...randomly on a Thursday...

1.  The Rose City Yarn Crawl starts today!  Eighteen yarn shops in the Portland Metro area are participating this year and all of them have fantastic things going on.  If you are out for the crawl on Saturday, stop by All About Yarn and see me!  I’ll have my trunk show there and would love to chat.  If you come by wearing one of my designs I’ll have something special for you, plus I'll have a new design that will be making a sneak appearance!  It should be loads of fun!

2.  Steph and I are now taking registrations for the next Strung Along Retreat.  It’s going to be amazing.  The teachers are Judith MacKenzie, Steph and me -teaching spinning, knitting and design, respectively. Our theme is “Where the wild things are.” You can drop us a line at strungalong@yarnharlot.ca if you’d like to know more. 

3.  If you haven’t joined the Winter Birch KAL in the Bare Naked Wools Group on Ravelry there is still time.  The KAL runs now through March 16th .  There will be prizes along the way with a grand prize at the end!  You can find out more information about it here.

4.  I’m thinking about starting a Stitches Of My Life Designs Rav group.  Little nervous that I might be the only member... What say you?  Interested?

5.  I’m off today to have lunch with my family, specifically my Dad, my favorite Aunt and Uncle, a Great-Aunt and some cousins.  I love this kind of family get together and I know there will be stories and laughter!

Happy Thursday!  Hope to see you at the Yarn Crawl!

...this, that and casting on...

Have you seen the Spring Catalog from WEBs?  Check out page 59!  That’s right!  That’s my Tollgate modeled by my beautiful daughter, Erin.  She looks lovely in it.  I’m so proud of this and super thankful to WEBs for being included in the catalog.  

So what else is going on today?  Last day of Stitches West with the WEBs crew.  I love working with these amazing people.  Steve and Kathy have a terrific crew and I am honored to be on the “A Team”.  I will be saying good bye to all of them tonight and am looking forward to the next time I get to see them all.  Thanks Steve and Kathy for letting me be a part of this.  I’m perfectly happy to be included in Hotel California.

Today is the day to cast on Winter Birch if you are joining us for the KAL.  And what would a KAL be without a prize or two?  Head down to the comments and let me know which color you are casting on.  I’ll keep the comments open until midnight Monday and then select a lucky winner who will get a copy of any of my other patterns!  Let me know what you are casting on.  I can’t wait to get started!!

...come knit with me...

Hey!  Are you planning to knit Winter Birch?  If so, why not nip over here and join the KAL that Knitspot is planning with her beautiful confection worsted.  That yarn is gorgeous and perfect for this project.  I just received my skein of confection worsted in the mail.  The colorway is dark chocolate and boy is it beautiful.

We are casting on February 23rd.  There will be prizes along the way and a ton of fun!  Join me and my fellow knitters and lets knit together!  I hope I can wait until the 23rd…

...lather, rinse, repeat...

I'm back from Madrona just in time to wash my clothes and repack them before I head off to Stitches West and the WEBS booth.  

I had just the best weekend.  Great classes, super fun friends, beautiful yarn and a lot of laughing.  I can’t even talk about the Teacher Talent Show.  No, I really can’t with the whole media blackout thing.  And just let me tell you I, for one, am extra thankful for that blackout.  

I arrived on Wednesday and immediately got to the business of seeking out friends.  As I said before, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Madrona but it felt like it was yesterday.  Everything about this event is special and this year was no different.

Thursday I taught my Knitting With Your iPad class to 10 of the best students.  We had a great time and I think they learned a lot.  They asked great questions, which I always love.  It keeps me on my toes and I usually learn something coming out of classes like this one.  Here are three of my students.  Love them!

Friday I held a demo on Social Media for Knitters in the morning.  It was great to meet the people that came by.  I visited with many knitters and knitting shop owners about how and why they would want to use Social Media.  Again, it was a learning experience for many, me included.

Friday afternoon I spent with Judith learning her technique of spinning scraps.  What an eyeopener.  Every class with Judith is always fantastic.  I have learned so much from her over the years but I know it’s just the tip of the iceberg of knowledge that she has.  I loved every moment I spent in that class.

Saturday morning I was in class with Nancy Bush.  She taught the technique for Nordic Color.  This class made me look at colorwork in a whole new way.  

Of course, there were many evening events and time with friends.  One of the best was the Teacher Gallery.  It was the opportunity for all of the teachers at Madrona to exhibit their designs.  It was great fun and I met such wonderful knitters.  I also caught sight of both Spectral and Traliccio in the wild.  These two have the same yarn (that they got together) and each knit one of the designs.  It was so much fun to see their beautiful cowls!

Oh, and that piece I’m wearing….new design coming soon!

As I said, I loved each and every moment of Madrona.  I now realize how much I have missed going each year.  I will be back next year, without a doubt.

Gotta run….laundry calls.

...Madrona...

I'm headed to Madrona tomorrow!  It's the first time I've been to it in a few years and I'm really excited to be going.  I'll be teaching, taking classes, showing off my designs at the Friday evening Teacher Gallery, shopping, seeing friends, taking part in the Teacher Talent show... all things fantastic!  

If you'll be at Madrona please come to the Teacher Talent show on Thursday night.  It's a great night that benefits a great cause.  You won't even believe what talents will be on display.  I don't understand how Steph talked me into this (I think that's her talent), but it's for charity and there is that absolute media blackout.  What happens at Madrona...  You'll just have to show up to see what happens.

See you there!

…have you heard?

The weather in my area is awful!  We’ve had 10+ inches of snow, which is hard enough on the Portland area, but we’ve just topped it off with 1/2 inch of ice.  Freezing rain!  UGH!  

But let’s make lemonade out of lemons and cast on something new.  How about my newest pattern,  Winter Birch?

                                                  

Winter Birch is the perfect one-skein project for that special skein you have in your stash, and since it’s worked in a worsted weight it goes super fast!  

Stay warm my friends, enjoy the Olympics and knit on~