Sheep Nanny

A Pig with Wigs

2011-03-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a girl (late 50's early 60's thank you very much), my first and only Barbie came with molded plastic hair covered with a gold lame and white striped turban head wrap. Barbie also wore the same lame bathing suit. Atop a stand were 3 wigs, blonde, brunette and of course red. Fashion Queen Barbie, no doubt was designed by some middle aged, bald guy at Mattel that liked the idea of a different gal every day (or night) and thought Ken would appreciate the same!

Fast forward 50 years...

One of our PJ's & Purls Knitters made this adorable Pig, and Susan at the Sheep had to make one for the birthday of a pig loving friend of hers. This pattern comes from Knitting Mochimochi 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi by Anna Hrachovec. Susan used Spud & Chole "Sweater" for the body and Berroco "Ultra Alpaca" for the gorgeous purple, beehive wig. Now, if the beehive isn't cute (or scary) enough, you can make a magnificent mohawk, or awesome afro wig for your piggy.

I can't help thinking this pig is the 21st century's version of Fashion Queen Barbie. I haven't decided if the Pig with Wigs is more or less PC than Fashion Queen Barbie, you decide.

Beehive or Bouncy Hat?

2010-09-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of new hats that we are knitting up and displaying in the shop this month. I made this "Noro Hat" from a free pattern on Ravelry, in one weekend (two 2 hour flights plus another 2 hour session). Looks a bit like a beehive and is VERY comfortable, I don't like my hats too snug. It is a simple pattern to work, switching from stockinette to reverse stockinette every four rows. You will need 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon (about 200 meters) or any other similar yarn and you don't even have to have two of the same color! This hat could also be very cute in school colors, alternating colors as you move up the hat. You will need US#7 circs, 16" and a set of double points and one stitch marker. A whimsical, quick knit for those who don't want to take life too seriously!

Stay tuned for the next hat I'm casting on today, I promise it will be quite different from it's friend the beehive!

A Quick & Cozy Knit for Baby, Knit One Crochet Too & A Daylily Deal

2010-08-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

JUST OFF THE NEEDLES!!

Woo Hoo, things are actually making it off my needles rather than on. Wow, this is a fun, quick and cozy knit. We've had plenty of knitters coming into the shop the last two months looking to make a baby blanket, and this has been our Go To pattern. I don't know what is going on here in Texas, but procreation seems to be at an all time high! Whitney at The Purl Bee Blog has generously offered this pattern free to her readers and we are big, big fans of her designs. This simple blanket takes 4 skeins of Spud & Chloe Outer and 2 skeins of Spud & Chloe Sweater, a 40 inch US#13 needle and a 24 or 32 inch US# 15. Did I mention quick and cozy? I think this will be YOUR Go To blanket each time you hear that yet another friend or relative is Preggos.

Some new arrivals at The Sheep

Knit one Crochet too!

The Shabby Sheep has carried a bit of Knit One Crochet Too's offerings over the years, but three of their yarns really impressed me this season. I picked up Ty-Dy, a colorful, machine washable in fingering as well as the worsted weight version. The patterns they offered for these yarns were equally impressive. Last year Leahe knit up a pair of gloves in the fingering weight and taught a class using one of their patterns, there has been some interest in another class for this glove since the new yarn arrived, so I think we'll offer an encore of it soon, give us a call if you'd like to try your hand (haha) at glove knitting. I immediately thought of an adult version of the Zig Zag baby pram blanket when I saw the Ty Dy worsted, so keep tuned in for more info on that once I get some of the other gazillion projects off my needles, which has been happening at an alarming and unusual rate!

Crock-o-Dye is the other yarn that has arrived from K1CTand it is gorgeous! This is also a fingering weight wool but has the added luxury of silk, making it so soft and billowy with a subtle silky sheen. The colors are monotoned, rich and clear. We have three great patterns, Texas Hold 'Em socks, Fern Scarf, and Diagonal

Lace Scarf.

We just can't decide which one to knit up first !

Keep checking here for updates on what we find in all those big boxes Jeff, our UPS man carries into the shop each day. This time of year is always exciting at the Sheep and we love sharing that excitement with y'all!!

Porch Sale Additions

Just a little update on another yarn that made it to the porch sale today, Nashua Daylily. This is an interesting, transitional yarn, which would be great for a sleeveless shell, scarf or wrap with some added subtle texture. Daylily is a cotton blend that knits up at 4-1/4 stitches/inch, so it will move quickly on your needles, and with this heat, you might want to make a sleeveless shell this week that you can wear next weekend! At 25% off and 30% if you buy 5 or more it's a bargain to boot!

Well, stay cool, outta trouble, and keep knitting!

Ronda

Move in' the Wheels

2010-07-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am working on a new little pattern for the shop and am lovin' it. I really enjoyed the Zig Zag pram blanket (I will post about it once I take a photo) and wanted to try another stash busting blanket, this time in crochet. I am "hooked" on crochet, the rhythm is in sync with my personality, it moves quickly and you see progress instantly. An added feature of crochet (if you own a yarn shop) is that it gobbles up yarn! Here is a little preview of the blanket. I'm using the Catherine's Wheel stitch pattern, it is fun, fast and addictive! I just love the color explosion, very unlike my usual sedate selections, and how quickly this pattern grows. This shouldn't be too difficult for anyone who has taken the Quick Start crochet class at the Shabby Sheep, it requires chain, single crochet, double crochet and a double cluster stitch which is just a modified version of a double crochet. If you would like to see the progress and try your hand at it, stop by the shop, I'll be happy to show you how to hook a row.

About the other wheels. I had my knee replaced several weeks ago and have begun to feel a little more like my old self lately. One never know what to expect post surgery, no matter how many people you talk to, how many questions you ask, or how many internet searches you explore, it's impossible to really know what you are in for. I felt last week like I wasn't making much progress, but then I realized that a week before I was still using a cane at times and I hadn't used it at all in days.

So, Sunday I thought I'd take a little walk around the local University's campus and then call Captain Happy (aka my husband) to pick me up. I ended up at my friend/old next door neighbor's house, she wasn't home, but I laid on her lawn in the 100 degree heat and called her (she was doing paperwork at her office), chatted for 30 minutes, then called Captain Happy to pick me up. I realized, I was hot, but felt refreshed and wasn't hurting, so I called him back and cancelled the pick up. I got myself up and walked back through the campus to home. When I got home, I iced and elevated my knee like usual, then realized I had walked about a mile! With my bad knee, before replacement, I hadn't been able to do that in years without a TON of pain!! I still have stiffness and pain with my rehab exercises I do each day, but to walk a mile with my new wheel, without the sort of pain I used to have, is welcomed progress.

Have a great day, and keep all your wheels a move in'!

Knitting "POCS" are you a victim?

2010-06-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's been well over a year since I posted my last (and first) post. And no, I have not finished, or even touched the beautiful green cashmere sweater. I think the best thing now is to just frog it until I am really committed to it, nah, that'll never happen. Now that the green sweater is out of the way, lets begin fresh.

I've had some time away from the shop the last two weeks, and without the usual distractions, I've been able to give some thought to the kind of knitter I am. It is said that knitters fall into one of two categories, you are either a "project" knitter or a "process" knitter.

At first impulse, I put myself in the later category. I love the idea of sitting with friends or customers clicking away with my needles, and whatever happens to be on them, not really caring what the project is, how far I've progressed or whether I finish it or not, it's the joy I receive from the "process" of knitting, and being with others who share that joy, right? Maybe. But what is it that urges me to put a particular yarn on a set of needles? Could it be the project? I mean, I don't feel the same joy knitting a wash cloth with kitchen cotton over a soft luxurious alpaca and silk blend scarf or wrap, never did, never will. So, project or process, I guess I have one foot in each category, no problem, it fits my personality!

The disturbing reality is that I have multitudes ( no, I refuse to count) of just started, in the process and nearly finished projects. The time I've spent organizing them into just the right bags, containers, and totes and then doing it again, can be attributed to my lack of organizational skills that I've struggled with my whole life. Now, if that pseudo organization time could have been directed to my knitting of these projects, we would see many of them finished as samples on the walls of the shop, on the necks, heads and backs of friends, and loved ones. That leads me to a recent discovery.

A while back I was playing around with all the acronyms, abbreviations and nick names for knitting terms, PSSO, Frog, K2TOG, etc. I came up with my own acronym to describe my abundance of unfinished projects. I believe if we embrace this discovery, hundreds of knitters, maybe thousands, will not feel the shame and embarrassment when contemplating or being confronted with their projects. There is nothing worse for a monstrous project accumulator than to quietly and politely listen to fellow knitters speak in frustration about how they "can't believe I have 4 projects on the needles right now, I really need to get them finished!". Well, ladies and gents you no longer have to hide your head in shame, you are just a victim of knitting POCS. Thousands of knitters across the globe have knitting POCS they just don't know it. What is knitting POCS? I know it sounds like an atrocious disease that will leave you with lifelong physical scars, but no, this will avoid lifelong emotional scars. Knitting POCS my friends is PROJECT OVER COMMITMENT SYNDROME .

Like many high achievers, you just commit to more projects than you can mortally knit. And yes, though you are a fast knitter, a skilled knitter and an accomplished knitter, you can only knit so many hours in a day. There are so many wonderful yarns, needles and patterns to knit in that time, believe me, I live it. Its not your fault, you have the best of intentions, your enthusiasm is to be commended, your taste in fabulous yarns is exquisite. Though you many never complete all those projects cleverly hidden in your closets, under your beds, in your attic, in your basement, in the trunk of your car, under the kitchen sink and yes, maybe even in the big stew pot you only bring out once a year for black eyed peas ( no one looks in there ever, not ever), they are they for you, in abundance!

One of the great advantages to being afflicted with Knitting POCS is experienced when you are fed up with a project, throw it into the wall and everyone flees the room fearing a needle lands in a sensitive location. You are able to go to one of your project way stations and start knitting again! And if you ever just get the urge to work on something new, something fresh, something different you have a cache from which to choose. Those 4 project at a time knitters are missing out, when they get the urge at 11 pm on a saturday night they are stuck for two days working on some of that old kitchen cotton. I once had a customer tell me it was comforting to know that there is always a project for her to work on in the wings if she ever got bored or frustrated with the one she was knitting. I liked her thinking then, still do.

So if anyone every gives you a hard time about all your unfinished projects, and we know that is usually family members and friends who do not knit, or those 4 project at a time knitters, tell them "you see, I have a condition, it's called Knitting POCS". Tell them to look it up, that'll keep them busy and out of yours!

Wishing you all the "JOY" of knitting, any way you may find it.

Ronda

Love at first sight twice

2009-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

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.