Head over to NobleKnits and enter to win two free skeins of Misti Alpaca yarn. All you have to do is answer seven questions correctly and you'll be entered in the drawing. Plus! Just for entering you get 25% off your purchase of any alpaca yarn from NobleKnits.com.

Click here and good luck!

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Here it is Monday again. We're all having a rough time getting started. The weekend went by too quickly and I don't think we've had enough time to recover. Friday started with a fun night of baking, drinking and playing Wii. Well, the guys played Wii while Jane and I talked about everything from unnecessary vodka packaging to Jazzercise moves. Jane says I no longer look like a marionette but rather a Rockette! Sadly I am a tiny bit too tall to be in the famous Rockette lineup, but I'm sure if I let them know I was available they'd change the height requirements just to let me perform.

Saturday was busy, Thomas and I ran errands where I tried to convince him I need one of these. My efforts have not been successful. But we did see the Matrix or maybe it was part of the Trench Coat Mafia, not sure. This guy was in a full-length black trench-coat. Did I mention it was an absolutely perfect 72 and sunny? I guess that's why I like going to Fry's with Thomas - for the ever-exciting people watching. We moved on and had sushi for lunch. Later we met up with a group of friends for a crazy night of cocktails and dinner.

On Sunday things didn't slow down. I got up for 8:15 am Jazzercise and even stayed for a second class immediately following the first. (I got overly excited because on Saturday I fit into a pair of pants that had been obscenely tight in previous months.) I came home to a recumbent Thomas so I decided to snuggle in and work on my knitting. I've been working on the Manos del Uruguay Four Seasons Throw.



Block 3 is really throwing me for a loop (pun intended). I don't normally make many mistakes on my knitting but thanks to Thomas tying me to a chair and propping my eyes open with toothpicks just to get me to watch a TV show he likes, I got all out of order on my rows. I was marking down that I had finished rows three ahead of where I currently was! It's his fault. I know it.

Even after minor defeat I was still feeling crafty and decided to haul out my summer skirt project. A few weeks ago I bought the Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt pattern from Sowing Sisters along with a cute fabric by Kitty Yoshida.



The pattern is a lot of pieces but it was a lot of fun to sew. It's fully lined with muslin and nearly done. I just have to stitch the hems. I hope to wear it on Wednesday, I know all my knitter friends will be so (sew?) excited about it! I wish I could sit down and finish it right now, but my Monday morning list of things to do is long, but I know I will power through it all because this charmer greeted me when I let the dogs out this morning.

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Of the 30 fun to work patterns, three are mine. I designed, as the resident California girl, the Surfer Chick Quick Cap, a fun fan-stitch hat. It really does work up fast and, of course looks adorable.



The Chicks' Felted Zebra Slippers are a creation of mine too. These soft and fuzzy slip-ons are all single crochet so that makes them perfect for beginners.



And my personal favorite, Heather's Cafe Cardigan. This top-down raglan cardi totally fun to make, especially while you're sipping coffee at the corner cafe. If you're anything like me that caffeine buzz will have you finishing this in no time!

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The new. The amazing. The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet!

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Once upon a time when Stitch 'N Bitch Nation first hit the shelves of my yarn store, I asked Marsha to knit a store sample from the book. We agreed that the Om Yoga Mat Bag would be a great sample. Marsha knit a beautiful aqua bag and even got a cute purple mat to put inside. Because who in California does not do yoga?

Like nobody. Nobody that came into my store anyway. My customers chose yarn, needles and knitting over posing, stretching and exercise. The yoga mat bag moved from the front of the store, to the back of the store, to the middle of the store and back around again and again. Whenever someone would show the slightest interest in it Tess and I would stare at each other with amazement, rush over, talk it up and try to make the sale. I think only one person ever bought the supplies to make yoga mat bag and I know it was Tess that closed the deal. It soon became the dud sample, the laughing stock of all the other store samples.

After two years of sadness and mockery, Marsha took yoga mat bag away determined to sell it as a finished piece, mat and all, at a local craft fair. No takers. Poor yoga mat bag couldn't hack it in the real world either. For the next year and a half the yoga mat bag rolled around the trunk of her car.

Two weeks ago, after starting Jazzercise and having to use the sticky, sweaty public mats, I suddenly remembered lonely, sad, old yoga mat bag. How nice would it be to have a cute knitted yoga mat bag with my own clean mat when I trot into Jazzercise? I asked Marsha if maybe I could have it back. She slowly turned her head looking at me in amazement. I think the laughing started from her toes.

Not two days before had she finally given the yoga mat bag away.

Marsha thought it was so bizarre that I wanted the bag after all this time she promised to make me a new one. I got the mat and look! Fabulous!



... And on a side note - I posted the picture because then Lisa can finally see what I wear to Jazzercise. No headbands or leotards or Velcro Reebok hi-tops...

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Fabulous! Nancy Queen's new book, The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet, is available for pre-order from Amazon.com! It is available in April and I am so excited to see it in print. Nancy and co-author Mary Ellen O'Connell have worked countless hours to get this book, and the second installment The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting due out in August, just right.

I have three patterns featured in the Crochet book, a surfer girl hat, great zebra stripe slippers and a top down raglan cardigan.

Go ahead and order it!

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I finally decide to introduce myself to the neighbor who looks cool but I hadn't ever talked to because, I don't know, we've only lived near each other for three years. I went old school, taking her a homemade peach cobbler. I figured she'd have to like me if I take her food, and what girl doesn't want dessert at 11am from an unshowered neighbor she's never met?

So Jane and I got to chatting, she sews, loves serving dishes and is generally disinterested in all things uncool. I watched their dog. We had them over for dinner. They got us really drunk one night. Perfect! Then Jane ordered a pumpkin latte from Starbucks and everything changed. "Oh, you should come see my husband's band play next week," she said.

"Cool."

"His band, the Pigdogs, will be playing and then after them is another cool band with this guy Nato Wolfgang."

"Huh? Nato Wolfgang. That sounds really familiar. Why do I know that name?"

"He's like two cars in front of me in the Starbucks drive-thru. He lives in our neighborhood."

"Oh yea, I do know him. Well, I know his mom from my yarn store days, and his sister does my hair!"

"Wait, you know Julia?"

"Wait, you know her?"

That conversation was just too weird for me to handle. Since moving to California I have been relatively anonymous. It wasn't like in Pennsylvania where people would accost me and say, "You look like your father." Or "How's your mother doing?" Or, "Jennifer, Jennifer!"

My siblings are quite a bit older than me and my parents had a different circle of friends by the time I came along. The old friends would see me about town and shout various things at me. I would come home and describe the situation, where I was, what they were driving, etc. and my parents would say, "Oh, that was Nancy's best friend in fourth grade, how's she doing?" Uh, yea. She's great. WTF?

But if you ever want to remain anonymous, don't open a yarn shop where you meet thousands of women. Last night I went to happy hour with my neighbor and some of her other friends. Jane was recounting the story about how we know the same people and then one of the other women pipes up and says, "Yarn shop? You must know Moira!"

Anonymity over.

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We celebrated Halloween a little bit earlier in the week. Saturday night we went to a party at our friends Carolyn and George's home. The invite instructed we come as dead rock stars. After weeks of pondering the possibilities and four trips to the thrift store, we ended up as Mama Cass and a white Jimi Hendrix.

When I found that dress, I had to have it. I didn't have an immediate idea for who I could become while wearing it. I snapped some shots on the iPhone and uploaded them to Flickr. My sister Jen helped me formulate the rest of the ensemble. She took one look at the dress and knew what to do with it! Right away she spouted, "Mama Cass! Tie something around your head, get some daisies, a ham sandwich and go barefoot!"

Plus Jen found this photo of Mama Cass knitting! Hooray!



The dress fit pretty well and I didn't think I would be able to put a pillow under the dress to make me look fat. Thomas was dead set on fattening me up for the costume. He made me shove every throw pillow in the house under my dress and finally he was satisfied with a green square one. Thrilled with his decision, he scampered off to the garage to get the duct tape. A word to the wise, don't ever let your husband convince you that duct taping something directly to your skin is a good idea. Ever. Learn it now. This is what happens at the end of the evening, and it stays that way with a mild burning sensation for the next four days.



Thomas on the other hand was a bit more challenging. Do we send him as Kurt Cobain, a young Jerri Garcia? Nothing seemed to work right. Then I found a photo of Jimi Hendrix in a black shirt and a white jacket with tight jeans. He owns a white jacket. That was a good start. I found a classy polyester double-knit navy blue button-down shirt with white triangles. To add to my excitement, the shirt was not only his neck size but cut long in the torso. Perfect!

We found a scarf for his head, and frizzed up his hair.

The only hurdle left was pants. I didn't find anything appropriate at the thrift store. Thomas doesn't own jeans, he considers them too average, too expected, too common. I was racking my brain to figure something out. His business khakis certainly wouldn't work. Scanning the dirty laundry piles in the bedroom, I spotted the perfect item. I convinced him to wear my skinny jeans.

Thomas. Skinny. Jeans.

He complained that they were crushingly painful. He couldn't reach his feet to put on his socks or tie his shoes. But damn, they looked good!

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Today's sunrise was beautiful. It was foggy when I woke up, but then suddenly the sun began to appear.



Not necessarily related to the sunrise, I've started a new sweater for a new little niece.



Also not related to the sunrise or to knitting, here's some pictures of Henry being lovable. He's like an amazingly adorable, gigantic teddy bear. I could stare at him all day.

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A fun, free Christmas stocking pattern!

: :: ::: :: :

Finished dimensions: 6" x 23"

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool.
Color A: Poppy red, 011
Color B: Basil green, 532
Color C: Oyster gray, 003

Needles: US size 8, double-pointed needles

Gauge: 4.5 sts over 4 inches

: :: ::: :: :

Begin:
With color A, cast on 52 sts. Arrange sts evenly on 4 needles and join being careful not to twist stitches. Work in st st for 2".

Make hem:
By folding with wrong sides together, bring cast on edge to meet sts on needle 1. Insert needle into first st at beginning of round, pick up 1 st from cast on edge, K st on needle. Repeat around.

Continue to work in st st for 1" more.

Body of stocking:
Stripe Pattern:
Rows 1-3: Color B.
Rows 4-5: Color C.

Work in Stripe Pattern for 7 repeats. Change to Color B and work 3 rounds. Change to Color C and work one round.

Heel flap:
Change to Color A and K 13 sts. Turn work and P 26 sts. Leave remaining sts on two spare needles.

Working back and forth on only heel sts as follows:
Row 1: *sl 1, K 1,* repeat from * to * across row.
Row 2: sl 1, P across row.

Repeat these two rows 13 times.

Turn heel:
Row 1: K across 15 sts, SSK, K 1, turn.
Row 2: Sl 1, P 5, P2tog, P 1, turn.
Row 3: Sl 1, K to 1 st before gap, SSK (across gap), K 1 turn.
Row 4: Sl 1, P to 1 st before gap, P2tog, P 1, turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until 16 sts remain. K 8 sts and leave on needle. With new needle (needle 1) K 8, pick up and K 13 sts from heel flap. K 26 instep sts (needle 2 and 3). Pick up and K 13 sts from other edge of heel flap, with same needle K 8 sts from heel (needle 4). Round now begins at bottom of heel.

Foot:
Change to color C.
Round 1: K to last 3 sts on needle 1, K2tog, K 1; K 26; on needle 4, K 1, SSK, K to end.
Change to Color B and begin working in Stripe Pattern.
Round 2: K all sts.

Repeat these two rounds until 52 sts remain.

Work in st st until foot measures 7" from back of heel ending Stripe Pattern. Change to Color B and work 3 rounds more.

Toe:
Change to Color A.
Round 1: K to the last 3 sts on needle 1, K2tog, K 1; needle 2, K 1, SSK, K to end; needle 3, K to the last 3 sts, K2tog, K1; needle 4, K 1, SSK, K to end.
Round 2: K all sts.

Repeat these two rounds until 28 sts remain.

Repeat Round 1 until 8 sts remain.

Kitchener st toe sts.

Hang loop:
With Color A, cast on 8 sts. Work in i-cord for 5". Bind off. Attach to top of stocking.

Weave in all yarn ends, hang and wait for presents!

: :: ::: :: :

Click the "Read more" link below to print the pattern.

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If you're a knitter you definitely recognize the Knit Stitch. I've taught lots of things out of this book, read the lesson, and learned lots of things. I've also thought it to be a bit strange style-wise. I never imagined I'd have the pleasure of listening to Sally Melville herself speak.



She's a very intelligent and articulate woman, discussing knitting and how it moves you to be patient. She didn't give the typical knitting guild trunk show but rather an inspiring talk about how knitting not only relaxes, but motivates and brings people together. How knitting isn't about the time you put into a project but rather the love of knitting. How knitters are the only people that are excited the doctor is running late.

A positive speech capped off with this quote from Albert Einstein: "The most significant decision we make is whether we live in a friendly or hostile universe."

I totally agree.

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Check out this fun little number over at NobleKnits. I love pink! I love green! I love yarn! I love pink and green yarn!



I think it will be my new best friend. It's a cotton called Ty-dy from K1, C2. It never get's all that cold here in San Diego, so the cotton's always rockin. Now to find the right pattern...

I like this Double Decker sweater, also by K1, C2.



Hmm, I like the Double Decker sweater, I'm married to an English man, I like Branston Pickle, am I an Anglophile or what? Well whatever, at least I have a new project! Maybe I'll get to wear it in London in the spring.

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I read knitty.com all the time. If you don't know it, check it out. They have free knitting patterns, most of them intermediate level. I love the diversity of the patterns they display. On Knitty there is something for everyone, from socks to shawls to cable knit coats.

This pattern takes the cake though! (I mean it too, exclaimation point and all).

And I've seen a lot of knitting patterns. I had a knitting store, I've been knitting for years, I troll the Internet for something exciting. Today I found the most exciting thing I've seen in a long time, and I'm sure it will hold that spot for a long time (until my sister's book arrives!)


It looks like a straight-forward knitting pattern from this photograph. It wasn't until I scrolled down to find this picture:


Look at that! It's a racer-back tank top with a cowl-neck. You just slip your arms through the holes and boom! You get a great looking top. Wow! I am going to go search my stash for something good!

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