Good Morning Everyone!!
Despite it looking and feeling like April, the holiday season is upon us! I do wish that the little blanket of snow had not been decimated by rain and 53 degree weather, but my house is actually decorated and it feels quite festive. I did get some help from my favorite elf, Addie, she planted the seed at Thanksgiving that "Yes, Mom, Christmas is coming, when are we getting our tree and decorating?" I did take advantage of the warmer temperatures to get my lights strung outside, the wreaths hung and my snowflakes dangling. It really is a much more enjoyable task when you have Heat Miser on your side versus Jack Frost, the fingers cooperate better. It does feel a bit better not being under the gun trying to get everything finished in the 11th hour, that was always my mother's MO. I can't decide if she'd proud that I was organized or disappointed lol, she certainly operated best under pressure, she was the queen of multi-tasking, especially at 3 a.m. Christmas morning.
I received a big box of fluffy Pom Poms yesterday from Creative Little Things, they are so pretty! Loads of different colors to completely finish off your hat, once again, they are all beautifully handmade in Elizabeth, Colorado. I also have more bottles of Soak Wash, which I am really excited to have back in stock, I love this no-rinse, eco-friendly, soap, best of all, the fragrances smell really nice but not over-powering. I also took the liberty of placing another order of Malabrigo yarn, they just released the Rios Solidos and I thought maybe you'd enjoy knitting with it. I also was considering the fact that we will be starting our next KAL, January 22. There has been a lot of interest in Jenn Steingass' latest pattern release, Avena. I had suggested last week that we could pick any Jenn Steingass design for the next KAL. I ordered more Malabrigo sock yarn, I have beautiful mini skeins of Manos del Uruguay for colorwork, along with Milo,a lovely DK weight that is a blend of linen and wool. So lots of options in different weights to keep those needles clicking.
I've been working on Addie's Christmas sweater, another Sipila by Caitlin Hunter. I think it's safe to say that I'm finally on my way. I've had to rip it out a couple of times, my brilliant idea of substituting an invisble left leaning increase for a M1L did not go as I had planned. I also wasn't seeing where the placement of that increase was correctly which wasn't helping my cause at all. After a couple of hurdles and a bit of patience testing, I'm cruising along through the colorwork, it's so pretty!! I do need to knit a few rows on my Emsworth so that I don't completely disconnect from it again. I'm trying not to look ahead too much at the queue of sweaters that lies before me, makes my heart palpitate a bit. Especially when I think about the 3 sweaters worth of yarn Berroco has sent me to knit my shop samples, one Fleurine and 2 Aagates. Get your violin out, here's the rest of my list, Il Favorito Grande in Remix Chunky and Aerial, my La Bien Aimee Foxthoughts, Beaufort 5 in Vivian Acres, Fern and Feather in Mt Ascutney Yarns, the next KAL sweater, that's 11 sweaters!!! Anyone feeling sorry for me? I didn't think so...I simply don't understand how anyone admits to being bored, it's not a situation I've ever been familiar with. No wonder I can only be open 3 days a week, I have so much knitting, I mean work to do!!
We will be meeting tomorrow evening for Stitch and Bitch from 6-7:30, I hope you can join in the fun. The KAL gals will be gathering this Saturday, December 18th from 9-11:00, wear your Marsali if it's finished, NO PRESSURE!!! Make it a great day and I hope to see you soon!
Katy