The winter holidays are coming so quickly!  It seems  it was just the other day that I was basking in the warm October sunshine at the Knitaway in Taos.  

Today  the new information for  the 2009 Knitaways went up on the website. I never seem to tire of spending days in a beautiful place with a group of knitters.   Just planning them makes me smile.

 In the news for the Knitaways......We have a new location for the June Knitaway in the Rockies  in 2009.  The Boulderado is a wonderful historic hotel ( celebrating her 100 birthday in 2009!) and  it's in the heart of one of the most scenic, artistic and "hip" towns in the country.  This should be a good time! Check it out on the website.

And of course early fall will find us  back at our favorite place in Taos, the San Geronimo Lodge, for two more Knitaways.

Sending you all my warmest wishes for your holiday season and for a bright New Year!

Speaking of Alpaca

Just got this shawl finished and wanted to share it with you. I call it the Ruffled Peddlar. It is a variation of the Wool Peddler's Shawl from my first book, Folk Shawls. 

Tehri in Finland (mustaavillaa on Ravelry... see my Favs!) did a gorgeous ruffled variation of the Wool Peddler's Shawl in Rowan Felted Tweed.   The new alpaca yarn I'm exploring has 9 natural shades, and since I, like Tehri, love brown and black, I selected Cocoa and Charcoal. I used yo's for the increases that form the ruffle and made the ruffle a bit deeper.  The deep ruffle gives the shawl some real movement.  The extra width provided by the addition of the subtle ruffle also makes the shawl fit better than a regular triangle..it stays on!  I think it works!  Brilliant ruffled idea, Tehri!  I love the flow of the Ruffled Peddler!  It goes from gentle waves to really ruffled,  depending on the sway of the wearer. 

I so love this alpaca yarn that I will be selling it on my website.  I'll have the information and the colors up on cheryloberle.com in the very near future. I will hurry, I promise,  though I'm 

busy packing as I write....  I do have Knitaway or two (three actually!) to attend in the next month.  Joy!

                 

It's September!

As it often does, the summer has flown so quickly by.  Now it's September!  And in 10 days we'll be at Session II of the Knitaway in the Rockies in Winter Park.

Session I in June was an incredible experience.  A fabulous group of talented knitters from all over the country, perfect weather (the one rain storm produced a magnificent dusk rainbow over the continental divide..quite a sight), and alpacas. And even better than that, baby alpacas.  We were invited take an afternoon jaunt to Lonesome Stone in Granby, Colorado to  meet the new members of the alpaca herd and to tour the mill ... and yarn shop. Ummmm!  Such serene and engaging creatures are the alpacas that I could hardly get the knitters to leave the field to go yarn shopping.  I managed to do so however and stash enhancement happened. 

So now the end of next week the next group of knitters will arrive  and we're going to visit the alpacas again. We'll probably see the aspen starting to turn and the last of the summer wildflowers gracing the sides of the walking paths.  Autumn beginning in the high country has a  particular feeling, a scent, almost a taste.  It is one of my favorite annual experiences and  thank goodness for the Knitaway to make sure that I get up there to enjoy every September.  Oh yes,  and then there's the knitting!

It's May! Until I started this blog I always had the feeling that the months and weeks fly by but I see it's a warp drive speed we've got going here.

I'm happy to report that the new book is through tech edit. It is now in the capable hands of the publisher, Interweave Press, and is scheduled to be released late this fall. The title (at least for now) is Knitted Jackets: 20 Designs from Classic to Contemporary.

Now perhaps I can make a habit of  blogging to share the 2008 Knitaways with all of you here.

The May Knitaway in Taos was just perfect. The weather was glorious, sunny and warm, the orchards were blooming and the cottonwood and willow trees were just starting to fill out in delicate shades of green.

We held class in the newly re-opened artists' studio at the San Geronimo Lodge.  This  an inspiring space for knitting with a kiva fireplace, french windows and the feel of creativity all around.  I know that a lot of that creativity came from the group, The Sand and Sea Knitting Guild, who brought their vibrancy and love of knitting along with them from southern California.

Time does fly!

Now, some of my more experienced blogging friends have told me that it's nice to post on your blog more than once every 10 weeks or so. OK. I'll try to do better. All my writing juices have been going into finishing my new book, Folk Jackets, which will be out from Interweave Press this fall. Lots of new designs and lots of sleeve stitches over the needles! So I may sound a bit spacey. The fact that I wished someone happy birthday yesterday and her birthday isn't for a month yet...well that might give you an idea of where I am.... uh, what day is it?

On the Knitaway ™ side, we mailed out all of the 2008 invitations the last week of December. It was like sending 100's of Happy New Year cards. I really enjoy the process that goes into the Knitaways from updating the mailing list and mailing the cards each December to preparing the workshops and packing my car to drive to the lodges. Most treasured during this process are the notes that arrive in the mail over the following months with the registrations. While I am a huge user of email, I still like the hand-written note; a note really gives you a feel for the person in their choice of the paper or card, the color of the ink, the flow of the handwriting. Even just a couple of sentences written in this busy age seems like a gift. Nice. If you've already sent in your registration, you'll be getting your confirmation in the next few days. I look forward to seeing you all in Taos or Colorado.

We've been having sub-zero temperatures here this week. Thinking about summer in the Colorado Rockies, with the wildflowers, the alpen glow, the hummingbirds, and a whole bunch of knitters helps keep the hearth and heart warm around here. Hope you are having a warming winter, too.