She Knits By The Seashore

The Great Rhody Yarn and Bike Crawl

I had such a fun time!

At first, I couldn't decide whether or not to go. It's not like I need any yarn or patterns. But what I wanted was energy and inspiration and the camaraderie of other knitters, and there was more of that than I could have hoped for. Chris and I were in the mood for a road trip, despite the gloomy New England weather we've been having, and so we started off to Westerly on Saturday morning for our first stops on the yarn and bike crawl.

 

Knitwits is a small shop packed with amazing choices, and there were so many knitters exploring the yarn when I arrived that I could hardly move! Hannah's Farm brought two alpacas that were so adorable; I heard one person say that they had four inches of wool to be shorn for new yarn soon. The staff here were so kind, and excited to see the response for the event. They gave out Knitwit totebags and raffle tickets for either sample sweaters or book sets. Although I really wanted the La Boheme yarn in this gorgeous maroon and pink color, Plum Pudding, I remembered I had a similar color combo for the Louisa Harding yarn in my stash, and settled for the new summer issue of Knitscene.

For the cycling minded, Westerly has Brumble Bikes. They are not usually open on the weekend, so if you are planning a visit, you might want to call ahead. They happened to be open when Chris stopped by. They seem to have a strong bike team, which we saw on Sunday at the Ninigret Races in Charlestown.

On the way to our next knitting shop, we stopped at the East Providence bike shop, where Chris found a black base layer top, and I stood envying the ad for the women-only group rides. I somehow miscalculated here and missed Fresh Purls entirely, which I've never visited, but I hope to get there sometime this summer.

Stop #2 was in Warren, for Bella Yarns.

 

I had taken along the Summer Flies shawl pattern, which I'd discovered at another yarn shop last month. Since then, I'd been debating what color to use; as much as I love pink and ocean blue, I have so many accessories knitted in those colors. Do you usually knit in the same colors? The night before the crawl, I had an inspiration: lime neon spring green. So different and summery. I could pair it with navy blue, which is dear to my preppy, new wave heart. After entering a raffle for a gorgeous sweater kit, I was off to find green yarn.

Enter Naomi, the shop's co-owner. She is absolutely amazing. Not only did she help me find the shawl yarn (see photo below!), but on a whim, I asked if she had a moment to explain that PRB stitch I asked about in my previous post. It turns out that she has been swatching for the same project! She sat down with me on their cozy sofa, looked at the pattern instructions, picked up some scrap yarn, and showed me what to do. Now I can work on Paloma again. She and the staff are SO friendly and excited about knitting, that I want to go back again and again. There will be shorter time between my visits there for sure.

After Bella Yarns, we stopped by one of our favorite little restaurants, Leo's Ristorante, for lunch. We had to eat inside, but soon it will be time to sit at the sidewalk tables and admire the gardens during lunch.

 
 

Chris navigated time and distance for our trip; after lunch, we went to Tiverton, to Sakonnet Purls.

 
 They had the prettiest flower pots.

 

Here is the store cat, Lucy. I was so excited to finally meet her!

 

Though tempted by a sale on Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, to eventually make the Beltane Tee, I settled on a pattern, All Ruffled Up, by Champagne Maker. It's a small cape that I thought might be a great summer cover-up for bare arms in overly air-conditioned buildings. Oddly enough, the cape in the project photo shows the same lime green yarn I bought for the shawl. I don't have any particular color in mind for this cape, and since I'm not likely to start it this summer, I have time to figure that out.

After leaving Tiverton, one of my favorite places in the entire world, we stopped at Caster's, a very awesome bike shop in Warwick. Then, I was desperate for tea, and since we were sort of in the neighborhood, we went back to Main Street Coffee in East Greenwich. We'd been there for my birthday about a month and a half ago, and I was heartened to see that the tables and chairs are outside now, if not the flowers. Progress! I love their almond tarts.

  

By now, it was after 5pm, and though I could have visited The Mermaid's Purl as planned, I was on yarn overload. Since we were going back to RI the next day for Chris' bike race at Ninigret, it seemed best to go home and rest up and enjoy my new purchases. Here they are: 

  

I can't wait to start the shawl. After a sunny day yesterday (Sunday), we're back to gloom, but knitting this color has got to bring summer here faster. :)

A big thank you to those who organized this amazing event. I am already looking forward to next year. If you missed the RI crawl, there is an I-91 Shop Hop planned for June 24-26, with stops from Vermont to the CT Shoreline. 

I hope you are enjoying sun, leaves, flowers, and great spring bike rides!

I Give Up

Last Saturday, Chris and I went to visit a friend in southern Vermont. We made a few stops along the way.

Stop 1: Not Just Yarn, in Brattleboro (no link; site is down). The owner is retiring, and there's a 30% off sale. I want a cranberry sweater. Not sure what pattern yet. Suggestions? It's a bulky yarn. Maybe the Heather Hoodie Vest, but I'd like something with long sleeves. I have over 1400 yds.

Stops 3, 4, 5 (Basket Books, no website), also in Brattleboro. Chris bought something at stop 2.

I'm not even going to think about a yarn or book diet anymore.

Louisa Harding Yarn Crawl

On Tuesday, Sarah and I visited some local yarn shops in RI. I've been carrying around a few pattern books in my knitting bag the last couple of months, looking for some Louisa Harding yarns that may be discontinued, and she was looking for some as well. I never dreamed we'd find all that we did at the two shops!

At the Knitting Corner (sorry, no link), they carry what seems like a full range of the L.H. yarns, and many were on sale. I *finally* found Thalia, an unusual flat tape sort of yarn, for several projects from the Dauphine book.

This blue-gray is for the Terese sweater.

A close-up:

The plum Thalia, combined with the two ribbon yarns for the flowers, will be the Rose scarf.

And I found an extra ball of white Glisten, six total, for the Shine Jacket (shrug) on the cover of Knitting magazine.

We were pretty overwhelmed by all the choices, and it became even more fun when we visited Bella Yarns. They have the most complete selection of Sari Ribbon yarn, in the prettiest colors. I'm going to knit the Periwinkle wrap/scarf from L.H.'s Beachcomber Bay booklet, though I'll probably leave off the fringe and button, using these:

I am going to use the pink ribbon yarn instead of the wine ribbon for this scarf too, which I decided to do after I took these photos. The middle yarn is Fauve, seemingly on sale everywhere, and the bottom is a gray Glisten.

I hadn't intended to make two pink-plum scarves, but maybe it's an unconscious response to knitting with so many blue yarns lately? I miss my pink!

We now have plenty of new projects to knit for fall. You can see Sarah's yarns here and here. Where do we start?!

On our way to dinner, Sarah indulged me and took some photos of the sunset from the Newport Bridge. I love this bridge -- it's always so dramatic, especially in the fog, and is a gateway to some of the prettiest scenery and best times I've had with Chris, Sarah, and Jeff. She is a talented photographer and took some amazing shots from the car (despite my dirty windshield!).

I am more convinced than ever that Rhode Island has everything.

New Yarn & Creative Writing No. 7

Thank you for your input on a color for our front door! Red and blue seem to be the top two suggestions, and at the moment, I'm leaning toward a cranberry/raspberry that would look good with the hall when the door is open. I promise to get some paint swatches soon to share with you.

The early knitter gets the yarn.

On Saturday, I got up early and drove the distance to Creative Fibers for their summer sale.  The night before, I did my homework, gathering up some patterns to take with me to match with yarn. Right inside the door was Louisa Harding's Impression yarn, in a lovely shade of blue-green, enough to make Sophie, or Beatrix. Swoon! I also bought two skeins of her ribbon yarn because they were pretty, and an extra skein of the Nashua June for the Lace Ribbon Scarf I hope to do. Mrs. SDC met me at the sale and we had fun doing something just for us -- usually we are at the bike races together in support of our misters.

 

Sophie. I love that these are fall sweaters, but don't look like fall sweaters!

 

Beatrix needs Glisten yarn for the trim, which no one seems to sell anymore.

The third session of my writing class started last Wednesday. As a writing prompt, we had to make a list of five interesting settings, as general or specific as we liked. Try it! List five places you enjoy reading about, or visiting, that you think would be interesting settings for stories. I'll share two of mine: an all-night diner, and a small village in France.

We talked about the process from idea to outlining; the latter will be covered next week. Brainstorming and listmaking is a great first step, then gathering, where you sort out the ideas you think will actually work. Finally, you can use post-its, one idea per post-it, and sort them out on a table or wallboard to start to organize your story. Class ended with a fairy-tale; taking a story and writing a list of alternate endings. Our homework is to pick one of those endings and brainstorm it. This is helping to remove a lot of the mystery from the process of idea to page (or screen).

As to knitting, I've had to work on one sleeve at a time for Breton Girl, because I only have one ball of the white yarn left. I'm not sure it's enough, but a very sweet Raveler in the UK has offered to send me some of her yarn if I need it. I am going to finish this sweater by Labor Day or else!!

Last Friday: An Adventure for Yarn

It was a hot, sultry Friday afternoon, and Miss Scarlett* and I were restless. A road trip seemed like just the thing. But where? Then I remembered the green flyer on my desk, for a not quite local LYS that I'd been wanting to visit. Ten minutes later, directions in hand, we were out on the open highway.

Off of the exit, we turned on to a backroad, and then another tiny road. I almost would have missed the shop, tucked in the back of a small yellow house, were it not for this unmistakeable sign:

Amazing how appealing that word can be, given the high temperatures outdoors!

After waiting outside for some time for the owner to return (Went to Bank! Be Back in 10 Min!, the sign said. But I am on my lunch hour! Can't Wait Very Long! Made A Special Trip!, I thought), I was greeted by a very gracious and apologetic woman and let inside. It was worth the wait. The shop is tiny, but everything is very carefully selected. The owner favors small businesses. Some of the yarns I had heard of, but never seen in person. Others I'd not heard of at all. There was soft music playing in the background, and flowers cut from a garden in little bouquets around the shop, just the sort of extra touches that make me feel happy and peaceful, as if you are sitting on someone's porch to knit and chat with a glass of iced tea, the afternoon slipping slowly away with every row.

With so many new-to-me yarns, my resolve to "just look" dissipated quickly. In the hand-dyed corner cupboard, the usual weaknesses took over:

Pink and Green [Seacoast Handpainted, Nantucket, Color: Strawberry Patch]

Ocean Colors [The tag doesn't say what company it is, only "handpainted boucle."]

I am nothing if not consistent. And will of course go back to visit again sometime. Scarlett enjoyed the trip too.

I rationalize the latest destined-to-be-scarves yarns because I have finally, finally, all over but the details, finished Caroline. Are you sitting down?

She needs her crochet trim, felting, and buttons, but the knitting and seaming are *done.*

"A Killer Stitch" by Maggie Sefton is also done, as in read. It's not Anne Perry, but I do enjoy life at Lambspun and will be back for the next installments. And a new friend treated me to this, which I can't wait to savor with some (iced) tea:

In the meantime, here is a photo of the hydrangeas that grow at the back of our house. They are such a brilliant blue, a wonderful color for yarn.

*Scarlett is the name of my car. I tend to name things. Do you?

Sometimes I Can Knit in Other Colors

This past weekend, I went to our church's annual women's retreat. It was a much needed rest, and I enjoyed time with my MIL while Chris and his father spent their weekend "back home" in Kentucky, where he grew up. Tim, Rainy, and Rosie kept the catnip parties to a minimum, as far as I can tell!

One of the highlights of my weekend was visiting an LYS that has possibly the best selection in the state. I went prepared -- I needed a crochet hook for Caroline's trim, and took some patterns with me, the Dauphine book and Lace Ribbon Scarf. For the LRS, which will make great summer car knitting, I found this beautiful periwinkle blue yarn, June by Nashua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love at First Sight

I'm not sure that I believe it happens with people, but I know it happens with yarn. Every once in a while, "she looked across a crowded room and spotted it...and knew instantly it was a match made in heaven..." This weekend's fling was with Rowan's Romance. Why have we never been introduced before?

It was sitting in a lower bin, in shades of white, pink, and a blue lavender the color of the sunset sky just before the darkest blue sets in. There is a shimmery thread running through the yarn that sparkles like sun on the ocean or stars in a night sky -- the blue lavender is named Starlight. It is made in Italy. Swoon. (If you haven't guessed, I'm on an all things Italy binge lately, because of my family history research).

I didn't have a pattern with me on Saturday suitable for this yarn, so yesterday I called the store, with Diamanta in mind. But the yarns are too different in weight. I did what any obsessed person would do, who finds out the yarn might be discontinued -- ordered all seven balls -- and not the pink ones! (Yes, you read that right). Starlight. 

There is no good photo that captures this yarn that I can link to for you, though I tried above. I'll photograph mine when it arrives home. For now, I want to hear your stories of falling in love or obsession with a yarn. Tell me what it was, where or how you first met, and why you fell hard. In the meantime, I'll share my photo outtakes with you!

Find the kitty head!

Rosie inspects the yarn & new crochet hook

P.S. My pharmacy did reuse the old bottles for my prescriptions! Yay!

Mystic River Yarns Meetup

On Saturday, seven of us met at Mystic River Yarns for knitting, shopping, and chatting. Valerie, Karen, and Cindy are in the photo above.

Kristen, left, and Sarah, right.

Debbie, left, and Kristen, right.

Another photo of Karen, Debbie, and the back of Valerie.

Missing were Rachel and Kimberly -- we hope you both can join us next time. It's so nice to see everyone in person, as well as their knitting projects. Kristen, Karen, and Debbie were working on socks. Sarah, Valerie, and I think Cindy, were working on sweaters, and I had my pink mohair mittens.

I'm terrible when it comes to shopping at knitting events. By now, I'm sure Kristen has labeled me hopeless. I bought only 2 skeins of yarn at the Farmhouse Yarns sale when she invited me to go with her during the summer. I didn't purchase anything at Rhinebeck (I'll pause for a moment while you let the unbelievability of that sink in; I still don't believe it either), and then on Saturday I also went home empty-handed. If I don't go to an event with particular things in mind, I get overwhelmed with the choices. Everything or nothing speaks to me. I also want to knit more of what I have at home right now: patterns and yarn for two or three sweaters, a shrug, a felted purse, and then all of the skeins of one and two that need to be assigned. Maybe by the next meetup I'll do better?? What do you do -- do you set out to look for something on your mental list, or only purchase something on sale, or only look for patterns, or whatever speaks to you that day?

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and if you work outside your home, that the shock of going back was not too much. It's that time of year at my work where it's almost too busy to breathe, so I apologize if you have not heard from me. Thank goodness for car knitting and portable projects!

She Knits Seashells...

I am going to share a Secret Place with you.

At the end of a long, windy road, you see this:

You park your car to the right, and then walk to the left of this building, where you see (click to enlarge):

Follow the path down and around to the back (and don't forget to admire the view)...

What is that? Look inside!!!

(above: view inside the door, looking ahead)

(above: view standing in front of bay window, with lounge-y couch in front of you. Back behind those hanging skeins is a little room with a worktable, a den of Cascade Yarn and other knitting goodness. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of this, but there was a class going on, so I didn't want to disturb them).

(above: View towards right, bay window. Couch is behind the bookcase in the front of this picture).

My photos are not very good, especially when they're of the click-fast-and-run-because-husband-is-waiting-at-the-car variety, but I wanted to show you what is hiding in this place. Every wonderful yarn you can think of is here, in colors that make me swoon. You can see some of the magazines and books of patterns in front of the windows, but there is much more in that classroom (opposite end of the space, from the photo above). The most wonderful thing  of all hiding in there is knowledgeable, patient help, with a smile and a sense of humor that encourages me to persevere with this camisole with the crazy gauge. Thurs. night my "tutor" measured the now-washed & dried swatch, and gave me her blessing to begin knitting the actual camisole.

And if that weren't enough, Hermoine the sweet gray kitty is in the parking lot to greet visitors and also wish you a safe trip home. Yarn store + cat = perfect combination. I wonder if they serve tea too?

Here is my first "seashell" of the camisole border. 13 more to go!