Falls yarns are pouring in

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. We've had a very busy week here. Lots of rain, lots of customers, lots of new yarns! I'll try to space out the info so I don't overload you, but let's just say we have many new things on the shelves here at the shop. We also have a number of new samples that have been completed, including the Loppem cardigan... this is a top seller, so come in and see it in person!

We all know it's going to be expensive heating our homes this fall and winter. I am already thinking that I'm going to pile more blankets on each bed so I can turn the heat back several degrees at night. Afghan knitting is going to be big this fall, and so I've already started knitting an afghan out of one of the new Manos fall pattern books. It is due to arrive here sometime next week, but I was fortunate enough to get a pre-copy of the pattern. It's a simple pattern - 12 big squares, 12 different colors. I just completed square one last night.

I would have completed it earlier, but several felines (well, really just one - I KNOW it was Maisy) disturbed my knitting the other day and lost me a good bit of knitting time. I was out running a quick errand and left my knitting, and Brittany DP needles all zipped up nicely in a gallon size freezer bag. I came home 20 minutes later to find my bag had clearly been disturbed. Not only was the bag open (I had securely "zipped" it) but there were many chew marks on the bag, and on the Brittany needles inside the bag. And the bag looked sort of empty. Like it didn't have quite the same amount of - oh I don't know - YARN in it as before. I did a quick check of the premises and found about 70 grams of Manos on the front entry rug. Tangled is putting it nicely. It took about an hour to salvage it.

Another reason I was slow on this square? My terrible habit of skimming patterns. This was a pre-copy, so there was no picture. People - I'm really visual. I do much better with pictures. So no picture, and I skimmed the pattern. I thought I knew what I was doing, and I knit most of the square before I realized there was a row of YO-K2tog back on row 8. I was already on row 40 or so. So I had to frog much of my work, but the square is done now, and I am sure the next one will fly by. It's going to be really nice, one completed and blocked!

Today we got in an amazing yarn! Peruvian tweed from Joseph Geller. We are so excited about this one. It's got 600 yards and it's so beautiful. It's only $27! You just have to touch this one...