August 31, 2012

this is a test:  how many of you remember what i said back in the may newsletter?  well was i right?  labor day is upon us already just like i mentioned and the first day of autumn is sept 22.  tomatoes are almost done, the kids are back in school, the last of the hay has been brought in, the sheep are getting sheared - all signs of my favorite season.  cooler days reminds us that its time to start doing some cozy knitting especially for the upcoming holidays.  

students arent the only ones learning this fall! this is a great time to start that pair of socks or other project for someone special for christmas.  beginning your projects this early assures you time to finish them up in a more stress free environment. 

SEPTEMBER CLASSES

CROCODILE STITCH BABY BOOTIES:  

for those of you with new babies or grandbabies in the family, this is the perfect shower or baby gift taught by sally holbein.  see picture below!  these booties are not knitted (yes it's is the 'c' word) but i understand even for those of us who dont crochet it is a very easy stitch.  the cost for the class will be $35 and will include yarn, pattern, and instruction.  you need to bring a size D crochet hook.

FRIDAYS SEPTEMBER 21 AND 28 FROM 1 to 3 at RaggZ.  please sign up soon because class size is limited to six.

if anyone is interested in three dimensional needle felting, laura tepke, of raspberry patch fibers, will be holding a 3 day class at her shop on harrison city - jeannette road.  friday night's class will be a needle felted cat and the cost is $90; saturday/sunday class will be a pumpkin doll and the cost for the two day class is $180 but if you take the both classes, the entire cost is reduced to $225.  all materials are included and you will learn how to do armatures, attaching limbs and how to make fingers.  this class is being taught by carol messick of west virginia.  carol is a blue ribbon award winning needle felter.

OCTOBER CLASSES

pagewood farms, maker of the lovely unusual funky yarns i carry at the shop has designed a needlefelting kit called the garden path silk scarf.  

the photo doesnt do it justice - its prettier in person and is available in 7 other colors.  even if you've never done needle felting before, this scarf will be easy to accomplish in an afternoon and results in a beautiful lightweight scarf perfect for fall.  the kit includes a hand dyed habotai silk scarf (also known as china silk), wool/silk flowers, and yarn.  a sample scarf can be seen at the shop or in ligonier. class size is limited to 8.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 at 1 pm.  $45 class fee includes ALL materials.  if anyone is interested in an evening class, let me know.

sally has agreed to teach another sock class in october for those of you who missed the last set. watch the october newsletter for dates and times.

nancy miedel is doing a craft show october 6 and has graciously offered to take with her and sell things that any of you want to sell.  if you are interested, please get in touch with me and i will put you in touch with nancy unless you already have her email.  we can set up a date and time to get your creations to her before the show.  

DATES TO REMEMBER:

thursdays, sept 6 and 20 -- purl n girls at latrobe coffee bean at noon
tuesday, sept 6 - alzheimers fundraiser spaghetti dinner at green meadows assisted living in latrob

flax scutching festival in stahlstown september 8 and 9 (i will be there on sunday)

tuesdays, sept 11 and 25 -- K.A. at the shop from 1 to 5

mother earth festival fri - sunday september 21 - 23 in somerset

september 21 - international day of peace
shop open every friday from 10 to 5

if you havent seen knitting daily's article on the crochet cast on sent out august 13th, check it out.  it sounds really interesting and easy.  also their article on august 28 on knitting ergonomics gives exercises for knitters to relieve stress and tension in your hands and wrists was very informative.  just go to knittingdaily.com

august door prize was won by sheila mckeever.  sheila won a knitting tea towel, embroidered by debbie snyder of town's edge farm in ligonier.

what's new at the shop:

imperial yarns double stranded pencil roving - perfect for knitting a soft and lofty afghan or cowl; pagewood yarns has three new yarns out - aw knots, kimono, and amazing;  dyepot yarns from west virginia is new to the shop with hand dyed, hand spun yarns in beautiful natural colors, some with three dimensional curls; and of course several different varieties i found while in boulder including some new manos wool clasico, silk blend, and naturals - all in gorgeous verigated shades.

KNITTING TIP: when making a row of eyelets for a drawstring purse, have you ever noticed that the openings are kind of small after felting?  try this next time -- when you make the yarn over for the opening, yarn over twice!  when you come back around, knit only one yarn over and drop the other yarn over, thus making the opening larger.  i did this with two small ribbon drawstring bags that were not felted and the handles slide through much better.

friday august 24 at the shop was a day like no other -- the dollies celebrated sally holbein's birthday here and on top of that, i had two new customers all the way from indiana AND O.T. and marge brought three new friends and cathy brought a friend - i had SEVENTEEN PEOple here at ONE time!  people were waiting in line to be waited on and lucky for me linda and carol didnt need their yarn wound!  thanks to all my wonderful friendz who have helped spread the word about my little shop tucked away in the middle of nowhere - it is very much appreciated.  i hope i have enough of a selection and good enough prices and a fun place to come back to. 

i find it interesting the way things happen and how sometimes my knitting evolves into something i never imagined.  case in point:  last month i knitted up a quick 'kim shawl' with some new noro karuta in a fabulous teal color.  i chose it for the color and content but also because it was bulky!  after i finished it, it sat folded on a shelf for over a month waiting for me to weave in the ends and somehow come up with a 'finale' for it.  last tuesday i made yet another to do list and grabbed about 4 things on my 'not quite finished' shelf in my workshop and brought them downstairs, determined to check them off my list.  i put the shawl on one of my mannequins and kept glancing up at it while finishing two other felted bags that have been completed and were beginning to collect dust.  i love the added texture and interest knots give to projects so i proceeded to tie some knots on this shawl, figuring they could always be removed should i change my mind.  back to working on a purse, all the time looking at that shawl out of the corner of my eye waiting for it to tell me something.  i then grabbed some hand dyed pagewood farms silk yarn and wove it through some of the rows i had done either with an elongated stitch on or an eyelet row.  turns out i added three rows of ribbon and some long soft silk fringe at the bottom of the back only.  i put the shawl on myself to further scrutinize it in the mirror and see how it fits an actual person and to my delight i noticed that the two points at the wide end actually curved outward.  i have absolutely no idea how or why so i cannot duplicate it unfortunately but i was very happy the appearance.  kind of like life - sometimes things dont turn out as planned but end up being wonderful once all is said and done!

by the way, have you signed up for our birthday club yet?  keep in mind you get a $5 gift certificate from the shop for your special day.  i have several here that i've been holding for some of you so be sure to ask about it next time you're here.

Upcoming craft shows if anyone is interested in securing a booth:  

sept 29 and 30    faith united methodist church in delmont  724 468 0040

november 11       st mary's ladies guild in bradenville  724 423 7140

have a wonderful september and come have a cup of coffee and a few laughs at the shop soon!

t

"beautiful young people are accidents, but beautiful old people are works of art." (eleanor roosevelt)