Book Signing at The Yarn Cottage

We love to knit or we wouldn't be reading this blog, but when we aren't knitting we like to read about knitting. Am I right? There is a new fictional knitting series out by the author Terri Dulong. She lives in Cedar Key, FL and her first book is great. She sent it to me on Friday and I am finished with it already. The title is Spinning Forward and she already has two more set to be released by the end of this year. Her publisher must like her and I think you will too.



Cedar Key is a real town much like our little oasis of Fairhope. It is near and dear to my heart because I have lots of wonderful memories of spending alot of time there. My husband went to the Uof Florida in Gainsville and spent quite a few weekends there. We even thought about living there part time once but thanks to a hurricaine that deposited some sacred grass on out lots, we couldn't build on them. Oh well, another story there. Anyway, the story is really heartwarming and I think you will enjoy it.



Terri is coming to The Yarn Cottage on July 9 from 2:30 TO 4:30 sign her book for you. The book will be here for you to purchase. She seems really nice over the phone, I really shocked here with our common interest in Cedar Key. The town is a small fishing village on the Gulf side of Florida. My kids grew up during summers there learning to feel with their toes for sand dollars the size of sandwich plates in the mud when the tide was out. I saw my first live starfish there! It has undergone a uptick in recent years with restoration in the town, but the seafood is still great and it is the only place I have ever vacationed and come home rested. I am ready to go back today! Those fresh stone crab claws just can't be beat.

Home from Stitches in Atlanta!!!!! If you have never been to a Stitches, let me recommend to you that you GO. The classes are so good and just meeting and talking with other knitters from all over is so cool. I saw alot of people that I knew and met some new ones. Knitters, by and large, are a nice group of people. Saw alot of them that really like to drink beer, go figure.

The hotel we stayed in was very nice. It was connected to the convention hall so we never had to get back in the car once we arrived. And if you have driven in Atlanta before, you realize what a plus this is. It was interesting to see the bar and the lobby dotted with men and women knitting on projects and just visiting. And yes, I did say men. Leah took classes with Melissa Leapman on cabling techniques and her samples of what she learned is just incredible. I do believe she is a natural born knitter. I took classes on different methods of continental knitting and on Nups, bobbles and cluster stitches. My hands and wrists still ache.

We both hope to share with you what we learned so come in and see...

Who Dat.... what do you think, will they win?????The game is on now but I have to take a break from all the noise and especially my husband who is sooooo excited about this game. I am knitting on one of my three pair of socks that I have gotten started since New Year's Day. I made a resolution to learn new things in 2010 and socks are the first thing on my list. I have fiddled around with socks before, but I am now knitting them with a vengence! I am sick and tired of having to struggle with these little buggers. I have a pair on 2 circulr needles, I have a pair on double points and I have a pair going on my new exciting find of a new size needle. call me or e-mail if you want the skinny on this new bombshell in knitting socks. I am working in pairs because I refuse to knit the same thing after finishing one. So in total I have six socks going at present. I am going to determine my favorite way of knitting socks with this experiment. I will say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE working with Flat Feet yarn. No rolling off the chair, Cleo ( one of our cats) can't run to grab the ball and take off with it. She has yanked more than one project out of my hands and took off down the hll with it. She is a ball of fire to say the least. She was found in a dumpster at my husband's office a few months ago, of course he brought her home. Look at my profile and see the idiots we are for animals. Cleo got sick with respiratory infection a few weeks after we got her so off to the vet we go. She nearly died but I do believe she lives to make my knitting at home quite challenging. Bamboo needles are her favorite chew toy, you have to put them away or take them with you even on a quick trip, if you get my meaning. One little tidbit for you, she tested negative for Feline Leukemia when she went to the vet right after she came here, but when she was so sick, she got tested again and guess what. She is FLV positive. They said false negatives are not uncommon in these tests. Well you can see why she gets away with so much. She has to cram alot of living into what will be a shortened lifespan more than likely. We love her.

They say diamonds are a girls best friend, but whoever said that didn't know me. My best friend and four legged soul mate, Jubilee, died two weeks ago. She had pancreatic cancer and we knew it was coming, but it came quickly when she got sick. I left for work one morning and she was laying in the sunshine by the pool eating her morning snack and when I got home that evening she was fighting unconsciousness waiting for me to get home. She was on her bed and when I got to her, I swear she smiled and soon eased on in to doggy heaven while laying her head on my lap. She was 108 lbs. of the most beautiful Labrador Retriever you have ever seen. She was the greatest and one of the best things that has ever happened to me. If you missed me in the shop for a couple of days I was at home grieving. I'm still alittle off, but she was very important to me.

At The Cottage we are getting ready for some fabulous spring knitting. I have new yarns already and I need a happy! SWTC Phoenix is on my needles at the moment turning itself into a great ribbed and lace shell. This soy tape is great. Next will be some organic cotton from Blue Sky and a good looking top down raglan from their pattern collection. We are racking our brains for a new KAL project for the spring. I have some ideas, as does Melissa and Nancy, but we would like your input. What do you want to do and do with us???? KAL's are great fun, and inexpensive way to learn new things and it's just fun to do something together.

Let us hear from you, what do you want to learn this year, where do you want your knitting to take you? GO FOR IT.

Outside the Box

Must be the chilly weather, because we are having all sorts of gorgeous knitted finery walking through the Cottage front door. Take a look at these two who came in the shop today. Charlene's Convertible coat is a must-have, and Jill, just "winging it" as a near beginner, has whipped up a fabulous design of her own on the poncho, using up odds and ends, adding a ruffle, YEAH! We are sure discovering some fabulous knitters around town! (Emily, we missed getting a picture of yours, so you will just have to come back!)

Happy New Year to you. I was sitting and knitting,naturally, and was thinking about midnight tonight when I will be asleep, but what about any resolutions for 2010? I have been thinking about this for a while. I don't generally make any but somehow this year I wanted to. Maybe the 2010 thing...... I will make one or two personal ones that you don't care to know, but I am making one that I want to share with you and perhaps challenge you with. I am going to enhance and expand my knitting skills this year. I haven't had alot of time to do this in 2009 with opening the shop and all, but this year I want to grow personally in my repetoire. I want to learn intarsia, I want to challenge myself with harder patterns. Iwant to be proud of my skills and the way to do this is to learn more. I have always done and created things with my hands. I do believe that this is a gift that God has blessed me with. I didn't say He gave me the ability to be really good at these things but He has blessed me with the ability to use a needle and thread and needles and yarn to bring joy to myself and I believe to others in my life. It keeps me quiet while my husband is reading or watching football, it has made my mom remember me when she wraps up in one of the shawls I have made for her (I hope she feels the hug), it has made my children groan with another " please don't make me try that on again", but they were usually pleased with the end result and it has given me alot of peace and serenity to feel the yarn flow through my fingers.

I endeavor to take more classes myself this year. I am already signing up tonight for some in April. I will take some more in June. If I pay for these now, I WILL take them so I am signing the check and filling out the forms. My learning things will help you too if you will let it. Give some thought to taking some classes with us at the Cottage. You will make more friends, learn new skills and just take some time for yourself. The group that now knits on Saturday morning started out taking a class and they seem to have become fast friends. I want to be one of those groups.

So, happy and healthy 2010 to you and yours. What are you going to do for yourself this year????

Rhonda

Ho, ho, ho,,,,,,,,Christmas has come and gone. I hope yours was wonderful. I had decided early on to "keep it simple" this year, and thanks to my back going out the Monday before Christmas I really did keep it simple. My first of two days off to do the baking, cleaning, polishing the silver, etc I bent over my laundry hamper and BAM!!! that was it. I was toast. But, on the positive side of things, I realized what really good help I have here at The Cottage and I learned that you can knit flat on your back. And I did. Thanks to everyone who missed me and wished me well.

Now, let's get ready for 2010, who's ready for a sale? Read the events page on our website and get ready to shop Thursday. Heidi, Nancy and I will all be here ready to help you with your choices and to ring you up with New Year's bargains. You will choose from the fish bowl your discount when you are ready to pay for your choices. You will get atleast 15% off your purchase and you have a one in six chance of getting your purchase 50% off!!!! There will be lots of 20, 30 and 40% chances as well. I don't do many sales, but when I do, I try to make it worth your while.

The January calendar is on the web and sign ups for the new socks class, knit along for the Waves Shawl is getting started. Let's knit for ourselves for alittle while now that Christmas is over. We aren't having the first Thursday knit night this January, because I might be in California at market. I can't wait to get my fingers on some really great things for spring and summer. Think cotton, think bamboo, think skinny tanks layered over tees and camisoles. Think "it's all about me" atleast for alittle while before our conscience gets to us and we start knitting for others and being happy about it.

Enough, already SEE YOU THURSDAY FOR A GREAT SALE!!!!! We will close around 2:00 since the city of Fairhope is closing our street at 1:30 for the New Year's Eve celebration. We will return on Saturday.

Go Gators!!

Rhonda