Piper in a Pot, Pipin' Hot!

This is precious Piper, Jan's beloved grand baby girl. She's what's for dinner in her crock pot crib! Who doesn't want to just eat that little cutie up? Anyone who hears the name "Piper" exclaims...that is the coolest name!!! Jan has knit this darling collection of caps and embellished them (which really puts them over the top).



All three are knit from Blue Sky Alpaca's "Simple Baby Hat" pattern. The light green one was knit in Blue Sky's Skinny Dyed organic cotton, color "Sprout". Jan modified the pattern a bit by ending with an I-chord "umbilical chord" top and then tying a leaf ribbon around it.

The red one is also knit with Skinny Dyed in the color "Cherry" with a hand-made polymer clay heart button by Zecca.


And the hunter green one is knit with a 100% alpaca and finished with a sheer ribbon bow on top.



By knitting for Piper, Jan has become a fine knitter. I don't think she even blocked these hats, but look at her tension. It's perfect. I am encouraging her to take on a sweater next. It will be the beginning of Piper-Wear, a collection of children's hand knits!

Blue Sky Has Whipped Up a Beauty

I have often been accused of being dramatic and prone to exaggeration. (I can hear my friends saying...NO! YOU? and Gail I'm thinking of you in particular.) It's hard being the woman who cries beauty too much because when I find something extraordinary I may not be taken seriously. Well, I am going to deliver my message about Blue Sky's new yarn, Techno, as unemotionally as I can. The construction of the yarn is unique. Baby alpaca (which is a grade of alpaca...not really from babies) and fine merino are blown into a silk mesh tube (which is invisible to the naked eye). The result is a yarn as soft as fine cashmere without any twist. The label reads "Fast knitting, no splitting". It comes in several neon colors like Marquee Yellow above and several neutrals. It is going to be introduced at the June TNNA so it is not available to purchase yet but I was able to get a preview hank. It knits up on a 10.5 needle at 3 sts. per inch. You can also go down a few needles sizes bringing it to 5 sts. per inch without getting a dense fabric. Okay, I can't help this: I nearly cried when I held it because I have never felt anything so pleasing. I'll let you know when the first shipment arrives so you can see for yourself that I am not exaggerating!

Floppy Flounder KAL Comin' Up

Here's Floppy Flounder looking for a school where he fits in! Apparently, he missed the roll call when the others where being selected to hand-applique on this darling pillow (one of three for sale in the shop...fish for Father's Day anyone?). The KAL is Thursday evening, May 12, from 6:30 - 8:30 and we'll be making this guy some friends of his own. Our plan is to use him and his friends in our June window display. So, if you can part with yours for a month or so, we'd love to show it off. I'll be at the shop today and tomorrow so call if you have any questions. This little guy is knit on double pointed needles so experience with dpns is required. So just print the pattern, grab your needles, and join us for the fun!

Coastin' Along

My coaster/basket making came to a screeching halt in December when my Baby Lock locked up. A trip to Central Sewing in El Cajon (far, far away) and months later...voila, I'm back in business. Since there's something fishy going on at the Grove this month (check out our class schedule), I decided to get a little more creative with my coasters. This little guy came to life under my hands on Sunday. And I think he's pretty darn cute! I'll be making schools of them as I rediscover all the beautiful judipatuti fabric I've squirreled away.

Spinning Yarn with a Drop Spindle

Chuck Page of Pagewood Farm fame, taught us how to use a drop spindle yesterday. He brought us hand-dyed Blue Face Leicester (BFL) roving. It looked like colorful cotton candy and honestly it was hard for me not to eat some of it. It is so gorgeous, you just want to Injest it! We were so engrossed in our spinning that 3 hours into the class, Chuck packed up as planned, and I don't think one of us raised a head to even thank him. Spinning is absolutely mesmerizing. I finished my first 2 oz. bundle last night and started on the second. Now I don't know if I did a good job or bad but I can't wait to dive back into it today!