Blue Ribbon Red Mittens

I've already posted about the Mitten Tree project that I do with the kindergarten children here at my school. Here is another pic from that event that one of the teachers just shared with me. Here, I'm showing the children my favorite hat and mitts. The mittens took the blue ribbon at the Wisconsin State Fair last year. (The vest I'm wearing took second place a few years back) When I shared that little bit of information, the children applauded!

Because these mittens are special, I did not donate them to the mitten tree. I told the children that I was saving them to wear after Christmas when I knew Santa was bringing me a red coat. You should have heard the uproar that caused! How did I know I was getting a red coat? Did I talk to Santa? Thinking fast, I said, well--I had only asked for one thing, and I had been really, really good this year. I was 99% sure I was getting a red coat. Never having had little ones myself, I did not realize how quickly one can create controversy.

So, Santa did deliver the red coat, and I wear it to school with my red hat and mitts. My prediction came true, and the children are truly in awe of me.

Is it cheating to post UFOs?

How can September be almost over without a post? I've knit just a wee bit. A vest for a new baby at work is almost done, but I'm too lazy to get out the camera and take a picture of it right now. Will post when finished.

A factor in the infrequent posting is that I've always felt it's a bit of a cheat to post a picture of a garment in progress, rather than post a finished object. Some knit blogs will document the progress on a project every day even if it's only 2 rows! I say that your knitting has become an excuse to blog rather than a blog about what you knit because you are not knitting! You are spending all your time blogging!

Passionate knitter though I may be, I've actually been in a big lull in my knitting ambition for the last year ( even before starting this blog). I used to knit at least 2 hours/day and recently I find a week may go by without my having picked up my knitting. Perhaps it's because I've been doing a lot of small gift projects for others and not much knitting for myself. I do love to make knitted gifts, but there is always a sense of obligation and deadlines (must be done by Christmas/the birthday/baby's due date) when making a gift.

I much prefer to make something for myself -- something out of luscious yarn, in a pattern of my own design--a long term project that I may end up re-working if I don't like it. When I have a knitted gift project, I always feel the deadline dampens my enthusiasm. The luscious angora that I bought at Stitches last year has been calling to me for some time, but I will not touch it until I get these baby gifts out of the way. Pretty much a serial knitter, I try to work on one project at a time and try to get things done. That being said, I still have more than one UFO in my knitting basket. Now if I would take a picture of every UFO in my stash and post one per day I will look like I'm a prolific blogger and goddess knitter. But I'm actually knitting less than I have in years --does that make any sense and is it a true representation of me? No!

I imagine some knitting bloggers out there may have a few opinions about that. Your comments are welcomed.

A Southern Yarn-A Knitter’s Journey to Asheville

I’ve just returned from a mini-vacation to Asheville, NC, a yarn paradise—in fact, that is the name of one of the yarn shops there. The Asheville area has everything I like in a vacation –good weather, pretty scenery, a cosmopolitan city with lots of art and entertainment, and most importantly, good yarn shops. The Chamber of Commerce even prints a brochure called “The Fabric, Fiber, Bead Trail” to assist the knitting tourist with finding places to leave her (or his) money behind. I used the brochure to find my way to 4 shops in the Asheville area. I loved them all, but managed to keep my money in my wallet (only because my stash currently exceeds the capacity of an entire closet).


I appreciate all handicrafts. Besides knitting, I dabble in jewelry making and collect pottery, and Asheville has an abundance of those crafts as well. The city has a unique history of promoting rural folk crafts through craft guilds and folk schools. We visited some gorgeous galleries. I was especially impressed by the Allanstand Craft Shop at the Folk Art Center, The Southern Highland Craft Guild, and the New Morning Gallery.

I liked every shop I visited, and realized that each had something different to offer. If I lived there, I don’t know if I could have a single favorite. My visit was brief, but here are my impressions:



Asheville Home-Crafts
In Grove Arcade
PH: (828)350-7556

-Small shop, not a huge yarn selection, but nice.
-They offer finished crafts for sale. Lots of knit hats and accessories were on display; and it seemed to attract local knitters who were looking to both buy and sell.



Earth Guild
33 Haywood Street
PH: (828)255-7818
Toll Free: (800)327-8448

-A full-service craft shop, in business since 1970!
-In addition to yarn, they sell dyes, beads, polymer clay, looms and weaving supplies, spinning wheels & more.
-Friendly owners told me about the classes they offer.
-Lots of yarn on cones(good for weavers, but also good quality for less money).
-Had their own line of Dragonfly Yarns-special died cottons and chenille.
-Emphasis on high quality knitting yarns over novelty yarns.


Purl’s Yarn Emporium
51 College Street
PH: (828)253-2750

-Colorful and bright,I loved the way yarn was arranged by color rather than type.
-Friendly male clerk.
-Eclectic clientele--lots of college students and 30-somethings, male and female.
-Nice selection of books and novelty yarns.
-Cozy sitting area for their knitting nights.



Yarn Paradise
6 All Souls Crescent
Biltmore Village

-Quaint building in the Biltmore village.
-Cozy knitting table, a knitting group was in session. I was warmly greeted by very friendly owner and her loyal customers.
-Great selection of yarns, both basic and novelty.
-Nice selection of unique buttons.
-Lots of finished objects on display to inspire you!

Knitting Away

For me, knitting and travel are intertwined. Knitting on airplanes is another one of my favorite places to knit. In years past, I traveled a lot for work and I would get loads of knitting done while waiting at the gate or flying cross-country. I love being creative and productive, blissing out on knitting while my fellow travelers are bored and irritable.

I don't travel as much these days, but when I do, it is usually for the soul purpose of knitting. I discovered the joy of knitting vacations back in 1998, when I went to Meg Swanson's Knitting Camp for the very first time. Prior to that, I had been an at-home knitter of intermediate skill at best. Knitting camp opened my eyes, sharpened my skills, and made me hunger for more. I started seeking out knitting retreats and workshops offered by yarn shops, TKGA, and Knitter's Magazine (Stitches). I convinced my husband to go with me to New England, New Mexico, Scotland, and Ireland for the knitting. I also went on lots of retreats without him. I will probably ramble about knitting vacations often in future posts. I have the intention of adding links to my favorite knitting vacations.

I'm posting pictures from one of my favorite knitting vacations--Cheryl Oberle's Knit-Away. It was a terrific trip that combined knitting with scenic beauty. A special bonus - my fellow knitting campers threw me a surprise birthday party. These pictures are from May of '05 at the Knit-Away in Taos. Cheryl is a terrific teacher and a goddess knitter. If you ever have an opportunity to take classes, sign up immediately! I know she will be doing a Folk Shawls workshop in May at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. They offer lots of knitting retreats. Check it out.