Promises, Promises

If it was heard once today, it was heard one hundred times; I can't start another project until I finish something else. How practical is this practice? More like bondage, not allowing myself to indulge my creativity by casting on, and often that is all it takes is to cast on, is as punishing as going all day eating nothing but a small veggie tray from Wawa and a non fat cottage cheese, and then ordering a large cheese steak from Europa and eating the entire thing myself. (I've done both.) Can ya tell I'm from New Jersey????

Buying more yarn than you can use in a lifetime is probably not a good idea, but if you already own enough to start your own business, what harm will it do to start something new? As we often say here in NJ, you could be going to AC every weekend and gambling your paycheck. We know many who do.

A dear customer, Donna, along with Brenda, came in to the store today to knit and show off Donna's new tatt; a pink ribbon on her ankle. It looked sore! Oh I want a tattoo....maybe for my sixtieth birthday. I'm waiting for a picture of Brenda sitting at the tattoo parlor, knitting. Needles and needles! Ouch. Anyway, we agreed that what you should do is to throw out by giving away all of the yarns you first bought that may not be the best to knit heirlooms with. You know those giant one pound pull skein things of acrylic? Give em' away. That kind of thing pads your stash unnaturally, so that when you look at that spare room that your cat disappeared in last week, it will be full of something you can really knit with, not tie up your tomato plants with.

I say that I am not starting anything new all of the time. And then, we will be visited by knitters like these two delightful young women (below) who stopped in today, Sharon and Sarah. Their excitement and generosity of spirit infused everyone in the store. They were happy to be knitting together! So, because of them, I broke my vow not to spend more than ten minutes a day on Ravelry. Also because of Sharon, I am going to knit a new sweater, which I shouldn't do, but must. Called the February Lady Sweater, it is something I think won't make me look like a linebacker and I could really wear it! I am going to use a yarn we have spun for us from wool off of sheep right here in our community, and then spun by friends in western PA. Myra dyed the yarn and because we had run out of clever names that day, called it 'greens'.

Sharon and Sarah; enabling all of us to a happier life! I want your energy!

Woolbearers Ringspun Greens, of Romney wool.

Here is my most exciting project! We started our Stonington Shawls yesterday; why I started mine in Oxford Grey Jameison is beyond me, but I was feeling really regretful about it, but Gwen suggested that I could do the center square in the grey shetland, I could do the trapezoids in violet shetland, and then the lace border in the grey, black and violet Kauni!!!!! I can't wait now to have the time to knit on it. Of course, I have to drive back into Mt. Holly tomorrow because I ran out of the grey wool.......


Sharon, Sarah, Beth , Gwen and Myra all got me hooked on looking at the Kauni sweaters on Ravelry....the Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan ......unbelievable! My life was manageable before Ravelry, now it may be going out of control! Beth said you simply place the projects you want to do in your whatever it is called, and then you have that reference to refer to ...I 'm not convinced.Beth knit this cap from the Knit Two Together book out of Ty Dy and Fixation, to be used by a dear friend of ours as a chemo cap. It is softer than we could have imagined.
Beth's sock for her husband with bamboo shoots around the ankle. It really does look like bamboo.

Karen knit this really wonderful sweater as part of a class she is teaching at Woolbearers next fall. Karen is a fearless knitter; she can take just about any pattern and alter it for ease of knitting and fit. She does everything from the top down and then in one piece with minimal sewing, no matter what the pattern calls for. She is a no nonsense knitter and I think that her class is going to become a must take at the store. We are encouraging our employees to take it. You can see how beautifully it fits her! Karen wants to liberate knitters. She doesn't worry about gauge, so participants will learn how to alter patterns for different yarns.
Watch for more detail in the late summer. The sweater will be in the store next month.

Stephanie crocheted this lovely pineapple shawl for a class we offer at the store. It's a real work of art.Lisa knit purses for her son's teachers and some lucky gal will be receiving this fun bag! Good job, Lisa!

One more thing about Kauni; we have ten colorways. They are all lovely! So I have been thinking about what I would like to knit Lisa Myer's kimono from Knit So Fine out of, and I think the Kauni would be perfect!!!