they produce beautiful and generous gifts. Take a look at the wonderful hat that big sister ATALYA HA made for little brother NATHANIEL. What a beautiful job. And it was her first effort. We see a lot of fiber in her future!

Good thing this was Javier the UPS Guy’s day off. The sub struggled into the shop with massive boxes filled with CASCADE YARNS, NONI PATTERNS, and ROWAN/RYC BOOKS!

Lots more CASCADE 220, which is a good thing, since everyone seems to be scooping up the NONI BAG PATTERNS, which uses that wonderful yarn. We have reorders of the NONI patterns too.

And ROWAN came through with reorders of popular RYC PATTERN BOOKS including AM/PM (come and get it Gale!). But they have widened their distribution of regular books as well so we have in stock STITCH AND BITCH and 50 BABY BOOTEES as well as new books from KRISTEN NICHOLAS and MARTIN STOREY:

Those should keep you inspired for a while. And we will begin getting SPRING yarns in earnest beginning EARLY FEBRUARY!

Alas, we come to the end of our LACY SHAWL KNIT ALONG this Saturday from 2-4 PM. We’ve been making wonderful progress on this intense project and we have committed to taking it with us when we leave next Saturday for a week long vacation. But as we said, we expect to have this finished by July, and there is something reassuring about a long-term project!! To those intrepid and fearless KALers—THANK YOU !!!! We look forward to the day when we all model our beautiful shawls together. Join us on SATURDAY for the last session. And don’t forget to sign up for the next KAL—the SONNET SWEATER. Much quicker. Much easier.

And on Sunday, we knit selflessly for those who add so much to our lives while asking so little—our beloved pets. Join us from 2-4 as we knit a FELTED PET BED. It’s a quick project that is really fun! And we suspect that you could extend the bed upwards to create a basket if you are pet-less. Just give us a call to sign up. Both programs are free of charge. Come for the wine if nothing else!!!!

As for the aforementioned vacation, stay tuned. We will be gone from SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2-SUNDAY FEBRUARY 10 to celebrate mom’s 80th birthday!! Our amazing staff will keep things humming, but may not write as many blog entries, so we will be sure to fill you in on anything going on in our absence before we depart.

You didn’t believe us, did you? Well, every bag is gone. That’s right, eight bags sold in two days. We have plenty of needle and accessory cases left and we sent an emergency SOS email to the owner today, so more bags will be in within a few weeks. But next time, believe us when we tell you things won’t last long!!!!!

We are coming to the end of our January Lace Knitalong and are looking forward to our FEBRUARY program: THE SONNET SWEATER. This is one of our favorite projects and is perfect for any level of knitter Advanced Beginner and beyond. What makes this sweater so special? The pattern is designed for ANY YARN IN THE STORE and is knit in practically ONE PIECE—the only finishing required is to set in sleeves. And best of all, the boxy shape is flattering on just about anyone!! This is a great first sweater….or fortieth.

We will begin the SONNET on Saturday, Feb. 2 with everyone doing a gauge swatch and receiving assistance with the math of the pattern. You can find a copy of the pattern at www.knitty.com. (If you want to work ahead, just do a 4” garter stitch swatch and bring it to the first session). The lovely and talented MARIETTA will review the entire pattern and then everyone will happily knit away. Remember the pictures of the stern expressions of those tackling lace knitting on laceweight yarn? Yeah, not so much with the SONNET. Whether you pick a SPORT, DK, WORSTED, or CHUNKY yarn, you will have a blast with this sweater. We’ve seen it made up in yarns as different as ROWAN TAPESTRY, MANOS, and SIERRA among others. Come have fun with us in February. Just give us a call to let us know that you will be at the first session. And we respectfully ask that you work with materials purchased at the shop. As always, the program is free of charge, runs from 2-4 PM, and will feature wine and snacks!

And if you would like to make a version of this sweater for a child, you could do that. Go to www.knitty.com and print the HAIKU pattern, which is the baby version. We have made several of these and can attest to their total cuteness and ease.

Miriam’s husband Larry is always kind enough to forward pics to us. He is just so proud of her accomplishments, as are we. Aren’t her grandchildren JAKE and LILY gorgeous? And aren’t the sweaters fabulous? Miriam has mastered every act of color knitting that exists!!!

A few years ago, we came upon wonderful KNITTING BAGS, NEEDLE CASES and ACCESSORY BAGS from a charming company called HOUSE ON BUTTERMILK ROAD . We loved their hand-sewn designs, gorgeous fabrics, and practical construction. And just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. POOF! No more website, disconnected phone. But did we give up? Heck no!!! We’ve googled (but never contacted) every ex-boyfriend we’ve ever had!!! So we continued to try every possible combination and finally found them, now under the monniker BUTTERMILK COTTAGE DESIGNS. Whew!! We are so glad that we have access to these wonderful products again. Each bag and case is hand-sewn with beautiful fabric inside and out. These make perfect gifts if you are feeling generous, or the ultimate treat for yourself—come on, you are worth it. Since our staff is already sniffing about, we promise these won’t last long!

We know that we’ve been remiss in displaying photos lately, so we hope to make it up to you today. First
up, one of our happy customers who received 40% off at the start of our SHOW ME THE DISCOUNT PROMOTION:

Next, our kick-off SUNDAY IN THE SALON for 2008 where we learned to make a MITERED FELTED BAG. Though much less intense than the lace knitalong, we still brought out the wine for all to enjoy!

And DIANE shows off her 30% coupon after declaring “I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!”

MAX was kind enough to model the baby hat knit in the ABSOLUTE BEGINNER CLASS. Marietta’s wonder child will be one soon, and we predict a lucrative future modeling knitwear:

FINALLY, our friend SARAH was kind enough to forward photos of LOLA and NINA modeling their HAIKU sweaters we knit as Christmas gifts. If you haven’t made one of these yet (or the adult version SONNET), you are missing a truly fun experience!!!

We promise to stay current with photos from now on. But it’s nice to play catch up on a beautiful winter day!