Announcing new Ripple Slip Pattern

My new pattern is now ready and up for sale. The "Buy It" buttons are over there in the sidebar. ---->>

I've added it on Ravelry (where you can see a few more photos). I still need to add it to my website. 

There are many options with this pattern:

• Scarf or Shawl
  
• Knit stitch pattern lengthwise or widthwise
• Yarns in 2 contrasting solid colors
• 2 colorways of a self-striping yarn
• A self-striping yarn with a solid
  

Here are some photos for ideas:

Scarf, 1 skein Kauni, split so that contrasting colors were alternated, knit lengthwise:

Scarf, 2 skeins of different colorways of SWTC Karaoke, knit widthwise:

Shawl, 3 Skeins Silky Wool and 5 Skeins Silk Garden Lite, knit widthwise:

Shawl, 4 oz. each tan and black DK Alpaca, knit lengthwise:

Let me know how you like it! 

Crazy weather

We're supposed to hit a record high today. The record is 56, they are saying 58-60. There is still snow out there that needs to go somewhere, but unfortunately the ground is still frozen solid. To top it off, thunderstorms tomorrow.

If we didn't live on this particular dirt road, I would not have a problem with the washing away of the 8 weeks of snow that has accumulated with no real melting. ( We didn't get our typical January thaw.... the snow just kept coming and the temps would hardly budge out of the single digits and teens.) But when things get warm really fast like this (and add some rain on top of it) our road can not handle it and turns to a muddy mess. Every year I pray it is not the year we have to resort to parking at the corner and putting on our boots to walk home. We've come close a few years, but this might be the one. Hoo boy... fun times.

On the knitting front, I am almost done with one of the pieces for my new pattern. The pattern will have several different options to choose from, and I am hoping to have samples to show all, or at least most, of the options in photos on the pattern. I'm getting good feedback about the design, and will announce it here when it's ready.

I spent about 7 hours Saturday in the company of my knitting buddies at Kim's house. We had ourselves a little mid-winter knitting retreat. Lots of chatter, food, and knitting. Unfortunately I was the first one who had to leave.... I really didn't want to leave but I had to tear myself away to go to a fundraiser that night. We had a really great time. Kim lives in a rural area where wildlife abound and at one point during the afternoon, 4 deer came and stood right outside her dining area window to feed a bit, and then stared as us while we stared at them. It was so cool!

Speaking of turning 50....

I'm really feeling my age today, after getting a look at what's going on in my body....

Last Tuesday I was innocently going about my business, about to make a pot of chicken soup. I filled the stock pot in the sink, then as I picked it up and turned to walk to the stove, I felt something not quite right in my back, and went quickly (OW OW OW OW-ing) all the way to the stove. By Friday I had decided I would make an appt. with a chiropractor because it was still pretty sore. I have never been to a chiropractor before, but I figured it was time I checked out this form of "help" with a body that seems to need more and more help these days.

I was able to get in that afternoon for X-rays and a consult, went back Saturday morning for an adjustment, and today we went over my X-rays. I could clearly see the areas where there were problems. There was some mal-alignment, but I also have a couple of bone spurs, early Phase II arthritis, and some decrease in disc space.

Phooey.

Even though arthritis is not reversable, I was assured that its progress could be slowed with exercise, and keeping my spine in line. He also suggested I change the way I sleep (that's going to be a tough one, after 49+ years). I highly doubt I can train myself to sleep on my back, but maybe my side. (I am a stomach sleeper, which apparently is hard on your neck)

So I'm going to give chiropractic care a whirl and see what it does for me. I figure, it can't hurt! Our insurance fully covers 24 visits a year, so that's cool.

Any time spent in the waiting room, or waiting in the exam room, will of course be spent knitting.

Today I took my socks to work on. I'm getting bored with this pair and really want them off the needles so I can get on to something else. But I am persevering. The reward of a really cool pair of socks will be worth it. I'm thinking I'm really getting ready for a knitting challenge. What will it be?

But first, I need to get back at spinning.

PS...look for a new mitten pattern soon

FO revealed

Debbie's baby shower was yesterday, so I can finally reveal what I've been working on for a while. It's the Trellis sweater from the Spring '05 Knitty. I made a size 2, so that it would be grown into, rather than quickly grown out of. I had originally started knitting the Baby Pea Pod sweater in size 6 months, but ended up frogging that when I realized how small it was and that it would hardly get worn. It's a darned cute pattern though and I really enjoyed knitting that while it was on the needles. If you go back a couple months, you can see the beginnings of that sweater in a photo. That one I started knitting in Dream in Color yarn, but the Trellis was done in Cascade Superwash.




I really loved knitting the Trellis sweater. The patterns really kept me interested. Assembly gave me a few fits, but I think when all was said and done, it came out pretty cute. Debbie doesn't know if the baby is a girl or boy, so I gave her a selection of square buttons in green to match, and also bright pink, yellow and turquoise. She can choose when the time comes.

I covered a child size tube hanger with matching yarn and tied ribbons around the neck of the hanger. I knit an i-cord long enough to slip over the hook of the hanger, and then I crocheted around the rest of the hanger (Boy, did THAT take a lot longer than I expected!). It added a nice finishing touch to the sweater presentation.

I recently knit a B4 Bag for the new LYS where I am working. Here it is while it was blocking, before buttons, and then a rather blurry shot at the shop...I need to get a new one of it totally finished, cuz it is darned cute, if I do say so myself!



If you live anywhere near Romeo and haven't stopped in at Labor Of Love Yarn and Fiber Arts, please come see us! More and more goodies are arriving every day!

Happy Anniversary to US!

Today is our 28th anniversary. Wow! Who knew, through all the trials and tribulations, we'd make it this far. Here's a photo of Mike and I on our wedding day...Oh, the 70s...weren't fashions grand? At least in this picture I am not wearing my big floppy hat! (I do, however, have my lovely parasol to block the sun)



Today is a BIG day for weddings....being 07-07-07 and all. In fact, we are going to a wedding. Oh yes, I mentioned it in my last post. At some point during the evening, I will have the DJ play our wedding song, and dedicate it to my dear hubby, Mike.

I just googled the song so I could link to it, and found something I didn't know before. Paul Stookey has donated all profit from this song to charity...almost $2 million so far! Wow! Read about it here.


Promised knitting content....


I'm working on a secret project which I am totally in love with. I can't wait to finish it and present it to its recipient. Of course it's in my favorite color which doesn't hurt. It's not the same secret project mentioned previously, (May 5), though it is for the same recipient. Unfortunately that project will be frogged. This one is better anyway, so I have no regrets. And that yarn will be used for something equally as lovely.


I'm knitting another Garden Gate Scarf (available over there on the sidebar). This one is in SWTC's Bamboo for the scarf portion, and the stems, leaves and flowers will be in Karaoke. Some of the flowers will be felted, some will not. I'm sending this to SWTC and I think Jonelle said it would be part of a Karaoke trunk show. I hope to get it in the mail to her very soon.


I also have a pair of socks on the needles, though it's slow going on those. I only pick those up occasionally. I'm about to turn the heels and then I have to decide what I'm going to do on the cuffs. It's not my favorite sock yarn, so I'm kind of anxious to have them done so I can knit with some of the wonderful Rio De La Plata sock yarn I got from Threadbear recently.


Speaking of Threadbear, I am headed there on Monday with my friend Debbie. The purpose of this visit for me is to finally pick up the Ashford Joy spinning wheel that I am buying from one of the gals who works at Threadbear. It is barely used, and I have been making payments on it for a couple of months. Unfortunately, finances on the homefront have been pretty tight, due to several recent layoffs for Mike. Thankfully they were temporary, but even still, put a halt to any frivolous spending. (Not that I consider buying a spinning wheel frivolous, by any means.....)


ANYWAY.....


I was hoping to have the Joy to take with us when we go on our camping vacation starting next Saturday. I had been picturing myself at the campsite, sitting under the awning of our camper, spinning away. It didn't look like this was going to happen. When I mentioned it to my sister the other day, my dear, sweet, wonderful, generous sister offered to loan me the money to pay it off so I could get my wheel. (THANKS DIANE!!! I LOVE YOU!) So Deb and I are going to head to Lansing. I know Deb....she's going to spend a lot of time shopping. Me? Well, remember that halt to frivolous spending I mentioned? I can't do much shopping. I do have a store credit I can possibly use. But while Deb is browsing (we spent about 6 hours in the store the first time we shopped there...to give you an indication....) I think I will spin some roving I will bring along with me, and get acquainted with Joy. I can't wait! Ever since I borrowed a Joy to spin on while I was visiting my sister in February, I have wanted my very own and in 2 days it will happen. Yeah!



I found this on Jane's blog, and thought it would be fun to play along....


Scattergories


Here are the rules:
~Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.
~They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up!
~If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
~Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial.
~You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Have fun!

Your Name: Trish

1. Famous Singer/Band: Tim McGraw
2. 4 letter word: Tool
3. Street Name: Tienken
4. Color: Teal
5. Gifts/Presents: Toys
6. Vehicle: Train
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Trinkets
8. Boy Name: Tyler
9. Girl Name: Tina
10. Movie Title: Titanic
11. Drink: Tequila Sunrise
12. Occupation: Teller
13. Celebrity: Tom Hanks
14. Magazine: Time
15. U.S. City: Tampa
16. Pro Sports Teams: Tigers
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Tired!
19. Something You Throw Away: Trash
20. Things You Shout: Time Out!
21. Cartoon Character: Tinkerbell

Columbus-TNNA

What a weekend Kim and I had!

We have been so excited about attending our first TNNA. It was SO worth it.

The drive down was pretty uneventful except for a bit of construction and some rush hour traffic. Oh, and a few giggling fits to break things up a bit. The scenery can be a bit....um....shall we say....boring? in Ohio. We had to do something to keep ourselves awake. Even if it was to pretend I wanted some CEE-ment statuary on the way home from the place along the freeway. LOL....(Ok, so you had to be there.....)

We got to the hotel and got checked in. The hotel was really great. We stayed at The Columbus . The hotel had recently had a $15 million renovation, so everything was fresh and new. The beds were the best. We called them our "cloud" beds. They were cushy pillowtop beds, with down comforters and lots of down pillows. Our room overlooked the pool that was on the roof of the 4th floor. We were on the 11th floor. Here's a picture of our cool bathroom



And here's a picture of our cloud beds. Kim didn't want to be in this picture and I told her I wouldn't post it so I spray-painted her out (she was knitting on her bed...I don't know why I couldn't show that!)


So after checking in, we ventured out into downtown Columbus to look for somewhere to eat. My knee was bothering me, unfortunately, so we couldn't walk far (or very fast either). There was not much to choose from close to the hotel, but we did come across a place that looked like an old bar...the outside was really cool looking (WHY did I not have my camera with me?)but I wasn't sure I wanted "bar food". We decided to venture in and look at the menu, and decided to stay and eat. I'm so glad we did. It turned out to be an incredible meal, and the atmosphere was just great. Lots of dark old carved wood, stained glass, mosaic floors, etc. in this historic building. Unfortunately the photos on their website don't do it justice.

Kim and I both had this for dinner:

Almond Crusted Chicken Salad
Boneless breast of chicken rolled in almonds & Japanese breadcrumbs, lightly fried, served with mesclun salad, topped with apples, white cheddar, smoked bacon and drizzled with honey mustard vinaigrette.

The chicken was what was drizzled with the honey mustard vinaigrette, and the greens/cheese/bacon were drizzled with a maple shallot vinaigrette. The blend of the flavors was superb. I went searching for a maple shallot vinaigrette recipe last night and found this one. I will be trying it soon. YUM

We were expecting a salad with some pieces of chicken mixed in but really it was a bed of greens (with cheese and bacon) with a HUGE chicken breast on top in big slices. The apple slices were arranged off to the side. It was quite filling.

We walked back to the hotel to settle in for the evening since we had to be up pretty early Saturday morning, and neither one of us is really a morning person.

We got up just after 6am on Saturday morning, and got ready to go over to the Convention Center for TNNA! We picked up our credentials, booklets, and looked at the Great Wall Of Yarn for a while, picking up some yarn samples and taping them into our books.

We found the room where they were having the Designer/Teaching meeting at 8am. I'm glad we went to that. There was lots of talk about promoting ourselves in the industry, and I was especially interested in the talk of the more experienced members mentoring the newbies. Gwen from Knitability headed up the meeting and it was nice to be in the presence of other designers who I've only known from some of the yahoo lists. After the meeting we were both getting pretty hungry so we grabbed a bagel/cream cheese and then checked out the "new product" display out in the hallway before heading into the HUGE showroom.

The first place we headed was to the back corner were the South West Trading Company booth was. I was anxious to meet Jonelle and thank her personally for the exposure she has given my B4 Bag pattern. We had a nice chat, and took some pictures. She wanted a photo of me standing in front of the banner. I guess she is going to do a "designer showcase" of some sort. Here's a shot me standing by the banner. My bag is basically hanging over my head on the grids with some other samples that were knit up.

After hanging out there for a bit, we hit the floor. We walked and walked and walked. We made sure to make it to the booths that were giving out freebies. We got some yarn from Briggs & Little, some Clover Takumi (which means "professional" in Japanese, we were told) needles that are new to the market, and a few other little things. We enjoyed talking to the all of the people in the booths. It was informative, exciting and a bit overwhelming. Kim was focused on talking to yarn companies about possibly designing for them, while I was focused on finding new or unique items for the new yarn shop coming to Romeo this summer.

Which reminds me that I haven't written about that yet! I don't know how I didn't get around to making that huge announcement yet. On August 1st, there will be a new yarn shop, right around the corner from the one I used to work/teach at. Tina, the owner, is an incredible woman and has such a great vision for this shop. She is highly motivated and I feel this is going to be a wonderful place for us to gather and enjoy our passion for fiber. YEAH! It will be called Labor Of Love Yarn and Fiber Arts. Please visit if you live close enough or are coming through the area!

Tina was not able to attend TNNA so she sent me on a mission to be her eyes and ears while I was there. I brought back many ideas and information to share with her this week. I can't wait!

We ran into people we knew (Rob & Matt from Threadbear, LynnH, Joan from Heritage),met a few people such as Nicky Epstein when she signed our tote bags (that was cool! and I can't wait to get her new "Knitting Never Felt Better" book) and Chris de Longpre of Knitting At KNoon (another Michigan designer). We saw Lucy Neatby too. I touched base with the ladies at the Brown Sheep booth...one of which I had met during my trip to their factory in February. She remembered the blizzard and was amazed that we had really driven all the way back to Vermillion in that weather.

After hours and hours of walking, we decided at about 4 pm that we had had enough. We were so exhausted, and decided another little rest in our cloud beds would be nice before we found somewhere for dinner. So we had a nap, and then headed out. We went to Cap City Diner for dinner. Kim said it was one of her favorite places to go when she used to live in Columbus. It was a great choice. There were so many things that sounded good on the menu, but the desserts really sounded good too. So I chose the Vegetable Plate which was:

Roasted Corn Risotto
Grilled Roma Tomatoes, Asparagus and Zucchini
Portabello Spring Roll
Spinach
Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts and Basil Pesto.

OMG! Was it ever good. I did get a photo of this delightful dinner

Then came dessert. Kim got the Seriously Big Chocolate Cake, and they are not kidding. It had to be about 8 or 9 inches tall. I about died when I saw it. I had to get a photo of that too.

And here's a photo of my dessert. It was upside-down banana cream pie. It didn't have a crust, but instead was on a layer of chopped honey roasted peanuts. Yum. Neither one of us could finish our dessert. BURP!


Our original plan was to pick up some wine coolers on the way back to the hotel and to go back and watch the Pistons game. We were, however, SURPRISINGLY, too full to even think about drinking any alcohol, so we nixed that idea.

We could have used the alcohol to drown our sorrows when the Pistons ended up being eliminated from the playoffs. Phooey.

So we drifted off to la-la land in our comfy-cozy beds again, and slept in on Sunday morning. Check-out wasn't until noon, so we took advantage of that. We (reluctantly) left the hotel around 11:30. Kim dropped me off at the convention center again while she went to knit by the river for a while. I wanted to go in and thank Jonelle again before leaving for home. I was told there had been a lot of interest in my bag, and that quite a few LYS owners had taken my order forms, so I am hoping to get some new accounts from this.

I also picked up some more info for Tina from booths that I had somehow missed the day before.

I called Kim to come get me, and we headed out to Bob Evans for some chow. Then we went to the Knitter's Mercantile yarn shop. What a great place! The staff was friendly, helpful and humorous. There was a great group of ladies knitting at a table in the back. They all got excited about my B4 Bag, and threatened several times to steal it if I set it down or left it unattended. I passed out business cards and several of them have purchased the pattern online today. I got really nice notes from each of them today too. I REALLY wish I lived closer to "The Merc" as they call it. Everyone was so cheerful, and each person that came in while we were there was greeted by name and you could tell it was a wonderful place to be. If any of you are reading this, thank you for a fun time!

Kim bought lots of yarns that were new to her so she could do some swatching. I just grabbed a ball of sock yarn. I tend to buy sock yarn as souvenirs of places I want to remember, and then I also tend to knit a pair of socks to commemorate a trip or occasion. So I started a pair of socks this trip (yarn I got from the Brown Sheep factory in February)



I'll post some pix tomorrow of some of the goodies I collected over the weekend. This will have to be enough for now. I'm still quite tuckered out. I had a little snooze this afternoon, trying to catch up a bit. I think I need one more really good sleep and I'll be good to go!

I just have to say that I fell in love with the city of Columbus. The downtown area was awesome. Lots of interesting old architecture, as well as lots of new and exciting additions to the city, especially in the Arena District. I don't know why but I was especially fascinated with the old YMCA that was just a few blocks from the hotel. I wish I had gotten a photo of that building too. I need to become more diligent about carrying my camera, and USING it. I don't know how many times I have smacked myself in the head after leaving somewhere, thinking I should have gotten a photo or 2. Like at "The Merc". I should have a photo of the outside of the building, as well as the fun ladies sitting at the back knitting, Gerald who was behind the counter when we came in and quite friendly during our entire visit, etc. So many things I wish I had gotten pictures of this weekend. I hope I've learned my lesson.....

Excited!

I've been in contact for a while with Jonelle from Southwest Trading Company. She asked me to knit her a B4 Bag in Karaoke. She wanted to use it to help advertise the Karaoke yarn.

She sent me some yarn, and I knit it up, put on the buttons, and was going to line it, but she said, nah...just send it.

Last night I got an email that included a mock-up of what will be a 4 x 5 foot banner that will be in their booth at TNNA. The banner will then make its way around the country in a Karaoke touting event. My contact information will go along with it, so LYS owners can (hopefully!) order patterns before the trunk show gets to their store.

I believe this will also be an ad that will be in a couple of yarn magazines.



Cool, huh? So if you're going to be at TNNA, take a gander at the banner in the booth, and also peek inside the booth...I may be hanging out there at times (the bag will be there in person too!) I have decided to go to Columbus next month as an affiliate/designer. Just to get my feet wet, and see what it's all about. I am excited, and nervous, and expect to be totally overwhelmed. But hopefully it will be a good learning experience, and will give me some idea of what I need to do to further my business from here. My friend Kim of Knitting Matters will also be there on the same mission.

Meanwhile I've been working on my socks (almost done....soooo close!) and a mystery project done in Dream In Color (Happy Forest is the colorway). I must say I LOVE this yarn so very much. It's got such a nice feel to it, and has a lot of SPROING. There are such great colors to choose from. I can't wait to knit something for myself using this yarn. I got it from Threadbear in Lansing, sight unseen, (feel unfelt) after hearing Rob rave about it on his blog, and am not sorry. It's just lovely!

You might recognize what this is, but don't say anything....shhhh.....just in case the unknowing recipient might be reading.....

This is so "my color" :-)

Still working....

Well, the pattern didn't get done in a week as I hoped. I started stressing out about UFCOs (unfinished Christmas objects) so after finishing the BIG Christmas gift, I finished a couple more things I had on the needles and started another. I've GOT to get some of this stuff done, even if it's at the expense of my new pattern. I'm still working on it, but I've had to make a few more changes which means it's a 1 step forward 2 steps back type of thing. I thought by making the announcement on my blog I'd be lighting a fire under my own butt, but it only proved to burn me. Now I'm just looking foolish. Oh well....stuff happens. Like Christmas, and other "life" things that get in the way of just sittin' and knittin'.

I'll get it done..... soon....but I'm not making any more deadlines for myself!

Knit BIG!

Ok, how fun was my day yesterday????

TOO MUCH FUN!

That's me in the middle of Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer. Co-Authors of the book "Big Girl Knits". We are at Threadbear in Lansing for their book launch party/book signing.

I had to be there...I HAD to meet Amy especially, since she was the one who picked my Bloom Shawl pattern for the Fall '05 issue of Knitty. I had to thank her for one of the biggest thrills in my knitting life. Jillian is just a bundle of energy and SO much fun too. I was so glad to meet them both.

So I left the house about 12:45 and arrived at Threadbear just about 2:30. The party was supposed to start at 3:00. I first stopped at the front counter to grab a copy of the book, chatted with Matt for a couple seconds, and then headed to the table in the middle of the store where Amy and Jillian were set up. There were already a few others around the table.

As soon as I walked up, Amy said to me "That's a really nice Bloom Shawl". I pointed to myself and said "Creator of the Bloom Shawl!" and she jumped up, saying "OH! It's you! Let me come give you a hug!" She told me how much she liked the pattern, and how she enjoyed all the photos I had sent in along with the pattern. I told her I really enjoyed taking all those pictures of Kaitlyn with the shawl. She said the one they picked for the pattern, with Kaitlyn running with it flowing behind her was the kind of photo they like to see along with the patterns. She asked me several times when I was going to send her more designs. Blush....

I had printed out a fresh copy of the Bloom Shawl pattern, so I asked Amy if she would sign it. A lady sitting at the table thought it was kind of strange that I would ask Amy to sign a pattern I had designed, but we both agreed there was nothing strange about it. We both had a hand in bringing it to life.

Then I had her sign the copy of KnitWit that I had brought with me from home. (She's so glad to meet me?? Wow.... It's the other way around, methinks..... but still, thanks, Amy!)

Meanwhile Jillian was signing my copy of Big Girl Knits, which Amy signed when she was done.

Everyone who came in got a "KNIT BIG" pin, and put their name in a basket for a drawing for a T-Shirt. They were giving away T-shirts left and right and pretty soon everyone there seemed to be wearing one! They are so darned cute...pale pink with brown lettering...KNIT BIG on the front and on the back it has the name of the book, the authors' names, the website URL and the name of the publisher. I'm so glad I got one!


I hung around the store for 3 hours ... sometimes with Amy and Jillian, sometimes up front knitting and chatting with Matt and some other ladies. A couple of times I was asked about my B-4 Bag. I would point the ladies to where they could find the pattern, and one lady asked me to autograph it for her. Cool!

I tried to restrain myself from buying too much this time. I picked up some Baby Alpaca that was on sale, and I also had a few things to get for some friends back home that were requested. I didn't buy much else for myself...just a couple balls of Cascade Fixation in a green that is almost the exact color of my car. I'll use Lynn's Fast Florida Footies pattern again. (Lynn, I missed you! Wish you could have been there, but I know you were having a great day yourself...we need to catch up soon!)

Speaking of my car....I got my license plate about a week ago. I wanted "KNITIOT", which would have been soooo perfect, but it was already taken. I thought about ordering "GOT YARN" but decided I wanted the plate to have something to do with yarn or knitting, plus have reference to my car. So here's what I ended up with. Yarn....lots of yarn....always....in my boxy car.

Kaitlyn got me the pink ribbon license plate frame for Mother's Day. How perfect! And Jake got me the clear plate protector.

So I left Lansing and drove another 2 hours before arriving at my sister-in-law Lisa's 50th Birthday party. Grabbed a bite to eat, sang, and before I knew it, it was time for Kim and I to leave. We were signed up to walk 11pm-midnight at the Relay For Life. We ended up staying until about 1 am, and unfortunately there was rain off and on while we were walking. But it gave us a little preparation for how it's going to feel if it rains while we're doing the 3-Day walk.

I was so tired and sore when I got home, and I couldn't wait to peel out of my soggy clothes and get some sleep. I took some Tylenol PM and was able to sleep til 10am which felt SO good.

It was sure a busy day....fun and rewarding.

Update from Up North

What knitterly fun I'm having!

Yesterday I stopped at Yarn Quest in Traverse City (where you now can buy my patterns) and talked to a lady who used to live very close to where I grew up. She told me someone had been in the store the day before looking for buttons for their B4 Bag! Wish I had been there! Yarn Quest is a very nice store. I bought Knitting With Wire by Nancie Wiseman, and a lime green Chibi (which I have never seen before, and since I love green, well, I had to have it.) I guess a girl can never have too many Chibis. I have 4 different colored Chibis now.

I didn't have much luck with the other stores on my list for Traverse City. One store was empty, one address was something else altogether (but turned out it was a needlepoint store anyway, not a knitting store, so no great loss) The other one I missed somehow and I may go back to it.

Later in the day we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes, and on the way back I stopped by The Yarn Shop in Glen Arbor
and Inish Knits in Cedar, both of which had closed less than 10 minutes before I got to them. That was disappointing!


Today I went back to Inish Knits and greeted warmly by Kathy when I walked in. She asked if she could help me with something...I told her I worked in a yarn store in Romeo, and that I had designed a few patterns, "including this one" at which time I held up my B-4 Bag. She was very excited and asked "You're the one who designed the bobble bag?" at which point she jumped up and hugged me. She gushed over me a little bit (I am still having a hard time getting used to this type of thing happening.) Anyway, she got Fiona, the owner, on the phone and told her a designer was in the store and explained my bag (which she seemed to be familiar with). I talked briefly with Fiona, and she said she'd be happy to have my patterns in the store, so now they are also available at Inish Knits in Cedar, Michigan. I browsed the store, which was in a historic building complete with tin ceiling. There was lots of great yarn, and lots of fun "extras" created by local artists. Knitting needles topped with polymer clay accents, great polymer buttons, jewelry and other things to take in.

I ended up getting 3 different sheep buttons (I may start a sheep button collection...they are so cute!) 2 of the Noni felted flowers patterns, and a felted vase pattern. All 3 of the vases in the pattern were made up as shop samples and I fell in love with them. I also picked up Mason Dixon Knitting which I've been wanting to get my hands on since its release. I can't wait to spend some time with this book. Kathy pointed out the nesting felted baskets and that will probably be one of my first projects from this book.

Kathy invited me back for Sit 'n Knit tonight and I really would love to go back. I'm not sure what our dinner plans are or what I'll be doing later, but if the family is content to be at the waterpark without me, I'm going back to Inish Knits! I felt right at home there.

Meanwhile...on the needles:
Trekking XXL in color #134