Malabrigo in Maine

So this weekend we went to Maine for a quick trip to our camp. We go there for a longer stay each August. I took 4 skeins of Aquarella to make a little bolero, and some Malabrigo Chunky in Mariposa to start a vest.

The drive is not an easy one, so not much knitting gets done on the trip. Route 2 is curvy, hilly, and bumpy for the most part, and knitting in the car on route 2 has been most problematic in the past. And then the weather was amazing, and knitting and swimming do not go hand in hand, either. But I was able to squeek out the bolero:

And I did make some progress on the Malabrigo Chunky vest:

This is what we mostly did!

My rug hooking project (the checkboard) has come to a halt with all the new yarns we've been getting in. (Two more came today, Colinette Iona and J.Knits Felter's Dream.) So instead of a birthday gift for Helen and Sophie, it's looking more like a Christmas present. That's okay! I really like it, and I will take it to Maine in August and make some progress at that point.

Wellington Hat

Finished! Small adult (or large child) size took 3 skeins of Nashua Handknits Julia. I'm seeing this with an Isis jacket!

Rooster's final resting place

I saw my rooster rug hanging in my mom's house the other day. It looks great:

The colors I picked actually work perfectly with her other rooster items!

Malabrigo Chunky!

So we've still been unloading new yarns, and we're so excited about some of the ones that have arrived during the last week! We cleared out some space in the bulky room for Malabrigo Chunky, and were lucky enough to be organized before the boxes arrived from Uruguay. This is what it looked like late last week:
And this is now with 22 scrumptious colors:
This yarn is fantastic, just like the Malabrigo Worsted that we know and love. I am going to make a quick and easy vest out of the Chunky this weekend. It was hard to choose a color, but I'm going with Mariposa. It's gorgeous!

We also got some new colors in the Malabrigo Worsted, and to make room, we are discontinuing several of the old ones. They are NOT in the shop any more - they are online only. But order them while they're in good supply. As soon as my next e-mail goes out, they will be gone.


I just finished a felted bag out of Berroco Peruvia and Jasper. The Jasper just arrived on Friday of last week. It is heaven to knit with, and the striping effect gets more pronounced after felting. This cute bag took no time at all.

We got Nashua Handknits Julia last week, and it is amazing. It's a blend of wool, mohair and alpaca, and it is softer than I imagined it would be! I don't like working with or wearing mohair, but this is an exception... I can't even tell there's mohair in it! There are so many great colors and they all seem to work with each other - this yarn is perfect for colorwork. Yesterday I grabbed a ball of each to photograph for the website, and I tossed them in random order on the couch. Three of the balls JUMPED out at me.
I probably never would have chosen the three of them to use together, but for some reason, they were screaming to be knit, all together, in the same project. So I grabbed a fun hat pattern and look what we have this morning?
Not finished yet, but I am in LOVE with the colors. Isn't it funny where your inspiration comes from? This was completely random, all because those three balls fell out of a basket and landed next to each other.

Barb's Syncopated Hat is coming along nicely, out of Soxx Appeal. It's so cute! It's merino wool with some elastic and because it's fingering, it's lightweight, yet warm. Perfect!
This is her toe-up sock out of Regia Bamboo.

Kalen leaves for her vacation this Friday - she's been working on a gorgeous shawl out of Pure & Simple and Rock Star, from Tilli Tomas. It is really elegant, and it's a gift for someone who is about to become engaged. Who knows, maybe it will be a part of the wedding attire? It should be! It's really perfect.

Hot and humid

Wow has it been hot up here. I think a lot of people don't realize how hot and humid it can get in Vermont. When it's nice, it's beautiful. But when it's hot, it's pretty unbearable. We have gone from total drought to inches of rain in severe thunderstorms almost every day. The crunching sound of the grass in the backyard has been replaced by buzzing and swarming of mosquitos and black flies. So these days we are trying to stay cool by knitting and hooking in air conditioned places, or directly in front of a nice, strong fan.

We just starting carrying the Tilli Tomas yarns and I can't believe we waited so long! Last week I had a delivery of some new Rock Star colors, and several customers pulled yarns right out of the box, after the UPS driver dropped it off. I hadn't even checked it in, and before I knew it, 5 skeins of Rock Star were gone. And we got in three colors of Mariel's Crystals - that is the Pure & Simple Silk with Swarovski Crystals!!! Barb just finished a gorgeous scarf out of one skein of the Pure & Simple silk... it's a pleated scarf that is easy to knit, and it's totally reversible. I am NOT a fan of stitch patterns on scarves that are not reversible. I just can't stand seeing the wrong side... We just unpacked some great new sock yarn from K1C2 called Soxx Appeal. It's superwash merino wool with a smidge of nylon and 1% elastic. LOVE it. The colors are great - variegateds and solids for mixing and matching on heels and toes. But I am dying to make a baby sweater out of it, and Barb is going to make the Syncopated Cap in the Interweave Knits Summer 2007 issue. Keep your eyes peeled, that will be a class this fall.

We also just unloaded five new colors of Jade Sapphire 2-ply cashmere - solids! We are doing the Fiber Trends Cocoon Lace Wrap out of the Blueblood Red as a shop sample. It is SO gorgeous.

On Friday of last week I took home the checkerboard rug hooking pattern and some new pieces of wool. I am making it for Helen and Sophie for their 8th birthday, which is right around the corner... August 10th. I don't know if I will finish it on time. But I am working really hard on it, so my fingers are crossed! I went out and got wooden discs (1.75" diameter) at Michael's for the checkers. I will be painting them myself... we'll see how that goes. Speaking of painting, they both want their rooms repainted for their birthday. I do love painting walls (not trims) so I'm not too upset about this. But then Helen informed me that in addition to wanting her room painted blue, she also wants life sized palm trees painted on the walls. Sophie, who wants her room painted peach, then decided that she would like several kitty cats painted on her walls. Clearly, these children think I can perform miracles. Does anyone have any life sized stencils I can borrow?

What's that I hear? Oh, that's right. The familiar sound of thunder.

Is fall in the air?

We have been so swamped! It started in the middle of last week with the Quilt Show at the Champlain Valley Expo. We had SO many customers in the shop through Saturday evening, it felt like fall or even winter. Then this Monday we thought we'd catch a break, but that didn't happen. Michele and I were running around like crazy. Trying to help people from the moment we opened to the moment we closed. Tuesday was a bit calmer, and then we got a bit of a break, being closed on Wednesday. That always throws a kink in things though, being closed a day in the middle of the week. So the past two days have been still busy with customers and busy with unpacking NEW YARNS...

Yes, new yarns from my fall orders have started to arrive. We've had a lot to do in the shop, to prepare for these yarns too. So what did we get? This will be a QUICKIE post, with no pictures, since it is Friday evening and I want to go home to my family... So if you want to see any of the following yarns, come on it to the shop and check them out in person:

CTH SOCKITTOME

Malabrigo AQUARELLA

CTH CASCADE LACE

CTH MERINO LACE

CTH COTTON BOUCLE

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light

Berroco Fall pattern books

Norah Gaughan's volume 1 (FANTASTIC!!!)

CTH OCEANIA (not online yet!)

Plus we have a trunk show for another week for Cheryl Potter's Special Little Knits from Just One Skein. We have autographed books and several items from the book on display.

Next week our Malabrigo Chunky is coming, as well as Malabrigo Laceweight and several new colors of Malabrigo Worsted. And Offhand Designs bags and needle cases! And a new sock yarn from K1C2 called Soxx Appeal. It's here already, but still in the box. Sorry, we just couldn't get it all done.

Have a great weekend!

Small New Projects

We just got in some Bully Woolies Felting Kits. We have two bags - a larger handled tote available in 2 colorways
and a smaller bag that is available in four designs.
These are kits, sold in a little box with the pattern, the yarn (all the colors in the right amounts) and the button and/or handles. All you need is the needle and off you go. They are really reasonable, considering that once you make the bag with the yarn supplied, you can use the chart and dig into your stash to make more bags.


I really didn't want to start another project, since I have so many unfinished ones, but I broke down the other night and started the Flower Power bag, which is one of the smaller ones. I used to do intarsia ALL the time (way back when I was 20...) but I really haven't done it at all since then. This is a great project for beginning intarsia knitters, and also for those, like me, who haven't done it in a while and need to brush up on their skills. Because, since it will be felted, any little "problems" will be hidden when it is finished. That's my kind of intarsia!

I made some more progress on the American Girl Doll coat... why is it that a tiny project seems to take longer than a larger one? I told my girls I would make each of their dolls this coat, and that I would make it for one of their friend's dolls. Hmm. I might have to find a way out of that one. I'm not opposed to making 3 "items" for the dolls, but 3 of the same? That could put me over the edge. I'll have to be creative.

Surgery is over

So yesterday came and went with a blur. Thanks to all of you who sent me emails wishing the girls luck with their surgeries! We got to the hospital at 7am, with the girls still in their PJs. It's not the first time that twins or siblings had surgeries on the same day, but let me say, it does confuse people from the registration desk all the way to the doctors, nurses, and anesthesiolgists. Making sure they each had the correct ID bracelets on, and that the nurse was writing info about Sophie on Sophie's chart, not Helen's, etc. We really had to be on our toes. At one point during Sophie's surgery, we were waiting with Helen in the pre-op room and a doctor came in, introduced himself and mentioned that he was an ENT (Ear Nose Throat) doctor. We paused for a moment, and then asked him why we needed an ENT for a hernia surgery? He had walked into the wrong room, so we all got a nice laugh from that one.

Everyone there was so nice - they even had a child life specialist who came in and talked to the girls at length about the surgery, in children's terms. She was really helpful. Sophie had quite a few moments of being really scared and upset, and so she did take the "calming" medicine before her surgery. Boy did that help! She was Chatty Kathy being wheeled down into the operating room. This picture was taken as soon as the medicine started working. Sophie is in the middle, with a bit of a glazed look in her eyes. I was all suited up to accompany her into the operating room. I was there until she fell asleep for the surgery. That was hard. They should have given ME some calming medicine for that one.

Helen is a tough kid, she didn't need anything to calm her down. She was too busy watching the Nick Jr on the TV in the room. I guess when you don't watch much TV at home, it is a real treat to have your very own TV in the hospital. When it was her turn for surgery, Marc walked her down, and it looks like a party in the operating room! Here they are with her surgeon and the anesthesiologist.

At just about the same time, Sophie woke up pretty happy in the recovery room! She was so brave!

When Helen came to the recovery room about an hour later, she was in such a deep sleep we thought she'd never wake up. She slept hard for almost an hour and a half, then woke up asking for a popsicle and some chocolate ice cream, both of which she inhaled.

And the long awaited wheelchair rides! The girls had been dreaming about riding in a wheelchair for ages. Too bad they were still pretty drugged out. I'm not sure they even remember much about the wheelchairs.

We got home just after 2pm, and then it was naptime again for the girls. The cats were thrilled to have sleeping buddies on the couches.They slept another 12 hours last night, and today they are laying low. They are doing well, but the incisions do hurt. Helen's hurt more, as she had two and Sophie only had one. Anyway, I'm glad it's over. I am feeling the exhaustion myself, as I think my stress was all bottled up inside, and now that it's over I can release it. Phew...

I did start one of the coats for the American Girl Dolls (which by the way the girls LOVED). It's a cute Easter coat that will look like this:

and I didn't get very far yesterday. But it shouldn't take too long. I am using Roma - what an awesome yarn to knit with! It is in the Holiday Wear pattern booklet.

I gave my mom the Rooster hooked rug yesterday and she loves it! She was really excited to get it and couldn't wait to get home and find the perfect place to hang it. What a good feeling that was - I loved making that rug, and seeing how much she loved getting it... well it was more than an amazing feeling. And hey, isn't that what it's all about?

Summer has arrived

Summer is finally here, with temperatures yesterday in the 90s, high humidity and strong, strong storms. We've been having some severe storms this month - seems like once a week. The girls are out of school, and this Friday will both be having hernia surgeries. What's with my family and hernias? I'm not sure, but for two years now the medical deductible has been more than met. They are a little nervous about the surgeries, as am I... hard to have any child needing a surgery, but two of them, at the same time, well... it's causing a lump in my throat. I hope Friday comes and goes quickly and with ease. Then summer for them can truly begin.

They have known about this surgery for 6 months, and a few months ago we started talking about a little "prize" that they might receive after the surgery was over. Hey, I'm not above bribing them on certain things. Sophie (at age 7 1/2) still FREAKS out when we pull into the pediatician's office parking lot. She has a huge fear of doctors and their offices, so I've been dreading her reaction to this surgery for months now. You know how you check in for a surgery, and then it's hurry up and wait... you sit around in pre-op for what seems like an eternity. More time for her to freak out, I know. And when she freaks out, she works herself into SUCH a state. Not to mention how Marc and I feel. The good thing is that I found out we can get a little "kiddie" valium for her when we arrive. They said a lot of kids freak out like that, and so that makes me feel a little better, anyway.

Back to the prizes... Helen and Sophie both like American Girl Dolls. They each have one. They decided that they would each like another one as their prize. They have been pouring over the AGD catalogs for months now, telling me which doll they want, and which outfits and accessories they would like for future birthdays, Christmases, etc. So look what arrived here at the shop a week and a half ago? Meet Nicki and "blondie with earrings" (she doesn't have a name.) I also couldn't resist getting each one of them a wheelchair - perfect for the occasion, right? Sophie already has the crutches for her current doll, and she LOVES them. In fact, both Helen and Sophie want me to get them crutches at the medical supply store for their birthday this August! They are fascinated with crutches and wheelchairs, and the only happy face I have gotten out of Sophie regarding her upcoming surgery was when I told her she'd get to ride in a wheelchair after her surgery, on the way out to the car. She is not looking forward to the actual surgery, but the wheelchair ride? Well that's a different story.

And this whole AGD thing is leading to some new, small knitting projects for me. I have already made some sweaters and skirts for their existing dolls, but we recently got some new patterns, so I am going to start on coats for each of their new dolls. When I opened the shop 5 years ago, I had customers who came in looking for 18" doll patterns. I did not have any, and couldn't believe that anyone would be knitting clothes for dolls! Well, look at me now. The girls just love anything I make for the dolls, and since I cannot sew to save my life, I have had to invest in some patterns for dolls. So if any of you are looking for 18" doll patterns, we now have some!

I did finish two baby sweaters recently - a textured one in Rowan Handknit Cotton out of the Nashua Handknits Bloom booklet, which should be back in stock any day now...

and the Minnowknits Orangini Vest in Nashua Handknits Cilantro.

I will be home for the next few days with the girls, and am going to finally "finish" my rugs - the Whimsie and the Fish in a Line. I just need to sew some pockets onto the back, so I can hang them properly. Barb helped me with the surger today (again, sewing is not my forte) and I should be ready to go once I get home.

This Sunday is my parents' anniversary and I will give them the Iddy Biddy Rooster. I'm sad to see it go - I love it! But that just means I will have to start another one....

New needle cases here... and NEW bags coming

We just received some great new circular needle cases from Della Q. The circular cases are slightly padded to protect your needles and they come in three great colors.
We also received two new colors of the Combo case, which holds both straight and circular needles.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be getting our first shipment from Offhand Designs. Many of our customers have been asking us if we stock these bags and needle cases... well, now we do! I ordered 3 different bag styles and two of the clutches - the deluxe and the circular. The first shipment will be their current fabrics, and then in August we will get another shipment with the new fall fabrics. Let me just say, they are fantastic! And don't worry - if you don't see a fabric or style that you like, we are happy to special order any of them for you.


I am trying to finish up a number of baby sweaters I've been working on recently, and so I am not allowing myself any new projects (knitting OR hooking!) until I finish some of these loose ends. I am itching to work with the Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, though. We just got in 3 new yummy shades yesterday...


Another yarn I am DYING to knit with? Malabrigo Chunky. That's right, we're getting it! My rep comes on Tuesday of next week, so I will finalize my color selections at that point and then we should get the yarn by the end of June or beginning of July.


Things in Vermont are heating up - it's going to be in the 80's all week. Come on in to pick out a summer project - we have AC and it's nice and cool and colorful in here, as usual!

This one's for you, Alice!

Alice, a customer and friend, was in yesterday. So great to see her - it had been a while! I told her I have been running by her house recently, as my longer runs have forced me to go further out beyond my normal routes. She told me to stop by sometime - as she knows how to make a mean Key Lime Marguerita... just what I need after a nice run! I might also need a ride home afterwards...


Anyway, she was joking with us, and said that she wished I could post a blog entry each day. Ha ha ha. Not going to happen! I really do try to post as often as I can, but I don't always have time, and I can't just post about nothing!


Well this will be a quick one, but at least it's a post. We got in 2 new colors of sock yarn today - one Regia Bamboo and one Regia Silk. They are so great! So bright and fun and summery! They make me think of yummy popsicles and sherbet...

I am almost finished my latest rug hooking project. I LOVE it. I get faster with each rug I do, and my technique has really improved. So far I've done Whimsy, Fish in Line, a Pansy brick cover, a sheep tile, a rug hooking sign for our shop and this rooster. It's for my parents' anniversary later this month. So if any of my mom's friends are reading this, SHHHHH! Don't tell, please!

I really love these colors. Kalen helped me pick them out. She's got an eye for color!

This weekend I am headed to Portsmouth, NH again. We are hoping for a little beach weather! My sister and her friend and I are running in the Market Day 10k on Saturday, which goes all through Portsmouth. Should be fun! We are also hoping to get in some outlet shopping in Kittery on Saturday night. I hope to finish two little kid's sweaters I am working on.

By the way Alice, have you set up your bloglines yet? www.bloglines.com - it's a timesaver!

Tilli Tomas yarns plus new SOCK yarns

We just received our first shipment of Tilli Tomas yarns - we got Flurries (a gorgeous Australian merino wool with glass beads), Pure & Simple (100% spun silk), Rock Star (100% spun silk with glass beads) and Disco Lights (100% spun silk with petite sequins.) It is just lovely! This is the Pure & Simple:

And this is the Flurries (top) and Rock Star/Disco Lights (bottom):

Barb took a skein of the Jade in the Pure & Simple and started a pleated scarf. Normally, I am not a fan of the color jade. But this Jade makes me want to change my mind. It is SO pretty.

I took 2 skeins of Flurries and am knitting the simple little beaded baby hat. This would make a really special baby gift. What an heirloom!

Tonight I am headed down to Portsmouth, NH to visit my sister, and I am dropping off 4 skeins of Pure & Simple and some of the Rock Star at Joy's. She lives right along the way, and I figured this will get her knitting our sweater sample right away! She will be making us the "Drama Queen" sweater, a fitted sweater with ribs at the bottom and beaded cuffs and collar. Gorgeous. I think she is eager to start it. Barb says the yarn is heaven to knit!


I am almost finished my little textured sweater out of Handknit Cotton. All I have to do is pick up stitches for the button bands and then do some seaming and a lot of weaving in of ends. I always leave that to the end, I know. I like to work them into seams, so that's my excuse! I need to grab some buttons for it before I leave for the day.
Barb is almost finished her sock out of the Regia Bamboo. It's a toe up sock, and she's running a class on it in early July. It's already over half full, so call to sign up if you are interested.

We just got a partial shipment of our Tofutsies sock yarn - you know, the yarn with "chitin" - shrimp and crab shells! This yarn is all the rage, and we have 7 colors in stock now, with a few more on backorder, but soon to follow.


Monday we will be getting in three more sock yarns: Fortissima Socka w/Bamboo, Step (with Jojoba and Aloe Vera), and Trekking. Socks, socks, socks. They are all the rage!

Vermont City Marathon Recap

So what an amazing weekend! It all started out at 8:30am on Saturday morning down at the waterfront, where Helen and Sophie participated in the YAM Scram. They each ran a mile without stopping (I'm not sure this has happened before!) and boy were they excited! It was just amazing to see hundreds of kids participating in this event. Here is Helen running (she's the smaller one behind the two older girls in front):And here's a slightly better picture of Sophie, since she wasn't right in the middle of the pack. She's in mid air:

They were a bit red faced and hungry after the race, but thrilled with their new medals!

Saturday afternoon my sister Lisa arrived. This was to be her first marathon. We headed over to the Sheraton to register and pick up our bibs. We had a nice dinner and woke up early on Sunday, so we could relax and have our coffee and eat a bit before we had to head into town. I was nervous about the logistics of the whole thing. I'd never even been a spectator at the marathon before, so with 7,600 or so runners and over 25,000 spectators expected, we were a little worried about parking and meeting up with the rest of the group at 7:30 am. We drove into town with my good friend Alice (who was also running on a relay team) and found a spot about 1-1.5 miles away.

Burlington was just crawling with people. It is impossible to even describe it. It was so electrifying! We walked toward Battery Park with hundreds of other runners and spectators. Here we are at 7:40am, just 25 minutes before I had to start running (l to r: Michele, Barb, Kalen, me):At 8am, my sister and I quickly squeezed through spectators and runners and got into place at the start for our pace group. A minute later, I turned around and who is standing right next to me in this sea of runners, but Suzie (who teaches classes for us and used to work in the shop.) She was doing the relay with her husband, son and daughter. The gun went off and after 3 minutes of shuffling, we crossed the start.

All along the route, people were screaming and cheering and playing music. It really was such a wonderful experience. At about mile 1.5 we passed my family - Marc, Helen and Sophie, Lisa's daughter Meredith, and my mom and dad. It was so emotional to see them waiting for us. They were holding up signs (that my daughters had made) and screaming and they ran out to give us hugs. Here is Lisa getting a hug from my mom:

On the Beltline, which was an out and back stretch, we were able to see the race leaders, as they were already coming back as we were just heading out. At one point I heard someone yell my name and it was Carlie K., a running customer and friend of ours. It was so great to see her! She was already heading back into town.

The rest of the day was perfect (except for some pouring rain!) We finished our relay and all ran well with no problems or injuries. My sister was successful in running her first marathon, and even broke her estimated finish time by one minute. We are SO psyched to do this again next year. In fact, we are going to have several Kaleidoscope Yarns relay teams, and we are going to get some of you customers to run WITH us! So get your running shoes on and get out there and get moving! Remember - it's not about the TIME, it's about the EXPERIENCE!

Yesterday Carlie came in with 4 beautiful geraniums - to congratulate us on a job well done. Thanks Carlie! It was so fun to talk running with you (and knitting!) We are inspired by you to keep on going!

Here are some other shots from the day... My neice and daughters waiting at the 3rd relay exchange zone.Kalen with a strong finish, after running up the hill on Battery Street!

My sister at mile 15 - still smiling!

Kalen and Brett (Michele's husband) after running their legs (#3). Brett was a last minute fill-in for my friend Alice's team. Next year Brett, you are running for US!
Barb finishing the last leg:
And Lisa finishing the whole marathon.

Next post will be all about yarn, I promise. Boy have we gotten some GOOD things in this week! Check it out!