My Take on Fiddleheads

I love the Fiddlehead Mitten Kits from Tanis Fiber Arts! Here's my most recent take on them. Main color is Shadow, contrast is Stormy and for a bit of excitement - Deep Sea for the lining. That's one Christmas gift down and I have no idea how many more to go!

Debbie from Dye Hard Fiber Arts just delivered some amazing superwash merino roving and some gorgeous self striping sock yarn in merino/cashmere/nylon. Yummy!

Debbie attended a Knit Night one evening and was quietly knitting away on a beautiful pair of socks - the yarn was beautiful, the stripes were perfect - when I asked what yarn it was - she said hers and I said I'll take some. This first yarn base is called Serendipitous Sock - because it was a very serendipitous evening for both of us! I might just sleep with a bundle of her fiber - it's so soft and squishy! Makes me want to spin and not do anything else - well, unless it involved knitting with the self striping yarn!

This is just one part of a very big pre Christmas update this week - Sweet Georgia is scheduled to arrive tomorrow - 2 big boxes - 4 kinds of yarn! Tanis is rushing me the Dipped Infinity Scarf Kits which are a collaboration between herself and Laura Chau of Cosmicpluto Knits! And at long last the first of the rug hooking kits is arriving!

Bloggity, blog, blog, blog

It's not that I don't have anything to blog about - it's just taking the time to organize my thoughts and get the photos I need. Let's see....first up is my Fiddlehead mitten in just 2 colors of Tanis - Shadow for the background and Stormy for the contrast - Deep Sea will be the lining. It was while snooping on Ravelry that I got this idea after seeing lots of these mitts in more sedate combos. I'm not sure exactly how much it's going to take - but it looks like 3 skeins - I'll keep you posted on that.

This is the jacket on the cover of Fall Interweave 2009. Linda knit it in Donegal Tweed and I am absolutely in love with it. The yarn is amazingly soft considering how it feels in the skein. It fits me perfectly and I'm sure it will see tons of wear considering the weather we are having.....speaking of which I'm kinda missing the snow, aren't you?

There's lots of the way - a brand new kit from Tanis Fiber Arts, more Fiddlehead Mitten kits, a brand new yarn from Tanis, some mink/cashmere yarn, Sweet Georgia yarns, Pigeon Roof Studios Fibre - it's shaping up to a wonderful season - yarn wise that is! Oh one more thing - rug hooking kits are leaving Nova Scotia today so I should have them by the end of the week.

Spinning? Yarn?

Yesterday Deb came by to help me learn to spin on my wheel. I think it went rather well but I guess you'd have to ask her for the true picture. The bobbin has my first attempt which is a ton better than the other stuff I produced. I keep telling myself that it's artisan yarn. I was trying to spin with a beige merino that I first got with my wheel which was boring so I did really love spinning with color. The fiber was superwash merino dyed by......the same Indie Dyer that did the sock yarn.....it's coming to Pick Up Sticks. Self striping yarn on a 80 merino/10 cashmere/ 10 nylon. MMMMMMMgood!

Behind again...

I meant to blog on Thursday but of course, never quite managed it. We had a fabulous knit night on Wednesday - good company, good food and lots of fun! What more could you ask for? Our first week went very well and everyone seems to love the shop which is good because I really, really love this shop. It's not even because it's a great commute :) - it's because it's exactly what I wanted a yarn shop to be. When you move to a retail location you have to work with what is already there but when you take a garage and make it into what you want, then it's perfect. It's fresh and clean - it still has that "new car" smell. I'm just happy about the whole thing!

And.....I have some exciting news to share:

Laura Chau of Cosmicpluto Knits will be teaching a spinning workshop here on Sunday, December 6th and Sunday, December 13th. You do need to have a wheel but the fiber will be provided with the class cost. Cost for 4 hours of instruction will be $150. There will be a maximum number of students as well so if you are interested let me know. Class fee must be paid in advance. Isn't this exciting?

Questions Answered

I had a few questions in the comments so I thought I'd answer them here -

Knit Nights are Wednesday from 6pm - 9pm - November 4th we are serving pizza on Pick Up Sticks as well as coffee, tea, pop etc. just to celebrate our first Knit Night in the new shop!

We are opening tomorrow morning at 10am - a sandwich board will be at the end of our driveway and the shop is on the left when you reach the house (the long ranch bungalow). My dad lives here too and his house is right at the top of the driveway. My daughter also has an apartment in the barn - so it's a little family compound. Our house is the one on the left - just so you don't get confused on where to go.

I'm so excited about this shop - almost more excited than when I moved to Bradford - because it's exactly what I've always wanted. The yarns are all shelved according to weights - no more running from room to room to find something - the patterns and books are all together in one spot and I have a table for lessons. YAY!