After months of hiring and then hiring again…I found one of those webby type people (of which I am NOT) and he worked some miracle of programming and there is now online registration for my classes!! No more writing me an email, receiving an invoice, printing your invoice and mailing it back with a check or calling me with your credit card. I’ve gone big time here. So sign up for a class and give it a try! Of course, do tell me if you encounter some awful error…I am waiting for those. This webby type person is still around to troubleshoot, so test away!

I finally finished the pinwheel baby blanket that is a sample for an upcoming class at Knit Happens on June 17th. The pattern is a great project for folks wanting to work in the round and on double pointed needles…I even added a cute ruffle to the outer border. Its just becoming impossible to block into a flat circle. I think I missed a row at the center that is causing the rounds to be off and thus the outer part to ruffle, where it isn’t supposed to. I know I can block it flat but it requires use of my mattress or purchasing some foam for blocking. This has been on my list to buy anyway, so I suppose now is the time.  So right now it is just a baby “ruffle” and not really a blanket.

So what’s a stash? New knitters ask me this quite a bit…my “stash” is the pile of yarn hidden all over my house that has resulted from my compulsive purchasing of fiber. Whenever I am out of town, I visit every local yarn store (LYS) and buy whatever I like or don’t often see in my LYS. In addition, I hit festivals like Maryland Sheep and Wool and buy thousands of yards of yarn that is less than retail and just “pretty.” My obsession with knitting is really just a fiber addiction.

So then the stuff gets home and a variety of things happen to it. I have:

“crap stash” – the resting place of yarn leftovers, yarn that I no longer desire to knit with and yarn that has been knitted into something, then partially or entirely frogged. I have been known to give away parts of the crap stash and it has basically dwindled down to one zippered plastic comforter bag.

“big stash” – there are two giant tubs in  my closet with bags upon bags of yarn. Much of it is sock yarn (sock yarn does not count. You can buy as much of it as you like and never intend to knit with it but it does not count) and a sweater’s worth of yarn in various fibers that I have purchased over the last couple of years. Most of it is the result of my own weakness and inability to leave Knit Happens without spending money. I don’t know why I feel the need to buy  yarn for projects that I don’t have time to knit right now, particularly when the yarn is not exactly rare..I have a bag and a half of Debbie Bliss tweed that was purchased a full year ago and is still on the market. why did I need that yarn a year ago?

Anyways.. then there is the three drawer plastic thingy that holds small gobs of very special yarn. This is where I keep scraps of leftover Tili Tomas or bits of Rowan wool cotton (at $10 a ball, I am keeping all those bits!). I often go to this stuff to find yarn for baby hats or baby sweaters..the things that I knit in a night and just need a bit of yarn for. I recently went into this stash to find a small amount of hand dyed cotton for a bath mitt that I paired with hand made soap and sent to my mom for Mother’s Day.

Lastly, there is the “living room stash” which is where I keep yarn for a few days after it is purchased, before it finds it new home in the big stash or on needles. I have become better at adding to this stash without Phillip noticing. The key is to bring the yarn home in your purse and not in the shop bag. Then it can quickly be transferred to the living room basket in the corner and isn’t quite as noticeable. I don’t think he is keeping track of how many balls of Debbie Bliss are in the corner…

So why stash yarn? To a new knitter, this sounds insane and expensive. Hell, most new folks go through that sticker shock when they go out to buy yarn for their first knitting class. Fiber isn’t cheap, unless it is purchased by the Gap in giant lots and then shipped to developing countries to be made into cheap sweaters

I stash because I have no self control. Other knitters stash because they want to be sure to not pass up a good deal or something rare and amazing.  Others stash because they might need yarn for a quick gift for a co worker or a birthday present for a friend and what if the yarn store is closed?! OR on days like today (where it doesn’t seem to want to stop raining) I could go home, take out all of the cashmere and alpaca in my stash, throw it all on the bed and curl up and go to sleep in it.

I thought about posting photos of the stash, but I think that might be too scary. To see it all in one place and then posted on the internet would be to show my addiction to the world. What drug addict posts photos of their drugs in their hiding spots?  If you come visit me, feel free to ask to see the stash. I am pretty likely to give away bits of it as well. Mine is no where near the size of folks who work full time at yarn shops or hand dyers who have access to wholesale accounts. I suppose there is enough yarn in my stash to warrant adding to the home owners policy but doing so would mean admitting and then DOCUMENTING my problem and I can’t do that.

So knitters, some of you started stashing a couple of years ago when I first taught you to knit. What do you estimate you have hidden in the house by now???

On Wednesday, a new fiber related art exhibit started at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. The exhibit, Led By Thread features 23 pieces from various fiber arts.  From the Torpedo Factory: “The exhibition highlights the new, exciting and experimental direction of fiber arts today.  Award winning, New York installation fiber artist, Yasmin Spiro, the juror for this exhibition chose work that stayed within the spirit of the title Led By Thread. She chose the pieces that used the idea of ‘thread’ in art in a way that seemed new or interesting. While some of the work may have been conventionally beautiful (which made it tricky), she ultimately chose the work that is unusual in its use of material and concept. The artists in the exhibition are from all over the country.”

If I were to arrange an outing followed by some beers at the local Irish pub, would any of you be interested??

Last week I started this adorable spiral baby blanket pattern as a sample for the June 17th class at Knit Happens. While it looks like a large hat blob right now, I promise it will look something like the other photo when it is done. I am making it for a friend who is expecting her second child, a long awaited little girl.

The class will teach increases with both yarn overs and knitting through the front and the back, working in the round on double points and circular needles and joining new balls of yarn. $70 for two weeks. If you are interested in the class, give Knit Happens a call to register: 703-836-0039. To see all of my summer classes, check out the site.

In other news, I was at the shop on Saturday for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival breakfast and stumbled upon these boxes of wonderfulness:

These are boxes of Neighborhood Fiber Company’s worsted, lace and sock yarn! They have arrived! Just look at those fabulous colors that you all love so much… and some new ones as well! (All named after Washington DC neighborhoods, of course) So if you have been waiting for this fabulous yarn to be available in the area again since I stopped carrying it in the fall, it is here!

I will be outside of St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub tonight for First Thursday, a street festival in Del Ray Alexandria that features local Del Ray businesses. The theme tonight is Kids and Kanines.

Two non-profits will be celebrated:

Community Partners for Children who will be collecting diapers and baby items for Alexandria’s Biggest Baby Shower

Alexandria’s Animal Shelter – who will be collecting old towels, sheets, blankets for the animal cages

The Centennial Committee will have displays of trains and historical information on what the railroads meant to our area and the trolley will be traveling up and down Mt. Vernon Avenue to give everyone rides. 

And of course, yours truly is offering free knitting help and demonstrations. Please stop by and visit, bring your knitting crisis, say hello, etc!

Last night at 9 p.m., because I procrastinate like the best of em, I started this little wonder for a co-worker, whose baby shower was this morning. It’s the baby hat with leaf edging  that I found online. Its adorable. I made a second version a few weeks ago for another co-worker, this one with the flip up edging that the pattern calls for. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. The pattern is great.

Speaking of baby hats, I do have a baby hat crash course starting up at Euro Market cafe on June 18th from 7-9pm. Its an adorable ruffle edge baby hat and a great way to learn to knit in the round and decrease.

If you haven’t heard, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is this weekend. I will be coordinating a carpool to the festival, leaving from Knit Happens around 7:30 a.m.  We will have breakfast there from 7 a.m. to 7:30.  Plan on being there on time!

If you are interested in being a driver or having a spot in a car, let me know.

If you are headed to the festival on your own and want to meet up with us there, I will be at the Rabbit Building right after the Ravelry meetup, at 1p.m. It is a great time to share what your best finds were, find the driver that you came up with and make a trip back to the car to unload some merchandise, or just to take a break and chat.

If you haven’t been to MSWF before, below is a list of suggested items to pack (pls add the list in the comments section)

-sunblock

-extra shirt to change into for the ride home

-water!!!

-comfortable shoes

-face wash thingies (its dusty, hot and dirty!)

-backpack to put your loot in

-CASH and credit card..not everyone takes plastic

-a knitting project and spare needles (you will regret not bringing something to knit….)

-list of quantities of yarn in several gauges that you would need to make a sweater, wrap, scarf, etc…to help direct your buying

-allergy medication (if you have allergies…this may be a rough day)

What am I missing???

Sorry to have been MIA for a few days. My grandmother passed away on Wednesday, and I have been in a whirlwind of viewings in two different states. While the weekend was long, sad, and tiring, I found that knitting was a huge comfort and something that I could fixate on when I didn’t know what else to do. My family is so supportive of my “habit” that I was encouraged to knit during the viewings. I think that my relatives found it as comforting as I did, and many of them would watch my little fingers working away as we sat for hours receiving people who came to give their condolences. I managed to get quite far on a project that I am working on for a fall class. (Really, I have so many other projects that I should have been working on …like the Pinwheel Blanket and Rusted Root sweater for upcoming classes.) But this pattern didn’t require a lot of attention and worked very well as a distraction to keep me from chewing my finger nails or strangling a cousin

So I am back! I am packed for the next two weeks so if you are in need of a private lesson, do get in touch asap and get on the schedule. I am quite behind at this point…

Well I finished Route One (aka the Sahara sweater) just over a week ago but have been really bad about getting a photo and letting you all know.  I am very very happy with it and most pleased with the fiber: Yummy from Kollage yarns. Debbie Bliss now has a fiber out called Prima, and it is the same gauge and fiber content as the Yummy but a lot cheaper.

I just picked up this other fab Debbie Bliss summer fiber,  Cathay. It is a silk, cotton, microfiber blend and it’s luscious! I chose this green color for the Rusted Root from Zephyr Style. It’s a class that I am planning for this summer, starting June 23rd at RiRa (Irish bar in Clarendon). I love this pattern..in fact, I love most of the Zephyr girl’s patterns and you will see more of them in my class schedule this fall.

I have a busy weekend but I will be at Knit Happens tomorrow (Sunday) from noon to five, until I have to go help friend unpack her apartment. So if you needed some knitting help, advice on yarn selection or just wanted to come hang out, stop by!

I just got to Knit Happens for late night and guess what is here?! New colors of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky…yup, that’s right! New colors! Including: black, green, rose, wine, teal and cream…so if you’ve been waiting for more to arrive so that you can whip up some more of those beanie hats, its here.

Also, in its honor, I will be scheduling another easy bolero class…if there is a night of the week that you prefer for this, let me know…

Subscribe this site to your RSS reader, it’s going to be awesome! It is going to take the online knitting magazine to the next level with tags, site-wide search functions and print friendly versions of the patterns. I can’t wait for this one!

So I was at Knit Happens this weekend (shocking), and I started flipping through this book that was on the table: Closely Knit. Its a new pattern / project book out by Hannah Fettig and it is really really awesome. It’s divided into sections for each of your family members, with project ideas and patterns for your husband or boyfriend, mother, sister, daughter and many more. The patterns are amazing and creative and they range from the very simple to much more intricate. She even has a time guide for each project, to give you an idea of how much time you will need to knit the item. Its a lifesaver for those last minute gifts!

One of my favorite patterns from the book is the first short sleeve white sweater shown in the TNNA fashion show from January. A video of the fashion show has been put on youtube, which is really exciting because I really wasn’t able to fully describe to all of you the amazing knit wear items that I saw at that show in January. (I use the word “amazing” here loosely but in some cases I mean “shocking”) Really, the theme of the evening was ” just because you CAN make that piece of clothing with that fiber, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.” Really, I encourage you to watch.

I digress, the first sweater in the video is Hannah’s and it is awesome, as is everything else in the book. Please go buy it! Its going to be one of those books that you go to year after year for gift ideas for all of your family and friends.

So I have started another Sahara, this time in that amazing merino bamboo blend that I bought at the Knit Happens sale. I have decided to name it Route One, since the large amount of straight stockinette knitting has made it an excellent commuting project.  Let me explain what I mean. This is my sweater and I on Route 1 this evening, trying to get home. Take note of the Ford emblem that is most definitely at the center of my steering wheel. Yes, I am knitting and driving. Mostly knitting and sitting in traffic. Route 1 actually provides such an amazing amount of knitting time…dead stopped traffic that moves only a few hundred feet every few minutes… I have literally knitting most of what you see in my morning and evening commutes on Route 1. In addition, I even had time to photograph myself knitting in my car while sitting in traffic. Amazing, truly amazing this DC traffic.

Lets all thank this cop for pulling someone over (for what, I wonder, since it is nearly impossible to speed on Route 1 during rush hour) but deciding that it made sense to do so at this exact spot. (Maybe this person was knitting in traffic?  Is that a crime?) You will notice the large parking garage in the background. There is an entrance to that garage that will fit at least three cars wide… making me wonder why this cop car and the person getting the ticket decided to stop just three feet short of this entrance and block an entire lane on Route 1.

But thanks to them, I now have three more inches on my sweater! This project is, of course, a class. (What would I be doing knitting something that isn’t for a class). Its at Knit Happens starting April 21st on Monday nights (shop is closed on Mondays so we have the place to ourselves!) 703-836-0039