Highland Triangle Workshop at Knit Knack

     The Highland Triangle Shawl has got to be one of the top three favorite shawls from Folk Shawls.  I'll be teaching a one-day Highland Triangle workshop this Saturday, January 26th, from 10 to 4:30, at the wonderful Knit Knack Yarn Shop in Arvada.  If you haven't been to Knit Knack yet, give yourself a mid-winter treat and take in this charming and welcoming fiber lover's venue.  If you are one of the many fans of the shop, join us for the workshop or drop by to say hello.  I'd be happy to sign some books during lunch break too.  Love to see you there.
   

 

    I've got another version of the Highland Triangle on the needles now, using Just Beautiful Alpaca.
The shawl is at what I like to call the awkward stage, with lots of stitches on the needles and looking very much like a knitting disaster.  It even still has it's markers in, the one you see here is to indicate the right side of the knitting, where the lace pattern and shaping take place.   At this point the shawl reminds me of a girl getting ready for a dance, rumpled clothes and curlers.  It is almost done though and once it is blocked it will  bloom into a most wonderful garment, light and soft and with a particular way of hugging the shoulders.
     Can you see the bowl that the ball of yarn sits in?  It's a clear "faux glass" bowl that travels well and let's me enjoy the beauty of the yarn as it keeps the ball from rolling around the room.  There are marvelous yarn bowls out there now that are truly works of the potter's art, but I like this simple, light-weight, unbreakable bowl quite a lot.  I haul my tools everywhere and I can be hard on them.  This bowl even sits nicely on the floor of the car and never mind the mid-winter floor mats or the rolling cans of organic tomatoes that might bounce it around on a sharp curve.  But I digress...
      So do take some time for yourself and join us Saturday at Knit Knack for more knitting talk and to learn the techniques of constructing this wonderful example of a traditional Shetland shawl style.  Gerri has some fabulous yarns that make beautiful shawls. You just might find yourself knitting several as I seem to be doing.  And maybe this one will be off the needles and "ready for the dance" by then.  I'd best get back to my knitting.....

National Pie Day

What a great way to brighten up the winter than with a day to celebrate one of my favorite things in the world....Pie!  Here are two of the wonderful pies I was treated to in my travels last year.  These were the treats at my Lace Sampler class hosted by the Sow's Ear Yarn Shop in Verona, Wisconsin last September.  Let me tell you, these were outstanding pies, baked locally, and I did make sure of that by having more than one helping of each.  Luckily they were huge so there was plenty for all of us.

Classic Cherry!

 And for all of you who know and love the Sow's Ear, they are on the ballot for the Madison Magazine's Best of Madison.  Look under coffee/tea shops (yes, they are all that too!) and cast your vote for yarn and treats in one move.

Apple Berry..amazing!

National Pie Day can be a pretty sweet deal.  I'm planning a foray out of the Studio for pie today myself.   In the midst of the winter "diet" season, I know it's a radical act but hey! I'm committed to joy this year, and a delicious little treat now and then goes a long way toward meeting my joy quotient for the day.   Can I rationalize, or what?  Uh huh!

Faroette Shawl Workshop @Wild Yarns

   Join me this Saturday at the charming shop, Wild Yarns, right here in my 'hood for a day of shawl knitting, Faroette style.  We have  just a couple of spaces left in the workshop and I'd love to meet you there.

    We'll be knitting a miniature to get your gauge and learn the techniques and then you'll have the chance to cast on for your own Faroette.  I'll have some new skeins of  OM hand-dyed organic merino yarn there for you to peruse or Wild Yarns has loads of other simply lovely yarns to choose from.   Or you might already have an idea for a fiber to use.  Bring it along and we'll give it a go.

Happiness in the New Year

     Here are some swatches I've done recently for the Shetland shawl projects that we'll be working with at the spring sessions of the Knitaway® in the Studio.  Choosing lace patterns for a new shawl is one of the things that makes me really happy.

     On this first day of the new year I like to make a list of all those things that create joy in my life.  These are not resolutions, though I do resolve to spend more time in the pursuit of happiness, but it is more about bringing my attention back again to just what being happy means.  It's a good practice for me and one that just on it's own seems to expand my joyous mood.  The Dalai Lama XIV, one of my go to sources for wisdom on happiness, said:

                        “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”

     What is even better is that finding your own happiness is an act of kindness to everyone.  When we each are happier, the world itself is a more joyous place.  You make a beautiful difference with each smile.

     For your new year I wish for you the gifts of considering and finding those actions that fill you with the most happiness and loads of time to spend pursuing them. 

     Happy New Year!