Crazy for Ewe

Finishing knitting is a special passion of mine.  I especially enjoy finishing sweaters.  There's something about the whole process of seeing two dimensional pieces come together into a three dimensional whole.  I know a lot of knitters hate finishing, and I get it.  Seaming can be very challenging, especially if you haven't set yourself up for finishing success as you knit your fabric. 

I remember 20 years ago when I had just opened the shop. Seems like yesterday.  My baby was two years old, and I had calculated how much yarn I needed to sell every day to pay the rent.  It was pretty scary, but as the saying goes,

If you build it, they will come

I don’t learn by watching. I learn by doing

Seeing something done is great as an overview of the process, but the nitty-gritty learning only happens when I do it myself.

I think a lot of us are like that. 

Do  you remember learning to knit?  I’m sure someone showed you how, and you probably eagerly reached for the knitting, only to realize that practiced hands belie the million tiny aspects of holding needles, tensioning yarn, and making the stitch.. 

At this summer’s retreat I'll be teaching a special class called "Handcrafted, Not Homemade." I had the pleasure of teaching this class at Rowan Connect last year, and I'm super excited to bring it live to the retreat.

As someone who has cooked for my family nearly every single night, I firmly believe homemade is best. Homemade cookies, homemade bread, homemade meals—everyone loves homemade. The medical community tells us that processed food is the source of all evil in our diets, so homemade is the way to go, right?

It’s June, and this warm weather has me thinking about summer yarns —especially linen blend yarns. For summer 100% linen is great to wear - linen pants, dresses and shirts are beautifully breathable and moisture wicking, but knitting with 100% linen is not always the most fun.  

Linen yarn can be stiff and knitting or crocheting with it can be hard on the hands.  And let’s face it, if it’s no fun to knit, I’m probably not going to do.  While I am on a mission to create a hand-knit wardrobe, at the end of the day, it’s still a hobby, so if it’s not fun it stops being a hobby and starts being a job - and who needs that?  

The Noro Trunk show has arrived in its entirety.  We had a few pieces last week, but the mother lode arrived the next day, and I can't wait to share it with you this week live.   

During this week I've been playing with the garments - especially that vest I wanted so much to like.  It looked great on Ginni, but on me, it was