We had the following handknits donated: 7 sweaters, 13 blankets!!, 3 pair of slippers, 26 scarves, 161 hats, and 54 pair of mittens. WELL DONE everyone! A mountain of hats!
And a ton of mittens! 
Michele and I sorted everything and we just couldn't believe how nice everything was. People really put a lot of thought into this, and that's what it's all about. Thanks so much for donating your time, efforts and materials to help out. We are sure these items will all find a good home. We've had a busy week here at the shop. People are coming in for last minute things and I think we've sold a record number of gift cards, both in the shop and online. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who will be receiving a gift card? It's always fun to go out after the holidays and cash those in. How great to be able to choose your own gifts!
Michele just finished a pair of slippers for her neice. Aren't they cute? She needle felted stars on them - they're really adorable. 
And last week I did finish my handpaint hat. I was able to get it to my sister-in-law in time for her birthday and she loves it. She's all about pink.
Another quick hat (cabled) in Blue Sky Wosted:
A soft and washable ribbed hat in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted: 
Scarves are also quick. How about this gorgeous (and totally do-able in a week) lace cashmere scarf in Jade Sapphire: 
And this pattern just arrived - an adorable kid's teddy bear and matching jacket in Oh My! (I made the bear body in one evening and the jacket will be done tonight.) 
Apparently he took three pictures, and by the third I must have told him not to bother taking anymore because clearly they weren't getting any better. Then that night at home he showed me the pictures and I had absolutely no recollection of him taking them? I do remember that one of the recovery room nurses is one of our customers, and then I saw another nurse (and customer) as I was being wheeled out to the car. This one is my "Deer in the Headlights" look.
So on the knitting front, I have done okay. I finished the Jade Sapphire scarf and it is now blocking.
I finished the handpaint hat and Barb stopped by this morning with yarn for a second one. (My sister-in-law has been staying with me this week and I am going to make one for her in pinks.)
I finished Sophie's hat in Velvet Touch, and am just about finished Marc's second hat. I made a really cute hat out of the Blue Sky Bulky last night, and I just need to make 3 cool pom-poms to go on the I-cord tassels. 
Unfortunately our pom-pom makers did not come in the shipment this week, so I have to either make my own using cardboard (somewhat okay option, although they NEVER come out as perfect as they do with the pom-pom makers) or wait to borrow Kalen's when I go back to work on Tuesday. I will most likely wait. I may start the Blue Sky Worsted hat today, since that should be quick.
Today I have nothing but time. The girls are at a tennis lesson, and they have a birthday party this afternoon. Then they're going out to dinner and on a Christmas light tour with Marc's parents, sister and their 3 year old cousin, Ainsley. And Marc has his company Christmas party which he will attend solo, since I can't go. So that's a lot of quiet time for me. I think my only outing today (and first since Tuesday) is to go rent some DVDs to watch while knitting.
Top left: a neckdown cardigan out of Velvet Touch for my daughter Helen, who (along with her sister) still wears her last year's sweater about 3-4 times a week. It's getting a little on the short side, and she won't wear any of the store bought sweaters she has because she says they itch. SO, in her new favorite color... blue, I started another sweater for her in the summer. I haven't gotten to the armholes yet, so I can increase more to accommodate for her growth since summertime. It may or may not be finished by Christmas. The other day I whipped up a cute little hat for her - out of the same Velvet Touch and a strand of blue Baby Ull. VERY cute, with some I-cord fringies at the top. The pink/purple one will be for Sophie, and the multi colored/pink one MAY be for my niece. If I get that far.
Last year I made Marc a striped ribbed hat out of Cool Wool, which we have discontinued. It was red, gray and black, and he wears it every day. It's been washed numerous times and is still in pretty good shape. I saved a few balls of the yarn, and I'm making him two more hats to add into the "rotation." I've finished one, so I have one more to go. Last night when I was leaving the store, I grabbed 2 skeins of Blue Sky Worsted in Cranberry to make a set of wristers and matching hat (a Blue Sky pattern). Gift? Maybe. More likely... shop sample. I also pulled 2 skeins of Blue Sky Bulky in Lilac to make a bulky hat. Again, not sure if this is for someone or for the shop, I just felt the need to knit with this yarn in this color.
I started (and did not finish) two scarves when I went to Florida with my sister a few weeks ago. One is a dragon scale slace scarf out of Jade Sapphie 2-ply Mongolian Cashmere in Caribbean Mist. Talk about soft! I am almost finished this - I'm just having a hard time knowing when to stop. It is going to change pretty dramatically when blocked, both in width and length. I think I only have a few more repeats and the border, and then the blocking. I have a SIMPLE Koigu scarf that only takes one skein. That shouldn't take too long to finish. And then I am going to make my friend a Handpaint Hat. She saw mine the other day and commented on it, so I thought it would be fun to make her one, since it is SO quick.
If I finish all of these things, I can always go back to my crocheted pillowcases for my family room. I really would like to get those done in the near future. Or I may call the shop and ask for some yarn delivery!
Our favorite is the Foliage Fleur Shrug, from the cover of book #247. I wasn't too sure about this sweater from the picture. But when I tried it on I was sold. It is comfortable, cozy, lightweight, and FUN! We all agree, it's an awesome sweater. And it's here for you to see! Andra had just returned from Stitches and she said that jacket was the hit of the show. People were snapping it up right and left.
Another favorite is Andra's own pattern - the Cabin Lap Throw, which uses 5 different Berroco yarns and is a simple wave stitch. I put together 5 really pretty color combinations for the website and can't wait to knit one up for the shop. I think were going to do the blue colorway.
Here are the steps. Soak yarn in Meadows Wool Wash.
Prepare dyeing surface with plastic wrap.
Lay yarn on surface, side by side.
...TA DA!
Wrap each skein in plastic wrap.
Put all three skeins inside of two Ziploc storage bags.
Microwave for 4 minutes once, and then turn over, and another 4 minutes.
Take out. HOT! Squeeze out excess liquid.
Hang to dry.
When dry, wash again in wool wash. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Dry. ENJOY! 
It's been a hectic week for me - each day I've been coming and going... dentist appointment, early pick up for Halloween, hernia appointment, teacher's conferences, etc. But we all worked hard to completely rearrange more than half of the sport/dk weight room. We had to make space for Colinette Cadenza, a 100% merino that is hand painted, and machine washable. It's so soft and gorgeous, and I REALLY hope it arrives today! If not, I will have to find another knitting project for the weekend. I am about 30 minutes away from finishing a little Minnowknits pattern with Berroco Pure Merino. It's wonderful to knit with Pure Merino, and at 4-4.5 stitches to the inch, it's quick too. Which is great because it means almost instant satisfaction... and not so great, since it means I am then out of a knitting project. (Hope the Cadenza arrives!)
Joy has been knitting samples for us now for a few months, and without her help, we would not be able to keep up with all of the new yarns we keep getting. Thanks Joy! The other day she sent us the Organik sweater and it is just gorgeous. We've been doing really well with both Organik and Terra, from the Fiber Company. Both yarns are beautiful, and wonderful to work with. This pattern for the Organik sweater is from Design Source Cotton Collection #1. It is a great looking sweater.
We also sorted through all of the donations we've received so far for COTS. Remember, we are taking donations of new, knitted items through December 20th. Then we will then take them to COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter) in Burlington. We've had a really nice response so far from our local customers, Remember - sweaters are welcome too! Maybe pull out that sweater you've never finished, that's been sitting in your stash for years, and finish it and bring/send it in. Hats, scarves and mittens are awesome, but socks and sweaters in any size are also nice! We will be giving away two $75 gift cards - one to a local and one to an internet customer. 
Have you all started your holiday lists? Last night my daughters did, and they each have a theme going. Helen wants a lot of I-Pod things, including an I-Pod, and everything needs to be blue. Sophie is asking for an assortment of American Girl Doll accessories, like hair things, ice skates, crutches and bandages... It's pretty clear I need to help them to round out these lists so they are not putting all their eggs in one basket.
The best "toys" I have ever gotten them have been the kittens. They carry them around all the time. The other night they were handing out Halloween candy at the front door, while holding the cats like baby dolls in their arms. I kept hearing "Trick or Treat! AWWWW... cute kitties! Can I pet them?" I think the cats were more well received than the candy.
The cats love to be pushed around the house in the doll stroller. Helen even gives them pretend bottles... And all of this is tolerated by Maisy and Lucy (luckily).
UPS just came! I'm all set for my knitting this weekend - the Cadenza arrived!
But then I touched it. And my reaction was... Oh My XXXXXX (put in whatever word you would use when something is BEYOND description.) This yarn is so soft, cuddly, scrumptious, cozy, velvety... well I can't pick just one adjective. I still think the name is awful, but I am a believer in the product. It's a great pick for babies and kids. Plymouth had some adult colors available in this yarn, but none of them were spectacular, so we're targeting it for kids with 8 kid friendly colors.
I started a little hooded pullover with it last night and loved working with it. It's on size 10 needles and very reasonable at just $5 a ball. And machine wash and dry!
Barb also knit a hat for her husband out of this yarn. Trust me, it's lovely!
And the leaves are just gorgeous. Especially when the sun comes out! Though we didn't have much of that today. 
One more...
We drove to Waterbury, and it started to drizzle. A few miles later, it became a steady rain. A shame, as the foliage is probably close to peak, and it was pretty foggy and we couldn't see much of it. We arrived in the parking lot, and sat in the car for about 10 minutes. NOT to escape the rain. Why? Well... we actually couldn't decide what to wear. How typical! Shorts or tights? Short sleeved shirt or long sleeved shirt? Or both? Rain jacket or fleece? We still had over 45 minutes to the start of the race, so we knew we'd be soaked, and we all wanted to start off as dry as possible. 
