By Teri

My “schtick” if you will is large, monotonous projects I can “zen” my way through, but everyone needs a break from the norms, even me.  Serendipitously my mother came into town shortly after I finished the Milky Way, but without anything queued.  I, dangerously, offered to knit my mother whatever she wanted (so long as she stayed away from the sock yarns!)  She picked the Seed Stitch Jacket from Fiber Trends (it’s genetics, really).  A wee 5’ 2 ¾” woman wants me to knit on US 10’s and 11’s?!  Can you say “score”, because I certainly did!

All told, it took me about a month to make, but that month is deceiving.  I didn’t rush; I even put the project in time-out for a week (bad data, NOT the pattern’s fault!).  The only difficulty I faced was my need for an absolute number in picking up stitches when that’s not standard pattern writing.  (Hint, on the size small, it’s 54!)

This was as painless pattern based project as I’ve ever encountered.  The directions were straight forward and easy to follow, while the large gauge makes for good self-esteem on ones progress.   Mummy chose Comfort’s Finnegan’s Rainbow and Navy Blue (genetics again), so what knitted up is soft and machine washable.  The jacket itself is chunky, crop-waisted with a classic design.

I can’t tell you how pleased I was with this project.  And if the definition of a good pattern is whether or not I’d knit it again, then this is a winner.

1. True Blood. Kelli has been a True Fan from the beginning, as have Teri and Steven, but I came late to this obsession. This morning, Kelli and I put together a Color Choice Basket to celebrate season three, and particularly to celebrate seeing more of Mr. Eric Northman.

(Red is really hard to photograph, I’m sorry. You’ll have to come in to appreciate how deep these reds are.)

2. Angry Birds. This iPhone game is completely addictive. We can’t stop playing it!

3. Jeni’s Ice Cream. You’ve probably seen tons of tweets about this from knitters all over. Yvonne and Martha got to sample this amazing ice cream at TNNA in Columbus the other week, and we were thrilled to find it just down the road at Whole Foods. It really is that good.

Look what came this morning!

This isn’t even close to how amazing all this Madeline Tosh Sock looks! Wow!

Martha and Carla don’t put their projects on Ravelry, so I thought I’d give some of their recent projects a showcase here.

Carla models her Colored Ladders V-Neck from Perfectly Brilliant Knits, done in Comfort and some stash cotton.

This is Martha’s Doctor Who Illusion Scarf, available as a free Ravelry download.

Martha and Yvonne are still at TNNA, but I asked them to send me a list of what they’ve ordered so I can share it with you all. Yvonne will provide all the juicy details about the yarn, the parties, and the ice cream soon.

We’re expecting massive restocks and new items from some of our favorites, including

• Dill Buttons
• Pagewood Farm
• LanaKnits
• Malabrigo, including the new Rios SUPERWASH, coming in September.
• KnitOne Crochet Too
• Cascade, including the new superwash sport
• Madelinetosh, new sock colors and new for us, lace weight.
• Lisa Knits
• Abstract Fiber
• Debra’s Garden
• Scarlet Fleece, including new laceweight yarn due in September
• Blue Sky Alpacas
• Chameleon Colorworks
• Dream in Color
• Heartstring Fibers
• Manos del Uruguay
• Addi
• ChiaoGoo, including the new sizes of bamboo needles for sock knitters
• HiyaHiya, including doublepoint needles

And brand new for us:

• Frabjous Fibers – new fibery goodness (one wool & cashmere blend and then there is also something with a little bit of angelina in it to give it some flash) (Merino Sparkle & Silky Cashmerino)
• Chica – Drawstring reversible project bag (SO cute)
• Miknitures – Knitted jewelry – pins, really
• Kollage yarns – square DPNs, with circulars to follow in October
• Unpatterns – Pullover, sock & hat patterns (based on the yarn & needles of your choice)
• Deep South – The new book Little Red in the City from Ysolda Teague, and both loose patterns AND the new book from Stephen West.
• And in Yvonne’s own words: This last one, Natural Dye Studio, is an import from England.  We are getting their sport weight, fingering, and a laceweight.  The fingering & sport are called Dazzle and the lace is called Angel.  It should arrive about the same time that the Stephen West book hits us (and possibly also the Ysolda book but I’m not sure).  We are also going to be the ONLY yarn shop in Pittsburgh to carry it and I think it is going to be FANTASTIC.  Amanda (dyer) uses all natural dyes (all plant based) and the colors are incredible — subtle yet striking.  I cannot say enough good about this company.  We really enjoyed talking to them and both we and they are extremely excited about this relationship.

Whew!

Mumble.  Grumble.

Happy!

Mutter.  Fret.

Happy!

No, really, I’ve not gone psychotic (ahem.  No wise cracks.)

These are the kind of things that are being heard ’round the shop while working on the Stora Dimun shawl (aka the 449, aka the Store Demon).  Most of the folks who are knitting the shawl have completed the lace portion and are moving on to the garter sections.  With the huge amount of stitches, there was quite a bit of tinking back during the lace.  If you’re knitting along with us and you haven’t started your lace yet — or if you have and you’re getting frustrated — we have one recommendation, and it’s a HUGE one:  Stitch Markers.  Every repeat, every 2 repeats — whatever works for you, just so you can nail down where the problem is in your stitch count if you’re off.

As of this writing, we’ve got one shawl completed (Monica!) and one that’s really very close (Carla!).  We’ve also had a lot of worries about the yardage requirements, and many of us are knitting with bated breath to see if more is going to be needed.

If you’re knitting along with us, let us know how you’re doing!

We’re thrilled to announce that spinning classes have returned to Natural Stitches! We welcome Nora to our Natural Stitches family with spinning classes beginning in July.

In August 2003, Nora learned to drop spin in Avella, PA at Weatherbury Farm’s Sheepfest. Her 1st drop spindle was recycled CD on a dowel rod and freshly shorn wool. She now has over thirty spindles!

In 2004, her father gifted her with her great-grandmother spinning wheel…as she is the last family member living on Butler County property that her family settled in 1816.

Soon thereafter, Nora took spinning wheel classes and promptly purchased her first modern wheel, an Ashford Traveler. Her next wheel was a Louet S75 and she is eyeballing her third wheel. Nora enjoys spinning on almost every wheel she tries. She spins solely for pleasure, not production!

Nora is an avid knitter (over 20 years) and recently completed her term as the Vice President of the Three Rivers Knitting Guild. Nora loves lace, shrugs and cardies, and Fair Isle–including the steeking portion–but Nora does not do socks! She hosts a Stitch ‘n Bitch called CranKnitters (on Yahoogroups) at the Cranberry Barnes & Noble.

Nora will offer  Beginning Spindle and Beginning Wheel in July, but will offer a variety of intermediate and advanced classes in the months to come. Read Nora’s class descriptions here. Our July class calendar is here.

Hooray!