The Knitting Experience Café

There's been a flurry of finished projects visiting the shop lately. 

In addition to her gorgeous pink Pioneer, Susan whipped up a market bag out of Euroflax linen.

The pattern is free on ravelry.com: the Ilene Bag, and it only takes one skein of the Euroflax linen. And speaking of the linen, we have a new color in stock, Crabapple.

Isn't it purty?

Jytte surprised me with this beautiful vest.

She picked out the yarn just a week or two. It was a fun project to work on.  The yarns from the original pattern have been discontinued, so we searched through the shop to find substitutes that would provide a look as close to the pictured design as possible. And we did it!!! It is an amazing match. 

After letting me snap a picture of the vest, she presented me with a new challenge. Another vest from the same booklet. Again we got to play with yarn combos. You know my favorite way to see how two different yarns will look together? Twist them together. Or, in the case of a ball and a skein, stick the ball through a loop of the skein so that the skein frames the ball. 

Jytte is working on vest # 2 now and promises to bring in the results. 

Anne stopped in with the sweater she just finished for her grandson.

Adorable, hun? 

She also brought great pictures of her granddaughter wearing a lovely fair isle sweater. Unfortunately, my scanner refuses to get itself out of sleep mode, so I can't share those with you. They'll be on the wall of fame at the shop.

Finally, I'm very excited to tell you about a fun afternoon of knitting, art, music, and of course, food.

Keith and Adrienne are hosting a Picnic and Day of Festivities at Kieth's gallery, The Gallery at Schoolhouse Crossing, on Sunday May 31, from 2-6pm. 

It promises to be a relaxing and entertaining afternoon! Feel free to RSVP to: K&A@keithspirophotography.com

Spring has sprung and we want to celebrate!  What better way to get ready for the warmer weather than by knitting yourself a cute top or handy market bag? Let us help.  

Announcing our May Sale. This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all in-stock yarn will be 20% OFF both in the shop and through our online store!  It's the perfect chance to stock up for your summer knitting. 

Remember, if you order through the online store, you can opt for in-store pick up, or we offer free shipping for orders over $75. 

Last week, we attended the Maine Living with Cancer Conference sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Thanks to your wonderful response to our call for more Knitted Knockers we had overflowing baskets to bring with us. It was a huge success and I was thrilled to be able to hand out so many knockers to survivors and to spread the word to breast health centers throughout the state. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who knit knockers! As I mentioned in our last newsletter, the knitter who brought us the most knockers would receive a gift certificate and a bottle of Soak Wash.  I am so please to announce that Judy Warren is our winner!!! Congratulations Judy!

As you think about your warm weather knitting, don't forget to check out our class schedule. This is a great time of year to learn a new technique.  Keep an eye on the shop blog as well for updates on the new yarns and returning favorites that are arriving every week.

Happy Knitting and we'll see you at the sale!

Rolling, rolling, rolling! Hi ho! 

Sorry, someone at KAN (or was it KISS?) started singing this song for our Pioneer KAL. Now it's stuck in my head and there's nothing I can do about it.

I am done!

Sort of.

Done with the knitting at least. Check it out.  I LOVE this sweater - fits me perfectly and the deep V in the front looks fabulous.

All I need to do now is weave in the ends, block it, and get someone at KAN (Bridget? Luanne?) to teach me the crochet stitch for the edging around the neckline.

I am getting better at my crocheting.  My approach to learning crochet has shifted. I realized I just wasn't that into playing around with various stitches or making a long scarf to teach myself.  Not sure why I even thought that would work for me.  I never teach someone to knit by having them swatch. My philosophy is that it is much more satisfying to work on a new technique on an actual project. Something tangible. Something that gives you the incentive to learn. Like a fabulous Pioneer top!

I did my first crochet picot edging on the now finished Brittany Jumper. Isn't it adorable?  3 skeins of Ty Dy Cotton for the size 2. I only used a little bit of the third skein, so you could definitely get a size 3 out of 3 skeins.

Back to Pioneer. 

Donna finished her lovely yellow version. I've been promised a photo op when her daughter (the lucky recipient) returns from college next week.

Barbara and I are at the same point. I insisted on photos even though it is technically unfinished.  Just look at how amazing it is on her!!! 

Susan is giving me a heart attack with her Pioneer.  She is using the most gorgeous hand dyed ribbon yarn from Tess's Designer Yarn in Portland.

Can you see how the ribbon makes the cables pop? The color just shimmers and Susan's stitches are perfect! So what's the problem? She's torn it out about a zillion times as different design adjustments were made. Honestly, I DO understand. It needs to be right.  But, I see it one day in the shop, all lovely, and the next, I hear that she's ripped it again.  I never knew that knitting could be such a heart wrenching ordeal for the bystander.

Peggy is using Spunky Summer in Azalea for her Pioneer and is making great progress:

Cheryl is knitting alongside us with Buttercup out of Hempathy.

Diane is also knitting alongside, but with the Drop-Stitch Tank from Fitted Knits.  She is on the back, and is using Spunky Summer in Cinnamon.

Oh! And since I finished the Brittany Jumper, I got to add in a new project.  On the way out of the shop yesterday, I grabbed a ball of Ty Dy Sock in Meadow. I have been petting and craving this yarn since it arrived. It is unreal in the soft, squishy department.  O. M. G. To knit??? Heaven.  I'm a fast knitter, but look-

That's how much I have knit on the first sock since 6pm yesterday. Unreal.  

Do you SEE the softness?

I ALSO (check me out with all the productivity) plied and set a skein of merino/tencel that I spun over the past few weeks. The colorway is Bruised Ego from Spunky Eclectic. This was a stash buster. Mom and Dad gave it to me for xmas two years ago.  

The tencel was so much fun to spin.  Unfortunately, this project made me realize that my stash busting has gone too far. The stash is frighteningly small. Thank goodness Fiber Frolic is a month away!