Pictures of Fibery Goodness

I found a disposable camera, and managed to record some of my wonderful NJ trip.  Unfortunately it wasn't a digital camera, so I haven't picked up the photos yet. 

Instead, I thought I'd share some favorite photos from blog posts past, and hope they bring you some joy.  Remember, every doctor will recommend a high fiber diet!

 

Changing Colorway

This post will begin to explore the differences your color choices will make in your finished work.  If you've ever heard several versions of a favorite song, you know that musical arrangements make a huge difference in how a piece of music is perceived.  (Think "The Grammys", "Unplugged", or "Austin City Limits".)  The energy and even the message can change.  Well, so it is with knitting. 

The mittens above were both made with my "Mondrian Mittens" pattern.  The pattern is written with the suggested yarn colors of black and white.  Why?  Because much of Piet Mondrian's wonderful work is based in black and white, with hints of primary colors.   I thought that as the mittens were knit up, some people might choose to duplicate stitch in some of the boxes in some primary colors, and make their own personal tribute to this treasured modern artist.

Original Work by Piet Mondrian

As you can see from the photos at the beginning of this post, two people on Ravelry chose to work the pattern very differently.  The different effects are huge.  The one on the left, in black and white, looks beautiful, a bit formal, and possibly even masculine.  I'm imagining it in cream and chocolate brown, which would probably have a similar formal effect.  It is the pattern I wrote, and it's executed beautifully.

The one on the right is also beautiful.  I never thought of using a self-patterning variegated yarn to work this pattern, but now that I see it, I wonder why.  The result is cheerful and beautiful.  What a great idea!  This makes me wonder how it would look if the grid was knit in a bright, coordinating color, and the field was knit in a variegated.  Probably a very high energy look.  It's still the pattern I wrote, but it has evolved with the knitter's skill and imagination.

When you look for a pattern to make, what catches your eye?  Often for me I'll love the color, and then start noticing the design details.  Of course, this doesn't mean you have to use the recommended colors.  That's when we start to edit.

If you've every been in a clothes shop and asked the clerk, "Does this come in blue?", you know what happens.  You see something, you really like it, and then you start editing it in your head to make it work with the rest of your wardrobe.  Then comes the hunt for the right size/color combination.  When you find it, you bring it home beaming with pride.  For you, that color and design are the Grand Prize.

In my own little design world, my daughter and my assistant both chide me about my color choices.  In decor and wardrobe, I tend toward natural colors blended in traditional combinations.  I thrill at the artwork of Peter Maxx, Leroy Nieman, Alexander Caulder, and Andy Warhol.  I love the colors!  But somehow they aren't me.  In Colleen's world, my palette is "a little quiet".  In my daughter's opinion, it's downright "gloomy".  (And these are people who love me!)  My fans tend to use language like "classic" and "traditional", "timeless", and occasionally "elegant".  (I like "elegant".  A lot!)  Ok.  I'm content.

I love sorting through project pages on Ravelry, and seeing all the different choices the various knitters made as they worked a pattern.  I do it almost every time I'm considering making a pattern.  I've seen plenty of work that wasn't my taste, and a little that only a mother could love, but mostly I find all the different color and fiber choices really inspiring.  

Do you think outside the box when it comes to choosing colors for your knitting?  Do you look at photos in patterns and consider them like the "serving suggestion" on the cereal box?  Or are you happy to leave the choice of color and texture to someone else, and knit the pattern as written?  No matter what you do, what matters most it that you enjoy it.  I'd love to see your photos!  Tell me the name of the pattern, so I can look up the photo that went with the original pattern.  And thanks!

Snuggly Sock Preview

I know!  Gorgeous work knit by the magical and intrepid Colleen, Wonder Assistant.  She always makes my patterns look good.  (That's Colleen's foot in the photo.  Unless you're looking at this on your phone, it's probably close to actual size.  Her feet are tiny!)

This is the Gift Knit Kit Club pattern for February, Snuggly Socks.  Sized for both men and women, it is made from the incomparable Mountain Colors Yarn, Crazyfoot.  It's a very cozy sock in colors that can only come from Mountain Colors.  I love the way they blend!  It's an easy knit, but due to the yarn and the pattern, looks harder than it is.  It will definitely elicit comments of, "I can't believe you made these!"  If you choose to give them away, be sure to make another pair for yourself.

More beautiful Mountain Colors yarn in
in my Elk Mittens pattern.

I'd like to shout out once again to the lovely ladies at Mountain Colors, led by founders Leslie Taylor and Diane McKay.  It is a nearly all female workforce, and every part of the process at Mountain Colors is done by hand.  (I know.  I've been there and seen it myself.)  The yarns are terrific quality, and the colors take my breath away.  Thanks for all you do.

Like last month's gloves, the yarn alone for the socks costs more than the club members are paying for the yarn and the pattern,  (In my LYS, $26 plus tax for the yarn vs. $26 no tax for the club) and it gets delivered right to your door.  How cool is that?

Wishing you could get the pattern for yourself?  All club patterns will be released for sale 90 days after the club members recieve their kits.  Just wishing you could have the yarn? (I'm only slightly offended.)  Call your LYS and see if they carry it, as the colorways are truly magical in person.  They are available on line (at somewhat discounted prices) through Paradise Fibers.  Seriously, though, check the LYS first.  No computer monitor can show you these colors like they really look.  And we need to support our local knitting communities.

New Mittens!

These mittens were sample knit for me by the intrepid and wonderful Colleen Croce.  The pattern was inspired by a trip back to my native Berkshire Hills (Massachusetts) last spring.  As anyone without a GPS will tell you, it's very hard to find your way around all of those loopy, winding roads.  There's hardly one straight one in the bunch.  Honestly, though, I love it!  And so, the Winding Roads Mittens were born.

They have a short cuff, like a driving glove would, but in the pattern there is a modification for a longer one.  Made from a blend of alpaca and merino, they are very warm, and oh-so-soft.  The yarn is Cascade Yarns Lana D'Oro, and it is delicious.  It comes in generously sized hanks (210 yds), and one hank easily makes both mittens.

Available on Ravelry as Winding Roads Mittens for $4 USD, or .  Enjoy them!

ICU is a Chilly Place

The Cleveland Clinic is as beautiful and efficient a hospital as you can imagine.  It has a plethora of high end technology, all of which generates a lot of heat.  They also tell us that germs like it warm.  For those reasons, they keep the temperatures in the ICU seriously chilly.  The nurses all dress in several layers, often including some sort of sweater, and yesterday the nurse for the next room was wearing a quilted (outerwear) jacket with her uniform.

As I sit, hour upon hour, next to Scott's bed, I get cold.  I'm knitting mittens for Mountain Colors right now, and the wool in my lap is not making me any warmer.  I have decided, though, that when I finish these mittens they are going on my hands.  (They'll get to Montana soon enough.)  I know it's August.  It's 80+ degrees outside.  But it's 63 in here.  I'm cold.

Unless I'm having a hot flash.  In my entire experience of the hot flashes, this is the one situation in which I'm truly grateful for them.  For 20-45 minutes at a time, I'm finally warm enough!  It makes wardrobe planning tricky, and I've become a big lover of scarves and shawls in this strange interlude of my life. 

Full Time Mittens is Coming to an End

I promised myself that the full-time push on the mitten book project would end on Sunday the 17th.  I need to pay more attention to my job, my family, and my friends.  I wish I could show you the finished samples!  They're really cool, and beautiful, and cozy.  Alas, no pre-publication pics are allowed at this time.  Rats.  Soon, I hope.

I kept to my plan, and yesterday was a work day.  So, ironically, it snowed yesterday, hard enough to stick.  Visibility was down to a quarter of a mile at times.  I thought it was funny that I had peacefully knit mittens on my porch in 75 degrees two weeks ago, and went back to work in snow. 

I'm still working on the book, just not full time.  So now I'll be a little slower about finishing the remaining patterns, polishing the chapters, etc.  I'm almost ready to send the first round of samples to the publisher.  My nerves are frazzled!  I love these mittens, and yet I second guess myself quite a bit.  Soon it will be out of my hands, and in the hands of editors, and I must say, it will be a relief! 

What I noticed in the midst of winding down the mitten intensity and winding up the work stuff is also a little ironic:  I really need more mittens!  When I don't need to have pristine samples for photography for the book, I'll have to make myself some mittens.  I have several older pairs that are starting to show their age, and need to have some "dress" mittens. Strange that I've been waist deep in mittens for months, and don't have any to wear to work.  30 odd pairs designed in a row later, maybe I'll put it off a little while. Maybe next winter.

Charity Mitten Pattern Announced!

The first charity to get a fund raising mitten is the American Red Cross! Proceeds from sales of this pattern go to the American Red Cross.  The American Red Cross has a rich tradition of teaching Americans to knit, and a tradition of helping those in harm's way through education and donations.

This mitten was inspired by the families of servicemen and volunteers deployed around the world.  It's a quiet way to remember an organization supporting Americans in harm's way at home and around the world.  Let's make this first project a blow out!

Learn more about the American Red Cross here.

Here is the sample as knit by the intrepid Colleen.  It's feeling a little proud of itself.

Thanks in advance for supporting this great cause!

Ghosts of Knitting Past

I was trying to tame my stash last night.  I don't know why.  I know better.  I had this notion that I could separate all the wools from all the non-wools, and that this would somehow make my life more - I don't know.  Better.  In this process I discovered many things:



Applique Stocking Sample



1. I own a whole heckuva lot of yarn.

2.  The stash is about the same weight as my dog.  Max is a German Shorthaired Pointer, Labrador Retriever mix.  Think your average 8 year old child.

3.  My children become concerned when they see the entire family room furniture and floor covered in yarn, when I'm sitting in the middle, head in hands, saying, "Maybe. Maybe."

4. While purchasing yarn I have largely disregarded my allergy to wool.

5. I really DID buy a ton of Cascade Pure Alpaca about a year ago.  I just found it again after looking several times.

6. While purchasing yarn I have made a great many dubious choices.



Tweed Faroe Mitten.  Why?



Why would I buy one skein of cashmere that is only 60 yards? Why would I buy tweeds for a Faroe Project? (Yes I did.  There are pictures to prove it.)  Why did I store the stash in so many different places?

How could I lose track of making Christmas stockings for my children, and just quit after designing and knitting a sample? Why would I store FOs in with the stash?  When did I ever think I would use acrylic for anything except baby blankets?  Why is my darning egg in with the bulky yarns?

This makes me think that a few years from now, while re-sorting the stash, I may find more unanswered questions.  Will I be wondering why I made so many cowls?  What was my obsession with mittens all about?  How much sock yarn does any woman need?  What the heck was I thinking the last time I sorted out the stash?

Freebie Friday - Annika Mittens

I've been looking for a Nordic looking pattern in multiple colors,with a rounded top, and haven't found what I'm looking for, so of course I had to design one.  I named it for my Swedish friend Cindy's daughter, who is adorable and charming. 

I went back and forth on whether to make a thumb gusset, and saw that most Nordic looking patterns don't have thumb gussets, so I skipped it.  For now.  I'm not sure I won't add one in the future as I knit these up.  If I do, I'll add it to this page for you so you'll have a choice.

Annika Mittens

Materials
Cascade Yarns 220 Sport

 Main Color - White
CC1 - Brown
CC2 - Red
CC3 - Green
CC4 - Blue

Size 5 needles

Size - As written this pattern makes a Women's mitten approximately 8.75 inches around at a 6.0 stitch 7.5 row gauge per inch.  To adjust size, adjust needle size and/or yarn weight.

Cast on 60 stitches.  The dark brown squares on the chart represent slipped stitches in the lower row and knitting the slips in the upper row.  This creates a slightly scalloped edge.

The right and left mitten are knit from the same pattern.  The lavender lines represent the knitting with waste yarn for the afterthought thumb placement.  Remember to use the right chart for the right thumb and the left for the left!

At the decrease for the top of the mitten it is K2, K2 together as indicated, then knit one row even.  The next row is K1, K2 together as indicated.  Then knit one row even.  The last row is K2 together around as indicated. Break CC4, leaving a 6 inch tail for weaving in ends.  Thread MC through remaining stitches, and pull to close top.  Weave in all ends.

The thumbs are worked in a similar fashion. When finished, weave in all ends.

I hope you enjoy these.  Happy Knitting!

You Should Write a Book, St. Paddy's Mitts

A reader sent me an email: "You should write a book. I'd love a book of yours on my shelf for mittens and blankets.  Are you writing one?"  I get that a lot.  So first off, Thank You!  Because I design so much for customers at the shop, for myself, and for my friends and kids, I have designed and test-knit hundreds of things.  I love seeing other knitter's interpretations of my designs!  Customers come in with their RFO's (recently finished objects) and I can't stop grinning about them expressing themselves with their work. 

So why not?  Trust me, I'm all for it.  I have no idea how to go about it, but since I can't stop designing (I've tried, believe me, but to no avail) it just might happen.  If you're looking for me on the bookshelf now, however, I'm afraid you'll need to wait a while. Visit me here, and I'll visit you back.

St. Paddy's Mitts

The idea was something Irish-looking enough to be great for the parade, but not so cutesy that you can't wear them on all the other cold days.  If you start them now, they can easily be finished by St. Patrick's Day!

Materials: Size 5 needles
Cascade Yarns 220 Worsted Wool, one skein each green, and white

Makes women's size large mittens. For smaller or larger size, decrease or increase needle size respectively.  Finished size 4.25 inches across, 8.5 inches long.

Cast on 60 sts needed. There is no separate cuff on these!  The pattern above makes a whole mitten.  Please note - there is a white stripe up each edge of the mitten, so make sure to count those on the above chart.  I admit, they are not super clearly marked.

This pattern is designed in the round, with an afterthought thumb.  The front and back of each thumb are the same.  The light green lines on the palm of the mitten body represent where to knit with scrap yarn for thumb placement.

Happy knitting!

Freebie Friday Knitter's Mitten



These are some of my favorite mittens I've ever designed, perhaps because they are the first.  Any two colors can work, but when I made them for a friend I made them in two naturally occuring sheep colors - off white, and chocolate brown.  The recipient, a fellow knitter, let out a belly laugh when she opened them, and swears she wears them even now, 6 years later.  (She lives in Seattle, so I don't get to see her very often, but I take her word for it.)  I made the palms the dark color to hide wear and soil, and the backs lighter.  The tops are rounded, accomplished by knitting two together periodically in alternating rows. 

Materials: Size 5 needlesCascade Yarns 220 Worsted Weight Wool

White - Main Color, 120 yds
Grey - CC, 140 yds

Makes women's size large mittens. For smaller or larger size, decrease or increase needle size respectively.

Cast on (52 sts) in CC for the ribbed cuff.  I like the cuff in just one color, as a 2x2 rib.  In the solid color row before the main mitten pattern, increase one stitch every 8 stitches to achieve the 60 sts needed. Please note - there is a white stripe up each edge of the mitten, so make sure to count those on the above chart.  I admit, they are not super clearly marked.

This pattern is designed in the round, with an afterthought thumb.  The front and back of each thumb are the same, and the LEFT thumb is on top, the RIGHT thumb is on the bottom.  The charcoal lines on the palm of the mitten body represent where to knit with scrap yarn for thumb placement.

For the decreases at the top, as charted, knit one, knit two together around. 
Then knit one round even. 
Knit two together around.
Knit two together around.  Graft top together.

Happy knitting!

OOPS! One More Mitered Mitten - Thistle

Just when I thought I had posted all of them, I came across one more mitered mitten... Here it is.

Materials: Size 5 needles

Cascade Yarns 220 Sport

Main Color - White
CC1 - Green
CC2 - Purple

Makes women's size large mittens. For smaller or larger size, decrease or increase needle size respectively.

Cast on (52 sts) in CC2 for the ribbed cuff.  I like the cuff in just one color, as a 2x2 rib.  In the solid color row before the main mitten pattern, increase one stitch every 8 stitches to achieve the 60 sts needed.

On the single white rounds between the stem and the bloom, SLIP the colored edging stitch from the row below to carry color on the edge.  For the white rounds between the bands of flowers, use white in the edging stitches.  If you really want those stitches colored, you can go back and duplicate stitch them.

This pattern is designed in the round, with a mitered top and a mitered afterthought thumb.  It can be worked flat, using the edges of the pattern for seaming.

The pattern for the back and front of the thumb is the same, so it is listed only once above.  The blue lines on the palm of the mitten body represent where to knit with scrap yarn for thumb placement.

Happy knitting!

More Mittens (Mondrian this time)



Mondrian Mittens

As knit by Paivi H., Finland

I love designing, knitting, wearing, and giving mittens.  I was thrilled to see my Treble Clef mittens knit up (in two days!) by a knitter in Finland, and other patterns knit by other mitten enthusiasts.  I know for some people it's shoes or handbags, but I'm telling you, I'm a sucker for a good mitten.

This latest pair was inspired by Piet Mondrian, the artist.  He did so much with straight lines and boxes, with black and white and primary colors!  As I was drawing these, I was imagining them in crazy acid colors, subtle earth tones, and black and white.  I messed around with the color schemes on the computer, and am currently leaning toward earth tones.  (The trick is always to find the yarn in non-wool (due to allergy) in the colors I want, with the appropriate resistance to wear.  Oh well.)

The pattern for these and other mittens can be found on Ravelry.com.



No H8 and Peace Mittens

This is a free pattern that I've been working on for my daughter, Analisa.  She's facinated by the No H8 movement.  No H8 is the left mitten, and Peace is the right.  If you want to make them both the same, use the chart for the back twice, and use the chart for the right palm and left palm.  (This way the thumbs will be in the right places!) I'm really happy with how the motif knits up! If you make these, please send me a pic, or post it on Ravlery.  Thanks!

Materials: Size 5 needles
Cascade Yarns 220 Sport

White - Main Color
Black - Contrast Color

Makes women's size large mittens, 8.5 inches around and 8.5 inches long. For smaller or larger size, decrease or increase needle size respectively.


The cast on for the mock-rib wrist  (52 sts) is fewer than the stitches for the mitten body (60).  In the solid color row before the main mitten pattern, increase on stitch every 8 stitches to achieve the 60 sts needed.

This pattern is designed in the round, with a mitered top and a mitered afterthought thumb.  It can be worked flat, using the edges of the pattern for seaming.  Enjoy it!  And I'm always happy to see pics.  Thanks!

Treble Music Mittens

This is a pattern I designed that I've been working on for a couple of weeks now.  It's finally done!  The mittens above were knitted by "PaiviH" in Finland.  It's a charted pattern with some written support.  I'm really happy with how the motif knits up! If you make these, please send me a pic, or post it on Ravlery.  Thanks!

Treble Music Mittens Pattern - $6, available on Ravelry.com

Adding Charts, Mr. Mittens

I've spent quite a bit of my time in the last few days typing dozens of my designs into my computer.  Then I started posting the charts to Ravelry.  (I'm LizMarino) So many!  Yeesh!  I will do my level best never to be this far behind again!

The first priority are the little ones: the dishcloth/babyblanket square size ones.  I had no idea there were so darn many of 'em.  The whole Lodge Collection is in, and I'm adding in Baby. After that, some more little squares. Next will be bigger blanket squares, then small garments, then larger garments. And that doesn't count whatever I end up designing in the meantime. Check the pages above from time to time, as I will be updating for the next couple days.

The Mr. mittens are going very well, but slowly as I have been dividing my knitting time between my needles and my keyboard.  I'll post a pick in a day or two.  The Reversible Brioche Scarf is sulking in the knitting bag for now, only about 6 inches long.  A girl has to make these tough choices sometimes...  I really owe the Mr some mittens, so they're still winning.  More time would be nice.  And more coffee...

It WORKS! Brioche Rocks

It works!  It works!  I'm so excited!  It works!  I am now officially in love with Nancy Marchant and her cool website, Briochestitch.com.  After spending about half an hour working with her directions on her website, I had a little success.  I didn't really understand what she meant by indicating casting on over two needles, so I eventually abandoned that plan, and just followed all the rest of the directions.  And they work!  I made a little teeny swatch! Whoopee!  I am about as pleased as the day I earned my driver's license.  Now the next step will be to cast on the scarf and settle into a rhythm on this stitch, and get really excited about the vest that will come after.

For those of you who may be keeping track, yes, I'm also working on mittens for the Mr..  They will be the feature of a mitten class I'm knitting later in the month, so I need to get them done for 2 reasons.  The mittens take priority. The mittens are for home knitting, and the shop.  The brioche rib scarf will have to be on an "after I finish so many rows of the mittens" basis until the mittens are done; otherwise, I'd devote myself to the brioche nonstop.  I'm always a sucker for my newest project, but this way I'll have something to work towards!

Mittens for the Mister

Things are at a standstill with the two color brioche stitch.  I'm not getting anywhere with the written directions, and I haven't yet found a friend who has experience in this to teach me one on one.

In the meantime, the Mr. really would like a pair of extra-warm mittens.  I shopped a little today, and succeeded in collecting what I believe will be ideal mitten materials.  The Mr. seems to have had a minor case of frostbite a few years ago, and now winter is very painful on his fingers.  I collected a Tahki Yarns Sedona hand dyed in a clear cool grey, and a really soft and lofty AslanTrends Bariloche kettle dyed.  Both are a heavy worsted, and I plan to knit them up of 6s or 7s to make a very wind-resistant, warm and lofty mitten which will also shed water if the Mr. uses them to shovel or make snow balls.  The AslanTrends has polyamid in it, making it a stable choice for wet work.  The Tahki is all merino which might grow a little if it weren't knit in a fair isle or blended colorwork pattern with something like the Tahki.

I'm looking at a variety of patterns from the Robin Hansen book, Favorite Mittens. I haven't chosen, but it will keep my fingers busy until I can talk to a few more knitting friends and get two-color brioche lessons. 

Another back-burner project which may finally get some attention is making me another pair of socks.  Since I fell in love with the Schaeffer Nichole sock yarn, I haven't made myself a pair of socks, though I've made two other pair that I have gifted.  I cast them on today, and will probably use them as my travelling project. (Waiting for appointments, killing time while travelling, etc.)

Between these, my monthly washcloth pattern, and designing an Andean Mountain hat for my youngest, my knitting future looks very busy.  Just yesterday I was all caught up!  It's my Karmic task to have perpetual knitting tasks.  Where else would I work to combine creativity, patience, and a willingness to trust directions blindly?  Bring it on!

Gaffs of Christmas Past

Every year my family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve.  My dear friend Lisa (special ed kindergarten teacher) comes in from out of town, I make a huge meal, and we dine in candlelight in the evening.  Part of the daytime tradition is to deliver trays of handmade holiday cookies to friends and family.  It all starts with me getting up very early in the morning to bake bread, pie, etc.  In '08 I had more to do than that.

I had knit a pair of fingerless gloves with mitten caps for my youngest, and somehow never got round to blocking the 2nd one.  I blocked it 2 days before and it was still wet.  I had made sterling silver earrings for my eldest, and they needed polishing.  I hadn't finished decorating.  My house guests were sick, and one a diabetic vegan which made for a complicated time playing Florence Nightingale.  And of course there was the cooking.

I threw pie in the oven around 7am, and moved on to polishing the earrings.  The first one went great.  The second one disintegrated in my hand.  7:30am.  I'd think of something. Oh! Mittens!  Darn.  Still wet. Gift exchange around 2pm.  Dammit.

I checked on the pie.  Fine.  I washed up from the baking trying to figure out what to do.  Apologize to eldest and make another one soon. Ok.  7:45.  Take soggy mitten and put in toaster oven at 150 degrees for ten minutes.  Maybe it will dry faster.

I went to get the candle lanterns out of the basement and decorate with those so we would have light for our candlelit evening. 8:00.  The pie beeped, so I grabbed that, and went back to the lanterns, one of which I promptly dropped and smashed.  In my bare feet I put the dog out, and cleaned up the broken glass.  I checked the mitten.  Now it was a hot wet mitten.  Damn again.  I turned up the toaster oven.  Just a little.  Let the dog in. 8:45.

On to making breakfast for the sick house guest, and starting a vegan holiday meal as well as the turkey dinner.  I was stuffing acorn squash for the vegans and turkey for the rest.  I chopped, I sauteed, and then I smelled it.  THE MITTEN!  I ran over to the toaster oven.  9:40.

Wool doesn't burn in the traditional sense.  It just smells awful and disintegrates.  It still looked like a mitten (though a little brown) but when I went to pick it up it just crumbled. Damn, damn, DAMN!

Stuffing almost finished.  Gravy started.  Squash roasted for soup. 10:45. Vegan Lisa comes into kitchen and asks about the "Weird" smell.  "Turkey's supposed to smell like that!"  I snapped.  She's a vegan - she'll buy that, right?  'Cause burned wool smells so "holiday".

I was frazzled, and decided to go drop off cookies to my LYS.  "Lisa, I have to get out of here for about 20 minutes.  Help me out; keep the husband out of the pie, the kids out of the presents, and the dog out of the stuffing.  I'll be right back in a much calmer mood!" I grabbed a platter of cookies and left for the shop.

"This is all you brought?" MaryAnn (LYS owner) was teasing.  I explained my crazy failure of a morning, and sat for a minute gulping coffee.  She chuckled, wished me well, and I went home.

When I got to my back door Lisa and my dog were waiting and they both looked sorry. Aw, crap.

"What happened?"

"The dog ate the stuffing."

"All of it?  Vegan and regular?"

Yup.  This woman can handle 20 special ed 5 year olds for 6 hours per day, but not my family and dog.  I called my mother in desperate futile hope of recovering my day.

"Haven't you started drinking yet?"

"It's 11:15 in the morning!"

"Not in Australia.  Things will look much more festive after your second glass of wine. Go for it!"

I took my wine and retreated for the tub.  And she was right.  Things were looking up.

First November Freebies

I've been so focused on changes at Karma and trying to keep up with my own life that I've neglected the Free Patterns of the week.  Let's remedy that right now.  A really pretty straight needle mitten pattern on 8's with worsted can be found here.  The cold days of this week had me digging out all the mittens and gloves I've made myself in the last few years (at least the ones the kids haven't "Borrowed") and I know it's time to have a pair in the pockets of all of my coats. 

The second pattern is more intricate, for more advanced knitters. It's a cozy cowl, perfect for feeling snug in a midweight jacket or sweater.  Cowls are also a huge style trend for this winter, worn with everything from long sleeved tees to turtlenecks to blazers. 

I'm off to the Wine and Cheese Help Party tonight at Karma.  I hope to see you there!