Propelled, I Am It!

This week marks the official, from my perspective, launch of Teach Yourself Visually Circular Knitting. Yes, it's been around since May. But for me, it's not really real until there's a small gathering at Webs of fans and friends and family and a sample knitter or two (they usually fall into the friend category as well!). And THIS is that week!

Here's the schedule of where you can find me in person over the next two weeks -

Thursday June 9th, 6:30pm - The official first event, a book signing at Webs in Northampton with samples to see, question and answer time, and me talking about the book.

Sunday June 12, 1pm - Book signing at the R&M Booth at TNNA in Columbus, Ohio. I will be bringing along some samples for this even as well!

Thursday June 16, 6pm - a book signing at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in New York. If you've never been to this shop and live in the city, you really should get here!

And here's the blog tour schedule -

June 14 - Books, Yarn, Ink and Other Pursuits with librarian Kristi - and who knows books better than a librarian, really?
June 15 - OMG! Heart with Alice, who survived 2-at-a-Time class with me - and STILL wanted to be part of this tour.
June 16 - Jessalu Knits with the talented Jessalu - I love those bags!
June 17 - Rock and Purl with the energetic and ebullient Ruth Garcia-Alcantud.
June 20 - Webs Yarn Store with... you know, I am not sure who is going to be doing this entry. I hope it's someone who loves me. ;)
June 21 - Yarncraft Podcast with the delightful Zontee of Lion Brand Yarn Studio.
June 22 - Knit-a-While with the charming Ida
June 23 - Lorna's Laces with the talented Beth Casey who controls all of Gene's favorite sock yarn (Shepherd Socks, color: camouflage).
June 24 - i made it so with cross crafting wiz Ana
June 27 - The Woolie Ewe with Jenn, my buddy from Texas who knows just where to find the gluten free food.
June 28 - ShibaGuyz with the lovable Shannon and Jason
June 29 - Nelkin Design with Laura Nelkin who designs the most delightful, lovely knitted things from shawls to jewelry.
June 30 - Getting Stitched on the Farm with the brilliant and undeniably gifted Kristin Nicholas
July 1 - Go Knit in Your Hat with Carol "My Favorite Stalker".
July 2 - Sunset Cat with Stefanni, who is not only a talented technical editor, but also has the loveliest Tonkinese cats!

This is summertime. I live on a small farm. I have chickens of varying sizes (and types) coming out of my ears right about now, and a garden just beginning to really require my attention on a regular basis. For the next two weeks my time and attention will be significantly divided between home and work, farm life and yarn life, barn chores and trade shows/book signings, a run-down 4-Runner and airplanes.

To keep my head on a little tighter and make sure everything get done here at home, we are sticking with a blog tour to celebrate Teach Yourself Visually Circular Knitting. There are 15 stops on the blog tour, and each will offer up their own unique perspective on the new book. Some will be doing reviews, some interviews, and some a combination of both. A few are even knitting up projects from the book to give you an idea of the content. Pretty cool! Most blogs or podcasts will be giving away a signed copy of the book as well (YAY! Free stuff!). So stay tuned, jump on board the Teach Yourself Visually Circular Knitting Magic Tour Bus, and learn more about the book and about me!

It's been a week. I should say something, right?

It's the boy. He commands so much of my time. I am getting back on a schedule of sorts, which is good because Teach Yourself Visually Circular Knitting (available for pre-order!) arrived late last week in need of proofing. One CD with PDF's of the whole shooting match in living color, and one big pile of pages in desperate need of my time and attention. But so is the boy.

And I do adore the boy. He's so full of life and energy and love. Puppies are like toddlers. They are full of amusing antics; they run, they play, they live to love one minute and live to eat the next. Then they are on to the next big thing, like discovering that the cat isn't a Shiba after all, or that the knot from one end of the rawhide makes the coolest sliding-on-the-floor toy ever. He makes me smile every day and always more than once. He's sunshine. I have said that he farts perfume, that the sun shines out of his butt, and he tinkles rainbows. All of this is true, and more.

But enough about the boy. Read his blog - he talks about himself endlessly!

I really wanted to get this pair of socks done and up before I blogged or started proof reading. It's taking about 2 days longer than anticipated, which is annoying. But I love them, and I couldn't wait to share a sneak peek with you! So excited, in fact, that I didn't even block them! Anyway -

The pattern is called Blueberry Peak. The yarn is Valley Yarns Charlemont, which I love without reservation. The pattern is perfect for spring, and we could use some of that around here! The lacy eyelets and the chevron rib combine to create a pattern that is visually pleasing yet easy to memorize - I know this because I lost my printed chart and could not get to the computer, and knit a fair amount of the foot without looking. I've written it for 2-at-a-Time, but experienced sock knitters can easily take the numbers and knit a single sock if they desire.

I am hoping to have "real" pictures with the good camera within a day or two. This involves a drive to Northampton to beg someone (usually Katy, who has the perfect office for such things) to take pictures of my feet in socks. Then I can sell the pattern. But for today all I can do is try to get decent shots of my foot with the crappy camera in the living room by hanging half upside down with blood rushing to my head, a Shiba rushing into my camera, and my morning coffee rushing... somewhere. I need a live-in photographer or a live-in model, one or the other. My current assistant and I are not always on the same page.

Now back to work - I promised myself that today would be the first day of proof reading, and I set myself a goal of a certain number of pages. I think it's manageable. Of course, that BOY may have other ideas!

And Then There Were Two

It took me a minute to remember how these socks were born. We drove Girl to Indiana more than a year and a half ago to leave her at the mercies of a freshman dorm. I knit a lot along the way. I say "we" drove, but in truth Mr. Wonderful drove. My sole responsibility on road trips is to say things like "You missed that exit" and "Are we ever going to stop so I can pee?" and "You drive like crap." Generally at that point he references the fact that I never drive on road trips, and would I like to now. I decline and return to my knitting. I did once drive across South Carolina.
But about these socks. They didn't start as this colorway or this weight. They began as fingering weight socks in a colorway called Scottish Highlands. This is one of those "vision + yarn choice + stitch pattern = fail" moments in which I discover that while the concept is sound, something just isn't right. Maybe swatching for a pattern when you've just tearfully and forcibly dumped your youngest child and only daughter off at a college halfway across the country, cruelly wrenching her from home and Gerbil, isn't such a great idea. Maybe, based on circumstance, the poor Scottish Highland socks were doomed from the first moment the swatch was cast on. Maybe parenting is the hardest, worst, best, scariest, most painful, most rewarding job I've ever had. I stuffed the swatch to the bottom of the bin, grumbled, and moved on to something else - I don't remember what now. Denial is my favorite defense mechanism in yarn and in life. Stuff it to the bottom, forget about it and move on. It never happened.
Home again, just the two of us - an odd thing, feeling both empty and full at the same time, when has it ever been just the two of us? - I hauled the swatch out and began the quest of the yarn box. This is where I poke and dig and try to find something I think will work. My hands found a yarn. Wrong weight. Wrong colors. But perfect.The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock heavyweight; the colorway is Lunasea. I love them. These are wonderfully thick, warm socks suitable for cooler weather as a hiking sock or a house sock. I love thick wool socks in cold weather. The stitch pattern is quickly and readily memorized, and knitting them up is a relaxing and peaceful act. Well, I think it is. Mary Kubasek-Haber actually knit them. We could ask her. Regardless they are sort of phoenix socks; from the ashes of my stitch pattern denial and yarn angst rise these beautiful, simple, peaceful, methodical woolies. Come May, you can knit a pair for yourself - just snag a copy of Toe Up 2-at-a-Time Socks from your local library, yarn or book shop, and cast on.
If you are in the Boston area next weekend, please come and join us at The Wellesley Booksmith for a wonderful full-day knit-a-thon event. There will be presentations and demonstrations, signing of books, and general fibery goodness. I will be there, along with Gail Callahan, Kristin Nicholas, Judith Durant, Wren Ross, Jill Stover and Roseanna Means. 10% of proceeds of the charitable book fair will benefit Women of Means which seeks to provide "...free, patient-centered health care to women and children". Worthy. Also, anyone looking for a job? The need a nurse case manager. I'd apply but it would cut into my knitting time, I think.
I have also updated the 'where I'll be' thing in the sidebar (I think it may need it's own page soon) to include book signings at both the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festivals - Sunday (Mother's Day) in New Hampshire from 11am-2pm and Saturday in Massachusetts, same times. I will once again be signing books for Barb Parry at Foxfire Fiber booth. There will be books available at both events, and I look forward to seeing you there! I think a new sock book would make a lovely Mother's Day gift, don't you? (insert grin here!)
On the home front - apparently in spite of our best attempts at apicide (I made a word!), the bees are not only alive but thriving. We've done so much wrong and they still soldier on. We're taking it a little more seriously now. We're even going to add on a second hive this spring.I am hopeful that this will ensure honey in a quantity greater than a pint come fall.
Spring is springing - baby garlic is poking it's slender green top out to take a look around.I love garlic and I planted a couple of new varieties this year thanks to my Garlic and Arts Festival quest. What is not to love about two days of eating garlic raw? If you're in or near Western Mass in October, I cannot recommend this event highly enough.
I also found one tiny gray asparagus spear blinking against the light.These beds should have good yield this year, as it's their second in full production. We eat it like there's no tomorrow, so it will be nice to grow our own. I am hoping to have enough to freeze, which although so wrong will allow us to extend the season.
And then I found this one lone onion,overlooked in the fall harvest, too small for much of anything, but struggling to make a go of it. I pulled it, and added it to dinner - sauteed mushrooms and chard from last year's garden, plus the chopped sad little onion, a bit of garlic and some clarified butter. It was all quite excellent.
I am glad that winter is heading out trailing green growing things in it's wake. In four days spring will officially be here. In three Girl will be 22. About that denial thing...

Socks and Things

The other day I went uphill to gather eggs and get the mail. I put this off because it was snowing, and although the dogs love this, and cavort like children, I am not a big fan.I got the mail and the eggs, and headed back to the house with my elated canine companions and saw this.I was standing at the top of the hill in a swirl of falling snow and darkness. And as I stood and waited this sun and blue sky crept slowly over me until the clouds fell away.
I haven't talked a lot about "the Lyme thing" in a while, and I think it's time for an update. The metaphor of that blustery snow wasn't lost on me. It's how I feel. I feel like for the last year or more I was wrapped in dark stormy gray, in a swirling fog of people and places and events and moments. I struggled every day to make sense of the simplest things. I hid things, I sneaked, cheated, lied and maneuvered so no one would know how bad it was. There's things I barely remember, things I don't remember at all, and days I remember and wish I could forget. The first time I logged on to LymeNet and saw that the first posts in the forums were suicide hotlines, I cried. Yes, when it's bad, Lyme is that bad. You lose all hope.
But then the sun came for me in the form of Lyme guy and his lovely meds, and now months later I am at times amazed to be alive, and thrilled to be happily so. For a long time my goals were really simple - "make being alive not hurt" was a good one. "Make being alive not scary" was another. I've raised the bar, and I feel safe doing so. "Make being alive feel wonderful again". And it does.
The irony here is that I don't take drugs or visit doctors. I will stand on the street corner on my soapbox and rant loudly about the overuse of antibiotics, the rapid development of antibiotic resistant organisms, the need for the human body to fight things off on it's own thereby developing new immunities. I will wait until hell is about to freeze over before I will darken a doctor's door. But I went, and I took the scripts, and I am glad I did.
Since spring I've taken Biaxin, Plaquenil, Mepron, doxycycline, metronidazole and a whack of supplements and probiotics. And although I had qualms about the first five, I am forever grateful that I was sick enough to say yes to them, and grateful that they were there when I needed them. I know there are people out there suffering with Lyme, wondering if it gets better, wondering if alive can feel good again. Trust me, it can. I promise. I just needed to say that today.
I swatched the other day for a special sock pattern for someone else's bookI think I love it. It will be toe up. The yarn is Dye Dreams Classy Sox and I love it, too. I believe feet deserve a little cashmere. The percentage is low enough that it's like a little sneaky treat and the nylon keeps it stable. This yarn was supposed to be something completely other, but circumstances change, and yarn calls out to me, and that's the end of that!
I also did these for Clover, which will be available at TNNA and hopefully thereafter...I will let you know when they're available and how you can get the pattern.The yarn is Valley Yarns Franklin. That you can get now. It is dyed, as I've said here before, by Gail Callahan who has not only the distinction of being brilliant, lovable, and an excellent friend, but now is a published author as well! Her book, Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece, is so pretty and so good...it makes me happy just to think about it! She doesn't remember, but the first time I met her was when she was still a nurse and I was still a nursing student.
This catalog came today. I first found Kitchen Krafts catalog when I was dabbling in baking and considering doing that for a living. As I recall I was on a quest for a tiny ice cream scoop and ended up with a $200 order containing all manner of good things from sanding sugars to a decent candy thermometer. Baking for money was a quickly discarded dream. I enjoy baking, but baking in bulk loses it's appeal. Small batches for family and friends feel rightRegardless, this catalog is loaded with all manner of things kitchen-y.
Like canning jar labels. I've debated making my own. But when these are right here, well...do I need to make them?And this. No clue where my jelly and juice strainer frame went, although the bags are here, but I am getting over tying and stringing and hanging cheesecloth from the frame of my ancient food grinder. I think it's time to break down and order this.Flip a few more pages and I find what's possibly the perfect cake pan for this house - a Nordic Ware Beehive!I am so grooving on the tiny fondant bees. Need! The only thing better would be a pan that somehow incorporated a barn, chickens and a beehive! Kitchen Krafts also sells essentials like dessicated coconut. Trust me, you need some.
In my pre-holiday cleaning spree I discovered this - a Baby Surprise set of sorts, EZ's sweater, MMO's out of my head bootees and hat.I think I started these for Wyatt and then remembered that he's a machine wash only baby, and this is a hand wash only yarn. Into the box it goes. If Meg ever had a baby it's going to have years' worth of woolens awaiting it.
Obsessed, I ended up with three hats and four pair of mittens, none alike. One hat is a knit-purl combination, one is cabled. The brown set I think will be Emily's, and the others will go to April.I realized I hadn't knit anything for Em and Wyatt...I have yarn to make a set for him too.
The holidays are mostly over for us. We'll have a day with my father and my kids, and then someday we'll get together with Kristie and Mike and the kids, maybe before Em's birthday, but it's winding down. The tree is put away, baby Jesus is back in His box, and this year I remembered to take the beads down from the dining room light fixture.
I wish I could say that 2009 was a great year. The truth is 2009 was a conflicted year for me - 2-at-a-Time Socks continued to be great, and I continue to be grateful to you for making it so, I got to be a part of Sock Summit (and was on the antibiotics by then which made that experience so much better than it might have otherwise been) and Clara's Knitter's Review Retreat, and taught at a host of shops. But somewhere in there I fell apart. I pulled it back together, but the falling apart was the scariest thing I've ever been through, and so I can't slap 2009 on the back and thank it for coming around. Heading into 2010, I am reaching out with open and welcoming arms. Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time is coming soon, and I am looking forward to a better year than last. Looking forward. I'm grateful to be here to do just that.

(Another) Book Review: More Big Girl Knits

In which we discuss "More Big Girl Knits", and if you go all the way to the end we reveal more about our self than we might otherwise, but this is a soapbox issue for us, so on we go! As always, and since the FTC is now apparently officially watching (don't get me started on that one), the books I review herein are, unless otherwise stated, provided to me free, usually by the publisher. I do not review books I do not like, and receive more books than you see here. If I like it, you'll know (I feel like I just said this recently...hmm...when was that?).

The fashion industry assumes that the average American woman is a size 8, with measurements as follows: 35-inch bust, a 27-inch waist, and 37.5-inch hip. But adult American women ages 36 to 45 actually average 41-34-43. Fashion magazines, clothing catalogs, retail stores and most knitting pattern books seem oblivious to the obvious - American women are curvy. We're round, soft, wobbly and comfortable. We eat, we love, we laugh; we want to enjoy and embrace life to the fullest, and are not afraid to take on all that it has to offer. Unfortunately many of us do it in shapeless tunics with matchy leggings because the rest of the world has failed to recognize what we already know - big is beautiful, and women with shape need cute clothes, too.

It starts in the mirror. Authors Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno advise us to take stock, look at ourselves in the mirror, and learn to "Look with love and tell the critical voices to shut the hell up". I couldn't agree more. Who and what you are today is who and what you are. You're not a size tag, not a number, not a measurement. You're a real woman with value and brains and beauty and wisdom that the size of your jeans does not reflect. Get over it. Most of us are round, and we're really very lovely.

"More Big Girl Knits" is just what it says it is. Stuffed with "25 designs full of color and texture for curvy women", this book aims at a market we all know is out there, in fact it's the majority market, a market that deserves equal time and treatment.

Most big girl clothes tend to be either too shapely, revealing maybe a bit more than we'd like, or clinging in all the wrong places, or just plain old not fitting. "More Big Girl Knits" gives you the tools you need to make sure your finished sweater fits YOU, just the way it should. Advice is given for different body types which helps you choose styles and cuts that fit and flatter you. That advice alone is worth the price of admission. Take the ideas in this book on the road on your next shopping trip, and see if you don't benefit from the authors' practical tips on accenting the bits you want to show off. Proper measuring technique, deciding on your desired ease and choosing a size, knowing your curves, finding yarn and colors that flatter you - it's all here. There's also an exceptionally handy yardage chart included so you know how much yarn you'll genereally need based on gauge and garment type. Excellent!

None of these designs has a size clocking in at less than a 40" bust measurement. Most begin in the low 40"'s, and some go up to the 60" range. There is, indeed, something in this book for every curvy girl. There are shawls and scarves with proportions that flatter bigger bodies. There's even socks designed to accommodate more shapely calves and ankles - notably Indian Summer Socks designed my Sivia Harding, which feature beads and an adorable folded cuff.They're delightful to look at, especially given the season! But what's really important here are the sweaters.

The sweaters really get the job done. From the Bountiful Bohus by Chrissy Gardiner, a Bohus inspired cardigan in rich warm brown, to the cozy dress-it-up, dress-it-down Hot Cocoa by Jordana Paige and the slip-stitch charm of Pastille by Kristie Porter, there's something here for every knitter and every big girl.

This stunning "Susie Hoodie", designed by Mandy Moore is among my favorites.Presented in sizes ranging from 44" to 60", there's a size here for every big girl. This is a delightfully cabled cardigan, made more so by the addition of a shaped back that draws the eye down and gives length to the body.
This sweater looks comfy, but not shapeless and lumpy. The yarn is Tahki Donegal Tweed Homespun.Makes me want to go for a walk in the leaves.

Sweetly sexy, the Orange Smoothie tank by Libby Baker is the perfect thing for summer. You know those days when the idea of clothing is too much to bear? (Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way, since the intro for this one says "It's hot and you can't go outside naked.").This is the perfect topper. The surplice front makes this extremely flattering for women to whom nature generously provided an ample cleavage.Simple but eye-catching and comfortably breathable, knitted in Dalegarn Svale. Hey, wait. I've got three bags of that here somewhere...hmmm!

There's so much more here - the Slipstream Pullover which uses a bit of sparkly to accent cuffs, hem and neckline; the Plain Vanilla Pullover you can customize to fit your shape to perfection; the bi-color Modular Spiral Jacket that uses blocks of color to define your shape, the Twisted Pullover that makes use of vertical lines to best advantage, the No-Gap Wrap, another garment that uses a v-neckline to flatter mature bust lines; the Cable Love jacket that...well I could go on and on. The point is that no matter what you're looking for, if you're a big girl, you'll find it in here.

Some of us don't embrace the shape we're in. We feel guilt, shame and revulsion at our own image. That's sad. We're driven by a culture that promotes unrealistic beauty standards, and makes us think that if we're not a size 0 we have no value or appeal. We allow the media and culture to pump that mindset into our daughters, making them shamed by their own curves, afraid to have that piece of birthday cake, refusing food, becoming anorexic or bulemic in record numbers at insanely young ages, or just hiding out under tent-sized t's and baggy pants. For most of my life I've struggled with weight issues and body image. At 17 I weighed 76 pounds. My periods stopped, my hair fell out. But I was thin! I thought if I lost enough weight my man-attracting curves would go away. I was anorexic and I was killing myself.

After my babies were born I struggled with self-esteem and body image - babies made my already generous bust line explode. I've done it all; diet and exercise, just diet, just exercise. I've counted calories, worried endlessly about fitting into a number. I am SO over it now. Life is much too short to worry about this crap. The size that fits is the one I need. The food I eat is what I'm hungry for. My blood pressure is low, my cholesterol is too. My resting pulse is around 60 beats per minute. I'm fine, just as I am. Don't like it? Don't look!

Should we eat healthier? Yes, we certainly should. Should we get up and go for a walk, run, swim or bike ride? You bet. Should we allow ourselves to be shamed into hiding out under sad, sorry outfits, cringing at ourselves in family photos, running and hiding from the truth of who we are? NO. It all begins with loving yourself as you are.

ALL of yourself. Start now. Please.

She Had Me at 'Imagine': A Review of The Knitter's Book of Wool

"Imagine if all the wine in the world - red and white alike - were mixed together and sold as generic 'wine'." -Clara Parkes, The Knitter's Book of Wool

I should preface this review with a disclosure, or more accurately three disclosures. First, the links embedded in this post link you to my Amazon store, which means that if you buy through that link I make a small percentage of your purchase. This goes for all of the books in my store, not just the knitting ones, so feel free to shop around. Second, I am holding in my hands books sent to me free of charge for the purposes of review. And last, as if making a dime and getting free books weren't enough, I've also worked for Clara, teaching at her Knitter's Review Retreat last year and again this year. That said, if I don't like something, you won't see it here even if it's free as a bird and the company in question is charming me with all manner of delights. I won't recommend things I can't stand behind. I also won't rip something to shreds here. If I think something isn't what it should be I may share that information with the people who asked for the review, but not you. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's proceed to my review of The Knitter's Book of Wool.

Let me say that this woman knows more about wool than I knew about my children, and I knew my children pretty well when they were small. The information she presents is approachable and applicable to all of the wool arts. We all can benefit from the information within the pages of this book.

I received a sound education in the first 20 or so pages alone, and the information I gleaned was so compelling I just kept on reading. Long past "lights out" pages were turning and my pencil was scritch-scratching away. There is enough information to make you a whiz at wool but not so much that you feel like it's finals week. Clara's comfortable, easy writing style make this a wonderful read for interested fiber folk. As with The Knitter's Book of Yarn, this book had me underlining bits of information that I believe strongly will make me a better knitter, spinner and teacher. In chapter one, What is Wool?, we learn about the structure of wool fibers from scales to crimp and back again. We learn why wool does what it does, and why not all wool is created equal. Chapter two, From Pasture to Pullover, follows the processing of that wool into the yarns we use every day. Skirting, scouring, spinning and dyeing are all outlined here. Knowing what happens to wool from sheep to skein helps us as knitters to evaluate wisely our yarn investments. The chapter ends with an excellent "Wool 101"; a series of quick tips for yarn evaluation. As in The Knitter's Book of Yarn, Clara empowers us to make better yarn choices by learning to be yarn whisperers. We move from wool processing into the wool providers. In Meet the Breeds we learn about the animals that provide our most commonly used wools; what makes them different from one another, how wools are chosen for use, and what the intended function of the wool fibers are. General information on each wool category is presented, followed by specifics about each breed within that category. It's enough information to last a lifetime. A handy list of facts for each breed is given, with data about the fineness, staple length, crimp, luster and suitability of the finished yarn for your intended project. This is very much a spinner's book as well. The final wool-tech chapter, Plays Well With Others, explains how wools can be blended either with one another or with other non-wool and non-animal fibers to create yarns perfect for every use. Luster, halo and warm weather comfort are all touched on. Different fiber types are discussed giving knitters insight into why a specific fiber helps wool to work it's magic on our projects. Just when you think you've gotten every dime you spent out of this book, you discover more - patterns that, as Clara says, "...let you experience everything wool has to offer..." And folks, she's not just saying that! The pattern section begins with a Shakespeare quote: "Joy's soul lies in the doing". I agree, and the range of projects is both expansive and joyful! There are enough patterns in this book to keep any knitter happily busy for a very long time. On my first quick skim through the book, my eyes were drawn to Sandi Rosner's Bella Baby Ensemble, Clara's Sweet Fern Mitts, Sivia Harding's exquisite Tibetan Clouds Beaded Stole and Pam Allen's Comfy Cardigan. The list goes on. There's an adorable family of pullovers; The Three Bears; Mama, Papa and Baby Bear, each knitted in a different yarn yet singing sweetly enough together for the family Christmas photo (get knitting - there's always next year!). Four additional sweater patterns round out the group. Heads and hands are covered with two hat patterns and two hand covering patterns. A trio of sock patterns are presented, and a host of five knit shawls, scarves and stoles. Finally a knitted bag and pillow cover finish off this brilliantly compiled collection of highly knittable items.

Finally, a comprehensive resource list, including hints on washing wool and (dare I say it) moth prevention, helps you find the yarns used in the book. A detailed glossary as well as a list of wool processors, a recommended reading list, designer bios and author acknowledgments round out the book.

In closing, let me say that this book is well worth the investment, as was it's predecessor. Let's hope Clara continues to bring us the best of the best of useful knowledge about the animals and fibers that grace our lives and bring us that joy the Bard talks about above.Now if you'll excuse me, I sense a project needing to be knit...but where to begin? I think we'll start with Fern Leaf Mitts, just in time for Rhinebeck. Or maybe a Baby Bear pullover for Aidan. Although April would be lovely in that little wrap cardigan of Sandi's...stash raid!!

Unbeliveable.

But I have proof.
First, I cut my mittens.Well, I had to, since they needed thumbs. And Elizabeth said to.
Then I picked out stitches on either side of the cut, making a little hole for my thumb to fit through.
Once I had captured all of the picked stitches on my dpn, I started working around and around and around until I had a whole thumb completed.
But I don't have a picture of that yet. They're drying. I don't want to put wet mittens on, not even for you. I should point out that I was not particularly controlled in this activity, nor did I plan a lot. I just cut one stitch at the point where my thumb joins my hand, right over that knuckle. Then I just picked out stitches and kept popping my thumb through until it fit. Once I had a comfortable width, I started working in the round, picking up one stitch at either side of the thumb hole to avoid making a new hole. I worked even on these 12 stitches until my thumb nail disappeared when tried on, and did some decreases for the top on a couple of rounds, with an even round in between. When I got down to 4 stitches, I ran a thread through them all and that was that. Then I repeated the whole process for mitten 2. If you've never cut into your knitting, I highly recommend it.
I got this picture in my email yesterday from a lovely librarian, Sharon, of the Pierce County Library System in Tacoma, WA. Thank you Sharon!!Finally, PROOF! I rarely get evidence that I came and signed. But here we have it, actual evidence - including a picture of Amy that even she can't complain about, and if she does, well, may I suggest she look closely at MY CHIN?? Wanna trade? And really, who are we in comparison to the Famous Person to the left, anyway? We probably do not have the right to look better than someone who's probably got a trainer. And a stylist. And possibly a wardrobe person.