Warning: I’m about to make some sexist generalizations, but hey, I’m just reporting what we’ve observed.

Increasingly at this time of year, we get a lot of husbands and significant others wandering into the store, mumbling that they’d like to buy something for their wives but have no idea what to get. We always suggest gift cards, but many say that they like to have a physical gift for the recipient to open.  While we are good at making recommendations, we can’t always pin down what the recipient longs for secretly in her heart.

So our solution is the Natural Stitches Gift Registry. The next time you are in,  ask one of us for a registry form to fill out. We’ll keep it on file for you, and when your significant other comes in, he or she have concrete ideas for what to get you.  Or, if you know what you want, email us at shop@naturalstitches.com and we’ll send you the form to fill out and email back to us.

As an example, here’s my registry list (um, not that I’m emailing this post to my husband or anything):

• One skein of Pagewood Willow Creek in Really Red
• One copy of Knitting from the Top Down
• Any of the Barbara Walker Treasuries
• One Lantern Moon peppermint tape  measure
• One Needle Gauge Pendant with cord
• A Lantern Moon Knit Out box in red

What’s in your registry? You can choose anything, from an Addi Click set to seven skeins of Eco Alpaca in Baby Camel color 1529 for a sweater project.  Go wild!

Our first customer in pajamas.

Carla models her OWL-TASTIC Pajamas.

On Friday, November 27, we celebrate Monica’s favorite Natural Stitches Holiday: Pajama Day. Traditionally on Black Friday, folks tend to find that a. they’ve eaten so much that their pants don’t fit, and/or b. they’ve gotten up at 5:00 am to hit the sales. Thus, for the second year in a row, we’ve decided to come to work in our pj’s and invite our customers to come join us. We’ll have the coffee pot on, plus tea and cocoa.

PLUS, just for Black Friday, we are offering a 10% discount on any purchase to everyone who comes to the shop in his or her pajamas. (Please note, we are asking you to wear your pajamas, not what you actually sleep in! Children in pajamas do not count — it must be you!) Just tell us “I saw it on the blog” to get your discount.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the car this year with my family, with several trips to Philadelphia and back, and a round-trip drive across the country, and I have the knitting to prove it.  Car knitting has to fit certain parameters: for me, it has to be something I can do without looking, because otherwise I get carsick, and it has to be portable. For those of you traveling for Thanksgiving, here are some ideas for projects to take with you in the car or on the plane.* The patterns I suggest here are either free, from books you probably already have, and/or in books available at the shop.

For a quick trip, consider a Baby Bib O’Love from the Mason Dixon Knitting book.  Use basic dishcloth cotton like CoolSpun from Kertzer, or try an organic cotton like Palma, currently on sale for 20% off.

Show some Steelers Pride wherever you go, and knit a quick hat — try a basic earflap hat like Kim’s Hats from Last Minute Knitted Gifts or some arm-warmers — like Toast — in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd’s Worsted in Steelers Pride.

Do a basic sock like Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s good, plain sock recipe from Knitting Rules and choose a yarn that does the work for you. Opal’s Harry Potter sock yarn is self-patterning. Or try a more subtle long run of color, like Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock or Crystal Palace Mini Mochi.

Have a longer trip ahead of you? Grab two skeins each of contrasting colors of Noro Silk Garden and give Jared Flood’s famous Noro Striped Scarf a try (or, um, make a few more of these addicting scarves). If you’d like a more economical alternative,  this scarf looks fabulous in a skein of Cascade 220 paired with one colorway of Silk Garden.  A longer trip is also a good time to plug away on an endless slog of garter stitch, from a Log Cabin blanket from Mason Dixon to any Elizabeth Zimmermann Surprise Jacket.

We wish you safe travels this holiday season! We hope your Thanksgiving is happy and delicious!

* For those of you flying, yes, you may bring knitting needles on the plane in the United States as per TSA guidelines.

There are a lot of versions of this popular party dip, but I can safely assert that mine is the best. Make this for your next Steeler Party!

Saute 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in butter and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into rough chunks.

Meanwhile, in the food processor, pulse to combine:

• 2 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese
• 1 cup (8 oz) ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce*
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add chicken and pulse quickly to combine.

Pour mixture into a 2 qt baking dish and sprinkle with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Alternatively, you may place the mixture into a 2 qt slow-cooker and heat until bubbly.

Serve with blue corn chips and celery sticks.

Enjoy!

* If you want the dip to be hotter/spicier, add drops of Tabasco sauce to taste rather than adding more Buffalo Wing Sauce.

So lots of people have been coming in lately asking for an infinity scarf. Confused, we’ve responded, “You mean a moebius?” thinking of Cat Bordhi’s Treasuries of Magical Knitting.  Finally, I — and my only excuse is that I’ve been crazy out of touch with knitting trends lately due to a sick preschooler and a family wedding — caught up on my tivo-ed episodes of Oprah and realized you nice people are talking about this long, wrap-around cowl from The Limited.

So now that we’ve finally figured it out, here are some patterns to get you started:

• The Endless Love Moebius from Knitting Daily
• The Fifth Avenue Infinity Scarf
• The Fibonacci Moebius

The Limited Infinity scarves start at around $40. While that’s probably a reasonable price for something you’ll wear all winter, we think we can do better price-wise, and we can certainly upgrade you from the acrylic yarn of the original. Here are some yarns to consider, estimating the yardage for this project at about 400 yards:

• Cascade Eco Alpaca – two skeins, total cost $32.00
• Malabrigo Worsted – two skeins, total cost $20.80
• Aslan Trends Invernal – two skeins on clearance, total cost $18.96
• Berroco Vintage Wool – two skeins, total cost $12.00. Yes, you read that one right!

So even in this economy, fashion is affordable! This is a great gift idea for everyone on your list.

It’s been a crazy week here at Natural Stitches. If you haven’t received our email newsletter, you can find it here.  However, since I wrote the “What’s New” section, sooooo many more new items have arrived. We were thrilled yesterday when the UPS truck pulled over with boxes and boxes of our favorite crack, I mean, yarn, MALABRIGO. We have restocked many colors in the lace, sock, chunky, and worsted, and welcomed a brand new line, Malabrigo Twist. Check out just a few of the gorgeous colors on Malabrigo’s site.  We’re looking forward to whipping out some lovely sweaters and winter accessories in this amazing yarn.

We’d also like to remind you that the raffle benefiting Ward Home will take place this coming Wednesday, November 18, just in time for the winner of the Bella Mittens to sport these mitts to the opening of New Moon. You can read more about the raffle, the many other prizes, and the amazing work that Ward Home does here.

Finally, just a reminder that the Second Annual Natural Stitches Pajama Day is Friday, November 27. Look for details soon!

It’s hat season, and we’re pleased to share with you some of the wonderfully whimsical hats that have come through our door. First, meet Mitch Abrams from Wilmington, NC. His hat uses Annie Modesitt’s hat-embellishing techniques to combine his love of the Steelers and Penn State.

Do you recognize this person? It’s our crochet teacher Charissa in her Squid Hat.

And who is that???

It’s Charissa’s son Levi sporting his Fish Hat! This wacky pattern is free from Knitty.

Sarah brought us this delicious cake last Saturday, and we thought it was amazing. She said that since there’s applesauce in it, it’s healthy and we can each as much as we like. Hooray!

1 box cake mix
1 box pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I sub applesauce)
1/2 pint sour cream
Chocolate chips/nuts/etc. (optional)

Beat eggs and oil together until frothy. Add in cake mix, pudding mix, and sour cream and mix until well blended. Fold in desired add-ins. Bake in a greased bundt pan at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until toothpick tests done.

I used dark chocolate chips, yellow cake mix, and vanilla pudding mix in the one I brought in. I’ve also make this a cake-y cake (as opposed to a coffee cake) using chocolate cake and pudding mix with chocolate chips. When my mother makes this for brunch, she usually uses the yellow cake/vanilla pudding mix combo and pours half of the batter into the pan. Then she puts in a layer of a mixture of chocolate chips (just a few), chopped walnuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar and pours the rest of the batter on top.

Rumor has it there’s a devil’s food cake version…wonder if Sarah would share that one?

Someone we all know and love is turning SIXTY this week! Stop by the shop or email her at carla@naturalstitches.com to wish her a happy birthday.

It’s November, and we’re so excited about all the fun coming up this month.  In addition to Carla’s birthday, we’ll be celebrating our second anniversary (can you believe it’s been two years already?) and Pajama Day, in which we wear our PJs to work on Black Friday.  Plus, we are thrilled to offer Yvonne’s brand new seaming classes — find them on the calendar here! Hope to see you soon!