Best selling product this week: Ear Light!

This is the coolest product. Gina, from Checker Distributors, turned us onto the fantastic Ear Light when we were in Tuscany. I came back and ordered some and keep having to order more because everyone wants one.

Lightweight, this just clips on the ear. I thought I wouldn't like it, but it's not uncomfortable. Adjust the light and the soft white light shines on your knitting, then when you turn your head to look at the pattern, the light goes with you. So cool!

Great for readers, knitters and I have customers that are using them for walking the dog. I used mine the other night when I couldn't find the key hole at the back door. Abigail loves to chase the light!

What a great gift! Hope my family members aren't reading this or they'll know what's coming their way!

Y2Knit Experience Tuscany Picture Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Travel is over...for now

I think I have finally settled in after the fall travel, which included over 2 weeks in Tuscany and 9 days in Buffalo, WY.  When I return from these trips, the thing I miss most is the wonderful conviviality of spending time with a group of knitters and getting to know a group fairly well.  Getting up and having my cup of tea in the morning is decidedly less fun that sipping tea, knitting and visiting with others in the lobby of the Occidental Hotel or the breakfast room at Villa Maddalena.

Upon my return, there is always this sense of loss. Other than the obvious, I was unable to identify what this was.  Finally it dawned on me:  when I am on a Y2Knit Experience, no matter how hard I am working, I am not overloaded with all the things that enter my personal and work life when I'm back in Funkstown.  What's missing is a less complicated day!  What's missing is finding time to knit!

We had a great time during the Yarns on Stage Debut event at the shop last Saturday.  Fun to see which yarns knitters are drawn to.  Prism sold the most, Alpaca with a Twist and Great Adirondacks next.  There's still leftovers, like after any good meal. 

Sandy brought some delicious carrot cake so we could celebrate Nancy's birthday. She made Nancy her own little cupcake.  I had three servings.

Do Jackalopes Exist?

For the recent Y2Knit Experience Buffalo, we stayed at the historic Occidental Hotel.  Well worth it!  One of the features is the saloon, which has been lovingly restored, complete with animal heads of all kinds.  I believe every animal found in the West can be found in the saloon.  I polished my identification skills and after a week (and a few beers), i confidently know the difference between deer, elk and caribou, among others. 









One critter than I knew instantly was the jackalope.  He's mounted on the wall just to the left of the doorway into the gift shop and hotel lobby.   Since I felt that all the animals would look better if they had scarves or cowls on, but didn't feel enough commitment to that ideal to actually provide them, I decided to knit a small scarf for the Jackalope. 

I was able to do this with some lovely purple yarn donated by Mountain Meadow Wool.  I knit the scarf in seed stitch, 2 inches wide by 14" long, not including fringe.  It was perfect knitting during Knitting Night with local knitters.

I gave the Jackalope the scarf the next morning, attaching the yarn label.  The next morning the owner of the hotel, Dawn, commented on how lovely the scarf looked on the Jackalope.  I told her that Emily, the resident ghost, had apparently gotten into my needles and yarn and been up to some mischief.  We'll see if that story sticks!  Anyway, he looks quite fetching, whoever gets the knitting credit!

pics courtesy of Maureen Ladley of Ladley & Associates

Story 2: 

I had a magazine deadline, which since I procrastinate, means I was working on it at the last minute.  This involved finishing Bunny Love, a pattern that Creative Knitting accepted for a special interest Babies and Children edition coming out sometime in 2011. 

So, right now I'm kind of over bunnies, cute as they are.  I thought about sending the prototype knitted Bunny Love to my nephews, perhaps with a ransom note, but then decided to just turn him into an Jackalope.  When Sandy and Phyllis stopped by to pick up their new One Skein Wonders Sock Yarn books, we sat and visited and I just whipped those antlers up.  Bunny Love got to sniff the rosemary while I took his pic.   He's so Wyoming!!

What have I been knitting?

I always forget to log what I have been knitting. I always have a few projects. Here's my recent output:

A lovely beret that is part of the Experience Buffalo knitting. Sorry, the pattern is only available for those attending this spectacular event. If you aren't going this year, we'll soon post dates for next year. Meanwhile, we're shuffling off to Buffalo, WY.

Because I love the yarn from Mountain Meadow Wool of Buffalo, WY, I decided to work something out with an odd hank I had in their dyed yarn. With only 140 yds, I decided to make some fingerless mitts. I think the bobbles in the beret inspired me.


My default knitting has been the OK Easy Cardigan. I needed something that didn't require a lot of thought as I have a lot going on right now. I've finished the sleeves and am working on the back. I love the hem and how the turn creates a line of color. I chose Kiwi from Zealana in the laceweight because this color has been in my mind for a long time. It's my default color. I picked an odd hank of Lorna's Laces sock for the contrast, and if I say so myself, it's quite fabulous. I put the contrast in the sleeve hem, which will be worn turned back and in the surprise back stripe. Because I didn't have enough yarn to do the body of the sweater hem in the variegated contrast, I picked another color of Kiwi and am pleased with the effect.

This will be good saloon knitting because I don't really have to pay attention. It will be fun to show off at Knitter's Night in Buffalo. Apparently the local knitters are really excited as they don't connect with each other. Once again, Y2Knit facilitates a great connection. More on that later!

It's a Wrap Party and Trunk Show

Not only did we have delicious wraps to eat (thanks, Bonnie!) and beautiful wraps to adorn (thanks, Jill!), but we had luscious yarn to fondle, adore and buy.


Darcy from Angel's Kiss Yarn brought a fine assortment of her 60% alpaca/40% merino worsted in an array of colors. This yarn makes you want to get your needles out and cast on for a sensory experience of touch and color. Darcy's graciousness compliments the yarn. She also brought some bulky and a sampling of her lace weight, which they are spinning at her small mill in Wisconsin. The worsted and bulky blends are being created at Kraemer Mills in PA. Darcy uses her own alpaca and alpaca from other sources, including MD farms.

We had a good time trying wraps on different body types and experimenting with different ways to wear them. Pictured here are Darcy and Bonnie wearing Seven-8ths, a pattern Y2Knit published in 2009. Not only is it fun to knit, but it's great for all body types. Turns out this is a good color too as it looks great on both women.

Below, Nancy models the Ogee Shawl, a lacy circle that can be draped and wrapped a number of ways. Another model shows it as a neck piece.

Back from Magical Trip to Tuscany

I've been back a few days and figured I better write while it's all fresh. So much happens on a trip like the Y2Knit Experience Tuscany, and I find it hard to tell the story well enough to convince others of the magic.

Because we travel with our 87-year old mom, Jane, Jill and I forgo the train ride from Rome and instead are met by our friend and hired driver, Massimo, who drives like any good Roman, getting us out of the airport and to the A1 quickly. I mention this trip because I was so struck by Massimo asking us, "Do you still feel the magic when you return to Montisi?" (read that with an Italian accent)

Jill and I both replied that we do still feel the magic. When we returned for our third trip last year, I wondered if I would feel the same excitement and enchantment of this tiny medieval village. I had a lot going on and wasn't sure those emotions would rise in me again. On the drive from Rome, especially once we began to see the Tuscan countryside, I felt as Massimo said he does, "like Alice in Wonderland". This year the countryside was full of sunflower farms, golden heads bowing to the sun. Glorious wonderland.

Montisi, the magical village, is home to about 325 people. This year, being August, more were visiting, so the place was quite lively. The first week it was hot, so the streets were full of people late into the night while we waited for apartments and bedrooms to cool down. Even the small children were up with their parents, having napped throughout the day.

For us, connecting with the people we know is part of the magic. Massimo cooked lunch while we caught up with his partner, Liz Cochrane, a local artist. Liz taught a color class to the knitters each week and also some private painting lessons. Over the first couple days, we run into more familiar faces and are constantly reminded of how good is to be back.

One of the familiar faces was one of the Y2Knit participants, Mary Jane Escobar. MJ came to Montisi two years ago and stayed with us for two weeks. This time, she wanted the experience to be different, so she asked us if she could teach local children to knit. A natural extension of her life in Virginia, where she teaches kids in after school programs and craft shops to knit, this seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Being August, the kids were out of school and it was warm enough to hold classes outside in a convenient location.

Liz helped get the word out and 8-12 kids attended classes each day. Irma, 81, joined the group too, renewing her knitting skills. This was a wonderful experience and reminder of how knitting can bring us together.