Frankie All Growed Up!!!

Yes, that beautiful red head is my little Frankie all growed up. I am embarrassed to say that when she was going through her awkward teenage stage, I wanted to trade chickens. Horrible of me I know. David said that she was just the ugly duckling that would turn into a beautiful swan (okay, if that were literally true that would have been Crazy!). And he was right. This photo was taken right before we had Thanksgiving dinner and I know she very glad that she wasn't born a turkey.

On the right side of the picture, you will see the black & white Lacey. She's a mature chicken and she's been laying for quite awhile now. And she is such a piggy!!! Very aggressive around food. She actually flies to get to Celeste first when she enters the coop to give the chickies treats. She stripped that Swiss Chard stem in my hand immediately and I was not pointing at Frankie. I was trying to give her a piece of it but as you can see, I was a little late on the draw.

Frankie is going to be laying her own eggs in January or February. As it turns out, she is a Rhode Island Red and they lay light brown eggs. It will be great fun to be part of Frankie's coming-of-age!!!

A Bit Bossy, No?

Dee started this absolutely gorgeous Bitteroot Shawl in January. It's knit out of Heather by Schaefer Yarns and it has matching beads incorporated into the lacework. Enough said?!I saw her recently and she mentioned that she hadn't finished it yet. She left mid-cast off because it was taking forever. I begged her to come into the Grove the next day and sit in a comfy chair and finish it so she could wear it for the holidays. Well, I insisted, actually. Hence the title of this blog entry. Dee, who is so good natured, complied! And within a couple of hours she walked out with the shawl all but ready to wear. All she has to do is block it and accept the inevitable awe that is bound to follow. She did a magnificent job.

If you have a half-finished project that you purchased at the Grove, I would love to coach you to the finish line also! Just drop by!

Knitting an Heirloom

One of the best parts of owning the Grove is getting to know our customers and sharing in their family events and joys. Holly is understandably ecstatic over the birth of her first grand baby...Abby. Unfortunately, Abby lives up north so Holly doesn't get to see her as often as she would like. So in between frequent trips, she settles for knitting for Abby and receiving wonderful text messages and nearly daily photos.

When Holly learned her daughter, Anne, was having a girl, she wanted to do something "very girlie" for her and she decided upon this eyelet-edged baby blanket. She used "Icing", Blue Sky Alpaca's worsted cotton, which is a slightly variegated deliciously pale pink yarn. It could not be more feminine. To personalize it, I embroidered "For Abby, Love Grammy" on muslin and I think it definitely placed the binkie in the heirloom category. Well, if you're going to knit for your beebee, you might as well knit an heirloom, right?!

Reversible Lace Class

Wednesday night, Lisa Limber taught Andrea Reversible Lace Scarf at the Grove and it was a good night! Lisa brought a bunch of new hand-dyed Schaefer yarns for the class to chose from (see all of them on the table?) and everyone completed at least one pattern repeat before the end of the evening. I only wish I had the presence of mind to photograph the beginning of every one's scarves! Next time...!

Keffiyeh Wrap

This intriguing wrap is featured in Modern Top-Down Knitting by Kristina McGown. There is a lot of knitting in this wrap and I debated whether I had the time to devote to such a project. But when I received Joseph Galler's Prime Alpaca recently, I gave in to the temptation and began knitting. The wrap starts with a provisional cast on and the wavy Knot Ridge I pattern you see below. I love the texture and the color play. It's like frosting on a cake! The pattern is simple, however, it is a challenge to knit 3 sts through the back loop (which is how you get the knotted ridge). It is so easy to miss one of the three loops and not so easy to detect the error until you're several rows up. With 153 sts in one row, that's a fair amount of ripping. So this piece cannot be rushed. The good news is that you have 4 rows of stockinette in between the 2 pattern rows. Rest rows are always a welcome sight.

Ah, A Woman's Play Is Never Done!

First, I want to thank all of you who came by yesterday to help celebrate our 7th anniversary! We had a wonderful time and your visit and well wishes made our day! Thank You!!!

For those of you who couldn't make it, Carol Brown served tea sandwiches, fresh scones, lemon cake and more. We walked the room with trays. Whenever a customer declined the treat in front of them, I asked them: "May I have it then?" and I had quite a little stack for myself! Who knew that cucumber, watercress, and cream cheese on white bread could be so good!!! You have got to try it!!! [It took me back to my old Boston days. When I was taking care of Rosie (my British friend) post surgery, I told her I would get her whatever comfort food she wanted. She said, "I should like a cucumber and watercress sandwich". And I replied, "Where in the hell am I supposed to get watercress?!# You are in New England and it is the dead of winter! Next choice please!"] Hah! But I digress.

Today, on our day off, judipatuti and I did a fresh window display featuring Thanksgiving colors of copper, brown, and lime green. Okay, lime green doesn't fit the traditional T-day palette but we do live in Southern California after all!



It is impossible for to get a decent photo of our window display because of the glare. So you'll just have to come by and see it for yourself!

Viv as Cleopatra on Halloween

Someone shoot me. I'm about to be braggin' on my grandbaby, the aspiring knitter!!! But c'mon. She is 7 years-old. I know that's just plain ol' wrong, but it's true! Her poise comes from her mom, Estes, who has taken her to dance studio since she was a wee one. (Est grew up on ballet and now teaches little chickies to dance. Viv assists her in the studio.)

Viv was a tough baby because she didn't like not being able to walk (i.e., she cried a lot out of frustration). She was one of those babies that didn't even crawl...she just raised herself up on anything she could and started walking. Then she was happy (whew!). Movement is and always has been very important to her.

When I see Viv in this photo, I see the benefits of dance in her stature. She is centered and calm in front of the camera. She is at ease as a performer. So I'm predicting she will be a dancer, doctor, and knitter when she grows up!