Third time's a charm...

Now that I've ripped out my sweater 3 times, I think I am totally in love with the color combo. Thanks to the girls at the shop last Saturday and many laughs (mostly at my expense- whatever), we finally decided that what my sweater needed, was a little bit of love from Dream in Color. Dream in Color can make any color combination come to life. I added in Flamingo pie and took out the blue "Whale of a Skein" and the white Debbie Bliss. Now it gives me the warm and fuzzy feeling that I needed- yeah!!! I only did an inch or two of color so far, a snail's speed is a compliment these days in regards to my knitting.

Yesterday at the shop, I got NOTHING done because I stared at this cubicle all day thinking of things I could make with these fabulous colors. I thought about a few different sweaters, and then just decided to stare some more instead of think at all. Obviously I'm totally enamored with this color palette lately (as you can see with my sweater above). Blue Sky offers one gorgeous color after another, it's unbelievable and they just introduce more and more every year. I love the papaya silk alpaca!!


I now have a new favorite yarn though, it's Colinettte's latest addition to their collection- One Zero. It's their thinner version on Point 5, which we all know and love so much, except it's knit on a 9 or a 10 needle and has 109 yards!!! It's SOOO super soft and the colors are delicious as usual. I really need to pick up the pace with my Road to Golden sweater (above), if I want to get crackin' on all of these other projects that I have in mind, especially that special baby blanket for my little peanut!! Check out these colors...

Totes, pouches, socks, and girls...

Finished, finally!! Well, actually it was finished last week, but I was too tired and lazy to sew on the button. So, wah lah, here it is, cute right? Super easy and fun to do. It's definitely a quickie project if you're crocheting at regular, non preggo speed. Some of the girls around the shop have been coming by this week for crochet quickie to squeeze in between their knitting, this is one of those perfect projects. I held 2 strands of Euroflax together on a G hook, 2 skeins for the bottom color and 1 for the top. We have full supply of these "Summer Hat and Bags" books, so come on over and browse. Each book filled with projects that are so adorable, it's kind of hard to decide which project to start first. Carolyn and I are almost ready to unleash the fall knitting and crochet schedule, and there are plenty of crochet classes for those of you who are ready to hop on our crochet train. There's no reason why you shouldn't, and too many reasons why you should be crocheting at this point. Crochet is ideal for whipping up gifts that are so beautiful, just take a look at some of the projects in these Japanese books, from the petite pouches to the trendy market bags, they're all so terrific. We'll teach you how to read a crochet chart, and the symbols- which are universal. So have no fear when you approach one of these splendid Ondori crochet patterns!!

We received some sweet treats this week, Tilli Tomas sent over a batch of her cell phone cases. Similar to the her "Ruck Sack" bags, you would pick up and knit your way down the pouch. Perfect for scrap yarn, or if you're looking for something special, a little of her gorgeous "Rock Star" hand beaded silk would be decadent if you ask me. We also opened a a box of her mini skeins, if you haven't seen these yet, they are adorable. Each skein has just 25 yards, and can be used for embroidery or simply for embellishing your knitting.


The new colors of Colinette's Jitterbug came in too, the pinkish one in the back of the picture, is a must have for me- that's for sure. The colors are so gorgeous and we are fully stocked to please any color palette! This sock yarn is definitely a favorite around the shop, it wears and washes great. If you haven't tried a pair of socks yet, no worries, we have lots of sock classes coming up this fall too. If you have tried a pair, and you're looking for something a bit more challenging, you might want to sign up for our "Fancy Feet" sock class. I promise, this sock will be the coolest sock you'll ever slip on your foot.


Okay, I had to post this, yesterday, we decided since Scarlett was feeling a bit under the weather still (as you can see in her eyes), that we would bring Honey Bear, her bulldog sister, to work with us. We figured it would be fun, well- it was!! She snorted around the shop for a while, greeted customers with her wiggling and waddling, and then preceded to snore under my desk. We even tried to have her model some of the pieces that were around the shop, but nothing fit over her head! Too cute.

There's always time to knit..

So this week, we found out we'll be expecting a little boy in November!! We're very excited, it was what I was feeling all along, the sonogram was so amazing. I'm feeling much better lately, thank god- 16 weeks is a long time to be so sick, you almost forget what it feels like to feel normal. However, just as I'm feeling good, Mr.Man's birthday has crept up on me, which means it's time for our all out, drag out, birthday bash of a bbq in my back yard. Our annual summer slam party is this weekend!! 94 degrees, is that all? hmmm... I'll be putting my mother and best friend to WORK!! I left the shop a few minutes early tonight to hit Wegman's- of course I have to make everything from scratch because ordering food would have much easier, but this year's theme is a luau, and we need tasty treats that are going to be fresh and delicious. So, the food shopping is done, but nothing can really be prepared until tomorrow night, so in the meantime... I grabbed some yarn on the way out the door today to start this tonight...

Road to Golden from Knit scene fall 2007. Don't ask me why now, I just really love it. I feel like playing with color and I've wanted to knit it for a while. Two nights before 50 guests are to arrive at my house seemed like the perfect time to start a sweater:) I even have one of the Wild Things next to me to help me along. He's going to remind me what I might look like by the end of the weekend, actually I think he's kind of cute.


I chose some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and a skein of Kersti and now I'm couch bound with my knitting. I'll worry about picking up balloons, the decorating, making the punch, and the 10,000 dishes that I need to cook, toss, and bake tomorrow night - right now, I just really need to knit.

How long is that gonna take?

...is the question asked by my 3 year tonight. She must be so sick of watching me crochet the same bag. I should be sick of it too, but I am working at such a glacial speed, I'm just too tired to even take notice. It should be done any minute now, and then I can start something new, perhaps something lacy and adorable from this book that came in again this week...
It's so hard to resist working with the Ecologie cotton from Nashua. Each shipment is a pleasure to unpack, even though there are only 6 colors, they are plant dyed and the dyelots are slightly different every time, check out the pinky one, I might need to knit something luxurious in that color!!


Then I can top it off with one of the new beaded buttons that arrived this week as well. I think a dk version of the anthropologie inspired caplet from craftster would be perfect. Mindless enough for my baby challenged brain, something I would actually wear a lot!! (and it would fit around my growing belly- and oh it's a growin').


I just want to give a special thanks to Through the Loops for her blog post this week, it really means a lot!! The pictures of the girls doing pottery are incredible, those are the pictures I'm always too muddy to take. It's nice to know I'm not the only who likes getting stuck in the mud. Her girls are amazing in a million different ways and are a pleasure to teach- I know they're enjoying the art of clay.

Pretty Cheep...

How cute are these? They're the "Pretty Cheep Project Bags" from Blue Sky Alpacas. The bag is a 12" square muslin fabric that is machine washable and perfect for your socks in progress. We got them in this week, along with all of the new colors of Skinny Cotton and Sport Weight Alpaca- they're so great!

Little bag sale: All of the Offhand Designs' bags that we have in stock are 30% off as well as the Namaste "Needle Totes" and "Yoga Tubes". We need to make some room for these..

This color "Peacock" is a limited edition, so if you likey, send me an email and I'll let you know when it arrives. Happy knitting and crocheting, I'm off to unravel a knot in my linen so I can start crocheting my bag!!

Summer lovin' Linen...

Yes, I know, almost an entire month with out a blog post. Truth be told, I've been yawning a lot!! I've been teaching so much lately that by the time I get home, and am ready to blog, I'm cross eyed and yawning. What can I say? This baby is kicking my butt.

Fiber camp was terrific, it felt so good to teach the girls how to have fun with fiber art. We hand painted silk/merino with kool aid, felted bracelets and flowers, and last but not least learned how to knit. Half way through, the girls were power knitting. I was so proud!!


I have to post Jackie M's latest work in progress. For anyone who knows Jackie- she hardly ever works from a pattern, and knits and crochets the most flattering, lovely sweaters in the whole wide world (no really- she gets stopped on the street).. So this time, it is all about the granny square. She chose Blue Sky Alpaca's sport weight in yummy colors and is planning on a little cardi, I took this photo on Thursday I think, so it's probably already finished, hopefully I'll have a finished product picture to share with you this week. Check out her colors though, they're so fab...
I think the granny square bug is going around, because Lindsay's got it too, except she is crocheting with Louet's euroflax. Her colors are GORGEOUS!! She came flying in the door this past week, and said "I can't talk about it, I just have this idea". We hopefully when she returns from her trip to Nice, France, this will be a great big wrap (that I can borrow). She's using a C hook to create these little squares, I think we decided that in total- she needs to have 120 or so squares, ouch- that's a lot of ends. Luckily for Lindsay, she's weaving in the ends after each square!!
So guess what? I finished a project this week! I can't believe it, I'm almost back! I too crocheted with beautiful summerlicious Louet linen. I whipped up one of the hats in the Japanese crochet book that features all summer bags and hats. These patterns are fairly easy, once you get the hang of the crochet symbols- which can be found in any learn to crochet book- the symbols are universal. We will be having a class on this, so stay tuned. For my hat, I doubled the yarn on an F hook and it fits great. I think if I was to do it again, I would use the yarn single strand with maybe a few more repeats of the pattern, just to make it lighter. If you are ever interested in trying a crochet project from any of the Japanese books, come on over and I'll help you. We have lots of books to browse through, and they're all beautiful. Here's my hat!

We also have a finishing class coming up this week with Carolyn, for more information, check the website or give a call over to the shop. Happy knitting and Crocheting, I should say...

World Wide Knit in Public Day...

So we're on for the 14th!! Bring your lawn chair, your knitting and some lunch. You can knit under the gazebo or the front lawn. There's plenty of room for all. Let's say noon-ish. If you have any questions, feel free to call- 908-604-4294. You can read up on WWKIP here... ps... here are directions to Angelfire Studios, located at Dewey Meadow Village.