Yarning Around

Oh hello, it's me, your sometime blogger, back again after just a little break this time. I have been thinking about knitting a lot, and even doing some!

I was hoping to totally finish that twist front alpaca sweater this weekend, and was knitting along in the RV when I looked into the knitting bag.  Guess what I didn't see? Another ball of yarn, that's what. Yep, I had brought most of my life essentials other than that final skein of yarn I'll need to finish (actually, I may well go into the fourth skein...who knows. So, I had to stop when I was at this attractive stage of the front of the sweater:

A partial front of a sweater.

I think this is one of those project that will be very pretty once blocked and sewed together, and not a moment sooner.So, I will continue to enjoy how lovely the alpaca fiber feels and not worry about it. I have fetched the next skein of yarn and will get moving after I blog! Ooh, note that I switched to some Lantern Moon wood needles. They are very pleasant to work with, as they should be at $30 (yow).

So, since I ran out of alpaca, I picked up my poor neglected fall colors shawl and got quite a bit of it done. This is one of those projects that it's hard to gauge progress on. I know I put at least 3 or 4 inches on it, but it still looks small. Of course, the fact that the stitch pattern is that interesting double garter stitch that sort of bunches up doesn't help much. That will make it a warm one, though. So, here's how it looks now:

Two-ball fall shawl progress.

It's blending very nicely. No one who looks at it believes I am knitting with two colorways, thanks to how each has the same brown in it. I am thinking of making a brown border on the bottom, since I have a skein of brown from the same dyer.

Now that I look at it harder, yeah, I can see I made some progress. I will quit whining.

I Went to a Store or Two or Three

I alluded last time to some fun knitting thing I was going to do soon. Well, that fun thing was that a friend and I took a day off work last week and indulgently went to visit every yarn store in Austin (other than Yarnbow, since I am not sure it's still there). We were comparing and contrasting.

I think it surprised my friend (a new friend, not one of my usual knitting friends or my old knitting friends who would know better) that everywhere I went someone knew me. I really enjoyed getting to talk to Stacy at the Knitting Nest, whom I hadn't seen in quite some time (since I quit going to yarn shops to browse!). We enjoyed the way the decor is all thematic, and were impressed by the larger space they have now. It must be very pleasant to take a class there. And it's always fun to trek down to way south Austin for something other than Volvo repair (son bought a Volvo way down south, which he has already blown the engine on, but it's OK because I made friends that way). I  bought a tape measure and a book there. Turns out I already have the book, too, so it may go to the shopping friend.

I digressed again. Next we headed up to Hill Country Weavers, where I actually HAVE been lately or I would not be working on that gray sweater! Suzanne was helpful and chatty but not too chatty (so we could shop) and was glad I am enjoying that naturally dyed alpaca so much. I saw the other colors, too--dyed with beets, onion and cochineal, which made two different colors, I guess with different mordants.

I bought two books, one is the book about Judy's Magic Cast On, which has some fun projects in it. It has to be cool to know you invented a new knitting technique, so my circular hat is off to Judy Becker! The other book I got is Modular Knits, by Iris Schreier, which also has some good ideas, plus some complex stuff to really dig into at some point.

The only yarns I bought are these two:

Another ball of Alchemy Haiku, and a Zauberball

I really want to make another Paintbrush Lace cowl, this time in just the Alchemy Haiku yarn. The colorway I got will look great with black or blue, I think. My fingers are itching to start, just to touch that yarn some more. I also got a ball of, yes, sock yarn. But but...I want it to be a shawl. This Hitchhiker one, to be exact. There was a sample in a slightly different colorway at Hill Country Weavers, and it looked so perfect with jeans. Look at me, planning projects again. I am so proud.

After checking out with our groaning weight of purchases, then eating a fun lunch right across from Hill Country, we checked out a couple of fabric stores that are typically "Austin." Stitch Lab is the one I'd send you locals off to, if you aren't already cool enough to have been there. It is incredibly trendy, modern (or postmodern) and updated it almost hurts. But there is fun fabric and all the classes look very entertaining. The teacher leading a class of little girls was really charming and very much in control without dampening their enthusiasm. I got a catalog for Beccano and Leigh.

The other shop is also very, very trendy, but in a more elegant way. It is called Common Thread. It had the kind of good quality fabric for sewing clothing that you can't get in the usual places. Nice natural fiber knits, and some gorgeous cottons you could actually see yourself wearing. I came close to wanting to sew something...and we also visited an upholstery shop just for fun...

Then we finally hit Gauge, where I hadn't been in the longest time. I was very glad to see they had nice, new yarns in good quantities. The selection still isn't huge, but it is well edited, and I know I can go there if I suddenly need more Entrelac stitch markers. Whew. I did know someone there from the olden days, but I didn't know her well and she was grafting something--you can't disturb that. The owners had all left right as we walked in, so there was an interesting man holding down the fort and dealing with customers.

All in all it was fun to do a mini yarn crawl, though I'd still like to get back to Paige and Yarnorama sometime. I know my friend would love to see the spinning stuff that all my beloved old knitting friends are now so addicted to!

And speaking of new knitting friends, I am still enjoying the little yarn group at work. There are just a few of us, but we do keep showing up! It's a very relaxing atmosphere, and I do appreciate that now that my whole life has calmed down and I can relax a bit.

(Remember, if you want to know what I am DOING all the time, visit the Ursula Lumbers blog, starring our bulky old RV, Ursula! There you can see me interact with horses, donkeys and cattle, and see a lot of pictures of farm and ranch land...someday there may well be sheep or alpaca on the ranch!)

Nice to Meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

As I mentioned on Thursday, we went to see "The Yarn Harlot" speak at BookPeople. I am glad that it wasn't as crowded as the last time she came (from what I heard--I couldn't come that time). I'm also really glad that Tina drove, since she has even better parking luck than I do, and we got a great spot.


We hiked right on up to the third floor, past the people who grabbed the best seats, and enjoyed a lovely little reception that the Hill Country Weavers folks put on. (That's blurry Tina and me, enjoying the stuff.) The food was great, and I'll tell you one thing--there are a nice bunch of knitters in the Austin area! Each yarn shop was allowed to send a few of their workers or customers, which means I got to see a lot of people I don't get to see very often (like blogger Sally and designer/blogger Birdy (who I somehow didn't get a photo of...darn!).

This is me and Sally, though her camera has better color correction than mine and her photo looks better.

We also saw old friends and met a new one! This is Alla, Cindy and me with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I don't know how she manages to be so gracious and attentive to so many different people on these book tours, and it could not have been a great day for her--she was all stuffed up and had been dealing with the Sock Summit stuff for two days. I now, of course, feel REALLY sorry for her, since I've heard how mean some people were about the fact that they couldn't get in for one reason or another.

I did have a nice chat with her (right after saying I was too shy to go talk to her), about an organization we both used to belong to, and mutual friends in the Ontario birthing and breastfeeding community. I thanked her for how she portrays her children, parenting, and love of babies in her blog. Seeing someone who shares a philosophy with me putting it out so publicly, yet subtly. I hope she influences a lot of young knitters.

We had plenty of time to chat. I caught up with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time (people who no longer visit our yarn shop, people I knew from the knitting guild, etc.), networked and really got a lot out of talking to all kinds of knitters, not just the famous author! The photo above is just Cindy and chatting--people kept on knitting the whole time. What a fine culture.
Hey, and did I mention babies earlier? There were plenty for Stephanie to enjoy, but I got to enjoy one in particular, and she enjoyed me right back. Is that not a sweet face? She liked me! Goodness gracious, that was a charming baby for one so young. She had everyone in her spell. If you read the comments on the last blog entry, you'll know that KnitterGran said I might see her daughter and granddaughter, and that's them! I'm hoping we will see each other again, especially when KnitterGran comes to town. See, told you there were lots of nice people.

And yes, eventually we went to hear Stephanie talk. Every blogger in town has already posted a bunch of photos of this, so I am not going overboard. Before the talk, Spike Gillespie (local celebrity humorous writer, radio commenter AND knitter) thanked all the yarn shops and said nice stuff about each of them, even our little suburban oasis! And then we all got to thoroughly enjoy a well-crafted, humorous and informative talk (it would have been more informative if I hadn't read a lot of the same research she had read). I had a good time listening, regardless, and am very glad she's willing to do these tours.


Of course, there weren't enough seats, so we ended up sitting on a table. That's OK. There were nice knitters there! It is hard to convince stores that there really are that many knitters willing to come out on a weeknight. There would have been more people on a weekend, for sure, and all the end of school events weren't going on.

Thanks to Stephanie for visiting and to the book store for hosting!

In Other News

After networking with Susan from the Knitting Guild, I visited the Knit Wits, who meet at the library near Westlake High School on Fridays. It was really fun to meet some new knitters. They had a range from some very elderly ladies to new mothers. I loved seeing all their projects and listening to all their news. A whole new set of folks. Mostly I talked to two women I'd met when I went to the guild meetings (before I was teaching knitting on Saturdays). It was funny to see how much we had in common in our career paths, in addition to knitting.

Also we got new yarn at the LYS, which has been fun. Everyone got all excited about the sock yarn, laceweight yarn and the Misti Alpaca we are going to use in our knit-along. I am happy to see the excitement.

Tomorrow I will post about knitting progress!

Amended: I realized I was quite tired when I wrote this and forgot a couple of things, like saying WHO I saw, linking to people and places, and thanking the photographers (Cindy and Tina, because I forgot my camera). I will add links tomorrow.

Friday Randomness

Like some of my blogging friends and acquaintances have been saying of late, “I gots nothin’” in the way of fascinating blog content for today. I am not burning with passion about a particular issue, and my knitting is fun but just getting bigger, that’s all. So, here are a few tidbits about things I’ve noticed or am interested in these days.

1. Yes, the Kauni Jacket is coming along just fine. I am about halfway up the right half of the back, heading toward the start of the right arm. The stripes are very wide, since there are only 64 stitches on that half. It’s a neat contrast to the thin stripes on the other side. I hope to get quite a bit done over the weekend. And maybe I’ll finish my socks, too. I just have an hour or two left on those socks. Just have to get motivated.

2. One motivation for finishing the socks is that I have the next pattern and yarn chosen. That’s the yarn in the picture--which was hard to locate, because I'd apparently forgotten to add it to my stash on Ravelry--and it's one of my most recent purchases, too! The pattern is called Charybdis. It is so cute, and I’m flattered that I actually inspired the designer to try her hand at designing! I think the yarn will look as good on the pattern as the yarn Fiona chose for her prototype. Heck, if she knitted a pattern I did, the least I can do is knit hers, right?

3. I even have another sock pattern to love. One of the ladies on the Texas knitting list I read posts patterns she finds, like every day. On Wednesday, this one, called Seriously Southwestern Socks, came up. I like it way more than some of the other two-color ones I’ve seen. I think I will try to find a suitable dark semi-solid, perhaps a very dark green, to make this with one of my many lighter colors of indie dyer sock yarns.

4. I’ve been reading a few of my magazines, and I enjoyed the latest Piecework, which came yesterday. If you are a fan of historical re-enactments, you really will want to get this issue. There are socks, a “vest” and a kind of shawl called a sontag, with authentic directions. I did find lots to like in the new Interweave Knits, too. Tonight I will look through it again to see if there’s anything in it I am just dying to make, so I can get yarn for it tomorrow. I’ll let you know if I choose a pattern.

5. Yep, tomorrow Deana, Dawn and I are going to head back out to Paige and Brenham. This time I will have a list of things I am looking for. Since there isn’t enough yarn for many large projects at my LYS, I hope to get a couple of projects’ worth of yarn. I’ve been carefully studying my queue on Ravelry, too.

And here’s a random blogger hint. I’ve noticed that on blogs with word verification, occasionally the word just doesn’t show up. Just type something random in and try to submit. Words will usually appear the next time. I do the verification of comments, because I was concerned at first that inappropriate things might get posted. I did get a spam comment last week, but it has not been as bad as I feared, not at all. I thank ALL of you who have commented lately, too. I learn a lot from you, and I feel better when I read your words of encouragement!

On a Cheerier Note

Yarn
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yeah, so I did run out of yarn on my shawl over the weekend (and thank you to Lee for commenting and breaking my two-week comment drought, though I don't know if a comment from someone who lives at your house really indicates much reader interest). Even so, I had a good knitting (and shopping) weekend in Fredericksburg with my yarn-shop friends (as you may recall, we are known as the Methodist, the Mormon and the Unitarian--all drawn together by our being the exact same age and loving knitting).

Thank goodness the Methodist knew where the LYS was in that town, so I finally got to visit it. And what a nice visit. Most of the scenic part of F'burg is old buildings, many of which are pretty cool, but the yarn shop was in a really neat one, all wooden and rustic. It has a huge room in back for their primary purpose--hooked rug kids and spinning stuff, but the front was a fair-sized yarn display, mostly of Rowan yarns. I had hoped to find a couple of "organic" yarns there, and was not disappointed. They had all of Rowan's new natural line, and I snapped up a ball of Black Welsh sheep yarn and a nice naturally-dyed cotton (the far left two yarns in the photo). Then I found some cotton that is from Peru and certified organic, undyed. I got the brown and the green color, on the right. It is really nice to touch, so I can't wait to mess with it. Then I found local stuff. Jackpot! The two center top yarns are marketed by the shop (Stonehill Spinning, no website, but there's contact info on Ravelry), and are undyed merino, nicely colored--baah baah, you black and cream sheep! And the bottom yarn is another Texas product, this one from El Coyote Ranch (elcoyoteranch.com). It is undyed wool and llama. You don't get a lot of llama in yarn, so that's cool.

I may do some collaborating on an organic project with a coworker, which is why I got this sampler. It's all rather "rustic" but may be just what the granola crunchers (my peeps!) want.

Everyone else also got neat yarn. Both of my companions got pretty colors for what should be lovely projects. The Mormon got some very pretty scarf-wannabee yarn, while the Methodist got some very thick, soft stuff for another afghan. She loves to knit big.We did lots of knitting around the house. Both the Mormon and I made a lot of sock progress. I got the heels and gusset done on the Hawaiian Leis (photo is from before the gusset work). Mostly I worked on the shawl, until there was only one inch of yarn left and 30 rows of border left to knit. Wah. I just buckled down and ordered another ball from the Loopy Ewe, using my $25 certificate (I love those). I'll just make slightly short (and not that comfy) socks, or maybe happy handwarmers out of what is left.

I am back at work on the purple crocheted top now. I am getting close to being finished with the back. Then it should go a bit more quickly, unless I get distracted thinking up things to do with that organic yarn.

I Lack Resolve!

Sideways Cardigan
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yay, I finished the Sideways Cardigan. I decided not to do the button band, because it looks so cute buttoned at the top. This meant i didn't have to go buy buttons or use any of Pat's. I got one of the agate buttons from the LYS (see photo) that I really liked, and it looks marvelous. in the photo the cardigan has been pressed and is drying. I'll try to get a photo of me in it tomorrow. The cardigan looked pretty good on me before I pressed it, so I am happy. Those big ole sleeves actually are pretty flattering. I feel SO lucky to have two new summer knits to wear!

You may recall that I vowed, just a day or two ago, to finish old projects before starting something new. Well, that resolve failed, thanks to a trip to the Gauge shop in Austin with my friend Tina (yay, Tina and I actually SAW each other). I'd tried to visit there last time I was unemployed, but I picked the day they were closed. Well, good news is that they are now open 7 days a week, so even when I get work I can visit on a Sunday every so often. I really liked the shop. The owner was very nice, and everyone else there was good, too. I even ran into some old knitting guild acquaintances and did some networking. Gauge doesn't have tons of yarn, but what is there was carefully chosen and great quality. I love getting to see different yarns, so I had a great time checking out what was there. Then I saw it...yarn that was 100% perfect for the only pattern I really loved out of the latest Interweave Knits, the Drawstring Raglan. It's Classic Elite Cotton Bam Boo. So light and with a great sheen, plus the colors they had were perfect for the project, a cream, a medium blue, a plum and a mauve. See my lovely photo of the yarn and the project, which I so conveniently made for your pleasure.

After Tina and I had a grown-up lunch at Chez Zee (with dessert, even), I headed back to "my" yarn shop, where I had a great time chatting with folks and meeting new people. There was a visitor knitting with some very, very interesting Habu yarn, though it looked hard to work with. Katie brought birthday cake, which reminds me to say happy birthday this weekend to her!! I am really enjoying Chicks with Sticks lately. Everyone has been so friendly to each other and so supportive. It's so nice to see people helping each other, supporting different projects, and mingling.

Oops. I forgot one thing. I also got a sock yarn. In my defense, it is Mondial Ciao, a yarn I didn't have any of before. Speaking of socks, Diane at the yarn shop pointed out to me that the colors I got for the next project are the same as the ones in my Cherry Blossom socks. Well, great, they'll be an "outfit." Hee hee. And yes, I did work on the socks a bit yesterday. I messed up the gusset somehow, but it is not the end of the world. I'm human.

By Gosh, I am GONNA Do It: Plus Online Yarn Resources I Like

Finished Worsted Sock
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I finished Sock #1 of these generically lovely socks and now it will have to sit and wait until yarn comes for its mate. I had bought the last skeins of color 31 at Bluebonnet, so I went to the Internets to find more. I figure if I make each sock of one dye lot, any slight discrepancy won't be too noticeable. For that reason, I did not start Sock #2 out of the leftovers of #1. But I AM going to finish this pair of socks or else!

I got the extra yarn at Woodland Woolworks, where it is $.60 more per skein than at the LYS, plus I pay shipping (but no tax). But, they had all the colors and I had "Craft Cash" from there sufficient to pay for one skein! Also, I like to buy from them because they have very good customer service--I got a personal note from a staff person to tell me the book I had also ordered (Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Knits) was out of stock but would be in soon, and to assure me the discount had been applied. I also got three skeins of 1824 Wool to make Lee another pair of house socks--he asked for the Stone color--men sure like plain things.

I was going to try to get yarn for one of the IK Winter 07 projects I liked, but they didn't have any of those yarns. Guess I will scout the LYS to see if they have any of them before Internetting again (I do prefer to buy locally from my friend when I can!).

Of course, this lull gives me license to start NEW SOCKS! I am going to wind up that pink Dream in Color prize yarn and get cracking on the Dove socks in the Cat Bordhi book, either tonight or tomorrow! (Tonight I may instead concentrate on finishing the VLT scarf, which didn't get worked on yesterday at all.) In any case, the prospect of learning a new skill is very exciting.

Favorite Online Shops: What Are Yours?

Since I brought it up earlier, I think I'll list my favorite online yarn sources. Please feel free to tell me YOUR favorites in the comments, in case anyone wants to give them a try! I won't be listing ones I have only used once, or ones I had bad experiences with. I'll stick with raving about my favorites.

Astrid's Dutch Obsessions: This is in the Netherlands, and she gets a lot of European sock yarns, some of which you can't get here, or don't show up in the US until way later. Great selection of Opal, Trekking and Regia. She also has Kauni and some other hard-to-find non-sock yarns. The prices are really good for the German yarns, especially if you pool your purchases with others to make the shipping not so bad. And Astrid is very nice.

Kaleidoscope Yarns: This is a real storefront in Vermont. I used to shop there a lot more when I needed every color of Plymouth Eros for the scarves I used to sell. But I still go there when I have a specific need. They have a large selection and ship quickly.

Knitivity: Small online shop with the unique and lovely yarns dyed by Ray in Houston. He's changed how he does the ordering now, so you can order any of his colorways and he will dye them right up for you. I like to support small businesses, and since Ray's a real individualist, I feel good supporting him.

Knitpicks: I mostly get needles from here. I used to get their sock yarn, but it didn't do much for me. I love, love, love their needles, both the metal and the wood. They have very good customer service (I quickly got a replacement for a defective item) and I enjoy their paper catalogues, too.

The Loopy Ewe : I think I have gone on and on enough about this one. But really, if you want indie dyer sock yarn, you just MUST go here. This place has to have the best customer service, marketing, and style of any online retailer. You always get presents and friendly notes, and advance notice of new items after 6 orders.

Simply Socks Yarn Co.: Another good online sock yarn vendor, who has more commercial stuff than TLE does. The owner is a new mother, and I like to support businesses that let mothers stay home with their babies (a prejudice left over from my previous nonprofit organization career). They have fast service, a fun blog, and a good selection!

Woodland Woolworks: Nice people in the Great Northwest, about whom I have already raved. I love their newspaper-like catalogue, too. They give you coupons for discounts when you buy stuff there, so it makes up for shipping and handling!

Excessories! and Before You Teach...

More Sock Yarn
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I made myself laugh just now by commiserating with someone in an email message about having "too much" sock yarn. I said that now my yarn consists decorative accessories in lovely baskets, some of which may be socks some day. Only when I first typed it, I said "excessories" instead of "accessories." What an EXCELLENT mental slip, if I do say so myself!!

So, here we have a photo of some of my excessories in a lovely basket.

Before You Teach

Now for the second part in my series on teaching beginners to knit. Today I'll focus on things to talk a bit about before casting on the first stitch. (This information is also useful to fill time waiting for a latecomer, or for someone to pick out their yarn.)

Now, this IS important stuff, so if someone misses it, it's good to slip some more of this info in during the class or series of classes.

I like to talk in general about the ingredients of knitting, because I have found that if I don't talk about this stuff, I'll get asked about it anyway! You can do the topics in just about any order.

Needles

Types: show them single pointed, double pointed and circular needles, plus a cable needle if one is handy. Let them know that circulars are probably the most versatile, but that most people end up using all of these for different projects. Explain why they are using the shorter single pointed needles (if that's what they have). Mention that some "throwers" like longer needles, because they can rest one in their lap or under their arm. Promise to demo that later.

Materials: reassure them that all materials are appropriate in different circumstances, and that individuals will have different preferences. Talk about wood (bamboo, ebony, birch), plastic (Bryspun, clear, old solid ones, light-up), metal (steel, coated, brass) and the importance of smooth joins and flexible cables in circular needles.

How to Choose: Point out that slippery yarn often benefits from needles with a bit of texture, while smooth yarn knits really quickly on slicker metal needles.

Yarn

I could talk about this for a long time so I try to be brief!

Content: point to the wool, bamboo, cashmere, mohair, cotton, hemp, corn, soy....and say that it didn't use to be like this! I act like an old lady and reminisce about long ago only being able to get acrylic in mod 70s colors.

Textures: Emphasize that they are knitting with smooth yarn, but that there are all kinds of weights and textures and constructions to choose from. Point to the eyelash, the thick-and-thin, the sock yarn, the laceweight and so on.

Quality: go into detail about how good yarn may cost more, but in most cases is worth it. Tell them when a cheap yarn may be fine. Remind them that they will be touching the yarn for many hours, so be sure you like how it feels.

The Label: show them all the brilliant information there is on a yarn ball. Have each person look at the label from their yarn. Have them see if they are using an appropriate needle for their yarn. If not...switch. Tell them you are guessing, since they don't yet know if they are tight, loose or average knitters. This will lead you to...

Gauge

Give them their very first little chat about gauge and why it matters. No doubt it won't be their last. Let them know that every knitter is different, and that's why you can't say that Yarn X should always be knit with Needle Y. (If I personally did that, I'd have many overly large items.)

Where to Buy Yarn

The Local Yarn Shop: If you are in a yarn shop, extol the virtues of the yarn shop up and down. Well, it is TRUE. The LYS is a wonderful thing. Remind them of the friendly helpful staff, the wonderful classes, the ability to see, touch and smell yarn before buying (hey, Schaeffer yarn smells like vinegar, ya know). Mention that you can see many patterns knitted up, and browse patterns easily at the LYS. Remind them that the shop is there to hang around in, if that is true. Point out the wonderful friends you can make there (hug one, if available). If there are other yarn shops in town, let students know it is not a sin to shop there. Usually there are things in one place that aren't in another. And you may be more comfortable with the staff in one place than in another--there are a lot of factors that go into choosing your favorite!

The Internet: Do not deny the lure of the Internet. When the LYS doesn't have enough of the yarn you want, or you can't find something locally, the Internet is your friend! And there are many indie yarn dyers and other vendors whose merchandise is not available in a shop. Mention your personal friends by name, hee hee. Reveal that there are FREE patterns on the Internet! And caution that you sometimes get what you pay for, too! You might want to let them know there is good refresher information out there if they forget something you teach them, and that there are many cool books they can order via the Internet, to expand their knowledge.

Big Box/Discount/Hobby Stores: Be nice, and remember some of your students may simply not have the funds to buy $37.50 dishcloth yarn like YOU did. Just caution that some of the yarn in discount stores and the like may not be of great quality, which may lead to a disappointing product, but that some of the places have much improved selections, and you can't go wrong if you are looking for crochet cotton or dishcloth cotton. Even yarn shop employees get some of their stuff there! If you are careful, you will help the students with limited funds feel better, yet give them the idea that it might be worth their while to get less yarn of better quality than tons of inexpensive stuff.

I try to fit all this information into ten minutes. Good luck with that. The part on where to buy yarn can also be interspersed with your other instruction, and makes good "chatting" fodder while they are knitting away and you are hoping they mess up so you can help them learn how to not make that mistake again.

Have fun!

Yarn Shop Visit Report

I realized this morning that I didn't write about the only yarn shop I visited on my trip to North Carolina. I was thrilled to learn that a new shop had opened in High Point, not far from my parental abode, out behind a restaurant I had eaten at many times. The restaurant owner had bought the land behind him and put up a small strip shopping center. And there was the new yarn shop (open since November, but new to me), Common Threads. (This is very good, because I have overburdened my dad's patience by making him take me to Greensboro and Winston-Salem to look at yarn many times.)

I am sharing the logo because I think they did such a nice job on it, and I love the slogan (if you can't read it, it says "For we are all joined by a common thread").

I showed up exactly at opening time, as I always do on Saturdays at home, and talked a while to the owner, who was very nice, for a crocheter (ha ha, JK as my kids would say (just kidding)). And I got to help a lady figure out how to weave in ends on a hat and how to cast on so that it won't be too tight, which made me feel good, since it was 10:15 on a Saturday and I am always helping people knit at that time! I'm sorry I didn't get more time to chat, since Dad showed up and acted as if I had enjoyed PLENTY of time at the shop (was he KIDDING??).

For a relatively new shop, they had a good variety of yarn from a lot of suppliers, though she hoped to get more. I remember when the shop I hang out at opened, it took a while for some suppliers to send their whole lines, or anything at all. The shop did have a good supply of needles and notions, too, and that's what I ended up buying--some of those really short circular needles (unfortunately the smallest was size 2, so I can't personally knit a sock on them due to my gauge issues) and some festive yellow Japanese stitch holders, since all I can find right now are giant ones.

I had to heroically resist purchasing more sock yarn. It was hard, because they had a couple of bands we don't have at home, plus a great Cherry Tree Hill selection. But, I am trying SO hard to get the stash to go down, not up! I think I deserve some sort of medal. Of course, the fact that I bought 4 pairs of shoes on this trip shows I really do not have good resistance to my weaknesses, so that would take away my medal.

Speaking of socks, 5 more rows and Coupling will be footwear! I can wear them to the LYS tomorrow! I am now trying to decide whether to make the Monkey socks or something of my own design with the Socks That Rock yarn-cake in line next.

Oh, and here's a photo of the Common Threads shop from the outside--do drop by if you are ever in the High Point of the Piedmont Triangle and support a new store!