Gifts2Knit

Jill and I compiled some patterns for unique gifts. These are all quickies and great stash busters!

Gifts2Knit $9.99
Five Gift Projects in Worsted Yarn
Yarn Cost Less than $10 Each
Knit Up in Under 4 hours

* Felted Pouch
* Eyecover
* Luxury Eyelet Rib Collar
* Soap Sack
* Holiday Ornament
* Bonus pattern:  Crocheted Holiday Wreath

All projects used worsted yarn–these are great stash busters!

This is an e-book download only. No shipping. Check out our yarn special too!

New Yarn, New Events

In the shop, we received new Malabrigo yarns: Aquarella and Twist. What delight!

Both cost $14:
Aquarella is not a new yarn, but new to the Y2Knit yarn shop. 65 yards of thick/thin wool in "water color" dyes. Stunning and hard to see in this pick (to the left), so stop by!

Twist is new to Malabrigo and beats everything they have done in my opinion. It's a plyed baby
merino (lace, 8 strands). 150 yds and a worsted to bulky weight.

I've already knit up a scarf in Aquarella, which is a thick/thin soft wool (is soft redundant when talking about Malabrigo?). I took an "old" design of Jill's (which are often at their best a few years after she designs as she tends to be ahead of fashion times) and reworked it, with only minor revisions. I like the affect and the yarn is delicious. I knit this in just a couple of hours of knitting time.

Felt balls made the perfect embellishment, though beads would do nicely too. This makes an artful accessory with interesting textures, color and movement.

Scarves are a great way to make old outfits seem new and a lot less work than a sweater!

Arriving in Montisi

It is about a 90 minute drive from Rome's Fiumicino airport and Montisi, excluding stops. Our driver Mossimo lived outside Rome and commuted for 15 years, so he is an expert driver. His significant other, Liz Cochrane, has importuned him to keep his hands on the wheel when others are in the car with him. Italian drivers have some interesting interactions, some of which, according to Mossimo require both speaking and use of hands! Sometimes just a deadly stink eye is given. It is a much more relaxing drive for all of us since we don't have to think about the driving or whether we're going to miss a turnoff.

With Mom (Jane) into the front seat, Susan and I get caught up on business and family things that had occurred while I had been on vacation; Mom is pretty tired (at 86 the time change is a little harder to roll with) so she isn't as active a conversationalist as she might usually be. After about an hour we stopp for lunch at an Italian fast food spot that Mossimo give his approval to and we have sandwiches which are tasty and Mossimo gets a couple of smokes in before we hit the road for the final stretch. In retrospect I think Mossimo may have been killing some time to give Liz time to finish tidying up the apartment Susan and I will be sharing. Liz had visitors come by that morning to buy paintings so had gotten a late start on that chore but had sold art which is good. They speak a couple of times, the last time as we leave Sinalunga, about 12 km from Montisi.

I was flooded with memories of our first arrival in Montisi (April 2008) and the several trips between Montisi and Sinalunga in September/October 2008 when we were there for three weeks. On that first trip, as we rode to Montisi in a van driven by Daniele, I remember not only how visually stunning it was, but a song I love (Redemption Song, performed by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros on Streetcore) coming on the radio--both are inextricably entwined in my memories now. Tre Quanda is the first medieval village that appears, then the Montelifre estate, and finally, Montisi. After we turn onto Via Umberto I we pass the bakery (awning down meaning closed), La Romita and Il Rondo, then Il Barrino, Villa Maddelena, the gift shop, the (New!) farmica, the florist, and the alementare, all closed because it is after 13:30--time shifts to the 24-hour system in Europe--and on to the Laconda B&B where Mom will spend the night. A quick glance at the Tabac as Mossimo parks in the piazza to see if it is also closed (of course it is), and to the Bancomat, which is always open. Not much action in the piazza and it looks different (there was scaffolding up in 2008 so it looks much more open now that the scaffolding has been removed), but it is good to be back.

At the B&B there is a sign taped to the door for Mom telling her which key to take and which room is hers. Although her room is on the top floor, it is situated overlooking the piazza and up Via Umberto I and she is excited enough to not mind climbing the stairs. I carry her suitcase up (she's a light packer); we are all in La Locanda for the first time so we're taking in the details and enjoying the discovery. Susan and I know Mom will take a nap and then sit in the window taking in the activity as the village comes back to life later in the afternoon. We leave her so Mossimo can drop us off and go on with his day (which we soon learn includes his nap). Mossimo backs up the hill to the Church in the Castello and we grab out stuff and roll our bags the rest of the way to Liz and Mossimo's home and our digs for the next week.

There's a sign on the door to the courtyard that there is a new kitten in the courtyard, but we don't see her until later (seriously, everyone retreats behind closed doors between 13:30 and 16:30). Liz greets us and shows us into the apartment and there is lots of discussion about sleeping arrangements and she finally agrees that I can sleep in the single bed in the sitting room with Susan in the larger bed in the bedroom and that I'll be totally okay. I take in Liz's artwork on the walls and the darling tiled wood stove and make up my bed while she and Mossimo confer and I know it will be a lovely place to sleep. Susan and I usually don't leave the Villa until after 10 p.m., so we won't be spending much time in the apartment; Liz puts on the kettle and she and Susan have tea while we chat the afternoon away.

We've been in Montisi for all of two hours and we have already hatched a plan for a week of knitting plus color lessons from Liz. I'm totally jazzed as this is along the lines of what I have been thinking about on vacation. Yeah! I think Liz, Susan and I will be a fabulous collaboration team.

Returning to Italy

On Oct. 9, at an insanely early hour I set out for Heathrow from our London hotel via cab. It was expensive, but I just wasn't sure I could manage the underground without help at that hour, when I'd never taken it to the airport. I am directionally challenged, and when presented with unanticipated options--like signs that say something other than what I was expecting--I get confused. Despite this, I'm a pretty intrepid traveler, and I always get to my location.

Fortunately the alarm had gone off (although no requested wake up call), and I managed to get the water so it wasn't ice cold (do they shut off hot water overnight?). I had some trepidation, but not about the trip to the airport, or even about meeting Susan at the airport in Rome (see below), but because the email from British Airways with my itinerary had the wrong dates and was to Mitch, not me. I had noticed this in Barcelona, but decided to take my chances. I knew Mercury was in Retrograde--as evidenced by all the glitches in our travel planning, so I just decided it would work out and I wasn't going to sweat it. But despite my certainty, it was possible that it would be an incredible problem if it didn't work out.

At the airport I checked in, but on the final screen at the kiosk it told me to see an agent. This made me a little nervous, but it was really too early to get in a twist--4:50 a.m. I waited on line and got checked in and dropped my bag without a problem. Starbucks was open--as was another similar business, but the Starbucks actually seemed less challenged by the prospect of making and delivering beverages to customers, so I chose it and got an espresso and muffin and settled in to wait until the shuttles to the gates opened at 6:10 a.m. I can't really remember most of the flight, or the details of getting on the plane; I was in 16F and I'm sure I slept most of the way. My only memory of the flight was looking out the window as we approached Rome and thinking Bella Italia! I read my book until it was possible to get off the plane and walked to the immigration lines, which weren't unreasonably long, but full of Americans who seemed to be the biggest whiners and complainers in the world; I guess they didn't realize that the Italians have their own way of doing things, which is why Italy is different from the US. My book was really good, and I read to shut them out. A little surprised that the immigration officer asked if I'd had trouble with the law when I was last in Italy, but that process, as usual, went without a hitch.

Now the tricky part. The day before in London I had been unable to charge my cell phone. Since I didn't recall Susan and I making arrangements to connect by phone this didn't seem like a big problem, but it

totally freaked Mitch out. He even offered to let me take his phone. He began quizzing me about what arrangements Susan and I had for meeting and was completely unsatisfied with my description of Mossimo picking Susan and Mom up then picking me up. He was making me a little crazy on the subject so I suggested that we call Susan. We caught her just as she was leaving the house and she repeated our arrangements (see above) and I wished her a good flight and said I'd see her in Rome. Mitch is right that it was completely unreasonable that we should expect to just "meet at the airport", but I planned to go to the marked exit for arrivals and look for Mossimo's black and yellow station wagon. I'm tall with bright red hair, how hard could it be? So I was coming out the doors from immigration and carefully reading the signs when my name was called by Susan. T

here she was, there was Mom, and most importantly, there was Mossimo (being picked up by a nice-looking Italian gives anyone a lift!). Indeed, as Mom had said when I'd last seen her in San Francisco before Mitch and I left for vacation, "See you in Rome!"

Photos are fresh basil and olive oil from Castlemuzio taken in my SF kitchen. I have no Italy pictures.

My grandma went to Tuscany and I got a sock monkey

We had a wonderful time in Montisi, as always. The weather was great, though cooling towards the end of the week. We drank wine, ate wonderful food, connected with new friends and old and enjoyed watching the activities of village life.

I knit some swatches and ripped alot on some baby socks, which I finally finished on the plane. I knit a sock monkey for Zane, which I stuffed and finished when I got home. He's pretty cute!

Great Teachers

Jill and I are great teachers. We know that and some of you know that.

A couple of days ago I taught two classes at Knitter's Day Out in Central PA. I taught a three-hour class I call Whoops!, which focuses on fixing mistakes. We cover everything from dropped stitches to fixing stitch pattern errors, including dropping down several stitches several rows. It's fun because the knitters get to make mistakes and have support while they learn to fix them. Most of the class were fairly experienced knitters with varying degrees of confidence on this topic. After class, several students went out of their way to tell me how helpful the class was to them and to tell me what a great teacher I am.

After a quick lunch, I taught Short Row Shoulders and Sleeve Caps for three hours. Again, the class was full of competent, experienced knitters ready to tackle one of the more complex techniques in knitting. We knitted, wrapped and picked up wraps, creating beautiful sloped shoulders and sleeve caps. No visible wraps or holes. One woman said, "This morning I took a short row class. After taking your class I know how to work short rows and I understand what I am doing." Another said, "I love the way you teach and it was clear you knew your topic because you never read to us from the handout, you just taught us." (thanks to Jill for the great handout and charts)

Back at the Y2Knit booth after class, several students came to me to tell me how helpful they found the class. A couple want to bring their knitting group to the shop for a class, which I look forward to teaching.

I love these opportunities to teach--at small conferences like KDO, at other yarn shops, at the Y2Knit yarn shop--wherever I can. For me, I hope to help knitters get over whatever keeps them from progressing with a technique. I want to open doors for them. I also love the aspects of working with women to build confidence in this small part of their life. I hope to inspire creativity and ways of being with our knitting and life.

For those of you who couldn't take the classes at KDO, I offer lots of classes at the shop. I'll teach whatever knitting class you want. I know my stuff and more importantly, I am a great teacher!

Knitting for Comfort

Knitting for others has the potential to impact the knitter as much as the intended recipient. Something of us is knit into every stitch and when we knit with special intentionality, the product carries this with it.

I just finished a shawl for my sister Sally who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a breast cancer survivor of 13 years and this is a different kind of cancer. What are the odds she would draw this lot again? My thoughts when I learned of the diagnosis is that I wish I could take this one for her (really? probably not--I'm not very heroic), but I instantly realized that's not one of the options.

Turns out the options aren't great, but then, life is. So anything that gives more of that is just wonderful. Sally can see it that way--that's one of the gifts she's been given. She has new/different support this time with a husband, twin boys, and many friends, including other survivors.

Knitting the shawl, which is not particularly remarkable knitting but some great yarn and colors, gave me an outlet for my frustration and anxiety about the situation. I could turn that into peace and comfort for Sally. I shared with her last night on the phone that I kept getting asked by customers what I was knitting and that I must have shared her story with 30 people. Thirty more people to support her in this situation. That was my (unknown at the time) intentionality in knitting this shawl.

It goes in the mail today with this note:

This shawl brings you

• comfort
• healing
• centering calm

Thanks to everyone who asks and cares about Sally. After another biopsy Tuesday, she's still waiting for a treatment plan, which leans towards bilateral radical mastectomy. The only way to ensure that she doesn't get breast cancer again. Because life is so worth it.

New Yarn!

Brushed Suri Alpaca



Picoboo


We usually fax orders to the yarn company, which works great EXCEPT that the fax machine had been storing, not sending, faxes. We caught up with that problem, got the stored stuff sent and had a huge UPS and FedEx delivery yesterday.

* We've got new colors in **Poems**.
* New Frog Tree colors in **Picoboo** (lush cotton/bamboo), the **Suri Alpaca** (perfect for [Tiffany][1]) and **Meriboo** (merino/bamboo, but doesn't it sound like some animal you'd run into in on the tundra?)
* More **Felt Balls**
* More **Sari Ribbon**
* New colors of **Eco Wool** from Cascade


Stop by for inspiration. The new colors are wonderful. (pictured above: Meriboo)

Yak Yak Yak

When I read on Ravelry about YakMan's contest to see what people could do with a Bijou Basin Ranch sticker, my immediate thought was that I would put it over Rachel's mouth. It was one of those momemts when she was talking too much (there are many of those).

Then I remembered she has this t-shirt that says Yak Yak Yak. So put it all together and here we go.

You can participate in the contest too! If you're local, I have a few extra stickers, which, while I could easily use them again on Rachel, there's probably some law against doing that!


I wouldn't do this with just any old sticker, however. We're very fond of BBR and love their yarn. Jill designed Diamond Laces out of the Bijou Spun yak/bamboo. It's too delicious for words.

We've got (Felt) Balls Contest on Ravelry

Check out the We've Got Felt Balls Contest on Ravelry. Show us yours!

The beaded felt balls pictured here beg some creative knitting or crocheting to set them off in some playful accessory.

In the shop, we've got new yarns, felt balls, more on the way. Favorites so far are Nimbus and Opus from Zitron--oh so soft and yummy colors.

We've got sock yarn galore, including Zauerballs (not feltable) and other lovely colors. Do come visit for inspiration.

We're going to celebrate Angela's winning first place in the Dye For Glory contest with her beautiful sock yarns. Join us on October 3 for a Serendipitous Ewe Trunk Show and Celebrations!

My problem with blogging is that I really would just rather work on my designs. I think about them all the time, and get pretty involved in whatever I'm working on, but I'm at such a level of detail that I can't imagine anyone else being interested!

I have several new projects underway for Fall and Winter and as always, have a few things that still have to be finished up. I have a list of projects and have put them into an order of priority, but I am always working on several things at one time.

Yesterday I worked on finishing up a shawl/shrug that is being knit in Rimu from Zealana. I'm really excited about this one, but it required quite a bit of charting before I could figure out how to present the pattern. I have pretty much gotten everything worked out so that will get finished and off to the knitter to finish up. One last little thing to puzzle out, but it seems minor compared to the other issues I've already worked through.

I also finished up a trio of hat patterns, which began as gauge swatches for a pullover in-the-round. Then I just got intrigued by variations in the pattern and next thing I knew, three hats! The pattern is finished and to the knitter, so when samples are finished and photographed the pattern will be available. These are in Kauri from Zealana (see photo). The pullover is coming along, but will take a little longer!

A cardigan I've been working on, but not nearly as diligently as I should, is also readying itself for knitting. Yarn is in the hands of another knitter to swatch. I love the stitch pattern I'm using in this one too, and reworked my swatch on a different needle size last night and can't believe how enjoyable the pattern is to work. This is in Picoboo from Frog Tree. Luscious cotton & bamboo yarn. Can't wait to see this one unfold. Whenever I'm at this stage it is hard not to drop everything to concentrate on the one that is freshest and most unfinished--and therefore the most intriguing to me.

Today I am mostly otherwise obligated so I won't get to work much at all. If only the process of the final product were as easy as the conception and if the days didn't whiz by so quickly. Trying to find more time I cheat everything else.

Maybe not always new

When it comes to yarn, I love to have new things and to see colors change. It keeps the options alive for me. However, sometimes we're sad to see something go. Such was the case with Zitron's Lifestyle Color, a self-striping superwash merino in great colors.

The good news is, it's back, this time as Ambiente. This is the same high quality yarn, offered in the same five color combinations! It is 100% Merino Wool Superwash wool, with 170 yards per 50 gram ball. It works up on US 3-5 needles, yielding 5.75-6.5 stitches per inch.


Denise Interchangeable is offering change too, with an interchangeable crochet kit. This will be awesome for Tunisian crochet/cro-hook work. The kits include 12 individual hooks, sizes F5 (3.75mm) to 19 (15mm) and 7 cord lengths, 2 each 3" and 5", plus 1 each 9", 12" and 16". What's not to like about this!

Babies and Flowers

Not as much knitting as I'd like the last couple weeks. I took a few days after NWNM in Seattle and went to Bellingham to visit family, which includes 15 month old grandson Ian (not pictured). I was surprised to endure record heat in the Northwest, especially after 60 degrees and rain last year.

Back home and settled in waiting for Baby Boy Messiter to be born mid-August. Zane Carlos made an early appearance on August 3 at 7 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 inches--clearly ready to join us. Proud parents and grandparents!

I'm a bit distracted by my garden too. Not only is it absolutely beautiful right now, but there's lots to harvest too. This week's focus has been on herbs, gathering them in the cool morning and setting to dry.

The colors inspire me. I want to knit yellow, pinks and corals!

Creative Monkeys

I must admit that the creative monkeys have been quite busy since I got back from NWNM in Tukwila, WA. I came back from TNNA in Columbus, OH exhausted and it took me more than a week to get back on track, and my subsequent vacation from teaching seemed ever-so-short and I just worked more in my office. After TNNA I was anxious to get going on new projects, but was working on tying up loose ends from new patterns, grading final portfolios, and doing a little side project for cash. And my spouse has had a crazy transaction going on which is causing him to have restless nights--and me too, so I'm sleep deprived with dark circles under my eyes as evidence. So I went to NWNM somewhat under-enthused; I'm always happy to see Susan because she and I always have a good time, and I was looking forward to seeing my niece Rose and having our mother Jane along (a girls slumber party at Embassy Suites), but I wasn't enthused. Oh, also looking forward to the excellent Thai food near the hotel. I actually only took along my Sea Shell sleeve and one swatch; I just wasn't feeling the whole thing.

Saturday was kind of slow, which it always is, although it provided an opportunity to catch up with Maureen and Christopher who stopped by while killing time before going to the airport and then to get to know Celia who is deadly funny and has great magnets. I ripped my sleeve back three times. I did have my eye on a hank of Serendipitous Ewe Sport, but I'd told myself that I couldn't take it unless it was unsold at the end of the show. We had turned over our fashion show garments to Brian when he came around at 4 p.m. so next was a free drink and popcorn before the fashion show. I was slated to be one of the judges for the "amateur" contest so I slid into silvery pants and my red Must Have Lace Top.

Anyway, I think what got my juices (i.e., the Monkeys) going was seeing eight (seven recent) designs go down the runway. They were interspersed with other things, but I never get to see that many of my things on people. The models were real people which made it even better. What they may have lacked in fancy walks showed how great my designs look on real people. It was very satisfying. The best one was Vikki in Winter Ball Cami. She totally rocked that top. She is, well, probably older than me and she looked totally hot. I hope she knew it--she sure looked like she did. Everyone looked great, but that really struck me.

I came back ready to go on new projects. Today the problem is how do I winnow them?

Chicken or Egg?

Every six months, in preparation for TNNA's Great Wall of Yarn the members of the Association of Knitwear Designers do swatches for the yarns submitted by the yarn companies. As someone who loves to swatch, this is a wonderful distraction for me, and despite the fact that I don't really have time, I usually sign up to do three yarns. I always request natural fibers, which are my preference, and I frequently get nice luxury fibers to work with.

I use this as an opportunity to let some yarn talk to me about what it wants to be. This means that I sit down with some stitch books and look for appropriate stitch patterns. To me this is one of the best parts about what I do. No matter how many times I have looked through those books--and my Barbara Walkers are so handled that I have had them rebound--everything looks different when you have a specific

yarn in mind. Sometimes a pattern that I've loved just all of a sudden has the right yarn for it, and sometimes something I've never really noticed, just leaps off the page.

I then gather up my stitch patterns and the yarn, find the right needles, and usually sit on the couch and begin to make tiny sweaters. I love to do this! It means that I get to blend the stitch pattern with a garment shape.

Sometimes it works on the first shot, and sometimes not. Some patterns have to be swatched before I can start and others I just do a guesstimate and take off. Rarely is it a completely forward process, but it is fun for me because there is also no expectation except to make a nice, tiny sweater. And I don't have to write the pattern!

These are pictures of the three sweaters I did for TNNA in June. Yarns are for Winter 09/10. If you look closely at the purple sweater you'll see that I didn't do the armhole bind offs evenly and the pattern doesn't sit quite right. I was drinking a martini. I loved the stitch pattern.

I had to adjust it to work in the round, and I wasn't wild about how the bobbles looked, but that wasn't important at that point--I just needed a nice sweater.

I loved how I carried out the details on the tiny sleeves and neckline, but couldn't imagine that the pattern would look so great circling a real person's hips. But I really liked it, so I have now tweaked the stitch pattern, and done a swatch in a yarn that I was looking for a project to match to.

This yarn was at a better gauge, and this hat gave me the opportunity to rework those bobbles and finishing off the top was just too fun! A swatch like this is also a good test of how the yarn behaves when it is ripped. I redid portions of this many times. If you look closely you can see that my small bobbles change from the first repeat to the second as I refined my process; I had gotten fed up with ripping by then, so I just left it.

This is on its way to becoming a Y2Knit pattern. Hopefully it will be complete for a January release. The hat pattern will be included!

Battle of Funkstown

Saturday, July 11, the town of Funkstown celebrated with a Day in the Park and a reenactment of the Battle of Funkstown, a civil war battle.

I think the best part of the day was the music by the 97th Regimental String Band. They came from Florida and played 18th century music. Since their "stage" was right across from the shop, we sat on the porch and enjoyed the music while we knitted. They played later in the park, too.

After the music came the reenactment. Weird to me, but they seemed to be having a good time. Best part was the women who looted the fallen soldiers, taking their boots and valuables. I called out that they should take their socks too--hand knit with love by someone!

Thanks to Dennis for some more great pictures: team 1, team 2 and women looting.

Finished Sock

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Lundsford took the sock class at Y2Knit and finished her first sock today. She's just 10 years old! She turns 11 on June 21 so we think she'll finish her second sock when she's 11. She used a yummy colorway, reminds me of strawberries, of Fixation.

Lizzy's knitting has really taken off in recent months. She's knit a blanket for her stuffed dinosaur and has nearly completed a sweater for her American Girl Doll, thanks to Bonnie's patient teaching during Mommy and Me sessions.

Her next project is a stuffed snake. The pattern is written for flat knitting in Stockinette stitch. Lizzy wants to knit in the round on double points so she doesn't have to purl!

Field Trip to Be Sweet

When we were at TNNA I had a quick conversation with Nadine Curtis of Be Sweet. We share an awesome rep, Tina Hilton, who had suggested that Nadine talk to me about pattern grading. Susan had been by their booth and was told she'd won a door prize from them, but didn't believe them. Pic shows the tee I picked out for her and the replacement of Bubble yarn to match!

So Nadine said to go to the booth and get yarn so Susan and I went over on Monday, we were tired, and Kristine (Christine?) was tired and so I grabbed a couple of balls and said I'd get in touch with Nadine when she got back from vacation. Of course I swatched--who can resist pretty pink yarn?--and I had an idea to use their fabulous novelties and their bamboo yarn. Nadine and I emailed and I set up a field trip for Jennifer (my lovely assistant) and I to go to the Be Sweet studio in Sausalito. I also invited my mother, Jane, just because she loves to go almost anyplace.

I promised Mom ice cream so we took care of that before we went to Be Sweet. Then we headed upstairs to the Studio and an hour of fun ensued. Yarn was examined, we talked about design ideas and pattern collaborations. And Nadine showed us her new accessory products and things she'd purchased as inspirations. So we have some fun with all this great yarn and each of us came away with lots of sample yarns!

Prior to the visit, since returning from TNNA, Susan had executed, and Sandy (our very special test knitter) had tested a pattern to use the Be Sweet Bubble yarn. So a sample was sent out here to show to Be Sweet (of course I didn't bring a camera!) but it looked so fabulous on Kristine, who was wearing a fushia tee--and is young and pretty anyway. A pattern will be available soon! Tentatively named Bubble Whirl.

I have the makings of a Truffle top (raspberry Bamboo and chocolate Ribbon Ball).

Creating a Habitat

This has nothing to do with knitting. However, it does explain why I sometimes feel overwhelmed even though I strive to live a simple lifestyle.

As part of the simple lifestyle, I have only one pet. Abigail the cat is easy to care for though fairly demanding when it comes to attention. She has one weakness...bunnies. She loves to find them and chase them and bring them to me. They are usually alive and timid, so I catch them and put them back outside, far from my vegetable garden.

The other night she brought in one that must have gotten away from her before she brought him to me. So I was surprised to be sitting at my desk on Sunday and catch some movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked to see this little bunny hopping about. I went after him and he took off so fast I couldn't track where he went. After searching under everything in the shop, where he was last seen, I gave up.

The next afternoon, same thing. Little bunny hopping through the office. Before I can even focus on him, he's off and behind something (turns out it was the washing machine). Again, I search diligently, but no bunny. I don't want him to die, so I put some grass and clover on a paper and put it in the side entryway before going to bed. In the morning, much of this is gone. I also realize that there's been a mess where Abigail eats the last couple mornings, so apparently he ate some cat food too.

Bunny appears more often on Tuesday, apparently hungry. I decide to put out the Have-a-heart trap I borrowed from the D'Onofrios. I put it in the kitchen, baiting it with clover and grass. I leave for a couple of hours in the evening and when I come back he's in the trap eating. He's too light to set off the trap, which would close the door. So he's out of there like lightening as I enter the house, dashing under the stove.

Abigail comes in and I think she might be able to help me flush him out. . . wrong. When I get the flashlight out, all she wants to do is play with the light. When I remove the drawer beneath the stove, all she wants to do is play with the cat balls that have gone under there. She doesn't even seem to realize that bunny is under there in a narrow space between the stove and cupboard. I can see him, but can't reach him.

I move the trap so it blocks the kitchen doorway to the rest of the house so he is confined to one room. Abigail seems fine hopping over the trap to get to and fro, so I go off to bed.

I am awakened in a few hours by Abigail howling. I get up to see what her problem is and she's sitting on the kitchen counter, looking from me to the trap and back. I can hear noise coming from the trap, so I go downstairs to find bunny in there, too afraid to exit because of Abigail. She's afraid to go near the trap. . . apparently the bunny out of context is a bit scary for her. I close the trap, take it outside and release the bunny, who has presumable hopped away to freedom somewhere other than my garden.

Until the next time.

Trees and Babies

I'm trapped inside while the crane and lift get the tree branch off my house. Two big pieces of equipment are outside, the neighbors lawn service is at work (two pickup trucks and a trailer), and I would surely risk bodily harm if I tried to get to where my car is parked down the street. When I do get out, I'm going to pick blueberries.

Yesterday was a barbecue at my son and DIL house. They are expecting Baby Goo on/about August 12, so guests delivered gifts, though they were not opened while we were there so I can't report more than that. I worked on baby socks while there.

My gift was a baby blanket (pale yellow organic cotton from Malabrigo), a pair of baby sox and two pairs of mitts.

I watched them lift the huge branch off the roof and lower to the ground. Didn't think to take the camera out with me. It was pretty impressive. They attached a cable and a girdle to the branch and just lifted, twisting to make the final break, then up and over it went. Now they'll trim back the branch, and new growth will eventually provide shade in the coming years.

Knitting up a Storm

Yesterday, 5/26, about 5pm, Suzie calls me from Bethesda (60 miles southeast) and asks me what the weather is doing up here in Funkstown. I report that we had some rain and it passed over, but that now it is sunny, this latter fact verified by the fact that I can see sun out the window.

Suzie is watching the weather on the computer and tells me she thinks a storm is coming my way, but maybe that's was passed over?

I can only say, "I don't know. It's sunny now." My monitoring the weather consists of looking at the high and low temps and the weather icon in the corner of the front page of the newspaper. For that day, the words under the icon indicated "possible thunderstorms" which is not unusual at all for this time of year.

So we chat a few minutes about other stuff, and I mention that it's darkening. In the next instant there's this noise like hail against the window, and I run to the window to see the ground being covered with all sizes of hail: from pea to quarters. The wind is blowing REALLY hard. I tell Suzie that I think the wind might be 40-50 mph! I give her the second-by-second weather report:

• The garden is being blown flat.
• The trees are swaying and bending to the ground.
• Water is coming under the back door.
• The windows are steaming up.
• The wind is blowing the cat door completely open and rain is coming in.
• The thunder and lightening appear to be directly overhead.
• The power is out.
  
• It's a bit scary.

Being the dear friend and citizen that she is, Suzie keeps on the phone, checking the computer for wind velocity (not found) and storm progress. She empathizes while I go get towels to mop up water. I remember at one point I couldn't figure out why the water was coming down on me in the house and looked up to see the window had blown open (it opens to the inside and I hadn't latched it).

I feel like I am in the eye of the storm.

Finally, it abates. Whew. . .

When the rain stops I go outside to assess the damage to my beloved garden. It's really sad to see sunflowers broken, tomato plants bent and twisted, etc. There's some serious harvesting of broken greens that needs to be done. Tree branches litter the yard and parking lot. I turn around to walk back to the house and OMG, the tree is on my roof, at least the part that usually gently shades the back of my house and patio.

Call Suzie back with update. She suggests pics--good idea. It's getting hot and steamy.


I change into my gardening clothes and gather up branches, making a pile in the corner of the parking lot. Neighbors are milling about, trying to figure out if power outage is widespread. Reports of trees down reach me:

• Just down the street, a big tree came down on a van. They are already working to clear some of the branches that block the main road through town.
  
• On the block behind me, another tree blocks the street. Neighbors are cutting that up.
• Somewhere else a tree has fallen on a pickup.
  
• Trees and branches are down in many yards.

A bit before 7, the knitters start arriving for social knitting. Since the power is out and it's stuffy inside, we just hang outside, surveying the storm damage. People from other areas didn't even get any rain or wind. We decide to move on the Meadows Ice Cream, assuming they have power, which they do.

We eat and knit and visit. Kim arrives about 7:50 and reports that the traffic lights in Funkstown have come on. A call to her husband, Doug, indicates power is back on. When I get home, the lights are on, a welcome sight.

This morning, I tried to get the garden back in order. I staked many plants, cleared out all the fallen, separating into edible and compost. It's early and the garden will come back, except for the broken sunflowers, broccoli and tomatoes that had to be pulled up. For those, I can plant something new in their place. The tree service will come and get the huge branch off the roof.

Good to be home!

Jill and I had a great time at TNNA, but it's good to be home. The garden is overgrown and windblown, but I've been eating some good veg out of it.

When I unpack from TNNA, I have to put all the shop models back, so I take the opportunity to rearrange things a bit. The shop is freshened for summer, which means scarves and hats are put away and summer knits are featured. Yarn balls have been returned to their proper places and bins straightened. (Who put the three balls of Malabrigo behind the Nature Spun?!) I've made room for some new product.

Jill and I order yarn for the shop at TNNA. One of our favorite times is Sunday morning when we enter the exhibit hall at 8 am and walk through, checking out vendors and selecting some yarn colors for later ordering. We're just to busy during the day at our own booth to get much done. We met up with Trisha from Frog Tree and she gave us the color card book to help us place an order, which we do with Donna, our sales rep. We sat with Donna at the Skacel booth and selected colors of Nimbus, Opus, Zauberball (it's really as awesome looking as we've heard), and new Zitron Trekking colors for the sock knitters.

Our favorite find was Frabjous Fibers where we ordered all kinds of fun things. I'll post more about those when they come in--felt balls, silk ribbons, sari silk in distinct colorways.

Malabrigo has a new yarn. I can't find my sample now and I don't know the name, but it's a worsted weight, baby merino, thick/thin. Imagine 8 strands of lace plyed together. Jill has a wonderful design underway that will make snuggling in this yarn a fashion statement. Yum!

We checked out the Hiya Hiya interchangeable and have passed muster on those. We'll be taking preorders for the small sizes, 2-9. I was knitting with the sample needles last night and wasn't even aware I was using an interchangeable. The needles screw onto the cable.

Kraemer has new colors of Sterling Silk. We'll have those soon.

One of our new favorites is Zealana. Jill designed two pieces out of their wool/cotton/possom yarn. It's a luxurious fiber. Jill also designed a beautiful sweater (pic here catches it at an awkward angle) in the yak/bamboo from Bijou Basin. It's soft and smooth and drapes well. Sandy did a fantastic job of knitting this sweater.

As always, fun to see old friends and make new ones. We had good meals and great laughs (thanks, Kristen C, for always providing a bit of comic relief). Thanks to Kristen ES for all the help in the booth!

Hat Tricks

This morning Jill and I received email from our BIL, Curt, who is married to our sister, Sally. They are the parents of our nephews (referred to as the boyz) Elvis and Van.

A couple of years ago the boyz got knitting looms and yarn given to them by the Y2Knit aunts. They worked on their projects intermittently, but a renewed recent interest resulted in this fabulous hat, modeled by Elvis.

I don't know the story yet--have been unable to reach Elvis by phone as he's been at school. I'll update once I get the scoop!

I want to knit this sweater!

That's the response I've been receiving this morning from our email blast showcasing Sea Shell, Jill's latest design. The pattern is available and we're doing a KnitaLong on Ravelry too, starting July 13. So, finish up your projects and find some yarn for this one!

Be Sweet Bubble Yarn

When I saw Be Sweet's Bubble Yarn at TNNA in January, I had to have it. I tried to talk Christine at Be Sweet out of the demo ball, but apparently it was the only one they had, so I didn't get it. My order arrived today, though only the pictured Berries colorway. I love this and can hardly wait for the Autumn tones. I'm working on a scarf concept--that seems the best way to show off these fun felt balls. I look forward to seeing what others do with them. They look so cool, they'd be great just sitting in a yarn display!

The balls range from about 3/8-7/8" in diameter.

Visiting Y2Knit

I love this time of year and summer. It's fun to look out and see customers walking through my garden. It's lush and lovely now--I can just imagine in a few weeks. The prize this week are the French Iris. I have more blooms this year than ever.

Most of my plants came from other people (as opposed to buying them). Not only a money saver, but I enjoy thinking about where the plants came from. Now they are big enough to give pieces to other gardeners. These iris came from Deb IntVeldt, a sometime knitter and fabulous gardener. She sells plants and flowers at the Washington County Farmer's Market. I love to bike by her house and see all the flowers.

I hear customers in the shop say they love purple and green together. Apparently nature does too!

What does this yarn want to be?

I have a pretty good idea and it's going on needles today. These three yarns will be used together to create an 'object d'arte'--something non-functional but fun to look at. Yarns pictured: recycled silk, Ozark handspun and Aloo (nettle). I like these three unusual yarns together as they are all made by hand. I'll post in-progress pics.

Update on Habitat for Humanity Throws

One throw was crocheted by Nancy Troup and that has already gone to a Habitat house. Karen Swanson has been working on a woman build house in Winchester and has spent some time with the woman who will own the house. It seemed fitting to send the throw with her to the closing since she will be there. (Even though Karen outsources her crocheting to someone else!)

Yesterday we worked on squares and counted. We’re still waiting for some to be turned in for the black/tan/cream/pumpkin throw out of Tatamy Tweed. We have 16 squares and need 20, but we should have them by the time the rest find their way here.

We have 18 out of the Classic Worsted in orange/olive/yellow. We started some beige to make this a bit more neutral.

We have 9 out of Classic Worsted and Superwash Merino in olive/lime/cranberry/mauve. I know there are more of those to be turned in. We can add some beige to this one too.

Next month, we’ll have a “sewing circle” to get these connected. There’s some great metaphors in that work!

FO - Slip Stitch Cardigan

I finished this sweater today! I'm so excited to have this done and then I realized I don't have a shirt the right color/neckline to wear under it!

You can make the Slip Stitch Cardigan too. It's really a fun sweater to knit as it's engaging, but not difficult. With stitch pattern and color changes, it held my interest. The results are totally worth it.

Trevi Tee KnitaLong

Jill's latest design, Trevi Tee is fabulous.  It's one of those that begs to be knit in every color. We're offering a free KnitaLong for the Trevi Tee on Ravelry.  Haven't joined Ravelry? This is a good reason to do so!

In addition to the KnitaLong, we have specials on the yarn, Mermaid from FibraNatura, a cotton, wool, silk, seacell blend.  All the colors are really wonderful.  

If you live in the Funkstown, MD area, there will be "meetups" to work on the project and Jill is arranging some in the SF Bay area too.  Knit on. . . or better yet, knit Trevi!

How we choose yarn

I was recently asked how I choose which yarns to buy.

First of all, it's really hard! There are so many choices! Jill and I do most of the buying at the needlearts trade shows. That gives us an opportunity to look at lots of yarn and make comparative decisions. We consider patterns we may be designing or want to design, what we think will sell in the shop, and many other factors.

However, yarn we purchase must meet criteria we have for yarns that are sold by Y2Knit. I like to say that every yarn has a story. If there's no story, that is, no interesting facts about that yarn that I can tell customers, then it won't fit on the Y2Knit shop. Sometimes the story is very compelling, other times, it's something simple that speaks to us. Here's some examples:

Brown Sheep: We carry several lines from this Nebraska company. We like BS because it's made in the USA and it's a small family business. We are also very turned on by the fact that BS recently put in a wastewater reclamation process that saves over 18,000 gallons of water per day. That's 90% of the water used at Brown Sheep! Robert Wells, PhD developed this system. When I asked Peggy Jo (Brown) Wells why they did this (at their own cost, without raising prices), she simply responded, "Because it's the right thing to do." That's the kind of people I want to do business with.

Some other companies are more obvious as their Fair Trade, environmental and socially responsible practices are part of what forms the company: Be Sweet, Frog Tree, Himalayan Yarn and Malabrigo come to mind. These companies are providing jobs for primarily women in underdeveloped areas. It's a well known fact that when women are employed and earning money they 1) feed their kids and 2) educate their kids. That's changing the world one person at a time.

So how about Kraemer Yarns that employees about 70 people in Nazareth, PA? The mill runs three shifts and is family and community oriented. This small company has demonstrated ingenuity at moving into the hand knitting business after so much of their industrial yarn business went overseas.

All of the American yarn distributors are providing jobs for people in their communities, from sales reps to warehouse workers. Most of these companies are family run businesses. This is a great industry to be part of!

Serendipitous Ewe Trunk Show

Angela ended up covering up the trunk, but I thought it was perfect for a Trunk Show. This is the worsted weight --the multi-colored is the new colorway, Tuscany. A customer today commented that it has the colors for all seasons. She bought me out!

This was also a popular colorway in the sock and fingering. The semi-solids are rich and warm.


Seredipitous Ewe as sock yarns in 80 wool/20 nylon and a wool/bamboo/nylon blend, which is my favorite. Sock yarns come in semi-solids, variegated and striping.





Another new color is the Blue Footed Booby, first in a series of colors + black reminiscent of bird species. I look forward to a penguin colorway!


Many Serendipitous Ewe yarns can be purchased at Y2Knit. Stop by to check them out!