Friends are good

This is what Doreen did for me.

 No more tangles, no wishy washy yarn.


Thanks, Doreen.  Anyone who would spend a trillion hours untangling yarn for someone else is truly a friend.

One of the reasons it takes me so long to knit an item

This past Friday, Tammy, my yarn representative from Blue Heron yarns, came in and I was able to purchase some yarn that day. 

I picked out a skein of Rayon Metallic in the Cactus/Silver colorway and started to wind it into a ball.  Almost to the end I looked over at the ball and it looked a little weird.  I stopped winding and realized that about half of the wound ball was hanging all over the place.

Here it is - 5 hours later.

Betsy stopped in yesterday and said that Doreen likes to work on tangled yarn, so I left it on the table and will be calling her today and will ask her, pretty please, to finish untangling it, because I am now at the point of cutting the %^&* yarn to finish untangling it and I really do not want to do that.

Another trunk show! 
This one is from Knit One, Crochet Too and we are featuring 2nd Time Cotton.   We have the Seed Stitch Yoke Cardi,




















Double Tee,  Chevron Trim Top, and

Hey Teach.

I liked Hey, Teach when it first hit Knitty and I like it even better in person.  I would knit it with a 3/4 length sleeves and a longer body.

Yarn Alert!

Fiona has mailed out more yarn. 




We should have it out by Thursday.


Edited on Thursday - um, maybe Friday?

Puppy power

We like dogs.  And on almost every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, I will bring in one of our dogs.

Molly
















Emma   





















T-Bone

Emma and Molly are our 10 month old Scotty mix puppies and T-Bone is our son's dog. I think he is around 5 years old and who knows what  breeds he has in him.  He is an animal shelter special. 

4th of July

Yup.  I am sentimental.  I get goosebumps when Amazing Grace is played on the bagpipes.  I also like Judy Collins' version.  And I like a good marching band with drums.  I like parades and Leland has a great parade every 4th of July.

I have turned down opportunities to be in the parade because I like to watch the parade. This year my husband, Scotty, son, Ian, and Ian's dog, T-Bone, were in the parade.

 They were in a Dodge M 37 military powerwagon/weapons carrier from the Korean War era.

The Leland Marching Band.  They only get together for the parade.

A 51-52 Chevy.  This car has been in the parade ever since we have been watching the parade and I love the combination of colors.

My favorite bank, Northwestern.  Their folks are very helpful and friendly.

M-22 was packed with people.  People standing, people in chairs, family buffets set up.  It was a great day for a parade and a great day to celebrate our freedom.  Thank you to everyone who has given us this opportunity.

Hooray for models!

Having models in the shoppe is fun.  We get to see how a pattern and yarn come together.

Ruth knitted the Pure Elegance Shawl using Mountain Colors Twizzle.

I knew that I liked the Lucy Wrap and when we acquired it, it reinforced my first impression.

We're so excited

We now have yarn exclusively hand-dyed in Michigan by Fiona McPherson Grant for Thistledown Shoppe.

 Third Coast, 100% Superwash Merino Wool, fingering weight.  1120 yds

Up North, 51% silk / 49% merino wool, fingering weight

and Lake Effect, 100% Tussah Silk, 1 ply.

The colorways are named after local flora and fauna and places located in our area.

Several of us are busily knitting models for the shoppe.

 I am using Lake Effect to make this scarf.   Susan is  knitting the Shetland Shorty and Betsy knitted a sock out of Third Coast.  Jill is knitting a lace scarf out of Up North.

Think one of a kind and exclusive.  Fiona has a wonderful reputation as an excellent hand dyer and she will be thrilling us with the results.
.

Gaillardia

Gaillardia.   This is a flower and here are some pictures.

It is also the color name of one of our yarns.  I tried a picture, I really did, but my camera wants to change the coral and oranges to pinks.  So,  look at the colors above and think 100% Merino Superwash.  All 1120 yds of it.  One of a kind.

If you have to have warm weather, then this is what makes it worthwhile.

 The planter outside of the shoppe.

 Fuchsia at my house.  I never saw them until we lived in Alaska.  Snowball bush in the background.

More flowers that we purchased from Countryside Gardens.  I call it Sheila's. 

She is located on Good Harbor Trail.  Friendly folks and wonderful plants.

Wisteria in my back yard. 

Baby

I was able to get a picture of one baby robin. 

We had three hatchlings, and then this morning one of them was on the sidewalk, so we are now down to two.

Freddie's Blanket

We have a new book that is wonderful for knitting projects and reading to your child. 

There are patterns for a blanket,

Freddy Platypus and his coveralls,

 




 coveralls for a child,












an envelope wrap,









 







and May Platypus.  They all use the Serendipity Tweed and we have lots of that.






It is written and illustrated by the same folks that did Phoebe's Sweater.

They also have a group on Ravelry.

Thank you, Slate Falls Press, for the wonderful pictures.

Kauni Trunk Show

RYN Yarns, our distributor for Kauni yarns, sent us a trunk show. 






The Oakland Shawl



















Beverly Cardigan

Brady Scarf


















It looks much nicer in person.  We will have it until the end of May, so make sure you stop by to fondle.

Carry on

Okay, so I collect things.  And one of those things I collect and use are bags, totes, baskets.  Items to hold my knitting.  And Lantern Moon has a lot of what I like.

Rice baskets - the salt water reed is sustainably harvested, flattened by hand press, then dyed and woven by village artisans in the community center and in their homes

 Clam Shell Cases - three fit into one and zip up.  Great for notions.

Boca - twisted seagrass baskets with silk lining. Small and medium with drawstring closure.

 



Silk Taffeta bags - three different sizes.  I have a lady that uses them to gift wines.

Ibiza - diamond pattern palm leaf combined with natural palm inside to make a fresh summer tote. Rattan ring handles.

  Swing bucket - Roomy drawstring pouch with four outside pockets in limited edition prints.

Tilly - Folded and sewn palm leaf in perfect brights for Spring and Summer. Natural palm is woven in to create a rick rack effect. Wooden handles on this farmer's market tote.

Jewel - Taffeta silk tops the soft quilted charcoal box.

Sapa Messenger bag  

Palm Leaf Tote - braided palm leaf with wooden handle. Black cotton lining with magnetic snap. Inside zipper pocket.

                           

Silk and velvet, I am a Victorian lady.

Maya Floral - small project bag in beautiful Vietnamese floral print silk.  Loop and shell button closure.