Where have you been????

So, it's been nearly 28 days since my last blog. Some of you may have been wondering where I had gotten off to. The rest of you probably didn't notice my absence! However, I am back and we are getting back to our regularly scheduled blogging.

How have you all been? What have you been working on? I started a very cute shrug pattern out of the book, "Fitted Knits". It's a great book. Takes the whole concept of sweater knitting and gives a much needed update on fit, in my opinion. At any rate, I decided upon the adorable shrug pattern found on page 42. I even followed the directions to a tee! I mean, except for the fact that I didn't do the size I measured out for, I changed the yarn, and I used 2 different needle sizes. But, other than that - I did EXACTLY what the book told me. I am sad to report that the finished product, yes - I used the word "finished", is hopeless. It would be a perfect fit if I were an NFL pro quarter back! Of course, I brought my disappointing little project into the shop in the hopes that Torey would be able to do some of her magic voodoo and miraculously fix the stupid thing. However, my dear sister merely informed me that perhaps it is I who really needs to be taking the upcoming Knitting 101 class. Staring at my recent failure, I really couldn't argue. So, for those of you who were planning on taking the class, save me a seat. Obviously, I need to go back to the beginning. Knitting 101 is going to cover a multitude of techniques, starting with how to cast on a ton of different ways. I do admit that I take for granted the ability to determine the correct cast on for any given project. However, it's been 30 years in the making of mistakes that I have acheived this small talent. Torey is hoping to help our beginning knitters to move forward in their skill level, and to help our more advanced knitters maybe find an easier, or different way than what they're used to. This class is begins June 3rd, from 6-8PM. Torey is going to start with casting on and go from there. The class is a series and will be held once a week for the rest of the summer. There is still room to join, you can call the shop for more info.

Behold this summer's "must have" shoe! In the picture are mine and Torey's personal pairs of croc's. In working up our donations for the "Walk for Life" event that's being held on September 27th, we have also been going a little overboard in creating some fun summer footwear for ourselves. I mean, check these out! You can see how it's hard to resist keeping a pair for yourself! I am pretty excited about this particular event. I love that we can all get together at the shop and not only do something we enjoy, but also know that we are helping to make a difference in the fight against cancer. For those of you who want to learn how to make your own pair, we are holding the "how to" class on Thursday, June 5th at 6PM. Then, once you have gotten the hang of it, please join us on Saturdays during the month of August. The shop is supplying all of yarn. All you have to do is bring in a pair of flip flops to donate. We will be selling our finished pieces at the "Walk for Life" event, with the proceeds going to The Foundation. The Foundation is a community and family health organization that helps those suffering from cancer. Our goal is to have at least 100 pairs of flip flops donated for sale. So come hang with us, and "think pink"!

So.....has anyone noticed that summer is nearly here? I am very excited about the start of my favorite season! However, I do notice a lack of time to sit and concentrate on my knitting with a little peace and quiet. This could have something to do with the fact that the children in my life are free from school and therefore looking for my undivided attention. I love being the favorite Aunt, but not when I want to knit, and they want to go swimming. Thankfully, there is an upcoming late night sit and knit at the shop. What could be better than a full six hours of uniterrupted knitting? I can't think of a thing. I am leaving Jackson home with his daddy and me and Charlotte will be joining you all for the night. I am really looking forward to seeing you all. I get to the shop a few times a month during the day, but I haven't seen many of you since Jackson was born. I am starting work on a felted yoga bag today. I am hoping to erase the bad memory of the ill fated shrug with a new project. ( Ha! Like I need an excuse to start a new project. ) Maybe I will be ready to finish it up by the then. The late night sit and knit is scheduled for Saturday, June 7th from 6-12PM. Hope to see you all there.

Meet you by the wool,

Rob

Nothing more delightful than a bit of Jack Daniel.....

Here at the Knit Affair, we have discovered another four letter word that means love. We spell it J..A..C..K! You will have to forgive us, but this particular blog has nothing at all to do with yarn. It is just a complete and total lovefest for our newest knitter to be (ssshhh...don't tell his dad!).



I can honestly tell you, as a complete and unbiased overly doting Aunt, that this is one cute kid! I mean, let's be honest. Sometimes babies come out and well...umm..not so much. You know? I mean, it's not easy sometimes. The journey to the outside can leave a baby, well- sort of mushed??!!? Acckkk, forgive me if your baby was of the mushed variety. I am certanly not speaking of them. I mean those other kids. The ones who belong to people we don't know and love. :)

We are happy to report that Jack and Mom are thrieving. Uncle Greg was over recently for Jack's first photo shoot. Take a look.....

Mom and Jack

The Happy Family

Jack's Birth Announcement

Ok...this concludes this week's look at our total obsession of baby Jack. Thank you for your patience. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Meet you by the wool,

Jack's Aunt Rob

Jack Has Arrived!!!!!

Introducing Jack Daniel Templeton! That's right folks, he has arrived. Jack was born yesterday afternoon. He weighed 7 lbs., 12 ozs. and is 21" long. In the photo collage you can see that he is his Papa's pride and his Nana's joy.

Both Mommy and baby are doing fine. It was a bit of a rough start for Jack. He came into the world "sunny side up". That means that although he came out head first, he was face up. So, it took a special team to get him to start breathing at first. But, all is well. The good people at Kaiser Riverside swooped into the room and set everything to right. Meghan also had a bit of a tough time. They are going to be keeping her until Wednesday so she can get a little rest and recovery before going home.

Also, we wanted to let everyone know that the shop is going to be closed Tuesday, April 8th, and Wednesday, April 9th so that Torey can be with her babies. We will return to business as usual on Thursday, April 10th.

I will be blogging more later. I just wanted to pass on the good news for now.

Meet you by the wool,
"Aunt Rob"

Spring Has Sprung!

Now that Spring has begun, you may see your knitting taking on a little different direction. I notice that as the weather gets closer to Summer, my projects get smaller in scale. I seem to start gravitating towards cotton sweater patterns and purse projects.

In honor of Spring, we are doing a workshop this Saturday, April 5th. We are doing a beaded crocheted flower purse complete with entirely original beaded handles. I like this project because although it makes up rather quickly, it looks like you must have just spent hours and hours on it. Along with learning some basic crochet steps, Torey is also going to show you how to embellish your flowers with individual beads, and how to make your own beaded handle. For those of you who don't know, Torey was a SERIOUS beaded jewelry maker prior to opening the shop. You are definitely going to want to take advantage of learning to bead from an expert. The workshop begins at 1pm and goes till 4. You can either call the shop, or stop in to reserve a spot.

By the way, now that it's April - we all need to remember that a "Jack Attack" could happen at ANY MOMENT! That's right, Meaghan is due any day now. I, for one, can not wait! I don't think we have so anticipated the arrival of a baby in the shop, well - since my Jack was born almost 2 years ago. Wow! Talk about time flying. So, if you arrive at the shop in the next week or so and either find it unexpectedly closed, or no sign of Torey, you'll know why.

Jack has received many hand made gifts from our wonderful friends at the shop. I wanted to show off a few of them here. Meaghan can't wait to put all of them to use.

This beautiful little sweater, hat and booties were made by Nancy Leviton with a little help from her daughter Katie. Could they be any cuter??!?!?! The pattern she used was one from Plymouth yarn company. I know that Torey has it available in the shop. I think I am going to have to get a copy so I can make a similar set in pink for Charlotte!

Also, there were a number of helping hands on this project. It's a crocheted wall hanging with pockets for storage! It's going to be perfect in Jack's nursery.

Well, that's it for the highlights this week. I am in the middle of crocheting a blanket for my little one, so I had better get back at it. Otherwise, you know it will wind up at the bottom of my stash somewhere while I am busy buying new yarn to make the layette set that Nancy made!

Hope to see you all Saturday!

Meet you by the wool,

Rob

A Work In Progress

The images above are what Torey and I have completed so far of the Amherst Sweater class sample. I show you our work in progress because I'd like to pose a question.

Have you ever started a project, gotten very near the end, and then suddenly realised you may not have enough yarn? Well, if you have, then you are not alone! It would seem that even owning your very own knit shop does not protect you from such a folly. Torey and I started the Amherst Sweater sample with such anticipation. I was going to knit up the back, while Tore was going to knit up the sleeves. We would somehow divide up the 2 front pieces, depending on who finished first. It was a good plan, a perfect plan even. In theory. It would seem that we may not have enough of the Rowan cotton tape in our chosen color to finish. AArrrgghhh! The frustration! Of course, we could have stopped and done a bit of math before beginning in the first place. And yes, we could have very well chosen to work our project in a yarn that we could re-order. But alas, sadly, we didn't. Instead, we are a cautionary tale. A warning, if you will, of the perils of skipping the absolute irrefutable MUST DO'S of any project that you care to actually succeed in finishing. *Note that last phrase....."that you care to actually succeed in finishing." I emphasize this because I don't always care to finish. (Wait...if you put your ear to the computer, you can probably hear Torey laughing at that last comment. ) See, I think the world of knit and crochet is divided up into 2 seperate catagories. The "product knitters" and the "process knitters". The "product knitters" are completely focused on the end result. They have a finish line in mind and they are going to cross it! However, the "process knitters" a.k.a. my people, are more interested in the journey. If they actually finish the piece, all the more reason to buy more yarn, and start something else. But, it's not really necessary to them. The "process knitters" will buy more yarn and start something new regardless. Of course, I am a "Professional Process Knitter". This means that I start 4 or 5 new things at a time. However, my beloved sister is the "Queen Product Knitter". Torey finishes what she starts. Always. It can be annoying. So, you can understand our canundrum. At this point, unless I find some random balls of cotton tape secretly stashed in my house somewhere, then Houston - we have a problem.

Wait, scratch that last sentence! Just as I was typing it, a little light bulb went off in my head. I could actually see the missing ball of yarn. I get up to look, and YES! It's there! Lying at the bottom of my underwear drawer, a brand new ball of Rowan cotton tape. Mind you, it's 11:40 at night, but I call Torey any way to let her know. For some reason, her intial response to the good news is, "What was it doing at the bottom of your underwear drawer?" I explained that it wasn't my every day underwear drawer. That it was the one where I keep the stuff hubby has given me, or that I recieved at my bridal shower 10 years ago. Now that I think of it, the bigger question isn't why was it in that drawer, but instead, did it have dust on it?! Whew, crisis averted. I love a happy ending, don't you? But let this be a lesson to you all. The moral of the story is to take your time and DO THE MATH, and also to remember that drawers of clothing you rarely use make for excellant yarn stashing.

By the way, this class is meeting tomorrow night, March 19th. I know of at least 2 people who are going to be just beginning the project, along with the folks that started last week. So, if you are ready to dive into your first sweater, or just want to join in on the fun - be sure to come by the shop. There is always room for one more. Also, for those of you who have made some progress so far, I would love to see it. E-mail me some pics to knitaffair@knitaffair.com . I want to document the "journey" for everyone else to enjoy online.

I also have some fun shots to show you from last weeks Saturday workshop. In this class we tried something new. We needle felted. Needle felting is a pretty unique method of adding some really fun embellishment to just about anything. If you haven't had a chance to swing by the shop lately, you really should stop in. We have a whole display of different needle felting kits to show you. The kits range from pretty little flowers to actually being able to put pictures of animals and shapes on things. You'll really have your friends and family wondering how you did it.

In this shot you can see Diane, along with Brooke and Jessica. Brooke is working on some very cute butterflys. We are going to be working with needle felting again on April 19th. Come see what all the fun is about.

Well, I need to be signing off. It's now after midnight and I am sure one, or both of the babies will rise up to rob me of my sleep at any moment. I am going to be in the shop on Thursday, and I would love some company. So, if you feel the flu coming on *wink, wink - call in "sick" and come join me for the day.

Meet you by the wool,

Rob

Wool on the go.....

Just a little message from the road. I have recently discovered that I can post to the blog from my cell phone! I LOVE technology! So, I thought I would pose a question. What's on your needles? I started a baby blanket using Lorna's Lace yarn and an entrelac stitch. I am now addicted to both the yarn and the pattern! This is a snap shot of row one. I like that the process is simple enough to memorize, but doesn't get boring over time. Also, how many projects do you have going at once? I am seriously knee deep in 4 things at once. I hope to finish before my procrastination kicks in and they sadly go live in a ziploc baggy, never to be heard from again.

Behold the Amherst Sweater

Hi all, this is Rob. I am blogging for Torey today. How has everyone been? I hope well. I have missed knitting with all of you! However, in addition to my son Jackson, my husband and I have just recently adopted a new baby girl. Her name is Charlotte Marie. She was born on January 10, 2008. She is a very sweet baby, and I am happy to report that she willingly wears whatever I knit for her! Of course, I am enjoying this fact now since I am completely aware that by the time she's a teenager anything I knit for her, she probably would not be caught dead in! However, I was able to be in the shop for a few days in February. Poor Diane was out sick, so I came to keep Torey company. Thankfully, Diane is back and better than ever!

While I was in the shop, Torey was nice enough to "let me" knit up part of the sample sweater for the "Amherst Sweater" class. If you have yet to tackle the challenge of knitting a whole sweater, then this is the project for you. Let me just say this, if I was able to manage knitting this sweater while taking care of an overly active 18 month old and a newborn, at the same time - then what are you waiting for? I knit the sample out of a Rowan yarn called "cotton tape". I chose a beautiful shade of aqua { our signature color :) } and now can't wait to see it completed. This yarn was a great choice, as it knits up on the lightweight side, but has a really interesting texture. The yarn appears like a ball of shoe string unknitted, but gives the simple garter stitch a little something extra in this pattern. Luckily, I just happened to knit the sample up in my size. Coincidence? Probably not.

By the way, if you refer to our latest newsletter for the dates and times of this sweater class, do not be dismayed. You have not missed your chance. Due to an unfortunate error on the part of our printer's, our newsletter was delivered late this time around. So, we actually didn't get started on this project until tonight, the 11th. With that being the case, there is still plenty of time to get started and catch up with everyone else. You can also choose this one for any of the "Pick a Project" nights. The next one scheduled is March 19th.

The other class affected by the newsletter debacle was the Felted Easter Basket project. This class was scheduled for the 8th of this month. We introduced this project a few years ago for the shops first Easter. I have made at least one of these each year since then. It seems it's always somebody's "first easter egg hunt" in my family! These little babies are perfect for that. They are soft and easy for small children to carry, yet due to the fact that they are felted, they can handle quite a few eggs. The addition of the novelty yarn makes this one unique egg carrier. You never have to worry about the kids forgetting which is theirs. I actually have one on the needles right now for Miss Charlotte. I know she's gonna be a little young to carry it, but Daddy is going to "help" her find her eggs this year.

By the way, who moved up Easter this year??!!! Why is it suddenly around the corner? I don't know about you, but I am feeling a little pressured. Of course, that could be because I knit just about as many Easter gifts, as I do for Christmas. In addition to the felted baskets, I now find myself planning out personalized crocheted easter eggs! Torey was telling me how Diane crocheted these adorable easter eggs. If you get a chance, stop into the shop and check them out. She personalized them each with a name. One for Tore, one for Gil, she even made one for Jack - Torey's soon to arrive new grandson. Well, of course my mind is racing. How cute would that be in everyone's basket? Your very own egg? Like your very own Christmas stocking! I am thinking of embroidering the year on each, and then making it a little Easter tradition. By the time the kids are grown, they will have all of the eggs of their childhood to display in a basket each year. Would I not just be the total supermom if I could manage it? I mean, what better way to remind them how much they were loved and adored as children? That I would have taken the time, each and every year, to painstakingly crochet them an egg!!???!! Yikes! I'd better go knit.

It was good to catch up with you all. Don't be stranger's. Drop me a comment or two. I am going to be checking back in with updates and pictures of the sweater. I am hoping I can convince those of you taking the class to e-mail me photos of you modeling your completed master piece. I want to post them on the website for everyone to appreciate.

If you get a chance, come see me in the shop this coming Thursday. I have a babysitter and I am going to spend the day knitting! I encourage you all to play hooky and come join me :)

Meet you by the wool,

Rob