Friday Night Knitting

We have a group of ladies that meets one Friday a month for pizza and knitting. It is a total blast! We order in some pizza from Bison Creek (great pizza) and sit around knitting after the store is closed. There are several restaurants around the store so the street is busy with people passing by. Many times we look up from our knitting to find someone peeking through the window to see what we are doing. Last night four of us started working on Mystery Stole 3. We were so involved with our lace knitting that there wasn't much conversation. We had fun though.

Mystery Stole 3 is a Yahoo group where you get a "clue" or piece of the pattern each week. We have no idea what this will look like when we get done but so far it is very pretty. Judging from the previous Mystery Stoles I have no doubt this will be gorgeous when we get done. I can hardly wait.

I finished the left front of my sweater. After I finish the first clue of the stole I will probably start on the right front. I hope to finish my socks soon too since I need to knit a pair for my sister for her birthday. She has yet to give me the measurements for her foot so I am not feeling too bad that they are late. I have the yarn - Ann - if you are reading this - I need the measurements to get going. (Love Ya Squirt)

One Proud Mama!!!!

I am one proud Mama! I just need to brag for a second. My son just received the National Presidential Academic Award! He has worked so hard in school and then received this very high honor - I am still beaming with pride. As his name was called, I started welling up with tears. I am always very proud of my children but I must admit I puffed up a bit more over this one.

OK - on another note - there is a small group of us knitting a sweater out of the latest Creative Knitting magazine. I have finished the back and am almost done with the left front. The yarn I am using is Alpaca by Heirloom. I choose the heather green - oh my gosh is it ever soft. As if one KAL wasn't enough - there is another group at the shop that has decided to attempt Mystery Stole 3. The first clue should be posted soon. We are all waiting - impatiently I might add. We must look pretty silly - needles and yarn in the ready - crowding over the laptop waiting for the first clue. Never enough knitting projects - I only need 48 hours in a day or an extra set of arms to go with the eyes in the back of my head.

We are finally on the right track with the bag lining - we decided to take the new piece of fabric and quilt it. All I need to do now it hand sew it to the facing.

I Found It!!!

OK - I have finally found it - the lining fabric for Mrs. Weasley's Bag. I started this bag a hair over two weeks ago. I have thought long and hard about what I wanted to line it with. Mom and I spent most of the day plowing through her tremendous fabric stash. After we failed to find anything that sparked us - we trekked down to the quilt shop to find something. As we wandered through the shop, holding the bag up to several fabrics we finally found it - the ONE! We had actually selected another one and were heading up to the counter when we found it. This picture is a bit darker than I would like - the fabric is actually a bright green (like a granny smith apple).


After locating the fabric we went back to Mom's house to line the bag. Several hours and many "design" flaws we created a "template" for the lining. That is basically the nice way of saying we butchered the project so bad that we are starting all over. Mom had to make another trip down to get more fabric. Rest assured we have done it wrong enough that this new piece of fabric will be assembled perfectly!! Sadly enough Mom and I are both long time sewers and quilters - just goes to show that we all have an "off"day now and then.


We laughed at our troubles today and decided to try again later.


On a much brighter note, I managed to go through all - yes all - of my knitting projects and get everything organized. I actually know where everything is and each project has everything together just waiting for me to get back to it. What a great feeling it is to actually have some - small as it is - control over my numerous knitting projects.

Meet Purl

I would like you to meet Purl - my dog. She is a very low maintenance and doesn't eat a whole lot. She hangs out at the shop and guards all of the yarn. Sometimes we forget she is there because she is so quiet. Please don't think that Purl is neglected - she has several friends that hang out at the shop as well - a sheep, chicken, some fish and a flamingo. I go home some nights and envision a scene from "Toy Story" at the shop - all of the little felted critters roaming about, playing with the toys in the play area and then nestling in the bins to sleep for the night.
Purl is made out of Cascade 220 and Pavone. The pattern I used is from Fiber Trends #225x.

Here is a picture of the bag I am working on. I'm having a lot of fun working on it. What appears to be the center panel is actually one of the sides. I am currently knitting the other side. I couldn't wait to start assembling it so I crocheted the three panels together.

My plan is to have this bag finished in time for the Harry Potter book release. My son really wants to go to the book party at Barnes & Noble so I thought it would be fun to bring Mrs. Weasley's bag along for kicks.

A Great Big Thank You

One of the things that Mom & I are so proud of is the generosity of our customers. Knitters are a caring, generous group of people in general. Many times we have been sitting around knitting with a group and all of a sudden someone needs a stitch marker or other item - almost in unison - everyone dives into their knitting bag to grab the needed item. It's almost like a scavenger hunt - whoever can find and share the item the quickest wins!

At The Yarn Stash we collect knitted items for the Christmas Outreach Program at the Burien fire station. We started collecting items August and by Christmas we were able to give the fire station almost 100 items. To our amazement, almost immediately after the first of the year items started arriving for next Christmas. We are very pleased and honored to be a drop off spot for these wonderful, handmade items. Every time someone drops by just to drop off something they have made it touches our hearts.

People taking time out of their busy lives to show compassion for others is what life is all about. I want to personally thank everyone who takes the time to knit for others. Be it for the Christmas Outreach Program or any other cause - filling a need, touching a life & warming a heart without so much as a "thank you" in return is what makes this world a better place.

Too Many Projects - Never

I have come to the realization that I have a big problem (in some non-knitting persons eyes) - I have a lot of projects going. I am a firm believer in the fact that idle needles are a waste. I need to have projects everywhere.
Currently in my knitting bag alone I have a sweater, shawl, several booties waiting to be sewn and a pair of socks (two at once). My favorite current project is Mrs. Weasley's Bag of Stitch Witchery. It is out of "Charmed Knits" by Alison Hansel. This book has so many great projects. Aside from the bag I am knitting I really like Dobby's Socks - they don't match. What a relief for all of us that suffer from S.S.S. (Single Sock Syndrome). All of my single socks can now match up with each other however they want. I have suffered form SSS for quite a while now (that would be why I learned to do two socks at once).

WOW!! What a great year it has been. For those of you that don't know my Mom and I own The Yarn Stash in Burien, WA. We have been open for one year now - one exhausting but extremely fun year. We have more fun picking out yarns, books and patterns to carry in our store than we ever thought we could.
I think my favorite part of all this past year is the wonderful friends we have made. It's really kind of fun to sit and knit whenever you want throughout the day. I really like the fact that I can stop whatever I am doing, sit and knit with a customer and not have a boss breathing down my neck to get back to work. I am "working" - I am knitting.