Knitionary

The Y2Knit MidWinter potluck and cookie exchange was fun...good eats and yummy cookies (how many did we eat!!!?).

The batteries on my camera were dead, of course, so you'll just have to imagine Terry Thorson acting out "stripping" when we played Knitionary, Audrey's latest game creation. It's like Pictionary but with all knitting terms. Terry was supposed to be drawing, but we were amused enough to let her keep acting. For sure, there are some wits among us.

Happy holidays--we hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends or however they choose to spend the time. May you arrive at the new year refreshed and ready to knit through 2008!

HOliday Open House

As my mother would say, " a fun time was had by all." At the Y2Knit yarn shop Holiday Open House, we started celebrating with Old Tyme Christmas in Funkstown on Friday night. Revelers of all ages came through the shop checking out the yarn and gift items in the back room, which included:

• Frankie's silver jewelry, all set with beautiful gems
• Allison Severance from Coles Pottery with her earthy, salt-glazed pots
• Joan Taylor of Cedar Ridge Soaps with her handmade, all-natural soaps and lotions

We continued the Open House all day Saturday with a steady stream of customers. Everyone loved the "one-stop shopping" and the opportunity to support local artists.

Thanks to everyone who shopped!

Projects that take on a life of their own

This year I had a new inspiration for holiday giving. I don't like the commercialism of the holidays and rebel against the extreme gift giving. Actually, against most gift giving, truth be known. I prefer heart felt gifts, whether handmade or thoughtfully purchased.

I decided to make hats for the homeless. I wanted to make hats with quality yarn so the recipient could feel the caring in them. I decided I would make the hats and give people on my gift list a card indicating that a hat/hats had been given in their honor. I would decorate the cards with a mini-hat! (I love whimsical knitting).

So the project began, and I was using up yarn I had around, another compulsion of mine (everyone's winning here!). Hat after hat rolled off the needles. Some leftover self-striping yarn became mini-hats. One mini-hat for every hat. I lined the mini-hats on the window sill, moving to the other window every time a hat was completed. Customers who were in on the project checked the hat progress and movement.