Beads and Whales?

Hats seem to be what’s flowing off my needles lately. Cooler weather is coming and my grandson, Naaman, confided in me that the hat I knitted him last year has a hole in it. Well, I think grandma can take care of that although these two that I just completed won’t do for him at all.

This is a beaded hat using a Cabin Fever pattern and Frog Tree Meriboo. This yarn has become so popular, anyone who squeezes a ball is in love immediately. We have the kit available complete with beads (although you don’t have to bead it if you don’t want) on our kits page which is soon to be uploaded to the website.

Then there’s the Whale of a Tail hat which is too cute. Also a Cabin Fever pattern and this time I used Colour 4 You yarn which has great colorways in solids and plains. That little whale tail on the top is perfect for the tiny babies, maybe this will go over better than the blanket with our little Joshua. We will have the whale hat kit available on our kits page this week also.

Warm wools in just a beanie hat design are what the college kids want just to pull down over their ears. Who am I kidding, they want to pull it down over their hair on bad hair days! When winter comes, our family looks forward to discovering them tucked away to pull them on in Philly, towns in Delaware and here on the beaches when the cold hits.

This was, I am happy to report, a much better experience than the last time when we spent a lot of time clinging to a duck blind to catch our breath. The water was smooth, YEA, and there were fish jumping with dolpins hot behind, pelicans and terns, and conch shells galore. Dan said I was in danger of sinking my kayak with my shells. Will have to show some restraint and be a little picky. The tide had gone out by the time we paddled back in and had to wade through muckity muck to get to the sandy beach and then the funny sight of Dan stepping into a hole and down he went. Would anyone believe that he hadn’t flipped over the kayak? That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

“Egg-stra” Special Sock Kit

Benefitting Ovarian Cancer Research

The sock kits have arrived and we plan to have a Knit Along in the shop beginning in September on Tuesday mornings knitting through the socks. The kit includes one ball of specially dyed Trekking yarn, pattern, beads. You definitely will want to be a part of this. The KAL begins Septembem 21.

Reversible Moss Stitch Blanket

Finished grandbaby Joshua’s baby blanket and presented it to him this past weekend. He was a little unsure to definitely “get this away from me.” Grandma would be absolutely crushed if I hadn’t had to mend baby Caroline’s blanket because it is carried

every place she goes and I’m hoping that cashmere is truly a hearty fiber and lasts and lasts and lasts. You can find the pattern for this Moss Stitch Diamonds Baby Blanket on the internet as a free pattern. It is easy and the completed blanket is lovely if I do say so myself (not asking Joshua until he’s a little older.)

Reversible Cabled Scarf

The road trip did yield ample time to try out the new Cosmo yarn that we received last week. It became very interesting trying to knit on the PA turnpike. Boy! Is that ever a rough road. I decided to make a reversible cables scarf, and crossing the cables while crossing the potholes was a feat. But I worked a large enough sample to judge what the yarn is like. Besides making a scrumptious, soft, and all around lovely scarf, the yarn is great to work with, not splitty and moves over the needles very well. Definitely one to knit with.

This is a simple pattern with a 4 stitch reversible cable. We are teaching cabling and reversible cables at our KnitXperience Retreat in November.

Don’t forget that the Cosmo yarn is currently our Featured Product. Find out more here on the Blog under Featured Product post.

A Touch of Kashmir

We just received this lovely new yarn in the shop - a blend of merino superfine fiber + polyamid and the last ingredient is cashmere. A luscious blend in solid colors. I am anxious to try it in a scarf pattern and maybe socks. The gauge is right for socks, fingering wt with 7-8 sts/inch, and in solid colors. Oh goody. That cashmere is what’s inticing.

The Featured Product for the next 2 weeks (August 11, 2010-August 25, 2010) is this Cosmo yarn. This means that you will receive a 25% discount off the regular price when you place your order on line. Enter the coupon code Cosmo on your shopping cart, click on recalculate to receive the discount. We want lots of people to try it out and let us know what they think.