12.15.13

the holidays have pretty much arrived and some of you (not ME this time) are still scrambling to finish up some works in progress for the big day.  i, myself, have gotten my projects in the mail to anthony in oregon and deni in colorado.  i'm really not much in the christmas mood this year, so i don't plan on doing much decorating.  i have a string of lovely twinkle lights in the window and that may be all the decorating i do!  tom was hinting around about not putting up a tree, so if he wants one, we may run out and pick up a live tree this week.

laura mcguire (aka crazy sock lady) had me itching to make a pair of socks BUT i found a boot sock pattern which uses size 5 needles and worsted weight yarn!  (woohoo)  i used dream yarn in a red/green color way and made a pair for anthony (size 13 shoe) - the colors seemed appropriate given that his birthday is christmas.  i decided to time myself to see how long they would take.  given his size, it took 6 hrs and 40 minutes to make one.  13 hrs for a pair is nothing to the year and a half it took me to make anthony's other sock in sock yarn!  

ha ha  turned out i had pretty much yarn left, so i made myself a pair out of the leftover.  i was pretty sure i wouldn't have enough to complete them, so i knitted the heel and toe out of a different color.  they are very comfortable and being 100% wool are nice and warm.  i figure if you were making a 'normal' size sock, you could definitely get two socks out of one skein of dream yarn.  now crazy sock lady herself has been converted to the boot sock.  she is working on several pair!  we aren't surprised at all.

welcome knit chicks!  we have a new wonderful group of ladies in our midst!  linda, susan, beth, judy, marlene, and ruth learned how to knit only last month and have been going crazy ever since!  beth made a beautiful baby sweater and hat set; linda felted a couple of purses, scarves, wine cozy; marlene made too many scarves and neck warmers to mention; judy knitted a hat and scarf set, a drop stitch scarf, felted purse, and is now finishing up a scarf for her hubby, and susan felted a purse, some fingerless mitts, and a scarf.  believe me, i haven't listed all of their accomplishments, but it warms my heart to see people so enthused about knitting!  below is a picture of beth's beautiful granddaughter wearing the sweater grandma made:

betsy ohr's naughty knotty knitters had a 'high tea' at the greensburg art center for their christmas meeting.  everyone brought their own tea cup and we had some traditional english treats, including the bakewell tart, eclairs, shortbread, lemon squares, nut rolls…. need i say more?  14 ladies enjoyed this day and we're all appreciative of betsy's efforts!  for some reason, unbeknownst to me, betsy asked ME to make the traditional bakewell tart.  (oh no - why ME???)  it was actually fun to make - a pie crust with a filling made of almond meal, eggs, sugar, and butter!  there was an added layer of jam between the crust and the filling, then sliced almonds were scattered over the top.  definitely different  and not too sweet.

i don't know what everyone else is working on at this point (other than crazy sock lady now making boot socks), but i am working on a pattern called the holden shawlette.  alicia lund had made one and was wearing it at the tea party.  it was SO beautiful and she assured me it was easy.  (see the photo above with the 3 ladies?  gudrun, betsy, alicia - alicia is wearing her holden shawlette) .  here is the link:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/holden-shawlette 

SO of course as soon as i got home, i found it on ravelry (it is a FREE pattern by the way) and began to knit it.  alicia's shawlette was a beautiful heather green; unfortunately what i wanted was a shawl with an ombre look.  i looked and looked at the shop til i drove myself crazy and settled on an alpaca sock yarn in beautiful oranges and greens; however, you know how sometimes the yarn looks so different on the skein than when its wound?  this is what happened to me.  didn't like it at all - it came out a bit stripey - NOT what i envisioned.  back to the drawing board.  i started searching on the internet for ombre yarns and almost ordered some.  then i had a V-8 moment!  i have that beautiful kauni yarn which blends from one color to another exactly how i wanted it to.  sock yarn OFF the needles and kauni on.  i chose color EU which goes from red to orange to yellow.  at this point i have about 120 stitches on the needle but i have to work up to over 300!  

yesterday with the snow gently falling outside, a fire burning in the wood burner, homemade tomato sauce on the stove and a peach cobbler in the oven, i happily sat with my wool boot socks on and my yarn in my lap watching a corny christmas movie…. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh how can you not love winter?

forgot to get pictures of the critters but i promise to for the january newsletter.  we have a couple of new roosters and they are so friendly and lovable - one of them follows tom around like a puppy.  maybe grizzy is reincarnated already?

upcoming dates:

monday december 16 at 1:00 alyssa buchanan's jump ring bracelet class (which had been postponed due to weather - hopefully it will finally happen!)
december 19 dollies xmas party at pasqualino's murrysville
saturdays dec 21 and 28 craftique fiber art group at craftique in gbg
shop open fridays dec 20 and 27
no KA til january

holiday reminder:

friday, december 20th, we will be celebrating a low-key christmas here at RaggZ.  stop by for a cup of mulled cider and a homemade christmas cookie or two!  nothing extravagant, just a good reason to wish each other a merry christmas in person!

happy december 26th birthday to nancy m!

let me remind you that a gift certificate from RaggZ is a great gift for your knitting friends or a set of hiya hiya short tip interchangeables, or a skein of beautiful yarn!  

coming soon to the shop:  beautiful handcrafted wooden skein winders made by a local craftsman.  then when you buy yarn from the internet or a shop who doesn't wind the yarn for you (WHA???) you can take it home and wind it yourself!  stay posted - hoping they will arrive in january!

spread the love!
t

12/1/13

happy december to all!  i hope everyone has recovered from the thanksgiving feeding frenzy.  our thanksgiving was small but a little sad, as we lost griz, our 13 year old shepherd, the tuesday before thanksgiving.  he had a great week prior to his death, as he was able to go up on the farm every day with tom.  monday evening, he was acting listless and his back legs were really beginning not to work.  he passed quietly mid-day tuesday with tom by his side.  tom took it really hard, as griz had been his constant companion.  when griz was a puppy, he went to work with tom every day at the machine shop.  after tom retired and we bought the farm, griz accompanied tom to the farm for chores so we are confident he had an exceptionally good life and knew he was much loved.  he is sorely missed - our house seems so empty but i know he and raggz are reunited and running and playing again patiently waiting for us to join them. 

now on a happier note, i want to thank everyone who made the ligonier country christmas market a great success.  now i can breathe easier, as the only place i will have a few of my things is the log cabin christmas show which continues this friday through sunday (dec 6, 7, and 8) located on hay lane in murrysville.

raspberry hill alpacas is holding an open house this saturday and sunday at the farm on harrison city road, near shramm's market.

on saturday december 7, the greensburg art center is holding another open house from 1-4pm with free gift wrapping, cookies and hot spiced cider!  their snowflake showcase offers many different handmade items and is worth checking out.  

if you need more info on any of these above shows, please contact me.

several of our knitting friends are in the process of becoming new grandmothers.  cathy rosensteel's first grandchild was born tuesday in virginia and diane mogul is eagerly awaiting the good news from her daughter in new jersey as well.  congratulations ladies - we want to see pictures.  (a FEW pictures - NOT an entire album please).  wink wink

dont forget, a gift certificate to RaggZ is a great present for that knitter/felter in your life, available in any denomination with no expiration date!  the hiya hiya short tip needle sets are flying off the shelf at the best prices in town.  i sell these sets for $55, while most other places sell them for over $70.  shop around and you will see!

i hope everyone's christmas projects are complete or well underway.  i am working on another pair of the felted clogs for my son's girlfriend.  all i have left to do are the double bottoms, get them felted, then ship them out.  i am thinking of sewing tom another heavy lined overshirt.  i've made him about five of them and they are getting worn, so i think its time to make another. 

i got a wonderful surprise at the ligonier market saturday.  when i first started at the market, i met two wonderful ladies - a mother and daughter - from south hills of pittsburgh.  what impressed me at first was that the mother (probably around 70 at the time) purchased several purses from me but they were always funky, out-there purses.  i asked her if they were for her grandchildren and she indignantly said "they're for ME!"  (i have since learned to keep my mouth shut).  anyhow we all became friends and they visited me once or twice a summer.  the last time i saw them, mom was wearing oxygen and moving pretty slowly.  i dont know what her illness was exactly but there they were stopping by to say hello.  she also wanted to give me some of her old yarns and knitting paraphernalia because she was not longer able to knit.  several months ago she passed away under the care of her loving daughter.  well the daughter contacted me last week to see if i was going to be at the christmas show and i said i was.  she said she wanted to drop something off.  she showed up with a wreath her mom had made for me decorated with knitting objects (yarn, tape measure, one of my business cards, needles, buttons, felt flower).  they had wanted to come to my shop to deliver it but got too ill to make the trip. it brings a tear to my eye and a smile in my heart every time i look at it.   

rhonda pegg was kind enough to drop some books by monica ferris off at the shop to be shared with you.  these stories all revolve around fiber and rhonda said they are an enjoyable read.  you are welcome to stop by and pick one up to read and pass it along to someone else who will enjoy it. 

happy birthday this month to jean r (december 5), marlene s (december 7), and dari m (december 15). happy birthday ladies and remember during your birthday month to come and use your $5 off birthday certificate!  forgive me if i already mentioned this, but i will not be giving out those little cards any longer, thus saving paper and ink.  just stop into the shop during your month and cash in!  its much easier for me to keep track this way.

november's door prize winner is linda maher! 

now that my big shows are over, i am in the process of re-arranging the shop and doing some much needed cleaning.  i may even decorate a little for christmas.  jennifer penrose, of antiqued country, dipped some twinkle lights for me and i'm anxious to see how they will work.  i personally do not like to decorate this early but i may give in this year since my shop is in total disarray anyhow!  i will be adding a big selection of roving to the front porch  for all you wet and needle felters out there.  i purchased a lot of hand dyed roving at the indie knit and spin, as well as curls.  i have roving from the shetland sheep farm i visited in oregon and icelandic and leicester longwool roving from the lavender fleece in michigan.

the only class i have scheduled right now is the jump ring bracelet class which will be this monday, december 9 at 10:00 at the shop.  still a seat or two available.  (see website for details)  plans for upcoming classes include the re-scheduled snowman purse, felted sheep, and some wet felting projects.  so stay tuned for more info!

upcoming dates to remember:

thurs, 12/5  knit wits meet at noon at the bean (the newbie group)

fri/sat/sun 12/6-8 log cabin christmas show

sat/sun, 12/7-9 raspberry hill alpaca open house

mon, 12/9 10:00 jump ring bracelet class at raggz*

tues, 12/10 knitters anonymous 1-6 at the shop**

thurs, 12/12 purlin girls meet at noon at the bean (oldie group)

fridays, 12/6 and 12/13 shop open 10-6

*see details for this class on the website raggzifberart.com

** note new hours - i will close at 6 NOT 7 from now on.  for any

    working girls who need later hours, just let me know.  no one

    ever shows up this late anyhow but i am happy to accommodate

winter on the farm is always a challenge.  that cold snap we had forced the goats to grow a very soft, thick layer of fur.  they look so adorable and feel so toasty, even in the coldest weather.  i'll take some pictures of them and our new roosters for your enjoyment next time.

hope to see you all soon!

t