Much Cuteness...

Here is a finished mini sock blocker key chain with its own little sock from leftover. These have always been a hot seller for The Yarn Grove but I have never made a sock for one. So here it is. It is fun and fast. You can change it for the seasons. Finished it while watching Grey's Anatomy last night.... They make great gifts...

I get to see my son (orange boy) and his wife this weekend! Yay! 3:30pm tomorrow. Clemson vs. Ga Tech. I'll be the one in orange...

Have a happy fiber filled weekend ya'll.

A little of this - a lot of that...

So this is me. I am overwhelmed with knitting things to do for the Marketplace show but instead I am sewing! That's what I do. Of course the whole time I am sewing I think about all the things I need to be getting together for the show which is just a month away.

But I did finish the Basic Knitted Ascot by Hand Jive Knits that was super fun to knit up and easy too. I chose Nature's Palette Spring Grass for my color and loved every bit of it. Used almost the entire skein - maybe about 10 yards left.

What's on the needles? Still plugging along on my Chevron scarf which is gorgeous in the Woolly Boully Red robin: Bird, Nest & Eggs, which is still fun knitting. I have finally memorized the pattern, (I know 4 rows, don't laugh) and I can even work on it while talking. That is a major accomplishment and all my friends at Noble Knitters know exactly what I am talking about.

The Pinwheel quilt is out of a magazine from 2005 and I had originally taken the class at my LQS. The first one I did for my daughter in Kaffe Fassett fabrics and it is still my favorite. This is a quick quilt and the squares are 16" squares. This bright one is for my mom for Christmas and I did it entirely out of fat quarters that I had in my stash. She loves bright - so bright she will get. I will send it to my favorite 'long armer' to quilt it for me once I choose the back fabric. It's finished. My mom has an idea but she'll still be surprised and love it.

Tomorrow I should be going down my list of *to do's* for the show but guess what I'll be doing. I am taking a Christmas Tree Bargello quilt class at my local LQS. I love procrastination... how about you?

Estate Sale Fun!!!!!

I hit up an estate sale this morning. Had to drive about 30 minutes to get there, but it was worth the trip! I got 2 cute cute bags (already listed on Fashiondig), a cool pink and silver swirly maxi dress with matching cropped jacket, sweet floral dress with peter pan collar, and an awesome vintage kimono. Not pictured: McCalls Knitting magazine circa 1972. It's been a successful Saturday!

Predator Friendly ...

I thought I would show off 2 more pair of sock that my friend, Paula of Olathe KS (no she hasn't moved) knit for The Yarn Grove for our Marketplace event in November. I send her yarn - she knits them. She mails them back. I can't knit that fast and she loves knitting socks.... On the left is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Buck's Bar and on the right is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Envy. The Envy is done in the Lobster Pot pattern from Gardiner Yarn Works.

Thirteen Mile yarn is up on our website. Gorgeous. We currently have in stock the bulky and the worsted weight. You can also dye the 'white' ones yourself. Their yarns are from organic fibers. With so little processing, it feels like the sheep itself. I was drawn to Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool Co. by several factors but the main one being their natural product and also their certification as a Predator Friendly Farm. Now what does that mean exactly? Visit the official website Predator Conservation . They do not kill native predators such as coyotes, mountain lions, bears, foxes and wolves, recognizing their role in this landscape, instead they use guard animals and nonlethal managmentment tools to minimize confrontations with carnivores .
It is very interesting. Let alone and let live, I say... Thirteen Mile now has 2 "flock guards" (my words) that are huge dogs. If you get a chance, read their farm news. These 2 dogs have been on the farm a few short months and to their knowledge, they have not lost one woolie critter. Amazing.

Now some may not give a hoot where or how their yarn gets to them, (nothing at all wrong with that), but for me personally, that's what it's all about. Which is why you have always seen *profiles* of our indie dyers and hand spinners, some from how they got started, what inspires them about their dyeing and spinning and as for Miss Hawklet and a few others, how they get the wool and where it comes from. So I am very proud to add Thirteen Mile Yarns to our line up. Try some. You will love it. It's like having the ewe in your living room with ewe (too early for much more humor!)

On a side note - have any of ya'll ever bought or bid on Ebay? Some auctions are Buy It Now. Well, every once in a while I get a wild hair and get on there and surf. Mostly I am surfing for vintage textiles, vintage college stuff (for orange boy). So this morning I get all caught up in this one really strange item. It ends in 8 hours. I'll let you know whether I win it or not. When I put in my first bid, I was already outbid and that really makes my hair stand on edge. So I put in a higher bid until I am the winning bidder (at that moment). Oh I want it but at the same time, I hope like hell someone outbids me Quick! Has this ever happened to you on Ebay? Maybe it's Buyer's Remorse? Help! (Update... lost the item but got caught in a bidding frenzy. *but* there is an identical item so I chose to bid on that one.)

World's Largest sock? We'll see...

Twice now, I have knit on the sock that will be submitted to the Guinness World Book of Records as being the largest. The sock came to us at Noble Knitters (Our wed. night knit group at Barnes & Noble) via Rochester NY via Debra of AKG (Atlanta Knitting Guild). I don't know a whole lot more about it other than that. It is enormous and we have had it twice at Noble Knitters. There are enough needles in it for about 12 people or so to knit on it at once. It traveled around the Atlanta area and lots of other groups got a chance to knit it too. From here it went to Rochester NY again. Kind of like the old fashioned quilting bee ...

I am so excited about the new yarn we are now carrying. It is almost ready to go in the shop and it is from Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool Company in Montana. We will currently be carrying their worsted weight and bulky weight in their natural colors. It is processed right there on their Predator Friendly farm, (more on that later). Beautiful. Oh and it is from organic wool. You will *love* the elasticity of this well-processed, minimally-altered natural fiber. I promise.

And just in - New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi, Book One. It has been very popular and going fast...

Fetching Fits Fabulously ...

My Fetching gloves - finished. I am pleased with them. These are for a sample for the Nov. Marketplace I am going to participate in. I knit them in Lorna's Laces Worsted - Khaki and they fit like a glove (hehehe). Fun, easy pattern.

Today, I decided I needed a morning off so I took myself to the East Cobb Quilters' Guild 11th Biennial Quilt show at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta GA (can be heard being pronounced May-retta). It was a lot of fun and I saw some amazing quilts. Did a little shopping - most I cannot show ... yet. But I will. (I did mail your orders on the way though and you have all been notified as usual).

There was a vendor there who dealt in all vintage textiles mainly. She did have this huge blob of knitting needles - all short ones - 30 sets for $10.00 so I bought them. I also picked up a vintage pillowcase for $4.00 (see the lime and pink poodles) and I collect calendar towels. She had a bunch of those and I bought 5 for $1.00 each - beginning with the year 1969.

Next up was the Thread Guy. Aurafil is 100% egyptian cotton thread and that is all I use in my sewing machine. I bought 2 (they are a little pricey, but worth it - just like good yarn!). The one I use is 50/2 which is the finest but is still very strong. When I bought my machine I learned that some cheap threads can give off so much lint they can actually damage your machine if you don't keep it clean. I do clean mine each time I sew - sounds like a lot but all I have to clean on mine is the bobbin area. It oils itself. How? I have not a clue. Nor do I care.

It is still hot in the south where I am but the nights are getting cooler. Makes me want to knit some hats. And socks... And shawls... How about you?

More yarns expected soon... Stay tuned and have a wonderful weekend...

Do you want Mustard on that?

On those socks, I mean. Here is a fabulous pair of finished socks knit from Louet Gems Fingering Weight in the Mustard colorway. The pattern used is from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Socks and is the stem stitch pattern. These bad boys were knit by my friend, Paula, of Olathe KS for the super huge show The Yarn Grove is participating in which is rapidly approaching - Nov. 1-3 . Of course I need samples so ... Paula volunteered to help me make samples. I got a huge box of socks a couple of weeks ago and they are gorgeous. Paula has been a master knitter for years but just really started enjoying socks about a year ago ... Thanks Paula! I'll be showing more of her gorgeous socks soon.

I also want to let you know what else just arrived here at The Yarn Grove. Swallow Pearl Needles. These needles are so cool. We currently have in stock sizes 2 - 9 of 9" straights and we have test knitters that are going to check out the dpns so we may be getting those too. Have you ever tried their DPNs? If so, please send me an email at jane@theyarngrove.com or leave a comment with your opinion. We listen to you!

These sticks are made from CASEIN which is a milk protein. Smooth on your knitting, on your hands and known for their flexibility but provide firm comfortable knitting. They are inexpensive and come in fun colors. Knitters Review had a write up about them not long ago but Debby has been wanting these in the shop for the longest time. She loves them!

Felting IS Fun!!!

First of all, Fall is my favorite season. Nothing stirs me up like the pumpkin isle at Michael's. I made this super cute wool pumpkin from the Louet Needle Felting Kit- and it was a blast!! You really don't have to think at all- you just punch colored wool wherever you choose with a sharp little needle. I enjoyed working on this pumpkin at night while I was winding down for bed.

The kit comes with 5 oz of white roving wool (for the body of the pumpkin), 2 bags of assorted colored wool, 2 needles, and a sample of wool wash. There's plenty of wool left over for more projects. I think I'm going to make a little mouse for Mona next!

Organic treats - for my feets!

As promised, here is the latest photo of my O~Wool 2-ply organic sock. I am knitting this in the Robin's Egg colorway which is divine. So is the yarn - I have restarted this sock 3 times and it is *still* twisted tightly and behaving nicely. Now you will have to excuse me for a while on the socks because I am in ramp-up mode for our Marketplace in November. Seems as though, all of a sudden, it is just around the corner. You know, like the holidays I have mentioned previously.

So I will begin a pair of Fetching from Knitty.com out of Lorna's Laces Worsted Weight khaki. These are fingerless gloves and I know this yarn will look lovely in the cables that are in this pattern.

Now I will only be able to put aside my sock(s) for a short while because ... we have Pagewood Farms shipping to us next week! And I ordered gobs of colors and yarn. I'm not even sure Debby knows exactly all the yarn I did order from Pagewood. She was in line getting books. She will love it too. The yarn I ordered is the supertight tight twist sock yarn and I cannot wait for you to see it.

We have lots more yarns coming in. When their arrival dates get closer, I'll give you a heads up.

Here's to a great weekend with lots of knittin' and run rummers - or is that rum runners?

Apparently I have Keys Disease

My daughter informed me on my last day visiting her that I have Keys Disease. No one is in a hurry. No sense of urgency. Wow, what a place. Now I know why my baby girl loves it so much... It takes about 6 minutes or less to get to the Key West Airport from her house. I will say that if you go down there to shop - there is no shopping. You have to take the Fast Cat (boat runner) to Miami for a little shopping.

I even got to see a bald eagle - just flying above us as we drove around one day. That was incredibly exciting to me, an avid bird watcher. My first day there Stephanie and I are walking down the sidewalk to her house and she says, Mom, stop walking like that. You'll step on one. Huh? All of a sudden here are all these little geckos and lizards scrambling *all* over the place. So I now had to be taught how to walk from her so that I avoided all accidents. I had to shuffle ... She has ducks, birds, 4-5 foot lizards, and of course roosters all around her place and feeds them all. She also has quite the collection of golf balls going on since her place backs up to the course. Let's chat about the roosters. They are *everywhere*. Roosters are protected down there - and you just share your life with these feathered friends.

Key West is known for its sunsets and for being a really cool pirate town. Lots of history - lots of old old buildings - all still in use. We went to the Pier one night to watch the sunset, which by the way, a lot of people bet on, but this particular night they were having a coconut race. Yep, a coconut race. The 'host' of the coconut race came up to us, well I think he was eye-balling my daughter, and asked if we would like to be included. It was free and you could win $50.00. We picked the healthiest looking coconut #43 and named our 'team'. Jane Doe's Extreme Nut Team. How exciting. We bellied up to the rail to watch... and they're off! Ummmm, excuse me, mister - how come they are not moving. It was pretty funny because the water was very still that night and they did not move much. Lots of seaweed too from a storm off shore.

So our nuts needed help. Someone fired up a cigarette boat and caused some wakes. We cheered loudly for our old nut which was feeling kinda lazy that night. Or maybe Mr. #43 Nut had too many rum runners (oh wait a minute, that might have been me) but it came in almost last ... Mr. Roving Eyes came by again and asked if we wanted to play again and we did. Do you want to change coconuts or team names? Oh no, we had faith in #43 - and Mr. Nut proved us right. He came in 3rd. I think he has keys disease too...

One day we ended up at Hog's Breath which was fun too. As they say, Hog's Breath is better than no breath. We were at the raw bar and I realized they had live cams. Oh boy, this is gonna be fun. I got up and went to call my hubby, gave him the web address and lo and behold there we were - in his plain sight. He could watch our every move with a 30 second delay. it was pretty funny... Maybe another rum runner found its way to me accidentally?

My visit ended too soon and I now I had Bye-Eyes Disease. I walked right through the security Person sitting against the wall because of my new 'disease' but they were kind to me through all my sniffles. He just said, 'excuse me' security - back up. I looked at that poor guy and said "I just said goodbye to my baby girlies" as I fanned my eyes with my hands. I surrendered my knittin' bag, purse and suitcase. For some reason they felt I needed the once over. I got the wand everywhere. In the purse, in the knittin' bag and suitcase. A little knittin' was done - Chevron scarf and new pair of organic socks. Pics for those later...

Debby and my hubby held down the order fort and did a bang up job getting all your orders out. Even though I suffer from this new found Keys thing, I have caught up as of this morning on all your orders from Sunday on... I wonder how long it will take for the ATL traffic to suck this disease from me... I hope it is a while...