Show and Tell Friday

Jean made this darling dress for her granddaughter out of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale yarn and their pattern (#C145). The colors she chose were so much prettier than the ones chosen for the pattern. Isn't her granddaughter cute wearing it?

Terri brought in a LOT of finished projects to share. The first hat has a pin on it that she made herself. Nice job, Terri!

Sarah made a pinwheel baby blanket using the Sirdar Baby Bamboo yarn. She also brought in a hat out of Malabrigo. Both very soft and wonderful!

Thank you ladies for sharing with us!!

Upcoming Special Events

We have two special events and a celebration coming up within the next 2 weeks!!



First of all, our Girls' Night Out Workshop (GNOW) will be on Friday, January 30 from 6-8 pm. Cost is $25 and we will be learning how to make a Clapotis. Here's a picture of our shawl model and our scarf model. Lisa will be teaching us by making a smaller class version that will cover all of the techniques needed to make the clapotis. Then we can help you pick out yarns that would be good to use in making a full-size scarf or shawl. All you need to bring to the workshop is some yarn from your stash (DK, worsted or Aran weight) and an appropriate size needle for that yarn. If you're a crocheter, we have a version for you to make as well. There's only a few spots left in this workshop, so if you're interested in joining us, please come by the shop and sign up.


Then secondly, we will be having our first Super Bowl of Knitting Party on Sunday, February 1 from 5-9 pm. Many of us just don't get into watching football...even with the lure of the commercials. So, we've planned an alternative that will hopefully bring a smile to your face. I’m going to be making a big pot of chili and would ask everyone to bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

There will be several fun things going on at our Super Bowl of Knitting Party.

• Yarn Swap – Bring yarns from your stash that you no longer want. Then you get to take home yarns that others bring that you might want. This is a great way to clear out those yarns that are just cluttering up your space. Any yarns not taken will be donated to charity.


• Door Prizes – Every hour there will be a door prize given away with a SUPER DOOR PRIZE given away sometime during the evening. You must be present to win.


• Charity Knitting – I know we all have projects that we are working on, but I’d like to encourage you to bring something to knit or crochet on that you are making for charity. You are welcome to bring whatever you want. But if you do bring a charity project to work on, then you will get a special prize. I’m going to be working on the helmet liner that I’m making for our Winter Charity Project. I hope you’ll join me in making some of these as they are going to be given to our troops to help keep them warm.


• Super Bowl Discounts – We will have a bowl of yarn balls with a discount amount inside each one. Pick one to reveal the discount amount you will get on your purchases that day.

So mark your calendar for Sunday, February 1. There's no cost to come, but I’m asking everyone to register to attend just like a class so that I’ll be sure to have enough chili for everyone.

And thirdly, on Tuesday, February 3 we will be celebrating our 2nd Anniversary!!! Can you believe it's been 2 years since I opened the shop?!? Well, we're going to celebrate that day with a cake and lots of discounts! All I can tell you right now is to make sure you visit us on that Tuesday. We're going to have a great celebration!!

Show and Tell Friday

Did you all enjoy the snow we had earlier this week? I would have enjoyed it more if I could have curled up on the couch before a roaring fire and knitted while drinking a cup of cocoa. Nice dream, huh. But duties called me and I was off to the shop. My granddaughter had fun making a snowman though...complete with a knitted scarf that her mom had made for her several years ago.

I have the knitted items of 4 ladies today to share with you.

Pat made this beautiful lacy sweater out of the Berroco Comfort yarn. It's very pretty and she did a wonderful job on it.

Emily made a Christmas stocking for her first little one. Such a cute pattern, but I have to say that her little guy is much cuter.

Leigh made a loop scarf out of Cabin Fever Cotton Tweed. The pattern came from the 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book. That book sure has a lot of nice patterns that don't take a lot of yarn.

Camille's bolero came from a Debbie Bliss pattern and is made out of Cascade Cash Vero yarn. It's very soft and would be great to wear for Valentine's Day this year.

Great job on your projects, everyone!

Great Recipes to Share

A couple of weeks ago, we had a wonderful candy brought to the Friday Night Knitting Club. It was a peanut butter roll that several of us remembered having at lunchtime in elementary school. It was so good that I asked Judy to share her recipe with us. So here it is...

Peanut Butter Roll

1 (1#) box confectioner sugar

2 T. melted butter

1 t. vanilla

Mix together and add a small amount evaporated milk or 2% milk until mixture is like dough.

Knead well. Roll thin with rolling pin. Spread peanut butter on dough. Roll up like a jelly roll. Let it set and then slice.

One trick that I have learned in slicing a jelly roll is to take a piece of dental floss and lay it under the roll in the place where you want to slice it. Then cross over the ends on top of the roll and pull. This results in the slice not getting smashed down by the weight of the knife.

Then last night Judy sent over some Cranberry Pumpkin bread for our FNKC. Here's the recipe for this wonderful bread..

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

2 1/4 cups flour

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 cup dried cranberries

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 c. pumpkin (15 oz can)

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat over to 350 degrees. Combine flour, spice, baking powder, and salt in bowl; stir to blend the dry ingredients well. Coombine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil in a mixing bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add cranberries and walnuts, mixing thoroughly. Spoon into two greased and floured 9 x 5 x 2 inch loaf pans. Bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely on rack.

Thanks, Judy, for sharing these wonderful recipes with us. We not only get some great knitting/crocheting time at our Friday Night Knitting Club meetings, we also get to eat some great foods!

Show and Tell Friday

Boy, is it cold outside tonight or what?!? Even with the freezing temperatures, we had a great time at our Friday Night Knitting Club. If you haven't been yet, please come. We meet on the first and third Friday evenings each month from 6-9 pm. Everyone brings a snack to share and we have a wonderful time knitting and crocheting together.

For Show and Tell I have a couple of cool things to share with you. Sam made these Dimorphis Mittens from a pattern she got on Ravelry. They are kind of like mittens within mittens. Very unusual...but neat.

Then she went on a knitting frenzy in making Calorimetries (headbands). The pattern is a free online pattern from Knitty if you'd like to try one. She used sock yarn doubled on a couple of these. I think I might like to make some of these for Christmas gifts next year. They are a great way to learn how to do short rows.

Very nice, Sam!

Leigh made this ribbed and ruffled scarf out of Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK yarn. Isn't it pretty! I love working with baby alpaca yarn. I'll have to show you the scarf I'm working on using this yarn once it's finished. Great job, Leigh!

GNOW update...

We still have a few spots left in our Girls' Night Out Workshop on Friday, January 30 from 6-8 pm. Lisa is going to be showing you how to make a Clapotis. This is a dropped stitch shawl/scarf that is very light and airy. You'll be making a mini version that evening so that you learn all of the techniques needed to complete one. Then we'll help you pick out yarns to make either a full size shawl or a scarf. We have a sample of what both a shawl and a scarf look like at the shop. So stop by to see what the finished product looks like and sign up for the class. It should be a fun evening.

Show and Tell Friday

I have the knitted items of two crafty ladies today to share with you.

First of all, Leigh made this "Dizzy" hat out of Berroco Pure Merino yarn. Check the link for the free pattern on their website. I love the way it spirals up. And Pure Merino yarn is a delight to knit with.

She also made this cat hat out of Malabrigo yarn from a Knit Scene Magazine from a few months ago. It looks good in this color.

Glenda also brought in some items. The first is a hat made from a Ravelry pattern called Windy City.

Then she showed me the little purple hat she made for the "Knit One, Save One" charity project. This project comes from an organization called Save the Children where folks knit or crochet hats for newborns in undeveloped countries. Check out the link for more information on this project. This just might have to be one of our seasonal charity projects this year.

Her mittens were also a Ravelry pattern called "Warmest Mittens".

And lastly, her Noro Scarf made from 2 different colorways of Noro Silk Garden. This is a simple pattern from Brooklyn Tweed that is easy to do and makes a gorgeous scarf.

Thank you, ladies, for sharing with us!

If you aren't a member yet of Ravelry, you should sign up. We have our own group there...Friends of The Yarn Haven. It's a great place to get free patterns and check out all of the wonderful projects that folks around the world are knitting and crocheting. Go to the Ravelry website and give them your email. They will send you an invitation to join within a few days. Then watch out...it can be addictive!

It's Therapy Time for Me

Folks have continued to ask me about how my foot is doing. Bottom line: it still hurts when I'm on it a lot. It is better after the chiropractor adjusted my heel. He said it wasn't aligned which may be why I've been having such problems with it. I had a doctor appt. today and he is sending me to physical therapy for 6 weeks to see if that will help. And I'm going to be getting a recumbent bike because being off my feet for such a long time has given me zero opportunities to exercise. And according to Mimi, who has one of these bikes, I will be able to knit while I ride my bike! So it sounds like a great plan to me. I think I may be getting some custom made orthodics as well. Not sure if my insurance will pay for those, so we'll have to see. But thanks, everyone, for asking. I appreciate your concern.

I've been getting so many Show and Tell items in the past few weeks that I thought I had better share some of them with you today. These are all items that were made in our Weekly Class.

Peggy shared her Topknots Boho Bag (Mimi's pattern) out of Plymouth Boku yarn. This is a great small project for learning the entrelac technique.

Marilyn made this Shaped Tee with Collar (a HeartString pattern) out of Artful Yarns Serenade (a pima cotton/angora blend) and Berroco Cotton Twist. She did a nice job and I love this color of blue on her.

And Erin made her first scarf out of Classic Elite Calliope yarn. She just learned to knit, so this was very much a challenge for her. But she fell in love with this yarn. It does make a great scarf. I made one for my niece this Christmas.

If you'd like to learn some new knitting techniques and maybe have some encouragement to continue with your project, then you might consider joining one of our Weekly Classes. They run for 6 weeks and you get to work on whatever project you would like to do. Our Wednesday morning class starting on January 7 is already full. But there will be classes starting the first week of February on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and Thursday mornings and afternoons. Sign up early to get a spot!

Have a great day...even if it is a little gloomy outside! It's a great day for sitting inside and knitting or crocheting. But then, what day isn't a great day to do that!

Show and Tell Friday

Well, I remembered at the Friday Night Knitting Club tonight that this was indeed Friday and that I hadn't done our Show and Tell for today. It seems like every time there is a holiday in the middle of the week, it really throws me off. I've been thinking it was Tuesday all day.

Anyway, here are our show and tell items for this week...

Jan brought by her socks she made out of Crystal Palace Panda Wool. She used Plymouth pattern #1090. I love the color she chose. I really must make some socks out of this yarn sometime this year.

And then she also showed me some felted coasters she had made out of Berroco Jasper yarn. We have the free pattern in the shop if you'd like to make some of these coasters. I made some of these to give away as Christmas gifts this year. Great job on both projects, Jan!

Kristina made this Entrelac hat out of Noro Silk Garden yarn. I just love the way that entrelac makes a hat or a bag look. I'm going to be making one of Mimi's Entrelac hats this month and I can't wait to refresh my memory on the entrelac technique. I made an entrelac pillow quite a few years ago to give as a Christmas gift. It's a fun technique to use. Love the hat, Kristina!

And Lisa not only knit this gorgeous sweater, but she spun the yarn herself out of some Corriedale fiber. I love the leaf edgings. As usual, Lisa, you have made an outstanding sweater!

So...have you made any New Year's Resolutions this year yet? I've never really been in the practice of making them, but I do have several things I want to knit this year.

• Make another entrelac project...like Mimi's hat


• Make myself a cabled cardigan


• Finish up several of the unfinished objects sitting in my back office


• Make my sweet husband the vest that he was promised several years ago

What about you? Care to share any things you wish to knit or crochet this year?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!