Natural Stitches: Knitting On

This morning, I was taking pictures of our new display of our exclusive Lorna’s Laces black and gold colorway, Steelers Pride in preparation for the regular football season. As I was editing the pictures, I spied….something. Do you see it?

We have less than a week to go in our Summer of Socks and Lace Contest. Because we are CLOSED on Labor Day, the last day to bring your entries to the shop is Sunday, September 5.

I asked the employees who are participating in the contest (remember, we have our own separate event) what they would choose with a winning gift certificate.

I said I would buy a lot of madelinetosh sock.

Annette said she would choose a Hiya Hiya needle set in a pretty case.

Monica said she would apply it towards Elizabeth Zimmermann instructional dvds.

Yvonne said she would get new books: Vogue Knitting, Stitchionary Vol 5 Lace, and Knitting Lace Triangles.

What would you choose?

…but we’re fairly certain that you know that.

First, I need to let you know that I completely blame Jenn B. for this.   I can’t remember when she told me about it, but she said she wanted to knit Bunny Nuggets.  I didn’t have an immediate reaction to it, and a day or so later looked up the pattern on Ravelry, and decided that I, too, had to knit bunny nuggets.

I remember the day very well.  It was a Saturday.  I was working with Steven and Carla, and happily knitting away.  Naturally, they wanted to know what I was knitting.  I told them.  Let me say how mightily they mocked me:  They made fun, laughed and laughed, and said they thought I had lost (what little is left of) my mind.

But then, I finished Adam.

He is Adam, because he was the first.

Next thing I knew, Steven had knit him a partner, named Steve.

Carla took some scrap yarn home and created some crocheted versions:

Meet Brother From Another Mother Bunny Nugget and The Godfather. We can neither confirm or deny the existence of a third crocheted nugget.  I believe she has been placed in Nugget Jail for questionable behavior.

Also in our nugget family, we have Himmie:

He was specifically requested by Teri.  She says he looks like a Himalayan bunny.

Then there is Harvey:

And our newest addition is Alejandro, the adopted child of Adam and Steve:

(Note the pride in their little faces).

Adrienne Martini’s visit is only a week away from today!

Next Friday (August 27th), from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Adrienne will be visiting the shop to talk about her sweater quest, and to hear you talk about (and show us) yours!  We will offer light snacks, and tea and coffee will be available.

Many of you have already emailed us to let us know you’ll be in attendance, and we’re very excited about this!  (If you haven’t emailed us, it doesn’t mean that we won’t let you in.  We’re just trying to have enough chairs out for everyone.)

And now…a sneak peak!

SWEATER QUEST:  My Year of Knitting Dangerously

(Free Press; March 23, 2010)

Q & A with Adrienne Martini

Where did the idea for SWEATER QUEST come from?

Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia was the seed that Sweater Quest grew from. I knew I wanted to write about knitting and how the craft can change your life but didn’t have a hook for the idea until I read Powell’s book. On morning in the shower, I had a revelation: Alice Starmore is one of the Julia Childs of the fiber universe.

Who is Alice Starmore?

Starmore is a Scottish knitwear designer who is known in knitting circles for her cabled and Fair Isle designs. She’s also known for being touchy about how her designs are used, which I talk about in the book.

For Sweater Quest, I chose to tackle Mary Tudor, which is a Fair Isle (or colorwork) design that uses repeated motifs of crowns, fleur de lis and Tudor roses. The yarn for these sweaters is very thin; the needles are very small. Some knitters can take years to complete one of Starmore’s designs. Others churn them out monthly. I gave myself a year, because that seems to be how long all of the cool writers were giving themselves to complete their quests.

Are there patterns in SWEATER QUEST?

Sweater Quest isn’t a how-to book but a why-to book. There are no patterns and no instructions. What is in Sweater Quest is the story of one woman’s journey into black market books, intercontinental trade and endless work in order to make a sweater. Along the way, this knitter looks for help from some of the loudest voices in the field like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the Yarn Harlot), Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner (Mason-Dixon Knitting) and Cyndi Lee (Om Yoga.)

Do you have to be a knitter to enjoy reading SWEATER QUEST?

While the quest is full of yarn and needles, the book is also about human obsessions and the value of handcrafts. It is a story about people who happen to knit, rather than about knitters.

I don’t know about you, but I occasionally seem to find myself in a rut when it comes to cooking.  A few times a year, I think “I don’t want to make anything.  I don’t want to cook.  We eat the same thing, week in and week out.”  I’ve been lucky so far this summer in that I haven’t traveled down that road too often, but it’s always refreshing to find a new recipe, and one that your family likes.

I am a subscriber to Food Network Magazine, and often find inspiration there.  The following recipe was the cover recipe for one of their recent issues.  I made it on Sunday, hoping that I’d have some left over for lunch on Monday.  No such luck!

Although it sounds complicated, it really isn’t.  You can roast the peppers and the garlic directly on the grill if you don’t want to heat up your house by using the broiler.

Roasted Pepper Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces mezzi rigatoni or other short tube-shaped pasta
• 2 bell peppers (red and/or yellow), halved, stemmed and seeded
• 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 8 ounces bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)
• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves torn
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Shake off the excess water.

Meanwhile, place the bell peppers cut-side down on a foil-lined broiler pan, add the garlic and broil until charred, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and set aside about 5 minutes.

Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and toast, shaking the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Squeeze the garlic from its skin onto a cutting board. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt; mince and mash the garlic into a paste with a large knife. Peel the roasted peppers and slice into strips; transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic paste and drizzle with the olive oil. Finely grate about 1 teaspoon lemon zest into the bowl and squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Add the bocconcini, basil, almonds, pasta, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; toss.

Enjoy! And if you expect to have some for the next day, make sure that you set it aside before you put the bowl on the table!

Marlene recently took Annette’s recycled bag class, and look at the end result!!

Marlene used bags from Aldi’s, the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette, Giant Eagle, and she’s not sure where else, to make this lovely, colorful bag to tote her groceries in.  Today she had fresh basil (which smells wonderful!) from her garden.

Keep an eye out for her Recyled Grocery Bag class.  If you don’t see it at a time that is convenient for you, you can always request it in a student’s choice class.

Happy knitting — and crocheting!

It seems that the Powers That Be in the world of traffic are going to be doing their thing and restructuring Penn Circle to make it open to two-way traffic again.  According to the East Liberty Post (www.eastlibertypost.com), “work will be performed in a series of phases/sub phases, and will result in lane restrictions throughout the immediate area. The location and extent of these restrictions will change from phase to phase, and will cause delays to motorists passing through the area. Port Authority bus stops will be relocated and the locations will be posted.”

We’re not sure how many of you this will affect when you are driving to and from Natural Stitches, but we wanted you to be aware of it!

Natural Stitches is also undergoing a bit of its own construction.  With the anticipated arrival of new yarns (new colors of Malabrigo!  Malabrigo Rios!  Madelinetosh Lace!  Three new yarns from the Natural Dye Studio!), we need to restructure our grids to accommodate everything.  Thanks to the magical foresight of Kelli and her plan-o-gram, we have an idea of how we’re moving things around…now it’s just the actual work that remains to be done.

Steven does the work.

So when you come in, if you don’t see “your” yarn in its usual place, chances are that it’s probably been shuffled a bit.  Feel free to ask one of us to find it for you — we’re here, and happy, to help!

Lastly, the latest edition of our newsletter is up for you to browse through.  Read more about Adrienne Martini’s upcoming visit, check out some fiber tips from Nora, and see what’s new!

Steven put together our current color basket, and I’ve asked him to blog about his choices here. Happy reading! – Yvonne

our summer of socks and lace is in full swing,
which means we who are lucky enough to work at natural stitches get to fondle so many of your lovely f.o.’s.
for the past few months,
you’ve all been bringing them in:
happy little socks,
and lace that could put meg swansen to shame.
i’ve been especially happy to see so many gorgeous crocheters come out to compete this summer.

but seeing all of these beauties week after week has taken a bit of a toll on me.
it’s awakened that familiar beast that lives in all of us,
that all-too-familiar green eyed monster:

ENVY.

so this month’s yarn basket is inspired by my envy.
yellowy greens grumbling their jealously,
staring up at you as if to say,
“i dare you take me home and make yet another stunning shawl to rub in his face!”

what can i say?
i can’t help but be jealous of you all.
just be thankful i haven’t taken your shawl and run.

yet.

Ladies and gentlemen, Natural Stitches is proud have been visited by the designer of one of the coolest patterns ever to hit the pages of Knitty:

Lana Holden, designer of the Skew sock, is in town while her husband attends MathFest, and stopped by for a visit.  Can we tell you, she is sweet, pleasant, and a lot of fun!   She’s chuckled right along with us, fondled lots of yarn, and we’re hoping she’ll make a return visit while she’s in town.

If you have made the Skew socks, give us a shout and a link to your picture!

We don’t mean to do it, really, but sometimes, it just happens that way.  You know — we focus on one thing instead of another.  Like knitting.  We get very focused on knitting on this blog, and it really isn’t intentional.  Today, we would like to change that a wee bit.

Yesterday, Jen came in for a visit, and was wearing a beautiful vest that she had made.   It was one of the most beautiful pieces of crochet that we had ever laid eyes on.  Here, have a peek:

It’s cute.  It’s flattering.  The color is great, and the little stripe of green at the bottom?  That is just a beautiful detail on an already gorgeous vest.

This cute little choker is actually a class that is being offered by Annette.   It is the Lacy Triangle necklace.

Annette actually offers many crochet classes — everything from beginning crochet to flowered headbands, amigurumi animals to crocheted socks.  If you’re a knitter, it’s not a bad idea to have a little crochet in your repertoire.   A basic chain stitch for a crocheted cast on or bind off, single crochet for an edging to a neckline or a blanket can add so much, for so little effort.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this wee foray into the world of crochet, and hope that we’ve given you something to think about!