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis, which will be shown on Tuesday, Oct. 9th on the Showcase Minnesota show. If you're in the area and are able to see that spot, I would love to hear how it went. One funny thing is that during the taping my cell phone went off, it was my sister wishing me a happy birthday. We laughed about that later. I thought they would stop the tape so I told Corbin that my phone was going off, but she just kept on going! I got a bit distracted so that should be good for a laugh. Despite that the taping went fine and I hope it looks good. Let me know!

On Thursday I went to The Yarnery in St. Paul. What a great shop! The staff was friendly and warm and they had a wonderful event all set to roll. You can see pictures here. I forgot to get my camera out. I met the lovely Eva who is a great itty bitty knitter. She was such fun to chat with. The beautiful Sylvia was there with her bear and I helped her figure out the feet construction. Her bear was so cute and she is so excited to be expecting her first grandchild soon. I want to hear all about that, Sylvia. Also, the beautiful baby Will came and hung out for a long while. He was so sweet. I love meeting those babies. The Yarnery just opened an online shop for their store. Check that out for sure and they are selling the patterns for these fantastic felted snowmen with accessories. You will see their ad in the new holiday Interweave Knits. That is one cute pattern! I loved being at this shop so much. What a treat of a night.

Well, one last line of business. I had the pleasure of being featured in the business section of the weekend edition of the Capital Times newspaper here in Madison. You can check out that article here and the reporter Katie Dean did a super job. Thanks, Katie for being thorough and making the effort to come to the Knitting Tree event. I was really impressed. I can't imagine how hard those reporters work and at such a fast pace, incredible.

Wow, can you believe all that? For anyone who made it through this post, thank you! Now I am off to clean my house which you also wouldn't believe.

best, susie

Thank You Knitting Tree

Hi Knitters,
I'd like to thank The Knitting Tree and Jackie Shanahan for a lovely afternoon in her beautiful little shop. She has great display areas in the shop and we took full advantage. She has whipped that store into a treat of a spot. It is adorable in there.

I lugged in (really my sister lugged in) my enormous suitcase filled with itty bitty things and we went to town pulling out every single project from the book. I have to be a bit more selective for my travels because it is a lot to carry but I will try and bring as much as possible. I think it is so fun to see the actual knitted samples from a book in person. I still remember being in New York City a couple of springs ago and getting to see the projects from Leigh Radford's One Skein being displayed at Purl. That was wonderful.

It is interesting for me to see what people gravitate towards. You never know what project will be the one that draws the most attention once people start knitting from the book. In itty bitty hats it was definitely the upside down daisy hat. Who knew?

Well, I saw a couple of knitting friends I hadn't seen for quite awhile which was great. I met some new knitters who were lovely and I got to catch up with Jackie. Jackie sent me home with a huge bouquet of flowers and she helped me load up my suitcase in the car. Thank you for everything, Jackie.

I especially love my sister who helped me set up and stayed for a bit. She is ever the supporter and she is filled with love. I wish I could bring her everywhere I go.

See you in Minnesota!

best, susie

p.s. I never like to complain but I am having some lower back problems (thus my sister dragging my suitcase around) so if you see me struggling along with my bags and you offer to help me out just know I will probably take you up on it! Ugh. I am hoping the back pain disappears as the tour goes on.

Knitting Tree Event Back On!

Hi Knitters,

I will be at the Knitting Tree in Madison today from 12-2:00 this afternoon, Tues. October 2nd. I thought it was being rescheduled to a later date but apparently it's not!

If you are in the Madison area pop by to say hi. I would love to see you.

I will be off and running starting on Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I will give a recap when I get back. I have to remember to pack my camera so I can share!

best, susie

I Heart My Doorstep

Hi Knitters,
The other morning my husband was the last to leave the house and as he stepped out onto the front doorstep he yelled in at me, "What's this birdhouse thing out here?" Well, I have a few birdhouses out in the yard and I thought one had fallen or something. When I came out to see what he was talking about I found this! Oh my.

Another sweet friend, not the cookie friend but a knitter friend, actually made this and brought it quietly to my front door. She made this with paint, decoupage and her wood-cutting husband. He cuts the wings and feet for her. How's that for a terrific surprise? I hung it on a little tree in my front yard and when I sit in my front room knitting I now look out at this masterpiece. My friend tells me that birds actually live in these houses. I can't wait to see if that happens. This little house will really pop in the winter against the white snow. I love it and I love your thoughtfulness, Renee. Thank you.

Switching topics here, I have to talk about this book. I just got it yesterday. I have been waiting on pins and needles to get my hands on this one. Here's the thing, I am a girl who loves a good pair of shoes (the hearty kind, not heels) and a good scarf (any kind!). I am into scarves in a big, big way and this book blows me away. It is crazy, this book. I may have to write a review on amazon about it. I am having strong feelings about Knitting New Scarves, like I can't stop thinking about it. That's so fun. My sister was just over and I made her look through the entire book with me. I also made every member of my family who came over today look at my new birdhouse. A little bossy, no?

Knitting New Scarves is not for the weak of heart or needle. It is an unusual book with innovative techniques that are making my brain ache to try them all. For example, see that ribbed scarf on the front. I have some shoes just like those red mary janes, j'adore. Back to the scarf, this simple looking ribbed scarf, which I am going to make for sure, includes these techniques:

Combine Stitches

Rib Division

Slip Stitch, Muticolor Patterns

Knitting Around on Two Double-Pointed Needles

Reading Slip Stitch Charts

Huh? This is just the kind of thing that makes me crazy with love. I love this so much. What a fantastically new and fresh scarf book. What a creative and fantastic mind Lynn Barr has! Many of the scarves have a 3-D element. As soon as I get a chance to breathe (maybe in two months from now) I am diving head first into this book. I love to learn new stuff like this. I will review Knitting New Scarves again in more depth and after I try some of the patterns. It is beautifully photographed and just pure interesting. If you are up for learning some new techniques and studying for your knitting go get this book in a hurry.

My sweet bee turned fourteen last week. He is a great kid and he has a really funny sense of humor. He makes me proud to be his mom.

best, susie

Picot Edging

Hi Knitters,
Here is the video tutorial for the picot edging. I hope this helps. It is a fantastically quick edging to add to a blanket, bootie or hat. This is a sweet decorative finish for any baby knitting you are doing.
Enjoy!
best, susie
p.s. Man, do we have a squeaky door!

Updates

Hi Knitters,
The Foliage hat is already being worn to school today. You can see the lace pattern more clearly after a light blocking and with a head inside! It is a chilly morning, only in the 40's, a good hat-wearing day, indeed.
I have two quick tour updates for you. The October 2nd Knitting Tree event is being rescheduled to a later date. I'll keep you posted as that gets set.
There is another east coast stop that has been added. On November 12th I will be at the Black Sheep in Needham, MA. I'd like to thank Alison for helping us set that up. More information on that will be coming soon.
Have a good Wednesday.
best, susie
p.s. I will get that picot edging tutorial posted by the end of the week.

Foliage

Hi Knitters,
I am sure you have already checked out the new fall Knitty. Be sure you do if you haven't yet. There is always something for everyone in this online magazine. This beautiful lace hat caught my eye right away. The pattern is entitled Foliage and it is designed by Emilee Mooney. Emilee provides a worsted weight version and a chunky weight version of the hat. The Leaf Lace pattern is from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (a great investment!) by Barbara G. Walker adapted to work in the round.

The hat in the pattern is made out of Malabrigo which is a lovely, soft meriono wool. I made mine in the emerald blue colorway #137 and in the worsted weight. I just happened to have 2 skeins sitting around and this pattern was the perfect answer for one of them. Maybe a scarf will emerge from what's left. I sat down to start knitting yesterday and this morning I already have a shiny new hat.

The pattern is clearly written with both charts and written lace patterns, so whichever you prefer it's there. I used size 7 dpns and sixteen inch circular needles and size 5 circulars for the ribbing.

You start at the crown to create this beautiful star-like top and head down with the dropping leaves to reach the ribbing. I added an extra 6 rounds of the leaf lace pattern because I think it was coming out a bit short for my liking. I don't enjoy a short hat that won't sit at your eyebrows and cover your ears. We need that extra coverage in this neck of the woods.

I also bound off using a size 7 dpn to knit onto. I wanted to ensure a comfortable bind off. Oh, and I decreased 4 stitches when I started the ribbing which wasn't in the pattern but it seemed like it could be a touch loose. I want a snug but comfortable fit.

It's a good hat! You should give it a try, it is quick, relatively simple and it uses a ton of techniques on a small-scale project. Those elements are always a perfect combination in a pattern.
best, susie

p.s. Itty-Bitty Nursery snuck out a little early!

Good Sock Morning

Hi Knitters,
I got up early this morning to some sock knitting and coffee. I opened my studio window to let in a chilly breeze, mmmm. I finished up the first Kaibashira sock in yarntini pumpkin spice. How good is that? The cuff edging is time-consuming but a sweet touch. You cast on 187 stitches to start. That is the most stitches I have ever put on 3 small dpns but I did it. I think it is well worth all of that counting, good detail. I am itching to start my second sock later today.

The pumpkin spice sock was finished along with my first cup of coffee. Along with my second cup I finished up the never-ending sereknity watermelon sock. Finally fini! They feel good, very squishy and thick. I have lucky feet, indeed.

My daughter ran out and joined me on the front step while I was taking pictures. She saw what I was doing and ran back in to get her Fixation socks I made for her a couple of years ago. After she put her handknit socks on she told me she was going to leave them on for awhile they felt so good. I agreed.

Happy Sunday.

best, susie

p.s. I have machine washed and dried the heck out of those fixation socks and they still look pretty darn good! What a yarn.

Can We Talk?

Hi Knitters,
Does it get any better than pumpkin spice yarntini on a gorgeous fall day? I think not. I am so in love with this yarn an now even worse, I am so in love with this pattern. Have you seen this pattern, is everyone already knitting this and I am out of the loop? This fantastically simple pattern is easy-peasy and beautiful. It is called Kaibashira by Chrissy Gardiner. What is interesting is she is using that same type of technique that I just demonstrated for the felted flower video where you are passing stitches over and off the left-hand needle. Only she uses it for the cuff edging, too good, too good. Loooovin' this idea and I will revisit this in some other form someday.
I must warn you about this, you are going to be seeing lots of yarntini Kaibashira socks in progress and hopefully completed. Get your seatbelts or sockbelts on. You know what's funny is that the sock above is riddled with mistakes (don't be looking now) and every time I see a new mistake I've made it only makes me laugh. I have no urge to correct my errors. I think it is fun for me not to worry so much about every single stitch.
By the way, I have absolutely no business knitting socks right now. You would not believe all of the other things I should be doing. It is called stress-induced procrastination in the worst way. Note to self: I have to put all yarntini things aside immediately, no question. I have a feeling it ain't gonna happen.
Okay, here's my next thing to talk about. I mentioned that I got my invitation to ravelry. It is an amazing site for all things yarn. The resources that are at your fingertips...it is astonishing. But here is my thing, it overwhelms me. I hate to admit this. I clearly haven't had time to sort through and figure things out, but yikes. Really, I basically have nothing on there but an "about me" page and some books in the library. The lay-out of the site is so handy for an organized soul. For example, on your personal notebook you have a place to organize and catalog your needles. This kills me. Do you see the massive pile of needles above? That's not even all of them.

This makes me laugh. I know where everything is in this pile from dpns, to addi turbos to knitpicks options. There is no problem here and this totally works for me. Can you believe that statement? The vintage black lunchbox was my dad's and I have been using that for the past 10 years to cram miscellaneous needles in and I enjoy it. The needles at one time were organized from smallest to largest but sadly that isn't true anymore. That doesn't even bother me. Oh no, it's a slippery slope.

This huge binder is filled with addi turbos in these handy pockets I got from here. (As if you are going to follow my lead on this topic.) These work great but when you are like me you start shoving multiple pairs in each pocket and things become a little blurry. I have probably a dozen or so pairs from this binder in use right now and I leave the empty addi pockets on top of the binder while I am knitting with them. How's that for some keen organizational skills? Anyway, it would literally take hours and hours to go through and catalog all of my needles and it is probably not going to happen. I don't see any need for it although it may appear to others a mess, for me it works.

I admire people who can organize and use ravelry to its fullest. It is a remarkable tool for knitters. I still need to figure out how I am going to use ravelry. To each her own! I'll keep you posted.

One more thing, I have a funny (at least to me) story for you. Yesterday I went on youtube to check on the tutorials I have been posting. My son posts them through youtube and so people can view them without going through the blog. So I hadn't had a chance to check out the newest clip yet on there and I see that the marley topper video has an honor. It was #17 on the most linked videos for that day in the DIY/How To category. I thought, oh, that's cool and I click over to the top 100 list in DIY. I thought it was so funny and weird to see what was on the list surrounding my kitchen table knitting tutorial. For many of the videos I couldn't even figure out what the topic was but quite a few in that top 20 list seemed to include guns. Yes, that's what I said, guns, Itty-Bitty and a whole lotta guns. I don't know if it was just that day or what because there are thousands of knitting and craft videos on youtube. I guess gun repair was a hot topic a couple of days ago (and knitting?).

As my mom would always say, "What a world."

best, susie