It's The SUN!!!

Good Morning Everyone!

What a welcome change, THE SUN!! I don't care if Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, January is over, what a month! Bernie and I did an extra mile this morning just so I could watch that glorious ball of warmth pop up over French Hill. Yesterday it was the moon that had me up and out, it was spectacular, I didn't need my headlamp. I would say that February is off to a wonderful start, temperatures are above zero and we're inching towards longer days. Isn't it fantastic it's no longer dark at 4:30?

A big THANK-YOU to everyone who has stopped by to pick up their red yarn. I do still have some available, so if you're looking, I can help. The amount of support from the fiber community has been overwhelming, giving me a sense hope. I say this because it continues to bring people together, the words "united we stand" have never rung truer. I am proud to be a part of this movement, and with you, the numbers continue to grow, our voices don't need to be raised, we are not inciting violence, we can just put on our red hats. I have checked with many of my distributors, it is absolutely amazing to think that we have completely depleted the inventory of RED YARN. Think about that...the video I posted showcasing my hat has been viewed over 5800 times, people are not only listening, they are banding together. I've always believed, SAFETY IN NUMBERS!!

I recently posted the pictures of February's Hat of the Month Club! Did you see it? The knitted version is Caitlin Hunter's Cold Hearts, https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cold-hearts-hat and the crochet version is Melissa Hassler's Heart Hat https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heart-hat-30 If you'd like to participate, stop on by I have lots of beautiful options for you, please don't pick red lol... I've seen lots of progress from many of you on the current KAL. I'm finally enjoying knitting the Barley Field slipover, I wasn't too crazy about the tediousness of the stitches. I seem to have found my rhythm and absolutely LOVE the texture it is creating. I guess there's much to be said for building new brain muscle memory. It is second nature now and nowhere near as frustrating as that first pattern repeat. There's much truth to "wrapping my brain around it" I have successfully incorporated the pattern, no more reading, my brain has memorized it, it's become intuitive, that is simply amazing and I learned something new.

Speaking of learning something new, I did my first sewn bind off on my Harvest Flower sweater. I've always thought that trying to work with a length of yarn that is three times as long as the garment would be awful. Guess what? It's not that bad at all. I could have easily opted for my usual bind off, but something was in the water that day, I decided to give it a try. Truth be told, the yarn was pretty forgiving, 100% wool, worsted weight. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was and the result was better than expected. I may have just found my new bind off technique, old dog, new trick...

A word of caution...ugh I am so upset!!! My friend Karen completed the beautiful Square by Square scarf that was this year's Advent Calendar. When she blocked it, the stain from those adorable little buttons betrayed her, they ran!! I am so upset and honestly befuddled, I've never had buttons "run" please do not use them. I am hopeful that she has been able to treat the stains, she's bringing it to Stitch and Bitch tomorrow night...

We will be gathering tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6-7:30, for Stitch and Bitch I hope you can join in the fun, the door will be unlocked at 5:45. Make it a great day and I hope to see you soon!

Katy