So lets say that there is a customer, lets call her Lucy. Lucy is taking our blanket class, the Hemlock Ring blanket.  The pattern is a feather and fan pattern, after the initial section is complete. Lucy called the shop to ask if she could make the blanket larger by repeating the pattern more. We told her that, yes, she could make it larger by simply repeating the pattern. What Lucy was really asking was if she could make the blanket larger by repeating the stockinette stitch sections of the feather and fan more (so only a portion of the pattern repeat). Well, no, you can’t. That will actually make more of a helmet shape than a blanket. So when Lucy got to class this weekend, she had a helmet, not a blanket. Lesley here is demonstrating the affect of not having enough increase rows in a round stitch pattern that is meant to lay flat:

So the lesson here is: #1 fewer increases in the round makes a hat, more increases makes the fabric lay flatter and more “blanket-like”. #2 ask more questions! The more you ask / talk, the better we can figure out exactly what it is that you meant to say.  And of course, it always help if you are in the shop with the project Luckily “Lucy” is a good sport and was working away at the blanket again before she left class. I have no doubt that we will see a finished Hemlock Ring in the very near future.

Our new blue shirts have arrived and they have a funky green and purple fibre girl on them. In honor of the new arrival, we are putting our brown short sleeved shirts on sale – 40% off!

I promise to have TWO finished sweaters by Monday or Tuesday, which should get me caught up on the “12 sweaters in 12 months” thing.  I promise! I am trying! But if you need help setting up a Mac server, I am now your gal…

An old friend (ok, he was a boyfriend once…whatever) sent me this video today and I had to share. Not only is it Fraggle Rock, but it is about knitting and it appears to have been written by someone who actually knits! Note the pair trying to wind a skein of yarn and the chorus that includes frustration over having dropped several stitches.

Kel, Veronica and Lesley have decided that this video will now be part of our yarn class as it provides all sorts of accurate information regarding the llama and its habitat.

It could also be supplemental material for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival “prep course” that we are offering this spring. Don’t know about Sheep and Wool? It is the largest fiber festival in our area. Think yarn convention meets county fair. You can meet sheep, watch sheep be sheared, buy their fiber or yarn and even eat them! (sick, i know…but I can’t resist a good plate of lamb.)

If you punch something into your phone in the search engine and then hold the phone to your ear like its going to actually talk to you, is it time for more sleep or some sort of medication?

Does anyone else have a husband who wants them to knit a giant sock monkey suit after seeing this darn commercial?

I just don’t know if it is worth it. I mean, Phil is a little guy and he did promise to stand on the corner and advertise the store if I knitted him a giant sock monkey suit…but really? How would we get him into it? Would I literally knit him in or add a big flap on the butt that he can crawl into? This project has just so many unanswered questions.

I did find a smaller version on Ravelry that looks awfully cute.It is by Rebecca Zelt from It She Knits.

I am thinking Cascade Eco Wool or Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool.  Really, if I were to knit a man sized sock monkey suit, it should be out of wool in mid summer, just to torture him for asking me for something so stupid.

Amanda decided to take her yarn home in a cake pan last night…we decided that this might be an innovative way to hide your stash from significant others. Other hiding options include the oven (if you don’t actually bake). In which case your portable cake pan would also be empty.

Miss Jen recently got married, and I thought I would share her “fibre space story” with you all. Jen and her then boyfriend Gilad walked up to our shop the first week we were open, a few minutes after we had closed for the night. Jen peered through the door and we waived for her to come in. (We hadn’t closed the drawer up yet and were happy for the new customer.) Jen was super excited that she had tripped across us during a visit to Five Guys. She and Gilad spent a bit of time looking around the store and then came up to the counter with a giant pile of yarn. Gilad pulled out his card and paid for it all, something that we all noted was pretty awesome…we discussed, at the time, that she should hold onto that one for awhile! Since then, Jen and Gilad have gotten engaged and married! We were all so super excited for them. Then Jen sent along these amazing bridal photos, featuring Malabrigo that we carry at the shop. The photographer is Lisa O’Quinn from Sweet Tea Photography.  I understand that this shoot made a serious mess of Jen’s Malabrigo but the photographer did help get it all wound up again.

while sitting in the window of the store

1. People walking around in large quantities of snow tend to be nicer then usual to one another. They can be seen waving and greeting complete strangers. Does walking in the middle of the street bond people?

2. Old Town has a large number of residents who believe that a baby stroller is perfectly acceptable in a foot of snow.

3. If we were selling hamburgers, we would be really busy right now. Five Guys is closed and this has upset a great deal of meat loving people.

4. Trucks with plows might benefit us more if they would put the plow down while driving down the street.

5. The horse at Hard Times needs a hat and some legwarmers

5. It is still snowing.