Love at first sight twice

We received a box with 16 gorgeous skeins of light green cashmere. I had no recollection of what the plan was for this yarn. I called the rep hoping he might remember why I bought 16 of this one color of pricey ($50/skein) yarn, hoping he would remember a conversation we had several months ago while buying for spring in the shop. Well, lucky me, his response "was it green and cashmere?" He explained that I'd seen a photo in the previews for the Classic Elite spring patterns and thought it would be a beautiful sample to make for the shop as well as a gorgeous knit my 22 year old daughter. He continued that if I was so in love with the pattern and yarn, surely once I knit it up, one of our customers would "have" to make it also. We ordered 16 skeins. Mystery solved.



Fast forward a few of days, our new Classic Elite pattern books arrive and while we were oohing and aahing I saw an adorable sweater and exclaimed "Emily, this is so cute, you have to make it. When Emily finally got to that book and pattern, she politely informed me that this was the sweater for the mystery yarn! I know what she really wanted to say is, "you idiot, this is the
pattern for the yarn you've been fussing about for days"!! Yarn is wound, swatch knit, and 228 stitches cast on. Love at first sight, sure. Love at first sight twice, absolutely!!

It must be St. Nicholas day!

We received a big surprise today, a mystery box of Fleece Artist yarn. We've concluded that St. Nicholas must be up to his old tricks, or maybe we ordered it back in the summer and forgot? We have five beautiful colors to choose from and 600 glorious meters for your knitting pleasure. Suri Blue is a lace weight blend of Suri Alpaca and Blue Faced Leicester. What a wonderful surprise, and we didn't even leave our shoes out on the porch. Thank you St. Nicholas!

Keepin' the Good Stuff

It's that time of year when everyone is getting ready for the holidays;  picking out perfect projects to knit for lucky friends and family.  Is there really anything better than a hand knit gift?  Probably not, I say.   That's why, especially for beginner knitters, I have a philosophy about knitting up all those scarves and hats:  Keep the good stuff for yourself.

That's right, let me say it again:  Keep the good stuff for yourself.  

That first scarf you ever knit that is 4 inches wide at the cast on end and 8 inches wide at the bind off?  You're Auntie May will love you more for that then a "perfect" scarf three seasons from now. (I'm speaking from experience here)

That hat where the brim is a little too tall?  Your brother will still wear it to play in the yard with his kids, and will never notice that hole where you accidentally dropped a stitch.  

Too often we think, "I don't want to give away this (insert knitted item here).  I'll keep this one and give the next one that is really good to that person that I love."  There are a few problems here:

1.  There are no "knitting Nazis" who will come and point out your imperfections to the people who receive your knitted gifts.   They are knitted with LOVE, and that, in fact, is a big part of the gift that should not be underestimated.  

2.  If you keep for yourself the things that aren't perfect, you'll never wear them, as you might be so focused on tiny mistakes that you won't wear your creation with pride.  That means that no one will get to show 'em off.  Where is the joy of knitting in that?  Trust me, most friends or relatives will proudly wear what you have made, because YOU have made it - if not, you need to be knitting for friends who would.

3.  If you keep the good stuff for yourself, you can wear it happily,  and get the joy of hearing all the compliments on it, rather than apologizing for it's imperfections.   Close your eyes and imagine the lift your day gets  when a stranger or coworker says, "I love your scarf - that's so cute", and you can say, "Thanks.  I made it myself." 

Now, isn't that the whole point?  As I said, keep the good stuff for yourself. 

The Love of Fall

Well, here it is.  The Halloween candy is being picked over (save the Reese's Cups for Emily), and the football season is more than half way over.  Even in Texas, there is no denying that it's fall.  It's great - the turning leaves, the kids settled into their schedules, the drop in our a/c bills. But, working at a knit shop - this is the best time of year.  So many great yarns, and all the great stories of knitters coming in for their holiday projects - coffee cozies for all the teachers, scarves for all the nieces, hats for the grand children, it's so fun. 

And, we've got great yarns to make it all happen this year - tons of Misti Alpaca Chunky is on the shelves, just waiting to be made into a dreamy soft scarf, and we've still got lots of beautiful Koigu for socks.  The Peruvia and Cuzco from Berroco are great for sweaters and hats, and of course there are the beautiful and luxurious Trendsetter Kashmir (cashmere and silk blend), for that truly decadent gift. 

There's fun gifts for knitters too - animal topped needles from Serendipity, go knit pouches, and those nifty needle gauges that can also be worn as a pendant.  

If you haven't been in for awhile, now is a great time to come see us.  Of, if you're swinging through Dallas, make sure to put our little shop on your list.  We'd love to meet ya and show off all this great yarn we have for the holidays!

The Red Scarf Project

It is that time of year again where we all get the warm fuzzies around here.  For the second year running, the Shabby Sheep has participated in the Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project.  This amazing organization collects scarves (mostly red, but any gender neutral color is ok) and then sends them out as Valentine's Day care packages to young adults who have aged out of the foster care system.  Just imagine being out on your own at 18 years old, with no family to send you cookies or laundry money, and getting a box in the mail.  These scarves are supposed to be of the quality that you would knit for a dear friend - ya know - using the good yarn.

Well, while those kids might feel good warm on a cold day because of their scarves, all the knitters who donated this year certainly also feel a warm sense of goodness too.  We had over 2 dozen scarves donated this year - all so different, yet so beautiful.   It just makes us feel great to know that we have such generous customers.  Thanks to all who participated. 

If you're bummed that you missed out, don't worry, we'll collect 'em again next year.  And, it's never too early to start one for 2009.  

River Rock Scarf

We just put this great scarf on the calendar for the first time and are very excited to work with a pattern from No Sheep for You by Amy Singer.  We've done a lot of classes with the beaded scarf from Scarf Style, so this should be a great change of pace, and still fun to teach some beading.