Kristina's Glo

Love the hats from Hip Knit Hats. Here is another quick one to knit up. I used Cascade Autunno on size US 10 needles. Did some minor modifications to the pattern and it turned out cute.


And the best part is that Kristina likes it! Merry Christmas, sweetie.

Finished Thorpe

Here is the finished model. We tied the earflaps up for an alternative look.

This hat and 116 other items went off Tuesday to the Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative Holiday Gathering that was held last night for 97 foster youth and aged-out foster youth. You folks are amazing! In less than two weeks you donated all of those items.

Where's a crocheter when you need them?

I am working on the Thorpe. And I have it knitted.

Now I have to half-double crochet around the edges. Easy for you to say - just look it up on You Tube. But I have to have someone show me first, as I always seem to find some way of not fully understanding the directions.

So, where are the crocheters?


P. S. You just have to ask. About 5 minutes after I posted this, Pamela came in. Pamela, a crocheter. Guess what is now crocheted around the border.



Thanks, Pamela. Now all I have to do is add the braids.

More Goodies

We just received these great pendants! They are from Debra's Garden. Knitter's Review did an article on them a while back, which piqued my interest. I finally got around to ordering them and they are really nice. They come with a bag and would make a great gift. Clara Parkes tells us that she found that ChiaoGoo US 6 did not fit properly in this gauge, but when I checked mine, they worked, so it may be that ChiaoGoo fixed their sizing after Clara's review.

I have to admit that one of the fun things about owning a yarn shoppe is that it feels like Christmas year around. We get to try out all sorts of wonderful items and I am forever awed by the artistic talent that is shown to me.

Missing Kathy

A while ago, I was really excited because I met up with an old friend. She came back into my life and once again, she enriched it. Then that rotten cancer came back into her life and this past Friday, Kathy left this world.

So, I am feeling sad and I know that I will miss her. I keep hearing that heart attacks are the biggest killer, but the majority of people I know that have died, die from cancer. And they are always the good people. In fact, I have adopted the philosophy that I had better be a really terrible person if I want to live a long life.

I find it hard to say goodbye. I am not afraid of dying, I just don't know what to say to the folks who are left behind. And in the last couple of months, three people have died who are connected, in some way, to my life. And that is pretty crappy.

No Idle Hands

About two months ago we asked you to join us in the No Idle Hands Project.


And what a response we have had! 57 hats, 51 scarfs, and 20 sets of hats, mittens, and scarfs. Thanks to you, we will be taking all of these wonderful items over to Goodwill Inn, where they will be distributed to folks.

What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Hats

Bring on the cold weather.
I am getting ready for it.

Actually, what I am doing is knitting up some hats from Hip Knit Hats. They have been fast and fun.

THANK YOU FOR VOTING

Yes, we can and we did.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.
We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. (We want change.)
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics…they will only grow louder and more dissonant ……….. We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea: Yes We Can.

Halloween

Hope you had a great ghost and goblin day!!!!

Suttons Bay Fall Art Walk

Friday, October 24, 2008, the Art Walk. Ingrid Zotter was our featured fiber artist. Pictures are not that great. Sorry, Ingrid. As her knitted garments were amazing. Besides, with her New Zealand accent, what do you expect? They teach them to knit when they are still wearing knickers. (That is the expression, isn't it?)



She brought in doilies, shawls, vests, sweaters .....See the one with tea cups? The back of that sweater has a tea pot. Cute.





And here is my favorite landlord in the whole wide world. That is Joyce, yakking away. Can't remember if I have mentioned it, but for those of you who have not been here in person, we rent our space from Bayside Salon, where they have manicures, pedicures, facials, and fantastic hair stylists. Not to mention that all of them are wonderful ladies.


This is Dorte's 14 yr. old daughter, Erika, the bride of a corpse. She is on her way to an early Halloween party. Dorte is one of those wonderful hair stylists, manicurist, and pedicurist.
She moved here from Denmark many moons ago. Had to be love.


We had a great time.

Done

Pat came in wearing this fun sweater. She knit it out of the Shibui Merino Alpaca and it is for her daughter-in-law in Oregon. I told Pat she could forget to take it with her to Portland and leave it here for us.


Stacy came in wearing this hat. It is her pattern and she knitted it out of the Autunno.

Isn't it cute?
We will be offering this pattern as soon as Susan gets it to us. Susan designed it after I told her I wanted a 3 button wrap that had a cable. And voila! How wonderful to have a designer on staff.


Kate is wearing her Broken Rib Vest made out of the Harlequin yarn and knitting one for her hubby out of the Elegant Merino.


And here I am wearing my Bea Arthur rib warmer. I love, love it.




Jacki finished this amazing lace top for her daughter, Ingrid. She used Naturally Dawn, a bamboo yarn and the pattern, Oriel Lace Blouse, from Interweave Knits Summer 2007. I have watched Jacki work her way through this blouse and she has done an amazing job. I am sure that there were many times she was ready to throw it into the trash, but look what her preserverance brought her. This is truly a work of love from a mother to her daughter.

With Friends like These

I have Thanksgiving every day. Look what was waiting for me when I came in yesterday morning.

Jill knitted this out of Louet linen. And as with everything in life, there is more to the story. She was over 1/2 done and her kitty found it and ate it. Poor Jill had to take most of it out and regroup. You have to come in and see it in person. It looks like an article from a museum, as it is absolutely lovely.


Makes me glad I named the shoppe Thistledown. It has obviously given folks a reason to play around. See this: Melody had this made by Pat McKean. Pat has some wonderful buttons and pins at our store. And she also makes items like this.


Then my knitting group surprised me with this flag last year. Think it lets folks know what we have here? And underneath the flag is a lamb that Kathy Herman put together for the shoppe. See what I mean about having a continuous Thanksgiving?

Aurora Spinning

Let me introduce you to Aurora Spinning; authorized dealer for Schacht, Ashford, and Babe's Fiber Garden.


Susan Curtis is a spinner with over 35 years of experience. She and her daughter Sharon host our Spinning Nights on Wednesdays, from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm. Sharon has also been spinning for over 35 years. In addition to the spinning wheels Aurora will also offer drop spindles, other fiber tools, fibers, books, and instruction. You may contact Susan at susan@auroraspinning.com for more information.

Is the summer gone?

It's September 1st and I have some time in between customers to blog. It has been almost 2 months and it feels like it was just last week since I last posted. What's been happening? We have met new folks, knitted items, brought in new yarn, patterns, book, and notions. Just the ordinary things that a yarn shoppe would do. Yet, it has been extraordinary.

What has made it that? It is the fact that we have become a part of the amazing fiber community in this area. We have learned from the folks who have come in and we have challenged them to continue trying out new ideas. It has been a wonderful experience for all of us.

Here is the Bendig family - 3 generations knitting away.


Joanne DuFour visited us from the UP. She is a spinner and lace knitter extraordinaire. She won Best in Show at the Allegan Fiber Fest in 2007 for her handspun alpaca lace shawl. I was able to see it and it was elegant. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it (was in too much awe). But I do have pictures of other items she brought.

Hand spun alpaca and a lace shawl.





Then we have Susan Pandorf.


Susan designs shawls and we are carrying three of her patterns: the Cherry Country Shawl, Moroccan Day/Arabian Nights stole, and It is our hope to have Susan come and do a lace beading workshop for us. She has such wonderful patterns.

Susan and Jill went out and added some puppies to their homes. Meet Timmy and Lucy. (that is my daughter Kristina modeling a hat and holding Lucy)




Kate knitted a cute little cape made out of the recycled yarn. This is her design. And if you like her ideas, check out her paintings at the Tamarack Craftsmen Gallery in Omena.



This hat is Robin's Egg Blue Hat. I found it through Ravelry. It was a fun and quick knit (which I needed this summer). I used one skein of Cascade 128. My daughters saw it and both claimed it. So, I guess I will have to do a one for each of them, maybe, for Christmas.



And here is another one skeiner. This used one skein of the Pecan Pie colorway from Farmhouse Yarns. It is their silk, cotton, wool blend called Silk Blend. I will admit that I never thought of myself as a poncho type person, but once I finished it and put it on, I loved it. For this hot person, it is perfect for those over air-conditioned rooms.




Peg made the Sausalito sweater out of cotton fleece. It looks great on her!


The Bea Arthur ribwarmer. I just spent 20 minutes on Ravelry trying to see if someone else had posted a Bea Arthur and was not successful in finding one. I originally wanted to make the ribwarmer and actually knitted one up as a sample garment. I took it with me to Meg's workshop in May, 2007 and then saw the Bea Arthur. No question - that was what I had to knit. And here it is, almost finished. I am working on the I cord. And then I will block and voila! It will be done. Look and drool.


Susan found this and we ordered the yarn and the pattern. It is the Sea Lettuce Scarf by Lucy Neatby and it is knitted in Bonnie by Louet. Susan wanted me to display her finished product like this

and because I am left handed and therefore always contrary, I wanted to show it to you like this.


Either way, it is a fun scarf.


Next project on the way is the Criss-Cross Jacot Scarf. Susan is knitting this out of the Elegant yarn Fantasy. It is a favorite color combination of mine - browns and blues. (See what a great thing it is to own a yarn shop? You have some say about the samples that are made.)



Then we went to the Fiber Fest in Charlevoix and saw this.


Lorilee from City Knitting in Grand Rapids. Many moons ago, before shoppe, I was in Grand Rapids and as all good knitters do, I decided to stop by and visit a shop that was new to me. When I walked in I was greeted by the question of whether I had my knitting with me. When I answered that I had it out in the car, they invited me to sit and knit. And ever since then, I have considered City Knitting a home away from home. I also found a Kathy who knew a Kathy that I knew. (are we confused yet?) So, if you are ever in Grand Rapids, make sure you head on over and visit with them. And oh, bring your knitting. And don't tell her that I am jealous that she is having Jared Flood.

Here is what Melody did at the Fiber Fest.


Ain't she cute? She modeled the top she knitted.



Amazing how fast it all went.

Have a great fall.