Posts filed under ‘Blogroll’
Phew! Holidays are over until next year….
Well, the silly season has once again come to an end. Whether you celebrate it for the “real” reason or other reasons, it can really wear on you! What has done me in is having 5 days off two days on twice! It makes it really hard to get back into the swing of things at work.
DB and I don’t have children. We celebrate the holidays in our own way: by running away. We took a trip to San Diego, CA to find the home DB lived in until he was two. (It’s now a home that is quite possibly unaffordable by our standards.) The weather there was the coldest it’s been in two decades! What luck…. As a result, surfing lessons for DB was out of the question. The 70-yr. old head with the 20-yr. old body freaked me out the most. There was much wealth and everything was well-manicured. The seafood and sushi was particularly good. (We do like our sushi!) As fate would have it, I spotted the yarn shop, Knitting in La Jolla, in an alcove on Prospect St. My luck held, as DB pulled over immediately and let me indulge for a few minutes. My luck was good. The sock yarn was RIGHT INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR! I grabbed one skein of indie hand-dyed yarn from CO (I bought the Aspen Sock in Pedro’s Journey), a couple of skeins of Misti Alpaca Sock yarn, and some buttons (for my dear friend/neighbor/dogsitter) for a 3-button shawl. I was so quick, that when I left the shop, DB was not there! He assumed I would take longer, and had ducked into a gallery nearby. I wandered around aimlessly on the street, but didn’t dare go back into the yarn shop, for fear that I would buy more yarn.
We left for San Diego Christmas day, and came back Sunday afternoon. It was a long trip, but restful, and as usual, as with all trips with DB, it was FUN. We went to the San Diego Zoo (World famous), walked the boardwalk several times in Pacific Beach, had seafood, steak, FISH TACOS, sushi, and in our search for a restroom, ended up seeing the Lodge at Torrey Pines. Yes, in our search for a restroom, DB pulled into Torrey Pines Golf Course. The name seemed slightly familiar, but didn’t hit home until I saw the huge banner that read “Home of the US Open.” Against my protestations, we went through the Lodge door, held open by a dude in a kilt. The Arts & Crafts woodwork was BEAUTIFUL. The restrooms were IMMACULATE! I was so glad he dragged me in there (for more reasons than one). Now I want an Arts & Crafts home in the country, instead of a French Country home.
Before I forget, we went to the Hotel del Coronado and MEXICO. We went so deep into Mexico, they didn’t speak English. I can safely say we went all the way to Rosarito. The change, at the border, was amazing….we went from a clean, organized, thriving community in San Diego to depressed, lean-to looking habitation. It was really sad. That border really makes all the difference in the world. I’ll stop now. I’m not going to figure it out here and now.
I’ve finally got the “Lasso Me Baby” pattern printed. (See entry below in December) It’s available for a cool $5, plus postage. Please remember it only comes in a 36″ bust. I’ll be posting it on etsy. My shop is “Papatya.”
Oh, and before I forget. Remember when I left the yarn shop and couldn’t find DB? He had wondered into a sculpture gallery called “Device.” The metal sculptures blew me away! Here are photos of some of the works:
Eris by Greg Brotherton
Mercury by Greg Brotherton
Minitron by Greg Brotherton
In website news, I’ve added a new Cocoknits pattern, “Katje.” She’s really cute.
Cocoknits Katje cardigan
That’s all folks!
Caravan’s going to float away!!!
Two straight days of rain here in Memphis, and I’m going to need oars for the caravan. The roof is covered in tarps, but the tarps are holding water. I’m going to get SOAKED when I try to dump that water! I’ve had more time to clean our bathroom and go to a knit-out anyway. Good stuff.
We had 12 people, if I remember correctly, at our Memphis Knit Mafia knit-in at Cafe Eclectic. I was really into it. It’s the most fun I’ve had (knitting with nice folks) since I sold the shoppe. I hope it keeps up! I think cooler weather is more conducive to knit-ins. Bring it on! Ya know, anyone who’s reading this blog and is close enough is welcome to attend the knit-in. It begins at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays (except when there’s a hairy presidential election going on). Hope to see you there!
I’ve finally finished the kits for designs 1-22 in the Premiere issue of Debbie Bliss Magazine. Click here to see ’em! One thing that’s missing is the yarn page links from the patterns that you need to select your colors. If you know Debbie Bliss yarns and know what color you like, you can always tell me on the checkout page. I’ll be working on those yarn pages tomorrow and get back on the Rowan 44 kits. Phew! I must work harder and faster, at work, knitting models, on the caravan, and on the website business! May the Yarn Goddesses give me strength.
Here’s one of the new kits:
Very stylin' #19 Collared Sleeveless Top
More kits on the website! and a SALE!
Donatello - Crocheted!
I’ve been a busy little bee on the website this week. I’ve added more kits from Rowan Magazine 44. Click on the images to be taken to the kit pages:
Botticelli
Giotto Embroidered Jumper
Ghiberti
Greco
Titian
Bellini Waistcoat
The trailer of the caravan is complete. The rain this week hampered my progress. Next I will install the original wheel wells and waterproof them. After that, I will build the plywood covers that go over them (these will extend into the inside of the caravan, so they are very important). Then I think I’ll be ready to slide the trailer back under the caravan “cab.” The bottom structure of the caravan isn’t sound so it can’t yet SIT on the trailer. I must buy more lumber!
Rhodes College homecoming was last weekend. It was a LOT of fun! We had DB’s sister, brother-in-law, and nieces here. We got to have the girls for a while. I made sgets (that’s spaghetti, to you). We went to a great concert (Incendio) at the shell, which reopened this Summer. After that was ICE CREAM. [No, ice cream is NOT on the “Slim Forever the French Way” eating plan. I had some anyway. I decided when I was going to do this that I wasn’t going to be a wet blanket.] I feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time with any of the dear relatives. However, there is a huge get-together in Idaho the end of this month, which promises to be even more fun, because almost everyone in the fDB family will be there! There are so many family members spread out all over the country, it’s kind of hard to get them together in the same place at the same time. IT WILL BE A GOOD THING. Of course, I must KNIT FASTER if I want to have something handknitted to wear every day. I don’t know what we have planned yet for that weekend, but I’ve got several more weekends before that to worry about. I understand we’re staying in a cool bed and breakfast where they will be having a “halloween” wedding. I can’t wait to see that!
I’ve decided to put Nashua Wooly Stripes on sale ’cause it ain’t moving! It’s now 20% off. Here’s the linkee! Only the colors with “buy” buttons are available, and it’s first come, first served. This yarn felts GREAT! Ahh the benefits of reading ye olde blog. I’m going to go ahead and include Nashua Creative Focus Chunky and Worsted in the sale. They’re not moving, either.
Have a great weekend, hunker down at home (cheaply and safely), don’t go out, and knit!
Crazy Screwed Up Blog
As you can see, I’m still having blog problems. If you will read past the entry below this one, you will see the new post from Sept. 18. I HAVE NO IDEA why my latest post got moved down. I have a feeling it was not this human’s error. Make sure you read down to the Sept. 18 post to see the announcements about increasing yarn prices. I’m currently working on those pages but if you hurry, you can still get the cheaper prices on the Debbie Bliss yarns.
Thanks for reading!!!!
Kristin Nicholas/Clanjamfry/Caravan/Julia
When I went to market in Columbus this past June, I was honored to meet and speak to Kristin Nicholas. Nashua “Julia” is her yarn, and I’ve knitted with it many times. I must say, I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s firm, yet soft, and the colors are incredible. She is very down-to-Earth and lives a life that I am truly envious of. She lives on a farm with over 150 sheep, her husband, and daughter. Notice I mentioned the sheep first! I have to say, if I lived on a farm every day, I’d be in a “farm-induced” coma. What could possibly go wrong on a farm (besides the occasional tractor accident)??? Here’s her blog.
It’s getting to be a little nippy outside these days, so the Nashua Julia orders are picking up. I have MANY colors in stock already, so you should take advantage of it. Kristin has a new book out, “Kristin Knits.” It uses Nashua Julia. Here’s the cover!
Julia information:
Spun and dyed in Peru in one of the world’s finest mills
Gauge: 20 sts = 4″ (10 cm) on US 7 (4.5 mm) needles, or 18 sts = 4″ (10 cm) on US 8 (5 mm) needles
50% wool, 25% kid mohair, 25% alpaca
Hand wash, dry flat; may be dry-cleaned
93 yards, 50 grams
Prices are going up on several of the Sublime yarns quite a bit(Extrafine Merino Wool DK, Cashmere Merino Silk Aran, and Kid Mohair), Noro Kureyon, and some of the Araucania yarns (Nature Cotton, Nature Wool, and Nature Wool Chunky). I’m going to update the prices on those yarns sometime this weekend, starting this afternoon, sooooo, anyone who wants those yarns at the less expensive price, you’d better get on it!
CARAVAN NEWS:
1. I have all the fabrics for the cushions.
2. DB’s bringing the plywood home tonight for the base and subfloor of the trailer. I will have to completely coat all the plywood on all sides with an oil base coating, per the very nice man at Plywood, Inc. here in Memphis.
3. I have reworked one of the aluminum wheel wells with my hammer (poor neighbors!!!) The other will most likely be reworked tonight or tomorrow morning (while my neighbors are at work?)
4. I have painted the front of the heater with heat-resistant almond spray paint. It is in dry storage now.
5. I am going to paint the front of the refrigerator and oven to match the heater. I may do that this weekend.
Clanjamfry is this weekend! It’s the Memphis Scottish Festival’s 10 yr. anniversary. I luuuuuuv me some bagpipes! I may have a meat pie, or I may not. I DO stay away from the haggis. BUT, I will be lurking nearby, listening to the pipes. They will be in full regalia. I’ll try to get some pics.
‘Til next time….ADIOS!
Rowan 44 kits are getting cranked up!!!!
Good Afternoon my little pretties!
I just got a lovely box of yarn from Rowan yesterday. It contained yarn necessary to kit both Da Vinci and Florentino from Rowan Magazine 44, the 30th Anniversary Edition. The photos really don’t do the masterpieces justice. The colors are rich and warm. I’m pricing them at the usual 10% off for your purchasing pleasure! Remember…you deserve something special, especially if it ends up being a garment that you will make for yourself, and enjoy doing it. These designs are timeless. This is the link for the kits: Rowan Magazine 44 Renaissance Kits Here are photos of the kits that are available so far:
Da Vinci knitted in Wool Cotton and Kidsilk AuraFlorentino knitted in Kid Classic
Samples for Caravan interiors
Fassett’s new yarn unveiled in Vogue Knitting Fall
I knitted (most) of this beauty!
Phew! I knitted this beauty, with a tenuous deadline. However, it got done, and here it is! Bragging rights are mine! My dear friend Dana H. helped me with it….she drove in from her hometown, 1 hr. away, picked up the yarns, knitted the sleeves, and drove back and brought them to me! I think she even bought my lunch that day! So, we both got to knit a Kaffe Fassett sweater!!! It’s knitted with Kaffe’s Colourscape Chunky and Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran.
I’ve added some new colours to the stock for Rowan Handknit Cotton. It’s growing quite a bit! Rowan Magazine 44 has arrived at my house (my own personal copy for being a club member!!!). There are some LOVELY patterns! Of course, there always are, and it’s a collector’s item. Have you seen the Jo Sharp yarns on the website? The Classic DK Wool repertoire is steadily growing! Make sure you check out the kits on the Classic DK Wool page. The patterns are timeless.
Took one more window out of the caravan yesterday. THAT’S WHY it rained in Memphis last night! We sure did need that rain!
Later taters!
Did you know about the Vogue Knitting Kits?
I’ve had these kits on the website for a while, but I guess I haven’t told anyone about them! I think I’ll revisit them anyway. Here is a link. This beautiful La Gran Coat is available, with free shipping! Remember though…you have to have the magazine. I can’t stock those because frankly, they wouldn’t move too well on the internet. Like me, people usually pick those up at their LYS or local bookstore. Here is a photo of the coat:
Vogue Knitting La Gran Coat by Vladimir Teriokhin
I’ve added the SUBLIME Books page. I will, of course, expound upon that by adding kits for the yarns that I carry. I see their ads in the magazines all the time, so surely you’ve seen them, too. The designs are fairly conservative, and not so faddish. Is that a word? I’ve already started the Book 601 kits, and I’m personally knitting the Big Knotty Jacket out of Book 608. Here’s a picture of it:
I’m using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino to knit it with. THAT YARN IS GORGEOUS, TOO! I’m knitting it in color #202, Lt. Blue. Those knots are fun, and something I’ve never done before.
Now about that caravan……I have some new photos! I’ve never seen so many dirtdobber nests in one place IN MY LIFE! They seemed to be vacated, though. Phew!
Peeled off South side of Caravan
Well, that’s all for today.
Color on Color Scarf from Scarf Style
This thing is a work of art! No, I’m not writing about my knitting, but the design. The endless amount of colours makes it a joy to work on, not to mention the different techniques that are used to create it. Kathryn Alexander is a color genius! I THINK THEY HAVE ONE OF THESE KITS IN STOCK AT STASH in Memphis, TN, 901.276.5442. Make sure you read about her on knittingdaily. I’ll post a photo of my scarf soon. In the meanwhile, feast your eyes on one from the publishers:
The forum for THIS knitting addict... 
