Show and Tell Friday

Thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts and wishes as I recover from my foot problem. Mary was so nice to bring me by a wheelchair so that I could truly stay off my feet. It's been a real blessing. Only 3 more weeks to go until I can quit wearing the boot!!!



I have 3 finished items to show you today. Betsy made this beautiful colorblock scarf out of 7 colors of the Filatura di Crosa Aliseo yarn. The pattern is in the Fall/Winter 2008 collection book. Isn't it gorgeous!




Mary finished this checkerboard sweater vest for her grandson. Then she used the leftover yarn to make him a hat as well. She did a nice job and the sweater looks great!


Here is our first finished Block of the Month afghan!! Patty brought hers in to show me. She used the Vetiver color of the Malabrigo yarn. Great job!! I hope as others finish their afghans, they'll also bring them in so I can show them to you.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead of us!

Scarecrow Day

Yesterday it was Scarecrow Day at my granddaughter's school. In planning what she would wear, I got the great idea that I would knit her some "straw" to stick out of her clothing. She got the biggest kick out of the

fact that Grandmomma was knitting straw. Basically, I just knit a cuff for each of her wrists and ankles. Then I put fringe on each one. For her neck, I just did a 2 x 2 ribbing and left long tails to tie around her neck. Then I added the fringe. She looked so cute. They were going to paint her face at school. Doesn't she look cute!

She liked her scarecrow outfit so much, that she decided to wear it for Halloween instead of her Sleeping Beauty costume that she had originally decided to wear. Oh...it's so fun to be a grandma!

More Yarns/Accessories Have Arrived!!

Wow! Lots of new yarns/accessories have arrived in the past couple of weeks:

• New from Kollage yarns is Delightful…an Aran weight kid mohair/rayon blend that makes a beautiful holiday scarf.
• Also from Kollage Yarns is Glisten. This is an Aran weight alpaca/silky blend that has just a hint of a sparkle. Also great for holiday scarfs, shawls, etc.
• For all you spinners out there…Frabjous Fibers just sent me 7 gorgeous colors of Blue Faced Leicester roving.
• From Plymouth Eco Earth Collection are Mainland (alpaca/silk blend) and Ranch (100% alpaca)…both in Aran weight. All natural colors that are both beautiful to look at and so soft to the touch.
• We now have Dale of Norway Baby Ull…14 baby colors in a washable, fingering weight wool
• Plymouth Cotton Kisses…a kit with 2 baby sweater patterns, yarn, and buttons. All you need to add is the needles.
• SweaterKits Wild Silk has been restocked with lots of colors
• Pewter buttons and clasps from SweaterKits
• Crystal Palace Panda Soy…6 colors of this bamboo/soy blend sock yarn
• More ball winders have arrived
• Annie Adams Pewter Shawl Pins and Sticks
• Mountain Colors River Twist yarn - 6 gorgeous colors of this yarn that I fell in love with at Market
• Muench Kid Melange…a wool/kid mohair blend in lace weight
• Misti Alpaca Suri Silk…more colors have been restocked of this baby alpaca/silk blend DK weight yarn
• Holiday issues of Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting

I think that’s everything, but I’m sure I’ve left something out. So stop by to see all the new yarns and get some ideas for gifts you can make for Christmas.

Show & Tell Friday

Socks and sweaters are the focus for today's Show and Tell.


Melissa brought in a pair of mystery socks that she is almost finished with. She made them out of Crystal Palace Panda Wool. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the patterns are opposite images of each other. Very cool design.








Kay took our "Knitting Socks" class a while back and brought in her socks to show me. It's just a basic sock pattern out of Plymouth Sockotta. But she did a very nice job for her very first sock. Way to go, Kay!






Pat has been going to town in knitting up sweaters. And I can tell you her favorite yarn must be alpaca because a couple of these sweaters were made out of Misti Alpaca Suri Silk. She did a gorgeous job on all of them.
































Keep those finished items coming in so I can show everyone your wonderful works of art!

Time to Slow Down

Do you ever take time to stop and smell the roses? Something tells me that it's time for me to do so. Maybe this picture will give you the reason why I say that.

I've been having trouble with my foot lately. After a long day of being on my feet, I can hardly walk because of the pain. So I finally got in to see the podiatrist and he says that the tendon that holds up the arch of my foot is enflamed. I could blame it on getting older, or possibly not wearing the best shoes, or the change of being on my feet most of the day after years of sitting at a desk working on a computer. But the result is that I get to wear this wonderful boot for the next month. Sigh. The good news is that it really does help my foot not to hurt. The bad news is that it certainly is slowing me down. Although that could be good news as well. So the morale of this story is...take some time today to stop and smell the roses. If you don't slow down on your own, sometimes your body will slow you down in the most inconvenient way.

Have a great day smelling those roses...I know I will. :-)

Recipes from FNKC

Folks have been bringing some mighty tasty treats to our Friday Night Knitting Club lately. I thought I would share with you today a recipe for one of them. Marti brought these Chess Bars that were absolutely delicious. You can make them with just about any flavor of cake mix, but I chose chocolate because I am indeed a chocoholic. These are quick and easy to make.





Marti’s Chess Bars
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cake mix (any flavor)
Combine above items and press into 9" x 13" pan (no need to grease pan).

3 eggs
1 box (3 ¾ cups) confectioner’s sugar
1 (8 oz) bar of cream cheese, softened
Combine eggs, sugar and cream cheese. Pour over above mixture.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars.

Hope that helps satisfy your sweet tooth this week. Next time I'll share with you a recipe for "Mexican Fudge". Yum!

Show and Tell Friday

I unexpectedly got sick with a 24 hour bug this week and it has gotten me off schedule. I totally forgot to download the pics from my camera at home. But I do have a couple of things to share with you today.

Pam brought in her Wonderful Wallaby to show me. It is made out of Cascade 220's superwash yarn. I just love these wallabys. If you've never done one of these little hood and jacket sweaters, you should try it. We have a class coming up on Tuesdays in November if you think you'll need some help with it. I just finished up my 2nd one and have one more to do for Christmas. All 3 of my grandkids will be getting a wallaby this year. It's a great pattern because it goes from size 2 all the way up through adult sizes. In fact, at our last wallaby class two of the gals were doing adult sizes. They seem very comfy and will be great for this fall weather that is approaching.

The other pic I have to show you is one of the baby surprise jackets that I made for a friend's baby shower recently. In the past I have made the jackets out of worsted weight yarn. But this time I chose Cabin Fever's Cotton Tweed yarn. It's a DK weight yarn and makes about a 3-6 month size jacket. I just love working with this yarn and the lady bug buttons looked great on the jacket. Also, I added a collar to this one. There's also a class coming up on the baby surprise jacket. Be sure to come by the shop and pick up a class schedule if you're interested in either of these great classes.

Hope you're enjoying the cooler weather that has finally arrived!

Show and Tell Friday

The cute items just keep coming in! Pam brought by 4 hats that she made. The first one was a Debby Ware kit. There are a couple more of the kits in the sale bin if you'd like to try your hand at one. The 2nd hat was the April Joy hat that Mimi designed. I'm not sure where she got the pattern for the 3rd hat, but she designed the UT one herself! We asked our Teddy to model them. He did the best he could considering a couple of them were a little small for his head. Pam, you're really cranking out those hats!

Nonie brought in a baby sweater she made out of Plymouth Encore yarn. It is Plymouth pattern #1354. This cute little sweater only takes 1 skein for the small size. I love the doggie button she chose. We have a shop model of this sweater if you'd like to make one also. Very nice, Nonie!

Marilyn finished up a sweater that she has worked hard on in the Weekly Class. She used Plymouth pattern #1093...a lacy pullover sweater. She chose Aslan Trends Class yarn. Purple is Marilyn's favorite color and it looks great on her! She's already working on another sweater, so keep checking back to see what she's made next.

Have a wonderful weekend...and if you're a spinner, be sure to come to the Sit 'N Spin time tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon from 2-4 pm. All roving and drop spindles are on sale to celebrate National Spinning and Weaving Week! If you've been thinking about learning how to spin, then this is a great time to come learn more!

Show and Tell Friday

Isn't this morning just delightful? A cool snap in the temperature...and as I sit here I can hear the birds singing outside. I just love the fall season. Take some time this weekend to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather that we're having here in East Tennessee.

For Show and Tell today we have Brooke's fairy she made for her niece. It is so cute and I love the fairy wings she made out of South West Trading Company's yang. It a yarn with sequins that also makes a beautiful scarf. Keep it in mind when you start thinking of Christmas gifts you'd like to make this year.

Leigh's bag was made out of 3 different colors of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale yarn. The pattern is in Berroco booklet #257, which we have in stock. I love the colors she picked out and they make a really cute bag.

Melissa came into the shop with a bag she had made out of Plymouth Confusion yarn. It's a yarn that first came out last year with lots of different textured yarns put together in one skein. This yarn makes a great scarf...AND a great bag. And I love the handles she put on it. Very nice.

Speaking of Christmas, don't forget our Christmas Countdown Class that will be starting on Wednesday afternoon, October 15 from 1-3 pm. This class will run for 6 weeks and will help you get started on making your Christmas gifts. Lisa will be the teacher and on the first week she will share with you LOTS of different ideas for things you can make for Christmas. We'll have models made up of most of them and plenty of patterns available for you. So if you'd like to get some great ideas as well as some great teaching instruction as you think of Christmas gifts for your family and friends, then stop by the shop and sign up for this class. Cost is $50 for the 6 weeks, which comes to about $4/hour for 12 hours of knitting and crocheting instruction. You should be able to finish several of these projects in this 6 weeks class.

Enjoy your day!