Knitting by the Bay 2008

It's a group project.









First, it starts with Amy. She is our leader. Amy came over from Wisconsin to help us. I met her last May and thought she was wonderful. Amy is teaching us about the Rib Warmer, knitting a sweater in the round, and tips and tricks.

Slave Labor

Due to the amount of snow this winter, we have had to struggle with a snow bank, between the street and sidewalk. Today, my son, Ian, and daughter, Mary, came over and worked on bringing that snowbank down.

Aren't I lucky to have my children?

Spring is coming

Spring really is coming. It is March. And as much as I like snow and winter and the cold, spring is okay. I like crocuses and daffodils and birds singing away. I like to see buds on the trees and I really like having more light. But that is another entry.

First of all - we received some new colors in the ShiBui sock yarn. The colors are Blossom, Grace, and Spectrum. Their sock yarn is wonderful. It has a bouncy feel to it and is made out of 100% superwash Merino. You need two skeins to make an adult pair of socks and the cost is $19. for a pair. Not a bad price for hand dyed yarn.

Have to show off some garments that folks have been knitting.
Pat from Hesperia made this Dale of Norway sweater. Look at how the blue stands out and the wonderful fair isle design.




Dorte is working on this Irish Hiking Scarf, using Lamb's Price Worsted. She has never knitted cables before and was worried, but look at the great job she is doing.






Jill knitted the Sunrise Circle Jacket, using 5 skeins of ShiBui Merino Kid, in the Honey colorway. Melody is modeling it for us. It is a store sample, so you can come on in and try it on. We found the pattern at Interweave Knits.


Susan knitted the Shawl Collar Vest from Handknitting with Meg Swansen. She used a heavy 3ply Fisherman wool. The unspun icelandic or Cascade 128 would be a fabulous substitute. Susan will be adding the Tree of Life buttons. I love the cabling, both front and back. This is a pattern of which I picked up the video and yarn from Schoolhouse Press, when Melody and I attended their workshop last May. They now have the pattern on DVD, which we will have in the shoppe this Tuesday.

We have this in our shoppe. Time to get creative on your refrigerator. If your family ever had any doubts about how much you enjoy knitting, this will win them over!

We are becoming more excited about our retreat next weekend. If you can't join us, check out the blog later. We will post pictures and ideas.

Hugs......

Where is She?

Kate stopped by the shoppe today to pick up some socks for knitting while driving downstate. (Husband does the driving, she does the knitting.) When she stopped she had her dogs in the car. Kate took the food out of the car and put it on the roof, so the dogs would not be tempted while she came into the shoppe. Here are some pictures of Archie looking for her.










Don' we love our animals?

Can you guess which one I knit?

Susan knit one and I knit one. And guess which one I knitted?

Yup, it is not the wonderful navy blue sweater made out of the Natural Wool 10 Ply from New Zeeland. The pattern is from the Simply Knit 2 book. But I did knit the Bronze Patina Lamb's Pride for the Alpine Boot. And I made the same mistake that I made when I knit the first foot. I short rowed wrong. And I even used markers this time, as Susan suggested the last time I made that silly mistake. Guess I can't watch movies and knit the bottom of this boot. But, in the meantime, Susan was knitting away on this wonderful sweater. And now I can wear the shoppe sample, so there is some justice in this world.

Getting Ready for the retreat and other thoughts

We are starting to receive some goodies from our vendors for our Knitting by the Bay retreat. ShiBui has sent us some wonderful bags and Skacel - needles and marking pins. Gerhild, from Lost Art, says she has some fun items coming in from her vendors. We also have some giveaways that the shoppe will donate. If you have not registered yet, you might want to think about it. February 25 is the deadline.

In the meantime, we are busy with new books coming in and restocking our shelves with needles, yarn, and books. Books include 2-at-a-time Socks, Folk Bags, Simply Knit 2, Great American Afghan Book, and Mason-Dixon Knitting.









Susan knit up the Market Bag from the Folk Bag book. She used 2 skeins of the Euroflax Sport in this lovely blue.






It is kind of a yucky wintery day today. Cloudy, with slight snow showers. My son, Ian, came over this morning and cleaned up our sidewalk. Then, because he looked like a mountain man, I took him to the south side of the building, Bayside Salon, and the ladies there changed him into mister handsome. I should have done a before and after, because you would have agreed with me. So, Susan and I are sitting here - with her knitting and me posting and doing whatever has to be done. Come on over and join us.

Oh, oh, look what I have been knitting. It is the Merino Kid ShiBui yarn in the Rapids colorway. The pattern is the Irish Hiking Scarf by Hello Yarns.

I had to call my sister for help

Okay, I have been knitting consistently for about 7 years. I started back up when my daughter wanted a poncho. We went shopping and looked at what was in the stores and I refused to spend money on those awful acrylic things. We found a pattern and yarn and I was off and knitting. Ever since then I have been knitting.

For Christmas, I sent my sister this pattern by Fiber Trends and the yarn. Actually, it was her Christmas present, but she never received it until Saturday, because I had to mail it to her and I am a procrastinator. Then she started knitting it right away. Saturday night she called me with questions on picking up stitches. We went through the pattern and what stuck with her was my explanation that this would be felted and not to worry too much as mistakes don't usually show.






Well, here is what she made. Didn't she do a great job? The yarn is Lamb's Pride Bulky, their new varigated colorway in the Strawberry Swirl.

Because she had so much fun knitting this bowl, I decided to make a sample for the shoppe. It would be a quick knit and if she could knit it, so could I. After all, my sister has only been knitting for one year and I had more experience than her.

Well, I had to call my sister for help. When I reached the same section she was in when she called me for help, I had problems. It didn't make any sense to me. So I called and she walked me through it.

Humph - so much for being the older, more experienced sister.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

Well, I am not the Post Office, but I am open for business. I will admit that I left home about 30 minutes later than usual, which meant that I did not get at the shoppe by 10 am. But I am here. And I love this weather! See, I am one of those crazy folks (are there others?) who much prefers winter to summer. Actually fall is my favorite season, but winter is next. I love the falling snow. I love the cold. I love the squeaky snow.



And while I am not with the Post Office, I was a police officer at the University of Anchorage in Alaska and many was the night I walked around at 20 below on the snow and ice with the Northern Lights overhead. So, cold weather in Michigan is nothing for me.


These are what I wore while I shoveled the sidewalk. The headband is from the Denmark chapter of the Ethnic Knitting Discovery book. We knitted the lice version out of Mission Falls wool. The mittens are the Double Cuff Mittens from Knit One, Felt Too. They keep your finger tips warm, which my gloves never do. Perfect for this cold weather.



So, here I am. It looks cold and deary, doesn't it? But inside, it is nice and cozy and waiting for you.

That's It

Here are the rest of the items we have for the Mission Falls trunk show.

This scarf Melody knitted, so it will stay with us when the rest of the show moves on. It has intarsia.
















It is amazing to look at these items in person. For instance, this sweater has pieces of embroidery on it. It is a classic design with embellishments that make it stand out.





I love seeing how their cotton and wool knits up.

More

Well, here are some pictures of what we have at the shoppe. I knew I liked their patterns, but what a difference it makes when you can hold the garment in your hands.

Mission Falls Trunk Show

You will probably hear this from me more than once, but I believe in synchronicity (coincidence of events that seem to be meaningfully related). Now, that may not be the right word for what I believe, but I think it is close. I believe that life goes its way and that it all works out and events happen for a reason. For instance, I have wanted a yarn shop for about 6 years, but it never seemed to be the right time or place. And then this summer, it happened.

And now, here it is a new year and six months later. Time for the shoppe to get a new lift, bring in new items. But how fast can we knit? I have been asking my vendors for a trunk show and lo and behold - what have we got? Today two boxes came in and we have a Mission Falls trunk show. We have approximately 17 knitted items to drool over.


They are knitted out of Mission Falls cotton and wool. And I love every piece!

We will have them for three weeks from today. Come on in and fondle. We have the patterns and the yarn to make your own.

I am going to tease you for the next several days and show you what we have.

A New Year

It’s a new year and we are asking for your input. We have been here for six months now and we would like to know what you think.

Are we carrying the yarn, books and patterns you want?

How can we better service what you want from your crocheting and knitting?

Would you like a spinning night?

What KAL's (knitting along) would you like to work on?

Is there another way for us to display our yarns and notions?

Do our hours fit your schedule?

How is our customer service?

We plan on being here for a long time and we want to make sure that we are offering what you need.

Let us know.

I'm SO Excited

The Pointer Sisters and I are one today. I'm so excited as I am partnering with Lost Art from Traverse City. We will be offering a workshop March 7, 8, and 9 at the Bayshore Resort and we will be bringing in Amy Detjen to be our main instructor, along with offering other classes. One of the classes Amy will be teaching is the RibWarmer. See that? Is it not a wonderful vest? I have coveted this vest ever since I first saw it in Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Knitting Workshop. Then when I went to a knitting camp at Schoolhouse Press last spring, I was introduced to a variation of the Rib Warmer called the Bea Arthur. Can't give you a picture of that yet, as I am still working on it, but suffice it to say that it is a longer, more elegant version of the rib warmer. I picture myself as Loretta Young when I finish it.

Anyway, we will have a knitting workshop with classes on the Rib Warmer, Tips and Tricks, and some other great topics. Still putting together the finishing details, but set aside that weekend.