The Girls!

Here's little Frankie on my arm about to test her little wings. Although we don't think the girls are related they are very attached to one another. This is Betty when we separated her from Frankie:
She was not happy. And it reminded me of when my sister and I were separated. I was just like Betty when my sis left for college! And lastly, here is Betty as DH's third eye:
I wish I could knit a sweater out of their wing feathers since they are so beautiful and silky. And a beret out of the down on their little heads and necks. Aside from fantasizing about defeathering them, I promised that I would have an omelet party from the first eggs laid whereupon my 88-year-old mother-in-law said, "Honey, I'll be long dead before those chickens lay a single egg"! I guess we can't expect any eggs for at least 6 months. (Gratefully, my MIL is in good health so I'm counting on her to be at that brunch!).

The Summer of the Chickies!

Ever since I saw the chickens at the Del Mar Fair in June, I have been hankering for one myself. But it's not possible for me since my urban neighborhood forbids chickens as does my dog Scout. Oh yeah, and my husband forbids it too! But my friend Celeste, who took me to the Fair in the first place, lives on the "Ranch" where there is room for chickens!!! Well, when she told me she was going to get some, I went wild and insisted (didn't even ask) that I get a chick too and we could raise ours together at her house (such a deal!). While this was still in the planning stages in July, I made Celeste a fabric egg basket in preparation for the big day. That big day happened yesterday!!! Frankie (my chickie) is the red head and Celeste's is Betty (the brunette). They are Americanas. Okay, I said - Americana's it shall be...good ol' red blooded Americana's! And Celeste reminded me that what I really loved were the Polish chickens with those big poofy feather hats. Hmm. Well, I'd rather go American, I said (don't know why) although Polish chickens are probably born here. And Celeste with her hysterical sense of humor (that slays me!) said Yes, they would be anchor chickens! I get to hold Frankie tonight for the first time. Can't wait!

Ribbons and Rick Rack!

We are receiving wonderful things purchased at the July gift show in L.A. You may honestly call us suckers for ribbons and trims as judipatuti and I add to our growing collection. We have thick rick rack that is so dang cute, labyrinth ribbon, wider silk ribbons and a whole bunch of sheer ribbons in gorgeous colors.

I made the bowl in the lower photo with fabric strips judipatuti sells in rolls called "Honeybuns" and trimmed it with orange rick rack by folding the rick rack in half along the rim and machine sewing it.

P.S. the cards in the bowl are our new postcards advertising us as the only boutique in San Diego carrying both yarns and fabrics.

Vacation Scarf

A customer of mine who is a new knitter came to the Grove following her visit to New York. She was so excited about a scarf she saw and she had memorized the instructions! I couldn't quite picture how the pattern would work so I blindly knit several inches and saw that it was turning into a potato chip scarf (can't just make one). The difference between this one and others that I have seen, is that this scarf is knit from bottom to top instead of lengthwise. So instead of casting on a gazillion stitches and ending up with a bazillion stitches when you finish increasing for the ruffles, you only cast on 23! The ruffles for the Vacation Scarf are not made with increases, but short rows...therein lies the difference! This one took two skeins of Louisa Harding's Mulberry which is a 100% silk, fully saturated with color, luxury yarn. It is for year-round wear. We're offering a class in this on August 22from noon to 2:00 p.m. The pattern will be provided with the class.

Crazy About Coasters

I don't know what it is about making these that thrills me, but it does! judipatuti brought in these wonderful Moda fabrics, all color coordinated, precut to 1 3/4", and rolled into a beautiful wheel. I yelped when I saw them because they are perfect for making the objects in Susan Breier's book, It's A Wrap II. In it, Susan Breier teaches how to wrap strips of fabric around cotton clothesline, coil it, and then sew it with a zig zag stitch. Now, I'm no great sewer. I don't like working with machines as much as I like working with my bare hands. But, I have thoroughly enjoyed sewing these. There's no pattern, no cutting, no fitting. Just working with gorgeous fabrics and it is so satisfying to finish a project in under an hour (versus knitting which, well, you know...takes time). And I have finally come to know by Baby Lock Crafster machine that I bought last year (or was it two years ago?). It's a damn fine machine! And the thing about the coasters is that they truly work! They are super absorbent, they don't stick to the bottom of the glass and fall off when you take a sip (scaring the bejesus out of you). They're great! I'm thinking of offering these for sale at the Walkabout on July 17th. See if others are as crazy about them as I am. What do you think?

Not for Nothin'

This it the last photo I will share from my day at the Del Mar Fair, I swear! I love this picture. See how she's talking to us? I bet she's saying:

I didn't go through this for nothing. Knit something!

White Caps

This super-wide, super-cute headband is perfect for hiding "beach" hair and looking fresh as a daisy even though you may have sand in your bathing suit bottom. Calormetry is designed with wool in mind. Since bad hair days are not limited to winter months, I tweaked the pattern a bit by knitting it in Frog Tree's Pima Cotton which is remarkably stretchy for a plant fiber. I crocheted the Ranunculus from a pattern in Crochet Adorned and my friend Marcia added the final touches by embroidering the vines out of Double Sea Silk. Since this pattern is a good introduction to short rows, we're teaching a class in it on Sunday June 11th from 2-5.

Now if you want to see some really crazy white caps, take a look at this video which I took at the Del Mar Fair. These chickens are called White Crested Black Polish.